What Now?

[tony&rodney]

A few things have been ironed out, for better or worse. Tom Pohlad is in charge. Derek Falvey is going to spend more time with his family. No use to get pinned down forever by all the negative energy.

Where do the Twins go from here? Is the team set? Does it make sense to add a starting pitcher? There are a few out there, but the Twins seem doubtful as spenders. Are any trades possible? The messages being bandied about make a selloff seem highly unlikely. Are there any options to gain value from trading a couple of guys currently on the roster? Like most people I'm a bit disillusioned with the lack of action towards improving the club. I'm also ready to see Walker Jenkins and maybe Emmanuel Rodriguez. Hard to know if they would be ok or overwhelmed. In my opinion the roster is out of whack. The bullpen could be difficult to rebuild on the fly but the young guns might surprise, delight, or even disgust people on more than a few occasions.

What ideas are out there? Or is the current roster already done? Does anyone have any potentially positive thoughts?

[jorgenswest]

I don’t know or want to guess what they are going to do.

They need to fill seats. That will take winning games. That is a difficult task and I would bet on upside. New young exciting players will also help. Jenkins and Rodriguez would top that list. Imagine the speed and range of their outfield. Martin’s growth their last year makes him a fit also. I would put the best remaining starting arms in the pen. That might mean Bradley, Festa and Prielipp are working late in games. Abel might be a middle reliever. I would stick with the upside of the younger players like Lee and Lewis who struggled last year as opposed to a one year stop gap they both need to be looking in the rear view for Culpepper. I would continue playing aggressive in the basepaths as they did after the deadline.

It is unlikely to work. It is the only way to balance trying to fill seats this year by competing in the AL central while devoting playing time to several 27 and under players.

I will be watching what ever route they choose. The 162 games matter to me.

[Vanimal46]

I would work on a long term agreement with Walker Jenkins right now so he can be on the opening day roster. If Tough Talkin' Tom is serious about competing this year, then the focus needs to be on the highest upside talent like Jenkins, E-Rod, Prielipp, etc. 

[TheLeviathan]

[tony&rodney]

People understandably seem pretty worn down by the inaction of the offseason and the various frustrations with the organization. The calendar has shifted to February though with a number of players already hanging out in Ft. Myers getting ready to play baseball in the sunshine when it warms up. 

I'm wondering if a minor trade or two or maybe a signing is still possible. I also wonder if a major trade could be in the cards before April. One player (minor trade) who I would like to see in a Twins uniform is Jordan Lawler. He was a big disappointment in several brief and irregular stints with the Diamondbacks and he has very little chance for playing time in Arizona. It is tough to know what it would take to acquire him. BBTV had him at 24 a month ago but has him around 4 now, which seems strange. Is Alan Roden or Austin Martin enough? Would the DBacks take Larnach plus a prospect like C.J. Culpeepper? I think more is needed. Is Ober too much or acceptable?

There must be some other opportunities to find balance with the roster. While I believe Matt Wallner would be a pretty good DH, the same can be said for Trevor Larnach or Josh Bell. I think the Twins will use Bell at first base. That means that either Larnach or Wallner should be dangled. They could both be good but Wallner is less expensive, has a higher value, and projects to produce more wins. Larnach is pretty good but may not return anything useful. Tough spot which I thought would be solved in November. Can it be resolved in February? While I thought that Wallner should be an important piece of the 2026 Twins, I have wondered whether Pittsburgh would see value in a trade of Big Matt for Jared Jones and a Comp A pick. 

Hopefully the Twins can find time to engage in a few conversations on deals that balance the roster. A few tweaks seem like a good idea. Folks seem uninterested in making guesses, but I'm still hopeful of a few positive moves.

[Doctor Wu]

No need for any more starting pitchers at this juncture; we actually have too many good candidates for the rotation already. As many others have already stated, the bullpen is, and remains, our biggest weakness. What is the front office planning at this point? Trade or a free agent signing? I mean, something needs to happen,, right? But it's February already and the clock is ticking. 

[jorgenswest]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

One player (minor trade) who I would like to see in a Twins uniform is Jordan Lawler. He was a big disappointment in several brief and irregular stints with the Diamondbacks and he has very little chance for playing time in Arizona. It is tough to know what it would take to acquire him. BBTV had him at 24 a month ago but has him around 4 now, which seems strange. Is Alan Roden or Austin Martin enough? Would the DBacks take Larnach plus a prospect like C.J. Culpepper? I think more is needed. Is Ober too much or acceptable?

Unless they can get Gallen back a starting pitcher would help. I would start with Ober and a lottery ticket. They might prefer Bradley who is similar age and prospect pedigree but minimal success in the majors. Somehow it seems like Lawler is the kind of player the Guardians get.

[bunsen82]

Anything is on the table.  Tom still insists they need to win.  I do think he will be more than willing to listen to Zolls ideas and assist him,  as currently Tom and Zoll are bearing the brunt of Tom's expectations, rather than Falvey.  

[tony&rodney]

32 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Somehow it seems like Lawler is the kind of player the Guardians get.

This was exactly my thought.