The Future is Now for the Minnesota Twins

[Parfigliano]

32 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Culpepper and Jenkins look good for the future,but let's be honest with Keaschall he's a player without a position. His glove is bad but his arm is worse. There are kids playing in the Little League WS with better arms. And does the team really want a DH with warning track power. The only position is 2nd base and that has players lining up who will play it better. Unless Lewis is moved this off season 1st base is out of the question. He may be a trade chip to get a SP or BP arm.

I most definitely would not trade Keaschall at this point.  

[LastOnePicked]

Hmm. Seems more like the future is now for the White Sox.

How they went from 100+ losses to taking control of the AL Central is a mystery. We all know for a fact that rebuilds don't work - we've been told that time and time again from folks here - so my only other guess is sorcery and dark magic. Shame on them.

[SE23]

8 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I would like them to extend their internal talent first.

They could use a second baseman and there are a few available.

Pick up Arraez for 2B and Yandy Diaz for DH. Re-sign Jeffers. Sign a starter FA and a reliever. Done. Play ball!

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, Eris said:

Sano (2 or 3)

Kirilloff (top 20)

Lewis (top 30)

Buxton (#1 for 2 or 3 years). 
 

My point being that the Twins had a number of good/great prospects but injuries and inability to hit MLB pitching stands between being a prospect and being an elite player. 

Yes, and to be fair, many of their highly-touted slugging prospects had very good years. We were right to be excited about these guys.

The trouble is that the organization forgot that you actually need a pitching staff and - even better - a system that can develop MLB quality pitchers.

It's a lesson they still haven't learned.

[DJL44]

16 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

I most definitely would not trade Keaschall at this point.  

I wouldn’t worry about the Twins trading Keaschall. No other organization values poor fielding corner outfielders more highly than the Twins.

[NYCTK]

11 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I would like them to extend their internal talent first.

They could use a second baseman and there are a few available.

Same. I was just thinking actually, a Chourio contract for Jenkins. 8 years, 90+ million? Lock it in. Culpepper you can consider. 

I'd still trade Joe Ryan in the off-season, extend Pablo while he's rehabbing, mainly cause he seems more willing to forego free agency. I'd happily resign Jeffers too, and a QO penalty on him could help facilitate that. 

Other than them, there's not really any internal players I'm concerned about. 

15 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

So spend $80m even though it is a weak class.  That sounds like a Falvey plan, spend money for the sake of spending money.

It was a bit of stream of consciousness, pointing out I'm optimistic about the future, but unfortunately looking at a weaker class so that may not be the best decision. 

Even so. There's plenty of pieces available to still improve the team. And if and when they sign some I'm sure there will be the same people whining here about how the Twins rely too much on veterans. 

[strumdatjag]

2 hours ago, PuckettPond said:

The future was selling @ this year's trade deadline. Last year's sell off was 2 fold, great returns on trades and this year's great draft picks. We may have drafted our 1st HOF catching prospect.

Yep - that MAY be the SECOND one as noted above. 

[HarmonK03]

7 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Same. I was just thinking actually, a Chourio contract for Jenkins. 8 years, 90+ million? Lock it in. Culpepper you can consider. 

I'd still trade Joe Ryan in the off-season, extend Pablo while he's rehabbing, mainly cause he seems more willing to forego free agency. I'd happily resign Jeffers too, and a QO penalty on him could help facilitate that. 

Other than them, there's not really any internal players I'm concerned about. 

It was a bit of stream of consciousness, pointing out I'm optimistic about the future, but unfortunately looking at a weaker class so that may not be the best decision. 

Even so. There's plenty of pieces available to still improve the team. And if and when they sign some I'm sure there will be the same people whining here about how the Twins rely too much on veterans. 

Don't do one year prove it type signings for veterans and sign someone that you can commit to for multiple years that has been a proven producer.   That would be a better type of vet to sign.  Other than Correa they really have never signed any needle movers.

[LastOnePicked]

2 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Do you have a prescription for the controlled substances you use?

Hope is a helluva drug. But the side effects are pretty rough.

Plans are always a better choice than hope.

[GNess]

24 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Hmm. Seems more like the future is now for the White Sox.

How they went from 100+ losses to taking control of the AL Central is a mystery. We all know for a fact that rebuilds don't work - we've been told that time and time again from folks here - so my only other guess is sorcery and dark magic. Shame on them.

Not to be adversarial, but many on TD have seen the weakness of the Division as a manner to diminish the Twins state of quasi-contention because it was such a low bar. (Twins are now almost certainly out of contention.)

But the Chisox who rebuilt are now to be admired as contenders by leading the same crappy division and with a gaudy record in general. vs sub .500 teams. 46-29.

I don't think rebuilds can't work - clearly they can, but they are difficult to pull off and require excellent player evaluation and development.

In trying to remain optimistic that the Twins can find a path forward, I am reminded that the Twins teams that crapped out two years in a row were well stocked with early round (1st or 2nd) Twins draft picks in central roles -

Larnach, Lewis, Lee, Buxton, Preilipp, Keaschall, Jeffers et al.

 

 

[NYCTK]

17 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

Don't do one year prove it type signings for veterans and sign someone that you can commit to for multiple years that has been a proven producer.   That would be a better type of vet to sign.  Other than Correa they really have never signed any needle movers.

We have this argument every off-season and every season those one year vets turn out to be good, and sometimes great, deals more often than they're not. 

Bader was a needle mover. Solano was a needle mover. Santana was a needle mover. Willi Castro was a big needle mover. 

Yes, I think signing someone like Jazz or Lowe would be great, especially since I'm less optimistic about Houston so feel no need to keep 2B warm for Culpepper. But even if they don't, there are still a lot of veterans available on cheap one year deals that can move the needle. 

[HarmonK03]

1 minute ago, NYCTK said:

We have this argument every off-season and every season those one year vets turn out to be good, and sometimes great, deals more often than they're not. 

Bader was a needle mover. Solano was a needle mover. Santana was a needle mover. Willi Castro was a big needle mover. 

Yes, I think signing someone like Jazz or Lowe would be great, especially since I'm less optimistic about Houston so feel no need to keep 2B warm for Culpepper. But even if they don't, there are still a lot of veterans available on cheap one year deals that can move the needle. 

And we still end up with a sub .500 record, so how is this helping by doing it year after year.

[NYCTK]

2 minutes ago, GNess said:

Not to be adversarial, but many on TD have seen the weakness of the Division as a manner to diminish the Twins state of quasi-contention because it was such a low bar. (Twins are now almost certainly out of contention.)

But the Chisox who rebuilt are now to be admired as contenders by leading the same crappy division and with a gaudy record in general. vs sub .500 teams. 46-29.

I don't think rebuilds can't work - clearly they can, but they are difficult to pull off and require excellent player evaluation and development.

In trying to remain optimistic that the Twins can find a path forward, I am reminded that the Twins teams that crapped out two years in a row were well stocked with early round (1st or 2nd) Twins draft picks in central roles -

Larnach, Lewis, Lee, Buxton, Preilipp, Keaschall, Jeffers et al.

 

 

I think teams that rebuild are too hesitant or slow to supplement their rebuilt roster with veteran assistance.

This actually includes the White Sox, looking at their roster they added Murakami and that basically just fell in their laps. 

Gotta recognize that window earlier and sell it to some incoming veterans. 

[NYCTK]

4 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

And we still end up with a sub .500 record, so how is this helping by doing it year after year.

Anyone that blames Santana or Bader for those teams stinking doesn't understand the sport. 

Those types of veterans are supplementary, not load bearing. Unfortunately Bader and Santana were supplementing really terrible rosters. 

[HarmonK03]

1 minute ago, NYCTK said:

Anyone that blames Santana or Bader for those teams stinking doesn't understand the sport. 

Those types of veterans are supplementary, not load bearing. Unfortunately Bader and Santana were supplementing really terrible rosters. 

I am not blaming them, but they were a one year fill in.  Either develop players or bring in players that are going to be here more than one year and build off of that and fill in the holes.  

[LastOnePicked]

13 minutes ago, GNess said:

Not to be adversarial, but many on TD have seen the weakness of the Division as a manner to diminish the Twins state of quasi-contention because it was such a low bar. (Twins are now almost certainly out of contention.)

First of all, please be adversarial. I am a crank. I want to see people with more optimism win a few arguments. I never take any of this stuff personally.

Second, that's a good point. It remains to be seen if these Sox have built something sustainable or if this is a blip.

And the Twins should be fairly stocked, yes. If you've been consistently missing the playoffs, you should have a drafting advantage. That's how the system should work.

I just don't see it yet for the Twins. Defense and pitching seem exceedingly weak, and those are the most important factors for building a winner. Jenkins could hit .325, but it won't matter much if Prielipp is anchoring your rotation in 2029.

[NYCTK]

5 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

I am not blaming them, but they were a one year fill in.  Either develop players or bring in players that are going to be here more than one year and build off of that and fill in the holes.  

I would agree when you're admitting you're in a rebuilding period, but those 2024 and 2025 Twins weren't being honest about the talent on their roster. They thought they were setting up to be contenders, and a one year veteran fill in is an appropriate deal in that context. 

[HarmonK03]

4 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

I would agree when you're admitting you're in a rebuilding period, but those 2024 and 2025 Twins weren't being honest about the talent on their roster. They thought they were setting up to be contenders, and a one year veteran fill in is an appropriate deal in that context. 

And 23 was Gallo, and a list of others the years before that.

[S Bart]

3 hours ago, JBK said:

Play the rookies every day the rest of the season.  Put Buck on IL.  Bye-bye Larnach.  Jenkins-ERod-Gonzo outfield.

May want to consider bringing up Marek Houston...by the end of 2027....he moves from ss to 2nd

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, S Bart said:

May want to consider bringing up Marek Houston...by the end of 2027....he moves from ss to 2nd

No chance Houston moves to second. Culpeper likely will. 

[S Bart]

More giveaway nights...big ones...lower beers to $1.00... 

[S Bart]

29 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

No chance Houston moves to second. Culpeper likely will. 

Why

[LastOnePicked]

39 minutes ago, S Bart said:

More giveaway nights...big ones...lower beers to $1.00... 

Beers should be priced to the team batting average with runners in scoring position over the last ten games. 

[Mike Sixel]

21 minutes ago, S Bart said:

Why

Houston is an elite defender. Culpeper is likely average. 

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Beers should be priced to the team batting average with runners in scoring position over the last ten games. 

Awesome. 

[S Bart]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Houston is an elite defender. Culpeper is likely average. 

Will Houston be up in 2027...believe he is at Witchita

[jimbo92107]

Emmanuel Rodriguez needs to come up now, even if it's just to stabilize a chaotic outfield. Put ERod in RF, so there are three competent gloves out there. 

[jimbo92107]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Houston is an elite defender. Culpeper is likely average. 

And yet, Culpepper has played a full rung above the rest at SS. We can wait for Houston. The middle of the field is now decently shored up. Next, get ERod up into RF, even if just for a better glove. 

[Mike Sixel]

55 minutes ago, S Bart said:

Will Houston be up in 2027...believe he is at Witchita

Ah. I think middle of the year. I'd have him up day one, but I understand they won't. 

[S Bart]

Caratini could be in a Sopranos episode