Why I'm Choosing to Believe in Tom Pohlad This Offseason

[LastOnePicked]

29 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

That said ... that's actually a pretty good plan if they can get something for Ryan.

There has probably never been a worse time to trade big leaguer Joe Ryan than right now. No GM in MLB would give you anything above thirty cents on the dollar in terms of potential value.

He's going to have to stay. He's going to have to turn things around.

[Major League Ready]

2 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Can you send this to Tom Pohlad's office, please?

I actually screwed up that paragraph for the brewers.  It should have said 8 were drafted and 7 acquired as prospects.

[LastOnePicked]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Jeffers is my first baseman after 27.....

That's a very good idea, actually.

[LastOnePicked]

Just now, Major League Ready said:

I actually screwed up that paragraph for the brewers.  It should have said 8 were drafted and 7 acquired as prospects.

He won't know the difference. Besides, it's the main idea that matters here. Good stuff.

[shimrod]

3 hours ago, MeleMouth said:

The back-and-forth by ownership over the last few years could negatively affect how free agents view the Twins.

First they sign Donaldson with hoopla about a new day for Twins competition, then they complain about him and give him a railroad ticket out of town.

Then they sign Correa with hoopla about a new day for Twins to be a destination for top free agents, then fail to fill in the rest of the team the way they implied when they signed him, then they persuade him to leave by telling him they are going to go in a different direction (cost-saving) than what they told him when they signed him. 

No free agent is going to be persuaded by any talk of a new day in Twinsland, because they know that whatever the Twins say today could change by the middle of next year. 

I completely agree with this. The Twins have established themselves as the destination of last resort for free agents. It will take a pretty large overpay to entice a mid-career, multi-tool player to pick MN over anyone else. The reclamation projects and one-dimensional guys are all we'll get. 

The players the Twins need to enhance this roster will have to be acquired by trade. And they will not be cheap in prospect terms. But at least in a trade you pay the going rate, not a "bad team" premium. 

 

[SteveLV]

2 hours ago, MeleMouth said:

Good, humorous points, but 14 of the players on the Dodgers' 40-man came by trade, including Betts, Glasnow, and two relievers, besides Skubal.

FWIW, Brewers have 22, Rays have 24, Guardians have 12, and Twins have 16.

If you seriously think the Dodgers and Twins are playing on the same, level playing field, we have nothing further to discuss on this topic.  That would be an absurd take.

[old nurse]

Mlb.com still lists Jim Pohlad as the controlling owner with. The three brothers on the board. Tom is listed as the CEO and executive chair.  The control of the money has not changed, only the mouthpiece. Believe the spending when you see it. The problem in spending money is that the free agent class position players that are good do not fit their need other than. Jeffers. Spending money on corner outfielders would mean the plethora of AAA outfielders are not deemed good enough. That leaves pitching. Morejon and Skubal will get big bucks. Sonny Gray would have to opt out and want to continue to play. Neither is a certainty.  They may well have money, but there might not be any quality to spend it on 

[D.C Twins]

If Tommy P is serious about being aggressive, he will outbid the Yankees for Jeffers and keep him right here.

Not only because we need a good catcher but also because he is at the top of a pretty poor FA class

(spoiler alert Matt, the Twins will not outbid the Yankees, but they will make sure to 'leak' to the press, to include TD, that they were sooooooooooooooooo close with their bid!)

It is season ticket sales time which mandates typical Pohlad Platitudes (trademark pending)

[MeleMouth]

24 minutes ago, SteveLV said:

If you seriously think the Dodgers and Twins are playing on the same, level playing field, we have nothing further to discuss on this topic.  That would be an absurd take.

Not the point I was making, if you would read the OP about the Dodgers rarely using prospects to trade for players, but I'm OK with not discussing it further.

[Vanimal46]

4 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

"if he has conviction about a move that’s going to improve this roster and help us accomplish our goals, that this ownership group is prepared to support him with the financial resources he needs."

Jeremy Zoll should have conviction that Tarik Skubal, Seiya Suzuki, and Luis Arraez can "help (them) accomplish (their) goals." He should also have conviction that at least Bo Bichette could help accomplish some goals if he (very unlikely) opts out. Should also have conviction that Ryan Jeffers coming back on a short-term deal could help. And at least 3 of the best relievers on the market.

Those are some pretty easy convictions to have and stories to sell to ownership about helping accomplish their goals. Should I assume the Twins are about to drop $100 million in free agency for 2027? I'm going to go ahead and guess "no." 

I'm very squarely in the "believe it when I see it" camp when it comes to Pohlad talk of investment. Which I'm sure surprises nobody here. If I were a betting man, I'd bet the Twins "were in on" a lot of guys this offseason and very few of them were willing to take the Pohlad "financial resources."

I know you posted this as an extreme example. I did the same in Nick Nelson’s thread yesterday to meaningfully invest in Skubal, Jeffers, and Pete Alonso. It’s going to take an extreme measure like that, plus cheap happy hours more often than the weekends to get casual fans back. 

Meaning… The Pohlads need to take a few more upper cuts to the chin/wallet to reverse this swirling down the drain they’re on now. 

[Woof Bronzer]

4 hours ago, SteveLV said:

If you seriously think the Dodgers and Twins are playing on the same, level playing field, we have nothing further to discuss on this topic.  That would be an absurd take.

Are the Brewers playing on this same field?

[chpettit19]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I know you posted this as an extreme example. I did the same in Nick Nelson’s thread yesterday to meaningfully invest in Skubal, Jeffers, and Pete Alonso. It’s going to take an extreme measure like that, plus cheap happy hours more often than the weekends to get casual fans back. 

Meaning… The Pohlads need to take a few more upper cuts to the chin/wallet to reverse this swirling down the drain they’re on now. 

Joe Pohlad once talked the Twins spending 200 million. The Pohlads say all kinds of nonsense. Many fans want to believe them. I get it. But Tom didn't say anything special yesterday. Not being willing to put a number on things, or even a range, means he isn't really promising anything.

Conviction about improving the roster and they'll provide the financial resources? Nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense. Because having conviction in spending huge on the best players in the game is incredibly easy to have. But they're not going to sign them. Because there's a number. There's a ceiling. It's all just more corporate speak. Just coming from a much better public speaker than the last Pohlad who tried to sell the same line of nonsense. And the entire line of Pohlads before him.

[Dawgzilla]

13 hours ago, Brandon said:

The 2027 team on paper doesn't have many holes., meaning the Twins have players pegged for the roster already .  I can see us spending money on a Minter contract (2year 18 million?) or we sign a 1B like Ty France again 1 year 8-10 million?). Maybe we sign another reliever or branch player.  We have starting pitching to trade and Larnarch coming off the books or moving to 1B......  The real investment is extensions for the core players and front loading some of them. Signing Jenkins to a 10+ year contract would be great.  Maybe Brooks Lee signed a 4 year deal at a level cost. Keeping Joe Ryan is a significant investment for next season too, he will cost around 12-14 million. Maybe they extend one of Lopez or Kramer for 2-3 years for rotation stability.  There are many ways to significantly invest in the team.  I can see payroll in the 130-150 million especially if they paid off all the debt they said needed to get paid when they brought in additional investors. Also they could be planning to increase payroll for a 2.2 million fans hoping the number comes in around 2.5 + million.  I almost forgot, the other significant investment could be resigning Jeffers to a 4 year 72-76 million deal.  If this is the off-season, I will be happy.

Ty France...R U high?  You love mediocrity!  Twins are tight, always will be!  I will never go to another Twins game, until MLB fixes payroll disparities and ownership actually wants to be successful!  Period!!!!!!!!!!

[Brandon]

13 minutes ago, Dawgzilla said:

Ty France...R U high?  You love mediocrity!  Twins are tight, always will be!  I will never go to another Twins game, until MLB fixes payroll disparities and ownership actually wants to be successful!  Period!!!!!!!!!!

If you see how the Twins are typically built for winning you will see a lineup stacked 1-9 or 8 with 1 week link.  But the lineup is full of guys who can drive in 60-80 runs a season.  And they have 1 or two all star.hitters and the lineup is a top 5 because of the depth.  If you notice this season the Twins were 2nd in runs and built that way.  Ty France would fit the plan.  He hit 20 HRs this year. And he is a good defensive 1B.  

[S Bart]

[Fatbat]

The Twins are missing 4-5 legit MLB pieces. Even if the money is there to buy them, will the best available be bought? 

[nicksaviking]

20 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Jeffers is my first baseman after 27.....

Hadn't considered that, but that's a solid idea if the Twins find themselves with two really good catchers.

[Dan In Real Life]

Test #1: Ryan Jeffers. Its not as simple as a binary "did we keep him, yes or no?" It should be, "Did we keep him or find a replacement for the offensive production?" And no, a Bell-type 1B/DH doesn't count,  because you're just replacing what you already had this year at that position. Jeffers production on top of what they had elsewhere this season. 

[Jeff K]

I want to believe!  I need to believe!  What I am is hopeful.  I think the Pohlads will be hard pressed to move away from their comments this time...at least I hope they are.  I also believe that the Twins have not yet taken advantage of the added investors in the team.  I would be very happy to see Keaschall and Bradley receive extensions.  The money that players make is enormous; consequently, any extension or free agent signing is a gamble.  But you can't be risk adverse and expect to improve.  The Twins need a first baseman.  I don't think a 4 year contract for Jeffers is the answer although moving him to first base in year 2 or 3 is interesting.  At the least, he must receive a qualifying offer.  They should find their first baseman via trade and no, I don't know who that should be.  But the Twins have a surplus of outfielders and they can trade from their good starting pitching depth as a strength.  I would stop signing guys who can't field.