tony&rodney’s 2027 Payroll Blueprint: tony&rodney 2027 Twins Roster Guess

[tony&rodney]

More hope than reality. There are bound to be a number of trade opportunities, but I have no idea what they are. Zoll should.

Marek Houston should not be the plan but it seems unlikely that the Twins add Lowe, Bauers, Chisholm, or Arraez.

Houston seems like a possible Cooper Pratt addition. I would use everyone on the roster a fair amount. Buck is listed as DH until he is ready to roam in CF and adjustments are made from there.

If the budget goes to $160M, perhaps a signing of Lowe or Bauers, which I would prefer. I'm also interested in Carson Kelly - 2/$18M, if money is available. Add Lowe to bump Houston and Kelly for Davis = $158M roster. Hmmm?

1. Sign Bednar and Morejon for 4/$60M each. Perhaps that is low but would go 3/$60M.

2. Trade Ober, Larnach, Roden to ARI for Lawlar.

3. Sands, Martin, Wallner to PIT for Davis.

4. Kremer, Debarge, Quick to STL for Bernal.

The blueprints should be added in the next few days before trades and signings commence. I'm hoping that those who are frequent voices on Twins Daily participate. It's all just silly stuff. 

Go Twins.

• C: Victor Caratini ($7.50M)
• 1B: Royce Lewis ($5.10M)
• 2B: Marek Houston ($1.00M)
• 3B: Brooks Lee ($1.00M)
• SS: Kaelen Culpepper ($1.00M)
• LF: Emmanuel Rodriguez ($1.00M)
• CF: Walker Jenkins ($1.00M)
• RF: Luke Keaschall ($1.00M)
• DH: Byron Buxton ($15.00M)
• 4th OF: Jordan Lawlar ($1.00M)
• Utility: Kody Clemens ($3.50M)
• Utility: Ryan Kreidler ($1.00M)
• Backup C: Henry Davis ($1.40M)
• POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M)
• SP1: Pablo Lopez ($21.75M)
• SP2: Joe Ryan ($9.75M)
• SP3: Taj Bradley ($4.50M)
• SP4: Connor Prielipp ($1.00M)
• SP5: Zebby Matthews ($1.00M)
• RP: David Bednar ($15.00M)
• RP: Adrian Morejon ($15.00M)
• RP: Jeff Hoffman ($7.50M)
• RP: Kendry Rojas ($1.00M)
• RP: Andrew Morris ($1.00M)
• RP: Kody Funderburk ($1.00M)
• RP: Travis Adams ($1.00M)
• RP: Yoendrys Gomez ($1.00M)
• POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M)

Payroll is 10.37% under budget

[Whammy]

Love that bullpen.

In your scenario, given that you're under budget (not by the full 10% it says though), I'd wait out the Alec Bohm market and see if I can get him on a cheap "prove it" deal. That would make me feel a little better about your lineup.

I do agree that the lineup is just going to have to be a leap of faith with a bunch of the young guys. I'm ok with that as long as we can look at our rotation and bullpen and see a real strength (which it is, in your blueprint)

[MeleMouth]

I would be happy with the trades you proposed, but why do you think the other teams, particularly PIT and ARI, would accept them?

How many games do you think this team could win? Without large break-throughs from at least two of Lewis, Jenkins, Culpepper, and ERod, it seems like another 75 win team. If you think Bednar and Morejon would combine for another 5 wins, then it could an 80 win team, but if it's a 75 win team otherwise, why spend big money on relievers?

Are you sending Abel to St. Paul?

Why trade for Bernal and Davis?

[Cory Engelhardt]

I don't know if I am ready to trade Riley Quick. Just throwing that out there. I do think if he gets his fingernail stuff figured out, he can very much debut later in 2027 and be a force with his stuff. 

Otherwise I appreciate the thought you put into these. It's fun right?

[tony&rodney]

17 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

I would be happy with the trades you proposed, but why do you think the other teams, particularly PIT and ARI, would accept them?

How many games do you think this team could win? Without large break-throughs from at least two of Lewis, Jenkins, Culpepper, and ERod, it seems like another 75 win team. If you think Bednar and Morejon would combine for another 5 wins, then it could an 80 win team, but if it's a 75 win team otherwise, why spend big money on relievers?

Are you sending Abel to St. Paul?

Why trade for Bernal and Davis?

All fair questions. The answers are only mine and nobody except the other teams can guess the correct response. 

Davis is a defense first (maybe only) catcher that Pitt doesn't really need. Sands could be an arm for them, Martin is a multiple use utility guy, and Wallner is a cheap lottery ticket. This trade is just a reboot for players.

Arizona needs pitching and Ober fits. They have also actively sought LH bats and offering two helps them. Roden is controlled and viable in the outfield or first base. Larnach is still a pretty good bat. Lawlar has not been used much and Waldschmidt's ascension pushed him to 4th/5th outfielder. Maybe Arizona doesn't like this trade but Lawlar fits better on the Twins roster in some ways as do the three players going to the desert.

Wins? I'm hoping the Twins can get to or above .500 next season, not exactly the loftiest of goals. The relievers support a young staff and come in handy in 2028 and 2029.

My initial idea was to have Mick Abel as the 5th starter and that would be ok with me too. He may need to prove his health and effectiveness but Abel looked sharp in a couple of outings last April. He would get innings.

An accumulation of talent never hurts. I don't believe the Cardinals would trade Bernal but the offer is reasonably rich for them. Bernal, if looking ready, could bump Davis and sometimes injuries happen. 

As far as breakouts go, Emm Rodriguez is a concern. I think Jenkins and Culpepper will be fine. Lewis has to earn his playing time and Clemens is ready to play full time.

In minutes a person can put together quite a few rosters and the guesses are always questionable. I threw together a number of different looks. When the Twins did their sale in July of 2025 and did not follow it up by trading Ryan, Jeffers, and more they lost some value. Now they have to figure it out from here. 

One outlandish idea I wondered about was whether the Reds would trade Elly De La Cruz for Lee, Clemens, Caratini, Mercedes, and Tait. The Reds say no. i was just searching for talent.

[tony&rodney]

5 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I don't know if I am ready to trade Riley Quick. Just throwing that out there. I do think if he gets his fingernail stuff figured out, he can very much debut later in 2027 and be a force with his stuff. 

Otherwise I appreciate the thought you put into these. It's fun right?

Looking ahead a bit, I think it is easier to buy or trade for pitching than it is for position players. But Quick could be a really tough pitcher if he gets it together. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

15 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Looking ahead a bit, I think it is easier to buy or trade for pitching than it is for position players. But Quick could be a really tough pitcher if he gets it together. 

I agree. I mean, I also believe that there is no such thing as a pitching prospect. I just don't know that I would move him right now before seeing if he can get his fingernail issue under control. It FEELS like trading him on low value.