My Twins Offseason Blueprint: A Badly-Needed Major Change

[TNtwins85]

19 hours ago, Rufus said:

Outside of '26 Bauers numbers look pretty ordinary. a lot like Lewis' actually.   I'd keep Lewis, try converting  and developing  a prospect catcher or outfielder to 1st base before I dumped a bunch of money on Bauers.  Or trade from their outfield and minor league catcher depth for a top 1st base prospect.

Yeah that’s a hard $18M pill to swallow. He looked great but will he be worth $1M if he reverts back to what he was? I’ve advocated telling Carson Tunney to trade his catchers mitt into a 1B mitt. The guy is a prime 1B candidate and it might speed up his bat development to not have to worry about catching. I just don’t see him being a catcher long term. As far as Lewis I think you just cut him loose or trade him for parts. He needs a change of scenery and Clemons can hold 1B until a better option arrives. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

17 hours ago, Greglw3 said:

I truly like and admire your bold thinking Matthew and this is a good and viable plan for the Twins. You’ve solid addressed starting pitching, avoided the risk in counting on Royce Lewis again and introduced just enough veteran talent to complement the high potential of the young outfield core.

There’s one more thing I would do and that’s sign Luis Arraez. The Twins desperately need his high batting average and contact skills to drive in runs that recent free swinging teams have not been able to bring home. Let the current batting title leader return to the franchise of batting titles (Carew-7, Oliva-3, Mauer-3, Puckett-1, Arraez-1 = 15 batting titles and oops, 17 batting titles counting Morneau and Cuddyer,  which we can’t), and provide stability at the top. Keaschall, Arraez and Bauers would make a fine first three.

Plus his defense is said to be drastically improved thanks to our old friend Ron Washington, who was one of the best 3rd basemen I ever saw play when he was with the Toledo Mud Hens, my birthplace, around 1980. The regularity of his startling diving stops was nuts!

An aside was I saw Dave Engle battle Wade Boggs for the IL batting title, winning by 1 percentage point!

Oops, 19 batting titles counting Arraez's 3, which we can't. I would love for the Twins to sign Arraez, but where will Arraez play when Houston is ready for the big leagues? First base? DH? His fielding at second base this past year was not just good, it was outstanding. What about putting Arraez at 1B an spend the money necessary to sign him to a multi year deal, thereby solving the Twins' annual 1B problem. He can even fill in at 2B, and do it well. Look at how Chandler Simpson helped the Rays by his bat to ball skills (and yes, his speed which Arraez doesn't have) batting in the middle of the order. It was a breath of fresh air to see Chandler moving he runners along EVERY AT BAT. Sign La Regardera ("The Sprinkler"). Offer him a 4 year contract worth 60 million dollars and be prepared to pay 75 million with a higher back end.

[Greglw3]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Oops, 19 batting titles counting Arraez's 3, which we can't. I would love for the Twins to sign Arraez, but where will Arraez play when Houston is ready for the big leagues? First base? DH? His fielding at second base this past year was not just good, it was outstanding. What about putting Arraez at 1B an spend the money necessary to sign him to a multi year deal, thereby solving the Twins' annual 1B problem. He can even fill in at 2B, and do it well. Look at how Chandler Simpson helped the Rays by his bat to ball skills (and yes, his speed which Arraez doesn't have) batting in the middle of the order. It was a breath of fresh air to see Chandler moving he runners along EVERY AT BAT. Sign La Regardera ("The Sprinkler"). Offer him a 4 year contract worth 60 million dollars and be prepared to pay 75 million with a higher back end.

Good point on Oops, 19!

I would play Arraez at 2nd with Kody Clemens as the backup. When Houston is ready, and assuming everybody stays healthy, he could move to 1B.

IMO, as much as I like and admire Kody Clemens, I need him to be a less streaky hitter by sacrificing a little power and hitting line drives to LF and CF, which he is quite capable of doing. I’d rather have .275 with 22 HR than .239 with 27 HR, and the frequent mini slumps that come with that all-in-for-power approach.

I’d like an infield of Lee, Culpepper, Arraez and Jake Bauers who I think will maintain last years production. Kody Clemens the backup at 2B and 1B and some DH.

[tony&rodney]

Luis Arraez is a really fun plate appearance to watch. Actually, Jake Bauers had several "Arraez" displays during the playoffs. Of course, power is the difference. I'm not sure what Bauers will do in 2027 but just about everyone is expecting him to take the qualifying offer. 

Luis can be counted on to score about 60-70 runs per year and he might knock in the same amount if he he stays healthy. . Health, especially the legs, is a big concern. The fielding metrics were happier with Arraez than they ever were in the past. How much credibility does one place on that sudden dramatic change. Arraez has below average speed. Why does anyone believe the Twins would get more production from Arraez than Kody Clemens? FWIW, I want Clemens in a utility role.

[Steve Lein]

5 hours ago, TNtwins85 said:

Yeah that’s a hard $18M pill to swallow. He looked great but will he be worth $1M if he reverts back to what he was? I’ve advocated telling Carson Tunney to trade his catchers mitt into a 1B mitt. The guy is a prime 1B candidate and it might speed up his bat development to not have to worry about catching. I just don’t see him being a catcher long term. As far as Lewis I think you just cut him loose or trade him for parts. He needs a change of scenery and Clemons can hold 1B until a better option arrives. 

I'm all over the Tinney to 1st bandwagon, too. See if we can turn him into a poor-mans Pete Alonso. I think their profiles are similar. Tinney might hit more like .200-.220 than .250-.270, but could draw more walks to offset it some. 

Lot of development to be done there, of course, He will need to make more contact. But Tinney actually surprised me a bit after being drafted, in a good way, despite the low batting-average. Ultimate three-outcome guy in his first taste of pro-ball.

[mike8791]

I agree a bold approach is badly needed.  And raising the budget to $150MM is a prerequisite for true contention - assuming Zoll has the smarts to spend the money wisely and grow a set for meaningful trades.  I do, however, strongly disagree with your Ryan trade.  The Twins do not need to unload their 1st or 2nd best pitcher for a utility OF who strikes out far too much and a long term 2B who will not help much with badly needed middle-of-the-order run production.  I don't think Ryan should be untouchable, especially with only one year left, but he is by far the club's best trade piece and should be used to find a power-hitting 1B.  If they could pry Michael Busch or Alec Burleson - to name 2 good fits - that's where Ryan should be used.  It might require adding one or two top prospects, especially for Burleson, but the Twins seem to have a surfeit of good OFers and catchers and maybe one of their back end pitchers so a pretty good package is achievable.  Bottom line - much prefer a younger 1B with long term staying power than Bauers.

Must disagree on Soroka and Arraez adds.  Even if Ryan is traded, the Twins have enough talented pitchers to field an above average rotation.  Yes, I would love to add someone like Gray but he'll most likely be out of our price range.  I think Abel, Prielipp, Mathews, Kremer are all better than Soroka and that there is sufficient depth below them in Rojas and Raya.  With Houston eventually pushing Culpepper to 2B, can't see spending money on Arraez. Clemens is adequate at 2B in the short term and provides more thump.

I agree the Twins need to add a real closer.  Like the Jays, I don't trust Hoffman in that critical role.  Bednar would be great, but I just can't see the org. spending that kind of money.  Morejon would be my first choice but again, might be out of our price range.  In any case, a closer would be 2nd on my priority list behind a power-hitting 1B.

And finally, yes, a starting catcher would be needed.  With the Twins deep in catching prospects, a one or two year contract for someone like Stephenson or Kelly would be the most reasonable path.

 

[jkcarew]

Tying up $18M of this orgs payroll on Jake Bauers for 4 years?? Yuk.

I get the desire to upgrade the offense at 1B. But that’s an instant-gratification move…and for a 31 year old guy that has been flat out bad for most of his career. It’s not a year to be making that type of move on that player profile.

Better to be a little more patient for now and trust that better options emerge than reaching for Jake Bauers at $18M+ per year. If not, then grab the next incarnation of Bauers when the extra 2 wins means something…which isn’t now.

On the other hand, it’s the exact type of silly move I’m fearing from Tom in his desire to send the ‘competing now’ signal. The Pohlad’s had a window a few years ago and choked it off. The fix is NOT to throw some random money at 2027/28. First you have to build smartly to create the next window. Bauers at this point in time is a 2 more wins in 2027 move, and quite possibly an albatross by the time the next real window opens

 

[tony&rodney]

24 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

First you have to build smartly to create the next window

That makes sense. How would you accomplish this?

Did you submit a 2027 Roster Blueprint?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

6 hours ago, Greglw3 said:

Good point on Oops, 19!

I would play Arraez at 2nd with Kody Clemens as the backup. When Houston is ready, and assuming everybody stays healthy, he could move to 1B.

IMO, as much as I like and admire Kody Clemens, I need him to be a less streaky hitter by sacrificing a little power and hitting line drives to LF and CF, which he is quite capable of doing. I’d rather have .275 with 22 HR than .239 with 27 HR, and the frequent mini slumps that come with that all-in-for-power approach.

I’d like an infield of Lee, Culpepper, Arraez and Jake Bauers who I think will maintain last years production. Kody Clemens the backup at 2B and 1B and some DH.

I must disagree with Bauers, who I am not confident will have a "good year" in 2027, or ever again, for that matter.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Did you all notice that 3 of the 6 finalists for relief pitchers of the year for 2026 were Magill, Varland and Duran?  What the hell !

[tony&rodney]

19 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

This is the best one I've read so far.....but I'm totally out on Jake Bauers.  He's going to command a ton of money and there just isn't enough evidence to justify that.  I don't know what Vegas odds would be on his breakout being a flash in the pan, but I wouldn't want to bet six figures the other way.

Find your own Jake Bauers.  The cheap kind you salvage for nice production.

I can't find your blueprint. Is it up?

[TheLeviathan]

50 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I can't find your blueprint. Is it up?

I've got an extremely busy week, so no, this isn't my life's priority.

I read many of the blueprints and simply elected not to address the ridiculous trades and frameworks.

Frankly....the Twins and I don't share the same goals.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

The Twins had zero players named in mlb's top 2026 rookies according to long term value. This does not bode well for the Twinkies future. 

[TNtwins85]

On 11/3/2026 at 12:08 PM, Steve Lein said:

I'm all over the Tinney to 1st bandwagon, too. See if we can turn him into a poor-mans Pete Alonso. I think their profiles are similar. Tinney might hit more like .200-.220 than .250-.270, but could draw more walks to offset it some. 

Lot of development to be done there, of course, He will need to make more contact. But Tinney actually surprised me a bit after being drafted, in a good way, despite the low batting-average. Ultimate three-outcome guy in his first taste of pro-ball.

There’s many things that go into my thinking. He’s prime for 1B. You’ve got several catchers that should be ahead of him. He’s got the profile. You can fast track him. He’s just your prototypical 1B slugger. The Twins punting 1B every year is not how you build a winning team. If Tinney is your catcher of the future that means you’ve already screwed up on at least 3 other guys and you’ve probably got bigger problems. The biggest one is you set it and forget it. No more of this versatility BS. It leads to terrible defense. Unless you’ve got a handful of guys who are super athletic and can handle that stop with this stupid experiment. Having a team of guys playing multiple positions simply means you don’t have guys who are good enough to hold down one. Tinney at 1B at least gives you a chance at not having to play the first baseman roulette game every year hopefully.