Andy MacPhail’s 2027 Payroll Blueprint: Filling the Holes

[Andy MacPhail]

I like Rortvedt better than Caratini; Rortvedt is much better than Caratini defensively & when used properly can be better offensively. 

We may start out with Larnach & Ryan but I'm open to trade both.

I'd keep Keaschal off 2B

 

• C: Ben Rortvedt ($2.0M)
• 1B: Luke Keaschal ($1.00M)
• 2B: Royce Lewis ($5.10M)
• 3B: Brooks Lee ($1.00M)
• SS: Kaelen Culpepper ($1.00M)
• LF: Trevor Larnach ($6.30M)
• CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M)
• RF: Walker Jenkins ($1.00M)
• DH: Kody Clemens ($3.60M)
• 4th OF: Emmanuel Rodriguez ($1.00M)
• Utility: Austin Martin ($1.00M)
• Utility: Ryan Kreidler ($1.00M)
• Backup C: Caratini ($7.00M)
• POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M)
• SP1: Pablo Lopez ($21.50M)
• SP2: Joe Ryan ($9.60M)
• SP3: Dean Kremer ($6.50M)
• SP4: Bailey Ober ($6.90M)
• SP5: Taj Bradley ($4.50M)
• RP: Jeff Hoffman ($7.25M)
• RP: Alex Vexia ($11.00M)
• RP: Tommy Nance ($1.20M)
• RP: Yoendrys Gomez ($1.00M)
• RP: Kody Funderburk ($1.00M)
• RP: Connor Prielipp ($1.00M)
• RP: Andrew Morris ($1.00M)
• RP: Zebby Matthews ($1.00M)
• POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M)

Payroll is 11.52% under budget

[tony&rodney]

I like that you kept the payroll down. I didn't but I would be surprised if the Twins opened 2027 above $135M.

Interesting that roll it back mostly but also keep Abel and Rojas in AAA (guess). Hands. Luke was moved because of his hands, so first base doesn't work. He is a work in progress in RF, where he was placed because it is the smallest space in Target Field and more balls are hit to the other fields. He was almost average in September. My guess is he remains in RF.

[Riverbrian]

I'd switch the assigned positions around a little. Larnach and Martin on the same roster won't make me happy but it's not all about my happiness. 

[Vanimal46]

Honest question. How many wins do you think this roster generates? It looks like an 81 win team to me. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

14 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I'd switch the assigned positions around a little. Larnach and Martin on the same roster won't make me happy but it's not all about my happiness. 

I had neither on my roster. I think Larnach will either be non-tendered or traded and Martin seems to have kind of run his course with the Twins. He doesn't play infield anymore and Alen Roden seems like a better version of him anyway. 

[Riverbrian]

Keeping both Larnach and Austin Martin on the roster is a trap.

Rostering Larnach forces management to carry Martin as his right-handed platoon shield, which immediately blocks Walker Jenkins and forces him down to AAA to at least start the year.

Without Larnach... Martin's role-player status will attach to Emmanuel Rodriguez’s development. Which will in turn, turn Emma into a future Larnach... forever dependent upon more Austin Martin specialization. 

Martin's presence on the roster will also ensure that Gonzalez is called up over Jenkins if Martin gets hurt. 

Unless Martin goes to Triple-A (or gets traded) to learn how to hit righties, he has almost zero long-term value to this team and very little current value since his short side status will be over run by the need to hit right handers anyway. 

If you want to escape this trap. They have to stop rostering role players that just feed the same machine over and over again. Choose a roster based on talent. Realized or unrealized talent. 

[Riverbrian]

My desire to move on from Larnach has nothing to do with Larnach. I'm a big fan of Larnach.

However... we need to clean the slate and remove all specialists so we can start fresh with the next wave for a better today and a much stronger tomorrow.  

[Andy MacPhail]

I have to admit that this blueprint is not inspirational because I'm a little uninspired, I appreciate the response. I think we can do some things now that can help now but IMO, the focus should be on the future (especially with SPs) when Lackey & Houston come up.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Keeping both Larnach and Austin Martin on the roster is a trap.

Rostering Larnach forces management to carry Martin as his right-handed platoon shield, which immediately blocks Walker Jenkins and forces him down to AAA to at least start the year.

Without Larnach... Martin's role-player status will attach to Emmanuel Rodriguez’s development. Which will in turn, turn Emma into a future Larnach... forever dependent upon more Austin Martin specialization. 

Martin's presence on the roster will also ensure that Gonzalez is called up over Jenkins if Martin gets hurt. 

Unless Martin goes to Triple-A (or gets traded) to learn how to hit righties, he has almost zero long-term value to this team and very little current value since his short side status will be over run by the need to hit right handers anyway. 

If you want to escape this trap. They have to stop rostering role players that just feed the same machine over and over again. Choose a roster based on talent. Realized or unrealized talent. 

If Austin Martin is on the roster, I would hope that he is the platoon alternative for two guys and that he doesn’t replace either when the opposition changes handedness on the mound. Figuring about 45 lefty starts, Martin could/should replace Rodriguez and Jenkins about 12-13 times each. Martin is IMHO both faster and a better outfielder than Roden and is the slightly better alternative vs. LH pitching.

If everyone is healthy, that is six OF, but given injury histories, one of the six on the IL most of the time is probable. One of the OFs probably is the DH as well and maybe one of them (Keaschall or Roden) plays some first base.

I really want Jenkins and Rodriguez to get full-.time plate appearances. 

[Riverbrian]

2 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

If Austin Martin is on the roster, I would hope that he is the platoon alternative for two guys and that he doesn’t replace either when the opposition changes handedness on the mound. Figuring about 45 lefty starts, Martin could/should replace Rodriguez and Jenkins about 12-13 times each. Martin is IMHO both faster and a better outfielder than Roden and is the slightly better alternative vs. LH pitching.

If everyone is healthy, that is six OF, but given injury histories, one of the six on the IL most of the time is probable. One of the OFs probably is the DH as well and maybe one of them (Keaschall or Roden) plays some first base.

I really want Jenkins and Rodriguez to get full-.time plate appearances. 

If the Twins did what you propose and had been doing what you propose. I wouldn't have reached the point I'm at with it. Partial exposure is better than no exposure. It's a sensible use of the platoon like other teams do as opposed to blanket out of the box over powering use of the platoon. 

What you propose allows for development and protection at the same time. 

I don't trust the Twins to do what you propose. I don't trust the Twins to do what I propose.

They will have to show me that they understand the damage they have done in regards to development. 

[tony&rodney]

Just now, Andy MacPhail said:

I have to admit that this blueprint is not inspirational because I'm a little uninspired, I appreciate the response. I think we do some things now that can help now but IMO, the focus should be on the future (especially with SPs) when Lackey & Houston.

In general there seems to be both a fairly wide disinterest (based on a limited number of roster blueprints submitted) in this offseason and skeptical belief in the Twins ownership and front office. Seems warranted.

Fans, though, have to make attempts to look beyond the unpleasant realities to some distant hope, although that vision should contain a minimum does of logic and possibility. 

We  hear about the uselessness of many players on the roster and impossibility of completing trades from many on this site, but I would offer that there are opportunities. None of us can know what these are. We are just goofing around and submitting junk. I try to use ideas that may be possible but all ideas should get put down. Here is an example of a trade that will not happen but might actually benefit both teams possibly. The Twins send a pile of guys (Matthews, Caratini, Tait, Lee, Clemens, and milb pitcher LaPour) to the Reds for Ke'Bryan Hayes and Elly De La Cruz. The Twins give up  50 home runs from two regulars who are under control, a starting pitcher under control, a reserve catcher, and two prospects. The Reds rid themsleves of a contract they do not want. The loss of a superstar (Elly) is the stopper. The Twins fans will scream that Elly only has 3 years of control. It is easy for me and anyone else to condemn any idea but it is ideas that flow into actual trades. i did not criticize the Mahle trade although I hated it because the Twins were gambling on a positive move. I didn't like the idea of trading Polanco for nothing before it happened. We all know that wound up being a nothingburger. 

Hope is what we need and while it seems hard to go with plans that are not inspirational, we can hope.

[Whammy]

2 hours ago, Andy MacPhail said:

I have to admit that this blueprint is not inspirational because I'm a little uninspired, I appreciate the response. I think we can do some things now that can help now but IMO, the focus should be on the future (especially with SPs) when Lackey & Houston come up.

I wouldn't be very inspired either if they signed one RP, a Backup Catcher, and just got the band back together other than that.

[Whammy]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

In general there seems to be both a fairly wide disinterest (based on a limited number of roster blueprints submitted) in this offseason and skeptical belief in the Twins ownership and front office. Seems warranted.

Fans, though, have to make attempts to look beyond the unpleasant realities to some distant hope, although that vision should contain a minimum does of logic and possibility. 

 

I don't view the blueprint tool as a prediction. This isn't about "getting it right."

Guess what? We're all wrong.

The blueprint tool is here to discuss possibilities, pros and cons, and to let other users know what we'd like to see happen. And the tool gives us some general parameters to keep things realistic and summarize our results.

Skepticism of the front office should have nothing to do with making a blueprint or not. In fact, the more skeptical someone is of the front office the more they should want to make a plan say say "Look at this awesome team I made that only costs $130M"

But the issue is the same people that are the loudest skeptics are, at the same time, the most scared to tell other people what THEY think should be done. Those skeptics are only comfortable telling other people the problems with their plans, not actually making a plan for themselves.

[tony&rodney]

23 minutes ago, Whammy said:

I don't view the blueprint tool as a prediction. This isn't about "getting it right."

Guess what? We're all wrong.

The blueprint tool is here to discuss possibilities, pros and cons, and to let other users know what we'd like to see happen. And the tool gives us some general parameters to keep things realistic and summarize our results.

Skepticism of the front office should have nothing to do with making a blueprint or not. In fact, the more skeptical someone is of the front office the more they should want to make a plan say say "Look at this awesome team I made that only costs $130M"

But the issue is the same people that are the loudest skeptics are, at the same time, the most scared to tell other people what THEY think should be done. Those skeptics are only comfortable telling other people the problems with their plans, not actually making a plan for themselves.

I don't view it as a prediction either. Does anyone? Just goofing around.

We are wrong. 

I meant that the minimum participation indicated widespread skepticism. A blueprint is a way to step away from a negative viewpoint. 

Agree with last paragraph. 

[Whammy]

I quoted you mainly as agreement.