https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/giants-taylor-rogers-agree-to-three-year-deal.html
Good for him! Although for that money, I'm fine with the Twins taking a pass.
Okay, I'm not piling on Dan here, I love his work and you should subscribe to The Athletic. In a piece this morning, he quoted some Twins management and sources about what they plan to do in the wake of Correa going to the Giants. And a lot of it is rational, useful information. But holy Moses did this quote stick in my craw:
*uncontrollable gagging*
I mean, what? This is the team that traded Gio Urshela earlier this offseason. Justin Turner is a fine player, I guess, but he's the only name on that list that doesn't make me reel in horror.
My suggestion to Twins officials: if those are the names you're going to mention, don't mention any names.
Anyway, go read the piece, there's interesting information contained within that didn't make me dizzy and nauseous.
Heyman jumped out a few minutes ago with a brief tweet that, if correct, means one of only two star (or close to star) free agents remaining has gone off the table. Left-hander Carlos Rodon, by all accounts pursued by the Minnesota Twins, will be donning pinstripes in the Bronx in 2023 and beyond.
Any guesses on dollars and years?
MLBTR did a really nice dive on the possible and likely landing spots for shortstop Dansby Swanson with the Cubs, Twins, and Braves leading the way.
The Cubs have seemingly been high on Swanson from day one but their continued reluctance to spend to their market size could prevent them from nabbing the shortstop whose bat broke out in 2022 (but also lacks the track record to make a 6+ year contract a no-brainer decision).
The Twins... well, I don't think any of us know what to expect from them and I remain unconvinced Swanson is worth a six-year risk, much less the seven or more years he may receive in this wild offseason.
It's also hard to imagine the Braves not making at least a cursory attempt to retain their starting shortstop, especially given their financial flexibility after locking up half their roster at bargain basement prices.
Just read on a Cubs- related site that their intel is that the Twins are still looking very hard at both Rodon and Swanson. There’s not that much surprise to that rumour I guess. But what if the ultimate pivot by Falvey from Correa is to sign both of them? It sounds outlandish, and far deeper pocket teams would need to be beat out in the bidding. But, even with the likely “overpay” (whatever that means), the total annual cost vs. Correa stand alone would probably only be about $20MM more ($50MM vs $30MM or so) and the lengths of the contracts would be shorter. The Twins could afford it and a few moves - trading Kepler for example - could ease the burden. These two signings would certainly fire up the base and position the team as the favorite in the Central. Who knows, with a true #1, we might even win a playoff game. Besides, signing just one doesn’t really move the dial neigh for this club on so many fronts. But both……?
Falvey is a bit of a rabbit out of the hat puller. I’m not putting anything past him at this point. Unlikely - for sure. Impossible - no.
In the wake of losing the Carlos Correa sweepstakes, it appears other teams may smell blood in the water and are calling about starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda.
Should the Twins decide to start trading pieces for 2023, this could signal a massive mid-offseason pivot that is rare to see in baseball and probably unprecedented in the history of the Minnesota Twins organization.
What do you think? Should the Twins pivot this drastically in a division that once again looks weak in 2023?
The Mets are now interested in Carlos Correa because of course they are!
Who aren't the former #lolmets interested in nowadays?
It's not as if they have a shortstop that's truly great. They obviously need two of them..
*sigh*
The wheels on the bus go round and round...
The Carlos Rodon question continues to persist, with the starting pitcher being linked to several teams, including the Twins. Dan Hayes of The Athletic went as far to imply it's likely the Twins will end up with "one of the Carlos", whether that ends up being Rodon or Correa.
Of course, teams like the Giants and Yankees are also in play, which is terrifying in this spend-happy offseason.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post mentioned today that the Yankees are discussing trading for an outfielder with the Twins and Diamondbacks, possibly to stay under a luxury tax tier.
The Twins have a glut of outfield options currently in the majors and high minors. They need to find spots for the likes of Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, and Matt Wallner. In case you're not good at counting, that's a lot of outfielders. More than three.
The Yankees system has a bunch of enticing names that surely interest the Twins. And we all know how well trading an outfielder to the Yankees has worked for the Twins in the past. But still, this deal could make a lot of sense for both teams if done well.
John Ryan Murphy was unavailable for comment as this story was published.
Happened to see this... in a recent article, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, The Twins have offered Correa "a massive contract far beyond anything in franchise history". No specifics yet as to what that offer entails.