Gleeman & the Geek, Ep 161: Tone Deaf with David Brauer

Rebuilding takes a long time. Sure, the Twins probably could have done a few things differently here and there but that would have stocked their farm system more and it's doubtful it would have had much of an impact in 2013/2014, though it may have helped them in 2015 and beyond.

 

Did I mention that rebuilding takes a long time? It seems like everyone keeps forgetting that.

There are a few Cuban players who could have had an impact already.  A few international guys signed before the new spending caps went into effect July 2012 too.  All indications suggest the Twins didn't make any efforts in these areas.  Not to mention MLB FAs, where the Twins efforts were half-hearted until this past offseason (and I'd argue they were still fairly half-hearted, given Nolasco's history and season).

I get that rebuilding takes time, but with TR's demonstrated baseball acumen and Target Field's resources, there is no reason it automatically has to be a 5+ year process, done almost entirely through the amateur draft.

No, it doesn't have to be done entirely from the amateur draft and you have a valid point there... but any rebuild is going to center around the amateur draft so if you don't nail that down properly, your success is going to be limited.

 

As for international signings (excluding Cuban signings), I have a hard time complaining about what the Twins have done there. Sure, they haven't gone out and thrown piles of money at one guy but it looks like their strategy is a good one as the Thorpes of the organization come up through the system.

Obviously I am not suggesting investing internationally or on domestic FAs at the expense of the draft.  But from day 1, TR could have signed anybody he wanted and still got Buxton, for example.  And our future draft positions would have been significantly worse only if we had significantly more success at the MLB level, which would have been a good problem to have, in my opinion.

Fortunately, the new draft and non-Cuban/Asian international slotting and spending caps, in place since June-July 2012, have limited this weakness of TR.  (Although by the same token, it also limits our ability to quickly improve by these methods, for a GM who is willing to take advantage.)  May have been the only reason we landed Buxton.

Still would like to see him spend more/smarter where he can, though.  No reason the 2015 Twins have to operate or rebuild exactly like the 2005 or 1995 Twins.