Brock Beauchamp

All things being equal (a huge assumption that's almost certainly not the case), $5m for Napoli at the front of the deal is A LOT better than $20-25m for Darvish at the back of the deal.

Seems a bit on the low side but eh, whatever. Right now, I'd put this team in the 84-85 win range. Regression from Santana, improvement by the bullpen. The offense holds pretty steady overall. Add Darvish and my projection jumps into the high 80s.

Just for kicks, I started sorting all-time great teams by WAR and came across this ugly stat: Going by all-time team WAR, Brian Dozier would be the third-best Padre in team history. *winces*

That's fair. If you move Kepler or Rosario and bring in pitching, that makes sense. Though trading MLB-for-MLB talent is often difficult. If a team is ready to move a good MLB starter, chances are they have no interest in another MLB player, as they're likely rebuilding at that point. No one has an excess of good, cost-controlled MLB starters.

I still think more monetary value will come from a pitching acquisition if Darvish is off the table. The big problem I see with a Martinez contract is that it eats up a large portion of future payroll on a guy that the team doesn't really need.

Personally, I'd be very mildly disappointed to see the Twins pick up Martinez. Not because he's a bad player, simply because the Twins don't really need him and the opportunity cost of acquiring him is quite large. Martinez will replace a mostly competent player in the field, negating some of the value he brings to the team. On the other hand, Darvish will be replacing a completely incompetent player, bolstering his value to the team.

Probably because he's 35 years old and isn't going to throw sliders in November or December. Nor should he.

It may not be the worst thing in the world but if you're going to use a sixth pitcher, it'd be nice if it happened in May or June after you got a better look at Gonsalves and Romero, giving you the possibility of going with a legitimate upside guy from the minors.

I just looked it up and it appears in medical references, the thumb is included in counting fingers. 1 - Thumb 2 - Index 3 - Middle 4 - Ring 5 - Pinky

Ah, okay, that makes more sense.

It's not Falvey's call. He's almost certainly listening to doctor recommendations but the final decision is Ervin's to make.

I get why they may not have done it immediately but... December, maybe? Or even early January?

10-12 weeks. wut no

Hard to say because things are so stacked in multiple directions. 1. Length of team existence. This list is only counting Twins, which means the first half of MLB's existence isn't accounted for, leaving out several Senator greats who should technically be considered for the list. 2. Historical play and improvement. Sure, the Yankees have Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, et al but then we open the question of how Ruth would perform in the modern game against pitchers who throw 10mph+ faster than pitchers of his era, fielders who use real gloves, and, you know, black people. All in all, the Twins have had a lot of great players over the years, probably at a higher ratio than most teams who entered the league in the 60s or 70s (look at a team like the Padres by comparison... there is no comparison). Using that standard, the all-time Twins greats would probably do rather well for themselves against other all-time great teams. If you open up the OF list to include all outfielders, the Twins could run some of the all-time great centerfielders out there and no fly ball would ever hit the turf.

Mejia's walk rate is troublesome but not outlandish (4.0/9 in 2017). Contrast that with a pretty solid rookie year K rate (7.8/9) and it's not hard to see him becoming a productive MLB pitcher, certainly better than a #5 in the rotation. If he moves both stats in the correct direction half a point, his peripherals suddenly look rather solid. He's not *that* far off the mark. I understand people being somewhat tepid on Mejia but I don't think he's getting a fair shake a lot of the time. He's coming off a quite solid rookie campaign with peripherals that weren't embarrassing (his peripherals look downright promising compared to Berrios' rookie year). Sure, he has stuff to work on but I'm not ready to relegate him to a #5 starting pitcher quite yet.

But isn't that the case with most systems? It's not as if even the best system has 3-4 #1/2 projectable pitchers in the pipeline. The Twins are certainly lacking can't-miss, top-end talent but there are intriguing names that might end up mid-rotation or better in the future: Enlow, Thorpe, Romero primarily. Gonsalves could also peak higher than most of us expect. Never underestimate a crafty lefty with decent stuff.

I think ultimately some of the other guys in the high minors (Gonsalves, Littell, Enns, et al) end up somewhere around #4 starter range but we shouldn't count any of them quite yet, as they could all use a bit more seasoning in the minors and likely won't be on the Opening Day roster. And if Mejia and another one or two of those guys turn into #4 starters and no longer fit in the rotation, that's not a terrible problem to have. You dish off one of them to another team for a decent prospect and go on your merry way. A #4 starter with 4-5 cost-controlled seasons is not a turnip. Lots of teams need those guys on a yearly basis. You won't get a bunch for any of them but you'll certainly get a solid prospect with upside for one of them, probably a projectable guy in the low minors.

Tony Fiore. Ten wins, baby!

I don't think Jones is even in consideration, or at least he shouldn't be. If we're playing strictly by OF position, Mack is probably the best choice. If we open up to other corner OF spots, then we certainly need to talk about Allison. His three year peak was on par with Mack but he played *a lot* longer.

I agree, I'm just pointing out that he has done this before. I have modest expectations for Gibson and definitely wanted him back on the team in 2018.

Longevity should count as well. Mack was VERY good but only for 2-3 full seasons. He finished with around 2500 PAs in a Minnesota uniform. Even guys like Koskie and Jones, who weren't around long, still had 750-1000 more PAs than Mack while wearing a Minnesota uniform.

Short-sighted is what you call it. Bad things happen when the average person gets the shaft for a generation or two. First, they blame immigrants or those underneath them. Second, comes a gathering of strength. Third, **** just starts burning. But hey, it's not like we have a template of history to follow here. Instead of typing more, I'll just quote Steinbeck: One man, one family driven from the land; this rusty car creaking along the highway to the west. I lost my land, a single tractor took my land. I am alone and I am bewildered. And in the night one family camps in a ditch and another family pulls in and the tents come out. The two men squat on their hams and the women and children listen. Here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep these two squatting men apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other. Here is the anlage of the thing you fear. This is the zygote. For here "I lost my land" is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you hate—"We lost our land." The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one. And from this first "we" there grows a still more dangerous thing: "I have a little food" plus "I have none." If from this problem the sum is "We have a little food," the thing is on its way, the movement has direction. Only a little multiplication now, and this land, this tractor are ours. The two men squatting in a ditch, the little fire, the side-meat stewing in a single pot, the silent, stone-eyed women; behind, the children listening with their souls to words their minds do not understand. The night draws down. The baby has a cold. Here, take this blanket. It's wool. It was my mother's blanket—take it for the baby. This is the thing to bomb. This is the beginning—from "I" to "we." If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself. If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin, were results, not causes, you might survive. But that you cannot know. For the quality of owning freezes you forever into "I," and cuts you off forever from the "we."

I didn't only lean Libertarian, I was a registered Libertarian way back in 1998 because no one else cared about spending and personal liberty (specifically gay rights, which was a personal hot button for me). I'll third your "going blue" statement because the Republican Party has lost its ****ing mind. I went from mostly red in 2000 to kinda red in 2004 to kinda blue in 2008 and entirely blue in 2012.

I think the White Sox are going to surprise, as much as that pains me to say. I think they'll bounce to 72+ wins. I also think the Twins are going to surprise, and challenge Cleveland for the division. The rest, meh, whatever. Kansas City is maybe a 73-74 win team if you squint. Detroit is... just bad.

Eh, I don't know if it's a disgruntled choice as much as it's a preference to get the best situation possible. Wouldn't we all do the same? I doubt he's going to have a real attitude problem about being paid $150m+ to play baseball. From what I've seen of the guy - and it's not much - he doesn't seem to be that type of character. He just wants to get the best deal for himself in the area he most desires, just as most of us would do in the same situation. He has a ton of bargaining power and he may as well use it.