RaoulDuke

They should have sold him with everything else last dead line. It would have been another, if not the major kick in the nuts for fans but if they are not going to pay a player when they reach free agency they need to capitalize on them in a trade. Ryan at his best is not an ace. He is a fine 2 but would be best as a 3 in a contending playoff rotation.

Ober is going to start a playoff game if they manage to do something crazy.

Sign me up. Looks like a real established mlb reliever. Big addition to the pen. Get another one, get an established late game RH. -- (TBD????) Gomez Morris Minter Rojas ******************** Nance Anderson ******************** Adams Fundy

They are in such a strange place with contention vs selling this year. 500 in a very weak AL it makes sense to buy and go for it however the team has some major weaknesses that won't be patched over with fringy additions. Buxton and Ryan are the 2 most important players and both are questionable health wise for the stretch run, the pen (even bolstered) will top out at mediocre, the defense is bad, and the rotation is an injury away from disaster. I think they will add a couple mid tier relievers so they can say that they were buyers and supported this years team. Jeffers is still likely to get sold and they will excuse that with impending free agency. I think Ryan has tanked his value enough with the 6 homer game and arm fatigue break that he will not be moved until the off season.

I am still think Abel has some real potential to be a major piece, the stuff is real if he can stay healthy. Tait is still very young and catching prospects are a nice trade chip to have if you are deep in them.

I would love to see them draft a starter. This front office has so rarely done it with a top of the draft pick. The bats seem to be 1-3 but I would not hate them drafting Flora all things considered.

Picking 3rd in a draft with 3 prospects that have separated themselves. Much like the Walker Jenkins draft take whomever is left and hope they live up to the hype. I will be very excited if they end up with him but I would prefer one of the SS. Catcher to me is not a position I want to ideally spend a top pick on, Mauer/ Posey are the unicorns but they are so rare. Catching prospects are limited in durability and development time. All things considered I would much rather have a SS or CF that has the real defensive chops and can hit than a catcher in the same situation. There is just so much more value in the speed and utility that can bring. A great SS/ CF is a franchise cornerstone, a great catcher is a champagne cornerstone.

San Diego is a very interesting case. Yes is it a 1 sport town technically but the state itself also contains 3 other MLB teams (and the As for now) as well as 4 NBA teams and 3 NFL teams so there is no lack of franchises to patron. The income is higher but so is the cost of living and taxes so I am not sure its any more approachable to attend games. It is surely a more desirable market despite being about the same size as the Twins but that does not account for the massive difference in sale price. There is a lot to be said for how much more relevant San Diego has been even if it has not led to a ton more success than the Twins. They have stars, sign guys like Soto and Darvish, and are in a rivalry with big nationally followed teams like the Dodgers and Giants. The Twins have just been kinda eeking out AL Central wins sometimes and failing miserably when they do manage to make the playoffs. The only real splashes were Donaldson past his prime and Correa when he fell into their lap on the short contract. Then Correa again when everyone else balked, and they ended up paying Houston to get rid of him. Fan engagement is huge and the Twins have absolutely tanked it to the extreme whereas the Padres have been exciting albeit with about the same amount of success to show for it.

This is the pool they are choosing to swim in. Acquire 5-10 of Kent/ Atlavilla/ Acton/ Lawyerson/ Whomever the other 2 new signs are, ect, and one might turn into a serviceable reliever for a half year, hopefully. With this approach and how the pen is being used I am kinda shocked Hendriks and/or Chafin were not kept around. Can they really be that cheap lol? Funkerburk to Topa has been the entire middle of the bullpen for 2 series now, they are going to throw 100+ innings each on this pace.

Bradley's stuff is impressive, there is a nasty pitcher in there if they can get him to be consistent. Hopefully he can find the command and control to be a long term fixture in the rotation but should that not work out he would be a nasty reliever. Great to see a good Royce game early, get that confidence building and lets regain some of that magic that he had first breaking out. It is no surprise but the pen is going to be a major issue, this rotation is not stocked with guys that are going to go deep into games and Funderburk as the fireman, Topa a setup, and Sands/ Rogers getting save ops is far from ideal. I really hope Festa is transitioned when he gets healthy enough to pitch they need a big arm at the back end of things.

Hendriks and Chafin gone so they are not rolling with the oldies. Rogers Sands Banda Orze Funderburk Topa? despite getting shelled Altavilla Kent? Lawyerson? Pickup the best arm that gets cut?

It is somewhat surprising to think had Pablo not got hurt neither Abel or Matthews would be in the opening day rotation in a pretty clear development year. Good on Abel for winning the spot there will be plenty of chances for Zebby throughout the year as well. Now the real interesting thing to watch is how the pen shakes out. Hendriks and Chafin are gone so they aren't going with the old guys outside of Rogers.

Ober to the pen would be an interesting exercise. He doesn't profile as a lockdown guy or someone that is going to benefit from a velocity bump throwing in shorter stints, but could he be a long man? Also I never expected soft tossing Liam Hendriks or Taylor Rogers to become good bullpen pieces when they were transitioned, might as well try it and see. A rotation with only Joe Ryan as a proven MLB starter is going to require a lot of bullpen help. SWR is the next most established guy and he routinely gets pulled at 5 innings or less, Bradley has been a shorter start guy because he gets blown up the 3rd time through or has thrown to many pitches, Abel and Zebby are prospects trying to break in and will not be going deep regularly. None of the current pen guys really profile as multiple innings relievers (I could be wrong here there are so many lol) but the organization, under Falvey at least, was prioritizing 2-3 inning pitchers in development with the track they had guys like Adams, Orr, and Hatch (side note I am suprised they let Hatch get away he seemed decent).

He can have Topa's spot, either one is likely a placeholder or at best a year or 2 worth of middle relief.

I am bummed Buxton is not the starter for the WBC.