RaoulDuke

If Arraez has a solid first half this year he could become a key piece to getting a top of the rotation pitcher at the trade deadline. That could open up 2nd for Polanco allowing them to trade for a good glove shortstop or sign one next off season.

I would prefer Kepler not lead off. Arraez is here now as a real lead off hitter, maybe Buxton even gets some action there vs lefties? Kepler in the middle can push Rosario to 7 or 8. But its going to be hard for Rocco to fill out to many lineup cards wrong this year.

Biggest question... Is he going to keep the kinda dumb umbrella thing or will he be a gorilla with Sano and Cruz?

Yep chips pushed in now, go get an arm!

Hell Ya they ponied up and bought a big piece!!!! Lineup is going to be nasty 1-9, especially on lefties. Sox gotta be a little worried with Gio and Kuechel now haha. Arraez Polanco Cruz Donaldson Kepler Garver Sano Rosario Buxton

If they miss on Donaldson I hope they start Marwin at 3rd. They need to fix this to be a real contender and the log jam is only going to get worse. Polanco/ Arraez/ Gordon/ Lewis all profile towards 2nd base. Sano might be passable for awhile at 3rd if paired with a good shortstop that can cover his range deficiencies. Polanco might be almost passable at short with a good 3rd baseman that cover some of his range and arm deficiencies. If they aren't going to acquire top of the rotation strike out pitchers (and even if they did) they are shooting themselves in the foot by putting a poor defense behind more contact prone pitchers. Shifting helps some but not near enough.

I wonder if the issue on balls in front of him has a lot to do with his weak throws, those are often quick plays that take a strong arm to beat the runner. He should be an average defender at 2nd, getting a real short stop would also help Sano and his range problems a lot (should he stay at 3rd). Shifting helps some but Polanco/ Sano is just a terrible pairing defensively, Arraez won't help as he can only really play passable D at 2nd, Adrianza isn't a starter and really isn't that great at short. Marwin looked good at 3rd to me assuming they miss on Donaldson I would probably start him at 3rd and still move Sano.

So far 7 mlb contracts in they have maintained the status quo plus a bullpen upgrade and a flyer on Hill. That should win them the division even with Sox improvements and Cle maybe selling. I still don't feel there is a playoff series they are going to be favored in (maybe just contend in pretty please). -Sign Donaldson, overpay to get him here. The contract is not that long even if he declines poorly the upside for at least the first two years is immense. -Trade for a top of the rotation starter, someone to pitch game 1 or 2 of a playoff series. They failed to address this in free agency so now it costs prospects like Lewis/ Kirloff/ Larnach/ Balzovic. It can be done at the all star break but that is a major gamble.

Neither is what was needed but both are interesting pieces to have. I haven't followed either much but highlights are always fun. Hill is a crafty old lefty with a funky delivery and bugs bunny curve, Dick Mountain is also an excellent nick name. Looks like he is pretty fun to watch with the crazy pitch motion/ changing arm slots and timing/ big break. We are collecting entertaining old spinners from the NL with him, Romo, and Clippard. I remember clamoring to trade for Bailey at one point years ago, things obviously haven't gone great but maybe there is some pitching coach magic to work. Seems hes is pretty Kyle Gibson-esque. Nasty looking split seems hes had success focusing on it in recent success with Oak. https://www.athleticsnation.com/2019/9/19/20873857/homer-bailey-trade-oakland-as-starting-rotation

I think Arraez is an excellent sell high candidate. He was great in his breakout year and looked like a legit top of the order MLB bat. But he is pretty redundant with Polanco going forward and I am not sure I see him developing much power/ maintaining .399 obp/ developing anything more than an average glove. He is certainly moveable for an arm.

It is worrying that this off season seems pretty familiar. Club with young/ young vet talent that can break out signs a couple mid tier free agents to boost their roster, previous division winner plays it cheap and only returns/ retains talent.

Starting pitching is the greatest need, Odo/ Pineda (once hes available) stabilize the rotation but do little to boost it after a frankly embarrassing showing in the playoffs. There is no impact left to sign for the rotation and there is still 20-35 million to spend so I think they should go all in on Donaldson. Massive gain in defense at 3rd with a 30 hr impact bat. Even if he ages out of 3rd DH is open soon when Cruz is gone. Gotta improve this team with whatever means available. Spend the money on Donaldson/ spend prospect value on a pitcher that can start game 1 or 2 of the playoffs. Trades are hard to come by and costly, it will hurt less to lose a bat like Kirloff/ Larnach/ Lewis with Donaldson on board for 4 years.

I wanted a clear upgraded stud RH closer type to pair with Rodgers, and I still think that is the missing piece come playoff time. But I am on board with the moves they have made for the pen. 2 vet late inning guys + May + promising guys is a good pool. Rodgers is the ace May is the heat Romo/ Clippard are the frisbees Smetlzer/ Colombe/ Hardy/ Thielbar are battling for the lefty spot Littel/ Wisler/ Stashak/ Harper all have stuff

Very happy to have Romo back, he pitched well for us, is a great vet presence, and is maybe my favorite interview the Twins have ever had. I am not super excited if they count on him as the main setup guy again, I still want a big RH to pair with Rodgers, but he is certainly a major step above the Blane Boyer/ Blake Parker kinda guy that is the usual off season bullpen addition.

Its time to overpay. They have ample payroll space, they have a stacked farm system, they also have a gaping hole at the top of the rotation. This team is in a great spot where 1 or 2 big additions makes them much better. Take the risk and go get some big pieces.

This is an overlooked factor to why the Twins pitching has suffered so much. If you aren't going to have Cole/ Strasburg/ Ace dominating hitters, you can at least try to make contact pitchers better with a good defense. The Twins have been long without a real ace, but have also been long without a good fielding right side of the infield to help the pitchers. Hardy was good for a year or so otherwise they have been bereft of a +defender (that could hit his way out of a wet paper bag) at short or 3rd since Koskie??? (Credit to Escobar if he had been played at 3rd instead of short/ maybe Guzman I don't remember him being a great defender.) I think Donaldson/ Rendon(rip)/ Chapman/ Arenado (fantasy) would be an incredible boost to this team. Polanco hits his way into being a SS but he would be so much more valuable at 2nd. Sano can play an ok 3rd for awhile but despite his ++arm is a 1b/ dh in truth, Arraez is a 2nd baseman, even Lewis/ Gordon prospects are red flag can they stick guys. Adding a legit defender at 3rd is massive gain to this team and makes up some for an offense first SS. Donaldson/ Polanco/ Arraez/ Sano

That is a lot of question mark in that back 3, but damn if everything works out that could be an awesome 5.

Astudillo is probably the most meme-able? player in a long time. He is legit fun to watch because of his size and antics. To bring Twins lore into it he feels like watching a gigantic Luis Castillo/ Denard Span. The problem is pure contact guys (which he is an extreme example of) are valuable because they are OBP machines. They excel by getting on base through patience/ walks, speed/ infield hits, being able to steal, and being plus defenders at premium positions. Tortuga really only has the put the ball in play attribute + he can kinda play catcher. Its almost a shame he wasn't around for the Gardy years because he would have got a ton of run and made a lot of fun moments.

Eddy is a very fun player to root for, lots of passion and energy but super streaky. He is currently a pretty league average corner outfielder. he may have another level to realize yet if he ever learns patience, but I think the safe bet is he will be a pretty league average corner outfielder going forward. The Twins have an impending roster crunch coming in the outfield. Kepler is a stud and signed to a great deal, Buxton is incredibly valuable if he can ever stay healthy, and both Kirilloff/ Larnach are close and could be ++ bats. That makes Eddy pretty expendable. The Marlins may be the perfect fit for him. He knows Rowson and his system and can help the young guys adjust to it, plus they can bet on him realizing what upside he has. I would trade him straight up for Alcantara (preferably) or Smith. A league average corner outfielder for a starter with #3 upside is good in my book. If multiple teams are interested I would be open a similar return or a back of the bullpen guy for him as well.

I think they need to trade for the ace that is sorely needed. Bumgarner is a solid pitcher with a ton of xp but he isn't going to be worth the contract he gets in this market. Getting an arm with #1 upside is going to hurt incredibly bad weather you sign it or trade for it. Cole and Strasburg aren't going to choose MN over the west coast or NY offering a similar deal, Bumgarner/ Ryu/ Wheeler are getting heavy overpays for being the second tier that is available to everyone. Its going to cost one if not multiple of Buxton/ Kirloff/ Larnach/ Lewis/ Balzovic/ Graterol but I don't see another way to get the arm they need without lighting payroll on fire (which they don't appear ready to do). It will hurt, bad, but this teams window is open and its time to spend the future on it.

Chapman is awesome but I would use all trade capital to try and get front line pitching. Sign Donaldson or open the vault and get Rendon to play 3rd but trade for pitching. Outfield is a strength to trade from but I hate to sell low on Buck, I could accept it for pitching though.

This is a real problem facing the Twins. Polanco/ Arraez is very nice with the bat but really lacking defense, add Sano at 3rd to that and your infield is a major issue. Royce Lewis is coming and really only adds to the problem. Maybe one of these guys is the piece to trade for pitching?

Dobnak was a real surprise and pitched well, seems like he could be a legit 4/5 if he can improve his breaking stuff. He should be the front runner for an in house back of the rotation spot. Smeltzer came up really big against some tough teams, he strikes me as a Duensing/ Duffey type that has success early as a starter but is more effective as a reliever long term. Thorpe is more raw but has way more stuff, I think he could turn into a real pitcher. He needs control but the breaking stuff is good and there seems to be velocity to realize. Graterol has impressive stuff. He should get every chance to be a starter. 98-100 on a sinker and 4 seam, slider with bite, and a serviceable changeup is a damn good start. He needs to really make the slider a weapon and the change a consistent pitch. Keep him starting if he doesn't earn an immediate spot in the MLB rotation, this is the best chance in the system at top end starter don't waste it just letting him throw gas out of the pen. Next seasons rotation in my dream land would be 1 - Cole I dont care the cost (this won't happen so top line addition via trade) 2 - Berrios 3 - Solid Free Agent Vet (Odorizzi fits well here) 4 - Pineda 5 - Graterol/ Dobnak/ Thorpe whoever wins it

I turned it off after the grand slam. This season was awesome to watch but every flaw has been hyper exposed in the last 2 games and it is super deflating. Its kind of hard to be mad because no one really expected them to be in this spot at the beginning of the year. They planned and made moves according to the expectation they could be in the wild card mix 85-90 wins. They built an offense to feast on the weak pitching in the central and a staff to minimize damage. The division turned out way worse than anyone imagined and a bunch of stuff went right for the Twins. So many things went way better than expected and all the sudden they had the HR record and 101 wins. Then they had to face a real, experienced, deep, vet team in the playoffs and it disintegrated. Hopefully this is a hard lesson taken to heart, the window is open but there is a lot of work to be done to be a real threat. The rotation needs an ace period. Pay whatever it costs money or prospect wise if it doesn't hurt you haven't gone after a talented enough pitcher. The pen needs 2 more setup+ level nasty guys, at least 1 needs to be a vet. It also needs a nasty loogy. The disparity vs the NY pen the last 2 playoff trips has been the biggest factor in getting dominated. The offense feasted on weak teams and it showed a lack of discipline/ approach when really challenged. Can't expect to win on a pitchers mistakes when you don't force them to make the mistakes. I love Rocco as a manager and have faith he can be the guy but being down 0-2 and having not used one of your 2 best starters and 2 of your best relievers is pretty damning.

The Twins pitching just looked over matched in this game, its disheartening to be at deja vu. When was the last good playoff performance from a Twins starter? Santana? The Yankees are not that much better a team but their players are calm and ready for the moment because they have been there before, they thrive by abusing the other teams inexpierence. This staff needs some arms that have already handled the pressure. Berrios didn't have his curve so I had no problem with him getting pulled. Going Littel/ Stashak/ Duffey with all of zero playoff innings between them was not a smart move. I am really not sold on this pen, everyone keeps citing the 2nd half numbers but I think that is a lot of small sample size mixed with playing some bad teams well into their tank. Rodgers is legit, albeit not playoff seasoned, and Romo is a well seasoned vet in his twilight run but outside of that I don't really trust any of them vs NY in the playoffs. Gibson and Stashak should be no where near this roster, Littel and Smeltzer are mop up guys, May and Duffey are middle to 7th inning guys with little to no playoff xp, Graterol throws 100 and has potential but has zero mlb xp. Dobnak better bring his good **** tomorrow because the series is hanging on him eating some innings which is another major issue. He has been great for the couple months hes been up and may well step up, but the Twins year is hanging largely on a former non prospect who started the year in A ball and has 28 innings of Mlb experience. Any game they win in this post season is seems like they will need to hope to get 2 innings out of Rodgers and 1 out of Romo.