rv78

This Also, ownership doesn't decide who the money gets spent on. They may decide how much, but allocation of it is done by the FO. Payroll doesn't have to be expanded if it is spent wisely and on the right players. The FO blew that one, not ownership.

And it all comes crumbling down. Been saying it for a long time here at Twins Daily. This team, from the FO all the way down to the Manny Margots, is not that good. Even if they make the playoffs, which is highly unlikely now, they won't go far. The FO has assembled a team that has 2 superstars that can't stay on the field. A rotation that consists of 3 pitchers, (Lopez, Ober, & Ryan now injured) with the Ace really a #2. The bullpen was touted as being the "best" in baseball at the beginning of the season, can't hold a lead, with a closer that has looked average at best and some games doesn't even get used as the closer. Went all in on the Homerun or bust approach and now they are seeing the results of that. Busted! When they don't hit the long ball, they can't score. A Manager that doesn't know how to set an everyday lineup that would give his players consistant playing time and consistant at bats. He's more concerned about matchups than playing his best players everyday. Gives rest to keep players healthy when rest has never been proven to prevent injuries. This team and the way it is run is a total disaster! I can hardly wait till next year, as I doubt ownership has the insight or the guts to make the changes they need.

Good luck getting that to happen. Both have no trade clauses. If they don't produce for the Twins enough to make a difference, why would any other team want them? keep in mind Correa gets a $4M raise next year. This FO is going to have to live with those 2 over-paid super-duds for the next 4 years. At least Pablo Lopez's contract raise to $22 million will be off-set by the departure of Kepler and Santana.

So the Twins are now tied with Detroit for the last wild card spot. There's a ton of blame to be thrown around in just about every direction. Ownership for cutting payroll. Rocco for the way he manages. The FO for signing injured pitchers and signing replacement level players that really don't make the team better, and not making a significant move at the trade deadline. One thing I see that is not mentioned is the lack of production from the two highest paid players in the lineup. It's hard to win when supposedly your 2 best hitters aren't playing. For the 2nd year in a row they both either missed significant time when the team needed them most or were unproductive because of injuries. Anyone in their right mind would see that they cannot be counted on. Unfortunately the FO has hogtied this team for the next 4 years due to the no trade contracts they gave to the 2 super-duds. Imagine if they would have played down the stretch and made significant contributions to the lineup. Maybe they would have won half a dozen of the games they lost and the team wouldn't be in it's current situation of possible playoff elimination. Spending $50M, it'll be more next year, for 2 players that can't be counted on when you need them most is just a total waste of resources and pretty much impossible to overcome. Both players choked in the 10th inning of the game. Both players also produced zero runs the rest of the game. But where they really hurt this team, is by not playing the games that they need to be playing, and quite frankly, that's what they are being paid the big bucks for.

In the playoffs Lopez and Ober are #2 and #3 starters. bean5302 explained it perfectly. The Twins owners aren't committed to playoff baseball. The FO relying on Paddack, Desclafani and a host of AAA pitchers to help this team get into the playoffs will probably be their downfall...... That and the inability to hit when needed by the on again, off again lineup. It's pretty bad when the hitters that are carring your team are super-sub Willie Castro and 1 year journeyman Carlos Santana.

I predict Buxton will be hurt every season left on his current contract with the Twins. It won't matter how many days off Rocco gives him. (It should be zero) Rest does not prevent injury unless you expected him to get hurt the day you rest him. As for who will stay healthy? You got me there, but I would predict players that aren't injured when you sign them or have a history of being injured would be better bets than the "distressed assets" that the Twins have been rostering.

Sorry but I have to resprectfully disagree with some of what you say here. You say Buxton is injury prone yet you also say "I don't feel the team has greatly invested in "distressed assets" to build the club." If Buxton isn't a distressed asset I don't know what the heck he is, and they knew that when they resigned him. DeSclafani and Paddack ARE exactly "distressed assets". How about Mahle? Was Pineda healthy when they acquired him? The list is too long. For a small market team, too many dollars are being wasted on injured players. Then add in the dollars being spent on replacement level players like Taylor and Margot they feel they have to roster to cover for a player like Buxton. Correa is NOT a player that can be counted on. This is his 10th season and he has played in more than 140 games 2 times. Sure he isn't a injury waiting to happen like Buck but he's far from being reliable enough to be counted on to play everyday. He's already proven that. He's the Twins superstar and he's being paid like it. Tell me how good the Yankees, Dodgers, and any of the other good teams would be if their superstars couldn't and didn't play a full season. Look at Bobby Witt Jr. He's played every game this year. Think he'd do that under a Falvine/Rocco approach? Not a chance. Rocco has scheduled off days and the players still get hurt. The "system" they use doesn't work. From signing injured players to trying to protect them. It's a failure. Is Lewis really tired like we saw in another article her at Twins Daily or are the opposing pitchers finally figuring him out? Maybe he needs to adjust to their adjustment? No, we are to believe he's tired due to playing in 60+ games this year. As for predicting injuries. That is exactly why the FO builds the roster the way they do. They bring in replacement level players to fill holes for players they expect to get injured. Otherwise there is NO reason to sign a Margot or a Taylor, or keep a Farmer. The FO learned this lesson in 2021 when injuries devastated the roster. Here we are in 2024 with the same thing happening. The only reason why it isn't hurting the team as bad as it did in 2021 is because of those replacement level players and a farm system that is much improved since then. You can say their plan is working but the problem is... it doesn't improve the team enough to take them to the next level. I suspect next year and very likely for the next 4 years we'll be dicussing how the Twins will have to overcome the failure of their superstars Buxton and Correa, not being available to play when it matters. Unless they waive their No Trade clauses and we are blessed with their departures thus freeing up $50M to use on players that actually can play.

Rocco gives out too many "breathers" already. The lack of consistant hitting can be attributed to not getting consistant at bats just as much as being tired. Most every day and night Rocco goes with the platoon righty/lefty matchups. This gives almost everyone in the lineup days off or at the least part of the game if they are used as a pinch hitter or pinch hit for, later in the game. I'm tired of seeing articles that say the players are tired. The way Rocco manages, there shouldn't be anyone that is tired. They are suppose to be professional athletes in excellent shape. If they aren't then crap needs to hit the fan and something needs to change.

It appears the Twins superstars don't know anything about conditioning. It's not like Lewis has played every game to this point of the season. It's not like Buxton and Correa don't get days off for rest. Which they really shouldn't need if they were in good shape. There are scheduled off days for that purpose. A 162 game season these days isn't any longer than the 162 games they played back in the '70's, '80's or '90's and most players back then, especially the superstars that each team relied on, had little trouble playing 150+ games every year. I would gripe that Rocco doesn't play his superstars enough and here we have what is suppose to be the Twins 3 best hitters and they can't sustain anything close to a full season of play..... Lewis has played in 64 games out of a possible 143. If that is a grind then him playing a full season or at the very least being productive for a full season will never happen. Maybe the Twins superstars and Rocco should have looked across the diamond during the Royals series and noticed how a real superstar plays. Bobby Witt Jr = 144 games played in 144 possible.

Yes, count me in the minority.... I don't care. Neither player is worth their contract. If Correa was worth it the Astros would have never let him go. Buxton hasn't been worth his contract in any year he's played.... Or I should say..... part year he's played. When you have to roster an extra player every year to cover for someone who is going to be hurt you really need to add that extra players contract onto the cost of rostering the injury prone player as well. The Twins basically KEPT Farmer to cover for Correa and added Margot to cover for Buxton. Now you don't have just $50M tied up in 2 positions but Farmer and Margot's cost as well. Did the Twins need to roster another player for Puckett or Hunter, or Gagne, Meares, or Guzman? How about tying up the extra roster spot needed for doing that as well? That's another cost that is overlooked. Sorry, but neither player is worth it.

Who would have thought Buxton being injured would be an issue? Correa seems to have caught the injury bug from him as well, although he too hasn't had an injury free career. When there are 5 other guys on the roster that get more at bats than your 2 "stars" that you have $50M invested in ...... then you have a problem. The Twins FO has brought this on themselves. Buxton should have never been resigned. Correa is not and never will be worth his Salary. Add in Kepler and you have 3 veterans that can't, never have, and never will, carry the team. Now you have $60M of mediocrity. To be successful in the last month of the season and in October the team has to QUIT relying on players that can't stay healthy. Unfortunately that probably won't happen with any level of certainty until Buxton and Correa are gone.

bWAR means nothing to me. I look at stats. MIranda is far and away a much better hitter. Why did Miranda start the season in AAA? Pure Plain and Simple answer..... Santana. Even with Kirilloff expected to play some 1B Santana was the reason Miranda started in AAA. Had Lewis not got hurt and they needed another 3B guy Miranda stays there until Kirilloff goes down. Take away Miranda's production and the team has at least 5 more L's in the loss column. Give Miranda an extra 100 At bats that Santana has been given and add 5 more W's to the win column. Even if you cut that 10 game difference in half to 5 and it could be the difference between playoffs or not, or at the very least, a better seed in the playoffs. But those on the Falvine and Rocco band wagon don't see what could be, they only see what they have. That's what the rest of us call.... drinking the kool-aid.

Yes, Santana is replacement level. A sub .240 Hitter that hits an occasional HR is nothing special, especially for a 1st baseman. I'd much rather see Miranda getting the at bats there and reps in the field to make him better defensively at 1st base. His bat is significantly better than Santana's and he is 10 times more important to the team going forward than Santana. Miranda has almost as many RBIs as Santana in almost 100 less at bats. He's much more productive and is only being held back by Rocco, Falvey and Levine who want the veterans they sign to play only to make it look like the signings were "the right thing to do" when in reality it shows they weren't worth it.. Even Gallo was favored over the young players (Wallner) who out-performed him when given the chance.

It is fair to say that the Twins have been mildly successful since Falvine and Rocco have arrived. Unfortunately their shortcomings and mistakes have really kept the Twins from being even better. Additions like Gallo, have been horrendous and replacement level signings like Margot, Santana, Jay Jackson, to name a few don't make the team better, which should be the goal each and every season regardless of payroll. If you have limited resources you shouldn't squander them on multiple replacement level players but instead add 1 or 2 higher quality players where you need them. To me, it seems that they don't have what it takes to take the team to the next level. Not making the right moves at the trade deadline for instance, when you are having a good season show that. I'll be surprised if the Twins make the playoffs this year and IF they do, they will be lucky to win a series. The lack of adding quality pitching this year at the deadline will once again prove disastrous as they rely on the AAA arms to carry them the rest of the season. Seems we see this almost every year with this regime as their history of signing broken or washed up pitchers (Shoemaker, Happ, Archer, Keuchel, Pagan, JoeSmith, Floro, Colome, Pineda, Paddack, Mahle, DeSclafani) far outweigh the number of good pitchers they bring in. Their level of success, or should I say, lack of it, against the better teams, is the real indicator of how good the trio of Falvey, Levine and Rocco are.

Paddack is just another example of how this FO doesn't recognize the cost of injured players. True, they can get those injured or injury prone players cheap, but what do they really have? A player that can't be counted on, takes up roster space and requires another player to fill in for them when they can't play. So now they pay two players and tie up 2 spots on the 40 man roster for what should be 1 spot and 1 salary. Buxton is a perfect example, if he could be counted on they wouldn't have had to sign a Margot, who adds payroll and takes up another spot on the 40 man.

Unfortunately you may be correct. I had such high hopes for that swing and the AK we saw in the minors. There are just too many other options going forward for 1B, from Miranda, to resigning Santana, to sliding to another Free Agent option like they did with Santana, to giving Severino a shot. Add in moving a Julien or some other young player to play 1B and AK's chances dwindle even more. I hate to say it but it is time to move on and trade him.

Funny how Miranda and Woods-Richardson weren't good enough to make the opening day roster. Once again the FO overdid themselves by bringing in an injured Desclafani and gave a couple of roster spots to less than deserving veterans like Santana and Margot. Larnach looks to have found his stroke, Lee looks to be the real deal and hopefully Wallner returns with a bang as well. I said it before and I've been saying it for a long time........ let the youngsters play. Quit wasting money on aging or subpar veterans that hold no future value for this club.

Pablo López, Byron Buxton Get Right at Expense of A's Sorry, I disagree. They got right for 1 game. Against one of the worst teams in MLB. Lets try a month where they perform at a high level against quality teams before we start shouting in the headlines they are "Right". That's about as accurate as saying the Twins are a really good team because they've beat the White Sox every game this year.

Rocco has never had common sense or managerial instincts. Without his analytics he'd be a lost puppy. If you haven't gotten use to the way things are, you'd better try or just quit watching, cause it's never going to change with this current regime in charge. It's who, what, and how they are, and when you believe you are the smartest people in the room, even though you've WON nothing worth bragging about in 8 years, they aren't going to change despite their failures. They'll always have an excuse. If it isn't injuries or limited payroll it'll be something else. It's not their fault they bring in poor players that can't hit or pitchers that are injured. Ha Ha! Just drink the kool-aid and be a believer.

Let the youngsters play.

If given enough time and opportunities even the young players may battle their way out of a slump, which is what Margot and Farmer have been given. It doesn't change the fact their poor performance for the first part of the season probably cost the Twins some games in the Win column. Tell me how you'll feel about this if the Twins miss the playoffs by a game or two. Just because they are now hitting better doesn't make them the better players to be using or keeping for that matter. That's like saying Kepler was worth having on the team for 9 years since he had 1 & 1/2 years of good hitting. Both Farmer and Margot are bench/fill-in players. Both are very replaceable by a AAA player ready to make an impact if given the chance and can stay healthy. You say, if Margot can get to .225-.230 and Farmer to .225 are the best players this organization can give those at bats to, then they are in a more sorry state than most of us realize.

I see it as a simple solution. He replaces Kyle Farmer if/when Lee, Julien, Wallner, etc, etc, etc prove they belong on the big league roster. Afterall, Farmer is gone after this season and Castro is still here in 2025. He reminds me a lot of Eduardo Escobar. He too was a utility guy who forced his way into regular playing time with the Twins and went on to have a few good seasons with the DBacks also. I'd be looking to keep him. A reasonable 3 or 4 year contract extension in the neighborhood of Farmers current $6M contract won't hinder the FO if they do decide to trade him before the contract ends.

LOL, Maybe the Twins organization could get Nike to give them money for a good player or two instead of wasting it on a ****** uniform design. Puke!

That would be the ideal place to start, unfortuantely Rocco is tied at the hip to the FO so they'd just bring in Rocco 2.0 who would implore their same philosophy and management strategy.

Blame ownership, not Baldelli. Blame the FO, not Baldelli. Blame the players, not Baldelli. Really? I don't understand the love for a Manager that doesn't play his best players everyday, rests players based on a schedule and not how they feel, uses a platoon system that doesn't work, won't play small ball when needed, pinch hits players too early in games with players that can't hit, These are just a few things he does, almost daily. Reality is...... this team is a mess. From ownership down to the players. EVERYONE is to blame. Ownership won't spend money to improve. The FO doesn't know how to evaluate players or they wouldn't bring in injured pitchers or washed up veterans. Baldelli can't manage a player without a spreadsheet and only knows how to manage a game the same way every day regardless of what is taking place right before his eyes on the field. The players play with no conviction or confidence because they have a manager who doesn't believe in them to perform outside of the numbers on his paper. The core veterans that should carry the team, can't. Correa, Buxton, and Kepler aren't that good. Too streaky and inconsistant as hitters. The bench players like Margot, Farmer, Santana, yes are bad but they shouldn't be relied on to carry the team or they wouldn't be "bench" players to start with. Yet somehow, Baldelli finds reason to play them as much as possible. 2019 was a fun year, but it gave this regime from ownership down to the last player on the bench swinging for the fences a bad idea on how to win games. They went whole hog, face first into the HR theory and the offense has been terrible ever since. When you implore a strategy or philosophy that you expect everyone to follow, and it doesn't fit their skill set, you will fail or at the very least, get very inconsistant results.... which is exactly what is happening.