rv78

I wonder if he couldn't be someone's Jarrod Dyson or Terrance Gore like the Royals used ala... pinch runner/stolen base option off the bench. Maybe that's a luxury not worth having in todays swing for the fences approach instead of get on base and manufacture a run. Yeah, that's too complicated.

Spending by percentage of revenue is only one way to look at being "cheap". Since the Pohlads are loaded with cash they could spend any amount of cash and get any player in todays market. It would take them to spend money they made from other sources outside of baseball to do that. Will they? Highly unlikely. That's what some people feel, makes them cheap. So, they could, but won't. In the grand scheme of things they could buy their way to a Championship or at the very least increase the odds of it happening tremendously. In the process you excite the fan base, draw more fans to games, increase sales of team paraphernalia and make even more money. But they won't... so yes, they are cheap.

I am shocked that this is being discussed here. There are only a small handful of people that will agree with the headline and the names attached to it. I am one of them and have been saying so since Buxton's extension and the signing of Correa. The values that are tied to a player based on WAR or some other variable effect making decision are only valuable if that player can sustain it for the length of their contract. If Buxton was worth $30M from 2020 to 2021 it was largely driven by the 61 games he played in 2021 and hit .306 with a .358 OBP and an OPS over 1. Taking into consideration his lack of actual playing time and previous seasons of his career, 2021 was an anomaly much like Kepler's 2019 season. I've never understood how a player that can't hit or can't stay healthy and provide production to help a team succeed really provides any value at all when what they really do is keep that team from being successful. Maybe a better indicator of a players true value is how much they hurt a team or hold a team back when they don't perform as expected. Is that 1/2 a season of Buxton being worth $30M really what he is worth or is it the zero value he provides when he isn't playing in the other 100 games that year?

Payroll without Kepler and Polanco on the books would be just under $100M. Pitchers like JMontgomery, Snell, ERodriguez, Stroman, Miley all have been projected to cost in the low $20's per year. Even if the Twins have a Dollar Tree budget they would still fit within what they have decided is their limit.

No, I said, they should have tried extending him for 1 more season. Not 4 or 3 or even 2. Maybe they did and he didn't accept. Do you know if they did or not?

So you are saying they are worth more than their combined $20.5M. If that is the case then the prospect of trading them should be creating a whirlwind of offers that the FO can't refuse. I would venture to guess that most GM's on other clubs see an aging Polanco that is starting to break down and a hit and miss Kepler than is more often miss than hit. I would bet a buck that the Twins will have to add at least 1 if not 2 or more prospects to a Polanco and Kepler trade to get back a pitcher worth $20.5M. Most $20M pitchers have MORE surplus trade value than hitters.

Tell me, which season has Paddack been even remotely like Gray? I would say he'll be closer to a Maeda and Maeda's shortened 2020 season is not the real Maeda.

Nice article summing up what a lot of us have been thinking and discussing here at TD. You suggest that everything that has happened is all part of a plan. It's also been said elsewhere that the FO thinks they are the smartest guys in the room. MY biggest question is, if that is the case and knowing that you are going to lose 2 of the better players that lead to your teams success, why would you just let them walk away? Was there any attempt to extend them during the season? Even if it would have been for just the 2024 season wouldn't that have been a better plan? You also say that picking up the options on Polanco and Kepler were done so they would have 2 trade pieces to possibly get the replacement pitchers they need. Wouldn't a better plan have been to NOT pick up the options on Polanco and Kepler, save that $20.5M and use it to get a pitcher in Free Agency? At least then YOU are in the drivers seat and YOU are not at the mercy of dealing with another GM asking for more than you are willing to trade to get that pitcher. Polanco is the easiest player to replace in the field with Julien. Kepler can be replaced with a number of less expensive players like, Castro, Larnach, Kirilloff, Martin?, Gordon?. They may not be of the quality you desire or not without health concerns but that hasn't stopped this FO before. Buxton, Mahle, Paddack, Pineda, and so on.... Don't get me wrong, I have no problem trading players from an area of depth for areas of need but sometimes and this time in particular the FO needed to change their way of thinking and doing business. Picking up options on 2 players that you have replacements for and letting 2 pitchers walk away that you don't have replacements for maybe was the plan but that is not a good plan. Contracts to players like Buxton, Correa and Gallo are huge over-pays and 2023 proved that. The more I see what this FO does the more I question their plan.

After taking into consideration the production they got in 2023 from these 2 guys, I wouldn't call it smart.

So who do they rely on if Jeffers gets hurt? Just not too long ago...... in 2022 when Jeffers and Sanchez were the duo and neither one could go they ended up with Sandy Leon. Do they really want to go that route again? If we are throwing in the towel then there is no excuse not to trade Polanco and Kepler and see if Correa and Buxton would waive their no trade clauses as well. Let's go all the way.

$15M on a part-time player that only hit .207 is hurting the team more than Vazquez.

The Twins Face Tough Decisions To Make Impactful Trades I actually don't think it is really a tough decision. It does require a new way of thinking and an opposite approach to the predicament the FO has put themselves into. #1, You trade away two of the $10M veteran salaries that are the most easy to replace with cheaper younger talent. That's Polanco and Kepler. I keep the other $10M man Vazquez, because the catcher position is one of the hardest to fill and having 2 capable guys there is a good plan. I also feel Vazquez will bounce back with a good season as he has in the past whenever he had a down year. Freeing up $20M easily gives the FO $35M to work with. I sign the best Free Agent Starting Pitcher I can with a good chunk of that money. Yes, I know it is something they don't normally do but like I said, they need to take a different approach just this once. In the meantime I get prospects for Polanco and Kepler since the only teams likely interested in them are contending teams, not rebuilding teams. They aren't going to trade their better pitchers for hitters if they are contending or close to it, so I gladly take prospects. I have Lewis, Julien, CC, Kirilloff, Farmer, Castro, Gordon, Miranda, with Lee and Martin almost ready for the infield positions. Wallner, Buxton, Castro, Kirilloff, Larnach, Gordon and Martin can all play outfield. The biggest questionmark is Buck but that is a whole nother story that has been played to death. I seriously look at adding a Senzel, or bringing back Taylor, or even attempt to get Jung-Hoo Lee to bolster that outfield. $35M should get that done as long as they are smart with the money and don't over-pay like they did with Buck, CC and Gallo.

This is what I have been saying since they signed Dior Man and extended Injured Again Guy. The really BAD part of it, is that it is going to haunt them for 5 more years.

This. The kool-aid drinkers can't get past the Buxtons, Keplers, Correas, and Gallo types that the FO has bought into and they are really the ones that continue to plague this team. Just because they are the highest paid hitters on the team they think they are the best players and the Twins can't win without them, when in all reality, the Twins won despite them. Extending Buxton was a mistake. Signing Correa was ok but not at the level of Salary he received. $15-20M per year would have been more than enough for what he brings. Kepler has been 3+ years of over-pay for his production. Gallo was one of the worst over-pays in Twins history. A $1.8M Willi Castro out produced him. I'm not saying veterans aren't important. It's just unfortunate that most of the veterans that the Twins have the most money tied up in, just aren't worth the money invested in them.

"Doubling Wallner's numbers would have given the league more time to find and expose the holes in game," "I am a Wallner fan and understand he made adjustments throughout last season" Which is it? You say he would have been worse yet you say he made the adjustments. So, if he would have gotten twice as many at bats he wouldn't be able to make adjustments? The BlueJays and Astros exposed the holes in his game..... He got a total of 8 at bats. Scored a run and had 2 RBI's without getting a hit. Kepler had 23 at bats, scored 1 run and had ZERO RBI's. I'm just assuming here...... but if Wallner had been given 23 at bats his production would have been better than Keplers.

Kepler's 5 for 23 with 10 strikeouts wasn't anything to brag about either.

The Twins have gambled on Kepler for 9 seasons and he's paid-off in 1 & 1/2 total. Time to pass the torch.

RpR drinks the kool-aid. To make the rose colored glasses even brighter you have to ignore the young guys that actually got us to the playoffs and mention some of those that weren't even on the team in 2023. Meanwhile don't mention the veterans that did little to nothing to get us there, like Correa and Buxton and Gallo. $60M down the toilet in 2023. With the exception of about one and a half seasons of being good out of 9 seasons total, he thinks Kepler is going to make a difference. Double Wallners numbers so he would have got the same number of at bats as Kepler in 2023 and he out-produces Kepler. And that's using a good half season from Kepler. A normal year of him and it isn't even close.

Current payroll is $120M with a target of $135M max. With $10M from Keplers contract that's $25M available. need a little more for a longer term deal, trade Polanco too. Now you've got $35M to get the deal done. It's not rocket science.

It's comical how some people value a player based on one season, or one and a half seasons of a player actually being good. Kepler has played 9 seasons and has 1.5 that are worthy of being called good. Reminds me of Buxton and his 9 seasons of playing and having 1.5 seasons of good. Just because they are Twins and have been here for a while doesn't make them expendable or replaceable by someone who could and should and would be better. Crap, it only takes 2 good seasons out of 9 to be better than they are. The rose colored glasses some of you are wearing hasn't won us any championships and continuing to put faith in players like Kepler and Buxton to get us there is a lost cause. They just aren't consistant enough to count on and build around which is exactly what this FO tried to do and it has failed. A different direction is needed and trading Kepler and Polanco to free up salary for an Ace type pitcher should happen sooner rather than later if they are serious about cutting payroll and still contending in the central. It may not get them there in 2024 but it would be a step in the right direction. The youth movement needs to continue.

Yes, less Gallo and Gray, payroll is less. Replacing Gallo is not needed. Replacing Gray is. Lopez is more of a #2 starter than an Ace. Paddack cannot be relied upon for a full season coming off TJ surgery. That leaves Ryan and Ober as the only other 2 starters with Lopez that you would consider as sure things. History has shown us that it's very probable that 1 of those 3 will not pitch an entire season. Detroit is getting better and if the Twins don't continue to put the gas on the pedal they will overtake them, if not in 2024 then 2025. One #1 starter like Gray must be signed if they are going to repeat as division champs. They need the young kids like Wallner, Julien, Lewis, Larnach, Kirilloff, Miranda to get at bats and continue to get better. More of the future is just around the corner with guys like Lee, Jenkins, Miller, Rodriguez coming soon. I don't trade from an area without a lot of depth and the Twins don't have it at catcher if they trade Vazquez. One injury to Jeffers and without Vazquez they are in a dire situation immediately. They have a lot of 2B and CO. Trading Polanco and Kepler would free up twice as much salary as trading one Vazquez and they have multiple players that can play 2B and RF. Anything else is just wasted effort though if they don't get another front line starting pitcher. That should be priority #1 even if it's the only thing they do.

That 2023 Carlos Correa deal is what is leading to the Twins cutting payroll. Overspending eventually leads to cuts and the biggest overspend goes to the guy with the highest payroll. In 2023 Correa was about the 15th ranked SS in the majors and he was paid like he was top 3. Add in Buxtons $15M for being a "half the time DH" and you've got the two biggest flushes down the toilet of cash in Twins history.

Maybe the Twins can get Buxton to agree to a trade freeing up $15+M in salary so they can actually go out and get a full-time CF that is worth having on the roster. Then this problem that they have to deal with every year would go away.

After acquiring Joey Gallo last year for $11M they don't have to worry about "appearing to be smart". That ship has sailed.

Seattle wants Polanco? Really? I read the article and it didn't say anywhere that they specifically name Polanco as a target. I think you are stretching just a bit.