rv78

Outside of Correa I don't see where the FO stuck their neck out to get a true difference maker. The extensions they gave to Kepler, Sano, and Dobnak were mistakes. Yes, I know hindsight makes it easy but they are the experts getting paid to do the job correctly. A mistake is a mistake. I think Polanco was the only correct one made. The verdict is still out on Paddack yet. One could argue that even extending Buxton was a huge risk considering his history, and it is not clear cut yet if that was the right move either. Sorry I just can't give credit to a part-time player when he is so fragile that gets hurt so often, just playing the game. "Seven years in, the group has a team and farm system completely of their own construction." With no Ace pitcher in the rotation. Maeda, Mahle, Ober, and even the newly acquired Lopez all with health concerns. An aging Gray that could have father-time catch him completely. Joe Ryan might be the only one of their 6 starters that doesn't have a health concern. An outfield of players that can't hit or stay healthy. Only Polanco, Correa, Miranda and Vazquez have shown they can hit for a decent average. They have a good bench with Gordon, Taylor, Farmer, and Jeffers but I have yet to see subs get a team to a Championship must less win it. The bullpen outside of Duran is a huge question mark. Lopez could revert back completely to the usual Lopez not the all-star Lopez. Thielbar is 35 and could be at the end of his career. Jax, Megill and Coulombe are average at best. Moran is unproven. Alcala is an unknown at this point going forward. Pagan should be gone. Sorry, can't get excited about the team they have put together. It's there's. Now ownership needs to hold them accountable.

The future is now.... for the next 6 years. If a Championship or two doesn't happen within the next 6 years this FO totally blew it. Yes they have depth. Yes they have defense. Yes they improved the rotation. But will they stay healthy, hit well enough and be able to win meaningful games in October without a legitimate Ace? Only time will tell.

Exactly. Can't say anyone outside of Cruz moved the needle for the team. Pathetic. It shows how good the FO has been at signing "good" players. Answer = not very. I guess if you are going to call them one year "wonders" you have to "wonder" why they signed them in the first place.

Gallo leadoff? LOL! As cHawk said, if analytics says Gallo should be the leadoff guy then this team is in serious trouble. Especially since Rocco lives and dies by them. Other than to get the biggest hole in the lineup out of the way there is no common sense person alive that would put their worst hitter first. here he comes..... Mr. No Common Sense Rocco!

One could argue that a AAA pitcher or two could have done as good a job as Shoemaker, Happ, Archer and Bundy did had they been given the chance. Varland, Henriquez and SWR were not terrible once they finally got it. How many at bats will Gallo take away from the likes of Larnach, Gordon, Taylor, Kirilloff, Wallner, all possibilities that could and probably will hit better than Gallo yet Rocco will play Gallo instead because he is getting paid $11M and can hit a few more home runs inbetween his Sano-esque number of strikeouts. If you look at batting average even guys like Celestino, Garlick and Jake Cave hit better than Gallo.

I think you are giving Falvine too much credit. Taking left-overs to fill areas of need is not a winning strategy by any means. I like the Vazquez signing and even though Correa locked up for 6 years may turn out to be really good, the verdict has yet to be determined with him. It could be a huge over-pay much like the Gallo signing which I think is one of the worst moves Falvine has made ranking it right up there with Shoemaker. When you fill problem spots with players with injury issues or unproductive players that is just kicking the can down the road and not fixing the problem. You also need to ask..... why are there so many problem spots to fill? Are they drafting poorly? Is player development lacking? (Poor fundamentals indicate so) Are they committed to keeping oft injured players on the team, because they are cheaper than a sound player that can play everyday? (Buxton) That only creates more problem areas of need? Do they stick with unproductive players too long? (Duffey, Sano, Pagan, Kepler) Sometimes problems areas are of your own making, which I think this FO is guilty of.

I have been saying for quite some time now that I see the Twins starting outfield in 2023 will be Gallo, Buxton and Kepler. Of course that will depend on Kirilloff being healthy enough to play 1B now that Arraez is gone. We could possibly see them shift Gallo to 1B and give LF to Gordon or Taylor, or Larnach if he's healthy. With the addition of Taylor I see Rocco rotating 1 corner outfield spot by trying to matchup lefty vs righty on a daily basis. Looking at the overall picture of the outfield a lot can be said when Gallo, Kepler, Taylor, and Gordon, 4 of your outfielders, really aren't good enough to play every day and you need to play them only when they have favorable matchups. (Although I disagree with Gordon being one of them). Maybe that's poor roster construction? Not playing your best 3 outfielders every day is poor managing, unless the FO doesn't give you 3 that are worthy of playing every day. It could also be viewed as OVER-managing which is still poor managing. No matter how you look at it, the Twins have one of the weakest hitting outfields in baseball. Here's hoping, Larnach, Lewis, Martin, Rodriguez will be able to change that in the not too distant future.

"In fact, the hitters are now almost obviously in a worse place without Arraez leading off every day." Arraez only led off about half of the games last year. Buxton was the other main choice of Rocco with a few by Polanco, Garlick and once or twice by some others. With Rocco setting the lineup according to analytics one would think the player with the best OBP on the team would be slotted leadoff every day but Rocco looks at numbers differently than the common sense fan. Most of the time when Arraez DIDN'T bat leadoff was when the other team was starting a lefty pitcher. I'm pretty sure Rocco looks at righty vs lefty and lefty vs righty matchups FIRST over any other stat regardless of how good their BA and OBP is especially towards the top of the lineup.

While I absolutely hated losing Arraez I'm slowly starting to feel like it was a good move. With Lewis, Lee, Rodriguez and Martin on the cusp of being ready for the show I think at least one of them, can make up for the loss of the batting champ. I don't see any pitcher being almost ready to fill the shoes of a Pablo Lopez. What would really make the deal sweet is if the Twins can extend Lopez for another 2 or 3 years and he stays a solid #2 arm going forward.

Protecting Buck in the DH spot is a feeble attempt at best. He can injured in the batters box or on the bases just as easily as in the outfield. That is where his last 2 injuries occured, No?

Just another name for Rocco to use when he changes the lineup every day. If you thought Buxton was going to get time off in CF before this trade you gotta believe that just went up ten fold now. As for him being a light hitting outfielder, his .254 BA last year makes him a better option in RF than Kepler. It'll be interesting to see how much playing time he gets in CF verses LF or RF.

A well run FO and Manager would have done exactly what you wish for, last year. Unfortunately they think differently. I'm sure, as you are writing and we are reading articles here on Twins Daily, Rocco is already going over his schedule and penciling in off days for Buxton, Correa and others thinking his "Plan" will work this year. In fact he will likely doubledown on giving off days thinking he didn't give enough last year due to all of the injuries. From his constant lineup changes to the misuse of his starters and over use of the bullpen, the "Plan" will undoubtably fail again. Rocco, the FO and Ownership doesn't understand that if they want fans in the stands you need to play your best players every day, especially at home. If you want the best chance at winning games, you need to play your best players every day, and if you want your best players to perform at their highest level they need to play every day. If they are hurt or come to you saying they need a day off are the only times they shouldn't be in the lineup at their usual position.

The FO, due to the inability to get top free agent pitchers to come to Minnesota, or their unwillingness to spend enough money to get them, have settled with the current strategy of broken pitchers we'll call Plan A. I agree that getting your young arms up and letting then learn may be a better strategy, Plan B. It appears that this FO has decided to make that Plan C or the "Fallback Plan" when the injuries return, which is a high probability. One thing it has shown is that, if you don't have enough faith in using Plan B, you maybe have not done a very good job drafting young arms.

If you look at his 2017 and 2018 seasons under Rowson there is not a major difference to them compared to his 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons. His 2019 season which was probably his career year is out of the norm and not what to expect from him. You also have to remember in 2019 they used the juice ball which is not in play anymore. That is another reason to think and expect that he won't replicate his 2019 numbers again.

I guess I misunderstood the $1.2M figure. I figured that is all he is worth. Some minors leaguers that get paid the minimum can hit as good or better than him so I don't get how he is worth $11M + another $1.2M = $12.2M. If he is really worth $1.2M more than the $11M they paid him I suggest they trade him while his value is high.

Using your numbers I guess it is safe to say the $11M the Twins gave away to Gallo was a bit of an OVER-PAY!

I'm not really sure what to think of this trade. With both players being young and in their prime I think it will take 2 or 3 years of watching them play and then evaluating them to see who got the better deal. I hate losing the best hitter on the team for a #2 starter. If it would have been an Ace it would be much easier to swallow. Should we believe the two prospects in the deal made up the difference? Maybe, but with Lewis, Lee, Julien, Martin, Miller all within a year or two/three and Miranda and Correa on board already, is getting another infielder in Salas really where the team needed more depth? Chourio is a long way off to place any value on other than hope. Questions now arrise. Will Rocco let Lopez pitch more than 5 innings? or 6? Who plays 1B if Kirilloff can't? Gallo and his .160 BA? That's a monstrous fall off from a .300 hitter. Who gets on base so the occasional HR's aren't all solo shots? I would agree the rotation is stronger and deeper but they still don't have an Ace. They also don't have an OB machine or pitch count accumulator, he's gone. Is a pitcher who plays every "5th day" going to improve the team enough to make up for a hitter that wore out opposing pitchers "every day"? Time will tell.

"Yes, I would rather have Kepler/Buxton/Gallo in the outfield" I would have to respectfully disagree. While they may be 3 of the best defensive guys the Twins could put out there, their offensive production would probably be the worst in the majors. If you like seeing an occasional HR in-between 3 guys that have gotten every good at walking back to the dugout after recording another K then by all means enjoy it. I have grown tired of watching the all or nothing approach that very seldom results in run production.

If it means less Garlick then I'm all for it.

Rocco and this FO will never lead the Twins to a Championship. I will gladly eat crow if they do but I don't see how it will ever happen the way they construct a team with below average hitters, under-utilize the starters, over-use the bullpen, and have no concern about a players health when they sign them thus throwing money away to injured players that can't play. Great Managers play their best players every day, not a different lineup every day because some paper trail tells them to do it. Kepler was at one time a good clutch RBI guy according to the "numbers". Point being.. "at one time" doesn't mean he always will be. Continually batting him in the middle of the lineup because some number tells you to do so isn't a smart decision when he isn't doing it anymore. Making adjustments that help you win make you great. Rocco is too slow at doing that. Like sticking with Colome/Pagan as closers. It's as if he is watching the game but doesn't see what is happening. He's dumbfounded because the "numbers" tell him something different should be happening so he doesn't believe it. What makes a Manager great? Being flexible and willing to throw the numbers out the window. He won't, so my guess is he will go down with the ship when this FO gets fired. Until then, we as fans will slowly fade away because the "numbers" that matter tell us this is not fun, exciting, talented, good baseball to watch. Tell Dave St. Peter that you'll only get fans to come to games that are the type they like to watch. Evidently the scenario we have now, isn't it.

Duvall would be a good replacement for Kepler since he is a righty clone of Kepler. Can barely hit above .200 and strikes out plenty. The hole would remain in the lineup, perfect!

I've been a Twins fan for over 50 years. I can't get excited about a team that is managed by paper stats and plays dull boring baseball. I'm a big fan of guys that can at least hit for a decent average.... Arraez, Miranda. Polanco when he isn't hurt. I think Correa is a huge overpay for what he brings offensively. That means at least half of the lineup is likely to make an out if they don't hit a HR, and that HR will likely only be a solo shot since most of the lineup can't hit for average. I liked the Vazquez and Farmer signings. Gallo is the worst $11M spent by this FO since they started running things. It takes an Ace to win big games. They don't have one. Which means if they win the division they'll still sputter in the playoffs. As a fan, games during the regular season can become meaningless if there is little to no chance that the team will make the playoffs or win any games if they get there. Like I said, they have to prove to me they are talented, prove to me they can play good baseball, prove to me they are managed correctly. Prove to me they can win meaningful games in October. Then I'll get interested in watching.

Re-signing him to a minor league deal would be the Twins way. That way he can block the development of younger players that need the experience. Also, if he gets off to a great start in AAA the Twins wouldn't hesitate to bring him up and provide the other teams pitcher with at least 2 or 3 K's per game while killing every rally the other hitters created. Seriously though, if Arraez can't play 1st base I put Gallo there. Or I move Miranda there and play Farmer at 3rd. There's also the possibility that we see a healthy Kirilloff in 2023. The only way I sign him to a minor league deal is if my intentions are to trade him if he shows any sign of being a big league hitter. Who knows, you might be able to flip him or package him with someone else for a decent prospect if that would happen.

"It’s time to support a team rather than being the thing the team has to conquer. We are the Minnesota Twins, and we are a good baseball team, and it’s time to show up at Target field in 2023." Quick question... Why is the time to support this team now? Many fans have been supporting this team for years through the good seasons and the bad. Maybe Twins fans just can't get excited about a team that plays fundamentals poorly, that doesn't manufacture runs, that can't get clutch hits when they need them. That comes to a game to have their child see their favorite player play but then finds out after he is there that Rocco gives him a rest day. That they are tired watching Rocco blow another game using his Colome/Pagan closer mentality. Or seeing a starter get pulled after 5 innings even though he is cruising only to have the over-worked relievers cough up the lead for no reason. IMO it will be time to support this team when it proves it can play good exciting baseball and win meaningful games again. Until then, they need to prove to the fans that THEY are what the fans WANT. If they aren't, no amount of cheerleading from anyone including sports writers will change their minds.

The only improvement has been Vazquez over Sanchez. If both Gallo and Kepler play instead of one over the other then they went backwards in the hitting department. It was good to get rid of the hole in the lineup when Sano went down and thus not re-signed but Gallo will fill his shoes easily by providing that hole once again. Farmer might be slight upgrade over Urshela only due to his versatility and ability to play catcher in a pinch. They've done nothing to improve the pitching however it might BE better due to improved health, which isn't a given with this team. We'll see.