rv78

I can see it now. Joe Ryan pitches 3 perfect innings and is pulled. Tyler Duffey comes in to pitch the 4th and gives up 6 runs. Experiment over!

They need to keep both Garver and Jeffers. They have no one else ready to step in as Rortvetd showed he hits even worse than Jeffers at this point. Could it be that someone tried to get Jeffers to hit more HR thus explaining why he is swinging under the ball and missing more often? Shame on them if that happened and hope he reverts back to his swing of 2020.

Not interested in Segura, Too expensive. I'd much rather see Iglesias signed for less money and no prospects. Even if they have to give him a 2 or 3 year deal. Pass on Simmons too for Iglesias. Much better bat.

If he can inspire Baldelli to play his best players everyday instead of giving away at bats to guys like Jake Cave then he's the man.

I too would like to see the Twins push Alcala to the closer role. Too bad they have a Manager who doesn't think outside the box and tried him the last month of the 2021 season to see how he handled it instead of sending Colome, who has been released already, out to finish those games. It would be one less question mark to answer had Baldelli done that and Alcala thrived there. Poor managing IMO.

I hate reality when it comes to the Twins adding players.

A dream and not reality since I know the Twins way..... Any one of the 3 S's at shortstop, Seager, Story, or Semien. For the rotation all 3, Ray, Gausman and bring back Pineda. In LF one of these 3, Marte, Castellanos or Bryant. Ok, I woke up now and the dream is over.

Hopefully all of them......Tho I doubt they will part ways with Dobnak, Rooker and Jax.

Boils down to how serious the FO and Pohlads are about contending. If they bring him back verses an upgrade they aren't serious. Same goes for pitching. Do they use the likes of Ober, Ryan, Jax, Dobnak and another unproven arm in the rotation or do they go get a couple of... Robbie Ray, Rodon, Gausman, Stroman? Do they trade the hollow bats of Sano and Kepler and keep the third hole in the lineup... Simmons off the team? How about an upgrade on the bench as well saying goodbye to Cave and Astudillo. This off-season they need to start fixing the problems everywhere, not just at SS.

"Strikeouts aren't worse than any other out, except maybe aesthetically". Wrong again. How many chances are there for an error or advancing a runner when he strikes out verses putting the ball in play. Anyway, I never intended to get into an argument. We obviously see productivity differently. You can field your team of HR guys that strikeout a lot and hit .200 and I'll field my team of guys that can put the bat on the ball, hit singles and doubles to the tune of .275 to .300 and not have a hole in my lineup.

Sano = 1B Gurriel = 1B I'm comparing two players that play the same position and yes, they are completely different types of players. That's exactly my point. You don't need to hit HR's to be a productive hitter.

Your argument is that you have to hit home runs to score. Again, you are wrong and a guy like Gurriel proves it. You are missing the point. Sano kills more rallies with his strikeouts, which causes the Twins to lose more games, than games he wins with his home runs. It's all about productivity.

Having a revolving door at DH is a dream come true for Baldelli. He can't play a guy more than 4 or 5 games in a row without giving them a day off so using the DH as another option to shuffle players through only makes sense. It'll give him the ability to play the non-productive guys like Jake Cave and the Turtle even more thus weakening the team's offense more than it already is. The lineup currently consists of 3 guys that can hit, Polanco, Arraez and Buxton. Occasionally Garver shows some offense but he's streaky and lack of consistant playing time might be the problem. Injuries and Baldelli's urgency to rest catchers almost every other day doesn't help. Outside of those 4 guys where is the offense going to come from? Donaldson is aging and on the downhill slide. Kepler and Sano have proven they can only hit .200 and an occasional home run. They need a SS and a LF that can hit. If Kirilloff and Miranda can make that impact in 2022 then Baldelli needs to find a place for them to play every day, not just 3 or 4 times a week.

Is Yuli Gurriel from the Astros a non-productive hitter? Yes it matters having people on base in front of you. But he out produced Sano this season while only hitting 15 home runs. Half as many as Sano. So your argument is weak and flawed. I'll take him batting 4th behind Polanco, Arraez and Buxton over the rally killing K-Sano any day.

I have been calling for the departure of Sano, (and Kepler) for some time now. Two holes in the lineup that kill almost every rally that the other guys at the top of the lineup get started. Unfortunately I don't see either of them leaving unless they are packaged with a good prospect in a trade. Let's face it the Twins have a mess when it comes to a few positions. If you want to call having multiple players at those positions a mess. At 1B they have Sano who is over-paid and an upcoming talent in Kirilloff. At 2B they have arguably their best player in Polanco and their best hitter in Arraez and another option in Gordon. SS they have nothing. At 3B they have another over-paid aging Donaldson and an upcoming talent in Miranda. A hole in LF, a part-timer called Buxton in CF who wants to get paid full-time money and a good fielder but no bat with Kepler in RF. Sorry, I don't call guys that can barely hit .200 "good hitters" no matter how often they hit solo home runs or just because they can hit 'em 500 feet. Give me a guy that hits half as many homers and a .275-.300 BA over them any day. I'd be looking at every option to trade Sano, Kepler, and possibly even Donaldson or Arraez for Pitching, SS and a good corner outfielder.

Just wondering, since this is the 4th article with Eddie Rosario if this is a Twins site or Braves site.? If he would be striking out on almost every at bat on pitches over his head, my guess there wouldn't be even one article about him. Final answer........Who cares? Not me. Move on to players that matter to the Twins please.

He will be too expensive for the Twins even if he is on a downward trend in performance. Besides, I agree with a few others who have posted he will NOT be interested in coming to Minnesota. If the Twins are going to be serious about competing they need to get away from signing pitchers in decline and start signing pitchers who are on the rise. All these years hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for that 1 magical season that an aging star pitcher can light it up 1 more time should not be a strategy or path that they should go down again. Live and learn......... please!

Go big or go home. Otherwise they can look forward to a 1st round exit in the playoffs, if they even get there.

I believe the Twins got what they wanted out of Simmons, Defense. Anything from his bat was gravy, unfortunately it was more like water. Had he hit .250 or .260 they and us would have been thrilled. With Lewis and Martin probably 1 year away yet another 1 year stop-gap SS will be needed. Please don't put Polanco there, he belongs at 2B. I'd really like to see Arraez get more reps at 3B spelling Donaldson and have JD get more AB's at DH to save his legs. With that scenario a reunion with Cruz is highly unlikely or appropriate. Especially if they keep Sano for 1B/DH and Kirolloff getting time at 1B as well. As for Gordon I'd like for him to be the main utility guy. Him as a full-time SS won't fly and for all we know his bat might not be any better than Simmons was. Let's see what he can do getting a full season under him first. As for the hole Simmons creates in the lineup it wasn't much worse than the holes created by Sano and Kepler. The rotation is a mystery once you get past Ober and geeze I even hate to say it, Ryan, but I'm sure they are both locks going into next year. It's been talked about but I'd like to see Pineda brought back. Then you've got to look at outside arms that will make a difference if you are serious about contending in 2022. Will the FO spend the money needed to bring in 2 top quality arms? Cause only 1 won't be enough. And then will those 2 top quality guys even want to come here? We all know how Free Agents look past this organization. It might take a trade to get the arm/s they need and at what cost? Where is the depth in the minors that would allow a fixture in the lineup to be traded? 3B Miranda is the most likely guy close to MLB ready which means Donaldson or Arraez are expendable. Both have baggage with Donaldson's contract and Arraez's limited fielding ability, however beyond Polanco, Arraez could be a good enough, not great, fit for some other team at 2B. As for Cruz, it is intriguing to bring him back but it will only make sense if Donaldson and Sano are both traded.

Unless the FO changes it's ways it will be another woulda coulda shoulda off-season. I don't believe they will go for it for the 2022 season. They didn't do it when they had a winning team that needed a few upgrades in the past, why would they do it for a losing team that needs a lot of upgrades for next season, just won't happen. There are too many question marks with the pitching staff and too many duds in the lineup that they are tied to for next season. Sorry folks but you might as well start hoping for 2023.

It's nice to have pitching but you also have to be able to score runs to win. Trading away one of your better hitters in Garver won't make you better. Garver should/could play every 3 to 4 games out of 5. A starting pitcher plays 1 game out of 5. If you are going to trade 3 or 4 games for the guy giving you the 1 game, he better be really, really good.

I will give him an F.... Using Colome as closer at the beginning of the year as much as he did even after he continued to fail was inexcusable and set the tone for the rest of the season.... losing. His constant changing of the lineup verses Righties or Lefties is laughable. Injuries aside, a good Manager plays his best players every day regardless of matchups and has a lineup that is constant with a leadoff guy, #2 hitter, #3 hitter, cleanup guy and so on. He not only changed by player everyday but also where they batted everyday. It's can be tough for hitters to get in a groove when they don't even know if they'll be in the lineup much less where they will bat if they are. Giving guys days off after scheduled off days is another joke yet he did it all the time. I also can't count the number of times he pulled a decent hitter for a defensive replacement when he was behind in the game. Or he would do the exact opposite and pull his better defensive player for a pinch hitter when he was ahead. Makes no sense. After the trade deadline I was hoping to see a look to the future mentality on using the bullpen but he continued to use Colome as his closer. Why not throw Alcala into that role the last month of the season to see if he can be that guy in 2022 and beyond? Didn't happen until the last game of the season, It's as if someone told him to do it. Before the season started we were all expecting to compete for the division. Supposedly there was more talent on the team at the beginning of the year then after the trade deadline when they lost Cruz, Berrios, Robles, etc, etc. Yet the team had a better record after those guys left. I'd say it must have been Management that blew it and that rests squarely on Rocco's shoulders.

Looks like the only locks for the rotation next year are Ober and Ryan. Pineda would be a solid addition again and add some stability when you start looking at guys like Jax, Dobnak, Gant, Barnes, and some of the other lesser desirables they have to throw out there. If there isn't a couple of other BIG moves made to add to the rotation for 2022 then Big Mike should be considered. I think the FO will punt for the 2022 season with it's eyes towards 2023.

"He could slot in as Baldelli’s everyday third basemen." That'll never happen. Baldelli doesn't know how to play someone everyday. "Sano being the primary designated hitter also reduces the lineup flexibility for Baldelli on a nightly basis." This would be a good thing. The good players need to be playing everyday. Reducing Baldelli's ability to put his scrubs like Cave and Astudillo into the lineup makes the team better. Unfortunately for 2022 this team won't change much on the field except when Baldelli sets his lineup which happens daily. If everyone stays healthy: Garver needs to get 120+ games at Catcher with Jeffers or Rortvedt getting the other 40. Sano will be the everyday 1B unless traded. Polanco is a no brainer at 2B. 150-160 games please. A new SS. Arraez at 3B, again 150-160 games. Miranda in LF, Buck in CF, Kirilloff in RF. Donaldson the everyday DH. Gordon in a utility role. Kepler to the bench. 2 new bench players please to replace Cave and the Turtle. They aren't helping this team.

Where do we start? I find the offense offensive. 15 K's and 18 LOB yesterday. When will they quit swinging at balls off the plate? When will they quit swinging for the fences? When will the manager settle on a permanent lineup and play it everyday? Too much dead weight for this team to make a serious run at anything but mediocrity. Kepler, Sano, Rooker, Cave, Jeffers, Astudillo, can't hit. Donaldson is all but washed up. They have three 2nd basemen in Arraez, Polanco, and Gordon. No shortstop going into next year. Buxton and Garver who only play part-time. Polanco might get to 600 AB's this year. He's the only starter that even came close to playing full-time. Without wholesale changes the 2022 Team is destined for small victories, maybe 2 a week.