rv78

Yes, saw the same thing. I wouldn't be bragging him up at 1B yet. Sure he snagged a clean chest high throw from Bringer of the Rain. Big deal. Let's see him grab some short hops and wide throws before we give him the gold glove. And I didn't think he looked any too svelt. Looks like he is still carring plenty extra.

Any pitcher can be considered "impact pitching" if you compare it to someone of lesser value. Maeda isn't the kind of Impact Pitching Twins fans were hoping for. Sorry, I don't agree with you. We wanted an ACE, not a #2-3.

Attendance will relate directly to performance. Always has, always will. Puckett and company along with a World Series ring drove it to over 3 million back in 1988. 1 million more than the average for all clubs that year. 2010 and 2011 were also over 3 million. Last year was 2.3 million. There is plenty of room to add revenue. As long as they make/keep it affordable to attend games they can still make money with their current payroll.

None of this will matter much when they face Cole or Verlander. True Aces. IMO they spent a lot of money for left-overs instead of going after the cream of the crop. Yeah, you'll make the argument that they didn't want to come here but the fact remains the best went elsewhere. I hope I'm wrong but I'll bet they'll make a quick exit in the 1st round again.

The offense is going to be great. The bullpen is much improved with Clippard and if Graterol stays. If the starting pitching holds up or they make a move yet to improve it this team could set a club record for wins in a season. The one intangible that I think will make a huge difference is named Buxton. Can he finally put together a full productive season? It's going to be a fun season to watch.

I would hate to see Graterol go. Power arms don't come around every day. I liken him to Josh Hader of the BrewCrew. I think he'll make an excellent closer which would allow Rogers to be shifted back to the 8th inning guy. Maeda is good but not the Ace pitcher the Twins need. I think they need to look elsewhere for someone even better if they are going to do a package of prospects instead of just one guy.

Ding Ding Ding! Correct you are!

Walker or Salazar. Nothing to lose. Get er done.

Too bad the Twins didn't make a few more signings like this the last couple of seasons. One could argue they did with Cruz but had this FO signed a few more guys like Donaldson before the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons my guess it would have been easier to get a top ACE pitcher to come here this year. You gotta show you are serious about winning to get the best to join you. There's a saying that goes something like this: PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS.

The only sure thing I'd say is Cruz bats 3rd again. I'd like to see Donaldson bat behind him to protect him even more than what Sano could do. The rest of the guys to bat anywhere that helps keep the lefty/righty switch going. Yes, Rosario will be Rosario, Kepler will be good again, Hopefully Garver can continue like he hit last year. Arraez must prove he is what we think he is. Polanco might be the best hitter in the lineup. However I think the biggest intriguing thing that will affect the lineup besides Donaldson is if Buxton finally puts it together and becomes the hitter we have all been waiting for. If that happens, look out, holy moly, and cowabunga all rolled into one.

I've never been tied to the belief that any prospect is a sure thing. Wasn't long ago we were told how great Royce Lewis was going to be and since then we've been told he probably isn't going to stick as a Major league SS and just recently how he has a hitch in his swing that coaches are hoping they can correct. Every player has value, the Crystal Ball is the key. When do you move that player before his value goes down or disappears completely? Acquiring proven major league talent comes with it own risks but dealing with prospects takes that to a completely different level.

Would it suck more if Garritt Cole blew out his knee. HEE HEE, not for us!

Paper and the real world are 2 different things. You need to get out from behind your desk and experience the real thing.

I still cannot call the off-season a success when your major need is starting pitching and your biggest acquisition is a 3rd baseman. If you spend $7M on Bailey, $3M on Hill and $23M on Donaldson wouldn't it have been better to spend the collective amount of those 3 of $33M on an Ace? Pitching wins Championships..... Viola and Morris are the biggest examples. All we can do now is hope for a trade.

The problem with the Twins adding an impact arm on the same level as a Berrios or Odorizzi as you suggest is, not only was that not done but we were expecting an impact arm on a level better than a Berrios and Odorizzi. So far the off-season has been a failure of epic proportions. You don't make a playoff caliber team better by resigning what you have and adding players that aren't any better than what you lost. At this point the only way this team gets better with the moves they have made thus far is if a Graterol or some other AAA prospect Pitcher steps up and becomes an ACE. Yes, there is time for a big trade to upgrade the rotation. Yes there will be the trading deadline come July31 to make a final move. But those are last resort type moves that a contending team shouldn't have to do if they would have taken care of business in the off-season.

I agree that prospects are just that, prospects. No one knows what they will turn into. Even the best prospects. Any positional players in the minors where there is extra depth should be considered for trade. Pitching will never be one of them. But you also have to consider who you are trading for, what they are worth and how long you can keep them. If you want to upgrade 3B Bryant isn't anywhere close to the value of a Arenado. If 1B is really the need then why trade for a 3rd baseman. Again and again and again... Sano will not help at 1B and will probably last there 1 year. DH is where he'll settle once Cruz is gone. This team needs to trade for pitching and if you're going to move a Lewis or Kiriloff or Larnach then get quality pitching in return.

Bryant is a tier 1 type player. The Twins don't acquire tier 1 players. No need to speculate on this one. It won't happen. And he really isn't much of an upgrade defensively over Sano. If 3B is really a concern then Donaldson is the guy. If 3B isn't much of a concern then the Twins will continue to wait on Donaldson until he signs elsewhere instead of giving him what he wants and then saying, well we were in the mix, we tried, he didn't want to play here. Nothing new. Another feeble attempt was made, let's move on. Yippee!

I'll say it again. If the Twins are serious about improving the infield defense moving Sano to 1B isn't going to cut it. I can just envision him running to the fence chasing every errant throw he misses way way way too often. I believe Ortiz was a 1st baseman with the Twins and when he went to Boston he quickly became a DH for the same reason why Sano will never stick at 1B either. So why move him there in the first place? I'm open to trying Arraez at 3B, moving Polanco to 2B, and getting a good defensive SS. But that doesn't solve the 1B issue. I think it is going to take another season to resolve these issues. Nelson Cruz is the log-jam at DH forcing the Twins to play Sano in the field. Cruz is a nice log-jam but he creates a defensive problem.

Of the 5 listed I'd pass on Longoria and Seager. Arenado will never come to Minnesota and if the Twins are serious about improving the defense Bryant isn't really much of an upgrade over Sano. That leaves 1 player listed, Donaldson and 2 things are happening there, either the Twins won't give in and pay him what he wants or he is just using the Twins to leverage the Braves into paying him more which means he really doesn't want to come to Minnesota either. I'm more in favor of keeping Sano at 3B and signing a 1 year guy like Moreland to play 1B. Next year after Cruz departs move Sano to DH, and you'll know by the end of 2020 if a AAA prospect like Kirolloff or Raley or Lewis or Rooker can fill a spot in the infield be it 1B or 3B. There is always the possibility of Garver moving to 1B and a Jeffers or Rortvedt can take over at C.

If he's the real deal he'll land somehere else. If he's a flash in the pan and won't amount to a hill of beans the Twins will get him, ala Nishioki or Byung-Ho.

So the Twins have offered $100M/4 years to Donaldson = $25M a year. They've dished out $7M to Bailey, $3M to Hill, $2.75M to Clippard, $4.25M to Avila for a grand total of $42M when you add what they have offered to Donaldson. Cole went to the Yankees for $36M a year. Yet the Twins couldn't afford him? Pretty sure Cole will outperform Bailey and Hill and would have made Clippard less needed with having to use arms in the pen less often when every 5th day you've got a guy who can potentially pitch into the 8th or 9th inning. Oh, don't forget the added revenue a Cole would have brought to Target Field by exciting the fan base. Instead we should show up with paper bags on our heads.

If the Twins want Donaldson why don't they just give him what he wants? Why make it into a bidding game for dollars or seasons? If they were really serious it should be done already. If the offer of 4 years and $100M is what he wants and he isn't signing then he is basically telling them no, I don't want to play for you. It's not rocket science. Move on, tell him the offer is good until such and such a day and if you don't accept what we are offering you by then, which is what you want, then don't let the door hit you in the A$$. They have failed at adding impact pitching so what's one more failure...... piece of cake. Move on, get a 1st baseman and let Sano play 3rd another year. Big deal. Without the Ace pitcher we had hoped for it'll be an early exit in the playoffs again anyway. There's always next year... Twins fans have gotten use to it....

It all comes down to what we've been told verses what they do and they are 2 different things. 1.Re-signing your own players is not adding. 2.Having opponents, especially in your division, (White Sox), ADD more quality players than you do is going backward. 3.The reason for Target Field was to be competitive in the Free Agent market due to the increase in revenue. If we haven't reached the point yet where we can compete for top Free Agents, we never will. Saying we were in the running or wasn't quite enough or they didn't want to come here only means 1 thing, we failed. 4.Not signing Free Agents means you only have 1 option left to get what you need and that is trading. When you trade it costs other players, usually prospects that you are counting on for your future. Which would you do? 1.Keep loads of cash now and trade away your future for an Ace or 2.Spend cash now for a Free Agent Ace, and keep your future intact. Guess we know what they have decided.

Possible/Probable scenarios: White Sox win the Division Twins win a Wild Card Cole to the Yankees = Twins first round loss in the playoffs Front Office decides it really needs to add some real Impact Pitching this time, they don't want to come here. Minnesota fans go into hibernation and don't come back Target Field becomes a ghost town Twins get sold and move to Las Vegas. New team signs 5 top Free Agent Pitchers the first season and win the World Series

This article suggests the Twins will be able to add an arm that will make the difference at the trade deadline next season. (If they are in contention). The ONLY way to do that is to trade. Seems to me that is a limited option you are putting yourself into. Quality Free Agent pitcher after pitcher has gone off the board and still nothing for the rotation. The WhiteSox have made themselves better in the Free Agent market. Lets take a quick look at some of the players the Twins have acquired so far outside of the organization. Pitchers: Tyler Clippard will help the bullpen. Danny Coulombe didn't even play last year and comes as a minor league invitee. Caleb Thielbar hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2015. WOW this is a reach! Ryan Garton appeared in 2 games for Seattle last year and didn't pitch in the majors in 2018. Another Hope and a Prayer. Blaine Hardy another arm for the bullpen that isn't really an upgrade over what we already have. Matt Wisler has a career ERA over 5. Hello minor leagues. Hitters: Alex Avila replacement for Castro who has a weaker bat than Castro. Jack Reinheimer, Tom Telis, Wilfredo Tovar, Juan Graterol might as well lump all these guys into 1 catagory, YAWN! And there you have it. It probably isn't the entire list but without a ton of research it's what I could find. Hardly significant moves outside of Clippard anywhere. Is Terry Ryan running this team incognito? Feel free to list the WhiteSox signings. I can tell you they have been vastly more impressive and significant. It looks like the Twins are content to STOCK their minor league teams, and not UPGRADE the major league team.