bunsen82

This season is a success in the managements eyes, and us for fans should be pretty happy as well. They were able to put out a decent product and we see signs of younger talent that will be key cogs for this team in the next couple of years. This has been a transition year all along. This all comes down to expectations. Many have had their expectations go sky high on this season, and from my viewpoint they are a slightly above .500 team as currently constructed. The managements focus all along has been LONG-TERM success throughout the organization. It means they will look for this year and do as much as they can, but ultimately their horizon is much longer than tomorrow, July or Sept. It has been stated many times though if you get to the playoffs you have a chance. That is true no matter how small the chance is you still have a chance. But if you want to win it all you need multiple chances, so I would rather have a team that can get to the playoffs the next 6 out of 8 years. With multiple shots you have a better chance at the ultimate payoff of a WS.

At this point better hope Smith and Duran and possibly Pagan are not 3 of the relievers that will be unavailable. The late innings have the potential to be very rough for the Twins. We will need some starters to go 7-8 innings most likely. Which they have not been stretched out to do.

This hits the nail on the head. The front office is getting exactly what it wanted out of this year, a team overachieving, but a team that doesn't logistically have a chance to compete for a championship unless you do a lot of tinkering at the trade deadline. Now they will have some ammo. There may be a bit of a 40 man crunch so we can use some prospects for trade bait that we would likely lose, but honestly I don't think it will be as tough as what the community has thought. We will most likely outright Sano, Sanchez is done. Duffy is an unrestricted free agent. Most likely we will not have Correa and Urshela will be a decision we will have to make on his arbitration, although as of now he is likely worth the contract. We also have a couple more we can cut with minimal impact such as Dobnak, Bundy, Archer and then you have the prospects that you can move off the 40 man that you no longer want to protect due to injury or poor performance. There is a lot of moving parts for this team and lots of options how they want to construct next years team and 40 man.

We had more holes than a single reliever. This isn’t a complete team, and yet we had an enjoyable spring. We are a much different team when we are a healthy team but the bullpen needs 4 more arms in my opinion. I think Alcala is one, and I think Maeda will be one later in the year. However we will need 2 more either from internal options or trade options. SP is still a tad weak, the bats are a bit more swing and miss a than I would like. Next couple weeks we will see what type of team we have.

Donaldson played awfully close to his contract. The issue was the rest of the team didn’t hold up and he wasn’t available enough due to leg injuries. Without Donaldson we most likely don’t luck into Correa. We would have spent the money and it wouldn’t have been available. Here is my math on what we received 2 years of Donaldson Urshela, Sanchez Correa We did have to use some extra prospects/players and money to get to this outcome, but overall the signing and the results from the transactions made it worth it.

First time I have ever been told simple averages are not an accurate way to average. I will agree Freeman is closer to Correa but also not in Correas league, evidenced by Correa getting $10 million a year more. You want to say the Braves should have traded Freeman based on my philosophy, but that goes back to my previous statement the Twins shouldn’t have traded Cruz. It’s not my philosophy- it’s how I view each managements style and how they operate and run their organization. They were only a couple games behind the braves at the trade deadline. What it show is management can go in whatever direction they want to. The Indians had a 62-44 record and were only 2 1/2 games behind the Twins when they Traded Bauer and held the #1 wildcard position. You are nuts to say they weren’t in contention or not close . . Or to ignore Bauer as a very good player evidenced by his previous year WAR of 6. Why you refuse to give me credit for that example or acknowledge for my point of a view it does give it some validity. A team had depth at a position and traded a player for prospects and outfield help. This wouldn’t be the first time, maybe the first time of a player as good as Correa, but I honestly think the twins will be more than 2 1/2 games behind the white Sox by the trade deadline. This would be a bit of a novelty but is definitely not out of the realm of possibility. You are just extremely stringent on what you want to consider FACTS especially if it disputes your take. You refuse to acknowledge the Indians example, you think I am steadfast in my opinion, no offense that is a very strong example of what could happen, and it’s apparent we are both very confident in our opinion and both rather hard headed. Rather than the Indians trading a malcontent this would be a situation of the twins opening a spot for Lewis and strengthening their elite prospects. It’s also my viewpoint that they signed Correa as insurance for Lewis and a stopgap and if they traded him they would just be cashing in on their insurance policy because they don’t need it any,ore. I need to stop period we are getting no where.

Squirrel, there is a lot to it. And honestly it is to far out to really be certain what is going to happen. Will the team keep up its pace, will Correa stay healthy, will Correa continue to perform. Basically the questions regarding the positions was the same questions I kept getting from Chpettit. It was a bit of being rhetorical. He kept saying Correa is the most elite player at the most elite position no one else can comp to him when I brought up Bauer and Archer. He likes to undermine them as similarities while when I do something similar it is completely different. Nothing more nothing less. Really all 4 players are very good tiered by Archer, Bauer, Freeman Correa. It also depends what someone is willing to offer and yes there is a cost benefit, they need to be giving up enough to make it worthwhile otherwise you don't just give him away. It will be interesting to see. The thing is, it is not outlandish to trade him even if the team is doing well, if the return is good to great. It won't feel good and I sure hope there are other moves to offset but it is not outlandish. I know it is not traditional thought process, but for many to just poo poo the idea is rather naïve in the current baseball landscape and the way the twins management have operated.

Trevor Bauer WAR over the 5 year period prior he was a full time player was 2.92. The age is also a decent difference and more important the position. Archer was 2.46. Freddie Freeman's is 3.61 and Carlos Correa's is 4.87. Lets not just guestimate stats to try to prove a point. I am not getting into the past but really they are all fairly good comps with Carlos Correa being by far the best player.

Which is more valuable a 1st baseman or a SS, please answer that- who would be worth more in trade? Secondly how many years did Freeman spend in Atlanta vs Correa in Minnesota? Did their management do a tear down, or trade for additional talent even though they were 44-51? Sounds like everyone here thinks you should trade away talent with a record like that. The odds they won are so slim. The only reason they went for it is because they has WS aspirations coming into the season.

how old is Freddie vs Correa? He has a career WAR of 44 over 13 seasons (that he spent the entire time with, a little different than a 1 year rental player), as 1st base vs the vaunted SS position you taught is the toughest position to fill. Atlanta also had expectations coming into the season they were going to try to win the World Series. Yes I would say its completely different. Plus management could have tore down, they were expected too, instead they found some cheap trades and went for it. It worked out, the odds were slim but they still won the championship. 12 teams each year have the same or better shot Atlanta had last year, 11 didn't win. So ultimately those other 11 and actually other 29 teams should have all tore down. Its a silly argument. This all comes down to does the management want to win it all now (like Atlanta, and give themselves a shot) or continue to try to build for the future. I will say they do tend to identify talent better. Their trades ect have been very good. They offered Freddie a 5 year $140 million contract. They tried to resign him, Freddie just wanted more money.

Different situation, they initially tried to resign him. As you like to state, Freddie and Correa are on completely different levels.

I told you I was keeping Correa out of it. You said no team team would trade starting pitching or starting caliber pitching. I merely stated the only team that A. had excess pitching B. wouldn't be afraid to use it was the Padres. At least acknowledge they are team that has excess pitching, up to 10 pitchers that are MLB quality or very close. They would trade their depth pieces that will not affect this year. I see them as willing to go all in this year. Yes if Tatis comes back healthy after injury they are likely not interested.

I said I wouldn't comment anymore but this really isn't on trading Correa. The only team that really comes to mind that has either excess pitching or pitching prospects ready in AAA that are currently blocked and would potentially be willing to trade them as a contending team is the Padres. Just like the Paddack trade they may trade from a position of strength to build their team. Take in the fact their GM is a trading fanatic this wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that they use their pitching depth to trade with any team. That they got Manea for super cheap was a boon for them. He doesn't seem like one to overpay though.

Ultimately here is my concern. I think the Central again is a very bad division that although the twins are playing good ball is artificially lifting up the record along with a very easy schedule for the the month of May. Record vs Division 13-4 Record vs Playoff teams (TB, Bos, Hou, LA) 4-8 If we truly want to compete and have a shot in the playoff I think our record vs playoff teams needs to be closer to .500 ball or slightly under.

My deep sleeper picks to get to the big show that were not even on the top 50 prospects list are the following: 1 Headricks 2. Isola 3. Mooney Headricks is dominating high A ball, the real test will be AA but he should be able to pass that level as well. Isola is already at AA, the only concern I have is that he is one that may wear down as the season goes down just like he did last year. He maybe an ideal backup catcher. The third is Mooney, he was drafted late due to an injury and lost a season with Covid. He is just a pitcher that knows how to pitch. Hendricks has gotten more notoriety this year, but Mooney has even out pitched him this year. All 3 came from the 2019 draft, in rounds 9, 29 and 12 respectively.

Look I am finished with this, it really comes down to time and we will see what happens in around 10 weeks.

The last argument was poor return on elite field players, nothing regarding how the teams were doing.

My 75% chance fully encompasses the team under performing what they have currently done. I think pitching will get more taxed and we will start to struggle as we face stiffer competition. I am glad the team is doing well, however in its current construction I don’t see this as 95-99 team. More like an 84-89 team. So then it comes down to will they still do the trade if the team is in that 100 win range.

You missed Turner last year. Also Paul Goldschmidt, Evan Longoria, prince Fielder, Robinson Cano ect.

what happened?

Arreaz comes through, now who is going to come up with the big hit?

We won't have as many if we are trading for relief pitching, starting pitching or potentially another bat. We have great depth of prospects, elite prospects we are still a tad shy on.

I agree it is the cheapest area to improve. I don't think waive the white flag more rearrange the deck chairs. Possibly improve this years team and improve prospects in the pipeline and using prospects as tradebait that may be lost in Rule V. You also forget we will be getting Kenta Maeda back.

Well technically we would probably need to improve both SP and RP to truly compete. You are correct it does not preclude us from getting relief pitching at the deadline, it also doesnt preclude the organization from prioritizing future years. Even if they did trade Correa it would preclude them from doing other trades to help the ball team this year. Their trades this offseason were a blend of buying and selling, and I could foresee a similar approach.

Yet people think this team is built to win in the playoff . . . and would never consider trading Correa.