Twinsoholic

I like Lewis a lot, but if I were the Twins I would sit him for 3 straight games. His push ups stunt was pointless except to get himself on tv. He's talented enough to get on tv without doing knucklehead stunts like he did yesterday.

12 walks in 22 innings for Sammons is a red flag despite a glowing era for the month. Such a walk to innings rate will catch up to any pitcher. So, let's hope Sammons decreases the number of free passes.

Any word on Dakota Chalmers whom the Twins got from Oakland for Fernando Rodney? He had Tommy John surgery a year ago. He was throwing 96-97. Bar in Alston said he could be a fast mover in the system if he made a couple of adjustments. He definitely defines lottery ticket (and had some maturity issues). I assume he is in extended spring training.

Seth, Miranda played 27 games at High A and 104 at Low A. Baddoo played 113 at Low A. I know we all hope they are both successful. I just think Miranda has out performed Baddoo to this point. Obviously, Baddoo could end up as the better player, but to see him now as #10 and Miranda as #20 is arguably surprising.

I know he projects well as an outfielder, but Baddoo has yet to play high A ball. I would have Miranda higher than Baddoo (I am surprised that Wade, Littell, and Rortvedt are also ahead of Miranda).

Long ago, when free agency started, Oakland As owner Charlie Finley said that teams should just sign free agents to 1 year contracts. Teams would not be stuck with long-term deals, and players would be competing each year against each other to sign with teams. The World Champ as were decimated by free agency in the 1970s. At this moment I happen to like the Twins strategy of the 1 year deal (with possible option year as in the case of Cruz). If the Twins are in the playoff picture, then they can make trades to improve their chances in July. What if the Twins had signed Darvish last year to a long-term deal? The Twins should be better than last year barring a rash of injuries. They have the farm system depth to make July trades.

Tyler Austin is a right-handed hitter, and if Rhu costs a draft pick, I am not sure I want him. If he does not cost a pick then that is a different matter all together.

I am surprised that Edwar Colina is not in the C+ or C listing by Sickels. He had an excellent season as a starter at Cedar Rapids. He is someone to keep your eyes on in 2019 at Fort Myers (and maybe Pensacola).

How much service time does Tigers lefty starter Matthew Boyd have? He has a 94 mph fastball and very effective breaking balls. I liked watching him pitch in some games this year. Depending on how much team control exists he could be a very good pick up. He's not of the caliber of some of the Mets starters, but he could be a very good fit for the Twins.

What do you all think about the Twins trying to trade for lefty starter Matthew Boyd from the Tigers. He has less hits than innings pitched, and strikes out about 8 per 9 innings. His fastball hits about 94, and he has good control. Berrios Gibson Boyd Pineda Mejia/Odorizzi/Romero What would the rebuilding Tigers want for Boyd? Boyd would be a definite improvement over Odorizzi and perhaps equal or better than Pineda as well.

I like the trade. Rolling the dice on for a high upside starter makes sense to me. The comments from the Beloit pitching coach are glowing.

Look at his Ks last season. Something like 47 in about 29 innings.

I will grant the possibility of more defensive value if Baddoo sticks in center field. In terms of offensive production, he has 20 stolen bases to 0 for Miranda. Baddoo has a slight edge in OPS: .778 to .767. Baddoo has a little more edge in OBP: .361 to .326, but Miranda had a brutal start to this season. Look at Baddoo's strikeout total: 101 (Miranda has 49 strikeouts, and he has about 10 more games). Miranda's batting average is .279 compared to Baddoo's .246. Miranda has 72 rbis to Baddoo's 32. I hope both are fabulously successful. I am just thinking Baddoo's hype and his numbers are maybe off a bit. I do like Baddoo's 9 homers.

Miranda is way too low on both ranking lists. Why Baddoo is ahead of him is not clear to me. Baddoo is clearly a very good prospect, but what Miranda is doing is being underappreciated as far as the rankings go in my opinion.

You are correct: I did forget Pineda. I would disagree with you about the Twins acquiring 2 starters from trades and/or free agency if the 2 hypothetical 2 starters--I am thinking of 2 starters who are least as good as Berrios (a tall order I'Il admit--maybe one comes from a trade and one from free agency). Having two more top starting pitchers helps take the Twins to the next level (well beyond Cleveland so that the Twins can battle the top AL teams in the playoffs), and it would give them a lot of starting depth in the minors in case of injuries and/or the need to make trades during the 2019 season. The Twins starting pitching depth in the minors is expanding--I don't remember it being this deep with strong prospects. Don't stop with what we have under contract for next season. Start next season with an even stronger rotation and a much stronger bullpen.

What is the injury to Sands (the Twins over slot 5th round draft pick from Florida State)? The 60 day DL sounds serious. Also, what is the injury to the catcher Buenelos?

The situation for 2019 is not as dire as many think if the following occurs: 1. Buxton gets his act together as a hitter and continues with great defense. 2. Sano shows significant improvement at the plate (and continues to be able to play 3rd base). 3. The front office signs and/or trades for two very good starting pitchers. The Twins have Berrios and Gibson, and they have Odorizzi and Mejia under contract. There are prospects such as Romero, Gonsalves, Alcala and Thorpe who could/should be knocking/kicking on the door. 4. The front office signs and/or trades for two very good relief pitchers. There are some options at AAA (Duffy has pitched much better of late--check out his ERA; and Anderson and Bard are options). 5. Castro is healthy next season, and Garver is able to improve his defense. 6. The Twins need to sign some free agent position players such as a second baseman (they can jettison Morrison and Grossman and Wilson). Perhaps Escobar will want to re-sign with the Twins. If Rooker plays well at AAA next season then he can be a call up. From one perspective this looks like a long list, but from another perspective I don't think it does. The Twins have a lot of money off the books as a result of trades. They have a deep farm system that has only gotten deeper as a result of trades. They have the player resources to go out and make trades for proven players, and they have the financial resources to go out and sign free agents. Buxton's performance next year will be important for turning this all around, but the Twins could hedge their bets by trading this off season for a center fielder who can take over if Buxton looks like a bust in 2019. Let's assume the Twins don't sign Machado; they could still sign Ramos. The Twins can trade for pitching. I suspect this front office will not be hesitant to do that.

Twins_89, You left out the two players we received from Seattle: De Jong and Costello.

Maybe Lynn's last start--6 innings, only 2 earned runs, a 96 mph fastball, some Ks--against the Red Sox made Lynn attractive to the Yankees.

I agree that Duke not pitching means he is being traded to the Red Sox. I wonder what the Twins could get for Taylor Rogers, a lefty under team control who throws 94 mph and is sometimes quite effective and sometimes what he was tonight.

When the Twins traded Liriano to the White Sox, who among us thought the Sox's young utility infielder would become a star? The general reaction to the trade was we got a bag of balls. We will only know in time if this trade today was bad or good. It looks more promising than what the Mets got for Cabrera.

The Twins deal looks much better than the Mets deal with the Phillies. Kilome's numbers are not very good--even over the course of his minor league career.

Hi, Seth, How about revising the sentence to read "The current EST roster includes players from the following countries plus Puerto Rico: Dominican Republic (9), Venezuela (7), Puerto Rico (4), Canada (3), and one each from Australia, Moldova and Taiwan." I am not trying to be picky. Some people will think Puerto Rico is a separate country--it helps if people know Puerto Rico's contested history.

Puerto Rico is not a country--you have it listed as one when you list international players. Puerto Ricans are US citizens and, thus, not internationals. "The current EST roster includes players from the following countries: Dominican Republic (9), Venezuela (7), Puerto Rico (4), Canada (3), and one each from Australia, Moldova and Taiwan."

Why is there so much being written about Mauer and the Hall of Fame? The world will not end if he gets in or does not get in. The anxiety that he might not get in is parochial. Why not wait until he retires to assess if he belongs in the Hall? What we are getting in these threads is often provincial--one needs a lot of historical context to reframe a presentist perspective.