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minman1982

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Everything posted by minman1982

  1. minman1982
    It is time to send Lewis back to St. Paul. If the Twins want to have a placeholder, bring up Arcia. If the Twins want to replace Lewis, bring up Culpepper. Either one of those guys has to give them a better chance of winning than Lewis does right now. Hopefully, the Twins can have a winning record this upcoming week while facing two huge disappointments in Houston and Boston.
  2. minman1982
    Given how bad some of the pitchers out of the bullpen have been, is it worth letting SWR try to come out of the bullpen? I have seen enough over the last few seasons to tell you that he is a fringe 5th SP at best. Sometimes the starters that don't work out become serviceable relievers.
  3. minman1982
    I wish Wallner luck. I hope he figures it out but am not holding my breath. The Twins are in a kind of weird spot right now. I would not consider them a playoff caliber team but no one in the AL Central looks particularly impressive. There are some bright spots on the team but there are also plenty of black holes as well. I think it makes total sense to make this move both to see what Larnach and Martin can do with full playing time until Rodriguez is healthy and ready to get the call. Who knows, maybe Martin or Larnach could fetch something useful in a trade later on this season. As for Lewis, I think his days are pretty much numbered. He has been played less and less. It is only a matter of time before he also earns his light rail ticket to St. Paul. SWR is a little bit of a different story given the injuries the Twins are dealing with. If Lopez doesn't get hurt in Spring Training, there is no way SWR is even with the Major League club. He is starting games in St. Paul. Until Bradley or Abel are ready to come back, we are probably stuck with SWR.
  4. minman1982
    I was surprised last night when they said he had reached 1000 at bats. It seems like he has been injured so often over the last few years that he has never really found consistency. At this point, I think the team has to make a long term plan that doesn't involve Royce Lewis. If the team brings up Culpepper and Lewis turns it around, great they have some options on that side of the infield. If Lewis doesn't turn it around, it might be time to see if any team would be open to a trade. The flashes of power he showed in 2023 would have to draw at least a little interest from other teams.
  5. minman1982
    The rotation has done a great job this season so far. Outside of a few clunker starts, they have kept the Twins in position to win games. The bullpen? Yuck. It seems like every other game the bullpen is blowing a lead late or letting a team pull away when the game is close. I don't think I am going too far out on the limb to say that with a more competent bullpen, this team could probably have a handful more wins and be sitting at something closer to 20-15 on the season. Still a pedestrian record but it would be enough to lead the division by two games. The AL Central is not a strong division this year and the Twins have a good enough rotation and just enough offense to maybe pull out a division win if they had a solid bullpen.
  6. minman1982
    Sure. Give Wallner right field and let's see what he has to offer. The 2026 Twins are not going to be competitive so now is time to see if Wallner can be a part of a new core for future years, can be dealt at the trade deadline for additional assets, or is simply not the answer. He is a player that clearly has a ton of upside. The power is certainly there. He is decent enough defensively that you can play him out there and he isn't a total liability. As he ages, he could become a DH candidate for the Twins or someone else down the road. Personally, I hope he has a great year. That means that the options later this season are to trade him to a contender or build around him. Either way would be good for the future of the franchise.
  7. minman1982
    I have to give this offseason an F. The FO did not address any of the team needs and the roster as it is now is not significantly different from the roster at the end of last season. The Twins after the 2025 Trade Deadline were not a good team. I don't see the current roster being any better. I almost would have been happier with them trading Buxton, Ryan, Jeffers, and Lopez and tearing the team down to its studs to begin a full rebuild.
  8. minman1982
    I would be interested to see how much the end of the current CBA after the 2026 season is playing a role in what appears to be a lack of strategy. Maybe the FO feels there are too many unknowns and they want to see how the new CBA shakes out (or least have some idea of how it might end up) before making any huge decisions. This might not be a purely baseball decision.
  9. minman1982
    It almost pains me to say this, but I agree with this. At this point, I am almost leaning to trading all four of Buxton, Jeffers, Ryan, and Lopez. The 2026 squad will be horrendous but is the current group actually going to be a contender without significant upgrades that the team is not willing to do? In this strategy, you are playing for maybe 2027, but more likely 2028 and beyond. I look to our east in Milwaukee to see the way to develop a team within the constraints of what the owners want to pay. Solid, deep farm system, good player development, and being willing to trade top talent when the price is right.
  10. minman1982
    Given the likely construction of this offense, I think it would make sense to trade either Ryan and/or Lopez if the return is decent. This is a team that is not going to be competitive next year and so if the team can get something of long term value for either Ryan or Lopez, I think it is worth doing. This also opens up a roster spot or spots for guys like Festa, Abel, and Zebby to start and contribute for a large chunk of the season. The team needs to know what it has in these three guys to make more concrete future plans.
  11. minman1982
    I think both realignment and expansion are coming. 32 teams, four divisions of four teams each in each league. I like the idea of aligning teams to reduce travel. Right now, the Twins division isn't bad in terms of travel but a team like Seattle really has a tough go. I could see the season getting shorter. I think there is some logic to playing a few less games. The number 150 sounds good to me (prior to 1961, the season was 154 games). A nice round number that is divisible by three. That would mean about twelve less games per season. Maybe the season starts or ends a couple weeks later or earlier. Maybe teams have additional off days in the year. Maybe the All-Star Break is longer than a week. Maybe no one plays on Thursday or Monday. Lots of possibilities.
  12. minman1982
    Buxton at 29 HR and 21 SB for the season? They have 25 games left. I think Buxton will definitely hit one more homer during that time. Would the Twins let him attempt 9 more steals in the next month for a shot at a 30-30 season? Hey, we have to have something to cheer for.
  13. minman1982
    I think it is time to show both Rocco Baldelli and Derek Falvey the door. Baldelli has been with the team since 2019 and Falvey since 2017. The lineup got an overhaul at the trade deadline and it is now time that the front office and coaching staff get an overhaul in the off season.
  14. minman1982
    No. I think we all want Lopez back next season. Unfortunately, I think the Twins will still try to trade him even if they shut him down the rest of this season.
  15. minman1982
    At this point, I think the Twins need to give everyone who could be in the rotation next year a few starts to see what they have. We know Ryan and Ober are going to be back. Ryan is arbitration eligible for the next two seasons and while I would expect him to make more than the $3M he is getting this year, he is not going to get $20M. If the Twins trade Ryan, they are really signaling that they are not planning on being competitive in 2026. Ober is also arbitration eligible for the next two seasons. I would expect him to make less than Ryan but their salaries will likely be somewhat comparable. It would be nice to see the organization lock one of these guys up in a longer term deal, but I don't see that happening this off season. I fully expect Lopez to get traded in the off season. The question will be what will the Twins get in return. I was sad to see him go down earlier this season because he was putting together a great year. Only 29, ceiling: ace level stuff, floor: solid number 2 SP, two years of team control, someone is going to want him. While I would love to have Lopez, Ryan, and Ober lead the rotation in 2026, I can't imagine the Twins passing up a good offer to trade Lopez. The other guys: Festa, SWR, Abel, Zebby, Bradley: Give them all some starts and see what they can do. At least two, probably three, will be needed next season. The Twins are not going to go out and get a starter in free agency unless it is off the bottom of some other teams trash heap. Any of these guys are better options than what the Twins will be able to get in free agency.
  16. minman1982
    "Full no trade clause" is all you need to know. There is no indication that Buxton wants to leave and he controls all the cards. Buxton also doesn't seem to be a guy that you could throw $100M at to change his mind.
  17. minman1982
    The way we treat concussions today is very different from what was done when Mauer and Morneau had their concussions. Mauer likely had two successive concussions since he actually fouled two separate balls off his mask. Today, the first one would likely have gotten him pulled and put on the 7 day IL. Morneau also had several concussions in 2010 and 2011. I am a bit concerned about Buck given his previous concussions and history of complications like migraines. I would have to believe that catcher and first base are the two positions with the most concussions given the number of times that the ball gets thrown in their direction on any given day. Credit goes to the Twins training staff here for making sure these guys were taken out of the game and protecting from further harm. Gone are the days of "getting your bell rung" and playing through it. I remember from my football playing days in the mid to late 90s, if you weren't unconscious, you didn't have a concussion and were still good to play. That is simply not true. We know so much more about concussions and take them more seriously today than we did even a decade ago.
  18. minman1982
    It has to be Zebby coming up. He has been great in the minors this year. 7 starts with a 1.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 10.5 K/9. I agree that it appears the Twins see Matthews, Festa, and SWR as near equals. I don't see a future where SWR becomes a long term starter. I could see him becoming a great bullpen arm.
  19. minman1982
    A nice win streak going right now with a chance to continue against a struggling Baltimore team. Unfortunately, the Twins are still five games back of Detroit and trailing both Cleveland and Kansas City. Neither Cleveland nor Kansas City looks like they are actually better than the Twins but the Tigers are looking really good to start this season. There are a bunch of teams (like the Twins) sitting at a game or two above or below .500 right now in the AL. Let's see what happens the next couple of weeks. If they go 4-2 over the next week in Baltimore and Milwaukee, maybe it is time to flip some pitching prospects for some additional MLB ready offense. The following week against Cleveland and Kansas City should provide a good opportunity for them to make up some ground.
  20. minman1982
    My thoughts too. If he is amenable to coming back with the Twins on a minor league deal, that is a fairly low risk proposition for the Twins. I would totally understand if he wants to test his luck somewhere else or have a change of scenery.
  21. minman1982
    Plus, you have to add the impact of signing Mauer to the fan base. I remember when I heard that Mauer had signed. I totally expected him to sign somewhere else since the Twins would never put up the kind of money he could attract on the free agent market. I was shocked, surprised, and excited because the Twins actually kept a star player. After watching guys like Santana and Hunter go elsewhere, the Mauer signing gave me faith in the organization. The deal was good for Mauer, good for the Twins, and good for fans. Now, the 2010s were not exactly a bright spot in Twins history but I may have given up watching if Mauer had ended up in pinstripes.
  22. minman1982
    The big question mark for me is Duran. It would not surprise me if he is losing some fastball velocity just due to age and use rather than injury or other factors. How will he adapt if he can't throw at 103 MPH anymore? Does that make his other pitches less effective? Overall, bullpens and relief pitching are so hard to predict and project. One or two bad mistakes can wreak havoc on the stats of a reliever for quite some time. If you are only going to throw forty or fifty innings in a season, that increases the chance that fluky things can impact your overall performance.
  23. minman1982
    I won't expect him back until June. No reason to rush things along at the start of the season.
  24. minman1982
    Just imagine what 10 seasons of 150 games each would look like for a guy with Buxton's talent. He wouldn't be with the Twins right now but that would have been fun to watch.
  25. minman1982
    My two cents, in order of who I would put in the Hall of Fame: 1. Joe Nathan: A truly dominant reliever and closer for over a decade. More than a strikeout per inning, 2.87 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 377 saves (10th all time) for his career. I think the biggest things working against him are the lack of postseason success his teams had and the fact there are very few relievers in the Hall of Fame (only 9) to begin with. Nathan is 50-50 for me. 2. Johan Santana: If only he did not get injured at age 31. His time with the Twins was marked by a stretch of pure dominance that only a select few pitchers have. Look at his 2004-06 stats. This guy was a true ace level pitcher. Given how short his career was, I think it is hard for him to compete against guys like Justin Verlander, Zach Grienke, or Max Scherzer. This seems like a Hall of Very Good player with the asterisk of "oh what could have been" next to his name. 3. Torii Hunter: For the record, I loved Torii Hunter as a player. He was a fun player to watch who made every game entertaining. Unfortunately, it is hard to say he was even the best player on the teams he played for and so he is not a Hall of Fame player for me.
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