Fire Dan Gladden

I have been wondering about Trevor Bauer lately... I wonder how players look at him and what the behind-the-scenes POV is as well.

It is one thing to give them a chance, it is another thing to put all of the weight on their shoulders. IF they are healthy and IF they make the roster, they will play. Gordon and Miranda both showed that last year. There may be 100 reasons why they don't play, but they will need to take advantage of the opportunities when they happen.

By long time veteran you mean an elite defensive OF who has solid experience playing all 3 OF positions? Umm... sure. Before you respond: He is an elite defensive OF. He should play more CF then he already has, but he has spent a lot of time on the corners as well. He also has 90+ games at 1B and 3B. The guy is a defensive stud. Now you can argue semantics, but there is a definite possibility that he is Buxton's insurance policy. Doesn't matter if you agree, it is a possibility. His other positional flexibility fits right into what the Twins look for as well.

But he has played it. Not saying he will, but he very well could. Please remind me: how many innings did Arraez have at 1B prior to the season?

I imagine this will get torn apart, but oh well... I really like this move. I think the Twins maybe overpaid a bit, but he should bring value to this team, on both offense and defense. I have mentioned this numerous times that this guy would be the ones the Twins should take a flier on. He is another guy the change in shift rules should really help. He can also play CF and a little 1B. An outfield of Gallo, Buxton, and Kepler would be the best defensive outfield in baseball. That is nothing to sneeze at. (Still waiting for an indication Kepler will be traded). He is not the second coming, but he does raise the floor. You know what you are getting here.

First, thank you for posting this article. I understand fans being emotional about their teams and wanting them to win, but so few take the time to think things through. There are always 50 moving parts in a deal like this, but the focus tends to be on the 2-3 things that are made public. Second, players are not automatons. For example, an offer may not be made because the player is from Florida and wants to play closer to his family. Conversely, a player may want to stay closer to his family. Maybe a player wants to live in a bigger market. Read up on Kent Hrbek's FA and look what the Tigers offered him vs what he took from the Twins to stay in MN. Many factors go into these decisions that have nothing to do with the money aspect.

Actually it doesn't. We aren't talking about waving a trade clause, or accepting a buyout. This would be a complete overhaul of the contract. As I said, on paper it would appear to solely benefit the player. But it creates a slippery slope that the Union would be very, very nervous to cross.

Stop bringing logic to an emotional argument. You make everybody look bad.

I am going to politely disagree with you Mike. I have used the phrase retooling over the last few weeks when I talk about this. The Twins already have a fair amount of talent currently on the roster, especially when you are talking about the AL Central. If they were completely rebuilding, then yes, those players would likely be gone. We would be talking about 2-3 years (at least) before winning would be expected. As they are retooling, I think that is why you are seeing them basically stand pat. They have almost an entire starting rotation coming back from injury. Jeffers, Miranda, Gordon, Ryan, need to show they can maintain at this level. They may be betting on a Kepler rebound with the shift going away. But they still have a decent core in Buxton, Polanco, Arraez. Add Farmer and Vazquez as viable pieces... who knows? They could win 70 or they could lose 70. They are still in a a position to add salary if they win.

I think the Twins knew where things stood when they made their offers a few weeks ago. That doesn't mean they are or were going to go out and sign a different high dollar SS. They also weren't going to pull it off the table on the slim chance he said yes. Either way, the Twins did not get played.

Gray is a cheap(ish) veteran transition piece, Mahle is a potential long term keeper. The Twins have too much potential youth talent to gut everything. That is why they won't chop everything down just yet. If the kids show something, they will need those guys.

Why is everybody thinking the Twins got hustled or fleeced by Boras? Do we actually think that we as fans know Boras and the rest of the teams FO are full of fools? We seriously need to find a different excuse here... Anybody think that maybe the Twins are "playing" the Yankees? Rodon is not coming here, why not work to boost his salary another team pays... You know what you get when you deal with Boras, he will do everything in his power to get the most money for his clients. Period. By all accounts the Twins had a very solid offer on the table that was destroyed by the Giants insanity. The Correa dealings had basically zero impact on other FA signings for the Twins (outside of the other big name FA shortstops). Yeah, I said zero impact. It didn't stop them from getting Vazquez. The Twins are basically showing that they want to give their youth movement a year to see how they do. They have enough talent to supplement things later if the season starts positive. Go FA contract by contract and find me the ones that were not overpays? Andrew Heaney threw 72 IP last year and got 2/$25 Kenley Jensen 2/$32 with a ton of red flags Bassitt 3/$63 at the age of 34! Stripling got 2/$25 after one good year I am not going to even touch on DeGrom or the Mets Argue that this is the market if you want. Argue the Twins aren't willing to pay what other teams are paying. But stop with the "Boras is looking for top dollar and every FO is too stupid to know this" argument.

I don't believe the FO failed here. What exactly did they fail with? Not paying Correa a ludicrous contract? They won't lower prices, but I think offering more ticket discount specials and programs would help with attendance.

You are correct. Years past they had 1-2 guys that would draw in fans: Kirby Puckett Kent Hrbek Joe Mauer Johan Santana Torii Hunter Buxton could be that, but his health won't allow it

I might have liked this comment, but I don't want to get in trouble.

What is really sad here is that this signing is a positive in almost every way. The contract is relatively low for a top-half catcher who is considered a good clubhouse guy and fairly durable. It doesn't cost them a ton of prospects either. As if signing Correa and doing nothing else will win them the AL Central this year...

The only way this would work is if the Twins had younger players that were actually producing. Think back to the early-to-mid 2000's when it felt like every player that came up had success. I think the Twins would be more comfortable spending large if they truly believed it would put them over the top. Our current youth movement has shown very little at this stage...

I have a hard time seeing the Players Union agreeing to a renegotiation of the Stanton contract. In theory, it benefits the player, but it sets a dangerous precedence for the future.

I do not disagree with your assessment. But everyone is acting like there is a ton of smoke regarding Kepler being traded when in actuality there really is none.

Being reported at 3/$30m. Really like this get.

Not sure I see any fit here if we are talking OF for OF. Yankees have nothing the Twins want. Diamondbacks are in a situation similar to the Twins

I am not trying to sound snarky here, but outside of MLB Trade Rumors reporting on Aaron's Gleeman's vague Athletic article, has there been any validation that the Twins are truly looking to move Kepler? I do not recall seeing anything anywhere.

I am not going to attempt to swing any of the "trade Kepler" opinions, but I do think some of the discussions here regarding his value are accurate: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/max-kepler-has-drawn-trade-interest.html

Years since last playoff appearance: Phillies - 10 Tigers - 8 Angels - 8 Royals - 7 Pirates - 7 Rangers - 6 An absolute joke? I think your vitriol needs some perspective... Again, the Twins have been in the playoffs 3 times in the last 6 years. Last year they were in 1st place on Aug 7. They were 1 game out on Sept 5. It is not hard to argue that they should have made the playoffs last year. You can complain about them falling apart at the end of the season. You can complain about them losing in the playoffs. But I think any of those teams listed above would rather be in our shoes than their own when it comes to results.

By the way, this article reads like we are the Detroit Lions. The Twins have been in the playoffs 3 of the past 6 years. They should have gone last year as well. Don't act like the world is over because we aren't spending $250m every year on payroll. Do I want them to spend more? Yes. But even if they don't they will still be in the playoff chase.