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The only real untouchables in the Twins organization are Buxton, Correa, Lopez, and possibly Ryan. The list of guys that would be moved if them Twins were blown away or acquiring an elite level player includes Lewis, Duran, and Julien. I do not believe they would be traded but they could be moved in the right deal. Any minor leaguer (including Jenkins and Lee) could be moved. Minor leaguers are a high risk acquisition, look at the number of trades that give a top player for elite prospects and see how many of the prospects truly work out. The failures dramatically outweigh the successes. Personally I think if the Twins are going to make another Lopez-like trade for another pitcher, Lee and Larnach will be at the top of the list to be moved. Lee is stuck in a tough spot being behind Correa and Lewis, it is easy to see the Twins look to move him for a position of need.

Playoff team that won a series... Not sure what your interpretation of a WS contending team is...

I just realized this is an ESPN+ article... Here is the Phillies package proposed: Castellanos, outfield prospect Justin Crawford, pitching prospect Griff McGarry and $5 million in cash each year from 2024 to 2026

I agree that Trout is probably only behind Ohtani in true value. We are talking about off-field as well as on. What makes it somewhat doable is the injury risk you assume with Trout on top of the monster contract he has attached to him. There is a price for every player...

I respectfully disagree. The Twins have prospect depth and quality, especially in the infield. The biggest in a trade like this is dollars. If the Twins would need to eat the entire contract, the prospect package would be smaller think.

Ghirardelli - sweet swing... I see what you did there

ESPN had an interesting article today about what a trade between the Phillies and Angels for Mike Trout could look like. That article can be found here: Why the Phillies should trade for Mike Trout Trout's contract, age, and injury history play a big part in this type of deal, but the proposal offered by the Phillies seems very light considering you would be getting a still very effective Mike Trout. Living in the dream world, assuming the Twins want Trout and Trout is willing to come to Minnesota, let's build an offer that might be acceptable. The big factor would probably be how much salary the Twins would be willing to take on. We know the Twins have discussed lowering salary, but I am tend to believe they will be somewhat close to last year. Trout is owed $248m over the next 7 years, about $35.5m per season. I don't think the Twins would assume that much salary, so they would have to offset some of it with prospect talent. Here is what I think it would take: Twins receive: Mike Trout $12m per season ($84m total) Angels receive: Max Kepler Brooks Lee David Festa Simeon Woods Richardson Matt Canterino Kepler provides a quality short-term OF replacement. The Angels get two strong prospects and two decent-but-questionable prospects. The prospect quality helps to offset the salary. I am in the middle on this... Granted Buxton or Trout would have to move to a corner OF spot, but Trout brings a huge jumpstart to the offense. Having Trout also puts the Twins in a stronger national spotlight position. Would you make this trade? Would you look at a different offer? Have at it...

Baseball windows tend to be pretty small for players. Luck and injuries can unfortunately play a huge role in that. Gordon underperformed for so long in the minors. When he finally got a long look, he had some success. The horrid start to 2023 with the season ending injury, allowed Wallner and Julien to bypass him. I believe Gordon's window with the Twins is all but closed. I anticipate he will be tendered and signed, but ultimately moved before the 2024 season starts.

So who does Trey have as the Twins #41 prospect? That is the real question...

I have never said they should trade Julien, only that I don't believe his future is at 2B. He has tremendous offense potential, but they need to find him a defensive home were they do not need to pull him out for a defensive replacement in the late innings. Maybe 1B or OF...

Tendering them a contract and expecting them to be on the roster in 2024 are two totally different things. The Twins already showed their hand with Luplow and DeLeon, expect all of these players to be tendered (or signed/traded).

I am very aware of the reports on Lee. I am finding it hard to believe you expect a WS contending team like the Twins to turn a full-time 2B job over to a minor league SS that is one year removed from Rookie Ball and has 38 games in AAA where he batted .237 with an OPS of .731. Why is this even a discussion? He may turn out to be what you say, but he has not shown he is ready to take the reigns. Also, for the record, Kepler and Polanco provided 4.9 WAR last year for the Twins. The Twins are totally fine paying $4m per WAR when the going rate is much higher. Stop looking at the dollars in a bubble and look at what they bring to the table. As I stated earlier, I do not believe Julien is the 2B of the future. His bat is great, but a full-time 2B he is not.

If the Twins believed Lee had All-Star capabilities, do you think he would still be toiling in the minors? Larnach's window is quickly closing in Minnesota... I am fine with giving the prospects a chance, Lee should have a chance to earn some time. But you only need to look at Miranda to know what can happen when you anoint an unproven player. Polanco and Kepler are inexpensive for what they provide. There is nobody behind them pushing for their spot that is solid enough to supplant them. The Twins window to win is now. Mid-market teams covet these types of players, you don't trade them.

If he was playing full time, he would be providing 4-5 WAR per season, instead of the 1.5-3 he is providing now. $20m is not that outrageous for that type of production...

He actually is worth $10m for half a season, one of the main arguments for keeping him.... but I can understand and appreciate the frustration with the injuries.

And don't assume that your top prospects are going to be in the ballpark of the player they are replacing. I will take the successful known over the unknown 99% of the time.

Sorry, but I just don't see it. Going off the belief that Julien is not the answer defensively at 2B, there is NOBODY in the minors ready to replace him. Same with Kepler. If there were guys at that 90% point you are talking about, we would have seen them this year. We didn't and we don't. You have a known player, a successful player, at a very cheap salary point. You have a borderline WS team with a window to win. Now is not the time to be trading these types of guys.

This is a strong reason why I am not immediately buying into the "we are cutting payroll" narrative. I believe the Twins are saying that as a little bit of an excuse in case they can't complete signings, but also as a smokescreen for their moves in the market. Money drives most of the Twins decisions, Ohtani is a lottery ticket for a team like the Twins. Signing Correa was strictly a cost/benefit move. They basically got Correa below market value due to the way his ankle was being handled. Ignore Correa's numbers last year for a minute, but signing him turned the Twins into real players on the Market. Ohtani's on-field value should remain extremely high for at least 3-4 more years from a dual-threat point of view. Offensively he could provide value till the very end of the contract. Ohtani's off-field value is off the charts. Any team in the league should have no problem paying him $50m/year as his value will be measured in multiple times that figure annually. Personally, I think a team like the Twins should offer $60m per because of the impact he would have here. That being said, Ohtani will choose his destination. Even if the Twins offered a comparable salary, all of the public smoke suggest a big city team is his priority.

I was speaking in generalities. The Twins do not give a ton of money or contract length to the unknown FA... Their biggest true FA signing was Josh Donaldson I believe...

Buxton, Kiriloff are knowns. They were internal guys, the Twins knew what the medical risks were. I am not sure the Twins would have offered Correa the money they did if he had not been here a year first. He was a known product at that point, the risk was mitigated. Gallo was not a risk, he was a 1 year flier. This FO will not dump a bunch of money into unknown individuals. You won't see an outside FA signing of 7/$150. That is the unknown/known I am referring to.

I want to condense your paragraph: How accurate is the eye test when Derek Jeter wins a Gold Glove?

I am assuming they are not looking at Julien as a long term answer at 2B. Castro is not a full-time starter. Miranda is not on the radar. You would be looking at starters being 3B - Lewis, 2B - Farmer, UT - Castro. Julien emergency 2B. I would much rather have Polanco over Farmer and slide everyone else down a spot. I am not convinced payroll will be significantly lower last year, regardless of public noise. Now is not the time to be making your team worse. Polanco is just too good when he is on the field.

Two concerns with Hoskins: 1) He missed all of last year with an ACL surgery. Twins tend to shy away from unknowns... 2) He will probably cost $5-6m more than Turner. I would be ok with either, personally I just have a stronger preference towards Turner.

Apologies, but using BA as the argument against Polanco is fairly weak: 2022 OPS+ 115 3.0 WAR 2023 OPS+ 115 2.0 WAR He will be 30 in 2024. He plays positions the the Twins need depth at (2B and 3B). Health is a concern, but even at 80-100 games he is still a bargain at $10m.

I always thought the Garver trade was a little off, as decent catchers are such a valued commodity and the return for him was relatively light at the time.. But that move led to other moves that led to Correa and others. I am not going to lament over that move.