Riverbrian

The less than average outcomes are indeed the problem. The additional problem and bigger problem and fixable problem is when a team treats average or less than average outcomes as irreplaceable. Jackson wasn't going to change that. He was simply a waste of a roster spot... evidenced by his multiple removals from the 40 man and CLEARING. Not having players that can challenge the less than average or even average outcomes was a problem. I agree with you. The Twins did not swim with interest. People should be interested in swimming to avoid drowning.

Injuries are never an excuse because injuries occur every single season for all 30 teams. There is simply no excuse for not having sufficient competitive depth in place to prepare for something that is going to happen. We all know that injuries are going to change context multiple times throughout the season. We all know that some players will go Vlad Jr or Cal Raleigh on you. Treat each 26 man spot as gold.

And that's what needs to be fixed. If prospects are sitting at the end of a bench. They are not prospects. On the other side of the coin. Average performance being treated as irreplaceable keeping prospects on the bench, choosing lesser talent on purpose just so you don't have lineup playing time pressure is poor planning but it's a god send for the tragically average? 26 man roster waste is just plain impossible to defend.

FINAL ENTRY September 26 - Right Handed Starter - Nate Eovaldi - Loss - 2 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 3 RH 3 Switch 3 LH Season Wins vs RH Starters: 55-57 (Final) Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.65 (Final) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 27 - Left Hander Starter - MacKenzie Gore - Won - 6 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 5 RH 2 Switch 2 LH Season Record vs LH Starters: 22-28 (Final) Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.36 (Final) Some day in the near future. I will break these stats down further into specific lineup composition sub sets. I will also take the information generously provided by @MN Brian and break that down.

Find young 100 mph arms that need coaching and hire the very best coach that money can buy. The best guy to teach mechanics and then teach. Keep the audition process going. I'd strongly consider signing Helsley.

@Nick Nelson. This was fair, measured, reasoned and extremely well written article. Personally, I think they exceeded and did not exceed my expectations. To be fair... to be honest. My expectations in the off-season is what I'll measure against and I will do my best to not use any hindsight revisions. In regards to the offense. They exceeded my expectation. I didn't have great expectations opening day. I thought the offense would have a dickens of a time producing runs. I felt good about the OF, the infield had me all kinds of nervous. I was wrong... even with the collapse of Wallner (and Wallner I was counting on)... the Twins either sequencing or just the sure will of collective averageness... the offense was able to exceed my expectation. In regards to Lewis. If he could have been the Lewis that was promised to us on his birth as the first pick overall. Lewis could have raised my expectations by himself. I have been in a consistent state of "He's going to have to prove he figured something out"... he will need to earn my faith. My lowered expectations for the team... was fueled by my lowered expectations with Royce Lewis. The Starting pitching did not meet my expectations. We had depth... if we had any chance of the playoffs this year... I figured the starting pitching would be the reason. I was concerned the bullpen would possibly undo the starting pitching at times but I felt good. I was wrong despite solid performances from Ryan and Bradley. The bullpen... I thought it was about the worst bullpen I have ever seen assembled. I was hopeful that they would cycle through auditions quickly to find some arms and they did that... they found some and stabilized the unit a little... But in the end... The bullpen was not good at that's what I expected so met expectation. Bring it all together... in total. They ended with a record that I felt they were going to be at in the off-season. I mistakenly nailed it.

Maybe. I'd have no idea what is possible. I just assume that Ober would bring more than Kremer. And I've seen average starting pitching... even below average starting pitching get moved for some value. Add to it if you have to but Ober would have more value in my opinion.

I think Ober has a higher trade value. This team could probably move one of the 4 expiring contracts for help on the infield or bullpen help. Personally, I'd see if you can get a decent young infielder for him. SS capable. And that is nothing to suggest I wouldn't like Ober on the team. He's one of us. He would just make the most sense to move for help elsewhere.

I will always contend that the DH spot should be a vehicle to get more position players into the lineup more often. Unless you got a Nelson Cruz type King Kong DH that really moves the needle. However... You are right. If they don't sign Bell. Someone else could have added to the depth and we would have been better equipped to deal with the crash and burn of Lewis and Wallner. And since this a discussion on defense. Bell and Caratini didn't improve the defense one bit other than catcher and Caratini's utilization would have been less than Jeffers so the possible defensive improvement would have been minimal when Jeffers is healthy. We rolled into the season with Lewis at 3B, Lee at SS, Keaschall at 2B and Clemens/Caratini combo at 1B. If defense was a concern. We certainly didn't address it. Not even close to trying a single bit. Disclaimer: I appreciate the need for defense but I am less trusting of the range ratings that accumulate the data so I am not as defensive minded as some of the posters on this site. But even with my diminished concern for the defensive side of the ball. Not having a good defense in 2026 in comparison with the other 29 teams was rather predictable with that lineup. That's why I said over and over again in the off-season. We need infield competition for all 4. What happened. Lewis to 1B, Lee to 3B, Clemens to 2B and Keaschall to the OF. Kriedler and Gray who no one was concerned about because they were not suppose to play at all anyway at SS. Depth... GO GET IT this off-season.

I can't account for Falvey's comments or what his plan was. But between Falvey and the transition to Zoll and Shelton making out the lineup. It was Clemens and Caratini primarily. Bell would draw a start at 1B when Jeffers played DH to give him a rest from squatting.

Based on early season utilization. I believe Bell was signed to be the DH. Also based on early season utilization. I believe that Caratini was signed to be the 2nd catcher and a platoon 1B with Clemens. I recognize that Bell had a decent year for us but still believe both signing were a waste of limited resources and if we have a defensive problem. Well... that's what we spent 14 million dollars on. No attempt to increase team speed... no attempt to improve a bullpen (Yeah I know Rogers) that needed to go from zero to sixty. No attempt to plan for the possibility of Lewis not working out or getting hurt, no attempt to plan for the need to move Lee from SS to 3B. No attempt to plan for the possibility that Keaschall would have to moved to the outfield. Bell only played 20 games at 1B. Ranked 4th on the team behind Lewis, Clemens and Caratini. Bell was the DH for 120 games and he performed slightly above average. Taking an average player and making him nearly unreplaceable in utilization as a DH took away the option of using the DH position to develop depth. Making both signings a mistake in my opinion. Last year... My Doctor says I should get more exercise and I should eat better... healthier. I didn't and I was surprised when my Doctor said the same thing this year. This off-season we still need that same infield depth. It was a desperate need last year and that is unchanged. If Shelton doesn't like his defense. Well... what did we do about it. We signed Caratini and Bell and declared that we are going for it. It would be irresponsible to say Lee, Culpepper, Clemens and Lewis and say we are good.

Perfect This mindset would allow the Twins to focus limited financial resources elsewhere. And we all need to realize that no matter what Tom Pohlad says. Our financial resources are limited and have always been limited... even if we increase payroll 70 million next season. I will continue to contend the same as last year that Bell and Caratini was a mistake. And I say that fully acknowledging that Bell did a decent enough job.

Twins Daily is going to subjectively take the quote both directions. String, I am the complete opposite... Catcher should be the last priority. Put Jackson back on the 40 man and roll with Caratini and Jackson and get your minor league catchers major league prepared. Despite the presence of Jeffers (who should have been traded). Caratini was apparently a priority last season. So we out bid the other teams and spent 14 million for a player who ended up being the worst hitter on the team (With at least 200 AB's). Just stop pouring money into the money pit. If you want a defensive catcher. You can pick one up off the waiver wire. If you want a catcher who can also hit. Caratini is supposed to be that guy. We are already paying him more than other teams were willing to do.

Does this mean we rebuild the roster to become more defensive minded or does it mean we hope the players already in place become more defensive minded?

Last Game Right Handed Starter September 25 - Jacob deGrom - Won - 10 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 4 RH 2 Switch 3 LH Season Record vs RH Starters: 55-56 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.68 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 21-28 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.33

I liked your post overall. Just two disagreements. Buxton retires a Twin if it was my call. It's just up to us to put a better team around him. Contreras would be great. I'm just reluctant to spend our limited dollars on a catcher. Besides my personal disagreements on two points. Both of those are justifiable.

I have my assumptions because Tom Pohlad basically told us that he was in charge when he walked in the door so I do assume that he is in charge and ultimately responsible. I also have different assumptions about Pohlad, Falvey, Shelton, Zoll based on a pretty clear 180 change of direction that occurred and that 180 is the reason for my assumptions but I can never be sure. I will continue to not only assume but vocalize my belief that last off-season at peak value is when you traded Joe Ryan. His value is probably gone to the point where it is almost better to keep him now. All I know is this. A wall is coming. We either slow down a little this year or run full speed into it the following year. But Yeah... We could have had Taj and Tolle leading the way if the rumors were accurate... this alone would have started the mitigation of the wall that's coming. Franklin Arias could have been that SS/IF dude I'm looking for in this discussion. If the Red Sox trade rumor isn't accurate... I will continue to believe that Joe Ryan would have fetched a pretty decent package. If he wouldn't have brought back an Eldridge straight up. Maybe a Lombard/LaGrange trade with the Yankees. Now... Maybe we get back Lagrange. I don't know but his value is just plain less. What would the Mets have paid then and what would they pay now? I do believe that whoever decided to GO FOR IT. We ran forward with a bullpen stripped to the bone and question marks in the field. Whoever made the decision... it was a very risky questionable decision.

Unfortunately Royce Lewis doesn't belong in this conversation. Until he hits the ball... he doesn't belong in this conversation. Kody Clemens has earned playing time. Royce has not. I'm not giving up on Royce and honestly I'm not sure why I haven't given up. However... Next season... Royce needs to be placed at 1B, 2B, 3B and DH. He should play multiple positions and be made to compete. I won't use the word backup because I don't believe in backups. But it should be clear to Royce that there are players in front of him at each of those positions and he will have to earn his job back. I'm not sure if everyone is paying attention but at the 1B position across the league. EVERYBODY ELSE HAS ONE. Big slugging 1B. We have Royce who is closing in on 900 PA's in the past two seasons with OPS of .671 and .665. The Twins failure to develop a 1B when everybody else can is really getting concerning. This failure is going to reach a decade soon. Small sample defensive stats should not get in the way of finding a hitter to play 1B. Being that you tend to find bigger bats at the 1B position. Clemens should remain the primary 2B and a full scale search for a 1B (not a one year rental) should occur this off-season.

I'm not willing to do that. I'm keeping Lackey and Houston. That sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Why would another club trade a young player for young players. You really don't have a net gain when Peter and Paul are involved. Actually I'm not sure who Peter and Paul are. But if Mary had a hammer. She'd Hammer out an Ober or something. Strictly hypothetical conversation. But, my desire is the same as last year. I want a young infielder SS capable. I'm saying we are light on infielders. We are stronger in the outfield and starting pitching. We got a wall coming after the 2027 season concludes.

Here is what I said: The SS who can also play 2B or 3B. Go young. This is where we try make a trade to bring in someone with years of control. Major league ready prospect is what I'd like to see. We work too hard to attach labels to things. Starter - Bench... it trips people up. I don't like the terms. I'm looking for ball players period. Their play will attach the labels. We got Culpepper to play SS, We got Lee to play 3B, We got Clemens to play 2B. What we don't have is someone who can challenge them. We will need that... and we will need Houston to keep his nice rise going as well.

Who said starting SS? 😉

I won't argue with that approach. It's fine by me. Just accumulate talent as much as you can. And don't ever stop short and stuff your roster with lesser players on purpose. People talk of log jams. I've never seen one. A legitimate log jam means you are going to the playoffs because you got talent bursting at the seems. A legitimate log jam means you have trade chips with actual value than can load up the next wave. This team can't free agent there way into this. They must develop their way to this. I don't want my manager on auto-pilot with the lineup card. Hoping today is the day that Royce Lewis figures it out with even lesser options to choose from. I don't want my summer to be sunk by sinking ball players and we lack the alternatives to fix it. I want my manager tearing his hair out trying to figure out how to get playing time for all because they are all kicking ass. And I'll tell you... A good manager can do that. A bad manager can't because he's stuck in some sort of incremental better/worse disease. Necessity is the mother of invention. Let's make it necessary.

I get the argument. I've been having this discussion with many over the years. And I have no personal problem with Kriedler. His bat fell of at the end but he did some nice things at times and won us a few games. And I am all for giving Ben Ross opportunity to see if he can carve out a career. As much as I support younger players and I really really do support them. I think they are beyond necessary to develop them. I also recognize that they are going to develop on their own timeline and you have to prepare for that. My disagreement with you and Mike is rather simple. When you bet on 9 players and 9 players only... you will lose almost every time. Now the fortunate thing is that all 30 teams will lose this bet every time so it equals out to a degree but... I firmly believe that you don't have to limit your options to 9 and the team that realizes that 13 instead of nine increases your possibility of success with more players... they will create for themselves a competitive advantage over the manager or front office doing the 9 thing. If injuries every single year hasn't made that apparent to people... I'm not sure how people are missing that. If Royce Lewis going on a one year plus slump doesn't make it apparent. If Keashcall getting moved to the OF doesn't make it apparent to all... If the consistent ever changing context from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year for all 30 teams isn't apparent... I have to start doubting who exactly is paying attention as these things pile up like my recyclables when I miss the Thursday pick up. These are 2026 examples, you can go back to 2025, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20 and just keep counting down and you will see that it happens every year. Yet year after year... We place our bets on 9 and we lose every time. Your odds of success will increase by rostering 13 players that you would like to see the field. Instead of 4 disposable players whose greatest value to the team is that they are disposable. And I will guarantee you that those disposable players will see the field. I will never agree with the rostering of any players that you hope never see the field. You want bench players. Here's how your find bench players. Bench the players who fail in their opportunity but never assume that the chosen 9 won't fail or be unavailable for competition... Because I'll bet a large sum of money that a portion of them will because they do every single year for every single team. BTW... My son lives in Maple Grove. It's an awesome suburb.

I will be diving into this at first availabiliy of my time. I believe you are right. I think I'm going to love it. Thanks Again. You Rock.

Besides the obvious that Houston may be hurt in July... and the obvious that he doesn't adjust well to AAA. The answer is this: We currently have Lee, Culpepper, Clemens and Lewis. That's it. Besides the AA guy that you are sure will be replacing one of those 4.