Riverbrian

This sentence right here. Everyone needs to understand this sentence. I'd change "all" to most but this sentence right here describes how this needs to work. Outfield needs to be sorted out and how much sorting will get it's first clue when we find out how many outfielders end up on the 40 man when the rosters must be set. There is only X amount of space that any major league club can devote to 40 man OF roster spots without severely limiting roster space for all the other positions. I don't know what that number should be but... it seems like anything over 8 would start to compromise the space needed for Pitching, Catching and Infield on the 40 man. There are currently 9 OF on the 40 man and that's before you even consider GG, Rosario, Fedko and Mendez who are due R5 protection within a week or exposure is risked and that doesn't include Jenkins either. The Twins will need to clean this up. How much cleaning up? Let's see what it looks like a week from now.

I mostly agree with what you are saying but... I'd like to add a couple of considerations that may taint it a bit. 1. I can't know for sure. However... actions suggest that their was an abrupt shift when the RSN money went away. The key question that needs an answer is. Why did Falvey and Lavine think that they could keep adding to payroll prior to the RSN model collapse? The Twins have never operated with significant budget during my entire life time. Why did they think it would be different with them in the chair? 2. Yankees fans constantly worry that the team won't spend enough to be competitive and they constantly accuse the Yankees front office of not spending enough. It is just at a different level than what we do. They call Steinbrenner cheap all the time and it speaks to how insatiable the demand for spending is from the fans. There is no end to the amount of money spent to satisfy the demands of fans to get them to nod their head in approval. Currently the Yankees are looking up at the Mets and Dodgers and crying poor. The Yankees crying poor actually might be what it takes to get ownership banded together to insist and not budge on a salary cap in the next round of negotiations with the players union. If they are able to come to agreement on a salary cap with the players union. My prediction will be the salary cap will be set at such a high level that teams like our Twins will still not be able to reach it... therefore not making much of a dent in the competitive imbalance that exists. It may only accomplish a balance between the Dodgers and Yankees.

Let's just use the 142 million we spent last year on payroll. If I were to guess... I'd assume that 142 is over budget but let's just use that number for example purposes. Just rough math... nothing fancy... just for illustration purposes. A. If you have 18 pre-arb players making the minimum at 760K. That adds up to $13.68 million... subtract the 13.68 from the 142 million and it leaves you with 128.32 Million to spend on the remaining 8 roster spots... this averages $16.04 million per for those 8 players. To be fair... I'll include the 74.23 million made in 2025 for 3 players Correa, Lopez and Buxton. Include those 3 big contract obligations and you have $54.09 to spend on 5 players. This averages 10.82 million per. B. If you have 8 pre-arb players making the minimum at 760K... just like the Twins opened up 2025 with. Those 8 players will cost $6.08 million. subtract the 6.08 from 142 and you have 135.92 to spend on non-pre arb 18 players. This averages $7.55 million per player. When 3 players eat up 74.23 million. You now have $61.69 to spend on 15 players which averages out to $4.11 million per player. 4.11 Million per player isn't even Arbitration Level Pay. They ran out of money. Every move they made suggests that they were under the impression that they could keep adding salary until we had to abruptly right size. The flashing neon sign that you have run out of money and are scraping bottom to merely roster a team is when you sign Ty France for a million and PLAY HIM EVERYDAY! Whatever Falvey and Zoll have planned for this off-season. If they veer even slightly from the direction of example A above. Just hunker down for a long rebuild that may never get here and wait for the eventual termination of the front office. They better be 100% focused on developing talented players that they can afford so they have money to extend players or the money to actually compete for a talented player or 2 in free agency. The current Payroll breaks down this way right now. We have two players (Lopez and Buxton) drawing $36.89 out of the well. Add 11.33 million in Correa dead money and you have 48.22 million in upper end salary commitments. We currently have 17 players listed on the current 26 man roster per roster resource making the minimum for a total of 12.92 million. Upper End and Lower End Salary will eat up 61.14 Million and 19 roster spots. Leaving you needing 7 additional players for a 26 man roster. If payroll can go to 140 million. They have 78.86 million to spend on those 7 players at 11.26 per. If Payroll can only go to 100 million. They will have 38.86 million to spend on those 7 players and that's 5.55 per. Arbitration level. For shits and giggles... Let's say the Twins don't take development seriously this off-season in an attempt to compete or not rebuild or rewhatever when it isn't completely necessary to compete as proven by teams like Milwaukee and Cleveland. Let's say we go backwards to 10 pre-arb players making the minimum as we not only fill the bullpen spots with low dollar vets and bring in IFK and Josh Bell types to fill development holes. To really squeeze it. Let's set budget at 100 million. Take those 10 pre-arb players and the two larger contracts on the upper end. That will leave us looking for 14 players with 55.82 left to work with at 3.98 per. All this does is delay the inevitable and will require the same necessity of developing youth the following year or the year after that. It might as well be done... RIGHT NOW. For those who made it through all of this. It's just rough math that isn't even accurate but regardless of the accuracy... It's close enough to show what needs to happen and it should clearly illustrate the only path that the Twins should be travelling this off-season. If they deviate at all this off-season from what should be a massive shift toward youth. They will have learned nothing and will be in the same situation that put us here in the first place. For those waiting for a new owner who will raise payroll to $200 million. It won't happen but let's say it does. You will eventually run out of money at $200 million as well because without significant minimum making talent, continuing spending to staff your roster will drain even that lofty bank account. The Twins will never be the Yankees, Phillies or Blue Jays in terms of financial viability. There is only one path out of this mess. Complete commitment to youth this off-season. Not next off-season! It's not about finding one special Jenkins type talent and high fiving your success and declaring mission accomplished. You have to find on average at least 5 major league talents per year. Not all have to be Jenkins type hero status success stories but 5 major league talents on average per year just to staff your team with 15 pre-arb players before they start drawing arb money out... just so you can afford a couple of Josh Naylor types in free agency to augment what you have built. This off-season has to... and I mean has to... be a full commitment to discovering and finding players that make the minimum that they can move forward with into 2027 and beyond. We have some catching up to do. They won't get there by being scared of youth. They won't get there putting all of their development chips in a select few. They need to run multiple young players through the process just to cover for those who are going to fail. Every roster spot is going to matter.

Congrats Keith. No pressure but this team is competitive again when hitting is competitive again. It's all on your shoulders. Welcome to Minnesota.

Well... We are who we are and we feel what we feel. If his ceiling is low... His floor isn't. He's been pretty consistent. I have no concerns of him going bad Royce Lewis for an extended time. Just haven't really seen him go Juan Soto for an extended time either. For now... I'm OK with that until the potential higher ceilings raise their floor. I'm not concerned with what Larnach will be at age 31. That's for Trevor to be concerned about. I just want talent accumulation and I'm ok with the kids coming and taking him out... but they got to take him out first and I hope the Twins will provide the opportunity to do so. We will learn what the Twins think... Soon enough. We have a lot of OF on the 40 man already and we have potential candidates to add and I'm guessing we are or certainly will be over the line in the total number of OF on the 40 man. We got to be able to staff the other positions. It should be an interesting off-season because the team is kinda lumpy right now... if you were not so depressed... you might enjoy it. 😉

I agree on all counts. The Twins didn't have much of choice in regards to Vazquez other than consider a lighter rotation with Jeffers getting more. We didn't have anybody to push him. When the Twins signed Vazquez for 30 million... There was reasonable evidence that he actually could hit the ball a little. I also agree that the expectation for Rortvedt is low. However, our current bar to clear at the position is currently laying on the ground. And I also assume other Rortvedt types will also become available as the off-season progresses. I'm curious but not willing to throw tomatoes at the front office just yet. Maybe... They would like to save the open 40 man spots until they get through the 18th. I also have a curiosity on what the Reds have planned since Rortvedt will probably require 1.3 Million in Arb One and he is out of options. They already have Trevino who is a defensive minded catcher and Stephenson who is an offensive catcher and none of them can be sent to the minors without exposure. Since Stephenson is not considered to be a defensive catcher. Will Stephenson shift to 1B with Rortvedt and Trevino wearing the tools of ignorance? Stephenson hits well for a C but poorly for a 1B. Is Stephenson trade bait? Or will there be an inevitable releasing of either Rortvedt and Trevino later in the off-season.

I'm a little curious why the Twins didn't claim him. They would have the option to claim before the Reds I believe. We just paid 30 million for a defensive minded catcher that couldn't hit. We played him 50% of the time because of his defense despite not being able to hit. Here is one of those defensive guys at a much lower price point sitting on waivers and they pass despite not having near enough options at catcher. I'll assume they have a different plan and I'll wait for it's unveiling.

I agree... We've spent a lot of time in the middle. I actually think the signing of Correa and the increasing payroll of the early 20's until the RSN wall was hit head on with full force was the only real indication of an actual direction away from the middle. Will this re-whatever be an indication of a different direction taken to get away from the middle. We shall see. But, Yeah... I'm pretty tired of Luke Warm, in the middle type moves.

A lot to unpack here. The answer to almost everything you say: A minority opinion or uncommon thinking coupled with a willingness to respond can distort the overall impression. I do type a lot of words. Comprehensive context for my crazy thoughts so the path to get where I am is shown. I take different approaches, I've tried catch phrases and I've tried novels. I've tried humor, parables, metaphors and I've tried dead serious but mainly... the willingness to discuss or respond to all comers leads to frequency, frequency leads to possible mistaken levels of conviction toward the subject at hand. The more you respond, the more paint that gets spilled on you. You risk being painted a 9 or 10 on the subject when you are probably a 5 or 6. .. but hey... that's life in the Serengeti. A hill to die on? Not at all... I won't die on this hill. I'm just a guy with a minority opinion with no place to go but up the hill in his willingness to discuss it. However, to be clear... I fully realize that I am talking about one roster spot. I think roster spots are gold and I don't believe you should ever waste them but I understand that I am talking about one player and one roster spot. We are talking about 4% of the potential 26 man roster. Frequent postings may give the impression of lost perspective but I do the math. It's one roster spot. We are coming at this from a different point of view and I think it's possible that it has little to do with Larnach. I think it quite possible that the source of our divergent viewpoints on Larnach stems from this sentence: Perhaps your POV also is that removing Larnach from an impending 90-loss team might turn them into a 93-loss team or something like that I think that a losing record is probable in 2026 but I don't believe that it's necessarily fated. I don't care about 90 or 93 losses... that would never influence my thinking. My range of possibilities in 2026 doesn't start at 90 losses as a best case scenario. I'm not holding the hopeless pitchfork and I suspect that will be the next hill that I must climb because there are a lot of people holding pitchforks. I've said this before. If we keep Joe Ryan, this starting staff has the potential to be good to very good. Even without Ryan... the starting staff has the potential be decent and keep the team in games where an offense will be helpful. The bullpen can be rebuilt. The offense is where my concern is focused. I see the offense as the primary problem with this club and I have felt this way for a quite some time. I feel that the Twins may actually be finally serious about looking for offense if they are sincere in their declaration of a commitment to develop young players as stated by Shelton. If you feel there is no chance in 2026... I'd imagine that Larnach won't make any sense to you. I'm not there. I recognize the holes... all that needs to happen and I think it's possible to come together quicker than most imagine if the offense can provide something. Doesn't have to be the best in baseball... but it just has to show something. The team has work to do... Larnach is just not where you start and where you start matters if you don't have the hopeless pitchfork to chuck around. It's not an order of execution as you put it. We are not going to sign a proven .800 plus OPS guy in free agency to increase that upper end. It's not going to happen... Larnach is our upper end until players out actually out perform him and he could be out performed by the trade deadline or not. We have 5 players who are demonstrated above MLB average and I think one of them (Jeffers) has to be traded due to his expiring contract and potential value in return. I'm not tossing one of the other 4 when it simply isn't necessary. Larnach can be on the roster and Jenkins can still rise to be a monster. Larnach is a much tougher potentially more realistic discussion next year when his contract is actually expiring and his Arb 3 number higher and younger player replacements have actually shown themselves. It's OK to ask for someone to out play him first and we have options for that as long as they are allowed to compete with Larnach. If the Twins plan to play Larnach at DH for 162 games and force his competition to watch... I'm out... You can clear his roster space right now. Like I said to MLR earlier... This 4% issue that is Larnach himself should resolve itself... if the Twins just allow it to resolve itself. Larnach either out plays the incoming wave or he doesn't. If he doesn't... issue is resolved by the deadline. If he does... the next wave is still here to keep knocking on that door until they knock it down. Larnach hears the footsteps... he has to hear them. But Hey... That's life in the Serengeti. I'm hedging my bets on all players by asking for competition from all 13 roster spots so we have increased odds of finding 6... 7... instead of banking on 6 or 7 to find 6 or 7 (6 7 is for the kids... I don't understand the reference but it's all over the place). I'm hedging my bets on wins and losses until what most think will happen... actually happens and then that 4% can be addressed.

Yep And we are not there yet.

Derek Shelton will be fine if we get the players to help him be fine. Derek Shelton is toast if we don't. Develop or Die!

Dear Byron, I hope you stay! Whenever you decide that your playing days are done. I hope you will have played your entire fantastic career for one team. Your team... My team... the Minnesota Twins. It will make you special. It will make you one of the few. One of the very few with a long career with one team. Long career... one team... adds up to very few. Select Company of very special baseball players. You know their names. Derek Jeter, George Brett, Chipper Jones, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken. Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer. You will be one of those guys... Like I said... Select Company. 25 will go up on the wall forever... a statue of you in the plaza will be built and remain forever. You can see the statue now... your hand thrust upward right before you are about to pull it down in a show of respect to your father. You have built what you built in Minnesota... stay... tend to what you have built. It won't go with you to New York, Los Angeles or anywhere else. What you built is right here. You will be starting over with a new fan base everywhere else. Minnesota has adopted you. You are home... You are one of us. In a world of increasing transition, those who stay are the true legends. You have a chance to be one of the few. The grass isn't always greener, the team you join could be fighting for air in two years... the future holds no promises. In the end, changing teams is just an increase or decrease of odds but the future holds no promises. Nothing is guaranteed in this world other than that statue going up in the plaza. For your future generations to look at. For my future generations to look at. You will belong in that plaza. I hope you stay and help us... lead your team mates to where we need to be. Sincerely, Riverbrian

I responded before this addition. I'll take the 96% agreement and honestly... the 4% that is Larnach isn't a tremendous issue in itself because it will take care of itself. It has to care of itself because you can't hold back that wall of outfielders that you list. Only Larnach can hold them back through performance and if Larnach is holding them back through performance... we are golden. Starting the season with Larnach doesn't mean finishing the season with Larnach. This whole thing could be clarified by the trade deadline. I'm just asking for someone to beat him out of a job first. BTW... As an addendum to what I outlined earlier. I'd be a lot more comfortable if one of our OF'ers could provide occasional 1B work. Not going to recommend anyone... I'm not saying they should transition to 1B full time but I am saying... if any of them has the ability to play an occasional decent 1B to backup Casas or Eldridge or whoever we acquire. I'd say we have decent options every where for most every injury contingency. Just like Martin playing some IF if an injury occurs to Lewis or Keaschall allows an OF call up for one of our young OF highly ranked options. If... Rodon for example (Not recommending anyone) could play some 1B if Casas or Eldridge or whoever goes down. It's another opportunity to call up an OF like Jenkins or GG or Erod if an injury occurs at 1B. You would basically create a roster that one of our highly rated Outfielders is the first call up regardless where the injury dictated opening occurs... other than catcher of course. If any injuries occur at 1B,2B,3B,SS,DH,LF,CF or RF. Jenkins the guy you list as first in line can be first in line when any injury occurs. He could even break camp with the club. On Fedko and Rosario. I'll wait to see if they are protected on November 18th. That's why I reserve the right to change what I'm thinking right now based on the upcoming 40 man decisions. If they end up with a high number of protected outfielders. A different type of clean up will be required.

Too much time. The whole purpose of posting it... Is to show what is possible by accumulating as much talent as you can. No guarantees for immediate success but plural options for the present and future instead of singular focus on a few key individuals hoping that they all work out and starting over again in 2 or 3 years if they don't. If I need 8 eggs to survive and 50% typically fail. I want to go for 12 eggs to increase my odds of getting those 8 eggs that are needed. It's the fastest way to respectability in consideration of our budget parameters. Erod, or GG or Jenkins has to out perform Larnach before you even think about Larnach going away. Larnach can be a more serious discussion next off-season when his contract is expiring at a higher Arb 3 number. By next off-season... we should have solid information on GG, Erod, Rodon, Jenkins, Culpepper, Martin, Lee, Lewis and the guys that I traded for. We can re-assess at the deadline... We can re-assess next offseason and the decisions will be incrementally easier because the players will tell you through performance. On the other hand. If we could trade Larnach for a decent reliever right now. I'll be Ok with that as long as the reliever is decent. I'm just not going to cut him loose for nothing when we need hitters to deepen this lineup to surround Buxton with. If Larnach hits the same and ends up our 8 hole hitter because 7 hitters are performing even better. We are a playoff team. I'm hoping Larnach gets that OPS above .800 and becomes a more interesting trade candidate. Maybe as soon as the trade deadline. If he doesn't and Erod, GG and Jenkins show themselves. The issue is solved either way because you can make a decision on Larnach the very second that Jenkins, Erod or GG out perform him. Again... as soon as the trade deadline. In the meantime... Larnach and Wallner for that matter... competing with the next wave is not a bad thing in 2026. Nobody needs to be blocked.

You and I are not afraid of youth. We agree that we can't operate this franchise like the Phillies or Yankees. I certainly recognize the holes that you mention but what I'm suggesting is preparing for success and failure in 2026. I agree that the odds of success are long. Here is what I would do based on the current roster and I reserve the right to adjust this depending on November 18th and the 40 man roster decisions to come. I would trade Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers for additional young talent. I am looking specifically for a young major league ready or near major league ready 1B as priority 1 and young major league ready or near major league ready SS with talent in return as priority 2. The way I see it... We will need these two additions just to make Kody Clemens or Julien the 13th player out of 13 on the roster. I would not sign any IKF or Josh Bell types for these spots. No one year contracts at a low dollar amount (Other than Bullpen). Let's Pittsburgh continue doing crap like Pham and IKF... as they remain in constant rebuild due to numerous failures with the limited youth they provide all or nothing opportunity to with no nets. I would only spend free agent money on the bullpen including placing a bet on a talented closer who had an off year last year that would like to remain in a closer role to restore his closer value (Williams for example) and I'm pouring as much young talent as I can through the offensive filter. Strength in numbers because we will find lack of strength in some. Since I am not qualified to assess who the Twins should protect with 40 man spots on November 18th and since I am not qualified to assess which young 1B or SS the Twins should acquire with those trade chips and since I have no idea what those teams will want in return... I'll just throw a couple of trade ideas out there so everyone can look at it. (Disclaimer: I don't want to discuss the personal opinions of the names that I suggest in the trades that are only suggested for example purposes only). Trade Ryan to the Phillies for Aiden Miller. Trade Jeffers to the Red Sox for Casas and Wong. Again... no idea if these are over pays or under pays... they match up well on BBTV and I have no idea if the Phillies or Red Sox would make these trades. These names are only for example purposes because I have no idea if there are better trades to be made for the chips I'm willing to deal. I'll certainly take a different 1B because of Casas injury history. Trade Ryan for Eldridge and Jeffers for a SS just as long as we get one of each. We will all have our own opinions on the example purpose names provided. Watch the 40 man roster drops for an additional catcher. Keep your eye specifically on the Dodgers and Rortvedt for example. Sign Devin Williams to a two year free agent contract. Grab at least one more decent bullpen arm from the free agency pile. Seranthony Dominguez for example? With health we could break camp with (and we will not be 100% healthy when we break camp). Infield: Casas, Keaschall, Lewis, Miller, Lee and Clemens. Lee can push Lewis, Miller and Keaschall. Yes Keaschall because we have no idea if Keaschall will sophomore slump like Julien or Lewis. We have no idea if Keaschall will be healthy for all 162 games. The presence of Miller and Lee on this roster provides protection for things like that. Outfield: Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, Martin and Outman. Outman gets until June to get back to being the Outman that his skill set suggests he could be. He gets opportunity to show he can return... not every day opportunity but opportunity to show that he is better than Larnach. If they just plan on keeping Outman on the bench for an extended time... Just cut him now. If he doesn't show himself as major league capable by June. DFA him and you have Rodon, GG, Erod and even Jenkins waiting in the wings. Who is the first choice? Who is the 2nd choice? Who is the third choice for call up when Outman fails. Hopefully the players will tell you by how they are performing in AAA. Injuries are going to happen... like death and taxes... Injuries are going to happen. Any one of those 5 players could be injured when we break camp. GG, Erod and Jenkins will get playing time and the opportunity to prove they are better than Larnach. That is pouring as much talent through the filter as you can to find out who will be helpful in 2026 and beyond. Martin keeps his infield glove on standby. If we have an injury to an infield position... Let's say Lewis gets hurt again. Martin can slide into an IF role for the moment and Lee can 3B primarily and we can call up one of our talented OF'ers to replace an injured IF. Catchers: Three on the 40 man... Just roll with Wong, Rortvedt and Pereda in AAA. Just don't fail in the development of Tait or even Olivar because we will need them down the road. Keaschall 2B Buxton CF Casas 1B Wallner RF Lewis 3B Larnach DH Miller SS Martin LF Rortvedt C Lee plugging in, Outman plugging in to keep them honest. Everybody but Buxton yielding playing time for honest competition to establish who wants a major league career. Rodon, GG, Erod, Jenkins, Mendez, Culpepper ready to come up should any of them stumble (Outman for example)... those same players are also ready to come up should any injuries occur. If Jenkins gets the call and he kills it. He stays and the 13th player based on performance is gone. Bullpen: Williams, Seranthony, Prielipp, Festa, Topa, Funderburk, Sands and Raya. Starters: Lopez, Ober, SWR, Bradley and Matthews (Abel, Morris and Rojas). This team could compete. It could also lose. But... I am not afraid of youth and I have not thrown away 2028 from a development standpoint regardless of what happens in 2026.

Out goals are the same... approach is different. Mike Sixel and I both agree that youth must be served for the future but there is no way I would ever consider his suggestion that we select 4 players for 4 spots and invest everything in them. No net... Just hoping that Brooks Lee can get that OPS over .700 or that Royce Lewis's leg isn't surgically removed due to an injury suffered picking up a towel in the locker room. I'm all about young talent identification right now and the accumulation of that young talent. I hope we acquire so much young talent that it eventually spills over the sides. That's my approach to getting better as quickly as possible and since I don't fear young talent... I believe that you can win today without sacrificing the future. I'm the guy who spent the entire 2025 season counting pre-arb players to show everyone that youth is nothing to be afraid of. Youth doesn't mean wins... youth doesn't mean losses. Talent is the key. The Twins current roster has 17 Pre-Arb players. Milwaukee has 18. Youth is being served. Not let's see who wants a career. I've typed plenty of words stating my desire for development. I'm not shucking development nor the future with the retention of a player in Arb 2. Cleveland isn't letting Larnach go. They roster Lane Thomas and Nolan Jones. Milwaukee will roster Vaughn and Bauers. Cleveland and Milwaukee will have a variety of players from zero to 5 or even 6 years of service time and that's a good thing because not everybody will reach free agency at the same time. Yes... we can deepen this thing. It's a viable approach. We can trade Ryan for example. Everything starts with that question and it's hard to pick a path without the answer to that question. Are the Twins trading Joe Ryan? I think you and I agree that we would trade Joe Ryan. However... neither the front office, you or I can say what the market will provide in return. If market conditions don't provide decent enough players in return... you don't trade him. You try again at the deadline or next off season. If the Twins don't trade Joe Ryan. Ryan, Lopez, Ober, Bradley, Matthews, SWR, Abel, Festa, Morris, and Rojas should keep the Twins in baseball games and provide excellent candidates for bullpen converts. Where any semblance of an offense will actually win baseball games. Even if we trade Ryan. Lopez, Ober, Bradley, Matthews, SWR, Abel, Festa, Morris and Rojas could still be pretty formidable. How deep do you want to go? or Need to go? Trade Ryan, Lopez, Cut Larnach, The tear it down to the studs rebuilding 2011 Astros didn't have the starting pitching we have as a starting point. We are already a level advanced above the 2011 Astros... we don't need to go all the way back to their starting point. We just need our offense to catch up quickly. The Astros were throwing 30, 32 and 28 year old pitchers in 2011... they actually tripped over Dallas Keuchel because they didn't have the pitching to keep Keuchel away from the majors. We won't be tripping over any Keuchel's on our way forward because of our impressive starting pitching depth. Our bullpen can be rebuilt partially with that excess pitching depth. Offense... we need offense and I'm just not going to toss one of 4 players who are currently demonstrating above average major league skill. I'm simply going to provide the opportunity for someone to be better than them. Martin, Rodon, Outman, GG, Erod and Jenkins have to actually out perform Larnach first. They will get their chance.

If there is a good chance we can get that level of hitting out of someone else. A. Let them prove it. Put them in the lineup and let them out perform Larnach. If they do... Larnach can be released or traded. B. If we have 8 players over that level of hitting. Don't bother waiting for 2028. We will be in contention in 2026. Larnach's contract is not expiring. His Arbitration number will not drain the last drops of our current budget, this team will not be signing top end free agents. And I swear to everything holy... You can roster 5 OF'ers and provide sufficient playing time for all of them. You can allow for competition so players can prove they are better. You can also roster 6 infielders and provide sufficient playing time for all. You do not have to reduce talent to the bare minimum so a select few gets all the playing time. I look forward to you being right because a team that has Larnach as the 13th best guy out of the 13 on the roster will beat everything in it's path.

I have no idea if he will be a decent coach or not. However... I will say this. Met him briefly in Fort Myers. He was extremely pleasant to me so I wish him nothing but the best.

It was really bad timing for Miranda. The combination of running out of options and a horrific year at AAA sealed his fate.

We could really really really use a young 1B with 30 homer potential. I understand the need to get more athletic and I support the desire to get more athletic but the 1B spot... I'd rather invest in a young 1B with stereotypical 30 home run power potential. Buxton and Wallner are the only players on the current roster with legit 30 home run power potential. Alonso is the only 30 Home Run Power Potential bat in free agency and he ain't coming. The Yankees, Mets and Red Sox will be needing to add a 1B like Alonso. Whoever doesn't get Alonso is going to pick off Naylor and then it is nothing but 1B question marks. We need to trade for a big aircraft carrier potential young 1B and perhaps the only chips that could get us that type of talent is Ryan or Jeffers.

I agree with you completely. The only counter that I have is the roster spot itself.

Offense was and is the biggest issue with this team. Offense is why we are here and offense is how we will get better. It kind of shows how bad these things have gotten when half of Twinsdaily is trying to fix defense despite Offense really being the biggest issue with this team. You'd figure a team would have one or the other but Twinsdaily seems to be split with half of TD trying to improve the club by improving defense. OK... I get it. Defense is important. However... Offensively... We have... IMO... 5 players on the current roster that hit average or better last year. Buxton, Keaschall, Wallner, Jeffers and Larnach. I'm not counting Clemens or Martin on my list of 5 players that hit average or better last year because they were barely above average and have only been barely above average for a short period of time. One of those 5 probably needs to be traded (Jeffers) due to his expiring contract so we don't lose him for nothing. Two of those 5 (Wallner and Larnach) are being shoved out the door by the defensive minded folks of TD. I really don't understand this because we don't have enough offensive cover to just let what little we have go. Lewis and Lee are bottom of the order bats until they show they belong near the top of the order. They shouldn't even be discussed as top of the order options until they demonstrate that they are top of the order options. As the roster stands right now. Clemens is probably our starting 1B and as shocking as that sounds... He deserves to hit higher in the order than Lewis and Lee and very few want Clemens on the roster at all. The current candidates on the current roster. Jeffers if we don't trade him due to his expiring contract. Wallner if we don't trade him as suggested by some. Larnach if we offer arbitration. Lewis and Lee who are struggling. Martin, Rodon or Outman who are auditioning for careers. Clemens who is auditioning for a career. Fitzgerald who nobody wants on the roster. Whoever the 2nd catcher or 1st catcher if we trade Jeffers? Keaschall and Buxton... that's what we got? If this roster is going to change this off-season. Offense better be a priority.

Exactly... Who hits in the 3 hole? It doesn't matter to me. He will get more AB's than the 4,5,6,7,8 and 9 spots in the order. That means... whoever it is... it should be someone with legit top of the order talent. Who is it? That ain't the real concern. It's the lack of talent for consideration. Sundance... It's the fall that will kill ya.

That was my actual question. May you stay healthy and productive.

Mike, I can only speak for myself but I don't think anybody is talking mediocre veteran in this portion of the discussion. At least... I know for sure that I'm not. There is no way I want an IKF type mucking up the process. Let me ask you this question. Let's say the Twins don't make any stunning moves. Let's say they stand pat with this roster. Let's say that Culpepper is just rocking during spring training and the Twins decide to send Culpepper North for opening day instead of Fitzgerald. With Culpepper, Lewis, Keaschall, Lee all on the 26 man roster to open the season. 1. Do you choose Culpepper or Lee to get all of the SS playing time? 2. Does the player you don't select between the two than become primarily a bench player or traded? 3. Do you figure out how to work both players into the lineup?