Riverbrian

Exactly... And the Dodgers draft near the end of every single round. And the Dodgers are able to trade that development for another avenue for acquiring top flight talent. It's not just the job of front office to produce wins. Perhaps the most important thing that a front office can do to aid them in producing wins is: INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR PROPERTY. The Dodgers seem to be able to increase the value of their home grown farm system better than others. If you can increase value... you get back more in trades if you choose to go that route. How does Wallner getting pinch hit for in the 3rd inning increase his value? It doesn't... it limits his value. It caps it. People want to trade Wallner now... Now? Did we maximize his value to help us in this re-whatever we are doing? Shall we trade him and let another team maximize his value? The Twins haven't been thinking about the future value of their players for many years now... they've been thinking about how to mix and match this thing together to squeeze out whatever they can out players that won't be back to get through the year. The Bill came due. It was always going to come due and if they don't fix development... They can spend 200 million and face the exact same bill in the future.

1,000% Aligned. If they do this right. They can put themselves in a position where they are shopping near the top of free agency for a player or two and extended fan favorites... instead of finding multiple players chewing the last bit of budget by spending on multiple players at the bottom of free agency. It's critical.

I've often thought about the relationship between a front office and manager and I believe that they have to be on the same page. I know it's a Hollywood script but for example purposes. I've watched Moneyball and I believe that there is no way that a front office would should or could tolerate Art Howe as depicted in the movie. The front office can't go one way while the manager goes the other. In my mind... Rocco would have to be a manifestation of the front office. If not you have a schism. If Rocco was truly the cause of the bottleneck. OK... Derek... show me what you can do now that the bottleneck has been removed but my next question is... why did you allow it for so long if Rocco is the fall guy? Rocco is your employee. Was your employee. Development takes commitment to developing. It takes faith in the product that you are producing. Strip mining your left handed hitters is not a commitment to development. We know that Rocco strip mined every single young left handed hitter to a significant degree beyond what the other 29 teams even considered doing with the platoon advantage. Yet the front office was out there picking up right handed hitting handcuffs to help Rocco do it. I have a hard time separating the two positions so if he is looking for a manager committed to development. Great... Show me.

Outright stupid is a bit strong and those two words (or is it three words) just doesn't cover the ground that nuance lays before all of us. I just wanted to point that I recognize the complication and I recognize the disadvantage and the roll that payroll plays in success if applied properly. At the same time I believe that money isn't what will dig us out of this and I'm under the impression that many fans believe that money cures all. Your graph is accurate... your graph has value. Regardless... we need to divert our eyes from the Green Rectangle. We need to build that solid 80 million payroll team that can take advantage of the extra 80 million spent. If we ever spend it. Develop to become Milwaukee with money. Develop to be Cleveland with Money. In regards to the article. There are multiple ways back to contention. From Trading Ryan and Lopez to keeping Ryan and Lopez and everything in between... money plays a big role in the path chosen forward.

There is absolutely no doubt that Money Matters. There is absolutely no question that the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Phillies have an enormous payroll advantage. There is absolutely no question that there is a correlation between money spent and winning. There should also absolutely be no doubt that the Twins don't have money. Never had it... Never will. So... that Blue oval of overachievers is what they need to be because they won't be in the Green rectangle.

Good Please approach it this way. Find a manager who will approach it this way.

As the roster stands right now. In my opinion the Twins need in this order. 1. A Bullpen. I Hate to be this broad and not be specific with the number of bullpen arms but we need multiple arms to fill the bullpen... just to try and get it up to at least average. The only thing I know is this: The Bullpen isn't just about the 8th and 9th. If you look at good bullpens across the league... they are full of players that very few of us have heard of. We can find some players that few of us haven't heard of. There will be some trial and error but the bullpen can be built. 2. A young 1st baseman - The biggest specific hole in the organization... Except for catcher but I'd punt the catcher position because of the over pay involved. Is it Sabato or Fedko. Is it Keaschall or do they move an OF to 1B this off-season. I don't know but we need a young 1B with a Paul Bunyan bat to stop the Ty France one year contract signings and we need it bad. How do you get one? That's tough because the type of player you need in this spot just might cost you Joe Ryan. 3. Young Infielder who can play SS. It doesn't mean that Brooks Lee gets moved off of Shortstop but a young infielder who can play a decent SS is needed because Brooks probably won't play 162 games due to injury or sub par performance. This isn't to suggest that Brooks is not our SS of the future but it is to suggest that Brooks can be challenged for playing time just in case. Pour 13 players through the filter... not 9 because the chances of all 9 making it are slim. Finding 9 players out of 13 increases your odds of finding 9. As for Jenkins, Erod and GG. They can break camp with the club out of spring training or they can be the first person called up when injury occurs. It really doesn't matter to me... just as long as they get playing time when they are added to the 26 man roster. I get the Larnach sentiment. He's just not where we start to fix this thing. He's one of the few hitters that we have returning. It feels like we are far off... I get it. But... IMO... I can see a path to decency. You just gotta look behind these bullpen bushes blocking the view.

I always appreciate your posts Doc. Consistent Comprehensive good reads. When you say Clock is ticking... that's a key point with me. Before you rush Jenkins through the system... you got to make sure that you are not losing anyone with a ticking clock. There has to be an order to these things to prevent chaotic spillage. We should probably look at Erod before Jenkins and we should probably look at Outman before we look at Erod. Because in the end... Jenkins won't be enough. This organization will need Jenkins Plus someone else plus someone else and that train can't stop.

Ok, show me the Tarik Skubal clone? That's your lead? No... I don't think I will I'll post my original post that you responded to that led to you asking me to show the Tarki Skubal Clone? Notice the recognition that we don't seem to be near Cleveland or Milwaukee. Let me know if I need to keep looking for a Tarik Skubal Clone? Can't do better than Dylan Bundy if you keep signing Dylan Bundy. I'll celebrate the removal of that innings eating obstacle.

In my opinion... GM's need to prepare for success and failure. I'm with you... 2026 certainly has the potential of being a rough year. If I had to place a bet. I'd bet on a rough year. No matter how you and I feel... or even how the front office feels deep down inside... you still have to prepare for success. If they don't trade Ryan or Lopez... That starting pitching staff could be pretty good... it is certainly deep with potential. I personally don't believe that we traded any offensive game changers at the deadline and I include Correa when I say that. In other words... I think the offensive ground could be made up quickly. We are not talking about high bars to clear. The bullpen? Well... Yeah... they really did a number on the pen and it is probably the main reason that I doubt a fun 2026 is possible... but the bullpen is also one of the easiest things to rebuild... it doesn't have to be the best bullpen in baseball... it just needs to be competitive... not a nightmare like it is now. So you got to prepare for success. If some things click... Our chances for success are improved with Trevor helping out... of course... that is my opinion... many here seem to disagree with that opinion. Bottom Line: We don't need to rush Trevor out the door. If he has a good year... he can be a deadline decision. For everyone looking at his 100 OPS+. His OPS was going to come down when lefties are added to his repertoire. With more exposure... he can get that OPS against lefties .650 and I think he has the potential to increase his OPS against Righties and all of sudden you got an .800 OPS guy playing for Cleveland against us... and we can all look back and say... Yeah... We probably shouldn't have rushed him out the door. He's one of our best returning hitters. We may need more than that but right now... we got way too many players not hitting at his level to deal with first. Trevor has a job on my team.

I also view the $$$ part secondary. When you are pressed up against the budget it becomes much more primary-ish. We shouldn't be pressed up against that budget for 2026. Who knows maybe... that line got lowered significantly but significant money got moved between Correa and the arb raises that Duran and Jax were going to get... space should have been created. I also view it the same regarding too many holes to fill. And for that reason... I'm hesitant to part with Larnach. We both have the same assessment but different answers to the same problem. I know that I have been a broken record on the necessity of more pre-arb players and I realize that Trevor is not pre-arb but Trevor is also not expiring. Next year this conversation is different for me with an expiring contract and a larger arb number. The part that I'm objecting to in regards to Trevor is the suggestion by many around these parts is to not offer arbitration. I expect the Twins to trade an OF... Perhaps that is Trevor. I used Cleveland as an example. They would probably love to acquire Larnach. They got a lot of decent bullpen arms that they could offer in return. They committed over 3,000 AB's to players with OPS .650 or lower. Larnach's OPS against right handers would be a significant upgrade for them. No hurry on Larnach... He can be a trade deadline decision. If he has a good year and the team isn't in contention. He could be dealt. If he has a bad year... he can then be released if there is no interest in him. Cleveland is good at that sort of thing. They couldn't move Santana... they released him. As for the OF space. You and I see things differently. I don't see Martin or Larnach as an either or. I'd like to see 5 outfielders on the roster coming out of camp and I want to see all 5 competing with each other. I offer no predictions on who will be showing major league talent in 2026 including Larnach. There is more than enough playing time for all to determine winners. Now... Buxton, Larnach, Wallner, Martin, Outman and Roden. That's 6... so I do expect a trade or someone is going to pick up a first base glove over the winter. On the other hand... Roden also has options available as does Erod and anybody added to the 40 man. Anyway... my first step is removing the players that the Twins are not going to provide opportunity to. Get them off the 40. After that process is done. The Twins will have their hands full just filling that vast amount of space before they release Larnach.

It would have been nice if you were along. Two is much harder to escort out. I remember the day clearly... After I left the building... I walked over to 1st Avenue (Princes Place). Jumped up on stage and sang Bob Dylan Covers with a Nu-Metal Band out of Wheaton Minnesota. The band was a little confused at first since I didn't ask or introduce myself before I jumped on the Mic and broke into "Don't Think Twice... It's Alright". But, they were able to keep up. You could have played some percussion.

What I would like to see... Is for the players to compete to the trade deadline. Reward more playing time to those who are earning and less to those who are not but I'd like to see full on competition up to the deadline. Send players down and call up players as needed but full on competition... No more pre-determination. Limit the platooning to allow for establishing needs after the deadline. You can add your right handed hand cuff at the trade deadline if progress isn't made. At that deadline... if in contention... I'd like them to identify the holes... patch them up and then settle into a more consistent lineup but there still had to be competition because injuries will change the equation and you need a roster full of talent. Once the playoffs start... You got your guys. They let you know who they are through performance. You got the guys who earned it. Lock in and play ball... oh and platoon to your hearts content in the playoffs... if it turns out that someone just can't hit the same hand as established through the course of the season... OK... You can let him watch Skubal pitch to his teammates.

The leading indicator of satisfaction of job performance is continued employment. I have levied a lot of criticism on this website concerning the operational side based on what I strongly believe. The one thing that I have never done despite the tonnage of my criticism is assume that any of them are idiots. Therefore I believe that the Pohlad's showing faith in Derek was come by honestly, through communication. Sitting the corporate office... Umm... Yeah... Sure... Yup... I did that. I remember the day clearly... just a few hours earlier... I caught a Blue Fin Tuna in the hotel bathtub. I wasn't sure how it got in there but... I tried a lot of different baits until I got him to bite. If I knew that tuna liked the coffee grounds from the Hotel provided K Cup... it wouldn't have taken me that long. For those concerned about the well being of the Tuna. I released it back into the tub. I didn't have any mayo or salad dressing to make a sandwich.

We are going to disagree on this point. I believe it is not only possible to roster 5 outfielders and provide enough playing time for all. I also believe it is necessary to do so. The rest of your post is good food for thought. Martin had a great finish to the year. Many people were willing to toss him aside after 2024. Not as many are willing to toss him aside now. What happens in 2026? Let's find out. You are right that Funderburk stepped up. Players will both surprise and disappoint with opportunity.

The view from my chair... The issues seem quite apparent. The phrase that comes to mind is "Uff Da". But... that's only because my mother was full blooded Norwegian. Otherwise I might have said. "WTF".

You put a lot of work into this. I won't argue but each situation probably has a different dynamic. Jerry Jones seems to be wearing a few hats with the Cowboys but I got tossed out of that conference room as well. I'm just saying that I can see where one person overseeing both departments can be an advantage in keeping the departments from colliding with each other. Working many hours a week with talented subordinates. Is it working at 1 Twins way. No idea but from my view... they got some major issues so maybe not. I've seen some interesting power structures. Granted it isn't sports but I have seen a Local GM in charge of his market with a department head working under him. I've seen that department head rise to a regional VP role of said department overseeing multiple markets that includes his local market... resulting in the local GM answering to the new regional VP regionally while the regional VP answered to the local GM locally. It was weird but it worked out because they could work together.

Who knows on Outman. He certainly didn't make the most of these two months but I do think it's important that everyone strongly considers that he was in the Dodgers Organization. It's an important consideration because the Dodgers spent a lot of money on their roster. He's not going to get a lot of time to work out major league kinks with a team like the Dodgers. While he clearly struggled in his 150 AB's a year in Los Angeles 2023, 2024 and 2025. He did not struggle at Oklahoma City. In a nutshell... The Dodgers spew out a higher level of waste. The guy has power, speed and defense. If the Twins can turn him around in 2026. They will win this trade and win it by a large large large margin. If they can't... he will be sent through waivers by July because we have outfielders coming and he is a minimum investment.

Jeremy Zoll does something. Thad Lavine did something. Falvey has certainly been the public mouthpiece because Jeremy Zoll could walk past me in a Hy-Vee and I wouldn't recognize him but I got to assume that Jeremy Zoll does something and it's probably quite substantial. Has he hired the right people? No Idea but right now... they got issues from attendance to wins and losses so... they got some things to question and fix. The only thing that I know is this: I've seen some interesting power dynamic structures and the office adapts to it and if it doesn't... it is addressed with a different structure.

I walked into 1 Twins Way once and I asked to sit down with the leaders of the department and go over operational structure. Met with a nice persistent guy for a little while who instead of answering my questions... kept asking me to leave the conference room and the building. I got to say that I didn't learn much. I also admit that I forgot to ask him if there were any more teams that have one guy over seeing both business and operations. I just remember that I left a nearly full bottle of Mountain Dew on the conference table that he wouldn't let me go back and retrieve.

I've stopped predicting what players are or what they will be. Regardless... The Twins front office must feel differently because it makes no sense to acquire him knowing that he is out of options for a two month stretch of baseball in a lost season. We can all discuss the value of Brock Stewart due to his injury history. The Twins certainly could have acquired someone that didn't require a 26 man spot or 40 man spot next year... or they had the option to keep Brock in uniform in 2026. We were going to need the bullpen help next year... Brock just might have helped. Unless they can trade Outman for something in the off-season... I got to imagine that he has a 26 man spot waiting for him. Otherwise there was no sense moving Brock at all. The Twins like him and are going to take a shot at fixing what has been ailing him.

Again... I have no idea on the structure. If I had to guess and it's all I can do is guess. I think it's quite possible that the separation of the two departments is difficult because revenue is dependent on operations and operations will be dependent on revenue. You can't have these two spots butting heads because that would lead to paralysis. One person in charge of both makes sense. I'd imagine that someone out ranked the other with St. Peter and Falvey. The Falvey promotion to President removes the conflict so operations connects to revenue and revenue connects to operations. I'm really not concerned about it. St. Peter as an advisor? Is he advising 24/7 or does he pick up the phone when key questions arise. There is nothing wrong with help. As for his qualifications? I don't know. He graduated with a degree in economics and turned that into a baseball scout. However, he has been the President of Baseball Operations since October 3, 2016. I have to assume that he has been in every room in the building. He would hire a director of marketing, I have no reason to believe that he is writing ads, placing ad buys, calling GM's to try swing deals, and checking the laundry room to see if everything is packed for the trip to Kansas City. But... I'd guess he's getting reports. With all that said. Attendance is down noticeably, we just sold at the trade deadline, we got a lot of lottery balls for the upcoming draft. They have problems under his leadership.

Every single year this is proven true. Every single year... a superstar has a horrible post season and every single year someone that nobody expected rises up. Yesterday it was Bo Naylor with his .195 regular season batting average coming up big. Anthony Volpe has been leading the way for the Yankees so far and Giancarlo Stanton has been dragging the bottom. Trevor Story has led the Red Sox. Ben Rortvedt is the catcher for the Dodgers. He's 3 for 6 so far. Every single year a blooper falls in and every single year a screaming line drive is caught. Nothing ever goes as scripted. First team to 13 Wins wins it all. You can lose 9 games and still win it all. 13-9 will get it done. During the regular season... 4 wins every 10 games will get the manager fired and 6 wins every 10 games will get you in the playoff door. The Margins are incredibly thin during the regular season... they become even thinner when you jam it into a small sample size of 3 game series, 5 game series or 7 game series. 22 games maximum sample size. Every single year anything can happen is witnessed by many (or not witnessed) and ignored immediately afterwards so they can return to talking about the building of a world series champion being the only thing that matters. If you want to build a world series champion... you got to get in first. There are 6 spots and 15 teams in the American League... every single year.

I have no idea on the operational structure of the Minnesota Twins. This article paints a picture of being overwhelmed with too many responsibilities. That's what being at the top is because ultimately... all roads end up on his desk but we are not talking about one person doing everything. If the Twins are run like almost every business in every industry. I think it's safe to assume that he has people working for him with important responsibilities. I'd imagine that his job is making sure that he has the right people in place to handle those responsibilities... because no one can handle everything without help. I think he has help.

The Trade of Clevenger alone brought back a haul that is helping them today. Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Joey Cantillo, Gabriel Arias, along with Austin Hedges and Owen Miller. Josh Naylor has since been traded for Slade Cecconi pitching today. Civale was traded for Kyle Manzardo probably batting 4th in the lineup today. Logan Allen was acquired when they traded Trevor Bauer. We will see what they do with Bibee in the future but he threw pretty good yesterday. Not to mention Beiber who was traded this deadline to the Blue Jays. Two years a pop can sustain you.