Riverbrian

Without Flexibility... If you have Polanco at SS, there is no reason to acquire Simmons to play SS. With Flexibility... Polanco can play 2B and 3B or maybe LF and Simmons can play SS. You can perpetually upgrade every time the opportunity comes along. Without Flexibility... If you have Polanco at SS, you pass on Simmons and you acquire a lesser player to backup Polanco at SS. This is what Terry Ryan did and this is why it felt the way it did.

Honestly Doc, Very few around here knew what the Cubs and Astros were doing. They got Kuddo's for winning but very few knew how they were winning. Very few knew what a Marwin was, "Yeah but what position will he play?".

The secret isn't so much the flexibility. The secret is the depth. When you have honest to God depth like we have this year. You have no choice, you have to have flexibility. If you don't have flexibility... the depth that you have acquired will be wasted and pointless. If Arraez can only play 2B and Schoop can only play 2B... then every time you play Arraez, Schoop must sit and vice versa. The fact that Arraez can play a decent LF and 3B along with 2B gives you the chance to get that bat into the lineup without killing Schoop in the process. Other players on the roster can share the burden if you will. If you choose a starting 9... you are forced to roster lesser players for the other 3-4 position player spots. Because if you have 12-13 fairly equal players there would be no reason to go with a starting 9 and kill the other 3-4 fairly equal players. By not rostering lesser players (LaMarre for example). A team can survive injuries, get occasional rest, compete against each other for playing time. Become Bulletproof. Become Logan Morrison resistant. By not rostering lesser players... You have 12 - 13 roster positions that can be used for developing talent, for helping us win or for increasing trade value instead of just 9 for that purpose with 3 to 4 throw away's. 12 developing players instead of 9 increases your odds of actually developing it. And... And... If you are going to roster the kind of depth the Twins currently have, which is 12-13 players who can compete with each other for playing time. You must have flexibility to accommodate... there is no other option. Depth is the secret... flexibility is the by-product. This 2019 team was exactly what I was talking about last year. This 2019 team was exactly what I was begging for and exactly what I was meeting resistance over. Here it is now... right in front of us all, we've been watching it since the start of the season and yet so many still can't see it despite watching it. We still have posters who want stick Arraez into an every day 2B job next year and just throw away his ability to play 3B and LF. We have posters afraid that Arraez playing occasional LF means that Rosario can't play LF in 2020. They can't see it. This discussion started by Stringer can't even discuss the topic without it turning into a "Is Polanco good enough to play SS every day" discussion instead. I don't understand the lack of understanding. Just watch, it's working. Old habits are hard to break I guess.

The roster management this year isn’t even close to years past.

It’s gonna work

All 30 have the same detriment. They are combinations of an elite defender or two with guys who hit and play average defense. The Dodgers play Seager exclusively at SS and Turner exclusively at 3B. The Cubs play Baez at SS exclusively this year before that it was Russell while Baez moved around. Having flexibility like the Twins have does not mean you have to have a lack of elite defenders. You can still sign Arenado to play 3B and leave him there while having flexibility elsewhere. It’s not a detriment in any way shape or form.

I’m not aware of anyone making such claims

Totally understand the frequency of the swing and miss with the MLB draft. However, in this case. 1st pick overall, Age 20, Top Ten Prospect consensus today. His trade value better be in the upper levels of the stratosphere.

I have no idea what the market will be. More buyers than sellers should drive the price up in theory. However the Russell trade was many moons ago and more recent history suggests that prospects are carrying a higher value these days. I know Chapman and Machado were rentals but if you look at the price difference between those two... it suggests a shift in what organizations are placing value on. But yeah... I fully admit I have no idea what the market prices are today but if the Tigers are asking for something similar to what is being suggested. Boyd might be pitching with Mize for the Tigers next year.

The effort to stress the importance of the Indians just might get the Twinsdaily crowd thinking a little this time. However... in my opinion... the timing of the importance is actually off, because it was more important last month. I tried pointing out the importance of a series with Cleveland earlier when we had an 11 game lead. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to provide strong information to the Indians that they should sell. Twinsdaily wasn't ready for that at that time. Well... We didn't bury the Indians at that time and now they are back in it. So... because they are back in it... they are not going to sell now and they must be contended with... no matter who we add to the roster, N\no matter who the Yankees, Rays, Astros, Rangers, A's, Red Sox add to the roster. The Indians will not be selling and they can gain a playoff spot with their own hands. They may not buy but they won't sell. I'm afraid that actual baseball is going to decide everything now.

I have no idea where the market is but my guess is that this would be a severe overpay by the Twins. Royce Lewis was the first pick overall and he is only 20 years old, plus he's a consensus Top 10 overall prospect. Nobody should let a so-so year at High A while being 20 years old taint his value to this degree. Royce Lewis by himself better be an extreme overpay. If he isn't an overpay by himself, there is no reason to pay attention to the MLB draft anymore. This is what a 1st pick overall is worth at age 20? If you offer Royce Lewis by himself... the Tigers say yes in less than a second, they don't wait for a better offer to come along.

As respectfully as I can put this: You need to understand all the future consequences of what you are suggesting. Ash and Brock are trying to point you in the right direction. The Twins don't have to add Rooker to the 40 man roster until December of 2020. Once he is added to the 40 man roster, he can't be removed from the 40 man roster without being exposed to other teams. This is significant information and you need to understand why it's significant. Once a player is selected in the rule 4 draft (The Draft). If he is signed before he is 19 the club has 5 years before he has to be added to the 40 man roster or he will be eligible for the rule 5 draft. If he is signed after he is 19 (Rooker) the club has 4 years before he has to be added to the 40 man roster or he will be eligible for the rule 5 draft. Based on this rule in the CBA... Rooker has to be added to the 40 man roster in December of 2020 or we risk losing him to another team. Once Rooker is added to the 40 man roster... He can't be removed from the 40 man roster without being exposed to other teams. If the Twins add Rooker to the 40 man roster (early) at this time as you suggest. Adding him early guarantees (unless he is traded) that he will occupy one of the precious 40 man spots in December of 2019. This is significant because we have a fairly long list of players that need to be added to the 40 man roster or we risk losing them to another team next Rule 5. Rooker on the 40 man early will give us one less spot to protect a player therefore increasing the odds we lose a player to the Giants/Orioles or any team who would love to scoop up any of the top 5 or 6 or maybe 7 on the list below if left unprotected. Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2019 Brusdar Graterol Wander Javier Jhoan Duran Gilberto Celistino Jorge Alcala Griffin Jax Luke Raley Travis Blankenhorn Luis Rijo Jovani Moran In a nutshell... Adding Rooker to the 40 man for simple insurance as you suggest will probably cost us a fairly significant player in the off season due to lack of 40 man space. It would be like trading Rooker for Jorge Alcala or Trading Rooker for a future free agent because they want to keep Alcala. Adding Rooker before the Rule 5 draft (or at the very least the upcoming trade deadline) would require roster management negligence from Thad Lavine so it isn't going to happen unless Rooker demonstrates value beyond whatever is currently on the 40 man roster. We are talking a Tatis, Vlad Jr, Acuna or Soto type of demonstration and even that isn't going to help get him here now because that type of talent they would probably want to wait until next Mid-April for the extra year of control if he is that talented. And once you grasp that... you have to look at the current 40 man roster and come to the conclusion that we have a lot of talent performing at a high level on the current 40 man roster and therefore Rooker can't move the needle enough in 2019. On top of all that: The Twins need Roster Spots for the Trade Deadline additions and you can bet that the Twins will be using the names on the list above as their preferred trade bait because of the limited 40 man roster space in December and the decisions that they will have to make as a result. Adding Rooker just blocks up a spot and we don't have enough spots. For example... giving Rooker takes a 40 man spot right now. The Twins trade Alcala for Bumgarner. Bumgarner now needs a 40 man spot and you gave it to Rooker. So to accomodate Bumgarner... the Twins will have to release a player. Now adding Rooker has cost us a current player on the 40 man roster sometime this month AND a potential Dec. 2019 rule 5 eligible player in December. Ash and Brock are trying to help you. I'd listen to them because it will be a waste of your time and energy wishing or hoping that Rooker appears in a Twins uniform anytime soon.

If given the choice between: A. Placing talented players on the DL and having talented players to step in. B. Having Dozier and Morrison play terribly and play everyday through injuries. I choose A.

To my knowledge... Wheeler has not been extended. Still a Rental option.

I'm the biggest all-star snub. I have been snubbing the entire event for over a decade now.

I have no idea but something agreeable is happening.

They have a couple of options to consider for tomorrow's game and those options are currently on the 40 man roster. The bigger question... yet to be answered. Who will end up with that open 40 man roster spot and why the need to open it up for a future possibility on July 4th?

I love major league firsts Proud to witness the first time crossing the plate by Lamonte Wade JR. Reminds me of watching the very first time Eduardo Nunez's helmet flew off. I hope there is many more to come.

Here's a link to the game recap (which contains the video of the play). Straight on-line throw with one hop to the plate. Just offline a bit to the 1st base side. http://twinsdaily.com/topic/33732-article-tb-5-min-2-twins-can%E2%80%99t-complete-sweep-in-18-inning-duel/ I'd call his speed average but how deep of a rabbit hole are we heading down. Yes, Arraez isn't as fast as Rosario. Kepler isn't as fast as Buxton. Arraez is probably faster than Grossman. Rosario doesn't have Arraez or Polanco's plate discipline, Polanco doesn't have Sano's power. Until you find the perfect player, these are things that are always part of the overall product.

Look at this way. 1. Left 2. Switch 3. Right 4. Left 5. Right 6. Left 7. Right 8. Left 9. Right. He is check and balancing his lineup to make it difficult for Woodward to bring a left hander or right hander out of the bullpen to face a run of left handers or right handers. The left handed choices for this game are 1. Kepler 2. Polanco (Switch) 4. Arraez 6. Wade 8. Castro The next piece of the puzzle goes back to something I've questioned a lot and still don't understand the virtue of. Why does any Manager need to somewhat consistently slot certain hitters in the same place in the lineup. Why can't Buxton bat 9th one day and 3rd the next day and 6th next day? Will it mess with him or any other player's head? I think it's smart to alternate your left and right handed hitters like Baldelli is doing and taking that approach, it could be done this way. 1. Arraez - L 2. Polanco - S 3. Cruz - R 4. Kepler - L 5. Sano - R 6. Buxton - R 7. Castro - L 8. Schoop - R 9. Wade - L Just an idea... but... all in all... I don't care much about the batting order.

I won’t argue any of this. My response was under the context that Rosario will have to abandon LF to clear space for Arraez. Rosario is a quality player with potential to be even better. Rosario has earned playing time.

(High Five) Perfectly stated. I'm sitting here reading posts describing him and thinking I'm in the twilight zone. He has done nothing wrong defensively at multiple positions and hit like a seasoned pro. Because there is limited 25 man space, he may get sent down because he has options when others have none but this may actually weaken the overall team based on his performance so far, and this is in comparison with the strong performances of his teammates... He's been that good. There is no question that he is inexperienced in the OF... In reality... he is 22 and therefore probably inexperienced when it comes to choosing a wine for dinner along almost everything else in life. However, he has the opportunity to become more experienced in the OF with more opportunity to play OF and he has given no indication thus far (it's early yet) that he has hurt the team one inch while playing OF. So why not let him play LF along with 2B, 3B and SS just in case he is needed at any of those positions due to injury or poor play from others. We don't know what will happen in August. A combination of an OF and Marwin might get hurt and we might need him to play LF in the Playoffs as a result. Exposing him to OF play can serve as insurance or preparation for a future acute potential need that can't be predicted today. As you state... this isn't a question of choosing Arraez over Rosario... Or Arraez over Schoop... Or Arraez over Sano. It's simply a question of getting a player who is performing at an extremely high level into the lineup whenever and wherever you can, just like what is being currently done with Marwin. There is this large contingency of observers who feel the need to shove everything into boxes and they seemingly can't alter this baked in need. They've been watching Marwin play all season long, watching Baldelli rest and deploy everyone and still not understand what Marwin is or what Baldelli is doing, Arraez could be another Marwin defensively as long as you don't purposely stick him into a box. And that Box will only do one thing... It will limit your options to his usage and therefore limit his usefulness to us.

I've been watching. I can personally testify under signed affidavit that he has caught everything. His routes have been sufficient enough to get under neath each ball hit his way. In one of his first games in LF... He did make a throw to home that was off line just enough (1st base side) to allow a Tampa Ray runner to score by sneaking his hand in. But, the flyball was medium deep and it was a strong throw to make it close. Being critical of this play would be demanding perfection in his first game in LF. Actually, it would be demanding perfection of someone who has played 500 games in LF. He threw to third once when there was no chance of getting the runner at third. However... he hit the cut and that cut was lined up for a throw to third and we were able to nail the trailing runner trying to advance to 2nd on the throw because he hit the cut. He also made a diving catch while playing LF that suggested that he has some athletic ability. The adjective you used was "Horrendous". You have explained that it was based on the posts of other witnesses. I stand in direct contradiction to those witnesses you have relied upon. I now can use your strong adjective as an example of the danger of using other people as eyewitnesses instead of seeing it for yourself. It is dangerous because someone might read your description of "horrendous" and assume that you witnessed it.

What do you mean... I'd be awesome.

In consideration of usage. Rosario has only played CF and RF on rare occasion and there is no indication of Rosario playing IF. Based on that and the fact that he is one of the best hitters in the American League. If Rosario is healthy... He'll play LF at least 62% of the time.