Riverbrian

If true and I'm starting to think it might be true. This places Tom in the building before the December 18 announcement of Tom in the building. Falvey was talking about Ryan, Lopez and Buxton going nowhere prior to Tom.

We don't know the answer but the timing of this is stuck in my head. Based on what both of them said. We've had a disagreement in place for couple of months. If this has been on-going for a couple of months with resolution it could go on another couple of weeks, months. I wonder what specifically made yesterday the day. What made Falvey go back into the office and rehash the disagreement.

You are correct. It's always the people who hire the people.

When you consider that Shelton said in his introductory press conference. "I'm not using the term rebuild... but I think we're gonna develop young players". I'm starting to think that Shelton came to Minnesota with what Falvey said was going to happen. I'm starting to believe that this half measure go for it plan... just might be ownership driven. Tom, If this doesn't work... there will be a set back.

What a needle to thread. Start with a team that fell out of contention two years running. Sprinkle in what you said "tear down BP" plus Correa and spend less. Declare we are going for it. Spend your limited allocation on large crater sized development holes that will need to be replaced the following year. . I've never met him, I don't know what he likes for breakfast, how he deals with employees. if he kicks puppies and yells at old people. I don't know what his personal baseball philosphies... however,.. based on what he has done with Rays and Red Sox. I'd love to see Chaim Bloom in Falvey's chair.

This just looks like the ole difference of direction discussion. The timing of it suggests... the difference of opinion wasn't going to resolve and the timing also suggests... it has been festering. This isn't a move you make at this point of the off-season. What ever this was. One reasonable assumption I'm going to make is this. Tom Pohlad is in charge. This is one of those end results where it is declared through action... I'm in Charge

Rob takes much less time to type. I can be efficient sometimes. It's a dry sense of efficiency.

Regardless if any of us like or dislike Falvey. The timing could not be worse. Who knows how the power structure actually works. To my understanding (which isn't worth much) Falvey was in charge of everything from the price of hot dogs to the staffing to the rosters. Everybody answers to Derek. He's not leaving if the staff working for him is insubordinate or disagrees with direction. That leaves only one level above him where direction can be questioned. Sure sounds like we have a directional disagreement at 1 Twins Way because the timing couldn't be worse. I don't know what direction the winds are blowing out of Tom Pohlad and the ownership group. I don't know the direction of the winds that were blowing with Joe Pohlad and I don't know what direction the winds are blowing with Derek Falvey. Is it Derek that wants to go for it? Is it the Pohlads that want to go for it? Someone said we are keeping Joe Ryan and going for it? Who is the driving force behind Keeping Ryan and going for it? Is that person still in the building? Regardless of the answer... The timing sucks as the Off-season is winding down. If they are changing plans on January 30. What a WASTE of October, November, December and 29 days of January. All we can do is watch comes next. Player movement or lack of movement as we head toward Fort Myers. All I know... the club is still lumpy. The club isn't complete. Rob Zoll has to carry on. But what direction Rob? What Direction? Whatever the answer... it must be coming from above.

Offensively?. I'll take Larnach without much debate. Versatility? Yeah... I'll take Caratini. But... lets make sure that we are on the same page. His versatility is at 1B and DH. His bat isn't 1B or DH. His 2 year 7 million value comes from his ability to catch.

The article was an interesting read. I look forward to part 2.

I don't necessarily agree but it's well argued.

I hate the "Lie" word. What is a GM supposed to do when he really doesn't know the answer to the questions that are constantly asked. The Twins may plan on keeping Jeffers and they can answer the questions concerning Jeffers by saying that we plan on keeping Jeffers. Jeffers wants to know what is going on so they tell his agent that they plan on keeping Jeffers as the primary catcher. This all changes when a trade package comes along that changes their mind. Do we want them tied to their word if they get a deal they shouldn't refuse. Do we really have to call them liars if they take the deal?

Well... Good Luck to both. Should be a good organization for Julien to build his career. If both remained healthy. The Twins were going to have to choose between Clemens and Julien. Looks like the Twins have chosen Clemens.

How much attention should you give to 27%? Yes... Left Handed Hitters vs left handed hitters is the worst matchup for a hitter out of the 4 possibilities. Left Handed Hitters vs Right Handed pitching is the best matchup for a hitter out of the 4 possibilities and this matchup occurs 73% of the time. If you are playing matchups... Why wouldn't you want 9 left handed hitters in the lineup vs that 73%? I'm not saying that they should have 9 left handed hitters but if you are going to play the splits... isn't the 73% the right way to play the split. If you do the math. Just using the major league averages. 73% at .747 and 27% at .646 adds up to a bigger number than the right handers post at .703 73% and 721 27% of the time. Here are the numbers: The Left Handed hitter on average will hit .725 against both hands and the right handed hitter will hit .707 against both hands. Now it still comes down to the player. These are just averages. However... if you are going to play the split. PLAY THE SPLIT. Who hits right handed pitching... more of them on the roster please if you have to choose. The top ten teams in OPS in 2025 is the exact same top ten in team OPS vs Right handed pitchers and it's because of the 73%. Why should a team with 8 right handed hitters on the 26 man roster be searching for a right handed hitting outfielder like the Twins were doing the past three years? Detroit was 2nd against left handed pitching with a team .774 OPS. They were 21st with a .712 against right handers. This created a .729 overall. The 27% doesn't drive that needle through the roof because it's only 27%. On the other siide of that the Mets were 2nd against RHP with a .777. They had a .696 against LHP. That made up a .753 overall... the needle doesn't fall through the floor. Why does Wallner need to be platooned. 18-46-44 and 85 plate appearances vs lefties during the development years of age 24,25,26 and 27. He got to 85 after being starved for 2 years and his stats didn't produce a huge split differential? If you increase the sample size and the numbers go up...What was the purpose of only 108 plate appearances three years prior? Is Wallner better for it? Does it compromise his development? Does he have more trade value as a player who hits both hands or as a player that requires a 4 million dollar handcuff. Has the Twins organization really thought about the future trade value of Matt Wallner during his existence? Did it matter or was strip mining for parts the sensible thing to do... create enough value to trade him for a reliever down the road when the team goes into sell mode? Was Kyle Schwarber a lefty killer in his early days? How do you become Kyle Schwarber? I'll stick my head in the lions mouth in regards to Larnach. 118 Plate appearances against lefties and his numbers got better. Yeah I get it... .600 OPS against lefties is well below average and everyone is dragging his body into the ditch at the moment but it appears that his number is higher with more AB's then it was with barely any AB's. I don't know... I'm just of the impression that exposure is helpful and I also assume that coaches do something? Both Wallner and Larnach had more AB's last year against left handed pitchers than they had in their entire career. It wasn't a disaster. The Twins were ranked 14th against left handed pitching. They were 22nd against right handed pitching. The Twins were absolutely willing to give Brooks Lee 487 AB's for a .655 OPS. Why were they willing to do that. They assume he will get better so you let him work through it. I don't have a problem with this... but if you are willing to Brooks Lee work through it for 487 AB's. What exactly is the damage done by .600 OPS vs left handers 27% of the time? Royce Lewis is allowed to OPS .671 for 376 AB's. That's OK... Royce can use these moments to get better... more comfortable... we will give him another a year of that if he needs it. It's OK... we will counter those two struggling by pinch hitting for Wallner in the 5th inning. I loved Solano he saved us from Gallo. However... while his splits were neutral his plate appearances were not. 254 AB's against Right Handers - 140 vs Left Handers. I hated Margot. 159 AB's against right handers - 156 vs Left Handers. So what exactly is the virtue of rostering a short side specialist. Are we going to keep spending 4 million for these guys... Are we going to Kill a developing Austin Martin and hold him to short side platoon duties. Maybe a 50-50 split like Margot put togethes. And one last consideration. Injuries. What happens when your right handed short sider gets hurt. Are the Twins now obligate or pot committed to call up Fedko instead of Erod because your right hander went down? Do you call up GG and make him a short sider to fill that role so Larnach doesn't have to hit left handers. If you don't call up Fedko... that guy you have been sheltering has got to face left handers all of sudden. Theoretically will a left handed hitter be more comfortable facing Chapman in the 9th inning in September or the playoffs with a decent number of AB's against left handers during the season or constant pinch hitting or bench time when the lefties are on the mound? I sound anti-platoon. I'm not totally... I've just become jaded watching the Twins make the platoon split the primary split in regards to playing time. All of this is budget related. All of things that they I type about over and over again are budget related. The Twins can't afford Joc Pederson and Randall Grichuk because it will leave no money left over to sign Pete Alonso. The only way they will be able to afford Pete Alonso is if they are able to develop a large number of young players making the minimum. We are not doing that. We took every developing left hander, strip mined them for parts and developed them to the point that they must be paired with Margot or Solono. The Twins will not become what we want them to become until they start giving young players full commitment to major league development. Lately... you only get that if you are right handed because of our strange fear of that 27%.

Exactly This failure tax bill was always going to come due. Unfortunately it came due at the exact crossroads of diminishing payroll and continued contention expectation.

I'm easily misunderstood. I don't know if Peredes is worth anything at all. I don't know if Eeles is worth anything at all. I won't lose sleep over either. Basically... my point... weak or strong is that it's quite possible that this catcher merry-go-round will just end up in the same place that we started. Needing Cardenas or whoever to step up as the third catcher because Jackson was just picked off waivers. Jackson could sail through waivers... probably will... no idea. Where Peredes could simply hold that spot. A reported decent defensive catcher with decent hitting stats in the minor leagues. Meanwhile we have nearly 14 million invested into Jeffers and Caratini. Only 4 teams have that much invested in the position... all of them because of one contract to one player that exceeds that number. Then I'll throw in the MINOR point that we don't have Eeles... who again may not be worth anything but he does play a position where we will probably hand a 26 man roster spot to Gray, Kreidler or Arcia. We agree on the overall concerns and everything I'm saying can placed into this single overall concern. The allocation of limited resources to a single position.

True I'd like Eeles back. Never met him but I'd like him back.

I am also OK with the risk because... Damn it... Someone has to raise up from the minor league system and hold down the catching position for a lower dollar figure. 3 years of Vazquez staying for the most part healthy and getting equal playing time while draining 10 million every year from the budget is a bill that we are still paying for. The average catcher had an OPS of .694 in 2025. Designated Hitter produced an average OPS of .784. Are we really going to use a catcher to fill that position and expect the needle to move. We have two catchers who exceed .694 to the tune of 15 million dollars. The budget allocation suggests that we are trying to improve our OFFENSE with TWO decent hitting catchers while catcher is the historically the lowest offense producing position on the spectrum. If a catcher is at least decent defensively... Jeffers, Jackson and Pereda could have held the fort down while money was applied to a position that actually hits the ball... moves the needle. I don't have any problem with Caratini... I have a problem with the allocation toward the position. All these moves made and we end up in the same position. Relying on a Cardenas when the time comes. When the truth is that a Cardenas should have arrived 3 years ago, 2 years ago, last year. Catchers are over pays for a team with a limited budget. We are over paying. Perada could have helped control costs.

Yeah... that is certainly a major factor in my concern. Concern over Pereda by himself isn't worth losing sleep over. The allocation spent on the Catcher position might be worth losing sleep over. Pereda as our #3 stashed in St. Paul isn't a bad place to be. Eeles may be worthless, he may be worth something. However, he is minor league depth that doesn't require a roster spot at a position that currently has Gray, Kreidler and Arcia fighting for a 26 man spot. Jeffers catching over 100 games puts Caratini at 1B and DH nearly an equal amount as catcher or we are paying 7 million for a 62 game or less at catcher. We have also invested 7 million in Bell. Bell will have to yield playing time in order for Caratini to get non-catcher AB's. Offensively... Caratini is not statistically better than Larnach. If Jeffers isn't traded... We are using a catcher to improve our offense at key offensive positions at the expense of Bell and possibly Larnach. Where have we gained by spending a total of 15 million on the catcher position. Pereda could have helped manage these expenses.

I get the 40 man pressure. Someone has to go. Having 4 catchers on the 40 man roster is a little on the high side. Pereda probably doesn't matter but Seattle grabbed him because he's a cheap third catcher. The Twins may need one of those.

2025 All Players on all teams: LHH VS RHP: PA 65,309 - PBP .326 - SLG .421 - OPS .747 RHH VS LHP: PA 34,499 - OBP .316 - SLG .405 - OPS .721 RHH VS RHP: PA 67,870 - OBP .308 - SLG .396 - OPS .703 LHH VS LHP: PA 15,248 PA - OBP .299 - SLG .365 - OPS .664 Staffing a roster ultimately comes down to individuals not the collective averages. Just get hitters who can hit period. However, From the above numbers we can make conclusions. 1. RHH vs RHP is the most frequent combination in baseball. It is the 3rd most profitable. 2. By adding the PA's on line 1 and line 3 together you get 133,179 plate appearances against right handed pitching. By adding the PA's on lines 2 and 4 together you get 49,747 plate appearances against left handers. add those numbers together and we have a total of 182,926 across the major leagues. From that league total it can be determined that LHP was on the mound for 27% of all PA's. This means 73% of all PA's were against RHP. This is where I ask everyone to do the math. You have 13 roster spots and 9 starting positions. Knowing that 73% of all pitching is Right handed. Using the averages posted above. What is the optimal allocation of right handed/left handed hitters on a roster? If you have 13 left handed hitters. That's a .747 OPS 73% of the time and a .664 OPS 27% of the time. What will the total add up to? If you have 13 right handed hitters. That's a .703 OPS 73% of the time and a .721 OPS 27% of the time. What will the total add up to? You can only platoon 4 spots. What is the optimal allocation of right handed hitters and left handed hitters? Does it make sense to focus on that .664 27% of the time? Can you focus on that .664 and not ignore the .747 73% of the time. By OPS... The Twins were 14th against left handers in 2025. 22nd in OPS against right handers. Is there correlation between the top OPS teams facing right handed pitching and top OPS teams in baseball.

I'm not going to predict the 2026 performance of each department, We can all assume that the starters will be decent and the bullpen will be terrible. When 2026 is done who knows the end result. Maybe the bullpen gets the job done and the starters fail us. We will see what happens in 2026. In regards to the title of article. Of course a rebuild isn't the only answer. Even if rebuild is the only answer... there are degrees to the level of rebuild. Do you move every player not nailed down or do you move just a couple of them. Trading Ryan and Lopez is different than just trading Ryan. If the Twins are not going to rebuild... like it seems thus far... there are degrees to the level of the aggressiveness of "Going for it". I would call this a low grade level of "going for it". Signing Josh Bell instead of a polar bear is a degree lower. In my opinion... there is one thing that has to happen in regards to the future of this franchise. The front office needs to transition from trying to survive on low level free agents to trying to survive on developing players like Milwaukee... like Cleveland. This transition can't be avoided... we can either do it this year or in future years but future years just delays what will have to be done eventually.

Agreed. I stayed in an old hotel near the Marina on the far eastern side of Central Avenue. It's about a mile walk due west on Central Avenue to Tropicana Field. Central Avenue appears to be the main drag. It's a great walk past restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors, cigar shops and the St. Petersburg residents enjoying the late March Florida weather on the sidewalks. I've spent time in most of our major cities. St. Petersburg is very under rated. It was very enjoyable.

I could be wrong but to my knowledge. The mutual option is barely worth mentioning. It only matter if the agreed upon 13M today... is the value of Joe Ryan after 2026 concludes. The odds of that happening is very slim so the odds of both sides agreeing has to be extremely slim. If Joe Ryan thinks he will get more in arbitration... he declines the option. If Joe Ryan has a down year in 2026 causing the Twins to believe that Joe Ryan will get less than 13M. They decline the option. The odds of Joe Ryan's arbitration value landing at exactly 13M after 2026 has to be rather low. Since Joe isn't eligible for free agency after 2026. It just doesn't matter. The declining of the option by either party just puts them back into Arbitration next off season since Joe isn't eligible for free agency. The 100K buyout I believe can simply be reduced to an an extra 100K in Joe Ryan's pocket. Joe Ryan's salary in 2027 will basically depend on his performance in 2026 and the historical framework of the raises from Arb 2 to Arb 3.

Ladies and Gentleman. Please welcome to the stage... the short side platooners,.. Ryan Jeffers, Luke Keaschall and Austin Martin.