Brandon

And then there is Gabriel Gonzales and Mendez and.....

The Varland trade ,I think was about moving a high variance pitcher, who seemed to be walking a tightrope as a 99 mph straight fastball reliever. A little slower and he gets bombed pretty regularly compared to the potential of Rojas. Rojas still looks really good. I am not knocking the trade as much as lamenting losing a well liked player.

Oops. I thought he was a lefty that threw 94. Oh well. He is still destined for the pen.

I think Tait will either be a future 1B or part of a valuable trade for us in the future. Next season he should be ready for AA. Gallagher will be another lefty in the pen, I'm pretty high on Rojas. I think he could be a #2 or 3 starter. The thing with Varland and Duran is it seems like they are higher risk pitchers in that their effectiveness looks to drop quickly as their heat deteriorates. But they would be nice to have on this year's staff. I think the Twins did a good job overall at the deadline. I pretty much agree with your grades as well I still don't understand the Brock Stewart trade and I feel like the Twins could have saved a few more million on the salary dump of Correa. But getting a #1 and potentially 2#3 starters is really a good return for a bullpen

I think Rojas is a good pitcher and will be valuable. Not as much as Varland but not too far off either. The Jax trade was a great one. I think you are a little hard on Tait. He is improving and will be pushed soon.granted I would rather have Brock, Varland, and Duran.

At some point the OF will be Keaschall,in LF, Buxton/ Jenkins in CF and Jenkins/ ERod in RF if there is an open spot Martin could keep it cause he plays 2B too and maybe 3B. Versitility and a hit skill like OBP is valuable off the bench. A .350 + OBP plus versatility will keep him up with the team.

I can't. I think he is the back up for next year. They would have traded him at the deadline for something useful if he was out the door.

I thought it would be fun to start a thread to track the pitchers we acquired at the deadline. We got Nance, Kremer, Minter, and Hoffman. So far they have combined to give up 5 earned runs in 20 innings pitched a 2.25 ERA with 18 strikeouts. So far they are doing their part to help us win. Let's see how they do and post your notes on their performance as we go.

Yes this was a hypothetical. I assumed that was understood. I think if the Twins go to the World Series or deep in the playoffs they could raise some ticket prices next year. Especially among the higher priced seats where no one will care if the Twins are winning. The budget minded fans will not see their prices change IMO. Again this is all a hypothetical also if the Twins are more entertaining and fans start.getting behind them. Attendance will go up. If it's on track for 1.7 million then maybe 1.8-1.9 million is possible

Here is why the payroll can go up next season. 1. The Twins paid off or down 400 million in debt. That is a 20-30 million in annual savings. 2. If the Twins are winning they can raise ticket prices next season probably 0-25 depending on location of the seat. Say it's an average of 5-10 per seat times 2 million fans is an extra 10-20 million. 3. Plus if the increased fan base draws an extra 200,000 fans that spends an extra 75-100 each per game is an extra 15-20 million in revenue. That's an extra 45-70 million to the bottom line. Say they are willing to go to 135 million and have an extra 10 million for next trade deadline (it's a hedge in case the Twins lose and loses fan interest cause they then don't add and also subtract) or if they are winning the add more payroll looking even better and draw more fans because we like Tom better. I didn't even include any playoff windfall. If we get 3-7 home games in the playoffs I am sure there will be money going to the Pohlads. With that said, next year Larnarch is likely out, Bell is a maybe. I could actually see the Twins keeping him another season if he knocks in over 90 RBI. Jeffers gets a QO and probably stays a season so the QO is gone afterwards. He may still test the market to get a good deal pending the lockout..... If we keep Jeffers we trade Cartini to help offset some of the cost. Ober will be a variable this off-season of will he stay or go. I can't answer that now but I bet he is traded. I think we keep Banda if he is liked by everyone. Rogers is likely gone but another low cost contract is possible. There won't be too many needs on next season's team this off-season I think. Reliever, bench, maybe a DH or IF. Only arbitration raises.

I gave them a B as well. I think the Twins had lots of opportunities to go after a mid rotation starter like Mize, Soriano, Detmer, Holmes, and a few others. They should have traded for one of them over the starter they got. But They hit perfectly on relievers and on price. trading Dasan Hill is the only potential painful player traded.

CJ Culpepper, Sabato, Raya and Rosario all came from the 2020 draft and there was one who already retired. Probably Soularie. There was probably a competitive round pick you overlooked.

I have never seen a bench player who plays the entire season only get 150 ABs. 225-250 is usually the bottom tier. the only exception has been Kiersey who didn't make the whole season but was on a low AB pace.

If Rojas and Hoffman help the Twins down the stretch and pitch meaningful innings in the playoffs, and if we make it to the World Series, you can take that win notch on the Varland trade down a little. The Twins would also win the Hoffman trade outright unless Hill becomes a top of the rotation arm.

I would like to see him get an opportunity. If he can provide some value and Raya becomes a solid reliever along with CJ Culpepper and Rosario gets up too... that would make the 2020 draft become a success with 4 of the 5 making the majors. If Sabato was a 1B/ DH/ PH getting around 250-300AB in a season with 10-20 HRs there is value in that. Raya a top bullpen arm and CJ Cullpepper a low level reliever and Rosario is likely a AAAA player getting opportunities when there are injuries....

Dasan Hill needs a lot more than a little. He needs to cut his walk rate in half. That also means he is wild in the strike zone. That will cause problems as he plays against higher competition. But yes he has the potential to be great. I have him pegged for bullpen duty, if he comes up.

Kremer was the only move I didn't care for but I loved the bullpen additions. I still give the Twins an 8-8.5 score for the deadline deals I wasn't expecting the Twins to go after the top rotation arms, but one of a higher mid level tier

Kremer was a half measured. What they did in the bullpen was perfect really. The pen went from being one of the worst if not the worst to better than average. The rotation just got a filler. I hope Kremer pitches like his career norms and how he pitched for the Orioles this season is just getting rid of the rust. Kremer in years past is still a number 4/5 starter. There were better starters available with not too much more cost.

They only half measured the rotation. The big issue, the bullpen, was fixed and fixed right. If the goal was to sell more tickets, there were better mid rotation starters like Mize available or Soriano or Detmers, and these guys wouldn't add much to salary either. Just cost more prospects. That is my only gripe. I don't see much on offense to fix really. We still lead the league in scoring with help on the way.....

My 2 cents. They were perfect on offense. We have lots of internal candidates for offensive improvement and Buxton if he gets better. On the bullpen we added three relievers so that is much better. The rotation they added a depth starter. If they could have added a better starter they would be set up perfectly for the playoffs. So my only gripe is they should have aimed higher in the rotation. Detmers or Soriano

If Dasan doesn't find control soon he will at best be a reliever. I am fine with the cost of this trade. I got my hopes up for a Neto trade the more I keep hearing about it. I think I'm in the minority in hoping we keep Larnarch cause of Buxtons injury we need all of the bats we can get.

Peralta brought the Mets 3 prospects. None of them are in the Rays top 30. Skuball was also reasonable 1 top 100 prospect and 1 top 200 and a third prospect. I wonder why we didn't push the cost up ñ

Buxton just had a shot to alieveate his hip situation. He will likely continue to have issues but be available soon. And we are still winning with him on the shelf. We should target a platoon bat who can step in and help the offense. I don't think we need too much help there.

We could trade him in the off-season too.

The Angels are said to want a young C. It the trade is Tait and Culpepper, the Twins will want money sent in the deal to help pay down the contracts and or a prospect of some level.