Brandon

Rooker was drafted in the first round by this front office. They will give him chances.

1B Sano / Killeroff 2B Polanco SS Chris Taylor (a free agent signing that has Twins written all over it) / Lewis 3B Donaldson / Arraez/ Miranda C Garver / Jefferies LF Larnarch / Killeroff / Arraez CF Buxton / Gordon / Martin RF Miranda / Rooker/ Arreaz DH Rooker/ Donaldson / Miranda / Arreaz/ Sano I can see the Twins trading Kepler. Chris Taylor is the perfect SS for us to sign. He can hit, has positional flexibility so he can move if we bring up Lewis for SS, likely a 4 year 60 - 68 million to sign. What is not to love about that signing? .bringing Cruz back is 50/50 in my book. You can rotate players through DH with Sano and Donaldson getting a larger share of ABs. But you still want a bat to put in there around 40-60% of the time. We could put Rooker in for 350 ABs as a final trial or sign Cruz.

We keep Donaldson. He will be a bargain in the 5th year of his contract. With 8 million already committed its an 8 million decision. I bet at that cost they keep him through year 5. And I expect us to be competetive next year. We are only 2 starting pitchers away from a rotation with depth. And maybe a reliever. Our offense just needs health and we are back to winning. I do want to add we are 20 -22 since the July 31rst trade deadline and that is after we traded Berrios and Cruz. We are closer than our record appears.

it seems Gil's floor is solid reliever. 6 years of that from what we got from Cave is a victory for the Yankees. But not by as much as you would think. If Gil remains in the rotation as a 3rd, 4th or 5th starter. Then its a huge win for the Yankees. but not earth ending for us. we have lots of pitching prospects who are getting close. Ryan, Ober, Gant and Dobnak give us an uninspiring floor for next year. so having Gil be someone in the back of the rotation after the league gets a chance to know him...... is that really what we need or a number 1 or 2 starter?

If Ryan is ready for the show moving forward as is Ober, Pineda signing is like having an extra Dobnak and Gant at the ready for the 5th spot in the rotation. I think he is good for 20 - 25 starts we have enough prospects coming that someone will get opportunities because he can't stay on the field. but when he does start he will give you average results. with an above average offense and pen that equals more wins then loses.

You also can't forget what the trade does for each team. We needed a starter and got one with a very team friendly risk averse deal. The Dodgers traded away a situation where they couldn't deliver on a promise to get this player more starts than he wanted or deserved. They got rid of a problem before it became a clubhouse problem. Also the Dodgers got a minimum cost player to put in mid relief as they have too many making millions of dollars so this is a way to help balance that for them.

I was about to make this comparison. I think Joe will be a solid member of the rotation. I just don't want to get too carried away yet. I can see Ryan in next years rotation. I look forward to the rest of his starts this year. I think Strottman is a potential middle reliever. He seems hittable in AAA. But I think he will be fine in shorter stints.

Banuelos was one of the guys we acquired for international cap space so Seattle could try to sign Otahni. Would be cool if he became a back up catcher or 3rd C fir a period.....

poop

Phil Hughes extension was bad. he wasn't signed as a free agent. Does anyone remember the impact of the Butch Huskey signing? How about that time we signed the hall of famer Steve Carlton? (1-6 with an 8.54 ERA) Mike Pelfry was bad though I rooted for him cause he wanted to be here. He was ok his last season here. And who can forget the signing of Sidney Ponson?

Tori Hunter got off to a slow start in the minors.

I think there is room in the budget for at least 2 starting pitchers. We have 2 fillers in Dobnak and Gant. Ober seems a solid bet to be successful. Ryan looked good in 1 start. I bet he makes good too. Sign 2 starters and we should be fine. That would give us 6 starters and several at AAA hopeing for an opportunity. We can trade for a third starter too with a rebuilding club as we have a rediculous number of prospects on the way. It was mentioned above that our offense is in its competetive window and we should take advantage if that.

We could clear some roster spots. What about Dobnak, Moran, and Cave or Rooker? That is 3 inexpensive pieces they can put on their roster.

THis is something I was working on as well. I have 2 groups of starting pitchers with which to sign pitchers from. 1 is the higher end and then the middle section. I figured we would need to sign 1 from each group and trade for a 3rd starter then Ober and lastly Ryan. Gant/ Dobnak. I am thinking Danny Duffy/ John Gray and Alex Cobb/ Pineda and a trade which I haven't researched yet and Ober and Ryan with Dobnak and Gant available. That is a 7 deep rotation going to spring training. I didn't finish cause I wanted to figure out if Winder, Duran, or Richardson-Woods has a chance to break with the team next season or if one of them would be close enough to start the season with Gant/ Dobnak holding the fort for a month or two... that would change the calculus a little. so in that case we have 1 FA signing, 2. Ober, 3 trade or 2nd FA signing, 4 Ryan, 5 Gant/ Dobnak till prospect ready. The good news is we have 2 guys who are perfectly able to handle the 5th spot in the rotation or be a reliever. This gives the club some options for that last spot in the rotation. Even better if we resign Albers, Smeltzer or Thorpe to a AAA contract this offseason.

What Maeda's fWAR with the Twins? Isn't that what Graterol has to pass? I think the Twins win this trade. But the Didgers did well too. They both got something they needed. Also Maeda can help sell other Japanese players on Minnesota being a great team to play for. Could help in future signings, Maeda's contract, and how well he has pitched when not injured all facitor in for the Twins. For the Dodgers, they subtract an excess pitcher, get a low cost reliever with promise, and he has pitched solidly so far. Anyway you look at it both teams objectives were likely met.

I thought I read Maeda time table to return is 9 to 12 months. Hopefully he will be ready to go by next year's trade deadline so he can build up for 2023.though I wonder if we could be contenders next season. Ober seems certain to be solid. If we can sign 2 starters and Ryan proves he belongs we would need 1 average starter to be a contender with lots of prospects to try out.

The focus for the offseason will be either Buxton extension or SS and the rotation. I expect the Twins will sign a bullpen arm or two. Both under 2 million per season. We only have Over as a guarentee in the rotation with 30 to less than 40 million max to spend there. We will keep Rogers, Duffey, Alcala, Theilbar, Coulombe, Minaya. Dobnak and Gant. The last 2 could either or both end up in the rotation. I hope we resign Albers to a minor league deal along with another arm or two. Garza is the wild card and could be kept. I am not sure on Stashak or Farrell, either but I am confident they let Thorpe and Smeltzer go. As well as Barraclough, Burrows, Garcia, I do expect the Twins to keep more players than you might think cause these guys are all low cost. I wouldn't be surprised if Rogers was traded this offseason so we have more money to address the rotation.

Thielbar is leading active Twins with 6 going into September. I just noticed this as well.

You are absolutely right that the front office has their work cut out for them this offseason in determining who should be kept on the 40 man and who can be retained as a minor league free agent. As an arm chair GM veteran myself.... I would think the Twins will keep a few of the relievers for depth. You pose a great thought in what to do with Dobnak. I think you are correct that they should take him off the 40 man in the offseason. I see them keeping Gant, Jax and possibly Garcia. Astudillo is also a possibility since he plays several positions, hits league average and is well liked in the clubhouse....isn't that what a bench player is? I can see them trying to sign Gordon to a minor league deal. He is not a horrible bench option. (Key word is bench). On your list of relievers above I can see the Twins keeping a few of them for the back of the pen for depth. I doubt they want to blow up the pen again. so I see them keeping Theilbar, Minaya, and Coulombe. But you are correct in that even if kept we do not know if these guys will help move the needle enough. Again my premise of the post is that right now the pen seems to be performing well and there may be a few keepers in the bunch. This is also at a time when we are starting our rotation over from scratch where only Ober seems to be a lock for next season's rotation. He is pitching at a solid #3-4 starter...even a level 2 in his last start....Its nice knowing our bullpen isn't quite as out of whack during this tryout period.

On Gibaut, I knew nothing of his minor league stats just saw a scoreless outing and decided to use that as a plus at the end. My other point of this, was to point out we may not need a bullpen overhaul just adding another strong arm or two as we seem to have a decent 5-7 guys who are contributing and may be able to sustain it into next year.

But a couple of them have produced positive results. I am a little surprised Nick Vincent wasn't given a longer tryout. He did his job and has a decent track record. Minaya and Coulombe could be keepers. They have low 3 ERA's so far. Ralph Garza is also working out so far. and Luke Farrell, Whether that is sustainable is another thing but for having the entire pitching staff minus maybe 2 relievers completely blow up, the bullpen has been doing a decent job lately.

Well, Lookey there. It looks like we have the makings of a solid bullpen again. WHAT!. Here is what we have, granted we can still use some upgrades. Duffey has been solid with a few hiccups earlier in the year and has a 3.61 ERA. Thielbar has a 3.71 era and is striking out 11.3 per 9 innings. Alcala is back off the DL and pitched 2 scoreless innings and while his era is high this year due to giving up lots of homers, He didn’t give them up last year and I would expect him to normalize. Minaya and Couloumbe have been solid with a 3.20 and 3.04 ERA in 25.1 and 23.3 innings. Garza is still getting some time in here but has an ERA in the 3’s including his time in Houston in over 20 innings and Gibaut has only 1 game so far but has promise. I am not saying by any means that we have a great pen but our pen has seemed to settle into providing good performances more often then not lately and with a large number of relievers too. (Note I am not including Colome because that guy is the 2nd coming of Ron Davis this year). Duffey 3.71 ERA in 47.1 innings Thielbar 3.61 ERA in 51 innings Alcala 5.00 ERA in 45 innings and 4.08 career ERA in 70.2 innings Minaya 3.20 ERA in 25.1 innings (does anyone know if we have control for next season with Minaya)? Coulombe 3.04 ERA in 23.2 innings Garza has 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings and 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings season to date Colome had a 4.35 ERA with lots of unearned runs and blown saves. (I don't trust him in pressure situations at this point but he could prove to be serviceable to just get innings). Rogers will be back next season and hopefully we can find another reliever Gibaut maybe or Farrell or Dobnak when they come back from the DL, who can step up and help keep runs off the board the rest of this year. Also Moran should be up at some point. While I am sure that our pen is not where we want it to be, I am glad they are performing at a solid rate as we go through growing pains with the shattered rotation.

I don't know that I would put that much pressure on one prospect. We have several of them coming up within the next year or so who are starting pitchers. It looks like we can bank on Ober to be one of our starters moving forward. I imagine we will sign at least 2 starting pitchers in FA. maybe Pineda and likely a solid #2 or 3 starter who can pitch close to 200 innings. I almost forgot we have Gant available should we need a starter. That leaves 2 more spots with insurance in Gant ad possibly Albers if he is still with the organization next year, with Dobnak, Jax, Barnes, and then Ryan, Winder, Balazovich, and Richardson-Woods. I left out some like Thorpe and Smeltzer as I am sure their time may be up if we need the 40 man roster spot.

I think Ryan will have 1 or 2 more starts in AAA before getting the call.

yes but the results are so similar.