Greglw3

They don’t have one projected regularvoutfielder who they can count on for health or is an established major league or hits over .230. Larnach-health, unestablished Kirilloff-health, unestablished Kepler-Poor offense that hurts the team Gallo-he may rebound, is a great athlete but hit .160 last year Buxton-health that cripples his ability to play even close to his ability, Question mark. Thus I think the Twins need probably 3 outfielders, maybe Mancini, Pollock and Michael A. Taylor. Keeping the OF status Quo will risk another losing season. I think Falvey and Levines are going to shake things up with trades.

I agreed with the gist of your comments until you mentioned preferring Terry Ryan back. Terry Ryan Part II was an unmitigated disaster. SO too have Falvey and Levine been for over 2 years. They still have a chance to redeem themselves before spring training. Do I have confidence in them? Largely no but partially yes since they did sign, Cruz, Schoop and C.J. Cron for the 2019 season. Since then, they’ve essentially torn down that 101 team to 2 consecutive seasons of losing records. So, my confidence in them is low but I’m open to changing my mind if they make a brilliant series of trades. Think of the MOs in Twins history: 1) Calvin Griffith took a wrecking ball to the franchise after the advent of free agency. He let a ton of glittering talent walk away in one of, if not, the most painful periods in Twins history. 2) Terry Ryan put together good team with Koskie, Mientkiewicz, etc. but refused to supplement it for playoff success. He also released David Ortiz after a 20 HR season while Ortiz was battling and affected by a bad knee. Worst decision in Twins history next to Calvin trading Rod Carew due to money. 3) Andy McPhail - a genius and responsible for the 2 WS titles. 4) Bill Smith - total and complete disaster 5) Terry Ryan Part II - Disaster filled with lousy trades and apparently not even spending the money he was authorized to. His stock line was always along the lines of "we think we’re all set there or we’re fine" when they clearly weren’t. 6) Falvey and Levine - Poor. Grade of D or D+ for their body of work so far.

RBIs are a very valuable talent for a player to have. Larnach, Kirilloff nor Wallner have proven near as much as Farmer, voted the Reds MVP last year.

I agree. Farmer had 78 RBIs as a SS and was voted MVP of the Reds. Those 78 RBIs would have topped the Twins last year. Correa had 64.

What about Willie Norwood?! :-)

The game has changed but being clear that I would have rather had Brantley or Binentendi, Gallo has hit 38 HR once and over 40 HR twice. That’s Mike Schmidt, or even Hank Aaron territory for 3 years. Plus he mitigated his low batting average in 2021 with a wildly high and very significant amount of walks, 111. He’s won 2 gold gloves and 2 all star appearances. It’s a gamble but one that might pay huge dividends. Even if he does bounce back, it’s just a one year deal, like Correa’s. I’m extremely perplexed with the offseason so far but very guardedly optimistic about what they may do in trades. Aside from the one year when they went out and got Nelson Cruz, Schoop, and C.J. Cron, their offseason and judgments have fallen flatter than a pancake since. Maybe they can rally. A signing of Segura, a trade for Gleybar Torres, a trade for Pablo Lopez, a trade of Kepler and a trade of Polanco and possibly even (gasp) Arraez, yielding another outfielder and maybe a 3rd baseman that has solid MLB credentials, along with 1 of Kirilloff and Larnach could shake things up. Conforto is still available, probably until I check MLBTR today. Plus, maybe Julien or Austin Martin arrive this year. Lewis, I hope he’s back this year but my view is tempered by having been a Bulls fan when Derrick Rose tore his ACL two years in a row. He’s never been the same since.

I’ve been no fan of the FO for last 2+ years so I see your point. I’m being hopeful while also quite skeptical. I’ve been watching their offseason too long and except 2019, they seem totally overmatched by almost all other MOs

Gallo has had 4 good-great (3 good to very good, 1 great) seasons as defined by OPS+ 109, 118, 121, 145.

The hole in RF where the incumbent has never done any of the following, all of which Gallo has: Hit 38 Home runs Hit 40 Home Runs twice Won 2 gold gloves Named to the all-star team 2 times Stolen 20 consecutive bases, as Gallo has as of now. Had 111 walks in one season (2021). That hole.

Your answer is correct but what this al adds up to is we don’t have any OFers remotely close to star quality. IMO< they need to sign or trade for two quality OFs such as Brantley, Binentendi, Haniger. Then the box is checked. On to catcher, backup CF, maybe DH.

The catching situation is extremely dire. Jeffers is among a big group of question marks. Polanco, Kirilloff, Larnach, Buxton, Left field and right field plus Pagan and Lopez. I think maybe Wallner is ready as was Miranda (Kepler has to be moved) but I’d prefer an established hitter to start in RF, then maybe Wallner rises to the top. Jeffers may improve or he may linger around .200 all year, which would be a killer for a big rebound season. They need to sign Contreras or Christian Vázquez or trade for a Danny Jansen. Jeffers should begin season as strictly a backup.

Mr. Joe Pohlad needs to do exactly that. For a modest 160-170 MM, he gets a team that can compete for playoff success. And the perpetually filled Target field, concessions and parking would repay him handsomely. Joe Pohlad has a major opportunity here! I don’t like opt outs but after year 4 works fairly well, although I’d be happy with after year 5 or 6. But if Correa and Boras want that, as Nick has conceived the contract, I’d be OK with it, then strike quickly for Contreras or Rodon. And I want Brantley and/or Haniger too. Shed Kepler’s salary to make room in the new era budget! Oh and David Robertson too!

Marshall was far, far better pitcher than Pagan, at least according to my memory. That’s probably why the cerebral Gene Mauch used him so much.

Notice I said, "some combination of the following". I didn’t mean to suggest they should make all those moves. You’re right, the payroll might be in Dodgers territory. I my rebuild of the Twins for 2023 I traded and signed free agents with Jim Pohlad giving me a $160 MM payroll. I’m at 162.5 but look what I got! I did set the trade difficulty closer to the most difficult so that Thad Levine would say, "Thinking about this deal gives me heartburn" and the other GM would say, "You’ll need to get serious to get a deal done!"

I wasn’t suggesting those 4 players for Burnes or Woodruff but merely listing 4 players they could trade as part of the offseason overhaul. Kepler first! I’d have to think about what I would trade for one of them. Maybe Urshela as part of it, even though I love him to death.

I agree, Sign Correa now and add more significant pieces. Some combination of the following: Sign Michael Brantley for LF. Sign Jose Abreu for 1B. Sign A.J. Pollock as 4th OF, possible platoon work with Matt Wallner in RF. Trade for Burnes or Woodruff from Brewers: tradeables Kepler, Mahle, Polanco, Garlick. Sign Willson Contreras as C. Sign David Robertson. Keep Gio Urshela at 3B Get a legitimate ML CF as backup for Buxton in CF. They could also fill in around the OF and DH and play CF on Buxton’s frequent rest days. Payroll minimum $160MM. It would be expected to rise from $142 MM to about $152 MM anyway so stretch a little and earn the money back in 30,000 plus crowds, increased concessions, parking, etc.

WHy not sign a career .298 hitter for LF, a potential batting title contender in Michael Brantley? Then you could have two Luis Arraez’s batting 1-2. Binentendi would be good too but Brantley would be more affordable. And outfield of Brantley, Buxton and Wallner would have strong potential. I guess Garlick could take on the tougher lefties, I would have preferred A.J. Pollock. They also need a serviceable CF backup for Buxton. Without spending too much money for that, they could look to Nick Gordon to fill that role. I’d sign Correa for SS with Swanson #1 backup. And I’d go hard for Willson Contreras. Could Robbie Ray be pried away from the Mariners? Burnes, Gallen? They’re gonna have to move their payroll up to $160MM and I firmly believe Jim Pohlad would do that. OF Brantley, Buxton, Wallner - (Garlick - Gordon) 3B Urshela SS-Correa 2B-Polanco or Julien 1B Arraez C Contreras DH Haniger? Gordon LF/CF/2B/DH

I’m trading Kepler. He’s been subpar and I think Wallner is ready in a similar way to Miranda last year. Kirilloff can factor in pending performance and injuries. I’m signing Hanogar and Willson Contreras. I expect Gordon to play a lot and continue his offensive improvement. He’s good insurance as well for Polanco’s injury proneness. I still like Billy Hamilton as his inexpensive mid to long term injury replacement. I’m trading for Brady singer in his walk year. That gives six starters for depth with Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson, Josh Winder as further depth. The Twins will have to spend $160 MM to contend. Assuming a $10 MM increase from last years $142 to $152, they’ll have to stretch to get this quality team that will excite the fans and WIN (TWINS)! C: Wilsson Contreras ($23.00M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Gio Urshela ($9.00M) SS: Carlos Correa ($33.00M) LF: Mitch Haniger ($8.1M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Matt Wallner ($0.70M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) 4th OF: AJ Pollock ($6.00M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($1.20M) Utility: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) Backup C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.00M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($6.00M) SP3: Brady Singer ($0.7M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.70M) SP5: Bailey Ober ($0.70M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.70M) RP: Kendall Graveman ($8.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) RP: Trevor May ($6.00M) RP: David Robertson ($8.00M) RP: Kenta Maeda ($3.0M) Payroll is 11.89% over budget

I agree with you we need another hitter. My plan adds Contreras, Binentendi, Pederson, Abreu. I draw an analogy to when Buxton was hitting .160 about 4-5 yrs ago and I had no doubt he was elevating the team with his stunning defense and stolen bases. He’s the only hitter hitting .160 that I would have said that about in my lifetime. He opened my eyes. With Hamilton stealing 10/11 bases in very limited time, it appears to me he still has the chops he had when he stole 50-60 bases 4 times. I have no doubt at 32 that his defense would be in a category with his past defense. I felt strongly that Baldelli completely mismanaged him. But your point is a good one. If Baldelli, for whatever reason, used him the way he did in 2022, then he probably would not use him according to my vision in 2023. So back to the drawing board. I’m a big Billy Hamilton fan because of the things I’ve seen him do on the baseball field. To me, his talent is electrifying with a career BA above Kepler and Cave and maybe Celestino. Disappointment has long been a thing I’ve had to live with as a Twins fan, having grown up in the Calvin Griffith years when he let Bostock, Bill Campbell, Rod Carew, Larry Hisle, Dan Ford, Dave Goltz all leave only for the virtually worthless package he got for Carew. And yet I’m still as avid a fan as ever!

I tried to clean things up with Contreras, Binentendi in LF, Buxton in CF (Billy Hamilton) and Joc Pederson if RF with Austin Martin at SS and Abreu at 1B, Arraez at 2B, Urshela at 3B. 140.1 MM total. Kirilloff and Larnach waiting in the wings assuming 1 or both are healthy.

I have Billy Hamilton as his backup. Probably won’t happen but his defense and stolen base ability can be so good as to make him a plus even if he doesn’t hit real well. That said, he is a .239 career hitter. Better than Celestino in my estimation.

I think that’s the way to go. I had Contreras at C, Binentendi in LF and Joc Pederson in RF. Buxton backed up by Billy Hamilton. Concessions: Austin Martin at SS (imagine, Buxton, Gordon, Hamilton, Martin all stealing bases a/la the Guardians).

I think that Kirilloff and Polanco should be in the questionable category and get someone with a healthy track record and proven performnce in LF, 2B, 1B, C. My 2023 payroll projection has Binentendi in LF, Pederson in RF, Abreuu at 1b, Contreras at C and comes in at 140.1 M

I got this from Spotrac.com.

Hi Reptevia, please check again. I revised it with projected AAV for the 2023 free agents when available.