tony&rodney

You probably hit the nail on the head. Readers/TD members and many others are increasingly married to a multitude of "interesting" statistics. They are ubiquitous in baseball articles and conversations. Not everyone agrees. Not all fans or baseball people. Certainly not Cleveland or the Dodgers. Having devised my own system decades ago as a coach and being aware of moneyball (lowercase is on purpose) from the start, I can be more tuned into an overarching viewpoint and somewhat dismissive of various analytics. I do recognize and respect the work of these guys working to make a living off of baseball articles, which means tons of numbers that folks must sift through to make a judgment on this player or that guy. . One of my questions, asked dozens of times in comments on this site, is whether or not a person commenting has watched the player in game action, either live or via tv/internet, as opposed to numbers and video highlights. That can seem annoying for sure and I don't mean to demean anyone or their opinion but numbers are easily manipulated. We see this in many areas of life. Don't click or read if uninterested. https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2026/08/hard-data-and-context-are-missing-in-minnesotas-overblown-fraud-furor/ Here is a question to ask any pitcher, anonymously. Would you prefer Patrick Bailey with his 1.1 WAR or Ryan Jeffers at 2.8, even 3.2 WAR to be your catcher? It's pretty simple really. The Twins were totally spoiled by Joe Mauer who did it all. It took a life altering concussion and a big salary to raise questions about his place in baseball history but he still was a first ballot Hall of Fame choice. Following his quiet day to day excellence was impossible. Does anyone even remember Martin Maldonado? Detroit just hired him as a coach. Defense matters, at least to me.

Two guys. The Twins need to identify and sign 2 bullpen arms. Money should not be an issue. The length of contract could be a barrier. If the Twins can add a couple of relievers to Hoffman, Gomez, Morris, Sands, Adams, Funderburk, Rojas, and anyone else that stands out from the minor leagues or from an invite ..... well, the pen should be improved. These three (Vesia, Abreu, Ginkel) sound like possible choices. I would think that the new pitching coaches might have some ideas.

I don't believe that the majority of people on Twins Daily would support the catchers that Cleveland has used or the Dodgers choices when Will Smith went down for a significant period of time. Reading the comments on this thread (and thumbs down) and the dozen others related to Jeffers and catching, it is clear that people struggle with a catcher hitting .180 even when that guy can shut down a running game and block most everything. It is fine to disagree. I will stick to the necessity (word chosen carefully) of using glove-first catchers. Patrick Bailey is a classic example. The Twins under Falvey/Zoll would never accept that bat but it is time to give the pitchers a break. I'm hoping for a change from past practices. Then again I was a pitcher would have said all the right positive comments about my teammates, but been quite depressed with the Twins slugging catchers that are suited for DH. Along the same line of thinking, this is also why I could not bear gloves like Larnach and especially Wallner in the outfield. The moves of Bell to DH, Keaschall to OF, Lee to 3B, and Lewis to 1B gave me some hope for the future. Now it is time to fix the other holes.

Not exactly sure what you are saying. I think you are opposed to trading anything valuable. My take is that there are catchers available, similar to an Austin Hedges. Alex Jackson was never used, so it is difficult to know if the Twins trust him. Ben Rortvedt is free. Henry Davis will be available for .... not much. I could live with those two guys or something similar. Neither will hit a lick and people will scream bloody murder, but the pitchers will be happier. What I have said is that a glove first catcher is a necessity. The Twins have rolled with Garver and Jeffers. Time to get a glove back there. There may be an opportunity for a splash to bring in a better guy but I will stay away from guesses at this time because it is impossible to know how other teams value any of the Twins players. Caratini will be back if he is not traded and he only gets dealt if he is part of a complex multi-player transaction. This puts the pressure on Zoll to find a solid player who can catch 100+ games. My suggestion - Get to Work Zoll.

The pitchers are ready for the club to add a defensive-minded catcher, whether that is Henry Davis, Ben Rortvedt, or another glove. It is time to wish Ryan Jeffers well and move forward. A bat in the catching position is a luxury. A glove at the catching position is a necessity.

The key to winning baseball is talent managed by an emphasis on fundamental play. For some time now the Minnesota faithful have elevated ownership above the front office in importance. Falvey had more money to spend than any of his peers in the AL Central and it fell short. The current front office (led by Zoll?) has their chance to move the club forward and that starts November 1. If the Twins do not complete at least a couple of reasonably big trades and sign at least a couple of free agents we will expect a similar club in 2027. The Twins can hope for strong seasons from their young inexperienced players but relying on the current roster is not a plan. The money spent will be above the beginning of this season but a strong team doesn't call for a nickel above $130 million for their 2027 roster.

Times change and the celebrations of good plays is one result. If it offers any consolation, the behavior of athletes is almost always positive behavior and by comparison there are endless public examples of powerful, influential, and wealthy people routinely committing heinous negative acts that draw virtually no response. In most situations the modern athlete is the best behaved of all public figures.

Cleveland was tough, fighting to win to the end but the Tampa Bay Rays were the best team in the American League and they played really well. I was listening to the Cleveland broadcast tonight and they were effusive in their praise of Taylor Walls calling him the MVP of the ALCS because of his defense. Congratulations to the Rays. The World Series should be fabulous with the two best teams in baseball playing each other. Toss up? I think so. Hopefully the Twins front office was watching every inning of this series and comes to the conclusion and belief that drives the Brewers and Rays - Defense Matters.

Not sure why this is a concern. 46-4 FA=42 bodies. Without even looking at the pitchers we can subtract Gray, Sabato, and Wallner = 39. Others will be dropped as well. If the front office shows up for work in November, there should be several trades and a couple of free agent signings. Nobody will be groaning at the players cut loose to accommodate the 40 person roster.

Ryan Jeffers had a sweet little run with the Twins. His bat was clearly better than most catchers. If the bat is your main criteria in a catcher, then the Twins should offer the QO and even discuss a contract. For many people that is the main criteria and it seems like past Twins front office peeps agree with that sentiment. This exactly why Jeffers was the catcher, Bell and Caratini were at first base, Keaschall was at second base, Lewis at third base, Lee was at shortstop, Larnach was in left field, and Matt Wallner was in left field in the beginning of the 2026 season. If they all mashed the Twins ..... Ryan Jeffers is really not a very good defensive catcher. While it is true he cannot throw, the biggest issue is with his blocking or more correctly his inability to block balls in the dirt. The solution was to not have pitchers throw those pitches. If a pitcher cannot bury an offspeed pitch, the lineups become more difficult. With all due respect to the best efforts from Jeffers, the Twins need to find a catcher that the pitchers can get excited about. The Giants were not going anywhere and the Guardians never give up .... next thing you know Patrick Bailey is leading the Cleveland staff deep into the playoffs. I understand the desire for a big bat that plays catcher but I want someone who can excell behind the plate and throw out a runner now and then.

The scouts can be wrong but they were right on with Brooks Lee. Lee was seen as a guy who would need to be moved to third base because he lacks the range for either shortstop or second base. Lee was predicted to be a regular contributor for a MLB team with the possibility of making an All Star Game appearance a couple of times; solid player. Brooks Lee was reticent to move to third base. He spoke confidently of moving back to shortstop at some point about a month into his move. The Twins (totally Shelton and the coaching staff) let Lee prove that he could not play shortstop and then were gentle in the move when Royce Lewis was sent down to St. Paul. In time, to his credit. Lee saw that the guy to his left was a better shortstop and that he was pretty comfortable at the hot corner. Lee also put in the work to improve at angles and charging balls. Late in the year Lee gave an interview where he acknowledged the benefits for him of moving to third base. Now he is a finalist for a gold glove. Lee has a new outlook on the Twins coaches and manager after last season. It will be interesting to see how he develops going forward.

My guess is that the late season difficulties that were frustrating for all of us and negatively affected recent Twins hopes have cooled folks on Twins Daily more than front offices across MLB. Joe Ryan is a really good pitcher when he is healthy. One can easily imagine multiple GMs thinking of how they might acquire Ryan. Think Rasmussen (yes, they are different) who has had some tough injuries in his career. I'm keeping Ryan unless a deal makes sense. The Twins should be discussing Ober and Kremer with other teams.

A backup catcher who has the confidence of the pitching staff is a notable must for successful teams. Austin Hedges, Martin Maldonado, and others have made careers due to their abilities with a glove. Alex Jackson seemed like he might work as a backup but was seldom, almost never used. Rortvedt has done his job when called upon. The Dodgers are not often guilty of playing useless players. I'm ok if the Twins (or any team) chooses a Ben Rortvedt as their backup catcher.

I'm not sure how you determined that Ryan is the best trade chip or how you managed to limit a player at a ceiling he has already surpassed. Again, I'm not exactly suggesting that Michael Busch is the answer and do not really have a solid trade that uses Joe Ryan, but there is no way that Busch has reached the point of decline. The one thing I do like about Busch is that he will draw a walk. The best deal involving Ryan would probably ask for two talented Rookie and A ball players. I just don't see it though. Likely Ryan is a Twin for 2027, at least until the July trade deadline.

I'm not sure Busch is the answer. I just threw that out there. However, it is hard to understand what you are saying. Michael Busch will turn 29 in November. Surely his strength and hitting are just approaching his peak and it isn't remotely distant to believe he can be the player he has been or improve for each of the next 3-4 years. Busch does not rely on speed in his game. His defense and OBP are improving and nobody expects him to be a superstar. He is an improvement over those players who have filled first base last season.

Same reason the Cubs tried to get rid of him. Baseball players spend a ton of time together. They don't need to necessarily like each other but there are lines. I'll let others decide. It is ok for us, as fans, to disagree wildly. We don't know each other and never meet. So there are going to be folks who think it is ok to roster a Matt Shaw or a Trevor Bauer (their cases are totally different), but others take the hard no position. It's just a baseball site and we have zero say in the end decisions.

Front office puts together the roster. Depending on the team there may be various levels of communication with the coaches and manager.

There is a decent chance Ryan pitches for a West Coast team in 2028. Maybe SanFran can be an option for a trade. It just doesn't make a ton of sense for the Giants to give up too much unless Ryan agrees to sign a friendly extension if he goes to the Bay Area. The Cubs might be interested in a Ryan and Lewis for Busch deal. Ryan is hard to find a deal for that makes sense. The Twins missed out on his value, so maybe just ride out 2027 and lose him after the season.

Yes, the Cubs want to trade Matt Shaw. No, the Twins do not want him. `

Maybe someone should ask the pitching staff why Ryan Kreidler works on the roster.

Andrew Morris has suffered from bad luck on broken bat hits and poor defense since he entered pro ball. Results will move towards the norm. Morris is solid.

We cannot know those answers. A year ago, Houston was coming off of a season where Cedar Rapids had owned him; Marek struggled.. Something changed during the offseason because Houston was able to put up similar numbers at both A+ and AA last season. It is possible that Marek Houston shows well in Spring Training, enough to play. We can't know that. I wouldn't have that as a strategy though for the season. Let's just trade for Elly.

Hopefully the front office is proactive in November, both signing a couple of players and completing several trades. The work done before Thanksgiving Day should tell us where the Twins are headed.

I get the frustration but the incremental changes last season gives me a reason to believe that the front office is listening on player and roster usage more than in the past. If Derek Shelton had moved Wallner to AAA, Larnach to the bench, Keaschall to the outfield, Lewis to first base, and Lee to third base in Spring Training, he would have not had the support of the players and he would have been fired. A manager is expected to play the hand they are dealt, making changes as they become obvious to all. It's a dance. Shelton and the coaching staff have garnered the respect of the players for the communication. I'm expecting positive for 2027.

I'm hoping Rojas has a great ST and makes the Opening Day roster. 2027 is a good time for him to fit as a bullpen arm and transition towards the rotation. Seeing MLB bats is important for his development.