tony&rodney

Wondering why the Twins would spend more than $2-4M on a relief pitcher when they traded away their three best relievers. Anything could happen but the odds have to be low on the Twins signing established relievers.

Caution and optimism are both good.

Why do we expect these transactions?

Sorry I hurt your feelings. Didn't mean to be a bad person. I remember wondering what happened to Eeles. I had looked in various places and more wondered where the information was. I surely wasn't irritated, just curious. I won't ask you questions. This is the first time I have noticed a comment of yours and I'm sorry you were hurt. I should work on my wording. I did Google the trade today and up came an article quoting GM Ng and the Marlins pursuit of Arraez. I also knew someone who worked for the Marlins in the past who had discussed their interest in acquiring Luis. In any event - Happy New Year.

Feel free to Google it.

Falvey is going for his own personal Threepeat. Roll it back / do as little as possible = the offseasons after 2023, 2024, 2025. It has nothing to do with money. The guy has his dream team already. All we can do is hope for the best. All MLB players and organizational top twenty prospects have talent. The trick is whether the players stay healthy and perform at a high level on a consistent basis. It might be discouraging to know the Twins keep with the status quo with their philosophies and practices but I'm still going to sleep like a baby and I'm still going to watch baseball.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ 3 years / $54M with incentives that include a $3M bump if he reaches 100 innings. Seems like this guy should have been an option for the Twins if there was any remote chance for the Twins to be serious about competing. The stuff is within range of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Twins supposedly had $20 million to spend. I had put him in a plan but deleted him because the Twins would never sign a Japanese pitcher under the current front office. I'm a little surprised the Cubs didn't sign Imai. Houston does well here. Worth following this coming season. No doubt that MLB is an adjustment from NPB.

Previously I responded with just the number, 13. That wasn't meant to be sarcastic. Most of the best players in baseball were once shortstops. A couple of examples are now Twins coaches. Mark Hallberg (Twins bench coach) was such a good shortstop that he moved Buster Posey, who was an NCAA D! All American shortstop as a freshman at FSU, to catcher because Hallberg was a superior glove and also a good bat and the hardest player in NCAA to strike out. Mike Rabelo was a standout shortstop and pitcher in high school in a conference that had several first round draft picks. Rabelo shifted to catcher in college and was highly thought of by Miami and part of the return for the Marlins in the trade that brought Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. A young Joe Mauer was a terrific athlete who took ground balls at shortstop and was capable of playing there. He requested to be kept as a catcher, his preferred position. It is entirely possible to have a team where all 13 position players were once regulars as shortstops. Going further, it is even possible that all 13 pitchers could have been starting shortstops in high school. at times pitchers are not playing full time positions as players specialize and play year around. Not possible to have too many shortstops or too much pitching.

Martin took his every day slot in the lineup as an opportunity to show his skills. While Austin didn't tear up the league in his showing in 50 post All Star play, he did put up positive numbers at the plate and showed himself to be a good left fielder. We can be justifiably cautious about his past struggles and injuries but Martin was among the best players the Twins put on the field after the break last year. Certainly one would think he would be given every opportunity in 2026 to show that he can replicate or improve upon his trial run in 2025. At some point the Twins need to decide if a player's performance is worthy of a regular starting status. That said, if someone understands the Falvey Era Plan, write it up please. While Austin Martin has not shown the sustained success needed to automatically claim a position, he did enough to get first shot at LF in ST. Only Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers (part time at catcher) are in ink. Naturally, the front office and fans have already decided who else is a regular but there are bound to be differences of opinion. Good luck to Austin.

13

They are one of about 4-5 teams that I believe would pay a huge ransom in prospects.

I plead guilty to being a prospect goon. I watched way too much minor league baseball the last couple of years. My focus was mainly with players within the Twins system but I ranged pretty wide to include dozens of other minor league prospects. When I travel my preference is to watch high school baseball. When one watches a fair amount of baseball it is natural to see players have bad days as well as good, so I try to give guys the benefit of doubt on their struggles. The more times I see a player the more times one can pick up small details. Brandon Winokur has a ways to go before he even gets a Spring Training invite, but his athleticism is unmatched in the Twins system. He can look awkward, hesitant, and unsure at times. At other times Winokur does things that no other player can match, be it a fielding play, running the bases, a throw, or crushing the ball. Whenever I watch Winokur I pay closer attention. His swings can be deflating and his lack of consistency at the plate makes it difficult to keep thinking positively about him. Then there is a line drive casually crushed. I don't know if Brandon Winokur can put it together with two more full years in the minor leagues, but in my opinion there isn't a greater talent within the Twins organization right now. I might not rank him in the top ten as far as performance and he is an extremely high risk, but he also plays wherever he wants if that bat clicks into gear and he then becomes a superstar. We all know that these minor leaguers have a rough journey and most just don't have the physical skills and run into repeated failure. I'm hoping Winokur moves past those obstacles and aligns all of his moving parts. I'll be watching.

Not exactly positive what you are asking but my point is that "we" just don't have a clue where any player sits in terms of value. BBTV seeks to use a formula to assign a numeral of value. Many people then try to find relative numerical value. That is not ridiculous, it seems pretty natural. The chatter and comments across fandom, whether on blogs or from writers is simply speculative in nature with a goal of creating interest. You could say, to create clicks. Finding the mean, mode, or even a consensus, an aggregate, doesn't really make a difference in terms of assigning value or measuring anything. The only action that counts is an actual transaction. Josh Bell is worth $7M (2026 salary plus buyout of 2027 salary). On that note, one can wonder where Buxton stands on his firm stance of remaining a Twin versus his desire to play for a team that has a real chance to compete for a World Series ring. Does Byron believe the Twins are that team? The current roster and the timeline of Buck's contract don't seem to match up for a ring run. Additionally, one has to wonder if a few clubs chasing a trophy view Buxton as a potential key to their hopes for 2026. That has been the source of much speculation in terms of what would constitute the parts to any trade. It is certainly unclear on many fronts with a wide range of guesses swimming out in the deep end of the internet. The best guess is that the Twins do not act at all. An aggregate likely measures nothing and nobody should be surprised by any outcome. Byron Buxton looked pretty healthy last year. He is fast, strong, and beginning to look as if his experience at the plate makes him a constant threat; Buck is getting better. Having zero knowledge of how any team views Buxton, I'm guessing that several teams would gamble a huge package of prospects well beyond BBTV values. Others disagree, which only means it is impossible to know how Buxton and the Twins line up, much less other clubs.

You do know that the Twins don't play rookies until all other bodies have been sidelined, right?

Did you watch the Twins play Colorado last season?

First of all it is virtually impossible to know what value any player holds for another team. While fans see high value in their home team's players, other clubs may only be willing to trade excess prospects and/or suspect MLB guys for in any transactions. Secondly, we do not know what conversations have taken place between the Twins and any other teams. The speculation and guesses by folks, including the national writers, is at best just speculation and guesses. There is a relatively fair path to guesses based on past history. The Twins made a significant splash when they traded Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez. Early on it was reported by Miami bloggers and then national press that the Marlins really wanted to discuss scenarios for reaching a deal to acquire Arraez. From early reports, public statements, and later articles it seemed pretty fair to say that the Marlins pushed that transaction. Twins Daily was split on the trade with many people incensed to lose the fan favorite batting champ. Likewise, Seattle was very open about wanting to acquire Jorge Polanco and that wish was stated for a couple of years before the Twins-Mariners trade. Most of Twins Daily saw that trade as favoring Minnesota with some disagreement. How does that affect Byron Buxton? I believe it is fair to say that the Twins, in their current iteration (Falvey Era), want to field a team that has some chance to win games but building a strong roster is not and has not been a priority. The Twins do not gamble or go big, to steal from Tom P. The second part of Mr. Christie's question can also be guessed in a fair manner. The Twins have not been apt to make difficult decisions, but choose instead to watch time go by and hope for the best possible outcome. Sometimes that has worked out ok, such as with Coulombe, France, and Bader last year. It didn't result in wins but those guys did their jobs. Other times, luck has been more elusive. I see the Twins as risk adverse. There may be legitimate reasons for this and many on Twins Daily support that strategy of wait and hope for a new result with a similar cast of characters. Don't wait for any action on Byron Buxton and it isn't likely the team steps forward to buttress the team via big blockbuster trades or free agent pickups. An easy improvement that cost significant money might have been possible despite the low odds of success if the Twins wanted Imai. Whether Buck himself has a mood change is unknown. The Twins are rolling it back for now, or at least that is what it looks like from various comments from leadership.

Like reverse the Correa trade and other late July trades. Nah .... Most of TD liked those moves. So, it is time to sign Bo Bichette. Tom P. said something about big.

Yah. I am not sure if leagues can be compared. A quick look at winning percentages shows baseball as most balanced ... but like I said previously the comparisons are not easily done. MLB had zero teams finish above a 60% win rate and 2 teams finish below a 40% win rate. NFL (as of today) sits with 14 teams at or above 60% wins and 10 teams are below a 40% win rate. Difficult to compare for many reasons, which is why I'm a little surprised that so many folks use the other leagues as examples. Discussions and arguments are always fun to read.

What 16 teams/owners are going to vote to lose money by locking out the players? Name them. Did I miss the comments on every MLB club opening their books? The MLBPA has the money to pay every player a livable wage for a couple years if the owners want to lock out the players for a lengthy period. MLB would then also lose their Sherman Anti-trust Exemption. Those who are counting on a long lockout (zero chance the players go on strike) from the owners are suggesting that billionaires are ok with losing large amounts of money. I would be less surprised by the Twins in the 2026 World Series than I would be by a lockout that lasted more than mid April, 2027. The rich kids will argue amongst themselves and come up with something that the majority of teams can live with for the next five years. I'm guessing there is some shifting of how revenue is shared, expectations of spending, and increased penalties for spending too much money. The more things change, the more they stay the same. While I will just say I have zero idea what will actually happen, it does surprise me that people think there are billionaires who will agree to lose money or are interested in ethics. Any suggestion that the players should get even a penny less is rather absurd. I have never met someone who bought a ticket to any sports event because they wanted to see the owners, college president, principal, etc. That's just silly.

My original point was that the Twins need some changes. That idea for a trade and all ideas that I have put out have specifically been identified as examples of potential starting points in conversations. Rolling back the roster for a Threepeat of Incompetence is not something I favor. I do understand that, according to a Twins survey, roughly 53% of Twins Daily fans prefer the current status quo. So I'm in the minority. The specific idea I typed was using the numbers others have used from BBTV, which I don't really support. Ryan, Bradley, Roden, and Rojas are about 110 versus 90 for Soderstrom and De Vries. I then asked if adding Lewis was better? In any event it was just the thought of doing something, anything. Adding Bell is worse than nothing. Others disagree. We are just fans. Finally, we really have zero idea how teams value players and what works or doesn't works unless one has specific access to a front office personal. I may know several MLB coaches and other employees that work in baseball but that gives me zero input from the thoughts of the front offices who make the decisions.

Listening and responding is a part of communication. When one doesn't listen communication ceases. Is that a good idea?

My experience would say this is as close to impossible as it gets. Premier athletes, and all professional athletes are outstanding even if they are on a spectrum amongst themselves, have confidence and people they listen to for advice. They also have a sense of their own strengths and weaknesses. Just because a Correa, Buxton, Judge, Ohtani, or some such superstar has something to say, a player is not going to abandon all prior voices and knowledge. While it may be possible for a player to become a groupie, it isn't very plausible. If Correa was capable of being a bad influence on any specific player, then so was anyone else that player came in contact with, from an agent to the venders selling beer. There are people who are incompetent and/or gullible everywhere. That includes athletes, CEO's, POBO's, and so forth. I understand the disappointment from Twins fans that Correa could not lead the team to the promised land, but he wasn't responsible for how other players performed. He had his own problems.

The rankings of MLB Farm Systems is all about money. Clicks. There are a number of people who make their living writing about prospects. Most fans never see a young phenom until that player makes an appearance in MLB. If the initial trial run goes well, the fan gets totally hyped. We see this quite a bit on this site. If a prospect struggles, the questions are plentiful. We see this quite a bit on this site. I believe that is normal. Fans cannot be expected to have seen the prospects or watch any minor league baseball much less see these prospects when they are in high school, especially if the fan is still employed. Thus, fans place quite a bit of trust in the words of bloggers and those fellows who write about prospects. Each team employs people specifically to evaluate players. The individual clubs place different levels of importance on scouts. There is a pretty clear separation on unique talent. Even the writers generally agree on the top twenty to an extent. Injuries and how an organization develops a player makes a difference. All that to say that if one wants to examine the success of a minor league system, an acceptable method might be to count the number of starting pitchers and regulars among position players in MLB. That is a slim barometer because some good prospects are traded. Thus it is difficult to judge farm systems, which should also mean one might consider having an optimistic but restrained view of their favorite team's prospects.

Seems like a number of players in club history were plugged into the starting lineup over the years. Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, and Butch Winegar from the 60s and 70s. Hrbek, Puckett, and more from the 80s. Joe Mauer. In Mauer's case the Twins traded an All Star catcher to make room for him in the lineup. An equivalent example for 2025 would be trading Byron Buxton to put Walker Jenkins in the lineup. NO. I am not suggesting that. There are two open spots currently in the outfield. There have been many examples over the years. Some failed such as the Japanese signing who was injured after struggling. However, it was not the Twins way before the current regime We are in Year 10 of the Falvey Era. I'm trying to remember what player was put in the rotation similar to Bert, into the lineup like Carew, or what player was traded to make way for a prospect who then was anointed as a starter. Put in the lineup means they play for two months no matter what. There must be someone. Who? The current Twins are extremely risk adverse. The big pickup this winter is Josh Bell, a DH. So it goes.

You could be right. Maybe Ryan doesn't have any value.