tony&rodney

The Pohlad family, from Carl to now, have not often been active in any functions related to the team. There are exceptions: signings of Puckett, Mauer, Buxton, and Correa. These were Pohlad specific. A couple of changes in the front office ... the move from Ryan to Falvey was a Pohlad thing. The front office guy is tasked with hiring and firing managers. The Pohlads are almost always just guys who sign the checks. Some view this as a curse and others as a blessing. When the team sells, which could be in months or years, there will be sweeping change. Falvey and Baldelli will be former Twins employees and a new set of people will take their chairs. Until then, let us hope the players perform better reducing the manager and front office to non-entities in the games and comment section.

There has been more than a few thoughts directed toward Rocco Baldelli and his use of the roster over the last few years. I'm finding it difficult to manage a defense of his maneuvers. The first games are often not too reflective of a season but the style of play seems consistent with past practices. Baseball has a long season which makes it possible to hold off until quarter, third, or half games played markers reports are collected. For at least the last three years I have been less than enamored with the Twins front office. The direction, ability to judge talent, reticence to trade, and affinity for less than stellar veterans has resulted in a roster that seems unbalanced to me. If Falvey is the boss and architect, he has put together the players and roster depth he sees as fit for a winning team. The team, then, is as much a reflection of Falvey as it is of Baldelli. A counter argument has been to point out the young up and coming prospects as the legacy of the front office (Falvey). Here is where I believe there is a separation. While the specific employees in place may be in position directly due to Falvey, the work of drafting and developing is a largely apart from the work of building the MLB team. If Falvey hired the entirety of those below the MLB level it would point to this as his strength and credit should be given. I'm not privy to who is the prime mover or decision-maker for the MLB roster but something doesn't fit in how these plans evolve. The Twins should win somewhere in the vicinity of 84 games with their current roster and wins are a prime consideration for most people. My growing concern is that the Twins are unwatchable to all but baseball fanatics. There were times in the 1970s and 1980s and in many other years where the Twins were a fun team to watch even as they were not division winners. I wonder how the general casual sports fan views the current Twins product even as I hope the Twins manage to string together a winning season.

Has his swing plane increased in angle and/or gotten longer? Right now, Miranda looks overmatched at the plate.

A prime example of the MLBPA fighting for the stars while ignoring the grunts.

The Twins minor league system is ranked anywhere from #10-22. Overall it is fair to state the system is in the middle of the 30 MLB clubs. The issue for the Twins is that there is simply not a record of this front office/ manager sticking a rookie in the lineup and letting them play. This means, the roster now is the team.

I'm confused by this response. You had the only negative comment thus far in this thread. Everyone else has posited hopeful or speculative comments that all suggested it is too early to make a conclusion on Winokur. Earlier you made an attempt at a comparison between Winokur and Cavaco but didn't explain your thoughts. Generally you are quite complete in using numerical evidence of one sort or another to support your points and it seems to me that those posts are not usually refuted too much. There are moments of toxicity evident in many threads by pretty much all posters but I am not understanding this particular placement. On a side note-keep up the comparisons and numerical arguments. I think many find those interesting at times.

He has already earned his money. The MLBPA needs to seek a fix to how the current rules allow teams to DFA pitchers.

Generally I prefer to stay away from comparisons, but if one is interested in similar players read what chpettit19 wrote above (again). If you don't know those 3 guys, try to tune in to a Nationals, Pirates, or Reds game when you get a chance. Brandon Winokur has at least 2 years of experiences to gather before we can know where he is headed as a baseball player. Right now he is the most exciting prospect in the Twins system. Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Keaschall are better bets at this time though. On the pitching side we can identify Festa, Matthews, and Morris as the best bets while looking at Connor Prielipp as the most exciting pitching prospect. Festa was very efficient and induced weak contact in his first outing. It is going to be fun to follow a few of the Twins minor league players.

It is a good idea to watch a guy play at least 25-50 games before making statements about them. I have watched Winokur a ton. Here is what I have said .... Winokur has a ways to go with learning to pick up spin and off speed. He came a long, long way last year in that specific area. Winokur was easily beat early in the year and I wondered if he had an ability to adjust. There were things he did that kept me coming back over the summer though. He is tall, but his athleticism sticks out in every game. I didn't see a single game where there was a better athlete on the field. Someone mentioned power like Wallner. Winokur has that. He is also very fast and has an absolute cannon. He has made some throws from centerfield and shortstop that you just don't see. He is not a 5 tool player yet because he still needs to improve the hit tool. For a 19 year old last year he was surprisingly fluid in the field, runs extremely well, hits the ball hard, and throws about as well as anyone. If he makes the same progress this year as he did last year, Winokur will get pushed to Wichita. Jenkins and Winokur are totally different players. It is worthless to compare them. I would encourage people to watch Winokur at bats. One can just tune in when he is due up or watch parts of games to see his fielding, throwing, and base running. It isn't necessary to watch the entire games. I promise you, the numbers are a waste of your time - watch the guy play.

Agree. Rough start, so I cannot disagree. Binged watched a ton of baseball since Thursday. No reason to make proclamations this early. I will say that it was fun watching some of the other teams. Rays-Rockies series was filled with great defense and exciting base running. Cleveland-Kansas City showed quite a bit of talent. Can't say I was overly impressed by St. Louis because the Twins looked like they were in a fog. Baldelli's decisions? Oof. I'm hoping the fresh 40 degree air in Chicago and the views from the Southside fire up the Twins.

Martin has not played much at second base. The Twins will not play Martin there. That reality is pretty much in stone. Opinions contrary to the Twins beliefs are futile. Personally I wish the Twins would trade Martin or release him. The Twins do not love Julien at all. Three games versus RH pitching and zero at bats should make that clear. Julien is another player the Twins should trade or release. Falvey and Baldelli have their ideas of what kind of player and team they want. When Lee returns, Julien will be sent down unless there is another injury. When a team plays Mickey Gasper above Julien it is clear what they think. Some will wonder, who takes Julien's place? It doesn't matter if the Twins don't have confidence in him. Someone like Prato or Morales would make Baldelli happier. Falvey is afraid to move players, so Julien and Martin have to wait. While neither Gasper or Julien are good second baseman, it should be fairly noted that neither Castro nor Lee are good at the position either. Castro has a double and a home run thus far, so Willi is the second baseman for the foreseeable future. It is what it is.

The Twins gave up on Austin Martin when he could not produce home runs with a new batting approach. When was the 3 week period where Martin received regular playing time? Martin switched back in an attempt to find a groove. He has struggled. His time will have to come with another team. He may or may not carve out any time in the majors but he doesn't have a future with the Twins. The new CBA should be tweaked to prevent teams from sitting on too many players that they do not use at the MLB level. I would suggest the number of option years be reduced.

Fair to say that Jenkins is the best prospect in the organization but Winokur may be the best athlete. We need more than one full season at the minor league level before it is determined whether he can make all adjustments. He made enormous growth from the start of the year to September last year.

Simply put, the Twins have become the anti- Rays as a baseball organization.

How many times have you seen him play?

Yes and if Vazquez, Gasper, Keirsey Jr., or Bader are in the starting lineup versus Sonny Gray today Baldelli may not share that view.

85 wins seems fair. There are some prime players, good players, and some prospects that could lead the team to an AL Central Division crown and more. The Twins have a number of variables that can affect the end product. Health is the most obvious concern, but player usage could be involved in game outcomes as well. The Twins have been very committed to playing their newly signed role players. Formerly it was Gallo, Margot, Farmer, etc. We can hope for the best from France, Gasper, and Bader but how often will these players resemble past signees? The wild card can be the inclusion of significant rookie talent. Can Emmanuel Rodriguez, Luke Keaschall, David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris, Connor Prielipp or others earn important game time and plate appearances to make valuable contributions to the team this year? Will they be given opportunities when the time calls for it? I'm pretty excited for the possibilities but apprehensive about the style of play and management of the roster. Baseball is the longest season in North American sports which means equilibrium, patience and faith is necessary to keep up with all of the twists and turns in the 162 game season. Good luck to all the players and fans. Go Twins.

No, good try. 1977 wasn't very long ago. It was a time of civil discourse. You can in senior men's leagues though.

FWIW, the Reds hosted Opening Day for years with other teams playing on the same day. MLB is pretty messed up under manfred. Let's just keep North American leagues in North America. For those of you who want an American business in other countries, there is already McDonalds.

Jenkins should be healed from his ankle sprain by now. Hopefully, he plays an entire season to gage his skills.

Fun article starting with a brilliant warning about baseball's nemesis (manfred).

The Pohlads have bungled so many things in their long inglorious run as the owners of the Twins. Perhaps a public statement or two might be useful. I just don't know about that. However, the composition of the roster is exclusively the responsibility of the front office led by Falvey. We may give the credit for the Correa and Buxton signings to the Pohlads reaching out to create some waves, but the Twins have not been restricted by payroll despite the 10,000 takes to the myth. If the 2025 Minnesota Twins cannot play good baseball, pull in the fans, and win the AL Central it will be on the players and coaches. Falvey has put together the team he wants, Baldelli gets to mange the troops, and ownership signs the checks. Let the games commence and the crying cease.

The beard is worth his contract.

Paddack was as good as he can be this ST. Those expecting 100 innings should not gamble. Earned? The Twins stated he was in the plans for the rotation at the beginning of ST. There were $7.5M reasons that the front office made the call. The best we can do is wish him luck.

At least those people who want to forecast future payrolls can begin with an understanding that $100 M is an expectant ceiling. I'm not surprised because while people always talk about bloat in public budgets the real excess is in private corporations. Often these corporations receive various and sundry forms of bailouts and tax benefits, none of which are available to small business or working people. An exception would be the military, which is truly excessive.