tony&rodney

Almost impossible for the Orioles to trade their catcher unless it is for Joe Ryan. That is not a good idea. Samuel Basallo is a work in progress behind the plate. He will catch more than 50 games but DH more often and maybe spell Alonso a half dozen times at first base. Catching is thin league wide. I'm not opposed to your idea but will stress that it is support for the general idea that change can take place.

This type of thinking is what the Twins should be considering if they are serious about being competitive as opposed to just rolling back a 72 win team that played with pretty good luck (Bader, France, and Coulombe) as well as above average health from the roster in terms of days missed due to injuries. I'm not sure what options exist or what players should be involved but I still maintain that there are options. The longer the Twins sit on the sidelines the fewer their options. Using amigt's proposal as a baseline, one can wonder if Jarren Duran is available for Lopez, Charlee Soto, and Ryan Jeffers? The loss of Jeffers necessitates finding a catcher, which will cost about the same (Caratini-?) and perhaps not be as good. Ask Boston what pushes the deal over the line.the trade adds to a glut of LH corner outfield bats. It does shed about $28M while adding back roughly $15M (Duran-$7.75 + catcher-$7M). There are options. Lopez for someone like Jonah Tong clears $21M probably works. The Twins signed a DH in Josh Bell. Yes, he could grab a glove a couple of dozen games despite the obvious danger. Trevor Larnach could be traded for a relief pitcher. With Bell and Duran Trevor doesn't have a spot. Bailey Ober could be traded for Jordan Lawler. Maybe the Twins add Kyle DeBarge to Ober. The outfield too jammed by adding Duran? Trade Wallner to Pittsburgh for Jared Jones. Twins could add Tanner Schobel to entice the Pirates. Wallner should be enough though. I like all these Twins but the team is severely unbalanced. There is now a hefty bit of room beneath a $110M payroll budget. Budget $120M? Great. More room. The point is simply that there are options. Picking apart who and for whom is pointless unless the returns are more DH's or guys who just don't belong in MLB. Pick a lane and get to work. There is still time.

There is a path that doesn't involve major expenditures. That path does involve hard decisions on baseball strategy and roster makeup. The signing of Josh Bell, in a vacuum, is not horrific. Signing a pure DH when your team is flush with DH types begs to differ with common sense. Those who see Bell at first base have likely not watched him play the bag. Julien, yes Edouard Julien, is a far better first baseman than Bell. I guess we have to hope that Bell thrives in the DH position. Of course, that creates major problems elsewhere. The Twins were at roughly $93-95M. last week. There are two decent players who are scheduled to earn near $10M in Ober and Larnach. Ober may be at a lower value than previously and Larnach may only return the 35th best prospect from someone but it clears funds and positions for players who need playing time. Those steps alone leave $20-30M available to meet needs. The lack of planning and forethought boggles the mind. Hey, I actually like both Ober and Larnach, but where do they fit on this team? If I'm paying someone else to do a job, I'm still cognizant of whether the job was done and if it was done to reasonable level of satisfaction. Tom Pohlad should have minimal awareness of the organization and the baseball roster. He can always ask for confidential outside advice from people in the business. Rolling with yet another offseason as the last two just doesn't cut it for me. Changes can be made and they could start today if there was a serious concern.

I'll fully admit I'm naive. I expected major changes on the field. The idea of hoping for a 72 win team if all goes well seems as cheerful and exciting as freezing rain in December. I'm still hopeful of changes to the team.

This may be exactly correct. I cannot disagree with anything you say. I want to believe that Tom Pohlad wants to effect change for the better. I'm trying to be an optimist. If everything that Gleeman discusses and what you say is the case, there is a clear conclusion. The Twins will not sign any important players or conduct any meaningful trades. That is very disappointing and discouraging. It would also paint Tom Pohlad as a fool if that is the case. I guess we shall see what develops in the next two months. I'm hoping for the best still.

When things are broken you fix them. The house that needs painting, gutters, whatever has an owner who is not interested or saying, I'm going to get to that next summer." Waiting has been the refrain for several years. Some will point to budget ..... wait until there is more money. Some will point to the CBA ..... wait until there is a new CBA. Some will point to ownership ..... wait until there is a new owner. Some will point to this current change from Joe & Jim to Tom .... wait until he has a chance to see how things are going. Some will point to Wallner, Lewis, et all being given a chance to be superstars ..... wait until they develop. Wait, wait, wait ................ The style of play and the unbalanced roster needs immediate attention. Josh Bell added to the problem. Read the Fangraphs.com article on the Bell and Garcia signings. Falvey can move into the business department. He cannot have anything to do with the baseball side. The philosophy of the team needs to be addressed asap. This can be done with as few as 3-4 trades and a couple of free agent signings. Most people may say that is beyond realistic. Preller and Dipota among others would disagree. Tom Pohlad is capable of making the necessary changes. He could make significant changes soon. The manager and coaching staff is fine. They are in place. They needs a few tools and to be left to their own decisions about how to run the baseball roster and games. They can't wait to get started. Tom Pohlad cannot wait any longer watching poor decisions being made. It's not the money, it's the mindset. What would it hurt to wait until next October? The simple answer is opportunity cost. Injuries to valued players could happen. Ryan Jeffers will be a free agent, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez will enter their walk seasons. Buxton and Lewis will be down to two years left on their status. If mistakes were made in the past, it might have a heavy influence or bearing on today but it doesn't matter because the past is gone. Now is the time to act.

I would say Tom Pohlad has about a month, at most, to initiate change. The failure to initiate change would be a clear signal that there has been almost a complete lack of attention given to the baseball operations department and display a lack of consideration for the fan base. No change would signify that Tom Pohlad is not a serious person. I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt, for about another month.

Go to Fangraphs.com and read the article on the Twins signing Josh Bell. You do not need a subscription to read the article. The author perfectly portrays my thoughts on the Twins signing Bell. What does this have to do with Tom Pohlad? Until such time as Falvey is removed from all baseball decisions and his philosophies of the game erased from club practices, nothing will change. We can cry "Pohlad's must sell" endlessly but they don't construct the roster or design the style of play. Wake up Tom Pohlad and actually make a few changes. Talent can be acquired. There are options. Boring baseball that includes poor fundamentals is not going to sell tickets. Change things up.

Without looking it up, if GM's were given the same financial resources relative to the other teams in their division, who would have a better record, Falvey or Ryan? Hint - it isn't close.

Until Derek Falvey is removed from all baseball-related decisions, nothing will change. 10 years is enough. Great guy who may serve the franchise well, running the numbers side. He cannot be left on the baseball side of the ledger. That has been tried already.

This signing and the reality is just too depressing for a longtime Twins fan. I saw the last two years as equal to the worst baseball in Twins history. So I tried to keep hopeful for change. Jow Mauer was a long term signing. Byron Buxton was a value long term signing. Correa and others were short term signings. The current front office has had more financial resources than any other team in their division and done a poor job in my opinion. I get tired of being negative and make futile attempts to suggest positive change that we all know will never happen. The time has come to just back off and give up .... at least for quite a while. An earlier comment you made about other markets/ teams / fans (one or more) seeing Lewis as way less than many on Twins Daily was interesting to me. It also begged the question - Are the values associated with any of the Twins assets vastly overrated including their minor league organization? Perhaps this is why the Twins cannot complete any trades. .... none of the players have much value. One thing is certainly true regarding that thought. We all have zero actual knowledge of that. I could ask a few people but it would be rude. No value for trading does make it tough to improve the team if that is a thing. Enough. I'm out.

Why can't the Twins sign a player to a long term contract? Seattle, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, and others manage to do so. Joe Mauer was an example of a long term contract. While many fans objected to the cost of Mauer's deal in his declining years, there has been numerous articles that the Twins made out very well financially on that signing. In fact, they still make money on Joe Mauer. You are correct that all teams sign a few tired vets. Most teams use those guys to fill out their roster or give them depth. Josh Bell is being counted on to lead the Twins to 72 wins, which may be a task. The roster budget is what it is, every single year. All I'm saying is that the distribution of money is done poorly because the guys leading the charge struggle with choices. I believe in talent more than good deals.

Ok. This is an interesting take. Thank you for the opinion. While I hope Royce Lewis becomes a superstar I don't expect it. FWIW, I did suggest the Twins should trade both Lewis and Julien after the 2023 season. I was crushed by the thumb downs. I didn't see big projections from either player but then again I'm wrong often.

Why comment? It was clear from my phrasing that I was juxtaposing the directions/philosophy. A payroll of $110-115M can be distributed in a myriad of fashions. Teams like Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and others that have less revenue and smaller markets make the hard decisions and seek to win. What are the Twins doing?

Thank you. I learned something today I didn't previously know.

Royce Lewis has suffered numerous injuries which paused his development and young career. When healthy he has seen his name in the lineup, every single day no matter how he played. It seems a little disingenuous to mention that Lewis has been restricted in any fashion outside of his injuries. Yes, Royce Lewis was picked #1-1 in 2017 and there is still some hope that he can earn his place on the team. We will all be pleased if Lewis can OPS .900, but if he can reach his career number of .762 OPS in a full season (150 games played) the Twins would be delighted. Can Lewis reach that level? When I read the numerous posts concerning Royce Lewis on Twins Daily and the overwhelmingly positive comments regarding Lewis, I cannot help but wonder how other teams evaluate or see the worth of Lewis. Does he hold high value to teams that are looking for a third baseman? We know that Falvey would never trade Lewis even if offered a spectacular return. I just wonder how other teams see Lewis.

The Twins chose Josh Bell over Bo Bichette. No, I never once believed the Twins were even interested in Bichette .... at any price. He is not their type of player. My reasoning? The Twins sat at @$95M. The word recently was that the Twins would spend to $110-115M. They are carrying two contracts that some teams would gladly take, Bailey Ober at around $5M and Trevor Larnach at around $4M. They are going to pay Josh Bell $7M. Add it up and there was room for a Bo Bichette contract, albeit the length would never be an option for the franchise as it is currently configured. Bell joins Wallner, Larnach, Julien, and Keaschall as players who fit best at DH. Keaschall is young, athletic, and has promise to be average with a glove. The others? Julien is the next best fielder among that group, which will cause jaws to drop and disagreement. I'll let others defend the degrees of ineptitude among the DH types. The signing of Josh Bell removes any last hint of doubt in one's mind that the current front office intends to field either a competitive team or one that creates excitement. It also removes once and for all the idea that it is the tight budget and the Pohlad's parsimony that restricts what type of roster the Twins field. Without the players from the Terry Ryan/Bill Smith regime, the Twins have been cratering. There is still hope if one can be hopeful. Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper, and Luke Keaschall all have to perform at a high level. Pitchers like Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Andrew Morris, David Festa, Zebulon Matthews, Marco Raya, and Connor Prielipp need to reach their potential. The Twins could also make a series of blockbuster trades to change the dynamic of the roster. That is the hope. Josh Bell may be the best signing for the clubhouse as someone mentioned but he will have to reach the levels of the combined efforts of Harrison Bader, Ty France, and Danny Coulombe for the Twins to win 72 games in 2026. Apparently that is the goal.

That works if you find a team that is looking to acquire EmRod. Can you identify a team willing to trade for him? I have suggested numerous trades but I do not know if either team would benefit from the ideas. Would Pittsburgh be interested in acquiring Emmanuel Rodriguez for Jared Jones? From past comments on Twins Daily i seem to recall that Jones has less value by a fair margin than Rodriguez according to BBTV. That doesn't mean much though. What are your ideas?

The lack of a plan is evident. Teams with a concept don't wait out the signings and trades and then get busy signing the best of what is left over. Bader, France, and Coulombe were great last season. They were helpful in guiding the Twins to 72 wins. Math seems to be difficult for the Twins brain trust. The ownership bleeds money and is now begging for investor funds while the club POBO wonders how much money is available and sits around looking confused. The Brewers, Guardians, Rays, and more keep making their decisions and work quickly to address weaknesses that might hinder their clubs from reaching their goals. It's a tough job but business is tough for most in the scrappy parts of town. If there was one change that might boost the Twins it is a clever publicist who handles all communications and delivers messages of hope. Falvey doesn't ever need to speak publicly again in his lifetime. It would be for the best. He is by many accounts a wonderful fellow. He is a step below lame as a speaker though which is clearly not his strength. If he is to run the business of the club he needs to allow the employees in charge of talent procurement, public relations, etc. do their jobs. The Twins have some good young players that are capable of leading the team in competition for division flags. Those players are Jenkins, Keaschall, and others. It may be possible to hold on to one of Ryan or Lopez for one more year and even Byron, maybe. The time to move on was apparent when Duran and Varland were moved last July. It is time to complete what was started.

He works in NYC now. He's on the clock. Produce or bye, bye.

Same.

I hear your grunts. Take it easy old fella.

Something tells me Parker doesn't care for the Twins policies and plans, but I don't know.

I appreciate your position because i mostly share the same thoughts. I do think half of TD thinks differently though. We need to respect those who see things differently and disagree with our position. Even if it makes us drink. Does Faley think?

Totally agree that we don't know anything related to Buxton. If i'm Cohen, the salaries for Buxton and Ryan are too enticing to just sit back on. I'm throwing out a huge, I mean huge offer that is going to drive NYCTK nuts. Yes, we know that Stearns is the guy who makes the deals but Cohen signs the checks and a win in 2026 puts the Mets value straight up. Are the Mets going to wait 2-3 years for the prospects to learn? Maybe. i think cohan is not inclined to wait. They are getting trashed for losing Diaz and Alonso. I think they made better choices with Polanco and Williams. Now is the time to go big. I really do not want the Twins to trade Ryan and Buxton but am looking at this from a Mets POV. Others will not see this the same way, naturally. FWIW, I'm also not big on the Mets prospects. I want Leodalis De Vries. He gets better every step up the food chain.