tony&rodney

The problem is that the Twins need bats and catchers. I'm not fixated on RH/LH. I'm pretty sure the Twins could trade Wallner to Pittsburgh for Jared Jones or maybe even get both Bubba Chandler and Endy Rodriguez for Wallner plus Cory Lewis, but that merely reduces the offense. The good bats are not very easily found. A number of people would like Austin Hays but i'm not sure that is the answer. Right now the only bat I want to trade for is unproven and almost certainly not available. I'm interested in who other people feel is available. My gut tell me that Luke Keaschall and Emmanuel Rodriguez are going to be good as soon as June.

Cease is not worth any of EmRod, Keaschall, or Jenkins included in any way. I'm not inclined to include Festa or Matthews in a deal either.

Wondering who? What do you think?

Reading the article it seems like San Diego has some interest and Minnesota is interested in Cease. The comments are typically insane because they take it as a rumor of a one to one trade, which is absurd. Riffing a little off of this article, perhaps San Diego wants Woods Richardson and Vazquez for Cease. The Padres need to drop their payroll and they are going to have a hard time making deals, just like the Twins.

Wow. How did you come up those returns? Larnach, or any player, are business assets (doesn't that sound rude) to deal as a regular part of baseball activity when trying to improve the roster. Trading Larnach for players who are not as good? No. Also, the idea of too many left-handed hitting outfielders is a story to kill once and for all. Emmanuel Rodriguez (unless traded) and Walker Jenkins are on their way to MLB and they bat lefty as well. Oliva, Carew, Mauer, and Morneau were left-handed as well. I have no problem with trading Larnach but it isn't because he bats left-handed.

Yes, 100 games should work.

The Twins need to get some good young catchers is my takeaway. For those who believe/ would bet that Ryan Jeffers can catch 120 games, bet the over on Buxton at 140 games. Can happen and Correa plays over 150 games too. Can and will ...

Here is an idea I would like to see Falvey propose to Arizona, although I highly doubt it would receive a friendly ear. Duran, Paddack, Castro, Yasser Mercedes, and Kyle DeBarge go to the Dbacks for Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Lawler, and Druw Jones. Why not?

This is a potential problem that directly affects the win-loss column. Usage of players according to contract is as silly as a high school coach using a senior with zero talent or leadership versus the underclassman who has talent. Yet it happens. FWIW, I do think Paddack is a keeper in the bullpen and swing starter role. If he is plopped into the rotation at the beginning of the year and kept there until the injury bug bites again, the Twins are aiming for a .500 record.

FWIW, I highly doubt the Twins are not spending the $4-9M necessary to sign a guy like Hays or Grichuk due to financial limits. Rather I would suggest Falvey wants to see either what is available via trade or he wants to see how his current guys produce.

Instead of a simple like/ thumbs or in addition to .... This is exactly what I see. Yet I don't understand it. The point of a draft and a few other changes in the 1960s was to create more more ability for competition. Clearly there are a number of franchises stuck with owners who are content with the staus quo. Fans are nearly irrelevant.

The odds of Chris Paddack throwing more than 90 innings are quite low. Personally I beleive Paddack would be a good arm for the bullpen. If the Twins are still considering him for the rotation above either of Woods Richardson or Festa, I would hope for a trade, any trade. There should be one team out there that is willing to send a PTBNL for Paddack.

Perhaps everyone can agree that Willi Castro has value. Castro fits the Twins well and this is also what may make him a perfect buy high player for another team. The Twins finished in 4th place last season. They are looking at around 84 wins in 2025 until a few moves are made. Of course, full health and a big uptick in performance across the board could impact the record too. It seems like a better idea to be proactive. Maybe the Twins sign Austin Hays to satisfy those who want a RH OF/DH/1B spot. The team also needs to think of a way to add a catcher to their minor league system and better if that player could also play at the MLB level. I have been pushing for one or two of Jeferson Quero, Harry Ford, Endy Rodriguez, and Kyle Teel since last season ended. Teel is off the board. The cost for the others will be high or maybe they are not available. This is where Willi Castro could be used to improve the 2025 team. His value is high and his contract is up after this season. A trade of Castro plus another player could bring in a player the Twins need.

Not shocked, but I would be quite surprised if any former Twins actually are 1% investors in the next ownership group. Smalley is at a phase in his life where he keeps busy with projects of a personal nature. Mauer is the least likely to want any scrutiny. Morneau could be a small "representative" part but he is a busy guy. Why would any of these players want to be burdened with any duties beyond their broadcasting, coaching, and advisory roles? The Twins have not had an ARod or Jeter personality. So, sure, some player may be tapped in a minor role requiring less than a 1% investment. It just seems unlikely.

I get this more or less but am also aware that there are years where the economy goes backwards. Real estate was a no brainer with low interest rates but was not too hot an item when interest rates went into the teens. No doubt the Dodgers will have the money. When the Dodgers last sold the franchise was worth somewhere around $2B and is likely more than $6B today and growing. For some reason ownership groups have been narrow in their thinking, or at least it seems that way. When people say revenues from gates and media are evenly split, I'm not sure if this is correct. If the Dodgers bring in $350M on a media deal and they keep half while the Twins bring in $80M and keep half plus get additional funds from a pot (revenue sharing), it doesn't seem to come remotely close to any sort of parity. While stadium ads and site development (Atlanta for example) would be local investment returns that enrich a team, I'm at a loss why any media deals and ticket revenues would not be split given that it takes two teams to play any game. That type of monetary sharing in a business that totally requires others (one team playing another) seems pretty simple. How has that bypassed generations of owners? My shortcoming is a general disinterest in this part of baseball. I'm commenting because it is looking like MLB has a challenge on its hands that is adversely affecting both competition and a wider interest in baseball. However, I also can accept if this is seen by clearer thinking people than me as no big deal.

I'm wondering which top prospects you are willing to trade? Are we talking top 30? 20? 10? 3? Can anyone think of a realistic trade where the Twins part with Walker Jenkins? There are several laughers on BTV where a team empties the scrubs on their team off to Minnesota and magically pick up Jenkins. What possible player would people want for Jenkins? Rodriguez? Keaschall? Falvey is free to make trades right now if he feels the team would be better off with a transaction or two. I'm hopeful for a positive vibe from the exchange of ownership but I'm not seeing it much differently than 1984, which was ok.

I'm ok with the opinion even if i disagree, but it is too late. ... Ortiz is in already. Unless you meant from today forward. On a totally different point, everyone has to go watch the interview on mlb.com with Ichiro. It isn't really important that he missed the one vote, but what a fabulous human being. Ichiro is a star.

Rushing projects, mostly, as a corner outfielder or DH. He hits from the left side, and his bat looks pretty good. If the Dodgers aren't using him often as a catcher and they could use a good hitting backup to push Austin Barnes (good field/no hit) away, why do the Twins add him. If Rushing can catch I might be interested. I watched him catch a couple of games (milb.com) last year and he looked bad behind the plate. Yes, super small sample. Duran for Jeferson Quero i can get behind perhaps.

This idea is suggesting collusion of a fairly deep level. While I tend to doubt this, collusion is not uncommon in business. Remember it was major collusion that allowed the Twins to some extent to win in 1987 and 1991. We just don't know what is going on. I'm not sure you are wrong, meaning you could be correct, when you state that the current situation holds down valuation of some franchises. I just don't know though.

It is complicated and as I stated in a comment previously I'm not that interested in going full research into the CBA to produce a full article/answer. I hope my admittedly weak response below makes some sense. My initial thought that birthed the "squeeze" statement regards the current $1 billion+ that the Dodgers have in deferred payments. While the Dodgers have seen their franchise value more than double since the current ownership group purchased the team, those deferments alone are near the worth in value of several clubs. How do the owners negotiate a new set of agreements given the realities of the Dodgers process. Can Milwaukee defer $1 billion in salaries? How does MLB maintain the stability of franchises. More or less, this is what I meant. The start of any conversations cannot repeal contracts made under a previously approved system which puts the Dodgers in the driver's seat in any discussions. I'm not sure where this is headed and I do believe the Dodgers and Yankees could run $500 million payrolls for their players and still turn a profit. Does this bring in Saudi, Qatar, UAE, or other investment groups? It seems MLB is headed for some type of confrontation. FWIW, I don't believe previous commissioners would have been as absent, but I do also recognize that Manfred is an employee too who may have restrictions not held by previous holders of his position. Does any of this make sense? I'm still wondering myself where this goes.

We often hear from both the writers for this site and in comments about players (example-Yandy Diaz) or types of players (example-RH OF/1B) that the Twins should acquire somehow. It would be much more interesting to see more suggestions of actual ideas, similar to what Big City proposed. In all cases, it is realistic to put yourself as a fan/GM of both sides of a suggestion. Occasionally I will peruse BTV and find 90%+ of the suggestions have zero of the needs or financial realities of individual teams. One cannot just unload fodder for a top ten prospect or an All Star player.

While some people are really tired of trade talk and/or suggestions, I find it mildly entertaining chatter that keeps me far away from the dire state of other affairs. I like this idea. The question is whether the Mariners prefer Casas, which leaves the Twins on the sideline. Either way i think Ford is more my personal target than Casas. Casas goes to Seattle for Castillo and Ford goes to Minnesota for Miranda and Julien, which may be a stiff cost. The Mariners need bats, that is for sure. Good start for ideas Big City. I will add a somewhat risky proposition of sending Brooks Lee to Milwaukee for Jeferson Quero.

..... or that I only have one beer .... now and then ..... on special occasions.

It is totally a long shot, perhaps similar to Crochet. I have no idea how Prielipp will do but his pitches should play if his health holds.

Deferred money is hard ink in the CBA. It seems the players are for it because it takes away from the average roster cost towards the CBT. I'm not too sure why the players are keen on anything deferred past a half decade. Tax rates are at historic lows for upper income earners. The rates can only go up, so I don't get that tactic. Perhaps those are take it or leave negotiations. Seems like bonuses should go on year one if paid in that year and all contracts should be averaged over the length of the contract. Using Blake Snell as an example the CBT should read $76M plus the fair market monetary value of his perks for 2025 because he received $52M today (1/20/25) plus he is due a salary of $26M for this season. Snell has a CBT figure of less than $32M. I understand that the CBA governs these details but it is a clear example of where those owners who argue for some type of means to check the few teams at the top are asleep at the wheel or DWI. If a realistic / sensible system was used the Dodgers might have to think twice because all of these salaries would need to be paid times two to account for the CBT penalties. Of course, the Dodgers can likely afford a $500+ M roster. What am I missing?