tony&rodney

The future will tell us the answer. The past tells us that ER hit .280 last year with a .298 BA at AA. My point remains that the guy has great talent and nobody will know what is the end result until the end has come. I'm a little surprised you are questioning ER when you have already stated you have not seen him play. Nevertheless, it is clear that there are quite different thoughts on the player and you have a similar mind to Falvey perhaps on these matters.

Although I'm not a big fan of BTV and don't belong to the site I would agree that it gives at least a very rough clue to value at some level. Pitching is really valuable, especially young pitchers under control for 3-6 years and having any reasonable potential. It would be crazy to trade a rotation piece or even any of Festa, Matthews, Raya, or Morris for Mountcastle. Mountcastle for Paddack and Topa is roughly fair.

No connection whatsoever. I was merely saying that Bader is now a Twin and hoping he has a good season. I have no expectations at all. The numbers were just to promote a positive view. I'm not sure how you managed the comparison but rest easy there was no such thing. We don't know what any player will do in the 2025 season. Likely? Who was the most discussed and hyped player of this entire offseason? Roki Sasaki. He could be ROY or go down with TJ surgery. The future is unknown.

Good lord, both you and Brock fixated on Chourio. Apparently I should not have mentioned him or Mauer. Different people use different rankings which is fine. I used Keith Law. He sees most players in person, has been involved for a long time, and is somewhat respectable. Law has Emmanuel higher this year than he had Merrill last year. In any event, they are completely different types of players whose general rankings are similar. Every rookie ever has questions and success is never guaranteed. Jackson Chourio was really struggling until mid June but was in the lineup every day. Jackson Merrill did just enough to keep himself in the lineup but the Padres were firm that the job was his no matter the performance. Jackson Holliday struggled for the Orioles and was eventually sent down. See what I did there? Kept it to the Jacksons. None of these guys are similar to Emmanuel Rodriguez except all were rookies. There are times when a team should put a rookie in the lineup and let them play through. If the only time a rookie gets an opportunity to play is when an injury occurs there is an underlying philosophical thought that the veterans are just better. Plenty of people on Twins Daily subscribe to that idea. We have a resident expert on this topic, RpR. No big deal, just a difference of opinion.

Tommy Pham is still a decent bat. The defense is Twins appropriate and he is a guy like Bader, Grichuk, etc. The money/payroll situation was only a thing for those who were influenced by the never-ending barrage of "owner/team imposed ..." b.s. pawned off on us by writers all offseason despite or maybe because of the Twins issuing a statement that payroll would not be cut but not answering any further money directed questions. Once the press release came out that the Twins were for sale we pretty much knew that payroll was the responsibility of the next owner. At that point it became a dead issue except for the writers constant mantra. Falvey is a mystery to me. I have no idea what plan he has for the Twins. I can't see one, so I'm critical because I want him to do something but not critical because he may have an overall idea for the team. So, Falvey is a complete mystery to me.

This is really the complaint/viewpoint opposed to signing Bader. Bader plays great defense, runs the bases well, and can hit a home run. Your point about OPS is right on, but Bader is more capable of putting up a .450 OPS than a .800 OPS at this point of his career. Unless .... unless ..... unless Bader has turned the corner and will pop 25 HR, steal 25 bases, hit .280, play flawless defense, and begin to have the career he once was forecast to reach. If. Bader is on the team until October and I hope he does well.

Bad manners are all the rage in the past decade so I just wasn't enamored of the constant whining about the payroll, which was important but less important than roster management. I'm not setting up a Go Fund Me for the Pohlad family but I'm not hurling invectives in their (or others) direction either.

This is a fair trade, although slightly (in my opinion) an overpay by the Twins. How in toothpicks did the writer come up with Bailey Ober as a guy to trade for Mountcastle? If we are going to get crazy and wild, propose a trade of Vazquez for Rutschman. I'm not sure Baltimore wants to trade Mountcastle but Castro works or Topa and Paddack is fair as well.

I think Byron would have liked the Twins to allow him to work through his problems. The injuries were tough and were a definite factor in his career. Whatever happened though you can be sure that Buxton is pretty happy that baseball has turned out well for him. I doubt he expected to make $100 million playing baseball when he was a kid.

Ok. It is because of the contract. Using those two names was a red flag for you and thus you have ignored my main point. Forget Chourio and Mauer. Jackson Merrill is a close comp. That doesn't change the calculus that it takes an injury for the Twins to consider a rookie. It is getting to where I'm sounding like Emmanuel Rodriguez is all that can save the Twins from a .500 season here. The guy is young, has had numerous unrelated injuries, and has flaws in his game as does every player in baseball. He also has a ceiling worth looking at and needs an opportunity to play. You want Rodriguez to prove himself in the minor leagues and are focused on his weaknesses. I'm ready to see him at Target Field and am focused on his skills and strengths. We are not going to agree, which is fine. Its all good and will play out according to management's plan. Ultimately our thoughts are worthless on this. I'm retired and no longer make any money working in baseball. Just a fan now.

And Merrill, a prospect not as highly rated? Milwaukee had players to play ahead of Chourio but they stuck with him despite two plus months of a near .210 BA. Your team, the Bewers, wins with confidence in their young players. Why can the Brewers play Ortiz, Turang, Frelick, and Mitchell? Is age the barometer? Contract? The point was that the Twins need a boost to their lineup and to their team and they need to trust their rookies at some point or get value for them in trade if they just prefer more experienced players. Nobody knows how a rookie will do as evidenced by the experience of Jackson Holliday last season. Sometimes a team needs to have enough confidence in a player that they give that player a real shot. The Twins would never have stuck with Chourio into mid June. I'm not comparing Rodriguez to other players. He is quite a bit different in a host of skills and weaknesses. If the only way a Twins player gets an opportunity as a rookie is via an injury, that player faces a tough road wondering if they slip up or slump and glancing over their shoulder expecting to be replaced when the veteran is healed up again.

Keaschall stays; didn't trade him.

Kind of feel bad for dxpavelka because he had Pete Alonso coming to Target Field and I appreciated his optimism. and hope for a big bat in the Twins lineup.

Falvey added Bader as the thunder. Hmmm?

Agree with this and one has to wonder why another team didn't step in sooner if Bader had this much value. The lack of planning seems evident to me. The current payroll sits at $148 million or so. I never thought the Twins were closely tied to $125-130M, but now we are well beyond that range. This has become a pattern. I guess there may still be a couple of trades, perhaps even ones that include bigger salaries and more than just one or two players. We shall see what comes next but the current state of the team is a little strange.

Harrison Bader is athletic, which is a plus. He runs well. He also is a good glove, something lacking last year from the Twins. These are positive points. Bader was ok in the first half of last season and did manage a career high in PA. However, Harrison cratered badly in the second half. Perhaps the Twins can use him once a week and as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning.

Merrill had never played an inning in CF before running out there for the Padres, not even in the minor leagues. Merrill was not rated as highly as Rodriguez is currently, really the same range though. Chourio, highly rated, struggled mightily for more than 50 games and didn't turn it around until June last year, after more than 50 games. These guys both played for teams that are better/ more competitive than the Twins. I understand nobody wants me to ask how many times have you watched a guy, so I will quote someone who has scouted him a fair amount, from Fangraphs. The following squares with my own personal views. "The thing that is going to pop off the screen at you when Rodriguez reaches Minnesota is his defense. He isn’t an elite speedster with huge range; instead, he has incredible skill at the catch point. He makes spectacular plays around the wall and while going to the ground. His reads, routes, instincts and ball skills in center are all spectacular, and right now, he has the foot speed to play there." - Fangraphs As I stated elsewhere, Emmanuel is ready. He is a classic boom or bust player. I'm not understanding why the Twins are so reticent to put a rookie in the lineup. I'm not talking about easing them in either. Who is demonstrably better as a potential outcome? A couple of years ago the Twins gave Joey Gallo well over 300 PA all the way into September before they pulled the plug. This has happened again and again with vets. Good for them and they earn a little extra money too, which is a good thing. Now it is time to allow that lattitude to a rookie who might be around for awhile. The Twins have nothing to lose.

Your first line is out of line. The history of special players getting put right in the starting lineup is long. Cal Griffith ordered Rod Carew to be in the lineup every day. Last year Milwaukee played Jackson Chourio for two months before he came around. Joe Mauer never played at AAA and he would have been up a year earlier if he wasn't still working on catcher specific skills. The Twins have had their share of Rookie of the Year winners but it has been a while. Rodriguez is well ahead of other minor leaguers. His 90% line drive rate leads all minors players. His on base is spectacular. His defense is excellent. How many times have you watched him play. He has definite faults. He strikes out a ton and whiffs on pitches he should hit. He toys with AA and AAA pitchers including the top pitchers at that level. We don't know how he will turn out and if he will manage at the MLB level until he gets the opportunity. Emmanuel is fully developed physically. The guy needs a challenge. Jenkins needs repetitions and experience at AA. They are different players at different points in their development. Rodriguez has already pounded everyone at the minor league level. He is a classic boom or bust prospect that has a very high value right now. An athlete like Rodriguez rises to the confidence shown in him. There are times an organization or individuals within a system don't believe in a player. That doesn't work well. Get value while value is ripe.

Emmanuel has more at bats in AAA than both Chourio and Merrill from last year's rookie class. That argument doesn't carry with special players. Mauer never played AAA and had only 73 games at AA. I think we all sample more than ten beers across a period of time before we settle on an opinion of our "go to" favorite beverage. People often sample many omelets before their opinion rests on one that works for them. Perhaps the Twins don't believe in him and think he is not ready. If that is the case, trade him. The value will never be higher. Kansas City will gladly stick Emmanuel in the lineup. We can then enjoy his at bats from a close experience. This feels like Johan. Free Emmanuel.

In the 2023-2024 offseason the Twins indicated that the payroll budget would retreat to former levels after a one year bump. The outcry was phenomenal and unending. It was also a little bit expected by those who knew about the one time payment and the dying RSN. At the close of the 2024 season the Twins indicated that the payroll budget would not be cut further and the details were left as nebulous as one could possible state nothing. Twins Daily, Aaron Gleeman and others went ballistic about the *****Pohlads. A statement was issued that the Twins were for sale and that numerous parties had already been involved as interested parties to an unknown degree to that point. The Ishbias were noted. The sale process was reported as moving along quite smoothly or words to that effect with an April or May date expected for finalization although the end point was left open. This obviously meant that the 2025 player payroll would be entirely the responsibility of a new owner. All during this offseason, every single article until about two weeks ago contained a reference to "owner imposed payroll restrictions", a mantra repeated on national press and roundly circulated as fact when there was never any statements or indications of a said policy. The $130 miilion 26 person Opening Day payroll was gospel or we were led to believe that line. Now the Twins are approaching $148 million (Fangraphs) for a 26 person payroll and crickets from Twins Daily and Gleeman among others on what looks to be a rather substantial operating change. Apologies for all of the character assassinations? Hmmm. Waiting. I cannot wait for a new ownership group because my choice of the best ownership group lost out in 1984. Not a fan of old Carl (RIP), but his sons and grandkids did what they could if one understands the lack of baseball acumen in the family. For now I'm hoping for a few big trades (Falvey needs to make at least an effort to keep his job) and the completion of the sale of the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club.

Pardon the interruption but I have to ask you if you have seen at least a couple dozen to fifty of his plate appearances. I'm not interested in hearing about video highlights or statistics, but actual game PA. How many?

What would your lineup look like? SP = Lopez, Cease, Ober, Ryan, Woods Richardson RP = Jax, Sands, Stewart, Alcala, Coulombe, Varland, Henriquez, and Tonkin Bats = Rodriguez-LF, Buxton-CF, Wallner-RF, Correa-SS, Eeles-2B, Lewis-1B, Miranda-DH, Jeffers-C, Lawler-3B with Bader-OF, Vazquez-C, Lee-ut, Martin-ut.

Goodbye Joe, hello Bader. Win projection 85?

Are we feeling any possibility of a Cease trade after the Bader thing today? Can't think of another reason for Bader. Defense-yes, but at a price more than was likely out there from anyone else. Did Falvey want insurance before a trade?

Expect absolutely nothing and then be pleasantly surprised by anything at all.