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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    who knows - this may be his expertise.
  2. tony&rodney
    ... little miscommunication here. I don't dislike anyone connected with the Twins ownership and office group and didn't suggest you like them. Rather I simply believe that the organization proceeds according to a plan and are as aware of all of the contingencies in the industry as they could possibly be. I don't see the naiveté or obliviousness. FWIW, I was not surprised by the $25M cut in budget from 2023 to 2024 and don't believe it hamstrung Falvey. I understand there is very widespread disagreement with that.
  3. tony&rodney
    I understand that you have one view of Derek Falvey. You do a good job of defending his work on numerous occasions. My belief is simply that there is complete transparency between the front office types with each other and that Falvey has known all along since he was hired (day one) the guidelines and barriers inherent to putting together the roster. Falvey is the architect of this team. On numerous occasions Falvey has stated that he has been given all the resources necessary to do his job. We can say he is a liar or maybe just believe him. Would I prefer the barrier be $200-250M for the Twins? Yes. However, I am also aware of the competition in the AL Central and the Twins, under Falvey, have been funded adequately. You seem to think there was non-communication within the corporation, which is possible, while I find it unlikely. I would actually be flabbergasted if Falvey didn't know and understand all of his parameters. Let us hope for some things, whatever that may be, to happen where the Twins are watchable in 2025.
  4. tony&rodney
    Lewis has considerable promise as an athlete despite his past injuries and halting development. However, it seems a little odd to consider Royce Lewis as a "core" player for the Twins as so many have already done. Lewis has not even played the equivalent of one season yet and he is a "core" player. 2024 was a bit of a nightmare for Royce as it was for Ed Julien. So far, I have yet to read an article or a comment suggesting Julien as a "core" player for the Twins. In 2023 Julien provided more oWAR than Lewis and we all know how much everyone loves stats. Defensively, they are a wash too. I do not hold out nearly as much hope for Julien as I do for Lewis, but feel the context on Lewis is more jacked up than he is. Those who are pumped about Royce can rest easy because Falvey will not trade his #1-1 guy. The article asked for any ideas of fair trades. Does anyone have one?
  5. tony&rodney
    We might differ here. My take is that Falvey has always 100% known what budgets he has to work with on every occasion. Walking away from Sonny Gray was a Falvey baseball business decision. The Twins had the means to replace him via trade but chose to roll back their youngins. The Twins are likely to roll it back again in 2025. While I'm not opposed to the Twins running payrolls of $150-200M, that didn't ever seem like much of a reality. I get that some believe that the Pohlads crunched opportunities for the Twins, I look at the type of players and teams that the Twins put on the field year after year and the transactions they make as a Falvey thing. I would add that Correa was an outlier of unknown origin, perhaps BAM money.
  6. tony&rodney
    I wholeheartedly agree with you. The concern for me is not any return at all - I would trade CP for a PTBNL. Looking at this from the perspective of another team, however, why trade for an oft injured player who is likely to peter out at 75 innings of 4.80 ERA at a best case scenario. On the other hand, some team is likely to believe that $7.5M may be a worthwhile gamble considering their needs. The Twins need to act fast.
  7. tony&rodney
    Fair comment. I guess I am one person who believes that the Twins have sufficient pitching to compete. The weakness of the team is more the other eight positions in my view.
  8. tony&rodney
    An examination of player personnel and their trade worth is always a decent exercise even if we know a player will not be moved. Royce Lewis was a hot topic last offseason and the potential return was high. Right now, Lewis would not return value in terms of MLB talent. Lewis might allow the Twins to gain a decent prospect, but that would seem foolish considering Lewis is still closer to a prospect himself with less then 162 games of experience. For the right player, sure. Falvey won't trade Lewis though. Who would I like to acquire for Lewis? Lewis for any one of Bryce Miller, Kyle Teel, Jeferson Quero, Jordan Lawler, and these types of players. Falvey won't trade Lewis though.
  9. tony&rodney
    The Twins do have a number of talented players. The problem is balance. Additionally, the use of "core" indicates players that a team has and can count on to perform as regulars at an above average level of play. This probably needs to be examined. Core players usually would not include players with less than one season's games worth of experience. I do believe the Twins have talent. The question is if that talent can return a performance in 2025 that is an improvement on 2024. I'm not seeing it with the current 40 person roster.
  10. tony&rodney
    Roque? Consider that Festa and Matthews are closer to rookies too with far less than a year in MLB. The pitching is decent.
  11. tony&rodney
    The last few years it has seemed like the Twins team/roster was exactly what Falvey saw as an ideal. Yesterday, I hopelessly posited whether Levine actually had a role in the player talent collection. Alas, the announcement tells us that the Twins are Falvey's toy. For those who see Falvey as the cog, this is wonderful news. I simply sighed. At least the words directed towards ownership should be reduced as we now all can see who directs the franchise. I wish us all good luck.
  12. tony&rodney
    Fun list and good article to read for those of us who follow the minors. Eeles looks almost too good to ignore. Because I have seen him so few times (less than ten), I will defer to others. I do wonder if he can just be slipped into the hole at second base. I have watched Carson McCusker a fair bit and it seems like this guy makes adjustments about as well as any very tall person who plays baseball. MLB pitchers would quickly attack his weaknesses but his ability to quickly learn how milb pitchers were attempting to retire him in the last two years could possibly translate. McCusker is a beast and his line drives render baseballs as unusable former spheres; he crushes the ball. I am excited to see how 2025 goes for Carson and hope he gets a shot somewhere, some time.
  13. tony&rodney
    "A dearth of viable pitching depth did in the Twins down the stretch in 2024." - first line in article. Wonderful idea to write about potential minor league free agent pitchers that are available for ST invites. However, one cannot start an article with a complete falsehood. The fielding was among the worst in baseball, the base running was the worst, and the hitting cratered to an unbelievable degree. The pitching was the least of the Twins problems down the stretch. I only respond because this has been stated once too many times and it is patently false. Only Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale could have pitched well enough to cover for the Twins pathetic efforts at the plate and in the field down the stretch. Sorry for being negative .... can't let this one go.
  14. tony&rodney
    Last winter I put this same information out in discussions where people wrote Paddack into the rotation. I suggested that 90 innings would be a possibility and that 120 innings were outside of reality. Paddack may still be a useful arm in the bullpen, an argument I also made last winter. The question is if $7.5 million is too much for a #6-8 guy in the pen. My belief is that Paddack can be traded for a dart (player not on any team's top 40 prospects list). CP can also be included in a trade as well with other players. Falvey has been all in on Chris Paddack since 2019 though. An aside ... Is it an unknown (possible) that Levine was responsible for all player decisions and the divorce signifies a change in direction regarding player acquisition?
  15. tony&rodney
    If Arizona accepts, I take that trade. I'm not sending off Moreno if I'm the D-Backs GM though. I hope you are correct. Seattle is not likely to trade Robles after they gave him a contract. I like the idea. I still can't see an infield of Miranda, Castro, and Lewis in those positions, thinking about the pitchers. To be fair, it is almost certain that zero people will agree on a Twins roster for this coming year. I like the general ideas here but am a little stubborn about insisting on better defense. That is just my preference though.
  16. tony&rodney
    This statement is why I have such a difficult time with the virulent articles/comments regarding the Pohlads. The idea that the Pohlads and Falvey operate separately has eluded me. I get that many folks believe something different and respect the right to an opinion. However, I agree with the quoted thought and find is hard to see the other viewpoint. Falvey has had numerous opportunities to craft rosters and I have maintained that the team reflects his ideas.
  17. tony&rodney
    In a vacuum the roster looks fine. Meanwhile the pitchers are spending their time praying for gloves that scoop up ground balls and catch fly balls at an acceptable MLB level.
  18. tony&rodney
    Moving Correa and/or Buxton off of the roster does not solve the current problem for the Twins, a lack of speed and defensive acumen. Scrolling through the free agents that make sense is mostly pointless. Christian Walker might work but I'm thinking that Royce Lewis at first base holds more promise. Falvey needs to make some trades for talent before he looks at dumping any of Vazquez, Paddack, Castro, Correa, Buxton, or others.
  19. tony&rodney
    The single biggest improvement that can be made to the pitching staff is to put players in the field that make defensive plays. Right now the roster is slow and below average defensively.
  20. tony&rodney
    One would think that a failure to complete some significant upgrades to the roster that improve the Twins ability to compete in 2025 results in the end of the Falvey era. If a team cannot improve when it has a decent organization in a window of winning, then that portends a fall relative to other teams. The biggest surprise of the offseason would be if the Twins did not make a few major deals. Falvey is on the clock and next season is his last in MLB if the team repeats 2024 or declines further.
  21. tony&rodney
    We all are aware that any player can be discussed and potentially traded. The Twins are right back where they were last offseason, except for this time they need to make up some ground on other teams. Specifically, the AL Central is markedly improved from a year ago. Still, the situation is pretty much the same. What can Falvey do to improve the roster for 2025? Money does make a difference in decisions but it is past the time for using the financial budget as a crutch or excuse. Budgets are a reality. The Twins can win with a budget of $110-125 million. We all knew that every player would or should be discussed in terms of their role in making the roster better next season. The central question remains .... how does any move make the team better?
  22. tony&rodney
    I try to be efficient in considering the potential outcomes for the Twins in the coming year; not much stress or too much time. In considering a trade I make an attempt to determine whether the other team may consider any of my ideas. Yes, I am consistent in suggesting two to three transactions to improve the quality of the Twins roster. All of my ideas can blow up. Thinking about moving Correa seems difficult. One prior trade idea that I proposed would acquire a player I would want to play third base and spell Correa but that player could also fill in for Carlos. A trade of Duran, Topa, and Castro to Arizona for Jordan Lawler is my thought. He is a slick defender at shortstop and would play third base for me with Correa at short. The Diamondbacks may want more and a huge blockbuster deal that helps AZ and MN is possible. I want the pitchers to take the mound knowing that routine plays will be made behind them. This is impossible without some shifting of personnel. One odd side kick, should Correa be moved, is that the Twins could then be interested in Christian Walker (3/$60M). First the Twins need to add a guy like Lawler and another couple of guys as well.
  23. tony&rodney
    Who plays shortstop? Really?
  24. tony&rodney
    How has Falvey arrived at a comparison of Royce Lewis to Rhyne Sandberg. This really highlights what may be a damaging flaw of Falvey's. He struggles to identify talent. Now he does have a entire phalanx of professionals to advise him but he sets the tone. Please tell me what, if any, attributes or skills are shared between Sandberg and Lewis. People are down on Julien. Brooks Lee still has luster and promise, even before he undergoes the sophomore jinx. So Royce Lewis, who I agree can be a terrific middle of the order bat, plays second base. Why do folks hate all pitchers? We continually read of suggestions to use below average gloves all over the field and then suggest that it doesn't matter too much. Lewis needs to hit. Put him in the middle of the batting order. The guy is jacked up big and has tremendous power and the potential to hit. However, it seems disingenuous to ignore both his massive size and injuries, all of which have robbed him of speed, quickness, and flexibility.
  25. tony&rodney
    If .... if Correa was traded, forget about any player of any interest coming back to the Twins. Then .... the real dilemma begins. Who plays shortstop? There isn't really anyone in the organization who can play shortstop at close to Carlos Correa level. Now if the argument is that Correa is always injured and we compare the next guy to Willi Castro ..... sure, that makes some sense. No, Brooks Lee is not an MLB (Correa) quality shortstop. Full stop. So the argument is must be that the Twins are looking to replace Willi Castro and not Carlos Correa, assuming he is injured most of the time. In lieu of the article and conversation yesterday on how the Twins pitchers have "suffered" with the guys playing defense behind them, it is ironic to consider reducing the quality of turning outs into outs instead of watching the ball bleed through the dirt. Look, we all have out thoughts and mine is that poor defense and the lack of team speed reduces the Twins to being a slightly above average team at best (79-87 wins) if everything else goes perfectly. Trading Correa and/or failing to upgrade the defense is a recipe for mediocrity. Then again, I have zero belief in Derek Falvey and his ability to craft a roster, which makes my thoughts easy to dismiss for those who see Falvey as a decent administrator.
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