tony&rodney

Yes, the market value is high. Still, catcher is the most difficult and valuable position in baseball. So the Twins need to bite the bullet and make an attempt to trade for a young catcher even if it means losing a highly thought of player or prospect. Perhaps no team will trade a decent catching prospect but Harry Ford and Jeferson Quero are blocked in Seattle and Milwaukee and Boston needs starting pitching. Gambling time for Falvey.

No big disagreement with the comments on the majoe players in these trades, but Doncon versus Miller is simply unknown. Anyone is free to speculate. Having seen dozens of at bats from both of these players (Miller & Doncon), Doncon is clearly a better athlete with a lower floor and higher ceiling and Miller is more accomplished with the glove. It is worthwhile to remember that neither projects as anything more than a replacement player with utility work as a best case scenario. It is a wash and not worth any angst.

These timelines seem quite reasonable and it could be earlier if health and effectiveness by either or both of Prielipp/Raya combine with a need by the Twins. When I watched Raya and Prielipp I saw different types of pitchers. Prielipp has some serious stuff and can dominant with several pitches. The questions with him are health, stamina, and ability to repeat from day to day. In other words, Prielipp does need innings and experience and we will learn more about him as he faces more experienced hitters. I thought his stuff looked excellent though and capable of playing at any level if he could repeat the pitches. Raya is more a guy who finds success playing one pitch off of another; a classic pitcher. Raya needs to prove his pitches (all of decent quality) and his sequencing ( still developing) works at AAA a bit more before he gets his shot.

Interesting choice of a retort when one considers that many people "win" back their $2 or more in a lottery but few people ever play baseball at the highest level but then again that has little meaning either. At some point, there are unique talents (talking baseball) who are able to move from A+ or AA and be successful in MLB. It would not be a good idea to use that approach very often but talent plays sometimes. MLB is very difficult because there is such a fine line between success and failure combined with how opponents pick on the smallest weakness of any player. Mental confidence and adaptability is crucial in baseball. I would guess that Emmanuel Rodriguez is ready to step directly into the Twins lineup. The question I have of him is whether he can maintain his focus. I think he can. Can he remain healthy? Who knows? In any event, we should hope that there are people within the Twins organization who can effectively determine which players are ready for what level of competition. All of the data we surround ourselves with are not conclusive or even predictive of success. That is why, while we are quite interested in various players and their potential, the roster decisions get left to those closest to the ground. This is, of course, something we know and understand even if it doesn't stop us from guessing who can jump a few levels to contribute for the Twins.

The main complaint regarding these (and other) trades is that the transactions did not really improve the team. The payroll pressure was alleviated in the Yankee trade, which was apparently the only real objective, making it a success for many. However, the team was not improved. The Dodgers were willing to give away Margot and he did fill a role for the Twins, but Baldelli wound up leaning on Manuel to an absurd degree reducing Margot's effectiveness as a player. Thus, the team was not really improved. The exchange of minor league players is a wash. Miller can eventually (2026?) find his way on to an MLB team as a utility infielder if some organization has room for that specialty. Doncon is athletic and fun to watch but has a whole ton of refinement needed before he can face MLB pitching. My guess is that Miller gets a call up first but the talent side favors Doncon; it's a wash.

The writers are putting out articles exploring just about any facet of the Twins as could be interesting or readable to fans. No one is required to read them. The articles come in all sizes with varying lengths of thought. I have yet to see an article that pushes me to accept an idea. Your responses are often quite complete, supported with the data you see as valid for the point you want to make. These can be readable and fair as well. I believe you might be interested in writing for Twins Daily. Give it a shot. I will read your articles but also reserve my right to my own thoughts and opinions based on my own lengthy history of playing, coaching, managing, etc. There isn't much of a future for fans in taking the dark side. Twins Daily is entertainment.

Good note on Allison. He was a really good baseball player. I might think about him over Cordova but Jimmie Hall was pretty exceptional in all facets of the game in 1963-65, especially in his rookie year. Hall also broke Ted Williams record for home runs by a rookie.

Prielipp sure looked dominant for 1-3 innings when I saw him pitch. The Twins need to determine if his development as a pitcher can include a stint as a relief pitcher in MLB. While I'm not opposed to Prielipp remaining a starter and working his way through Wichita and St. Paul, there is some value in testing the effectiveness of the young left hander for 1-3 inning stretches at the back of the bullpen. A relief pitcher, especially a younger guy, can still be shifted at some later point to a starting role. The Twins have a pretty solid core of starters currently and could use a guy that throws from the port side in the pen.

Jimmy Hall was never the same after being beaned. He was a slick centerfielder. Danny Santana was so much fun, but his approach at the plate never improved and hitting becomes difficult when the pitchers have the code to get you out.

My two cents: Falvey had a rough offseason and his preferred roster had an expected level of 78-88 wins. They reached their goal more or less. Falvey might want to set a more challenging ceiling this offseason.

Curious as to why. No issues with your thoughts though. Do you believe the trades mentioned are not enough from the Twins? Too much? Don't like the acquired players? Specifics? Why can't these occur?

It is hard to know that. Lee has a pretty stable floor as a guy who will field a position decently or better and who can hit enough to hold down a spot as a regular. The excitement about the ceiling stops Lee from becoming highly sought after, but stable players are key finishing touches for good teams. Lee certainly has value to teams, including the Twins.

The Twins may have had conversations about looking into bringing back Matt Borgshulte back as a hitting coach. Seems unlikely that Popkins created waves, yet it is always possible that the manager, front office, and coaches were no longer on the same page. Popkins was spoken of in positive terms by most of the players. I find it difficult to understand the type of baseball preferred by Falvey and believes he directs Baldelli. Coaches often have a closer relationship with players and are the first to get fired or not have their contracts renewed. Borgshulte probably signed a five year contract or he should have because it is clear the Twins wanted him.

Do you think there is a fit to trade with Milwaukee (Lee for Jeferson Quero) or Boston (Ryan & Topa for Kyle Teel) as a reasonable transaction that could benefit both teams?

Ok. Fair enough. You do name four players you would like to see on the roster in 2025. I believe that is a start. Why worry about what other people say, just give your views. It isn't necessary to condemn other viewpoints. It doesn't matter any way. People do not need to agree in order to get along.

Please make some specific suggestions of what you are thinking could be done instead of finding fault with the ideas of others. You lose all credibility when you just complain. I think you likely have some thoughts on who should play .... just put them down in the comments. I'm old and believe people need to move forward. The sky is not really falling down.

It seems so difficult to find a match in trades. My major issue with the Twins putting the same basic team back in place for 2025 is what I perceive as a poor defensive team that really strains the talents of the pitching staff. So I look over the ideas and try to see some benefit in each. C) Vazquez will be difficult to move. It seems like a move to add a catcher can start the ball rolling. I would ask Milwaukee if Lee is sufficient to acquire Jeferson Quero. I would also attempt to find out what the cost is for Harry Ford from Seattle. With a catcher in tow I would look to add some prospects to Jeffers and Paddack (maybe Soto and Amick) and see if this is acceptable to acquire Sandy Alcantara. I would accept Luzardo straight up for Jeffers. If either Alcantara or Luzardo is on board, maybe see if Boston likes Ryan and Topa for Kyle Teel. Infield) Correa stays put. Lewis moves to 1B where he can relax and work on his footwork around the bag and concentrate on his bat. 3B goes to a rookie, Jordan Lawler (Duran, Kirilloff).Arizona needs a closer. 2B can be Eeles, Castro, or Julien. Keaschall will be ready soon. Miranda is still on the roster. Outfield) Buck, Wallner, and Larnach return but I'm counting on EmRod and Keaschall at some point. Emmanuel is ready now, if his head is together and he is healthy and focused. Give McCusker a shot to show himself in Spring Training. Perhaps the budget goes to near $140 million, who knows. There is going to be chaos if injuries happen to the key players again but hopefully some type of change occurs. Either way, we will all still be Twins fans next summer. Four trades should be enough but it is more than Falvey likes. It is his team for 2025 though. We shall see what he comes up with this offseason.

Twins Daily is a baseball site, a Twins baseball site. It seems pretty natural that there would be a whole raft of articles exploring ideas such as who has what value in a trade or any number of other thoughts. This doesn't seem controversial. In fact it is more or less expected that there would be exploratory articles. The article questioning the role for Jose Miranda is quite fair. We should see a similar story on others: Lewis, Lee, etc. Fans don't have any say in how rosters are put together, so the thoughts, opinions, and ideas on any baseball (sports) site are merely entertainment. As such, I wish people would put in their two cents without getting upset or pushing aside an individual's article as click bait because by definition everything on the internet is click bait.

Seems like the guesses on potential trades will come soon enough with baseball closing up games in the next ten days.

Then Falvey needs to wiggle.

It might be best to assume (no matter the saying) a payroll of $120-140 million. Go from there.

This is priority number one for me. Find a way to trade for a good young catcher, even if the Twins must overpay, and then find a team interested in Jeffers. Nearly every iteration of moves I can think of involve moving Jeffers, but first another catcher must be acquired to work with Vazquez. I have no idea how other teams value the Twins players, but I'm wondering what Milwaukee, Boston, or Seattle would require for their young guys.

David Festa will be quite good in his role as the #4 or #5 starting pitcher in 2025. He is the least of the Twins concerns. The rotation is pretty good and will be much better if Falvey can find some players to catch those ground balls and fly balls that should be outs. The Twins pitchers had among the fewest walks and were #2 in strikeouts in 2024, but the porous defense routinely had the pitchers shaking their heads. I have an up arrow next to Festa.

Does San Diego need a player like Willi Castro? Castro plus $1.2M for Bryan Hoeing? I'm leaning towards an agreement that Castro may be a luxury with a $130M budget, although there is room for him at a $140M roster. Still, agree that some tough decisions will need to be made. I also like the idea of Severino as a Twin.

The Guardians suffered an abnormal number of injuries to their starting position depth this year. Some of these pitchers could return effectively. Not all of Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Joey Cantillo, Tristan McKenzie, or anyone else will fade into oblivion. Without spending too much time looking or thinking about this, I expect the Guards to have better starting pitching next season. FWIW, they also have some good young relievers coming on, such as Andrew Walters. Are people aware that the fielding focused, astute base running Cleveland team also hit more home runs than the power focused Minnesota Twins?