tony&rodney

I'm a hopeful Twins fan who likes to say they win the WS every year. Alas. I looked back at my hopes that the Twins could trade Arraez, Larnach, Winder, and a ml'er for Pablo Lopez but backed off because I thought Miami would be crazy to trade PL and then shifted to variations of trades looking to acquire Cabrera and/or Luzardo. In January of 2023 JL was not as highly thought of as his is currently. Right now that PL-LA deal looks good for the Twins. I'll admit that I was very frustrated by the big trade this offseason and believe the conversations and negotiations went counter to making the Twins a better team. We shall know more by November. I'm not screaming about it.

Ohtani got married.

This is an interesting take. When a rundown of third base happens will you remove the home runs that Royce Lewis hit to arrive at a similar conclusion? Consistency is a thing, right. All of Jeffers, Kirilloff, Julien, Lewis, and Wallner as position players and Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Varland, Duran, Jax, Topa, and Jackson as pitchers have to prove that one or two good months or years is not a dream and that they can become successful athletic performers for a full season and then after that season after season.

So this statement, considering the hundred or so articles and thousands of comments on Twins Daily specifically egging on the management to go for it all during this offseason, is your massive leap on Leap Year Day? Good play on words. I caught it.

One detail that caught my attention was "the left side of the infield now locked down by franchise players." That seems pretty nice and I hope it is true, but I wondered when was the last time the Twins and/or their fans considered a guy with 280 PA to be a franchise player. I can't remember one. It wasn't Killebrew, Oliva, Carew, Puckett, or Hrbek. Joe Mauer? Probably Joe. That is a high bar. Second base is pretty set. chpettit19 accurately depicts where baseball is on defensive metrics. Whenever i read defensive metrics and the comments using them exclusively it makes me think of those who only consider wins a good judge of a pitcher. I also wonder if the person commenting with their piles of metrics is searching through data while listening to the games. Now listening to baseball and looking through data are fine hobbies which I wholeheartedly approve of, but as chpettit19 has said above, the educated eye is still far, far ahead of metrics when it comes to judging defense in baseball.

I'm about as slow and patient as the species comes. A trade can always happen, for sure. A Mahle or Jorge Lopez type trade is avoidable to some extent. We will all look around for any interesting, possible, or needed additions in late July. I'm not really expecting anything. Until then the coast is clear.

Severino certainly could have an MLB career and you do a fine job of profiling the young slugger. It makes some sense that, if injuries occur and Severino is pounding the ball at AAA, the Twins may give a call, The comparison to Solano is pretty narrow though. The similarity, which you point out clearly, is that both are poor defensively at numerous positions. The differences are stark. Solano is a veteran who can sit for days and come off the bench with a bat that makes solid contact. The slashing style of Solano was valuable precisely because he was a good match to hit the ball against any pitcher. Severino is still young, unproven, and strike outs a load, which you did point out. I'm not confident that Severino can sit for long periods and be a threat at the plate late in games as a contact pinch hitter. Solano has had a pretty decent career as a contact line drive hitter. Hopefully Severino can have a fair MLB career but his avenue for a spot with the Twins is pretty blocked currently.

Every player enters Spring Training with goals. They all work hard to refine skills and address areas of concern, Veterans and those assured of a roster position work at the pace which prepares them for Opening Day. Younger players try to pick up tips and habits from the more experienced players. All players hope to avoid injuries. An injury is the only path for a player to sneak on to a set roster. Is there disagreement with that? A number of people have stated that the position roster is set, including Falvey, but still we see a couple of people on Twins Daily put a thumbs down to that concept without a response of where any roster position competition might exist. I'm merely curious which player or players have a chance at a roster position if there are not any injuries. I see zero open spots among position players. Those who disagree should make their choices known.

Falvey said he was done. He got all of his dream guys in the trades made this offseason. The bench is (mol) Vazquez, Santana, Farmer, and Margot. None of these guys are trade targets. Kirilloff has very low value at this point. Carlos and Byron have no trace deals. Castro doesn't have significant value to other teams. Would the Twins trade Jeffers, Julien, Lewis, or Wallner? Kepler has been on the block for two years. So there is is a very close to zero chance the Twins are even thinking about trades. We can revisit this in November.

No worries. It didn't bother me. I figured it was a mistake and thought you might want to know in case you wanted to put your comment to the correct post. I hope you didn't take offense at me responding. I have made the same mistake and wished the other person had let me know. Take care.

Unless there are injuries, the position side of the team is set. Nothing that Martin or Miranda or Larnach shows can put them on the roster in Kansas City on Opening Day. Those three and others will need to produce at AA and AAA, wherever they are placed, and show that they are ready to contribute to the Twins team if an injury occurs that opens a spot. At this time all the players are just preparing themselves for the season ahead and not in any competition to make the MLB squad.

An underrated feature of becoming a good relief pitcher is having the ability to bounce back physically from day to day. Pitching is not a natural motion and throwing hard places some pretty severe stress on the body. A fair amount of pitchers find their careers ending because their body will not recover fast enough to fill the demands of a bullpen pitcher. Relievers often need to be ready to pitch on consecutive days. The body might not always be receptive to that demand, which affects performance. Alcala seems to be someone who is more effective with several days of rest. However, those guys in the bullpen need to be flexible and ready when called on to pitch. Honest communication is really important between relief pitchers, the coaches, and the manager.

The article includes it all and the comments correctly reflect the questions, angst, and hopes for first base. Alex Kirilloff can still have a good career if he doesn't work out this year, but it is a very big year for AK as a Twin. How the season unfolds will determine whether Kirilloff remains as a player for the Twins. Santana will be a professional player who performs to whatever capabilities remain in his body. Depth is the hope. Miranda is in a tough spot and will need to force his way back from AAA with a consistent blast of line drives down the lines, in the gaps, and over the fences. Jose will return to the lineup in some capacity if he produces. The big bet is on AK though. Already the comments show some betting on him and some betting against him. 2018 was a long time ago and Alex was in A ball. That season and two stretches in St. Paul (2022 & 2023) show what Kirilloff can do. AK has also had brief stretches for the Twins where he crushed the ball.. I'm thinking Kirilloff comes up big this year with over 500 PA and Santana then serves as an excellent depth player when called on.

Agree, not a big deal. I regret making the initial comment. It would have been better to just not comment. Like i said previously, I appreciate the work of Ted and the other writers, which includes the editors. I apologize for my needless initial comment.

There is much more to "The Story" than has been covered in the comments. Those who lived in the Twin Cities and closely followed the Twins in the 1980s when the Pohlads came on the baseball scene are quite familiar with a vast array of details. I'm not too sure why we need to pore over all of the tawdry events of the franchise. Fans of any specific sports team may find themselves deeply entrenched in thoughts concerning ownership and front offices which may detract from an ability to enjoy the sport. Whether favorable, frustrated, or negative a fan has zero to very little influence on how their favorite team is run or managed. Any emotion is understandable in all cases yet a less positive view may ruin an individual's interest or enjoyment of (in this case) baseball. As far as accuracy of financial information or numbers associated with revenues or costs, one thing is absolutely clear. There is a whole pile of numbers which can be sorted, categorized, and explained to fit whatever point one is making and then there is the fact that these numbers all reveal one truism - a private corporation that does not fully reveal all of its numbers leaves every attempt short because the actual numbers are unknown to the public. People also disagree on the public relations part of the Twins. Seems counter productive to get too deep in what owners or front office say if one wants to enjoy baseball, yet frustration for many/some is understandable. The offseason of sifting through the Twins structure, finances, and whatever has produced nothing new or useful for me. I do wonder if others have been enlightened, understand more, feel better, feel worse, etc. Mostly, I hope that folks do not let their thoughts and feelings affect their interest in baseball. There will be games to enjoy this summer from t-ball to MLB. The options are out there to enjoy.

Yes, I try to read and re-read my comments before I hit the "Submit Comment". Sometimes, I still mess up. I wonder if we should hold Twins Daily to a standard that we might expect of a national publication? Yes. Maybe. I guess my thought was that the world needs more kindness. A better path would have been to simply not comment on the error. However, your comment is correct in that we should all review our comment material before adding it to the pile.

I saw that and chuckled a little. Arozarena and Margot don't have too many facial similarities, but when a guy is putting an article together and hurrying to add a photo it is easy enough to make a simple mistake, which we can certainly understand and give a pass. I appreciate that the writers take the time to put out their stuff. No big deal really, which I'm sure you agree with.

Try to read before you hit the quote button and then make whatever comment it is that you are making. I have no problem with whatever it is you might want to say, but the use of the quote feature probably requires some distant connection to what is in the gray. Let it roll is an idea I can see.

Always enjoyed reading your stuff over on Twinkietown John. Hope Julien has over 600 PA appearances this year. On a separate note, as a left-handed pitcher it was always much easier to face a lineup of all right handed batters.

The Dodgers had to take Margot if they wanted to gain Glasnow, which is simple enough to understand from both the Dodgers and Rays points of view. The Dodgers then had to find a team to take Margot. Falvey obliged and gained a player for outfield depth, which he wanted. Margot is an experienced veteran player who will do his best to contribute wherever and whenever he can. The Twins wanted a veteran for the last roster spot. They got one. Falvey has the team he wanted. The reduction in roster expenditures had little to do with the decisions. The Twins don't sign FA starting pitchers to large long term deals. What other free agents were available that Falvey wanted? The fans and many of us may have wanted any number of free agents, but that doesn't mean very much. It's Falvey's job to put together a team and here we are ... he has indicated the Twins are done. The Twins will be fine. The team has enough talent, depth, and minor league help to compete in the AL Central. Falvey got the guys he wanted or those new guys wouldn't be in Ft. Myers right now.

Funny money. Do the Dodgers spend 50% of their revenue on player salaries? Hmmm? I care about that about the same as I care about the Twins spending habits. I would like to see some good baseball this year.

Personally I had zero interest in Hernandez. Just wonder how the Dodgers work.

It almost seems like the Dodgers have different ideas about how to win than the Twins.

DeSclafani along with Topa and Santana were Falvey's big moves this offseason to push the Twins deep into the playoffs, so hopefully AD and the others find their best selves.

Kike really only wanted to play for the Dodgers. The Dodgers have two young outfielders and a young shortstop and were looking to add Hernandez back on to the team for defense, speed, and post season hits. Margot was the required extra if the Dodgers wanted Glasnow and it took all offseason for the Dodgers to find a team willing to take Margot. Seems pretty simple from the LA side. I must admit that I have zero idea what Falvey thinks. Margot? I'm sure he is a professional ballplayer and will work hard to contribute wherever he can with the Twins. He has experience as an MLB guy and apparently that was the only requirement for the 26th roster spot. So it's done. The offseason is finally completed for the front office. All articles and posts can now focus on the players and games. I'm thinking the Twins win 84 games and the AL Central crown. The playoffs are a fire drill and anything can and does happen. Witness the 2023 AZ, 2006 STL, and 1987 MN teams.