tony&rodney

Perhaps the title perfectly describes why nothing will be done for several months at least. The logjam is only apparent at this time as you state. Is Kirilloff healthy enough to play on a regular basis? If he is then 1B is set for quite some time because that swing will play in any lineup. Does Julien continue with his strengths at the plate while making additional strides as a fielder? If so, 2nd is set. Will Lewis blossom as all hope and expect? If so, 3rd looks set. Can Wallner make the needed adjustments to be a full time regular? If so, he is a lock in the lineup. Can all of these players avoid injuries? The depth is solid now with Farmer, Castro, Martin, and others ready to play. I believe Brooks Lee will be a very good MLB player. How will he do early this year in AAA? It seems to me that the Twins have a full year to see how each of their young players develops before they need to make any decisions on moving someone to another position or making a guy available in a trade. They certainly had conversations about all of these players with other clubs during the offseason and decided to hold for now. Got to know when to hold em.

Well, as a previous comment mentioned, teams prefer to keep some of their guys in camp for a few weeks and playing in warm weather. The Twins have some significant funds invested in Jenkins and a month of Florida weather in April beats the vagaries of whatever might be occurring in Cedar Rapids. If all goes perfectly, expect Jenkins in Iowa no sooner than May.

Last season, it seemed like the Twins carried a pitcher in the bullpen who rarely actually pitched in games. The relief pile looks pretty good right now. Hopefully the Twins are a little more proactive about using everyone. The post points out that the pen is pretty full with Duran, Stewart, Jax, Thielbar, Jackson, Topa, and Okert seemingly set. That leaves some pretty decent arms (Alcala, Funderburk, Winder, Sands, Weiss, and others) trying to squeeze into one slot or waiting for their shot while pitching for the Saints. Staumont, if healthy, is a strong pitcher too. I can't disagree that having a host of options increases the odds of success for the bullpen, but do feel for guys like Funderburk who are good enough to be relied on consistently but because of options are long shots to start the season on the roster. The one area where I want to see a clear positive decision concerns Louie Varland. I don't really care that he has options. Unless DeSclafani is fully healthy and displays better pitches than Varland in March, Varland should be the #4 starting pitcher. I'm fine going with DeSclafani if it is clear that he is the better pitcher with superior stuff. If not, and if DeScla is fully healthy, the last bullpen position can go to him (DeScla). It would not be a surprise for Staumont, DeSclafani, or someone else to need a stint on the IL out of training camp. A number of people are still hoping for a TOR pitcher and I'm not opposed to that if we are talking about Luzardo or much better. That means no pointless signings of shredded guys like Syndergaard or Lorenzen. I'm not too worried about Falvey handing out long term deals to Montgomery or Snell. The pitching looks good.

JB is 6'-5" and listed at 215 pounds (looking bigger). DF is 6'-6" and listed at 185 pounds (looking like 155). JB had AA/AAA WHIPs of 1.40, 1.97, and 1.73 with BAA of .255, .338, and .269. Jordan had innings where he looked good but really struggled at AA and AAA in the last three years. He is still in the system and will be at AAA. Festa only pitched at AA and AAA last season. He looked really good for 3-5 innings before losing it at times. In AA, DF had a WHIP of 1.36, a BAA of .249 with less hits than innings pitched and a ton more strikeouts than innings. In only 12 innings at AAA, DF had 15 SO but also 9 walks. The BAA was .222. A bunch of numbers that essentially say that Festa has to refine his control but can dominate hitters at AAA, whereas Balazovic really never got his feet settled above A ball. Festa is still learning how to focus but seems to be growing quickly into a potential beast on the mound. Balazovic was all over the place in every inning I saw him with little apparent understanding of how to pitch. He was a thrower in AAA. We shall see, but I think you would really enjoy watching the skinny guy pitch.

I don't know where you are coming from. I will merely give some information that we know with mild speculation. The Giants tried to sign Correa for more money than the Twins signed him for. Insurance did not sign off for SF, it did for MN. Why? I don't know the details. The Giants now have a prospect just like Lee, Marco Luciano. The Giants are not looking for a shortstop at this time. The Red Sox would not pay their former shortstop (Xander Bogaerts) to a long term contract because Marcelo Mayer is a top ten global prospect, considered the best fielder shortstop prospect among all shortstop prospects. The Red Sox have zero interest in other shortstops. Correa has a no trade contract. These are very difficult and rarely given up, usually only for a much better deal. Unlike most scouts and talent evaluators I believe that it is possible for Brooks Lee to play shortstop in MLB. He is most suited for third base. Absolutely no one would predict Lee to be near as good as Correa at shortstop. On pitching, here is where you and others may grievously disagree, the Twins have a top of the rotation pitcher in Pablo Lopez. Behind him are Ryan, Ober, Varland, and Paddack with DeSclafani available. Numerous sites have ranked the Twins starting pitching anywhere from top 4-9 in baseball. David Festa is a year away and Marco Raya another year behind him with plenty of other arms developing in the system. The Twins have never signed a top free agent pitcher and I'm not even interested in either Snell or Montgomery unless they want to play for $10 million on a one year deal. I'm sure open to trades for any of Luzardo, Kirby, or Gilbert. Do you believe the Twins will trade Royce Lewis and/or Brooks Lee? That would be the price. Brooks Lee will get an opportunity to play major league baseball. The team and position are still unknown, but openings occur in a myriad of fashions. An example .... many have called for Lewis to be moved to the outfield. I don't expect that, but an injury or need could arise and perhaps against all odds Lewis is needed on the grass. If Lee has impressed and shown that he is primed and ready to play with the big boys .... poof, he is our new third baseman. Stuff happens, just not trades of key players who have huge contracts that include a no trade clause. This we can all be certain of, right?

He is an elite talent by consensus of virtually anyone in baseball. Is Juan Soto an elite talent? How about Shohei Ohtani? You get the point - there are elite talents whether you or somebody else decides to ignore a specific player. Now would the Twins trade Pablo Lopez for Soto, Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, etc.? Of course not. Money is real and teams won't make a trade for a super expensive player and give up a top of the rotation pitcher who costs very little. The Twins would not trade for Gerrit Cole because their budget does not allow it. The Twins decided to sign Kirby Puckett to the largest (at the time) contract in MLB, they signed Mauer, and they signed Correa. All of these guys are elite talents. You may not like Correa making money and Correa may have had a down year last season but neither of those change the reality of how baseball views Correa - he is elite. Now the Twins and their fans hope he has a great series of seasons strung together.

The hype is huge but Jenkins would benefit from a week in MLB camp to see that the road ahead is hard work. He just needs to keep healthy and play.

Law spends a ton of time looking over information and tries to watch a bunch of prospects play. I actually like Law as much as any prospect speculator. It sure seems to me that he was quite familiar with Jenkins, Lee, EmRod, and Raya while seeming lost on both Festa and Gonzalez. Tough to know every prospect in the minor leagues, so if you have seen a guy quite a bit you might have different thoughts than Law. May not be true, but Law may have just put Gonzalez #4 because he didn't have much to refute other's opinions. Who knows? There is always a ton of guessing on prospects down the lists. You can see that among the differences that our experts on Twins Daily show in their lists.

I'm not feeling the love on Twins Daily for David Festa that I have for him. Fangraphs may give Festa a boost because they have a guy or two who like the tall skinny pitcher. Don't know what to think from reading and seeing so many blah forecasts on Festa. I have seen both Raya and Festa pitch on multiple occasions and have Festa as the #3 Twins prospect ahead of Raya. Festa does have some warts. His control, which can be pinpoint, falls off rapidly in some outings and he seems to either tire too easily or lose focus. What do i like? Festa can totally dominate a lineup, including dicing through hyped players from Texas, St. Louis, and Dodger minor league teams. While Raya gets great movement, Festa has more velocity and better control when he is on his game. I guess Festa is still growing into his body and becoming comfortable with pitching. I have wondered whether he was basically just throwing the ball until he became a professional and now is adapting to the mental side of pitching. Hey, maybe he flames out .... or becomes a fixture in the rotation in early 2025. i do think Festa will get some outings for the Twins in 2024, but I don't beleive he is ready right now. I do believe that Varland is far better than any of the other options for a #4 starting pitcher for the Twins in 2024.

Do you think the Twins will trade the player required to bring back a top of the rotation starting pitcher? That player is Royce Lewis.

I cannot think of a single team that would trade a #1-2 starting pitcher for Correa. If the Twins truly felt the need to trade for a top of the rotation pitcher, Royce Lewis would already have been traded. Please propose any deal you think might work. Virtually every team in baseball will have one or two players on their team who make significantly more money than the pile of players earning from minimum to $5 million. Correa is the Twins best player and acknowledged leader. It is actually surprising to hear the glowing comments that grizzled vets like Sonny Gray made about Correa. People need to ignore the money. Players work for far less than their financial worth for an organization until they reach the point where they can determine their own future. At that point, some team has an actuary advise the front office concerning a signing. Mauer had a big contract and despite people liking him better when he played for minimum, the Twins were never once pinched by that deal. Mauer made the team a ton of money. He still makes them money. Correa was Falvey's choice to earn the largest contract now. In a number of years it will be someone else. FWIW, Correa is not the player I most enjoy watching. I just recognize his value to the Twins.

The roster is stronger this year than at the beginning of last year. A fully healthy Correa, Kirilloff, and Buxton makes a difference to the lineup. I'm bullish on the offense. No to adding retreads. Martin is ready to protect both Buxton and Wallner. Hopeful that Castro can play all over and repeat his performance or improve on it from last season. Louie Varland belongs in the rotation as a #4 with Paddack used as a #5 where they can protect him with occasional skipped starts. Staumont and DeSclafani may open the year on the IL, giving Alcala, Winder, or Funderburk a slot. Not a fan of adding a starting pitcher unless it is a guy like Pablo. Falvey was likely unwilling to take a significant risk in the trade market, which may turn out for the best. It would not help the team to add a back end piece to the rotation and may actually lower the expected win total.

Gray was great but he is gone. Maeda was decent but he is gone. Paddack should easily pick up 100-120 innings to cover for Maeda. We hope Lopez repeats his year. Ryan and Ober will be better and get more innings. The key .... ..... is Varland. Have faith.

All prospects, and to some extent all players with less than one full proven year of MLB experience, are less than a sure thing. Where, exactly does the front office draw the line? Where does anyone? Consider that if there are not untouchables (or any such related term), the Twins will discuss trading all of Jenkins, Lee, EmRod, Raya, Festa, Lewis, Julien, Wallner, and Varland among a host of other names of players not established. I believe all of those names were in various conversations. Considering that Jenkins carries a higher rating than Lewis, how does one decide to make a trade? These are the permutations that Falvey and his merry men have gone through all offseason. There is plenty to think about and it seems like the Twins are holding some guys from trades, at least to this point. If fans want a pitcher like George Kirby, then Royce Lewis is going to be the ask. I'm good going with Varland behind Lopez, Ryan, and Ober with Paddack the #5, watching his innings and stress levels coming back from TJ 2.

The big networks have shaved their writers in the last decade due to costs. They are way more in tune with the East Coast. I agree with Fangraphs, although I haven't looked over their standings yet which is strange given that I use that site way too often. I had the Twins at 87 wins before the trade and 85 victories now. Many look down on the AL Central, not me. My thought is that the team will be stronger at the end of the season and well equipped to handle oppenents in the playoffs. The 162 game schedule is a slog and winning the division remains important.

Oh my. Shame on me. Good for you. Thank you. I did that so fast I forgot Kaat. Holy cow, what a miss. Can those who were not able to listen, watch, or go to the games in 1969 or 1970 even imagine those teams? Five HoF players on the same team. It was a crazy good team that unfortunately ran into the pitching of the Baltimore Orioles (who won 109 & 108 games each year) in the first two years of league divisional playoffs.

Couple of random thoughts based on comments. Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis rightfully get major love on Twins Daily; the comments all expect them to be superstars. That would be sweet, but it may be a big load to carry. The Twins were lucky to move up in the draft and then have Miami skip over Brooks Lee at #7 so that the Twins could call his name as the #8 pick. Lee has a bright future. Who knows, he could be ready by April or May this year. It is a good problem to have and players have to earn their way. Julien should improve versus left-handed pitching. I wonder how many lefties Julien faced from the age of 14 to 22 years old? Are there many LH pitchers in Quebec and did he play baseball year around? Julien made massive strides in his fielding and he mentioned in interviews that fielding has only been a focus recently, from him and his coaches. The lateral quickness is there. Julien is athletic, but clearly lacked the repetitions. Whether the Twins trade him or move him to another position, it would be a mistake to use him as a DH. Julien is fine at second base. I'm a little confused by the comments downplaying Carlos Correa, a player with 40.9 WAR thus far in his career. He is still young (29) and played nearly all of last season with plantar fasciitis. Lewis and Lee will have to average more than 6 WAR per season from right now to reach Correa's marks at a similar age. I hope they do. Lee will never have the arm, the accuracy, or the mechanical excellence of Correa in the field. Lee is a really fine shortstop and could make an MLB All Star team as a shortstop, but unless injuries suddenly diminish Correa it would be a mistake to downgrade the position in the near future. Ask a veteran scout about Correa versus Lee as shortstops. You'll get the eye, and scouts like Lee. Lucky for us, we don't have to make any decisions about who gets traded, moved to a new position, or moved aside. Hopefully these guys maintain competitive health throughout the year and we can watch them succeed.

It is actually a little discouraging when the article states that Lorenzen and Syndergaard are the type of pitchers and level of cost that the Twins are seeking. Count me among any who would like the bar to be raised by adding players who are better than what we have. At some point this will have an effect on team morale. Players understand that Corbin Burnes, Jesus Luzardo, and Logan Gilbert types are additions that strengthen a team. Minor league deals with an invite ..... sure. Just don't do anything that restricts starts/innings for all of Ryan, Ober, Varland, and Paddack unless it is an ace addition.

True, but this is the exact same comment made by Marlins fans. No room on either team made this trade a win, win for both teams. Gordon might have had a chance to win a roster spot with a great camp, but Okert had a slimmer shot of making the Marlins roster no matter how he performed being the fourth left-handed reliever in the bullpen. Good trade.

Some people have made comments that were seemingly derogatory about Gordon and seemed surprised to gain a reliever that could stick on the roster. The trade was a classic February/March deal. Each team had a good player who had a very slim chance of making their team's roster, was out of options, and would be DFA if no deal was found. Poof, a deal transpired. Gordon improves the Marlins and Okert improves the Twins.

TJ surgery, expected back potentially in early 2025.

Falvey seems to alternate on his rabbits from year to year. Gray, Mahle, Lopez, DeScalfani ..... next year could be good.

These next few weeks should be interesting. Who is going to offer Montgomery, Bellinger, and Snell a contract. Snell has Cy Young Awards because he can be very good, yet is prone to slumps and pitching fewer innings. The Snell approach: 2 mediocre, CY, 4 mediocre, CY. He is a big gamble. Montgomery had two decent years and now wants to cash in. I hope he gets his money but I prefer Ryan and Ober over Monty and believe in Varland. The money is way off for the Twins. Bellinger would really help the Twins but I can't see even a sliver of a chance that the Twins add his salary to Buxton's for centerfield. It would have made more sense for the Twins to trade for Juan Soto if the team was looking for a one year deal, and that would have cost the team too many player assets. I just don't see any of those guys as a possibility and both pitchers are too risky for the Twins. The Twins are fine with what they have now. They had some options in trades and held the guys they wanted to hold and wound up with what they chose. It would be a surprise, to me, if the Twins pivoted and gave up a pile of prospects at this time for a starting pitcher. Just my take and I don't know anything, so we shall see what transpires in the next couple of months.

It would take a serious injury to get Lee on to the roster, which would weaken the team quite a bit. Lee will play in the majors soon enough.

It seems quite possible that only the catcher position will see more potential injury concerns than last season. Hopefully Camargo fills in adequately if called on. None of Kirilloff, Julien, Correa, Lewis, or Farmer played full injury-free ball and we should expect a ton more at bats for this group as a whole this season. Buxton is always doubtful but he can't be worse off than last year. Kepler missed a pile of games and Wallner was called up later. I believe the offense should be a major improvement for the Twins. While I'm bullish on the starting pitching staff, there may be some concern by a few people. I would leave the top five alone and fill in with DeSclafani, SWR, Festa, and others as needed. The bullpen should be deep. The 2024 team should be better than last year's team but the competition will be stronger which should result in a much tighter AL Central. The media money? I wish everyone had access. If games cannot be watched by a ton of people or streamed, a whole group of people have no way to find an interest in the Twins. This seems like it could be a future problem. So let the Pohlads keep the money from their deal this year but something that pushes the team and MLB to a wide/full audience needs to be found starting next season.