tony&rodney

The refrain of "needing" a RH power bat is somewhat confusing to me. If power-hitting players are a focus, what difference is handedness? Last year the Twins received more home runs from right-handed hitters than they did from left-handed hitters. Seeking out the power of semi washed-up vets doesn't sound like a plan to win or create excitement worthy of drawing fans to Target Field. The addition of more DH types who run at a jog just doesn't seem like it will provide more runs. There are some players who should receive consistent plate appearances next season that have the talent to increase the run totals for the team. Maybe run production needs to be a focus. The ownership questions are hazy as are the plans for adding a closer or trading one of the top three Twins. First base could be solved through a trade if the front office would take some chances.

I was hopeful too. I put out 3 GM Tool teams. I traded for Harry Ford in each one with three different ideas. I had a different one to acquire Ford last July too. Hey, he might be a flop but I liked the athleticism, speed, quickness, patience and good eye at the plate, and his ability to hit. Watched him a few times and he looked good. Seattle wanted to see if he could fit as an outfielder but he doesn't hit for much power now and was projecting more as a catcher than an outfielder. Now it is time to hope for some other moves. Hard not to question the front office these days or last several years. Keep on hoping.

Jenkins faced good pitchers. He is ready. Nothing more to discuss on him. You didn't answer about Joe. Ok, Matt Wallner. Did he get platooned in the minor leagues? Why the lack of patience now? Mays was really bad for quite a stretch. The team believed in him similar to how SDP and MIL saw their guys. Julien has been a whipping boy. I wrote that the Twins should trade Julien after 2023. I don't think Eddie benefitted with the way he was handled. He needs a fresh look from another team. It is almost impossible to predict how things go the next time around. Again, we can use examples. One - Brent Rooker, who was basically trashed as much as Julien. Two - Carson McCusker, who was tearing AAA apart and then sat on the bench for two solid weeks, getting six trips to the dish mostly against closers. There is no way to know if Carson would have done well if he was stuck in the lineup for two weeks and 40+ PA. He was sent down and never really recovered. I watched a ton of Saints games and although he still hit a few home runs McCusker never did recover his batting stroke. He needs a fresh look and may be out of baseball soon. We don't know. We do know he never had a shot. All of Wallner, Julien, Rooker, and McCusker are not really my preferred type of baseball player because they are basically DH's, but that doesn't change that they have been treated in a fashion not conducive for reaching success. For the record, I would have given Julien a longer run. There is a time to pull the plug, granted, just as pulling the plug too soon is not beneficial. There many examples of that too, but I think you get the drift.

Rock and hard place.

So, like many, I hope the Twins keep Buxton, Lopez, and Ryan because they are really good baseball players. However, I don't believe anything the front office says is news until they actually say something specific and don't simply repeat exactly what they said the last several years. So I wait hopefully.

Walker Jenkins turns 21 in February. He should be given every chance to win a starting outfield position.

One thing is certain - we don't know. My guess is that Harry Ford is too fast and athletic for a catcher in someone's view. Is that even possible. Did the Twins ever target Ford? Kody Funderburk or Connor Prielipp, or others were a reasonable exchange. Do Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden, both fine prospects, outweigh Harry Ford. It seems like the Twins are too reactive as opposed to going forth and asking everyone questions/ being proactive. Then again, I'm just a little frustrated by the Twins lackadaisical approach. I stated above that I crossed Harry Ford off the list of players to acquire once the Twins traded for Alex Jackson. He is more the Twins type of guy and I hope he is very successful in a Twins uniform. There are still names to ask about: Tre' Morgan, Jordan Lawler, Leodalis De Vries, Edward Cabrera, and more. I'm sure many people on Twins Daily have some names to throw out. A deal like the WAS-SEA trade just seems like another missed opportunity but not everything falls our way. Just a couple though?

I'm not sure how much Wallner or others currently on the Twins 40 roster were hurt by the way they were used or passed by with vets like Manuel Margot. Patience was not something shown to the inexperienced players. This is as simple as looking at who was getting plate appearances. Jenkins didn't hit in AAA? Clearly you are just looking at statistics. After a slow first week, Jenkins hit .296 in September with a .830 OPS. Much more importantly was that Jenkins hit the ball very hard. I have to ask in fairness how many times did you watch Walker Jenkins play? I would say I saw half of his at bats. He is really good. Emmanuel Rodriguez was injured quite a bit. Injuries are a part of the game. From May to the end of the season EmRod hit .287 with a .460 OBP. that's not bad in AAA for guy missing so much time he was rusty at times. Rodriguez has real talent. Again, how many times have you watched Emmanuel play? Young players are more apt to suffer slumps and bad habits in addition to questioning their abilities when they get benched after failures. That is pretty much shown over time. Now I will grant anyone that not every young prospect has the requisite skills to succeed at the MLB level, but that is where management needs to identify talent. Two recent examples of management sticking with talent are Jackson Chourio (MIL) and Jackson Merrill (SDP). Both went through bad slumps and their teams/management stuck with them. If you want examples from a half century ago, look up Willie Mays, who wanted to quit and go home because he couldn't hit. Management told him, you are our centerfielder, just play. So yes it is difficult to decide how many days a player gets. In some cases it is 4-6 weeks or more of hitting below .100. Closer to home, the Twins have stuck by Royce Lewis and are still waiting for him to produce. He has talent. A much more contentious player who wasn't even given a month to fail was Edouard Julien. I'll let someone from the Twins management explain that one. Naturally, everyone has an opinion but it is at the very least interesting that teams expecting to win playoff slots (MIL and SDP) can stick by their guys for months until they come around while other teams tap out pretty quickly. Here is a thought. Joe Mauer is in the Hall of Fame. He hit .182 and .225 versus LH pitchers in his first two years in MLB. Would the current Twins management have platooned Joe Mauer. He wound up as a .290 batter for his career versus LH pitchers. Some things take patience. I would have much more confidence in the decisions if I knew that the dugout manager and coaches were solely responsible for playing time. You will have to ask Joe Madden about that.

Boras would gladly have Jeffers sign a market level extension right now. Ryan Jeffers is in complete control of Boras concerning his own future. I can see Jeffers being very excited to be the primary catcher next season because he will have a chance to greatly enhance his value going into free agency. Thus Jeffers will want to wait far more than Boras. I do not have a good handle on what team or worth Jeffers has for any team. My guess is Jeffers is with the Twins in 2026. Nothing would surprise me though with this front office. I agree the odds are stacked against the Twins.

Way over

Does this mean you think the Twins current roster is of championship quality? Are you opposed to making changes or trading any of the Twins players? What does your 2026 Twins team look like? I'm curious about how different people put together a roster.

I took Harry Ford off a list of guys the Twins should seek after Falvey managed to trade for the former BA HS POY, Alex Jackson. We knew then that Ford was a not the type of player that might appeal to the Twins. Good trade for both teams. Seattle is a player or two away from being the AL favorite next season. I would say they currently are tied with Toronto and New York.

The San Diego Padres gave out some rich long term contracts in recent years, which isn't something the Twins will emulate at this time. However, Preller also completed a number of trades to improve the team as well and this is something the Twins can do. Twins fans (me too) succumb to overrating the guys on our team consistently. It is easy to go through the roster and say if Jeffers, Clemens, Keaschall, Lewis, Lee, Martin, Roden, Wallner, and Larnach all improve ..... If Buxton remains healthy and sets a new personal record for games played ...... If the young prospects like Jenkins, Rodriguez, Culpepper, and Gonzalez can make a smooth transition to MLB ...... That seems like too many ifs but it is, apparently, the plan. The Twins were very fortunate in regards to games missed due to injuries last season as compared to the other teams in their division. The team is not fleet of foot, struggles defensively, and has problems hitting. Those factors seem to indicate some changes need to be considered and pursued. Generic comments are pretty common and we have seen Falvey repeat himself, nearly word for word, most offseasons. During the seasons he proclaims confidence in the talents of all the players and staff and suggests the performances on the field will shortly see improvement. Reflection is looking like something just to get the hair perfect. The Twins do not necessarily need a teardown but they need to be in contact with pretty much every team with thoughts of completing transactions which are mutually beneficial to both clubs. Waiting for calls works when Miami is intent on acquiring a batting title winner or Tampa Bay wants a DH for the stretch run and those deals were important; the calls were answered. The front office also needs to reach out to every team in hopes of finding something that works. Baseball clubs are a bit of a puzzle and a team needs to find the pieces that fit. A team really should not carry more than one DH and it is important to have strong defenders at half the positions on the field. The current core of the Twins consists of Byron Buxton among position players and Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan among the pitchers. That's a good start. Now let's add to that solid core.

Like your enthusiasm but without some significant changes 75 wins looks like a ceiling. I'm not a fan of gambling but it seems like Vegas always wins. They currently have the Twins at 71.5 wins. I want to believe you are correct but I watched the Twins last season and despite having far fewer injuries than any other team in their division (less than half as many as Detroit), the Twins won 70 games. I seem to remember a long winning streak in there as well. I don't think I have suggested blowing up the team but a minimum of 4-7 moves are needed. I'm not down on the Twins but I want change. I watch a ton of baseball and the product last year was the worst in baseball. I actually thought the Twins were more fun to watch after Baldelli was given word he would not return in mid August than they were earlier in the season.

I want to have the confidence that you do in the Twins front office, I really do, but I watched them the last nine years.

I'm not going to disparage any of those players. You do realize they would be on 40 not 26 roster? I'm not opposed to a ton of adding and cutting. The comment from peerless one was we want to add not cut. When they added Alex Jackson, it pushed Pereda off of competing for a 26 slot. Adding Eric Orze just filled an open rp slot. Any player added that does not have options goes to the 26 roster. Who is being added that goes on the 26 and who gets cut. Or are the Twins just adding minor league invite players that do not need a roster spot at all? Can't add to the 26 without cutting. I just am curious. I can agree that half the 40 could be moved if the Twins wanted to get wild and crazy. Will they?

Do you believe the Twins can win 82 games? Or is Vegas right?

Gary Sanchez is still available.

Fangraphs has always loved the Twins. When they put up their numbers, we can see what a positive view of the roster looks like. FWIW, you forgot Emmanuel Rodriguez at 6.0 WAR. You cut Matt Wallner?

There were people who wondered why the Twins used the above relief pitchers. It is impossible (for me) to know who will actually be in the bullpen in April of 2026. Of course i have tried to guess. That said, if one looks at the struggles of a number of relief pitchers within the Twins minor league system it is at least minimally possible that the list of guys above are equal to the fellows throwing next April and May. I sure hope not and will expect better but I find it difficult to sort out a plan at this time. A few people have written that we need to listen to what Falvey says. I try to keep hoping for something better and have not had my hopes met for the last several offseasons. But i keep hoping. Falvey keeps saying the team is talented enough right now. And so it goes.

How does a team add to a full roster without cutting?

If the Twins must play on a budget below $100M, they will need to trust a few of their prospects. The bigger move would be to acquire players, which requires some trades. An unknown is how intransigent the Twins or other front offices are on moving certain players. How highly do the Twins value good players like Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, a prospect like Emmanuel Rodriguez, or their flock of young pitchers? The list of ideas seems nearly endless and perhaps futile to even suggest. My thoughts are that the Twins need to make an attempt to change the makeup of the roster. I don't dislike or feel particularly down on any individual player but the roster is unbalanced and needs adjustments. The next question is whether any team sees value in the Twins players to their benefit, which could result in transactions. A few off the cuff examples ..... Sacramento would like young pitchers and someone to play 2B/3B. Does a Lee or Lewis plus a pitcher (one of Festa, Matthews, Morris, SWR, Prielipp, Abel, Bradley), and Marek Houston return Leodalis De Vries? Would TBR or MN consider a Emmanuel Rodriguez for Tre' Morgan deal? Is Jordan Lawler available for something along the lines of Bailey Ober or Taj Bradley plus Kyle DeBarge? How risk adverse are the Twins and other organizations? It doesn't seem necessary right now to send any or all of Ryan, Lopez, Buxton away in trades. It does seem necessary to make some changes. The scariest part of the offseason thus far is whenever Falvey states, for the umteenth time, that he likes the Twins team and the roster is very talented and can compete with anyone. This has turned into an annual meme. There are options. I'm hopeful that mutually beneficial trades are completed that balance the Twins roster.

There are two or three big questions that are not addressed. 1. What team or teams will be willing to add Jeffers, a guy with one year to go before free agency? 2. Who will the Twins acquire to fill the full time catching position? 3. What is Jeffers' value in a trade? Ryan Jeffers might be difficult to trade due to those three issues. At some point the Twins need to trade for a catcher who can play behind Jeffers this year. Tait, if he develops quickly, could be an option by 2028. Jackson was signed to back up a guy with the starter catching 110-120 games. Rock and a hard place at catcher.

The Twins were by far the healthiest team in the AL Central last season with Detroit players missing more than double the number of days than the Twins. We cannot know how the rosters will line up in April of 2026, but Detroit and Kansas City are expected to add talent. MN, CLE, and the White Sox are up in the air at this time. If one lines up the rosters right now, the Twins are battling the Chicago team for the bottom of the ALC. It is true that no current ALC roster is seen as running away from the others in the division but unless changes are made it is difficult to ignore last season's results.

And yet a fair number of people believe the AL Central is within reach with this current roster. I will continue to hope for change.