tony&rodney

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.

The Dodgers like Kike apparently and didn't think Margot could make their team and were looking for a team to save them a few million. Deal done.

Joaquin Anduhar said something along the lines of "You can sum up the game of baseball in word, 'You Never Know'." While I am excited to see what Lewis, Lee, and Jenkins can do as MLB players, they are just getting their feet wet. Nearly every single team and their fans talks about their superior development programs in their system. Did anyone listen to the Yankee broadcasters today drone on about how much better the Yankees are at identifying and teaching prospects? They even had a few subtle shots at the Twins. When I look around at national publications, there is general agreement that the Twins are the favorite to win the AL Central Division with around 84 victories. So What Now? Ask Anduhar.

Sorry if I made it sound as if Ober was not a really good pitcher. I would not label him an ace though and there is always opportunities to trade for an ace if a team is willing to make a big gamble. I do think Ober is outstanding and base my opinions on exactly that chart which I had looked at recently. Thanks for putting that up for people to see.

Sure, agree. I can't think of any teenagers that the Twins have traded for, but SWR was young and is being developed.

This is a good summary of what the Twins are attempting to accomplish. The talk of development is still a work in progress though with only Ober among the starting five right now as a player drafted and developed by the Twins. I still want Varland, another guy drafted and developed, to be the #4 starting pitcher despite the presence of DeSclafani and the 97% of Twins Daily opposed to Varland. I do believe that if the Twins were to make another gamble trade for a top starting pitcher in the next year there would be an openness to signing that guy to a long term deal.

The little thing that separates Ober from most other pitchers is size; he is big. Taller pitchers take more time, on average, to reach their potential and then are able to sustain their effectiveness for a longer period of time, if they are able to refine those long levers. Ober is a big dude. He can pitch 200 innings as easily as any pitcher in baseball now that he seems to have managed those limbs. Like he said, physically he doesn't get tired or worn out. It has taken a couple of years for Ober to function comfortably with the mental side of the game, but if you watched him pitch physically tired wasn't a part of the equation. One cannot place Bailey Ober at the front of a rotation because he does not possess the type of velocity and stuff to blow hitters away like a Gerrit Cole or even Pablo Lopez. What Ober can do is take the ball every fifth day for an entire season and give the team 5-8 innings of solid pitching. The Twins are unlikely to be locking up middle rotation pitchers to long term high value contracts for now. Bailey will make a ton of money by the time his career is completed.