tony&rodney

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.

Perhaps not a favorable opinion, but the players within the system are as good as any available, except for Blake Snell who is a risky signing for any team. The pitcher to add and fit above or just behind Lopez had to come via trade and that ship has sailed. Adding an expensive free agent of dubious worth at this time will not help the team.

This would actually be true for all of the teams, but the point stands. You might be surprised to know that the 1970 Twins team had four players who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The Twins still have Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Varland, and Paddack as their starting pitchers. DeSclafani will be evaluated for his availability (likely on IL at the beginning of the year) but was never going to slot in the top of either Seattle's or Minnesota's rotations. If you look around baseball sites, read Twins Daily, or just are real aware of the teams throughout the league you know that the Twins were looking and will still look to eventually find a guy to put near the top of the rotation. It hasn't happened yet. DeSclafani will fill the exact same role for the Twins as he would have for the Mariners - depth. The Mariners SP are ranked among the top three in baseball from what I can tell, but it is also noteworthy that the Twins are top 4-7 in all of baseball depending on the source. The Twins are hopeful that Gabriel Gonzalez is useful eventually and that Topa can repeat his rookie year. As far as the two good utility players, Urias and Rojas, they may be much better in the expected platoon. We exchanged too many comments already. The Mariners and Twins should both win around 85 games, more if everything clicks and the players' health holds up reasonably well. Take care and enjoy the season.

Now, if you follow the Mariners you know that is not true at all. The Twins didn't get anything to replace either Gray or Maeda. They already have Varland and Paddack. If you follow Dipoto you should also know that he will go all the way until the start of the season, if necessary, to make a deal. That is why he is called Trader Jerry. If Urias and Rojas were ever in the plans for Seattle, they would not have called Minnesota ceaselessly. You will know the answer if Polanco is the starting second baseman batting in the top four of the lineup. The quotes thus far are that he will bat second or third. Try to find a lineup where Rojas or Urias would bat consistently at the top of a lineup. We have no idea why a deal was done in late January. That is a fact. I will speculate that there was a deadline to reduce salary for Falvey based on comments made by him. We will never know who Dipoto was willing to offer next to find a pathway to improving the Seattle lineup. We do know that their expected wins went up by two games and the Twins fell by one. The Twins will be fine covering for Polanco due to the number of their options. They have also added Carlos Santana with the money saved in the deal. Minnesota also plays in the AL Central. Seattle had options too. They could have waited another year or two while one of their fine young infielders developed. Now, as Dipoto has said, Seattle can compete for a playoff position. Lastly, as a Seattle fan, how can you go against the comments of the PBO, GM, manager, players, bloggers, and writers who all speak of the importance of Polanco for the Mariners getting back to the playoffs.

Okert should help the Twins and a number of people have correctly noted that Gordon was facing a difficult row to gain a 26 person roster spot. It is worth noting that Okert almost certainly had even less of a chance of avoiding being DFAed than Gordon. Miami is delighted to receive Nick. The Twins can certainly use Okert. This trade works for each team because both players are out of options and were redundant due to depth for their now former employer.

Don't think Falvey paid any attention at all about Gordon trying for another $100,000. Gordon was out of options and a long shot to make the team. Okert was in the exact same position in the Marlins franchise. Works for both teams. It is can't hurt and nothing lost trade. Gordon was well liked by everyone. i wish him good luck, health, and prosperity.

Great series Matt - well done. The arguments will never end, best versus greatest and every little detail argued "That was foul" "No, it was fair", just like back on the playground. Part of the disagreement is generational or based on how some players were legendary in some folks' eyes. One example (don't freak out) - Kirby was an electric fan favorite and he hit that big " and we'll see you tomorrow night" home run, but Jimmy Hall was no slouch. In 1965 Hall posted an .810 OPS and 124 OPS+ versus Kirby's .812 OPS and 119 OPS+ in 1991. Hall was a better glove in centerfield and actually ran the bases better than the legend as well. Unfortunately, his career became lost to most after being beaned. Concussions were not a recognized thing with only some war time brain injuries seen as worthy of attention. The 1965 Twins were better at every position save for 2nd and 3rd base, even though Rich Rollins was a phenomenal glove at third. The starters and pitching staff was better in 1965 as well. The 1991 squad was glorious. I really loved watching that team play baseball because everything fell together for a group who had tasted bitterness in the prior year and the fact that the 1991 World Series was so splendid. Still, i would have to slot them behind the 1965, 1970, and 1969 teams in a ranking of the best Twins teams since 1961.

This trade was a natural fit for both teams. The Marlins had three lefties above Okert, who is out of options and they really didn't want to just put him on waivers. Same went for Gordon - LH batters, options, and desire to get something for Nick. A bonus is that now everyone will forget that Gordon was chosen over Nola and Turner, neither of whom can rap worth a crap. Feel a little for Funderburk because he is really good, despite his propensity to make people nervous with a few walks. The bullpen should be solid with ample numbers stored in St. Paul for those convenient IL usages. How are we lined up now? Duran, Stewart, Jax, Thielbar, Jackson, Okert, Topa, and ? In spite of all other arguments, i will suggest that the Twins need Varland as their #4 and Paddack as their #5 starting pitchers. It would not be at all surprising if DeSclafani starts the year on the IL. Plenty of scuttlebutt on TD about adding another RH bat. My thoughts are that Austin Martin would be a really good choice. He can run, field, hit, and fits all over the place. If Buxton is toast and someone needs to come up I have confidence in Prato, Helman, or Kiersey Jr. Spring Training starts this week.

BAM is short for MLB advanced media. Short story (poorly told), MLB had a good idea for streaming and Disney decided they could make money on it. They bought 33% and then another 33% for a ton of moola. The money was distributed to the teams which invested it, spent it, or put it in their pockets. Poof .... and it's gone. Teams need to now adjust their payrolls or cover that money in another fashion. To get an educated idea - read the 10-15 minutes read, because my summary sucks. This has been known information for several years.

What you may be missing is that MLB front office folks are holding all of the cards. There are people who oppose signing Bauer, there are people in favor of signing Bauer. It doesn't matter. The corporate heads hold the power. There is a chance - .0001%, but Bauer is still unsigned by an MLB team.

Who is taking the over at a 2024 payroll to begin the year of $127 million?

You are correct to say that nothing can be ruled out. The odds for Kepler considering another contract is about the same as the Twins signing Snell. It cannot be ruled out. The Twins are banking on some combination of outfielders working out from a list of: Wallner, Castro, EmRod, plus a host of others. 2026 is a long way off in terms of baseball predictions.

Welcome to Twins Daily. I agree with you. I would not agree to sending away Cabrera or Luzardo for quantity. The Marlins may not make any moves. I don't think the Twins are considering any trades that include their top young players or prospects, which includes Lewis, Julien, Wallner, Lee, Festa, Raya, Jenkins, and maybe a few others. An advantage the Twins have is their position in the AL Central and the depth of controllable starters (Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Varland, Paddack). Cabrera at his best fits in behind Pablo Lopez for the Twins. Cabrera as he has been is likely a relief pitcher. He isn't very dependable and is now out of options. Still, the talent is mesmerizing and I am not sure what Miami plans for him. They will continue to listen and want a good return though.

The amount of payroll needed to field a really good team is probably somewhere around $80-120 million. Larger payrolls allow for mistakes and gambles on stars. Most every team will have a player or two on big contracts. It is a mistake to think that those contracts ruin the team. Teams that carry lower payrolls just need to make better decisions on trades, player development, and drafting. When the Twins decided to push the payroll to $150+ million last year (BAM $) it allowed them to carry Joey Gallo. If their budget had been $135 million last season there is no way the Twins even consider signing Gallo. I'm fine with a payroll of $110-130 million. I would like to see a couple of proactive moves more similar to the Lopez-Arraez trade than the Mahle or Polanco deals. Naturally, it would be easier to see the Twins with a payroll about the same as the Cardinals or Rockies (similar markets), but that is well out of a fan's control thus not worth fretting about.

Someone in the organization must have been tasked with media options and negotiations. That somebody effed up. A multi-million dollar screwup seems like it might be serious enough for the powers that be need to make some evaluations and appropriate changes. Sure doesn't read like a .... "oh, we never saw that coming" .... or "nobody could have ever possibly guessed that cable was becoming a diminishing market." When Jordan Balazovic failed to distinguish himself, he was DFA'ed. I'm wondering who gets the pink slip within the organization for this debacle?

I will say it again .... Barry Bonds was easily one of the top ten players in baseball and no team would offer him a contract, even after he publicly stated that he would play for a minimum contract. Corporations work differently than charities. While I have absolutely nothing against Trevor Bauer, why does anyone believe he will receive an MLB contract this year? Every team could use another starting pitcher, yet not a single whisper and every national writer has written that they do not expect Bauer to get a deal. Sad but true.