tony&rodney

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If the Twins trade with Tampa Bay there is interest in Jeffers or starting pitchers. That's it. The Rays have twice as many infielders as the Twins. Why would they add another? They wouldn't even ask about Lewis or Julien - that's how stacked they are at 3B/2B.

Brock, you follow the Brewers. Willy Adames has one year before free agency. Polanco is a second baseman and Adames is a shortstop which does not exactly make for a clean comparison. I'm not opposed at all to trading Polanco if the return makes the Twins better in 2024. Still...... Which player do you see as having more value to other teams all things considered?

If the Twins need money that badly, trade everyone (Polanco, Kepler, Vazquez, Farmer) for prospects. Otherwise it is pointless to trade an excellent player like Jorge Polanco for anything less than guys who will make the Twins a better team in 2024. We can splash around every metric and argument available to describe why Polanco is no longer the player he was in 2019 and 2021 and feel it is a good idea to trade him. A mediocre Jeimer Candelario just signed for 3/$45M. Polanco is the best infielder whose name is being discussed in possible trades. He still holds value and unless the Twins are rebuilding or get a strong offer (singular or as part of a larger package of players), just say no. Last offseason Max Kepler was in the news on a regular basis and his funky play into June brought screams of "release him". Well, Max showed up and the Twins do not win the AL Central without him. The Twins kept Kepler because the offers were not worth it and the same logic needs to be applied to Polanco (and Kepler, Farmer, and Vazquez) now.

Toronto is a beautiful city, but I'm not a fan of that park.

Trades totally depend on the pitcher and ask and of course everyone knows that. So, looking at the year, context, and details we should understand that Glasnow is too much money, unless we completely do not take the Twins at their word. Bieber would be a trade in division and he has struggled with injuries the past couple of years. David Festa is the Twins top starting pitcher prospect. The Twins are more likely to trade Brooks Lee or Emmanuel Rodriguez, which I would disagree with unless the return was a George Kirby/ Logan Gilbert deal. For 2024 money is an issue (according to the Twins). Certain players will be difficult to acquire. The Twins need to be judicious about which prospects are available. There are still potential trades to be made, but I'm guessing that these transactions will be more from the position players side than the pitchers. Teams trade from surplus and pitching is dear within the Twins system.

The double plays should go to 14 next season if he returns to an average season.

Twins fans waited a few years for Lewis to arrive. The two ACL setbacks and growing pains in the minor leagues created fairly low expectations for what Lewis could accomplish in 2023. Then Lewis blew through and left a fan base energized by his personality and home runs. Folks have elevated Royce Lewis to a status that often follows a #1-1 MLB draft choice and he is now seen as the star of the team by many. We have now arrived at the point where Lewis needs to perform to expectations.

For all of the reasons you put down, signing Shohei makes sense for the Twins. I'm thinking many of us on Twins Daily have at least considered it. However, as you also say .... it is not happening. I would be shocked if the Twins even contacted Ohtani's agent or had a serious conversation about him internally. The money.

I didn't mean anything remotely negative by my comment. The "There is that" is meant as a reminder for my self and all that the Twins are going to be tight with contracts. The Gibson, Lynn and other deals tells what constitutes a starting point. The Ed. Rodriguez to Arizona reminds us what a free agent #3 guy costs (4/$80M). The guys noted in the post are going to get innings, which is why this post is a good one. Naturally, there is always the chance that the Twins surprise us again, but the reality makes those odds low. A trade can happen and I do expect one. However, I would not bet on that either. I'm very positive about the 2024 team and also taking the reduced budget as a thing.

..... except for the next Chris Archer or Dylan Bundy (both were ok actually) have starting prices of $10+ million and the Twins look pretty close to maxxed out already on salary. There is that.

India had a pretty good rookie season. Polanco is clearly a better player in my opinion but there is no way to know how others view these two side by side. India has three and Polanco two more years of control. For me, it is an easy choice as well.

During the discussions on potential trades in the last month or so, my comments have indicated a firm opposition to all trades that include David Festa. The tall skinny right hander needs experience and refinement, but he already has the pitches. Hopefully Festa finds time during the offseason to gain some strength and coaching to make the subtle changes which propel him into becoming a major league pitcher. I believe he could be a #2/3 starting pitcher as early as 2025 or 2026. Most pitchers suffer growing pains in their first turns/year. I guess we shall see soon enough about all of these pitchers.

Have you read/seen any reports from the last year? I always liked Sanchez, but I have seen three articles that suggested Sanchez may be done as a pitcher. The fastball was 80-86 in his one inning last summer. Sixto is out of options and will almost certainly be released at some point. It might be worth it to sign him to a minor league deal. In the video he looks much heavier than previously and he was always a big dude.

There are good arguments with a slew of statistical data used to support both the original post and the following comments. I don't see Verdugo as being a player with the talent of Kepler in really any way. The cost of players varies so greatly. In mid June, Kepler was being skewered. Now, things look different. Last season Candelario was released by the Tigers. Now, he is worth 3/$45 million plus an option year. I'm not sure why the Red Sox continually put Verdugo in the lineup because he is merely ok without any leanings towards above average. Maybe Boston is scarred from trading Betts. Finally, the Red Sox got rid of him. Kepler shows streaks of excellence but also has had some less than stellar years. He will get a large salary as a free agent, one which leaves his detractors shaking their heads. The Twins would trade Kepler in a heartbeat if an offer that makes sense come across the wire. It won't (or should not) be for a nondescript pile of relief pitchers. In the meantime, Kepler may just repeat his second half performance over a full year in 2024.

If the Twins were going to push a budget of around $160M, which they are not, a guy like Soto would be fun to have ..... except for his defense. Because the Yankees have money, I believe the trade favors the Yanks too. However, it is also true that it is way too early to know how this trade turns out. FWIW, those who like to use BTV would see that this trade would never be accepted under any circumstances as it heavily favors the Padres by 57 to 34. In any event only a couple of teams can roster Soto for one year while giving up a pile of players and the Twins never even lifted an eyebrow in that direction.

Hey, I agree that it is really important to draft, trade for young prospects, and develop pitching (catchers too). The Twins managed to identify three guys to trade for: Lopez, Ryan, and Paddack. They have a few players that they drafted coming along as well: Ober, Festa, and Raya. Woods Richardson has been in the Twins system and should get a shot this year too. The Yankees have money, which is why they can make this trade. I like the guys that San Diego acquired, but was surprised that they were not able to get better talent, even if fewer numbers. The pitchers are not slouches, like I said - I like them. The comparisons are quite loose but fairly proximate: King = Jax, Thorpe = Woods Richardson, Brito = Canterino, Vasquez = Prielipp. The Yankees guys have a little experience from last year, which should be credited to push them ahead of the Twins guys, but they actually are not as highly rated by neutral sites such as Fangraphs, which places a premium on stuff over experience. That is still an impressive haul though. I don't believe it is possible to do a very good job of comparing the former Yankees to pitchers in the Twins system but I just did a read through the prospectus of various guys and their relative FV scores on Fangraphs. This is just for kicks because people might wonder how this compares ..... minimally. Festa and Soto are graded well above all of these guys and Raya slightly better or about the same as Thorpe. Thorpe gets love from MLB Top 100 (99) because of his command and control over stuff. In any event, the money eliminates the Twins from players like Juan Soto. This then goes back to your point of the importance of signing and developing players. The Twins need to get something exciting from their prospects if they are to compete.

Either would be a major down grade from Matt Wallner defensively and Wallner has a ways to go with the glove. Left field at Target field is tough on poor defensive fielders, which allows singles to become doubles. There were plenty of criticisms of Eddie Rosario out there and of Wallner last year. We don't need to go back to Delmon Young and Josh Willingham defense in left field. I love the offense but that is what DH is for in the lineup. There is nothing worse for a pitcher than making a great pitch to an outstanding hitter with runners on base and two out only to watch the outfielder wait for the ball to drop before he picks it up.

Good DH. but not an outfielder.

Soto is quite a bat but few teams can add $38 million to their payroll for only a 26th player/depth OF plus Soto ($33 for Soto & $5 for Grisham). San Diego must have felt they were desperate. The return (when completed) is reputedly a backup catcher, three prospect starting pitchers (FV 45, 40+, 40+) who are more control than stuff, and a good relief pitcher. Only Thorpe (MLB - 99) made any top list. I find it curious that the Padres will not get any top prospects, although Thorpe is a fringe top 100 guy.

Rhys is a good RH bat, but there are a few marks against him that are worth thinking about. Hoskins is not too smooth with a glove but Kirilloff/Miranda are no great shakes either. Hoskins would push aside the two young Twins (AK/JM). Although Hoskins does have power, he does strike out quite a bit. Finally, the contract would be for around $20 million and likely for multiple years as well. I believe we have discussed Hoskins in the past several weeks and his contract would seem to be too rich for the Twins. Signing a guy like Hoskins would be interesting because of the effect to both the budget and Kirilloff/Miranda.

Plenty of good conversation here on a worthy player. I will add to what a few others have stated .... Why would Tampa Bay be looking to trade Paredes? The article said his name was mentioned but i cannot find any links to indicate that the Rays are open to trading Paredes. I don't get it.

.... except when you manage to comment, right? Also, I'm pretty sure that individual thoughts are .... singular. The Twins most certainly identify players that they will see as "Keepers" to use a word different than untouchable.

They are going to drop the prices for beer by 50%.

Baseball is relatively unimportant in the offseason. I must admit here that I only really follow baseball and love all of the hot stove nonsense. Still, how many Twins Daily readers have yet to follow a single game of Vikings, Wolves, Wild, college football, NCAA basketball, etc.? The people who peer into TD are big baseball fans and even most of them manage to spend a fair amount of time with other sports. The wider audience across the country will glance over an article that covers the Juan Soto to Yankees trade with pretty much nonchalance. It's cold outside, even for those of you who walk around outside in shorts and a t-shirt because of the 40 degree weather. Baseball is in the background and that's ok. It means those of us who enjoy the speculation idiocy can think about our teams and goof around with the rosters. Others, who follow baseball and still peruse these sites can cough up their objections to any speculations as they check their fantasy football rosters. It's all good entertainment on these days of early afternoon sundowns, where a gin and tonic can faintly bring back for a brief moment the memory of summer. No significant news from the Winter Meetings in Nashville is still better than most of the news.