tony&rodney

Would Seattle be interested in a young third baseman? I agree that Seattle holds the cards. We read other posters and prefer ourselves to hold the best young players and prospects, but any significant trade would need to include one of the Twins "untouchables". If not, then no trade. The Twins, with a reduced payroll, have backed themselves into a corner to some extent. The larger contracts are out of reach and there is not a precedent for signing top starting pitchers. Guys like Hoskins, Gurriel Jr. and Bellinger are pretty much out of reach too. Trading Kepler or Polanco for little return is pointless and by themselves they won't return a top pitcher. While it seemed like a good time to add a Nola, Montgomery, or Snell, that ship has sailed. Perhaps Wacha or Giolito is still possible. Maybe a guy like Bader or Kiermaier is still doable as well. Something will happen, but the current roster will need to carry the load in 2024. Does anyone see a major trade this offseason by the Twins?

Why would Pittsburgh, a team desperate for starting pitching, trade Keller? Also, the Twins need to hold on to their best starting pitching prospects unless the return is a pitcher like George Kirby who still has five years of control. Festa is the Twins best starting pitcher in the Twins system along with Marco Raya.

It is useful to remember that Correa has a no trade contract for big dollars and accept that this is not going to change. We all hope he can meet his best years on a consistent basis in the batter's box. Where Correa stands out is with his regularly strong defense at shortstop. Royce Lewis was never projected as a shortstop and wasn't too hot there coming up. He was even moved to third base in high school. Brooks Lee does everything well but his defense is far from the regular play of Correa. Lee is projected as a third baseman. If you watched Noah Miller and Brooks Lee play, it is no contest as far as defense. Suffice to say that Correa is a Twin for the foreseeable future and a really good shortstop. It is best to forget his contract and just enjoy his glove while hoping for the best from his bat.

Kepler plays good defense and has been pretty much average throughout his career with some peaks and valleys. If Max is a part of a package of players sent out to return a guy who makes the team better, the Twins will trade Kepler. Much like last year, the Twins are not going to give him away. He would be among the top outfielders if he were a free agent this year. There are three factors that will determine whether the Twins offer Kepler a qualifying offer after 2024. First, the state of the media money influences the limits of any budget. Second, the emergence of young players and prospects as solid contributing players (Wallner, Larnach, Castro, Martin, Rodriguez). Third, how does Kepler himself look during the entirety of the 2024 season. I would not be surprised by any of the possible outcomes for Kepler. I don't believe the Twins will be tearing down the roster due to financial concerns. I do think they will be careful about who is added and how much salary is added to the current number.

Likely the best choice of free agent outfielders is left-handed Cody Bellinger. RH power hitting outfielder? The best right-handed outfield bat on the market is Lourdes Gurriel Jr. He would be a slight upgrade offensively from Kepler, perhaps. He is available for about 3/$50 million. I would be ok with that. The Twins wouldn't be so enamored. Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Pham are also free agents. Neither is as good as Max Kepler and cost more to sign. So, wrong year for free agent power hitting outfielders. If Kepler were a free agent he would be the second or third most in demand. The options aren't so great. Perhaps people would like to sign Celestino to replace Kepler. Is that where some folks are with Max?

They get a pick after the first round is complete, but before the second round begins. The order of comp picks will be determined after all signings are done. This could be pick #31 and the pick can be traded as well.

Festa and Raya are a year or two behind what Seattle got from Bryce Miller and Woo this past year. With starting pitching so costly, trading Festa or/and Raya would be crazy unless it was part of a deal that returned George Kirby. I guess we keep our eyes open but don't look at BTV for what the Twins need in return for Festa and Raya. I'm agreeing with you not to trade these guys, especially for Matz. There is no Matz. It's just a glance to see what is out there.

Sanchez was a pitcher that intrigued me. Sadly, when he returned fully healthy last summer the former stuff did not. Sixto topped out at 85 mph with his fastball in 2023. This was the last report I read several weeks ago. Hopefully he can return to full force in the future for his sake. Unfortunately, Sanchez is out of options. He will most likely be released in February or earlier if Miami needs a spot on the 40 person roster. Miami hopes that Cabrera can harness his pitches. Last year did not go well for him. The Marlins will want to see him in Spring Training. He is also out of options and i had hoped the Twins might get him for Larnach and Winder. I would think that Polanco is worth more to the Twins and many other teams than Cabrera.

Matz is hopeful to fill in the back of a rotation. Ober, Paddack, and Varland are better right now. Matz is an interesting gamble if he wasn't going to make more than $2-5M, but he doesn't work with his salary. The Twins would be nuts to trade for Polanco for a relatively insignificant return. Polanco should lead the Twins into 2024 if he isn't part of a major trade that make the team better.

He wasn't at all frustrated by the Twins. I'll keep it short - he loved pitching for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins do not sign free agent pitchers to expensive contracts.

Catching is demanding. Think of it as if a starting pitcher pitched every third day and that is a bad example. The physical demands are cumulative. Catchers are really underrated. Dusty Baker caught a ton of flak for continually using Martin Maldonado over others in past years and over Diaz this past year. Now Houston wants to bring back Maldonado. Do people really believe that Baker was just stubborn and used Maldonado against all other advice and numerical arguments. I'm pretty certain why Baker kept rolling the old guy out there - it was the voices of his coaches and the pitchers. Baker was an outfielder and he most certainly deferred to his pitching coach and the pitchers on who to use behind the plate. Joe Mauer was a terrific defensive catcher, not that much different than Molina. We don't need to split hairs on Molina, Mauer, and Posey. If three outfielders and infielders from 2000-2020 can get into the H of Fame, so can three catchers. Terry Ryan once stated that Joe Mauer would have made the All Star team as a 19 year old if they had moved him off of catcher. The Twins had an incredible run of success, despite not winning playoff games, during Mauer's career. Mauer belongs on the ballot on the first ballot.

You are in charge of a team that needs pitching. Will you trade your best pitcher when you are desperately looking to add to your pitching staff? Would you trade Pablo Lopez for Juan Soto? The Angels and Pirates would have to be incompetent to trade pitching or declare a total rebuild.

Yes, but those picks are worth much less than a guy like Brooks Lee. I do think this is a worthwhile addition to seal a close deal. Teams will primarily be looking for players that can play now. Also, teams that are already seeking to add pitchers are not listening on their guys.

Some of these guys may benefit from a change of scenery. Balazovic is not long for the roster due to his lack of options. I would think that Winder, Headrick, and Woods Richardson have some interest from other teams as depth or change of scenery pitchers.

Don't bet your house on the Twins over the Tigers. Keep it small.

Atlanta was unlikely to go 3/$75M and so St. Louis always seemed like the landing spot for Sonny Gray. Thank you Sonny for the fun. We shall miss him. The price for pitching is really high. Gray could have reached 4/$100M if he was open to every option out there. The Twins don't play in that arena of big contracts for pitchers. At least not to this point in time. As far as finding a replacement via trade, it is the same conversation regarding which top young prospect and current young player on the 26 person roster are you and the Twins willing to trade. Lewis and Lee are almost certainly the first two names that other teams mention.

I hear you. Consider that Kepler has only a year left on his contract, the return from a trade is iffy, the Twins are hurting for outfielders, and that Max has always been, including his worst seasons, pretty much average using OPS+. Put another way - what would you give up if you were trading for Kepler (specific to team and player)? If the Twins can be a better team through some transaction, I'm not opposed to any trades. Max Kepler has been the definition of a solid regular in every year with the Twins. People expected him to be a superstar and never accepted average from him.. His half year of excellence in 2023 was even greeted with suspicion. I'm not sure what folks or you expect. While we can see Emmanuel Rodriguez as a player who could reach or surpass the level put up by Kepler, he isn't likely to be ready yet. I like Wallner quite a bit, but he still has some major holes in his game to fix. This is where the Twins are with Kepler right now. He and Polanco are the most underrated Twins in several decades.

Anyone bemoaning the past would benefit from looking to the present and thinking of how past decisions will influence your ideas that in turn create a difference in the future. Keep your ideas in the present looking forward with knowledge gained from the past as a guide. Nobody can reverse what already happened. The manner in which Twins fans complained about Joe Mauer still shows up in comments on national articles, painting Twins fans as dimwitted and bereft of baseball knowledge. This just surfaced recently when all of the articles came out on the Hall of Fame voting this year, a ballot that includes Joe Mauer. Don't be that person.

No surprise at all on 3/$75M. Sonny could have reached $100 million total if he had been open to all teams across the entire country. The price for starting pitching is high. No way should the Twins even consider trading guys like Festa or Raya in this marketplace.

Last season I called for playing time early and often for Julien and Wallner. They were quite raw and the gnashing and gnawing of teeth early on was opposed to these two. My only point here is that I like to see a few rookies get playing time sometimes, but also understand there will be ugly growing pains. Correa, Solano, Kepler, Taylor, Castro, and Farmer were the only Twins to appear in 120 or more games last season. Veterans are almost always a key part of a winning team. Solano and Taylor are now gone. It is quite a gamble/stretch to believe that Wallner, Larnach, or Gordon will easily surpass much less equal the play of Kepler as a corner outfielder. Can it happen? Yes, of course. The team budget is unknown but stated as being more in line with income or fancy words to that effect. We just saw Kenta Maeda sign for roughly 2/$24 million. There is about $120 million already accounted for and it seems like $130 million is close to a ceiling or even high. This is important because it means that adding guys for $15-30 per year on multi-year deals is unlikely. Trading Vazquez may happen but it would be very surprising if it cleared up any more than $5 million. Kepler going creates a hole that is going to be tough to fill. Who is available at that price? The Twins seem to be in a bit of a pickle as far as adding players. Guys like Hoskins, Turner, and Gurriel Jr. will be costly. Giolito may command up to $20 million. Falvey is scrounging the rosters for ideas where the Twins can exchange low cost players from their roster for players who fill a niche for Minnesota. Maybe, just maybe Miami would be a partner for some of our younger guys who need an opportunity, but Miami won't add much salary. Most everyone doubts that Falvey will swing big using the best of our young players and prospects. The July trading deadline may bring a future chance to bolster the roster. We shall see. Few teams across baseball will listen to bulk or veterans additions in return for good pitchers when their own teams suffer a scarcity of arms. Thus, teams like PIT, LAA, CIN, and others are unlikely trading partners. Somehow it seems like deals will be with guys like Larnach, Sands, and Winder. The hot stove is cold now. Hey, next week all of the big heads get together for cocktails and who knows what?

Please explain how anyone can undo the past. We might as well bemoan coming in second in an attempt to sign Juan Soto or re-examine why the Twins drafted (? - Gibson) instead of Mike Trout and on and on. There are always options to move forward.

I don't think anyone should dispute your point, although there have been some weak offers put forth. Remember that the Twins traded a batting champion just last year. The question is whether the Twins feel another trade of that magnitude is worth the risk. Pitchers are always one injury away from disaster, much more often than position players. Is Lewis off the table?

You missed the main point. While many people, including myself, have hoped the Twins might sign a top free agent this has never happened. FWIW, rocket science is just higher level math and physics; not that hard.

That price tag is fairly well set at $25 million per year or up to $43 million per year on a short term contract. Savings of $10 million from trading Max Kepler would not be enough to sign a #4/5 guy hoping for a rebound. What is your basis for your thinking to add "an Ace type pitcher?" I mean, many of us on Twins Daily like the idea, but there is not a single precedent of the Twins signing a top free agent pitcher.

Im not understanding why a team that is not rebuilding and desperately needs starting pitchers would trade one of their best starting pitching guys? Maybe if the Twins offered Lewis and Jenkins, which would be even more difficult to understand.