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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Two players I am excited to watch next season are Brandon Winokur and Charlee Soto. Winokur needs to make more contact and hit for a better average while drawing a few more walks. Soto needs innings where he throws all of his pitches and throws strikes.
  2. tony&rodney
    What ideas do you have? I'm really curious to see the guesses thrown around. Very few people actually make guesstimates for trades. We all know we are just goofing around but I wonder what you think.
  3. tony&rodney
    Sorry, I was too abrupt. Jett is the player all Mets fans and East Coast writers are hoping meets the Twins wishes. He can run and hit at AA. My argument against him is he strikes out a ton, has an average arm, and is not above average defensively. Both Benge and Williams had a little struggle in AAA, but I prefer Benge. I prefer Tong to either of those guys. Prefer Clark over any Mets. I agree that getting the talent will be very difficult. However, there are guys getting big bucks to do their jobs and I just want them to get it right. When i looked back, I sounded crappy. Sorry. I'm a little worried the Twins trade for good instead of great. Will try to be polite.
  4. tony&rodney
    Your point is absolutely correct that not all the best players work out. Stuff happens. You will remember that Eisenreich had severe Tourette's and after 3 years of trying to work through it with the Twins he was out of baseball for two years (he played some softball and a little Town Ball). Thereafter Eisenreich went on to have over 4,000 plate appearances and finished with 15 years of MLB service time. Baseball is hard and getting the right guys is tough too. I'm hoping the Twins get it right.
  5. tony&rodney
    Let's not drag dear Uncle Calvin into this morass. Calvin had some of the highest paid teams in baseball but free agency (which was long past due) killed his cow. Calvin always ran on thin margins and supported quite a few family members. He was never a rich man in terms of lifestyle or personal wealth. Many of us live a far richer lifestyle than Calvin ever did. He held his money tight and was not prone to extravagance. All he really wanted to do was watch baseball. From batboy to owner, Calvin was the last pure baseball owner in baseball. Finances and corporations ate him alive. He was given verbal promises of some employment for his relatives, but when the ink dried his kin were shown the door. Verbal contracts were not corporate and neither was Calvin.
  6. tony&rodney
    Yes, but the Twins only need 1 of those guys. Question is - who wants to win more? It probably comes down to Detroit, New York Mets, Philadelphia, and Seattle, in that order. One can never count the Dodgers out. I don't care for De Paula. You are correct that it may come down to a couple of 50 players. Not all 50 types are the same. Carson Benge is down the list but he has looked better and better as he moves up the line. Just an example, not promoting him. The Mets will push for a Ryan, Buxton deal. If Buxton must be traded, there is value in a Tong, Benge deal. Detroit and Seattle are my preferred trading partners.
  7. tony&rodney
    Jett Williams is a firm no for any of Ryan, Buxton, or Lopez. The Mets have Tong, Benge, maybe Sproat, and Clifford as a throw in. The Twins have collected more than enough of the other types of players. These kids can all play but there is a difference at the top, which is why McLean may be out of reach. The Twins can demand players. Fangraphs is a very good baseball site but their word is not gospel. They have a dozen guys ranked ahead of Walker Jenkins that are deeper down in the minor leagues and possess warts like lack of speed and less than acceptable defense. An example - Ethan Holliday may be a superstar some day but he has not shown it yet, though he did ok at A ball for a young pup. He has work to do, for sure. I like him but just use him as an example of the less than perfect ratings. Nothing wrong with speculation but there are numerous sites and quite a few differences among them. Take many of the rankings with some skepticism, especially from large market teams where the hype is huge. We have been able to watch many of these players numerous times since milb.com began video of minor league games. If you saw a guy a couple of dozen times you can draw your own conclusion, especially if you have a deep background in baseball. Bottom line is the Twins have to get it right or just hold on to the players until their price is met. I would be surprised if teams are not falling over themsleves trying to steal Joe Ryan with his $5.8M estimated arb contract. If a team doesn't pay the price let them miss the playoffs with their bargains.
  8. tony&rodney
    Maybe. I was trying a comment on the optimistic side. I'm still hopeful that there are teams who feel acquiring one or more of the Twins top guys will push them forward quite a bit and that those teams then offer up true talent.
  9. tony&rodney
    The Twins must extract those top players even if they must add a player or two. We know the Mets, Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays are going all in as much as they are able to this offseason. I expect Detroit and Seattle to go hard to field their best team as well. There are other teams that will want to discuss with the Twins too. If the Twins cannot get those top guys they should hold them. Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait were ok acquisitions but the Twins need much better for any of Buxton, Lopez, or Ryan, especially Ryan.
  10. tony&rodney
    The best trade is the one that returns the player with the most talent. The Dodgers are not a good team to trade with in my opinion because the players down in their system (AA or below) are always famously overrated. There are a ton of options out there. Certainly the Mets and Phillies will be all over Buxton. I'm not too keen on the Phillies after Andrew Painter. Maybe Miller. The Mets players of interest are Tong, Benge, and maybe Sproat with Clifford as a throw in. Nobody else should be considered. The Mariners have a pile of guys worth discussing and would put Buxton in the corner outfield. I hope the Twins focus on top talent and consider all teams.
  11. tony&rodney
    Tough to fire the owners and Falvey is tied to the Pohlads. I get it, but it is out of any fan's control. At some point the front office has to know the difference between utility players and talent.
  12. tony&rodney
    If the Twins spent $130M they might reach 81-83 wins. The roster is unbalanced with too many DH types and not enough bats, not to mention an empty bullpen. Perhaps the bullpen if ok with 2 additions and some young bucks but trades need to occur on the roster side. The Twins need to be intentional and firm in transactions that involve any or all of Buxton, Ryan, and Lopez. These are players who slot into rotations as #1/#2 starting pitchers and Buxton has clear talent. There are teams who want to win next year and they have top prospects that are not slated as clear starters. These prospects aren't expendable types but they are should be available or a team could lose out to a prime competitor.
  13. tony&rodney
    Yes, I believe that could work. It won't work for Samuel Basallo because Baltimore has signed him to a long term contract (8/$67M plus option year), thus he is a long term player for the Orioles. It's not that easy to get these top young prospects signed long term. My proposal, which admittedly can be totally rejected, is that Minnesota offer Ryan, Alan Roden, and Charlee Soto to Detroit for Max Clark. Another overpay (perhaps) that seems worth a gamble is to offer Bailey Ober, Kyle DeBarge, and Billy Amick to Arizona for Jordan Lawler. Speaking of Leo De Vries, offer the Athletics Zebby Matthews and Brooks Lee for him. Clearly there are opportunities and all trades involving prospects are gambles to some extent. The Twins need to collect as much big time talent as possible. I do think the Mets would be willing to talk about their top prospects in regards to Buxton, Ryan, and Lopez. They will not discuss Alvarez and may not/unlikely discuss McLean. The Twins should only consider guys like Tong, Benge, and maybe Sproat with Clifford as a throw in. In any event, there should be discussions.
  14. tony&rodney
    Plenty of people on Twins Daily are less than optimistic about Emmanuel Rodriguez. Why pick out these charts. You could do the same exact thing with Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, or The Big Dumper. I have watched dozens of Rodriguez's plate appearances. Some are awful and others are magical. ER has displayed an unusual ability to get on base at every level. His story as an MLB player hasn't even started. If you think Emmanuel is not a strong prospect, suggest a few trade opportunities. The Twins might benefit from trading a highly rated prospect to fill a need. Kansas City needs outfielders and so does Pittsburgh. Is there something that benefits both teams?
  15. tony&rodney
    I'm pretty bullish on a number of Twins, particularly a couple of prospects and their pitching. I'm also adamant that the defense must be at least elevated enough to be slightly below average. Some moves need to be made. Things can always get worse but they won't. I really like the Twins dugout/coaching staff. I actually believe they will make a difference. Rolling out the current roster is not what I want to see in 2026. I'm still hopeful for change. The entire uproar and forthcoming decisions on the Twins current stars needs to be resolved as a win. This can occur through trades or by keeping them and trading enough others in combination with a few key free agent pickups. As is usual the budget is a big deal. We just don't know and below $90M is a tough playground. It could be $120M though, which allows for a few additions. As far as the bet goes, I have stated on numerous occasions going back months that some games in April could be lost, but zero games will be lost in May. My guess is the next CBA is completed by the end of January in 2027. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile bet, I'll take it.
  16. tony&rodney
    Received plenty of heat for my original reply. I was merely suggesting that teams cannot verbalize "working" / aka "tanking" to gain a higher draft choice. That's not very controversial. Plenty of teams have gone through rebuilds and given their reasons. They can't say we want a better draft choice. Or are people trying to tell me that teams can announce or state they are tanking to get a better draft choice?
  17. tony&rodney
    Walcott ia guy that Twins fans saw a fair amount of last summer when Frisco played Wichita. Sebastian is a physical marvel with quick hands and prodigious power. He won't stick at shortstop and is almost certainly being ticketed for right field. If the Twins could pull off a trade for Walcott that would be sweet. I don't think Walcott should be the first, much less only, player targeted by the Twins. I also don't see the Rangers listening on him. Lastly, Walcott is a couple of years away, which should not be a big deal but it might factor into discussions. Hard not to like Sebastian though. My preference is for more speed and defense with the power and average.
  18. tony&rodney
    There is value in guys like Gonzalez, Roup, and Crawford just as there is in Password, Arias, and others from the Red Sox and in every organization. To me there is a shot at getting a top ten guy instead. The Mets and Tigers are playoff type teams. They might be willing to trade a top prospect. I'm not sure the Twins will get a throw in in some cases. They might need to push, by adding, if they want a player. Rebuilds are tricky. While there are seldom more than a couple of trades completed in one year, the opportunity exists for more transactions. I wish the Twins would cast a wide net with the goal of pulling in top talent. It seems inevitable that Ryan and Buxton are traded, maybe Jeffers too. Lopez should be retained if the return isn't commensurate with his worth. An idea that I had was to float a transaction with West Sacramento, offering Brooks Lee and Zebby Matthews for Leodalis De Vries. When the Twins stood still after the 2023 season, I felt they missed their opportunity. Part of it was due to ownership but only part. All of Larnach, Wallner, Julien, and Lewis had high value amongst others and there were prospects as well to push out for a good return. That 2023 team was flawed. Now the team needs to make moves and we have no idea if they will. I think the time has arrived.
  19. tony&rodney
    Merely object to using "tanking", which can be taken as not making an effort to win, as a specific no-no. I would like to think the idea was to rearrange the roster in a fashion better suited to future play, which was the stated terms prevalent in other teams' rebuilds. The July deadline trades shouldn't be looked at for a couple of years. Didn't mean to offend with my comment.
  20. tony&rodney
    Agree, which should be apparent from my previous suggested targets/trades. With no disrespect meant to any of the following, the Twins do not need any more Taits, Rodens, Abels, etc. Get the top guys are hold. As I showed from my previous comment I'm also willing to add a player or two to balance out years of control and push through a trade for top talent.
  21. tony&rodney
    The CBA does not factor into any trade or roster decisions. There may be a lockout or not. The odds games are lost in May of 2027 are very low, about 3%. There are billions of dollars at stake and all losses will be to ownership with fan disgust causing residual financial issues, for ownership. Are you voting to lose money? Neither are the owners. The potential loss of Buxton and others is a short term emotional problem unless the Twins totally bungle the transactions. In my opinion the July purge of the bullpen was a panic move with less than optimal preparation put into the negotiations. The Twins have had four months to prepare for current discussions. Teams will be prepared to acquire Byron Buxton. He may not have the value of a Joe Ryan or Walker Jenkins. I don't envision Buck bringing back a top ten global prospect. He can return someone from beyond those top guys. BBTV may believe that Buxton and Ober have similar values but it seems probable that the Mets, Phillies, and others see them far differently. I have zero idea what the teams are willing to trade for Buxton, but (sticking with the Mets) I would guess that a Buxton for Carson Benge is possible. The Mets might be persuaded to add Ryan Clifford if several other teams are involved.
  22. tony&rodney
    You put together a good argument fully dependent on if and supported by I think. I also think that the trades were good if every player develops into a regular above average player or a star. Your mention of tanking is interesting. If it were proven and the ownership supported the front office in this plan, we won't have to worry about either the Pohlads or Falvey and those also in the know in the front office. MLB will force a sale and ban all involved from baseball. Wouldn't that be sweet? I think that the Twins fortunes would improve if that were to occur.
  23. tony&rodney
    That would be the real beginning of a rebuild and a return to competitive baseball.
  24. tony&rodney
    What was the goal? Money? Talent? Duran, Jax, Varland, and Coulombe are all relievers that fit comfortably on any playoff team. Coulombe was on an expiring contract. The return was 1 solid prospect (Tait) with questions about his defensive skills, a couple of good arms (Bradley, Abel) that the Twins think they can straighten out. The remainder were players with some talent (Rojas, Roden) or players who may or may not ever make an MLB roster. Correa traded left the Twins with more money but without a shortstop. I'm not sure the Twins acquired anyone of note otherwise. The strategy seemed to focus on quantity over quality. The 3 best relievers are gone as well as the shortstop. The biggest gain was the money saved from Correa's contract ($20M a year). I'm not sure that helps the team. To be fair it is necessary to wait several years before any real determination is made.
  25. tony&rodney
    The Twins need to get any trades of Ryan, Lopez, or Buxton right. The goal is not to load up the farm system with AAAA players. One can read numerous suggested trades from East Coast bloggers and even national writers where the Twins receive a pile of utility players for Ryan. When I or anyone else makes a suggested trade we lack the knowledge of how other teams value players. My goal would be to pry away a top prospect. Ryan will only make about $15M the next 2 years, affordable for all. 1. Ryan, Roden, Soto for Max Clark. The Tigers would benefit big but lose a prime prospect. The Twins take a gamble that the guy works. 2. Ryan, Roden, Soto for Tyler Soderstrom or Leodalis De Vries. The Athletics are unlikely to make big trades but these guys both can play. 3. The Mets will push for Ryan. I'm not sure they part with Nolan McLean. McLean and Carson Benge is the best try, but Benge, Jonah Tong, and Ryan Clifford is possible. Seattle is worth (risk?) a call (Ford, Anderson, Cijntje). The Twins need to extract value if they trade big names. They should shoot high and make offers that may be overpays if they can get the right player(s).
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