tony&rodney

Minor league deal for Juan Yepez couldn't hurt. The rest ..... no.

Link: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/phillies-reportedly-sign-aaron-nola-to-seven-year-deal.html

Via mkbtraderumors.com Aaron Nola is off the board at $172 million. Several folks had wanted Nola. Does anyone believe the Twins would be in on a pitcher for $172 million? View full rumor

Wow. That would sure be amazing to see Royce Lewis become a player like those two. It would immediately vault him as the third greatest player in franchise history behind Walter Johnson and Harmon Killebrew. That would be fun.

This is a nice list of names. Only Ryan and Lopez have proven themselves beyond a year. Both pitchers look like guys to plug and play. I agree that the Twins are high on Jenkins, Lewis, and Lee. These guys are just getting their feet wet (Lewis) or yet to reach MLB. We can be really pumped to see them as Twins but the time will tell us of their value. What is impossible to know is whether another team values these guys at a high level and makes an offer that is too good to turn down. We just can't know that now. It seemed crazy (to many) to trade a young controllable batting champ last offseason, but the Twins were not going to move forward without pitching. To me, the unknown is how Falvey and gaggle value the Twins players and what other teams see within the Twins system worth a phone call or text.

This is true, the crunch of time is real. For years I worked, coached, played, and had my own family. Life was crazy. I fit following baseball into a 11pm time slot for an hour at most. I took the kids to minor league games and that sort of thing. Time flies. Retirement does open the gates of indulgence, for sure. I can slip off to watch games live or follow via the internet. Twins Daily has been a solid site for fans. The one thing I try to accomplish is attempt to help folks to understand how difficult it is to play baseball and rise to the top. The work ethic is outstanding. Development takes time. Talent isn't just physical. My view of Rosario is of a guy who has made incremental adjustments and had steady growth. His abilities to maintain at AA and AAA will be watched. The Arizona Fall League was a stretch for him, yet he stayed above water. Too early to make any judgments on Rosario. He does not possess those freakish skills of the young prospects who may become superstars. Few do. The only two players who I have seen a number of times who I feel have a chance to make a leap are Emmanuel Rodriguez and David Festa. E-Rod has a long way to go with the mental part of the game and 2024 will be big for him. Likewise, Festa can be unhittable and then just groove a few pitches or fall into poor sequencing. He is learning and just because he played college doesn't mean that he should be more advanced. His body is just catching up as well. 6'-6" and 185 pounds, but he looks like he weights 130 lbs. Both of these guys seem to have more talent but they still have to learn what to do and then continually focus. It's a tough road for prospects. Noah Miller has a really good glove and plays with confidence in the field. He has not put up any decent looks for a sustained month ot two on offense, but he has definitely looked better over the course of the last year in the batter's box. He could become a fair player with the bat. Again, it is way too early to tell with Miller. I have a hard time getting down on prospects, especially when I remember myself as a teenager and young person.

Sadly, these guys are likely toast. Woodruff has the dreaded shredded shoulder. Mahle can return from TJ but he has suffered from repeated serious troubles with his shoulder. Shoulder injuries turn MLB players into DHs in Men's Leagues ... if they can still swing.

I don't think the Twins trade either straight up (one to one) for the amazing Williams. Reconfigure in another fashion. Getting Williams is remote but i like your thought of adding a really good bullpen arm.

Difficult to know where people are going in this discussion. I wondered how many folks have seen Rosario hit at least a couple of dozen times? I'm fine if this is via milb.com and live is better. If you haven't seen him play in dozens of games, ..... Rosario gets some criticism and he won the league MVP. Noah Miller, who I think could still develop, gets a minor league gold glove and people weigh in that he is the future shortstop for the Twins even if he is just a utility player at Hi-A baseball right now. Either way, I think it is too early to make these judgments. I want to encourage those fans interested in prospects to watch a half dozen minor league games every week to see what is happening down below on the farm. Some of the games are pretty crazy. Forget the stats and watch what these kids can do against their peers.

Shoulder surgery? Pretty much nobody returns from a bum shoulder to once again become a good MLB pitcher. About the only guy that I can remember is Michael Pineda. He had mixed results and did not last long. Perhaps someone else can name other pitchers who had major should surgery and returned as effective MLB pitchers. BTW, this is another reason to stay far away from Mahle. Mahle went down with an elbow last Spring and had Tommy John surgery. Remember though that he was missing games and being pulled due to a bum shoulder injury for several years on and off before his elbow barked.. Serious shoulder injuries are death to pitchers.

I was merely saying that your judgment of Julien as compared with Lee and Lewis was overwhelmingly the opinion of those who write or comment on Twins Daily. I certainly do not mean that as a criticism in any way. My thoughts are that this is totally up in the air and there are different skills presented by each of these players as well as limitations which have yet to be fully unveiled. I think I said, to each his own. My position is that the Twins could benefit from trading for a decent pitcher which MAY include one of these players. More than a few folks have already responded forcefully. One response specifically stated that the floor for Lee was the ceiling for Julien. When I judge upside I'm looking at career achievements. These are impossible to predict. In 1981, Ozzie Smith was traded for Garry Templeton, Smith was seen as someone who would never hit enough despite his glove. Templeton, a superior bat and excellent glove, had had an ugly incident in St. Louis. Change happens. Your belief is well founded and the Twins may agree. It should be interesting to see how this offseason goes and those players develop.

Julien is not going to be a utility player, or 1B, or full time DH. Fair to say, you favor dangling Julien as a player to trade. Maybe you feel he has peaked and has high value that can be combined with another player or two to bring in a strong starting pitcher. Is that close? What is true is that Falvey will need to make those calls.

Tough. So, Lewis gone?

Your assessment of Julien seems to be popular (very) on Twins Daily. I have no idea what Falvey, Baldelli, coaches, and talent scouts feel about Julien. Julien has only been on my screen (via milb.com & Bally) for three years. What sticks out to me is the manner in which Julien controls the pitcher. He has struggled at times, both with the bat and (as so many jump to comment) in the field. This is true. Yet Julien has adjusted and adjusted, constantly. Those lengthy at bats were huge for the Twins this past year. He made the plays in September. His arm still looks wobbly, his footwork cannot be confused with Roberto Alomar, but his lateral movement and concentration to gather himself and read the speed of the game dramatically improved. He has more side to side ability than any of the other options. No, Julien has not become a superior fielder but he has morphed into an average defensive second baseman. He may have peaked offensively as more than a couple dozen on Twins Daily have suggested, but he may be just getting warmed up too. I'm only suggesting that the book is not closed on Julien. I cannot predict the outcome for Julien, Lee, Martin or others. I believe the Twins need a good starting pitcher and that a trade is going to be the best avenue for that end. Selling high is just as likely for any of Lewis, Wallner, Julien, or Lee. That story will unfold in the next few years. Based on the past three years and the steady progress I'm going to choose Julien for second base. To each their own, but if Julien or one of the others in combination with a couple of other players helps to bring in Logan Gilbert, that sure could be a useful exchange.

Totally agree with these sentiments on judgment. The entire steroid era was media driven calls on who was friendly or not to reporters. Bonds and Clemens = grouchy, while Ortiz, McGuire, Soto = fan faves. It is insane that Ortiz is a HOF, but no Bonds. There are some strong trails behind Bauer. Nobody from UCLA has ever had anything but silence or derision for Trevor. Arizona made a decision to trade him and the return was well short of expectation. Cleveland actually was going to release Bauer but Cincy wanted to have him. Finally, if we can believe the report that the Dodgers left Bauer's return to the players to be true, there may be some difficulty with him. According to that article, the players voted unanimously "No". Grain of salt there. I actually have enjoyed Bauer's discussions on baseball videos and he is well spoken and clearly likes baseball. The whole mess the last several years was just sad. I would leave any thoughts on adding Bauer to Falvey and Baldelli. Juan Soto talk is mostly people being judgmental because he has some swagger in his game. I have never seen anything to indicate problems. Soto plays almost every day. A phone call seems warranted. The payroll might restrict the Twins from adding a front line starter or Juan Soto, but there should be paths to adding players. You have proposed some fair trades as have others. Transactions have already been debated so much that the avenues on Twins Daily are exhausted. The Twins lose depth when they trade excellent players from either their veterans or top young guys list. Fill a hole only to expose another position. Any loss of Polanco, Kepler, Vazquez etc. reduces experience, which is generally key for winning teams. Any suggested trade that includes Lewis and Lee lights up the boards with negative reactions. The long term thinking toward Wallner and Julien is unknown. It seems the Twins will need to decide which players to hold and who to push forward as bait for a good starting pitcher. I'm generally done with all that and am just interested to see what happens. In terms of lesser options, I do think that the Twins could easily pry a potentially strong guy from Miami. Edward Cabrera is out of options and has struggled with his control. Of course there is no guarantee that he would be better for the Twins. The Twins would have to overpay (BTV #s) to acquire Cabrera and I'm not sure what that would look like. Maybe two decent guys like Larnach and Winder plus two minor league players that do not need to be put on a 40 person roster. It's a gamble and i would not include top prospects. December should bring some answers because several teams will want to begin organizing their rosters after the Rule 5 Draft. The conversations are a bit like playing musical chairs and I hope the Twins have a chair when the music stops. Like some others, I am not going to get excited with an addition of Archer or Bundy. This might be a year to gamble.

I would like either. But what is the price?

Lee? Supposedly Lee has more value and might return a better pitcher. Or do you believe that Lee is better than Julien?

If the Twins are going to hold prospects and trade veterans, perhaps you could just expand this trade by adding Jovani Moran to Polanco and Kepler and receive just Bryce Miller from the Mariners in return.

The budget may preclude the Twins from partaking in a gamble on upside from pitchers looking to rebound. Archer for $4M with a small boost to $6M when he hits the start or innings bonus is a far cry from $10-17M in hopes of good fortune. The Red Sox and Dodgers have signed these guys for years .... because the money is just popcorn for them. Paxton, Thor.

The best scenario is that the Twins keep Polanco and his production reaches 2019 or 2021 levels. Alas, Jorge has been down in even years. My personal preference may be to keep Polanco .... Maybe he can be a part of a deal to return a pitcher from Seattle. Perhaps the Mariners will not consider trading either Kirby or Gilbert, yet there may be a possibility to add a guy like Bryce Miller. Miller could be a good #3 or strong #4 pitcher. The Twins need to evaluate the future worth of their players and take some positions on the types of players needed to strengthen the roster. Some are already in the system but others might be available from other teams.

Buxton creates a conundrum? Same as it ever was. What do the Twins do? Shake that dice and hope to roll favorably in February or early March.

When Isaid that same thing to myself, I remembered that the Twins have spent for Puckett, Mauer, Donaldson (position players) as opposed to their reluctance to go years and money for pitching. The Pablo Lopez extension gives some hope though.

That is a fun thing to think about. In both the shortened 2022 season and in his truncated 2023 year Lewis did hit .300 at both minor and major league levels. Lewis did this despite hitting .236 at Hi-A and AA in 2019, his only year with more than 500 at bats. I sure hope Royce can maintain an average close to .300 over a full year in 2024.

A budget squeeze affects little, often important, roster additions. I'm thinking that Bader is too costly above $2-4M. The Twins are in a bit of a Catch-22 with Buxton and budget constraints. Martin, Castro, and crew can make life acceptable for CF.