tony&rodney

Do the Brewers agree with that trade? I like adding Burnes. Perhaps the Twins could substitute Jovani Moran for Jose Miranda as a sweetener. I think Burnes is guessed for $15+M for next year. Many will rue the loss of Ryan. How does a $125M payroll affect your adding one of Montas, Giolito, or Ryu? I'm wondering if Miami can be convinced that their team would be improved if they agreed to a trade with the Twins. Would Trevor Larnach, Josh Winder or Cole Sands, and Tanner Schobel be an exchange for Edward Cabrera that the Marlins approve? Cabrera is out of options and has struggled with control but he still has "stuff". All of the guys going to Miami could potentially help the Marlins and have options remaining. The Twins could add Farmer to play his role for Miami.

This is the unknown. Right? I mean ... How does a payroll of $125M or less change your team? Can one ignore that the Twins have never signed a top FA SP for market value? While I play around with configuring a 2024 Twins roster, those questions seem inescapable. However, the one thing we do know is that you just never know.

Hoskins would be nice. Turner would be nice. Gurriel Jr. would be nice. A good starting pitcher would be nice. I agree and agree, but if the Twins are going to cut ... it may be better to assume a budget closer to $125 million to leave room for an addition similar to what was added last year with Solano and Castro. $125 changes things. Right?

I saw this rumor earlier today and had a couple of thoughts. First it seemed odd given the report that Kirilloff's surgery was a total success and there was zero damage long term to his shoulder and that after a "normal offseason" Alex would report to Spring Training "100% ready" to do all activities required to play major league baseball. Considering how successful Kirilloff was as a prospect and how he has performed when healthy, it seems like a free agent that cost any money only restricts Kirilloff going forward. It seems that a reserve for Royce Lewis is a higher priority. But, I don't agree with that either. I do believe that someone like Jose Miranda, if he can return fully healthy, is a good complement to AK. I also believe that any of Polanco, Julien, Farmer, Martin, or Lee could also fill in if needed. These assume the worst and I'm not feeling that about Kirilloff. My second thought is that today was a slow news day on the baseball rumors front and that there was a paucity of reasonable rumors that emanated from the now completed GM meetings. So, much ado about nothing. My third thought was that depending on what else actually transpires during the offseason, the Twins might want to sign a guy like Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who is a good outfielder and could play a little first base at times. Lastly, I panicked and thought ... is Joey Gallo coming back?

How does that work? Resign Gray, Maeda, Pagan, Gallo, Taylor, Solano, etc.?

... a little more detail here .... like for who....

Your idea? Write it out and send it in.

I'm only interested in two guys who are reasonable to sign and fit in the Twins new budget: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Kevin Kiermaier. The Twins are likely to move on from Farmer and sadly, Kepler and Polanco are included in trades.

Prefer shooting for the moon (Kirby or Gilbert), but adding a Bryce Miller would work. The Mariners might want both Kepler, Polanco, and a non 40 person player. That creates a hole in the Twins outfield, but maybe the money saved is used to sign Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Pittsburgh has put out a memo that they are only looking to add pitching and trying to find a match to fill 2B from trading from other positions. That might put a dent in calls to the Pirates, but I like the idea of adding a guy like Keller.

Giolito mat really bounce back and he can be a workhorse for any team, which is why I think his price puts him beyond the Twins. I would love to see the Twins add Giolito though. Miami is high on Edward Cabrera but also a bit frustrated and he is now out of options to work on his control in the minor leagues. The time might right to offer something for Cabrera. I'm not sure what Miami wants though. Does a Larnach, Winder, and non 40 person prospect like Schobel work to acquire Cabrera? Cabrera could work in rotation or relief.

Makes sense. I had to laugh at myself because just as many people have players they put on a no trade list, I have two guys too. I'm pretty sure that the Brewers turn away from any Jackson Chourio mention even if Lee and Ryan are both mentioned. I'm holding Jenkins and Festa. Festa just needs to harness his command and improve sequencing to push above Ryan; I like him. The Twins are not going to trade Lee for a guy on an expiring contract but should consider it if there is a return of a controllable player that improves the team now and going forward.

The salaries are too steep. Soto is an amazing guy in the batter's box. He is brutal in the field and has refused to be a DH, which is understandable given his age. When someone has a magic wand like Soto, they can call their own shots.

Likely that is true. Like i said, I'm not too keen on trading Ryan. I'm more thinking about scenarios where the Twins are able to cobble together the pieces needed to pry Burnes away from Milwaukee. Will the Brewers find any reasonable package of players within the Twins system attractive enough to have a conversation? I get that Burnes, like Gray, would get a QO and this is mol equal to a guy like Charlee Soto. It is likely true that Milwaukee is interested in Ryan but the Twins do not see that as a sound decision. Ober? Same? Is there a combination? TopGun#22 has replied now and along with other ideas I'm just wondering if there is any potential match and what that would look like between these two teams that includes Burnes to Minnesota? Your ideas?

That's fair to have that opinion. Thanks for the explanation. I mean we never know how a prospect will actually pan out until they have several years of MLB experience. I have known a number of MLB players through the years going back to high school and continuing into adulthood. I do not know any current Twins and have neither met nor know any current professional players other than hello, thus I do not have an opinion on their character, leadership, or intangibles. I hope all of these guys have fine careers and it is easy for me to understand that people favor some players over another.

This might be the best blueprint so far. I might just keep Jovani Moran instead of worrying more about Emilio Pagan. Prefer Lourdes Gurriel Jr. instead of Hoskins. Nice job though.

I'll let someone else explain why this is possibly a good idea, but I will just weigh in by suggesting that not all starting pitchers are equal.

I believe TopGun#22 proposed a trade for Corbin Burns that included another Brewer, I think Gareth Mitchell. The Twins would send Joe Ryan and a couple of other players whose names I cannot remember (maybe Jovani Moran and Josh Winder) to Milwaukee. Perhaps Farmer was also in that deal. Is that worth a look? I'm not too keen on trading Ryan myself but it seems like a thought.

Ok. Your pick of Brooks Lee over Julien is the overwhelming choice on Twins Daily if we can make a quick nonjudgmental survey from a host of comments and posts. I see nothing wrong with that choice and we both know that the answer will be unclear for quite some time (a year to ten from now). My pick is a bet on the unknown qualities of internal drive, processing speed, and other difficult to judge factors. Again, there is no way to know at this time and any choice is a calculated gamble. It is a gamble I am willing for the Twins to make but I also do not believe that the Twins are ready to make a judgment at this time. Last year, we saw that the Twins were unwilling to make a call on Trevor Larnach or Jose Miranda. Now Miranda was injured and it isn't fair to judge him. Larnach may still turn into a fine starter in the majors but he has seen his value plummet. A year ago he was worth a bit more than Julien is at this current time. I believe Julien will be a strong player in MLB. I do not expect him to be a superstar, but someone who can consistently put up strong numbers and drive opposing pitchers crazy with long counts. I would pick Julien over Lee. We both know that I could be well off the mark on my belief. Last offseason, I advocated for using Arraez in a trade. My position was based on my preference for Jorge Polanco and I also felt that the unknown futures of Julien and Lee could back up a loss of Arraez. More than anything though I thought that Arraez stood to bring back the strongest return in a trade. This year I think that Lee in conjunction with another player or two bring back the strongest return. The Twins could lose Polanco and Lee or Julien and still be relatively fine at second base. However, like at all times, I am not in the loop so I don't know. I simple feel that Julien will be a better MLB player than Lee for reasons that would take several pages to explain, none of which are 100% sure things.

How did you come to that decision? Walker has been evaluated as the more superior prospect tool-wise to either Lewis or Lee. I have nothing to compare Walker to myself, but am merely parroting the words of various writers like Keith Law and others who go to events and games where prospects play. Personally, when a guy so young gets so much hype it can be hard to know what to believe. At least we can have watched Lewis and Lee play a couple hundred times via tv and milb.com as well as in a person a few times. Still, Walker has had a bevy of words, like "superstar" flung at him that were never put on either Lewis or Lee. I couldn't make a judgment yet, but I'm leaning towards the evaluations of scouts and well-respected writers at this time.

Why Julien? Why not Lee? Why not Ryan? Why not Lewis? Why not somebody else? How does that trade help in 2025? Just curious about the thought process.

You did not ask for an evaluation. You asked where the hype come from? I merely was telling you where it came from. I'll leave you decide/estimate/guess for yourself what his future is as a MLB player.

It comes from being scouted and watched for years, first in his journeys through the California school system, then college, and for the last year and change at the minor league level. I myself have seen dozens and dozens of his at bats as well as seen him play in the field. So, yah, scouts and all that is where the observations and comments come from. I mean we have known who Brooks Lee was for five years now, so there is a bit of a trail.

Edward Cabrera should be available if the Twins are serious and make a strong offer (something like Larnach, Winder, Schobel). Seattle? I would like Kirby or Gilbert and offer quite a bit for either one Also interested in a trade for Bryce Miller. Offers? That is unknown because I'm not in on what Seattle finds worthy. Kirby or Gilbert for Polanco, Kepler, Lee, 2 minor leaguers ? - Z. Matthews, Y. Mercedes). Might sweeten by taking on Evan White and his contract for Kirby. For Miller, trade Polanco or Kepler, maybe both. I'm looking for starting pitchers with stuff that includes velocity.

There has been a widespread usage of Julien as a DH going forward and placement of Brooks Lee at second base when he is ready. Most comments, with the exception of a few, have Lee arriving by June next year. Lee is a highly ranked prospect. The guys behind the scenes (talent evaluators, scouts, coaches, and managers) are generally who makes the recommendations to the office suits on players to draft, move up, and ultimately to place in a position with the big squad. We do not know their thoughts. I'm not thinking that Julien will be a primary DH. Furthermore (of course I could be way wrong), I do not see Julien playing many games as a first baseman. Julien is best suited for second base. Julien was never projected to be a star. The unknown is whether Julien can make more significant improvement in the field and either hold his rookie lines or improve with the bat. It is always a nervous look when seeing how rookies react to MLB in their second and third seasons. I don't believe there are any guarantees. In 2021, MLB ranked Julio Rodriguez as the second best Mariner prospect.with Emerson Hancock ahead of both Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. Brooks Lee has done well as a prospect. He flew through the system and finished in AAA in his first full season of professional baseball. He plays a good shortstop and most comments include his final position as a third baseman while thinking he could also handle second base. Lee projects as a solid regular who even might make an All Star team. It is wonderful to have too many good players but if there isn't anywhere for them to play on a daily basis, the full development of a player like Lee or Julien may never occur. When people suggest there are plenty of at bats to go around I wonder how much players like Lewis, Lee, and Julien would be affected by not knowing their status on the team. I don't see either Lewis, Lee or Julien as utility players. I get that most people will believe that it is way too early to pick one or the other, but I'm thinking now is the time to best use the player resources to find an exchange for a starting pitcher with years of control remaining. I'm inclined to be wary of trading guys like Emmanuel Rodriguez or David Festa. Walker Jenkins is the only player I would not consider trading. Then again, perhaps the Twins become the first team in baseball to begin a season with only players who were in their system from the previous year.