tony&rodney

Nah, Wallner doesn't like big cities and Max looks better on the West Coast.

You are on the right track Doc. Just substitute a guy who I love (K. Rosario), add a low level pitcher, and Brooks Lee and this will get the Twins Kirby or Gilbert. Both are brilliant pitchers. It's the next step to take, even if the cost is high.

Rosario has taken firm steps to improve every year. He is improving as an outfielder and when you watch his at bats you can see that he is working to get his pitch and shows a sweet quick short swing. Love the power and work ethic.

Mahle? He had surgery for his elbow, which was the blow that ended his season. Yet you should recall that he has had a bum shoulder off and on for several years. The elbow happened sort of suddenly but I'm wondering if he is done due to a bum shoulder ... like me.

Yamamoto would be a terrific addition, both for the pitching staff and for media attention/viewership/attendance reasons. Jung Hoo Lee is an interesting player as well. Good to see a proposal that is more robust than simply listing the Twins current players. Of course, that could happen too. But yikes, a year without any changes would be a little strange. Farmer, Thielbar, and Kepler traded for PTBNL? Varland?

Is your trade for Lane Thomas? I'm not sure why Gray signs a contract that pays less than $20 million per year, but it is possible. I like that you tried to make some changes as opposed to having a list that only includes players currently within the system.

The Twins may sign a high-priced FA starting pitcher, but they are unlikely to do so. Everything in their past practices makes me bet against a signing like Jordan Montgomery, Snell, or Yamamoto. But I don't bet. I just don't see it. Lucas Giolito as an inexpensive add seems fairly innocuous. Will he sign for nearly nothing? I doubt it. TheAthletic pins LG for 4/$70M and MLBTR assesses him as 2/$44M. Even half of that on a one year deal seems too much. If we are picking teams, who is picking Giolito over Ober, Paddack, or Varland? I agree that many will see Giolito as a better pitcher than those three guys. I can respect that opinion. However, I prefer the current Twins above LG. I don't believe Lucas Giolito is worthless or cannot find a modicum of success as a starting pitcher at the MLB level. I believe the ship has sailed for his value above a middle or back end (#3-5) starter and the Twins have those guys on inexpensive contracts already. The discussion and consideration of his worth is a good exercise and I spent a little time looking over his trends about a week ago out of curiosity. The numbers published recently for anticipated contracts do not paint a positive viewpoint for the Twins adding a player like Lucas Giolito. Actually it also doesn't look like a good deal for some other free agent pitchers either. The Twins should be in search of a partner (team) that sees value in the players within the Twins system and find a suitable trade that brings back a good starting pitcher.

Soto is quite tempting, isn't he. I don't get a feel for how he fits into the outfield or with his teammates. That's ok. The thing that is really attractive about Soto is that he posts, nearly all the time. Just put his name in the lineup for 160 games. I'm interested.

Twins return only players within their system for 2024?

Adding Montgomery would be sweet. I think he gets 5 years. Does that still work for you? I'm a little surprised that that is the only change - 25 of 26 players in system are on your roster. Is Julien really going to be a DH?

You only brought one new guy (Matt Moore) aboard for next year. You have a lot of confidence in the Twins system to repeat.

The lists out tonight agree with my guess of more than $200 million to Bellinger. I like him, but do the Twins go that high?

That sounds good to add Yamamoto and Soto. Isn't Julien too new (just finished rookie year) at 2B to become a DH? More change than most.

So 2-3 new guys. That is a pretty stable team.

The Athletic and MLBTradeRumors have their lists up and the prices are high. These two lists have been close on numbers lately.

Ok, adding Montgomery is a good get. What seems a little unusual is that this team has 24 of 26 Twins returning. I'm ok with that but it sure unlikely. Have teams generally returned a 92%+ from one year to the next from their system?

While Helman does not project as a starter at the major league level, he can be a decent utility player. He plays good defense all over the field, has some speed, and his swing mostly puts his bat to the ball. Helman is more versatile than Stevenson. Helman is in no man's land - he needs an opportunity.

Any of these three would be nice to have as Twins for the next few years. Any of them should be a potential boost for the team. Thing is, i'm not too sure that the Twins will sign a pitcher to a big contract from free agency. I have no objections whatsoever.

The idea is to compete and the Twins can compete with their current roster. I'm not married to my changes or trades. I tried to think of how another team might see the Twins players. I also made a determination that the team would go in a direction at second base and that may be way off. I did not want to part with either Jorge or Max but traded both so one doesn't have to wear the Twins uniform without the other. The trades: 1. T. Larnach, J. Winder, T. Schobel for E. Cabrera (Miami). These are players looking for a change of scenery. 2. J. Polanco, B. Lee, K. Rosario, T. Adams for G. Kirby (Seattle). Big trade that should benefit both teams. Prefer Kirby over Gilbert, but barely. I would still do trade for Gilbert. 3. J. Ryan, J. Moran, Y. Mercedes, N. Miller for C. Burnes (Milwaukee). This might work. If not, just put Ryan back in Twins rotation. 4. M. Kepler, B. Ober, J. Salas, J. Rodrigues for J. Soto (San Diego). This might be moot point because SD may not even listen. Kepler and Ober can easily slide back onto Twins team if this does not work, although I would offer a couple of lower level lottery players if SD is willing. The first two trades should be possible and if the other two do not, the Twins would have some money for a bat like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Kepler and Ober fit nicely onto the Twins roster. Lastly, I like to think that these wild speculations should come out before the first trades and free agent signings. C: Ryan Jeffers ($2.30M) 1B: Alex Kirilloff ($1.70M) 2B: Edouard Julien ($0.75M) 3B: Royce Lewis ($0.75M) SS: Carlos Correa ($33.33M) LF: Juan Soto ($33.00M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.17M) RF: Matt Wallner ($0.75M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.75M) 4th OF: Willi Castro ($3.25M) Utility: Austin Martin ($0.75M) Utility: Kyle Farmer ($6.75M) Backup C: Christian Vazquez ($10.00M) SP1: Pablo Lopez ($8.25M) SP2: Corbin Burnes ($15.50M) SP3: George Kirby ($0.75M) SP4: Chris Paddack ($2.50M) SP5: Louie Varland ($0.75M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.75M) RP: Brock Stewart ($0.75M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.75M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($3.00M) RP: Matt Canterino ($0.75M) RP: Edward Cabrera ($0.75M) RP: Kody Funderburk ($0.75M) Payroll is 3.00% under budget

There is plenty of discussion about this issue. Every decent team needs a player who can play backup at shortstop. Lewis did not fare well in the minor leagues as a shortstop. In fact he was moved off of shortstop in high school because third base was a better fit for him. Royce is more of a reaction type fielder than an anticipatory, quick, soft hands, etc. guy, which is needed to play in the middle of the field. While I have not been overly impressed by Farmer, I must admit that his versatility and competence are exactly what is needed in a utility player. Farmer's return from a broken face last year was a true sign of his toughness. A bonus is that it appears he is also a fine teammate. I'm keeping Farmer for $7 million if needed.

How does this affect offseason plans for Milwaukee, if at all? The Twins might match up with the Brew Crew in a trade.

I agree with this. While the Twins are very competitive in a series with any of these teams, they still need to take a few steps to become equals with the top teams over the long haul. The key, as always, is talent. I'm still not convinced the Twins will add a SP from free agency. I do think they make a gamble on a few trades. Personally, I'm hoping for four trades.

We can guess that there are quite a few conversations taking place within the MLB front offices,. Twins too. Falvey and crew will go position by position down the lists looking to see where the strengths and weaknesses lay. The depth last year was good but partially came from the onset of rookies pushing their way up. This then creates a similar guess about which rookies are ready to contribute next year. A few guys that catch my attention as depth rookies who could play useful roles next year are Austin Martin, Anthony Pratto, Michael Helman, and possibly DeShawn Kiersey Jr. I don't see any of them being All Stars, but being solid players who make contributions when needed. Then Falvey and crew need to look at the depth and assess who projects to become/hold a position in a manner that brings the highest value to the Twins and which players then are possibly going to bring the most back in a trade. There are two unknowns: 1. What value do other teams place on players in the Twins system? 2. Do the Twins take some risks to push their talent level higher or do they focus more on another AL Central Division W? When people put together their own ideas they reflect either going with a large percentage of players already within the system in hopes of another AL Central push or moving toward a strategy intended to add a higher level of potential. The one thing we can be certain of is ..... You just never know what path is better.

While my confidence may be solid that the Twins can repeat as AL Central winners, I do remember that Cleveland won the division in 2022 by more games than the Minnesota team did in 2023. Don't dismiss any team, the games are always won on the field. Who had Arizona in the World Series? I, too, believe that Terry Francona shed an aura of calm and competence that gave young players the confidence to play without looking over their shoulder. That said, the Guardians need to add some players who can drive the ball. The Twins need to think holistically about how they can repeat their advantages of the depth of 2023 while adding to their talent. While I have no clue if Falvey will take any measured chances this offseason as he did last year, I believe the opportunities are there.

Agree it would be nice to add some free agent starting pitching although the Twins have never spent big on that. On money, it seems like you did make a comment .. . but yes it might be better if all financial compensation globally could be restrained to a random number, maybe $1 million per year. FWIW, there are not any baseball players making a billion dollars but there are more billionaires than major league baseball positions in any given year. Money is crazy and people seem to love it. The Twins are a business and need to remain within the parameters of the boundaries set by their accountants. The guys who crunch the numbers tell their bosses all of the numbers and the bosses then make the decisions. Do the Pohlads want Soto?