tony&rodney

Hey, I agree that it is really important to draft, trade for young prospects, and develop pitching (catchers too). The Twins managed to identify three guys to trade for: Lopez, Ryan, and Paddack. They have a few players that they drafted coming along as well: Ober, Festa, and Raya. Woods Richardson has been in the Twins system and should get a shot this year too. The Yankees have money, which is why they can make this trade. I like the guys that San Diego acquired, but was surprised that they were not able to get better talent, even if fewer numbers. The pitchers are not slouches, like I said - I like them. The comparisons are quite loose but fairly proximate: King = Jax, Thorpe = Woods Richardson, Brito = Canterino, Vasquez = Prielipp. The Yankees guys have a little experience from last year, which should be credited to push them ahead of the Twins guys, but they actually are not as highly rated by neutral sites such as Fangraphs, which places a premium on stuff over experience. That is still an impressive haul though. I don't believe it is possible to do a very good job of comparing the former Yankees to pitchers in the Twins system but I just did a read through the prospectus of various guys and their relative FV scores on Fangraphs. This is just for kicks because people might wonder how this compares ..... minimally. Festa and Soto are graded well above all of these guys and Raya slightly better or about the same as Thorpe. Thorpe gets love from MLB Top 100 (99) because of his command and control over stuff. In any event, the money eliminates the Twins from players like Juan Soto. This then goes back to your point of the importance of signing and developing players. The Twins need to get something exciting from their prospects if they are to compete.

Either would be a major down grade from Matt Wallner defensively and Wallner has a ways to go with the glove. Left field at Target field is tough on poor defensive fielders, which allows singles to become doubles. There were plenty of criticisms of Eddie Rosario out there and of Wallner last year. We don't need to go back to Delmon Young and Josh Willingham defense in left field. I love the offense but that is what DH is for in the lineup. There is nothing worse for a pitcher than making a great pitch to an outstanding hitter with runners on base and two out only to watch the outfielder wait for the ball to drop before he picks it up.

Good DH. but not an outfielder.

Soto is quite a bat but few teams can add $38 million to their payroll for only a 26th player/depth OF plus Soto ($33 for Soto & $5 for Grisham). San Diego must have felt they were desperate. The return (when completed) is reputedly a backup catcher, three prospect starting pitchers (FV 45, 40+, 40+) who are more control than stuff, and a good relief pitcher. Only Thorpe (MLB - 99) made any top list. I find it curious that the Padres will not get any top prospects, although Thorpe is a fringe top 100 guy.

Rhys is a good RH bat, but there are a few marks against him that are worth thinking about. Hoskins is not too smooth with a glove but Kirilloff/Miranda are no great shakes either. Hoskins would push aside the two young Twins (AK/JM). Although Hoskins does have power, he does strike out quite a bit. Finally, the contract would be for around $20 million and likely for multiple years as well. I believe we have discussed Hoskins in the past several weeks and his contract would seem to be too rich for the Twins. Signing a guy like Hoskins would be interesting because of the effect to both the budget and Kirilloff/Miranda.

Plenty of good conversation here on a worthy player. I will add to what a few others have stated .... Why would Tampa Bay be looking to trade Paredes? The article said his name was mentioned but i cannot find any links to indicate that the Rays are open to trading Paredes. I don't get it.

.... except when you manage to comment, right? Also, I'm pretty sure that individual thoughts are .... singular. The Twins most certainly identify players that they will see as "Keepers" to use a word different than untouchable.

They are going to drop the prices for beer by 50%.

Baseball is relatively unimportant in the offseason. I must admit here that I only really follow baseball and love all of the hot stove nonsense. Still, how many Twins Daily readers have yet to follow a single game of Vikings, Wolves, Wild, college football, NCAA basketball, etc.? The people who peer into TD are big baseball fans and even most of them manage to spend a fair amount of time with other sports. The wider audience across the country will glance over an article that covers the Juan Soto to Yankees trade with pretty much nonchalance. It's cold outside, even for those of you who walk around outside in shorts and a t-shirt because of the 40 degree weather. Baseball is in the background and that's ok. It means those of us who enjoy the speculation idiocy can think about our teams and goof around with the rosters. Others, who follow baseball and still peruse these sites can cough up their objections to any speculations as they check their fantasy football rosters. It's all good entertainment on these days of early afternoon sundowns, where a gin and tonic can faintly bring back for a brief moment the memory of summer. No significant news from the Winter Meetings in Nashville is still better than most of the news.

Perhaps if Byron is fully healthy and has his legs under him, he can rebuild his swing before April to become a productive player. No doubt, the bum legs compromised his stroke at the plate.

To be clear, Keirsey Jr. is best as depth in AAA. As many have stated already, no team will take him in the Rule 5. Then again, nobody would take Nick Gordon as this point. Stuff happens and having someone to catch the ball in CF isn't a bad thing. Andrew Stevenson, a guy with more experience filled that role last year. I hope he is back in St. Paul.

Scrappy at times, dominant in odd stretches, and woeful strings of bad baseball sum up both Detroit and Kansas City. There are series to illustrate the dangers of overlooking either team. The Tigers weren't particularly impressed with the AL Central winners last season, and the Royals put away the Astros in five out of six games on two consecutive weekends in September when the mighty Astros were struggling to make the playoffs. The Tigers could surpass the Twins next season in the much maligned AL Central Division. The lengthy season protects the Twins from a chaotic Royals roster, but their unpredictable play makes for uncomfortable matches. The White Sox are recovering from a bad dream where it was imagined that Tony La Russo was their manager, a fate no swarm of players should need suffer. The recovery will take time as all traumas require healing. Cleveland is a mystery, where the ghosts of legends and disco night remain. Talent unpolished and mismatched should protect the Twins from the Guardians. Cold weather and short days make us crazy for a select deal or two to complete the Twins roster, which might spare us a scenario where Jackson Holliday ruins our right to a throne in late September. Worry away.

More or less, this is my thought. I would choose him over Gordon though. We all know that Keirsey Jr. is late to the game and his age and weaknesses get amplified more than if he were 22, naturally.

Trading is going to be tight this year. Every team is more focused than in a long time and pitching is always the number one need for most clubs. An issue is the money. While nobody on Twins Daily (not sure) knows the absolute proximity of a roster salary, a ceiling of around $125M pinches the team unless certain players are traded. The Catch-22 there is that those guys are still valuable too. Then it comes down to sending off someone who is highly regarded, which has been discussed a bunch. Framber is fantastic but (like the others) what is the cost. Difficult due to cost of players, price, and competition.

I like the ideas of adding Peralta and Gurriel Jr. What I'm wondering about is who would take on Christian Vazquez for $20 million. I like Vazquez and think the Twins still need his steady hand but I'm more intrigued whether it is is possible for a team to take the contract.

I'm wondering how many people who do not think very highly of Keirsey Jr. (or anyone for that matter) have seen him play a couple dozen times. From my perspective he has talent but lacks time and experience, which given his age makes him less of a prospect. Nevertheless, the guy can still develop. Does anyone remember Maury Wills? He played nine (9) years in the minor leagues before his first MLB opportunity. I'm not comparing the two but ..... all I'm saying is that there is a chance for Keirsey Jr. to play MLB.

I like this explanation and I would guess this is why so many people hold Royce Lewis in such high esteem. How does a guy like Julien fit? He just keeps getting better and his adjustments have been impressive. One thing that will be tested next season is how all of the young players respond in their second year of MLB.

I would hope the Twins could sign Keirsey Jr., Prato, and Helman to minor league contracts similar to the one that Garlick has last year.

This is another great idea. I never thought of that. i wonder if my wife will catch on? On second thought, I'm keeping the money. .... and so should the Pohlads.

Do it if you can order the one you want and not have to settle for some crappy color. Enjoy the Porsche, the 401K will just be sitting there when you die.

Well, the trade for Michael A. Taylor was a sign that the Twins wanted to cover centerfield in case Buxton was slow to heal. Maybe, a failure to sign or trade for anyone this offseason could be a hopeful sign in the other direction. If health is a much greater possibility for Buxton in 2024, then the Twins can be content with Willi Castro and Austin Martin or Nick Gordon to fill in for Byron on occasion.

Entirely agree with this thought. My only addition is a curiosity of how the Twins and the industry see Walker Jenkins and the other "top five" drafted last summer after their short debuts last summer. Each of these guys were seen as being (identified as) similar to the three guys from 2009-2011: Strasbourg, Harper, and Cole in talent. The "experts" ranked them above all of Correa, Lewis, Rutschman, and Holliday and any other draftees in the last decade, before the draft last summer. Recently, Holliday and Rutschman have proven to be good choices. Does this create a special category for Jenkins and his pals? In any event, the ballplayers need to make it happen on the field and the front offices are assigned the task of building a team. So it does go back to ..... anyone can be traded.

Wow, plenty of positive vibes for Royce Lewis. Good to read/see. I just hope people aren't disappointed if he doesn't win multiple MVP trophies. I like the thought of .300 Ave. and 40 HR from Lewis as someone suggested, but I will be happy if he can avoid injuries and play 150+ games. I guess I would suggest that only Correa and Buxton are untouchable due to their NT clauses in their contracts. Naturally many others are unlikely to be traded. It would be interesting to get some thoughts on the Twins players from scouts, national writers, or some reasonable source. Hard to know how others see your team's players. I saw a trade on BTV that exchanged Pablo Lopez for Matz and Liberatore from St. Louis. I thought, "Really?" I wouldn't trade Pablo Lopez for Jordan Walker. Not because I have little regard for him, because I have great regard for Walker. The Twins need Lopez as a pitcher more at this time. So I wonder how others see the Twins.

For the record, Carl Pohlad was not a baseball fan at all. He was quoted numerous times that his wife liked baseball, he did not. Carl knows a great business deal when it is offered and he took it. The Pohlads have been fair owners, nothing to gripe about, widely compared to their peers. I have no complaints. It might be ideal if the team was owned by someone who breathes baseball but there are no guarantees there either. G. Taylor loves basketball as does Mark Cuban, but they have had different results I think. I like to keep it to just enjoying the games and leave the owners and management aside as much as possible.

Paddack is coming back from his second TJ surgery and he has a contract for 2025 with the Twins. He hasn't pitched much at all for years. Pitching as a starting pitcher is a very physical endeavor. He will be monitored closely, for sure. In a perfect world Paddack makes around 15-20 starts (I randomly chose 17) before he goes to the bullpen to protect his arm for 2025. He will be restricted in the number of innings he throws in total. The general consensus would be from 100-120 innings. If Paddack did not have a contract for 2025, the innings might go up by an insignificant amount. Teams no longer abuse athletes with overuse .... word gets around.