tony&rodney

The GM Tool was decently popular for discussion in its first go around. It bombed last year and has this year as well. Some people get edgy with thoughts that do not align with their own. Personally, I'm just interested in the conversations. I accept that fans have zero input or knowledge of the roster construction process, so every crazy idea is mol the same. The payroll, apparently, remains the defining characteristic for a roster build. Thus, I built 3 teams, one was about $100M, one $130M, and this last one was $50M. The idea that the Twins cannot play in the free agent market is false if the budget is at or above $110M. There are options and many people have suggested reasonable ideas. I wonder if Falvey is a prisoner of his own mind. How much does he cling to past decisions? Can Falvey move on from his 'boys'? When I look at the Twins position side of the roster I see one player with too little record to judge properly in Luke Keaschall and one talented player in Byron Buxton. This means that change needs to occur, in my opinion. The trades I suggested have close to zero chance. In fact I doubt any conversations even occur. The trade with Pittsburgh is frantic and requires the Pirates to give up on the failures they currently roster. I would even add a potential star like Dasan Hill if such a reality existed. The Detroit trade makes sense if the Tigers are aiming high in 2026. Teams do not trade high level prospects often but when the flag is possible it makes sense. I would add a lower level player to push that trade as well. The other trades make sense. The Mets might balk at the cost but they have a window now. In any event these are simply mindless exercises because I finished cutting and splitting the wood; I have time.

It's not that I don't appreciate or even like veteran players. The Twins have just not been a very interesting team to watch these last few years. Numerous people cling to a player's best brief periods of playing baseball as something that will morph into a year long reality. The number of articles and comments that rely solely on 'if only' is an avalanche of optimism. While I try to see the best in every player I'm cognizant of the mediocrity. Edouard Julien has had his moments as a key member of the Twins squad but is often the focus or aim of derogatory comments that somehow are not assigned to a dozen other players. Thus I'm ready for a new slate. The reality is not 0% but it is as close to 0% as one can measure for the type of moves I recorded. There has been a slow shift within the articles and in the comments accepting a return of the roster we saw in September. The hope then shifts to all of the prospects having spectacular rookie seasons. As long as we are going full Polyanna, I brought in a half dozen guys with considerably higher ceilings. It's all good.

Third and last/biggest swing: improbable darts: B. Lee, R. Lewis, E. Rodriguez, M. Wallner, K. Rojas, and 2 players from minors (R, DSL) for Jared Jones and Konnor Griffin. J. Ryan, A. Roden, C. Soto for Max Clark. B. Ober, M. Houston for Harry Ford. B. Buxton, P. Lopez for Carson Benge, Nolan McLean. Sign free agent Pete Fairbanks for 2/$20M. Sign free agent Caleb Thielbar for 2/$6. Youth gets on the job training and the organization earns money. What will the Twins do? C: Ryan Jeffers ($6.60M) 1B: Kody Clemens ($0.80M) 2B: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 3B: Kaelen Culpepper ($0.80M) SS: Konnor Griffin ($0.80M) LF: Walker Jenkins ($0.80M) CF: Max Clark ($0.80M) RF: Carson Benge ($0.80M) DH: Gabriel Gonzalez ($0.80M) 4th OF: Austin Martin ($0.80M) Utility: Edouard Julien ($0.80M) Utility: Kyler Fedko ($0.80M) Backup C: Harry Ford ($0.80M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Taj Bradley ($0.80M) SP2: Jared Jones ($0.80M) SP3: Nolan McLean ($0.80M) SP4: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) SP5: Zebby Matthews ($0.80M) RP: David Festa ($0.80M) RP: Connor Prielipp ($0.80M) RP: Cole Sands ($1.30M) RP: Kody Funderburk ($0.80M) RP: Mick Abel ($0.80M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($3.50M) RP: Marco Raya ($0.80M) RP: Pete Fairbanks ($11.00M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 63.64% under budget

I'm a baseball fan. I follow all of the other teams. I have really never hated the Yankees. I have a framed photo of Sandy Koufax. Watching Miggy Cabrera hit was a treat. It's fun to watch good baseball. My only reaction to being a little down thinking about the roster just returning ..... again ..... and with Kody Clemens as the starting first baseman is to build a roster around Kody Clemens as the first baseman. I'll call it my Pohlad Savings Plan.

Yes, except for there are always going to be separate thoughts on any players's ceiling from year to year, even among each of the 30 MLB clubs evaluators. Is Lewis at his ceiling now? Those are the conversations.

Lewis for Ford likely works. Will it or should it happen is another thought.

The new manager and changes to the coaching staff are real positives in my opinion. Yes, Hallberg would be the best shortstop and Rabelo the best catcher but they will be coaching and not playing. The Twins have some decent young prospects that could be ready or may need one more year of minor league ball before their debut. In the meantime the 2026 budget is still up in the air. If the Twins can add two significant relief pitchers and two significant position players the roster could be much improved. Those moves would require a budget closer to what the team spent the last few years (@$140+M) than to the much discussed budget of around $100-110M. The budget is key to any other moves. Barring significant roster additions via free agency, the team must 'get creative' with trades that include currently rostered players to address imbalances and build toward a future that might include winning more than 81 games. The current team was on full display in August and September, projecting a 55-75 win team if the roster is just rolled back out in a similar fashion to the last two years. I'm listening on everyone.

I can actually remember 1961 when I waited a bit before deciding that Lenny Green was my favorite player. Where it gets hard is trying to remember if Henry Aaron was my favorite player in 1960. Reading that Kody Clemens will be the starting first baseman in 2026 leaves me wondering if the time has arrived to jump ship on my fandom of the Twins. Does 65 years a Twins fan suggest it is time to retire?

Deja vu? We had this discussion already. Sure send Outman and Gasper to Baltimore for Rutschman.

Royce Lewis has a big pile of fans on Twins Daily. He hit some grand slams in 2023 that folks remember. Julien doesn't have any fans on Twins Daily for whatever reasons, the errors or called strike three PA. It's a strange dynamic. Guess we can hope for a miracle.

Clemens is not arb eligible. He gets the minimum if he is still with the team.

Fedko/Roden sounds better. Falvey is being cute with media.

You are kidding right? A player is pressuring an owner?

Whether players are traded depends on the budget and what players are being offered. It has been correctly pointed out that very few highly rated prospects get traded even for a Joe Ryan or a Pablo Lopez. However, if I am a GM with a team who has a window, it makes sense to make a strong offer. This is what was missing from past Twins teams. We don't know the names being asked about or whether any GM's have a strong interest in Twins players. The cost is high now and there is always risk of waiting too long. At the very least there should be a pile of names bandied about and frequent conversations about potential deals.

Pitching as a starting pitcher is much different than as a relief pitcher. Most relievers max out for up to 35 pitches but work two to three times more games than a starter. They also warm up more often. The usage is different and in my opinion/experience with starting more strenuous overall on the body throwing 100+ pitches (remember they warm up and throw between innings). Throwing in relief seems to build the arm with shorter, max efforts. Every body is different but cumulative innings will cause more stress overall. Even with max effort the shorter duration gives more down time before the next outing. So 150 innings as a starter is pretty much in today's game but relievers throw from 50-80 innings. Starters usually swell more and need several days to recover before throwing between starts. No doubt there is someone who has a much more scientific explanation and maybe studies to explain this more completely and those may totally discount my experiences. There are fair number of pitchers who work in relief in MLB before transitioning to the rotation. Johan Santana was an example as is Seth Lugo. The Padres are considering using Mason Miller as a starting pitcher next season but they value his comfort level as a closer, so they are still undecided.

Mike Rabelo was a part of the trade for Miguel Cabrera. Miggy was one of my favorite players of all time. He could hit.

Somehow I think the Mariners want more than 1 HR from a third baseman, but he did manage to get his OPS over .600 and he does play a good glove at the hot corner. Never know though. We all start at the bottom. What would the Mariners send over for Royce Lewis?

Keaschall is first Twins to get ROY votes since Julien. Gulp. Can Keschall escape the jinx? Can Julien make a comeback?

Carl is dead, just like old man Trump. The sons turn money into mud. There is no evidence they have financial skills. In both cases the evidence is alarmingly against the sons running a business. In many cases those who inherit wealth would be far better off taking the pile and putting it all in some safe S&P 500 fund and then play with the payouts/dividends. The Pohlads could be good people, interesting, and fun to be around. That is a horse of a different color.

Thank you for posting. It looks pretty fair. About BBTV .... I don't want to trash it but their reality only fits on rare occasions. Think of it like this - Soderstrom plays decent defense, doesn't hurt anyone or himself running the bases because he is savvy, and his bat fits in the middle of any lineup in MLB. Is Taj Bradley, a guy with really good stuff, anywhere near to Soderstrom in value at this time? The last three words are important. West Sacramento has a few big bats and is building towards their debut in Las Vegas in 2028. I would love Soderstrom or Kurtz. Kurtz is worth a big pile of players. You might be correct on Long. He likes to hit. In some ways he is like Busch the Cubs first baseman.

I always buy high and sell low because as the saying goes, "Lucky in money, unlucky in love" .... "Lucky in love, unlucky in money."

I appreciate their leak-proof methods as well. It is a feature of the front office I like. The big concern is a lack of transactions. There was quite a shift in coaching personell and I'm hoping for several strategic trades to get completed. As mentioned elsewhere, and by others, the budget is key. $120M seems fair and it should not fall below $110-115M. In that range there is room to swing big, which seems very unlikely. It would take quite a bit of pressure off of the less experienced players. Just a few well placed moves would bring about some hope for 2026.

The additions of two experienced players would be relief pitchers, not position. The conversation is about building back a reliable bullpen. Only two guys are currently penciled in - Funderburk and Sands. It would be best if they were in the bottom four out of eight relievers.

Harmony55! You are back. What Twins do you have your eye on this year?

If the numbers are not public with all entries legitimate and all things transparent it is plain silliness to take a corporate voice at their word. One of the really weird aspects about U. S. culture is the massive insistence on building stadiums and paying for corporate sports but without any return to the public.