tony&rodney

Agree with pragmatic but also a little confused at all of the anger and negative reactions towards both Correa and the idea of spending a humongous pile of money over many years. Carlos Correa has always been polite and politic. He played hard and had a good year for the Twins. There was never going to be any type of hometown discount because San Juan does not have an MLB team. Correa and/or Boras do not set the price. The teams that pay the salaries set the price. Why are people opposed to long term salaries for big bucks? It is the owners and front office together who make these decisions and while it is very true that many players have declined badly towards the end of those contracts it is also true that the financial benefits paid off. An overwhelming number of teams would sign those deals again. It's not the money, it's the benefits of the player. I'm fine with Correa signing with the Giants. I like the Giants. But I'm a Twins fan and I'm still hopeful that there are improvements in the style of play next season to a more exciting, fundamentally sound squad that uses a spreadsheet when appropriate but reads the game as well. The Twins are down in attendance because the team wasn't that much fun to watch. Target Field is a great venue and there is plenty of good places to stop before and after a game in Minneapolis. Of course if you want to visit a few seedy spots it can be a little dicey but that one is on you. Put the product on the field and people will come. There are still some good players available. Jurickson Profar is energetic. J. D. Martinez is still a doubles machine. Elvis Andrus showed life with the White Sox last year. Trades can still be made.

Ok, I'll bite. The Yankees want Kepler and to be rid of Hicks, they send back Oswaldo Cabrera and Roderick Arias with Hicks.

.... and 100% of the people who felt that Mauer's contract 'encumbered' the Twins in signing or acquiring players were wrong. !00%.

Carlos Correa is a damn fine shortstop and he got the contract he sought. It is pointless to see the contract as bad. The Atlanta Braves identify players to sign/develop/acquire and keep long term for somewhat reasonable contracts and trade to fill holes. The Twins were good to sign Kepler, Polanco, and Sano to contracts. The struggle is to make your moves ahead of the curve and the last few years this has been, apparently, difficult for many unknown reasons for the Twins. The main reason to sign a Correa or a Rodon, in my view, is that these players should be able to lead their team for two to three years while those talented prospects and younger players get their feet accustomed to MLB. As such, guys like Verlander and Judge are worth the money. Is Rodon worth 6/$180? Based on his past, maybe not. But he is a big strong guy and seems to have come through the injuries in pretty good shape and may have that Mickey Lolich type body to throw a ton of pitches and innings for the next seven years. Thing is, the contracts and money numbers aren't going to recede like the waters of a 1965 flood. The Twins signed Kirby Puckett to a contract of $3 million and those days are past. The entire offseason dance swirls around managing the roster to create a better team for the following campaign. The Twins were in 1st Place for much of the summer of 2022 and still didn't excite their fan base. I would submit that despite losing out on Carlos Correa, Falvey still has ample opportunity to forge a team that is more fun to watch in 2023.

No, it isn't likely at all. Still it could happen if the budget moves to $160 million. Could but doesn't seem prudent looking forward is one thought or there is a ton of money coming off the books is another thought. We need to let this play out.

It's the New York Post. The tax would put the annual salary over $60 million and Correa would move to 3B. I don't think so.

Actually both Carlos kids could happen. I'm not saying it will but it could.

I think Ted is suggesting that the Twins change in strategy is to move ahead more aggressively in spending where it makes sense, meeting the market as opposed to waiting out the market. Christian Vasquez is an example. It is undeniable that teams need to have a strong base of players that were brought up through the organization and some of those players are acquired through trading. More than half of the current 40 person roster was signed and developed by the Twins. Some current examples of signed and developed include Jeffers, Arraez, Kirilloff, Polanco, Miranda, Larnach, Gordon, Buxton, Kepler, Wallner, Lewis, Julien, Ober, Winder, Jax, Moran, and Varland. Some players traded for and developed include Martin, Celestino, Duran, Alcala, Woods Richardson, and Henriquez. The Twins have gained a few experienced players via trade as well, with Farmer, Ryan, Gray, Mahle, and Maeda being current examples. The Twins don't have many players typically that were acquired via FA and trades. Adding a player or two via free agency once in a while has been done (Nelson Cruz), but successful signings of the better players has been tough for many reasons and money is one. The Twins gained Vasquez, which I view as an aggressive and positive gain for the team, and it cost the team money. The change in strategy may be in seeing an opportunity now that costs more finances than the team was willing to pay and/or it may be a means to jolt interest to gain attendance. As a fan, I just want to watch a more athletic team, one that plays defense and is fundamentally sound in addition to hitting and pitching. I guess we all do.

I'm interested in data that is related to balls blocked (in dirt, bounce off of or in front of the plate).

Christian Vasquez is a good pickup. The Twins have needed a good catcher for years and hopefully we see some results as an experienced catcher works with our pitchers and also provides tutelage for Jeffers who can still become much better at his craft. It seems that Oakland and the Twins could not get together on a trade. It seemed like a possibility and I'm not too keen on the return the Athletics received for Murphy. Did the A's ask for too much or were the A's unimpressed with the Twins system and what it has to offer? No matter because maybe the Twins keeping their guys by signing a free agent (Vasquez) pays off in more ways than one. A trade for a pitcher and then a signing of Correa could certainly follow. It makes sense. In some ways, signing a catcher who can block pretty much any pitch may be the single best improvement possible for the Twins this offseason.

I don't see any players within the Yankees system that are both interesting and available, which doesn't make them a very decent trading partner. The only guy I could see is Loaisiga. I doubt the Yankees would trade him for Kepler. Maybe.

Free agency is a valuable way to improve a team, but trades are a critical way forward as well. It takes all three of develop, trade, and sign free agents to build a team. The Twins have developed some guys and traded for a few. Moves are coming.

The Padres have created a team that draws fans. Last year they finished with around 1.2 million more in seats than the Twins in a similar, albeit warmer, market. How much money does that raise?

Flexen is a solid pitcher and Miller is a fine prospect, but they closely replicate what the Twins currently field in their starting rotation and pitching prospects. The thought is worthy but the transaction would not be. The Twins needs are for pitchers who slot ahead of the current group, which is a difficult task, and a starting catcher. Falvey will need to surprise us.

On second thought Mack is not likely. If I could only hold one player out of trade talks it would be Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Miami needs to add a bat or two and Arraez would be a strong addition to their team. I can see both teams wanting to widen the trade to protect against a poor outcome. Miami may want a near ready young pitcher and a couple of other bats while the Twins may want a young pitcher and a minor league prospect. Totally shooting from the hip - Arraez, Larnach, Winder, and Martin for Lopez, Cabrera, and Mack. Seems somewhat reasonable. Does the Correa/Boras camp wait for Falvey to make a move to improve the Twins before making their decision? Nah.

Cleveland has some top talent itching for an opportunity and had the youngest team in baseball last year. They are very athletic. If the sophomore slump doesn't affect the Guardians, there may not be much of a race in the AL Central. This especially true if they manage to acquire Sean Murphy or get another power bat. Sometimes a young team regresses before moving forward but with Terry Francona at the wheel I would not bet against Cleveland.

To the point - every player can be traded for a return that improves the team and Arraez has not peaked.

Interesting. Stanton will never opt out. His contract pays $32, $32, $32, $29, $25, $10 or $160 million total. He has a full no trade too. Donaldson might be tough for the Twins to move at $29 million owed. Hicks has looked like toast but is less expensive for $10.5, $9.5, $9.5, and $1 million or $30.5 million. Severino is a deal for $15 million. The Twins would be skittish at the site of these contracts for three players they don't want, but the biggest issue may be that the Yankees may not be open to losing Luis Severino despite the financial relief. This is a creative idea however and you present it well. My only other comment is that Yankee prospects always seem to receive outsized publicity.

Kepler still has the potential to have an excellent career. He has, undoubtedly, hit a low point for the Twins. I've mentioned before that Max doesn't seem too happy when the cameras catch him, but I surely don't know that that is true. Kepler would be a solid guess as a player who is re-energized by a fresh start with a different team. However, as a long time fan of Kepler, I wish he could be an All Star for the Twins. He is an excellent defender and baserunner and consistently the most fundamentally sound player on the team. He often takes good at bats but his at bats were sad last season in their ending. Maybe it is time to let him flourish elsewhere. If I'm looking for an outfielder to acquire via trade, Max Kepler has the skills needed to fill the position.

I have only watched the Miami pitchers on video, never in person and not more than ten times. Thus, my opinion is very narrow on the Marlin guys mentioned. That said, I feel each comes with superior upside to the current cast of Twins starters. I also have some strong optimism concerning the abilities of some Twins prospects at the plate (Wallner, Lewis, Martin, Julien). I'm open to dealing combinations of players to get one or two pitchers. Larnach, Miranda, Arraez, and others such as Kepler, Polanco, and Jeffers are all available; pretty much anyone in a fair trade. It shouldn't require more than an Arraez, Larnach/Kepler, Winder/Ober plus A ball player to trade for Lopez and Cabrera, but the two teams should match up for a deal. I'm open to whatever parameters Falvey finds.

This is the allure of signing free agents - no need to trade our precious; sign Vasquez.

Looking quickly through some recent attendance numbers it seems like the Padres and Twins were pretty close in 2017-2019. The last three years there has been a growing gap. In 2022, the Padres pulled in more than a million more fans than the Twins. The Twins were in 1st place most of the season and the Padres had some issues. It appears that the Padres fans are more excited by the brand of baseball played by their team than the Twins fans are for their team. Butts in seats still means something. So a better media deal and a million plus extra fans creates a gap between these two teams in their finances. I would suggest that station to station baseball, poor fundamental play, and management style turned off some Twins fans. In any event, the front office needs to figure a way to get more people into Target Field in 2023. My two cents is to field a more exciting team.

Every individual has their view - Pablo Lopez is an excellent starting pitcher or Pablo Lopez isn't that good. Hopefully, the Twins have some means to evaluate talent correctly and acquire a starting pitcher. I like Lopez.

Is it fair to say that MLB owners and Manfred have totally obliterated their view that baseball is in financial trouble? San Diego sure found some cash. I guess the Twins got lucky they didn't sign all of Happ, Shoemaker, Bundy, and Archer to 3/$50 contracts.