tony&rodney

Miranda will adjust, he can hit MLB pitching. I'm pretty sure that Jose will be a good hitter going forward. Where I have reservations is with how Jose runs the bases and plays in the field. With more athletic players such as Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Austin Martin all creeping towards playing time, maybe Jose Miranda can be used (along with others) to bring back Sean Murphy or perhaps as part of a trade for either Woodruff or Lopez.

Mancini is a good story but I'm ready to see if Austin Martin can be the right handed bat.

I like his swing. Rodriguez just needs health, repetitions, and an opportunity to display his skills. He is perhaps the most exciting outfield prospect since Kepler and Rosario because there are many facets to his game.

The Bleacher Report ranking of the Twins prospects is certainly encouraging. Minor league players are quite difficult to assess at times. It is worth a look at all of the various ranking of MLB farm systems. Different people and sites can hold widely separate views of individual players. A player like Eduoard Julien can be evaluated so differently. I wonder where he could play effectively in the field. If he gets an opportunity Julien could be a stronger bat than Miranda considering his triple slash numbers and hard hit rates. I find it useful to read the reports written by Keith Law.

Me too. But ... I've not eaten crow before and it sounds to chewy. Pagan has an unfortunate name. Just let him go away.

Yes, this is exactly what I posted quite some time ago when someone said that Maeda had to go to the bullpen. The response suggested that the year off (fully paid) might make Kenta more open to being used as a reliever until such time as he had proved himself fully ready to takeover a starting spot. In other words, Maeda doesn't just get penciled in to the rotation and would be understanding. Spring Training will give us the answer.

The biggest takeaway from looking over Nash's roster is that he believes the Twins have an ability and interest in raising the budget to $154 million. I love that realization and also believe it is realistic. While the team could just build a team at around $100-120 million, a budget that allows for additional funds to be spent could bring excitement to Target Field and fill the seats.

Arraez is a player that Milwaukee may be interested in. Brooks Lee doesn't step right into the Milwaukee lineup and they need offense now.

We are mostly saying the same thing and agree to disagree on terms. I look at what the Twins have for pitching and what appears to be the model currently among winning teams. I will just use Houston although a few other teams are also good examples. Houston brings in some outside support: Greinke, Cole, and Verlander. The Twins bring in pitchers from outside: Maeda, Gray, Ryan, and Mahle. I will set aside Ryan because he was merely a prospect when acquired. The Twins had Berrios and Houston had McCullers. In the last few years while the Twins have struggled to get their youth established, Houston has seen the innings pile up and success follow for Valdez, Garcia, Javier, and even Urquiddy. Hunter Brown is up next. Those pitchers were put into positions behind McCullers and Verlander. Pitching is a combination of stuff and confidence. The confidence is gained from experience. Having someone like Verlander, Greinke, or Cole to lead and teach is also very helpful. The Twins have had some poor luck with injuries. Hopefully this ends. All of Ober, Winder, Varland, and Woods Richardson may emerge as premium pitchers. The Twins need to leave at least one spot for one of these emerging pitchers. Ryan has done well thus far, but it is worth a cautionary note to remember that his dominance against weaker teams has not been repeated against the stronger rosters. Ryan will hopefully improve in his outings against the strongest teams. I'm a fan of developing/giving innings to Varland and/or Ober this year and using guys in the bullpen as well, especially Winder. Where my view may differ from others is in looking at Gray and Mahle. (Maeda is another conversation because he has had some success but now returns from injury and it might be best if he builds up or contributes in the bullpen.) I would like to see the Twins add Rodon and another pitcher (Woodruff or Lopez) via trade because these guys are better pitchers in innings pitched and effectiveness due to their command and control of stronger repertoires in my view. Just adding one guy would have benefits to the starting staff in my opinion. The designation of numbers to starting pitchers can be quite arbitrary but when Houston line up Verlander, McCullers, Valdez, Javier, Garcia, and so forth one needs to think of where any of Gray, Mahle, and Maeda would fit. In sum, let's add a minimum of one pitcher at the top of our rotation this year, hope to see continued progress from Joe Ryan, and the emergence of another from among Varland, Ober, Winder, and Woods Richardson.

Yes, this may be true but it is not written specifically into his contract to my knowledge. I do believe there was an agreement and I brought this up some time ago. Another poster felt that a year on the IL might be sufficient reason to move Maeda back to the bullpen until such time as he proves himself superior and capable of throwing 100+ pitches in an outing. We won't know until Spring Training unless there is an unexpected announcement.

Yes, for sure. Though adding Rodon and possibly another really boosts the room for error, unexpected issues, and allows for flexibility. Houston has added guys like Cole, Greinke, and Verlander and then let them go because it gave time for Valdez, Urquiddy, Garcia, Javier, and now Brown to take root.

I doubt Milwaukee is looking to trade a player who provides offense. The Brewers are looking to add bats to their roster. Renfroe does not interest me as a potential roster pickup via trade.

I'm not sure why Urshela is the most difficult decision? The $9.2M figure is a sh**ton of money for many but almost a pedestrian number for a productive useful MLB player. Perhaps Urshela draws interest via a trade to bring back a needed relief pitcher but he should be aboard if the Twins envision him getting a similar number of plate appearances again next season. Pagan and Paddack are sentimental for Falvey but there is scant reason to have them on the roster in 2023. Maybe a team will consider those guys as a the end pieces of a trade. Pagan has displayed talent but is consistently below all reasonable expectations. Paddack has an enormous hill to climb as he attempts to come back from his second surgery. He may make it back in 2024 but will struggle and then maybe he manages to reach average status by 2025. I wish him well but the Twins should just move on. The other five are easy tender decisions. Yes. I would not look to extend any of the players currently in their arbitration years.

I wonder if Milwaukee might be looking for players to stick in the lineup now? Miranda, Thielbar or Mahle, and Paddack? Abreu would be a great pickup if the money works as would Jansen. I didn't see Larnach on the team. Can the Twins get Sean Murphy for Larnach, Ober, Miller, and Raya? The situation with Correa is critical to the direction of the team. i think he gets his $300 million. I hope we don't wait until February to make some trades.

This is the position that Falvey has taken and I agree that it hurts to sign a player and not get the expected production. I also agree that trades and development are the key to improvement in a pitching staff. I would love for the Twins to add Pablo Lopez. Burnes or Woodruff would be ideal but I'm not sure the Twins have the quality of player needed to acquire either Brewer starting pitcher. The Twins do have some emerging starting pitching which may either produce for the Twins or be used as assets to gain some needed position players via trade. Ober, Winder, SWR, and Varland are obvious guys in that group. Where we may disagree is with the percieved quality of the pitchers the Twins currently employ. In my observations, Gray is a decent #3 with Ryan and Mahle as good #4 starting pitchers. Maeda is returning from time off and likely is a better fit in the bullpen. Paddack may return in 2024 as a potential #5 guy, but he is fighting some serious odds of returning to any relevance as an MLB pitcher. I like these pitchers but they need to slide down in their spots. Thus, the Twins could acquire a #2 guy via trade (Lopez or Woodruff) and then it becomes necessary to sign someone to fill the top spot. The competition for a pitcher like Carlos Rodon will be pretty fierce but I'm aboard with a 5/$140M offer to have someone take the pressure off of those younger guys who the Twins hope will develop into the next Bieber or Burnes. Sign both Carlos guys.

We hope that Falvey has a series of conversations seeking some combination of players that would interest Miami to trade Pablo Lopez and/or maybe someone else to the Twins. Miami should sign Nimmo, but that is big bucks and he is often injured. Kepler and Arraez would be a fair return for Lopez. Haniger would be a great pickup after the team has settled c, ss, & sp. He would be decent as a DH/OF. It does seem like the Twins need to keep the DH spot open for Buxton and others in some rotation.

That is ok. Remember, memory is a funny thing. So now you know, no player contract has ever inhibited the Twins from a decision on whether they could or couldn't sign a free agent.

Just so we are all very clear on budgets, the Twins have never been restricted from signing a free agent due to any contracts that were carried on their financial books. If this were to happen, it would be a first and thus using the past as a useful lesson we simply don't have to worry about that concern. This offseason may determine whether the Twins can join those teams fighting for a league championship or whether the team may look to turn toward a new set of core players to be competitive looking several years down the road. The malaise towards the team, as exhibited by soft attendance and viewership numbers in 2022, needs a jolt because there is a significant interest in entertainment in this post Covid time. A fun team combined with the expected faster pace of play due to some new rules in play for 2023 could see a noteworthy rise in interest in the Twins across the region along with a major increase in attendance as well. The time is ripe to draw people towards the Twins. The Twins are not forced to sign Correa or any other specific star attraction but a significant move towards a better on field product is required for 2023. This can be accomplished through trades, the signing of free agents, the maturation of a few players, and/or some unexpected plus contributions from the younger less experienced players currently in the system. Waiting and hoping for a Happ or a Garlick to lead the Twins forward will not cut it and I'm quite positive that the front office is aware of this. I'm not interested in decent offers or "we had some conversations with a number of teams". The Twins need a new identity - more athletic, sound fundamentally, and aggressive.

Not at those salaries - no. It is always good to look around at who may be available and also useful and all of these athletes are good ball players, but the Twins have a set of priorities that moves these guys off of any wish list.

Not too keen on most of the RH bat choices, but Mitch Haniger is worth a shot on a higher one year salary ($14M). The free agent market has three shortstops and a few pitchers, unless one believes Judge can be signed by the Twins. Falvey needs to work the phones and see what is available via the trade route.

There isn't a slot in the cash registers for a $2 dollar bill. I have a small roll to donate. A few of them are old, but I'm not sure where they were hidden.

Yah, I would like to see Varland fill the #5 starting position slot with Winder in the bullpen alongside Maeda, which should help the team with long relief options. People are often forgetting Jovani Moran. He is really good. While i believe the Twins should jettison Pagan (the name is bad luck), Lopez should get another shot despite his late season meltdowns. Contreras, Correa, and Haniger would be a miracle; I like it. Haniger should get around $14 million though. Pollock, May, or Robertson don't seem necessary. Graveman and Singer would be great additions but I'm not sure how the Twins could acquire either guy from divisional rivals.

I agree with TopGun#22 that Larnach may be a key piece to move if his trade value is really as high as BTV seems to think. A move for the pitchers identified or even Murphy from Oakland may be possible (Larnach, Ober, Miller 4 Murphy). I would love to see any of Lopez, Woodruff, or Burnes added. Austin Martin may have had an inconsistent summer but he has the talent to fill multiple roles and could be an upgrade as a multiple position utility player getting 400+ at bats. The Twins need to move more quickly this offseason than they have in the last couple of years.

If 4.7 innings is all you are going to get from your starting staff .... the season is lost. Any collection of arms will break down if they are used too often. Pitchers have various assortments of pitches, with the starting staff usually having 3-5 pitches in their arsenals as opposed to the 1-3 pitches of a reliever. Often a pitcher will not have total command and control of all of their pitches and this is the source of problems for pitchers. A relief pitcher, having fewer pitches, will not be on their game all of the time and using 4-6 relief pitchers per game will eventually expose and weaken any bullpen. The Twins have some decent arms for the pen already on their roster: Duran, Lopez, Thielbar, Moran, Jax, Alcala, Maeda, Henriquez, Sands, Winder, and a few others potentially. They could certainly use an addition but big money for a reliever may not help. The better answer is to push the starters to around a 6 inning average. A free agent and maybe a couple of guys via trade will help the starting staff. Hopefully, our analytic crew has taken note of how Houston and Philadelphia used their starters this year.

The Twins have already trimmed many of the relievers who struggled in 2022. Smeltzer wasn't bad, but not so good as a reliever - gone. Cano, Smith, and Duffey - gone. Pagan - We hope he is dropped. I'm not sold on Fulmer - he is a free agent. Sanchez and Cotton (I liked him) - gone. Megill had ups and downs - likely a minor league (?) deal. That leaves us with Duran, Lopez, Alcala (coming back strong), Thielbar, Moran (underrated), Jax, Maeda (best used as a rp), Winder, Henriquez, Stashak, Sands, and some others from within the system provide more stability imho than what was available going into 2022. I would only look to add one guy and a few others on minor league deals. Focus on starters, shortstop, catcher, and a RH of bat.