tony&rodney

Everything depends on the budget. The Twins can keep Lopez, Ryan, Buxton, and Jeffers in addition to signing Bo Bichette for around a team total of $110M. The little deals around the fringes could be huge if Falvey and his crew can pull of a few gambles. A caveat about these rumors - they may have access but are not necessarily any better than anyone's guesses on here. There are really incredible suggestions from a few people. I saw one (in Yahoo) that suggested the Mets trade McLean, Tong, Sproat, and Ewing for Lopez. Now that is crazy. Twins would love that deal. I'm hoping there are a number of moves before December ends, three or four at a minimum.

Last season Prielipp (mol) identified himself as a potential relief pitcher. He cut through any lineup he faced at both AA and AAA in dominant innings but ran into problems as a starter. He still managed to go further but his dominance faded as the edge came off his pitches. I will say that when I watched his last start and he went 6 innings I was impressed. Prielipp also needs to face MLB batters to judge the effectiveness of his arsenal. There is nothing that prevents a relief pitcher from transitioning to a starting rotation, see Seth Lugo and others. The Twins players and team would benefit from having their best pitchers at the major league level. I was not surprised in the least to see Falvey identify Marco Raya and Connor Prielipp as guys who are ready for MLB in a relief role. Working in relief would allow Prielipp to build strength in his arm as well. I guess we shall see how it plays out.

This is a timely and well constructed post on a major challenge for the Twins management team. A big issue for some pitchers is in how their bodies, in particular their arms, responds to pitching on a more regular basis. Few pitchers have the ability to throw every day or three out of four days. Michael Tonkin had value, partially, for that reason. Eddy Guardado, who was a starter, could throw nearly every day. Pitchers who cannot break into and hold a starting pitcher role need to transition to the bullpen and it isn't always easy in a physical fashion. Nick is quite correct to identify the challenge of accepting a career shift as the major mental obstacle. LaTroy Hawkins could be the voice to help individuals react positively to a position shift. There are a few players who could move quickly into the bullpen. No doubt people on Twins Daily as well as other fans will disagree on some of the players picked for roles in the bullpen. Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Andrew Morris, and John Klein could enter MLB as relief pitchers. We saw Cole Sands, Travis Adams, and Pierson Ohl make the move previously. David Festa and/or Zeb Matthews seem like natural choices to become relievers as well. A key factor in who transitions to the bullpen will hinge on whether the Twins trade any of their top three starters. Additionally, we should expect that the front office identifies two veteran relief pitchers to act as leaders and lend experience to the group that gathers beyond the outfield wall. There are number of reasonable options. Caleb Thielbar and Danny Coulombe were past examples and could be brought back. I like Pete Fairbanks. I do see the opportunity for a positive group to emerge and form a solid relief corps. I'm more nervous about how the front office builds the position side of the roster.

Agree that there are fewer and fewer top prospects or young players traded. Guess the hope is that some wild gambles are tried or that conversations take place at the least. I get that teams could be put off by certain suggestions but if the clubs aren't talking deals don't get done. Agree also that trading Ryan for a couple of middling, far off prospects such Arias and Clarke is a no-no. If we could have any confidence that the Twins would spend Lopez's dollars for Bichette or Naylor, then i could get behind a trade of Pablo for someone like Ceddanne Rafaela, who I believe is still improving in his game. In the meantime let's hope Falvey and the boys throw out some crazy ideas. How does offering Ryan, Royce, and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Nick Kurtz sound? Crazy? A's say no way and Twins say way too much? Detroit is a #2 starting pitcher away. Is Ryan, Roden, and Charlee Soto for Max Clark crazy? It feels like the Twins want to turn things around. There is a couple of investors aboard, a new manager, and a six new coaches. A couple of solid/good relief pitchers, a bat or two (Bichette, Naylor), and a few simple trades along with the emergence of a couple of our own prospects should help the rebuild.

Can I ask - How many times have you watched Brandon Winokur play baseball? "....you can be 99% on any player like this he won't ever be anything...." - from the comment. Can you name another player you have seen who is arguably the biggest, fastest, strongest, and most coordinated guy in an organization? There just aren't any other players like him in the Twins system. Winokur is a complete unicorn, one of a kind athlete. His talent is off the charts but his skills have yet to reach the levels expected to move him more than one level per year and Winokur may need to repeat a level too. It is why he is still used as a shortstop, why he gets picked to play in the Arizona Fall League, and why his name is always in the lineup. He didn't receive the highest bonus money but his potential is what all teams drool over and hope to develop. There isn't any hurry and if he never makes it in baseball that doesn't mean he doesn't have the talent or that an organization shouldn't seek to polish that stone. Think Elly De La Cruz. Then again, Cruz has people who don't like him .... go figure. If you haven't watched Winokur play, treat yourself to a couple dozen of his games via milb.com or go watch him in person several times. If you watch one game you may see a tall gangly kid doing not much or you may see the talent and wonder if he can be pushed up the ladder faster. Winokur is a work in progress. He is young.

I just read another Pablo Lopez to Baltimore article/rumor. The writer referenced the Sonny Gray for Chase Petty trade and stated that Baltimore could send either of Michael Forret or Boston Bateman, #9 and #11 among MLB Oriole prospects. This would be the absolute other end of a Samuel Basallo for Pablo Lopez trade. I spend almost no time on rumor sites because they are almost 100% lunatic. Yesterday a Met blogger wrote that his Mets needed Pablo Lopez. He was offering Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat, and another guy for Lopez. Maybe it wasn't a Met fan. Let's hope not. NYCTK would have a stroke reading that stuff. I generally see better suggestions from some people on Twins Daily and let's just admit .... we have no idea what we are doing. Also if you have been reading Jim Bowden, stop it. If the Twins trade Pablo Lopez for Bateman or Forret, ........

Heretic

Hopeful the Twins pick #1-1 and that the player they pick is far better than expected. Maybe Roch Cholowsky is our starting shortstop in 2027.

Do you know Paul? He is very cognizant and uber aware of all analytics. Molitor's reputation during and after his playing days was as perhaps the most knowledgable person in the sport. There were few details that ever managed to escape Pauley's eyes and ears.

Beat me to it. This is a fantastic addition to the Twins. The newly named assistant bench coach, Mike Rabelo, is also a great hire. Along with Sizemore and Gardenhire the Twins have done extremely well on their new additions. The news today actually makes me think we may see some positive player moves.

Baltimore signed Basallo to an 8 year plus 1 additional option year (9 total) contract. He is going to be practically free for 6 years. I highly doubt it is possible to pry away Basallo. Give it a shot - Ryan, Roden, Rojas, and Prielipp. Baltimore will say no. Love the idea though.

The above references Alan Roden. Roden has some solid skills and potential. What are the Twins plans? Without a direction it is tryouts for everyone, which could be good but young players also need a rope. They can't be benched after consecutive 0-4 days or be constantly looking for their names on the lineup card. The Twins will need to decide who they are hanging their hopes on. Perhaps Spring Training competition is the deciding point. Another variable is whether the team trades players such as Joe Ryan. If Joe Ryan was traded and the Twins have an eye on a guy, there may need to be a player or two added to convince an opposing front office to part with the Twins target. In that case, Roden or others can be added to acquire a top prospect/player. Heck, Rojas would also fit as an add-on. This offseason should include some change. What it is we cannot know but a repeat of last summer's post All Star action is not a good idea.

It would be shocking if the White Sox traded their young catchers. I'm not sure what Seattle would require for Harry Ford. Maybe the Mariners exchange Ford for Wallner, but it might be a EmRod for Ford deal or Seattle wants Royce for Harry. Whatever, the conversations need to happen.

Strike while the iron is hot. Matt Wallner, a valuable outfield asset, moves to Pittsburgh and Jared Jones goes west to buy a winter coat for comfort in Minneapolis.

Suggesting that my wanting the Twins to improve their talent is negative, so be it. I don't believe that expecting or hoping for regression from your opponents is a plan. I'm always interested in other ideas. It is a little weird to attack disagreement as negative. I have proposed a number of positive paths forward for the Twins. Doing nothing doesn't work well though. As. far as being a fan, I have been a fan since 1961, worked for them at one time, had season tickets, and followed the team through some rough patches. These times, too, shall pass.

"If it works. ..." Therein lies the challenge. Brock puts up these Twins Blueprint pages and we are supposed to guess how to build a roster. The speculation of keeping most of the current roster at a roughly $110M budget doesn't really satisfy hopes for a good team. Raising the budget to roughly $130M allows for some potential additions that may bring about a competitive team. Doing nothing or just playing 2026 with the current roster seems like a disaster. Thus one is left wondering if it makes sense to sell for high talent now and hope for a World Series caliber team in a couple of years. Certainly there are no simple answers or guarantees. I'm not sure that the standard practice of waiting out the markets will work. Being proactive may be the Twins best shot.

This is the thought process I use when guessing which team would be interested in returning high value in a trade for Ryan, Lopez, or others. The Twins losses for the 2026 and 2027 seasons would be gains for another team. Naturally, anyone's speculations can be widely panned as unlikely. If Jenkins was the price for obtaining a player that brought the Twins to the ALCS and/or WS, would you make the deal?

I suspect that this is true. People who speculate on how the Twins will act/respond this offseason are left completely on their own because a direction has not been forwarded from the organization. If the team were to continue the pattern of late July, moving Ryan and/or Lopez seems possible. That, in turn, means looking for a team for Buxton as he has stated he wants to win. A teardown team still can win 65 games but 2-4 relief pitchers would be needed to stabilize the pen. This seems both necessary and feasible. Of course, it also seems realistic for the Twins to make money with a $130 million 26 person roster as the 2026 season opens.

I'm sorry but I'm not really understanding what your point is as a response to what I commented. My comment promotes the idea that the Twins need better talent to compete. I should have stated that more clearly perhaps. When people suggest that career years from various currently rostered Twins would be enough to compete in the AL Central because we should also expect decline from the players on the other teams, that is not a viable plan. Today, as I type this reply, the Twins are well behind other AL Central teams in talent. This is 100% an opinion. People can easily disagree with that thought and I respect those opinions. My opinion is based on what I saw in August and September.

Really? Please tell everyone else who cannot see what direction the team is headed.

It doesn't hold up. I agree with that thought. We are certainly in the dark. It might help sell a few tickets if the team does something that feels like a forward move. One would expect that the front office has a plan, but maybe they are shifting every day with uncertainty as well. One would also expect that there has been both direction and alignment with ownership as well. POBO comments seem to indicate that ownership hasn't yet given a plan. That seems very strange. We're all just floating in the breeze.

This plan aims, within a reasonable budget, to compete. Ryan and Lopez stay. While all signs point to a further sell off of players despite the various comments by the front office, here I add to the "core" by signing two corner infielders and two relief pitchers. Additionally, via trades, two catchers are added along with a middle infielder and a pitching prospect. It would be useful to add another reliever but I wanted to remain within a reasonable budget. Kaelen Culpepper, Gabriel Gonzalez, Andrew Morris, J.ohn Klein, and Brody Hopkins remain in AAA. 4 trades & 4 free agent signings. Can't expect this as a reality, but it comes in at less than $120M before adding Correa's money. R. Lewis for Harry Ford B. Ober, K. DeBarge for Jordan Lawler T. Bradley, J. Topa for Jeferson Quero R. Jeffers, T. Adams for Brody Hopkins FA - Bo Bichette for 9/$225M FA - Josh Naylor for 4/$90M FA - Pete Fairbanks for 1 year/$10M FA - Caleb Thielbar for 1 year/$3.1M This plan uses about the same as the Twins began two years ago, 2024. It is more than my middle road but still within reason. If Lopez, Ryan, and Buxton go then we need a "Savings Plan Team". C: Jeferson Quero ($0.80M) 1B: Josh Naylor ($22.50M) 2B: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 3B: Bo Bichette ($25.00M) SS: Jordan Lawler ($0.80M) LF: Emmanuel Rodriguez ($0.80M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.15M) RF: Walker Jenkins ($0.80M) DH: Matt Wallner ($0.80M) 4th OF: Austin Martin ($0.80M) Utility: Brooks Lee ($0.80M) Utility: Alan Roden ($0.80M) Backup C: Harry Ford ($0.80M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Pablo Lopez ($21.75M) SP2: Joe Ryan ($5.80M) SP3: Zebby Matthews ($0.80M) SP4: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) SP5: Mick Abel ($0.80M) RP: David Festa ($0.80M) RP: Kody Funderburk ($0.80M) RP: Cole Sands ($1.30M) RP: Connor Prielipp ($0.80M) RP: Marco Raya ($0.80M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($3.10M) RP: Pierson Ohl ($0.80M) RP: Pete Fairbanks ($10.00M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 7.56% over budget

In my first Middle Path proposal I traded for Lawler and traded away EmRod, mitigating gambles in a way. Because we have zero clue of a budget, it makes quite a bit of sense to have a plan below $85M and another around $125M. Of course this is all just nonsense but I cut and split the wood and am setting the book and other chores aside for a bit making these conversations and articles worthwhile as an avid baseball fan. I like seeing what people put out there as an exercise. I wish more would do so. I wish the leaders of the site would weigh in with plans too. As they say, it's all good.

Eric was responding to Lawler's play at third base. Eric also has him as a 55/60 defender at shortstop. There are always going to be questions, to be sure. I have seen him a bunch and would take the gamble. Truth is - Lawler is a gamble. Emmanuel Rodriguez is not at all a similar player but there are questions about him as well and plopping these guys in a lineup is a gamble, but one that can payoff in a big way. The Twins have been rolling with mediocre talent for too long.

I would add Kyle DeBarge, a player who could be a fine utility player or even make it as a second baseman. Jordan Lawler has tantalized Arizona for a few years and not found his footing. He is a real gamble for them or any team that might acquire him. Thing is that Lawler has a high ceiling so any trade would need to push Arizona to give him up. I would consider a Festa or Matthews for Lawler if I knew the Twins could spend $125M on their roster.