tony&rodney

Byron Buxton or .... Edouard Julien. Julien has a huge March and proves he can take pitches and hit line drives everywhere and then proceeds to ROY.

Laughed at the title to this post ... exactly what I thought. Taylor does play a great centerfield though and the Twins were not going to use Sisk or Cruz any time soon. Now what does KC want for Bobby Witt Jr.? jk

Can the top three on this list become all stars? Every team looks to its prospects to develop into starting players and then star players. Guys like Julio Rodriguez light up the fan base. Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Emmanuel Rodriguez could all arrive very soon. It is going to be fun watching a few minor league games to see these and other developing players.

The biggest change has been how the payroll jumped in the last five years. Financial constraints can limit the decisions that get made. I don't believe there is much room to compare the different front offices of Falvey and Ryan. The move to sign Buxton was a gamble and continues to carry some low grade risk, while the Correa contract was a real marked change to commit to winning, in my opinion. There are several prospects on the verge of breaking out or crashing. It might be difficult to know right now, but the talent is present. Kirilloff, Lewis, and Larnach could or should be able to contribute in a real meaningful fashion this year and Gordon could easily improve as well. His health issues seem to be in the past. Additionally, there are legitimate reasons to believe in Lee, Martin, Julien, and Wallner as prospects pushing for their opportunity. Miranda had a good year last year and would like to prove he can be much better given a second round at the pitchers. Even Jeffers could rebound. The combination of the older core and the emerging core projects potential success. Falvey and friends have some talent on hand which allowed for the team to swap out Arraez for Pablo Lopez. Depending on how the ten players in the paragraph above perform, the Twins may find it possible to complete a further trade for strong starting pitching again, even as they hope to see some of their own pitching prospects flourish. Buxton, Correa, and Vasquez will be around for at least three years. Polanco and Kepler could be around a couple more years as well. The Twins are building quite a bit of flexibility into their roster management. One could even imagine a mid season push for Burnes via trade in the right situation. The financial support from the top has created real opportunity and flexible alternatives for building the roster in recent history.

I hope Helman gets a look somewhere in the next year. He does quite a few things decently, not a starter at the MLB level.

I find my self hoping that Max Kepler stays in right field, batting ninth.

I actually believe that the Twins will bring Larnach north but if Julien totally lights it up in the camps, I would like to see him DH. Then again, I want Gordon in LF and it looks like he will be squeezed out. I said on a post several days back that it is likely still too early to tell who will be on the squad in Kansas City. I think, in retrospect, we should all just wait. Me too. I was just thinking about the Cave, Contreras, Wallner outfield at the end of the year and wondering how wild that was compared to what will show up at St. Paul at the beginning of this year.

Agree and this is also a reaction to the declining attendance. The Twins look to be good from Day 1 and push this year. Hopefully there is also a corresponding appropriate shift in focus on baseball fundamentals, emphasis on each game, and a general overall more exciting brand of baseball. I think so.

St. Paul has Larnach in LF, Celestino in CF, and Wallner in RF.

Joe Mauer had a no trade clause in his contract as Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa do now. The most popular and valuable Twins player ever was traded - Harmon Killebrew. Sadly, it is a business just like everything else touching money. Yes, religion too. The way it is. So it goes.

When I first saw this trade i thought it was Taylor, Witt, and Singer for Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Ober, Winder, and Ryan. Oh well. Still a decent trade because it removes all of the angst about poor Byron.

Passan reports trade. View full rumor

Six of the starters in the opening day lineup will be holdovers from before Falvey. That's fine. This is year seven and maybe we pay too much attention to how players are acquired. I have noticed that the Twins have increased their expenditures in the last five years, which may have allowed the team to acquire and keep players. That is a positive move. The process of development is pretty tough. A guy like Juan Soto, signed relatively inexpensively, can change the fortunes of any team. Can you imagine how a Julio Rodriguez would have impacted the Twins roster? Currently, the Twins seem to have a nice blend of veterans and young players.

The fact that Luis Arraez is a good hitter is pretty much not worth arguing about. Arraez is a good hitter. I believe this trade was in part a belief in those players sitting on the fence waiting for an opportunity and/or recovering from injury. All of Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, and perhaps Julien could more than cover for Arraez. Brooks Lee is coming as well. The gamble is that these guys step up and that Pablo Lopez simply repeats what he did for the Marlins. Lopez should be improved as well, which is a plus for the Twins. There is risk and this trade would seem to benefit both teams, not a bad thing. Salas and Chourio are future tickets that the Twins hope pay off. As an original subscriber to BaseballAmerica and a sicko follower of minor league players across baseball, Salas does carry promise and value because he has physical talent and baseball acumen. Like all prospects, development depends on a combination of talent, health, opportunity, and how the individual handles adversity. Salas projects positively in my viewpoint. In any event, the Arraez-Lopez +2 trade was a good trade for baseball as two teams will be improved due to the exchange.

Each part makes a decision at a particular time that attempts to maximize production. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. 2023 is a new season and Byron Buxton is healthy once again. Let him play his game. It was reasonable to make numerous accommodations with how and when Buxton played last year due to injuries and availability on any given day. There isn't any reason today to repeat that practice. I doubt Falvey and Baldelli are going into the season with plans based on Buxton being injured and needing to be sat down on a frequent basis.

Your opinions are not unpopular. There are many posts that wrote about their high regard for Luis Arraez. You also were not in a vast minority because the trade was received with much trepidation by numerous people. The Twins and Marlins each felt their teams would be improved with this trade which in turn raised considerable negative reactions from both fan bases. The players understand that baseball is a business and both Lopez and Arraez took a positive approach to their next job location. Until or unless a player is a free agent, the choice of where to work is tenuous at best. I wish both players the best and feel the trade was an honest move to improve each team. Vegas has odds for each of your wagers if you really want to put some money in support of your distaste for the trade. It is entertainment, both baseball and gambling. I will be just enjoying the baseball and will also tune in to a number of Miami games to watch Luis Arraez continue to do his thing.

Stewart and Jay didn't pan out, but the disappointment is connected to them being high round one picks. Cavaco was a gamble that has not worked thus far, while Sabato was a head scratcher. The Twins have drafted decently in the overall picture. We have to wait for the emergence of a number of players and that could be this year for Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, and Lee. Gordon could take another step forward as well. Finally, Sonny Gray tell us how much Petty was worth for now. All in all, pretty good drafts.

Let him play - well said.

I may be on an island but after watching Reynolds a dozen times last year I came away unimpressed. Reynolds is a good player but not a superstar. If we trade with Pittsburgh, I'm asking about Endy Rodriguez.

Brooks Lee has high marks for his arm and power but very high for his hit projection. He rarely strikes out and also has an excellent eye at the plate. Thus Lee has a high floor and his risk of not reaching the majors is lower than other draftees. One player mentioned in this post as an exciting prospect is a catcher, Kevin Parada. Parada carries a high mark for his batting and projects to have very good power. However, he is slow, lacks a decent arm, and will need significant gains behind the plate to avoid being a DH. Yordan Alvarez is an example of a young DH, but he is as good of a batter as there is in MLB and also plays a fair LF. A prospect who can field decently, carries a very high hit tool, and consistently hits the ball hard from both sides of the plate while being selective and difficult to strike out is rare. I think this why Brooks Lee is a prospect to follow. Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis (a more toolsy prospect) present the Twins with a pair of guys that could potentially create many problems for pitchers for the next decade.

The DH spot sure looks like it may be based on what occurs in Spring Training. Guys like Martin, Larnach, and Wallner need to play consistently. Each might work if they prove themselves ready. Julien is someone the staff will be watching because if he gets real comfortable facing the best pitchers, using him as a DH won't stall his development. If I had to guess today, I would say Gordon and then Larnach.

Profar would have been a good player to sign if the Twins had traded two of Larnach, Kepler, and Gordon (not a suggestion). The current roster does not improve with a Profar addition because he hits better LH and Garlick remains effective against lefties. I thought someone would sign Profar for 3/$27M. He doesn't fit right now as a Twin.

Agree with all of those saying the time has come to let the talent come forth from our young players. They are ready.

Luis Arraez is a really good hitter. I believe he will improve in small ways and would be a tough out batting third in the Marlins lineup. I can see Arraez winning more batting titles. My constant plea was for the Twins to maneuver whatever pieces they could manage to wrestle Edward Cabrera and even (long shot) Jesus Luzardo away from the Marlins. I don't think the Marlins wanted to take that risk. The Twins pivoted and did well to hold strong for the two additional prospects plus Lopez. Miami was not going to listen on anyone other than Arraez. It was a good trade for both teams. Pablo Lopez is a really good pitcher, a true #2 on a playoff team. Like all pitchers the specter of injury will always hover. The Twins can use Sonny Gray out of the gate followed by Lopez. Most importantly, the Twins will put a competitive starting pitcher on the field in every game. This will pay off. The Twins have some good bats ready for their opportunity and the success of the team will depend on positive contributions from a couple of Lewis, Kirilloff, Julien, and Larnach. These guys are ready in my opinion. Their time has come to show off their skills. The improvement of the starting staff takes some pressure off of the bats and despite how excellent Arraez was for the Twins, the guys up next are going to cover his loss even if it is in a different manner.