tony&rodney

Yes, in his trial at third base.

Arizona has a guy - Geraldo Perdomo - who is a star shortstop signed long term and Ketel Marte at second base is also signed long term. Thus the idea to try Lawler in CF. Lawler is a terrific shortstop. He was very uncomfortable at third base, which is not terribly unusual. Arizona also has a pile of potentially solid/good third basemen. I don't know how many times you have watched Lawler play shortstop but he looked really good to me (via milb.com) ... and yes, he looked awful at third base. FWIW, I have yet to see/read anyone who evaluates infielders as part of their job voice any concerns about Lawler as a shortstop. Of course, Lawler has only played shortstop in AAA and has not proven himself at any position in MLB. Lawler is a boom or bust candidate but I think his upside and athleticism is exactly the direction our front office needs to take now.

Thank you for posting your proposal. It is interesting to see these rosters. I'm too afraid of what the actual front office will do after living through the past several years. The challenge in putting these rosters out is the unknown financial limits. I would like to see the Twins compete but the July trades were curious, at the very least. Cutting back to $125M should have been an option but here we are looking at a $110M budget and most people are cutting back even further as you have done. Like the move of Matt Wallner to DH. He could blossom in that role (Kyle Schwarber like -?), but I live in fear of seeing him in the outfield as do the pitchers. Your low budget would have room for Pete Fairbanks.

Sure wish I could see all of these players several dozen times in person with a seat right at field level. My view was via milb.com, where I was able to watch each of them many, many times. The tough part will be transitioning to the major leagues. Walker Jenkins has fought injuries almost every year and the owies are always different. He will be pushed to a corner (imo), but his maturity as a hitter makes him a candidate to break camp with the team next season. The numbers at AAA did not impress many but if you watched most of his plate appearances, your fears were gone. He controls himself exceptionally well. There is some Mauer. Emmanuel Rodriguez has had a real problem staying on an active roster and the hole in his swing bothers a bunch of folks. The Twins need to make a decision on EmRod. He can play. Kaelen Culpepper could be the surprise of Spring Training. My initial thoughts are that KC needs a year at AAA but he could jump right into the lineup, much like Luke Keaschall did last season. Culpepper was consistently a dominant player last year. I'm impressed by his focus. Eduardo Tait takes a vicious swing at the dish. He looked good behind the plate on some occasions but struggled badly at other times. Tait has some solid athleticism. He will be at Cedar Rapids to start the year and is still at least two plus years away from any MLB role. Hopefully he can develop as a catcher. Mick Abel displayed his abilities on several occasions last year, first with the Phillies and then in his last start with the Twins. He has great stuff but needs consistency. The Twins should plop him into the #5 slot as a starter and let him pitch. The comment of 1 makes it, 2 are ok, and 2 fail is about right with top 5 prospects in most organizations. My bet would be that Jenkins and Culpepper will thrive, EmRod and Abel could go in any direction, and it is much too early to make any call on Tait. I would put Tait with others in the low minors as hopefuls with questions. We need to give the guys below AA quite a bit of patience.

A player who can hit fits on any team as a DH. A team of DH players doesn't work because suddenly those routine ground balls and fly balls (where the guy has to go his left or right with some athleticism) become base hits. Every team needs offense as we saw in the playoffs, but we also saw defense. Keep the DH players at DH. If they are good, they can bat in the three hole.

Ok. That sounds fine. Now put it together and post your team on Brock's GM tool under Twins Talk.

That wasn't from me. It was a quote from Falvey.

Yes, I read that in The Athletic. When you "add to this group" I'm thinking there may also need to be some subtraction. I have stated in other places, I remain hopeful that the front office can change it's past practices of rolling out the same basic team. My patience after the last two offseasons is a bit short. We saw the current roster's skills in August and September. I'm hopeful of change which means additions AND subtractions.

He put out this same basic article last January. Does the MLB Revenue-Sharing Model Require Adaptation? By Jake McKibbin January 30 I linked to it in a discussion of the CBA after next season. I'm afraid that only a small number of owners are willing to lean on the big market teams. The changes will be largely incremental in nature or more of the same; minor changes. The owners will huff and puff and work hard to sway those who don't educate themselves on the issues. The players will be painted as the bad guys. It will be like the bad script followed by our government in the shutdown. Only little people will get hurt. McKibbin does a great job of laying out the data. All baseball fans should read it.

"With Shelty coming in, you can already tell there’s a little bit of fresh ideas brewing around how do we make the team the best it can be, no matter who’s on the roster at that moment in time? My focus will continue to be on ways we can put players around the players that are on our roster and not subtract from it.” Am I the only one who is baffled by an inability to communicate by this fellow? How do you add to a full roster without subtracting from it? Why not ... some vague, "We are looking at all facets of our organization, talking with every team, and looking over what free agents can contribute to our squad. We plan to be better." Byron is in his last year of the no trade contract but he may have reached or be near the 5 and 10 year rule needing his permission to be traded. If he wants to play for a winner, he better speak up soon. Is he willing to play in New York, Detroit, Milwaukee, or elsewhere? Nobody should blame him if he asks to be traded. Fair criticism and specific frustrations that also include possible positive remedies are a voice for engaged fans of sports. Returning the same product again and again deserves an opinion. The alternative is giving up on the team which is what many people have already done based on attendance and even the quantity of comments on this site.

Goal is to improve defense, speed, athleticism, and offense on budget beneath $120M. Moves are all speculative of unknown possibilities. 1. Bailey Ober, Kyle DeBarge for Jordan Lawler. 2. Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, Jose Olivares for for Jared Jones. 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez for Harry Ford. 4. Sign Josh Naylor FA-3/$78M. 5. Joe Ryan, Alan Roden, Charlee Soto for Tyler Soderstrom or Max Clark Willing to spend $15M on relief pitching if $115M is possible. Two relievers are needed. Think I need to push forward a bare bones plan and a $125M plan. C: Ryan Jeffers ($6.60M) 1B: Josh Naylor ($26.00M) 2B: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 3B: Royce Lewis ($3.00M) SS: Jordan Lawler ($0.80M) LF: Tyler Soderstrom ($0.80M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.15M) RF: Walker Jenkins ($0.80M) DH: Gabriel Gonzalez ($0.80M) 4th OF: Austin Martin ($0.80M) Utility: Kyler Fedko ($0.80M) Utility: Brooks Lee ($0.80M) Backup C: Harry Ford ($0.80M) SP1: Pablo Lopez ($21.75M) SP2: Zebby Matthews ($0.80M) SP3: Taj Bradley ($0.80M) SP4: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) SP5: Mick Abel ($0.80M) RP: David Fest ($0.80M) RP: Jared Jones ($0.80M) RP: Travis Adams ($0.80M) RP: Cole Sands ($1.30M) RP: Pierson Ohl ($0.80M) RP: Marco Raya ($0.80M) RP: Connor Prielipp ($0.80M) RP: Kody Funderburk ($0.80M) Payroll is 18.36% under budget

Naylor is my top addition. Money might sway him if there are bones on the team. You suggest that Bo Bichette is unrealistic and while I commend your thought process it looks a little like my suggestion to add Aaron Judge a few years back, although more realistic. I don't think the money is doable despite plenty of room in the yearly budget. I think the Twins struggle to look long term making a potentially solid signing like Bichette scary because they will focus on the total package. Additionally, Bichette is pretty done as a shortstop long term. Still I can get behind that signing and price. The talent on the roster must be upgraded and with it seeming highly unlikely that the Twins will contend in 2026 or 2027 hard decisions need to be made on Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez. Thanks for the proposals. I'm hoping there is more energy on this than there was last season despite the general uncertainty of the paths the team will actually take for 2026.

If everything you suggest is true (which I'm not prepared to weigh in on here) doesn't that suggest a person who would never resign because they are sure of their approach?

I'm not certain we can know that decision. My view is that Andrew Morris needs additional work on command that brings about more chase on the edges or just outside the strike zone as well as adding more late depth to his changeup. Connor Prielipp has the skills to be an MLB starting pitcher but has to find out which of his pitches to refine or whether to add a pitch. That can be done in the minor leagues as a starter but he would receive a stronger indication of where to head with his arsenal as a relief pitcher for a year or two. His focus would improve at the higher level. In any event there has not been a definitive decision on him yet, although the Twins are leaning more minor league time. That's a good bet which you and I would both take. Where we differ is in the amount to bet and the certainty.

Thank you for submitting your proposal. Looks like you tapped four rookies. FWIW, all of Wallner, Clemens, Outman, and Bradley are controlled pre-arbitration, which mol means $800,000. Saves less than $3M.

This is the answer. I tried to say that in more neutral terms. We might look at the past and see who will pitch and get plate appearances. Perhaps things fall apart (the center cannot hold) more quickly in 2026 and the kids are tapped earlier and given a run. I'm not sure what we could call August and September.

The opportunity could be available for a number of young players to gain experience, innings, and plate appearances in 2026. The Twins have not tipped their hand in any fashion and are repeating comments made from the last several seasons which mask all intentions of whether anyone might reasonably expect trades, free agent signings, or looking toward rookies. Perusing all available information leaves the fans in the dark. Will the Twins roll with their current roster? Will the Twins rebound to a $130M budget? Will the Twins continue the rebuild begun last July? Nobody Knows. Brock put up a GM tool and it seems that each individual considering it would need to create three models, one for each of the possible paths. Opportunity could potentially see all of Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp, Andrew Morris, and Marco Raya emerge among pitchers. Among position players it is possible to expect any of Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, Kaelen Culpepper, and Kyler Fedko turning out strong performances. Perhaps a player or two received in a trade makes their mark as well. In recent years only Julien and Keaschall have received votes for ROY, but there are names in the pile above who could put up sufficient numbers whereby votes fall in their favor. It is all about opportunity and subsequent performance. The path taken will decide whether any of these guys receive a chance.

We can say that, but we must also say that Detroit had more injuries last season than the Twins had in the last 2-3 years. Hey, I'm hopeful but the what ifs are daunting. Line up the players and pick position by position. The Twins come out poorly unless the what ifs are 100% and that doesn't work very well because we can say that about other teams as well. For example, Cleveland can say that Buxton goes back to the IL and Keirsey Jr. or Outman do their normal stuff at the same time as DeLauter tears up MLB. The front office needs to make some moves or the current roster will be picked by most pundits for a battle with the White Sox. I'm still hopeful of change and a decent team.

The 6 players highlighted plus Fedko should easily fit on the 40 roster because there are 4-7 players that can be dropped without concern. Yes. The front office needs to be active earlier in this offseason than they have the past two years. Whether via trades or whatever, something needs to give on the roster before 2025 closes.

This was sad.

Isn't that a question that is common amongst those of us who follow the offseason? We think the Twins have a plan as most businesses do. Do they though? Maybe we have our evidence from the last several years. The question is nearly unanswerable. Aaron Sabato was the pick. Since that time the general belief seems to be that anyone can play first base or grab a veteran. Again, it is hard to picture a direction at first base. Is it Clemens or someone like him? We wait.

If Ortiz and Claase like to play baseball they would enhance somebody's amateur team. In a few years they could join a Senior League. MLB doesn't have to prove guilt, they are both finished in that league. Human behavior never ceases to surprise. We think people must have some intelligence because of their positions in life but repeatedly that assumption is shown to be erroneous. Too bad, Claase was a good arm.

This may be the crux of the problem for the Twins and Twins fans. Perhaps (and we can be certain we don't know) Falvey believes the Twins will be contenders. A fair number of people on Twins Daily also believe in the roster and see bounces from guys like Lee, Lewis, Wallner, and so on and on. So while I may agree with you about next year, there are plenty of folks who might not. Differences are not a bad thing and exchanges of ideas are good. Only the POBO knows. Or does he? Thus the problem or issue for the Twins. What is the plan? I have no clue where the team is headed.

FWIW, catchers are rarely traded during the season; it just doesn't happen. The Twins either trade Jeffers this offseason or he plays out the 2026 season and then goes free agent. Jeffers will not be offered a qualifying offer and he will leave unless he collapses completely next season. I think the Twins keep him.

Sounds great. The Twins could offer 6/$150M (two controlled years plus four add-ons) for a start, but the price could go higher. We all have to wonder what limits the Twins will have for payroll, extensions, and free agents. One must believe the trades in late July rid the team of unnecessary or superfluous players or that the return from the trades was exceptional if one now thinks money is not a factor. I'm having a hard time thinking of a direction for the team without any present clue of a financial reality. The July trades seemed to predict further trades but perhaps it doesn't happen. When I look at the current 40 person roster I'm optimistic of 75 wins. I can see potential problems that result in 55 wins. Maybe some additions and changes should be considered. However, I don't have a magic crystal ball and many people believe in the current roster. Falvey did the last two years and said so on numerous occasions. I'm not aware of any plan or statements thus far in this offseason. In the dark for now.