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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    It's getting late early. If the Reds are really taking both Mahle and Castillo off the market, the prices for both Montas and Manaea just went up and pretty much every team is talking with the A's. Pecota and all of the projection systems aren't worth anything without pitching and defense. The lineup for tomorrow's Spring Training game might be the roster with a couple tweaks (Kirilloff, Palacios) unless the phones start working.
  2. tony&rodney
    Yes, Rortvedt is actually a better catcher and it isn't even close. The Yankees were forced to change their thinking on catchers last season .... by their pitchers. There is nothing a pitcher can do to succeed if they cannot throw the ball in the dirt occasionally and trust their catcher. Sanchez is no more a catcher than Sano would be. He has awesome power and may be great DH. The Yankees never trade a player because of money, they trade players because they lack the skills needed to help their team win games. The Yankees only care about winning.
  3. tony&rodney
    Agree, and nothing to lose.
  4. tony&rodney
    Never say never (you did not), but the past and current practices of this franchise make any free agent signing unlikely that requires years and money. Subsequently, a free agent and their agents would have qualms about the Twins unless all of their demands were met. The Twins have dug a hole for themselves by eschewing free agents. Still, I have always maintained that there is no obligation by anyone to doggedly repeat their bad habits of the past. A positive future relies on current actions which hopefully include a rejection or just release of poor practice in your past.
  5. tony&rodney
    This all seems true. However, I am open to the idea of the post. Sanchez shouldn't catch more than a couple dozen games but there is a scenario where he rediscovers his swing and is a good DH, perhaps even returning to his previous form. However (#2), this means that our current DH, Miguel Sano, must play in the field all year. I would think there is a NL team that might see Sanchez in the same hopeful fashion and if the Twins can turn him for a prospect in a team's #20-30 range of prospects, this would be a further savings for the Twins. Ditto Urshela (San Diego?).
  6. tony&rodney
    I'm curious why the San Diego Padres are able to spend so much more on their roster than the Twins. Seems like $30-40 million more might sound about right, but they are approaching 2X. This is partially relevant to how the roster is constructed.
  7. tony&rodney
    Sonny Gray is a really good starting pitcher. Jose Berrios is slightly better. There - it's solved. I'm sad that Berrios isn't on the Twins roster, but I'm happy we have Gray.
  8. tony&rodney
    I think there will be changes. By putting it out there and asking .... current roster loses 100 games, which is not a #1 draft pick anymore.
  9. tony&rodney
    .... which still made put him among the top three players on the team. Both Donaldson and Cole are consummate professionals dedicated to their craft and focused on winning; they are delighted to be on the same team because they want to win the World Series.
  10. tony&rodney
    You have many interesting thoughts in your comments but it was likely the Yankees who suggested Urshela because he is an expensive utility player. Both Polanco and Gordon on the current roster are better at shortstop than Urshela and we want Polanco at 2B and we want to use Gordon as a utility if/of. The Twins could have, at the very least, held back Rortvedt whom I believe to hold potential going forward.
  11. tony&rodney
    An interesting article and a wide variety of comments that all omit a most important point of inquiry. Baseball will have record revenues, a new CBA was signed, and the curse of Covid looks to be completely lifted. This should result in terrific optimism for businesses involved in the entertainment industry, including baseball. The omission is any reference to the Twins expected potential budget. Target Field was built with public funds with the express promise by Jim Pohlad that the Twins would use the increased revenues to field a competitive team. The franchise has had strong earnings and slowly increased the budgets with a particularly increased expenditure after the Falvey and Levine hires. A low budget from the conservative Twins fans put a 2022 roster at around $130 million. It would be easy to justify a $150 million team. The Josh Donaldson signing was the first foray into spending for the Twins and before the trade with the Yankees their bottom line was near $100 million. This left room for an additional $30+ million to spend using the conservative numbers. I myself built my version of a 2022 team at $120 million. All of the talk about the problems with a contract such as Donaldson's doesn't work when you look at the numbers. When I read these comments I wonder if the Twins are tipping toward $150 million and look at the numbers. Nope, they are not. If the Pohlads had paid for Target Field with their own money it would be entirely their own deal. There should be some minimum of consideration of this history. There were a number of free agents available this year. The Twins signed Dylan Bundy. While it is possible that Trevor Story could be signed, this seems unlikely if Story sticks to leaked numbers like 6/$120 million. It is totally possible that solid trades could be made, yet no two pitchers would add any more than $18 million (Manaea, Castillo) as a maximum and the best trades would only add near $9 million (Montas, Lopez) to the expense sheet. All of these moves and keeping Donaldson would have still left the team with a roster around $130 million, the preferred number by Twins Daily. What is the direction or plan for the Twins in consideration of their possible budget? What are the numbers and justification? It is impossible to have any suggestions or justify any cuts unless there is some idea of a general range of where the limits of spending stand.
  12. tony&rodney
    Yes, your comments are all true. Which begs the question - do fans who oppose JD also oppose excellence and winning? Inconceivable.
  13. tony&rodney
    What does this mean? I don't understand. Others have made some references to Donaldson's attitude, etc. There have been responses that called JD "cocky", which apply to virtually all decent performers. Do you know him personally? I don't but have watched him play so many times for Oakland, Toronto, Atlanta, and for the Twins. He is intense, plays great defense, is a good baserunner despite leg issues, rarely has a bad at bat, and was always one of the three best players on his team. It was also reported how much young players enjoyed learning from him. Josh Donaldson is a winner and if one wants to see their team win, then that is the style of player needed to do so.
  14. tony&rodney
    HaHa! I actually thought that right after I hit submit.
  15. tony&rodney
    Agree too. I'll miss JD because he is a real professional ballplayer who takes good at bats, fields well, and despite leg issues is adept on the bases.
  16. tony&rodney
    Polanco, Donaldson, and Buxton were our best players last season. We still have two of them, at least right now.
  17. tony&rodney
    Via baseballprospectus.com TWINS PAYROLLS Year Opening Day 26-man Year End 40-man CB Tax 40-man 2022 $000,000,000 (00) $000,000,000 (00) $000,000,000 (00) 2021 $125,277,666 (16) $125,983,176 (17) $145,511,247 (16) 2020 $ 45,620,603 (18) $ 52,627,942 (19) $168,319,022 (16) 2019 $119,651,933 (18) $125,205,980 (18) $139,483,897 (18) 2018 $128,713,226 (18) $131,186,562 (19) $143,820,218 (18) It is noteworthy that the last two years were tough financially, yet this must be balanced against large profits for all of the previous years. Also to be noted is that the books are private and so all figures are rough estimates. The figure repeatedly referenced in trading Josh Donaldson is a savings of $50 million. That doesn't account for the roughly $14-15 million cost of taking on a utility infielder and a DH with enormous power but a bat with many more holes than we ever saw from Miguel Sano. It also neglects the loss of a decent shortstop and a catcher with potential. Many have stated that the Twins wanted to clear money to trade for pitchers. There aren't any pitchers making more than $10 million to acquire (Montas - $5.2, Manaea - $10, Castillo - $8.0, Mahle - $5.0, Lopez - $3.75). Adding any two of these pitchers in trades and signing Trevor Story would still leave the Twins around last years budget. So there is work to be done and we are hoping the final roster gets straightened out. The angst about JD's contract and the budget are only relevant if the Twins are trending toward roster budgets much lower than seen in the Falvey era.
  18. tony&rodney
    A couple of simple observations, but in consideration that further moves may obliterate the views. The Twins stated that trading Garver would strengthen their infield dramatically and Rortvedt as a 2nd catcher is vastly superior defensively. Whoops, that got blown up. The Twins have stated that they will absolutely be competitive in 2022. So far this is difficult to see. The Twins may be signing a free agent today but they just traded the only expensive free agent they have ever signed. It seems like agents and players might be aware of the Twins past and present policies. Looking at the roster today compared to last year: weaker at SP, questions galore with RP, weaker behind the plate, Sano is poor at 1B, Polanco = awesome, weaker at 3B, weaker at SS (seems impossible), LF is unknown but Kirilloff is better at 1B and all current options are plodders defensively, Buxton = awesome (crossed fingers), Kepler - hopeful of bat revival but great defensively, and weaker at DH. A March 14, 11:15 am review puts the team in rough shape. There are certainly major moves to be made still, but along with the biggest initial issue, starting pitching, there are huge concerns with this team's defensive skills. Falvey must have at least three or four moves planned. So we wait to read and hear what is next.
  19. tony&rodney
    I guess I am way off on the Twins. The AL Central isn't that terrific and I believed that a budget of $120 million would bring the Twins to a position of contention. My figure is below what Twins Daily had suggested and well below what the market can bear, especially in light of the new CBA and emerging revenue streams. JD is a professional player in my opinion. I don't know him personally. I am not aware of any issues he had either, but it is very difficult to see where the team is going when it chooses mediocrity. Urshela is a decent, albeit expensive, utility player and Sanchez is a DH only with mighty issues. Signings like Bundy, Happ, or Pineda are not helpful looking back or going forward. But maybe Bundy wins a Cy Young. The future is unpredictable. I'm not down on Rocco in any way but he is among the most inexperienced managers in baseball and he had Cruz, JD, Adrianza, and Hill as well as some solid assistants now gone to pave the way in the past few years. Obviously, time will tell how the changes play out. I hope everything works out.
  20. tony&rodney
    Petty has enormous upside if he develops command and can avoid all arm problems. The best way to sustain excellence in baseball is to develop players, especially pitching. However, it is imperative that there are experienced pitchers on the staff to lead/help the prospects learn the skills needed for MLB. The Dodgers do this well. Cleveland also mixes in a few guys each year. The idea of just throwing the prospects out without any veterans to steady the course doesn't work. In the past five years the Twins have not developed any pitchers to move up the ladder. Berrios took his lumps earlier but was then traded. No use to complain about past problems but there are a ton of pitchers ready to be mixed in with vets. However, the Twins need two or three guys at the top. Gray is one and the cost was substantial. Now, the team needs at least one more, hopefully two. No, Pineda and Happ do not count as staff leaders. The team needs to shoot higher. There are bodies to trade. This is the way to set a path for Ober, Ryan, Balazovic, Winder, and others to succeed.
  21. tony&rodney
    No idea what is next. Something must be happening tomorrow. Urshela, however, is a good bench player although at a higher salary for a typical utility infielder. He is NOT a shortstop. You were kind in your description of Sanchez. Actually he is about as poor with a glove as a catcher can be. He can throw and when he hits the ball it is scary, but he is more erratic than Sano has ever been.
  22. tony&rodney
    I know you are being funny, but still, while the prediction of a WS is a little crazy and those signing won't happen ..... those contracts would all fit within a $160 million budget. Actually affordable with revenue from fans in the stands too. Isn't that crazy?
  23. tony&rodney
    Best analysis and article on this so far - very fair. Synopsis - we won't know anything until the envelopes are all opened. Anything could happen but it is a strange March. The Twins are thin at catcher, need a shortstop, leftfielder, and some relief pitching. Oh, and there is still the most glaring hole - starting pitching. Hold on for the ride. This Yankee trade was crazy by itself.
  24. tony&rodney
    Urshela is a good utility infielder, not a shortstop. The Yankees used him at short in desperation and because they could score 10 runs per game. Urshela would actually be a really good player to have as a bench player. I'm not sure how that affects others, like Arraez or Miranda. Arraez may be the new third base fielder.
  25. tony&rodney
    "Donaldson's presence and salary both looked like odd fits with the Twins seemingly entering a transitional year. Shipping him to the Yankees makes sense in terms of their contention status and spending capabilities. Donaldson also feels like a proper personality fit in the Bronx." - Nick Nelson What does this mean? Dis Donaldson do something wrong? Are the Twins going below $100 million for their roster budgets? Is their roster incapable of competing in the AL Central? JD competes, he is a winner. Are these qualities anathema in Minnesota? I'm very confused by this paragraph Nick and I like your writing. I am waiting out the maneuvers currently in motion beneath the baton of Falvey, but it is clear that whatever notions Twins fans had in their collective heads, the FO had different ideas. Hopefully, all of these moves will result in a competitive team. While not enamored with the trade with Texas, I liked the trade with the Reds. This current trade is bewildering though. Sanchez can't catch or really hit too often and Urshela is a decent utility player. We shall see what happens but JD had star power and there isn't anyone like him available.
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