tony&rodney

Brooks Lee

The most important consideration related to a potential trade for Glasnow is the Twins budget. He simply doesn't fit if the Twins are cutting back towards $100 million or so. The unknown is how Tampa Bay values certain Twins prospects. I would love to see a trade for Glasnow and Walls. Your offers might be enough for Walls too. The Rays have a packed 40 person roster and would want players that are not needing to be rostered at this time. This is especially true because neither Walls nor Glasnow figure into their 2022 plans.

Your assessment seems correct to me. What I do not know is what will be done. The Twins obviously need pitching and a trade for a good pitcher is possible and necessary. I'm unsure about the budget. If there is room, and he wants to pitch at Target Field, I am all for Greinke. We have heard all of the arguments against his addition but you mention exactly why he is a solid addition. The Twins do need a shortstop and Trevor Story or maybe Villar might work but that seems unlikely. I want to know what it would take to get Taylor Walls from Tampa Bay, because the cost might be reasonable and Walls has a decent eye and his bat will improve greatly from his rookie year and he already has a great glove. Walls is also a switch hitter.

I hoped Miguel would work out at 1B. I hoped and hoped. It didn't happen and unless he reports below 230 big ones he is bound for DH duty. Although i remain a big fan of The Big Man, the shine is gone from his glove as both the eyes and numbers align to say the same thing - he's a DH.

Royce Lewis has seen a dramatic drop in his stock. A couple of years ago he was ranked as a top ten prospect and would have returned some very good players in a trade. However, the Twins were never going to trade Lewis so it really doesn't matter that his stock has dropped. It only matters how he plays now.

It is really hard to defend Barry Bonds due to his petulant and surly behavior throughout his career. MLB and the courts went after him hard, spending millions of dollars and losing in every event with a litany of lies, false accusations and such when it was all said and done. Most people would agree that Bonds mastered the use of steroids as well as concealment. That is not definitive guilt. The era was rife with players involved and mass conversations skillfully excuse some for their minimal usage. Fact is, it didn't help most players at all because throwing and hitting a ball is pretty much skill based. Time and time again, people write about Bonds getting bigger, his big head, etc. There are more than a few players who entered baseball at 155-175 pounds and got much bigger. Think of your past Twins. Heck, Miguel Sano was a big man when he signed at 180 pounds and gained 100+ pounds over time. I will never say Bonds was innocent. Barry Bonds is just a scapegoat, nothing more or less. He was better at hitting a baseball than any player to ever play the game and nobody could accept this, especially because he was unable to be controlled by the owners. Spend twenty minutes looking through his numbers. He was ridiculous. Steroids was a clear product of the Bud Selig Era, MLB has some real problems to sort out. There will not be replacement players. The PA has been losing ground in the past CBAs, but they are not the air traffic controllers union. It is really difficult to see what the owners stand to gain by pushing the envelope so far as to lose their anti-trust exemption. Hopefully, a resolution will occur by mid February. The loss for the Twins will be the instruction and repetition time missed by their young players on the 40 person roster. The veterans need far less time to ramp up. Does anyone else wonder if there are some media contracts that might be endangered by a long play stoppage? The NFL, NBA, and NHL are increasing viewership. How is MLB doing? How might existing favorable contracts be impacted by a long lockout? I'm hoping both sides can give a little and get it new CBA done.

It was dismaying to me at the time that MLB, writers, and broadcasters all centered on Sosa/McGuire every single day with updates to each at bats later in the season. MLB pushed this hard and the writers were all over it. Meanwhile, the best of the best were largely ignored, but they were paying attention. It was a disappointment to see the pandering to Canseco's influence that I buried.

Wow, Sad. Embarrassing. The post was well constructed. One can appreciate a different point of view and disagree.

Henry Aaron was my favorite player in 1960 (I was a little kid that liked baseball) until the Twins started in playing in 1961. He was a model of decorum, dignity, and consistency. Imagine Mike Trout struggling to get a fair offer as a free agent, say two years ago, and receiving little acclaim for his skills. This was the life of a skinny outfielder who terrorized the National League in the 1990s. Barry Bonds was very late to the PED party and he certainly took notice of the adoration that Sosa and McGuire received from their feats. Bonds also knew that neither slugger was even close to him in baseball talent in any way or form. So he signed up. The result was a destruction of the hallowed records. This was a sad turn of events when Bonds joined with the hundred or so other players who proceeded him in using peds. He doesn't get excused either. You said what most feel - fun to watch the duo bash Maris' record but not fun to watch Bonds. This is a reality. I was never a Barry Bonds fan. He played for Pittsburgh and was displayed in print and on tv as a petulant athlete. So I didn't pay much attention to him but was amazed by his swing and approach as well as his numbers when I did see him in the mid 1990s. The fact that Bonds received and receives such widespread hatred from people who have never met him or know nothing about him while more or less accepting or excusing so many others (McGuire, Ortiz) is just ridiculous. I always liked Ortiz because of his gregarious personality, but I choose not to hate players who exhibit surly behaviors because I have no idea of the cause. There were hundreds of players who took PEDs, including some of our favorites most likely. It escapes me why Barry Bonds must be the individual to receive all blame. If I had to place blame at all, it goes to MLB, the owners, and commissioner as the face of the game. These are the ones who not so discreetly allowed and even pushed this era.

I get what you are saying about acknowledging all of the history of the game, but fixing (gambling) games is on a whole different level than forms of cheating (greenies, peds, sticky stuff, garbage cans, etc.). Additionally, one of the main points made by many concerning the peds is that these were nearly, not openly, encouraged by MLB until the hallowed records of the past began to fall. Jose Canseco introduced (or first to be candid) the practice in 1984. No doubt, every team had players who had used some peds by the late 1980s. Can anyone think of or remember other players who went from skinny at 21 to big guys a half dozen years later? After the strike, the use of peds spread even more across the league and the resultant glory of home runs was widely featured in every ad by MLB. It is a sorry period in the history of the game. It seems ridiculous to pull out a few players to punish when the practice was so widespread. Gambling and fixing games is in a separate category in my opinion.

Baseball in its current iteration has a tough time deciding what to do with "cheating". What is cheating? A couple of recent teams were caught (red-handed shall we say) cheating and no players received any punishments and the managers are now back on big contracts with different teams after a year of vacation. I do not presume to have an answer but it is really clear to me that neither does Manfred or MLB. The only time a clear line was drawn was when Bart Giamatti managed to get Pete Rose to admit to gambling on his own team and agree to his banishment from baseball. The owners, FWIW, did not like Giamatti.

Congratulations to David Ortiz. He was quite a hitter and very excellent in the post season for the Boston Red Sox. Sadly, his acceptance will be forever connected to the final rejection of Barry Bonds by the writers which is a stain on baseball. I was never a Bonds fan (Twins forever) but Barry never tested positive and when he got "bigger" everyone jumped all over him, maybe justifiably, yet Ortiz was allowed to slide. Bonds magic with a bat was consistent from ASU until his last contract expired and nobody allowed him onto the field again despite the fact that he was still one of the best players in the game. Correa is a free agent and carries the garbage can banging on his resume. Can you imagine that he never gets an offer at any price. I know Bonds was at the end of his career and it is a fairly lame comparison but this vote brings back some sad circumstances: Bud Selig the Hall of Fame commissioner, who relished the PED use; Andre Dawson, who was shut out by baseball, signing a blank contract with Chicago Cubs because he wanted to play and no team would offer him a contract; and then no team in baseball was interested in the best free agents in the game from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s (the collusion scam which likely allowed the Twins to win two World Series which I enjoyed). Bonds was not nice to writers, Ortiz was and the entire debacle of inconsistency by the writers is bad for baseball. I loved watching David Ortiz and would like to celebrate his election without other thoughts, but I can't do that under the circumstances.

Yes, you did. I was thinking one person had previously suggested Polanco at shortstop. Hard to remember all of the suggestions. I'm on board if there isn't another option, but no tired vets as starters.

We seem to be arguing against our agreements. In November, I do not recall any lists with Polanco at shortstop. The Twins just sat on their hands and are apparently waiting for a resolution of the CBA. Most of the free agents have signed already and we don't know if the budget for 2022 is less than or greater than $110 million. I wouldn't take either bet, low or high. Thus it comes down to what can be done with our squad. In that event, Polanco could (i believe it unlikely) return to shortstop. I still wonder how Polanco sees all this. There is still hope though. Trade for Walls, Mondesi, or DEJong or sign Story. Then sign Rodon and Greinke and maybe Conforto - suddenly we are good to go. Right?

This depends on the trade. I think it is fair to say that we don't really know the Twins plans or what other teams desire in any trade. A couple of players mentioned are worth a quick kick though. Mondesi for Duffey might be amenable or maybe the Twins add a prospect in the 40-50 range. Walls for Duffey and Woods-Richardson hurts enough. DeJong for Cavaco? These are examples, not necessarily recommendations, but the trade market is out there, especially for pitchers. You are correct, the Twins would need to give up something to get something.

Nick, you have written a post well worth consideration and you also presented the reasons for such a decision. It seemed clear to me that you also like Polanco at second base, but are suggesting that if the Twins are not moving on trades and set with their lineup, then Polanco back to shortstop is an option. This doesn't sound too controversial really because it uses the current roster resources to field the best team. Currently, about a third of plate appearances result in a walk or a strikeout. The average team hits line drives about 20% of the time when the ball is hit and the best ratio of fly balls to ground balls is about even. Thus, a shortstop today, while still clearly a very important position, does not influence the outcome of a game as much as they once did in the past. Why won't the Twins sign Correa or Story? I guess we know the answer. Most agree that Polanco seems more comfortable at second base. What position does Jorge prefer? Is it clear from a medical perspective that his ankle issues were due to playing shortstop? These might be important considerations in determining whether to move Polanco back to shortstop. I think most people agree that Jorge is better at second base than Luis and that a really good shortstop option not currently on the roster would be preferable. Nevertheless, the reduced number of chances from a traditional shortstop fielding position due to shifts and greater fly ball rates and increased strike out rates make the move reasonable. The opinions differ on what to do, naturally. There aren't that many options really. Correa, Story - not likely. Gordon, Palacios - risky proposition to consider, but maybe. Trades - likely the best option but tricky. The trade route may bring DeJong, Walls, or Mondesi. Simmons, Inglesias, other tired vets - the worst options. The Twins backed themselves into this position and when all things are considered it is not the worst option to return Polanco to shortstop although I do not advocate this nor want it to happen. But, what do I know? I had proposed last Fall that the Twins needed to upgrade their defense in left field with Starling Marte as well as bringing in a new shortstop and believed that a $140 million budget was possible. I also wanted to trade for starting pitchers (Montas). Now I'm searching to complete the team at around $100-115 million. If Polaco prefers shortstop and the doctors are on board with the move as not an issue for injuries and the Twins aren't going to trade players then moving Polanco to short and Arraez back to second could work because they would hit enough to obscure their less than stellar defense. The post is realistic despite our other wishes.

Tovar has passed away.

Pressly has been good for the Astros. There is no guarantee that he would have pitched as well with the Twins. Alcala looked really tough in the last part of 2021 and seems poised to step forward to lead the bullpen. Finally, despite a difficult introduction to MLB last year, Celestino showed resilience and talent in St. Paul. The Twins only need him to be a pesky 4th outfielder, not a starter. I feel good about this trade.

Well, there many options and different directions for the Twins to go coming out of the lockout. Perhaps the team is short on money and wants to keep the rostered squad around $100 million. I have no idea. c) Ryan Jeffers & Ben Rortvedt 1B) Alex Kirilloff 2B) Jorge Polanco 3B) Josh Donaldson SS) Taylor Walls LF) Joc Pederson CF) Byron Buxton RF) Max Kepler DH) Miguel Sano Others) Jose Miranda, Nick Gordon, and Kyle Garlick SP) Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Edward Cabrera, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, and Kenta Maeda (IL) RP) Rogers, Bundy, Thielbar, Jharel Cotton, Moran, Alcala, Jax, Thorpe, Colome (option declined) Is this my preferred team? No. But it comes in below $100 million and is better than the current roster. Prospects still in milb: Lewis, Martin, Wallner, Urbina, Miller, Rodriguez, Sabato, Palacios and Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, Sands, Petty, Enlow, Raya, Varland, Povich, Hajier. A budget of $140 million changes the calculus quite a bit, but this keeps prospects and saves Pohlad $SS.

Even me, I want Kepler to make some adjustments to become the AL All Star RF. Nevertheless, Max is a really good player for the Twins. If you watch every at bat and every play you will suffer through the frustration of feeling that he could make a few changes to be a more effective offensive force. Then you watch him run the bases and play in the outfield and you wonder who could be an improvement. Kepler is underrated in my opinion.

A few points to make: 1. Arraez is a really good mlb hitter; 2. Arraez is not a DH, SS, or LF by any stretch; 3. It is ok to have Arraez to back up Polanco, Donaldson, and Miranda; 4. Please, never compare anyone to Rod Carew; 5. Appreciate all attempts to fix the Twins.

The suggestions for additions to the team are always interesting to read. My underlying question concerns the real payroll for 2022. A payroll of $135 million leaves the Twins with about $45+ million to allocate. This leaves room for trades and free agents. However, a final payroll of $90-100 million is certainly plausible. A budget below $110 million limits both trade opportunities and free agent additions. It would be interesting to see what the rosters of people here on TD put together for $100 million. The payroll question goes with the expectations for the 2022 season. It seems that trades, including the pitchers suggested in this post, are subject to the payroll and expectations for next season as currently being planned out by Falvey.

Jeffers has talent and the Twins do have three decent catchers really. I believe Rortvedt is somewhat underrated as a catcher and also think he has some future with a bat as well. It may be best if the Twins cash in the current high value of Jeffers to help acquire some pitching. Jeffers should be a fine MLB player though. Is he a good exchange for someone like Edward Cabrera or Max Meyer? That is what i wonder.

Any stop of play will adversely affect the game and people should remember that most young prospects are not allowed to gain any experience in the minor leagues if they are on the 40 person rosters. The owners want to show power and the PA is misguided in their ideas with raising the luxury tax limits. It is, frankly, shocking that the PA does not focus more on expansion and set wages in years 1-3 at a much higher increased rate of pay than is currently used.

Arraez may interest Miami because Jazz Chisholm would likely be a good CF. San Diego could use a decent leadoff hitter and move Cronenworth to !B. Oakland needs a 2B and leadoff hitter. There are options. I'm ok if Arraez is a utility player (who doesn't play much defense) for the Twins, but the team still needs to add a minimum of two experienced starting pitchers and a shortstop.