tony&rodney

Never impeded the Twins - it was how Pohlad chose to run team. Mauer has a no trade clause in his contract. Joe Mauer is still Joe Mauer. Read J. Jaffe on fangraphs if you have any doubts. Easily a top ten catcher in baseball history. Jaffe rates him at #7. Those who constructed a false narrative about Mauer will hold their views but it is unlikely that any Twins fan alive sees his equal in their lifetime. That's all I have to say about that.

I don't think you have to worry about Ober as the #1 for the Twins unless they unload Rogers, Buxton, Sano, Kepler, and Donaldson. Keep the faith. A trade and two FA signings will help the club.

Mauer was worth every penny of his contract and his salary NEVER impeded the Twins budget. Buxton is a MUST sign for all the reasons others have stated. Maeda is a decent #3 if he can pitch, which looks doubtful. The Twins can fill two spots in their rotation from their internal options. This leaves the team needing to add three pitchers this offseason via trade or free agency to be competitive. The current roster does not have the options to be a .500 team. There is money available and the Twins will choose to tear it down or rebuild quickly. Keeping the roster as is would be a disagreeable option in my opinion.

We are fans and management/owners are the directors. All I can add is that whatever the plan was last offseason has proven to be unfortunate and there is an opportunity to correct those decisions this offseason. Tear it down? Stay conservative? Rebuild with vigor? Stay tuned.

Learning is what has been happening with the current management team. Baldelli knows baseball but is pretty inexperienced in the dugout. He has likely improved his understanding of the complexities of being a dugout manager. Falvey and Levine are corporate brains and use a model. When you have older experienced coaches and managers like the Cleveland team there may be a complementary process. The duo are also learning but without people like Terry Ryan, the process may take more time and be more difficult. One thing different is that Jim Pohlad has increased expenditures which allows for a few more mistakes. What would happen if the budget went back to $60-100 million? I'm still hopeful of positive outcomes but the biggest decision this offseason will be made by Jim Pohlad.

Agree. So many MLB pitchers began their careers as relievers. Johan Santana was one example. If Duran is hurt he has to be put on the shelf but eventually he needs some experience and learning the ropes from the bullpen can be a very effective way to start a career and may also serve the needs of the club as well.

My two favorite Twins, ever, are Tony Oliva and Rod Carew. The greatest Twin, however, was Harmon Killebrew. He played 1B, 3B, LF, and DH in his career. Hrbek, Koskie, Allison, and Morneau would all agree to step aside for Harmon. Your first four should be unanimous picks and if the Veterans Committee chooses Tony, all Hall of Famers. I would choose a couple different players: Lyman Bostock, LF; Greg Gagne, SS; Gary Gaetti, 3B; and Johan Santana as my ace. Leave Herbie at 1B with Harmon as the DH or switch them as Harmon was from (mostly) a pre-DH era. The Twins have had some great players and teams.

Wow! That was a massive home run. Watch that video and the arc of the ball - 500 feet easy; crazy power.

Right now, Bailey Ober is the #1 pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. Tonight he faces the Boston Red Sox. We might as well hope for the best because he is our best shot. I do agree that Ober can be a rotation piece on a good team, but the current status of the rotation options is worrisome.

Partially, it seems worthwhile to let Miranda lead St. Paul through the remainder of the year, but then there is the notion that young players benefit from a couple dozen starts in MLB before their rookie seasons. Hopefully our management has the sense to differentiate between what is best for the prospect and team going forward to make 2022 a competitive team. Right now I like how Jose Miranda seems ensconced into his role as the star of his team in St. Paul.

Buxton needs to be on an airplane to Boston tomorrow. There is zero reason for him to swing another bat in St. Paul. He can be evaluated for his reaction to playing on Sunday when he works out Tuesday afternoon. If he is fine he is in the lineup on Tuesday night, if he he needs anther two days let him sit in the dugout to prepare for Thursday. Byron Buxton playing another game rehabbing in MILB is bull****. It is reasonable to check how he feels after swinging the bat and checking everything out on Tuesday, in Boston. Move forward.

The Marlins and Twins seem to line up and I hope there are some conversations between them. We may never know unless a trade is made, but fans need to live with that situation. The Marlins cannot move forward without addressing their catching and hitting, specifically the outfield and the Twins need pitching and a shortstop. I would do either trade despite the obvious talent lost when dealing Kepler. Additionally, I would dangle Larnach or others to get both pitchers. What others? Maybe Arraez, Martin, or Lewis; I don't know what Miami is thinking. I'm of the belief that the Twins have a host of very good young pitchers to slot in at the back end of a rotation, but need to get a few arms for the top spots. A trade with Miami is a gamble, like all trades, that may necessitate only one free agent signing for a top SP. There is still the matter of adding a couple of decent relief pitchers and a shortstop. My thinking is that the Twins can be relevant next year with some signings and a significant trade. The reason a trade with Miami is particularly timely is because pitchers like Alcantara and Meyer are inexpensive and allows the Twins to target other needs. Miami is loaded with good pitching both on the roster and ready (Sanchez). FWIW, I don't look at the trade values sites, but acknowledge that others find it useful. I try to guess what may work based on watching a ton of mlbtv and looking over minor leagues, box scores and other certain data points. It's just a lifelong hobby and takes far less time than when I played and/or coached; retirement is a busy life. To focus back to the blog - I do not think that the Twins have any semblance of a roster in place for next year. I would expect about 10-12 changes from the roster that opened this season and at least six new faces from those on the current 40 man roster. In the meantimeI'm hoping to see the Twins battle through the remainder of their schedule and do not want them to improve their draft position.

The 2022 team is not close to set if the Twins hope to be relevant. If management decides that it is time to tank then Buxton, Maeda, Rogers and others may bring back some future roster members. If the Twins want to compete there needs to be some serious free agent dating and a few good trades. No player is untouchable on the Twins team. Their pitching needs attention first and we should remember that Maeda is, at most, a #3 pitcher for a decent rotation and I am a big fan of Kenta Maeda. The Twins should look to Miami, or someone else, to make a mutually useful trade. I have no idea what makes total sense for Miami but they need a catcher (either of Garver or Jeffers) and some outfield help (anyone?/any of Kepler, Larnach, Celestino or even Royce Lewis). Miama has a wealth of young pitching (looking at Sandy Alcantara and Max Meyer) and a trade might work beautifully for both teams. This is just an example where the Twins need to make a move/trade to improve their roster next year if they truly want to compete. Additionally, TopGun#22 is right on about how the CWS identified pitchers and went after them aggressively. Rodon and a few other SP are available this winter as are a few good relief pitchers. It is late August and Twins Daily has turned quickly to the offseason while there are still 38 games to go and the Twins need to look over players in these last games. It is noteworthy that the Saints are a tough ticket some days. Let's hope that management has some solid plans to make the Twins competitive for 2022.

Last offseason my replies to posts concerning Jorge Polanco were punctuated by pleas to remember that he was the starting shortstop for the American League in 2019. I too suffered watching him struggle in the field and at the plate as he played through a bad ankle because the Twins had nobody else to put in his place. When he had yet another surgery this offseason I hoped that he might return to his former place as a strong MLB middle infielder. It was difficult, sometimes painful, to watch as he had to eliminate all of those "ticks" and "spins" which he had developed to ease his pain. Polanco is a player though and we have seen him rise from a very tough position. Going forward, I agree with those who want to see him at 2B instead of SS. Jorge has his faults but he plays with passion and I think that showed when he was first brought up as a very young and inexperienced player. Nick is right to write about how it can be easy to forget how dramatic an injury can curtail a professional athlete's skills. We can all enjoy what Jorge Polanco is bringing to the field every night right now. It is one of the beautiful thing about sports - watching a finely tuned athlete redeem themselves after their bodies have healed and once again respond to instinct and muscle memory. Let us hope that Byron Buxton too can make it all the way back and complete his journey from prospect to sometime, oft-injured star to an consistent every day player of all star caliber defense and offense.

Trevor Story is not looking as desirable as Correa, Seager, or Semien, but that may be cause to land him on a one year contract. Simmons is getting plenty of usage and has done well in the field, but I'm thinking it is time to move on from him after this year closes.

It doesn't seem like the Twins are aiming for a $50-75 million payroll but it could happen. Twins Daily is restless because of the disaster that was April and May but I am still thinking that $140 million is likely too. Every player is available, a minimum of two pitchers need to come via free agency or trade as well as a few good relief pitchers and, hopefully, a shortstop added. Buxton is a key as well. Starting 2022 with four rookie starting pitchers is a long shot. We don't have to worry because someone else (Falvine) will take of everything.

Lewis Thorpe on Wednesday? He gets a shot to show?

Polanco has done decently at 2B and it may be good to leave him there. However, despite Jorge not fielding like Simmons, the Twins won with JP. The Twins need pitching and they need to score when runners get into scoring position, especially with less than two outs. The coming offseason will test management's skills in trading, signing, and making 40 man roster decisions. Shortstop is an area of need but it seems less important than pitching. Trevor Story seems to have had a tougher year than normal. Perhaps he can be enticed to sign for a year to re-establish his market. Marcus Semien has shown real worth but Toronto may outbid anyone to return him to an improving young team. There should be plenty of money to invest for 2022, but the Twins will want to make some trades too. I will understand if Simmons is brought back but it will seem like the Happ signing as a move made because another decision was not made. I'm not interested in having Simmons here next year. There is still plenty of season left to look at players from our system and others.

Understandable. I was really eager to see Nick Anderson and then .... poof, he was gone. However, this is the fate of a fan. I played for way too many years and just enjoy the game and all of the little stuff. When looking over players and guessing who will still be around it is only my thoughts and I am aware that management may not like some aspect of a player; we have to live with that. Don't let management ruin your enjoyment of the game of baseball, but know you will be ticked at how things are run by the corporations. Baseball is still fun for me and good entertainment.

I have seen Gordon play. I'm not being a harsh judge of him. The Twins will play whomever they decide to play. I will agree with your underlying question of why Gordon was used at shortstop for years but never given a real shot to show any skills at the MLB level. The post concerned his viability as a long term option and there are doubts about his future right now. The opinions on Twins Daily carry zero weight but his managers at AAA and MLB have a voice. You sound bitter about Gordon's opportunities right now and this will play out far away from our field.

I want to agree with you and I'm not a fan of Simmons, but Gordon cannot play shortstop and Simmons can which means the move makes sense to see if Gordon can hit and play defense at other positions in AAA. Nick Gordon has had a tough go the past few years and he doesn't project to be more than a mediocre utility player at this point. Gordon and Tyler Jay were tough picks. Maybe the time in AAA will help Gordon find another gear.

The Twins have a multitude of options. I cannot think of any reason, at all, to be down on either Berrios or the Twins. The trade happened and we should just accept that both sides had legitimate ideas and reasons for their decisions. The pitching needs attention, which everyone agrees to on Twins Daily. The differences individuals have relates to their beliefs and thoughts on what the Twins should or can do. The Twins management will make their own analysis but the option to spend significantly does exist and trades can also occur. The opinions of each of us is mere entertainment so we propose our solutions which have some merit. Personally, I want the Twins to sign Rodon .... or Thor, but at least one major option to front the rotation. Next, I am hoping to trade for a pitcher or two - say Sandy Alcantara and Max Meyer and this might cost us Garver, Arraez, and Kepler. Maeda and two prospects could fill the rest of the spots and various prospects could be used as depth. One thing that should be noted, however, is that there will be some excellent options for the Twins to improve their pitching and team for 2022. A return to relevance would please everyone on Twins Daily.

I like Garver; it's fun to watch him swing the bat. His skills may be highly valued by other teams as well and the Twins should be on the lookout for pitching above all else. Garver may be more valuable to the Twins as trade bait than behind the plate, because that is the state of the Twins pitching right now. Prospects can fill the last two spots in a rotation if they are good but good teams need proven pitching in the top three positions. Currently the Twins only have Maeda, a solid #3. Polanco, on the other hand, holds more value to the Twins because of his versatility and friendly contract.

This is all a little premature to speculate on the offseason but also a natural consequence for fans supporting a team in a lost season. Thus, the floor for me would be signing a top free agent, trading for a solid pitcher, Maeda as a #3, and two pitchers from the field to fill out the rotation. The FA will require more than $100 million and the trade may be at a steep price. For sure, the Twins will need to be active or tear it all down. Happ, Shoemaker, and Colome didn't cut it and neither will similar signings.

The Twins finally managed to get a Garza back.