tony&rodney

Buxton - no way. Falvey - why? Buxton could retire today and never look back. The Twins absolutely need Buxton. You only need to look at the W-L records of the Twins with and without Buxton. Tickets, ad sales, viewership - there is a ton on the line here. The Twins did not average as many fans last season as the Timberwolves drew to last night's game. The T-Wolves are terrible. Is that acceptable? We are all human and Falvey has misspoken. I will hope that things will take a turn for the positive.

The Twins have backed themselves into a corner. Perhaps their best option is to just sign him for 2022 and let him become a free agent.

This Buxton situation has completely stymied the Twins front office apparently. "I'm having a really hard time connecting the dots here." - This is almost everyone, both Twins fans and those who follow baseball around the country. Something is amiss and it is frustrating to wait for the other shoe to fall. As to the possibilities .... it seems what numbers were shared/published are likely real or quite close. The other three possibilities seem much more to the heart of the problem in signing Buxton: the Twins don't believe in Byron, he is ready to move, and the Twins do not intend to pay for a Buxton contract. Whew, this is too much to get our head around. I mean the Twins could put a team on the field that does better than last year's record for $100 million. That team would need to include Buxton, even if the bill for BB was $25 million (a quarter of the payroll). Without Buxton, the Twins need to go into a full rebuild like Baltimore or boost the payroll to $150 million. So many posts and the article in The Athletic puts a new twist in our expectations/hopes for Twins baseball. How is it possible that Falvey is still analyzing their own roster and wondering what to do? The quote from The Athletic was somewhat disturbing. “Now, we’re working through understanding all sides of this ultimately. We’ll proceed accordingly. At this stage of the offseason, we’re still just navigating our strategy and planning and trying to understand what’s available to us and what the market looks like on all periods. As is always the case, this isn’t unique to Byron or otherwise, there are people on our team that are interesting to other clubs and we just always need to work through what does that look like, what does our team look like as we navigate it.” This entire past year has been confusing. My default is to accept what Falvey sees as best for making the Twins competitive, even when I disagree. The unfolding of this drama with Buxton causes me to question. Yah, what the hell is going on?

This is so true. A subscription to mlb.com that is used is fair entertainment value. There are some fun teams and players to follow. Ohtani and Trout are amazing to watch. The Twins have been my team since they moved here in 1961 and my attention to their games will continue no matter the outcome of this offseason. However, I did have season tickets once upon a time and have attended a ton of games in the past. The expenditures of going to a game in person is not something I consider when the team is substandard. I just enjoy the game situations via radio and follow players on mlb.com. The Twins still have time for abundant moves this winter.

Twins fans love all three of these players. It is likely that a poll would value Garver and Arraez above Kepler. Personally, i like all three. However, the Twins have zero experienced pitchers heading into next season. The free agent market will not fill all of their needs, thus a few trades need to be completed. Regrettably, I would use both Garver and Arraez in trades. Kepler is a good outfielder and I'm interested in the Twins improving their defense, so i keep Kepler. That said, if Kepler is the player that returns a strong starting pitcher then even Magic Max goes. Parting with any of these players would be tough and if there was a way to find four pitchers without trading .... ok. I cannot configure any semblance of a decent roster for 2022 that does not include at least one significant trade.

Hmmm .... to be a fly on the wall. Apparently, Berrios did not meet some criteria for Falvey. 7/$131 is pretty close to the 5/$125 expected by several current free agents. I wonder what specific points clogged up negotiations between Berrios and the Twins. Stuff happens. Congratulations to Jose Berrios and his family and the Toronto Blue Jays. i hope this works well for all.

Yes, the Twins could swing a deal and they also should. Oakland has two pitchers to go after right now. There isn't any reason to wait. The prospect package for Bassitt, if amenable to Oakland, should be finished. Montas - yes. Why not both. TopGun#22 is right. The Twins need four decent starting pitchers. Miami, Oakland, and Milwaukee have pieces and the longer the Twins wait the more likely another team swoops in and completes a deal. Oakland is a particularly good trade partner for those who refuse to consider a trade of either Garver or Jeffers. Like others, Larnach is a player I'm hoping will interest Miami. Still, Bassitt is someone we could use this year as the inexperienced pitchers transition to the MLB hitters.

Nick, your post was fair and timely. The front office has done some good things with player acquisition and it should be acknowledged. Drowning in tears is not going to make anyone feel better or improve the roster. Now, the Twins are put to the task. They need to identify targets. I would argue they need to expand a little. It is understandable that many are not in favor of trading any prospects but other teams will only consider a few Twins players as worthy of an exchange. Free agency should be useful for a player or two, but it is essential to add at least one or two decent starting pitchers to lead the Twins young starters in their initiation into MLB action. Many have suggested a contract for Jon Gray and we now have an example of what it will take to sign such a player. The Twins could offer Gray exactly what Rodriguez just received from Detroit. Gray, Pineda, a trade with Miami, Oakland, or another team - the time is ripe. Great back and forth conversation by TD readers.

My hope was to pry away Alcantara and Meyer by enticing Miami with Lewis, in addition to Larnach, their choice of catcher, Canterino, and Strotman or Vallimont. Miami is not likely to give up Alcantara and the Twins do not want to part with Lewis, so the trade above by TopGun#22 is a huge boost for both Miami and Minnesota. It is cost effective for both teams too and allows both teams to consider buying a free agent or two. Suddenly, Gray, Pineda, and possibly Stroman are fits in a fair budget. The post was asking about Jeffers though and he is going to be a very decent MLB catcher. I have no concerns about his bat and am sure he will continue to improve as a catcher. I'm a little confused how someone can be down on him after just a year and a half. Catcher is far and away the most demanding and difficult position in baseball and he has held his own as a young player. If he remains a Twin, I am excited to see his continued growth. I will add that I may be higher than some others on Ben Rortvedt, especially his glove and arm. BR does need another half to full year of development however.

Ok. Thank you - you are correct. I guess I was caught remembering an article that MLB would reinstate their February 2020 decree of 13 person pitching staffs that was delayed due to Covid concerns. The CBA will sort this out, we hope.

Yes, a larger pitching staff could help with the plan. The CBA will have language on roster size and I believe MLB currently caps pitching squads at 13. Going to larger numbers may hurt more teams than it helps as better financed teams could stash more players than they currently do. In any event, it is complex and the idea is evolving. The Rays had so many young pitchers this year and this accounted for some of their usage patterns. The Twins might see that pattern as beneficial to introducing Duran, Winder, Balazovic, and more. Time will shape the reality, but I'm still in favor of 25 man rosters.

Great post Andrew. St. Peter has been a good community citizen and his story is encouraging to all young people.

Seems like this is likely. The best outcome is usually 20 games of decent starts (Pineda), which is quite useful. When $8 million becomes the price of a gamble on pitching, some teams pay up. At least it is a good thing for those guys getting the contracts, such as Happ, Pineda, Heaney and so forth. The alternatives are risky expensive outlays for middle to top free agent types or trades. Trades seem to be largely discounted by many readers of TD, and often for solid reasons. The most common names floated, Arraez, Larnach, Kepler, Garver, and Jeffers all have potential to be more than average players. Additionally, top prospects are often deemed to be off limits. The Twins have gone the route of signing pitchers from the "bargain bin" and have rarely stepped into the risky exchanges of more valuable names. Maybe it is time for the Twins to look hard at their duplication of player assets and step boldly into the high end trade market. The bin has not been too kind to the Twins.

Ok. Clear now. Thank you.

Signing Starling Marte would improve LF. I know, I know ..... money, etc. Just saying. Shane Mack played a good LF - I would like to see a solid LF glove out there, thus my wish.

Fair assessment here. If signing these pitchers is an "add" to the budget, no harm is done. They are all decent #4/5 pitchers potentially at this point in their careers. Certainly worth a call.

Thank you Seth. What a well-spoken, intelligent young man. He just looks like a pitcher - big sloping shoulders. When Josh used his hands while speaking a couple of times I couldn't help but notice the size of those mitts. It also made me curious to know how he or other pitchers gripped their various pitches. Finally, it is interesting how pitchers will often have success with a pitch (curveball for Winder) when young and then need to rediscover that pitch as they develop in the pro game. I never understood that. I had a fantastic curveball as a kid and a mediocre fastball and never got that curve back even though i pitched into my 50s with minimal success. Fun interview.

The owners make their money and that is fine, good for them. Manfred needs to think in terms of MLB as a product to gain consumers, such as in attendance at games, watching on TV, listening to the radio, reading online/newspaers, subscribing to game services (mlb.com), and like kind. The players should consider the younger players and milb to some degree. 27 is a reasonable age, 29 is not. A more simple solution might be to reduce the years of control from six to five and get rid of the bogus rules that hold a player in the minor leagues until May 15 or June something. If you spend 30 days on the roster, that is Year 1 and so forth. A strike into March or later will be deleterious for the game, both the owners and the players.

Ron Davis was a godsend for beer sales at the Metrodome. I remember selling beer in his tenure and people just wanted to drown their reality.

Jeffers is young and a full season of MLB is a beast coming from college and the minor leagues for any young player. A catcher has more responsibilities, by far, than any other player on the field and the preparation is massive and exhausting for a young player. Jeffers will be fine. You also asked about whether the Twins should trade a catcher. I say yes and I think quite highly of both Garver and Jeffers. Although I have not seen anything specific, I believe there are a few other teams that also think very positively of both catchers. Additionally, while I am aware of how overmatched Rortvedt looked at the plate, he also is good behind the plate and rebounded at St. Paul in September. The only concern was the concussion late in the year. I'm a believer in Rortvedt right now and could see a good pitcher coming back for Garver.

This was not worded very well. Sports teams use their players in a way to maximize their success with their rosters on any given day. The better pitchers can go 5-7 innings. The Twins currently are without any experienced pitching and posters are searching for ways or strategies to offset the shortcomings of the Twins pitching staff. Thus, I can see what the post seek to accomplish and responded too quickly, perhaps harshly, although no one has called me task. A specific problem that I see with the proposed use of the pitchers concerns the effective management of arm wear and tear. Some pitchers struggle to throw in back to back games or three times in a week. Relief pitchers usually have relegated to the bullpen because their repertoire of offerings is limited and ineffective beyond a few hitters. The staff is stretched that way. Tampa Bay is often used as an example but they indeed have a number of traditional starting pitchers and they ran into problems in the playoffs with tired arms. I'm holding out for at least three decent starting pitchers to allow for frequent but sometimes limited outings from a number of the prospects.

Royce Lewis has been out for awhile and it would be miraculous if he wore a Twins uniform before next June or even July. Polanco has moved to 2B. It sure seems like the Twins were clear on Nick Gordon as a shortstop for the last few years, but maybe that can change now. Given the work that Simmons put in last year (good defense), it might be ok to use Gordon and Lewis in 2022. I might prefer Javy Baez and someone else might prefer Trevor Story or others prefer Mondesi, Galvis, or Inglesias. The post is wondering about just using what is already on the roster and it may work. This would allow for a stronger push for pitchers.

Verlander is so much fun to watch, but he has his list and it is short. He would be a treat though.

The Twins offer Arraez and Enlow plus a lower milb player for Castillo and Suarez. Does taking Moustakas in place of Suarez help? The Reds are tough to line up with this year.

Sounds like a really unique way to explain a 90 loss season - "We were strapped for pitching and just tried to do the best we could with the hand we were dealt in a creative manner."