tony&rodney

Roger raises some legitimate points about talent, development, and performance which directs questions to management. It is pretty difficult to replace half a team. Pohlad will have a sit down at some point with his crew. Wholesale replacements and firings are troublesome tasks but it is obvious the management team needs to add an experienced person in the dugout. I doubt Mauer will join the team before his children become adults, if even then, but his gifts are what any team seeks.

Rogers should not be traded unless it is an overwhelming offer. The Twins do not need backups. I would like to see Nelson Cruz finish this season in a Twins uniform as well. How likely is it that a team trades a frontline prospect for a DH? Maybe?

The Twins should not trade Berrios for less than a haul - that is my point. Whether it is out of reach, which it should be, is another teams decision.

Yes, the Twins are in a great spot. I agree that teams will be careful with their prized youngsters, especially the pitchers. Aside from the players not really expected to return next season who can be traded for low level prospects, the Twins should absolutely demand a ransom if they listen on Berrios/Buxton/Rogers. Keep these guys for 2022. My guess is that there are several teams trying to lift Donaldson away for low level prospects with the Twins paying a substantial portion of his contract. JD is a risky player but the Twins should hold tight. Our team doesn't need any more AAA players. Don't sell just to sell.

The Twins are on the clock. Berrios is going to get paid, a Buxton and Rogers decision is coming and there will be phones buzzing for "deals". The Minnesota Twins are not a small market team by any metrics, but they have had their share of moments where they have desired that tag. Tampa has a poor situation with their stadium and location but even they are a bigger market than Kansas City or Milwaukee and others. The Twins will need to decide whether to attempt to win from at or below $100 million or to play their hand with San Diego and St. Louis and such, near $150 million. The ball is in the hands of management and when Donaldson plays like he has recently and Berrios pitches like last night the choices become even more difficult for anyone who believes money is an issue. Readers on Twins Daily are familiar with a host of prospects and some of us have too much familiarity with every team's prospects along with having seen a number of these young bucks play. A prospect does not equal an actual MLB talent, however, until they make and show those skills in The Show. Trading accomplished players like JD, Berrios, Rogers, Buxton, and Polanco rarely returns individuals to fill their shoes. The Chris Sale trade is a fair example of what the Twins would might need for Berrios. Most of us will still be supportive Twins fans, if not exactly pleased, no matter the decisions made by our current suits but Carlos Rodon is a free agent this winter along with other attractive options and better choices can affect 2022.

Can't see any significant trades being made by the Twins, either sending a name out or bringing in a decent player/prospect.

About Jax ... yah ... but it is a relief from seeing Shoemaker, Happ, etc. get beat up even worse; a different face.

I really enjoyed the game tonight ... had great seats behind the Twins dugout. When Kepler comes to the plate Ramirez plays a deep shortstop against him and then with the first strike he moves back on the grass about ten feet to the left of second base. Kepler needs to bunt until he gets the infield to move because 100+ mph at the 2B in short right field isn't a good plan. The entire left side of the infield is open. The situation doesn't matter at this point; Kepler needs to bunt. I thought Jax battled decently.

The management did not make the necessary moves last winter and this continues to deliver poor results. There is an unexpected shadow, seemingly, over the Twins. There have been injuries, but Cleveland is missing their top five starters from the beginning of the year and that is after trading Bauer, Kluber, Clevinger, and Carrasco. Cleveland has a woeful offense. How are the Twins trailing Cleveland by ten games? I have not had an occasion to be slightly impressed by the management since the changes were made but I'm a fan and just hope they can learn enough to have a team that is entertaining and competitive. Right now every move made seems to backfire. So faith in our Twins leadership? Not yet and the AL Central is not likely to ever be as non-competitive as it was a few years ago, so management will need to make sound decisions or we will be watching a ton of losing baseball.

Both.

"How much can the Twins spend this offseason?" Can, will, should, or will are all different determinations. Every fan has a different idea. My best guess is that the Twins can spend $150 million for 2022. I would not be surprised if they spend $100 million. As a Twins fan since 1961, my expectations are simple. I would like to see an emphasis on pitching and defense, but what the Twins will spend may not come close to what they can spend.

My guess is the starting number is $100 million. Think Wheeler. 6/$110 million sounds right. Jose may want to pitch in New York City and then the reality of a tough decision next year looms.

Not the worst but troubling that management did not feel any serious inclination to address the team shortages last winter and are still slow to react. The excuses are pointless, but despite a problematic offense it is the frequent non competitive pitching performances that have hindered and hamstrung the Twins this year thus far.

From this post and comments it seems clear that relief help is unlikely to appear from the farm any time soon. The prospects need an opportunity in St. Paul. Bullpens are very tricky and the answers are never clear. It is interesting to see TB trade for Matt Wisler. Yet I would agree he had used up his time with the Twins.

Bring Cano to Target Field. Why not? He might help and if he has a rubber arm and proves useful, even better. Seth, do you think one or both should get a call?

My agreement with the post is pretty complete; Rocco and this Twins leadership are under the microscope. While I continue to listen to most of the Twins games, I am surprised at how little attention the inexperience of their management team receives and was taken aback last winter at how much fans seemed to fawn over the Twins decision-makers. Like Celestino and the host of other inexperienced Twins, management struggles when tough calls or plays need to be made. The current regime can and will improve with more experience and I would say that their knowledge far exceeds that of the public, but this year does expose how much more experience and knowledge our former leaders possessed. Looking forward, I hope Baldelli and Falvine (yes, two people) learn from their mistakes and apply that knowledge in a humble fashion. The bullpen usage last night was just a microcosm of the season as is the current handling of Buxton.

Didn't pay attention to post game .... "ripped fingernail"? .... send him to St. Paul to buy a clippers or put him on the IL. That's IF there was an actual comment and I am not doubting a previous post but just did not see that.

Perhaps some fans will gain an appreciation for Kelly, Gardenhire, and Molitor as they watch the current team.

The Twins do not need any more AA or AAA career minor league players. While I was steadfastly opposed to adding Simmons last winter because a healthy Polanco is a key for the Twins, the best course of action now is to stay with Simmons unless a useful player is offered in a trade. If a prospect with real talent can be pried loose, go for it, but otherwise the Twins need to stop adding useless players.

Correct, there is no easy way out. Trading players in their walk year for nothing is a waste. If the Twins thought their team was built to win, they need to roll to July 30th to see what the schedule has dealt them this year. Watching this team, listening to the radio for this team is a struggle. Everything is off. To some degree I would parrot what Doc Bauer has written. I too thought the Twins could win 90-92 games. I disagreed with the choices for the bullpen and pitching and wanted some more aggressive off-season moves. However, the team looked competitive and I found myself listening to the game again today and wondering if there might be a run or two in this team in the next 48 games. Nobody is going to gamble a real prospect in early June for any Twins player, but crazy things can happen at the trade deadline. In the meantime sixty years of following the Twins has taught me to keep things in perspective and relax. I'm still hoping they can play some good baseball this summer and am hoping for improved fundamentals in the field, on the bases, contact at the plate when called for, and more competitive pitching. Today seemed like a start, even with the problems that need to be eliminated. I'm hoping for better in a season where comparisons to Ron Davis emerged and that was a really low point in Twins history. Playing better baseball is the only way out.

There has to be a specific reason to trade Jose Berrios or the Twins have him until he is a free agent. Who are those players worth trading for and would any team give up a young player? I would like to hear some names suggested and these might not even be actionable. San Diego wants to win. They have the players they want mostly. I'll trade Berrios, Thorpe, and Sands for C. J. Abrams and Ryan Weathers. SD might not consider (and Twins either) but what are people thinking? I'm not interested in releasing Jose for anything less than top talent.

Seth, good work with your focus on the positive. I hope the Twins can get some solid careers out of a few of the young bucks you write about in the article. My take is that management is doing their best. One thing that I find unnecessary is any comparisons to past management, which many have done on Twins Daily. The current group is still green by comparison and we should remember they are are on a learning curve. Meanwhile, the players need to be responsible for their part and the Twins roster has enough experience to perform at a better level. Those rookies given an opportunity need to play within themselves to succeed. Kirilloff has looked pretty good. Larnach looks a little pull happy. Now, it might be a good time to bring up a rookie to get some experience. The last spot in the bullpen should be available. Just one little drip in the pipeline might help.

The umpires aren't corrupt or incompetent - they are human and make mistakes. Replay and going to electronics has had a negative effect on the game in my opinion. Do we think an electronic strike zone would be flawless and save time? Let us watch appeals to the calls on electronic balls and strikes. That should be fun. I love seeing the umpires huddle with their cute little headsets. There are ways to adjust but Sano isn't adjusting. The Cleveland broadcast called him out for not making any attempt to score Kepler from 3B as he went for another HR and subsequently struck out.

The Twins have 7 relief pitchers who can only pitch one inning and not every day plus they do not have anyone to pitch 2-3 innings and their starters average 5 innings per start. Falvine messed up big time last winter and we will be watching those mistakes all summer unless the Twins actually crush the ball in nearly every game.

The extra innings high school rules lead to high school play. Real tough to be a baseball fan with the current leadership at the top in MLB.