tony&rodney

Jim Eisenreich for a brief set of games.

Any discussion of Story and potential resource allotment is pointless unless you are firm on the idea that the Twins are destined to budgets below $120 million. There is money for Story on any budget above $115 million. I understand that a great number of folks on TD want to see the prospects or to spend money on pitching and many also want a budget beneath $120 million. That's fine. However, in the event that the Twins would set a budget of $115 million or higher Trevor Story is a solid addition and there is still money for pitching. This is all left to Pohlad and Falvey. It is pure folly to suggest the Twins spend too much on position players unless you specifically state that you want the Twins to go forward year after year with budgets closer to $100 million than to what we saw the last few years. Just state your position on a budget. Of course, you may feel that Story, or Correa for that matter, are not as good as Royce Lewis. I just want folks to be real clear on what they want to support with their dollars as Twins fans. Clarity makes it easier to understand each person's ideas.

Big differences but no matter. Like I said, just a hunch and I can easily be wrong. MLB won't suspend him, Dodgers will cut him and pay his salary. Bauer will be done

Perhaps, but Bonds did not get a job and he was still much better than Bauer ever was and lost his lawsuit. An employer cannot be forced to hire someone against their will unless there is clear discrimination. My guess is that Bauer is done. Maybe, maybe not - just a hunch.

If baseball could walk away from Barry Bonds, it can certainly do so with Bauer. He may have pitched his last pitch in an MLB uniform.

Normally, this is true. However, it was pretty universal amongst baseball folks that Cavaco was a real stretch and everyone loved Carroll but he is not a big athlete in terms of size. Even if Cavaco makes it, this pick was a loose chance.

Josh Winder is officially my choice to slot in the middle of the rotation, right after Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon and before Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan. Now if the owners and players could get along ....

A huge part of being successful in baseball is intellectual. Players must learn to accept failure. learn, and move forward. This is really difficult. Young pitchers get crushed routinely. No matter how you stack any pile of prospects, they are still prospects and prone to having doubts about themselves. This is true despite the enormously high level of ego and confidence that exist in professional athletes. A pitching staff needs a couple of experienced minds to set an example and these guys need to have more ability than a Shoemaker. Using a dozen prospects to get through the year to see what they have seems like a plan to fail. I would bet that Falvey has other plans in mind. We saw what the plan was last year with Berrios, Maeda, Happ, Shoemaker, and Dobnak. Stuff happens and last year the pitching staff tilted sideways. Now a few prospects are ready to fill two spots, hopefully and unknown quantities added to front the top two or three spots in the rotation. I guess we all get to find out eventually.

When I read the comments about Story being too expensive and over the hill, I wonder about the expectations for 2022-2026 of those who oppose signing Trevor Story. The current roster will compete with Baltimore for the lowest position in the AL. I'm not in on a rebuild. However, I do recognize that fans have zero say on the players that will constitute the roster. Falvey may have a number of fair options on his mind to fill shortstop. The decisions seem straight forward, but there are many obstacles to assembling a roster. Free agents have to want to play for the team they ultimately sign with and it takes two teams to put together trades. These challenges seem much more daunting than whether the Twins should sign a free agent or two and complete a few trades. Additionally, Pohlad sets a budget. The final roster budget may float by $10-20 million, but we have no idea if that means $95-115 or $120-140 million. The budget will determine any potential push to convince Trevor Story to continue his career in Minnesota, not his talent No person can state with 100% certainty that a player will perform at a predictive level. Injuries, accidents, illness, and even death happen. It is inconceivable that the Twins could receive a better performance from someone currently on their roster at shortstop than would be delivered by Story. He is in the prime of his career. We cannot know whether Royce Lewis will be better than Tatis in 2023. Analytics are all the rage across baseball and on TD and the numbers say that Trevor Story would be a real plus for the Twins, if they managed to sign him. The real challenge would be to convince Story. There is room financially under any budget near $115 million.

So maybe Martin or Lewis are the top prospect in 2024.

This still seems really simple. Just ask yourself a few questions. Do the Twins need a shortstop? Do the Twins have a budget around $120 million or more for their 2022 roster? Do you want the Twins to be good enough to win more games with an addition than what is currently on roster? Trevor Story absolutely makes the Twins better and I cannot believe he expects a 6-8 year contract. Whatever. If the Twins are looking to keep the budget around $100 million, which most people haven't discussed, then this entire conversation is moot. No mon, no fun.

Do people remember that Rortvedt is a catcher and that position, professionally, is very demanding? Rortvedt has figured out the defensive side behind the plate and has the physical skills to now attack his weaknesses in the batter's box. This year will be a clear indication of his future.

I believe that the experience gained in 2021 by Ben Rortvedt will help him immensely in 2022.

This to some extent is my malaise regarding the 2022 Twins. I'm ok that the Twins are secretive with their process and also don't begrudge the Pohlad family making money from their inheritance. I simply don't have any confidence that the Twins plan to win as a goal. The Zips AL standings projections are up at Fangraphs and they indicate what is common knowledge - the Twins will be one of the worst teams in the AL with their current roster. This is almost completely due to the fact that they do not have a pitching staff and also have a hole at shortstop. The roster, right now, is not acceptable by any means. Adding a shortstop as suggested by Ted or trading for some hopeful shortstop are easily accomplished. The Twins can compete in 2022 if they add a couple of pitchers and the reticence to do so may or may not change after the lockout ends. Then again, maybe baseball is cancelled this year. The hot stove has been drenched by MLB and the PA thus far.

Some solid reasons to sign Story in the comments and I agree. My concern is with where Pohlad sets the budget. If it is $115-120 million, there is room for Story. If the roster needs to come in below $115 million, it is too tight.

The Rays would likely want players that do not need to be on the 40 person roster. A phone call asking about any of their players but especially Glasnow, Walls, and Kiermeier sure can't hurt. Conversations should be taking place, absolutely. Glasnow, as previously mentioned, is worth much less than shown on BTV due to salary and injury. Finally, the Rays do not like to sit on players making good money while they only have a year left before free agency. Call and listen.

We send out false reports and he falls into our lap.

Brooks Lee

This is plausible, but what is the record for this team? Just wonder what happens with this experiment. Do the Twins lose 90, 100, or more games or do they get some decent results such as 72-90 or better? What is the expectations going with "whomever"? There are signs that point to the directions you list.

There is reality to this observation.

When Twins fans look over the prospect lists it should be a reminder that however much we like the guys we have in our system, which I do too, it is a necessity to sign one pitcher (Rodon, Greinke, ?) and trade for another (Montas, Bassitt, ?) to allow Ober, Ryan, and those up next (Winder, Duran, Balazovic) to develop in MLB. This might not have been if the Twins had Berrios and Maeda to lead the staff, but that doesn't matter/it's in the past. If the budget is small, go for Montas and Greinke. If the budget is larger, go for Bassitt and Rodon. Oh, and because I have been fixated on Miami for too long, let's trade Arraez, Jeffers, Vallimont plus for Cabrera and Meyer.

Yah. The Twins do not have an MLB starting five at this time. They have prospects only.

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.

Robo umpires is a perfect example of the dysfunction of MLB. Who does baseball see as their customers? A survey of all pitchers from 2021 and another survey that includes any player who had a plate appearance in 2021 (not to include pitchers in this survey) is in order. From there, MLB needs to do some real research into who is their audience. Personally, I would be surprised if 5% of the players wanted robo umpires. I have no idea if gamers or those who love video games now make up the bulk of people spending money on the MLB product and would like to see more technology, like robo umpires, in the game. Perhaps MLB needs to know though. I do know that there are a number of people who watch and listen to MLB baseball games and go to MLB baseball games and also actually enjoy watching Town Ball or Legion as much as the Twins. Some of these people also greatly enjoy numbers and analytics as well. I also know that a number of people love the analytics of baseball but don't listen to the games on the radio and also don't particularly enjoy watching the games, but do enjoy discussions, blogs, and the numbers related to the game. It really doesn't matter what singular thoughts you or I have, but it is important what the larger group thinks. Baseball needs to know the customer or it risks losing ground for the entertainment buck.

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.