tony&rodney

Unfortunately, this is the crux of every discussion so far in building a team for 2022 and beyond. They have to rebuild the entire rotation from Opening Day 2021 and while the task is difficult it can still be accomplished through a free agent signing and two trades. I'm not yet prepared for 2-3 seasons of 90+ losses.

The comments about talent are quite interesting. When one considers the vast call for the Twins to roster players without MLB experience to "see what they have" versus the comments about the lack of talent in MLB, it flies in the face of numbers. Now I have always been into numbers and stats and really haven't found saber-metrics to be so revolutionary, but when one considers the influx of Black Americans and Latin players into baseball (not even mentioning Asian and others) in the past 75 years along with the improvements in the medical field and training it boggles the mind to suggest that the baseball players today are not talented enough or that there are not enough players to field additional teams. While one should take care to compare the different professional leagues in North America, it is a simple numerical fact that baseball has more parity than either the NFL or NBA. Now golf, which I do not follow (golf is a good walk spoiled), could likely say that there is plenty of decent golfers today and there is room for more tournaments. I don't know about that, but baseball has talent oozing from many places and the hold on expansion is a hold on expanding the interest and development of the game. Expansion is overdue.

Thank you. I didn't look it up, but this works. I would suggest that teams only get to protect three more players after they had lost a player in the draft.

Expansion franchises would pay a large fee to gain entrance into the exclusive club, MLB. The fee is for players. Every team should lose some really good players. The details are hammered out before the drafts. I would even suggest if the fee is $1B or more that teams only get to protect 15 players from their 40 person lists. A stab at who from players currently on the 40 person roster: Lewis, Miranda, Buxton, Kirilloff, Kepler, Jeffers, Larnach, Polanco, Ober, Ryan, Winder, Balazovic, Duran, Alcala, Sands - that's fifteen. Naturally, the list would be different when expansion occurs and teams would try to trade players they were worried about losing. Players below the 40 person roster eligibility are protected in most expansion cases. These details get negotiated amongst the owners. One can see that most of the best players remain with their team. The league would, ideally, want the new teams to be rostered with respectable players. The new CBA gets hammered out. MLB expands by two franchises. Oakland and Tampa Bay get moved if they do not resolve their issues. Knowing that expansion will happen should expedite their decisions.

Simmons has an interesting past with some spectacular defensive seasons. Walls has a bright future and will never be compared to Simmons as a defensive shortstop. There isn't a single team in baseball today that would choose Simmons over Walls for their 2022 team.

Arraez is a great batsman and he does well enough against lefties too. His tenacity at the plate is awesome and may certainly benefit those who follow him in the batting order. The problem with Arraez is not an issue with his skills but rather the lack of a position right now for him in the lineup. This makes him a prime player to consider when looking to trade with another team. It is unlikely that the Twins would put Polanco out as an option in a trade and Donaldson is not very tradable right now. An aside, Donaldson was really good last year and remains a veritable star player. Maybe the Twins find a way to fill their holes in the pitching staff and then Arraez becomes a good offensive utility player.

Every player is locked out that is currently on the 40 person roster. Ober, Ryan, Dobnak, Thorpe, Vallimont, Sands, Winder, Strotman, Duran, Jax, Balazovic, Cotton, Moran, Stashek, Garza, and Alcala are the young pitchers that would not get to pitch in the minor leagues. A lockout that lasts will really hurt the Twins.

Cold weather and we are all making our own hot stoves; it's all good. Nothing has changed, but we did learn something .... maybe. The Twins eschewed pretty much all free agent players. They may be waiting for a better value on a couple of players. We also did not see any trades or even read any real rumors concerning the Twins. Perhaps this is closely tied to the CBA. It is pretty clear that the Twins need pitching. Oh, they also need a shortstop and possibly an outfielder. At this point there still are a few free agents worth signing: Carlos Rodon, Trevor Story, and Michael Conforto. There are a ton of players worth trading for and this is why this post is popular. Luis Arraez leads a host of rostered players that can be used to upgrade the team. Donaldson and Sano can still contribute but it is quite unlikely they return anything in a trade right now. All options need to be on the table, including a few of the pitching prospects. The Miami option as submitted above is a positive move. Bassitt or Manaia are solid options and Montas is a great goal. It is unfortunate that Arraez does not have a clear position with the Twins. Polanco needs to stay at 2B and Miranda covers Donaldson at 3B. Arraez is not a DH or an outfielder. San Diego could use Arraez as could Oakland or Miami, but the bottom line is that the Twins must add at least two pitchers.

This may or may not be accurate, but the new teams would be rostered from a draft from the existing teams. Each team protects 20 players and can protect three more players if a player from their system is drafted. There are 30 teams. Two teams draft 40 players apiece from the list of 600 players left exposed to the draft. MLB rosters could be set at 25 players where it has been in the past. Two teams add only 20 players to MLB rosters. There are plenty of good players to fill the rosters of two new teams. Clearly there would be a set of rules established to carry out a draft, from fees to draft.

Aaron played his first dozen years in Milwaukee and was a beloved player for baseball fans in the Midwest, especially Wisconsin and Milwaukee. This is the obvious explanation but I get your point. The Braves may have moved to Atlanta but Milwaukee never left Aaron.

Perhaps, but compare to NBA and NFL. MLB rarely has teams finish below .300 winning percentage, which is terrible. This is common in the other leagues and the NFL has had a handful of teams go winless. Parity may be how we perceive the competition, but I am in favor of anything that creates closer competition. It just seems difficult.

The U. S. population has tripled in the past 100 years. Baseball has grown enormously in many countries outside of the United States. There are plenty of players and there are a number of cities that would support baseball. Yes, baseball should add two teams. Where is a little more controversial. Everyone will have their own ideas. My quick response would be Portland, Oregon and Montreal, Quebec.

I always thought it would be cool if the Twins had their own Hall of Fame (like they do), put those numbers up around the stadium (they do), but did not retire the numbers. Maybe then fans could watch player X wearing #6 and patrolling the outfield at Target Field and trying to live up to the number. Nothing real against #82, but I can't relate to that number. I also think former players would like to see someone doing their number proud. Always loved Jim Kaat and very happy for him. Joe Nathan sure did the #36 proud playing for the Twins though too.

Polanco as a comparison is a wonderful compliment. Jorge is underrated imho. It is amazing to think about the journey these Latin players face on their efforts to reach the major leagues.

I'm not sure what you are trying to point out or respond to. The players, numbers, and who are all easily looked up and I am aware of each. I wonder if I could have been more clear in what caution I was attempting to convey. Prospect lists are constantly evolving and when someone is reluctant to use any prospects as members in trade for current MLB players because of the potential value of the prospects, there needs to be some understanding of the difficulty of finding success in The Show. Currently, the Twins have a number of pitching prospects and the posts on Twins Daily are overwhelmingly opposed to trading any of these prospects for current MLB pitchers on expiring or two years left contracts. My original comment was just an fyi that there needs to be an awareness and caution to the value of pitching prospects. Prospects that play the field are a different discussion. One can look at a number of years to see the past valuations of pitching prospects. The link you provided is one good example. This was a particularly strong prospect list and delivered a star, Jose Berrios. The Twins also had very high hopes for Tyler Jay, Kohl Stewart, Stephen Gonsalves, Alex Meyer, and Lewis Thorpe to be in their rotation for years and the relief pitching prospects were especially highly thought of and many are still pitching. This particular year was filled with high end prospects, arguably the best of any recent prospect lists. I have wondered whether it is best practice to place so much future planning on just the pitching prospects and wonder if the Twins might consider the use of some of these prospects to trade for current MLB players. An example where this was done was the trade of Brusdar Graterol for Kenta Maeda. Along the same lines, while I have followed the Twins pitching prospects closely and am excited to see a few of them get experience this year, I am in favor of attempting to trade for two experienced MLB pitchers such as Chris Bassit and Frankie Montas. Of course there are other experienced names to consider. This would necessitate a decision on trading two or three pitching prospects. While none of the Twins current prospects are currently rated as highly as Jose Berrios and others were from the 2016 list, a few of them will be good MLB pitchers. The reality is that all of them will not be stars and it seems prudent to use the strength of the current system to help the Twins current roster with just a couple of trades. It is always a risk to trade prospects but when one considers the value in 2016 of the Twins pitching prospects it seems that taking a few risks then may have paid off handsomely. It could now too or it may not; it is a risk for sure.

.... was only referring to past pitching prospects. This was just a note to mention that the Twins have had many pitching prospects through the years, but it is a tough road to be a MLB pitcher. We can look at past lists and see which pitchers made it and then be hopeful yet realistic concerning the current set of prospects.

Great story. Both Taylor and Tyler are fun to watch pitch. I hope they can keep their success going this season.

Sano, Kirilloff, Donaldson, Arraez, Garver, Miranda, Rooker - it's pretty crowded at DH and the corner infield spots. The DH in the NL may create an interest in Sano and there should certainly be some conversations taking place, but Sano is likely to be at first base on Opening Day. That is, he will be if a CBA gets signed. It sure seems like just yesterday the Twins were excited by a power hitting shortstop who might need to move to third base, but would crush home runs and hit for average. Now it's down to the last time or one more chance for the big guy. I'm still hopeful.

This is not about money for the owners, it is about power. Any owner can produce a budget that reflects income minus costs to leave the bottom line reasonably close to their desired line. If certain owners feel that the business of baseball ownership is not worth their investment they could sell their position in a heartbeat. If the owners feel as a group that there needs to be some sharing of economic resources for a common purpose, they need to work those details out within their consortium of MLB owners. The PA has a concern for those players whose careers are still worthy due to production who are set aside for players working at the minimum salary. The idea of a franchise tanking does not sit well with the PA even as it offers economic benefits and a chance to regroup to an owner. The minimum wage players also offer a chance for improved production in the future, but this comes at a short term cost of less competitive baseball, in some views. Their other concerns are mostly undefined. A shortened time, perhaps small, before arbitration and a year less of control should create some movement in bargaining. I wonder if the PA might consider a significant raise in the initial three years of team control as a benefit for their members. A prolonged work stoppage and the interruption of the MLB season will cost both sides, but be particularly difficult for those players whose careers are short. The system currently in place cannot just be blown up and looking to other professional leagues is problematic at best. The PA should be focused on the average salary rising at a commensurate level with baseball's growth in revenues and owners should be focused on the growth of their investment through attendance and fan participation (media). Currently, it seems, both sides are looking past each other and seem short-sighted in regards to growing baseball as a product. As just one example, I would think that the PA would be interested in seeing MLB expand by two teams in the near future. Two additional markets would also benefit the owners. In any event, if the two sides are actually interested in a quick resolution there is ample time for discussion and a host of ideas to exchange to resolve the current chasm. The importance of peace seems particularly important in light of 2020 and the lost participation of fans due to Covid. Any significant further loss of games will find a wider public populace increasingly comfortable with their own summer activities that do not include MLB. It is much easier to find something to do on a beautiful summer evening than during the cold darkness of a January night.

Why does this sound like Baltimore and Pittsburgh? Not your comment but the plan to fail.

I used to imitate Dean Chance and Luis Tiant. When I did this in games opponents were (righfully?) irritated and I was hit a few times as a result when my turn at bat came around. One particular HBP hurt and i stopped the imitations in games. Dean Chance was a terrific pitcher but he made Bert Blyleven look like a good hitter.

Manfredball. Ghost runners on second base will be his legacy.

This seems about right. My only concern is the lengthy control over Latin players signed at 16. This is a whole separate issue and seems to escape the PA. If MLB can sign Latin players at 16, why not allow this for all others? This seems to be an issue worth bringing some equity. I don't have an answer, but wonder about it.

Yes, this what I was referring to without trying to get off the post. Should be interesting and we will likely get to wait a while before anything comes out of the lawsuit.

I guess I don’t see Miranda as that much of a miracle? I don't either, yet he struggled in 2019 because that is what young players often do. I am hopeful that Miranda can take the adjustments he made last season into MLB this year. Rortvedt is a catcher though and the bar is significantly lower, especially if they are good with a glove and Rortvedt has a good glove. If he can duplicate his St. Paul numbers or come close, he would be quite useful. Catchers need to be looked at differently. There simply isn't any other position in baseball similar to it.