tony&rodney

The glass is half full and there is never any better time than the present because the best of our youth is the only hope for the future. AAPL is still going just fine - buy.

Jose Berrios, Tyler Jay, Stephen Gonsalves, Taylor Rogers, Nick Burdi, Kohl Stewart, Alex Meyer, J. T. Chargois, Lewis Thorpe, Jake Reed. This is the list from 2016. Rogers and Thorpe are still on the roster. It was impressive to read about and see all of those top flight prospects in 2016. I wonder who will still be on a Twins roster from the current group in 2027. Prospects are fun to ponder.

I have responded to the comparisons between front offices in the past. It flamboozles me to hear such harsh judgments. Without revealing any personal associations, I can say with confidence that we should understand that baseball front office folks have solid backgrounds and pretty amazing skill sets, although these are varied in background. The game has made some changes and for those who manage to follow baseball closely in the next half century there will be further changes to and within the game. It is a reasonable reaction to be critical of moves or inaction but the attacks on the expertise of those in baseball management is nearly always off base. The owners make the biggest decisions - how much money is going into the team and then management responds. The Twins have decent people running their team at this time and they are still learning. A person like Terry Ryan had enormous respect in the industry and success as well. It isn't necessary to compare the different front office personnel.

A team loses their top slugger and two best pitchers and finishes in last place, yet the suggestion is to stand pat. Ok, that's an option. The question for those who want the team to play the hand they have today is this - Will you support the Twins with your time and dollars towards the 2022 team to the same extent you did to the 2019 team? I cannot quibble with those whose support in games attended, watched, and so forth continues through losing seasons, I'm just wondering how people who do not want any change would react.

The hitting talent displayed last year across the board, especially the low K numbers, provide an answer. Miranda should get every chance to play five times per week next year. I'm a big fan of outstanding defensive players and wondered if there was any possibility to add Starling Marte to the team, but understand why he was not feasible. The Twins have put some pretty stiff defenders on the field and Miranda should be equal to the task in the field. A bat that equals Steamer projections would be solid. Miranda should be on the roster Opening Day and see significant at bats (20+ per week) during the season.

You may be correct. I like Ryan and was impressed with Ober more the last few times he pitched than earlier because of some adjustment he made. For no really good reason, I like Josh Winder. My point is that a real key for the development of the Twins inexperienced pitchers is to have two strong leaders show the way. My choice would be to keep Ryan but if the A's were allowed to pick one pitcher in our attempt to gain Bassitt and Montas, then I would roll the dice. I named Ryan because he might be my choice if I was picking. A trade I have proposed on several previous posts brings Bassitt and Montas at a cost of Arraez, Larnach, Strotman, Canterino, and Dobnak. That is a pile of talent but it also lines up two solid pitchers against other staffs and reduces the pressure to perform from those who fill the other starting slots. FWIW, I also particularly like Arraez too. I'm open to any ideas that make the Twins better in 2022 and beyond.

Prospects are judged on their perceived talent ceilings until they prove differently. Cory Kluber is an example of a pitcher who rose above early predictions. Most of the top pitchers were given decent reviews as prospects. There can be additions to the dozen Twins noted, Jax and Raya to name two. The Twins do not have any prospects currently rated to predict above mid rotation starters. I believe a couple will rise above their write-ups. This becomes another reason to add experienced good pitchers and the sheer number of prospects should tell us that it is ok to trade few arms. One of the issues that returns again and again is the perception of the Twins as a small market team that must work with a smaller budget. Are we all adjusting how a team is collected based on an accepted notion? Was Twins Daily number of a $130 budget million excessive? A base of $90 million, as many seem to suggest, may be necessary. This moves the discussion quite a bit from a month past. A lower figure requires more use of prospects. We are agreeing that the prospects need mound time. We wonder if the new reality means an only prospects staff. The goalposts are being moved.

"Ideally, they'll add at least one more moderately good free agent starter and another impact arm via trade, so as to improve their odds and lessen the total reliance on unknowns. But as a general course of action, I don't hate the idea of letting the pipeline produce." - Nick Nelson Nick, you write a good justification for the young starters getting their chance as support for the inaction of the Twins front office thus far this offseason. The idea of letting the prospects pitch is widely accepted, by most, seemingly. There are twelve waiting their turn: Dobnak, Ober, Ryan, Duran, Winder, Balazovic, Woods-Richardson, Strotman, Sands, Canterino, Vallimont, and Varland. It is a good group. Maybe three do well, three go to the bullpen, three fail, and three get traded. There is really not much pitching left as free agents and if the budget needs to be near $100 million, signings costs more than trades. I'm excited to see a few of these guys get acclimated, but I'm in favor of adding two pitchers to the top of the rotation via trade. The Twins have a decent core of everyday players and a smoother transition into MLB is possible with pitchers like Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas leading the way. Let the pipeline fill out the rest of the rotation. It's a gamble but I don't hate that at all.

Not as cold as if Bundy is the Opening Day starter followed by four sacrificial rookies.

Ryan is listed among the prospects. I'm trying to build a team for $90 M. I like Ryan, a lot, but wonder if he might be the player (along with a few other players) to help the Twins acquire Bassitt & Montas. The starting pitching prospects the Twins are sitting on are all promising as mid to lower rotation hurlers and my belief is that a mentor/experienced arm(s) would do wonders for our inexperienced pitchers and help them to reach beyond what is possible in a rotation with zero examples. I'm open to any ideas that make the Twins a better team and while I may be delusional and in the minority here, I believe that two or three moves could make the Twins competitive in 2022. The rough challenge is to put a team together for under $100 million without moving any large contracts (i.e. JD & Sano). I don't see removing those two as productive for the team on a number of fronts and it is also unlikely a team will take the entire contracts and return anything worth the deal.

You have reframed the question from the original post by John by adopting Ash's point, "There is no $20m." This is a fair point as the Twins history has shown. Additionally, the entire discussion about budget needs to be reframed.

We will get our answer by April, but AlwaysinModeration may have the Opening Day rotation correct. Twins Daily started with a largely assumed roster cost of $130 million. Adding Trevor Story and Carlos Rodon fits in that budget. TopGunn#22 correctly points out that there will be serious competition for pitching in the trading market. Perhaps we all missed the actual budget badly, by about $30-40 million and the Twins are going to field a team at $90-100 million. Surprisingly, there are actually opportunities to make some trades that bring in a few pitchers to meet even that low budget. Falvey will need to be creative and take a few risks once the CBA has been concluded and business is back to normal. Finally, the ongoing specter of Covid and its effects cannot be ignored. How many people have put together a team for under $100 million? Does that team compete?

AlwaysinModeration, you escaped your name with a four rookies and a wish starting pitching rotation. There must be some research about inexperienced rotations to begin a season. Can anyone provide that information. Did a team starting all rookies and a #6 SP ever find themselves competitive? Like many, I like the looks of the pitching prospects in the Twins system. Winder, Balazovic, Duran, Ryan, Ober, Woods-Richardson, Sands, Canterino, Enlow, Petty, Strotman, Vallimont, Raya, and Varland. These players need leadership and time. My iteration is likewise light on experience with a wish following three rookies, but led by two stalwarts. SP #1 Chris Bassitt #2 Frankie Montas #3 Bailey Ober #4 Edward Cabrera or Luis Castillo or at least Michael Pineda #5 Josh Winder #6 Dylan Bundy

There are many readers who do not see either Ryan or Ober as "locks". These two are merely the only starting pitchers who are currently on the roster who pitched at all for a few decent innings last year in MLB. It is a pretty low bar. This restriction reduces opportunities to gain experienced decent pitchers who would serve as models for the prospects who begin their education at the MLB level. A Chris Bassitt addition would be akin to adding Nelson Cruz several years ago, except we give up a player to gain the SP. Bassitt contributes, leads, and may stay if we gain his interest. There aren't many promising free agents as December fades, thus one either hopes for significant trades, which have been reasonable proposed ad nauseam, or supports a prospect takeover. When we hand the ball to an all prospect staff, we spend too much energy looking for two-four Doc Goodens and eventually accept 90-110+ losses for a couple of years even as we hope the prospects' brains stay intact from the beating they watch and then receive day after day with an occasional spectacularly pitched game. My one question is: will all of those people who want to see all prospects buy tickets to watch them pitch, tune in to the same number of games, and follow the team as carefully as they did in 2019? I will, for sure. But I'm still hoping to add four pitchers via trade and a free agent signing.

The Twins were sitting on their hands while Miami was looking for a catcher but the Marlins still need bats and they still have excess pitchers. The only way to pry away a Meyer and/or Cabrera is to satisfy the Marlins. This only happens if they see a clear benefit for their team now. This is also risky from the Twins side and both Meyer and Cabrera may be totally off limits making the exercise mute. Nevertheless, I see both Meyer and Cabrera as superior in present talent to any of the Twins pitching prospects and am willing to make the reach in an attempt to see if Miami is interested in a trade. I'm not exactly sure what Miami wants but Kepler, Jeffers, and a MLB ready player like Dobnak might be a start. Hopefully a conversation can take place, at the very least. Miami would be unlikely to trade Lopez for anything less than a massacre for the other team (think Lewis, Martin, Jeffers, and Duran) and Alcantara and Rogers are definitely off limits. Hernandez, Sanchez, and Luzardo hold little appeal due to their combination of price and risk versus what the Twins need which is a small degree of certainty. Oakland remains the site to shop for pitchers.

Cool that you added Cesar. He was such an exciting player and can easily be left off of an all time team and utility players have always been critical components of great teams. Tovar belongs, for sure.

If it happens, it happens and then Barry Bonds goes in unanimous. Right?

Interesting choices. Knebel signed for $10 million already. This might be a fun experiment. Are you prepared to lose 90-110+ games though? Gambling is a ton of fun but the house always wins.

Nash, I appreciate your (and others) efforts to keep the content going on Twins Daily; the posts are admirable in the face of the disappointing lack of moves by Falvey. I find it increasingly difficult to engage. The Baltimore Orioles have much better pitching prospects than the Minnesota Twins at this time. Do we wish to emulate the Orioles? The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City have blended in a number of pitchers in the last few years, all of whom were much more highly rated than any of the Twins pitching prospects. The Tigers did not put forth their prospects solo. It is quite confusing how anyone can believe that using just our pitching prospects can bring a positive result. Currently, the Twins have only Dylan Bundy slated for their starting rotation. Can anyone point to a rotation that had anything resembling this and managed to avoid 90-110+ losses? Not to be a downer, but the Pohlad family has made a fortune on the Twins alone, and I don't care about that except if they abuse the public trust made when Target Field was built with tax dollars. A budget of less than $120-160 million is an abuse of that trust. This leaves a single option for after the entire CBA debacle is settled. The Twins will need to frantically find a way to sign and trade for three starting pitchers, a shortstop, and a relief pitcher. The names mentioned all work for less than the money available: Story, Rodon, Pineda, etc. via the free agent market and some folks like Bassitt, Manaea, Montas, etc. via the trades. Some combination of players (some unnamed) will need to be added to fill the holes. A rebuild isn't necessary for financial reasons by any calculus and a rebuild due to a failure to sign or trade any decent players would be be nothing short of illuminating an epic weakness in management. I remain hopeful and supportive that the FO will be able to accomplish the moves needed to roster a competitive team and hope everyone has a positive holidays as we all wait for the renewal of the conversations needed to negotiate an end to the impasse between MLB owners and the MLBPA.

Ok, you don't like Buxton or his new contract. Ok, no problem. Now, I think you need to specifically tell the readers of this post what you believe the team's budget will be for 2022. Will you use $75 M? $100 M? $150 M? What do you think? Subsequently, show us what players, specifically, make up your roster. Who exactly will you sign? This will help others, like myself, try to understand your views. Until you put forth a specific roster it is really hard to see your point. Perhaps the Twins go with a $80 million or lower roster next year and beyond and then everyone else who believes in Buxton would need to reconsider how their rosters were composed. Put your roster out for us.

This makes sense if the "resources" referred to limit the Twins to a budget of $100 M. A number of comments have seen a contract for Story as limiting the team's options and/or restricting a future for Lewis/Martin. This is confusing to me unless those making these arguments are thinking the budget is near $100 M. I totally understand the reticence if $100 M is the team limit. The argument concerning a block for Lewis/Martin makes little sense. No team ever blocks a superior player; there is always room in any lineup for a player who displays the skills. Again, if those who oppose any signing of Story believe he is not a viable starting shortstop, then i can accept their point. It never hurts to have too much talent, but some will question whether Story is worthwhile at any price. The entire decision boils down to a judgment on talent and then a knowledge of the actual budget ceiling. No money = no interest or there is money but the talent is not worthy. In any event, we wait.

So happy. One of the most kind people to walk the planet. In 1967 he came with a rookie, Rod Carew, to our school and he was funny and said what an honor it was to be around school age kids. I met him when I sold beer at the Metrodome and he was even more impressive as he aged. My parents and many of their friends took in Cuba families fleeing Castro's regime and Tony Oliva was a legend among their community. If you never saw him play, it would be hard to explain what an amazing hitter he was for his too brief career. There were polls of pitchers in the 1960s and early 1970s (maybe there still are polls - I don't know) and Tony O was always amongst the top five most feared and respected hitters by pitchers in the American League. Congratulations to the only hero I ever had outside of family. Tony Oliva - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame sounds perfect.

Why not? Do you think the budget will be near $110 M? Read the comments by TopGun#22. You are correct if the budget is $90-110 M. A lower budget throws nearly every move suggested and discussed on Twins Daily away. Falvey specifically stated that the Twins would be competitive next season. A budget from $90- 100 M will not put a competitive team on the field. I would use "competitive" to mean 80 or more wins in a season. Naturally, there could be other limits used for the term. Again, many on TD want a few years of letting prospects learn on the job, so there are differences of opinion about a direction forward (1-5 years) for the Twins. There does seem to be an idea that adding pitching via trade of players who have 1-2 years left as only a short term plan, but that is not correct as experienced pitchers allow younger pitchers to mentor them, serve as examples, and release the pressures of being the main pitcher.

What money? Who would you suggest be signed? What do you believe the budget should be?

This may be possible but what free agent pitchers are we targeting that will take up the budget? What is your budget? $90 M? $100 M? .... $150 M? It makes a difference whether you plan to spend $90 or $150 M or any point in between. I believe enough examples have shown that Story and three good pitchers via trade will fit within a budget of near $120 M. No trades or Story make sense at a budget of $90 M. There are not pitchers available as free agents to spend money on at this time other than a risky deal for Rodon which seems completely unlikely when the Twins were not interested in any of the other free agent pitchers in that price range. Of course, never say never. The argument against Story no longer involves money unless the Twins have already maxed out their budget.