tony&rodney

Dodgers-Giants is good baseball. Two teams that are put together. The Giants get a bunch from their team and the Dodgers really have a large group of players that they signed and developed or acquired by trading prospects. It is an impressive list: Buehler, Urias, Kershaw, Smith, Bellinger, Seager, and others with Betts (via Verdugo, etc.), Scherzer (via Ruiz and Gray) and a host of others by trades (Martin, Muncy, Turner) to complete their team. The playoffs are in pretty good hands this year. Despite the whooping the Red Sox put on the Rays yesterday, I am still looking for the Tampa Bay team to win it all.

I don't think competing in 2022 is an achievable goal Does Falvey and Pohlad believe that competing in 2022 is doable - those are the guys who need to believe. All we can do is think about the possibilities and wait until the decisions are made. The Twins have a chance to compete but action will need to occur on both the trading front and within the free agent market.

A good pitcher is the single most important need for the Twins. In fact, they need three starters and likely two relievers. The shocking reality is that this offseason there is a real opportunity to actually complete those necessary additions. What is going to hurt is the pieces given up in a few trades, but as Linus has already stated, "you have to give something valuable up."

The development of Jorge Alcala was a pleasant part of the 2021 season; there are always some positives in a disappointing year. Alcala should be in ink for the bullpen going into next season.

Garver or Jeffers, Larnach, Celestino, Sands, and Dobnak for Alcantara and Meyer. A ton to give, but pitching - well, the Twins need pitching.

Hmm? Odd timing seemingly which leads to further speculation. Was the move necessary this week?

Winning? The Twins need three starting pitchers better than Michael Pineda, a couple of relief pitchers, a shortstop, and a leftfielder. While I would welcome Big Mike back, there is a ton of more pressing trades/signings needed if the Twins want to be above .500.

Falvey sounds pretty sure of himself, like Jim Pohlad just sent an "ok" for a $175 million budget.

Fine post. One quibble is that past milb players within the Twins system have also received great attention and high marks by fans. Willie Banks anyone? Going way back -Willie Norwood. Prospects are exciting but each 5-10 year stretch seems to forget that the road to the The Show is strewn with high velocity arms and can't miss sluggers (Michael Restovich). Baseball is a tough business from the players' side.

Just one simple opinion, but baseball will not be as complete a game when robots take over from umpires. The umpires make fewer mistakes than the players. I was incensed when a call went against me when I pitched but always recognized that the game didn't work without an umpire. Joe West was pretty irritating at times but when I watched his calls, he was nearly always correct and his record and years of service to MLB is nothing less than laudable.

Devers and Bogaerts are tough. Get one lose to the other.

A couple of views: Miranda will get his at bats if he is ready. Spring Training and April will be important for him, fair or not. Arraez is a great hitter but he does not replicate Rod Carew in any way or fashion, not in the smallest of visions. The Twins have some tough calls to make this offseason if they hope to reach .500 ball or better next year. Arraez and Polanco both play 2B. Is there a team out there that places a high value on either? This and other conversations need to take place to make attempts at finding the best mix of talent which will help the Twins in 2022. Arraez is a trade chip as are all other players. We can only hope that Falvey contacts those teams which return the most optimum value in return for our players. Pohlad and Falvey have stated the Twins will make the changes needed to return the Twins to relevance - we shall see.

I'm a big fan of Big Mike and do not miss his starts. Like i said previously, I love his quirks and how effective he often is as a pitcher. However, I respectfully disagree with your assessment and feel Pineda is best seen as a #4. I would love to see him return next year in that role.

April and May were putrid, but June and July were pretty sad too. There were times where one would just go WTF watching some lifeless displays of mediocre baseball. I mentioned earlier that August and September seemed much more competitive. In sum, the Twins have major work to do this offseason. Tweaking the roster with two or three little changes won't work. The roster needs definition and focus, both defensively and offensively. Perhaps we can get Ober and Ryan can fill in the back end of the rotation, but that leaves three open slots to fill via trades and free agency. Perhaps two or three young relievers will fill bullpen roles successfully, but the Twins need at least one strong addition among their relief squad. Perhaps Miranda, Martin, Celestino, and/or Lewis successfully make the jump to the big team next season, but there better be another idea or two to fill holes other than rookies. Falvey has stated that the Twins are not rebuilding but plan on a return to fighting for a division title. In that event some free agents will need to be signed and the Twins may need to overpay to push teams into a trade. The CBA looms but I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to make a big push from now to December. Three trades and three free agent signings could reinvigorate the roster and fit beneath a $150 million budget. I'm not too enamored of waiting until late February and March for waiver wire additions and other surprise signings, but will admit that there are times that the waiting strategy can work as well. It just feels like the 2021 season left a bad taste that needs to be cleansed sooner rather than later.

The Mariners were fun to watch but certainly outplayed their expectations and it was really disappointing to have the Blue Jays fall just short of the playoffs. Although I preferred both of the prevously two mentioned teams we have to hand it to Boston and New York. Boston would seem to be on the verge of collapse repeatedly and rise up again. The Yankees keep churning out pitchers like Peralta, Holmes, German, Luetge, King, Abreu, Cortes, and Loaisiga. These unsung pitchers kept the Rays at bay until the big boys finally scratched a run across on a fielder's choice. The games were tight and ended in dramatic ninth inning fashion, a baseball fan's delight. It would have been a travesty to have the playoffs decided by Manfredball's ghost runner shenanigans. Fenway is a classic but, yah, I wish the Blue Jays and Mariners had gotten into the playoffs.

Rooker hits the ball hard and I'm hoping another team feels they would like him in their lineup. Rooker is pretty rough in the outfield and may be most valuable as a third or fourth piece in a trade for a pitcher. Still, Brent Rooker is a player that is worth a roster position and certainly should be on a 40 man list. He is still developing and gaining experience and his past indicates improvement over time.

Nick, thank you.

The Twins finished on a positive note - that is a good thing.

The Twins played competitively, for the most part, from August to today. This is something, although it does fall well short of the 85 wins I expected so it is totally understandable that Twins fans are disappointed in this season. Now 2021 is in the books and it is time to turn to 2022.

Thank you for the milb game summaries. This is a big reason I come to Twins Daily.

The reports published around the trade deadline indicate that there is near agreement on a base contract for Buxton. The next discussions will revolve around incentives related to at bats and games played. The Twins will want some give if they provide a guaranteed base of $10-11 million per year and Buxton's agent will argue for a high dollar ceiling for incentives. The Twins are probably less worried about injuries than many fans. They need some protection because of his career thus far. Regarding injuries ... Buxton is healthy and athletic enough to maintain his current condition for at least five years. We are not seeing him bang into walls any longer and he is more restrained in his daily play than previously. Some of this intentional and some is due to gained experience. The hit by pitch injuries are not predicable. Finally, it seems like several years have passed since Buxton has had debilitating migraines. In sum, Byron Buxton is a solid bet for the next seven years within the context of a contract that contains a base plus incentives. This type of contract recognizes that there have been previous concerns which management must consider. The question is how high will the Twins go with incentives. Will they pay $35 million if Buxton wins an MVP? I cannot see why the Twins shouldn't be able to work out a deal but there is always the slim possibility to let the contract play out. Pitching is the primary need for next season but the last week has shown how valuable Byron Buxton is to the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins really need to decide whether Buxton is "their" player and hopefully there is a deal worked out based off of a base plus incentives. Buxton is the real deal when on the field. If, and only if, it is necessary to trade Buxton then the Padres and some other teams could be decent partners. In the proposal by Capt'n Piranha quoted, I suggest a simple tweak, pulling back Garver and Ober and substituting Ryan. Moving Buxton means major adjustments and pulling Garver back allows me to trade Larnach, Jeffers, Dobnak, Rooker, and Celestino for Sandy Alcantara and Max Meyer. Jose Miranda will get a chance to play 1B, 2B, and 3B next season if he shows the tools next Spring Training. I'm excited to see him play for the Twins. The disappointment of 2021 has manifested itself across the region and Twins fans want a return to playoff baseball or at least a relevant competitive team. Just recently Falvey reiterated that he plans to make moves that return the Twins to a different place in the standings. We shall see. We hope Buxton is back but all contingencies need to be examined and Jose Miranda is also certainly a piece of the puzzle.

Sorry to read that Ben Rortvedt is on the IL with a concussion. He is easily the best catcher and maybe he can learn to hit .225. Garver and Jeffers are better offensively but will never match Rortvedt as catchers. I'm interested in what other teams think about our catchers.

Agree. I didn't suggest the trade but just wonder what value Buxton holds for another team. If the Twins cannot sign him they need to allow teams an opportunity to negotiate a contract with Buxton. This then changes the calculus of value to some extent. Back to the Padres ... I have wondered what they value and it is worth remembering that no prospect is a star yet. Buxton is a unicorn of sorts and I am predicting decent health and a strong career from him going forward. Of course, this almost seems foolish given his troubles staying on the field but he is young, strong, has not lost a step, and has begun to gain some real MLB skills. I hope Buxton signs with the Twins but am in the dark as to value to another team.

Doesn't it seem like everyone likes Big Mike? I like Big Mike because he is so quirky and still manages to keep the Twins in most games he pitches for 5-6 innings. Management should likely expect 15-20 starts and from 75-125 innings from Pineda. The budget will determine whether there is money to pay whatever he wants. Pineda will have some demand as a bottom of the rotation pitcher from a number of teams. What do the Twins want to spend for a #4 starter? I'm guessing that Falvine will not invest $15 million in Michael Pineda.