tony&rodney

What MLB should do or will do are different animals. An employer who needs a profit to continue in business balances all of their numbers to continue operations. Big business is much more complicated. Using your numbers of $3-4 million per year to pay each milb player $50,000 seems like a small line item for the industry. MLB doesn't pay milb players a living wage because they don't want to. The minor leagues cannot exist without role players willing to chase the dream of reaching The Show and thus these guys are exploited due to their willingness to play for nothing. I guess actors do much the same. The NCAA acts as the development league for football. The drastic reduction of minor league teams this season and the move towards corporate names for the leagues eliminated a long stretch of milb history. Perhaps baseball only needs development programs at their spring training facilities to teach the skills necessary to be major league players. Will the minor leagues be phased out in favor of NBA and NHL style development leagues? The cost is certainly something discussed and owners will do whatever they want to do, but it does seem a little silly for an industry to pinch the bottom for such a minimal cost of a utility infielder like Leury Garcia. I took his name because he is from the club that is midway in team payroll.

We sure hope Buxton continues as a Twins and plays like a superstar, but his contract situation is difficult to figure. Additionally, it is really hard to know what value he would have in a trade. Someone wrote in a comment elsewhere that the Twins should trade Buxton for C. J. Abrams and Mackenzie Gore. Hmmm? Both of these guys are viewed as potential stars but could also fizzle too. It was fun to watch Buxton play last night and I'm hoping the Twins can find common ground with him. His status is the first piece of the offseason puzzle.

I'm also confused why anyone sees Donaldson as anything other than a positive for the Twins. I guess it continues to beg the question - what are the Twins plans going forward? Jose Miranda has had a terrific season and if he is ready to contribute at the major league level there will be a spot for him. He can be a piece next year or perhaps included in a trade for pitching. If the Twins are planning to be competitive next season (.500 or better), they will need to explore every decent free agent and trade possible. Every single player can be traded from the current roster if the trade makes the team better. Obviously, there are players we want to hold (Polanco, Buxton, Donaldson) or develop further (Ryan, etc.), but the goal needs to focus on a better team in 2022. Miranda needs to play where he is a better defender. If he can play an average LF and hit, fine. The Twins do not need any more weak defenders. I'm hoping he gets 500-600 at bats next year for the Twins and hits .280 with production as well as playing sound defense, likely between 3B, 1B, and 2B.

Yes, this. Mauer, a Hall of Fame catcher comes out of the dugout like it is a movie ... amazing.

I agree with this, but I believe the Twins need to attempt to overwhelm Miami with an offer of multiple current MLB players. Unless the Twins are looking to 2023/2024 to compete, they will need to add players to bolster their talent. The offense has not been particularly productive and it seems counterintuitive to subtract several of Jeffers, Garver, Sano, Arraez, Larnach, Kepler, or Buxton, but the path to victory runs through pitching. An important question regards how Miami views Jeffers or Garver and whether two to three additional players might entice them to part with what we need.

This should be a fun game. Judge and Stanton have been hot too. C'mon Toronto and Jose Berrios.

I echo the comments by TopGun#22. The AL Central was pretty weak from 2019-2021 and looks to be stronger going forward. The Twins will have opportunities to return to the top with aggressive moves this winter.

Miami needs catching and has pitching - the Twins and Marlins line up for a major trade. Rortvedt is a good catcher and can hit .225 and works in a platoon situation.

MLR, I do not disagree with anything you state, more or less. Remember that in this case a billionaire became that billionaire due exclusively to birth. I don't necessarily believe that changes anything but it is noteworthy.

2021 was not as big a disappointment for me as other years because i couldn't see how this Twins team would win more than 81-86 games. I did expect a winning season. The pitching was predictably shaky and not just in retrospect. Berrios and Maeda are very good MLB pitchers. Maeda's difficult year was not expected. Still, I couldn't look at Happ, Shoemaker, Pineda, and Dobnak as parts of a solid staff. Perhaps it was a surprise that one of Duran, Winder, or Balazovic did not step forward to bolster the rotation or that the Twins received nothing from Thorpe or Smeltzer. There were options to trade for a starting pitcher and sign a closer last offseason, however, and the decision to roll with Colome, Happ, and Shoemaker set the tone pretty early this year.

Exactly - What are the plans? The budget and Twins desired direction will determine how the offseason unfolds and whether we see a possible return to the playoffs or a KC/Detroit rebuild with expected heavy losing. Also, the DH in the NL is a definite factor in Sano's value. Will MLB get its act together? These questions directly impact Sano. He slots neatly into the DH role and Kirilloff at 1B makes the defense better, but I do think a team like Milwaukee would be interested in Miguel. Either way, there is still value in Miguel Sano.

Count me among the few who expect change in the roster. There will be trades and free agent signings. A return of mediocrity would be a real financial hit as well as a commentary on the limitations of our current management team. I expect change.

Ober has pitched well, the management staff have monitored his innings very effectively, and Ober has been very accepting and methodical about his own progression; kudos all around but especially to Bailey Ober for his work. The rise of Ober is especially impressive because of the pitcher's difficulties in the past few years and the frustration of a Covid year. I would like to think that a tall physical player, like Ober, has a tough journey to harness the subtle movements necessary to succeed at pitching. 2021 is hopefully just a precursor to a very solid sophomore campaign for the big right-hander. Can we just hope for 150-180 innings next year similar to what we have watched this season? Fans are driven by hope.

I have not seen Jose Miranda this season. His numbers are amazing. What is the report on his prospects for being a full time contributing MLB player? Can he be counted on to take a position next season? What about his glove, does it play at 3B? The answers to these questions are important to a consideration of where Miranda fits on a Twins roster. The average, contact, patience, and power are very impressive and if he looks anything like Kirilloff he deserves a real shot at playing time. This, in turn, affects who is available to trade. Congratulations to Jose Miranda for a spectacular season. I wish I had had an opportunity to see him play. I checked milb.com every game for his line for each game and the consistency of his production was so laudable.

"Would love it if the Pohlad's said here you go Derek, spend $150M but that's not going to happen." This is important when one speculates how the Twins move forward this offseason. We actually do not know anything about how the Twins will choose to build their 2022 budget, but there are certainly some valid predictions based on past practices. Keeping this in mind, anyone building a roster for next season will need roughly three models: one for $100 million or less, one for around $125 million, and one aggressive model for around $150 million. My use of "around is +/- $10 million, thus a floor of near $90 million and a ceiling of near $160 million. In my opinion each of these is possible and none necessarily more likely than the next. When I think about how the Twins can proceed going forward, I look at all three possibilities. When the season is finished and individuals on Twins Daily begin to guesstimate and play with their favored possibilities for 2022, each person should think along each of the three budget lines.

Brent Rooker is still young enough to evolve into a fine, productive MLB player. A 5-10 year MLB stint is quite an accomplishment for an athlete. He does not need to be an All Star to have an excellent career. The issue for Rooker is his skill set in relationship to the needs of his team. As mentioned, DH is his best position and the Twins have a half dozen players to man the DH spot right now. Rooker also hits right-handed pitchers well so he does not fit in a platoon role easily. He can play left field adequately but increasingly the better teams use better defenders across the outfield. I will add that the athleticism of professional athletes is often severely underrated and anyone who has played against an MLB athlete knows that how they look from the stands or couch is not what is a reality when one is actually playing on the same field; these guys are athletic to a different degree. Naturally, by comparison within MLB, some players are far less skilled. We don't want to compare Rooker to Buxton, but he isn't much different than Kirillof as an outfielder and is more or less the same as Larnach. So the crux of the problem for Rooker is playing time on a team that has so many similar type position players. Rooker may benefit from an opportunity on another team, especially if the NL adds the DH. He would be a valuable additional player in a larger trade with other significant players. Similarly, if others are cleared from the Twins roster, Rooker may fill the DH position decently for the Twins. I don't believe Brent Rooker will be left off of the 40 man roster. He has a future as an MLB player. My scenario sees him as a part of an offseason trade because another team also sees his value. That value is not in a one for one trade but as part of a multi-player transaction.

Agree wholeheartedly with this line, but oh my what a low bar for defense. Brent Rooker can be a very useful DH. Handsome, statuesque sluggers in the corner outfield positions are not a pitcher's friend. Kepler gets a spot every time because he always plays defense and can get on a roll at the plate occasionally. I see Rooker as redundant to Donaldson, Sano, Larnach, and Arraez in two spots, DH and the field. Keep him if there isn't a way to use him as a part of a major trade.

This is the crux of whether the Twins can return to relevance next season. One FA signing ($20-30m) and one trade to complement Pineda, Ober, and Ryan would be the minimum expectation. I'm holding out for two trades and a significant free agent signing to bolster the starting pitching staff for next year.

A couple of the previous responses to the post are right on - the Twins have better options, especially if one believes in the value of defense, speed, and contact. Rooker will not return any player of value by himself, but in combination with some combination of Larnach, Jeffers, Arraez, Duffey, or others a strong return may be gained. Miami looks like a decent trade partner if conversations can find mutual agreement on needs, maybe Milwaukee or Oakland as well.

Thank you.

What happened to Kepler?

Chris Martin was a player judged to be a little short of the skills to be an every day shortstop and then he morphed into a versatile skilled defender at multiple positions who was able to be very productive playing all around the field. Perhaps Nick Gordon can fill a similar position for the Twins. He is athletic and already competent at six positions and hopefully his fire is to play often and get at bats. A player can want to be the everyday player at one position but be more valuable in a utility role. I wonder if Luis Arraez suffered some because he doesn't fit in the outfield and he knows it. I cannot say this is true for Arraez, but Nick Gordon may fill that multiple position role well next season. I hope so because his speed is a needed skill to the Twins lineup.

Gordon is improving in all phases of the game as he gains experience. The Twins need to have athletic players like Gordon as a part of their roster. He has certainly improved his stock as far as making himself part of the conversation for next season. Nick Gordon's development also provides some depth should the Twins trade an infielder or outfielder.

You can bet the national debt - they sure would have. I'm really disappointed, It's such a little thing, but exactly what the players notice. Rocco lost me.

Poor move by the Twins. My position on current management has been mostly supportive but understanding that they did not have the experience of past front office teams. This move was unnecessary and classless, sad to see.