tony&rodney

Funderburk did pitch much better in the end of the season. He should be on the main roster and hopefully he continues to be competent. Caleb Thielbar is a good relief pitcher, so we can wish solid results for Kody.

Maybe Mayer and Rafaela? Would like Arias too. I had turned away from Boston because I'm not real high on Tolle, Campbell, Casas, or Garcia. Arias has promise but the Twins need a shortstop now if possible, although Brooks Lee will almost certainly get another shot in 2026.

9th place is a fair placement. Byron's defense takes quite a hit with both BaseballReference and BaseballSavant. It was good to see him play in the field this year. I wonder if he would be open to a move to a corner outfield position soon?

Personally I'm not seeing any comparison. A huge focus has been payroll, which can be important. At this time payroll doesn't factor into the roster build unless the Twins plan to sign 2-3 top free agents. Do any of the people who own, write, or read Twins Daily believe Realmuto, Alonso, Bregman, Bellinger, Bichette, Cease, or Valdez are targets for the Twins to sign? How many people are hoping for the Twins to sign Kepler, Polanco, Paddack, etc? The main concern (imo) with the Twins is that their position guys were poor at supporting their pitchers with either their gloves or bats. The draft is a way to build talent and every team has misses there but the Twins went a few times too often for DH types who haven't delivered yet. The draft is tough. Additionally the Twins have been reticent to trade players when their value is high and subsequently watched as those players' crashed. In short, the Twins have been more reactive than proactive. While I wasn't exactly cheery about the selloff in July, it does seem like the Twins were trying to be proactive in those trades. Will that continue? We don't know. Trading Pablo Lopez or Byron Buxton won't make sense unless the return is fabulous, which seems very unlikely. I doubt either are traded. Trading any or all of Jeffers, Lewis, Wallner, Ryan, Ober, and Larnach could make sense dependent on what players are gained in any transactions. Some players have higher value, others have lower. The decisions need to improve the outlook of the team. I don't see standing pat with the current roster as an option.

FWIW, the internet is awash with false news stories of all types. For the most part, I think, the Twins have avoided the worst. An example would be how Max Kepler was quoted as saying he would never play centerfield. It is nearly impossible to find actual news. One needs personal/reliable sources such as a cousin, friend, son, daughter, etc. who you know very well that sends you video clips they have recorded on their phone without comment. An example, protests in Portland a week ago which were mostly 4-10 senior citizens in lawn chairs during the week joined by a dozen younger people, often in costumes, on the weekend. The U.S. ranks low globally in reliable news sources. There will be a ton of rumors of who the Twins are DFA'ing or trading this offseason. It makes sense to play around with our thoughts on Twins Daily but be careful of giving credence to news stories until official announcements through press conferences or MLB transactions are given. Love the way Jarren Duran plays but the Twins are hoping for the next Duran. Would Max Clark be possible?

I appreciate your pick and reasoning. Joe Ryan is a good pitcher, no doubt. Like I said earlier there are three choices but really only two and none of us knows what the Twins will do.

Toronto put runs on the board. The must have some good hitting coaches. Judge didn't go down quietly. Two really good teams.

I do like Larnach but my 2026 team is 100% not happening because I'm suggesting major changes in order to improve defense, team speed, and hitting (hopefully). I have repeatedly put Larnach back on the roster because I actually believe he can improve as a hitter. If he cannot return what I want he works as my DH. We'll see. In other areas people will not like players I'm ready to move away from, partly because I believe that there are teams that are a better match for them and mutually beneficial trades should be available: Jeffers and Wallner.

I love Caballero but he is a utility player himself, although he can be good for 4-500+ PA a year. The Yankees are going to be very difficult to deal with in order to acquire Caballero, but I hope they can add him.

Ok, Naylor for 4 years / $80-100M. Do it. Just no more vets where we say they did pretty good considering ..... The Twins can do that move and it still come in around $90-110M for payroll. The front office needs to get to work.

Well, he isn't on my 2026 Twins team, but there is an argument that he was the Twins second best bat. There is a big pile below him in the barrel.

Is that the same Bert Blyleven who finished his career with 60 shutouts? The guy who had 23 shutouts in his age 33-38 seasons? I'll take 5 of those please.

Joe Ryan is a really good pitcher. If anything he might be underrated because he has pitched for a team with a very porous defense and the offense is not to be trusted for runs on a consistent basis. The decision is whether to use him for the next two seasons and recover a draft pick when he leaves, sign him to a contract extension which will be rich, or trade him this offseason. Those are the three choices. The extension option seems the most unlikely. Ryan will not be signing for less than $120M at this time. I would suggest the Twins sign Joe Ryan to a 4/$120M contract that begins in 2027. I also don't believe Ryan will take that deal. Crochet signed a 6/$170M deal with escalators based on Cy Young votes. Which option would people on Twins Daily choose?

First off the Twins do not need to reduce payroll. It currently sits below $90M. The need is for adding talent and balancing the roster. The Twins have too many DH type guys. Trevor Larnach is a DH. Larnach definitely has value. What team needs a DH that can hit? There will be interest in him. Possibly the Twins trade 3-4 of their other DH types and keep Larnach. The Twins should definitely tender a contract to Larnach but gage interest in him from across the league.

The key component here is whether other teams value specific Twins players combined with the front office competently identifying players from other teams. Joe Ryan is a pitcher that several teams should see as the guy needed to get their squads into the next round of the playoffs. Boston and Detroit come to mind. The return should be high and these teams should be willing to gamble as well. The benefit of keeping Ryan is familiarity more than anything. The worst case is injury. I don't see how the Twins can keep Joe Ryan and he is the pitcher I most enjoy. The team needs better talent. Nick has envisioned a selloff but doesn't account for the returns and stays well away from wild speculation. These fan blogs are nothing more than speculative guesses at their best so why not throw out ideas. We are seeing more and more of these doomsday articles precisely because the selloff in July left the Twins as a struggling roster that is likely looking up at the White Sox. How can that change? Gleeman and Bonnes seem to think a $140-160M payroll is an answer. I would like a $180M payroll. I'm not sure where the Twins payroll will land but $80-110M seems like a number in line with past practices and current reality. I do believe or maybe it is just hope for several strong trades to be completed. There will be many opportunities. Nick mentions Tampa Bay and Ryan Jeffers. Ok, I would like to see that trade return Brody Hopkins and/or Tre' Morgan. Perhaps the Twins need to add a Travis Adams or lower level guy from A ball. Nick doesn't think Ober has much value but maybe Arizona is beyond frustrated by Jordan Lawler, whose value has also sunk. There are bound to be several mutually beneficial trades that can be completed. The key is how other teams view the Twins players. I don't see rolling it back as an option.

Something to think about but it seems more important to get best value. When people suggest keeping Ryan and extending him, my thoughts go to numbers and probability of the Twins actually signing Ryan for a 5/$150M extension. I wonder how many people think there is a chance to keep Ryan? And then there is the specter of injury. The Twins need to get this right. So best value becomes most important and we deal with facing Ryan in games.

Detroit is finding out that they could use a really good starting pitcher. They have a strong system. Is it possible that Detroit would part with Max Clark for Joe Ryan? While it seems unlikely the Tigers would agree with such a query, I'm hoping the Twins are poking every team to find opportunity.

This seems about right to me. Now the Twins need to forward offers to certain teams to pry loose players they could use, even if it seems like an overpay. My choice for most improved would be either Austin Martin or Simeon Woods Richardson, although I can see choosing Varland or Clemens.

I'm not seeing any similarity between Keaschall and either of Julien or Miranda. My only concern with Keaschall is whether or not he can become a good defensive player. He has the quickness and speed to be rangy and became quicker with his release in his short time this year. Hopefully he finds time to build arm strength and practices his fielding. He doesn't seem injury prone with IL stints all being different.

Everyone will have their favorite sites for prospects. I like Fangraphs as much or more than others. The only Cubs guys I'm interested in are Kevin Alcantara (50-high risk) and Jaxon Wiggins (50). Maybe my preference for Wiggins is due to my love for Mark Harris' trilogy whose main character was Henry Wiggins (The Southpaw, Bang The Drum Slowly, and Ticket For A Seamstitch). Easily the best written baseball books ever; actual literature.

Johan?

Jimmy Crooks is close, a good glove, but plenty of swing and miss. Main question is which teams will talk and what do they accept for a guy we want.

Cabrera didn't bother me because the team was lost already. He has some decent stuff but is not consistent. He is not reliable. Genesis is an easy non tender but a minor league offer that includes a ST invite seems fair. I'm not sure how many more teams will bite on Cabrera for a 40 person roster spot. He is gambling if he passes on any offer, even a minor league one.

That's the dream. I'm still hoping for Jeferson Quero (MIL) and/or Harry Ford (SEA). Heck get both of them and have Vazquez serve as their mentor. Ford can be used on the odd occasion in the outfield.

A Kyler Fedko/Hendry Mendez experience would be a better idea than adding another slow declining body like Hoskins. I, too, doubt the Twins add any substantial free agent. I put a link to all free agents out yesterday. It is a pile mostly made up of declining players whose skills are questionable at best. There are names like J.T. Realmuto, Alonso, Naylor, Torres, Polanco, Bichette, Story, Bregman, Bellinger, and Tucker. That is about it. Is there anyone who thinks the Twins will sign any of the above players? The rest of the crowd are just earning your 24'-25' team records over and over again. The rebuild was begun in July. We didn't anticipate or ask for it, but it happened. Now, it is time to complete the rebuild. Anything short of a commitment to revamping the roster will only draw out the misery of 90 loss seasons.