tony&rodney

The Twins are not parting with any of their top six prospects for Blake Snell. They may offer combinations of their other prospects and maybe Cave and/or Garver, but a trade with Tampa Bay seems unlikely. Snell does not meet the near 200 innings per year mark needed from a starting pitcher that would induce a club to part with their top prospects. Several years ago, Greinke and Verlander were solid bets. Today, Lance Lynn, Marco Gonzalez, Brandon Woodruff, Luis Castillo, and Yu Darvish among a few others look good. Trevor Bauer is a free agent. The problem is availability and dollars.

The Rays are tricky - forget Snell. I'm hoping the Twins can swing a deal for Lance Lynn. Sonny Gray, or Yu Darvish. There are decent options on the free agent market and we should not be afraid to allow a rookie to take the #5 position in our rotation. An elite reliever is a big want for me.

One consideration - a new CBA may reduce the years of service before free agency and/or have specific salaries tied to performance in those years where a team holds control over a player. Quite a bit could change and, as such, any negotiations would need to increase their offer from past practices. The Twins have quite a bit on their plate right now and are unlikely to advance a longterm contract. If they did, I believe we should look at 8/$80 million.

Agree with biggentleben about the market flexibility of some teams. However, on Twins Daily, it should be noted that the Twins are a team with flexibility. Their biggest decisions are how to fit both Rosario and Cruz or cut away from one or both to other options. This might be an exciting winter with a host of desirable free agents: Kike Hernandez, Profar, Realmuto, Hendriks, Hand, Bauer and others. The list of starting pitchers that may be available in trade is also impressive. Snell, Gray, Darvish, and Lynn are all notable possibilities. The Twins are ready now and there are options to provide for significant roster upgrades. I wish that MLB and MLBPA would make a call on the DH soon.

Signing Bauer would be tough because it would mean pinching monies spent on a relief pitcher or two and a decent utility player. Signing Bauer would also push either Cruz or/and Rosario out the door as well. The financial decisions are up to the Twins but a payroll of $140 works for them. Don't underestimate the financial abilities or acumen of the Pohlads. They made a sound call on Donaldson. Covid happens.

Yes, we should extend Berrios, as most state above. However, it is possible that Jose wants to play out his contract to see what is available in free agency. He has all the money he needs for life right now, he works really hard, he wants to win, and is likely to be interested in going big at some point. If the Twins are serious about keeping Berrios for a few more years beyond the two left until free agency, they should try 4/$56-60 million. That gives Jose some time to build huge value, make cash, and the Twins are not overburdened with a long term contract. For sure the Twins should be feeling out the market for their star pitcher this winter though. It can be surprising how much one player can bring in a trade with a team overly eager to win now. The Twins have a nice complement of players and any trades that can make them better next summer should be pursued. We can go year to year with Jose. Hopefully Berrios wins a World Series for the Twins next fall.

Every time i put a team on paper with Cruz at DH, the payroll sits around $140 million. A reasonable budget, I believe, but there are variables beyond my knowledge. Rosario and the coming decision are important in any Cruz conversation, but so too is Miguel Sano. He is most likely the most feared batter in the Twins lineup from a pitcher's viewpoint. Sano still has room for maturation as a hitter and the talent to get much better. He's young and athletic. We saw that on more than a few occasions last year in his acclimation to first base. My concern is with his flexibility and conditioning regime. What is the big man doing to reduce his size? He came into camp last February much improved and another step towards physical conditioning and agility would benefit the big man. Sano can reduce his strikeouts and hit for an average of .275 or better with power, but he must really strive for excellence. Everything I see from Sano indicates that he loves to play baseball and have fun. If I am the brain trust behind the Twins I want to know exactly how my cornerstone is working to fulfill his talents. Anything less than optimal reports has me working the phones for a trade. This then circles back to signing Nelson Cruz. The Twins need to budget at least $60 million for pitching and as Cruz waits for a ruling on the DH the Twins must do whatever they can to fill the roster. Twins fans love watching Cruz but a rotation at DH may be in order if Cruz waits too long.

The reports allege that Cruz wants to wait for a DH decision by baseball before signing his next contract. He has certainly earned that right. The fact that he will wait is a sign that the Twins are not keen on Cruz on a full two year deal with a similar price or slight raise from the last two years. We cannot blame him. Cruz was a superman the last two years. We understand the reticence of the Twins. Cruz still has birthdays too. Nearly everyone wants Nelson Cruz back in our lineup. The December 2 deadline for tendering Eddie Rosario is key, because the Twins are not inclined to lose both Cruz and Rosario. My best guess is that Falvine are probing every team's needs and variables in an attempt to line up a couple of trades. The process is difficult without knowing who will be tendered and thus it is unlikely to see substantial trades before December 2. This, in turn, would mean that the Twins tender a contract to Rosario. From that point a host of hard conversations and decisions will be made that are either looking toward a budget of $120 million or, in an optimistic investment mode, plans around a payroll of $140 million.

Smyly, Ray, and Morton are off the board. It is clear that there is money and we can all just forget all of the discussions of woe for the owners' costs. The poor, like Tampa, will need to scramble and win with astute trades and development. The rich, like NY teams, can do whatever and still profit. The Twins are somewhere in between and this winter will surely test management's direction, because the team is clearly at a point where the middle ground will see them fall back. Atlanta has done Falvine a favor, now these guys need to proceed aggressively or the window ......

The Twins will not be signing Kirilloff this winter to a long term contract. The budget is pinched and any extra money will be directed toward pitchers and filling in current needs for next season. An extension now would need to include two years of minimum salary for Kirilloff, because of choices needed elsewhere on the roster, and it would be unprecedented to accept a long term deal that keeps a player at the minimum for a couple of years. By this time next year, a conversation could happen.

The lack of direction by MLB on a DH decision is also pertinent to this post. Cruz and Rosario are linked as moderate payroll tickets. The Twins might have enviable depth in corner outfielders/dh/1B, but the team wants to win next summer as well. The loss of both Rosario and Cruz would be stiff because neither would return an asset. Free agent signings return quality without loss of current players. This is attractive. The Twins should be looking for three or four pitchers and a couple of utility players. My best guess is that this is a busy week of discussing FA, trades, and rosters spots. The market is real slow right now and that December 2 deadline to tender is close. Unless the team makes some moves in the next week, I expect Rosario to be tendered a contract. The loss of both Eddie and Nelson would too tough right now.

There are so many scenarios where Eddie is still a Twin next summer. In addition to using the young corner outfielders as potential links to pitching, the current signed players, Sano and Kepler, may bring back a pitcher. In 2019, five Twins hit 30 home-runs and it is plausible that only one is retained for 2021. Certainly, the finances and team needs will dictate that a minimum of one of the Bomba Squad is moved. Rosario for less than $10 million is an option that must be considered. At the very least, December 2 is day one for the dominoes.

My thoughts exactly. I put my crazy ideas in the Offseason Live Replay: Twins Offseason Blueprints comments section. Despite having Rosario lined up fourth on the list of Eddie or Miguel or Byron or Max, I kept Eddie Rosario.

Love the ideas and different iterations of the 2021 Twins team. I run through my own, especially as a means to stay away from the political morass and Covid downers. It is a form of entertainment to look through the stat columns and team needs and wonder where deals can or cannot be made. My craziest ideas involved a series of trades, losing some of my favorite Twins. I traded Max Kepler plus a few minor leaguers for Brandon Woodruff from Milwaukee; Miguel Sano for Max Meyer from Miami; and Jose Berrios, Mitch Garver, Lewis Thorpe, Cole Sands, and Jack Cave for Luis Patino and MacKenzie Gore from San Diego. Finally, I liked the trade for Ketel Marte suggested on a previous Offseason Live. My budget comes in just below $130 million. SP = Kenta Maeda, Brandon Woodruff, Michael Pineda, Luis Pineda and a rookie. The rookie can be either one of Mackenzie Gore or/and Jhoan Duran. RP = Liam Hendriks, Rogers, Duffey, Wisler, Alcala, Stashak, Theilbar, and Colina. C = Realmuto; 1B = Kirilloff; 2B = Arraez; 3B = Donaldson; SS = Polanco, LF = Rosario; CF = Buxton; RF = Larnach, DH = Rooker; bc = Jeffers; utility1 = Marte; utility2 = Lewis; 13th player = ?/Astudillo. Total is near $125 million. I signed two free agents: Liam Hendriks is my first choice for 3/$42 m. and then my unlikely signing is J.T. Realmuto for 5/$125 m. I also want Tyler Clippard to return. I, too, had fun listening to the podcast. Thank you for doing these and keeping our moods light.

"It is fun to see this ranking and I will look for other outsider views this off season. But my take away from this is that we have a good team with a lot of players ranked in the middle at their position, but other than Cruz and potential Donaldson we do not have the superstars that the great teams have. We have no one on a HOF track." from mikelink45 First, this might be a strong argument for inserting at least one (or two) of the youth into the lineup next season. Secondly, this can also be an argument for signing a significant FA, which would require some shifting of personnel to accommodate the budget. Finally, do the Twins make a couple of dramatic trades in an attempt to jump past their obstacle of first round playoff losses?

Smyly and Ray are signed and what a relief for Twins fans. Did anyone else worry that either of these two would land in Minnesota? Of course, they could star, but I just don't see it from my porch.

Remember these all quite clearly. Debates raged about college players and flame throwing high school pitchers. The one that really hurt, because it seemed the available information was present, was choosing Tyler Jay. From my couch I preferred Buehler and then Benintendi. My third choice was McKenzie. Still, what did I know? A little video, game reports, watching a few games, and blogs were my only sources. Terry Ryan spoke at a coaches' clinic at St. Olaf's College every winter and it was understood that anything he said was kept among us. He also brought along a young player each year. The most cocky, and funny, but also well spoken was A.J Pierzsinski. Ryan was always real direct. His baseball knowledge was beyond compare as was his integrity. Terry Ryan is a gentleman in all respects; the consummate baseball man, respected by all across the league. Something about the baseball draft swings wildly for many teams, back and forth, from success to failure. The 2012 draft brought Byron Buxton and every single team in baseball would have taken him that year. Lately, the Twins have taken a number of DH/!B/corner OF types. Once again, only the future will exonerate or refute these decisions. One thing I am confident of - Ryan and Falvine and their team of scouts and talent evaluators are more knowledgable than me.

We are looking for a shoehorn. Cruz, Sano, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Rooker, Kirilloff, and Larnach. Cave is a viable OF too. The Twins have five positions to allocate, a budget to consider, and two players too many. The idea of stashing Rooker, Kirilloff, and Larnach in the minor leagues no longer seems like a structurally sound plan. While only the Twins internal talent evaluations count, we have seen both Rooker and Kirilloff swing a bat already and Larnach is not a secret. Eddie Rosario has been a clear contributor for the Twins and I have not seen any dramatic changes to his talent. A three year offer to Eddie is a path forward for the Twins, as is a consideration of using him more often as a DH. This will be a tough winter for Falvine as they work through all of the roster possibilities. No matter what direction the team goes, we will miss the two players left standing when the music stops and the chairs are claimed.

This past season was such an outlier and no minor league games made for a situation which meant that any strong determinations about player development knowledge was kept in house. Was there any way for teams to evaluate the alternate site or fall instructional camp players? I am not aware of that this was happening. One year can be huge in the development of a young player. The excellent interview (thank you Seth) with Brent Rooker hints at some of the opportunities presented at the alternate site. While Rooker was clearly being a gentleman and throwing nods to a number of his fellow youth, his description of the value in seeing multiple reps every day against players who are all considered potential call-ups and have the talent to effectively compete at the MLB level was instructive. This does clearly contrast with a typical minor league experience where there are many players who fill the roster at A, AA, and AAA. One can see this gap any time you go to a minor league baseball game. I can attest to this personally (in the past) having played against players in amateur ball who were recently released from rosters at all levels, including MLB. Some of these guys were sent by their wives/girlfriends to go join a local team just weeks after their release because they were just hanging out too much around the house. My gut instinct leaned toward the Twins choices based on reading Twins Daily and the mlb.com reports. A player like Ober being protected is a sign that the team sees projection now and that there is a reason to suspect that the brain trusts of their competitors have some degree of information to choose Ober in the Rule 5 draft. The Twins likely made their decisions about who would be protected back in October, pending an unexpected trade or other addition. The real action starts on December 2, when teams decide who gets tendered contracts, released, or traded. Despite the prediction of a slow off-season, teams will need to formulate a plan soon and their direction will be a combination of gambles based on projected monies available versus the emerging player markets. The number of Twins players who are in their prime plus those ready to contribute for the first time sets a scenario for a winter of speculation. I'm pretty pleased with the potential of the young guns and am particularly happy that Rortvedt was added now, for exactly the reason that AceWrigley noted above.

Seth, I appreciated the pace and quality of questions. Thank you.

Atlanta is not trading Anderson or Fried, the Dodgers are not trading Buehler, Cleveland isn't trading Bieber, and that means the Twins aren't trading Buxton. If the Indians will swap SB for BB, sure, do it. Otherwise, the Twins are all in on Byron this year.

Odorizzi looks pretty good on Monday afternoon, now that Smily signed for $11 million. Still, it might be prudent to attempt a few free agent signings of the bigger fish first. Quick now may uncover a gem later. Then again, after today the players may be rethinking their worth in the market.

Drew Smily signs with ATL for $11 million and the board gets more interesting. Here are some wandering thoughts on the possibilities of trades and other nonesense. For no particular reason, I am hoarding Kirilloff and Larnach because they are both true bats. Then, in consideration of Nash Walker's industrious proposals, the Ketel Marte trade looks good. Additions to make it happen are possible in my view, including Cave, and ARI may benefit from an infusion of new looks. What is the market for Sano? Whenever the Twins hit, he and Buxton are my two can't miss at bats. Sano is fearsome. Miami might be interested though. Can we pry away Max Meyer? Talk with Rich Hill and Cory Kluber. The Twins need to be careful. Waiting too long may boost the prices of both free agents and trades. Marte gives the Twins great flexibility on both offense and defense. If he might be available there is a definite need. The trade for Woodruff sounds promising but I'm hesitant to deliver Larnach and the Brewers may actually want more players. Profar may be easier to sign but I believe Walker is on to something with Marte.

If Odorizzi is going to cost $12+ million and the Twins are going to stay below $130 million, then a trade or a flyer on a Kluber/Hill combo might make more sense. Totally agree with Odorizzi at $10 million but I believe someone will offer him more money and multiple years. The Twins could use the money towards acquiring a bullpen piece.

Yes, it would be really interesting to see Trevor Larnach line up next summer for the Twins. I think he would mash. Only the Twins brain trust knows the answer to whether these two are ready but watching Larnach swing a bat delivers confidence in his hit tool. One of my iterations includes TL batting 8th, ahead of MG, and following LA-JD-AK-NC-MK-BB-JP. Maybe, just maybe, a gamble on youth but through the years there are players who manage themselves well when tossed into the fray of mlb action. The deciding factor may be how the Twins manage resources in building a better bullpen and add to their starting staff. That and how committed Falvine are to Cruz might well determine if Trevor Larnach gets a shot, waits, or is traded. If we must bid goodbye to Rosario, I'm ready to see Larnach shine. Maybe he will even agree to shave his sorry goatee, or at least add further facial hair.