tony&rodney

Would you support a maximum net worth for all individuals/households or even a maximum that anyone is allowed to earn or spend via any avenues? Random number (pick your own), say no one person or household could have total assets above $100M or earn more than $10M in any given year?

Uncertainty surrounds the organization from top to bottom. One can spend forever thinking of various permutations of a future roster and miss on more than half of the names on an Opening Day list next season. Speaking purely for myself, I have no idea what direction the Pohlads face. Will they have a firm budget? A beginning figure of $75M doesn't feel too low and high number of $125M might be possible. My best guess today is something near $100M. Falvey has ideas of his preferred roster and style of play in baseball. We have seen his work since 2016. Will he cling to those ideals or is he capable of change? The last few years the Twins stood pat believing their basic roster would be good enough to compete for a playoff spot. The purge in July seemed to portend a shift, but a few recent comments by Falvey suggested the Twins now have the pieces in place. Does anyone have any idea which direction this will go? Rocco Baldelli came up in baseball as a player whose speed, defensive skills, and power along with a strong adherence to fundamental play made him a young athlete to watch. Injuries decimated his career. His managerial style was in juxtaposition with his own game. The use of analytics appeared to rule many of his decisions. This always seemed odd to me and it felt like RB was merely a good foot soldier. How could that even be true? Finally, we get to the players and it is hard to watch the younger, more inexperienced players seemingly looking over their shoulder. Baseball is tough and if one feels a lack of confidence from above it breeds within as well to some extent. The way that Austin Martin finished the season was almost a poster of a player who decided that every play was his decision and his alone. Mistakes were made but the positive clearly outweighed the blunders. The fit of individuals within the roster feels awkward. Then again, there is the reality of physical talent and ability to play a fielding position adequately. Would anyone be surprised if half of yesterday's active roster did not return? There will be plenty of room for players on the 40 person roster. Hopefully somebody within the organization has a plan that is not the same as previous ones.

Change Happens

Did they ever exist?

Thank you for these weekly summaries Nick. The roster/ team/ organization needs help. Quite a bit of work will need to be done to get the Twins back near a .500 record. Never say never.

Great pitching by Woods Richardson.

Some tough games today all across MLB. Miami was really fighting for their win and eliminated the Mets. Tigers had chances versus the Red Sox. As I type, Jose is trying to be a hero again. Fun baseball season.

Unless you heard that from Kepler, I would not believe it.

Cabrera has some talent but he just doesn't command the ball consistently.

Good for Max Kepler.

Cory Provus asked Jeremy Zoll why the Twins did not run prior to mid August. Zoll rambled, but did not answer the question.

This would be cool. Jorge had some tough injuries the past few years which sapped his swing. 2025 has been a great season for him. He is a very tough out with risp and a guy teammates look to.

He has some strong stuff and could rise quickly as a relief pitcher. Olivares was actually a fun guy to watch this year. I would keep him.

Seems like Buxton should be in the lineup or at least makes an appearance in the game. One can say - nothing to play for/last game, but the Phillies have nothing to play for/last game of season as well and they have their starters in the lineup. I expect four of them to be taken out during the game.

The current front office has had more money during their time making roster decisions than their cousins in Milwaukee and their competition in the AL Central. This stands out if one compares the support of past front offices from the Pohlads. While the failure of ownership to create an acceptable relationship with the public and the poor timing of some untimely financial decisions are important and noteworthy, it feels like a failure to evaluate their top employees stands above all other issues. I wonder how aware the Pohlads are of their baseball business. Certainly I would have had questions about the processes and decisions in the last several years, at the very least. The current condition of the organization should call for a specific action plan with a timetable that must be reached. Perhaps the Pohlads are totally hands off these days. Hard to know what is going on.

Think you might be correct, which is why I suggested in an earlier comment that the Twins may not see value in Fitzgerald. Not sure how many minor league guys need to be added to the 40 person roster but a quick look at the current list, including those not counted currently because they are on the 60 day IL, suggests there is plenty of room to keep Fitzgerald.

Money is always a factor to some extent, but it seems much less so in baseball than in general life. Looking over the playoff teams on the last day of the season, we can identify Detroit, Cleveland, Seattle, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati as teams with league average payrolls. While it is not reasonable to disregard the importance of money, identifying talent via international signings, trades, and other acquisitions remain important as does the development of the minor leagues. The Twins could benefit from improved development among other means available towards improving their roster.

All things are possible. The organization needs to improve the roster and the most likely or feasible manner is through some trades.

I'm not sure if the Twins will agree with you. I do. Fitzgerald is older, he has decent power, speed, and can field average to slightly plus at numerous positions. It is really hard for someone like Lee, Lewis, or Julien to fit comfortably as a utility player. While I'm hoping for improvements through additions via trades for a couple of positions, a player like Fitzgerald could hold down that 13th person among position players.

Nice win. The Twins played well and flashed a little leather to go with the power. Happy to see McCusker get a bat to the ball and drive in a run that was needed at the time and get his first MLB RBI. The main story was Mick Abel. He has stuff and when he throws strikes with more than one pitch he is a handful. Great performance by Abel and he was well supported by his teammates.

Austin Martin has made the type of improvements in his game at the major league level that we saw from Gabriel Gonzalez at the minor league level. They are not similar players. Each made enormous gains defensively. Martin is quite athletic and he is playing fast now with less and less hesitancy to his game. Gonzalez worked his body hard and must have taken a ton of reps to became a playable outfielder. Martin has become a very consistent pest in the batter's box and his OBP is really a needed feature of a decent team.

There has to be some changes to improve the defense, speed, and hitting through roster moves. Next year will almost surely be rough but with a more athletic, better fielding team there could be some excitement. This might be similar to the 1984-85 teams. Running it back again can not be an option. None of the decisions will need to include a team roster budget above $110M, which removes financial concerns from the table.

The Twins are a firm #5 in the ALC in talent as this moment in time. Falvey gave an interview suggesting the roster looks good and improvement is expected. If the Twins roll with their current roster, expect a fifth place finish in 2026. A few changes and the Twins could compete for third or fourth place.

Well, Julian was much better at second base than he has been at first base. That is not an endorsement but rather a reality. Also, remember that Julien doesn't fill out the lineup card. Putting Julien at first base highlights all of the ways that the position exposes those who are inexperienced in the nuances of playing there. That is why people should think twice when suggesting player X should learn to play first base. Consider that every simple ground ball to an infielder can potentially end in disaster due to poor glove or footwork by the first baseman and one can put to rest that it is the bottom of the defensive spectrum. If Julien is to ever make any positive contributions for a baseball team it won't be at first base.

Falvey gets pretty excited about a winning percentage below .400, which is very difficult to actually accomplish. Seems like that might be the goal for next year.