tony&rodney

Great. We got pitchers. Who is going to field the ball if they only strike out 33% of the hitters? How are the Twins going to score runs? But, yes the pitchers look promising. That is true.

Yah but .... one 18 year old catching prospect in a ball to help the position side? I'm not enamored (said too many times) of slow corner outfielders. I want a Jarren Duran type player in the corner. Turn anything in the air into an out and hit for extra bases but steal second base on the singles, all the while playing all out. I would trade Joe Ryan for that. No more DH guys.

Is there though? As you know, I was/am a fan of the Twins making changes. The team is slow, plays poor defense, does not run the bases well, and they don't hit despite having too many DH only bats. They did not fix any of those issues. Tait is a possibility 3 years from now. A few others are possible corner outfielders/DH types. They added a ton of pitchers but stripped the bullpen of 4 guys with years left. I am not opposed to trading any player but the return needs to be a guy. That guy should be someone who projects to start, play defense, and be athletic. Some of the pitchers added have some promise. The position side is weak. We are still going to depend on guys you mentioned: Keaschall, EmRod, Jenkins with health from Buck and coming out parties from Lewis and Lee. I don't see a single position player that was added as the type of player I would target. Thus, I'm suggesting the rebuild hasn't started but will this November.

We are all flailing and guessing at this point. The team is in total disarray. 1. I don't believe for 1 second that there is an imminent buyer. Put yourself there .... would you want a total sell-off before you buy or would you prefer to direct player movement. 2. The team still has the same exact problems as it did a week ago. The Twins are slow, play poor defense, and can't hit. Now we added the problem of having a shortage of MLB quality bullpen arms. 3. Based purely on how things went it seems probable that the Twins were negotiating so fiercely with Houston that they forgot about trading Vazquez, Ryan, and Lopez. 4. Nobody wanted Wallner or Larnach? Oof. This offseason I hope team speed, defense, and hitting is addressed. I have no idea how.

I'm going to copy/paste what i put elsewhere. It isn't that the movement that is a problem, it is the direction. As stated below, the rebuild hasn't started. We did see a teardown. Those are different. In both November of 2023 and 2024 the Twins faced the same problems as they did one week ago. The team as a whole was slow, affecting both base running and defense. The team had too many DH only players. The defense was poor, which is not good for the pitchers because they feel that the only sure out is a strikeout. The team lacked extra base power, The team needed a better offense. After a historic round of trades, the problems remain. The strength of the team was pitching. So 7 pitchers were added after subtracting the top 5 bullpen arms. Only one decent far away from seeing the majors catcher was added. The other four bats are repetitive to those currently in the system. Really, the teardown happened quickly. The rebuild has yet to be started. Who goes after this season from among Lopez, Ryan, and Ober? Traditionally teams do not keep players with less than 3 years of control who make money above the minimum. For now it looks like the Twins will need some amazing emergences from players already in the system. What can the Twins expect next year from Noah Cardenas, Luke Keaschall, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Walker Jenkins? Can Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis become consistently decent every day baseball players? Can Buxton continue as a decent centerfielder and remain healthy? Can Wallner learn to hit and be a fair DH only? Can players like Martin, Keirsey Jr., and Julien make reasonable contributions as part time players?

In both November of 2023 and 2024 the Twins faced the same problems as they did one week ago. The team as a whole was slow, affecting both base running and defense. The team had too many DH only players. The defense was poor, which is not good for the pitchers because they feel that the only sure out is a strikeout. The team lacked extra base power, The team needed a better offense. After a historic round of trades, the problems remain. The strength of the team was pitching. So 7 pitchers were added after subtracting the top 5 bullpen arms. Only one decent far away from seeing the majors catcher was added. The other four bats are repetitive to those currently in the system. Really, the teardown happened quickly. The rebuild has yet to be started. Who goes after this season from among Lopez, Ryan, and Ober? Traditionally teams do not keep players with less than 3 years of control who make money above the minimum. For now it looks like the Twins will need some amazing emergences from players already in the system. What can the Twins expect next year from Noah Cardenas, Luke Keaschall, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Walker Jenkins? Can Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis become consistently decent every day baseball players? Can Buxton continue as a decent centerfielder and remain healthy? Can Wallner learn to hit and be a fair DH only? Can players like Martin, Keirsey Jr., and Julien make reasonable contributions as part time players?

It is pretty weird but this may have some truth.

Impossible to predict if team will be sold and what direction the team goes towards, but I would not bet $1 that the Twins spend more than $95M next season and I'm including money due Houston. Larnach will not be tended a contract if he cannot be traded. One or more of the experienced SP are sure to go in the winter. The Twins are in for a rebuild where they are hoping to find guys to play. I do wonder if they will push Kaelen Culpepper, Walker Jenkins, and others.

This is the most accurate overall assessment of what happened in the last week. I saw the blurb reported from a guy who was indirectly quoting some Pohlad playing golf and stating how sick they (Pohlad family) were of the Twins and baseball fans. True or not, the disconnect is total. If MLB had an effective leader, that person would have stepped in by now. Bowie Kuhn did.

I was more stunned by the Varland deal than anything, but equally stunning is that nobody would agree to take either Wallner or Larnach. The Twins cannot keep putting pure DH players in the outfield. I would rather they play anywhere in the infield where it is only a one base oops, couldn't reach that one. I have not seen either Roden or Mendez play but reports are they are best at DH. When a team trades for pitchers it would be nice to consider that someone needs to catch those balls put in play. It will be really interesting to see who wears the road uniforms in Cleveland on Friday night.

The pitchers may all report injuries with those guys in the corner outfield.

Lopez, Ober, and Ryan could all easily be gone at the close of the year as well as Jeffers. Expect non tender for Larnach. The Twins will listen on Lewis. Buck may request a trade. Everything is on the table.

Reports are the Twins pay $33M. Falvey was angry or not running things. Let me be the first to say, with pride, that i never stepped on the neck of the White Sox when they were down and out. The few times I've been to Comiskey/ attach latest name/ Rate the experience has been fun. I hope there is one CWS fan who doesn't relish the pain of the suffering Twins fans. Will the Rockies pass the Twins in the W-L standings?

Yes he was. That was as much hate as we have seen from a Twin in a long time.

.... and Paddack a few days ago. I guess Derek is an angry elf.

Where is Bowie Kuhn? He would have stopped this nonsense.

I have been watching the Wichita Wind Surge today. K. Culpepper and Jenkins look really good.

The grapes probably don't taste any good anyway.

The Red Sox, Yankees, and a number of other clubs were all cheating. The Astros were led by their FO, manager, and coaches. There was a huge pile of blame all around and yet it all seems to have settled on the guy who was in his early 20s. It is long past time to give up the myth that only the Astros cheated and even more so that the blame lies with Carlos Correa. Correa didn't work out for the Twins.

Curious, but did you think any of these players would stay if they had a different agent. Boras works FOR his clients. The players are not stupid much less slaves. They make their own determinations.

Very, very unlikely he is still around unless the Pohlads still own the team. Will the team sell by 2026?

It is true that the Twins will be building from the bottom. Sure hope it goes well.

True. Yes, it took place over time. Bowie Kuhn even stepped in and forbid a trade to be completed.

I also extend well wishes to Correa. Carlos tried to bring a winning culture to the Twins. It doesn't appear as if his vision aligned with Falvey & Sons. The contract was always a stretch but I do not accept that it inhibited the Twins in any fashion in the same manner that Joe Mauer's contract did not inhibit the payroll decisions of his era. If people want to know where things went bad, look to the sale to Carl Pohlad in 1984. I'm afraid the sale may take time but a new buyer will be necessary before any light shines on this franchise.

There must be a precedent for a sell-off this deep, but I cannot think of one.