tony&rodney

Zero chance. None of these players would even grant an interview with the Twins FO.

The Saints have had a tough time competing in the International League (14th) this year. How are they going to do in the American League in the next two months?

Are people expecting Ryan to be traded?

This return seems fine. I instantly wondered if Dombrowski went to bed last night feeling guilty. My offer a week ago was Duran, Bader, Castro, and Coulombe for Painter and Crawford. I don't know nothing. Glad to have 2 bodies returned for Bader. I was worried the Twins wouldn't trade him.

The lack of speed makes some difference, undeniable. Correa is slow but is still an adequate shortstop. Our corner outfielders (Larnach, Wallner) are pure DH's in the mold of late career Nelson Cruz when it comes to both fielding and base running. Brooks Lee could be a decent third baseman. He will never be avaerage elsewhere. He is slow too and a base clog. Lee can play fundamentally sound baseball when he is focused. Lewis is a concern on the bases at times due to past injuries. He is ok at third base. That leaves the team with one player right now. However, that guy is on the IL. Keirsey Jr. is going to play full time and he can field and run the bases. Julien will be back up. Martin too. I guess all I'm hoping for is that whomever plays, they run out everything at full sppeed and hustle all the time and hit the cutoff man on every single throw.

Maybe. I was responding to you using BTV math. I put out sane, maybe, and crazy trade ideas some time ago. The crazy one was to send Joe Ryan (70 at time), Bailey Ober (20 at time), and Charlee Soto (10 at time) to Athletics for Nick Kurtz (44 at time) and Mason Miller (36 at time). Of course this was crazy. BTV rejects it on math value. A reset is possible if the guys doing the deals are competent. I just don't have any confidence in that. I don't know. Change needs to happen but if the FO just puts the same type of players in place with less experience ... hmmm. Does that work?

BTV? They might have Lewis back at 70 if he gets really hot. How about Julien at 30 or something? These guys are all over the place. Nick Kurtz in the 40s? I will trade both Emmanuel Rodriguez and Brooks Lee plus Griffin Jax for Nick Kurtz. That math is as severe an overpay as BTV would ever see and the Athletics never answer the phone. I hope that Tait makes it through the long odds to make it to MLB and I hope Abel manages to make it as a regular in an MLB rotation. It could happen. It might not too. Duran is in the majors now and the Phillies are ecstatic. It has looked for several years like Falvey & Sons are in over their heads. Will the trades made now work? I sure hope so because hope is the only plan.

They are both arguable better teams at the moment. Sorry if that is bad news.

About 5% maybe. I'm just hoping that a different Twins team shows up in Cleveland tomorrow night. I can handle the losses if the team is hustling on every play. The Twins dropped 2 of 3 to a team playing very poorly (Dodgers), but they actually seemed to work harder in that series than they have all year. I know people explode at the thought but I would rather have Keirsey Jr. making outs but making every play in right field than watching 2 balls a game escape a lumbering incompetent outfielder. Things need to change.

Larnach or Wallner most likely. If the Twins are really wanting to offload the contract, send one of the outfielders, pay the remainder of his contract this year minus the minimum (which keeps Houston below the CBT), and pay $7M the next 3 years. Ask Houston to return a lower level pick that the Twins choose.

I wouldn't call it a scandal but the Twins do go less than 100% on the bases and in the field. There is no debate about that, I don't believe. It is likely a strategy to prevent injuries.

Imagine if the Red Sox had decided to run the bases backwards or something similarly insane. The position player pitching has become quite common. It totally makes a farce out of the game. I'm against it.

Seems like it would have to be a team directive. When you watch the Twins run, they all are on cruise. Buxton, most of the time, is an exception. He likely has told Rocco where to go if asked to slow down or more likely the FO and Rocco leave Buck alone. What a contrast to what we saw from Boston. As I noted during the game yesterday, the Red Sox hustle. From Story (guaranteed long term contract) to Duran (still in Arb) to Anthony (rookie), these guys are sprinting as soon as they are finished swinging. Duran runs likes it is Game 7 in the World Series. There are a whole pile of teams that run like this all across MLB. And then there are the Twins. How is this even possible? I am a little flummoxed when a guy who was DFA' ed., like Clemens, is cruising around the bases. It is a loser's strategy. One or two guys? Maybe. The entire team? WTF.

Hey I hope Mick Abel wins 20 games a year for the next 20 years, but right now there is zero argument. Sim is in the major leagues and Abel is in AAA. We can save the arguments for stuff, etc. SWR has thrown 224 IP, given up 213 H, and has a 1.34 WHIP pitching for among the worst defensive teams in all of baseball. Abel is less than one year younger, has thrown 25 IP, given up 25 H, and has a 1.36 WHIP. There is no comparison at this time. As far as MLB Pipeline grades, go look at 2021 grades for both Mick Abel and Simeon Woods Richardson. You are relatively new to Twins Daily. Welcome. In the past TD has had followers of other teams push excessive numbers on readers to promote or defend trades. I have no idea if you are a lifelong Twins fans or a Phillies fan. I don't know if you watch minor league baseball or have ever seen these players. Jesuit High School, where Abel graduated from high school, is a fine school that also has good athletics. Some of us go back pretty far on some players. Some of us have seen these players play on numerous occasions both live and via Milb.com. The Twins fans among us, which may be you too, are totally hoping that Abel (and several years from now, Tait) has a great run with the Twins. It just doesn't work to say a prospect is better now or discuss ceilings of a prospect to a current major league player. By those definitions, Andrew Painter is better than Tarik Skubel. Let's just agree that there is hope for Abel to succeed as a pitcher for the Twins.

Abel is not as good as Woods Richardson. This is quantifiable at this time. Things can change which should not be news. Abel could be a solid relief pitcher. We will need to be patient and supportive.

The returns have not been what I expected, but I don't know anything. The bottom line is always how another team values the players being discussed. Seattle picked up 2 corner infielders on expiring contracts but didn't really lose any top prospects, which means they might still be open to more additions. A few hopes to gather from Seattle might be Harry Ford and/or Felnin Celesten. What if the Twins send Jax, Coulombe, and Larnach or Wallner. Does LAD still have any interest in Harrison Bader? Or anyone else? Can the Twins get River Ryan as a return? Carlos Correa wants to win and if the Twins can only pay a third of his remaining money and get something in return ...... Castro? He is a dynamic utility player who has been overused lately. What do people see as his market? Joe Ryan? Doesn't feel like the Twins should trade Ryan but it can happen. Baltimore still needs pitching. I would want Samuel Basallo and Jordan Westburg .... in other words Ryan stays.

True. I thought the winter after could be pivotal. I saw Julien, Miranda, Wallner, Larnach and even Jeffers and Lewis as solid choices to trade. Clearly not all of them, but my targets to trade were Julien, Wallner, and Jeffers. I believed real value could be returned. Ownership and front office combined to stifle any growth or energy. 2024 was a repeat. More nothing. Now today and who knows what happens by the close of tomorrow.

You could just say you do not think Fangraphs has good information. FWIW, I picked the Twins for 83 wins while an overwhelming number of Twins Daily people picked the Twins to win the AL Central.

Yes, true except for the Twins held the cards. The option was no deal. If Duran had to go, so does Jax, Stewart, and many others. The failure to make transactions each of the last two years is coming back to haunt the team. No lineup help is arriving but we expect two current starters to depart (Castro and Bader). The team can't hit, so trade for pitching and A ball players?

I appreciate your optimism. Fangraphs has neither in their Top 200 at the moment. The write-ups of each are damning as to their chances. Keth Law also didn't think much of either as of last March. He does not have either among his ranked prospects. Yes, there are differences between the rankings. I find MLB to be the least useful based on years of following the minor leagues.

Torres is still a good player. If he were a Twins, he would be their second best player. He has had a good career with over 18 WAR and closing on a 1,000 hits and 149 HR. That's pretty good. Chapman was a rental. The Cubs gladly paid because it was their window. Trade deadline is tomorrow. Why did the Twins take this offer now? Also, it is actually ok to keep your good players.

If I'm Correa I'm trying to finagle my way out of Minnesota. He wants to win. How? Don't know.

How many times have you watched Abel pitch in person, live? I won't give you my experience but refer to others instead. Among the people who have I will use a couple names. Keith Law does not have him among any top 100 lists and believes he has good stuff to become a solid middle relief pitcher and maybe late game at some point. Abel is wild and also needs another pitch. Eric Longenhagen, about as respected a name as there is among prospect evaluators, has Abel as #13 in the Phillies system and said the Phillies would likely trade him because he needs time to develop. He ranks him as a 40 which is the same as he ranks Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl. Fangraphs has a topp 100 and top 200. Abel doesn't make it. Nobody can definitively say what will happen to any player in baseball. Judge is out with an injury. Ohtani is just back pitching after missing considerable time on the mound due to injury even while he dominates as a DH. Abel was an extreme stretch. I have no idea where the Twins get their information. We do know for fact, because it was precisely stated, that Falvey tried to get Paddack in 2019 and was elated when he traded for him. Perhaps Falvey knew someone at Jesuit High School that turned him on to Mick Abel. Jesuit has good baseball and good coaches in addition to being a fine school. Trading an elite closer with 2+ years of control for Abel and an A ball catcher reeks of incompetence right now. I will grant anyone their 2% odds that this winds up ok, but at the very least another day of negotiation across baseball clubs was warranted. Or .... are the Twins so poorly regarded by the other GM's that they are bullied or worse, ignored. Doesn't seem possible.

Fangraphs: Tait as a 45, #5 with Abel as a 40, #13 in the Phillies system. Neither ranked in Fangraphs 200. MLB.com: Tait as a 55, #4 with Abel as a 55, #6 in the Phillies system. Tait = 56, Abel = 92 in MLB 100. Keith Law: Tait #4 with Abel #9 in the Phillies system. Neither ranked in Law's top 100 early or top 60 now. I know there are other lists. So maybe Tanner Schobel (45) and Travis Adams (40) from a Fangraphs perspective. MLB perspective is much better. Kaelen Culpepper and Gabriel Gonzalez. We will all spin this later but to make this deal today without gleaning maximum value from another 20 hours of negotiations is utterly depressing. One report said it best - Dombrowski enforced his will and got exactly what he wanted. Tait is far away and Abel has an upside of a decent relief pitcher. That is how Philly felt anyway. Apparently Falvey and crew saw stars.

This is really depressing at the moment. The trading deadline is tomorrow at 5pm. Why did the Twins need to collapse today? I was trying to be positive when Paddack was dealt for nothing because it seemed from reports that there was zero interest in Paddack. Then we see that 2 months of a middle relief pitcher brings between SF and NYM. The worst (very arguable) game in Twins history infected the front office as well. Oh my. What could possibly be next? Will we hear that no teams were really interested in Castro or Bader? More?