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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Maybe. Something is better than nothing. Fedko will need to learn how to lay off breaking balls and offspeed stuff. Perhaps he can further refine his swing. Wallner? He needs to be a DH only. All the talk of his improvement in the outfield and the drone of the TV voices cannot soften the harm he causes as an outfielder. Bring back Delmon. I think Wallner might have a chance to blossom as a bat if he burns his glove. Would Pittsburgh exchange the injured Jared Jones for Big Matt?
  2. tony&rodney
    Kaelen (Culpepper) has had a rough go recently. He might have hit a wall in his first full year of professional baseball. In July, Culpepper was tearing up the AA Texas League. In August, the games have become a slog. He is hitting .200 in August with his average moving from a high of .369 in late July to its current .289. Kaelen might need a little break.
  3. tony&rodney
    Cedar Rapids and Wichita looked tired this week. Baseball players are human and the movement of guys has bound to be a little chaotic, even if it is a part of the business and to be expected. The managers at the minor league level need to focus the players in their final month of play. Careers are lost or won on how they play through the end of a long season.
  4. tony&rodney
    Festa does need to harness the edges of the zone and master a changeup. I'm thinking he is in the mix for a rotation spot next year along with Woods Richardson, Matthews, Morris, Abel, and Bradley. Impossible for me to know how the Twins view these pitchers. Prielipp and Raya could be solid additions to the bullpen. Will the Twins trade any or all of Ryan, Lopez, and Ober? A few people have mentioned the CBA and payrolls. I believe this only applies if a team is below a percentage in multiple years. It won't be a surprise (to me) if the Twins were well below the $100M mark in the next 2 years.
  5. tony&rodney
    Hopefully, Jenkins plays every day and gets 100 plate appearances in the 24 games left on St. Paul's schedule. He can DH once per series to get off his feet. AAA has the challenge system. AA does not use it. Jenkins has a very good feel for the strike zone. The increased command of breaking balls should be a good challenge for the young outfielder. Same batter's box and strike zone, so Walker should just have some fun working on his skills.
  6. tony&rodney
    I watch minor league games about 4-5 nights per week. I usually skip between 3 games. It seems quite difficult to judge the pitchers at times within the Twins system because there are problems at times with decent defense. For example I watched Andrew Morris give up a few legitimate broken bat hits and then a run scores on an inexplicable play by Jose Miranda. I feel a number of pitchers including a few young Twins (Matthews) stretch for strikeouts. How comfortable are the pitchers with letting the opponents put the ball in play? The Wichita and Cedar Rapids teams seem to play better defense than the St. Paul squad. Pitching is tough if the guys behind you don't make routine plays.
  7. tony&rodney
    That is interesting. Kyler Fedko took AAA by surprise when he was promoted. Lately I have been turning away from watching St. Paul except for certain players in favor of Wichita and Cedar Rapids. Guess it will be more Saints viewing now.
  8. tony&rodney
    I am weary of how many times Falvey & Sons struggle to identify talent. Oh well, maybe things change in the future. Why does it seem like a few GM's are excited to discuss Ryan and Lopez with the Twins brain trust this coming offseason? Doesn't it seem like Griffin Jax might have returned a guy like Harry Ford? I guess it gets tough when a team takes 15 minutes to complete a deal. Doesn't leave much time to float other offers or interest. Nobody was too surprised that the White Sox took the series.
  9. tony&rodney
    Isn't this exactly why many conversations should occur seeking out a team that likewise sees potential in Royce Lewis, or Roden too if that has any chance? What is the bottom range of Lewis? Would Milwaukee (always rebuilding players and seeking power) give up Jeferson Quero for RL?
  10. tony&rodney
    The "core" (my definition is MLB players expected to be in the lineup regularly and perform year to year) was cut in half when Carlos Correa was traded to Houston. That leaves Byron Buxton. We should also include Ryan Jeffers as part of a catching duo. After that it is a scramble and we are witnessing this as the White Sox play the Twins. Until the front office goes (which would include the manager) it is hard to see any change. The best hope is for a few other teams to approach the Twins and suggest trades that not only benefit their teams but also help the Twins. Can that occur?
  11. tony&rodney
    Hey, I'm a Twins fan so I hope you are correct. The Twins winning would be nice. A 83-88 win team that plays good baseball would be wonderful. A playoff spot and getting hot in the series like 1987 is the dream. I don't see it right now and I'm an optimist. The Chicago White Sox have a better team than the Minnesota Twins at this time in my opinion. Changes will need to be made to improve the talent. Apparently Falvey and Baldelli will continue to lead the club, which is just bad luck for fans of baseball. There is a small percentage possibility that Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Kyler Fedko step in to help players like Keaschall and maybe Lee form a decent nucleus around the pitching but the inexperience is just too much to overcome in the short term. Both Ryan and Lopez are gone after 2 years unless people believe the Twins will fork out $300+ million for the pair in long term contracts. I don't believe either will be here past 2027 in a best case scenario due to salary demands. If either or both are injured or totally ineffective a contract doesn't happen either. So it becomes a matter of priorities. Teams that need pitching and have money (Boston, Detroit, etc.) will be willing to hedge their bets on tipping the balance with the right addition while the Twins are left with their ownership issues and roster shortcomings. Clemons, Martin, Julien, Larnach, Outman, Miranda, and some others are waiver pickups. Teams may see value in Jeffers, Wallner, Lewis, and Ober. We can be sure there is interest in Ryan and Lopez. Thus it becomes a test of evaluation by the Twins and other teams to find a path forward towards rebuilding. When the Twins sold off their bullpen retooling moved to rebuilding. I will say, we can always be surprised by Joe Pohlad deciding he wants to sign Bellinger and Alonso. Again, I just don't see any short term gains. By 2028, the Twins can be relevant if the right moves are made this offseason. After the 2023 and 2024 season I called for a few dramatic trades that could have possibly helped the team. I wanted to explore deals that included some of Jeffers, Lewis, Wallner, Lee, Julien, Miranda, Larnach, Jax, and Ober. Not all, naturally, but find which teams had matches for their needs in an attempt to upgrade the Twins roster. It didn't happen. None of us knows what will happen but the defense is in pretty dire straits and the team speed is at a shuffle. This affects the pitchers more than expected. Whatever, but I sure hope your idea works.
  12. tony&rodney
    We will never know who is available, so all names are up for discussion until another team says no. I think the White Sox say NO on Montgomery or Teel for example. So the ideas will flow freely. How about Max Clark? Jesus Made? Jeferson Quero? Harry Ford? Franklin Arias? On and on it goes and where it stops nobody knows. We hope it doesn't end up like the Varland trade (with apologies to those who believe the Twins fleeced the Blue Jays).
  13. tony&rodney
    The Twins currently have Ryan and soon Lopez is returning. They are not a .500 team with or without them for the next two years unless they have 3-4 ROY type performances which is very highly unlikely. Signing Ryan will cost between $150-200 million over 6 years. Will the Pohlads sign off on that contract? If Lopez is good next year he would enter the final year of his contract with leverage and demand a similar contract. I would love it if the Twins signed both of them for the next 6 years. Is that even remotely possible? I'm going with NO. This is why it is terribly important that the Twins trade both of them (surely Ryan) for talent, even if we are hesitant to trust the front office in the identifying or negotiating a good deal.
  14. tony&rodney
    Several references comparing Lewis to Buxton. How? One could spend all day, but age 23-26 seasons for each = 3.9 WAR for RL and 9.9 WAR for BB. Buck has won a Platinum Glove Award for his work in centerfield, Lewis looks like he is learning to play a fair third base. There is definitely a world where Royce Lewis develops into a good baseball player in the future. One should be empathetic to his injuries and rough patch to date, but these two don't share many similarities. Both are under contract control for three more seasons and many Twins fans believe it best to continue with Royce Lewis through arbitration. The feeling is that Lewis has low value at this time, which is what folks said about Julien last year. They are not good comparisons either. I would let other teams tell me the value of Lewis and keep him if there is not a solid deal to be completed.
  15. tony&rodney
    Oh it is difficult to trade someone who is a potential Game 1 and/or Game 2 playoff caliber starter, very tough. However, the Twins will not have Ryan or Lopez around in a couple of years. The Twins are also nowhere near rostering a playoff team. The talent level is pretty low collectively. Realistically the team needs upgrades at every position except Buxton. There is hope in a couple of players but that still leaves holes in a number of areas. I'm not sure how the team can proceed without making a number of trades.
  16. tony&rodney
    Pittsburgh, Seattle, and maybe New York Yankees among a few others (Milwaukee ?) could be interested in Royce Lewis. He may have more trade value than it seems. Austin Martin just seems like a late bloomer as a utility player if he can progress defensively. Roden is out until February. Varland is gone and he ain't coming back. The Twins are unstable.
  17. tony&rodney
    In other words, you feel the front office doesn't possess the competence/knowledge/skills to complete transactions which return the talent for players such as Ryan, etc.? This would place the Twins between a rock and a hard place because the talent on hand won't cut it.
  18. tony&rodney
    Please allow me to disagree. In a perfect world Ryan plus Ober brings back Nick Kurtz (not happening) or Ryan brings back someone like Max Clark or Jesus Made. The Twins need players who run, field, and hit. Currently, the roster includes one player who fits the standard, our oft-injured superstar centerfielder. What we don't know is how other teams value the Twins players.
  19. tony&rodney
    At this point, the payroll is not important. The team needs position players who can be counted on in 2-3 years and forward. The pitching side can always be improved but looks better. Of course, trading the established starters weakens the pitching but it is the only path towards acquiring talent. The dark side of the transactions and roster building is that it is impossible to know if any team is willing to trade a top prospect (much less more) for Ryan and whether the Twins can return anything worthwhile for their other tradable players (Lopez, Ober, Jeffers, Lewis, Larnach, Wallner). Another concern is whether the Twins front office can identify talented players. The franchise is a mess and the ownership problem is just the tip of the iceberg.
  20. tony&rodney
    A few of the players will be back but if the roster still contains most of the current group all hope for the franchise is lost. There must be a half dozen transactions to change the team dynamics. Slow, defensively challenged players who cannot hit don't need more experience. They need new uniforms. I expect major changes. That is my last hope.
  21. tony&rodney
    Comparisons between college and pro ball are difficult. For starters, college players play about half as many games per week. Where comparisons get thrown off is when one takes an LSU team with Skenes and the others who were drafted as compared to the Minnesota Gophers in a normal year. Typically NCAA D1 baseball is roughly comparable to rookie ball with A ball a small step up. A+ leagues, like the Midwest League, are better across the board. Remember that the talented high school and Latin players are mixing in at rookie and low levels and they often are stumbling with being away from home, language, and daily work routines. Many of these players are as or more talented than the college players but are wildly inconsistent. Essentially the comparisons don't work smoothly between college and professional baseball.
  22. tony&rodney
    My napkin would have this as the peak payroll. If the club is proactive they look to trade all of Lopez, Ryan, and Ober from the pitching side. Matthews, Festa, Abel, Woods Richardson, Morris, and others are capable of innings in losing games and have the talent to learn for when they can win. The return from our current top three is important. Can the front office manage to acquire talent? There isn't any reason to keep any of Jeffers, Lewis, Wallner, or Larnach. Just like the immortal Willie Norwood, we have seen what they bring to the game. The only reason to keep any of these guys is if no other team wants them. I believe there will be decent demand. Can the front office manage to acquire talent? It is understandable that folks see hope in the roster, and particularly for a few players they may favor, but realism has shown that this current collection is not capable of hitting, running, and fielding. That is a sorry combination for entertainment much less playing competitive baseball. Look over the free agent list for the coming year and you will see little reason to spend other than on a few relief pitchers. Players like Tucker, Bellinger, and Schwarber are not answering calls or texts from the Twins. A payroll above $100 million seems almost impossible to reach unless the team signs a pile of no longer relevant tired vets. Forget the payroll and hope for some exciting talent to be acquired. There should be some opportunities to acquire talent. The real question, for me, is whether the organization has the ability to complete meaningful transactions. If the Twins can pull off 5-7 trades this coming offseason to acquire talent there is a good chance the team is competitive in a couple of years. If they cannot there is bound to be a decade or more of looking up at the White Sox.
  23. tony&rodney
    This. All the metrics and analytical models in the world are useless next to Runs Scored versus Runs Given Up. WAR, OPS, etc. are useless on so many fronts. If you score more runs than the other team, you win. The Brewers have given up 77 fewer runs, but also scored 128 more runs than the Twins. The Twins have hit 10 more home runs than the Brewers. Here is the key part, for me. The Brewers are fun to watch. My lifelong (since 1961) team, the Minnesota Twins, are as close to unwatchable as a team can get. The Brewers play in a small market and at best cannot compete financially with the Twins much less their neighbors from Chicago. Thus they must be better at evaluation, development, and play a fast game that includes great defense. Everyone loves the long ball but waiting for the home run and rostering a pile of DH players won't cut it for wins or entertainment. I'm sure the Brewers are on the constant lookout for thumpers who can run, hit, field, and do all things well. Until then they use the best they find.
  24. tony&rodney
    Clearly you struggle with reading comprehension. These were not my suggestions at all in any way or fashion. In fact I don't necessarily believe the ideas are completely workable. I was merely entertaining other people's thoughts without judgement on my part. Apparently you have insider knowledge though which we shall all acknowledge. FWIW.
  25. tony&rodney
    This conversation was not about who cannot be acquired. It is about what player or players (prospects) are you willing to trade for what good, useful. every day top or middle of the order hitter. Pure speculation. It's just an exercise. FWIW, there is actually no way to know what players will not be traded. MVPs and H of Fame players have been traded in their prime. The list of untouchable players traded is in the hundreds. Who predicted the trade of all five of the Twins top relief pitchers? The bottom line remains, the Twins need position players. Who and how do they acquire such players? In the previous comments, jorgenwest suggested a trade for one or both of the Contreras's, a perfectly reasonable idea. I asked who goes the other way.
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