tony&rodney

Hey, in all seriousness, the AL Central is available for as few as 81 wins. Usually though some team will outperform their expectations. MLB is wobbling a bit and the ALC is wonky.

The Twins were interested in Peralta in the same manner as they were interested in Aaron Judge and a host of others. Surprisingly, the Brewers didn't accept the offer of Julien and Ohl for Peralta. Thus the Twins, rebuffed, turned to the rockies for their next next best deal.

Maybe the Twins should be trying to entice a team like Detroit into doing something they would never consider, trading Max Clark. Offer the Tigers Joe Ryan, Austin Martin, and either Taj Bradley or Connor Prielipp. Maybe Detroit flinches. Meanwhile the chorus screams, nobody trades their best prospects. Oh well. The 2028 pick for losing Ryan could be pretty good.

Maybe Plouffe teaches him something useful, can't hurt. Stick Wallner at DH and never let him play in the outfield again. The return of Nelson Cruz? I'm hoping he hits. In the meantime keep that offer to Pittsburgh open for Jared Jones.

I'll also take the over ... because I'm an optimist. Falvey set a goal of winning 75 games and we have been told he is pretty smart, so 75 it is.

Is Lewis on deck to join them?

Good luck and best wishes to Julien and Ohl. Perhaps a fresh organization provides a new opportunity. Both had brief moments with the Twins but it just didn't work out for them. The Rockies have a fun venue. Say what you will about Edouard Julien, he stands as the leading ROY by votes from all of the players signed during the Falvey Era. I wish Eddie and Pierson all the best.

Sure. The idea is that the Twins need to search for something. C. J. and Trevor works? Great. Why not? Edit to add: Jordan Lawler had a BBTV of around 24.5 on January 16. What happened? Think Lawler would be a smart acquisition, one worth a gamble.

Thank you.

Which Twins were on the BA list?

Jordan Lawler has not done well in the few opportunities he has had with Arizona. There isn't anywhere for Lawler to play. The Twins should be able to pick up Lawler for a minimal price. I'm not sure what the Diamondbacks would require. A few guesses - one of Martin, Roden, Festa, or someone like Charlee Soto. Maybe Larnach and a guy like C. J. Culpepper. A deal for Lawler would be a gamble, but the upside could be high. Lawler cannot play third base but is a very good shortstop. Arizona has Ketel Marte at 2B, Geraldo Perdomo at SS, Nolan Arenado at 3B, Blaze Alexander as a utility infielder, and a handful of top infield prospects. Lawler could work at SS and 2B as well as step into the outfield if needed. The sole point of acquiring Lawler would be to hope that a change of scenery and an opportunity to get some playing time would boost him towards his former lofty prospect status. Brooks Lee might play a decent shortstop and hit a bit but he sure has looked more like a utility player, which is something the Twins need in their infield. I think the Twins believe Lee just needs time to be an All Star. That sounds good to me, just not realistic although i hope they are correct.

Yes, it would seem there was a plan. And yet, here we are .... waiting.

This heading begs the question, Why the selling of the bullpen last July? Defensive metrics are a mess in my opinion. Decades and decades of playing, coaching, managing, and evaluating serve me better. Last October I felt the Twins desperately needed to upgrade their defense. Naturally, many people, disagreed with that assessment and most specifically the Twins do not place much importance on defense. A 90-100% best outcome by all of the Twins players may be a statistical possibility for 2026 and that could bring the team to 83 wins. I hope that happens because I'm a Twins fan. Looking (briefly) over OOA and Fielding Run Value, the Twins are hurting badly in the field. A case can be made that both Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton can provide average defense at third base and centerfield respectively. In the other positions the outlook is grim to poor. One can hope that Luke Keaschall is fully recovered now from arm surgery and he may reach an acceptable level of play. Perhaps Austin Martin and Brooks Lee make strides as well. The ifs are humongous for the bats but the ifs are almost unimaginable for the defense. Again, this is only true if one puts any regard towards the importance of turning batted balls into outs. I already understand that many people believe fielding is unimportant and they have Falvey on their side. The Pohlad sell-no sale drama and the shrinking payroll have understandably been highlighted a bajillion times. Less scrutinized has been that the architect of the team, Falvey, seems to feel he has the best team possible already. The statements about the players just needing to play to their potential and finding a few available players to fill out the roster indicate the goals of the front office. Look to Vegas for an answer of an outside perspective. The goal in Vegas is simple and the odds are stark. But hey, the 1991 Twins went from worst to first. Maybe in 2026? The difference is that the 1991 team had a number of above average fielders.

There is nothing wrong with Trevor Larnach, just like there is nothing wrong with Josh Bell, Matt Wallner, and a couple of other players. The problem is that there can only be one DH in the lineup at a time. Using a DH in the field doesn't work for the pitching staff or in attempts to win games. It doesn't seem like the front office is aware of the problem and thus the glut of DH players. All of the guys looking for time at the DH slot also doesn't even take into account that some days guys such as Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Luke Keaschall, and Ryan Jeffers could DH as well. Trevor Larnach is a fine ball player, as a DH. He just suffers from the team hoarding DH types, which costs him.

I think the Twins offered Edouard Julien for Freddy Peralta and indicated a willingness to part with Larnach and a A ball minor league pitcher if needed to complete the deal. Milwaukee said thank you for the interest and asked the Mets for one more player in consideration of "an offer" from the Twins. The Mets, being from NYC, held their ground. So Julien and Larnach missed out at their chance to play in Milwaukee.

Prospect reporting is difficult. Following minor league baseball and prospects since about 1982 myself, I find Keith Law about as good as it gets. There are others but Law is pretty hard working and consistent at his job. I was a little surprised that Tait made the list. He looked raw last year. Seeing Aiden Miller up top (the guy who was supposedly the other guy offered ... Tait or Miller - your choice) made me wonder anew about the conversations that rebound around the offices at 1 Twins Place. Whatever. There weren't any other guys really to slide into the back of the list. The Twins need a batch of extreme luck to go their way if they are to crawl back to .500 any time in the next couple of years. It could happen though. The odds are long and while I'm struggling to find that 90-100% outcome myself, others on Twins Daily have sounded a trumpet for players, which I like. Some good can occur if all of Keaschall, Lewis, Lee, Martin, and Wallner are able to bust out in a major way at the same time as Buxton repeats his best performance. Perhaps Jenkins, Rodriguez, Culpepper, and Gonzalez make major contributions as well. It is the hope that keeps us coming back. Now we may see our optimism clipped by the roster or lineup on Opening Day but reading the reports that Law published always bring some joy.

Agree with giving Austin Martin a strong run as the left fielder. I also agree that Larnach-Wagaman could be a decent platoon at DH. There are already 2 pure DH guys though in Josh Bell and Matt Wallner. So somehow the glut at DH needs to be figured out. There are at least 4 DH players and this doesn't even consider the occasional usage of Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers, Caratini, or someone else (Keaschall maybe) needing time at DH from time to time.

Crazy talk, crazy article. Too many DH's using a glove. As another poster stated, the Twins will be fighting mightily to keep pace with the White Sox this year. That is the match.

The Twins have options, they really do. The best options come off the table as teams fill their needs where Joe Ryan fits. We know the future is uncertain regarding health. Ryan knows that as well. He almost certainly has definite ideas of where he would be willing to work. We don't really know those thoughts. We can guess that a team in California is an option. We can guess that a team with some offense and players who can catch the ball might be important as well. Why wouldn't those be desirable? The Twins are not based in California and have neither much offense nor much close to adequate for a defense. Joe Ryan may be my favorite player to watch on the Twins team (he is), but I cannot envision any way for the Twins to keep him. Currently Ryan may be difficult to trade for value as most teams have filled their rosters. Only Detroit and West Sacramento remain as obvious landing spots. The players the Twins would need to inquire about from those teams may not be in play, either now or later. There is a small chance that adding one or two good players with Ryan might keep a hoped for conversation alive. I just doubt that the Twins are engaging in any discussions related to Ryan. Perhaps a draft choice in 2028 is the very best option as far as the Twins viewpoint. Hard to say. At this point the Twins best strategy may be to wait until some teams that wish to win suffer a rash of significant injuries to their starting pitchers and see Joe Ryan, who is pitching at his best ever level, as worth chasing. Any talks of an extension by the Twins seems completely unrealistic to me, based on the teams reluctance to spend money at market prices and what would seem to be a rational guess about the ideas Joe Ryan himself has for his employment.

When all things are considered, this is the final answer for people looking for an answer to the failures in the Twins organization. Falvey was hired on October 3, 2016. The team has totally depended on players scouted and signed by previous folks. Now the Twins are hopeful that they manage to have a half dozen players get votes for ROY to show off the farm system. I hope it happens, but it isn't much of a strategy. I'm completely flummoxed by how deeply Falvey owns the Pohlads.

Experience and personality are important to team performance. Rogers knows his time as an MLB player is closing and he is pumped to reach 10 years with the Twins. I like Rogers as a player to guide the kids. Nobody should be expecting the same pitcher that left in the trade to San Diego, but he has value.

We all liked how well Bader, France, and Coulombe performed compared to expectations. They were critical contributors to the Twins winning 72 games. This post is suggesting that the Twins aren't done adding and might find the players needed to repeat last year. Apparently 72 wins is a goal.

If I'm Joe Ryan the numbers begin at $30M for 6 years ($180M), for 2026-2030 seasons. The odds at the Twins signing Ryan are near 1%. Not much to discuss about Ryan. He has enough money right now to live his life. Good health, good luck, and personal choice will determine where he goes.

The above roster and lineup is reality based. Reality can be a tough go at times. I'm struggling with reality in these times.

The simple truth is that we just don't know what the front office is attempting to do with the Twins. This is the third year in a row (three peat) where few notable transactions have taken place. The goals are unclear but the effect of the last two offseasons shows a strategy of waiting for whatever is left over and hoping the guys needing jobs outperform. Along with that is a belief that the current rostered players can all produce All Star results. Thus we cannot know the goals the front office has for the team except a hodge podge of hopes, which are unclear. When you state the goal seems to wish for 72-75 wins, this is extremely fair. A number of folks on Twins Daily are being (in an admirable way) positive. Those comments go through the roster suggesting outcomes which reside near 100% outcomes for each player. Even so, these fantastic hopes result in a near .500 record. Why didn't the Twins trade Ryan? Lopez? Buxton? Jeffers? Those questions may be similar to why the Twins traded Duran, Jax, Varland, and Stewart. Given the state of the current roster, it is fair to wonder what happened. In sum, it sure looks like the Pohlads and Falvey feel like a 72-75 win team can be sold as competitive and open to explaining the lack of better results on bad luck and/or unforeseen circumstances when August rolls around. Perhaps this strategy works for many people/Twins fans. I'm happy for those who can accept this current roster because it allows them to see a path forward. While i generally see myself as ridiculously positive, a slow, defensively challenged roster that can't really hit for much and lacks a bullpen fails to excite me for the coming season. My sole hope will be with the rookies and players with only one year of experience. A wholesale move this coming July will only serve to highlight the current failures to act. I don't know if this front office understands how Milwaukee or Cleveland operate and no it doesn't make any difference if one once worked in those organizations. Go Rookies.