Finlander

If the Twins as a team has "woefully underproduced" and has had a "perpetual inability to cash in on scoring opportunities", I don't see how that is fixed by signing one aging and expensive hitter who is not a solid fielder. We have options at 1B. To me it sounds more like they need an effective hitting coach.

Price gouging can be reduced by less demand, and less demand can happen through sharing information such as those price comparisons. Yes, there will be plenty of people who want (and can afford) the next bright new shiny thing. Don't weep for their spent money. But for others, when shopping, consider that 1, those other three teams are arguably assembled to be closer to a championship game and 2, the signatures are from legitimate HOF-potential caliber players. If the Twins develop, produce, or acquire a similar talent and have their signature on a jersey, I'll buy one. For now I am content with my Tony Oliva baseball bat from the 60s.

We shouldn't forget the Twins' lack of catching depth. Farmer gives them an emergency backstop along with someone who can hold down the fort at SS while waiting for Lewis. That's assuming a higher profile SS isn't signed. I liked Ursula. But he's primarily a 3B, and Twins are pretty deep there. Getting a guy who plays short makes sense. And the catching is a bonus.

I like Teoscar, and I also wonder if L Gurriel could be available out of Toronto. Guess we'd prefer a CF-capable piece. Bellinger I'd reject mainly because he's a lefty. Happ would likely cost us too much in trade. Kike is also interesting, but the hip flexor is a concern. Maybe if Boston threw Sale into the deal and ate most of his salary...lol.

Its been true for a while that Toronto and Minnesota could match up well for a trade of outfielders, with Twins too heavy on lefty swingers and Jays being very right-handed throughout. We might be able to pluck a spare catcher from them in the right package deal too.

Root for the NL team this year...

Miranda and Julien may have been the prime reasons the Twins were able to make Steer available last year. Julien looks like a nice hitting prospect if he can continue to lower his K rate. It does seem that the team has had more than its share of positionless minor league hitters who strike out a lot despite their "good hitting eye". Rooker, Sabato, et al are some that come to mind. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more .275/.330/.410 types that are plus defenders at defined positions. But it definitely looks like the scouting department did a good job in finding Julien that late in the draft, and I agree with a previous post that he could be Polanco's eventual replacement at 2B.

Arraez had one of the highest batting averages in the league with runners on. Can't remember if the stat was just with runners on, or runners in scoring position, sorry...he hit something like .371 though from what I recall. Much better than "average"... Wonder if Boston would consider moving Sale. Shouldn't cost a ton, and they might even eat some salary. I had wondered the same about Tampa and Glasnow, as they generally trade their bigger salaries away. There's two "aces" to explore for starters.

Agree no Benetendi...we have too many LH hitting OFs on the roster already. Beyond that, what we really need is HEALTHY hitters. Look at the injuries...wow...our whole OF was out. Polanco was out. Jeffers was out. Correa and Arreaz were dinged up a bit. That's nearly the entire starting lineup. I like the idea of RH hitting Haniger. Zunino may be more in our price range for catching, as the Cubs gave Contreras a qualifying offer. Don't think we want to dump a draft pick this time around for him. We should give the Larnach/Kirilloff/Lewis type prospects a chance to show what they can do when healthy. I think Ursela is a stable keeper until one of the corner prospects shows a better glove.

To continue the armchair GM thread....I think Minnesota and Toronto could match up well in swapping outfielders. The Jays are extremely right-handed, while the Twins have so many lefty OF bats. Might Gurriel or Hernandez be available? We could send, say, Larnach, and maybe add Kepler as a sweetener to help balance laterality of the corner OFs for both teams... I like Wallner, but his K rate approaches Sano territory. 128 games, 170 Ks in AA/AAA. Ouch. Rate is pretty high so far with the Twins. It's fun when he does make contact, and he is pretty fast for a tall guy. Hopefully his Ks come down. Kirilloff is probably the most talented hitter of the three lefty swinging corners, but we'll have to wait until spring to see where he's at with his swing. I think Larnach still has plenty of upside he hasn't touched yet. A previous post mentioned his improvement against lefty pitching. I agree, he was hanging in there nicely. He sure has a love affair with left-center though; hope he learns to pull a bit. Could come in handy during the next playoff series against the Yankees in a year or three. It all comes down to health for these guys. I'd like to see one of them moved in a package for an established righty corner OF. A starter, not a backup. Outrageous ask? Hope not..

I'd wonder if the production spike in September coincided at all with facing less talented pitching near end of season. Was he seeing the less talented holdovers who were not promoted out of AA, and newly promoted pitching from lower levels? Beyond that question, I do see the tendency of many posts referring to lack of power. They must yearn for the La Bomba days. Not so many years ago remenber the team was winning due to the Piranhas. It is a bit surprising that Baldelli doesn't take more advantage of moving runners into scoring position with speed and fundamental strategies, as he himself was a power/speed combo as a player. I would have no problem with comping Martin with Whit Merrifield as an admittedly very hard-to-achieve ceiling. Fits, right down to defensive positions (2B/CF), build (around 6' or 6'1" and around 190 lbs), speed, and hitting eye. Whit has shown more power, but other than one spike year at 19 dingers he sits around 10 or 12 annually. Maybe Martin is around half that. So what. He can still knock runs in with doubles. Not everybody has to be a power/RBI guy on the team. Gotta get on base to score runs. Martin, like Arraez and probably Lewis, will do that. If we don't value on-base skills and speed, then we should trade those assets to teams that do. I'll be looking forward to seeing what he does this fall in Arizona.

The complaints about prospects being held back in the minors might be valid for a losing/rebuilding team, but don't forget the Twins were a division leader flirting with the best record in the AL for part of the season. That's not the time for experimenting with and training rookies and having to deal with game-losing mistakes. The growth in Duran, Gordon, Ryan and Miranda this year speaks well to the Twins' approach. Injuries have derailed the progress of Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, Balazovic, and others. Back on subject - Wallner seems to be adept at adjusting to each level. It also appears he has improved on his K and BB rates as a hitter, and he looks and moves like a good athlete. His defense will need some work, but he's not a disaster out there. I'd look forward to seeing him pitch an inning in mop up duty sometime. A reasonable comp for him might be at least a lefty swinging Tom Brunansky with more pop. No reason he can't meet or exceed that. With 5 or 6 lefty swinging OFs on the roster, someone's going to be moved/dropped. I think Wallner is a keeper.

Assuming he invests wisely, he will never have to be an Uber driver again. Think JoeFish is onto something about the crackdown on sticky fingers...

I miss Bert. The chemistry between him and Bremer was obvious over the years. That final year was difficult - maybe pandemic burnout and goofy rule changes contributed to Bert's more "grumpy" attitude. But I think Bremer worked better with him in the booth. He's been stumbling a bit more with the rotation of new color commentators. I've always enjoyed consummate pro Jim Kaat, and I'm a fan of Marney Gellner's work. The rest all need some seasoning. I'm guessing Bremer will be gone soon if there isn't an upgrade in the booth. Earlier this year there was an on-field interview with Tyler Duffey during a game (back when he was pitching effectively). His voice, communication skills and baseball insights were all a nice surprise, to the point that it greatly contrasted to who has been cycled into the color slot in the booth recently. Once he's done pitching, I'm guessing he has a broadcasting career ahead of him if he wants it.

Rotation suggestion seems to be spot on. Archer should be shut down. Winder looked promising in his first two starts. His subsequent shoulder impingement issue was unfortunate, but he appears to be coming back from that. He could be useful in the pen, along with Sands, although his K rate is not impressive - wanted to point out that we have a couple more arms for consideration.