Doctor Gast

Castillo w/o a doubt! His potential is phenomenal. It'll take a huge trade but it`ll be worth it. We don't need Castellanos & don't know if we have any more trading pieces after trading for Castillo, maybe throw in Wade Miley

I don't think CLE will trade Lindor to the Twins w/o a ridiculous offer

Castillo 3yrs./ $34.8M is a steal. We should jump on it

Contrary to you Cody, I`m very optimistic this year, much more than last year. We have a ton of viable options & I'm sure FO is heading in the right direction. They are only weighing & waiting to get the maximum talent w/ what we got to spend. Lot hinges on Cruz on what we have to spend

Thank you Lucas for bringing up this topic. Since Ken Rosenthal mentioned it, it deserves the merit of discussion. This topic addresses our weakness up the middle & lack of back up. IMO we've got one of the poorest middle infield in MLB as far as defense goes & this is our biggest problem. This problem I'm sure the FO is trying their best to solve in the best way they can. Rumors has it that they are interested in FA super utility Hernandez & he's interested. This will help w/o breaking the bank. Other FA that are SS upgrades are Siemen & Gregorius but their price tag would be considerably higher if they're interested. On the trading side, our best pawns are a high corner OF, low corner OF, infielder or pitching prospects. On the active roster, our best pawns are those that are at their peak value these would be Maeda, Dobnak & Arraez. Maeda is very much needed, Dobnak is a possibility & Arraez, is IMO the best light bat in the game but defense leaves much to be desired & is not fast w/ questions about his knees. Also w/ talk about a upgrade at SS, that makes him expendable. . Like TB, MN won't trade Arraez unless they get a ridiculous offer. Trading Lewis which is our future & near future solution to this problem for a 1yr. rental makes no sense

I think some people have a false idea of what a super utility player is. It isn`t a player that can play all OF positions below average & that can hit or play any INF position below average & can hit. IMO a super utility player is someone who is very athletic, that can play the most crucial positions SS & CF (if they can play theses 2 position they can play almost anywhere) very well & can hit at least average. To me a super utility player is very valuable, very rare & the Twins been needing for a long time. Like Top Gunn noted LAD constantly develop them

Many MLB hitters couldn't find their groove in 2020, including most of the Twins. I too believe that 2021 will be friendlier to Twins hitting. yeah it seems like many Twins fans are hesitant to jump on the band wagon & quick to jump off

What you wrote makes the most sense. If indeed it's the case, the Twins should have straightened out this mess w/ immigration. Romero leaving nice & warm Dominican Republic to come to freezing MN for Twins fest, had to be motivated. Then being rewarded by this mess. A total shame, the Twins dropped the ball. Wish him well!

I hear many fans cry, trade Sano, Garver, Kepler, Buxton & Polanco. These players value is basically the lowest they have been (I'm sure all their values will rise). To trade any of them at this point would be very irresponsible. MLB teams trade players only at their high point, only Twins players at their highest value is Arraez & Maeda. I'm not in favor of trading either of them but if you are serious about trading players they are ones besides any prospects.

Fernando Romero 2020 is still a mystery. I didn't liked that they switched him to BP. I think most pitchers have their hearts set on starting, they think BP is a demotion. Most pitchers usually want to exhaust all possibility before surrendering to the idea of relieving. I believe Romero never really accepted that decision. I have no idea what happened to Romero in 2020. I'm just disappointed that he never realized his potential w/ us

I agree w/ Matt it's just an estimate. It`s better to be under than over, if we have some wiggle room we can go after a big gun before the dead line. Also Ted Schwertzler blogged that the FO might be testing the waters to make a big splash. We'll have to wait & see

Thanks Matt, for putting in so much work & planning in these blueprints, they're very interesting. I think plan "A " should include strengthen our middle which would have Hernandez (which is highly rumored) & Lin which we have already obtained plus signing Cruz. I believe this falls into your "spread it around" plan, I'd also choose some other different options. Of coarse signing Cruz, we can't sign Odo we'd have to sign a lesser pitcher like Richards. Signing Cruz is worth it. If we can't sign Cruz, my plan "B" would be the "Bauer" plan & still find a way to sign Hernandez for a little less which I believe the FO is doing now.

Cody, I'm enjoying your series. For now I think Arraez & Polanco should platoon at 2B, until both are 100%. In the near future Polanco is our best option at full time 2B because that's his natural position & will flourish there. We need Arraez bat so we need to be creative to find a spot for him at utility, DH & PH. In the distant future, because 2B isn't a crucial position, we can plug anyone in there that can hit.

Sano is our present & near future 1B. We have an over abundance of players through out the system plus Donaldson & Garver also discussed of those who can play there. Whenever Sano moves on from 1B, my bet is on Sabato if he doesn't get traded

I`m not disagreeing w/ you, I`ve just been under the understanding that spring training was very necessary for the preparation of the season especially for the young players. Needed to get their timing & communications down, etc. 2020 seems to me as an example of a rushed preparation to the season resulting in poor production

3B is a big ??? Donaldson is our 3B. Our best line of defense if he's not there right now is Astudillo & hopefully an upgrade at SS. Astudillo is not bad at 3B, he`s also a great contact hitter. '18 & beginning of '19 he had good success until pitchers discovered that he had poor plate discipline. Astudillo could improve at 3B but where he really needs improvement is plate discipline. '20 he missed preseason & had a short time to prepare for regular season. He was placed in the fire where he was doomed to fail. '21 hopefully he'll be able to adjust through proper coaching. Astudillo isn't our long term solution at 3B. Hopefully Donaldson will discover what he did right in '19 & keep mimicking it because we absolutely need him there. Lewis is a valuable prospect because of his athleticism. We have an over abundance of players that can cover less important positions (corner OF, 2B,1B & DH) but have basically no one who can plug the holes at key positions back ups of CF, SS & 3B. Now hopefully we can get Hernandez & Lin could step up until they deem Lewis ready. In the distant future we hope that Cavaco will develop there or Miranda.

Last year, all the FA talk was sign a big pitcher & they came up w/ Donaldson. Donaldson was a big signing, not only his offense & defense prowess but his wisdom on hitting which I believe paid great dividends for the young hitters coming up. This year I have no interest in any big name FA except Bauer. Bauer would be a great acquisition he`s ace level but not only that he has a fountain of wisdom that he's willing to share w/ the young up coming pitchers. They'd be following him around pretty much like the young hitters did w/ Donaldson. If they have a clear path to Bauer, I hope you are right & that they'd ponce on him. Where last year the key was the willingness of the Twins go 4yrs., I believe this year the key will be the Twins willingness to go 1yr.

Always thought Polanco should play 2B. He is over extending himself at SS. His 1st full season he came up w/ sore ankles & still is plaguing him. W/ Donaldson at 3B, Polanco is adequate at SS but when Donaldson is down we suffer tremendously. We need an upgrade at SS & back up position. FO is looking at Hernandez which is finally a step in the right direction which would also help out as a CF back up. I see no future for Gordon w/ the Twins. He has difficulty to adjust to each level he progresses. He`s a light hitting, average at best SS/2B. He could play average SS/2B for some MLB team that has the patience for him to adjust to MLB but I hope not the Twins. I don't know about Lin. Maybe he could help fill in as utility, he has plenty of experience Lewis is the only viable near future in house solution to SS. How great he'll be or if he sticks there, time will tell. He's athletic & great baseball sense but many believe he's too young to step in now. I won't disagree more time to prepare won't hurt. Getting back to Polanco, they need to take their time not push him into the line up, let him heal 100%. When he's ready I think it'd be good idea to keep him at 2B & not utility. It seemed to me especially in the beginning Polanco was insecure in how to deliver the ball, that uncertainty caused a few throwing errors. Playing utility would increase that problem. At 2B he'd be w/o the physically & psychological stress he could be transformed into a gold glove all-star much like Dozier.

Because of this weird year, a lot of teams are trying to cut costs, teams like PIT & TX. Other teams are capitalizing on pitchers who had a pretty good 2020. So you have teams like TB where Snell had a good PS but a poor 2020 season, yet they are going to milk a trade w/ everything they can get. Bauer will also try to milk his Cy Young w/ all he has got. IMO the Cubs will try to trade Darvich along w/ Kris Bryant, depending how desperate they are. IMO Sonny Gray makes more sense, Gray has had some good years, 2020 not being one of them. Looking at Twins FO history, they'll go after a bounce back candidate w/ high up-side bargain

Interesting proposition. A trade would be reasonable like a high pitching prospect plus a lower prospect or Brent Rooker plus a middle pitching prospect. Kiriloff or Larnach wouldn`t be in the trade unless the Cubs have something else to add to the trade. I wouldn't count on a weird shortened 2020 stats so I wouldn't trade any active player w/ a down season to gain a pitcher which had a good one

Unfortunately, we are a small market. So we have to be creative, patient & shrewd to compete. Cruz also has to look after himself. I think where people get anxious is that they`re afraid that a high rated DH might get away. I believe most people's plan A is to resign Cruz, IMO our plan B should be internal. Use the DH as a strategic & rotational position to relieve over-extended or injured players. This will also free up some $ where we'd need it more. This plan B is not only the better option strategically but also less stressful so we can be more patient to make the right decision. The universal DH is better for Cruz leverage wise but it also puts more physical demands on him to play a few more games that could be more detrimental for him. So the patient game is the best game whatever happens will be fine for both parties.

Just curious, is there a fee when selecting a AAA Rule 5 player?

I was hoping that Akil Baddoo would get passed over, not such luck #3. Zack Pop #6 & Jordon Sheffield #8.

Romero is a big ???? Still haven`t heard anything?

Like you said a good possibility is that the Twins could pick up a Rule 5 pitcher or 2 (can you select more than 1?) & use him as a rotating relief option. I like Valdez also, another one I like is Brett de Geus, RHP, Dodgers. de Geus also has very good control & has good stuff. I'm sure LAD would like to keep him but are backed up w/ great pitchers. Candidates compete w/ our prospects for relief spots & see if they stick. Duran & Balazovich , I'd like to hold back to get their innings in the minors to help develop them as starters