Doctor Gast

Well laid out article Tom. I`m sure there is very serious negotiations going on. I like the format for arbitration where each offer their most reasonable offer & the officials decide the most reasonable instead finding a medium where each side become ridiculous. That said, if both sides come to decide to go to arbitration which I doubt, I`m afraid the decision would go to the owners (last year they surprisingly decided against Berrios) this year they will heavily decide in favor of the owners. Rosie`s agent must know that so he must decide if he`d accept the owner`s offer & stay or try to find a little bit better deal elsewhere. I`d bet on the latter because if nothing materialize they still fall back on the owners original offer

In 1986 the Twins had one of the worst records in baseball (71-91) but in 1987 the Twins turned it around, becoming a Cinderella story that won the World Series. A story which inspired movies. 1986 team was basically the same team as the 1987 w/ players Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Frank Viola, Bert Byleven, Tom Brunaski, Roy Smalley, to name a few. So what changed? They brought back the pin-stripes & added the M insignia. The change was a immediate success & continued w/ success for years, winning another WS, AL Championship, many perennial Divisional Championships & PS wins. The M insignia was dropped in 2010 from home games & was retired completely in 2014. Twins haven`t won a PS game since & not even qualifying very often. http://twinsdaily.com/blog/427/entry-6053-save-the-m/#:~:text=Well%20the%20Twins%20officially%20%E2%80%9Cretired,has%20negatively%20affected%20the%20season http://twinsdaily.com/blog/1318/entry-13727-why-did-the-twins-regressed-in-2020-one-answer/ I know you are probably saying this guy is nuts, super-superstitious or believe in luck. I assure you I am none of the above. But I do believe that if something works don`t fix it. I don`t care if I can`t explain it or people think the baby blues w/ TC insignia are cute. I say we bring back the pinstripes & M insignia & get the monkey off our back AGAIN

Along w/ the Twins pitching in to help out on the $20M, I think MN could benefit by St, Paul being AAA so the state could help out a little

When Scoop sold MN to Cruz, he took it hook, line & sinker. He`s totally committed to the Twins. Of coarse he`ll take the best deal & there`ll a lot of interest if universal DH goes through. But he`ll give FO every opportunity to come close. If he doesn`t sign, MN will lose it`s greatest ambassador.

They should bring back the M insignia during those years we really had great teams. Those are the years the team can really aspire to. We shouldn`t have uniforms which some think are cute. http://twinsdaily.com/blog/427/entry-6053-save-the-m/#:~:text=Well%20the%20Twins%20officially%20%E2%80%9Cretired,has%20negatively%20affected%20the%20season.

You`re right, drafting isn`t rocket science. We can`t always go solely by stats either, there are intangibles also to consider like drive for excellence & to win. We really missed it those years except Buxton (hard to figure in accidents) aside from the accidents Buxton is a super star. You can say Buxton has too much drive, going all out which makes his body vulnerable. Tony Oliva played all out & wrecked his knee which stole many productive years from him which maybe cost him the HOF selection. I admire those who play w/ all their hearts.

I see merit in all your blueprints. I like Seth`s addition of Brad Hand, he could really help the BP & he`s a local. I love John`s bold Bauer move, besides his talent, he could play a role much like Donaldson had w/ the young hitters only w/ the young pitchers to help develop their pitches. Having an awesome rotation but IMO suffering in the other areas. I like Nick addressing the SS problem & going after Snell but IMO the Rays would want Kiriloff plus a high pitcher prospect. Although it makes a lot of sense to let Cruz walk so we can rotate players in that position (I wouldn`t bring anyone outside to DH) but we lose not only production we lose his leadership. Would Donaldson be able to fill the void? I see our biggest problem is injuries from Buxton, Donaldson, Polanco & Arraez. Buxton & Donaldson injuries are especially damaging because our defense become highly compromised. Since Lewis is not "ready", I say we trade for K. Marte. I`d have Marte at SS & move Polanco to 2B & Arraez principally DH & utility. Marte is a better SS, at 2B, Polanco would have less stress (physically & mentally) to blossom into a great 2B & hitter, at DH & occasion utility, Arraez could do very well. If Donaldson is hurt, Marte will do a better job taking up the slack from SS. If Buxton is hurt Marte could admirably fill in. He`d provide much needed speed At BP I`d see if Rogers would take less, bring back Clippard & sign Brad Hand is not a bad idea (2yrs./ $14). I`d also like to see if Hill would come back in relief & spot starting. Starting rotation, I`d sign Garret Richards, IMO after finally getting TJ surgery his injury problems are behind him. A couple of minor tweaks he could be an ace. Low risk, high upside at a bargain. I`d also pick up Chris Archer as a flyer. If later we need an upgrade, we can always trade for a pitcher before deadline. Finally our last hole LF, I`d platoon Cave & Rooker until they want to call up Kiriloff

I`m from the Red River Valley. Twins are the closest MLB team, having an affiliate there would increase interest. There are many Twins fans but a few NYY fans w/ many indifferent therefore an affiliate would increase the fan base. I imagine that they`d have to pay that entry fee. If St. Paul have trouble paying it what about Fargo?

I`m also intrigued w/ Garret Richards. He seemed healthy in 2020, after his T J surgery he should be good to go but in a shortened season he never really got things worked out. Nash had an interesting session on "Locked On Twins" about Richards. Richards has a high spin rate on his fastball, he just need to learn to pitch it high in the zone. He also has a great slider but leaves it hanging sometimes. These tweaks seems minor to me plus Wes could squeeze a couple of extra ticks out of his fast ball. He has a lot of up side.

If Buxton leaves that leaves a big hole in CF which no one in the system can come close to fill. CF is too important for any aspiration to progress in the PS. As I see it Buxton is our only ticket to the dance. I can see Buxton on fire in 2021 & beyond, we should make every effort to resign him & keep him healthy but like you said that would be difficult. If it comes down to trading him we have to some how find a replacement & that won`t be cheap. Trading for an ace will also not be cheap because Buxton trade value is not very good (we`ll never get what he`s worth to us) & that won`t solve our problem because we still have a glaring hole in CF. It would boil down to this, we can`t afford a decent replacement or ace so we`d have to get prospects & wait for the future, therefore Donaldson & Maeda acquisitions would be in vain. I see your angle Cody & appreciate it but FO has invested too deeply to attain some success in the PS to give up on Buxton.

Very good advice. High tech is very good to get the correct info we need to program our minds to communicate to our bodies on how to achieve a desired outcome, together w/ the feel & coordination then repeating that action until it`s automatic. I remember when I coached women softball & try to teach them how to throw. Throwing is something that is automatic, I don`t ever ever remember telling myself how to throw, I just did it. I`m RH so I taught myself how to throw LH in order to teach my players. Also I can`t imagine how frustrating it is when someone who is paralyzed whose mind tells their bodies to walk & it can`t. Secondarily I agree the need for journaling the way you described. So we can remind ourselves what to focus on & also a means of reference. Journaling I believe is also important for every day life Lastly I hope those that kinda lost it this season can find it before the next

Thank you Ash for clearing that up. In that case it make much more sense & I`d be all in if AZ would accept an offer of several lessor value prospects. Defense is an issue especially w/ Donaldson & or Buxton out the line up, hitting was in a slump last season but has tremendous potential.

I`m cheering for Wichita but if it doesn`t maybe Nashville could be available, it`s closer than Arkansas

It`s nice to dream but we need to be realistic, Woodruff alone could cost us all our top 5 prospects. I`m not in favor of this. Hader is not a need. Marte would be very nice but he`d cost us Royce Lewis plus $32.8M salary this year what would that do to Twins payroll, how much over budget are they willing to go? Story is more attainable, Larnach is close to trade value but CO would probably want both Balazovic & Dobnak. His salary this year is $18,2M, that would stretch the budget.

Love your article, Nash! Trades that address our weakness w/ great trade targets through our only option our prospects. Our line up was very disappointing so trading them wouldn`t bring a desirable return (I believe the only stock that went up was Arraez & Dobnak). But I believe MIL, CO & AZ would want much more than what was suggested much more than maybe FO is willing to pay. MIL has a poor farm system but AZ has a good one so they`ll want more quality prospects. Polanco is a great hitter, although he can play SS, I believe he is over extending himself there. Putting a lot stress on him on the field which can effect his hitting. I`ve been a advocate for switching him to 2B for a long time (I believe he could become another Dozier, once he relaxes) & I dreamed of getting Story & I think is attainable. Just like the Maeda trade, although I like Maeda I hated giving away our much needed pitching prospect (I faulted FO for not trading from our abundance but instead our lack). Story would greatly upgrade our offense as well as our defense & like Nash said pitching prospect are a premium especially in CO. Another option is Dobnak, although I`m a fan, I believe his GB efficiency would bring him much success in CO

FO knows what Odorizzi has, what he is capable of & that there`s nothing more to work on. So I picture them pursuing someone on the cheap that they can tweak. But if nothing works out I can see them bringing him back

I was big on trading last year but this year w/ our players having an off year, the only option is our prospects. I`d go after teams that need to build up their farm systems, like MIL or CO & go for quality in exchange for quantity. I`d take Lewis, Kiriloff, Jeffers & maybe Rooker off the block, all others are available maybe focus on those we need on the 40 man that we can live w/o. who depends on the quality that we need. FA shaping up the way that it is & I believe our priority should be FA.

Good article, I believe there`s a lot of former all stars that are available. I guess the Twins will pursue the one they believe they can transform the most into the pitcher they desire. Before the surgery, there is no doubt in my mind that Chris Archer was the guy. The problems he had at PIT was directly related to PIT`s terrible pitching philosophy. A change of scenery at MN would develop him into the ace he was meant to be. But now after the surgery, there is some doubt if he could come back to recover any form of his talent or how fast he could attain it. A lot of teams are interested in him, so we have to convince him we can help him the most. I hope he won`t be our main pitching priority but offer him a low salary loaded w/ incentives he`d make a great flyer w/ great up side w/ low risk. My dream is that Archer would fulfill his destiny as a Twin.

That has been my hope. But we`ll have to wait & see

Veek said he`s open to be a MLB team affiliate. I don`t know if they are open for a MLB team other the Twins, if that could be the case that`d be sad. I`d love to watch all our high prospects at CHS. To change to be an affiliate doesn`t mean they have to change how they do baseball there, does it?

They both look like possibilities. Right now IMO Garver would not be a good trade bait we wouldn`t get very much for him, majority of the line up had a bad 2020. But what scares me most is Cohen w/ those velvet pockets buying up a ton of FAs at discount.

I too would like Rogers to return, he`s listed on the projected 26 man roster for 2021 on the Twins site (Rosario is not). I`d like both Clippard & May to return but I think May would hold out for more than the Twins are willing to pay. I believe the Twins probably have their eyes on different relievers that fit their profile (to go along w/ the 2 they already picked up) but waiting to see how things pan out. I wouldn`t mind if they approach Hill to help out in the BP & do some spot starting

I believe Rooker wouldn`t be replacing Cruz but would be taking preference over Cave & Wade

I agree that this service time thing should be changed. I`d like if we could bring up all of our top prospects, at least the positional ones, I believe the pitchers could use some more time to develop more as starters. Like you said the corner OF, DH, 1B positions (especially last year) was not a need but a viable CF, SS, 2B, 3B back up was. Lewis had a spectacular AFL & at St, Paul he was scouted as their best hitter but he wasn`t called up because they said he wasn`t ready (meaning he is a prime prospect & that they want to hold back his service time). Depending what happens this off season, the earliest they`d be called up is May except maybe Jeffers . Because our need for a RH platoon corner OF & Rooker`s service time is not an issue, he be the 1st to be called up. I don`t see FO changing their philosophy, sorry to say

We have a lot of holes from FA exiting. In the beginning we can add a few but as we fill those holes, we`ll have to decide who to drop or trade from 40 man if there is some one of value we`d lose