Doctor Gast

Thanks Ash! I appreciate your correction, in my head I believed that Tori was around in '17. I stand corrected. '15 we didn't go to the PS but we had a better season than expected & the year he left we lost 103 games

We can look at the stats & try to justify or not about signing Cruz. But we need also to look at the intangibles, which is his leadership, example of discipline, mentorship & club house presence. In '17 the FO gave up on the Twins & traded away the core but they came back & qualified for the PS. In '18 they thought they had a shot to progress in the PS but they tanked. What was the difference? Tori Hunter! Although he didn't have the stats that showed he contributed but his leadership & clubhouse presence was invaluable. Cruz has been that morale compass for the Twins in '19 & '20. He`s been that leader on the field, dug out, clubhouse & off the field. At this stage of his career he wants some security which is understandable. W/ a 2 yr. deal he can pad his stats & secure his income for himself & his charities. I think if we offer him a 2yr. agreeable guaranteed salary w/ a lot of incentives & a job at assistant hitting/ 1B coach when he retires. That`s a win/ win/ win, Cruz has his future guaranteed, Twins has his services & the Twins have their Cruz. What do you say!

IMO what the Twins would need most from this group is the BP. So either Bradley or Middleton. I wouldn`t worry about Middleton w/ his TJ surgery. Now days pitchers come back from it better than ever, especially since his velocity is still up there.

My fear is he could go to any of our competition in AL central. Away from them I agree about MIA w/ the Rowson connection or PIT w/ Sheldon. It could be any team that`s familiar w/ him & want some credibility. I believe he`ll end up w a team that wants to win & is weak at power corner OF. My guess is CWS

I believed the FO did their best to work out what they believed to be a reasonable offer to all that were in arbitration. Also I believe the FO are confident that they have found many ways where they can maximize their options & not to go after deals like Snell.

I`m scratching my head over that one too. Also why they went after Ian Gibaut and Brandon Waddell, and they signed Derek Law. But they must know what they are doing. The players who agreed to terms did so w/o any problems. Let`s see what they got up their sleeves. There must be a lot of options they have seen out there to let Wisler go.

A sad day for me

Great article Cody, one that is dear to my heart. There is no doubt he should be there. He had the stats to be MVP 2x but was snubbed. His knee injury slowed him down to get the HR, hits & defense totals that he could`ve had. Also they should consider his loyalty, being only w/ the Twins & years of coaching which shows his love for the sport Although I`ve never met him, he seems like a very nice man. He deserves to join the other Twins in the HoF for some time now. Hope he doesn`t get snubbed again

nice thought but as MLB Rumors said that Rosario is one of the highest valued player to ever be waivered, more than likely he`ll be snatched up fairly quickly & most likely by a rival. Good bye friend, wish you well where ever you go

Is Dec.2 the last day that Rosario is a Twin? On "Gleaman & the Geek" , Gleaman stated that Ken Rosenthal wrote an article about each team's must sign player's extention. For MN it was Eddie Rosario, WOW I'm sure that blew the socks off many Twins fans. There are many Rosario haters in our camp which influences the rest of us to relinquish the fact that Rosario will be out right released. On "Gleaman & the Geek" it was not discussed why Rosenthal wrote this & I haven`t read it. But it made perfect sense, even though Rosario`s stock is not worth very much to many Twins fans, it is still worth something to the rest of MLB. So why let Rosario go for nothing, w/o any control where he goes (he could likely go to CLE, CWS, KC or Det, where he could very likely make MN pay dearly). If we make signing Rosario to a team friendly extension a priority, we have him to start the season & later available to get someone in trade & we can control where he goes. Is Dec.2 the last day that Rosario is a Twin? I hope not!

I have high hopes for Celestino but he hasn`t played any higher than A+. In the beginning of '21 I'm sure he won`t be ready to step in to sub for Buxton. I like to see him have more experience in AA & AAA & show that he can hit there. Probably '22, he`ll have the experience & development to sub for Buxton along w/ Lewis at SS. That what makes Taylor interesting because he has only 1yr. control

What I forgot to mention was that to obtain Taylor we'd need to trade a low prospect. Taylor has only 1 yr. of control after that Lewis can be used & Taylor can be extended if needed

For many MN fans, starting pitching is the greatest concern. I agree that you can never get enough of good pitching but last year our starting rotation did a wonderful job. The core of that rotation is coming back & our options to fill any holes are limitless depending on what level of pitcher you're looking for & how much you want to pay. Maybe to others it's BP but I agree w/ FO that those holes can be filled internally & affordable FAs IMO where we were hurt the most last year was injuries, we had a lot of players playing hurt & on the IL. This really hurt us especially when Buxton & Donaldson were down, we had no one who could take up the slack. We need some one for some time to be able to take up that slack. CF & SS are IMO the most important positions on the field & we need a super utility player to be able to fill in when needed at those position. My 1st choice is Ketel Marte (26) AZ, he can play both those positions very well, he has a great bat w/ power & 4 yrs of team friendly control. If the Twins can land that trade I`d be very happy but it won`t be cheap. I think we`d be looking at trading (Kiriloff or Larnach) w/ one or two higher prospects, probably one a pitching one.. My 2nd choice is Chris Taylor (29) LAD https://www.baseballessential.com/news/2019/04/22/bbe-2019-positional-rankings-mlbs-top-15-utility-players/ He doesn't have the power that Marte has but still he's a good hitter that can become better. Taylor is fast & can play a very good CF but where he excels is at SS. I'd like to switch Polanco to 2B & put Taylor at SS. Arraez I'd place at primary DH along w/ utility & PH duties. I believe Polanco is suited at 2B & will excel there w/o the extra stress, he can become that hitter that is capable of. When everyone is healthy we can become one of the best defenses. If Buxton is hurt he fill in admirably, when Donaldson is hurt he covers the ground that is lacking. Kiké Hernández is my 3rd choice. He might be a better crisis hitter than Taylor but Taylor is a much better SS. Hernández maybe more available but Taylor is more affordable. I`m not really interested in any other super utility players because they don't fit my criteria of the ability of quality SS & CF defense

On "Gleaman & the Geek" , Gleaman stated that Ken Rosenthal wrote an article about each team's must sign player's extention. For MN it was Eddie Rosario, WOW I'm sure that blew the socks off many Twins fans. There are many Rosario haters in our camp which influences the rest of us to relinquish the fact that Rosario will be out right released. On "Gleaman & the Geek" it was not discussed why Rosenthal wrote this & I haven`t read it. But it made perfect sense, even though Rosario`s stock is not worth very much to many Twins fans, it is still worth something to the rest of MLB. So why let Rosario go for nothing, w/o any control where he goes (he could likely go to CLE, CWS, KC or Det, where he could very likely make MN pay dearly). If we make signing Rosario to a team friendly extension a priority, we have him to start the season & later available to get someone in trade & we can control where he goes.

Like what has been well stated that TB is very shrewd. They won`t trade Snell unless they find someone who will give them a ridiculous offer. I'd like to offer my opinion about the Kevin Cash/ Snell situation. Kevin Cash is a great coach, he has had a few pitchers that pitched 200 innings or close to it, even in '18 Snell averaged a tad under 6 innings/ game which means he pitched quite a few games w/ 6+ innings. It takes a very rare breed of pitcher to face a line up the 3rd time around, especially in a top leverage situation. 2020 Cash managed TB to a fantastic season & the pitchers flourished under him. In the 2020 WS, I believe Cash made the right call by pulling Snell, you have to go w/ the strategy that has gotten you there, you`ve got the best BP to back you up. Cash didn't lose game, the BP showed that they aren`t super human. Let`s say Cash would leave Snell in until he got into trouble, odds are that he would be very quickly. And instead the BP entering w/ a clean slate they come in w/ inherited runners OB w/ 0 outs. The result would be more disastrous w/ Snell being the loser & the goat & Snell's value would be deflated rather than inflated

Please forgive me terrydactyls, if my English has offended you. I assure you that it wasn`t my intention. I have lived most of my adult life away from the US, the things I miss most about being away are family, friends, Minnesota lakes & Twins. Twins Daily has been a great outlet for me. I try my best to edit my slips, typing errors & use of my modifiers correctly, I admit I don`t catch them all. My intention is to bring back the winning attitude that we had when we won all those WS games in '87& 91, championships & PS games. I think this winning attitude needs to begin w/ the fans & lose their negativity. When we go to the games, get into the game & cheer the players. If we don't, we can't blame the players & coaches but ourselves if we don`t win.

Totally agree w/ you Cody. Aces needs to be home grown or find some diamond in the rough that has been over looked by other teams, which have been the most successful way because we don`t like to go out & draft high pitching prospects. It has been rumored that the Twins aren't interested in FA Bauer or trade for Snell or Darvish. CO, TB & Reds will be looking for great deals focused on high prospects. Baseball is a business, common sense tells you to sell high & buy low. To trade players that had a poor 2020 doesn`t make sense because their stock is much lower than what they are really worth for an player that has inflated stock. That's why they won`t trade for Snell. We should also trade a redundant player not a needed player.

Maeda deserves more in 2020 than what he got. But I wouldn`t extend his contract, it`d be like extending Perez's contract after the first 60 games being a Twin. Let's see what happens after the league get used to him & even then I'd have to see what he has at 35 before offering him an extension

Thanks Ace! I read that article, was very enlightening. Yes, buyers be very aware of what you`re giving away for what you're getting

I`m not a great Snell fan. Some people have some false illusion of him. They think because he can pitch a great 5 ininnings w/ occasional 6 or 7 that he`ll be a true ace, he`s good but not that good. Therefore his stock will be inflated & the Rays won`t ship him unless they get a great deal. I imagine what they want from MN is a Larnach,Balazovic & Jeffers trade & won`t settle for anything less. Which is way too high! Pitcher I`m looking for is a high untapped upside that Wes Johnson can work w/,for a bargain to fit into our budget w/o losing too much our future. Later this season we can evaluation our situation & get an ace if we think we need one

Buxton is important to this team period. 2020 Buxton showed a glimpse of the potential he had shown in the minors until the bean ball that was thrown at his head. The key is to keep him healthy. I`d bet on Buxton, try to mend fences if there's still hard feelings & extend him an agreeable contract.

When you mention Stroman's quote "Height doesn't measure heart", it rang w/ me. If you can some how blend heart & height mix in w/ dedication to develop your pitches, you come up w/ a Randy Johnson. My preference is heart.

WOW, I expect that Odo will expect the same! $15M

I`m in the same boat as you, Doc. Hate to see him go, his clubhouse presence is invaluable. But like you, I can`t fit him in the given budget at the 15-18M range, only if they raise the bar a bit & or they agree on slightly less salary. If that doesn`t happen & he walks, I won`t go out of house. We have a lot of in house options that would be more beneficial, rotating that duty depending on need (giving rest, opportunity for young players to play & pitching match-ups).

Very true we're not the Marininers, our M doesn`t stand for Mariners or Minneapolis it stands for Minnesota. Many teams share the same letters, my intention is not for us to imitate them. My intention is for us to aspire to regain our PS prowess, much like the Yankees. When they hit a slump they reach back to the Ruth/ Gehrig & Mantle/ Maris eras. I`d like to bring back the winning attitude that we had while wearing this uniform. I`m not pushing to abolish The TC insignia, maybe bring back the pinstripes & M insignia for the PS.