Gatormandd

Absolutely stupid for a small-market team like the Twins to make these kinds of trades. If we had SPENCER STEER, CHRISTIAN ENCARNCION-STRAND, CHASE PETTY coming, for example, we'd have missed what, one playoff appearance and a hole in our rotation and lineup, especially RH bats? The trade of Arraez for Lopez is MUCH more of the type of deals the FO needs to do, guys like Polanco and Kepler who I love are past peak, and a rental SP is a much more palatable price for me. WOuld we have to gamble that Lee can handle the load (or maybe Miranda)? Yes, but at least we'd still have a future, unlike if we gut our system to please fans that only look to the next season, then blames the FO when the cupboards are bare in the minors. The trend of all the "upcoming teams" (Baltimore, CIncy, etc) is to KEEP THE KIDS, and NOT SELL OUT for a single season (especially since we aren't talking about the Twins being a SP away from the WS).

I think the deals with the Reds (check out the "post 23 season" when Gray and Mahle are probably not with the team, and Steer is also the kind of guy who could fix some of our offensive issues, with Encarncion-Strand looking amazing in AAA. Add to that Petty is looking fine, and don't even get me started on gambling on a failed SP with a hot half season in relief (Lopez), when at worse Cano will prove better and Povich probably will as well. By comparison, the Arraez deal (especially with Salas included) really doesn't look that bad, it always hurts to lose a talent, but like others mentioned, there's no real answer if Correa, Buxton, Polanco, Miranda, Kepler et al aren't producing, whether to injury, age, or whatever. It just sucks, but I'd roast the FO over the Cincy and Bal deals more than the Arraez deal To be fair, I'll call the Gray deal OK, but it will hurt more than the Arraez deal long term, and the Mahle deal was just a disaster.

Yup, it was a good "now for later" type of deal that a lot of the fanbase was clamoring for (I'm in a fantasy/strat league where I have the Twins prospects, so I'll still be cheering on Steer and CES for some time I hope); but pitchers are risky, and expensive. Any chance of offering Mahle a 2 yr deal to let him re-establish value, or is he done here?

Yup, I think things are fine right now; lets see Kirilloff prove he can be healthy and productive, and by that time I think someone will be clearly ready to be replaced (Larnach, Gordon, Castro) due to injury or slump. I think Farmer replaces Solano when Farmer is ready to go, so I left Solano out as the guy to move when AK is ready. I'd almost go all in vs RH, with Larnach/Taylor in left, Buck in CF, Kepler in RF; Gallo at 1B, AK at DH, and then move folks around to give rest. Farmer does UT vs LH, and I'd still love to move Gordon for his RH doppelganger; but I think we'll be good to go down the road this season if the injury bug does not bite too hard.

I think the hitters are/will be fine; what it appears we need (especially after Alcala got whacked in AAA) are some more quality arms for the pen; what was thought to be a strength is looking sketchy right now. Larnach is hitting well enough that swapping Buxton and him as OF/DH will help the defense (OF-elite!), and Kirilloff will help (wish he was right-handed, though). A trade of a LH hitter Kirilloff, Gallo (!?), Larnach, Gordon, Wallner, Joulien, etc for a guy who crushes LH would be nice, but I wouldn't reach for a guy to do it. OR you wait for Royce Lewis (who you put in the Buxton-DH role) or call up Brooks Lee, and let him and Miranda fight it out. Castro, Gordon, Solano (who I really like) appear to be the guys who would be in trouble when Kirilloff is ready to go...

Catching appears to be a long-term problem; without anything clear-cut in the system, we need to either spend big bucks on Contreras, OR pay a (much) smaller price for a stalwart defensive catcher, take our lumps on offense, and use the money on whatever else is needed (resign Correa, or something crazy like that). Twins can't/won't do both, I believe.

Some tough calls- I like Smeltzer (injuries have hurt his development, or he'd be a no-brainer to be on the 40 already) and Faria is a useful guy, especially in this "rushed" month. Not sure that I'd want to pay in DFA's for either guy though. If we could end up with either guy in AAA that would be a win. I like Vallimont and Strotman; they would get sucked up immediately. A team with fewer 40 man issues will "probably" suck up Faria and/or Smeltzer, though they might become available when the actives go back to 26. Would we want them then, though (I would say yes for Smeltzer)? Cave = bye bye, thanks for the (mediocre) memories. Garlick vs Rooker is easy for me; but the FO probably still wants Rooker to prove them right. Finally, the unmentioned D. Robertson is a guy I really hope we can retain (probably will pass through waivers unless somebody loses an IF to injury this week); I think he's a great fill-in IF to get by for a couple of weeks if one of the starting guys get hurt, I'd like to see him at AAA providing additional help for Lewis and others to get ready for the bigs (more than I'd actually like to see him in the bigs, cuz that would mean somebody broke, lol).

I lot of good ideas; my preference would be for Larnach to start in AAA and learn to hit breaking/offspeed a bit more, have Kirilloff in LF and late defense at 1B for Sano. Garlick does starting vs LH in LF, and the 5th OF is somebody (pref LH bat to fill in for Kepler/Buxton/Garlick vs RH type situations). Who? Mid-season I think Larnach comes in to do that and freshens folks up a bit. Ideally Martin as well, at which point Garlick would have to move on. Rooker stays as AAAA help, Gordon goes for a bowl of soup to somebody or is released, sadly (he's sooo almost the perfect guy, and the Twins just might keep him as the 5th OF/emergency inf). Celestino gets the bulk of CF time in AAA, with Martin alternating between SS and OF with Larnach in a corner with Rooker. Lewis stays as SS, probably starting in AA and finishing in AAA. Wild Card = Derek Fisher. Will get play there = J. Miranda; who played a few games there in AAA and I expect to look like Arraez out there (yuk, lol). So I guess I see Garlick and Miranda (Gordon?) as the Opening Day 4th/5th OFs, with Fisher maybe forcing one of them off. I can't Cave anymore; if he agrees after clearing waivers to a minor lg contract, fine (somebody might take him off waivers, but...)

I actually bought a Dodge Durango from Falvey (in CT); it was a good deal on a bad car, but cheap enough to make it worth it for the time I owned it. In much the same way, I think the Twins are too risk-averse when it comes to big dollars (think of what we did just to get rid of JD salary, IN CASE he doesn't do well to open the season) to make me think anything good is coming. More moves, yes, will the owners spend more money? Yes, some, but not what is needed for legit contention, as they hope to strike gold.

I see Kirilloff getting a lot of time this season at 1B and RF, with Kepler sliding to CF to rest Buxton on occasion. I see Martin coming up in May, at the expense of Gordon, and Larnach coming up for an injury to the OF/DH crew. SS is the problem, with the defense we'd be better off with another season of Simmons (I'm twitching as I type this). The wild card would be Lewis coming up in May also and being able to play SS at least as well as Gordon, or whatever "old reliable" they find in FA. This is the fun part, as I'm optimistic about the bats. The pitching? I don't like to see guys get pounded in the majors for no reason, I'd prefer Winder, Balazovic, et al get some aaa ips. That leaves Bundy, Ober, Ryan, Dobnak, and one of the older kids (ex Strotman) or a resign of someone (Pineda, Albers, trade for Odorizzi, whatever). I'm not expecting much, sadly...

Maybe, not in the manner of "I'm going to deliberately play bad", but in the "this team stinks, I'm in a slump and the fans are killing me, maybe I'm better off somewhere else" type of way. I don't have access to any personal opinions/discussions, but unless there was an injury I just don't understand the complete lack of hitting.

"This isn’t necessarily a call to trade Royce Lewis. We have to assume that nobody knows what to expect from Lewis’ future better than the Twins. I would say however that if they think Lewis is another player without a sure position to add to a list that already includes Austin Martin and Luis Arraez, it may be time to start considering getting creative with how to address their needs in the rotation and the middle infield." = CONCUR, I would even go so far as to trade 2 of Lewis, Martin, Arraez for 1 legit SS or legit SS prospect who we could sign to an extension (I have not researched who fits that bill)' If you wanted to try to get it done cheaper, I'd risk Lewis for Nick Allen of the A's, who has the floor of 2020 Andrelton Simmons at rookie prices.

The FO of the Twins have been hamstrung by parsimonious owner's since they traded Rod Carew away. That is what they should just do now; as it's embarrassing to nickel and dime players who KNOW they will get 20% more somewhere else (maybe in geographical locations more appealing than the Twin Cities, just saying). If they want an object lesson in how things should be done, they can trade him to Oakland, and watch the A's either sign him for an innovative contract, or flip him for more than what they give the Twins. If they just want to do what they normally do, they can trade him to the Yankees for Gary Sanchez (aka Aaron Hicks for JR Murphy- I almost cried in anger that day). More seriously, perhaps they trade him to the Yankees for one of their decent SS prospects and get GIl back. The problem the FO will find is that other teams "know" the Twins are inept with ownership money, so they "know" a player like Buxton is essentially on the market, even though the FO is playing coy with an "extension". The only way they get close to value (see Cruz, Berrios) is to wait till the deadline, and hope enough suitors create an auction-like environment. So I WON'T be shocked to see Buxton in uniform to start the season, without an extension.

Well, if we are not winning the WS next season ? , I think we look ok down the road there. I assume Martin eventually, with Larnach figuring it out in time to replace Kepler in right in a couple of seasons. Kirilloff can help out there some (lf/1b) (Depending on how much Donaldson can play the field which will affect Sano's DH time). Arraez does the same thing, some 3b, some lf, some DH. IF Lewis can stand at SS and not be horrible, all is well. Until then, Gordon (who can also do some LF) will be in the mix at UT. Finally, I'm a fan of Garlick as the 5th OF who hits LH on a squad who doesn't hit LH in general, now that Cruz is gone. Kepler is still needed, at least until we figure out what happens with Buxton. I assume Kepler will stay regardless unless the Twins can get a rebound pitcher on a good contract in trade, which will flop, but it's what the FO does, lol.

If Healthy, Rogers would solve a few things: 1) Buy out Colome, and let him go, as even a cheaper "show me" contract with incentives will get you right up to 5M when adding in the buyout- so either just sign him or let him go. I'm sure he'd take the contract if offered, so we couldn't get "lucky" with him declining his side of the option, most likely. I sort of agree with the rest of it, I think they might try to keep Thorpe, Smeltzer, and Strotman, whether by minor league FA, or spring training invite; I don't think any of them are all that (I had hopes for Thorpe), but we could use some filler while Balazovic, Winder, and possibly Duran (maybe pen) get ready, I see Jax being that kind of guy in AAA this year, unless they make a (I would think pretty good) middle reliever out of him), the rotation to start being FA signing, kinda FA signing Pineda, Ryan, Ober, Dobnak (!?). Primary Pen: Rogers, Alcala, Minaya, THielbar, Duffey, one long guy (Dobnak, Jax, Barnes), and one more short guy (Moran, Duran(?)) Health, an ace and a SS who can hit his weight would do a lot for this team, overall. I thought it was good going into 21', and I don't think it needs to be blown up now. It might not be 23' till it really gels with the SPs, but if we can get the lineup to play more often than not, I think the franchise is in good shape. Buy an ace this season, and see what's needed for a real run in 23 (new closer, maybe another SP, and of course at some point we need a SS, lol = I expect Martin to be a LF and Lewis to be a super UT/Merriman type, leaving us with nothing there in the short term future.