stringer bell

Agree with several posts above. Speed helps, but being smart and alert on the bases is something every player should work on. I’d love to see the club bring in players with more speed and that is the principal reason I want to see more of Martin, Keirsey Jr. and Helman. Also agree that Kepler was so cautious that he neutralized his better than average speed. Lewis might be better next year with a healthy off season. It seems pretty obvious that he was instructed not to push it after returning from injury.

Farmer is another FA. Tonkin and Dobnak would be automatics to be DFA'd IMHO. The questionable ones would be Helman, Keirsey Jr., Blewett, Funderburk, Canterino, Duarte and Winder. I also don't know what the value of Camargo is. It seemed he was recalled only in emergencies and only to come into a game in an emergency. I don't know if there's another catcher to add that would have options, perhaps someone who gets DFA'd next month, but if Camargo gets zero trust both as a hitter and receiver, he isn't worth a roster spot.

Most of the decisions are pretty easy. I would think taking the team option for Alcalá is a no-brainer, no qualifying offers and most of the arbitration decisions are easy, including a non-tender for Tonkin. It seems to me that the 40-man decisions are pretty clear cut as well: A DFA (again) for Dobnak and when he isn't claimed, an outright to Triple A, Raya is the only certainty to be added, while a case can be made for subtracting Canterino, Winder, Duarte, Helman, Keirsey Jr. and Camargo. Even if they keep most or all of the questionable calls, there will be space on the 40-man roster.

It seems that the consensus is that Goldschmidt isn't a realistic option for the question of "who plays first?" for the Twins in 2025. The Twins in-house options for the job are ...........underwhelming. 1) Miranda has played little first base and has been inconsistent as a hitter. He doesn't provide a lot of power and he doesn't draw a lot of walks. He needs to have a high batting average to be a real asset. 2) Kirilloff hasn't managed to have close to a healthy season and he turns 27 soon. His defensive metrics are poor. He's a former top prospect with one option (and last chance) remaining. 3) Julien is inexperienced at first base and doesn't seem to be a natural defender anywhere. His hitting fell off a cliff in 2024, despite being healthy. 4) Severino didn't make it out of AAA last year. He is also seen as a substandard defender wherever he plays and his AAA numbers don't scream promotion to the majors. The Twins might go with the in-house guys because supposedly there is no money in the budget to go outside the organization. This is a risk they shouldn't take IMHO, but is something that might be repeated for other weak spots on the roster.

mlbtraderumors.com has an interesting look at Luis Arraez, who is said to be seeking an extension. Arraez is a fascinating player with three batting championships and elite ability to make contact coupled with low power numbers and limited defensive value. The projected arbitration salary of $14.6M seems really high given his BRef 1.1 WAR.

Yeah, sacrifice all kinds of depth to bring in an aging first baseman. I think having quality behind the starting players is vital to sustaining a good season.

Agreed. Santana was well worth the money he received. If more guys had produced as expected, his above-average numbers would have been a nice bonus. OTOH, banking on another similar season for a 39 year old is a losing bet. My opinion on Santana turns on his pedestrian numbers as a left handed hitter. He's been below average against righties for years and 75% of pitchers are right handed.

I pretty much agree with @Danchat. I would add that it is really time to decide on the role for Varland at 27 years of age. I would also add that Topa hasn't been healthy for much of his professional career, so it is probably a risk, although not as much as Stewart. Left handed pitching is really scarce in the upper levels of the Twins' organization. If they go outside the organization, I think it will be for a left handed pitcher.

I think in retrospect the Ryan injury was the kill shot. Having three good to great starters covers up a lot, but having three rookies and two reliable guys really isn’t enough. The Twins ran out of major league ready depth and that is not on the field staff. Rocco made mistakes IMHO, but not having a capable right handed hitting OF and bullpen and rotation depth ended the Twins season.

On payroll, as has been covered on many threads on this site, the raises from arbitration and the first year of Pablo López' extension eat up almost all of the savings of the contracts of the Twins' free agents. Rocco Baldelli has put together a position player roster which allows for platoons at several positions. Do you propose that whoever is the starting nine start every day if they are healthy. What do the bench players do? When would they play, only when a starter is injured? I'm not a fan of pinch hitting for players in the middle innings and then seeing a lesser player trying to get a big hit in the late innings, but having a lineup reflect the handedness of the pitcher they are facing always has made sense.

If the Twins have Correa back ready to play 150 games, plus Buxton as healthy as he can be plus Lewis rested and refocused, they have the tent poles to be a good to great team. They'd have to "roll sevens" to have those guys play in excess of 130 games each, but .....you never know. On the pitching side, López, Ryan, and Ober is a good to great front of the rotation. Jax, Sands, Stewart and Durán a very good back of the bullpen. With that said, the club could compete next year without adding salary. The reinforcements would have to come from within--Lee, Keaschall, Jenkins, Rodriguez and maybe someone like Keirsey or Eeles. I don't think the should clear a path for their prospects until they have to and I don't think the start of 2025 is when they have to. If they struggle and again look like they're only better than the White Sox, the mid-to-late 20s guys should be on their way out making room for the younger guys.

How about A-Rod and Jeter. If you can't beat ém let them join.

The Pohlads used the tactics that just about every professional sports owner has used to get a facility. I don't particularly condemn them for it, but I don't think it is a feather in their cap. For three generations, the owners (Pohlads) have mostly stayed out of the spotlight and let their baseball people run the team. I think that is admirable and wise. Behind the scenes, I suppose whoever represented the family has set spending restrictions and sometimes it has appeared to be very shortsighted. However, the payroll cut last year makes more sense in light of the team being put up for sale in the off season. Also, the timing of the sale announcement indicated the TV deal figured into all of this. I suppose it is much easier to make a sale with a defined amount of TV money coming in as opposed to the uncertainty of the last couple of years.

I share Ash's caution. Leases are broken all the time and absentee ownership could be worse than what the team has now. I wasn't loving the direction the current ownership was pointing, but I don't think they have been the worst owners in MLB by a long shot.

Assuming pretty much status quo (few added, expired contracts subtracted), the Twins need their three top right handed hitters to be healthy more than they were in 2024. That would mitigate the need for right handed power from an outfielder or first baseman. There is a dearth of left handed pitching at the top of the organization, it is a long shot the Moran or Funderburk or Headrick could be effective in the BP. I actually think the Twins should try Headrick as a starter (at St. Paul). Finding an effective lefty reliever amongst the broken toys in free agency would be helpful for sure. I've been a believer that Lewis could be an All-Star third baseman. With the arrival of Brooks Lee, who looks like a natural at third, and Lewis' defensive struggles, maybe the Twins should consider moving Lewis to first base. For the first 130 games of his career, it appeared Lewis' bat would play anywhere, including first base. Miranda would be available to fill either spot, back them up and be used as a principle DH. I like the delayed potential of Austin Martin (and he offers some speed, which the rest of the roster has in short supply). It would be another gamble to slot him in Margot's role, but I would think he would be as effective as Margot was. Depending on others, Willi Castro is kind of a wild card. I think he should start the season as the regular second baseman, but he could be in the outfield as a fourth regular. To answer the headline of this thread, I do think there is room for improvement almost everywhere. I think the Twins will try to handle the weak spots internally with only low level free agent signings. If everything clicks, they are a contender, but much more likely is a major shakeup at the All-Star break or next post season.

My prediction is that at least one of the Twins' free agents everyone considers gone--all but Santana--will return to the team and make the Opening Day roster. In order of likelihood--1) Thielbar 2) Farmer 3) Desclafani 4) Kepler 5) Margot.

Just a note about caught stealing percentages--most of the time a stolen base is on the pitcher, not a catcher. Of all stolen base attempts, a catcher only truly has a chance on maybe 30% of the time. This is especially true when a right hander is on the mound and the Twins probably threw the highest percentage of right handed innings in the majors last year. The way to limit stolen bases is not allow runners on base and to have a lead. I think Vázquez is probably .01 second quicker releasing the ball than Jeffers and might have a little bit stronger arm. In a situation where hundreths decide safe and out, that is significant. That said, Jeffers is about average in today's game as a thrower in limiting stolen bases.

I think Camargo is merely a guy they kept on the roster because in today's game a third catcher is necessary. He wasn't given much of a chance to play because Rocco saw him as less good, both offensively and defensively, than either Vázquez or Jeffers. His numbers at St. Paul were pedestrian. If Vázquez or Jeffers is dealt, the Twins would need to get a major league catcher.

I had uninterrupted TV broadcasts so I didn’t listen to much radio broadcasts, but I thought (in limited exposure) that Atteberry was fine and pretty interesting. Gladden OTOH, has no redeeming value as a broadcaster, either commentary or PxP.

Last year, the team seemed deep and finished strong. This year almost everyone slumped late and the team appeared exhausted at the end of the year. Same manager and pretty much the same coaching staff. Regarding the platooning complaints, the major criticism was not allowing the young lefty hitters a chance to face lefty pitchers. I submit that defense was part of this decision, with Margot, Farmer and Santana all being considered superior to their left handed counterparts (not sure if that is factual with Margot). As was mentioned in the OP, the infield had a +11 DRS with the same guys who struggled so mightily in the field in August/September and gave it all back.

Very interesting posting and the fact that the performance by the same players was so much better until the final quarter of the season is puzzling. They seemed to all fatigue at once and I don’t see any real explanation for it.

If 2024 showed anything, it proved that “you never know” rings true more often than not. José Miranda was largely forgotten when the Twins broke camp, Royce Lewis was thought to be on a superstar track and Edouard Julien and Alex Kirilloff were questions only because of health and defense. Add in Brooks Lee with a less-than-overwhelming debut and the infield is closer to “hot mess” than top notch. The Twins need to sort out who plays first, second and third with Carlos Correa returning at shortstop. It should be noted that none of the infielders listed in this post even so much as 80 games started at a single position. Oh my. Third base—Miranda played the most innings at third in 2024 mostly because Lewis missed almost the entire first half of the season. Miranda is not a gifted defender, but played defense well enough to be satisfacory. His bat has to be well above average to make him an asset. Lewis missed a lot of time with injuries and really struggled down the stretch. His defense was so-so due to throwing problems. Lee came up and showed good skills and instincts at the hot corner. After a hot start, he slumped as a hitter. One of these guys needs to claim third base. My hope is that Lewis comes to camp ready to break out again and be a star in ‘25, claiming third base for the rest of the decade. Second base—Lee could contend here as well. He showed enough range and instincts to project decent defense at second to project him as a regular second baseman Julien had a dreadful sophomore year, flailing at the plate and showing little improvement in the field. It is way too early to write him off, but he might not start 2025 with the Twins. My pick for primary second baseman to start the season is Willi Castro, until and unless he is needed elsewhere. First base—Miranda could move to first, more or less permanently if Carlos Santana (or someone else outside the organization) isn’t signed. There is little first base depth on the roster or in the high minors except for the oft-injured Alex Kirilloff. I’m hoping for a Miranda/Kirilloff job share with plenty of DH at-bats. Neither health or performance is a sure thing. I am not counting on Lee breaking camp with the Twins. There aren’t many sure things in putting together an infield. Hopefully 2025 will provide some answers to the questions that come out of 2024

I tend to be more pre-Rocco than anti-Rocco, but with all he did all season to protect his players, why did they play like such a tired team in August/September?

Castro was stretched at short and center and the best defenders on the team are Correa and Buxton, so prolonged use of Willi at short and center is going to hurt the defense compared to Buxton and Correa. Willi is okay to above average at second, third and left field. If he plays the majority of the time in those positions he won’t be replacing superior defenders and he’s about league average himself.

It seems everything changed with the TV fiasco. The Twins added López and extended him to add to the expensive long-term contracts for Buxton and Correa. They had Gray on on 9-digit contract, had Polanco and Kepler on fairly expensive (but competitive deals) and added Vázquez and then came the 2023 trading deadline and 2023 off season. The Twins have Ober and Ryan at bargain prices compared to their performance and have a ton of guys in the arbitration cycle. All of those guys will make substantially more if they stay healthy and reasonably productive. They certainly should try to be competitive next year since they figure to have an outstanding top three starters. If they start slowly, we may see the move towards Emma and Jenkins, along with other young players. It's a waste of talent from their best position players.