stringer bell

Maybe I'm missing something, but is there anything to suggest that Camargo is going to be anything but a backup catcher? I know he showed some power last year in AAA, but Andrew Stevenson showed power in St. Paul, too.

So you're saying that from this group (Miranda, Severino, Martin) it should be expected that they should be able to produce what Santana did last year? To me, that is an unknown. For different reasons, there are questions with each of these Twins prospects (I guess prospect isn't the right word for Miranda). I really don't know what to expect from any of them, at least as far as helping the Twins this year. Yes, there is the risk of his taking up valuable roster space much like Logan Morrison (that's just for you Brian). While front offices and managers seldom dwell on mistakes they made, this could be an opportunity to show that performance is required and patience is not infinite, more so now than in 2018.

Farmer appears to be a good guy and he's a capable utility infielder, but for over $6M, he is a luxury. The most important thing for a utility infielder is to be a capable shortstop. At his age (34 in August) Farmer doesn't have nearly average range for a shortstop. The Twins have three other options if Correa would go down short term or long term. Lee would replace CC4 in the event of a disabling injury, while both Willi Castro and Royce Lewis could fill in if Carlos is out for a few games. This is no rap on Farmer, but I don't know of a single team that would consider acquiring him to be a regular infielder at this point.

It's not my intention to defend the previous poster, but I do notice you didn't have Taylor, Solano and Farmer among the "washed up veterans" you listed. Also, I'll point out that Joey Gallo played last year at age 29, considered a prime year for MLB ballplayers. Bringing in veterans "that are good" costs money and prospects, for example Sonny Gray. Loading a team, and particularly a bench, with young players is a poor strategy. The Twins opted in 2023 to bring in Farmer, Taylor, Solano and Gallo as depth pieces although Gallo became the starting first baseman when Kirilloff wasn't ready to go. This year, they've brought in Carlos Santana at less than half the salary for a similar role. I don't know if Wallner would have been successful out of the gate as a regular outfielder, maybe or maybe not, but he would appear to be the only rookie that could have/should have been promoted earlier. Mid market teams do need to develop their young talent and get value when they trade or sign free agents. I agree that too many 30-plus vets on a team can hurt in the long term. However, I don't want to see another time where a minor league outfield (Cave, Celestino, Contreras with Gordon at second base) is trying to win a division. A proper mix of youth and experience is necessary to win in the regular season and compete in the post season.

Carlos Santana was a solid player for a full decade for the Cleveland franchise. With Cleveland being in Minnesota's division, Twins fans saw plenty of Santana from 2010 to 2020. Santana has moved around a lot since 2020, playing for the Royals, Pirates, Mariners and Brewers and will turn 38 in two months. His stats have been debated on other threads here at Twins Daily, with (perhaps) the consensus being that he hasn't been really good since 2019, but that he adds value because he's a good defender at first base and a switch hitter with stronger hitting as a right handed batter. In glancing at Santana's stat line for 2023, two numbers hit me as significant and way better than expected. According to BBRef Santana compiled 2.7 WAR--that number would have been better than all Twins position players except Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler--and the other number was 86 RBI. While some dismiss RBI as purely an opportunity stat, only the recently departed Jorge Polanco has exceeded that number since the Bomba Squad year of 2019. No Twin has driven in more than 66 runs in the past two years. I am old school enough to be impressed by 86 RBI despite a .240 average and middling .749 OPS. So how did Santana get to 2.7 (BBRef) WAR? It appears that defense plays an oversized role. BBRef credits Santana with 11 runs above average defensively in 2023, which accounts for all of his runs above average. Now what about those RBI? I checked Santana's splits and saw several interesting numbers--he had opportunity, he hit almost exclusively in the #3 and #4 spots in the order (145 out of 147 games), He produced well in RBI situations. Santana had a .899 OPS with runners in scoring position, compared to a pedestrian .699 with no one in scoring position. He got people home from third base--10 for 34 with 23 RBI with less than two outs and 6 for 18 with 9 RBI with two outs. Santana's best inning for hitting was the 8th--in 53 plate appearances, he hit .370 with a 1.062 OPS. In the close and late stat, Carlos hit .316 with a .929 OPS and finally with two outs and runners in scoring position Santana put up a .834 OPS. Carlos Santana's tank might be a lot closer to "E" than "F", but if he can duplicate his performance from last year, he will be worth the roster spot and the $5.25M that he is owed. I honestly hope he isn't used as much as he was in 2023, but his availability and durability have been constants in his long career. That is enhanced by his switch hitting. To me, he fits the profile of "reliable veteran". Add in that Santana has been considered a positive presence in the clubhouse and was traded for by contending clubs in each of the last two years (each made the playoffs), I think his signing might be better than the reaction it has generated.

Add Michael A Taylor for somewhere between $6M and $8M and call it a day. Using Taylor in center when Buxton is unavailable and in left vs. lefties would enhance the offense enough to justify the price tag. I think that the Twins are only going to acquire another starting pitcher by trading prospects from their farm system, which IMHO limits the choices to non-contenders. Pitchers are too darned volatile to rigidly class as #1, #2 etc. Who had Nathan Eovoldi as the ace that put Texas over the top? Sonny Gray was great in 2023, but will he be near as good in 2024? We've had surprise Cy Young winners almost as often as not. The true aces are few and far between and most likely all going into the Hall of Fame. Kershaw, Scherzer and Verlander in the last generation. Cole and Wheeler probably today. It wouldn't surprise me if a year from now Luzardo was considered an ace, but it wouldn't surprise me if he moved back down lists where he became available and affordable. I have a hard time thinking the Twins should throw money at Montgomery and/or Snell.

Good to hear a positive report about Smooth's time in Milwaukee. He is used to playing every day, but I think the role for him with the Twins would be less than every day play unless Kirilloff is injured. I do hope Santana is a positive clubhouse presence, which would make up somewhat for losing Polanco.

Nah. Farmer's not that good of a hitter to play a corner OF, even against left handed pitching. He's decent at second and third, but his range at short is suspect. I would think range in the outfield would be a real issue.

Adding what the Twins will pay both Topa and DeSclafani yields a net of $5.25M in the Polanco transaction. So, 100% of that money was used in signing Santana. If the Twins decide their self-imposed limit is on the high end of estimates ($140M) there would be plenty of room to add another player or take on the salary of one of many mid-tier pitchers. If the Twins want to add a position player, presumably on a one-year deal, Michael A Taylor looks like a great fit. Last year's split versus left handed pitching was excellent (.914 OPS) and we all know he is a fine defensive outfielder who could fill for Buxton absences. Kiké hasn't been good for a couple of years and if he isn't a decent center field option there is no reason to consider him.

A year later, the Twins had three outfielders beat Nick's number versus right handed pitching (Castro .803, Wallner .970 and Kepler .832). Injuries do happen and perhaps Gordon will get opportunities, but there is no more guarantee that he will duplicate that .793 OPS than any of the three from 2023. I don't see him as useful on the 2024 team as it is constructed right now.

Nit pick,--I would consider Castro the super-utility player and Gordon the fourth outfielder. If the Twins salary budget is $125M-$140M with the reduced Bally money, they do have somewhere around $5M-$15M to spend. It would be tight getting Soler for that money, but adding Michael A Taylor or the salary of a decent pitcher is possible. Where and when does Gordon play? I don't see much room unless he is the primary sub for Buxton (I'd prefer Castro).

Texas, defending a World Series victory, probably won't trade anyone, even if they sign Montgomery. The have deGrom and Scherzer coming back from injuries and probably not available until midseason. The Angels, OTOH, would be more likely to build their farm system and cashier one of their pitchers. Tyler Anderson is essentially what DeSclafani was a year ago, similar contract, really good two years ago. The Twins would have to pay less in prospects to acquire Anderson. Patrick Sandoval is 26 and in his arb years. He was also very good in 2022. The third lefty starter for the Angels is Reid Detmers. He is pre-arb so his salary is the minimum, but given that he has four years of team control remaining and struck out more than a hitter per inning, he would be very expensive, in terms of prospects, to acquire. If the Twins could get Detmers without losing any of their top 5 prospects, I would hope they would do it. Actually, I'd say the same for Sandoval.

Lineup vs. RH starter: Julien 2b, Correa ss, Lewis 3b, Kepler rf, Buxton cf, Kirilloff 1b, Santana dh, Wallner lf, Jeffers c. I'd say that's pretty deep. Not sure who plays and who sits out versus lefties, but probably insert Castro and Farmer somewhere. Two of Julien, Kepler, Wallner and Kirilloff sit.

I will say that both veteran guys they've gotten this week (DeSclafani & Santana) for a total of $9.25M should not be given too long of a leash. It could be that players within the organization can supplant them, but like Wallner, it might not be until the second half of the season.

Santana is rated good/very good as a defensive first baseman. That is a plus despite him playing almost all of 2024 as a 38 year old. I wouldn't be comfortable with Miranda/Severino at first base in the event of a Kirilloff injury offensively or defensively, so I don't mind this move. If, like Gallo, he's in the lineup after struggling for weeks, then I might want to change my tune, but for now I think it is a decent low cost, low risk move.

I don't expect the Twins to seriously pursue either Montgomery or Snell and I think that's the right call. I think free agent pitching is outrageously overpriced and unreliable. A trade for a younger starter might be possible, but I still think they start 2024 with what they have for pitching.

Pretty much takes Donny Barrels out of consideration. On the position player side, adding a MAT or someone like him could happen, I guess. The largest hole in the position player side is a right handed hitter OF capable of playing center. Castro is a switch hitter and was pretty bad versus left handed pitching last year. Signing another OF would pretty much eliminate Gordon IMHO.

The update at mlbtraderumors.com now says Smooth will get $5.25M, about what they saved in the Polanco deal.

The team will now need to take someone off the 40-man roster. Duarte?

Anyone remember when Santana came up as a catcher? Then they moved him to third base before finally making him a first baseman.

Acceptable spending of the Polanco savings, I guess. I have read that each club that CS played for wanted him back, although he has moved through several in the last third of his career. I am wondering if this is protection from another injury filled season for Kirilloff or if maybe it's a message to him that he needs to stay on the field.

Ant and KAT are All-Stars. Will Rudy Gobert also get invited (as an injury replacement)?

How often is a pitcher traded three times in one off season? I find it unlikely that DeSclafani is traded again. I also believe there might be something pretty good if he is fully healthy. Looking at his game logs for last year, he started out with five good/excellent starts out of six, so maybe then his elbow started giving him trouble? After his first start in May, he was 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA, 3 BB, 30 K in 38 IP.

Well, I won't go nearly as far as you. To me, the Twins are trying to fill an inside straight, figuring they'll have enough to win the Central and then compete in the post season despite not having the best roster. They haven't let things "fall apart" but they haven't addressed losing key pieces from last year, either. Building a team that is "good enough" isn't the same as building the best team they can. In general, I agree with the reluctance to go after premier free agents. Payroll is already top-heavy with the contracts of Correa and Buxton and adding another big salary would make it more so. They have a lot of cheap good young talent that is the life blood of those teams other than the top 6-7 spending teams. Betting on the young talent is a risk, but the investment is much smaller in $$$.

I think things will be considerably different in a year. The Diamond bankruptcy and subsequent rescue has thrown things up in the air and delayed closure until 2025. I suspect it will be pricey to stream Twins games next year (2025), but it will be an option. Other than the local teams' games on Bally, there is nothing on the "sports package" that I'm paying for that is worth seeing IMHO. I am all too willing to add only Twins broadcasts via streaming if that is the option put forward. I'm sure I'm not exactly a typical fan, as is true with most of us on Twins Daily, but we do represent the subset of die hard fans who will comparatively spend more to see our team on TV.