stringer bell

Agree with @rdehring on his takes for both Lee and Keaschall. If Lee hits for an 80 OPS+, his defense will never make up for it. The raw tools limit what he will be as a defender, but he could be pretty close to average. The hands are pretty good and he's pretty fluid. His hitting has been disappointing thus far. He was supposed to have an outstanding hit tool and we haven't seen it yet. Give some reps to Keaschall before we judge his defensive chops. The one thing that is concerning is how many evaluators think he would be better at a different position. Both guys are young with room to grow. They've had injuries and Lee hasn't yet clicked as a big league hitter, but it's possible for them to take steps forward.

Nice summary here. I understand Abrams ranked among the worst defensive shortstops last year, so I would be hesitant to acquire him.

My recollection is that in the "good old days" just about every outfielder was an option at first base. A bunch of great players moved to first base in the late stage of their careers including Henry Aaron and Mickey Mantle. Many, if not most, first basemen convert from other positions. The last two gold glove winners in the AL converted from other positions. Can Mendez be an acceptable defensive first baseman? Time will tell. I think it is a good move with Rodriguez, Roden and Jenkins ahead of them

Laweryson was released by the Angels, an odd move unless it is an injury. If he’s not injured, the Twins could use him at St. Paul.

I think that Trevor Larnach is a decent major league hitter, but with his lack of value as a fielder or base runner, his overall value is pretty low. I see him as pretty replaceable on the current Twins team, so yes trade him, but the return isn't going to be anything to celebrate. Ober and SWR are slotted at #3 and #4 in the Twins rotation. Since pitching seems to be the coin of the realm, they have some value, but their value to the Twins in 2026 is pretty high, even though there are pretty good arms in the system to take their places. If the Twins want to get big talent back, they need to trade Ryan or Lopez who are a level or more up from Ober and SWR. Jeffers is going to be a free agent after 2026. I don't see him catching for the Twins in 2027 or beyond. If a club needs a catcher, they might be willing to part with some substantial talent. A catching corps of Caratini, Jackson and David Banuelos is pretty suspect, but pretty good defensively. If I'm the GM with an edict of "compete in 2026", I trade Joe Ryan and Jeffers for substantial major league talent plus a couple prospects and sign Zach Gallen to replace Ryan. I'd like to see the Twins acquire a shortstop who can hit acceptably and who is a better than average defender. There aren't many/any available that I know of, but there must be a gem or two out there who is blocked.

Lack of walks doesn't equal command. Zebby got behind too many hitters and paid the price over and over. That 98 mph heater is a lot better pitch on 0-2 than it is on 3-1. I think Matthews is one of the 12 best arms and should start the season with the Twins. I also don't think the team should give up on him as a starter just yet. The data says that the pitches are being hit much better than the quality of the stuff and I submit that it is lack of command leading to this conclusion.

It seems to me that even if things go pretty well, the Twins will go eight or nine deep in starting pitchers this year. Really projections like this are about who the poster thinks will get the first shot. The results weren't there consistently, but I liked the stuff I saw from both Abel and Bradley.

Cole Irvin (3.2 terrible innings with the 2024 Twins) to the Dodgers on a minor league deal. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/diamondbacks-carlos-santana-close-to-deal.html Carlos Santana agreed to terms with the Diamondbacks. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/diamondbacks-carlos-santana-close-to-deal.html Mickey Gasper claimed by the Red Sox (he made his debut with them in 2024). https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/red-sox-claim-mickey-gasper.html

I wonder if they are planning on putting him on the 60-day IL as soon as Spring Training starts. He could rehab in the minor when he's ready to throw in games and they could have a while to evaluate him.

It probably depends on #25, but I'd much rather he hit lower in the lineup. Solo homers don't win many games, especially in the first inning.

No one wants to convert every starter to a bullpen role if they don't make the Opening Day rotation. That said, the Twins are Exhibit A for turning starters into functional relievers going back as far as Eddie Guardado, Rick Aguilera and Joe Nathan. Guys who know a whole lot more about pitching than I do make those decisions--they aren't right 100% of the time, but there are so many examples that it must be a thing to convert starters to the bullpen. Further, I think the fan base doesn't want to see Zebby, Abel and Preliepp use all their bullets pitching for the Saints. Lastly, if there are innings limitations on guys like Festa and Preliepp, they can be better managed out of a bullpen. Being sent to the bullpen is not a guarantee that a guy will never get back to the rotation. I have advocated getting most of the best arms on the major league team and sorting out roles as we go along.

I don't think Martin earned any guarantees, but he played well when he was recalled from the minors in 2025. His defense and base running were much better and he hit decently. He provides contact and speed, two things lacking in the Twins' roster. 60 PA segments are really small sample sizes. His entire body of work in 2025 was still a small sample size of 181 PAs. As a right handed hitter, a platoon role equals only 250-350 PAs in a full healthy season, so I think he should be given a chance to see if he can sustain or improve on his 2025 season before being relegated to bench/short side platoon player.

I really would like to see Bell get the majority of plate appearances as the DH. That would make Roden redundant and make a starting outfield of Larnach, Buxton, Wallner (ugh). Also, it really buries Clemens and if he gets opportunities, it would be at the expense of Keaschall. This projection would lead to several guys being DFA'd--Jackson, Outman, Gray. I don't see losing three guys. IMHO, Gray gets a utility role over Kreidler because he doesn't have options. Less certain about Outman, but sending Roden to St. Paul would save Outman for the beginning of the year. DFAs would leave roster space for non-roster guys to make the club. I fully expect that one of the non-roster pitchers the Twins have signed will make the Opening Day roster. I don't have much confidence in Adams or Klein and they can be optioned, so I think both start in St. Paul. I also think a second rotation candidate along with Festa will be sent to the bullpen, most likely Matthews. I think a trade or two is still called for. With some of their best prospects being left handed corner outfielders, the Twins should part with at least one of Larnach/Wallner. If someone is willing to back up the Brinks Truck for Ryan, do it and if good value can be had for Jeffers, make the move. Edit to add: it is my understanding that Kreidler has an option remaining and that Gray does not. OP seems to indicate Kreidler is out of options. On further review, Gray also is listed with an option. I would expect Kreidler to prevail in that case, even though he isn't much of a hitter at all.

Yep, claim him and then immediately DFA him and outright him if he isn't claimed. He'd be good minor league depth, but that is it. 7.2 innings is way too small a sample size to project over a season. Andrew Albers, Scott Diamond, Juan Minaya, Trevor Hildenberger and 50 other former Twins pitchers had an early stretch when they looked like something until they weren't

There was plenty of sentiment that Vazquez and Farmer should return. They had been members of the '23 team that was considered a success The Margot and DeSclafani moves didn't work out because of poor performance (Margot) and injury (DeSclafani and Paddack as well). Given the reduction in payroll, Falvey had to thread the needle with no errors and the players he acquired didn't measure up. It is easy with 20-20 hindsight to say Falvey should have acquired X, Y, and Z. It seems that Falvey mishandled the business side, perhaps assuming that he was repping a winning team with a chance to have postseason success. The vicious cycle of losing too much and then having less revenue to make the team competitive seems to have exacerbated their losses. My mind's eye sees a bunch of Dilberts in a Pohlad board meeting--throw out a buzzword and figure that will bring success. Just say you expect wins and they will magically occur instead of building a better franchise. Now Tom Pohlad is going with we'll cut payroll moderately and they should compete because he says so. After all they signed two seven million dollar players. It is betting big on hope and low percentages. Big picture (IMHO) the franchise is in a bit better spot than they were after the 2016 season when Falvey took over, but it isn't anywhere near a smashing success. Most of the success was in the early years of his tenure and the disappointments in 2024 and 2025 are fresh.

Pablo is my favorite current Twin. He certainly wants to give back and he's wants to be a mentor to the younger pitchers. He also is very talented and works very hard on his game. A lot to like and not much to criticize. I hope the powers that be hold on to him despite his large contract.

Well, I think it is tough to have a team succeed with reduced payroll. Falvey was instructed to win while reducing payroll substantially. To succeed, Falvey needed to be almost error free with signings and promotions and he wasn’t. The in-house players that were counted on haven’t performed nearly well enough and still are the only way the team will compete. Besides that, the roster is a mess with too many corner OFs and starting pitchers and not nearly enough quality in the infield and bullpen. Maybe he had plans to address the soft spots, but now that will fall on Zoll with little time to accomplish the transactions.

I think it’s far more likely that established players will be traded. If ever a GM gets slack to tear it down, it is when he is appointed.

More sympathetic than most to the box Falvey has been in since November of 2023. I don’t know if he handled “rightsizing” well, but not an easy job to stay competitive with a decreased payroll. It’s the old “do more with less” demand that is tough to do.

I guess that is true, but actually granting a release gives them the ability to sign with whoever they want. My impression has been that the Twins have treated players fairly with a few exceptions and that ex-players like Taylor, Pressly and Hawkins come back after their careers are over indicates good relations as well.

BBRef lists 11 players in major league history whose first name starts with “Jh”. Jhoan Dúran, Jharel Cotton, Jhon Romero and Pereda all played for the Twins and Jhoulys Chacín spent most of a year at Triple A in the Twins’ system. All of the players are Hispanic and principally have played in the last decade.

Ex-Twins and almost Twins: Mickey Gasper was DFA’d by the Nats because they claimed almost a Twin Richard Lovelady (half season at St. Paul), Lovelady was DFA’d by the Mets when they claimed Vidal Brujan from the Twins who DFA’d Gasper when they claimed Brujan. Do I have that right?

Derek Law signed the D-Backs. He’s been a pretty good middle reliever since his short stay in Minnesota.

If this is true, Jackson can be outrighted to St. Paul , still not optimum because of the options piece, but perhaps doable especially since he will make over the minimum ($1.3M) IIRC. Jackson rates well as a defender and did some encouraging hitting for the Orioles. I hope he stays in the Twins’ system.

A couple notes: Jeffers almost certainly would have exceeded the 502 PA mark in 2025 if not for missing more than two weeks on the Concussion IL. Caratini is an option at first base and I would expect both he and Jeffers will serve as DHs quite a bit. I always thought the alternating catcher idea was a Rocco Thing. I don’t expect Shelton to be wedded to that idea. There’s a thread about the Twins waiting for “an offer they can’t refuse” and I would expect Jeffers to be in the conversation if a catcher goes down on a contending team as early as Spring Training.