stringer bell

Ideally a time-sharing plan should be in place. Whichever catcher is going better should get more time. It also would be good to have a left handed hitter to share time with Jeffers. I think Narvaez, Barnhart or Vasquez would be excellent compliments to Jeffers. Castro has been injured a lot since leaving Minnesota and he will play most of next season at 36 years old.

Do remember that a catcher has won a batting title since Mauer—Buster Posey won the NL batting championship in 2012.

I’m mostly a Jeffers believer. He obviously has some flaws (low BA, throwing), but he seems to be a really good receiver and has potential at the plate. I think the wise and prudent thing to do is to sign a complementary catcher—someone who has platoon advantages against RH pitching with a good rep for throwing out base stealers. In my mind that player is Narváez. Both catchers will see plenty of time, even a clear #1 catcher would be behind the plate no more than 2/3 of the time. I don’t know if anyone in the Twins’ system is ready to be a third catcher ready to shuttle back and forth from St. Paul to Minneapolis, but that role also needs to be filled.

Two thoughts in response to this post. 1) The best athletes/defenders for the Twins were pretty good on defense. That would include Kepler, who most people are ready to jettison and would also include retaining Correa. Despite metrics that put the Twins slightly below average in pitching, they were slightly below the mean in allowing runs. 2) Falvey can and maybe should get lots of criticism, but he has been willing to take risks. The trades for Kiner-Falefa, Paddack and Gio and Sanchez were bold and contained risk.

I agree that having a pitcher better than Sonny Gray is a reasonable goal and would be a large step toward better outcomes in future seasons. There are not a lot of top guys available this off season. I think Rodon would be the best fit of the lot and it helps that he isn't ancient (turns 30 in December) and throws left handed. Rodon's injury history probably needs to be considered, but he worked the most innings he has ever pitched this past season.

I agree with much of what you are saying. Further, it was an embarrassment to be in contention and have an outfield consisting of three of (green rookie) Wallner, Gordon, Celestino and Jake Cave. What I don't agree with is that the Twins will be without their top five outfielders as much as they were this year. I don't expect all five that were out for the stretch run in 2022 (Buxton, Kepler, Garlick, Larnach and Kirilloff) to stay healthy all year or be ready for a stretch run, but I would expect more than zero to be basically healthy for that duration. Saying that, I do expect better health for the outfield than 2022. Having an upgraded replacement for Garlick and having two or three capable outfielders in reserve (Gordon, Celestino, Wallner) should be enough depth to have something left at the end of the season. It just hasn't happened the last two or three years.

Referring to the OP, yes the Twins could win with Iglesias, if he’s the eighth or ninth best regular, hitting somewhere between seventh and ninth in the order. The Twins need to improve offensively and in the pitching department. If they do and have average health, they will be pretty good. I agree that the team needs better production from the outfield, but a return to health isn’t out of the question.

Until the free agent shortstop's $$$$ are added!

Hamilton hasn't been trusted to hit in some time. Yes, he supplies elite base running and really good defense, but he really isn't a big league hitter any more, if he ever was. He was an ideal guy to add as a 28th player and come in to run for one of the Twins several slow runners. They really didn't get many chances to use Hamilton when he could change the game. Hamilton is a free agent. I doubt that he will get a major league contract.

Nice job Norm!!

I certainly think that signing Andrus should be explored if the Twins fail to retain Correa. BBRef listed Andrus with Iglesias in the tier below the "Big Four" among free agent shortstops. It is true that this year was the first in some time where Andrus has posted positive hitting statistics. If I were to project, I would expect league average offense and league average shortstop defense. In looking at 2023 blueprints for Twins Daily, there seems to be quite a difference of opinion on what salary Andrus might command. Since his offense has been substandard for several years with the exception of last year, I would think his salary would not be close to what he received on his now-completed contract. I would think all that he could get would be $5-8M, but that isn't based on any real figures. If someone has a more exact projection of his salary I'd like to hear it.

The money is there to sign someone to a nine-digit (>$100M) contract. The three biggest areas of need are 1) catcher 2) shortstop and 3) starting pitcher. At this time, the Twins can pencil in five capable starting pitchers and a starting catcher. They don't have a shortstop that projects to hit near league average or field at a major league level. I think the Twins should sign a bridge shortstop and count on one of their prospects (Lewis, Lee or Martin) to step in. I'd prefer that the Twins sign a complementary catcher to Jeffers and spend the big money on a starting pitcher (Rodon). One way or another, the Twins have a lot to spend. If they could retain Correa or sign Willson Contreras, I think that would be fine, but I see a real need to upgrade the top of their rotation.

Gio had a nice year last year, no question. He has modest power, doesn't walk much and is another slow guy who grounds into a ton of double plays. From my eye test, he was a solid fielder at third, probably limited range, but the position is mostly "step and dive" and will be more so with shifts being outlawed next year. It would be great to have a Gio Urshela in the lineup and hitting seventh in 120-140 games next year. He provides value for the Twins, is there another team that believes they will contend who would take Gio on at $9M as an upgrade? That is a $9M dollar question. I do say keep him unless you get fair value for him, but don't think about extending him.

He hasn't been good for several years. My guess is that he is a non-tender when arbitration salaries must be submitted. Pagan's body of work reminds me of Hansel Robles. Good fastball, but not enough of a secondary pitch combined with questionable command.

I’ve liked Andrus over Iglesias—more pop, more speed and probably better defense. I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but what will he demand in pay? Last year was his first good offensive season since 2017 and he will be 34 for most of next season.

Agree on Celestino. Despite the fast start, and decent defense, he wound up with .5 WAR in 122 games and almost 400 plate appearances. To be fair, he only had 57 days of ML service going into 2022.

I think Mateo would be a "good get" in that he has speed and is a really good defender (+5 Zone Runs, +13 Runs Saved per BBRef). He was a 3 WAR player despite only an 81 OPS+. I would think he'd be the principal shortstop and a lesser fielder (Arraez, Polanco, Miranda) would be the DH on most occasions. Having six regulars for five positions (IF + DH) works in today's game, especially with a couple of the guys hitting lefty.

Not to be Debbie Downer, but I wonder if the hand and wrist injuries result from HBPs and if so, with him continuing to get hit it would seem likely that he will continue to deal with wrist and hand injuries. I guess time will tell.

To give ‘em Smalley, we’ll have to throw in three TDers.

I think Martin brings skills to the table that the Twins definitely need. He is more OBP than power and provides base stealing speed. He projects as an above-average glove in the field with versatility and he hits right handed while the Twins have few right handed hitting outfielders. To me, he should have more value to the Twins than for anyone else

He was released, not traded. Apparently that removed the vesting option.

I’m pretty certain that there was a vesting option for Andrus that he didn’t reach. He had been dreadful for years, but did come alive when acquired from Oakland. His body of work doesn’t merit an 8-digit payday, but he still does a good job in the field and was pretty good for the White Sox.

Three possible first basemen on the 40-man--Arraez, Kirilloff, Miranda--but I like Alex's defense the best at first base. The tool for putting together the blueprint has Arraez as the default, so someone has to actively change that to move him away from first base.

Echoing the comments here, great news about Martin. In the past week, I’ve posted a blog entry about him and his skill set as well as penciled him in on my 2023 blueprint. So yes, I’m pulling hard for him.

Trying to be realistic here. Either the Twins should bring back Carlos Correa or sign a high-profile starting pitcher. Although they have been historically reluctant to spend on pitchers, they have in the last three years made two signings no one saw coming--Donaldson and Correa--and I propose they take the next step and sign an ace-level arm (Carlos Rodon) for five years at $25M per year. In my mind, Omar Narvaez and Ryan Jeffers share the catching position 50-50 and while Luis Arraez is listed as utility, he's an everyday player somewhere, particularly against right handed pitching. I choose Elvis Andrus as the bridge shortstop with Royce Lewis and perhaps Brooks Lee waiting in the wings. I have Austin Martin making a big jump to be a right handed hitting outfield and infield option from Opening Day and the probable center fielder in the event of a disabling injury to Buxton. This would be the last chance for Polanco and Kepler as Twins and honestly it wouldn't surprise me if one or both of them is traded in the off season, although I don't like seeing them moved coming off injury plagued poor seasons. On the pitching side, there seems to be much agreement on the majority of the starting rotation and the back of the bullpen. I added Jovani Moran, who pitched well for the Twins last year and Ronnie Henriquez, who has started or worked multiple innings in relief. Ober is listed as a reliever, but would be a swing man, possibly a sixth starter and filling in when the inevitable injuries occur. Finally, I tacked on an additional $100 or $200K to players who are no longer rookies. C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.89M) 1B: Alex Kirilloff ($0.80M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Gio Urshela ($9.00M) SS: Elvis Andrus ($6.00M) LF: Trevor Larnach ($0.80M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Max Kepler ($8.50M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.80M) 4th OF: Nick Gordon ($0.80M) Utility: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) Utility: Austin Martin ($0.70M) Backup C: Omar Narvaez ($5.00M) SP1: Carlos Rondon ($25.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.90M) SP5: Sonny Gray ($11.99M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.90M) RP: Jorge Lopez ($3.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) RP: Bailey Ober ($0.80M) RP: Ronnie Henriquez ($0.70M) RP: Jovani Moran ($0.70M) Payroll is 10.73% under budget