LastOnePicked

I'm starting to wonder if the FO isn't taking the need for catching depth seriously enough. I can't ever see the Twins needing Rooker in 2022, but I can certainly see needing Godoy. Small move, I know, but those are the ones that can get you in the end.

All of my hard-earned optimism about this team will be dissolved if Jake Cave sneaks his way back on to the roster. He has no business being on the 40-man at this point. It's not his fault that his inclusion lost us several key prospects over the years, bit he's simply not a good MLB ballplayer at all and merely serves as a reminder of FO mistakes in the past. No, please, no.

I've been hard on Larnach. Too hard. Got so ticked off that Baddoo burst into near-stardom (which I kinda feared might happen when he was selected in the Rule 5) that I let that anger taint my perception of Larnach. He didn't meet expectations in his first year, but I think I forgot at the time that few prospects do. I've seen a few of his mighty cuts this spring, and he looks good at the plate. Doesn't yet look all that good in the OF. With a solid work ethic, I think he's got a chance to turn the page and take his place on this team in 2022. We'll see, but I'm rooting for him.

What a great read. I hope Correa knows that many dormant Twins fans are still hibernating, waiting for a winner. If this team wins playoff games, this state will explode again for baseball. Heck, if Correa helps win one playoff game, a statue will be built here in his honor. Here's hoping it a wonderful stay, no matter how long it lasts. Welcome to the Twins, Mr. Correa!

This is an outstanding article, Sherry. You're opening my cold, black heart to having Sanchez here as a Twin. I'm still skeptical of his defense, but I hope he has a great season, and plays a crucial role in a pennant run.

My rose-colored glasses now tell me that this is Caleb Thielbar 2.0. Another puzzle piece in the championship season ahead.

Waking up, rubbing my eyes, and checking to see if last night's dream was real. It was. Here's what I like about it: It's not a killer commitment, and it's fair for the team and fair for the player. It's kinda like giving a superstar who would otherwise never come here a "trial size" with a coupon to come back for a few more seasons. Player opt-out years aren't bad in my eyes. It usually just means that they had an MVP-like season. Or, they hated the culture here, too, and that tells us something important as well. It signals that we are a player in the FA market. True, there were other, maybe better, ways to show this, but it still kinda keeps the team on the map. It signals a commitment to payroll. You have to spend money wisely, but you also have to spend money to make money. This signing will get me to Target Field in 2022. Others probably feel the same. Yes, this move could still leave us short of contention. Yes, there are others moves to make. But I wanted this FO to do something likely significantly WAR positive for the 2022 season, and they did. Tip of the cap to them.

Sure, everybody celebrate tonight. Tomorrow we trade him to the Yankees for Zack Britton and salary relief.

NEVER!!

I think that tingly feeling is hope. About the Twins. It's strange. I kinda like it.

Being wrong is not a new experience for me, but this is a new level of wrong. It's tingly.

You are awesome. Great stuff. I mean, great to know about, at least. Too bad Falvey/Levine didn't target Higashioka instead. ?

Gee, Nick, did you have to start with catcher? Yuck. Get ready - those lowlights are going to be happening with a TC logo. And I feel for Sanchez, I really do. Guy's in a funk and his career has collapsed. But the fact that NYY brought in a special coach to work with him and reports suggest he didn't put in the work to improve should have been a red flag to any FO paying attention or trying to improve via trade. In the age of analytics, I wonder if people have quantified the impact on pitchers who have to deal with the stress of terrible catching behind the plate. It must inflate pitch counts, increase RISP at-bats and more. You'd think a team that was banking on a pitching youth movement might have given this some thought.

Okay, as much as I applaud that we're on the same page in our critiques, this little line just needs a curtain call. Midseason form on the baseball wordplay. Keep it up.

I feel the same way. He was my favorite new Twin, and I didn't even get to see him take a spring training AB. Decent bat, very solid glove - we had an infield on the rise. Now ... not so much. Wonder if Falvey and Levine had an offer for Story that they thought was going to be accepted, and then Story's agent saw the trade and realized the Twins could be squeezed for a lot more.

I miss the days when an article like this read like satire. Edmund is all of us right now. And the Jason Bartlett reunion tour memory - oof, what a stinger!

Very curious. I think half of TwinsDaily is anxiously scrolling Twitter or refreshing MLBTradeRumors every 15 minutes. But you nailed the wording on this. There will be an endgame, but there sure as heck doesn't appear to be a plan. This FO's offseason could really end up delaying a return to competing.

"This regime should hope to find a middle ground where both take walks and utilize loud contact in marrying their hulking pair." Wait, they're getting married?! Is that why Falvey made this deal? Right now, it's the only explanation for seeing Sanchez in aTwins uniform that makes any sense. Well, a playoff win would make a beautiful wedding present. Just sayin'. ? Good analysis, Ted. They look awfully similar at the plate to my eye, but we'll soon see.

This was a good discussion, with many good responses. The Rortvedt giveaway here is simply touching the same frayed nerve that stings with names like Gil, Baddoo and Wade Jr. It's the understandable fear that this FO just doesn't evaluate in-house talent very well, and that their roster moves bleed talent and WAR. If we're not going to be a team that signs free agents, assessing and keeping top young talent is their #1 job. And so far, they ain't too good at it. But, it's done. Here's hoping that Godoy can carve out a solid backup stint here.

I'm getting to the point where I can just move on, but here's my last take on this (horrible-terrible-no-good-awful) trade: Why? Why did the Twins want out of this contract so badly, and why did this choose this route? Donaldson earned his salary last year. He was a solid 3B and a solid bat. There's been no offseason news that he's been hurt. Seems like there was a decent chance he earns his salary this year, too. And if he did play well, he very likely could have been flipped before the deadline to an NL team looking for a part-time 3B/DH. Not much, but maybe a fringe prospect. If he got injured, Miranda and Arraez takes over the hot corner. No problem. Plus, the guys they paid NY to take Donaldson could have been used as sweeteners in a SP trade deal with the A's. Plus, Story would have seen that that this team respects and sticks with their big FA signings, making him perhaps more likely to sign here. Could we not afford Donaldson? We're under the payroll we've had for the last three years, with very few upcoming obligations. And we signed virtually no free agents in the offseason. Is it that Donaldson was toxic to MN? If so, how? I've never heard that he was abusive, sexist, racist or cruel. I've only heard that he was intense and occasionally mouthy. This team desperately needs some intensity, and "toxic" should be made of sterner stuff. In closing, here was a solid, intense and powerful 3B! When comes such another?? (yes, I am trying to whip up the crowd into a fit of rage against the FO, Julius Caesar style. Is it working?)

Such a great resource for Twins fans. Happy to support. I am now a card-carrying caretaking TwinsDaily crank and curmudgeon.

That's why so many of us were - and are - completely fed up with this FO. They have painted themselves into a corner, and have given their potential trading partners all the leverage going into the season. And they made the 2022 team significantly worse with their last salary dump trade. If Story is looking to join a winner, there's not much reason to sign here at this point. Compare the rotations. Compare the commitment to payroll. Look at what this team just did with its last big FA signing that they expected to carry the franchise. I wouldn't blame him at all if he went with Boston for a few less guaranteed dollars.

I miss this kind of optimism. "1000x better" for a guy in just his second year - a guy with a low 90's homer-prone fastball doesn't scream "1000x better" to me. And I like Joe Ryan. I'm just saying that if 84 wins is the consensus for this club as currently constructed, the "under" seems like a safe place to invest my money.

Thoughtful pathways here. Good stuff. We'll see if any of these options are taken. Personally, I can't wrap my head around the idea that a pathetic 73-89 team can: a) lose it's two top starters b) lose it's three top sluggers c) become defensively weaker in the IF d) sign not a single impact FA pitcher e) face improved competition in its division and still be projected for an 11-win improvement. Now that's fun with numbers! Let the games begin and these projections can be put to the test.

First, a really thoughtful response and I appreciate it. However, I don't agree. Story is a free agent, and could have been signed without giving away Donaldson. There is no trade involved for Story, period. I wish this false argument would end. Also, if the FO has decided that they were serious about contending again, a left-side infield of Donaldson/Miranda, Story/Kiner-Falefa is far, far better than Miranda/Urshela and Story. Plus, having Rortvedt as a backup would have been far better than turning over our "pitching pipeline" to Jeffers and a player notorious for being a total defensive and pitch-framing liability. Opposing teams are going to run wild on the bases against us, and young pitchers are going to watch their pitch counts inflate. We lost depth, flexibility and talent. This was not a "value trade" - this was a "lost-value trade." And there's little reason to believe that it was done for any other reason than this FO was embarrassed by 2021 and wanted to turn the page on a big-splash FA contract they signed two years ago. They soothed their bruised egos, and made the team's chances worse as a result. Perhaps they can make wiser choices from here. We'll see. But they just dug some new holes in a roster already full of them.