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LastOnePicked

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Everything posted by LastOnePicked

  1. LastOnePicked
    No one has been able to explain why we had to trade Donaldson in order to sign or make a deal for a starting pitcher. I just don't get this thinking. Can somebody help me see what I'm not seeing here? I mean, if anything, the deal with the Yankees makes a trade for a stud SP less likely. Garver or Rortvedt would have had some real value in that kind of trade. As reclamation projects, Urshela and Sanchez currently have zero trade value.
  2. LastOnePicked
    Spot on. This is exactly where I'm at with all this. I actually liked the Garver for IKF/Henriquez trade. I came to accept that the logic for the Gray/Peguero for Petty was sound, at least since no free agent pitchers had been signed. I cannot and never will accept the logic behind this absolute debacle with the Yankees. The implosion potential for 2022 - and even 2023 - is unreal. It's a move that just reeks of desperation and panic from a FO that is in way over their heads. But, to Ted's point in the article, little to do now but pray that the ol' "change of scenery" myth somehow comes to life here for Sanchez.
  3. LastOnePicked
    Ah, to be a baseball fan after a trade. We're always pretty sure that the guys we gave away are going to continue regressing, while the guys we got are just on the cusp of a rebound season. No FO in MLB would have traded Garver for Sanchez. No FO in MLB would have traded Rortvedt for Sanchez. We essentially gave up both for Sanchez. So yes, let's pray he has a great season here - or that those involved in making that trade don't get to keep making more bad deals here.
  4. LastOnePicked
    Thank heavens for Nelson Cruz. He was a great signing, by the way. As for all of the other signings by this FO, as Gleeman noted last year, they have paid $183.1 million for $133.6 million in value. And that doesn't even include the Happ and Shoemaker disasters. Again, skepticism is warranted. But we'll certainly cover this territory again during the regular season. I'll try to get back on topic.
  5. LastOnePicked
    I don't get this argument I'm hearing. Urshela played 116 games last year. Donaldson played 135. Urshela had hamstring problems and other injuries last year as well. The Yankees seemed to think Donaldson was a clear defensive upgrade, and they seem a little better at making these calls than our FO. They're also competing in a tougher division. As for pitching, a 3-4 WAR upgrade is good, but doesn't mean much for a last place team that will not have their two best starting pitchers from 2021.
  6. LastOnePicked
    When fans were asking the FO to address the question marks on the left side of the infield, we probably should have clarified that we didn't want those question marks to get bigger. A week's worth of transactions only made more roster holes, and barely moved the needle on the mound.. Woof. Not exactly inspiring fear in the competition at this point. I keep hearing more moves are coming, but we'll see. Rotation, 3B, C and SS are are very thin, and the season draws near.
  7. LastOnePicked
    You nailed the semantics. Solid rebuttal. I think many of us are trying to argue that they don't read these clues very well. The same folks who are convinced that Donaldson needed to be moved are the same folks who were also certain that Akil Baddoo wasn't ready for the big leagues but Trevor Larnach was, They thought that Shaun Anderson and LaMonte Wade Jr. were of the same trade value. They thought Robbie Ray wasn't worth signing, but J. A. Happ was. So, many of us are skeptical of these moves, and not without good reason. But I'm sure we'll have plenty of threads this year to debate the value, or lack thereof, of this FO to the organization's future.
  8. LastOnePicked
    Great article, Melissa. Fire, grit, determination, presence - these things matter at the MLB level. And the Twins now have very little of this in their clubhouse, with the possible exception of Buxton. My prediction: the people who cheered this trade are going to be pretty disappointed when they watch Donaldson post a 4 WAR season and rake in the playoffs, while Sanchez is outright waived and Urshela spends most of the season on the IL. Terrible trade. But great article.
  9. LastOnePicked
    People somehow think we're going to flip Sanchez. The Yankees have been trying to trade him without success for well over a year, and rumors were flying that he was going to be waived. He's simply not valuable at this point in his career, and FOs across MLB know it. Well, most of them do. Urshela is far from elite in the field or at the plate, and he's also injury-prone, with multiple injuries in 2021 including hamstring issues. It's very likely that he'll spend considerable time on the IL, just like we feared with Donaldson. I hope that some miracle occurs and they both have great stays here in MN. But I am very tired of hoping that miracles happen for this team, particularly when there's not even a clear plan for success.
  10. LastOnePicked
    Dumping Rortvedt and Kiner-Falefa for nothing is not a move that strengthens our chances in 2023, no. If Donaldson wasn't performing, he could have been put on the IL, which would still give Miranda an opportunity. Plus, Donaldson possibly could have mentored him. If Donaldson did do well but the team stunk in 2022, he could have been traded at the deadline (maybe even for a lottery ticket prospect) and the Twins could have eaten the final year of salary. I fail to see how anything that happened in this last trade was forward thinking.
  11. LastOnePicked
    That's possible, sure. But losing Kiner-Falefa (or Garver) and Rortvedt undoubtedly did downgrade us. Defensively and offensively. People seem to forget that Urshela also has hamstring issues, which is no doubt why the Yankees unloaded him on us. And Sanchez can't hit or field.
  12. LastOnePicked
    4. The Twins now have all kinds of flexibility to make at least one HUGE move. Can we please put a stop to this argument? The Twins had this flexibility even without paying NYY to take Donaldson. Besides the incredibly affordable Buxton extension, they made no other free agent signings this offseason. We could have strengthened our infield defense and our catching considerably just by not making that trade, and then possibly even added Story to boot. We should be looking at these transaction from this lens as well, because these C and INF holes are going to bite us hard in 2022 - right when we're trying to get our much-promised "pitching pipeline" ready for MLB success.
  13. LastOnePicked
    I've said just about enough on this topic. I think most of us have. BUT ... this would not be fair to say, no. Just no. Story is a free agent, and could have been signed without losing Kiner-Falefa, Donaldson or Rortvedt. The Twins certainly have plenty of salary room for him, and Donaldson's remaining two years were not standing in the way. In fact, the Twins have very little by way of long-term contract commitments. We've got to stop accepting this silly salary dump trade as some kind of rationale that we can finally sign a top-tier free agent this offseason. If a guy has negative trade value ... don't trade him. Why would you ever pay another team to take a superstar off of your hands, particularly if his contract wasn't hurting you? If Donaldson's not injured, he'll play and he'll earn his contract. If he's injured, you hand 3B over to Miranda.
  14. LastOnePicked
    Exactly this. It's sickening to realize that the Twins would have done better for the roster by outright releasing Donaldson than to make this terrible trade. The only difference is the money saved, which should make very little difference to an owner with deep pockets.
  15. LastOnePicked
    If Rocco can't build an inclusive and strong enough clubhouse culture to accommodate primetime players with ego, brashness and fire, he shouldn't be an MLB manager. Period. I can't even imagine accepting this as an excuse for this trade. To me, it means that a culture of mushy mediocrity is all we're building here. Yuck.
  16. LastOnePicked
    Agreed. I still cannot get over that this FO just made a trade that makes the team worse in short and long term. They paid a heavy cost to the Yankees to take the contract of an elite 3B slugger. Even gave them a promising prospect to boot. Some people have commented that this is the kind of move the Rays make. I have never seen the Rays pay another team to take on their best players. If they're contending in 2022, they could certainly have used Donaldson. If they're rebuilding in 2022, they needed to see what they had in Kiner-Falefa and Rortvedt. This move is the worst of both possible approaches. Please, please let one of two things be true: 1) I'm wrong, and there's some goofy magic, luck or plan I can't see. 2) This year will be the end of the Falvey/Levine era. They've done enough damage.
  17. LastOnePicked
    I like this analogy. But I fear the moves of this FO are better described be the phrase "too cute by half."
  18. LastOnePicked
    Went to bed not liking this trade. Woke up hating it. We paid the Yankees a gold-glove SS, an elite slugging 3B and a defense-strong C prospect ... for a C that the Yankees were about to waive, a utility infielder (one of our few areas of org. strength) and $50M of salary relief that we didn't even need. This trade makes the team significantly worse in 2022, and has almost no upside for 2023 and beyond. Unbelievable. We won't need to worry about the Yankees beating us in the postseason - they're already beating us in the offseason. Terrible move, and it's terrible whether the FO's moves are done or not. With the NL moving to DH, the FO could have likely moved Donaldson's partial or whole salary for a pitching prospect lottery ticket. Hate this trade. With a passion.
  19. LastOnePicked
    I can't even imagine how the Twins can win this trade in the short or long term. I liked Kiner-Falefa, and we needed Rortvedt. If this is about a salary dump, why not take a lottery-ticket pitching prospect? Yuck. We just shouldn't be dealing with the Yankees at this point. They have some kind of voodoo on us.
  20. LastOnePicked
    Why risk a top SP prospect for just-above-mediocre SP services that could have easily been purchased in free agency? Not at all a fan of this move. May make 2022 marginally better, but at what cost? I liked the Garver trade. This one, not so much.
  21. LastOnePicked
    I liked Garver, but I think this could end up being a smart trade. I'm not sure Garver was going to do much more at C for us, and we don't need another 1B/DH option. The additional return of a pitching prospect makes it even potentially better.
  22. LastOnePicked
    I know we've all been eager to fire up the hot stove, but I really, really, would advise against expecting/hoping much in terms of FA signings or trades. I get the sense that the FO wants to go into the season and see what they've got. I can see a Pineda signing soon (there's the "veteran presence"), maybe a low offer to Simmons, and that's it.
  23. LastOnePicked
    No. However, I do concede that they're in the wrong here. An international draft is needed. Yes, I admit that it may limit contract-signing paydays for a number of foreign players (and their families) who dream about it and work hard for it. But US-born players are also subjected to a draft, and a draft for international signings makes things more equitable/fair across the industry. Seems very much that MLBPA should be working on a plan to figure this out by 2024 and start the season now.
  24. LastOnePicked
    I'm hoping the proposed postseason changes have this effect, yes. Twins have very little chance of taking the AL Central, but a run at a third WC spot isn't too far-fetched. Sad that they let so many 2022 free agents pass already, but something can maybe be salvaged. Still give prospects a chance and figure out what you've got, but bolster the rotation. And I like expanded playoffs (though I prefer 12, not 14). Gives the trade deadline and the final two months of the season more energy.
  25. LastOnePicked
    Did we read the same article? I see Ted asking questions here - good questions that any fan of the game would ask at this point. Why doesn't it appear that the owners are taking negotiations seriously, or with any sense of urgency? Why did they threaten MLBPA that they were prepared to cancel an entire month of games, when previously Manfred indicated that lost games would be "disastrous?" The broadcast contract clauses about allowing MLB up to 25 missed games without needing to give rebates fits perfectly here as at least a partial reason why the owners aren't giving this much effort yet. It's possible that losing the first month isn't a financial hit to owners. And since you don't cite any sources for the 2020 revenue losses you mention, nor do MLB teams make their finances transparent, how can we accept your defense of the owners' actions as fact? Ted, I appreciated this. We're all left with questions about this mess at this point.
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