Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

LastOnePicked

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,391

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by LastOnePicked

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. LastOnePicked
    I like this analogy. But I fear the moves of this FO are better described be the phrase "too cute by half."
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. LastOnePicked
    Imagine two people (X and Y) agree to sit at a table. Person X tells Person Y that when Y sits at the table, X is going to beat him over the head. Person Y understandably doesn't like this idea, and they fail to reach an agreement to sit down together. That doesn't mean "both sides are to blame." It's the quality of the interaction and the details of the offers that matter more than the fact that an agreement wasn't reached, isn't it? The players have been locked out by the owners, and yet the owners wouldn't negotiate in the months before the lockout or the weeks after the lockout. The players financials are transparent: we know exactly what they earn from the sport and why. The owners financials are never shared unless required by law (in the case of GA). The players have repeatedly adjusted their offers in meaningful ways on multiple issues to find common ground. The owners didn't. There just is no reason that I can see to "both sides" this one. Do I always agree with the players, or the MLBPA? Nope. But in this particular case, this mess is the clear responsibility of the owners. They think they can break the union. I hope they're dead wrong.
  20. LastOnePicked
    I feel exactly the same way, but I have more anger than apathy. We've suffered through COVID, unrest, economic upheaval and now we're watching a Russian autocrat spark war in Europe. Baseball offers hope, comfort and healing in hard times. It pulls us together outside in the most beautiful months in North America. The owners seem to have absolutely no interest in the legacy, history or the soul of the sport. And they already won. They are life's winners. They would remain billionaires even if the MLBPA had doubled their meager requests. They could have handled this with some decency. They could have started negotiating in earnest from day one. They could have opened their books and made a case about their fiscal concerns for the game. They could have worked with the players to make necessary changes to this great game to make it more competitive and more steady for the next ten years. That's what stewards of a national institution would do. Instead, they proved themselves to be petty vandals. Manfred's callous press-conference laughter says it all: the players, the fans, the sport doesn't mean a thing to any of them. It's a joke to them ... and the joke's on us. I'll always love the Twins, but I have no love for what MLB has become. Yuck. I'd rather see a new league rise up with these players than to see the owners get what they want from their idiotic lockout.
  21. LastOnePicked
    Here's where we fundamentally disagree. Baseball exists without any union - of course it does. But the infrastructure that promotes (and seeks compensation for) excellence, that creates an equitable workplace for professionals, that gives laborers a voice is all created and maintained by the union. The players make the union. The players are what make the game great. Who the hell ever would ever buy a ticket at Target Field to watch Jim Pohlad roam around centerfield? That doesn't mean that any union is ever 100% in the right. But if you listen to the MLBPA conference (I just did), you'll hear thoughtful professionals explaining why they are defending their profession as well as a very composed explanation that they have been and are still willing to negotiate the changes that are necessary to keep the game relevant and competitive. I don't see this commitment to the urgency of the moment or the heart of the game from any of the owners at this point. The players make the game - they are not replaceable at that level. If the game is wildly profitable, they should share in that equitably.
  22. LastOnePicked
    This is a very good point, and the FO hinted at this recently, if I'm not mistaken. I think the Rays have done this with young pitchers, and it might be the right move for this staff at this point. I still would have preferred 1-2 solid FA signings, but this is a reasonable Plan B for an organization that needs to learn how to develop frontline starters.
  23. LastOnePicked
    This is exactly where I'm at. I wanted to believe that the FO was serious about it's "championship-caliber roster" and intentions to compete, but that proved to be just PR-puffery. The only realistic path for a resurgence in 2022 was through free agency. That ship has sailed (and please, no Rodon). Now it's time to give the players on the cusp a chance to get used to the pace/challenge of MLB. See what you've got, and get better at keeping the impact prospects.
  24. LastOnePicked
    Fun projections, but every year baseball reminds me of what a weird, fickle game it can be. Another mph on that line drive, or another millimeter in the wrong spot, and instead we'd be talking about Joe Ryan's rehab year for the broken wrist he suffered towards the end of last year. Accurate predictions for performance are tough to make. I do think those projections are a little off, though. Keith Law is probably right - the league will figure out that "invisiball" (which is just a 90mph fastball a little higher in the zone) pretty quickly. I'm just hoping that Ryan has the fortitude and the competitive streak to keep building up his pitch arsenal and adjust as well.
  25. LastOnePicked
    Can't a 23 year old's arm strengthen? It seems odd that we keep hearing that neither Lewis nor Martin has what it takes to stick at SS, yet we can't keep stockpiling utility players at 2B. Do the Twins have the kind of coaches who can tell a prospect like Martin "Hey, SS for this organization is yours if you want it." And then make a plan to help him claim it. Gleeman just wrote an article about how Corey Koskie once rose to the challenge to claim 3B. I can't see why this can't happen here again at SS, particularly on a team that isn't going anywhere in the standings in the near future.
×
×
  • Create New...