Han Joelo

Money aside, reading his comments made me think he is very aware that this could likely be his last spring training (and season, etc) as a Twin. This is his senior year in high school. Mixture of feelings for sure. Carpe Diem, Brian. These have been good years, I hope nobody burns any bridges (us fans too) as he might end up back here. If he leaves.

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I know somebody will) but if Burdi or Bard had been added before the Rule V, they couldn't be dropped during this time frame, right? So in a way, the Twins traded Kinley for one of those guys, say Burdi, which gave them more flexibility during the free agency period as far as who they had available to drop. Basically, they traded one iffy minor leaguer for another, but one they could get off the roster if needed. I know we've been conditioned to think that dumping Kinley won't happen until a double digit ERA has been maintained for at least three months, but I'd like to think this version of the Twins will be a little more cutthroat then that. At this point, if they'd have protected Bard and Burdi, who would be on this list instead?

AnOn might be the big story of the day, but I would love for the big story out of camp being someone like Romero staking their claim on a spot in the rotation. I realize it won't happen out of ST. Nonetheless, I would love for this team to have a budding, homegrown ace type pitcher on the cusp, a la Liriano or Santana back in the day.

I get what you mean about piggy-backing, but Fernando Romero is a starter, and he pitched two (better) innings right after Meija. Not at the end of the game against minor leaguers, but right through the heart of the Orioles MLB lineup.

Nice way to frame their tenure thus far. Nice influx of talent. Not sure what the old FO would have done, but this list might have been half as long. Good stuff.

In addition to the physical talent, it takes a special guy to carry that 1st overall pick load. Glad the Twins found one.

Despite the fact I am commenting again on this, I gotta say I just don't care about this all that much--because I don't really see this team as Sano's anymore. He can certainly still surprise me, and I hope he does--for both my fandom and for his career. But so far, he doesn't seem to have been able to live up to the, gulp, weight of expectations that have been placed on him. In my view of this team, he now more fits the Kyle Schwarber niche than the Kris Bryant role. Maybe every other single Twin showed up for camp in tip-top shape, and I'm wrong. Or maybe there are guys there with less notoriety who showed up needing to work on some stuff, they just don't get the press scrutiny. Sano's just a guy, to me. He's earned back his signing bonus already, maybe he would benefit from a little more anonymity.

Of even more importance, I must admit that I don't really get the headline. Is it a pun of some sort? The only thing I've got is that it's a riff of the Lennon/Beatles song "Let It Be." What am I missing?

Between Lewis, Javier, Polanco, Gordon, and Arraez, I think I am ready to give up on any hopes I had that Sano would be an elite, or even serviceable two-way player. Those guys should have the infield covered for the next decade, with Escobar and Adrianza holding things down for a year or two. If Sano wants to be an elite, and hefty, DH only, fine. Sucks to waste that arm, but whatever. I had a friend about his size who struggled to stay at or below 260. If Sano is saying he'd rather be a slightly overweight 1B/DH, knowing he'll make a few ten millions less in his career, so be it. Not like he was ever going to provide elite 3B defense anyway. Maybe this is a case of addition by subtraction.

When seen only, I think Jake Odorizzi is a kick butt name. Looks like a character name in a Hemingway novel. And if you say it with as much Italian flair as you can muster, it remains awesome--oh-du-RI!-zee. The egg/odor angle will get played pretty quick for me.

Never had heard of Montero as a prospect...it's always good to learn the names of the DSL guys to watch.

Nice right up, Cody. I've been seeing so much negative spin on this kid it has started to effect me. Like others, I am one who doesn't get as excited about Nick because he lacks any one elite skill, but the complete package is there. One of his and Kohl Stewart's and Tyler Jay's problems will always be that they aren't the Ace the Twins needed to somehow find in the draft to complement the young core. However, if Jermaine Palacios can net Odorizzi, there may yet be hope for Gordon...

I'd suggest the Twins are in a place where they need to be finding an Arrieta/Keuchel type. This is an attempt. At worst, the Twins have acquired a Professional Starting Pitcher. I'm hoping there is still some upside in his 27 year old arm. No one got hornswoggled, I think, certainly not Tampa Bay. Palacios is a good prospect. If nothing else, this reminds me in some ways of the Twins picking up Eduardo Escobar.

This may be one or both (but probably neither) of the following: 1. The Twins got a "hot tip" on a 30-1. His father was a mudder. Mother was a mudder. Sanchez will be like a poor teams Rich Hill. I bet we somehow trade him for Jose De Leon at some point this year, when the rookies all hit their stride. 2. This is posturing to Cobb and Lynn's agents. One of them just lost a landing spot. This explains the 40 Man contract move. They probably have identical crappy offers out to both of them and want to see who blinks first.

Best explanation I've read for the offseason.

Fool me with Ohtani, shame on me. Fool me with Darvish, shame on Yu. Wait, what? The point is, I'm not getting fooled again this offseason. Not getting fooled that the Twins are signing someone, or that if they do it will make much of a difference, given what is left. I'd like to go skiing in the French Alps every damn year, but this year isn't the year to put in on a credit card. Got to keep developing my little boys at the local hill, so when we go, we'll be able to really enjoy it. Meanwhile, its been pretty fun skiing green runs with the little guys.

I'm a silver linings kind of guy, lemons to lemonade, ashes to compost, pick yourself up and move on. Even if this was all one giant botched job by the FO, I am rooting for them to take the experience and learn from it. What I wonder about, in the big picture, is why the Twins ever thought they had a chance in the first place with the budget they had in mind--and I believe their belief was genuine. Seems a like a bit of a evidence on the collusion side of the ledger, to me. Back on topic, though--I keep thinking back to the FO's assessment of this team a year ago, when they strongly considered selling Dozier, or six months ago, when they did sell of parts. The unexpected run notwithstanding, the FO might feel this team is still closer to the 100 loss version than the hypothetical contender that I want to see. It's kind of like having responsible parents who won't buy you a Stradivarius violin when you only just started playing a few months ago. They need to see more improvement from the players they have before they totally commit.

I'm glad the Twins started signing top (international) free agents. Almost seems like the prospect guys are apologetic; like they couldn't rate him higher for some unknown and possibly nefarious reason. I'm going to enjoy the Wander Years.

I was hoping his middle name was James, or Jason, or maybe Jermaine, so I could call him "B.J. Rooker." As it turns out, his middle name is...BRENT! First name Terry. Not sure how Gardy would've nicknamified Rooker; Rooky would work for the first year, but after that, it would just be mean.

No sense bellying up to the hog trough of top free agency until spots 2-5 are bit more solid. All three teams I cited are different, actually. The Cubs bellied up for Lester before they were maybe ready to contend for the WS. The Indians never did, although they DID kind of go all-in with the Miller acquisition. But the Astros built everything up and then acquired their Ace as the last part of the equation. Keep in mind, I don't have a 20 game season ticket package anted up in this game. I don't really care if the owners pocket the money; I'm sure in some fashion they will reinvest it and eventually it will trickle down to me...

Gosh, I don't know. It DOES seem to me that the Twins are still in the phase of the program where they need to be finding their Keuchel/Arrieta/Kluber, rather than pining after the Lesters and Verlanders.

How fun, though incredibly unlikely, would it be if at the end of all this the Twins signed Tillman on the cheap, and he pulled a Rich Hill? (cue the Tillman/Hill comps are invalid responses.)

To that Eastwood movie wasn't any good? Enlow looks legit. Solid move; much more difficult to pull off than throwing cash a 32 year olds.

I felt kind of weird anytime I let myself actually think the Twins were getting Darvish. Do I really want to be a fan of THAT kind of team? The kind that actually signs big free agents? I'm an Idahoan, which kind of made me a sports fan free agent growing up. I chose the Twins in '87 (and reinforced in '91) because of their somewhat underdog persona. I was also a Miami Dolphins fan, because of Marino and Shula. I tried really hard to stay a Dolphins fan, but they've churned through owners, GM's, coaches, and philosophies to the point of being unrecognizable as the team of Shula/Marino. Signing Suh a few years to the enormous contract accomplished nothing. I know, apples and oranges, but I tend to root for what the organization represents to me, rather than the logo. This development is par for the Twins course. Falvey and Levine showed restraint in the Dozier discussions and the Darvish dealings, as well as in the free agent relief pitching market. In 2 out of 3 cases, they were right, and in the third, the jury is still out. Darvish would have been a step in the right direction of having a WS caliber pitching staff, but by himself, he wouldn't have been the difference, and perhaps the FO had a tipping point where they determined the improvements he could bring would be negated by the future limitations his contract would represent. I'm going to root for whatever they end up putting out there.

When just glancing at box scores/recaps, I'd noticed Sammons and Molina, but it is good to see them summarized in a "large" sample size. Thanks. Nunez I'd not heard of; DSL box scores mean nothing to me, but again, seeing things compiled makes it interesting. Nice bunch.