Cory Engelhardt

Thank you for sharing again. I think IF Jeffers does move on, going back to the last comment, maybe they try to trade either Ryan or Ober to a team that has a decent young catcher that has some solid pop time. St. Louis has a LOT of catching depth that has mlb experience. I wonder if Leo Bernal could be had for Joe Ryan if the Cardinals still want him. I'd be curious if they would throw in a pitching prospect with him. Bernal and then eventually Lackey would make a strong catching tandem I'd have to imagine. I don't know how much I want Chapman. Shelton has worked with him though, and he certainly had a good year this season.

Certainly possible. His role was kind of changed/diminished as of February, and he was one that wasn't hired by or previously worked with Zoll. The team has 3 other assistant GM's still, so (how I read it) he saw the writing on the wall and wanted something else, and Zoll agreed.

Agreed completely. And man, I know Misiorowski looks like Nolan Ryan in his prime, but even Henderson comes up and knows HOW to pitch right away. It feels like he wasn't brought up to be a thrower, but a pitcher who can change speeds and hit spots right away. I want to be part of a team that can show THAT.

The Rays even make deals like trading Joe Ryan for Nelson Cruz. That's something the Brewers haven't LOST in a while. The Brewers do trade their veterans a year or two away from free agency. The Brewers most likely would have traded Joe Ryan in the last year, among others. Just one example, but if we want to be like the Brewers, generally our front office has to be more forward thinking. But the bigger thing is within player development. They have models for players, and the right people within development, to get guys ready to perform at high levels when they are called up. They also pinpoint the right players who aren't performing for other teams and highlight them for deals coming back. Kyle Harrison certainly had a resurgence this year with Milwaukee, as an example.

“Health permitting” along with having major league options answers the question to your article.

Royce has to hit more like he did for the month or so after his call up. Then you put him wherever fits. If he hits like August/September, then he is more of a utility at best no?

This conversation brought up a couple topics that I can't get my head around for roster building next year, specifically on the position player side; 1) Provus' comment about teams running at will. I know Vahn Lackey should be strong at that when he debuts, but it won't be opening day. If they are moving on from Jeffers, I have to think a catcher coming in who truly can help control the running game better is probably a priority for Zoll/front office (if he is making the decisions.) Provus, I feel like, wouldn't just throw this out there for no reason. We all love Jeffers' bat and ability to work with pitchers, but controlling the running game is not at all a strength of either his or Caratini. I also don't like the free agent crop of catchers, so maybe there is someone on some team who they really do like who they will trade for? Who are some options at catcher for players who are strong at helping with throwing out runners? 2) 1B. I don't know what happened with Royce. He came up from AAA and looked every bit the part of the middle of an order bat. Then he just started either chasing everything or popping everything up. He looks lost. He played alright defense at 1B it seems, but I have a hard time penciling him to start 1B. Maybe they tag him and let him start as a bench/utility guy with the chance to earn a spot back if he can hit again, but it also feels like he could be a change of scenery type. IF that is the case, a guy I've mentioned all year that would be PERFECT for Target Field is Isaac Paredes. I don't know what Houston would want, but I'd love to trade for him and extend him, especially if Tom Pohlad is going to be spending money this offseason. He said the payroll will be higher, so here is a way to get someone in and raise the payroll. A LOT of the rest of the positions are already written in pencil with younger guys. Lee is going to be at 3B, Culpepper at SS (until Houston is ready) and outfield so far consists of Buxton (assuming he is back) along with Jenkins, Keaschall and Rodriguez, with Roden probably as the 5th outfielder and Clemens possibly starting at 2B and moving to utility, assuming health. That's all a strong lineup generally, but they need a middle of the order bat. Paredes, to me, is a great option. Oh, and I do love hearing Cory talk. Thanks for sharing.

This. Absolutely this.

Agreed on this. I don't care what the actual number is. I really don't. I just want to be pointed in the right direction. My hope is a number of extensions are done for the younger core, and I'd love to extend Pablo and even Ryan if possible along with Bradley. But really, if they lose Jeffers, I don't know what that means between opening day and whenever Lackey is ready to take over for the catcher position. I also don't really know that Royce is a full time 1B, and I don't think Clemens should be the starting 2B (I think Clemens should be a utility guy) but to actually raise the payroll, they almost have to bring Jeffers back along with at least a couple of legit bullpen contracts and probably a lot of extensions. But yeah, the free agent market is more meh than anything, so maybe this is done via trade? Who knows.

In only 10 years? That sounds insane, but the twins top war getters are low compared to some other teams. That will be fun to see where we are at in 2037 :)

I just wanted to say that a CRAZY homer take is saying that Jenkins' #11 will be retired some day. That's crazy. To say he will with ROY in 2027 is actually a decent bet, if you are betting.

I think it's a former Astro and Cubs right fielder who mostly had a really poor season with the Dodgers this year. If Jenkins has his career for the next 6-10 years, sign me up.

Is this for this season? Or for next? Because I have to think Buxton will be healthy to play. I wouldn't HATE the idea of looking at Roden being the 1B if he can truly hit well enough. But I do think they will need a new 1B in 2027.

What's going out for Xavier Edwards? That's going to be a LOT. I like the idea though. I also would have Prielipp in the rotation on opening day, certainly ahead of Kremer. I hope Abel can be right though.

I agree, but do you think vibes is justification for holding a roster spot for months of a season? I don't.

Whenever they talked about Jackson it sounded like they were basically saying he was there for the vibes. Like he tried hard, did all the pregame stuff for all positions, and was easy to be around. So yeah, vibes. Not something I would prioritize, but if you are a 3rd catcher with a strong arm, that's what you should do. Hopefully next season's roster building is stronger.

This is fun. I don't see a huge future for him with the Twins, but he'll get a shot. Cheers to him

I'd be fine with it being another change of scenery type player too. Don't know who that is, but it feels like he could use a change of scenery too.

Is this some new rumor? A quick google search only shows this article lately. I'd be open to it depending on the return. But typically it's not good to trade a player when their value is low.

This. 100% this

Both line drives in the box score

Rogers has had a great career. He is not a great pitcher anymore, and every pitcher gets to that point at some point. Tip your cap. I would not do this just because. If he were going for top 5 or even first in team history then I could get behind this. Going from 11th to 10th doesn't move the needle for me.

We'll see. His 2nd half certainly didn't help. He agreed to the mutual option for 2027 to not have to go to arbitration. This offseason will be strange to say the very minimum, and he did make 6.2 in 2026. I'm not certain he is getting an awful lot more than 13 via arbitration in 2027.

No. If he doesn’t agree to that number then he would go to arbitration. After this season do you think he is set to make more than 13 million in arbitration for 2027?

I agree. They didn’t do enough. I hope they have better offseasons ongoing