Cory Engelhardt

Gray isn't their best starter; Mahle is. And if/when Mahle is extended (I'm putting that decision out into the ether once more) and they trade for a starter, then I would be totally fine listening on Gray. I wouldn't listen on him at all if they don't trade for a different/better starter.

I do still really like the potential of Martin, seeing how he came back from his wrist issues last year and performed, especially including the fall league. I can TOTALLY see a 2024 that includes Lewis at 3B, Correa at SS, Lee at 2B (or flip Lee and Lewis) with Martin in one of the corner outfield spots. That wouldn't shock me at all.

The Padres would probably want Sonny Gray and/or something else. IF the Twins get another starter, I could see Gray and something for Kim.

Let it play out. We'll see. I don't know that they will trade Arraez, but they certainly didn't give up a talent like Arraez to get Mahle or Maeda or Odorizzi or Gray.

Again, still not advocating for him. But, LOTS of time left in the offseason, and the trade route is pretty much the only way the Twins have added pitching talent with this regime. They will certainly add still before opening day, with or without Bauer being involved in any capacity.

So, I am not advocating for or against Bauer. What he allegedly did was terrible, and it FEELS like he doesn't mesh well with teammates. Falvey certainly knows him personally from their time together in Cleveland. Tyler Mahle and Kyle Farmer both follow him on instagram and both certainly were in multiple clubhouses with him as a teammate. I would imagine, IF Bauer is going to get a 2nd chance, going to a team NOT in a major media market wouldn't hurt his chances. And, to be fair, Correa came to the Twins for a year to "rehab" his perception from Houston and being a cheater (these are OBVIOUSLY different circumstances.) That said, Mahle and Farmer could certainly give feedback on what working with him was like on a daily basis with their time together in Cincinnati. Again, not advocating him being on the Twins in 2023 or ever. BUT, if the Twins were to bring him in, they would have an understanding on how he would mesh with the clubhouse. If there is never a sniff of him being connected here (this is ALL ASSUMING he gets released) then we know what his former teammates thought of him as a teammate.

I would be ok doing something like this while also adding a good starting pitcher. Zero reason to not go for Pablo Lopez while also listening on both Gray and Maeda. Wouldn’t NEED to trade both pre-season, and that lineup/offense (if healthy) certainly wouldn’t be worse than last years team

I'd love Eovaldi, and I'd also love a go at Pablo Lopez. I think IF they can bring in both guys, then moving Gray makes more sense. We'll see.

I like Gray. I think Mahle is the most important extension option. He is a lot younger, and I THINK, more talented. But, if they can keep Gray around for more of a 2 or 3 year deal, I'd be all for it. Hopefully Mahle gets a contract similar to what Berrios received.

C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) LF: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Max Kepler ($8.50M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) 4th OF: Kyle Garlick ($0.70M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: Gilberto Celestino ($0.70M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.70M) SP5: Bailey Ober ($0.70M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Lopez ($3.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) Payroll is 44.14% under budget

Love it!

I'm sorry you didn't get quoted in the article

Love it!

"The difference is that the owners put the money out on the table when they purchase the franchise, and take the financial risks every year to either make a profit or lose money." The next time an owner loses money from owning a major league baseball team in a season will absolutely be the first time that has ever happened to any owner in the history of major league baseball. They aren't putting their money on the line as a risk for profit or loss. They are owning a team, and determining if their profit each year is either massive or MASSIVE. There is no risk to their fortune at all.

This is a fun read Jamie! Thanks for posting. My favorite, as well as being the most risky target, from Oakland is Montas. I can't say I'm not nervous of a 2nd positive steroid test (he missed 80 games in 2019) but having 2 years of control is super appealing, and he looked REALLY good in 2021. Since the A's are fully rebuilding, do you think they would even want guys who have already debuted? I get the sense they would push more for players who are ready to debut in 2023 or 2024, but I could be wrong. That said, IF you can build a trade package around Luis Arraez, I fully believe he is both the A) Highest value veteran trade piece and b) The easiest to replace on our current roster. Miranda can take his place today and be the utility guy for 2b and 3b (and some 1B) and most likely would provide a little pop.

I brought Taylor in not planning for him to be the starting SS for the next 3 years, but he can certainly play ss, and allow time for one of Martin or Lewis or someone else to become the SS. After that, he is a GREAT utility option who can play SS or CF. Our other current utility options (I'll lump Arraez and Miranda in there for now) are more 1b/2b/3b types.

That would be ok with me too. I'd certainly prefer a young arm the Twins believe in with years of control instead of paying 20 million per year (an example) to a free agent who's ceiling is a #3.

I like the Marlins too, no doubt. For me with the Marlins, a lot of the deals I really like are for their extremely young pitching (like Max Meyer or Eduard Cabrera.) I'd be all about acquiring them, but my goal (at least for this mock offseason) was to get guys who have already been at or near the top of a major league rotation. I also don't see Miami trading Rogers or Lopez or Alcantara without getting extremely blown away. I could be wrong for sure. My thought is, if the offense can stay top 5-10 in mlb, and the pitching can go from 29th (where they were in 2021) even just to middle of the pack (not top 5-10 like they were 2018, 2019 and 2020) then they are in that 86-90 win area. From that point, if you can get into a wild card spot, all bets are off in the playoffs.

Thanks! It's a fun thought exercise for sure

Larnach sure could be an all star type hitter. He looked GREAT the first month he was up, and I think he can be great again. Kepler is exceptional defensively, has power and takes some walks. He hasn't been anything like 2019 in almost any other year, but he is fine enough, especially with the defense he provides. But, really, he could certainly be a trade option too. I do believe they will be creative. The offseason will be fascinating.

I have a hard time judging what would be fair for someone like Manaea or what the A’s are looking for. I’m guessing prospects. This offer was close on baseballtradevalues, but that is really more of a guide.

Thanks! It's fun thinking through scenarios on this isn't it? I see Kirilloff as the primary 1B to be honest, but he certainly can play the outfield too. I admittedly like Kepler's defense a lot, so even though his batting average isn't great, I think he does other things well. He is still young, and I think getting back to 75% of what he did in 2019 is doable. Otherwise, statistics show he isn't a terrible player by any means, and I have a hard time JUST using batting average to compare how a player is doing. Larnach will have a higher than .220 average in a full season. Coming off a missed season and playing full time again would be tough for any rookie to struggle through. I imagine last season was a learning curve for him and many other younger players. I don't know if my names will be the ones they acquire at all, it's just a guess. BUT, I do think the trade route is what they will do over the free agent route. It's what they have done before getting playoff level starters (Odorizzi and Maeda.)

I wanted to create a blueprint that would be interesting. I hope you enjoy it! My goal was to have a flexible team (in terms of roster/lineup) and add a good amount of high end pitching via trade and free agency. Let me know what you think. 1) Extend Byron Buxton. He is your cornerstone, and I don't see a way we trade him and are better for it, short or long term. 7/110 with incentives. I'll put him at 15 million for 2022 2) Sign Chris Taylor, 4/60. Opening day ss, but can play anywhere and has turned into a good power threat. Great teammate. IF Royce can show he can be the guy, then Taylor is a HIGH END utility option later in 2022 or some point in 2023. 3) Trade Luis Arraez to St. Louis for Jack Flaherty. Baseball Trade Values says this is a pretty major overpay on our part (Arraez 33.3 to Flaherty's 14.3) but I thought it would be good to take a chance on Flaherty's upside. He has 2 years team control remaining, and missed time last year with a fairly major oblique injury. IF he is healthy he has ace upside. I'd prefer the Twins to take a shot at someone with a ceiling like him, someone who ended the year in the Cardinals bullpen. Arraez would certainly help the Cardinals offense (anyone's really) and I don't know that I see a future defensive home here in MN. 4 years team control for Arraez looks good for St. Louis too. 4) Trade Matt Canterino, Matt Wallner and Blayne Enlow to Oakland for Sean Manaea. Manaea has 1 year remaining, and Oakland is looking at a rebuild. They get 3 VERY quality prospects for a pitcher who will be a free agent after the 2022 season. Manaea should slot into the top of our rotation day 1. 5) Trade Miguel Sano to Miami for a player to be named later. Include 4 million in the deal to get a better prospect. IF the universal DH is here to stay, then I can see someone wanting to take a chance on Miguel. The stretches he has where he is Babe Ruth are exciting, but the stretches where he he is hitting .150 and striking out 60% of the time isn't something that is overall as beneficial to our club. I slide Kirilloff into the full time 1B slot, and have the DH open for primarily Donaldson in 2022, as well as Garver. 6) Sign Jon Gray, formerly of Colorado, 3/42. This might be low on the AAV, but I love his fastball/slider that he brings, which means that the Twins should too. Another healthy arm to pencil into the rotation day 1. 7) Sign Corey Knebel, formerly of the Dodgers, to a 2/16 deal. Here is the layout from twinspayroll.com, but payroll comes in at JUST shy of 130. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12VX-aXpedY7YM2IwDcna724jnMFUMwTE0jBMP1DH_2A/edit?usp=sharing Couple of thoughts... 1) I have Jax initially as my long reliever. I think he is a good option for a 2 inning guy, sometimes 3 innings, and he would just focus on his fastball/slider. 2) I have Miranda making the team, as the starting 3B. Donaldson would play over there a lot too (and probably start opening day) but having Miranda be 3b, 2b, 1b and some left field is a good thing. I listed Larnach as the starter in left field, but if he needs time at AAA to start the year, maybe Rooker/Refsnyder make that combo for a time? 3) When/if Austin Martin and Royce Lewis and Gilberto Celestino show they are ready, there are moves to be made to make room. 4) When our pitching prospects are ready, there are moves to be made to get them up too. But, if they are NOT ready, I think the depth is solid. COULD we look at another relief pitcher signing? Sure. I think they'll do lots of minor league signings again (which is smart.) I also think Colome is back, which I am ok with.

Ryan was the #98 prospect in baseball prior to the 2020 season according to mlb. Then the pandemic started, and he has come back strong again this year. Maybe he fell off the rankings because Tampa is so loaded? Who's to say. But he seems like as good a bet as any prospect to stick in a rotation, and if that's the case it's a homerun trade. Wish Cruz well though, no doubt. Would love to find a way to have him back playing again, or at minimum in a roving instructor type role at some point like Hunter, Cuddyer, Hawkins et al.

Here is mine. To elaborate; I brought back Odorizzi for one year, brought back Clippard and Avila, and made a couple of trades; one ended up being Garver and Arraez to Washington for Robles and a prospect (our new left fielder as well as centerfield insurance.) I also traded Sano to San Diego for a high end prospect/outfielder who is 2-3 years away but was their 1st round pick this past June. I signed Kike Hernandez, and he will start out as our starting 2nd baseman, but when Lewis is eventually ready, I either have Polanco or Kike move to the utility role. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QZN4l8cY-jjz3wTdsUhSuiYFCewBVf_H7LD7e_oYU0Q/edit