beckmt

Nice thought, will not happen as it would take all or more than all of our FA money

It still will take good signings or the ability of super big market clubs to pay the luxury tax without worring about the money. It could happen, but hopefully not.

We still need to put a team that can win games on the field this year to put fans in the seats(not just the season ticket holders). I cheap 3.5 mil option even for one year will help. Anyone on this post who believes that Twins can catch more than one lightning in a bottle with the return of the minor league FA's starting pitchers is dreaming. Twins still need to sign 2 better FA pitchers or more likely make a couple of trades.

I still believe extending Morneau at about the 2 years $18 - $20 million is the way to go. Parmalee is no sure thing and could be used along with Joe Benson as trade pieces to bring back better pitching. Unless the Twins pick up most of Morneau's salary, he cannot bring back good pitching prospects.

I would start him in Ft. Myers and if he excels promote him to New Britian.

No problem with this as long as Twins get an option year and the price is right. He has filled all roles so could be more valuable than most. Still hoping for 2 better starters, but the more options the Twins have the better chance they have

Just curious--how does one track that down to find out? Not a defense of any poster/opinion. You need access to users' IP addresses. I'm pretty sure they're not the same person, BTW. The person would have to operate on a technical proficiency level that is... Unexpected, given their writing style. Separate devices, seperate networks and a new identity would allow dakota to bypass his banning. Seems strange that trader t starts up after dakota's 3rd banning. It must be tough for him to occasionally use the shift key. I thought dakota was probably using a mobile device, thus easier not to use caps. Pairing writing style with techincal proficincy is a dangerous connection. I am probably an example of being reletivly bright and not being able to write well. Or having friends that could do this for you. Anyway this is probably a more offline discussion(if you wish). Twins still need to identify and sign a couple of FA pitchers who will upgrade the talent level and give us a chance to compete. Trading Span for prospects is also likely to happen as the Twins have a glut of high level minor league talent in that area and it is not that far away from the major league level. Trading a Joe Benson or a Chris Parmalee could also help bring talent back to the Twins when paired with a Span or a Morneau to a team that watches their payroll. Twins should treat themselves as a mid market team not a small market at this time. Biggest issue is to evaluate the talent and make the correct decisions, not everything TR does is going to work. He just needs to be better than 50% on the bigger side.

Jurgens is a disaster waiting to happen. Mark Reynolds would be interesting, but have nowhere to play him. Braden, Hunter, and Lannan all have had major league success. Would not mind any of them being Twins and filling the bottom of the rotation.

I will give Mr. Ryan his due. He is the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum!!! He is quoted last spring as saying he expected the twins to compete for the central division title. Now as for those incredible central division titles that we did win , remember how strong and mighty our division was. The twins would have been in last place in the eastern division.!! That makes Mr. Ryan a genious? Look at the studs he brought in last year. Jason Marquis. He sure put the fear in opposing batters. A part timer in Doumit? A shortstop who was ready for the baseball nursing home in Carrol? He did get some power from Willingham, but look at his batting average. Pitching and defense win championships!!! Where are they? We had the highest era in the al. we were tied for last in home runs in the al. We had a below average team batting average in the al. I almost forgot about our Japanese star,but then his performance was quite forgetable. Do I need to go on any further about Mr. Ryans genius? Doumit, WIllingham, Burton, and Carroll were all relitivly successful signings. Marquis and Zumaya were not. That seems to be a positive success ratio. Pitching staff takes longer to fix. Trader t must realize that not everything works out well. At least TR has a successful track record, look no further than Kansas City if you want a failure. That is what not having a plan does. I have seem on other websites the fact that most of Kansas Cities good hitters are on the trading block. Looking for pitching no doubt. Pitching is sometimes luck or a great scouting department that does not miss(Tampa Bay). Twins are better than most in scouting. Give it some time. Problem with people like trader t is that they alway think the job is easy and they can do it. Almost all of them cannot.

I agree with the comment on Willingham being overvalued. Trade value will be determined after some of the FA outfielders sign. Losers in the signing derby will then be looking for trades to fill the holes. Trades will be the way for the small market teams anyway and most of them have the pitching.

I would look at Braden, Hunter, Lannan. The rest are not interesting. Infielders perhaps Stewart or Rodirquez. Hannahan could also be competition for Ploffee. All of the above have had some success at a major league level and probably are better that some of what the Twins have now. Plus none of them would require large dollar investments. Hochevar is a former #1 draft pick who has not put it together. Probably he never will.

Rick Anderson. Leader of one of the worst pitching staffs of all time. Unable to fix any of the starters that began with the Twins and were healthy(Liarino, Blackburn, Marquies). Only reason he was not replaced was his contract for this year. General regression of the Twins pitching staff.

All good points, I had wondered why the Rays would trade Hellickson. Also missed was Wade Davis who has started in the past, but spent this last year in the Rays bullpen. Braves or Seattle are probably better targets for the Twins, but good article and this was interesting. Shields would be the best target, but Tampa probably wants too much, including one or two of the Twins better prospects. Trading prospects is not the way to go at this time.

Point being missed here is that the Tigers have good and relitivly young pitching. That is what wins games and titles. My tigers projections has them being relivant for the next 4 - 5 years. That could be too long to wait. I am all in favor of getting younger, but you also have to put fans in the seats. Moves are needed as some chances taken. Trades need to be made and I think they will. But to hope the Tigers are a 2 - 3 year deal is a pipe dream.

He will probably get a minimum salary major league deal somewhere. Should it be here, interesting. Last few years have been really bad. Final opinion, No

Twins must do something this offseason. It is probable that not all holes can be filled, but the fans must be able to see the effort. It is early, but a signing or two might help turn the negitive comments off for a while.

Bad clubs have to take chances and spend more. Twins have issue noted above that they do not look like a contender. That raises prices and reduces the number of FA's who want to play here.

If you look at what Guthrie(an innings eater type got), it is frightning(Believe it is posted at 3 years for $25 mil). Prices as expected are heading out of sight. Twins may be reduced to trading 1 - 2 outfielders for prospects(and they had better be right). I also am giving TR the benefit of the doubt, but hope that something happens soon.

I also hope the Twins spend the money. It is now all over that FA pitching is going to be more expensive than it was thought. $20 mil may only buy one #2 or #3 type pitcher. On mlbtraderumors it was brought up that Greinke wants 6 years $150 million. Their was also a link that discussed the Yankees may just have to suck it up and pay the luxury tax to stay relevant. This type of talk will only make the agents hold out for top end bucks for their better free agents. I do believe some of the agents are holding back possibly signing until the market shakes out a little more. No agent was to be accused of having their clients sign sweetheart deals.

I also agree that relivers are not highly rated, though 1 -2 of these could be in New Britian by the end of 2013. I hope the Twins start Rosario in New Britian, but they probably will not. Sano needs to start in FT. Myers.

I believe minor league managers and coaches make a great deal of difference. They have to teach and make sure the players understand the little things that make a bigger difference at higher levels. Twins had some issues with this in 2011 when comments from Justin Morneau on a rehab assignment in Rochester about things not being the Twins way got a lot of air time. It also led to the dismissal after the season of most of the Rochester coaches. Scouts also are very important unless the major league club has money to burn. Just finding the talent and the makeup of the talent is important to having very good drafts and getting players (especially in the lower rounds, that have been missed by other clubs). Twins are getting better again, but still have a ways to go.

Chemistry is not as overated as some of you seem to think. Players who only play for their own stats after a period of time wear out their welcome (read Delmon Young). Great for the first year or so with a club and out of welcome by the end of the second or third year. Players like this only tend to play hard when it is to their benefit or in a contract year. Put a team out of contention by the end of July and they dog it. Would not want Escobar at any price. He has now been in 2 or 3 major league orgainizations and has worn out his welcome in all of them. Stephen Drew has only been in 2 places and Oakland wants him back(at the right price). Twins should offer him a contract and see if he is interested(low first year plus incentives and then good options for year 2 or 3).

This is a fine line. We need pitching, pitching and more pitching. Model has changed in the past 3 - 4 years as most clubs now are very reluctant to give up pitching prospects without being overpaid for them. None of the twins players available will bring more than a B prospect. Rays, Atlanta and Seattle along with Oakland have the excess pitching. I would prefer to deal with the Rays as we have 2 players they should be interested in (Span and Parmalee) and 8 possible starters to trade. Brave and Seattle pitchers are more risky unless Seattle will give up one of their top prospects (would probably require Willingham +) mlbtraderumors commented today that Seattle could be in on Hamilton(that would cost only money, but is an unlikely destination). Twins need to more at a faster pace or this market could pass them by. If TR decides to wait, I only hope it is the correct move and we are not looking at the dregs of the barrel.

Santana only had 4 or 5 good to great years with the Twins, this does not a career make. I would rank Blyleven 1 and Kaat 2. Santana comes in at 3. 4 Viola 5. Jim Perry 6. Nathan 7. Aggie 8. Pascual (only because most of his career was with the Senators). 9. Mudcat Grant 10. Morris - I agree it was this important

Do not know if Reds have pitching to spare. I also would prefer the Twins keep their trade chips for pitching. We still need a lot of it. All of the final 4 clubs(with possibly the exception of St. Louis had very good to excellant pitching. Twins have never had that and need to get there, especially by upping their bullpen if they cannot find enough starters.