cHawk

He was quite solid in the summer months of this past year before he got injured.

Polanco should not play short. Simmons should not be resigned. I’m not sure what they want to do at SS but it better not be either of those.

Saying that Falvey and Levine openly choose to spend less money when more money is available is wild speculation. This has been a problem from Ryan to Smith to Levine. It can’t be every single ****ing GM. And yes, I believe they won’t break the bank in free agency as long as the Pohlads own the team. So blame the Pohlads. Not Falvey and Levine.

With that logic you’re trying to build a fantasy team. You’re ignoring a lot of things. The Pohlads have said they are willing to increase payroll, yet it never happens. Do you really think Falvey and Levine want to spend less money? I find that really hard to believe. If you expected them to go get Cole or Strasburg, you set yourself up to be disappointed. It was never going to happen.

Oh my bad. I didn’t see that That’s pretty funny

How come? The only 3B that year who got more was Rendon (and they weren’t getting him, that’s ridiculous)

Well, yes. They wouldn’t have extended Buxton if they did. They would’ve been shopping Donaldson too.

Nah, I don’t want Polanco back at SS. Get a real SS and keep Polanco at 2B.

I don’t think that this is a rational assessment. The Twins were outscored 23-7 in 3 games. (average 7.7-2.3) This isn’t the NFL or NHL or NBA where one player can change the game. Pressly is one arm that pitches 2-3 innings of the series. 2-3 innings would not have changed the outcome.

Greinke looks washed to me. He’s been getting worse the past couple of years. I don’t think he would make a great leader, either. He doesn’t seem to have the personality.

The FO’s win percentage is 52.7%, averaging 85 wins/year. The two years prior to this one they had a winning percentage over 60%.

Arraez definitely has value. If the Twins don’t want to trade Polanco, then they should trade Arraez IMO.

You need the full package to win in the MLB, or any sport for that matter. If the Twins think that their pipeline will supply them with all of the pitching they will need, then they could sign a guy like Story or Bryant to a long term deal. I wouldn’t do both, as I don’t think that their pipeline will supply them with all of the pitching they need. I think they should have a bit left over to spend in FA to address the pitching staff.

I think it makes more sense to have Kirilloff in LF and Miranda at 1B, because Miranda would stay on the infield (and play an easier position).

Celestino was pretty dreadful for the 23 games he played in the majors in 2021 (granted, a small sample size). While he was solid at the plate in AAA in 2021, it’s incredibly concerning that he wasn’t ready for the major leagues 6 years after being drafted. So IDK what the ceiling for him would be defensively. Offensively, well, he would essentially be that of a rookie (could shock you but will most likely need to time to adjust to the majors).

Sorry—that was a misclick as a result of Safari being weird on a tablet.

Well obviously they have a long-term solution at starter. As for a backup, I have my doubts about Cave, as he was really bad in 2021. I don’t know if we can expect a bounceback year from him. Austin Martin possibly, but only when he’s ready. I don’t want to bring him up, have him struggle, and destroy his confidence. In any case, if you can find a (good) backup for little money, do it. If you can’t, have Martin or Cave fill the role.

Yeah I was going to say D/D- if not Incomplete.

While we are undergoing the lockout, nothing can be done by any team. So I think this would be an appropriate time to look over what has been done this offseason and discuss what to expect after the end of the lockout, and what the Twins still need to do. Buxton extended When we were all down on the Twins’ FO and thinking that a trade was inevitable, the Twins got it done. The Twins and Buxton agreed on a 7-year, $100M extension with incentives. That’s $14.29M per year base salary. So essentially Buxton needs to put up at least 12.5 WAR over 7 years for this contract to be worth it. Is that a reasonable expectation? Well, unless he has a major injury, (that would take him out for multiple consecutive seasons) yes, as he put up 4.2 in 61 games this past year. And that never looked like a fluke, as the guy has been a generational talent since he was drafted. As I said, there are also incentives in this contract (I think he makes an extra $8M per MVP award?) which of course make sense. All in all, I cannot sing enough praise for this extension. Dylan Bundy signed to one-year deal The Twins went into this offseason needing major upgrades at SP. They needed a big time addition, and that addition is… Dylan Bundy. Yeah, I wasn’t too excited about this signing. It looked like another dumpster dive by a FO who has a reputation of doing that with pitchers. That being said, this FO has had success with this strategy in the past (ok, not in 2021, but in other years) so I’m willing to give Bundy a chance. Unlike Happ or Shoemaker, Bundy is in his late 20’s, so he’s significantly younger and therefore probably has more upside. As I look at these numbers, Bundy’s best pitch over his career according to run value has been his slider. That was probably the main thing about Bundy that Falvey and Levine were interested in. However, he was bad in 2021. Very. bad… The Twins will be counting on a bounce back year from Bundy. His ceiling IMO is what he was in 2020, where he put up 2.0 WAR in 90 IP. Further needs after the end of the lockout Well, I don’t think I need to say it. Do I? Actually? Of course the Twins need top of the rotation help. Bundy, Ryan, and Ober can be a very solid back of the rotation, where you could be pleasantly surprised if Ryan ends up being much more. But the Twins still need 2 starters and about 4-6 bullpen arms. Many on this site have called for the Twins to sign former Chicago White Sock Carlos Rodon, who was a Cy Young Candidate in 2021. This would definitely be a target for me. I would also look to acquire a young, top-end starter with team control via trade. I would then add quality arms on the cheap in the bullpen, and address the need of a shortstop (not with Simmons, thank you very much). What should expectations be for the Twins in 2022? This is the million $$$ question. Of course, there’s no guarantee the Twins are going to do any of the 4 things I suggested. In fact, it’s very likely they’re not going to do all four things I suggested. If they want to contend in 2022, they should, IMO, look to do these 4 things (and maybe more). If they want to go all in on ‘23 or ‘24, IMO they should look to find long term solutions to these four needs. If they want to rebuild, well, Falvey and Levine should walk. Rebuilding after 5 years is inexcusable. Mid-Offseason Grade: Incomplete So that’s what I think on this subject. I now want to hear what you think. Share your thoughts down below!

I do not want a reunion with Simmons. Iglesias is interesting. His Whiff% and K% has been Top 20 Percentile throughout his career and he has good speed. He is on the wrong side of 30 tho. I would be careful about signing him, although I think it’s an option. Not interested in Galvis. He seems rather mediocre. I, like many, do not want Polanco at SS. His defense is awful. Of those options, Iglesias looks like the best option. There may be other options that I haven’t gotten to.

I really don’t get/like the idea that the team would’ve done better had Baldelli put in a different pitcher with a 7+ ERA. You might as well leave him out there to eat innings if the game is out of reach.

With the Buxton turmoil recently and much of the negative eye on the FO, there hasn’t been much talk about Baldelli. However, Baldelli has received just as much heat from this site over the past 7 months as the FO has. I’ve touched on Baldelli before in this thread, but that was incredibly one sided toward Baldelli and I never really talked about some of my criticisms toward Baldelli. Also, that was written in May. It is now November. Time has passed and we have more to look at. Baldelli now has his first losing season. I’m going to look at some of the things I think make Baldelli the right guy for this team and I’m also going to look at some of the things I think make Baldelli not the right guy for this team. Why he’s the right man for this team The Twins had a real clunker of a season in 2018. Paul Molitor was fired as a result, and Baldelli was hired. Many other changes were made to the coaching staff as well. In 2019, the team looked much better and played really well throughout the year, en route to 101 wins. The team simply played much better under Baldelli, which implies good things about the manager. Even if you include the awful 2021 season, the team has averaged 88.6 wins per season (162 games) throughout three years under Baldelli. That’s better than any season they had from 2011-2018. This might not look like much in terms of the things going for Baldelli, but the case here is that it doesn’t need much explanation. Why he’s not the right man for this team My first critique of Baldelli is that his team, particularly in 2021, looked poorly prepared. IMO, it hasn’t been talked enough how much this team struggled with the fundamentals of baseball. Failing to make the most basic of plays. I watched every game through late May (after May not every game, but most games) and I saw this team fail at the fundamentals, comedically at times. This could be attributed towards a coaching staff as a whole, but Baldelli is a pretty big part of that. I talked about how the team performed better under Baldelli in the Pros section, but there are times where I wonder if Baldelli is getting less out of his team than the sum of its parts. To me, the biggest example of this is the 2020 Wild Card Series against the Astros. The Twins were favored to win, but they didn’t even show up to the ballpark. They lost the series without a single victory. Many on this site lamented about poor relief work, and while I agree that the bullpen was not good, you can’t overlook the fact that this team scored 2 runs in 2 games against a pitching staff composed entirely of Zack Greinke, Ryan Pressly, and a bunch of rookies. The Twins offense was underwhelming in 2020, but they were at least competent, especially at home. This is not a case of an incapable lineup being exposed, this is a case of everyone performing well below their talent level in a situation of high magnitude. It’s been obvious since January of 2020 that Mike Zimmer would consistently get less out of his Vikings than the sum of their parts, and I’m wondering if the same thing is happening with Baldelli. The 2020 Wild Card Series isn’t the only example of this, I also think that parts of the 2021 season are an example. This team had dog**** offensive performance after dog**** offensive performance for much of the beginning of the season, with the occasional 12-run blow-up. All and all, those are my thoughts about Baldelli. What do I think his future should be on the Twins? As of right now, IDK. I want to say he would be on the hot seat for 2022 but right now, next season is on the FO. They need to untangle themselves with the Buxton situation and fill out a pitching staff. If they can do that, Baldelli should then be on the hot seat at the start of the season. But if they can’t and decide to punt 2022, it wouldn’t be Baldelli’s fault if the team doesn’t do well. That was a lot. I think I’m going to go eat a cookie now.