jokin

I'd book the very high likelihood (barring injury to another key OFer), that Buck starts the season in Rochester and that Arcia is given every shot to make the team out of Spring Training (especially if Plouffe is traded). Watching how Arcia performs in Winter Ball will be the first indication on whether he's decided to take a more mature approach to his career (he plays on the same team as his brother, who will soon eclipse him at the major league level if he doesn't get his act together in 2016).

I'm just surprised that Atlanta and the Twins couldn't get together and have a deal done in July. As I wondered why AJ wasn't more actively linked to the Twins in previous FA. It tends to make me think that either AJ or the Twins, or both, had/have a reason for why it didn't happen. I hope I'm wrong.

The Angels rallied for 5 in the 9th inning versus the Rangers today, to pull off a wild 11-10 win at The Ballpark in Arlington- to keep things highly unsettled going into the last day of the regular season on Sunday, both in the AL West, and for who ultimately claims the 2nd spot in the Wild Card hunt. But the craziest thing was the fact that both clubs employed 9 pitchers each, in a 9-inning game. Combined, the two teams used 43 total players, including 4 pinch runners. Both starters went 4 innings, which means that each team used 8 pitchers to throw 5 innings apiece. Surprisingly, the game actually "only" took 4 hours and 7 minutes to complete- but as exciting as the result turned out, especially if you were an Angel fan, I gotta think lots of people bailed after an already 3+ hour time commitment when Texas took a 10-6 lead in the 7th. Given that a Point of Emphasis for MLB was a mandate to the umpires, players and team management to shorten the average game time in the 2015 season, is it time for the League to impose a roster limit/game in September when rosters can theoretically expand to 40?

My scenario would also include Derek Norris in the deal. And it's hard to imagine Terry Ryan ever eating a $24M crap sandwich by simply outrighting Nolasco.

Yeah, that's a little harsh, I think they can do better than him starting at SS. But getting rid of him? That's a little harsh. And the Twins will likely give Arcia another chance early next year to see if he can get 100% healthy and productive before they would cut the ties with him. And no Nunez, too? The Twins love their scrappy utility types... that they themselves recycled from the scrap heap... and prefarably in bulk quantities.

Justin Morneau? The Rockies seem to be in housecleaning mode and could easily decline his option and let him walk.

Ian Desmond fits your criteria perfectly.

As i noted upthread, Tommy Hunter and Neftali Feliz. Flamethrowers, need some Neal Allen TLC coach-whisperer adjustments. Hunter's velo has actually steadily risen throughout his career (96.4), Feliz's has been stable over 4 seasons (~95). Should be available at slightly above TR bargain special rates. If one or both of these two pan out, Perkins (I think his days as the full-time closer are in jeopardy) and Taylor Rogers can be the hi-lev LHRPs, add O'Rourke as your LOOGY... Darnell and Dean waiting in the wings. LH bench bat? Would Thome consider coming out of retirement?

Probably right, but there's still no excuse that the MN Twins have the 23rd lowest payroll in baseball.*** Remember in 2012 when everyone was saying that signing any big FAs had to wait until the table was set with the next wave? Well, dinner is served, Terry! Time to move that payroll up to the median range of $125-$135M. ***http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/

Hard to imagine who in baseball would be a bigger liability than Nolasco. At least with Shields you'd have a guy who, even in decline phase, wouldn't have one phantom? injury after another, actually gave a damn about his team, and represented true veteran leadership to a pitching staff looking to make a run in the post-season.

Superior personnel at #1/#2 Starting Pitcher and Shortstop are the most important spots for post-season success, and are 2 of the 3 obvious areas that are currently holding the team back- [they're severely lacking in all 3 of the spots stated, plus catcher]- from being considered a legitimate WS contender. Through today's game, EE's wRC+ for both one-year and two-year time spans is 102 (that's 10th best among SS this season), which is pretty good at the position. But is there anyone that follows baseball that says his glove is top ten at the position? IMO, pretty good isn't good enough if they're going to make a run, because we know there isn't a Johan/Liriano duo waiting in the wings and ready to debut for this club in 2016. Also IMHO, the Twins would be far better off in 2016 and going forward to '17, by: 1) giving Dozier more days off in the first half of the season to hopefully keep him productive for 162 games, not 85 games; 2) splitting Sano's time between 3rd and DH; 3) signing Ian Desmond at SS and; 4) giving Escobar regular reps at 2nd, SS and 3rd, which seems to be what he was born to do.

If that ain't classic Minne-Soda Passive-Aggressive, I challenge someone to do one better!?

All good points. But I think they HAVE TO- not "may need to"- look outside the organization for a catcher. Turner's likely not ready until 2017, if then, and there's obviously not much to get excited about among any of the alternatives. And to your point, to avoid compounding the problem into 2017 the Twins simply cannot let the Suzuki contract vest. As of this season, the Twins are paying more for their rostered catchers than the Angels, Astros, Nationals, Red Sox, Rangers.... plus the freaking Los Angeles Dodgers. Unfortunately, I think the Twins marketing department has the first post-season press conference announcement about Torii's re-signing already baked into the cake and well on its way to the season ticket holders.

Oh, he can be a starting SS on a contending team, it just puts that contending team in a bigger hole against other contending teams. I love EE, he's just not anywhere near the elite group of SS, defensively, exaggerating his liabilities, or not. If the Twins can seize the opportunity to upgrade to Desmond, they should, and we would suddenly have a more realistic chance to BE that "contending team".

Killjoy. Reality is, there will be changes... could be a few, could be a lot. At least a couple are going to be traded (We all know the top two higher-priced guys that will/should be on the block starting on October 5)... and Terry's going to listen on a few more to either fill the obvious holes or achieve payroll rebalancing or create roster spaces. A big decision is coming on Hunter and the other FAs. There are also probably 5 or more names that we can all quickly come up with that are prime non-tender or DFA candidates.

FIFY

With all of the graduations at the top and a number of busts/mehs/serious injuries, cracking that list ain't quite the same honor that it was one year ago at this point in time.

"True".. I get your suspicion. Sounds like something his agent told him to say. (Just kidding, sort of). Yep. I like the guy, but as I said, hard to imagine EE frontlining a World Series contender. Here's a case where a top veteran for the next couple of years would have been part of the finishing touch on a perennial WS contender. Too bad they missed on Tulo. Ian Desmond has been the best Fangraphs-rated SS since 2012. Had a down year in 2015, and is no doubt declining over all, but he'd be perfect for this team on a short-term overpay in the FA market. At catcher, they have to do something, but they won't (unless AJ wants to come back cheaply). I had forgotten that the Padres have a need at 3rd base (Solarte became their de facto at the position). Perhaps Plouffe could be part of a grand trade to pry Derek Norris away along with Shields.

Yeah, would the Pads go for Stewart, Gonsalves or Thorpe as the additional prospect throw-in? It would be tough to swallow the loss of Kepler, but I still might consider it. And I agree on Desmond, I too am a big fan, it's a NO to me if the market is strong going out beyond 2 years. But I still am not convinced, even though I like him, that Esco is a starting SS on a World Series contender. The other big hole can be filled relatively cheaply. How about signing both Tommy Hunter and Neftali Perez? Two very live arms. Neal Allen did wonders with Jepsen. who was brought in with very low expectations, no reason why it couldn't translate with these two. Rolling the dice on these two guys, who should come in cheap on the FA market- and who both had some bad luck peripherals, changes of scenery, but most importantly, they both have retained their velocity. If they do bounce back like Jepsen, suddenly, all of that 7th-8th-9th inning crazy-quilt, bullpen patchwork of 2015, becomes a distant memory.

Given that assassination is a pretty serious thing too: : Is that something more like: "Don't Shoot The Messenger"? or: "Do As I Say, Not As I Do"? But seriously, at minimum, signing AJ to a one-year with a mutual option year should be a priority if the Twins choose to upgrade at that position on the cheap (they've already committed their "big money" at the position, this seems like something that would be a natural thing for Terry to do, and AJ has to like the idea of coming home and closing out his career playing for a winner. Doesn't really improve the defense, but keeps both catchers fresher, and it's an upgrade on the cheap- which Terry prefers). However, you're on to something pretty important... if they are serious at upgrading at their obvious weak links in the lineup... AND.. we're going to pursue a trade of Shields for Nolasco, how about getting Derek Norris in the package, instead of Benoit? It's been documented that Shields is a student of pitching and a proven leader of his team's pitching crew. In addition, the SP logjam has to be whittled back, and if it costs one more prospect, as long as it's not another Top 6 guy or Kepler, this would be a better trade than for Shields/Benoit. And it seems like there are enough other decent RP arms in the FA market for the Twins to choose from to fill the gap in for one of the late-inning roles. And what about SS? Did Ian Desmond have enough of a down year to give the Twins the chance to nab him at a discount in years, if not dollars? A juiced-up, incentive-laden contract on a one or two-year deal might be just the ticket for him to gamble on his ability to build up his value for another big contract with another team down the road. That would give the Twins a former All-Star -level SS as a bridge until Gordon is ready- and Esco goes back to full-time utility role, where he has excelled, and seems better fit to fill.

Absolutely not. His oxygen intake is just fine- his CF defense will soon be elite level, speed-wise, he's as good as it gets in baseball on the basepaths. As Parker noted, based on the last road trip, all of Buck's hard work in the cage and video-room this month with Bruno has just started to bear fruit I'm with Roy Smalley on this issue, wasting another half year in Rochester might be the worst thing for delaying his development. His major issue right now is his need to recognize major league pitches and pitching patterns, not junk stuff thrown mostly by AAAA journeyman.The sooner he learns how to start avoiding all of those 0-2 counts against major league pitchers, the sooner he's on the way to stardom. I get that the Twins might hold him back starting out in 2016, but only for financial reasons. He should be up and starting in CF as soon as the service time issues are resolved to the Twins satisfaction. I would hate to see them needlessly waste a roster spot for an extra veteran OFer they don't really need, and lose a prospect in the process. (Perhaps keeping Buxton in AAA just for a few weeks to start out the season will give Arcia one last chance to turn things around.)

Well, certainly another half year at Rochester isn't going to solve Buxton's developmental dilemma.

The situation was a lot different for the Astros' MWL club than Cedar Rapids. Wow! Even more kudos to pass Mauer's way. It appears that there were 3 better SS in the league, the other two besides #27 propsect, Bregman (age 21), are only 18 and 17 years old (Torres [#29] and Giron [unraknkef]), so Gordon (#77) is apparently only the 4th best SS prospect in the ML- that's quite a talented group, indeed. Hopefully that ranking keeps him motivated to keep working hard and take nothing for granted.

Messing around with May is mostly what I was talking about, not acquiring another RP sooner- while they left May in limbo for a month, the ill-fated start, in particular, before May was actually allowed to become the high leverage 8th inning man- the Twins lost several winnable games during that month. Also, I campaigned to bring Sano up for nearly a month before they finally pulled the trigger- calling him up soon after the Astros called up Carlos Correa on June 8th (MIguel Sano- How Soon is Now?- my OP dated June 8th) instead of July 2 might have also helped them win an extra game, as well.

...Which is why all those games that were frittered away before and after the ASG could end up coming back to cost them when it's finally all said and done... and they've had a couple meltdowns this month, too... That 5 game losing streak and the crushing loss to Detroit when victory was all but assured should have done them in, already. And yet still, here we are, the Twins' September resilience, and even that dreaded word, "grittiness", are positively palpable with this group- tonight was about as tense and electric as it gets in a pretty empty stadium.