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Interesting topic. Had Larnach, Miranda and AK coming up a couple years ago. Julien, Waller and Lewis this year. Now Lee, Severino and Martin are on the horizon for next year. The first trio had lots of early success, then injuries took over with only AK doing anything last year. And his year was derailed by his new problem, although its great news that the lingering wrist problem appears to be behind him. Before we get too far into dreaming about the three in this article, what is the future for this older trio? Each is capable of being big time, will they? Heck, will any one of them reach his portential? Then there is this past year's crop. If he limits his time on the IL to 10 or 20 games a year, sure looks like Lewis is a star. Perhaps MVP type of talent. Others will certainly disagree, but I want the Twins to ink this young man into third base in their lineup for the next ten plus years. Have more questions about both Julien and Wallner. One thing that may help Julien is if baseball does anything about eliminating umpire mistakes at calling balls strikes. This kid may have fine tuned his eye to the point that some/many of his strikeouts should ahve been walks. What do his numbers look like if, say, 10 of his K's are walks? Or 15? I see some negativity above about his D. Yes, it was a problem when he came up. But everything I read in the Strib, and elsewhere, indicates that he worked hard and it did improve over the summer. Personally, I have more questions about Wallner. Like Julien, I thought his defense improved after a few really ugly games earlier this year. But it wasn't great, although he does have a cannon for an arm. And his strikeouts were a problem. Can he fix that? If not, do the Twins really need another Gallo? As I look at the trio Cody is talking about, the first problem I see is that both Severino and Lee are infielders. Looking at the six who are already here, four of them play some mix of first, second and third base. Yes, Martin is probably being moved to center field, a position of potential need. But the others are faced with a lot of competition with Correa owning short. We will know what the Twins are thinking about Polonco in the next ten days when they need to either exercise his option or cut bait. Assuming they do exercise, there are a lot of guys fot next year's trio to pass for an opportunity to play in the Twins infield.

Since Prielipp was drafted, I will continue to believe that Prielipp and Canterino have the highest upside of any pitchers in the organization. Hearing Seth's interview of Canterino is encouraging. Hopefully, we will have similar news about Prielipp before spring training. May take a couple year's longer to get to the big club, but still believe in this duo.

Thanks, Seth. Still believe this kid can be a big part of Twins future pitching staffs. Is it likely, Seth, that because of his not pitching in soooo long that he will be stretched out to 2-3 innings this spring, then moving to the bullpen for the year? Is it realistic to expect him in Minneapolis by the All-Star break? Have always thought this kid could be a good one and wish him the best now that this is behind him.

All the news on AK's surgery is good. The labrum was ok and the surgery was limited to other problems. Sounds like he should be AOK come spring training.

While everyone is talking about where they can trade or spend more, the reality is that they will very likely spend less. You alluded to that, however, I didn't see the reason. Correct me if I missed something, but they do not have a contract for television next year, right? I seem to remember reading somewhere awhile ago that Bally wanted to do deals with several MLB teams, but it would be at least 20% less than this past year. Well, that would be a $10M++ hit for the Twins. Will that be the best deal they can get? Will Bally even be offering less? With all the uncertainty related to $54M of 2023 revenue, it is going to be a winter of uncertainty for the Twins. I don't see them writing any big checks, even for one year.

Agree with the above that it is likely Alcala makes it thru the winter on the 40-man. Much of that will be based on the Twins knowledge of his actual physical condition. Something we don't know. Also expect that Willie Castro's play last year means Gordon is gone. Only quesiton I have is whether or not there would be a market where the Twins could get something back for Gordon, or as part of a bigger deal?

I know two things regarding this annual exercise. One, I don't have a clue what they will do. And two, I will be surprised about at least one of the players moving on and shocked at one or more of the moves they make or don't make regarding preparation for the Rule 5.

Have a feeling the FO isn't putting a lot of time thinking about this situation right now. Expect they are focused on, 1) Do they extend Polo or Kepler; 2) resigning Gray, or extending a QO if he doesn't; 3) Resigning Maeda; 4) Talking to Taylor about a contract; 5) Same with Pagan who merits bringing back. . That's a lot on their table, especially with Levine away in Boston exploring his opportunities. First base becomes more urgent after AK has his surgery, or not. At that time the docs will be able to tell them what is involved with his recovery.

Because of Gray's prior comments about retirement, I don't see the probability of his accepting a QO as zero. I know I am amongst the minority in that opinion, but! Also gotta wonder whether the Twins are as high on Wallner as many here. I know he didn't hit all that well at the end of the season. Did he have any hits in the playoffs? Was also surprised he wasn't the pinch hitter late in the last game versus Houston as he did go into left field after Buxton pinch hit. So I don't see the Twins as loaded with corner outfielders as both Wallner and Larnach have questions. With that said, agree with all the topics you list for the Twins. What's encouraging is that many of them need to be addressed during the first week or two following the end of the World Series.

Thanks for pointing out that Ethridge hit a batter. Was scratching my head while looking at his line, 2 ER, 1 Hit and no walks. Don't know much about Carr, although see he had a nice summer while at Cedar Rapids. Is he a legit prospect who may be in a Twins rotation two or three years from now? See he was almost 24 when the Twins drafted him out of college, so he will be older when/if he makes it. I know that will have an effect on some of your prospect rankings.

Expect you haven't seen the numerous reports during the year where he talked about needing to decide if he wanted to continue playing. Most that I recall were in the Strib and usually included a discussion about his wanting to spend more time with his young children. If those are true, there is a real possibility he may want to take it one year at a time. In that case, taking a $20M QO might fit with what he wants to do.

I remain hopeful that Gray's replacement is Gray! Am hopeful the Twins are talking to him these next couple weeks and are able to sign him to a nice extension. If not, they will likely do the QO. Have read several times over the summer that he has thought about whether he wants to continue pitching. If that is true, would he accept the QO and pocket $20M for one more year? Could he be at the beginning of several years where he is happy with a one year deal which would enable him annually to decide whether he wants to continue pitching or spend more time with his family and sons?

Best case scenario you ask. For me it would be playing 140 games, 120 in the field, winning the triple crown (does that still exist?), MVP and platinum glove. Now back to reality. I also read LENIII's article, twice. Appreciated several points I was not aware of and came away hopeful that Buxton can get on the field in 2024. Have been thinking alot about which of the several free agents the Twins bring back. Do they work to resign Taylor? I appreciate how important he was to the team this year and hope he is back. But what to do if Buxton is healthy? Does it make sense to have Taylor in center and Buxton in left say 80 games a year? I never played much baseball and don't have a clue if Buxton is less likely to get injured playing left field than center? Is that likely? As this year's season draws to a close, is gonna be fun for us Twins fans to see what the front office does regarding bringing back this year's players.

Fantastic seeing him throw at the end of the season. No question he will be in the Twins 2024 rotation. Only questions are in which slot and how many innings will he be able to throw next season? Can he replace Gray as our #2? Or is he more likely a #3 or #4? Will he need a couple trips to the IL to rest his arm, kind of like Ober this year? Expect he will which is why I would like to see Varland begin the season in St. Paul as the #6 starter. That would make him available to fill in for Paddack when he needs a blow and Ober, or any other starter, should they need that two week refresher.

The good news is that the Twins should have a good idea about the timetable for AK's return soon after surgery which is scheduled for the week after next. By the time the Series is over and they start talking to potential free agents they should have a good idea whether AK will return by spring training? Or by the start of the season? Or when?

How sad. Guess this tells us why AK didn't seem like his normal self late this season and in the playoffs. Let's pray that his injury is on the less severe scale and he is back by either spring training or early summer. Get well young man, you are due for some good news.

Great read, thanks. Agree with most of the comments. Have one question, why do you mention Martin as someone who is ready to contribute? The Martin I saw playing for the Saints hasn’t proven to me he should be a starter in St Paul, and certainly not for the Twins.

The best news for me is we won’t have all those posts all winter telling us which older former ace the Twins must sign for hundreds of millions dollars. Or what good starter the Twins should trade most of their top prospects for. As long as Lopez stays healthy, the Twins have their ACE. Now they need a #2. Will Sonny sign an extension? If not, will he accept a one year QO which I assume will be offered? Yes, they have Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Paddack and Varland. I would really like to see Varland as #6, so they do need one more if it isn’t Gray. As for #2, could it be Paddack? Sure liked what I saw this past week. Sure looking forward to several decisions they will be making three weeks from now.

Is Ethridge the one, Doc, who was drafted with either a tired arm or coming off an injury? The one who scouts thought should have gone much higher hadn't his injury/over use been a big concern?

One earned run from five pitchers throwing 8 innings is a very nice week from the Twins pitchers. Sure as heck a lot better than their hitters. Appreciate this report, Steve. To be honest with all the excitement coming from the Twins I had forgotten that the AFL was getting going. Do have one question. Considering Rosario was coming out of Hi-A ball, it could be expected that he would struggle as I assume many/most of the pitchers in this league are older and more experienced. At least historically there were few A ball players in the AFL. Is that still the case? Or has this league become more of an A ball league?

As Blyleven said, being a Military Academy graduate we can assume he is mentally tough. Have always believed that many of his tough innings have included one or more really cheap hits.

Felt good reading Nick's article, not so good after reading your comment Beast. Hell, if you are right why do the Twins even bother playing the games? Heck, they should get on a plane today, save the cost of staying there for the long weekend and not get embarassed.

Got a good feeling reading your piece, Nick, thanks! Agree that the Twins can win this series. Let's hope they do. To do so, they have to win at least one in Houston this weekend. Expect their best chance will be game 1 on Saturday. We don't know who the Twins starter will be, but after seeing Ober on the hill against a not as good Rockies team last week, he would be my choice. If not Bailey, hopefully Maeda, as Ryan's allowing too many home runs of late worries me.

Excellent article, Parker. Thanks! Got me thinking about what we all were hoping for/expecting when the Twins brought Falvey into the organization from the Guardians. Yet, many have been disappointed, some vocally, that it hadn't happened sooner. But as we sit here this morning, excited about this afternoon's game, maybe they have delivered what we expected. It just didn't happen overnight. Your explanation of how they helped Lopez become that long soft after ACE sure makes it sound like they have.

Thanks, Seth. Absolutely thrilled with how the Twins draft a slew of college pitchers once their first handful of picks have been made. With so many of these guys pitching well in the minors, gotta expect one or two to climb up to the big club every year.