TopGunn#22

Jeffers is a must trade for me tony&rodney. He's not signing an extension and if he comes back and looks good they could get some nice talent back. I wouldn't trade Joe Ryan unless the return was substantial. Same with Buxton. With those 2 guys there is Shouldn't be any pressure to deal them. They would be key pieces in a rebuild and could allow the Twins to be contenders much more quickly, especially with the expectation that Pablo Lopez comes back strong in 2027 (whenever MLB is actually playing baseball games). But as nice as it is to see a team just one game under .500, while my heart says "YEAH!!!" my brain says a team like the Red Sox, over 162 games SHOULD be better than us. We are not serious playoff contenders. This is about evening up the roster and accumulating talent to fill in the cracks and improve the overall depth when injuries happen. And yes, maybe even making the team leaner and meaner to better facilitate a sale. Ryan and Buxton are our best assets because they make us better and would make any other team better. Jeffers would qualify as well, if his agent wasn't Scott Boras and he wasn't a FA at the end of this season. But when you have a chance to draft the top catching prospect in the draft and Tait and Jimenez in the pipeline Jeffers is, as I said, a must trade. We have young pitchers starting to emerge and an asset in Ober that has built value back up. I don't know how Ober has done it to this point, but yesterday's game vs. the Red Sox showed that Ober's recent success could end sooner rather than later. To me, Ober is a must trade as well. There are teams that will give up something of value for the allure of a good #4/#5 SP to fill out the back end of their rotation. I would make an Ober trade SOON. The other guys that were discussed in the op, and some that weren't originally suggested, like Larnach are all prime candidates for a trade. I like what Larnach has done this season. He's certainly built a little more value up. But Jenkins and E-Rod are coming, and Gabe Gonzalez is already here. Even a Kyler Fedko could/should get a chance. Larnach, Wallner and Lewis should be shuffled off for something that fills out organizational depth more effectively.

It is NOT too early to be discussing this. Reality Check: The Twins are a bad baseball team with serious roster holes. We are a half game out of a Wildcard spot by playing in the worst division in baseball. We'd get destroyed in said Wildcard game. Reality says we need to be aggressive and smart in dealing for young talent to retrofit this roster. There were a couple of players NOT mentioned in the article who should be included. 1. Buxton-He's 32 and now has 10 and 5 rights. I do not trade him unless he requests it. There would be teams, with the Braves at the top of the list, who could and probably would provide a handsome return. But he's the face of the franchise and deserves the chance to be a one-team player, It's got to be Buxton's choice. 2. Ryan-After the injury scare, the loss of Lopez for the season, the near deal with Boston last year and with the emergence of Bradley, Abel, Prielipp and hopefully Matthews, it's time to cash in on Joe Ryan. He will start getting more and more expensive and he will bring a solid package back. 3. Jeffers-The injury is disappointing, but further points to the need to move him. he should have been traded a month ago. With Boras as his agent, he's never signing an extension. He's having his best season ever. Smart FO's see this opportunity and move on it. We have Caratini. We have some emerging catching talent in the minors and the chance to draft the top catcher with the 3rd overall pick. Find the team willing to give up some real talent and make the deal. 4. Josh Bell is a release candidate. Trade him for anything you can get. 5. Ober-His season to date offers a tremendous chance to maximize the return. While Ryan could be a All Star caliber #2 on a contending team, Ober is an intriguing #4 or #5. I'd trade him right now to open up spots for younger pitchers. From this point forward, his value can only decrease. 6. Lewis and Wallner-Lewis is still just 26 years old. Wallner is 28. Each has flashed a tantalizing future only to look so lost it's maddening. There are younger players who are making them less and less of a Twins future. EVERY TEAM in MLB has players just like Lewis and Wallner. It's time for the Twins to move on and take a chance on getting a Shane Mack type back in return who thrives on a change in scenery. 7. Larnach-He's having his best season at age 29. But I'd move on with the young OF we have coming up. I wouldn't give him away, but somebody may give up a nice piece if Larnach would be a good fit for them. 8. SWR-There are younger players who have far greater upside than SWR. If the Twins move him to the BP and he does well I'm hanging on to him as a 25 year old. He's got no spot in a future Twins rotation, but has a chance to be a decent BP pitcher. With a labor stoppage sure to affect at least SOME of 2027 and the hopes that the Pohlad's will finally sell this off season the tear-down should continue with enthusiasm. The Twins are NOT a contender this year. Trade the guys who no longer have a place on a 2027 roster, get the team in a good sale position and build for 2028 & 2029 with young players. It's 1981 all over again.

Clearly, the Twins don't REALLY have concerns with swing and miss. Just look at how long the leashes have been for Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis. Throw in a Miguel Sano for the Hat Trick. This is one of the more disappointing and mystifying things about being a Major league Baseball fan. Especially in an era where so much more information and discussion of minor league players exits. By all accounts, Fedko SHOULD HAVE been up last year, probably around August 1st. But the call never came. We've watched Wallner and Outman flail away consistently and even with Wallner sent packing, no call for Fedko. Outman has struck out 20 times in 54 AB's and is hitting .185 with a .524 OPS. Who are we kidding here?? Fedko would offer more defensive versatility and couldn't possibly be worse than Outman. And this is where it gets disappointing. What else does Fedko need to do? Have another 3 HR game? It's not like the Twins are holding off on starting his Major league clock. It's not that he has a limited number of options left. The Twins organization has predetermined what and who he can be. I was actually surprised no Major League team made a run at him in the Rule 5 draft last year. I thought the Twins has dodged a bullet. But with all the offensive disappointments the Twins have trotted out there this year, couldn't a 2-3 week look at Fedko at least be a consideration? Kiersey ended up being a flop offensively but he didn't put up numbers at St. Paul like Fedko. FREE KYLER FEDKO !!!

Clemens has earned the spot, especially against RH pitching. Even after Bell's 1-day explosion, he should be DFA'd in about a month. Consider him a sunk cost. A miscalculation. I'm rather impressed with what Sabato has accomplished at St. Paul. I'd once Bell is gone, he could earn a shot. Caratini shouldn't play any 1B. He's going to be needed to play a lot of Catcher once Ryan Jeffers is traded for a haul. Jeffers isn't signing an extension. Scott Boras will get him to FA and there will be 20 teams that can pay him more than the Twins. Trade Jeffers while you can still get something GOOD for him. His injury shows how fragile his trade value could be. Get him back, give him a little time and trade him.

Mendez seems destined for 1B and he could be the answer in a future Twins lineup. To me, until we draft someone else in June this year, Dasan Hill is the most exciting prospect we have. His "STUFF" is very exciting, tony&rodney is correct with the command but we both think it is coming along and will continue to improve. He's a future #1 or #2. Jenkins and E-Rod just need to find a way to stay healthy. We could see one or both later this late summer. Reed Moring is a name I had not heard before today. Anyone who goes almost 20 consecutive scoreless innings will draw some attention. I hope he keeps it up.

Bringing up Cu;pepper to play SS would be a big addition to the Twins. Lee could move to either 2B or 3B and that move would also improve the IF defense. Now that Lewis and Wallner have completely cratered their value, it's hard to see the Twins getting anything decent back for either in a trade. Demoting Lewis and Wallner to St. Paul to "rediscover", "reinvent", or otherwise figure out how to hit, would help if either had any minor league options left. But it's clear that Culpepper has earned a chance with the big league club and Emmanuel Rodriguez has as well, once he's healthy. E-Rod is also a good defensive OF, able to play CF, but who would also be pretty solid in RF. An OF of Martin in LF, Buxton in CF and E-Rod in RF would be pretty good defensively. The Twins survived a scare with Joe Ryan, but have neither the bullpen, lineup or current health in their rotation to be a serious contender. Ryan should be traded to the team willing to pay the highest price in about 2-3 weeks. It's time for the Twins to open the floodgates to several prospects and see what they've got. Culpepper would be a welcome start to that process.

That's a great point about Oliva wornsmooth, but Tony-O had athletic gifts Lee just doesn't have. Oliva was a pretty good runner and had the ability to range to make plays. But Lee is showing much of what made him attractive to the Twins and I think Craig Arko's Roy Smalley comp is excellent...even down to the switch hitting. Lee simply does not have the range to be a Major League Shortstop on a day-in and day-out basis (Smalley did for the first 4-5 years of his career) and Lee's "range" won't improve with age. But as a dependable bat and at 2nd or 3rd, Lee has the chance to be solid. He'd be an immense improvement over Lewis at 3B, and that's where I could see him in the not too distant future. The Twins have Culpepper and Houston on the way. Houston's glove is unmatched in the Twins system and he's showing signs the bat could be adequate (or better). Culpepper can also play 3B and 2B in addition to SS. And if the Twins don't take a Catcher with the 3rd pick in the draft, they could have an excellent High School SS fall to them. Lee won't be long for SS after this season, but he's giving the Twins and Twins fans hope he could be a solid infield contributor at either 2B or 3B in the future.

In the moribund A.L. Central, where only ONE team has a positive run differential, I guess you could always say the Twins have a chance. But we know better. This team will be lucky to win 70 games. They were never going to actually compete for anything this year. The Tigers are that only team with a positive run differential, and it will be interesting to see what THEY do with Tarik Skubal when he is finally healthy. Skubal is not going to stay with the Tigers. He's going to explore free agency. The Tigers didn't sign Framber Valdez to bolster their pitching staff for 2026 as much as they did to prepare for life without Skubal after this season. Any competent owner and GM would be working the phones to remake this Twins roster. It's unclear how much of a hit Ryan's value has taken with this injury scare but at least they can get something for him. Jeffers is repped by Scott Boras. He's not signing an extension with the Twins. Bailey Ober has rebuilt some value and should be traded ASAP. Matt Wallner has now lost almost any value he had and with E-Rod, Jenkins and Gonzalez on the way, Wallner is a missed opportunity. Larnach has increased his value slightly. Dare I say Brooks Lee might have as well, but only slightly. The Twins have done themselves no favors by not being aggressive traders before this season began (with the exception of Ober). The fans are sending Tom Pohlad and the family a strong message. "We don't want to watch your baseball team!!!" "We will be disinterested in your baseball team until you finally sell it!!" It's time for the Pohlad's to realize this. Start the major rebuild. At a minimum, trade Ryan, Jeffers, Ober and Wallner. Throw in SWR, Larnach and Lewis. Bring in as much young talent as you can and play the kids. Buxton is a tougher call. He could bring a lot. There's something to be said about having one star for the fans to come out and see. But it's time to tear the present iteration of the Minnesota Twins down to the studs and begin building for the future. It's 1981 all over again. A strike/lockout is looming that could be LONG. The Twins are a last place team with a hated ownership and empty seats in every TV shot during home games. Give young pitchers a chance to learn how to pitch. Bring up your Hrbek, Gaetti, and Eisnenreich. Acquire a Brunansky and Gagne, and build something under new ownership that fans can get behind.

Was there no draft before 1989 that was worth considering?? The Twins won a lot of games since their inception in 1961. There was NOTHING worthy of considering before 1989?? The draft as it's structured now, began in 1965.

Very happy the bat seems to be coming along for Houston. I agree with Herbie fan...Once Houston makes it to the Twins, he will be a joy to watch play SS. A weekly highlight reel.

I think Austin Martin is a tremendous example of sometimes just letting a player be who he is, instead of trying to marginally improve their power or launch angle. From the moment we acquired him as part of the Jose Berrios trade, there was concern he didn't have the proper "power profile" of the "modern ballplayer." In some ways, the Twins have come full circle. Remember how we needed David Ortiz to use more of the field rather than being so pull happy? Remember how that turned out...?? What we are seeing of Martin now is a player who uses the whole field but is much more confident with his swing. With his speed and base running ability, as long as he keeps getting on base at a high clip he's fine as a #1 or #2 hitter or a #8 or #9 hitter. And this is really what Luke Keaschall should be as well. Could Keaschall be pressing to hit with more power when all he should really be doing is concentrating on barreling up balls and let the power play as it does? I think so. And this leads me to Marek Houston. With a glove like his, if Houston as a hitter just hits .270-.280 with a .360-.380 OBP (kind of an Ernie Clement with multiple Platinum Gloves) that's all he needs to be to be a tremendous success. You should always try to improve players. But sometimes, you've just got to accept who they are and magnify their strengths and minimize their weaknesses to get the best version of them. The Twins rightfully never tried to make Rod Carew a 20 HR guy.

I will agree the op could have had more "depth" to it, and bean5302's chart says more than the op itself did. But there was a time that the Twins were one of the top teams in MLB with Latin players in the 1960's. I was a Tony Oliva guy. He was my favorite player on the Twins, but when Rod Carew came along Tony-O got some serious competition. Both were Rookies of the Year. Tony-O EXPLODED onto the scene with back-to-back A.L. Batting Titles. Rod was a little more quiet, but once he won his first A.L. Batting Title in 1969 he made his case for "Greatest Twin Ever." I would like to see the Twins do better in Latin America. We don't seem to want to compete for Japanese stars. But as someone else put it, you just can't take a snapshot and call it a major failure. In the near future the Twins could have E-Rod, Gabe Gonzalez, Noah Cardenas, Eduardo Tait, Mendez, Jimenez, Olivar and any number of others already listed as well, up with the team.

Bowden's rumor could be nothing but "Hot Air" but it's undeniable that the Red Sox offense is a mess right now and neither Durbin or rookie Marcelo Meyer is getting the job done at 3B. Consider this, with the "somewhat encouraging" start Lewis had before his injury, his value on BBTV had been 18.8, then 19.4, then 25.7 and now it's at 30.3. That's NOT selling low. And as someone else stated, if Lewis comes back and starts hitting his value will rise even higher. But he will probably just get hurt again. Look, Brooks Lee is NOT a Major League SS but could possibly be functional as a 2B or 3B. If it were up to me, I'd trade him once I'd gotten a look at Culpepper and if Marek Houston showed continued promise with the bat. Houston is our future SS anyway because the glove is Elite. I think Houston will be just fine if the Twins let him be "Austin Martin" and not expect Emmanuel Rodriguez. I like what Martin is giving the Twins right now. The Blue Jays aren't expecting Ernie Clement to be a 15 HR guy. bean made the point that the Red Sox probably don't want to give us anything to get Lewis. Well of course they don't. They wanted to steal Joe Ryan as well and it cost them at the deadline and in the post season. The Red Sox offense is a mess right now because they can't get guys consistent AB's. They have 4 good OF's and Yoshida and they're having a devil of a time trying to fit 5 guys into 4 slots. Things are going well for the Twins right now, but I don't expect it to last. This team has work to do come the trade deadline and our roster construction is still grossly uneven. Lewis currently has a value of 30.3. Jarren Duran has seen his once lofty 50.0 value crater to 31.0. How about Lewis for Duran? This would break up the Red Sox log jam in the outfield and give them a potentially big bat at 3B, filling the hole left by Bregman. Duran moves into the Twins OF in place of Wallner and goes to the top of the order. This would be the first of many moves the Twins will be making before or at the trade deadline. Ryan, Buxton, Jeffers, Larnach, Ober, Wallner could ALL be moved. Brooks Lee very could as well depending on what we get in return. Others like SWR or Josh Bell could be deadline moves. The Twins aren't going to look anything like this current team come baseball in 2027, whenever that happens. Ryan Jeffers is swinging a hot bat. The Red Sox need a Catcher as well. Maybe a bigger deal happens later with Jeffers and Joe Ryan, but I'd make a Lewis for Jarren Duran deal as soon as Lewis comes off the I.L. and move Lee to 3B with Culpepper at SS.

I get where you're coming from bean5302, but pitching out of the bullpen this season doesn't mean it's a permanent exile from the rotation. Guys like Zebby, and Festa (if he can EVER stay healthy) are getting closer to pitching themselves OUT of a future rotation, so in some respects, it's a fluid situation. I think BOTH Prielipp and Rojas have a strong chance to be part of a future Twins rotation, and those chances increase if Joe Ryan is traded at the deadline (depending on whether a young SP is part of the deal). For a team bereft of LH SP for so many seasons, the Twins could have Dasan Hill along with Prielipp and Rojas in a future rotation. Wouldn't THAT be something. But I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing Prielipp and Rojas get innings in the big leagues this season, even if the Twins break them in gradually by pitching out of the pen.

This is just a baffling mystery. I agree with the idea that he doesn't need MORE pitches. He needs better command of his pitches, and that usually comes down to working on fewer pitches to improve his command of 3 or 4 offerings. Dasan Hill is lurking. Moving Zebby to the BP now doesn't need to be permanent. But it may be needed to narrow his array of pitches into refining 2-3 that he can actually command.