TopGunn#22

I agree Doc. Eeles has achieved at every level he's played at. He's set to begin the season at St. Paul which is AAA and one step from the major leagues. I cannot believe Eeles wasn't invited to spring training. If he was invited, but is injured, somebody who reports on the Twins for a living should have pointed this out 2 weeks ago. Personally, for me, I'm fascinated by Eeles and his story. Having watched Cesar Tovar growing up and Altuve and Pedroia I can't help but see some similarities. Keaschall is the obvious front runner for a call up at some point this season, probably to play 2B. I wouldn't bet against Keaschall, but Peyton Eeles could make that 2B competition interesting if Brooks Lee struggles and Eeles continues his strong play in April, May and June in St. Paul. (Brooks Lee has been swinging the bat pretty darn good so far in camp).

Great article Seth (as always). It's always fun to see how our top minor league prospects are ranked. It's like playing Russian Roulette to try to determine which ones should be held on to and which ones could be leveraged in a trade to improve the big league club. Brandon Warne from Puckett's Pond just wrote about a guy I've been trying to trade for from the Marlins for what seems to be forever. His trade is far too much of an overpay based on Baseball Trade Values. I realize BBTV is not everyone's favorite, and I currently don't pay for the right to post trades or look at player values, but I take notes when I look at proposed trades and my values and very close to current. That player is 2022 Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. The Marlins are reportedly open to trading him. When we acquired Pablo Lopez there was no question that Alcantara was (and still is) considered the Ace of the Marlins pitching staff. Alcantara's contract is a bargain in the current market based on his pedigree and he's looked VERY GOOD in 3 outings so far in spring training. He appears fully recovered from Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss a portion of 2023 and all of last season. He is due $17.3 million in 2025, $17.3 million in 2026 and has a TEAM option for $21 million for 2027 (with a $2 million dollar buyout). His value on BBTV is 48.3. Brandon Warne feels an overpay would be needed to acquire him. Opinions are split whether the Marlins would trade him right now, before teams break camp, or if the trade would come later at the deadline. After the Marlins ask for Walker Jenkins and we say "No" he says the Marlins will move on to asking for Emmanuel Rodriguez. E-Rod's value is 44.4 so a one for one swap would be possible with the Twins maybe throwing in Gabe Gonzalez at 3.1. But Warne's deal has the Twins also adding Zebby Matthews 16.0 and Jose Miranda 16.2. That would be 4 for 1 with the Twins sending about 79.7 in value for the 48.3 for Alcantara. Even for a healthy Alcantara at 3 years of team control at bargain prices for a pitcher of his talent that's just too rich. My deal would be SWR 19.9 Jose Miranda 16.2 Eddie Julien 16.5 (52.60 value) for Alcantara 48.3. The Marlins have made a lot of deals in recent years for very promising but very young talent that was not close to playing in the major leagues. My deal gives Miami a young SP to replace Alcantara as well as a 1B/3B (Miranda) and 2B/1B (Julien) that have already logged time in the Majors. It is the overpay that Warne claims will be needed to get Alcantara but nearly as one sided as his. Alcantara would be a tremendous acquisition. Yes, we probably need offense more, but for the Twins to not just contend but to make some noise in the playoffs PITCHING is what wins in the post season. Imagine a rotation of Alcantara, Lopez, Ryan, Ober and Festa/Paddack. With a BP lead by Duran & Jax the Twins would be tough to score on. And it would solidify the rotation for 3 years. In that time, Festa could emerge and the cupboard is well stocked with Matthews, Morris, Raya and Prielipp. One other key to the Twins in 2025 and going forward: Correa, Buxton and Lewis, healthy and producing. Throw in Wallner, Larnach and Jeffers and the potential is there for a good offense. At some point, we will see new ownership for the Twins. But Warne wrote that he feels Falvey has the freedom to make a blockbuster like this and add Alcantara's $17.3 million dollar salary. It's possible that Miami would rather have Zebby Matthews in place of Julien or Miranda. To get Alcantara to anchor our rotation at his price for the next 3 years, I'd agree to that because the cupboard is NOT bare with minor league arms available behind Festa to shore up the #5 spot in the rotation. It's pretty clear to me that Rocco looks very predisposed to have Ty France at 1B. And France is swinging a good bat so far in camp. With Keaschall on the way soon and able to play 2B or 1B we can afford to move on from either Miranda or Julien...or both. We could add Alcantara to the top of our rotation without moving E-Rod, Larnach, Wallner or Brooks Lee. We would have to part with 3 of SWR, Matthews, Julien or Miranda. With guys in our minor leagues moving up the ladder I could live with a package of 3 of those guys for Alcantara.

It's true Rocco just does not value the stolen base and it's one reason I would not be sorry to see a change at manager if the Twins fail to make the playoffs this season. I'll also point out that Shohei Ohtani stole 59 bases at age 29 last year. Buxton is still in the 97th percentile of sprint speed. If he runs, he WILL steal bases. And I will say again, those that play sports at a highly competitive level who play NOT TO GET HURT...often times get hurt.

I would LOVE to see Buxton run more. He's got the talent and the ability in an environment that makes it more and more likely to be successful. Furthermore, the idea of playing baseball at the highest competitive level, yet dialing back your effort in the hope you do not get injured is just a defeatist attitude and may actually lead to an injury. As my son's high school baseball and legion baseball coach used to say "PLAY THE GAME!!!"

Guys like Tonkin are eminently replaceable. He's got to WIN a spot in the pen in spring training or he will be released, where some other team can sign him to their major league roster despite his poor spring training performance. More likely, Tonkin would find himself in St. Paul to begin the season. I'm still one of those guys still looking for Matt Canterino to earn himself a spot in this BP sometime this season (probably somewhat irrationally). I don't necessarily want to give up on Preilipp being a SP but I wouldn't mind seeing him work some innings out of the pen for the Twins in 2025 either. Alcala is just better than a lot of their options and if used properly I think will be quite good this year. You've got to love the arm Castellano has and if it was a decision between him and a fading Theilbar, I'd take the young arm with potential 100% of the time. Topa has shown he can be a solid, very effective arm. But I think he needs to WIN his spot. He shouldn't just be given the spot because we traded Jorge Polanco for him. I expect Louie Varland to be a very good RP for the Twins in 2025. I think the Twins have some very GOOD options in the minors, especially Canterino starting out at St. Paul. Is this the year Canterino can stay healthy and finally reach the Twins roster?

Seeing a game at Dodger Stadium has always been on my bucket list. Not sure if I'll make it this year but someday I will. Would love to take in the gorgeous setting at Dodger Stadium and check out all the statues of iconic Dodger players from Brooklyn to L.A.

This kid has intrigued me ever since we drafted him. I think the Nick Burdi comp is accurate. Another guy that has a similar comp is former Dodger Brock Stewart. The Dodgers just couldn't wait for Stewart's health to get straightened out and the Twins have been able to reap some quality innings from Stewart as a result. There is no denying the "STUFF" that Canterino has. If he starts at St. Paul and he's healthy and dominant in April, May and into June, I could see the Twins calling him up. Tony&Rodney makes a good point about his lack of options with just one remaining, but if he's good (and stays healthy) in April, May and into June, proving his command is solid his stuff is Major League in every way. I think this is finally the year we will see him in a Twins uniform and again...IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY...the stuff will keep him on the Twins. If that becomes the case, he will mirror Brock Stewart. If he's healthy, he will be effective. But it's going to be like playing Russian Roulette with both Canterino and Stewart when it comes to the health.

Surprised there is no mention at all of Peyton Eeles. With Eeles already set to open the season at St. Paul, he's far more likely to get a shot than DeBarge and Schobel and I'm not sure how much 2B Martin will be playing as opposed to OF. So the omission of Eeles is glaring to me. It's Lee's job to lose. He's the better glove and and a switch hitter with good minor league splits from either side. Last year, outside of his first 9 or 10 games Lee really fell short of expectations. To me, Julien's 2nd half of 2023 and his entire 2024 have put him in a deep hole. He was so bad last season that despite hitting .300 early in spring training so far, in my opinion, he's got to go to St. Paul and just clobber AAA pitching for April, May and June at a minimum. With all the options at 2B the Twins have, if Julien is even just so-so I would look to package him in a trade. He's getting passed by too many guys on the depth chart to continue with him. The primary competition I see for Lee is Keaschall and Eeles. Playing Castro at 2B extensively limits his overall value. Keaschall and Eeles will both be in St. Paul to begin the season and if one or both continue to build on what they did last year, THEY will be the guys pushing Brooks Lee.

I'm with you on this chpettit19. I'm just READY to move on from the Pohlad's. I started to sour on them in the 2004-2010's era. The Twins had 2 MVP's (Mauer & Morneau) a multiple CY Young winner (Johan Santana). The greatest closer in Twins history (and a guy who should be a future HOF) in Joe Nathan. A CF who actually compared to Kirby Puckett (Tori Hunter) and a host of decent supporting cast players. Yet, throughout those years the Pohlad family and Twins FO never made a big move to put the team over the hump to challenge for a World Series. And this all took place when the A.L. Central was VERY competitive. The Tigers and White Sox had some very good teams in those years. There were some great pennant races. So I'm fully invested in new ownership. We won't be able to fully asses how good that new ownership will be for a couple years, but I'm confident in saying they can't be worse than the Pohlad family. Ishbia was only interesting due to the fact he was the only potential new owner mentioned. I also find it interesting that nobody else has been mentioned since the time the Pohlad's announced the team was for sale. I believe a sale will be consummated sometime around the All Star break. Maybe slightly sooner. Remember, it's early March now, the All Star break isn't until mid July. The question really isn't how much is spent on payroll, but how efficiently that money is spent. We're spending a lot of money on Carlos Correa. But if we didn't have him, who the heck would be playing SS? Paying Lopez what we are as our #1 SP isn't outrageous. But paying Christian Vasquez $10 million per year is NOT efficient. Paying Farmer $6.6 million last year or Margot more than league average is failing grade level for a front office. It's obvious blunders like this that make me yearn for a new owner with a new team for a front office. I appreciate what Falvey has done for the young pitching pipeline. But I'd like a clean sweep when new ownership takes over for 2026. From the FO to the manager and his coaching staff. Unless the Twins put up a 90+ win season, make the playoffs and win a playoff SERIES, I'm ready to move on.

I could certainly see the Twins moving on from Jeffers after this season (it's pretty obvious this is the final season for Vasquez). Is a complete remake of the catching position PROBABLE? Hard to say, but how Jeffers does THIS YEAR will go a long way toward determining that. I don't disagree with Doc Gast that the Twins would be smart to acquire a top shelf, young catcher where there is an All Star catcher blocking them. Contreras and Quero in Milwaukee. Will Smith and Rushing with the Dodgers. Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez with the Pirates. Cal Raleigh and whoever that young guy tony&rodney always mentions in Seattle. IF and it's an "IF" either Jeffers or Vasquez gets hurt in 2025, it will be very interesting to see how Cartaya and Camargo are doing in St. Paul as well as if either of them does well if given the chance with the Twins.

I should clarify: I would still like a deadline deal involving SWR. But chpetitt19 is right to point out that if Festa, Matthews and Morris look good, we could see a bigger off season deal involving Lopez, Ryan or Ober. The names involved in that trade would be interesting. Perhaps the Twins make a trade that solves their future catching problems fully. I for one would not be extending Jeffers. I'm dealing him at some point. He's just too inconsistent. It will be very interesting to see what Cartaya and Camargo show this season.

Good comments from all and an interesting article to ponder what is, what could have been and what might still be. I do not think we lack in RH power. Buxton, Correa and Lewis is plenty of RH power. What we lack with each of those 3 is durability. Let's face it, the Twins aren't going to be very good if any of those 3 guys misses significant time. All 3 missing 50-60 games would be a disaster, no matter how well the rest of the team does. They are just that important. On one hand, I think the FO missed an opportunity to sell high on SWR and package him in a trade for a true power hitter. I think SWR hit his peak last year and Festa, Matthews and Morris will all surpass him. They all just have higher ceilings. We are not an exceptional defensive ballclub despite having a couple of Gold Glove candidates at SS and CF. Again, Correa and Buxton need to play 120-130 games for their defense and offense to fully benefit the Twins. There was a lot of talk about making a play for Triston Casas. I would have favored a trade with SWR and something else going to Boston. The problem with this trade was how Boston would be handling 1B, 3B and DH. Matsusaka didn't play any games in the OF last year. The Red Sox used him exclusively at DH. Casas is not a good fielding 1B but he's a young power hitter who WILL hit HR's. I would compare him to Matt Wallner. I'm convinced Wallner hits at least 25 HR's in 2025. The Red Sox also have Rafael Devers who is a terrible 3B but an outstanding hitter. Then they went out and signed a former Gold Glover at 3B in Alex Bregman. It would make a lot of sense to play Bregman at 3B as he's been a Gold Glover and one of Boston's top prospects is a 2B (Kristen Crawford). But Devers is pouting about being moved off of 3B so there is trouble brewing in Beantown. What makes sense and what the Red Sox actually do is yet to be seen, but they are one player too full at DH, 3B and 1B unless Bregman plays 2B. So there is still a chance a deal for someone like Casas could happen. While I would have been proactive and made a deal involving SWR the better scenario may be what chpetitt19 suggested and that would be a deadline deal. If SWR is holding his own, I would still look to deal him if Festa, Matthews and Morris are looking good. I just think their ceilings are higher than SWR's. The Twins would be better off trading pitching for a hitter who is a good defensive player as well. THAT may be the deadline deal that proves to be much more beneficial than an off season trade for someone like Casas.

I cannot remember a time there has been more uncertainty about 2B for a Twins team in their history. While I was born in 1958, I became a Twins fan and starting collecting baseball cards when I was 6 years old (1964). That's probably why Tony Oliva is my favorite all time Twin. So as a fan, I started with the relatively unremarkable Bernie Allen with a little Frank Quilici thrown in. (and a little Jerry Kindall) Not long after that, the Rod Carew years started (1967) which later gave way to the Bobby Randall years as Carew slid over to 1B. Through the years, the options haven't always been good, but there wasn't a great deal of intrigue about who would open the season. To put Castro there the majority of the time negates his biggest value...his day to day versatility. I once thought Castro could be the next Cesar Tovar. A guy who just earns his way from master utility guy to a full time position, in Tovar's case, first LF and then CF for 1969, 1970 and 1971. Unfortunately, I don't see Castro as having that ability. And I don't want to see him playing the majority of games at 2B. To me, it has to be Brooks Lee's job to win or lose, and you have to give Lee spring training and April & May (possibly even June) to win it outright or lose it. Julien was SO BAD last year that he's got to set AAA with St. Paul on fire before he even gets a thought. He will always be below average defensively (we as Twins fans have seen enough) so his only chance to stick is to hit, and to hit with a vengeance. I can't see Austin Martin getting 105 plate appearances with the Twins in 2025 much less 105 as a 2B. So that leaves the 2 Wild Cards that got mentioned but received 0 AB's from Baseball Prospectus "PECOTA" projections: Luke Keaschall and Peyton Eeles. The Twins will have Keaschall, Eeles and Julien all at St. Paul with the Saints. Eeles can play all over but his best position at the MLB level will be 2B. Keaschall may DH quite a bit and spend more time at 1B while he strengthens his arm post Tommy John surgery. But he will get AB's while playing 2B. Keaschall could also see some time in LF and CF with the Saints. By the end of May things will start clarifying themselves with how Lee is doing at the MLB level and how Keaschall, Eeles and Julien are performing at St. Paul. It's possible, but not probable that everyone just under performs, but I think there will be a couple players who separate themselves from the pack. Who those will be is anyone's guess. But I think the BEST outcome would be for Lee to emerge and for Keaschall to keep raking.

I like tony&rodney's suggestion of a Larnach for Endy Rodriguez trade. Not now, but maybe mid-season or more probably the 2025-2026 off season. We have E-Rod and Walker Jenkins on the way with a decent chance that Luke Keaschall could play some LF too. We have options for the OF post-Larnach. The Pirates have decided the catching days are over for Henry Davis. That still leaves Joey Bart, the former Giants prospect who had a solid year last year, and Endy Rodriguez. Endy-Rod has had some injury issues the last couple of seasons and the Pirates need to see him play and rebuild some value. Larnach showed solid improvement last year and if he builds on that in 2025 a trade could be very beneficial to both teams. The Twins cannot make this trade next week. They need Vasquez for 2025. Someone mentioned the possibility of Vasquez signing an extension with the Twins at a more acceptable market value than $10 million a season. While that's possible, I don't see that happening. The Twins will be focused on Cartaya's development and to a lesser degree, Camargo's. I'm still not a huge fan of Jeffers but acknowledge his value. It's possible if Cartaya and/or Camargo show improvement in 2025 and the Twins and Pirates complete a trade of Larnach for Endy Rodriguez that a trade of Jeffers and departure of Vasquez ushers in a new set of catchers in 2026.

GREAT feature Jamie !! When we selected him I was excited. Then, as the baseball season crashed and burned and the the focus shifted to prospects like Keaschall, E-Rod, of course Walker Jenkins and even the compelling story of Peyton Eeles, I sort of forgot about Hill. It's very encouraging to see that velocity hit the upper 90's. His slider looks filthy and his change up looks tough. I tend to speculate a lot on Falvey and Co. looking for new jobs with new ownership eventually coming, especially if this season is a major disappointment like last year. But you cannot deny the pitching pipeline Falvey and his scouting department has built. Consider where the Twins were 10 years ago and where they are NOW. It's impressive. I'm excited to follow Dasan Hill in the minor league reports the TD staff supplies throughout the baseball season.

Mauer didn't really get his chance until AFTER the Twins traded AJ to the Giants (a great trade by the way). But Mauer probably still qualifies. I don't think Keaschall needs to start in AA. I think he will certainly begin the season at St. Paul. The Twins will be interested in seeing how Brooks Lee and Julien play in spring training and then to begin the season. Unless he has a huge spring training, I can't see Julien breaking camp with the Twins. He's got too much to prove. And Julien will have stiff competition for innings at 2B in St. Paul with Keaschall and Peyton Eeles. Julien has his work cut out for him. A slow start for Julien and good starts for Eeles and Keaschall may lead to an early season trade. But Keaschall sure is intriguing. Linus made a great point about Keaschall's defense. We've heard and read that he at least appears to be be competent at 2B, 1B and LF. He's got to build up arm strength as well. But is there a position he shows above average to pretty good defensive ability? It seems the tendency of the Twins is to keep playing players at multiple positions. But could he become a Brian Dozier type 2B? Could he be a little bit better? A little worse? I just don't know and I don't think many of us here on TD know either. It's an important question to be asked. With the addition of Bader (like it or not) our OF is pretty full (especially if you add Keirsey to the mix). This just might put E-Rod BEHIND Keaschall in who might get a call up first. Our OF looks much more certain than 2B and 1B do. Rocco has said Ty France is going to get a lot of AB's. I'm assuming that means in spring training. Rocco is going to give France a chance to make the team. But if France doesn't impress and Miranda looks pretty good, I think France gets cut.

There are always the obvious one for all the obvious reasons: Walker Jenkins-he's ranked as our top prospect and we lucked out getting the 5th pick in a 5 player draft where Jenkins landed in our lap. E-Rod-he's the closest to getting to the big leagues and we've been hearing about him for years. He's got tremendous power and great plate discipline. But is he too passive? He's got the power and speed to be truly impactful. One of the things I'm excited about is his defense. I've heard he's a legit CF. If he's that good, maybe Buxton starts playing LF and that helps Byron stay healthy. Keaschall-he's a personal favorite of mine that I'm excited to see how he does in spring training. It's said he's got the speed to play the OF but I'd be content with him at 2B if it got his bat to the big league club sooner. Now for the slightly under the radar guys. Winokur is just so intriguing to me with his size and athleticism. And his glove has to be legit as well if he's playing SS and CF. He is such a Wild Card going forward. If he can make contact a little more consistently as he climbs from one level to another he's going to be a Minnesota Twin some day. it's hard to imagine what his ceiling will be but his athletic ability just jumps out at you. Lastly, I have to mention the polar opposite of Winokur in Peyton Eeles. One is 6:6 and the other is...about a foot shorter. What Eeles has is elite bat to ball skills and a good eye at the plate. His OBP at several levels is just striking. He could be a decent utility guy but may be best suited to 2B if he's got what it takes to be a regular. If Eeles and Keaschall BOTH blow up at St. Paul it will be interesting to see how the Twins handle it. St. Paul may be a very fun place to go watch baseball early this season to see their pitching staff but especially to see E-Rod, Keaschall and Eeles play.

I'm going to speculate that Ishbia dropped out because he felt he could gain a majority ownership in the White Sox. Bigger market, and despite the White Sox being the worst team in baseball, they are valued above the Twins. And now he doesn't have to sell any of his current minority shares in the White Sox. I have to admit, this is a disappointment. We were all so hopeful of new ownership being willing to spend at the trade deadline and that is certainly on hold now. We have heard that there was a "robust market" for the Twins. But the only group we heard about was the Ishbia group. Remarkably, not a single other group, name or conglomeration has been mentioned. I don't know if that is a good thing, or a bad thing. One outcome I can predict with certainty: If the Pohlad's hang on to the Twins they will lose a boatload of money in 2025. I just don't think this fan base is willing to put up with them anymore. Even if the team is playing well in April & May, people won't come out. If they continue to play well in June and July, attendance will not explode. Twins fans are just flat out done with the Pohlad family and I think the Pohlad's know it. This is why they announced their intent to sell so soon after the season ended. They know Twins fans have tired of their dumpster diving ways. Now that the news is out that Ishbia is focusing on the White Sox we should be hearing of 2 or 3 other groups who will be bidding for the Twins. The reporting on possible groups has been sub-par. I understand the desire of groups to remain quiet, but too much focus was placed on the Ishbia brothers. It's time for media in the Twin Cities and baseball in general to get to work on this story.

Got it from Google. (I just googled "has Royce Lewis ever had Tommy John surgery)? Google is not the most reliable despite the fact that it's widely available and used. I believe I should play the victim. ☺️

Royce Lewis had Tommy John Surgery in May of 2023.

I'm very enthused to read this about Lewis. I agree 100% in the observation that as players have gotten bigger and stronger, in other words, have done more weight training than players from the 50's, 60's and 70's for example, they seem to have become more injury prone. That's not to say that Killebrew, Oliva and Carew NEVER got hurt. Bu their injuries were a severely pulled hamstring in 1968 (Killebrew) and a couple of major knee injuries (Oliva & Carew). They didn't have frequent muscle pulls like others do today. You can still be strong, and every player should strive to be stronger, but you cannot do so at the expense of losing FLEXIBILITY. Staying flexible allows for a player's athleticism to manifest. As Lewis got stronger he seemed to be overly bulked up. Parfigliano succinctly remarked that Lewis isn't playing outside linebacker. Being bulked up leads to greater strength, but also erodes flexibility, which makes movement stiff, not smooth. I believe a more flexible Lewis WILL be a more athletic Lewis. He will also probably be carrying less weight as well, which is also a benefit. Lewis is plenty strong enough to hit HR's. I'd like to see him at the 60-rated speed he once had as well as the cannon for an arm he once had. Carew did not lose his speed after his first big knee injury in 1970. And having had Tommy John surgery shouldn't mean Lewis will have a noodle for an arm going forward. Lewis had other issues that contributed to his throwing problems last year. He SHOULD have a better arm than Brooks Lee when we compare their initial prospect grades. This new approach hopefully sets Lewis up for better, more consistent health, as well as a more well rounded game, in the field, at the plate and on on the bases.

Go ahead and check back jmlease. I was one of the guys saying that Jax could succeed as a SP and I still think that. Of course he could still be very effective as a late inning RP. He's just a good pitcher. I'm willing to consider Lewis moving around the IF with 1B a possibility. I keep reading how Lewis's arm is a noodle now. The guy started out with a cannon. I think his throwing problems were more related to lower body issues than a lack of recovery from Tommy John. I just want Lewis to play some place where he will stay healthy so his bat is socking 30 HR's and driving in 100 runs. If you project Keaschall at 2B and Lee at 3B that kind of leaves Lewis somewhere else. I'm not advocating for it, but I see it as a possible outcome. With the exception of SS this Twins team is about as unsettled in the IF as I can ever remember. You'd probably have to go back to 1981 or 1982 with Hrbek and Gaetti coming up at the corners to find a similar situation.

The Bat Boys video was fascinating. That guy Sandoval has a GREAT swing. It's pretty difficult to go from bat to bat and be able to dial your swing in as well as he did. Buxton's slightly slower swing allowed him to hit for a higher BA than he had in previous seasons. His slugging percentage was still over .500 even if his HR's were down a bit. Lewis didn't seem to be strong in his lower half and core as he slumped, and that is also probably why he just jogged to 1B when he hit ground balls last year (Puckett would have had a one-on-one "meeting" had they been teammates). It sounds like the team is entering spring training in relatively good health. Especially the 3 most important hitters on the team: Correa, Lewis and Buxton. Swing speed is no good unless you are barreling the ball up. But if you ARE barreling it, and your swing speed is optimal, you ARE going to hit HR's. The question becomes, how does your body, from your shoulders all the way down to your feet hold up with that consistently optimal "torque?" This was a great article, especially with the video.

I'm not very fired up about the Ty France signing. He's not a very good fielding 1B. Neither is Miranda. So improving the team defensively there wasn't accomplished. I've heard nothing that assures me Julien has even worked out at 1B this off season or that the Twins actually have that in mind. We should say "Julien BATS left handed" NOT "Julien HITS left handed." There is a difference you know. I've never seen a major league hitter so lost as Julien was last season. He's got a LOT to prove to me. Ty France is not a significantly better power hitter than Miranda (who has nice "Gap" power but I'm not sure he will ever reach 20 HR in a season). So there is no significant upgrade there. France no longer has the ability to play 3B or 2B and he's a poor runner. So there is no significant upgrade there. I'm not sure if Royce Lewis is a possibility for 1B. It seems like they expect him to play 3B and Brooks Lee would be the favorite at 2B if he hits. But I think LambchoP is correct in pointing out that Luke Keaschall is probably the future 2B. That could auger a move to 3B by Lee. Where does that leave Lewis?? 1B? Full time DH to keep him healthy and swinging a lethal bat? Where does Ty France fit in any of these equations? He doesn't. He just takes AB's away from younger players with potentially higher ceilings. You can say the way the contract is constructed leaves little risk for the Twins and I'd agree with that. But for every AB or ground ball that France takes in spring training, that's one less for a younger player with higher potential.

Diego Cartaya. Vasquez either has one more season left with the Twins or he will be traded sometime in 2025. Jeffers has had "good" seasons and "not so good" seasons as a hitter. His defense is not a strength. Cartaya, if he can regain his early Dodger career magic, could have a bigger impact on future Twins success than any other player listed.