TopGunn#22

There is no "down side" to the Ishbia brothers ending our time in baseball purgatory with the Pohlad ownership philosophy. NONE. In our wildest Twins fever dream we would have just this type if scenario where "winning" and "fan engagement" would be the priority rather than "profitability and right-sizing."

That last point about Ohtani and not pitching last year and how that affected his SB attempts is excellent chpetitt19. If he pitches this year, and all indications are he will, I doubt he steals over 20 bases. It's why I think the Dodgers would be wise just to have him HIT. He's such a unique offensive player that if they got 50 HR's and 35-40 SB's again this year from him, with that lineup but zero innings pitched I think they would repeat as World Series Champions. I get that he's a remarkable unicorn doing both, but I'd take that kind of offensive production any time I could. I also missed the style of baseball where the running game was evident and baseball had truly gotten stale without it with the preponderance of the "three outcomes." Still, we can all see how slow the Twins have been to embrace the opportunities the recent rule changes presented. In 2023 Rocco's Twins didn't even attempt to steal bases until Willi Castro started getting a LOT of playing time. And that didn't happen until practically June. The Guardians had tons of SB's by the end of May and Rocco's crew had attempted something like 5 stolen bases. We were WAY LATE in taking advantage of the rule change. It was almost like the Twins weren't aware there had been a rule change. Buxton NEVER runs anymore from a SB standpoint. They're too worried about him injuring himself because he's never really mastered the art of sliding. A guy with Buxton's speed and ability should fall out of bed and get 20 SB's per season. I'm not surprised Martin rated well. That was his game in college and the minors. I WAS surprised that Margot was rated on the plus side. He just seemed really slow in outfield all season. Just take a look at the body Royce Lewis has now. For a guy that when drafted, had a run tool rated very close to Buxton he's just way to "thick" to have anywhere near his old athleticism. It's why he cannot play SS anymore and doesn't have the "cannon" of an arm like he did when drafted #1 overall. That's fine for hitting HR's, but no wonder he's looking to "get looser" in 2025. He's bulked up to the point his muscles are no longer "free and easy" like they once were. He's stronger for sure. But he's not nearly as flexible and it's why he continually has issues with muscle pulls (aka soft tissue problems). Many years ago, baseball players had an aversion to heavy weight training. They felt it bound up and tightened their muscles too much, leading to an excess of muscle pulls and arm issues. Maybe it was foolish that ballplayers in "the old days" eschewed lifting weights. But maybe it wasn't. Flexibility has always been valuable, as has strength. Finding the right balance is the key. It also makes a lot of sense that hulking HR hitters aren't always going to be the best defenders. Let's agree that Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were "special." They were not "common" in any way. But for every Rocky Colovito...a slugger who was a good defender with a cannon for an arm, there were 20 Harmon Killebrew-esque sluggers who were not above average defenders. The Twins need to get some better "defenders" and by default, younger and more athletic. Some of them might be in-house. Some may need to come from outside the organization. Maybe with a infusion of this type of player, Rocco will be more open to being aggressive on the bases. I don't know. Rocco debuted in 2019 and waiting for the 3-run HR is really his comfort zone. And with Tommy Watkins back for another season of getting guys pegged out at home and third I'm not optimistic.

I'm of the same mind as nicksaviking. I don't think SWR's ceiling is as high as Festa or Matthews (or even Morris) but he was a pretty solid #4/#5 last year. With the list of teams looking for starting pitching a mile long, I think NOW is the time to trade SWR while his value has never been higher. If we didn't have in house options with higher ceilings, Festa, Matthews, Morris...even Jax, or an outside possibility like Roki Sasaki, I wouldn't be advocating to deal SWR. But we do, and there are teams with some interesting pieces we could get back. Two teams I'd be talking to would be the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox. Both of them are in the mix for Corbin Burnes but still have open rotation spots even if they land Burnes. I'm doubtful Westburg, Cowser or Kjerstad would be available unless the trade was expanded to more than just SWR. But the Orioles have major rotation concerns and guys like Mountcastle and O'Hearn are certainly available who could be 1B options for the Twins. I'd be interested in seeing what a deal for Westburg/Cowser/Kjerstand would entail. But Mountcastle and O'Hearn have value. The Red Sox don't have as many interesting young players as the Orioles, but 24 year old Ceddane Rafaela has always interested me. His OPS was an unimpressive .664 last year, but he cracked 15 HR's and had 19 SB's all while player stellar defense at SS & CF as well as 2B. He would be the young, athletic, superior glove man at 2 key positions (especially for the Twins, with Correa and Buxton) who if he stops swinging at everything (15 walks, 151 K's) has 20 HR/20-30 SB potential.

I wouldn't do the proposed trade in the article for Castro but I'm glad Cody introduced an interesting player in Canario. While Canario bats RH and is a player with power potential is he really the type of player the Twins should be looking at acquiring with E-Rod on the way and Walker Jenkins close behind? Especially if the trade involved a key player like Castro. Lurking behind the scenes in any trade is the possible ownership change. What kind of team do the Ishbia brothers want to inherit from the Pohlad's? If the Ishbia brothers were our owners, we could very well be looking at trades of Vasquez, Paddack and Castro anyway. Or maybe we wouldn't. But it's clear to me that the Ishbia brothers have a very different outlook and plan than the Pohlad driven vision. Doogie Wolfson on Skor North reports that the interest by the Ishbia brothers in the Twins is STRONG. While that is very good news, it makes me wonder how involved the brothers would be/would be in any major moves prior to a sale. I think it's safe to say that Correa, Lopez and Buxton aren't going anywhere. This is somewhat similar to the potential sale of the Timberwolves and the trade of KAT to the Knicks. Did A-Rod and his partner have any input? I would rather package Castro in an attempt to get a young "Catcher of the Future" like Dalton Rushing or Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers. I could entertain a Canario for Paddack straight up trade where the Cubs take on ALL $7.5 million of Paddack's contract. The Cubs could use Paddack as their #5 SP or as a BP arm. Canario, while intriguing, is just a guy who is out of options. You salary dump an affordable pitcher for that kind of guy. not an All Star Caliber "Super Utility" guy.

I've made my feelings clear on Roki Sasaki. A situation like this rarely, if ever, comes around where the smaller-mid market teams have a reasonable chance to add a 23 year old player like Sasaki without the $50 million dollar posting fee and a $300 million dollar contract. The Twins should be willing to commit every penny of their $7.55 million dollar International Pool signing money to Sasaki. That by itself won't get the deal done. But it at least puts the Twins on equal footing with the other teams that also have $7.55 million (Tigers, Reds, Mariners etc...) and it sends the message to Sasaki that the Twins value him above any other candidate for that money. The Twins cannot let the Tigers get this guy. I'm not sure what else would be permitted by MLB. I've suggested furnishing him with an awesome fishing boat and a rotating group of local guides to show him all the hot spots for whatever it is he would like to catch. I'm not sure what MLB would think of that. Our current ownership problem is a hurdle to clear. But I'd try to turn it into a positive. I'd point out the Ishbia brothers willingness to invest in the team and the community and the likelihood of an extension to stay with the Twins long term for Sasaki with the Ishbia brothers ownership. But a sale would have to be announced quickly to leverage that. I for one wonder what the Pohlad family thinks they're going to get out of this season. The quicker they sell, the quicker they can start counting their money and go away. A Pohlad ownership probably means a LOT of empty seats. Whether any trades have been made to pair down salary...Vasquez, Paddack, Castro...(Correa???) The Twins need to be on Sasaki with a vengeance and quickly. The Pohlad's need to be consulting the Ishbia brothers as to what kind of team they are interested in buying. One whose payroll is "right-sized" but a roster gutted?? Or something else. There is no future for the Pohlad's in baseball. The quicker they sell the team, the better. For all parties concerned.

There is no downside to this potential ownership change. NONE. The Pohlad Family is worth $3.8 billion. The Ishbia brothers have a combined net worth of $12-$14 billion. As an ownership group, the potential positives of the Ishbia brothers far outweigh any of the Pohlad family. The huge disparity of the scale of wealth aside, it's the willingness of the Ishbia brothers to use that wealth to better the ballclub and the baseball viewing public that sets them so far apart from the Pohlad family. Consider this: It was the Pohlad family that nearly had the Twins contracted. And this happened after the Twins had won 2 World Series Championships in a 5 year period. After all the angst of failing in the playoffs throughout 2002-2010 and then the wandering in the desert years of 2011-2018, then the 2019-2020 resurgence and fall of 2021-2022, only to see the playoff curse broken in 2023 and then to see the shocking "right-sizing" of the payroll and eventual collapse of 2024, leading into the off season winter of discontent that a roster with talent but some obvious holes needs FURTHER "right-sizing" the Pohlad's are finally on their way out. It was pointed out by Jud Zulgad in a Skor North episode that the whole idea of "right-sizing" began when Jim Pohlad handed the keys over to Joe Pohlad following the tremendous 2023 season. It became obvious very soon after the season ended that Joe Pohlad and the rest of the family weren't interested in owning the Twins any longer. Rather than "right-sizing" the business in the 2023 off season, the Pohlad's should have just put the team up for sale right then. Instead, what followed was a detonation of any good will toward the Pohlad family by the fan base and the writing was plain to see on the right field wall of Target Field that the Pohlad family would never again have any trust or good will from this fanbase. In our lifetimes as Twins fans we've had the Griffith family and Pohlad family who became famous for their penurious ways. Now, there is a glimmer of hope that a couple brothers, whose net worth dwarfs the Pohlad family, may be interested in buying the Twins. I hope their interest is serious. The Pohlad's have not left themselves in a very strong position to sell the team. They are coming off a season with an historic collapse on the field, destroying any positive energy the brothers could have inherited with the fan base, and the Pohlad's still have a team that in "their business model" is too heavy on payroll. This to me means the Pohlad's should be motivated to sell. And sell quickly. Get their money and slink out of the public spotlight. They should be consulting the Ishbia brothers about any major moves/trades/signings. Trade Carlos Correa?!?!? Better ask the brothers. Make a trade for Yandy Diaz?? Better ask the brothers. Go all in for Roki Sasaki??? Better ask the brothers !!! And if I'm the brothers, I want input on any of these moves if I'm going to give the Pohlad's anything close to their hopeful/desired price. Absent a sale, what are the Pohlad's budgeting for ticket sales this year? Have the Pohlad's done ANYTHING to compel anyone to come and watch their team?? Absolutely Not. As far as their FO and current manager? I don't know if Falvey could do more with a different ownership group or payroll flexibility. Would the Twins under Falvey with the Ishbia brothers be more aggressive in making moves during the off season as opposed to being purely reactionary? In fact, I don't even think I could characterize Falvey and Co. as reactionary. It's more like a "Wall Flower" strategy. Hang by the wall in the shadows until the dance ends and then just go home having danced with nobody. This FO more often than not simply dumpster dives. That's not a strategy and it's terribly frustrating. It's not a given anyone in the FO or Rocco would be around for the 2026 season if a sale was made. Anyone who has amassed the wealth that the Pohlad's or Ishbia brothers has, has probably stepped on a few toes. That's business. Always has been, always will be. But for the billionaire owning the teams I cheer for...Twins, Vikings, T-Wolves, Wild, I want MY billionaire to care more about a winning team and interesting product than what the profit margin is. Ford Motor Company, Target, etc... are NOT the Minnesota Twins. Ford has never won a World Series, and they never will (theoretically). But I want the Twins to win the World Series, The Vikings the Super Bowl. The T-Wolves the NBA Championship and the Wild the Stanly Cup. So I want those ownership groups to put winning and an exciting product FIRST. Not Profit Margins. This sale can't happen soon enough for me.

Neither of those 2. I like the suggestions of Yandy Diaz or Lamonte Wade Jr.. But I'm done with 39 year old/40 year old worn out one year patches. If the Twins are not willing to give Miranda a shot or consider moving Royce Lewis to 1B to try to maximize his health and high end offensive production I want a fix that gives the twins 2-3 years or more with a guy. Santana and Turner are about ready to drive off a cliff in terms of offensive production. They are not Paul Molitor. They aren't hitting .341 at 40 years old. Yandy Diaz, Lamonte Wade Jr or a trade with Boston for Tristin Casas. Let Santana and Turner join a Senior Softball League.

Good point on Tommy Herr tony&rodney. I think it stung him even worse that he was traded to the team that had just beaten his FORMER team in the World Series. A question for the TD community, and I apologize ahead of time for my ignorance. Is there any reason why my earlier post has no button to like/dislike or agree/disagree with my comment? Everyone else has had some sort of feedback for their comment except me, and it appears there is no way to do so. I commented on a number of things. I mentioned Trevor Bauer because he was brought up in several other posts. I have been warned about my commenting on Bauer in the past so had refrained for a long time until this post because others had made a point either in his favor or against. Is there any kind of statue of limitations for this? If my post upset anyone, I apologize. But I didn't think I said anything over the line. I still maintain that for a team that is so overly concerned about payroll while putting out a questionable desire to compete for a divisional title, that a pitcher of his talent who would sign for the league minimum is beyond rare. His baggage/clubhouse dynamic is undeniable. But so is his talent. If others have injected his situation into a thread what sets my initial comment apart from the others? I'm just looking for guidance from other TD posters that might have some insight into this.

Mack is my only "hitter" vote. I'm adding Boswell, Chance, Reardon and Worthington for pitchers.

I have no interest in bringing Santana back, just as I had no interest in bringing Michael Taylor back last year. There comes a time when you have to give your young players the chance to succeed or fail. Like I said with Taylor, take the "win" and move on. Taylor crashed and burned in 2024 and the probability that Santana will dramatically fall off in 2025 is just too high. I'd rather see what Miranda can do. I must admit though, if Yandy Diaz is available for trade, I'd really like to find out what it would take to swing a deal for him. The guy can hit, of that there is no doubt. His career BA is .288 and his career OPS is .806. He's 33 years old, so there is a chance of a fall off. But his contract only runs 2 more years so all your on the hook for is his age 33 & 34 seasons. After that, you're probably looking at Royce Lewis or Luke Keaschall. Those two years would allow Keaschall to get his feet wet and Lewis to determine if he's a 3B or a 2B a 1B or maybe even a LF. Miranda could still be used as the primary DH and spell Diaz on occasion, or possibly traded.

This is GREAT NEWS !! These guys seem very similar to the Wilf brothers and most Vikings fans have been very happy with them. The Twin Cities is Media Market #15. We have never been a "small market." We are, and will continue to be in the near future a "mid-market." The way they went right out and found a way to bring Kevin Durant to the Suns is encouraging. It augers that they would bring that same, competitive posture to the Twins. This is also great news in that it really rings the bell for any other prospective owners that they better get in the game. We as fans were just hovering in limbo until this point. Now that this bell has been rung the process will begin to unfold. I can't offer an educated guess as to how quickly this could play out. But if I'm the Pohlad family I'd like to entertain an intense bidding war for a relatively short period of time. In other words, the posture of the Pohlad's in my estimation, is to sell this team as soon as possible, cashing in, and leaving the toxic mess they created last season in their rearview mirror. As always, to the Pohlad's...it's all about the money. The hope that the Twins could have a payroll of $150-$160 million is legit. I just don't ever see us having a payroll in the $240 million dollar range based on values right now (2024-2025). That just seems a little "RICH" for us as a mid-market team. But having the money to spend and spending it wisely are two completely different things. I'm still not securely confident that our present FO can make these decisions to our satisfaction. But I would like them to at least have the chance. My dissatisfaction with the Pohlad ownership started LONG before last season's debacle. I was disenchanted with them throughout the 2000 thru 2010 seasons when with 2 MVP's (Mauer & Morneau) a multiple CY Young Ace (Johan Santana) and the greatest closer in the history of the Twins (Joe Nathan) the Pohlad's never once made an impactful off season or trade deadline acquisition to get the Twins over the hump and into the World Series. The Pohlad's wasted a decade of Twins baseball that truly could have been special if they had just had the "go for it" mentality that was needed. I think Tom Kelly actually retired earlier than he would have liked because he understood the Pohlad's were just going to be immoveable on this subject. Ron Gardenhire has the ignominy of losing all those playoff games, but with just a little help from the Pohlad's his legacy could have been so much different.

I find your article very interesting Gregg. This has always been a mystery that is seldom understood and very often misunderstood. Linus brought up a great point about the 70's Oakland A's having a lot of conflicting personalities yet still winning 3 consecutive World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974. They may have even won a couple more had their owner not traded or sold off the core of the team. I would also add to the example Linus provided that the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's and 1980's were LEGENDARY for welcoming every malcontent or misfit onto their teams. The Raiders were probably the winningest team of the 70's. I think Ashbury's point about OOTP employing a team chemistry feature that rates players on various traits is interesting. I wonder if he has ever had Trevor Bauer on a team and if he did, what was the impact? Was he a highly effective pitcher?? (which he probably would be if an MLB team signed him) Or was he a major problem who also was a lousy pitcher? Ashbury, if you have anything to share on this I'd be interested. Could the Twins have stopped their collapse and made the playoffs if a pitcher of Bauer's talent had been in the rotation instead of a rookie like Festa or Matthews? I believe that any of us on TD who are perfect in every way are welcome to cast the first stone when it comes to a guy like Bauer. So all you "perfect people" are welcome to pick up your rock and loosen up. From a pure on the field standpoint the only player I can think of that has as big of an upside as Bauer, performance-wise, at the lowest cost possible, is Roki Sasaki. For a team that is pinching pennies like the Twins they have still been reluctant. Bauer and Sasaki are 2 completely different people, but the trait they have in common is that they are top-flight PITCHERS. I predict SOMEBODY is going to sign Trevor Bauer for the 2025 season. The Tommy Herr for Tom Brunansky trade made sense on paper. The Twins were not happy with Steve Lombardozi's lack of offense at 2B and felt they had enough potential to come close to Bruno's production in the OF with Randy Bush, Mark Davidson and Johnny Moses collectively replacing Bruno. Bush and Moses did O.K, but Mark Davidson as the RH hitting part of that collective was not the prospect the Twins thought they had. Herr was REALLY disappointed in the trade, and while he didn't play at the level he played at in 1985 for the Cards, he was much better than Lombo. The Cardinals also had a 24 year old Jose Oquendo ready to step in for Herr. We always hear about how tough the New York, Philly or Boston media is on players and how soft our Twin Cities media is. But there were certain media scribes who decided to make Tommy Herr the primary reason the Twins were passed by the Oakland A's in 1988 following the Twins World Series Championship. The Twins didn't lose because of Tommy Herr. They lost because the A's became a juggernaut that would have passed the Twins in 1988 no matter what. Bruno was a shadow of what he had been for the Twins when he played in St. Louis and was gone from the Cards early in the 1990 season. Bottom Line: Chemistry IS important. The Minnesota Lynx had tremendous chemistry this last season. The New York Liberty clearly had more talent. The Lynx had more grit and better team chemistry and in the end, the Lynx were simply robbed of the WNBA Championship. But could the Lynx have won the title if they hadn't made the draft trade with Chicago giving up the chance to add Angel Reese and getting little used Alissa Pili instead. Reese was much more impactful than Pili in their rookie seasons. Maybe the Lynx win the title with Reese. Or maybe Reese clashes with Collier and the Lynx never even make it to the Finals. It's an interesting debate. Talent vs. Chemistry.

bean and Linus, you both make very good points. There certainly appear to be several "better" possible destinations for Sasaki. But I never thought Carlos Correa was coming to the Twins. Not the first time and not the second time. It is a major negative in terms of signing Sasaki, that the team is for sale. That uncertainty alone makes pulling this off very difficult. The fact that if the Twins stumble and bumble this coming season, we will see an entirely new FO and coaching staff is also a major hurdle in getting Sasaki. But I believe there is a chance. And I HAVE to believe that our FO and Rocco know that if they don't at least make the playoffs this year, they are all gone, and that should be motivating them to do everything they can do improve this ballclub and to me, at the top of that list is winning the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. Am I pinning my entire off season hopes on this? Absolutely not. I've seen much more bad than good from the current brain trust, even with Dave St. Peter finally out of the mix. The point I'm making is that the Sasaki sweepstakes is one of the more unique opportunities I've ever seen in baseball where a truly impactful starting pitcher could be had at such an affordable price. For an ownership group that values profit over on field success, even the Pohlad family should be intelligent enough and properly motivated to capitalize on this. The Twins could have sellouts every time this kid pitches. He's a tremendous asset at the price. I admit, I have little faith this current ownership group and FO can pull this off. But they should be smart enough to see the obvious benefits getting Sasaki could bring.

To me, the strength of the Twins in 2025 will be their starting rotation, assuming Ryan comes back healthy and Lopez and Ober remain healthy. If Lopez, Ryan and Ober all throw 170 innings or more it means they are healthy and effective. Stable and effective starting rotations are the foundation for winning baseball. That said, there is one Wild Card that hasn't been mentioned in the comments that could possibly influence a trade of one of Lopez, Ryan or Ober for an offensive player like Jarren Duran. That would be winning the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. I had mentioned in an earlier post that the Twins along with a handful of other teams have the most International Pool cash...$7.555 million. The agent for Sasaki just mentioned AGAIN, that Sasaki may be more interested in a "soft landing." What he means by that is a small-mid market team that doesn't have a constant and oppressive media situation. The Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Giants and Red Sox, as well as the Cubs would normally be considered the presumptive destination. That is now completely up in the air. Several of us have commented on TD that even though Sasaki won't command the $50 million dollar posting fee and $300 million dollar contract, he'll end up with the Dodgers for the endorsement money he could make on the side. That may be true, but I also commented that the Japanese people, coming from an Island nation LOVE to fish. Minnesota has over 10,000 lakes (actually, over 15,000) many of them in and surrounding the metro area. I say spend every penny of our $7.555 International Pool money AND gift Sasaki with a tricked out fishing boat with a series of fishing guides in the metro area on retainer by the Twins to show Sasaki around the lakes and teach him where the hot spots are for whatever he wants to fish for. Sasaki may decide he loves it here in Minnesota. If the Twins somehow won the Sasaki sweepstakes you could roll with a Lopez, Sasaki, Ryan, Ober and SWR/Festa rotation. You could even put Jax in the #5 spot. THAT would probably be the deepest and best rotation the Twins have ever had. If you had a rotation like that, you could be in every ballgame all season long. OR...You could trade one of Lopez, Ryan or Ober to let's just say, the Red Sox for 28 year old Jarren Duran. He would become the everyday CF and lead off and Buxton would move to LF. Larnach becomes the DH. Duran had a WAR of 8.7 last year. I do not think it was a career year. He's capable of much of the same production for at least the next 5 years. He does NOT need to be platooned. He had 671 AB's and 735 plate appearances last year. This kid PLAYS. MANY teams are desperate for SP. Look at the prices for mid-rotation guys like Severino, Boyd and Montas !! Someone like Ober or Ryan could bring a LOT on the trade market. Someone like Lopez in a package with Jhoan Duran could bring back Jarren Duran AND Triston Casas. How would a rotation of Ryan, Sasaki, Ober, SWR and Festa (with Jax closing) look with a lineup that would have Casas at 1B, Lewis at 2B, Correa at SS, Lee at 3B, Buxton in LF, Jarren Duran in CF, Wallner in RF, Jeffers at C and Larnach at DH. And this would essentially be the lineup for the near future with Em-Rod, Keaschall and Walker Jenkins on the way and Matthews/Morris/Prielipp on the way. You could have a contender for the short and long term. I agree that for the Twins to truly be a contender for the division and to make deep runs in the playoffs that Correa, Buxton and Lewis need to be more consistently healthy and productive. But you add the bats of Jarren Duran and Casas to the lineup and missing Buxton or Correa for 50 games is a lot easier to take. I'm not advocating that we trade Lopez, Ryan or Ober. Especially with the COST for SP and the VALUE those 3 currently represent for the Twins. But winning the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes is going to benefit one major league team immensely, and it could open up a LOT of interesting possibilities for the Twins...no matter who owns them.

I had actually posted that the Red Sox were a good possible destination for Vasquez before the trade that sent Teel out to bring Crochet in, and I stated it again after the trade was made. Matthew...are you reading my posts??? Yes, the Red Sox Sox did make a minor deal with the Yankees to bring Carlos Narvaez in, but this is CARLOS Narvaez...NOT Omar Narvaez. Omar was a solid catcher who could hit a little. CARLOS is a bit of a mystery. He has all of 13 AB's in his major league career at 26 years old. I must confess I know little about Carlos. I've never seen a scouting report etc... Still, I think the Red Sox are desperate to compete this year, and Vasquez would be a major upgrade. It's a certainty that the Twins should expect very little back if Boston were to take on the entire $10 million. I would think Boston would be interested, and really, when it comes to Vasquez and a trade with our current ownership and FO, the primary objective is to shed the $10 million. Since Narvaez has all of 13 AB's as a major leaguer, maybe Boston would swap him straight up for Vasquez. That would give the Twins a bit of a backstop (pun intended) until a more consequential trade with the Dodgers centered around Rushing or Cartaya could be made. The Red Sox are familiar and comfortable with Vasquez. He makes sense for them. Boston does NOT have to be the destination for Vasquez, but it's one of the better ones. I would actually like to see the Twins move Vasquez this year, bring in a Rushing or Cartaya, and then move Jeffers after the 2025 season, especially if Jeffers has a slightly above average offensive year or better. I have never been a fan of Jeffers. Too inconsistent offensively. Too obviously lacking defensively. Get a young guy to build around, see who has developed in our minor league system after this next season. Has Cardenas improved his hitting? Has Camargo improved his defense? I'd like to see an entirely different catching tandem at a low controllable cost going forward starting in 2026.

Cody supplied three questions, but I agree with Fire Dan Gladden, there are a bunch of additional questions and each question that is answered leads to additional questions. I can honestly say I was never a fan of Calvin Griffith other than bringing the Twins to Minnesota and I've never been a fan of the Pohlad family except in 1987 and 1991. Tony&Rodney summarized this quite well. Does current ownership and FO consider the Twins roster once they've cut the payroll to $130 million to be a clear contender for the division championship if not the favorite? Do they think this while factoring in how much the Royals and Tigers improved last season and knowing that Cleveland is always in the hunt? Clearly, Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit have figured out how to do MORE with LESS than our FO has. Or, does current ownership/FO feel that they can pull off a Seattle Mariners type of miracle? I'm referencing when the Mariners in back to back seasons said goodbye to A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson and then went out and set an American League record with 115 wins. If the Twins were able to dump the Vasquez and Paddack salaries for whatever they could get back and then trade Correa, Lopez and Buxton while completely revamping the roster with what they got back for those trades involving the "Stars" as well as investing the massive amount of payroll $$$ saved in additional players...would the Twins be better in 2025 and beyond??? That's the either/or question. And it certainly could fall somewhere in between, but that's essentially the debate.

That's why I like Jose Iglesias more than Rosario. Especially if Castro is packaged in a trade to save money and add to an area we have an acute need. Iglesias would really help our IF defense and as I've said, if Lee and Julien falter, or Keaschall needs a little more time with the elbow, the Twins could get by with Iglesias starting a 2B for an extended time and benefit from the defensive upgrade immediately. Depending on what trades the Twins actually make, Iglesias and Austin Hays be two solid signings from a depth perspective for the IF and Corner OF/RH hitter standpoint. Hays has been a good OF in the past who slipped a little in 2024. I think it's more a matter of nagging injuries last year than his defensive ability falling off a cliff. On a one-year deal, he fills the bill as a RH Corner OF bat who provides a platoon option with Wallner, Larnach and eventually E-Rod when he gets promoted. I consider Hays a much better alternative than Refsnyder, Gallo, Margot et all. But guys like Hays and even an affordable Iglesias ($1.5-2.0 million) cannot be added until the Vasquez/Paddack and even Castro moves are made. The Twins wouldn't really be adding Iglesias unless Castro was traded or given the fulltime LF position with Larnach DH'ing.

Year after year, the "Arms Race" in baseball gets more and more intense. The contracts guys like Montas, Severino and Boyd are signing are just mind-boggling. I can understand what a guy like Snell or certainly Corbin Burnes would get. But you look at those middling SP's and their price tag and I gotta say, I'm hanging onto Pablo Lopez for sure! The Red Sox just acquired Crochet and the primary piece needed to get him was TD trade favorite Kyle Teel. I still don't really care what, if any, value we get back for Paddack or Vasquez, but I'd love to see how $17.5 million dollars could be used in filling in some big needs/question marks. We are still looking at a probable trade of Vasquez. The FA price of catching is showing that Vasquez is slightly overpaid at $10 million. Even with the acquisition of Crochet, the Red Sox could still use a #5 SP until Giolito is ready. Paddack could work for them, especially if he could be used in long relief once Giolito is back. In trading Teel, the Red Sox could be interested in a reunion with Vasquez as a backup to Connor Wong. But there has to be a plan, where the groundwork is already laid to get a young catcher in a trade once Vasquez is moved. With Teel gone, and with the extraordinary catching depth the Dodgers have with Will Smith and Austin Barnes on the roster, and Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartaya in the minors knocking on the door, a deal needs to made with the Dodgers for either Rushing or Cartaya to pair with Jeffers. If something like this can come to pass, the other big move that is no sure thing, but would be the biggest splash the Twins have made in free agency since Nelson Cruz that MUST be pursued is leveraging ALL of our $7.555 million dollars of International Signing Pool money for Japanese RHP Roki Sasaki. His agent, Joel Wolf just commented yesterday as the Winter Meetings wrapped up, that his client might prefer a "soft landing" (meaning a small-to-mid market team where media isn't as hostile as in a big market). The Twins have the most International Pool money along with the Reds, Tigers, Brewers, Marlins, A's, Mariners and Rays. This is not the first time Sasaki's possible preference to playing in a small-to-mid market team has been floated. I think there is steam there. The team that concerns me the most in that group is the Tigers. They are a division foe and we cannot let them be the eventual winners. I could live with a National League team like the Reds better than a division foe, but really, the Twins have to dig in and pursue this tooth and nail. A window of opportunity has been opened. Can you imagine a staff of Lopez, Ryan, Sasaki, Ober and SWR/Festa?? This would allow the Twins to keep Jax in the BP and either keep Duran, or package Duran and Castro in a deal to the Dodgers for Rushing and something else. Sasaki is a unique opportunity to get a bona fide ROY/All Star Game candidate at a ridiculously low price. Skip a year of signing multiple players and get an impact guy without having to spend a $50 million dollar posting fee and a $300 million dollar contract. Japan is an island nation. Their people love to fish, and I would bet that Sasaki, coming from a small, rural town is a fisherman. In addition to the $7.555 million in Pool money, I would include a tricked out fishing boat, and get a bevy of local, Twin Cities lake guides to guide him around the metro lakes and show him the "hot spots" for Walleye, Northern and Muskie. THAT would be "getting creative" from an ownership and front office standpoint. Sasaki could find he LOVES living and playing in the Twin Cities area. And if we only have him for a couple of years, he becomes a tremendous trade asset. There isn't much optimism for the Twins this off season. We just left the Winter Meetings with barely a whisper. There is enough talent on this roster to compete for a division championship, but with a limited budget and obvious needs to fill there needs to be a "will to find a way" from our soon to be gone ownership group and very likely gone FO group if the attitude is toward "standing pat." Get what you can for Vasquez and Paddack. Clear the $17.5 million. Make a BIG trade that brings back a catcher of the future who is ready or near ready to start playing in 2025. And shock us all by landing the biggest fish at the most affordable price in Roki Sasaki.

2028 is a long ways away, but this is how Cody wrote it up so here's my 2-cents worth. I'm going to stick with the majority of his projections but will allow for some of the positional flexibility for several guys. Lets start out with catcher... AGE C: Dalton Rushing 27 acquired in a trade with the Dodgers. Jeffers & Vasquez long gone. 1B Royce Lewis 29 He will hit and stay relatively healthy. And settle in at 1B. 2B Luke Keashcall 25 His elbow will be fine and he will make a better 2B than Lewis. 3B Brooks Lee 27 He could also be at SS if Correa continues to battle foot problems. SS Carlos Correa 33 At 33 he's still young and athletic enough to play SS. Unless he's not. LF E-Rod 25 Could also be in CF as well. He and Walker Jenkins in the OF is "EXCITING." CF Walker Jenkins 23 Jenkins will still be in CF unless a Jarren Duran type of CF is drafted. RF Matt Wallner 30 Big Matt will be in RF mashing HR's for the Twins and hitting 6th. DH ???? I think Byron Buxton will be gone by this time, but if he's he's not he makes a good DH/4th OF kind of guy. At 34 years old Buxton will have lost a step, but he would still be pretty fast. And as a RH hitting 4th outfielder he could rotate easily with the "all LH hitting" OF of Jenkins, Wallner and E-Rod. In fact, you could make a case that Wallner would be the primary DH and that Buxton would still be a regular, perhaps playing LF on an everyday basis with Wallner filling in at either corner and Buxton playing occasionally in CF to provide a rest day for E-Rod or Jenkins while one of them DH's. What you cannot project with this type of exercise is who the Twins could end up drafting in 2025 and 2026 who could elbow their way into the OF mix. I think either Jenkins or E-Rod would be fine in CF. But like I said, if a LH hitting or RH hitting Jarren Duran type tore up for the Twins in the minor leagues and projected as the proverbial "pure CF" then E-Rod and Jenkins would make for a very athletic duo of corner OF's. And Wallner, if he's mashing HR's from 2025 thru 2027 would seem to be someone else still in the mix.

I have mentioned two players that I thought would be good options for the Twins in the event that we package Willi Castro in a trade to someone like the Dodgers in an attempt to acquire a young catcher who is ready for the majors in 2025 (from the Dodgers, someone like Dalton Rushing or Diego Cartaya). Those two players are Amed Rosario and Jose Iglesias. Rosario is 29 years old and has the ability to play some OF, primarily LF in addition to being able to play all 3 IF positions except 1B. He also has good speed and makes consistent contact without striking out a lot. Those are all qualities the Twins could benefit from when considering the current makeup of their roster. Iglesias is 34 years old and is clearly the better IF defender without the ability to play OF. Iglesias has decent speed, just not "Rosario" speed." He won't steal bases like Rosario, but won't clog them up as a station to station baserunner either. Iglesias is also a great contact hitter who doesn't strike out much but and has "doubles" power and that's about it. The Twins aren't teaching him to hit with more power. At 34 years old, he is what he is. But he brings excellent defense to SS, 2B & 3B no matter what. If our options for 2B fall flat in their faces, Iglesias would at least bring great defense to the position as a bridge starter until Lee, Julien or others show they're ready. Spotrac puts Iglesias at a $1.5-$2.0 million dollar salary. You could make a case that if Castro were traded the Twins could sign BOTH of these guys though I think that's highly unlikely. I prefer Iglesias for the defensive upgrade at SS/2B/3B. Especially of Correa were to miss extended time with any type of injury. But if the Twins signed either Rosario or Iglesias I think it would be a solid baseball move.

I also loved watching him pitch. I believe he belongs in the Hall, but he may never get there. It was good to see the veterans committee add Dick Allen and Dave Parker to the HOF. As a 12-year old, I was thrilled when the Twins made the trade for Tiant for the 1970 season. The broken scapula was a tough injury and he clearly wasn't healthy in 1971. Two of the biggest blunders Calvin Griffith ever made came in the early 70's as the Oakland A's began to separate themselves from the Twins. It may not have mattered with the A's winning 3 straight World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974. But Calvin didn't have the necessary patience to wait for Tiant to get healthy and he went on to be very effective with the Red Sox starting in 1972. The other blunder Calvin made was again motivated by his love of money rather than winning baseball came in 1972 to 1973 and involved Twins Hall of Famer Jim Kaat. Kaat was off to a great start in the 1972 season with a 10-2 record and a 2.07 ERA. Unfortunately, he got hurt and his season was over before the All Star break. Calvin wouldn't wait for Kaat to show he was healthy for the 1973 season so Kaat signed with the White Sox. Kaat went on to win 20 games in 1973 and 1974 for the White Sox. Again, I don't think the Twins could have beaten the A's in those years, but just look up what Tiant and Kaat did in 1972 thru 1977 and what the Twins could have had for starting pitching with Blyleven and others. None of Calvin's blunders compare to Rod Carew. But Tiant and Kaat rate right up there with Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle as players Calvin should have valued rather than looking to "right size" his payroll.

With the rapid improvement of the teams in the A.L. Central and the Twins current ownership not allowing any additional expenses to try to keep pace it's fair to question if the Twins indeed ARE in a competitive window for 2025. How can you really be considered in a competitive window if ownership, and by extension the FO isn't in a position to add to the talent but only hope that the talent on hand simply improves?? I do believe the Twins have enough talent to compete. But to get there you have to hit on a LOT of question marks: Correa & Buxton are both healthy and play in over 130 games each AND produce at the expected level offensively. Royce Lewis has a major bounce back and performs at 2023 and early 2024 levels for a minimum of 130 games in 2025. That Wallner, Larnach, Lee, Jeffers, and Julien are ALL more 2023 versions of themselves than 2024...and that you get the 2024 version of Miranda. Do the Twins have full, injury free seasons from Lopez, Ryan and Ober? Does Duran perform at 2023 levels instead of 2024? There are far too many questions about each of these variables. This is where having the financial ability to go out and sign a Profar to play LF and secure a solid vet #4 SP so that Jax remains in his current role. Absent that kind of mindset or ability I think it's fair to ask "are we really in a competitive window??" If I trade Correa to the Red Sox for the package I laid out and the Twins use the $40-$45 million saved properly, I'm excited about our ability to compete in 2025 and beyond. If the plan is just to run it back and HOPE that all the variables I listed come true, well, that's just hoping for too much.

I would think the "Big Market" teams would have interest in Correa. In other words..."the usual suspects." Correa is a winner so I can see the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers (if Edman would be primarily in CF) and others having interest. Tony&rodney has mentioned Arizona as a possible trade partner, but I can't see Jordan Lawler being a part of a trade and Arizona would probably be less likely to take on ALL of Correa's contract which mitigates the savings the trade would bring back. I don't see a bloated contract that would have value talent wise to the Twins coming back from the D-Backs either. The players the Twins would probably be focused on from Arizona would be starting catcher Gabe Moreno, who they acquired from the Blue Jays in the Varsho trade a couple years ago, and starting SS Geraldo Perdomo. Moreno is 24 years old. Perdomo is a switch hitting 25 year old with a slick glove at SS. Those 2 would take over starting catcher and SS duties for the Twins and allow for a trade of either Vaquez or Jeffers. The D-Backs would need a catcher to replace Moreno but would they be interested in Vasquez or Jeffers? I still like my previously stated trade with the Red Sox better, but this could work. Perdomo gets the Twins younger and at least as good defensively at SS but he's quite a drop offensively from Correa. Perdomo would bat 9th in the lineup but could probably be counted on for being in the lineup more consistently than Correa.

I have no problem considering a trade for ANY player on the Twins as long as I'm happy with what we get back. I wasn't especially happy what we got back for Johan Santana. I was O.K. with what we got back for Frank Viola even though I was sorry to see him go. BOTH Santana and Viola had a 20 win season for the Mets after those trades were made and you could agree with any Twins fan who wondered how much better the Twins could have been if they had their star lefty winning 20 games for them. But the Viola trade brought back Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilara (and lefty David West) so when you look at how integral Tapani and Aggie were to the Twins 1991 World Series Championship team, it made it a lot easier to accept that Viola threw an N.L. best 250 innings, struck out 182 and won 20 games with a 2.67 ERA in 1990 for the Mets. Correa is the most expensive player on the Twins, and it's not even close. He's a very good player at a premium position (SS) that could leave a huge hole for the Twins if he was dealt. Right now, the best option the Twins have on their roster to replace Correa would be Brooks Lee. Many of us on TD think of Lee as more of a 2B/3B option going forward than a SS. So a key to a Correa trade would be who is coming back in the deal to become the Twins SS going forward. Let's just speculate that the team that wants Correa is the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox want to compete for the A.L. East Division crown and at least be a playoff contender. They look at the Yankees losing Soto and see a weakened Yankee ballclub. They look at Baltimore and see young talent but a team that is losing their Ace in Corbin Burnes and a 44 HR outfielder in Anthony Santandar. The Red Sox see an opportunity. The Red Sox are also thinking of moving Rafael Devers off of 3B. Correa and Trevor Story could lock down the left side of their IF. What if the Twins traded Carlos Correa, Christian Vasquez and SWR to the Red Sox for young catcher Kyle Teel and SS/CF Ceddane Rafaela. The Red Sox are big market. They can absorb Correa's $35 million and Vasquez's $10 million. They have a history with Vasquez that was very successful and he would make a great backup for Connor Wong. They are also desperate for SP so a young, affordable and controllable SP like SWR would be very temping to them. The Twins get a young catcher with tremendous potential who can split time with Jeffers. Rafaela becomes the starting SS. He's quite good with the glove at both SS and CF. He has 20 HR-20 SB potential for years to come. He's already signed thru the 2031 season for $50 million. He's just completed the first year of that extension for the Red Sox. His average annual salary is $6.25 million per year. That's a perfect contract by Twins standards. He's only 24 years old. He would be part of the Twins for at least the next 7 years of his contract. He doesn't walk enough but he's got room to grow. And his defensive skill either in the infield or CF is elite. The other thing this does is open up about $39 million in salary relief/opportunity. How would the Twins utilize this? Would they sign Profar to play LF? Would they bring in a Kirby Yates to help anchor the back end of the BP? Would this allow the Twins the ability to be more aggressive in signing Ryan and Ober to contract extensions keeping the top 3 SP's in our rotation together for the next 5 seasons or so? If you throw in the additional $7.5 million the Twins could save with a Paddack trade (for whatever you could get if cutting the salary is the primary objective) that would give the Twins over $45 million to re-work the roster. I'm not advocating that the Twins trade Correa. But if the trade scenario I laid out with the Red Sox were to be a reality I'd be thrilled with a trade like this. Correa's durability has been suspect these last couple years. Coupled with the Russian Roulette the Twins play with Buxton this puts the Twins in a continuous loop of uncertainty for each of their big stars. Rafaela is NOT Carlos Correa. But he's much younger, probably as good or better than him defensively and about $30 million per season cheaper than Correa. The Twins would emerge a younger, more athletic team with some serious money to burn to re-order the roster. It would also ultimately make the Twins a more attractive franchise for a buyer. Under these conditions, I could see myself fully on board with a Correa trade. I don't want to trade him. But what exactly do you get back and what do you eventually do with the significant payroll reduction to improve the Twins for the 2025 season and beyond?

I'm pretty sure the "Garcia, the esteemed leader" writing was just made in jest. And yes, while I'm waiting for a big trade during these winter meetings...something that brings in a Daulton Rushing/Kyle Teel "Catcher of the Future" kind of deal, I kind of like this under the radar move. It really has no risk but could prove to a beneficial signing. Every year, Major League teams make these kind of under the radar signings and a couple of them end up being very successful. With the possibility that the Twins will actually give Griffin Jax a shot at the starting rotation, this kind of signing can't hurt at all. This kind of move is far more beneficial than a risky Rule 5 move because Ynoa has the ability to be called up/sent down that is not readily available for a Rule 5. We're ALL hoping for something bigger during the Winter Meetings. But this is a decent move and I like it.