TopGunn#22

As with any trade, what are we getting? At this stage of his development, I would be very hesitant to trade E-Rod, but it would depend on what we're getting and how we can fit the acquired player into a current and future payroll. The guy we would get in a trade for E-Rod would have to be an established, productive big league player. For the sake of discussion, let's say that player is Brewers SP Corbin Burnes. Now, the Brewers would never trade Burnes for E-Rod because they already have a plethora of young OF's who are just reaching their major league team. But I'm using Burnes as an example. Burnes is 29 years old (only one year older than Joe Ryan). Matched with Lopez atop the Twins rotation they would be quite a combo. Burnes would realistically be able to give the Twins 5 good years. A 5-year $125-$150 million deal might keep him in the fold. With Wallner, Rosario and Walker Jenkins in the pipeline (and in Wallner's case, already on the big league roster) you COULD make a deal like that to establish a top notch rotation with an exciting core of young, good hitters. But I'd want to see how E-Rod starts next season and how quickly he could earn a trip to St. Paul. AA could be a challenge. But if he continues to perform his value will only increase and the lineup that has him with only an aging Correa making a good chunk of money allowing the Twins to buy pitching if they need it. It's a great problem to have.

Steve Lein pretty much laid this out. One (1) outing of 5 innings or longer in the minors doesn't make him a SP. That ship has sailed. The point now is this: The guy has crazy good stuff and what I've heard has better command than Duran. Stop wasting any time on minor league innings and get what you can out of him at the major league level. With his innings limit in 2024 he's NOT going to be a multi inning RP. He's a one inning guy who has the chance to be a DOMINANT one inning guy. Honestly, he doesn't need to prove it to me that he can get AAA hitters out. His stuff will play at ANY level. What he has to prove to me is that he can pitch 50-60 innings in a season and stay healthy. Pagan threw 69 innings last year. Jax threw 65. We drafted him in 2019. Next season will be 2024. Get him to spring training and let him showcase what he can do. If he's blowing guys away why waste time throwing pitches in St. Paul? Get what you can out of him at the major league level. The Twins have been drooling over Canterino since they drafted him. I think once he's up, only durability will hold him back (as it has throughout his minor league career). But I see him sticking on the big league roster. His stuff is simply THAT good.

Lee is ready. That comparison of minor league hitting stats was with the Rangers Evan Carter. Carter is a young hitter I'm REALLY impressed with. Here's MY hot take: Polanco and Kepler have their options picked up. With Julien already in the fold to play 2B and Castro on the roster, Polanco is packaged in a trade to add pitching. Lee, if he doesn't make the team straight out of spring training will be up by May 1st or June 1st. The Twins just aren't, nor should they, hold Lee back. Depending on what the Twins decide to do about CF (Lewis, Castro, a trade) and the other flexibility they have, Lee will be playing 2B or 3B and bringing his switch hitting to our lineup. In my opinion, he's going to be doing it sooner, rather than later. I think he breaks camp a big leaguer. If not, he's up by May 1st. June 1st at the latest.

twinsfan02, you completely missed my point, but I apologize if I didn't make it clear enough for you or anyone else. I'm not in favor of rushing any prospect. But I'm even more against holding them back for whatever reason, be that service time or that some small improvement in a facet of the prospects game still needs refinement. If Brooks Lee dazzles in spring training he will absolutely force the Twins hand. Polanco either won't have his option picked up, or he will, and then he'll be traded for pitching soon after. There is sufficient depth at 2B to move on from Polanco, much like there was with Arraez last year. The Twins have two rotation spots to fill. Free agency is one avenue. A trade is another, and the 3rd would be to promote someone from the minors. I think at least one of those spots is filled via trade and Polanco is a prime piece to move. So I apologize if I confused you, but I'm all for moving some of these prospects who are "on the cusp" up. That means I want to see Lee and Martin up, and a parting of the ways with guys like Taylor, Solano and Farmer.

This is no shock to us Twins fans. The Twins FO historically (no matter who has been in charge) moves at a snail's pace. We here on TD have called it "dumpster diving." It's always been frustrating because it makes the FO appear to have no plan or strategy going into the off season. Certain players appear to be a good fit to fill a need at a decent price (talking the "mid tier" free agents here) and one by one they get snapped up and we're left "dumpster diving" for the JA Happ's and Dylan Bundy's of the world. There are two SP that I would like the Twins to make a bid for this off season: Eduardo Rodriguez (finally a LH starter??) and Trevor Bauer. They are both classic "mid tier." Not Blake Snell. Not Aaron Nola. Those guys will bust a budget for sure. But I have a feeling the Twins will be out to lunch while these two potential rotation pieces are snapped up. I get the TV deal uncertainty but there's ALWAYS an excuse to go dumpster diving for the Twins. They broke that mold by trading for Lopez and Gray and finally had a good rotation. The Twins are on the verge of some 2004-2009 division dominance with an outstanding core of young players making an impact. But to remain competitive, they need to pitch, and that means one or two rotation acquisitions this off season. Waiting won't yield "quality."

I totally agree with darin617, When the T-Wolves moved in a different direction I was...apprehensive. Michael Grady is excellent !! I really like him. I just wish I didn't have to watch 2nd halves like their latest debacle in Atlanta.

He's an all time great in the pantheon of Twins Broadcasters. I'm glad he's retiring on his terms. He and I are each former St. Cloud State University UTVS/KVSC "Sports Directors." Dick was a couple years ahead of me. I will miss him. He's been a trusted and admired presence in my "sports den" for years. I really like Cory Provus. If there is somebody I wouldn't mind replacing Dick, it would be Cory Provus.

While I agree with Doc Bauer to a degree in his post (and generally agree with him on most things) I'm with tony&rodney and chpettit19 on the Juan Soto issue. I think San Diego is a mess, and I'm not so sure they finished very strong last year. They will almost certainly be missing their Cy Young Award starter Blake Snell and their All Star closer Josh Hader next season. Manny Machado wants out. They will most certainly be open to trading Soto. Soto is the same age as Vlad Jr. They will both be entering their age 25 season. Machado is almost impossible to trade with the negative value his contract holds so he's not going anywhere. The Padres are stuck with Machado and they will attempt to rebuild around Tatis and him. But they ARE cutting payroll. For the Padres like any other team, it's not just the $33 million Soto will make next year, but the "expected" earnings of his next contract. Vlad Jr is different because Toronto is not in payroll hell like the Padres. There is no need for the Blue Jays to move him. So it comes down to WHO will be bidding for Soto? I doubt the Dodgers will be. They're focused on Ohtani and maybe Josh Hader. The Yankees could be interested but do they have the ability to come up with a better trade offer? And they still have that massive Giancarlo Stanton contract. Ughhh. The Red Sox would have to trade Verdugo or Yoshida to open up a spot for Soto. Yoshida already has a large contract and Verdugo will cost as much as Kepler. Not really what San Diego is looking for with salary relief. So here you have the Twins. Looking for an elite bat with potential openings at corner OF. If there is truly some kind of equivalence with Soto's value considering his present and future "cost" and Wallner, with his potential and minimum salary for the next 4-5 years the Twins really should consider it. Right now, both wallner and Soto carry a BTV of 22.9. Throw in a Josh Winder 6.0 and maybe even Sabato and I think Soto is a Twin. To me, this is a classic "sell high" on Wallner. It's not that I don't think he can continue to improve. It's that with Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins and Severino/Rosario I can trade Wallner to get an absolutely "ELITE" hitter. Hit Soto behind Lewis and see what kind of pitches Royce has to see. Hit Soto ahead of Lewis and see how often Royce comes to bat with Julien and Soto on base. The other interesting thing about Soto is that he's 24 years old!! He'll be 25 during the season next year. The Twins would have Jenkins and Rodriguez on the way, but if I'm ever going to give a guy an 8-10 year contract, I do it for a guy who's 25. Not 29. With Soto in LF next season, I'd be fine with Kepler in RF, or if we traded Max, Soto would be in RF and maybe a platoon of Larnach and Severino. With Soto in the lineup, the Twins could accept a slightly below league average LF production. If Brooks Lee makes the team out of spring training you could see more of Julien at 1B and Kirilloff in LF. When it's all said and done, Losing Wallner for even ONE year of Soto would be worth it.

I agree. I'm locked in on Brooks Lee. Can he impress enough in spring training to break camp with the team or does he need a month or two in St. Paul? Emmanuel Rodriguez is another I'm excited about. Does he make it up to the Twins some time this year or is 2025 the target. Finally, like everyone else, I'm interested to see how many levels Walker Jenkins conquers next season with an eye on arriving for good with the Twins in 2025. Charlie Soto is my final guy. Heard great things about him after we drafted him, he seemed like a steal. Then virtually nothing, as was expected. How does he do out of the gate and how many levels does he move next year? Is 2 the limit if he meets expectations? The other thing is how well do guys like Lewis, Julien, Wallner and Varland do in their 2nd MLB season? I think it's safe to say that expectations for each of them are very high. Will anyone suffer a sophomore slump? Who, if any of them will exceed expectations? Will Varland start or come out of the bullpen? We're all expecting Lewis to be a superstar and hope he can play 150 games. That's not really unreasonable. But Lee and Wallner are key guys in that, if the Twins have a lot of confidence in them, they could very well pick up the options on both Polanco and Kepler and then trade one or both to cut payroll and fortify other areas. And as I write this I realize I should probably mention Austin Martin. Is he a viable option in CF? How close is he? I don't think Buxton can be counted on for anything but I also don't want to pay Taylor $8 million a year when I expect his offense to fall off a cliff next year. Should a trade for Tyler O'Neill be made? Can Martin step in and play good "D" in CF and hit 9th? I'd like to see Martin go play CF for a team in the Dominican and see how it goes.

Well, you can cross Chaz McCormick off that list if you go by BBTV's. McCormick had a nice season last year but he's 29 years old and his value is 47.2. That would require a trade of either Joe Ryan 44.8 or Brooks Lee 48.2 and neither of those is going to happen. I think BBTV's needs to "reevaluate" the value of a 29 year old OF who had a good year last season but had been a below the radar guy before that.

2wins87, tony&rodney, BBTV's actually has Soto and Wallner at equal value, if you can believe that. Most of that is the affordability of Wallner for the next 5 seasons and the cost of Soto in 2024 and beyond. Wallner straight up or throwing in a SWR or Winder theoretically could get it done. Soto in our lineup in 2024 would be a sight to behold. Would it be worth it to give up Wallner to make it happen? Maybe. A lot of that "maybe" depends on the progression of Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. It's possible that BOTH Rodriguez and Jenkins could be playing for the Twins in 2025. Even if it's only Rodriguez, Jenkins will be up in 2026 guaranteed. I like Wallner. But this is a classic "sell high" moment if you want to make a play for a bat like Soto. Much like trading Arraez was made possible by having Polanco and Julien (with Lewis, Lee and others) having Rodriguez and Jenkins makes the unthinkable idea of trading a young power hitter like Wallner a real possibility. I don't think the Padres are close to competing at all next season. Their payroll is maxed out and they are going to lose Blake Snell and Josh Hader. Manny Machado wants out. Darvish is going to be what, 36 or 37 next year? Who will be in their rotation after Joe Musgrove? And Musgrove is currently on the 60-day I.L. He's not even listed on their roster at this point. The Padres are going to be sellers this off season. They will build around Tatis but anybody else is fair game. Teams will make trade offers for Soto. He seems like a classic Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies kind of acquisition. But for one year? He certainly COULD be a TWIN. He's just so darn consistent though, that offering a 10-year $400 million dollar contract extension doesn't seem crazy. Chaz McCormick is a much lower risk in my opinion. But Soto! Man would that be exciting.

Great article Adam ! These are all interesting possible additions. I agree with you that Correa is likely to have a big bounce back season compared to 2023 offensively. Soto is obviously the cream of the crop and he will be VERY expensive to extend. If he was 28 years old I probably wouldn't be interested at all. But he's 24 years old!! Imagine a 10-year contract with him in the #3 hole with Lewis, Lee, Correa, Jenkins, Julien, Jeffers and Kirilloff? The biggest question is how could they fit him into their payroll 5 years into that 10 year contract when guys like Lewis, Lee, Julien, Kirilloff and Jenkins will need to be paid and guys like Correa and Buxton will still be in their contract status? And that doesn't even address where we might need to be with the pitching staff. Alonso has power and would provide a much needed RH bat. What would be a reasonable contract extension for him? I like that Santander is a switch hitter and could play either corner OF. He's a better hitter than Kepler...much more consistent. The real sleeper on your list is Chaz McCormick. He is a far superior player to Taylor, who won't come close to replicating his 2023 stats in 2024 or ever again. McCormick would be great CF insurance and would give us a solid glove in LF if Buxton was in CF. Guys are clamoring for Nootbar, and he's great, but the Cardinals aren't trading him to anybody. If we acquired a Cardinal OF it would most likely be Tyler O'Neill. McCormick has power and speed and kills LH pitching. With Dusty Baker retiring, maybe McCormick would be better appreciated in Houston. But I'd be on the phone with them figuring out what McCormick would cost. Acquiring any of these players makes picking up the options for Kepler and Polanco necessary and then trading them to restock whatever talent we have to use to put together a trade as well as shedding $20+ million in payroll.

The rate at which he gives up HR's and the fact that he's been trying to find a secondary pitch other than a fastball for years, and one that tops out at 94 mph and only occasionally at that means I'd be tempted to sell high on him. He overuses the pitch and it gets him in trouble. I'm not convinced he can take the next step. I've mentioned this before, but he's only one year YOUNGER than Corbin Burnes. ONE. If Craig Counsel leaves as Brewer manager and with Woodruff set to miss all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery, the Brewers may decide to break things up. The only negative to Burnes is cost. He's going to be paid like a former Cy young Award winner. The attraction of Ryan is also COST. He's got a couple years before he's going to get paid. If the Twins would ever be in a position to afford TWO aces at the top of their rotation it would be 2024 with the youth movement in full swing. Ryan has a higher value on Baseball Trade Values only because he COSTS less. Ryan will never be a stud like Burnes. If I could trade Ryan for Burnes and get young OF Garrett Mitchell in addition I'd do it in a heartbeat. A rotation with Burnes and Lopez at the top would be outstanding. Getting a young OF like Mitchell could allow the Twins to part with Kepler and Polanco, continue the youth movement and further improve the roster with what you get back in the trades. Plus, the savings of trading Kepler and Polanco ($20+ million) could pay for most of what it would cost to extend Burnes. It would be selling high on a pitcher like Ryan. Something we all discussed in a previous "Sell High" or "Sell Low" thread we had.

The youth movement needs to continue. I agree with not rushing Brooks Lee and not necessarily adding him to the 40 man when he isn't close to Rule 5 eligible. However, if Lee shines in spring training, and he very well could, he will give the Twins good reason to add him to the 40 man and play him consistently. If I was the Twins GM I'd pick up the options on both Kepler and Polanco but I would certainly consider trading one or both (for me, more likely Polanco) to add pitching. Trading them moves their salary to other teams, and you don't just let them walk for minimal compensation. Julien won't embarrass himself or the Twins if he logs some innings at 2B. He's not a stellar defender, but he's not nearly as inadequate as some seem to think. And he could still improve. Guys like Gaetti and Koskie weren't good right away either. Martin, in my opinion is ready. He's a 4th OF who we will need to count on as a semi-regular CF if Buxton can't play the field. Taylor isn't ever going to come close to his numbers this year for the rest of his career. Take the win of 2022 and move on with Castro and Martin splitting time in CF. (unless a trade is made for a more permanent solution). Severino is a really intriguing prospect. I also see him as a 1B but in a pinch he may be able to give you some innings at 3B/2B. He will most likely start in St. Paul but I'd rather have him than Solano on the roster. At 37 years old, Solano isn't going to duplicate his 2023. He's going to regress. Once again, move the youth up. They're ready, or at least REALLY CLOSE to being ready. I'd like to see how Canterino, Festa and Raya look in spring training. I'm not sure sure how many innings Canterino has in his arm, but with his stuff and command, I'd like to see it at the major league level ASAP rather than in the minor leagues. A 2-month stint at St. Paul and if he's dominating, get him up and into our bullpen.

Soto is a guy we haven't seen or heard much about since he was drafted. It's waaay too early to consider dealing a guy like him. Gotta give us some time to see what he can do. That said, guys who are risers can and should always be considered for trades to improve the major league team. It just depends what their actual value is in the trade market and what you could get back. As a trade partner, consider the Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Craig Counsel is interviewing with the Mets. Counsel gets more out of less than any manager in baseball. He's practically the "Anti Dave Roberts." If he goes, and with Brandon Woodruff out all next season with Tommy John surgery, I expect the Brewers to trade Corbin Burnes. Burnes is 28 years old and has already won a Cy Young. He's ONE year older than Joe Ryan. Would the Brewers be interested in Festa? Schobel? Would Bailey Ober interest them? The appeal to the Brewers is money. Burnes is a better pitcher than Ryan, Ober and probably Festa will ever be. But he's going to cost a LOT. Could the Twins make a deal with the Brewers to put Burnes and Lopez at the top of their rotation? Could we afford to pay Burnes with no TV deal in the near future? It's always hard to trade the "fallers" because their value is at a low point. It's sometimes shrewd to trade the "risers" because their value is peaking. There's no way I'm trading Brooks Lee at his peak value because I'm convinced he will be a star. How sure are the Twins that Festa, Rosario or Schobel will be stars? Who will be next years "risers??"

Good point Jocko. We are in somewhat uncharted territory and it probably needs some "outside the box" thinking. My son sent me a 3 hour podcast he had listened to that I finally got around to listening to myself last night while I watch Football and Basketball on mute. It was Lex Fridman interviewing Jared Kushner. They were discussing how Kushner was able to broker the Abraham Peace Accords. Kushner said something to the effect of "Long standing problems need a novel approach. If you approach the problem in the 'traditional' manner, you will ultimately fail like everyone else did. That's why the problem itself has become a "longstanding' problem." Kushner, while having a decent understanding of the prevailing issues in the middle east approached the parties involved with a pretty common sense idea. What was the most important concern they each had if a peace deal came to pass? And then he went about making sure the primary concern of each party involved was addressed. Remarkably, no one had ever approached it that way. So there certainly needs to be some outside the box thinking. Someone has already pointed out that Hubbard Broadcasting owns Channel 45 (KSTC). As a true independent station they have zero programming obligations like the network stations do. In this case, the simplest solution would be for KSTC to take on the Twins games. Here's the issue with BASEBALL: It's a MASSIVE programming commitment. 162 games is a LOT of programming time. Regional sports channels build their programming around the baseball games. Hubbard would have to juggle the programming they've already put into place and have invested time, talent and treasure into promoting by taking on that massive programming burden. But it would be worth the risk. KSTC could see a tremendous jump in viewers to their station during the Twins season. Maybe those viewers hang around and watch the late news after the Twins game is over. That would cover the metro area, but Hubbard would need to put together a Twins network that could deliver games in some way to greater Minnesota as well as the upper midwest. THAT is a HUGE challenge if approached the "traditional" way. But Hubbard, thru KSTC channel 45 is the best place to start. They already deliver the Prep Bowl and MSHSL Winter Tournaments statewide. How would they tie in opportunities for the upper midwest?

I'll weigh in on this as a former Hubbard Broadcasting Sales Manager in Rochester. The problem with sub-channels are that very few of them allow you to sell advertising on them. They're what is called "Pass-Through." This-TV is a good example. We were not allowed to sell advertising on it with 2 exceptions: The Prep Bowl and the MSHSL Winter Tournaments for Boys & Girls Hockey and Basketball. They are each short term commitments. A two day football tournament and for the winter, one two day tournament, two 3-day tournaments and the 4-day Boys Hockey tournament. And the ONLY reason we were able to sell ads in the Tournaments was because it was grandfathered into our original deal. Not just the Twins, but MLB has a chance to come up with a model that would be cutting edge with sports. As a kid growing up, I would have loved to see as many games as I could of Jerry West and the Lakers, of Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson pitching, of Roberto Clemente hitting. Kids will grow up being Twins fans but they may have other "favorite" players on other teams. Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carroll, or maybe Jackson Holiday. This is "somewhat" present with MLB Network, but it's still just a smidge better than the old "Game of the Week." The old broadcast TV models were changed by cable, but cable is crumbling before our eyes. We might see any of the cable providers in the near future just like we saw newspapers start to die off. We have a saying in TV "Content is King." Well, the Twins (and all MLB teams) are CONTENT providers. Could this be an opportunity to bring some kind of parity of revenue to MLB?

This is great news! Before this popped up at the end of the season and playoffs it seemed like 1B wasn't going to be a problem for next season. Suddenly it did. Now, like all of us here on TD I'm wondering what his timeline is for a full spring training and the regular season. I don't think Solano will come close to duplicating what he did this last season and it would be nice to have a RH bat to at least give Kirilloff a little time to ease in. I don't think Miranda is that guy, and I don't see him having any future in Minnesota. I'd like to use guys like Miranda and Larnach to get us something we need. It's going to be an interesting off season.

We as Twins fans will look back someday and marvel at our good fortune to have somehow, miraculously, moved UP in the MLB Draft Lottery to #5 overall. In a draft that had 5 LEGIT excellent prospects, it will be interesting to follow the 4 guys that went ahead of him: The LSU duo, Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, Max Clark, Wyatt Langford and compare how each of them do if they all make it to "the show."

This is a wonderful "problem" to have. We waited for things to turn around for Duran, both health-wise and-command wise and he didn't quite get there and he's flourished as a closer. The Twins are at the same point with Matt Canterino. You could look at guys like Winder, SWR and others. A STARTER is always more impactful than a relief pitcher simply due to the innings pitched. A lot of this depends on what we do through trades and/or free agency in the off season. I've advocated considering both Eduardo Rodriguez and Trevor Bauer. Depending on the price points, one or both of these guys could be in play. Realistically, one of those two and a smaller signing of a Jake Odorizzi-type would give the Twins adequate depth for their rotation. A bullpen of Duran, Stewart, Jax, and Funderburk is a good start. Maybe Theilbar, maybe Pagan. Guys like Varland and Canterino could be huge weapons. It's a good problem to have. I'd go into 2024 with Varland being a starter in mind, but if things fall into place or change, I liked what he did out of the pen.

I open enough room on the 40-man to protect Camargo, Martin, E-Rod and Severino and leave one more spot open if there is a rule 5 guy I just gotta have if opportunity presents itself. The others I expose and if someone takes them that's O.K. We've got plenty of young talent looking for a promotion. Move 'em up! I see the Twins exercising the options on both Polanco and Kepler. But with what we have on the roster and the pipeline I see Polanco getting traded. I also don't see any of Gray, Taylor or Solano coming near what they did in 2023. I consider them a win for 2023, but I'm reloading. With the uncertainty with Kirilloff, I'm looking for a better RH hitting alternative who maybe could play some OF as well. Farmer can be packaged in a trade for SP depth or a decent bullpen arm. I'm moving on from Theilbar. He's our most expensive arm in the pen at $3 million and he can be counted on for 2-3 trips to the I.L. for sure. I'm using that money for a bullpen upgrade and leaning more heavily on Funderburk (I liked what I saw) and Moran if he can improve his command. Finally for that additional SP, before I make any trades, I'm looking at Eduardo Rodriguez and Trevor Bauer. E-Rod would finally give us a LH in the rotation and he won't be as costly as Snell, Gray or Nola. Bauer is still a talented pitcher and he could be very affordable as well. He got a raw deal from MLB and the league needs to figure out how to handle situations like this in the future. The man is not a Saint, but now that the real story has come out, he's certainly not the arch villain he was made out to be. The Twins are in a great position with all the youth on the team and some truly interesting talent in the pipeline. After they set their starting rotation priorities, and if they signed E-Rod and Bauer they could be looking at a staff of Lopez, E-Rod, Bauer, Ober, Ryan and Paddock---you have to have six because injuries are just too predictable. Only Lopez didn't have issues or an I.L. stint in 2023, THEN you have to figure out CF. That could be where Polanco and/or Farmer come into play with the possibility of a minor league arm as well in a trade. No plan for 2024 should include counting on anything from Buxton. Whatever we get from him is pure gravy. Castro and Martin would be the last resort fallback if no trade is made.

One name the Twins could explore on the free agent market is Eduardo Rodriguez. He won't be nearly as expensive as a Blake Snell, Aaron Nola or even a Sonny Gray. Gray will not come close to the season he put up for the Twins in the coming years of his career so I'm fine with making the Qualifying Offer and getting some draft pick compensation. Rodriguez would also finally give the Twins a lefty in the rotation as well. It's pretty clear that they need to bring in at least one arm and maybe even two. Ryan, Ober, and Maeda all spent time on the I.L. and Paddock, while showing promise in the playoffs isn't a sure thing to throw 180 innings. Depth is what saved the Twins this year and they will need it in 2024. That's why I would make a strong bid for Rodriguez while still looking to make a trade. I think the Twins pick up the option year on Kepler and Polanco, but if the right deal came around for Polanco, I think they make a trade with him. Julien looks good and Brooks Lee may just make the team out of spring training. With Castro around (even if Farmer is also traded) there's plenty to work with for 2B. Pitching is going to be really tough to secure however, both on the FA market and through trades. The Dodgers and Cardinals are FULLY in the pitching market, but there are a lot of other teams that will be looking too. The Orioles will need to bolster their young pitchers with some solid vets. The free agents will be snapped up before our FO has a cup of morning coffee. They are always late to the party. This is why I'd like to see them make a strong play for Eduardo Rodriguez EARLY in free agency.

I'm with JD for the most part. A couple of thoughts: Shane Mack can back up Oliva in RF and replace Bruno. Bostock is good in LF but the RH side of the Platoon would be Bob Allison or Larry Hisle. I would replace Harper at backup catcher with Earle Battey. Gold Glove winner, All Star and hit with some power. While Jack Morris had one wonderful season with the Twins and an epic and unforgettable Game 7 win, I might go with Jim Perry in that spot. Perry won the Cy Young Award in 1970 and won 20 games in 1969, but he was also a pretty solid SP from 1965 to the end of his Twins career in 1971. A couple of arms you could add to your impressive list in the bullpen would be Al Worthington and a sleeper here...Tommy Hall. He was a slim lefty nicknamed "The Blade" and he could bring it! We foolishly traded him to the Reds prior to the 1972 season for Wayne Granger (who had been the Reds closer). Correa has only been a Twin for 2 years, so I would leave him off and revisit this in about 5 years. But there should ALWAYS be a Utility Player with every Twins "All-Time Team" and that player will ALWAYS be Cesar Tovar. He played at about 140 pounds so there would be plenty of room on the bench for him! I like JD's 1B and DH selections as well !!

Great points JD-Twins, I'll offer a couple counterpoints: There is no way I'm offering Maeda $13 million per year. At his age and diminishing performance I'll use that money elsewhere. Sonny is not coming back, but he can be replaced and possibly improved upon. Montgomery or Eduardo Rodriguez would give us a LH in the starting rotation and each will win in double digits. Blake Snell would be GREAT. But he's going to be waaay too expensive. I predict Sonny Gray never comes close to the type of season he gave the Twins this year in his next contract. Speaking of guys I think will provide diminishing returns next season and beyond: Solano and Taylor. I'd rather roll with Austin Martin or a trade candidate for CF. Payroll, without the $55 million from our TV deal is going to have an impact. We need to promote younger guys who are inexpensive at this point. That's Martin and Brooks Lee. I might move on from Caleb Theilbar if keeping him is not cost efficient. Funderburk will do just fine. Moran should improve. Plus, Caleb is always good for at least 2 I.L. stints per season at this stage of his career. The Twins may need to be especially creative on the trade market since free agency may be problematic. I want to note that I think it's a stretch that the Pohlad's will need to cut or maintain our salary structure absent the TV money. We get a TON of money from revenue sharing already. We should see an increase in attendance. They have a chance to build a winner for a long time. The TV money will eventually return in some form. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish. However, we all know how the Pohlad's think and operate. If payroll stays at about $150 million they should/could be fine. If they increase it only nominally, they should be fine. If they cut it, they may be squandering a chance to build a multi-year division winner. They need bats. But is was PITCHING that got them where they went. They have a lot of promising young hitters. Get at least one more GOOD SP and add one solid (not marginal) bullpen arm and I think they'll be ready to defend that divisional title.

Great article arby58! I will stick my neck out and say that despite the two CY Young seasons for Santana (and yes, he should have won in 2005 as well) the greatest pitching season ever for a Twin (and Walter Johnson doesn't count) was Blyleven's 1973. My memory as a 15 year old kid was that the Twins just couldn't score any runs for him. The 1970's were a pitching dominated decade, but as good as Bert's stats were he couldn't beat Jim Palmer out for the CY Young award. On top of that, 1973 was the year Nolan Ryan broke Sandy Koufax's 1965 strikeout record with 383 while winning 21 games and having an ERA under 3. 1973 was a tough year to try to win the CY Young in the A.L. and I'm convinced Palmer won it because the Orioles won the A.L. East. One nit pick: I'm a huge Sandy Koufax fan, so as soon as I read the stats you listed for his 1966 CY young award I knew you were listing his 1965 stats by mistake. In 1966 Koufax won 27 games (losing 9) and had an ERA of 1.73. He struck out 317 that year and threw 5 shutouts. That's from years of reading the backs of baseball cards, what can say. Sadly, that was his last year and in 1972 he became the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame.