TopGunn#22

The name of the game is to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Max has been one of my favorite Twins players since he came up, but he has also been very frustrating with his offense. The Twins are in a classic "sell high" situation. Kepler, Polanco and even possibly Vasquez are going to be dealt this off season to reduce the payroll minus a TV deal that ownership is projecting a $55 million dollar revenue loss. The frustrating part of the TV revenue projections are that the Twins aren't going to be $55 million in the hole. They will get a large chunk of that back for 2024. This is what makes our ownership annoying at times. RH hitters like Adam Duval and Nick Senzel can be added to the roster pretty cheaply. Trading Kepler at the height of his value (at least since 2020) with Max only being a Twin for one more season and a rotation that needs some re-stocking is smart baseball. It's time to cash in the chips on Kepler and Polanco, and maybe even Vasquez if Miami or Seattle really have interest in him. As fans, we had no idea Solano, Taylor or Gallo were on the Twins radar at this point last year. There are guys on the roster now or out there the Twins can use to replace Max, Polanco or even Vasquez. Fill the rotation holes. Get a RH bat or two to balance the LH bats. Since RpR will surely downvote this but not bother to comment, I welcome reactions to my thoughts from everybody else.

Gotta pass on Goldy, though he's a future HOF. Alonso would be an interesting addition. He's better than a .217 hitter and the power and RBI's are undeniable. But he profiles more as a DH and with Buxton's millstone contract dragging the Twins down plus the fact that Alonso is a Scott Boras client, the likelihood of him signing an extension with the Twins is VERY small. That said, Alonso's BBTV is only 12.0. That's not prohibitive in any respect. Would a one-year rental be worth it? The Mets are not getting "a haul" with his value at twelve. I know BBTV has some limitations, but they've put him in a ballpark that is not exactly Fernando Tatis/Julio Rodriguez territory. Adam Duval was the guy I wanted the Twins to sign instead of Gallo last year and I couldn't believe the Twins went with a redundant LH bat. Gallo had good defensive metrics at 1B and the OF but Duval also had good defensive metrics in the OF and was capable of playing CF in addition to the corners. He could have been a RH platoon in LF and provided "Buxton Insurance" for CF. Our FO blundered and went with Gallo. Depending on how other moves play out, Duval would be a great fit with the Twins. Especially if LH hitting OF like Kepler and Larnach are moved. He's a solid RH power bat with above average defense. Bat him 7th. Both the Braves in 2022 and the Red Sox in 2023 didn't regret acquiring him.

Heiny, from a BBTV perspective I've cobbled practically that same trade together !! I had Headrick in there instead of Gordon and I had Miller instead of Woo but either works from a BBTV perspective. Seattle gets a solid defense catcher whose offense could bounce back allowing them to use Raleigh at DH and 1B in addition to catcher. They get their 2B in Polanco and in my case a young LHP, in your case a OF/IF utility guy. The Twins stack their rotation with Lopez, Miller/Woo, Ray, Ryan and Ober. We finally add a LH to the rotation and move Varland to the bullpen for 2024. We still have Kepler, Larnach, Farmer and Miranda as possible trade pieces or we hold onto them. The Twins take on the contract of Ray (who earns $23 million in 2024 and $25 million in 2025 and 2026 with a player opt-out for 2025) as well as any possible injury to Ray. But Miller/Woo are both young and talented and (I'll jinx this now) both not likely to suffer an injury. Ray could be a short term or at least a 3-season fixture in the rotation. Miller or Woo would be there for a long time. So the question is: Would Seattle trade possibly 40% of their rotation to get a starting 2B, solid catcher and a young arm or utilityman? And would the Twins ever make a deal where they take on a $23 million dollar salary for 2024 with their current budget cutting posture? But Heiny, I like your idea !! I just went with Miller over Woo, but really, either one works.

From a BBTV perspective this is a hard trade for the Twins to make . Vasquez carries about a negative 10 in value, and if you play the BBTV game, you can only ever trade him for some other team's negative, over-salaried problem. (think Kris Bryant). This could be a situation where "real life" baseball talent evaluations come into play. The Twins want someone like an Edward Cabrera from the Marlins. The Marlins are finally back to a place where they think they can compete for a playoff spot, even with the Braves & Phillies and the big spending Mets. BBTV's aside, would the Marlins be willing to trade us Cabrera and Sixto Sanchez for Polanco and Vasquez? In real world baseball, it just might be doable. A Polanco for Cabrera trade straight up works. Would they throw in Sanchez, a once bright prospect with a BBTV of zero for Vasquez a negative asset? If they feel they lack a catcher, especially one who works well with young pitchers, something they have in abundance, I think they might. I don't agree with Twins ownership needing to trim payroll. I think it's a big mistake with a team on the cusp and a TV deal that will eventually materialize. I think it's a foolish and premature overreaction. But the guys with the biggest bullseye's on their backsides are Polanco, Vasquez and Kepler. And if the Twins think they'd be alright with Julien/Lee, Camargo and Wallner stepping in at 2B, C and RF, then they very well could do this. They need a #1 or #2 SP to replace Gray. That guy could cost them payroll for 2024 but even more if they are serious about acquiring someone they would have to pay in 2025 and beyond. Those who point out the value of Vasquez and depth he provides are spot on. Camargo may have finally earned his chance. But veteran catchers who know what they're doing are extremely valuable in MLB. Even if BBTV says they're not only worthless, but a negative value on top of that.

I think you have to put the Mets owner near the top of the list for wealthy. And he's WILLING to spend. As much as I like to dream big, I think Beast is right. We will probably temper our spending. To me that eliminates Glasnow as a trade candidate at $25 million. I see a 2nd Tier FA signing for sure but no way am I going after a "Maeda" type. I'd like a little more Juice at the same or slightly higher price ($12 to $15 million per year) like Montas. I'd settle for an innings eater like Giolito. I'd gamble a bit for a Severino. But Glasnow despite the talent is just to big a risk at $25 million per. I don't see any way we acquire Arozarena and Margot has no "pop." However, Harold Ramirez is intriguing and the price isn't outrageous. He would be a BIG upgrade on Solano from a hitting standpoint and the 1B option helps a lot. Throw in some DH and just a "little" LF and it works.

Max is one of my favorite players and I'd hate to see him go. But I'll bet he does not equal what he did last year and trade him. If the Twins are looking to contend AND cut payroll, then both Kepler AND Polanco need to be dealt for young, controllable SP. Cabrera from Miami could probably be had for Polanco straight up. That could be a start. But if the Twins want to take a bigger swing and deal for one of Seattle's SP's like Miller or Woo it would probably take Kepler, Polanco and someone like Marco Raya or David Festa. A deal like that would net Woo for sure, probably Miller. Wallner takes over RF and Julien is at 2B (with Lee pushing). But we still don't know who is playing CF or LF. I'd like to get someone like Miller or Woo by including Larnach instead of Kepler and saving Kepler for another deal or just starting him in RF and Wallner in RF. The Twins could also sign a 2nd Tier FA like Montas/Giolito/Severino/Wacha to fill out the rotation with Varland moving to the bullpen. Any way you cut it, I think we see a trade or trades that send Kepler, Polanco and Larnach out. Values for Kepler & Polanco are just too favorable not to and Larnach needs a change of scenery.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone by the way !! I've walked grand-dogs and gotten grandkids breakfast so this was my chance to check in. Probably not going to look at TD again until tomorrow.

Lee by himself is worth Woo AND Miller. (according to BBTV). That's the problem with trying to come up with a trade with Seattle. Polanco 8.3 Miranda 5.1 Raya 6.9 and Larnach 5.5 is about 25.8 in value. Bryce Miller is 25.8. Woo is 24.6. A deal like this could work. Lee by the way is worth 48.1 so with Miller AND Woo being worth a little over 50 you could toss them Farmer worth 1.6 to even it out. But I doubt Seattle trades BOTH. Robbie Ray is a massive negative 30.2. Maybe you offer Polanco for Miller AND Ray? You'd have to take on the salary of Ray but you'd add two SP's to the rotation and move Varland to the bullpen. But would Seattle give up BOTH SP's? Even if we took the Ray contract off their hands? Seattle and Miami seem to be the best trade options for the Twins. BOTH would seem to be interested in Polanco. Seattle could also have interest in Miranda. You could possibly look for a trade involving Miller or Woo and Ty France for Polanco and Miranda. But that still requires someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez being included and I'd not be interested in that.

I don't know if Emmanuel Rodriguez or Walker Jenkins will play an inning of CF when they finally make it to the big leagues. I don't know if Austin Martin is the answer there either. That's why I've advocated for a "sell high" on Joe Ryan in a deal that sends him to Milwaukee for Burnes AND Garrett Mitchell. The Brewers would do it to add a young, controllable SP with potential. They would also part with Mitchell because there might not be a team in MLB that has more, young, OF prospects than Milwaukee. A trade like this is risky. You give up all that control of Ryan to get a stud #1 SP who you have no guarantee you can sign to an extension beyond 2024. I believe the agent for Burnes is Scott Boras, and if that's correct that makes an extension difficult. Still, we worked with him for Correa. The other benefit is you would get a talented, young OF like Mitchell, who could step in and be your CF for 2024 and beyond. You would also have a young OF on your roster to replace the expected departures of Kepler and Larnach. The budget reductions are going to be tough for Twins fans to stomach. But I want the ownership and front office to take some big swings this off season, not just be overly budget conscious. A deal like that for Burnes & Mitchell. A Kepler for Cortes deal or a Polanco+ deal for Edward Cabrera and a FA signing of a Montas/Giolito/Severino type would set the Twins up with a very good rotation and bullpen. It's not just about winning the division. It's about being true World Series contenders. Texas and Arizona showed the baseball world it's possible. Maybe the Twins don't do "all" this before opening day. Maybe they make a big deal deal at the deadline.

A Kepler (8.8) straight up for Cortes (8.4) would be more than enough. In fact, the Twins could actually ask the Yankees to throw in a player to even it out. Nowadays, there really isn't a pitcher out there who hasn't had SOMETHING go wrong. You just don't find those Jim Palmer, Don Sutton, and Bert Blyleven types out there. Since Kepler is sure to be pushed out in the future (within one season at the most) a deal for Cortes makes sense. But I agree with tony&rodney, the Yankees may like Max Kepler, but their rotation is far from settled, even if they sign a couple SP I don't think the Yanks would do it. And to repeat, almost every pitcher has something in their history that could be a red flag. Look at some of the "affordable" free agent guys we are considering: Frankie Montas. Lucas Giolito, Luis Severino. Those are guys that could be signed for $12-$14 million annually and would be worth the gamble. Ending up with a potential rotation of Lopez, Montas, Cortez, Ryan, Ober and Paddack (gotta list 6 because you need that many at the minimum) would be pretty decent for 2024. Especially if we have Varland in the bullpen.

I agree with matching up with Miami. We should be in touch with them. I've seen the $15.1 million arbitration figure from Fangraphs and I've used it before. Just this morning I saw Burnes getting $11.1 from Puckett's Pond. I think the $15.1 is probably closer to reality. Max Meyer wouldn't be a bad target, but he's coming off injury, and Cabrera has some major league experience. I'd really love to get Sixto Sanchez tossed into a deal.

Freddy Peralta is younger and has more years of control. His cost would be HIGHER than Burnes. Of course the Twins can afford Burnes. He's only set to make $11 million in 2024. But it's his last year of arbitration, so he will be a free agent in 2025. I would prefer trading for Burnes and signing him to a 5 year deal. The TV mess will be figured out before the 2024 season starts, so 2025 and beyond the Twins are getting most if not all of the $55 million they are unsure of replacing in 2024. I would make the Polanco and Festa deal in a heartbeat. I personally think it will take more than that. But if you're talking about replacing Sonny Gray an acquisition of Burnes would exceed anything Sonny Gray ever gave us. Sonny always had you holding onto your chair to see if he could get past the 5th inning. Burnes will give you 7 innings. Sometimes, even a little more. he's an absolute stud.

Senzel would be very interesting with his versatility (OF/3B/2B) speed, and RH bat. They should give him a call. Even though Castro is a SH, a guy like Senzel could make Gordon or Farmer, even Polanco expendable. He's a good fit. Woodruff is a very interesting opportunity. If his shoulder is as bad as tony&rodney said, then that dream goes in the trash bin. However, for ME, if I'm blissfully ignorant, the idea of signing him to a three year deal with one to rehab and two to pitch is intriguing to say the least. It could either be the greatest move the Twins have ever made, or the all time worst. I guess you just have to have your medical people pour over his reports and advise you as best they could. There will be a TON of teams not just looking for a pitcher, but looking for MULTIPLE pitchers this off season. There will be some interesting opportunities and some very good and very bad decisions made. I hope our FO makes the right ones !!

Doc Bauer, I was the guy that proposed a trade with the Marlins where Edward Cabrera was the centerpiece, but I tried to steal a couple good young arms from them whose value has dropped considerably as throw-ins. The deal would look like this: Marlins Get: Polanco 8.3 value and Kala 'i Rosario 2.2 10.5 total value. Polanco steps right in at 2B (Arraez is playing 1B) and Rosario gives the Marlins a young bat with potential to sweeten the deal and allow us to get Sanchez primarily. Twins Get: Edward Cabrera 8.5 RHP 26 years old Sixto Sanchez 0.0 RHP 26 years old Ryan Weathers 0.0 LHP 24 y/o. Sanchez was once the #15 prospect in March of 2021. He has battled shoulder problems and had surgery twice, July 2021 and October 2022. He finally made a successful rehab appearance at the end of last season but it's kind of like our Matt Canterino situation, How long can you wait? Sanchez throws a 4-seamer 97-99 mph and a power sinker 95-97. He's got a power arm and at 25/26 years old could remain a SP or build himself back up in the bullpen like Canterino. Ryan Weathers was a hot prospect for the Padres and was dealt to Miami at the deadline last season. He's just 24 years old and he's had some eye catching "ups" as well as some downs. He's got to improve his command. A little too walk prone still, but he's a young lefty who has both started and relieved at the major league level. I'm not sure why his value is zero on BBTV but he's got great potential in a rotation or the bullpen. Honestly, before I'd go big game hunting for a Burnes or Keller, I'd try to make a deal like this with Miami. If COST for payroll purposes is a major concern for the Twins in 2024, then I add these three arms and a free agent like Montas/Severino/Giolito who should all be "somewhat" affordable if you're considering replacing Sonny Gray with a veteran. Then you can put a Cabrera in the #3 spot and slide Varland to the bullpen to really fortify that. Whatever you could get out of arms like Sanchez, who should be healthy, Weathers, who is healthy and Canterino, who we HOPE is finally healthy, you've filled your pitching needs with one FA veteran, a solid young #3 in Cabrera and two other tremendous, young arms in addition to not giving up anyone like Festa, Raya, Canterino or Soto.

Thanks Ted! I think the Twins will need to swing at least one trade for pitching and have a Frankie Montas/Luis Severino/Lucas Giolito priced free agent SP signing. The Seattle trade for Gilbert isn't happening. I tried it on BBTV and it refused to validate it. Twins were getting 73.9 value for Gilbert and giving the Mariners 39.20 back. You'd need to remove Emm-Rod and insert Brooks Lee or Julien to even get close (you're still coming up with something around 62-65 in value). Gilbert is just too expensive. Blackburn is a non-starter. The other three are interesting. Keller cost wise is about the equal to Burnes. Both are 28 years old (again, only ONE year older than Ryan). The package to get either could probably be very similar with the Brewers and Pirates looking for prospects but also looking for a major league player or two that fits with their rebuild. The Keller deal with Wallner and Mercedes works value wise although the Pirates may request a pitcher like Festa or Raya instead of two OF. The numbers work on the Burnes deal as well although I think you would probably need to overpay slightly for Burnes given his pedigree and the competition you would face in his trade market. I would swap out Funderburk and include Jax instead. Jax has 1.7 more in value so that would juice up the offer, but I also don't want to deal Funderburk as he will be our primary lefty in the pen with Thielbar aging out and Moran lost for the season. Jax, Festa and Miranda gets you to a 32.9 value making the Burnes deal a slight, but necessary overpay. I'd replace Jax in the bullpen with Varland. One other possible Burnes deal would be Wallner 23.3 and Festa 8.7 (32 total) where you include Headrick 1.7 to sweeten the offer. The Manoah deal is interesting. He's only at a 14.5 value and I think you could swap out Kepler for Larnach and still make the deal. Larnach 5.5 and Festa 8.7 is 14.2 in value and that could work. If Wallner is in any other deal I would have to keep Kepler. You can trade Wallner AND Larnach this off season with Emm-Rod probably one season away and Jenkins charging ahead like a freight train.

I'm interested in Alonso. He's RH power and a 1B to boot. There is no way I'm trading Emm-Rod for him though, especially for one year. I would look to offer the following trade as I posted to BBTV. Twins get: Pete Alonso 12.0 29 years old. FA after the 2024 season. 12.0 total value. Mets get: Jose Miranda 5.1 26 yo Trevor Larnach 5.5 27 yo Kala 'i Rosario 2,2 21 yo. 12.8 Total value. The Twins would have to decide if they are willing to offer Alonso a contract for 6-7 years taking him to his age 36 or 37 season. It would be nice having 45 HR's and 100+ RBI's for several years in the middle of a Twins lineup. But Alonso is NOT fetching a prospect the quality of Emm-Rod from the Twins or a similar one from anybody else. Especially as a possible one year rental.

Well, if you're talking franchise icons you have to slip Kirby Puckett in there. He's the guy that led the Twins to 2 World Series Championships. Remember, Killebrew (Royals) and Carew (Angels) were both traded. We never traded Kirby. I also would include Emmanuel Rodriguez on this list. I would posit that if Buxton played 100 games in CF next season and hit .250 with 30 HR's and a team was interested in trading something GOOD for him, I'd do it. And I think the Twins would too. With Rodriguez and Jenkins on the way (both will be up by 2025/2026) I'd move Buxton to rid myself of that contract. But it could be worse. The Brewers have at least 5 more years of Christian Yelich at $26 million per year. And that's a big reason why Milwaukee is going to burn it all down and start over. They took a gamble on Yelich, got 2 spectacular years out of him and nothing close since. He's been decent, but not GREAT like he was. The list is pretty much what I would envision. I've mentioned moving Ryan previously because I see him as a #4 and no more. If I can do a deal where I bring back a #1 (Corbin Burnes for Ryan) I'm doing it. Burnes is ONE year older than Ryan. If I'm the Twins, I will invest in a stud #1 like Burnes to build a winner. With all the young talent up already, and soon to come up, and the only anchor weight contracts being Correa and Buxton that's what I'm hoping the strategy will be going forward. It's also why I question the wisdom of cutting salary for 2024. The Twins are on the verge of a very promising window. Why stifle the chance to push that window open wider over short term uncertainty of a TV deal. I love what Julien could bring to the top of our order for the sort and long term. But let's say he has a full season in which he actually improves against LH pitching and has a solid year. If Brooks Lee either breaks camp with the Twins or is up by May and HE has a solid rookie year with the bat and glove, unless the Twins teach Julien to be a 1B there is a possibility that he could be dealt for something VERY good. Even if Julien continues to struggle some with LH pitching but is solid, we would STILL get something very good for him. If you've got an infield of Kirilloff, Lee, Correa and Lewis and Buxton or Miranda is clogging up your DH...where do you find a consistent place for Julien? Nothing stays the same. The Twins will be continuously grading, revising and reevaluating their talent. The key is identifying who to keep and who you will chance trading. I'm not trading Lewis or Jenkins for anything...at least for the next 2-3 years.

I appreciate the background jorgenswest provided regarding Puckett and Harris from the Braves. It makes the suggestion plausible. It's is still HIGHLY unlikely, but there is at least a dash of logic to it. We've also commented on TD about how long either Emm-Rod or Jenkins could stay at CF or whether either or both will end up as corner OF even before they become big leaguers. The Twins (hopefully) have a really good idea on that. I just can't imagine either would suddenly just be incapable of playing CF while they're still in there 21-25 year old bodies. And each of them could very well be a Twin by 22 years old. With Buxton being a non-factor in the OF (and please, don't talk about Buxton being a 1B) and the Twins needing a real answer for CF in 2024, the decision to be made is this: Can Castro/Gordon/Martin hold down CF in 2024? Do the Twins need a long term solution like Lee Jung-hoo if Emm-Rod and Jenkins will never be CF? Or can they patch CF together until one of them takes CF over for about 5 years?

DJL44, you make a great point about Jax! He has one of the highest values for an easily replaceable asset on our team. It's one I've bounced around when looking at possible trades for solid starting pitching. For example, if I wanted to trade for Corbin Burnes and I didn't want to give up Joe Ryan, I would would look at the fact the Milwaukee wants to slash payroll and go for a youth movement. Bullpen pieces can get awfully pricey. Corbin Burnes BBTV of 32.0 Jax 19.1 Festa 8.7 Miranda 5.1 Total Value: 32.9 You can easily replace Jax with Varland. And now you've gained a #1 SP who will cost you $15.1 million in 2024 and you have the opportunity, like you did with Pablo Lopez, to sign him for 5 years up to his age 35 season. Why would Milwaukee want Jax? Because of those 4 years of control and the certain loss of Williams, their closer. The value of Jax makes him a very interesting trade chip for a SP or maybe even a CF. I'm not suggesting we SHOULD trade him, only echoing your point that we should consider what we could get in return for him and essentially replace him with Varland.

You could make a case to tender each of them and they probably will. However, Farmer will indeed be shopped and quite possibly traded by the time darkness falls in the state of Minnesota on Friday. At that point, Gordon makes more sense. I'm going to be a little contrary here and suggest that Thielbar is or should be a trade candidate. He makes $3 million, by far the highest salary in our bullpen. He's still effective but at 37 years old, how much longer will he be effective and as last season may have indicated, is he starting to break down. At any rate, he's been passed up by Funderburk. That kid has some crazy good stuff and is going to get a lot of work in 2024. And we're looking at a bullpen in 2024 that could include Varland as well as someone like Matt Canterino. The Twins philosophy has been to have young, cheap bullpen arms. If they can throw mid to upper 90's like Funderburk, Varland, Alcala, Stewart, Jax, Canterino and of course Duran, so much the better. If you trade Farmer and Thielbar the Twins free up nearly $10 million dollars. Trade Polanco and it's almost $21 million. Trade Kepler and it's $30 million. This allows you to go big game hunting for a solid free agent SP as well as trade for someone who would be affordable in 2024 (Corbin Burnes $15.1 million) but that you would be willing to shell out $25 million a year for 4 or 5 years for 2025 and beyond.

I wouldn't mind Julien at the top of the order and Castro/Martin at the bottom at all. Speed is BACK in the game of major league baseball (thank goodness) and guys that can consistently get on base and run (like Julien & Martin) may not be huge impact players but are solid, consistent contributors. Castro is the perfect bench guy with his positional versatility and speed in late game situations. It took Rocco awhile to warm up to the new rules that made base stealing appealing, but he finally did and Castro and to a lesser degree, Taylor. made it work. Martin just might be the answer in CF. We're still 2-3 years from seeing Emmanuel Rodriguez or Walker Jenkins out there. Can Martin be that guy in a platoon with Castro in 2024?

Great post, insights and observations. I think Cody's ETA's are pretty accurate. I agree with chpettit19 that the Wild card is Jenkins. To have him up at age 21 would be pretty impressive. But he could actually get here sooner and if he does, we have a HECK of a prospect. The comparison with Jackson Holiday was illuminating. One other player not mentioned was Noah Miller, he of minor league Gold Glove ability at SS. It's one thing to win a Gold Glove in the minor leagues. It shows EXCEPTIONAL defensive ability and future potential. Defense always plays with just "enough" offense. To win it at SS makes him a cream of the crop piece going forward. We all know Correa's time at SS is limited. He won't stick there through the life of his contract. Miller's Gold Glove should boost his value. Assuming Julien learns how to play some 1B, and Lee can handle SS, 2B and 3B. Miller is a potential Gold Glove major league SS. Where does that leave Lewis? Lewis is the cornerstone. He's hitting #3 or #4 in our lineup for the next 10 years. Kirilloff could always play LF or 1B if Julien ends up being a 1B/DH type (and he probably will). Where does Royce Lewis play if Emm-Rod or Jenkins is in CF for 3-4 years? There are certain players we will see the Twins move on from either this off season, at the trade deadline, or before the start of next season. Larnach, Kepler, Polanco, Farmer, Vasquez, all fall in this category. Gray and Maeda are already out the door and ain't coming back. The number of BATS we have in this 3-year pipeline is impressive. However, we're pretty short on pitchers and none of our pitching prospects are at the level of a Lewis, Julien, Wallner, Lee, Jenkins or Emm-Rod. That leads me to believe that SOME of these elite bats might be/could be, moved in an effort to add quality starting pitching in trades. Also consider that this equation would be different if we had drafted Skenes instead of Jenkins (but Skenes went before we had the chance). This is a great position to be in. It's always better to have more talent than less. It gives you more options. But I wonder what moves the front office will make this winter in FA and trades. They have a LOT of different directions they could go. Let's hope they make the right ones.

Well said tony&rodney. If the Twins could trade Wallner straight up for Soto, even if it's for only one year I think you have to at least consider it. Especially with Emmanuel Rodriguez close enough to be the starting RF in 2025. Bauer is a hot topic. I just brought him up as what I think could be a cost-effective option for the rotation. There are plenty of players I'd rather take a swing at, like Montas, Giolito, Eduardo Rodriguez and others in FA and Burnes, Alcantara, Cabrera etc...in trades. But at $12 million per year, he'd certainly be better than Maeda. We're not even to the Winter Meetings yet and we've exhausted virtually every topic on TD in Daily Norseman Kirk Cousins vs. Josh Dobbs fashion. I'm with you in that, I think I've made my feelings known, but I'm to the point I'd like to just sit back and see what actually happens. I will say this. I think the Twins have a unique opportunity to cement a winning team with a solid window for at least the next 5 years. It would be MUCH easier to accomplish this by maintaining payroll despite the uncertainty of the TV money, but it is still possible even with the expected reduction. However, a couple of fringy moves are not what is needed. The FO has done a great job getting us into this position, but they need to take some big swings this winter. Whether that's trading for Corbin Burnes or Juan Soto, or signing TWO SP's to move Varland to the bullpen for 2024. There need to be some major moves made. I hope they're up to the task.

Fatbat, I went back and reviewed my rotation and you are correct !! I failed to mention Paddack. He would most likely be that 6th SP type that provides the always needed depth for the present era major league pitching staff. In these trades, I also picked up a 26 y/o arm in Sixto Sanchez from the Marlins who has an electric arm but has battled injuries. He and Paddack are those 6th SP guys who could also be multi-inning guys out of the bullpen. I would consider trading either but would much rather hang onto them and use them for 3 inning bullpen stints to keep other, shorter inning bullpen guys fresh, but also to have them handy as 6h SP, spot SP material when needed. But I'd have them up with the Twins if they were healthy and throwing darts. I wouldn't waste their arms in the minor leagues. You can never have too much pitching.

Good points in commenting on my post Rik and rv78. You both nailed the problem with relying too heavily on something like BTV, even though we need to use BTV or something very similar to get some kind of valuation of players. The values do indeed seem depressed for Alcantara and Castillo. Miami would be much more likely to trade a Max Meyer than their #1. Although Alcantara had a down year last year, Luzardo may actually be considered their Ace going into 2024. And I could see Seattle trading Woo or Miller, or taking whatever they could get for Robbie Ray due to his contract rather than trade their Ace.