TopGunn#22

First Covid, and now a lockout is doing MLB no favors whatsoever. And as mikelink45 pointed out, it's hurting EVERY MLB club and their young players who desperately need developmental time. ALL these young Twins pitchers have had their development disrupted (and injuries haven't helped either). The same with Lewis and other young hitters. The Twins still have the payroll flexibility to sign Pineda and then go big with either a Story or Rodon signing. Pineda is realistic and one of the other two probably a pipe dream. But trading someone like Arraez, Kepler, Martin or Larnach for young, controllable pitching, like Sixto Sanchez or Max Meyer from Miami or proven big league pitchers like Montas, Bassitt or Manaea from the A's is certainly something the Twins FO has to consider. You just can't go into next season with Ryan, Ober, Bundy and maybe Pineda/Dobnak. Competing in 2022 and being competitive in 2023 and beyond are not mutually exclusive goals. No team should ever be so shortsighted as to be "All IN" on the next season with no regard to the future. But there are trades the Twins FO could make or at least persue that could benefit the Twins in 2022 and beyond. Arraez, Miranda and Martin are "somewhat" redundant. Add in Gordon and Lewis and one or two of these guys can and should be moved. I don't trade Miranda. He's on the Twins from day one this season replacing Arraez once he's dealt. I don't trade Lewis. I've just simply got to find out what I have and he's currently more valuable to the Twins now, than what he could bring back. That leaves Martin. If I had the opportunity to deal Martin straight up for Sixto Sanchez (Martin 30.8 MLB Trade Values and Sanchez 30.0) I'd do it ! The Marlins have a glut of really talented, but really young SP'ing. We need a guy like Sanchez to build around our starting staff. Martin would be an extremely valuable addition for the Marlins. An on-base machine with positional flexibility and years of team control. Sanchez is READY to pitch in the big leagues, and heading a future Twins staff with Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, Ryan and Ober would be just fine with me. If I made a trade like this, I'd sign Story in a heartbeat. Royce Lewis could very well be my SS of the future and Story could move to 3B once the Twins move on from Donaldson. But Lewis could also be a pretty good LF'er. How about an outfield of Lewis, Buxton and Kepler ? Heck, Larnach could take over in RF and nothing would fall with Buxton and Lewis out there. Assets are just that...assets. You leverage them to make your team BETTER.

Scouting here is so important, but so is realistic "projection" of what the player "could" be. I agree that international signing is a potential gold mine for talent. The thing is, so many of these guys are SO YOUNG that many of us will have forgotten about them for a couple years while they grow and mature in the low minors and then suddenly "remember" who they were once they finally get to High A or Double A. I'm glad we got 3 highly thought of players but I also know that the BEST one might be one of the other guys we signed later.

In my humble opinion, Blyleven and Kaat were never "borderline" HOF'ers. Had Bert pitched for the Yankees his career stats would have seen him elected YEARS ago. Kaat, at minimum, should have had the Twins retire his number YEARS ago. As was mentioned, in 1966 there was only one Cy Young Award winner for BOTH Leagues. Koufax was "otherworldly" in his final big league season. Look up the stats. If the A.L. had named a CY Young winner as well, Kaat would have easily won. Plus, add on SIXTEEN (16 !!!) Gold Gloves and with 283 career wins he EARNED his ticket to Cooperstown. But yes, the TWINS should have put him in THEIR Hall of Fame YEARS ago. What I'm NOT sure of is this: When Joe Nathan is inducted into the Twins HOF, will we put up TWO #36's ???

And Old fox, the Padres also have young LHP's like Gore and Weathers. If the Twins made an offer, one way to plug another hole in the lineup and lower the cost would be to take on the salary of Wil Myers in a deal. Myers would be the Twins LF'er and middle of the lineup hitter. The Padres appear to be very motivated to clear the salaries of Myers and especially Eric Hosmer. Once the lockout ends, I'd call 'em up.

So the alternative is not to do anything because this FO is lousy ?? I'll agree, I lack a certain degree of confidence in this FO given that they've completely failed in 2 of their 5 years. But inaction is inertia and without any movement, we're right back in last place. The trading of Arraez is something I've often suggested on TD with various trade offers. Everyone knows that despite him being one of my favorite players, I'm earnestly suggesting trading him for pitching. I don't think the Twins would miss him at all given the young talent ready to take his place and the DIRE need to upgrade our pitching staff. Rocco refuses to put him at the top of the order and give him 550 AB's anyway. Arraez probably hit 6th as much as he hit leadoff of 2nd in the lineup. As was stated right off the bat, it all depends on what you get for him. But isn't that the case with ANY trade ?? And there is NEVER a guarantee that the trade will work out. NEVER. If there was, do you think the Cubs would have traded Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio ? Or the Dodgers Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields ?? To those clamoring to trade Donaldson or Sano, I understand your desire, but I think MLB Trade Values is a great site to play around with trades to see what the relative "cost" would be. It's not perfect, but what is ? It at least gives you an idea of what could work or what would never work. Here are some values of Twins players in a trade. Keep in mind that Donaldson and Sano are NEGATIVE trade values, meaning that in order to move them, you either have to take back someone else's bad contract or accept entirely fringe prospects. Arraez 27.9 Polanco 31.6 Larnach 22.6 Kepler 23.6 Sano -7.1 Balazovic 14.5 Jhoan Duran 6.9 Donaldson -19.1 Austin Martin 30.8 Jeffers 19.2 Kiriloff 37.0 Miranda 11.7 Rooker 1.9 Sabato 3.0. I listed a bunch to give you an idea of each players relative value. Now lets look at some trade values for the Miami Marlins to give additional perspective and to create a trade. T. Rogers 96.7 Alacantara 75.3 Pablo Lopez 57.1 (25 yrs old) Sixto Sanchez 30.0 (23 yrs old) Max Meyer 22.2 Jesus luzardo 10.0 (23 yrs old) Cabrera 14.9 (23 yrs old). You can easily see we can't afford Rogers, Alcantara or Lopez. Just too expensive. And if I'm the Marlins, those are my core pitchers I'm hanging on to and building around. So lets say the Twins want to acquire Sixto Sanchez. He's very talented but not one of the BIG THREE. Marlins get: Arraez 27.9 and either Larnach 22.6 or Kepler 23.6. Trade value is either 51.5 or 50.5 depending on if we traded Larnach or Kepler. Twins Get: Sixto Sanchez 30.0 and Max Meyer 22.2 Total 52.2 . The Twins are not giving up enough. To acquire two young pitchers from the Marlins, I think the Twins would need to slightly overpay, so adding Sabato 3.0 or Rooker 1.9 makes a slight overpay and a workable trade. Possibly the Twins include a pitcher like Strotman if the Marlins want to add an arm back instead of all bats. The Marlins do this because they have a glut of young arms but desperately need offense. Arraez provides a top of the order bat who would primarily play 2B but also provides versatility. They get an OF bat with either Kepler or Larnach and they either add a power bat/future DH (Sabato or Rooker) or a future BP arm in Strotman. All players with the exception of Kepler are young and cheap for the future with the exception of Kepler, who is still on a very team friendly contract. The Twins get two young arms in Sanchez and Meyer. Sanchez would open the season in the Twins rotation. Meyer would be added to the LONG list of Twins pitchers who could make a mid-season debut. If this was the trade that involved Arraez I'd be on board.

I agree Doc Gast, I always get excited for this too. This is where I always hope the Twins find the next Oliva, Carew or a Clemente or Marichal. For me, the excitement is almost exclusively Latin ballplayers because the Twins have seldom ever tried and have really never had success with Asian ballplayers, but yes, I was VERY hopeful (unrealistically of course) that we would sign Ohtani. I also like that this is always "separate" from the regular MLB draft. It's like it's own special little draft. Players drafted in the International Draft are often so young, it's easy to lose track of them once their drafted. I'll try to look up more on the guys that Dman provided as well. Thanks Dman !!

I've seen enough of Smeltzer to want him to be included in a trade package or just released. Not a fan.

The Twins seem to have some money to spend (SP, SS, LF ), and some trade pieces to shore up weak areas (SP and BP). I think Arraez is redundant and aside from Polanco the highest valued trade asset the Twins have. The Twins offense will be just fine without Arraez and Rocco refuses to put him at the top of the order consistently anyway. To the guys who made the point that they would like to see the Twins do BOTH (give opportunities to young talent for development AND acquire some SP and maybe a SS, I agree 110%. The A.L. Central is winnable. We aren't going to have a 105 win team in the A.L. Central. We. Can. Compete. I'd sign Trevor Story. SS hole filled and a good bat in your lineup. I'm not worried about his "Coors Field Effect." He'll hit. I would package Arraez to pick up a SP and I wouldn't worry about how many years of control I'd get, although it would be a strong consideration. Montas, Sixto Sanchez, Bassitt, Manaea, and a host of others are interesting. I'd bring back Big Mike for some "glue" and depending on Danny Duffy's health I'd look at him as well. LF is kind of a black hole. Larnach, Rooker, Celestino, even Miranda (who would replace Arraez's role) could all be a factor out there. I'm interested in Garlick, Refsynder, Cave et all. If THOSE are my options...give me a young player ! The Conforto suggestion is also interesting, maybe even Eddie Rosario. If the Twins were willing to take on an undesirable contract Wil Myers would be interesting in a trade that would also bring back Gore or Weathers. The only other place I could POSSIBLY look to spend some money would be on a TRUE closer. I think Taylor Rogers could be that guy, but to me it's clear Rocco doesn't. How else do you explain sticking with Colome last season as the hole the Twins were digging for themselves got bigger and bigger. I think the Twins have GOBS of In-House options for their Bullpen. And I think whatever roles they carve out for these Young Guns gives the team control over innings and usage while getting a good look at what they might have.

This is why I think Arraez should be the centerpiece of a trade to acquire a SP. He's got tremendous bat to ball skills and positional versatility that would be attractive to any ballclub. That includes teams who view themselves as competitive now and those that may be going thru a rebuild (like the A's). But with Miranda, Martin, Lewis, Celestino and Gordon and with Polanco firmly entrenched at 2B, there is certainly redundancy with Arraez. Plus, Rocco refuses to put him at the top of the order and leave him there so I will continue to advocate moving him for pitching and replacing him with Miranda who has more pop in his bat.

You hit the nail on the head. The biggest mistake was letting the Tigers out-bid them for Ed-Rod. I think he's going to have a pretty good year. The other mistake, failing with Ed-Rod who was signed very EARLY by the Tigers, was not recognizing their mistake quickly and making a big push for Robbie Ray or at least signing someone like Jon Gray. As I have pointed out numerous times and your article underscores: The Twins should not be THAT far from competing for the Division Crown. They were the two-time Division Winners in 2019 & 2020. In 2021, absolutely everything that could have gone wrong, DID go wrong. That's why this FO should be on the hot seat. In their time in charge, they've had two off seasons where EVERYTHING went wrong. That's not bad luck. That's badly miscalculating. That type of FO performance cannot be accepted.

I would like to see Canterino fast tracked to the big club. He's 24 years old and my plan for him would be to use him as a BP piece to effectively manage his innings and workload with the idea that if he can maintain his health, he could always be ramped up to eventually be a SP. The Twins did this with Johann Santana and it worked well. I think Canterino is a prime candidate for this approach. Winder is also a guy that Twins fans should see up this year, sooner, rather than later. I hopeful that Petty is a future staff Ace, but as a high school draft last year best case scenario is to see him for a cup of coffee in 3-years. Wood-Richardson is also very intriguing. I think his Baseball Trade Value at 9.6 is pretty LOW so I'd not want to trade him under most circumstances unless I was getting back a Montas or Sixto Sanchez type pitcher either of whom would immediately be IN the Twins rotation.

You can add Jax to that group beckmt and whether Alcala is the closer of the future or someone like Canterino or Duran is I just don't know. I wish we would have signed someone like Graveman (White Sox got him) or Knebel to be that RH arm at the end of the game and use Rogers for high leverage and 8th inning situations...but we didn't. Kimbrel would be a nice addition, but the White Sox are NOT trading him within the division. If I was going to add an outside arm to the BP it would have had to be a Kimbrel, Graveman, Knebel high impact type of arm. The failure to make that kind of move means I would just rather go with the "youngens" and see who shines. Kenley Jansen is still out there but he's going back to the Dodgers, so go with the young guns !! A Canterino or Duran could spend a season pitching out of the BP to give their arms a little less stress. The Twins did this with Johan Santana, maybe the same plan could work for Canterino or Duran.

To me, the keys are Sano and Kepler and I think rv78 hit the nail on the head with them being the two biggest holes in our lineup. For the last two seasons, we've looked at the Twins lineup and and expected 2019 production out of Sano and Kepler and we just haven't gotten it. I see us being done with Sano after 2022. Kepler gives you the great defense, but unless the shift has "limitations" placed on it with rule changes after a CBA is reached I don't think max is capable of adapting to playing against extreme shifts. I'd like to be more optimistic, but with these two guys and what we've seen these past two seasons, I just think 2019 is a distant memory. I keep trading Larnach for desperately needed starting pitching. If we traded Kepler instead, Larnach is in RF. If we trade Larnach and keep Kepler, we would need a new RF once Kepler's contract is done. If Martin is playing LF (which I think he will be) then that leaves Lewis or someone else in RF. Look, an OF of Martin, Buxton and Lewis would be outstanding if everyone hit. Here's the trade for Marquez with Colorado if it were to come to pass. It's expensive and I think Montas and Sixto Sanchez are better, more affordable targets. Twins Get: Marquez SP 58.7 and Tovar 2B 6.00 Total: 64.7 (I know NOTHING about Tovar other than he's a 2B and a Twin named TOVAR would be outstanding) !! Rockies Get: Arraez 27.9 Kepler 23.6 and Winder 13.1 Total: 64.6. If I'm giving up this much, I'd rather just get Montas AND Bassitt (total value 58.0) and a little something more from Oakland. Marquez is good, but he's not a better acquisition than Montas AND Bassitt. In fact, I prefer Montas to Marquez.

He's a promising prospect and like any pitcher health is always paramount. He's got a good pitch mix, and while I don't have a firm grasp of what his potential is, the comp to Scott Baker is helpful. He would look good IN the Twins rotation or, as I posted yesterday, could be used in a trade to acquire a veteran SP. The Trade was Arraez and Winder to the A's for Frankie Montas. It's a slight overpay for the Twins, but with Miranda set to replace Arraez and the chance to upgrade from Winder to Montas in the rotation I would do it. Some have commented that there is no way the Twins would extend Montas after the 2023 season since we didn't do it for Berrios. Montas & Berrios are very similar pitchers. I disagree with that logic. I think the Twins FO saw everything unraveling last season and determined a slight rebuild was in order. Berrios, while solid and dependable, never quite became what the Twins expected him to be. Montas has a chance to be better than Berrios. If, after the 2023 the Twins have a division contending ballclub, I could see an extension for Montas. A LOT of that depends on the development of Balazovic, Duran, Canterino and others (even Petty). If Balazovic, Ryan, Ober, Duran and Canterino ALL hit it and are the foundation of the Twins pitching staff, then maybe Montas is traded or simply not resigned. But if Montas blossoms and one or two of those guys don't work out, or better yet, they all still do, you've got a bunch of affordable pitchers and could certainly afford to pay ONE to head your rotation. Also, if Martin, Lewis and Miranda develop, if Kiriloff becomes the All Star bat and Gold Glove 1B-man, if Rortvedt and Jeffers are a solid catching duo, there is even MORE payroll flexibility. The Twins have a LOT of young talent they are waiting on to arrive and shine with the big league club. . If they are fortunate with that development, they could have a LOT of payroll flexibility as well.

My apologies to major league ready and jorgenswest. The values have adjusted a bit since I last visited Major League Trade Values. That WOULD be a fair trade. I'd just rather move Arraez and keep Martin as my LF of the future. That said, I wouldn't mind moving on from "some" of the young talent the Twins have to acquire a couple of pitchers (SP's) with 2+ years of control who are ready to contribute in 2022. There are 12-13 young pitchers the Twins value and believe can be solid major league pitchers. "Some" of them could be included in a package to bring back a Montas or Sixto Sanchez type of pitcher. Arraez has the 2nd highest trade value on the team next to Polanco and with Miranda, Martin & Lewis SHOULD be included in a package for Montas. A young corner OF'er like Larnach or Kepler should be part of a deal to acquire a Sixto Sanchez. So, now that I've revisited the Trade Simulator here are a couple of possible trades I would endorse: Twins Get: Montas SP 39.6 value. A's Get: Arraez IF/OF 27.9 and Winder RHP 13.1 total value: 41.0 Twins Get: Sixto Sanchez SP 30.0 Marlins Get: Larnach OF 22.9 and Woods-Richardson RHP 10.9 Total 33.8 In both trades the Twins are slightly over-paying. We lose Arraez and Larnach as well as two young arms with potential. We gain a SP the equal of Berrios with 2+ years of control and who has a MUCH more favorable contract than Jose (at this time) and Sixto Sanchez who is ready to contribute RIGHT NOW and would have several years of team control. We replace Arraez with Miranda immediately, and at the end of the day we're missing Larnach and two good young pitching prospects for the opportunity to have Montas and Sanchez head our staff with Bundy, Ryan and Ober (and possibly Pineda) to upgrade our starting pitching for 2022 and beyond. We could then use the money we have available to spend (that we didn't spend on FA pitching) on a SS like Story or a versatile bat like Bryant. I'm using this an an example of what I'd be WILLING to consider to upgrade the pitching talent with an established arm like Montas and an arm that showed some great potential at the major league level (Sanchez) before injuries derailed him. I'm NOT eager to send the talent I did packing, as I'm sure neither Oakland and Miami are. But to GET something good, you have to GIVE UP something good. Both deals accomplish something for each club. Oakland gives up a good young pitcher in Montas but gets back a versatile bat in Arraez and a young arm with great potential in Winder. The Marlins get a young corner OF'er who very well could figure things out and be a fixture in their lineup for years and an arm back to replace Sanchez in their stable who in 2 years could be on the big league roster. Miami can't find enough innings for ALL those young arms they've got. Woods-Richardson gives them a couple of years to see where they're at with their current bumper crop of young pitchers.

Martin and Woods-Richardson would be a vast (VAST) overpay for Montas. Those two could probably get you Montas AND Bassitt. I think the Twins need to acquire at least one and maybe two veteran arms for 2022 and beyond. Trading is their only avenue now that the best FA arms are gone. In Martin and Woods-Richardson I can't see the Twins including them in ANY trades as they have yet to get a good idea on what they have. I'm all for trading Arraez, who currently has the highest trade value of any player in the Twins lineup except Polanco. Miranda, Martin, Lewis are ALL guys that could fill the role of Arraez. Also, having the positional flexibility Martin, Lewis and Miranda have allows the Twins to consider trading Trevor Larnach or Max Kepler in a package to shore up our acute lack of veteran SP'ing. The Oakland A's are going to have to field a team next season, as are the Miami Marlins. Arraez is a good player who is still tremendously affordable who could help either club out at multiple positions. Trade Arraez. Hold onto Martin, Lewis and Miranda for at least 2022.

Karbo, this was "Chuck" Schilling, a 2B-man in the big leagues. You're thinking of "Curt" Schilling, the dominating RHP and HOF hopeful. They played in different eras and were not related.

I've been excited about this kid for awhile. I'd love him to do well in 2022. have brief but dominating stops at various levels and possibly make it to the big club at the end of 2022. I want him to be a starter. But I could also see a move to the BP if he gets a late season call up by the Twins to limit his innings (much like the Twins did with Johan Santana to begin with).

I agree with the Killebrew and Vic Power takes, but there was ANOTHER Twins 1B-man who hit left handed and threw right handed. He just came up as a 2B-man. That guy was Rod Carew. One small correction I'll point out: You have Mauer and Morneau BOTH winning the MVP in 2006. Morneau was the 2006 winner. Mauer won in 2009 when he hit .365 with 28 HR's. I also think Kiriloff is destined to be a 1B-man who occasionally plays a corner OF spot. He's our best player there. Sano is destined to be our DH most of the time who occasionally plays 1B. I think Kiriloff could be a sneaky good fantasy baseball selection next year in the later rounds. Not sure if he'll be a 1B-man exclusively or also have some OF eligibility but I think he's ready to break out. If the lockout continues, Kiriloff should jump to the Wild and skate on the same line as Kaprisov.

I still think the Twins need to use some of their "trade" ammunition to acquire at least ONE solid front line SP, someone like a Frankie Montas. I don't want to give away Luis Arraez, but I want Miranda to get the opportunity to fill his role. That makes Arraez a prime trade candidate for me. I don't want to really give up on Larnach, but to get a pitcher the caliber of Montas and with already having Kepler, one of Larnach or Kepler should be a part of the trade. Does anybody REALLY think if we use most or all of our 12 or so minor league pitchers (who are talented but may not be ready) that we won't have 1 or 2 do alright and be looking at an epic disaster with the rest ? You just don't keep getting blackjack after blackjack. There are times you're going to "bust" and MOST of these young pitchers are probably going to struggle. Maybe Balazovic is up by June 1st and he's pretty good. Maybe Duran or Strotman helps fortify the pen. But to expect 5 or 6 of these young guns to take the league by storm is a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, budget ALWAYS has to be mentioned with the Twins, because spending money CAN, possibly, fill holes and make for a better team. However, a franchise must be WILLING to spend that money. Many franchises don't and in the case of the Twins, they have a "comfort zone" that they have rarely, if never departed from. Bryant is a more sure thing offensively than Story. And his positional flexibility is attractive. Story brings solid defense at short but with shifting, how essential IS that ? If MLB legislates to limit the shift in some way, then Story probably IS a better choice than Bryant. These are unknowns that until answered leaves the Twins with too much uncertainty to determine a course for action. IMO, Castellanos is a dependable, money in the bank offensive performer, who would be a tremendous asset in the middle of ANY lineup. But he's a below average corner outfielder/DH. He doesn't help the everyday lineup enough for a team that needs to fill a couple of everyday lineup holes. Going all-in on offense (now that the best SP options are gone) is an interesting proposition. However, if I signed Bryant, I'd have a second part to my strategy: I trade Arraez and Larnach and maybe a young arm or two (Sands, Winder, Duran...) to acquire Montas & Bassitt to head the rotation with Bundy, Ryan and Ober. Then I make a deal with the Cardinals: Strotman and Valimont for Alex Reyes and Paul DeJong. (it's a slight overpay for the Twins). I have bolstered my lineup with a premium bat with versatility (Bryant). I have added a SS with a good glove and power. Plus, I add a power arm who seems to be out of the Cardinals plans in Reyes and determine if he's my closer or I use him in some other way. I have a rotation that works for 2022. I can add Maeda to the mix in 2023 and Balazovic and the remaining young arms are all a year older and further developed. Yes, I've parted with some young arms, but I have 13 or so candidates to promote sometime in 2022 and 2023. i can't promote them all and to build a better team for 2022 and beyond, I simply MUST get some talented, veteran arms to lead this staff. Signing Bryant would be a great move. But only if a bold trade is made to bring in some talented veteran pitchers.

The Twins have, like, 12-13 pitching prospects who have the potential to be productive major leaguers. What is the realistic percentage of them that will ? The A's have SP's like Montas and Bassitt who are GOOD and they're willing to trade them. I like prospects as much as the next guy, and our FO has certainly provided a list of pitching prospects deeper than I can remember as a Twins fan (and I go back to the 60's as a Twins fan) but they will never have roster space for all of them and all of them won't "make it." When the FO trades their #1 SP (for a nice return) and their #2 needs Tommy John surgery and will miss 2022, AND because of Covid and a rash of injuries, the pitching prospects are 1-2 years behind in their developmental schedule, AND your team was good enough to win two consecutive division titles in 2019 & 2020 (so you still have enough talent in your lineup to compete) as a FO you need to earn what the Pohlad's are paying you. If pitchers like Montas and Bassitt are acquired, it's NOT just for 2022. There should be a plan to retain them for 2023 and beyond. Imagine adding Maeda to those two and then being able to cherry pick from Ryan, Ober, Balazovic, Woods-Richardson, Winder, Duran, Canterino and a host of others who would fill out your pitching staff. One or two of the guys listed may have been moved to make this a possibility but my point is that the Twins should be building with "quality" by dealing from the "depth" of prospects they have. Guys like Montas or Bassitt or Pablo Lopez or Max Meyer or Sixto Sanchez should not just be 1-2 year acquisitions. The plan should be to improve and contend for 2022 and BEYOND. I know 2021 was a tough year (just ask Joe Biden). Everything that could have gone wrong...DID. But even with Cruz and Berrios playing elsewhere, the Twins DO still have talent. They play in the A.L. Central. That's not the N.L. West where 106 wins leaves you in 2nd place. Trade to be better and to contend in 2022 and BEYOND.

Oh, yeah. one other note. Nick, Luis Arraez has "balky" knees (not "bulky").

I agree with whosafraid...I've tinkered with trades on Baseball Trade Values, especially with Oakland and Miami. It's a great site and Old Fox has a trade that "works" numerically---value for value. But it's kind of like Mock-Drafting for the Vikings. A fun exercise that has just a "pinch" of reality with a healthy dose of HOPE. It would be great to make that trade, but who knows. I certainly think trades are the only avenue left to improve the starting rotation. As for Bryant, I've also considered what he would add to the team and what (with Boras as his agent) his cost would be. He would certainly help and versatility is never a bad thing. However, I agree with Dr. Gast and others that if I'm going to spend big on a non-pitcher, that guy would be Trevor Story. Story fills a GAPING HOLE at SS and would also be an excellent addition to the lineup. I wasn't disappointed when the Twins signed Donaldson and I wouldn't be if they signed Bryant. I just think that SS makes too much sense when we already have plenty of corner OF and IF options. I've also been leaning toward the idea of keeping Kepler and Sano as their current values (Sano is a negative) are such that they are better to KEEP than to trade. But it always depends on what you get back in the trade. One trade the Twins could do with Oakland for SP'ing could involve us taking Elvis Andrus back. He's a negative 4.2 value and could play SS in 2022 with Lewis or Palacios moving up in 2023. His team option becomes a player option for 2023 if he reaches 550 AB's in 2022. If I were to get him in a trade to acquire pitching, I'd make sure he didn't get to 550 AB's. Otherwise, he's got a player option for $14 million in 2023. Andrus is adequate defensively (he's no Simmons) and is certainly better offensively than Simmons (I would bat him 9th). I think to entice Oakland to give up Montas AND Bassitt, you'd need to include Arraez, Larnach, a young SP like Winder or Strotman AND take Andrus off their hands. And even though the Twins got a very nice return for Berrios, if they traded for Montas they'd HAVE to extend him as the Ace of the staff, and if they were competitive and Bassitt had a worthy season in 2022 look to extend him as well. What's the point of carrying all these young, affordable players if you aren't willing to spend your money wisely for proven pitching?

I was expecting to see Austin Martin listed here even though he has some IF and CF ability as well. He's mentioned as a Twins future LF'er, so I'm a little surprised he wasn't. Good grief, having EIGHT OF'ers on the St. Paul roster is ridiculous. Cut some guys.