TopGunn#22

That's a good point DJL44, and I probably wouldn't have used the money they did to sign Josh Bell. That said, they have made their bed and in 2026 there is no realistic benefit to having Larnach, Wallner, Ober and even Jeffers on this roster. The Twins need to get something for Jeffers before he walks in FA. With Scott Boras as his agent, he's not signing an extension. The Twins FO knew this situation long ago, yet have failed to address it. Ober should not be blocking the young SP's. He still has value and it should be leveraged to improve the team in other areas. With young OF's like Jenkins, E-Rod and Gonzalez knocking on the door it's time to get more athletic in the OF and improve the defense. After this season, Gonzalez could emerge as the primary DH who fills in at corner OF occasionally.

GREAT article Cody. I have been a big believer in Matthews since he first came up. He's got great stuff. He's just got to locate it more consistently and rely a little less on his fastball. It's interesting, in the above video he strikes out a guy with a 98 mph fastball low in the zone and with a slider at 91 mph with great movement. If his slider sits 88-91 with movement like that it would be hard for a RH hitter and even some LH hitters if it busts them inside on the hands that hard. It seems like every pitcher in the Twins rotation had a better ERA with FIP than what their actual ERA was. This goes directly to a team that provides sub par defense at every position other than CF. This team MUST move away from Larnach and Wallner in the corner OF positions and put guys out there that have better range. The infield needs to take a massive step forward. Lewis is looking better at 3B, but Lee lacks range and we're looking so/so at 1B. Keaschall might get a bit better if his arm continues to improve after TJ, but he's not being described as a future Gold Glove candidate. I'll continue to say that there is no room in the Twins rotation for Baily Ober. Ryan, Lopez and SWR should be in there. Matthews, Abel and Bradley should be competing for the final 2 spots. Ober should not be blocking any of these young pitchers. Especially when he still has a BBTV of 21.0 With Josh Bell becoming the primary DH there is no room for the lumbering Wallner (20.5) on this roster. Take that 41.5 value, and maybe the 15.3 from Jeffers (56.8 total value) and make a trade for a bona fide catcher and other talent whether that would be BP, OF or IF talent to provide better athleticism in the field. If there is one area that could give the Twins a hint of a chance of competing in the A.L. Central it is the rotation. If these young pitchers take a step forward this year and their defense helps them instead of hurts them, the Twins would be competitive on a game by game basis provided the BP gets one or two veteran arms and the offense gets a little better.

I have noticed this as well arby58. With all those young pitchers stacked up behind Ober, Bradley, Matthews, SWR, Abel, and you can throw Prielipp and Festa in there as well even if they might be in the BP, the Twins should be opening opportunities for THEM to be a part of the rotation behind Lopez and Ryan. With a value of 21.0 Ober COULD bring back something of substance. Here's a list of players that have a similar "value" to Ober: Jordan Lawler (SS/2B) 20.6. Edgar Quero (C) 17.8. Kyle Teel (C) 20.7. Tristan Casas (1B) 18.1. Franklin Arias (SS) 22.1. Kristian Campbell (2B/CF) 19.4. Heliot Ramos (OF) 16.0. Jared Jones (SP) 14.9. Jefferson Quero (C) 20.8. Colt Cowser (OF) 26.1. Colby Mayo (1B/3B) 18.1. Brandon Sproat (SP) 22.5. Jonah Tong (SP) 26.1. I'm not suggesting any of these players be traded straight up for Ober. But I'd rather see the young pitchers compete for that #3 spot in the rotation and get something of value back for Ober. If Ober could be moved for a young, Major league Catcher, the Twins would be able to trade Jeffers (15.3) to a team in need of catching and get something else of value back before Jeffers walks in FA. Looking at some of the young SP's, you have Jared Jones coming off of Tommy John surgery who has a lower value (14.9) but a higher ceiling. Why would the Pirates make this trade? For the same reason the Mets might consider Tong (26.1) or Sproat (22.5)...Ober is a veteran with a track record and the Mets are expected to compete for the division and the Pirates WANT to be more than a last place team with Paul Skenes. No matter what the "potential" for a young SP, a solid, veteran #3 SP in a rotation has VALUE.

I don't think there's there's anybody on Twins Daily who doesn't feel Marek Houston needs to show consistent improvement with his bat. He will never be a power hitter, but if he's able to make contact and have a reasonable OBP, with a glove like that, he WILL be a big league ballplayer some day. The Orioles of the 60's and 70's won a lot of ballgames with guys like Luis Aparicio and Mark Belanger playing SS. Belanger might be a good comp for Houston. Aside from Walker Jenkins, my favorite Twins prospect is Dasan Hill. I'm very impressed with what I've seen of him, albeit in a very limited sample size. I see him as a future #1 or #2 for the Twins. And while our BP was burned to the ground, and not much has been done to resurrect it, the farm system is well stocked with interesting prospects. It doesn't hurt to have the #3 overall pick in next year's draft. I'll agree with those who have suggested the Twins end up with the High School SS Emerson as our #3 overall pick.

Thank You Cody for putting this out there !! As a Twins fan, watching the bullpen candidates blow away to other teams on a day by day, week by week basis it's frustrating. There have been some "diamond in the rough" sort of guys that the Twins let get away, but you've just listed 3 guys who, while they have some concerns, are each very capable. Phillips is the guy who absolutely just jumps out. He was dominant in 2022 & 2023. Had a serviceable but "down" season by his previous standards in 2024 and then lost nearly all of 2025 to TJ. He has been a CLOSER. I think it would be well worth the gamble to give him a 2-year deal to allow him to rehab and come back. The Dodgers likely won't "wait" for him. They've got a 3rd consecutive World Series to win after all. If I had to choose one of the other two it would be Dominguez. He could begin the season as the closer while the Twins challenge Festa with some 7th and 8th inning work. If Festa flourishes in the BP you've got a good competition to determine who closes games. Throw someone like Matthews or Prielipp into the conversation (if they aren't in the mix for the rotation) and you've got the potential for a BP that can be a plus rather than a minus. But my experience with the current Twins ownership and FO is that they will continue to "study the issue" until suddenly there is no one left to dance with. Maybe the new minority partners will cause some aggressive action that I'm not accustomed to. That would be a pleasant surprise.

The jump for Gabe Gonzalez last year was exciting. If he has a solid spring training and gets off to a good start at St. Paul, he could crack the Twins lineup faster than any of us expected a year ago. I tend to forget that Rosario is just 23 years old. He finished the year at AA so I'm not sure if the plan is to leave him there to begin 2026 or promote him to St. Paul to start the year. I can see why nobody picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. He's 23 and hasn't risen above AA. But I'm glad he's back in our system and interested to see how he does once he's at St. Paul. While Gonzalez is the clear #1 for interest and excitement, I'm really intrigued with Fedko, and I'm not sure why it appears the Twins are NOT. Yes, he's 25 years old, but his apparent defensive flexibility (playing all 3 OF positions and 1B) as well as the numbers he put up at AAA St. Paul got MY attention. For a team craving some kind of RH hitting (in fact, ANY kind of consistent hitting) in a corner OF position or 1B is puzzling to me. He must have huge holes in his swing, and while he plays 4 positions, maybe he's just sub-par at each of them. But it will be really interesting to me to see what the Twins do if Fedko continues to punish the baseball at St. Paul and our offense continues to fizzle. Olivar is interesting primarily if he can stick at Catcher. He's been a solid hitter, not a great hitter in the minors. If his defense at Catcher improves to begin the 2026 minor league season and he earns a promotion to AAA, he may make a deadline trade of Jeffers possible.

Wallner as DH would have worked had they not signed Bell. Unfortunately, now that Bell is on the roster the Twins should really look to move him for a SS prospect like Jordan Lawler or a young catcher like Edgar Quero. Either of those young players would have a much bigger impact on Twins success in 2026 than Wallner. The Twins also need better OF defense, and Wallner doesn't help there either.

I'd be actively looking to trade Larnach AND Wallner. The addition of Bell means he's going to play DH...a LOT. The Twins need to bring in the younger wave of OF soon. Roden in RF would be a big step up from Wallner defensively. Austin Martin or Luke Keaschall in LF would be a big step up from Larnach. There should still be trades involving Ober, Wallner, Larnach and possibly even Jeffers if a trade brings back someone like Edgar Quero (a young Catcher who the White Sox are reportedly listening to offers for). A power bat like Wallner would get the Twins Quero and open up a trade of Jeffers. Guys like Ryan, Buxton and Lopez being kept is O.K. as long as the Twins admit they have more moves to make and make them. Putting a better defensive team on the field should be a goal. Until they replace the poor fielding, LH hitting corner OF they have, that won't happen. Even Buxton can't cover for the acute lack of range Larnach and Wallner have. With Bell, neither of these guys has a place on the 2026 Twins roster.

Grading farm systems is about as tough a project as I can think of. There's so much "projection" that mistakes, sometimes BIG mistakes are built into the system. On the surface it would seem easy...watch this guy run, he's FAST. This kid really hits the ball HARD. This kid has a great fastball etc...but this is why the system created levels for players to continually prove their worth. It's better to have a highly thought of farm system than not, but how often has an entire infield made it to the majors and played a long time together (Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey). How about the Alou brothers with the Giants back in the 60's? And none of the Alou brothers stayed with the Giants and all enjoyed good success AWAY from the Giants. And it's always hard to compare "Prospect Value" with actual, productive, track record worth "Major League Value." With Prospect Value" a short stint of success can skew it even further. The late season success of Nolan McLean has him becoming the next Tom Seaver. Just like Francisco Liriano gave Twins fans hope for a 2nd Johan Santana, Jacob Misiorowski gives Brewers fans hope of another Corbin Burnes, Liriano never really came close to his 2006 debut and couldn't stay healthy much of the time. What will McLean or Misiorowski turn out to be? It really is the ultimate crapshoot. Even guys with decent track records in the major leagues struggle from season to season, so it's really hard to have confidence predicting how Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez will debut, much less what a career could hold. Still, I'd rather HAVE a guy like McLean, Misiorowski, or Jenkins than NOT have them. MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone on TD !! Let us all look forward to a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2026.

I have been on the same page as tony&rodney in this debate. Yes, we do have some depth from the rotational side, but we so gutted our BP that some of that depth (Festa, Prielipp, Raya) needs to be seriously considered for important BP roles. Here is a list of these pitchers and a ballpark trade value based on BBTV: Abel 10.1 Has shown flashes. Needs better command. Morris 4.1 I agree he's shown little to be even listed. Throw in guy in a larger trade at best. Taj Bradley 43.1 Griffin Jax had a value of about 24-26 at the time of the trade. Ober 21.0 While his velocity is down, his value for trade purposes is still solid. Matthews 25.3 Love his stuff, but like Abel and Bradley better command is needed. Festa 12.2 His raw stuff is the equal of Abel, Matthews and Bradley. Needs to spend 2026 in the BP. Lopez 16.5 Value is down due to injury marred 2025. I suspect he would bring far more value back. Connor Prielipp 15.6 Decent value. Like Festa needs a season in the BP to stay healthy. A healthy, effective season out of the BP would build value for Prielipp and Festa. Both are STILL rotation worthy. Dasan Hill 13.6 I list this guy because he's one of my favorite prospects. Drafted in 2024 his ETA is 2028. Marco Raya 4.2 His inability to consistently throw 3-4 innings limits his value and makes BP his ceiling. I also hold the view that we are a terrible fielding team that can't make consistent contact. We can hope Jenkins, Culpepper, E-Rod, Marek Houston and others make the jump and succeed, but what are the odds the Twins go 4 for 4? A strategic trade of an asset like Ober, who still should have value to teams looking to fill out a rotation should at least be explored. I liked what I saw from SWR down the stretch last season and as a guy who was pushing to trade him OFTEN, I wouldn't deal him now. Ober should be moved to open opportunities for Bradley, Abel and Matthews. I already consider SWR IN the rotation. It's interesting to see the value we got back in the Jax for Bradley trade. Taj Bradley is allegedly our 2nd most valuable SP behind only Joe Ryan. Even if the season goes off the rails by June 1st (which I think is more likely than the Twins being 2 games behind the Tigers in 2nd place) I still think there is a high probability that Ryan gets traded. I would expect that trade to return at least one position player and a young replacement SP/another position player. If Lopez is pitching well and we're still floundering in 4th place, his value will go from 16.5 to somewhere around 25-35 and some nice, young talent can come back in that deal. The trade partners at the top of the list would remain the Red Sox, Mets, Orioles, Yankees and Cubs. There could be rotation injuries that spur need well before the trade deadline. Of course, the Twins could be in last place with injuries to Ryan, Lopez and Ober and left holding the bag for a much harder rebuild after the 2026 housecleaning.

I don't think Tom Pohlad would have said what he did unless there was steel behind it. I think nicksaviking's take really makes a lot of sense. Falvey's job for 2026 was secured the day the season ended. However, we haven't really been given (as fans) any indication of specific benchmarks or goals for the 2026 season. How will Tom Pohlad define success? The say they want to compete in 2026, but nothing bold has been done to make that realistic. (to this point of the off-season). Unless you want to allow the idea Tom Pohlad stated he was against. That being, running it back with essentially the same core: Ryan, Lopez and Ober in the rotation and a lineup built around Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers, Wallner and Larnach. So that brings us back to the primary question. How will Tom Pohlad define success or the lack of success in 2026? Won-Loss record? Attendance? The Business Model? Growth by young players? Bounce Back seasons from veterans? A Playoff Appearance? Do we have to win a playoff game? Or even a playoff series? I doubt we will ever get any kind of idea how the Twins will determine success or failure. As a result, and especially with the high probability that there will be some kind of work stoppage for the 2027 season, if things go particularly poorly in 2026, I could envision a complete housecleaning, starting with the architect of how we got to this point, Derek Falvey. If THAT domino falls then I could envision Shelton being let go and possibly the entire coaching staff. Honestly, it would be a raw deal for Shelton, but if the Twins clean house whoever takes over as POBO may burn it all down and start over. That would trigger the major rebuild that probably should be taking place for 2026. But if things don't go horribly bad in 2026, if some but not all of their internal goals or benchmarks are achieved, I just don't have any kind of idea or sense where that leaves the Twins for 2027 going forward.

The Ober for Lawler trade keeps getting suggested on here because Lawler has a BBTV of 20.6 and Ober 21.0. Lawler is stuck behind Ketel Marte at 2B and Geraldo Perdomo at SS. He's been rumored to be traded for quite some time now. The Twins interest would be in seeing him compete for SS with Lee and 2B with Keaschall (who could be moved to LF). Lawler has hit at AAA but struggled in a couple of looks in the majors. He's not a "Top 30 Prospect" but he does regularly show up in Top 100 lists. Here's how the D-Backs themselves ranked their prospects at the end of the 2025 season: 1. Ryan Waldschmidt OF. 2. Slade Caldwell OF. 3. Kayson Cunningham SS. 4. Demetrio Crisantes Infield. 5. Druw Jones OF. 6. Jordan Lawler SS. 7. Daniel Eagen RHP. 8. Yordin Chalas RHP. 9. Tommy Troy INF/OF 10. Mitch Bratt LHP. Source: MLB.com and Prospects Live. As I always qualify: BBTV is not the be all, end all. But if 2 players are valued THAT close it's not as unlikely as you think. The D-Backs have massive needs in their rotation. 37 year old Merrill Kelly was just re-signed and Zac Gallen is a Free Agent. The D-Backs may, or may not be interested in Ober, but he fits as a veteran presence at #3-#5 in their rotation.

I don't usually disagree with you bean5302, but I will in this instance. Larnach hit 17 HR's last year. His high had been 15 in 2024. Clemens hit 19 HR's last year. His previous high was FIVE. Clemens could very well struggle to hit 10 this year and Larnach will be playing for somebody else. Bell's career high for HR's was 37. Throw that out as an outlier. His last 2 seasons he's hit 22 and 19. In 2024 Vientos hit 27 and last year matched Larnach's career high of 17. It is highly unlikely that Larnach and Clemens would come close to Bell and Vientos in HR's. My preferred trade is Ober for Jordan Lawler. My absolute WISH trade is Ober for White Sox Catcher Edgar Quero. (Word is the White Sox are listening to offers. If I could get Quero for Ober or SWR, I'd deal Ryan Jeffers before losing him to FA in 2027). I could see accepting an Ober for Vientos trade, if Vientos played 1B and Bell DH'd. But it would be at least 3rd on my list of what I'd like to see in a trade for Ober, and I could probably find a few others that would be better than Vientos.

I've been advocating an Ober for Vientos or an Ober for Jordan Lawler trade since the season ended. Ober still has solid value but should be moved for something useable to enhance the lineup. He shouldn't be blocking younger pitchers in the Twins rotation. If Ryan and Lopez open the season with the Twins, Ober should be long gone. I would have made a deal like this before signing Bell. Both the Mets and D-Backs have open spots in their rotations. Ober would appeal to both. Vientos has excellent power potential and is 26 years old. Guys like he and Lawler are in the proper age range for the Twins to build a contender around. I thought once the Mets let Alonso walk they wouldn't be interested in letting go of Vientos, and then they signed Jorge Polanco. Let's also put an end to this myth that by stationing a bad fielding 1B on top of the foul line a team solves the problem of the guy having no range. Where ever you try to HIDE a bad defensive player, you will open up gaping holes. Bell should be a full time DH who plays 10-20 games maximum at 1B in 2026. Having Bell and Vientos in the Twins lineup would provide 50+ HR potential. That would be a stark improvement from 2025. Acquiring Vientos would also open up a possible trade of Wallner, making the OF defense markedly better than having Larnach in LF and Wallner in RF. I would also not play Vientos at 3B. If Lewis were to get hurt, I'd rather promote Culpepper and move Lee to 3B. If Culpepper wasn't ready, I'd roll with Fitzgerald at SS and Lee at 3B.

I agree with DJL44, if that kind of arrangement could be made. I don't like that Walker is 35. I don't like that he struggled last season. But I DO like his defense, which is still very good. I like his power potential. I like being able to use Clemens in a utility role more than him as a lineup regular. I like anything that moves Julien out of consideration.

I was against this signing at first. He's such a bad defensive 1B that I just thought we'd blown it if we were intending to play him at 1B. However, anytime a team can add a switch-hitting player with power, well, I've got to consider that a positive. If he's the primary DH who sees very little time at 1B this could have a positive impact. And jmlease1 makes a good point that he's not really blocking anybody with current our roster construction. I'm starting to come around on this move a bit.

I think the raw "stuff" Abel has is superior to SWR. I feel the same when comparing SWR to Matthews and Bradley. But in the last month or so of the season, SWR seemed to turn a corner. My point in all this is that I would like to see Ober traded and open the door for the young guys. We may or may not compete this coming season. While I believe our chances to compete are linked to Buxton, Lopez and Ryan remaining Twins, even having a decent season out of Ober restricts the potential development of Bradley, Matthews, Abel and SWR. A trade of Ober for Jordan Lawler (D-Backs) or Colby Mayo (Orioles) or some similar type of position player opens up the rotation for these young guys to develop. For all the talk and speculation about Festa being in the bullpen I'm really surprised he wasn't mentioned in the article. Nick, he's constantly commented on as potentially being a key piece of the Twins BP in 2026. How could you not even mention him? Is there some kind of disconnect with "Twins Insiders" on Twins Daily and the regular guys who comment here on TD? We speculate Festa will start off in a high leverage role and maybe even ascend to the Closer spot. Are we missing something? Are we wrong in speculating that Festa could be a big part of the Twins BP in 2026? I still think they need to bring in a vet Closer, at least in the beginning of the season, but all of the best options are drying up. Maybe a one year, prove it deal for Kirby Yates? The Dodgers signed Edwin Diaz to a BIG contract. I doubt they are looking to bring Yates back. All of the names mentioned (Raya, Klein, Adams, Morris, even Prielipp) are in play. But ONE vet with Closing experience at least thru the month of June would make me feel better about the BP top to bottom.

I'm not sure Lopez straight up for Jarren Duran would be enough for Boston. Duran is the more consistent offensive player and better base stealer than Wilyer Abreu, but as good as fielder as Duran is, Abreu is elite. He won a Gold Glove in his first FULL season with the Red Sox last year. I would LOVE an Ober for Abreu deal with Boston-straight up. But with Boston already acquiring Sonny Gray, I think their looking for a Ryan or Lopez caliber of pitcher, not a guy like Ober who would slot in #4 or #5.

Mayo is certainly a bat I'd be willing to take a chance on. I have not heard that he's a bad defensive 1B. There is probably confusion with his 3B defense being subpar but his 1B defense being above average. I would also say that acquiring Bell does NOT preclude the Twins from also acquiring Mayo...in fact, it might enhance the acquisition of Bell if it makes Bell the full time DH. Bell AND Mayo would add some juice to the lineup. There is too much to like with Abel's stuff and I want to see how Festa adapts to a BP role. I'm hanging on to them. The obvious guy to trade is Ober. He's got a track record that would interest Baltimore as a reliable rotation piece anywhere from #2-#5. Remember, they traded away the promising Grayson Rodriguez for Taylor Ward. They need "several" SP. Plus, I don't want Ober limiting innings for Bradley, Abel, SWR or Matthews (and possibly Connor Prielipp). I like Ober to the D-Backs for Jordan Lawler more, but a trade of him to Baltimore for Colby Mayo is very similar. Moving a veteran pitcher with a track record of success (but some current questions) for a young position player with upside potential is a smart move for the Twins in their current roster configuration. Many teams have screaming rotation needs. The time to trade Ober is now.

Palace intrigue indeed !!! On the surface, after all the bloviating has been done, this "could" be a positive development. Many posters have made great points. 1. How hot is the seat Derrick Falvey is sitting on? I'm not sure I have a handle on how "close" or "far apart" Falvey's plan for this coming season (and anything since the end of the 2023 season) is to what Tom Pohlad's vision is. I've heard some strong words from Tom. But how aligned is he with Falvey? 2. It's been debated here on TD since the trade deadline selloff and this entire off season, that there are two clear directions for this franchise to take. Add on the fringes-keep the core together-compete in 2026. Or go for a full blown rebuild with 2027-2028 the goal for contention. Teams that intend to compete NOW don't use a Rule 5 pick on a solid catching prospect (Susac) who could have facilitated a trade of Ryan Jeffers before he walks with no roster enhancement, and then within minutes, make a trade for a 17 year old catcher, who could turn out to be a better catcher than Susac, but in 4-5 years. I don't think the Twins can do BOTH. Meaning compete in 2026 without harming an effective rebuild. The Falvey reign is replete with examples of head scratching moves. How does Tom Pohlad feel about those past seasons with Falvey in charge? I don't think the Twins will get as much for Ryan, Lopez, Ober, Jeffers at the deadline as they would this winter. If Bell is just a DH and the Twins truly want to get better defensively then a trade of Wallner, who has very good value, needs to happen as well. Tom Pohlad says he's a "Go Big or Go Home" kind of guy. The kind of trades tony&rodney laid out, and that I've suggested many times, would be doing just that.

Goodness, I'd be pushing the ZIPS projections as hard as I could for possible trades of Bailey Ober as well as Eddie Julien and James Outman as throw-ins. And to be giving Culpepper 510 AB's when he has yet to have a AAA at bat? I'd love to know how the "modeling" came up with that. Ober really should be traded. He's just standing in the way of a young pitcher, be it Bradley, Matthews, SWR or Mick Abel. Ober DOES have some value at a #4 or #5 with the potential to be a #3 if all goes well. But if the plan is to hang on to Ryan and Lopez, as well as Buxton, the asset to be marketed is Ober. The D-Backs are desperate for SP. They just brought back 37 year old Merrill Kelly while Zac Gallen won't be back. I'd love to trade Ober for Jordan Lawler and have an open SS competition in spring training with Lawler and Lee. Maybe the loser plays 2B and Keaschall turns the weakness of LF into a strength.

Fair enough. Especially the point about McMahon's defense at 3B. Not likely Lewis ever gets to that level.

There is no way, in any rational sense that Royce Lewis, as of TODAY would have roughly the same trade value as a Ryan McMahon NYCTK. While McMahon has shown more on his resume at this point, he's currently on a 6-year, $70 million dollar contract in which the Yanks owe him $16 million for 2026 and $16 million for 2027. Lewis is under team control thru the 2028 season was paid just $1.625 million last season. Yes, I'll acknowledge that if Lewis struggles for another couple of years, his value will tank. But just using the model of BBTV as a comparison, Lewis has a value of 19.4. Prior to being traded to the Yankees Ryan McMahon had a NEGATIVE value. A. NEGATIVE. VALUE. Sometimes I agree with you, and sometimes I don't. This is one I don't. I think you typed that comment as a flippant remark, but didn't fully consider what you were saying. I appreciate that Nick Nelson put this piece out there because it appears the Twins FO is banking on a big season from Lewis. Other than Buxton staying healthy (because if he's healthy, he WILL produce), Lewis busting out with an entire season of 2023 2nd half and playoffs could actually make the Twins viable competitors for a Division Title or Wild Card. I think there is a LOT of hope on TD that Twins fans will see the GOOD Royce Lewis in 2026. Realistically, we know the chances are slimmer than better we will. But without the GOOD Royce Lewis, the Twins have no chance. NYCTK, here is something that I agree with you about, and it's probably not a popular position on TD. I think NOT trading Ryan, Buxton and Jeffers is a mistake. Maybe at the deadline they still will, but I'm not sure they wouldn't get value now then at the break. I could support an all-in rebuild more than an attempt to "compete" in 2026.

We here in Minnesota have an over-appreciation of what Arraez brings to the table. Pointing out that the Luis Arraez who played for the Twins, or won a batting title in his first year with the Marlins, hitting .354 with an OB% approaching .400, but is not the same guy, is SPOT ON. When he was a Twin, he would consistently grind out AB's and take walks, which helped his OB%. He doesn't do that anymore. As just a pure offensive measure, Josh Bell will be much better hitting in the 6-hole than Arraez would have been. We've over-glamourized what he once was. He's a shell of what he once was.

Cody and NashvilleTwin have really shined a spotlight on what a poor signing this was. Others have as well. He's a "functional" hitter, but nothing special. He was the #37th rated 1B in Major League Baseball last year, and his defense is so atrocious you'll have to see it, to believe it. Lewis, Lee and Keaschall cannot be excited about this trade. They paid $7 million dollars for a bad option. There were better options available for the same or a little more. If Bell has to DH a lot, the player I see most negatively affected is Matt Wallner. We've learned that the "meandering moose" is NOT a very good OF despite having a good arm. A majority of those on TD were envisioning him as a DH in 2026. Josh Bell kills that dream. Larnach is certainly going to be traded after this signing and I would suggest that Wallner's promise and current value (20.5 BBTV) could bring back something good to a weak area of the roster. Had they signed someone who could field a lick at 1B, Wallner might have been in a better situation. Instead, if the Twins are going to give Wallner any decent number of AB's they will be forced to start Bell at 1B with Wallner at DH. Did I say that Lewis, Lee and Keaschall are less then thrilled about this signing? The best thing about Josh Bell is that he's durable and he hits RH pitching pretty well. Unfortunately, other than durability, Left Handed Power is what Wallner was supposed to supply...as the DH.