TopGunn#22

Tovar is one of my all time favorite Twins. His nickname was "Pepe." Everyone posting here has already made the case for why he should be in there. He was a little sparkplug/Swiss Army Knife of a player. He had flair and charisma. As a kid growing up, Tony Oliva was "MY GUY." But Tovar will always hold a special place. I agree with the comment that Gaetti should go in as well. I'm not pushing to put EVERYBODY in and make the Twins HOF meaningless. But Tovar belongs.

No on a Betts and PRICE deal. Especially the one proposed. However, if the pitcher is SALE...I'll talk. Anybody who's read my posts knows I've been pushing for Sale. He's only 30 years old and has 5 years left on his contract. He's still a VERY good pitcher. A contract for a good SP that ends when he's 35 years old is a benefit. The biggest problem for ANY team trying to acquire Betts is that he's probably just a one-year rental. Some team like the Dodgers will swoop in and sign him when he's a FA. My trade would be this: Betts and Sale for Rosario, Gorden, Rooker and Duran. The Twins have Kiriloff and Larnach waiting to take over in a corner OF position. They would get Sale at the top of their rotation for 5 years. Sale is very close to Price in cost. He's just MUCH better. There is cost certainty and a pretty decent chance of performance certainty. The Red Sox will NOT be competing with the Yankees for at least 2 years. They need a 2B prospect whose ready...enter Gordon. Rosario plugs in for Betts. Duran is the key piece, a young pitcher with a high upside. Rooker is the kind of hitter that could thrive in Fenway. I wouldn't offer this initially, but it's where I might eventually get to. The Red Sox will not do better than this. Not with Betts just a one year rental. I don't think the Twins will do this. It's just waaaay out of their character. But it would be a HUGE statement that they're all in for 2020 and beyond. And when Sale wins game 7 of the ALCS behind a 3-run Mookie HR in the 7th to win 3-1 and we're in the World Series facing the Dodgersit will have been a great move by the Twins FO.

Bert doesn't prepare. It's easy to see. I'm O.K. with Morneau, probably because I was a fan of him "the Player." He does need to improve and I think he probably will. Love Provus. I also like Smalley. I kinda like the variety as well. It's fun to hear from Hawkins, Morris, Hunter as well. I kinda wonder when Joe Mauer will squeeze into the mix down the road. Although, color commentary from Justin and Joe at the same time could make you feel like you're at a golf tournament instead of a baseball game.

Salazar is the name that intrigues me the most. Him and/or Walker but only on minor league deals with something like a May 1st opt out. If Salazar could ever stay healthy...OH BOY. Back in his best days with the Indians his stuff was filty.

Kiriloff & Larnach will push Eddie out. There's a small chance it happens mid-late this season. An even greater chance it happens for 2021. Those 2 young guys can HIT, they are younger, cheaper, faster, etc... Enjoy Eddie this year, as i will. But when Kiriloff takes his spot in the lineup, take note, it will be fun.

One other prospect to consider (much more likely than Cavaco) would be Wander Javier. He either puts his name back near the top of Twins prospects this year, or he's basically done with the organization, moves on, and eventually is out of baseball all together. Sad, but that's the nature of the beast. He's got tremendous talent, but 2 completely lost years back to back put Javier squarely behind the 8-ball. Lewis may or may not be a SS. But there is little doubt he could be a REALLY good CF'er. With Donaldson holding down 3B for the next 3-years exclusively (more DH in years 4 & possibly 5) the Twins will have some decisions to make. Does Polanco figure it out and stay at short? Does Arraez become a better defensive 2B-man? What becomes of Javier? And finally, where does Royce Lewis end up? SS & CF seem to be the best spots to use his speed and athleticism, maybe he ends up at 3B.

Everything changes. everything evolves. I grew up seeing Bob Gibson & Don Drysdale bat. They were GOOD hitters. On the twins, Jim Kaat and Jim Perry were good hitters...Dean Chance...really bad. But as I said with the first comment, the idea that the two leagues do not have uniform rules is crazy.

Cards fan...I wonder if the cards trade Jose Martinez if there is a DH in the N.L. ?? It was a good trade for both T-Bay and the Cards but DH is where Martinez belongs and he WILL hit for the Rays.

I love the DH. The single biggest "What the Hell???" in all of sports is that the American and National leagues have DIFFERENT rules that affects the LINEUP each team can field in the World Series. It's absolutely stupid. You're right, the DH is NEVER going away. The National League needs to implement it...like 30 years ago !

Freeland is an interesting option. So are Montas, Lamet and Gallon. Look, Colorado and the D-Backs are probably going to be 15=20 games out of first place by the middle of June. That's Freeland, Gray and Marquez. With the D-Backs that's R. ray and Z. Gallon. The Padres may only be 10-12 games out, not sure what that means for Lamet. And no matter how bad I think the A's will be year after year, they just always overachieve. Especially in the 2nd half...that kind of takes Montas off the table. However...if the A's stumble, I'd put Montas at the top of the list.

I think Kiriloff will be a very good hitter. He may be better than Rosario quicker than people think. He will immediately see more pitches and be a tougher out than Eddie, but I'm not willing to just give Eddie away unless we get something VERY good back.

I'm kind of old fashioned. I like "table setters" at the top of the order so my "Big Knockers" can drive them in. Arraez gets on base 40% of the time whether it's a RH or LH starter. Him at the top with Donaldson hitting #2 against LHP's and Donaldson hitting 4th against RHP's with Cruz #3 consistently works for me. Honestly, Rocco is going to have a BLAST filling this lineup out. He's got good hitters everywhere.

Good article. If every major league team had that "crystal ball" nobody would make a mistake. Remember 1987 ? The Tigers probably had the best team in baseball that year and they traded for Doyle Alexander who went 10-1 for them down the stretch and was excellent. The Tigers gave up a young pitcher who was close, but not close enough named John Smoltz. Hindsight says the Braves killed it in that trade. But what if the Twins don't upset the Tigers and Detroit goes on to beat the cardinals in the World Series and Alexander is a big reason for that ? Atlanta still wins that trade, but every fan in Detroit would say "it was worth it." You can never have enough pitching or pitching prospects. That said, when a team has an abundance of talent at a specific position in the minors like the Twins have with outfielders, they simply have to leverage some of that. I'm a huge fan of what Kiriloff and Larnach COULD be for the Twins. One starting in LF and the other at 1B. But the truth is, one of them will probably get dealt (and should be dealt) to acquire a Syndergaard type pitcher. Matt listed 7 outfielders who are all close...within 1-2 years of possibly being able to contribute. The Twins can't keep them all. Make it 8 if Lewis ends up a CF'er. Whoever pointed out Nick Anderson...GREAT point ! Teams should never let a pitcher with THAT kind of potential get away. I thought the Twins should have been pushing the Nick Burdi types much faster. Instead, it was one arm injury after another and a whole list of guys like Burdi never panned out. MOST of the time, if you can deal "prospects" for someone who has a proven record of high success in the majors, especially if it's at a position of need (like pitching) you should do it. Especially if you have depth at the position/positions you're dealing from.

I think they are pretty well set for now. As we approach the trade deadline, survey the landscape and see who may be available and at what price. Who knows...a team that thought they'd contend may have flopped (Mets---Thor, Edwin Diaz, etc...) and some of our prospects may be having a great bounce back year (Wander Javier) that other teams may show interest in them.

UNLEASH...THE BOMBA SQUAD !!!!

Elliot, Iglesias signed with someone else. Can't remember who right now. I had a long post about this in the "5 third basemen the Twins could target" column. My point was that if shoring up infield defense was of paramount importance, but an average to below average hitter like Jose Iglesias wasn't of interest to the Twins, they needed to take a hard look at Trevor Story. It would cost A LOT ! But he's a Gold Glove SS with 30-HR power, speed and good contact skills. He's a top 5 SS in the majors. You're talking on a par with Lindor, Baez, Gleyber Torres, Semien, Bogaerts, That's 5 other guys. Semien has done it one year. Torres has tremendous potential, but other than Lindor, Story is better than all of them. He's a guy the Twins would build around. You want to make an IMPACT move for 2020 and beyond??? Make a deal for Story.

I'm in agreement with those of the opinion that unless you bring in someone who will have a major impact...let your young talent battle it out. I'm also in complete agreement that if the "goal" is to improve infield defense, you have to address that UP THE MIDDLE. The Twins missed out on a SS who has a great glove and a semi-decent bat in Jose Iglesias. The guy to make a serious inquirey into is Trevor Story. The only way you do that is by having honest internal discussions about the future infield alignment. Polanco just started in the All Star game for the A.L. But he's not a great defensive SS. He will probably never start another All Star game for the A.L. ever with the emergence of Gleyber Torres. The Twins have Royce Lewis and Wander Javier in the system as future possible SS's. How likely are both to stick at SS and how long will it take them to get to the majors ? Lewis may end up somewhere other than SS and that may not be a bad thing. He could be a Gold Glove CF'er depending on what happens with Buxton. Javier was once a top prospect and has had a nightmarish last two years. Even if he crushes it this year, he's not a factor until 2022 at the earliest. Trevor Story is simply one of the best 5 SS's in the league. He's 27 years old. he's an IMPACT guy. He would cost you prospects but he's also someone you could build around for many years. And he doesn't just hit at Coors Field. The Rockies TOP prospect is SS Brendon Rogers. You wouldn't have to give up Polanco to get Story. There are some who don't think arraez could be an average 3B-man. I saw him start a triple play last year from 3B with a sensational play. He may never be a Gold Glover, but he could handle it. He probably didn't play much 3B in the minors because 2B and SS are premium positions. Besides, what position a guy plays is sometimes a mystery. The Phillies had Ryne Sandberg playing 3B in the minors, the Cubs trade for him, shift him to 2B and he won several Gold Gloves and was a Hall of Famer. Arraez could handle 3B. If Josh Donaldson DOESN'T happen, put a package together for Story and get the ball rolling. The Twins would never regret it.

Use Tony-O as a recruiter. It certainly can't hurt. I think Colas would be impressed to see how revered Tony Oliva is in the Twin Cities and throughout the state. He could see that kind of future here for himself.

Great Series !! This will surely generate a lot of discussion (it already has). We can all quibble on the specific rankings but taken as a whole, this gives all of us a pretty good idea what the layout is. This is similar to ranking who has the biggest trade value. For example, Kiriloff was rated WAAAAY ahead of Eddie Rosario even though Eddie has accomplished much more than Alex at this stage of their careers. And I get that. Have we seen Eddie's ceiling and he will be getting more expensive. Kiriloff on the other hand projects to be a much better hitter than Eddie (I think he will, but it's all POTENTIAL at this point). Thanks for laying this out so well.

At this point, $110 for 4 years is only 2.5 million more per year. It won't destroy the "budget." Do it. Offer him the $110 for 4-years and put a 24-48 hour deadline on it. Worst case scenario: You make the Braves up their offer and pay more. (I agree, the Nats are out). Best case: You have Josh Donaldson playing 3B and hitting cleanup for the Twins for the next 4-years. And this wouldn't preclude (or at least it shouldn't preclude) the Twins from exploring a starting pitching trade for Thor or Blake Snell (but it probably does preclude a deal for Chris Sale where we take on all 5-years and $145 million.

Well, it just sort of posted before I was done. And it didn't allow for the spaces so you can discern between the 2 lineups so here we go again: 1 Arraez 2B 2 Polanco SS 3 Cruz DH 4 Donaldson 3B 5 Kepler RF 6 Garver C 7 Rosario LF 8 Sano 1B 9 Buxton CF 1 Arraez 2B 2 Polanco SS 3 Cruz DH 4 Kepler RF 5 Garver C 6 Rosario LF 7 Sano 1B 8 Gonzalez/Adrianza etc.. 3B 9 Buxton CF Buxton could still steal a ton of bases because a hitter like Arraez coming after him seeing so many pitches without power would make running Buxton more attractive for Rocco. I've always wanted Buxton to be the leadoff hitter, but with the way this lineup sets up, he's REALLY go as a power/speed guy at the bottom. (and this is why I would consider trading Buxton to the Mets for Syndergaard because even though I know Buxton is more than that, he's your #9 hitter !!

My brother and I talk about this all the time. Not just who should hit leadoff but how the rest of the lineup should be positioned. Doc Bauer is right, there is a tremendous amount of flexibility for Rocco. Here's what i would do WITH Donaldson and WITHOUT Donaldson. 1. Arraez 2B Arraez 2B 2. Polanco SS Polanco SS 3. Cruz DH Cruz DH 4. Donaldson 3B Kepler RF 5. Kepler CF Garver C 6. Garver C Rosario LF 7. Rosario LF Sano 3B 8. Sano 1B Gonzalez/Adrianza etc... 9. Buxston CF Buxton

GREAT article !! I've been banging the drum for a Sale trade and before that Thor. We have enough firepower. We need an ACE to front our starting rotation. For 2020 and beyond. First---Chris Sale. He's only 30-years old with 5 years and $145 (29-mil per year) left on his contract. I don't give up Graterol. I think he will work out. I offer to accept the ENTIRE contract for Sale. Boston would value THAT more than any prospect if it allows them to keep Mookie Betts (which it would). We can give up Jeffers in a Sale deal because we have a young catcher in Garver and we still have a developing Rortvedt. I'm not as concerned about Sale's health. He'll be fine and an ACE for most of those 5-years up to his age 35 season. Next: Thor I must admit, as much as I like Byron Buxton, I would give him up in a deal for Syndergaard. Lewis could be our CF'er in 2021 (or Celestino). It's very possible. But I only offer Buxton and a little sweetner to get it done. I do NOT offer the Mets Buxton AND Kiriloff. Thor is younger than Sale and does not have any health issues. But you get Sale for 5-years and Thor for just two. I love the idea of taking a run at Blake Snell. He's the younger, left handed version of Thor. He would be expensive, but worth it. Guys like Boyd, Archer, etc...just don't move the needle. If I'm facing the Yankees in the playoffs I want Sale, Thor or Snell facing off against Gerritt Cole. What would it take to get Snell? What do the Rays need? I would part with Kiriloff because we have Larnach and they are both LH hitting corner outfielder/1B-man guys. Having BOTH Kiriloff and Larnach makes it easier to let one of them go in a blockbuster. I'd offer Kiriloff, Jeffers and hopefully a pitcher not named Graterol or Balazovic but if the Twins are serious about building for 2020 and beyond, a name like Blake Snell should and MUST be considered along with Sale and Syndergaard.

I just don't see the Twins improving much with "Meh" signings Guys like Moreland, Thames, Frazier are just not gonna move the needle. The Twins have been so "frugal" this off season that it's not unreasonable for fans to expect something BIG could still happen That said, I give us a 10-15% chance of signing Donaldson so why not go big ?? What would it take to get Trevor Story? The Rockies top prospect is a SS (Brendan Rogers) and they have a good 2B prospect that played a good deal of 2B last year (Garrett Sampson). What would it take to get Trevor Story ? He's 27 years old and is 2nd year arbitration eligible. He's a guy the Twins could build around no matter what develops with Lewis, Javier or Kela.

Bell is an interesting target and a switch-hitter in the middle of our lineup would be solid. But his defensive short comings and his ability to only play 1B doesn't really help the Twins as much as you'd like. I'd give up more to bring in Trevor Story. Lock down a Gold Glove worthy SS with a big bat and make Story one of my cornerstones going forward. Yes, it would cost more to get Story, but he helps the Twins so much more. Colorado's top prospect is SS Brendon Rogers. Another highly thought of prospect is Garrett Sampson, a 2B. They could afford to give up Story. They are NOT unseating the Dodgers this year or next. What would it take to get this done ??