Thrylos

Nope. Because of service time he can elect to become a free agent, with the Twins eating the $32M

That's not the point. Whether or not Hughes is a viable option, he is out of options, so the Twins need to deal with him and they owe him more than $26M over the next 2 seasons.

I'd rather see the Twins use Reed in the highest leverage situations (Like Andrew Miller) and let Rodney have the ninth.

This will make some interesting situations come Spring Training: The fact that the Twins have offered arbitration to and agreed to contracts with Grossman, Adrianza, Escobar and need a back up catcher, and Vargas is out of options, they cannot go with an 8 man bullpen, unless they make a trade. Under contract and out of options starters: Santana, Gibson, Hughes Under contract and starters with options: Mejia, May, Berrios Under contract and out of options relievers: Rodney, Reed, Duke, Pressly, Boshers, Kinley (effectively) Under contract and starters with options: Duffey, Rogers, Hildy, Chargois, Enns, Slegers, Moya I suspect that Berrios starting is a given. There are 6 RPs without options in the pen. Unless they get another starter Hughes/Mejia/May are fighting for 2 spots in the rotation and the loser will get the last spot on the pen or get optioned. This means that only one of Duffey, Rogers, Chargois, Hildy can start in the majors, unless they make a trade. That's why the Twins should be all over the phone trying to make trades at this point.

Not an issue of risk adversity. An issue of: a. higher priorities to spend $ (Pitching) b. higher priorities for others to get extended (Sano, Rosario), c. not quite sure about who Buxton is with the bat and d. availability of possible replacement.

Nah. They will go through the process as a learning lesson for the new guy in the FO. They pretty much said so...

Got to subtract a bit from Gibson. He filed at $4.55M and the Twins at $4.2M

You got 3 years to see how it goes, before you make any decisions on Buxton.

A. It is an allegation from one person that the MLB is examining. I'd wait to pronounce him guilty before he is found as such. B. There is zero probability that he will end up "in jail", since there was no police report filed before the statute of limitations expired for those alleged "crimes".

Kinda. Because supposedly they have been talking for a few weeks before going to arbitration. Pretty sure that the Twins have approached Gibson with an offer to settle, and probably was a counteroffer, so both parties know the numbers. Not exact, but ballpark.

Why do I see Lewis at CF vs SS? Wander Javier. These guys are at the same level at pretty much the same age and will be ready about the same time. Javier's arm is stronger, Lewis can probably cover more land as an OF. That's why. Both of these guys have top 20 prospect written all over them. The point with Lewis (and Javier) is that because the Twins have 4 yrs of team control on Buxton and do not have to make a decision until 2-3 years from now, they can make this decision based on how Lewis (and Javier) develop, especially given the fact that Buxton has not have sustained success with the bat. Yet. Hicks was not ready. He is now.

Second part of the post: Royce Lewis will likely be ready within the 4 years of Buxton control. First part of the post: Counter arguments (SSS and all.) 1. if Sano were not a monster in the first half, the Twins would not be close to making the post season 2. if Buxton was playing at 20% below league average offensively in the first half the Twins would not have to be sellers at the break, thus potentially going further in the post-season. Really the bottom line is that Sano is more irreplaceable that Buxton, based on who is around in the Twins' organization. Top 5 exit velocity does not grow on trees. What Buxton brings on the table does not either, but Royce Lewis brings the same skill set as well. If I were to dangle someone in a trade a couple years from now (with Lewis being there) it would be Buxton because there is ready substitute.

This is correct. However, the Twins have more revenue than that. If you look at that number 2 note, but the revenues, Forbes defines them as "Net of stadium revenues used for debt payments.". This means TF revenue only. Not counted are Radio and TV deals for away games, plus Fort Myers revenue... So the real revenue is a bit higher, maybe 20-30% so...

Got to try before you try Buxton. If for no other reason that there is no obvious replacement for him in the organization, where there likely is for Buxton...

I would have zero objections if they locked him up to a Dozier-like deal

Based on second halves, why not extend Gibson then? And it is not that simple. He is extremely inconsistent, had a great September of 2016 and then cooled off again. Not sure what we are seeing is not a mirage. Here is his OPS+ by month last 2 seasons: A 2016 37 M 2016 99 J 2016 54 J 2016 71 A 2016 0 S 2016 170 A 2017 24 M 2017 88 J 2017 37 J 2017 160 A 2017 152 S 2017 112 Let's see him have a quality 1st half next season, and then let's talk about extensions or not. There is replacement who will be ready before he runs out of team control...

Not solely on offense... Offense is his problem. He has not yet produced a MLB-average full season. Not sure whether he would be Vince Coleman or Ricky Henderson at this point, and I would have a hard time arguing for Vince Coleman's extension. Gold glove defense aside.

No way. He has not cracked OPS of .750 or OPS+ of 100 for a full season yet. Which means that he have been below average with the bat. If he gets to OPS+ of 100+ for a full season, then he should be extended, after players who have been there and done that (Sano and Rosario) are extended... Cannot extend Buxton before they extend Sano.

In my 2017 Twins' top 60 prospects' list, I had Gordon listed at number 5, up from number 9 the season before. And here is what I wrote specifically about him (link here) : ETA: 2018 Nick Gordon was drafted by the Twins as the 5th overall player in the 2014 draft from Olympia High School in Orlando, FL. He started his pro career in 2014 playing for Elizabethton hitting .294/.333/.366 (101 wRC+) with 11 BB and 45 K (17.6 %), and 11/18 SB (61%). In 2015 for Cedar Rapids, he hit .277/.336/.360 (104 wRC+) with 39 BB and 88 K (16.5 %), 25/33 SB (76%). There was incremental improvement on the base paths, but in general similar results. At this point he exhibited some gap power (23 doubles, 7 triples and 1 HRs in 535 PAs, 0.083 isoP), but it does get neutralized against LHPs (.264/.325/.291; only extra base hits were 3 doubles in 110 PAs against LHPs.) He started the 2016 season in Fort Myers, where he made a leap forward hitting .291/.335/.386 (112 wRC+) in 116 games (493 PAs), with 17,6 K% and 0.095 isoP, stealing 19/32 bases. His BABIP (.353) was close to his .333 and .352 of the previous 2 seasons, which means that a BABIP around .350s is not out of question. He continued in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit a very impressive .346/.418/.444 (144 wRC+) in 21 games (91 PA), but inflated due to an unsustainable .475 BABIP. Gordon's glove is about average at SS, and he projects to stay in the position. His bat still projects as a major league average, however he was again neutralized against LHPs (.220/.276/.254 in 118 AB in Fort Myers last season.) He had good speed, but not great base stealing instincts that need a lot of work. His season at Fort Myers and his success in Arizona are promising, but the ones who were hoping for a star with the 5th overall pick would be disappointed at Gordon, because he does not project as one. Gordon is a non-roster invitee in the Twins Spring Traning, but not MLB-ready at this point. Likely 2017 path: Starting AA Chattanooga shortstop This season he was worse against LHPs (.174/.273/.240), had concentration lapses on the field, the range issues continued at SS. This off-season instead of trying to address his weaknesses and becoming a better ballplayer, he started making music, so his priorities are not the way they should be with a "top prospect". And talking about a guy who never bettered a .749 OPS in the minors. Have not finished my 2018 prospect list yet, but methinks that Mike was generous with Nick Gordon in the BA list.

Rotation: Graterol Enlow Berrios Littel Tyler Wells pen: Romero - closer Hackimer Jay Curtiss Moran Moya Vasquez/Hildey

Too early to tell. Factors: How he will perform this seasonHow Vargas will perform this seasonHow Kepler will perform this seasonHow far Rooker is alongHow much $ he wantsWho else out there can be an one year bargain FA at 1BHow the Twins do in 2018This should not be about making Joe Mauer comfortable or a lifetime Twin, it should be about making the Twins as competitive as possible in 2019. Matt Adams who is 29 and had a .274/.319/.522 (117 OPS+) line with 20 HR in 339 AB last season, signed an 1 yr / $4M deal with the Nats this season. He is also a free agent after his age 30 season... Two early to tell. I'd give it till next October to think about it.

Home run derby winner at the All-Star game and receives no respect from the National media with the Announcer calling him "Jason". The story of the Twins in the 2000s personified with that anecdote: No matter what just not good enough. It's good to see him back in a Twins' uniform. Interesting to see whether his role will be more than PR, like the other 3 former player recent hires.

If they can sign him with Johnny Cueto/Jordan Zimmerman $, I would have no problem with it. If he is looking for David Price/Zack Greinke $, forget about it, because that contract will end up being what Mauer's (and Hughes's) is now...

Well, Sano is 22nd out of 31 third basemen with 500 innings or more in the position in OOZ plays, 17th in UZR/150 and 17th in fangraphs Def metrics. That's right in the middle of the pack, as far as defense goes, which is what people around here would call "solid". And his numbers were ahead of Adrian Beltre's. Objectively. And this comes from someone who remembers the days of the Twins trolling Brian Butcher (sic) and Mike Lamb out there, when they were quasi "competing".

Exactly. And a quick look at the price of FA RPs, will make visions of collusion make it all seem so cruel (to paraphrase mr Zimmerman)