freshinthehouse

Man that was great.

This is my hope for this season. Sneak into the playoffs and win a game. Anything else is a bonus.

I'd add Polonco to that list too if we can get solid value for him. I have no problem making moves for this year, but only if it doesnt involve any top prospects (maybe pick up a mediocre reliever and a RH OF bat on the cheap) but I want the Twins to be more sellers than buyers. My realistic best case scenario would be for the Twins to get some quality prospects for Gray, Kenta, Gallo, Polonco, etc, while still sneaking into the play-offs and ending this dang playoff losing streak.

If I had my druthers it would be: 1b - Kiriloff 2b - Polanco ss- Correa 3b - Lewis With Julien getting plenty of ABs at 2nd, 1st, and DH. Farmer fills in on SS. I'd like to see the Twins move Polanco this off-season if they can get decent value for him.

Wish Clark would've fallen but oh well. They got the best player available, which is always nice.

I would've loved to see have seen Solano bunt there, but oh well. He's gotta try make some kind of contact there. Give Duran a 2 run lead and let him cook.

Sign Correa to a 7 year, 215 million dollar deal. Sweeten the deal by front loading it (45 mil in 2023, 40 mill in 24). This lessens his salary at a time when hopefully our young players are looking at extensions. I am fully convinced that the Pohlads are going to demand a lower payroll this year. I'll sweet-talk them into keeping a payroll around $135, with the promise that we will move a lot of the vets unless we are looking really good at mid-season (which frankly I dont think will happen). I'm looking at this as a bridge year. Start letting Duran pitch longer and longer relief outings until we have him stretched to try his hand at starting pitching by mid-season. Move Grey for the best prospects you can. Start the year with a rotation of Winder, Ryan, Mahle, Maeda, and Ober. Hopefully by September we're looking at a rotation of Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Duran, and SWR. Unless we are looking like a sure-fire playoff team, move Mahle, Maeda, Polanco, Urshela, I moved Kepler in the off-season to clear room. Brad Hand and Rogers were signed to fill out the bullpen just in case we're competitive. They can also be moved at the trade deadline. IMO this season is a bridge year to see what we have with our younger guys, and to clear some of the middling flotsam off the roster, hopefully clearing room so we can offer some extensions to our promising young guys, and to also (gasp!) sign a solid free agent pitcher in 2024 and 2025. This will also help replenish what has quickly become a bottom-half farm system. C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Gio Urshela ($9.00M) SS: Carlos Correa ($45.00M) LF: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Trevor Larnach ($0.70M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) 4th OF: Kyle Garlick ($0.70M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: Rando AAAA OF ($1.00M) Backup C: S. Leon ($1.00M) SP1: Josh Winder ($0.70M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.70M) SP5: Bailey Ober ($0.70M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Lopez ($3.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) RP: Taylor Rogers ($5.00M) RP: Brad Hand ($6.00M) RP: Jovani Moran ($0.70M) Payroll is 10.43% under budget

I collected baseball cards from 87-91, and it's funny, while the twins were always my fav team (and Kirby my fav player) there is no one card that sticks out to me. maybe the 87 topps Kirby? I always loved that set. I got back into collecting a bit during covid. bought a few cards of buxton, lewis, kirilloff, larnach, etc. I splurged on a 1/1 Royce Lewis card, so here's hoping he becomes a HOFer and i can buy a decent used car with that card lol.

This makes me happy!

Can you imagine what the responses to a thread with this title would've been at BYTO?

Okay.

Goodness those were some angry threads. There was a lot of gnashing of teeth over Brian B at BYTO.

I am not ready to assume that Arcia can't improve as a fielder. Dude as a more than capable arm and he it's not like he's a 40 year old Frank Thomas speed-wise. I hate to be the typical Twins fan that harkens back to the days of Tom Kelly, but if this kid was with the Twins in Kelly's day I have no doubt that they'd work with him until he became a passable defender. Also, once Buxton comes in and we have a plus center fielder, I have no qualms with having mashers at the corner O spots. Plenty of teams have won with this setup, and player like Schafer was born o be a pinch runner/OF replacement type. If Arcia (or whoever mans the other corner OF spot) get on base in the seventh inning or later, sub in Schafer, let him wreak havoc on the basepaths, and provide plus defense at one of corner OF spots for the rest of the game.

Starting Buxton on the MLB team next spring is madness. He has all of 3 at bats the AA level. He OPSed .718 at A ball last year. It's not like he was knocking the door down. If we're just going to disregard the minors, why not just bring put all of our 1st round picks on the MLB squad as soon as they sign? Let them learn at the MLB level, right? Sano makes a bit more sense, but it's still a stretch. The guy missed an entire year. His defense at 3rd is far from a finished product. If he looks like a beat in spring training, by all means bring him north. But if not, he needs to get some time at the AAA level to knock some rust off. I think it's unfair to him to force him into a situation that he's not ready for just because some fans are impatient. And the service time is worth noting hear. I don't buy the argument that you don't worry about it with bigtime prospects? If not them, who do you worry about it for? Smart teams use it to their advantage. And despite what we all hope, it may take these two some time before they prove if they are worth longterm financial commitments. If that's the case, the money scenario changes. Negotiations are lot different if a player is under control for 4-5 more years compared to 3-4 more years. And while money is not an issue right now (at least it shouldn't be), things could be different down the road.

Unless we are getting a player as pretty much a salary dump, I see no reason to trade for a quality starting pitcher. This is looking like one of the better high end FA SP crops in some time. Why give up prospects when you get someone off the street? Open up the checkbook and get it done, Pohlads.