kab21

Why isn't the #4 spot in the rotation up for discussion? Hughes has the inside track on that spot Odorizzi Berrios Gibson #4 = ? Right now Hughes and his contract is the favorite for the 4th starter spot and Anibal is probably the second favorite since I don't think he needs to accept a minor league assignment (can someone verify) even though he has a defined split contract. If both of these options implode for spring training then Mejia should take that spot. He might even take that spot outright if he looks great but typically pitchers without options are given every opportunity to win a spot at the beginning of the season. If Hughes or Sanchez end up at the #4 and the other is cut or DL'd then I would expect the Twins to option Mejia in favor of a true RP until they bring him up as the #5 later in the month.

Let's be serious though. You weren't that close to accepting Teague. He has been hot (shooting %) in Feb/Mar though. KAT has been incredible (offensively) this season. 41% from 3 and 54% from the floor. Now if Wiggins could do something other than inefficiently scoring some points. It is his time to shine with Butler out.

It presents a big opportunity to upgrade an offense that was 4th in the AL in OPS with a .768 OPS. It was actually the only possible improvement that the Twins could have made to the team since the other 8 positions were set. I agree that it was one of the smallest issues (compared to PITCHING) for the Twins but it did present an opportunity for improvement.

So far Hughes has exceeded expectations by actually being able to pitch. I view the 'competition' almost as a competition to be healthy at the end of spring training. If both of them are then I think Mejia is the most likely loser since he has options. Not fair really since I think he is more likely to be better than either this year but it is always better to have more choices for the rotation than fewer. It really isn't surprising at all. The 17.4M QO is no longer available and other players have struggled to sign deals that matched the yearly value of the QO. Those players usually had an issue with the punishing draft pick compensation attached to the signing but this winter has marked a significant hesitation from teams to sign 30 something yr old FA's to 4-5 year contracts.

I consider Gibson almost a no doubter. Sanchez has the smell of that seasoned vet that is given too many chances for seemingly no reason at all. However I think there is a (small) chance that Sanchez surprises us. The upside is more of the Colon level of surprise of 'this guy isn't actually terrible' though.

My prediction when Anibal was signed that Hughes and Sanchez were competing for one spot in the rotation. Odorizzi Berrios Gibson Hughes/Sanchez Mejia - he could get bumped to AAA if both of Sanchez/Hughes look remotely decent this spring

The best scenario for Dozier is that the Twins are winning and he is an important part of a contending team. I really don't understand why so many are making deadline trade plans for this team. This is a concession that you make if everything falls apart. Grossman is the type of guy that good teams have. He is the Gene Larkin of this team. He is a great bench bat that can sub in at DH or in the OF in case of an injury or a matchup. He shouldn't be a starter or a team's primary DH but good teams have solid hitters on the bench. But this role isn't really needed on a team with a 1B and a 1B at DH. And a 3B that might need to DH. And a backup catcher that could DH occasionally. I expect him to start the season on the Twins but I think it is unlikely that he finishes the season with the Twins (injuries happen though). I think this is a stretch. I think this regime is risk averse and not very interested in signing a player to a fairly large contract that ends well into his mid 30's. They could have signed Lynn/Cobb instead of trading a prospect for a lesser pitcher but they (have thus far) chose(n) to not sign Lynn/Cobb to a 4 year contract that likely turns sour by the end. I think the rest of your expectations are reaching. Grossman simply doesn't have a role with this team (with Mauer and Morrison and Sano/Garver here). He may well be out due to that but that has more to do with being okay at a few things and not good at others (like defense). Santana will be gone when he isn't effective. If he has another nice year then I totally expect the Twins to exercise his option. I predict Mauer will get Nowitzki type contracts as long as he wants to play and is moderately good. He could even take the Gene Larkin bench bat/spot starter role that I mentioned about Grossman above.

There really isn't much comparison to not agreeing to tack on a FA year (a huge benefit to a team) to an extension signed during arbitration and approaching a top player about a mega extension before he hits FA. Especially for a player that is already hitting FA for the first time in his 30's. He knows that this contract is his one big payday. They didn't even give him a chance to say no. The Twins FO have basically said that he won't be part of the plans after 2018.

This really shouldn't come as a surprise. If it is this close to free agency then players rarely give a hometown discount for extensions. And perhaps I am mistaken but wasn't there a short article (or perhaps a comment) from Dozier last year that he was surprised that the Twins hadn't approached him about an extension last offseason? He didn't sound upset but just thought that he would have been approached about it. That was the opportunity to extend him. And I already said it but a player's trade value isn't always reflective of his actual value. Contending teams simply didn't need 2B last offseason. I made the argument all offseason that Dozier was going to be hard to trade because of that fact. And he was hard to trade because of that.

Of course. Dozier is a great player right now. I am not convinced that he will be a great player from age 32-36+ though. And it is likely that he isn't even good by the end of his next contract. The Twins have MI depth at all levels in the minors and they even have two very good backup infielders (EE is also an upcoming FA) to replace him in the starting lineup. His overall production will have to be replaced from elsewhere though.

There are reasons to not sign Dozier to an extension or a new contract next offseason. His production during the last 5 years are not one of them. He has unarguably been GREAT. The lack of trade value is also meaningless. Very few contending teams needed a 2B last offseason and that drove down his value. For the record I wouldn't sign Dozier to an extension or a new contract unless the market for him collapses for him. This could happen for similar reasons that FA has been slow this year. Teams don't seem keen on big contracts for aging players. This is justified by how many end up being dead weight for half of the contract.

that is the extreme case of a potentially elite player. That certainly happens. None of the players mentioned are remotely close to being similar. Berrios being held down last year had no effect on his FA or even super 2 status. It was a method to increase the number of potential starters that the Twins had for 2017 and they needed everyone of them (and more actually).

I am not sure I understand the point of the article. Everyone wants Gonsalves, Romero, Littel or Thorpe (not many expect to see him this season) to get their chance and I think everyone expects them to struggle initially. You don't directly say it but it almost seems like the point of your article is an argument for calling them up sooner (or even opening day like some want) rather than later. The reason that they will start in AAA is that they have options while the veterans don't and this creates a natural plan B where the overall numbers are greater. I would also argue that none of these players have mastered AAA yet. Gonsalves is the closest and if injury/ineffectiveness forced Plan B on the Twins as early as spring training I wouldn't hesitate to call him up. Romero hasn't pitched at AAA yet but if forced I could see him skipping a level or pitching minimally at the level. Littell and Thorpe have barely pitched at AA and I wouldn't have a problem if they pitched almost the entire season at AA/AAA. All of the pitchers mentioned will get their chances in the majors even if they have to take their lumps. But mostly I disagree with some of the comments that players are held down to extend years of team control. Sure, this happen for the last month of the season but at the beginning of the season they are held down because they have options while the veterans don't. It is better to have 8-10 possible starters instead of cutting two veterans and now having only 6-8 possible starters for the season. It currently looks like several of the prospects will get a chance to pitch for the Twins this season. I think the article has more relevance to the reluctance to call up older RP's that seemed to go from level to level and never made it up to the Twins. They seemed to be calling up less talented but more AAA/MLB experienced arms last year instead of pushing the more intriguing arms.

Let's hope that a 13 man pitching staff isn't inevitable though. One issue the Twins will face is that they don't have a lot of players with options in the bullpen so they won't be able to do the sending down shuffle to get fresh pitchers like they did a few times last year (and other teams did more often).

I think Kennys was kept (for now) due to the inevitable injury that occurs in spring training. It is likely that if any of the OF'ers (except Buxton), Sano, LoMo or Mauer start the season on the DL then Vargas stays on the team. Granite could take the place of one of the OF'ers though. The Twins seemingly suffer from positional flexibility but not really. Kepler or Rosario can play CF if needed. Adrianza and Escobar can play just about anywhere. This is a pretty versatile and talented offense top to bottom on the roster.

I could easily see Mauer back on a team friendly deal especially after the reluctance of teams to spend big in FA this winter. I can't see teams lining up to give him any multiyear contracts >10M/yr.

The Twins have continued their winter of adding players for excellent values. Once again I really like the move but it is another odd fit for the roster. This will basically force Sano to play 3B extensively this season and I have my doubts at whether or not he is ready. Yes, he can days off when Mauer/LoMo get a break but I think we are looking at 4 3B GS each week. I am not concerned about the lineup being too lefty though. They have 3 RHB, 5 LHB and 1 SH in the starting lineup. But they have two SH as their top reserves. Grossman is definitely being kept on the roster although he loses a lot of playing time with this move. Vargas is definitely a goner (for basically nothing) and Granite is definitely stashed in Rochester for the time being.

Yes, but that is just a WAG on his games played as a DH with no basis and one of the reasons why I don't have a problem with him moving off of 3B sooner rather than later. I am also mostly concerned about the next 4 years (not the 25M/yr years) because I consider it doubtful that he resigns as a FA.

It is crazy. 4 of the top 25 prospects and 3 serviceable or better SS's on the MLB roster along with a near elite 2B. Hopefully the Twins can benefit from this in the next couple of years. I would love to see a Sonny Gray level (big trade from last year's deadline) trade involving this surplus.

He looks great for a DH and maybe a 1B. I have long maintained that he is going to be playing less and less 3B each year. I would put the over/under on his games started at 3B at 50% of his total game played. But I don't really care. IF he produces like most expect him to produce then those will be great numbers even at DH.

I see the Twins targeting Odorizzi (at the price of a prospect) instead of Cobb as a way of avoiding a 75M contract for an alright pitcher that could become dead weight halfway through. I would certainly rather have Cobb next season but I don't want to be paying Cobb 15+M for 5 years.

Not really. The Twins have played multiple SS prospects at multiple positions on the same team before and it makes it easier for the inevitable 'he's blocked but X position is needed' situation that arises. I really like having guys like Palacios in the org and it is easy to see why the Rays targeted him. He is the A ball flyer that we often talk about targeting in similar trades. But overall I am quite happy with the trade. Odorizzi has his flaws but he should be solid and the Twins rotation has trainwreck written all over it. Hopefully someone like Mejia or Gonsalves nails down a spot this year to further solidify the rotation.

This all reminds me of the 'man weight' that Liriano put on while rehabbing from TJ. He was just flat out of shape. We will need to see more photos and game action of Sano to know what kind of shape he actually is in though. He might have gained considerable weight but it won't affect him at the plate (all I care about). I think between the added weight and the recovery from leg surgery his time in the field will be quite limited this season though. One other thing to think about is that Sano seems to be gaining 20 lbs (about) per year. I know people have said that typically athletes (and everyone) gains weight as they age but this is a little extreme. At some point it has to stop. There isn't an ideal weight for Sano. He could be perfectly fine at a ripped 280 but the key is the ripped part and not the actual weight.

Perhaps the FO will surprise us but I think this move signals the end of the offseason for the Twins. I feel that the FO got very good value in each of the moves and avoided any long term damage (long contracts or trading top prospects). However, they didn't make the moves that are needed to improve this year and be a true contender. Improvement will mostly come from prospects and young players improving. I don't think there will be enough of a starting rotation to contend for the playoffs unless the Twins are very, very lucky (like the run Colon and Gibson went on in the second half).

Herschel Walker people Herschel Walker