jmlease1

To be fair to Nick, the premise of the article is to look at possible trade options at SS, with essentially the assumption that the Twins fail to sign one of the top FA (or don't make the attempt). He's not saying "The Twins should trade for one of these guys" as the best option for the team, just trying to evaluate what are some likely trade targets that might actually be available.

Whoof. None of these are particularly inspiring. Crawford has a lot of risk. The ceiling is realistically not that high; 2021 looks like a fluke year nested among a bunch of decline years. Literally everything went right for him in 2021 (including a big jump in BABIP). realistically anyone acquiring him can't expect more than a 2-3 bWAR year...and that's on the high end. He's averaged less than 2 bWAR over the past 5 years, and that's with that huge, all-star performance coming in out of nowhere. Hard pass. I'd be pretty concerned about handing things over to Ahmed for the season too. Shoulder surgery is not a great injury for a SS and if he's lost any strength in that shoulder, his ability to impact the game defensively will seriously decline no matter how good his glove skills are. Arm strength at SS really matters, and Ahmed offers little offensively to offset it. He had a nice run from 28-30, but was terrible in 2021 and seriously injured in 2022. Pass. IKF is the best option of the 3, IMHO, but he's not going to get too many people's socks rolling up and down. He's the most likely to stay a strong defensive player and while his offense isn't much (there's no pop in his bat at all, but he's a respectable base-stealer which will make some people happy) He'll hit enough singles to not be a black hole. (and he makes enough contact to avoid the ire of some of the fan base) I'm not enthusiastic, but as a backup plan/bridge option, he's not terrible. His weak bat would be easier to tolerate if we didn't have so many key players coming off injury.

That's a team failure not an individual one. We landed in 3rd and finished below .500 because we had the second-most games lost to injuries in baseball and fielded a lineup that had too many AAA players who aren't MLB caliber or were washed up veterans in the 2nd half. But that argument is one that applies to any single player in baseball; if the team is bad, one player doesn't make much difference. Taking Correa off the team probably doesn't land us in 4th, but it does mean we're not as competitive as we were for as long as we were. But I don't think you're arguing against the Twins having good players or signing talented ones, it just seems like you don't think Correa is really a star player and worth a big salary, and that opinion seems based on feel, not stats & production.

as they say: "Let's go to the video tape!" Carlos Correa OPS by month: Mar/Apr .633 May .884 June 1.012 July .614 Aug .776 Sept/Oct 1.001 Doesn't look like he waited for the end of the year to buff his stats, his best month was actually June. His 3rd best was May. He finished the year at a 140 OPS+ which is absolutely stellar, and the best on the club (sorry, Royce: 12 games doesn't qualify you). First half OPS: .803, Second half .866. (I'm also fairly convinced that if he had tailed off at the end of the season, a segment of the fanbase would have trashed him for not coming through late in the year when we "needed him" or something) Houston bet on a young player they had developed and it worked out for them. If Royce Lewis had finished the season healthy, I suspect the twins would be making the same bet...but he's not. He's having another knee surgery. I love the kid, and I root for him, but he's got another barrier up and Correa is as close to a sure thing as I've seen. I'd rather bet long term deals on position players than pitchers. and Correa is exactly the kind of guy I'd push my chips in for. Truly great player, plays a premium position, has skills that will age well, and appears to have every intangible you could ask for.

I think that's probably fair. The other positive is that power can often be the last skill to develop in a successful hitter, and this may be an issue that can be slowly ironed out as he gets stronger and more comfortable. there's no question about his ability to control the strike zone, other than maybe a need to be a little more selective in what he offers at, even when in the zone...which again is something that develops with time. Just don't know if he's good enough defensively to stick at SS; he'll be fine in CF or 2B/3B at worst and a plus defender in a corner for sure so it's not like he's a guy we can't find a defensive home for. It's just that we need a SS so badly!

He's not really that good. He's the definition of "ok". He hasn't hit for more than a 40 game stretch since he was 23, his defense has clearly slipped since he turned 30, and most years he's more of a quality backup/utility level player, not a starter. not a fan of Iglesias, and think he would be a poor fit. I'd rather see them run Nick Gordon out there than waste a roster spot on Iglesias hoping that he'll have a career renaissance at 33. Andrus is only a year older, coming off a better season, and has a better track record. He probably won't be a 3 bWAR player next season, but I think he's more likely to be 2+ bWAR than Iglesias. Neither option is terribly exciting.

Smeltzer was behind Mahle, Gray, Maeda, Ryan, Ober, Varland, Winder and Woods Richardson in the starter pecking order and rightfully so. (When Paddack comes back, he'd be behind him too. He might be behind Sands) Should they be spending a roster spot on the 40-man for a depth pitcher who profiles as a 5th starter and didn't seem to have a future as a reliever? I wish him luck in his next stop, but he's a borderline MLB player and doesn't do anything to move the needle for the Twins rotation right now.

I would go hard at Correa. He wants 7 years? I'd do it. He insists on 8? No problem. He wants AAV of $40M? ok, I'm probably out. $30-35M AAV? I'm interested. I start to wobble when the AAV tops $35M. I'll be very curious to see what the market is for Correa. There are obviously teams that will be interested, but there might not be a lot of big market, unlimited payroll teams. Yankees might balk at paying for Judge & Correa in the same year. Dodgers are likely to try to keep their guy. Same for the Red Sox, and even if Bogaerts moves on, they already have Trevor Story that they could slide over. (especially since Story prefers playing SS) Cubs should be in the mix, but the Mets already have Lindor. Phillies could be in it, but Cards won't. Giants? Mariners? Twins make as much sense as anyone, except for the assumption that they won't spend the money or commit the years. It'll be interesting to see what the range is on this one, and whether his AAV comes down a little with additional years or not. Boras won't give anyone a discount, that's for sure.

It's great to see Martin having such a strong performance in the AFL. the talent is there, and he may have just needed a little re-set. Be great if he can settle in with a swing and not need to make significant adjustments. Not sure if he can step in at SS (his defense there has been questioned even more than Brooks Lee) but his ability to get on base while showing that he can be a quality base-stealer says to me it won't be that long before we see him in MLB. AFL level of competition is usually compared to AA, I think? Not sure what position he slots into, but they'll find a place for him if he can get on base like this. (Should we celebrate or worry about his HBP numbers? it helps him get on base, but...ouch! 3 in only 8 games in the AFL)

Because he hasn't said it to you explicitly and personally? I mean, no one in these jobs goes out in public and says "Hey, I screwed up." And literally none of them are keen on admitting they were wrong. But they certainly made adjustments this season that were tacit admissions that they hadn't gotten their offseason right when they traded for a starter and 2 relievers at the deadline.

agreed. and while there's criticism to be made to the front office in getting stuck in the sunk cost fallacy, there's also a pretty significant difference between how Happ & Shoemaker performed vs Bundy & Archer. Happ had an ERA+ of 63 and Shoemaker 53. Bundy & Archer were at 79 & 85 respectively. That's not good, but it's also not dreadful in the same way that the other two were. Varland and SWR also started the season in AA. Let's not pretend they were really ready to step in to the rotation in June.

I'm unenthusiastic about Iglesias. he's got zero power and I'm of the opinion that he's not exactly an elite defender at this stage in his career. I'd probably go for Elvis Andrus if you just wanted a bridge option to Royce Lewis or Brooks Lee. but I would definitely prefer they sign Correa to the 7 year deal (even 8?) we'd need to get it done. he's a terrific player, and outstanding defensive player whose skills are likely to age well at the position. (Correa makes the exceptional plays more through his powerful arm, tremendous wingspan, and intelligent positioning over footspeed and quickness, IMHO) he hits for a good average, he hits for good power as a SS, and he takes walks. he's a great teammate and a really smart player. I watched him on the broadcast the other night talking SS play with Jimmy Rollins and I'm on Team Correa. I love Royce Lewis, but unless you're going to get an elite starter (and the market is a bit dicey for that), I would be thrilled to lock down an all-star SS for the rest of the decade. I'm completely baffled that people seem to think Correa wasn't good this season, because to me he passes every single test.

This is fun! I've done one in the semi-realism world...maybe I should try one in the "total flight of fancy" universe?

Here's a bridge option to get us to the Royce Lewis era at SS with Andrus while increasing the top end of the rotation, by making a run at Rodon. Wil Myers takes the Garlick role; he can still bash lefties while being less helpless against righties. Barnhart adds a lefty hitting catcher to give Jeffers breaks against the toughest righties. Maeda is an option to go to the bullpen as a guy who has the skills to go multiple innings with Winder to help bridge the "5 and Fly" guys to the late, 1 inning options. Is $25M enough to get it done with Rodon? don't know, but the team could roll the dice on Garlick instead of Myers and save some $ there. C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Gio Urshela ($9.00M) SS: Elvis Andrus ($10.00M) LF: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Max Kepler ($8.50M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) 4th OF: Wil Myers ($7.00M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: Gilberto Celestino ($0.70M) Backup C: Tucker Barnhart ($3.00M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Carlos Rodon ($25.0M) 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: Josh Winder ($0.70M) RP: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) RP: Jovani Moran ($0.70M) Payroll is 5.57% under budget

Duran was so dominant and was truly elite, so he's a worthy winner here. but I do want to give some love to Joe Ryan, a pitcher I really enjoy watching on the mound, but whom I also think is a quality pitcher. I'm a fan of Game Score as a quick way of evaluating how good a pitcher's start was and as a metric for evaluating their season as a whole (only one piece, but an interesting one IMHO). 50 is average, which is fairly easy to wrap your brain around, so 45-59 are starts that are decent, 60-74 are very good, 75+ is great. (flip side, 35-44 is poor, and below 35 is disaster zone). YMMV on how I break it out; FanGraphs does it differently, but they also use 2.0 Ryan had 4 starts of 75+, 9 that were 60-74, 6 from 45-59, 7 that were in the poor range of 35-44, and 2 that were disasters. For a rookie, that's not a bad ratio of quality to crap. He's still got some things to work on and improve, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a rotation stalwart for this team and he had a terrific rookie season.

Nick Gordon deserves this, and good for him. He's gotten his health in order and it's allowed him to take advantage of his talent and hard work and be a useful player. It's unlikely he's going to end up at the star level people might have hoped for from a top 5 draft pick, but there's no question that he looks like a MLB player. I was surprised at how much more pop he had in his bat this season, and that's going to be great if he can build on that. He slipped back a little in Sept, so it's possible that the league started adjusting to his changes in approach and improved ability to punish mistakes, but it's equally possible he was having to take more ABs against lefties and being put in positions where he was less likely to succeed. I like him as a utility guy who can platoon for multiple positions. (can we find the right-handed version of him in the off-season?) Jax handled his shift to the bullpen well and looks like someone who can be counted on to pitch in the 6-7th innings pretty consistently. the slider has turned into a real weapon. I think if he locates his fastball better (stay out of the heart of the plate, Griffin!) it's good enough to pair with that nasty slider, but he's going to have refine the changeup rather significantly or walk away from it. It's been a big part of his arsenal against LHB but it's not very effective right now and I think that's the next step for his evolution if he's going to be a late-game beast.

Glad to see Martin get time in the AFL. He needs reps and consistency. Matt Wallner went to the AFL and it may have helped him launch into a stellar minor league season that had him get promoted all the way to MLB. Hope it goes as well for Martin, who had a very uneven season.

I think they should look to upgrade. Garlick isn't a bad fallback position, but there's good reason to be concerned that he won't be able to stay healthy even in a limited role and they flat-out need a RH hitter in the OF who can punish lefties. Garlick has done the job against lefties when healthy, and isn't completely helpless against righties, but they should definitely be looking to explore the possibilities in the market, especially since most of their young OF coming up in the system hit from the left.

I don't really get the desire I'm seeing to bring back Rogers. He wasn't good last year, overall, we have lefties in the bullpen in Thielbar & Moran (maybe Sisk, if they can nail down his command better, but right now he's too wild IMHO) and Rogers is probably going to still command a decent salary on the FA market...unless his value has really tanked and wants to come back late in the offseason on a "prove it" deal in a familiar place, he feels like a stay away to me. Especially because what we really need is another guy who can consistently throw 2+ innings in the 'pen, not another 1 inning dude. I'm looking at the bullpen being Lopez, Duran, Thielbar, Jax, Moran, and Alcala with 2 spot to be named later for longer outings. Maeda might be a good fit in there, same for Winder/Dobnak/Sands. If Alcala isn't going to be ready or you're really worried about his ability to stay healthy, then another RH flamethrower would be nice. But I'm not sure I see a good space for Taylor Rogers, especially the version from the last 2 years.

Lol, I'd say the weirdest move the Twins could make is picking up Sano's option. (which would be a huge mistake, IMHO and exceptionally unlikely) but the more that I think about it, there's a lot of parallels. It's easy for people who are either too close to the situation or very far away from it to find justifications for both. Pagan's peripherals show the talent. Sano's hard-hit balls do the same. Pagan needed to make a significant adjustment to his pitch mix, Sano needs to get healthy. You can find ways to spin it. But I think it's a tough sell for the team. Pagan had so many implosions that he's in Colome territory: even if he could be a quality and effective pitcher again, the wounds are probably too deep here. (Colome looks like he's washed, but it wouldn't surprise me much if he signs somewhere and turns in a solid season as a set up guy) Sano has had so many ABs where he's looked helpless at the plate and piled up the Ks that this just seems like the wrong place to try and fix him. It's lower risk to hang on to Pagan; relievers are fungible and his arbitration number isn't going to be all that big ($3M?). But this is the 3rd straight season he's had a negative WPA, and there really isn't anything to suggest he's been particularly unlucky. You're wagering a lot of fan psychic energy on a small sample size, with low-leverage outings are contrasted with a change in approach. I think we should move on. We need the roster spot for someone who can eat more than 1 inning consistently, and there's too much baggage and risk in Pagan.

yeah, Rogers did not have a good year. The K/9 was still there, but so was Pagan's. His FIP suggests he was a little unlucky, but he also hit more batters this year than the last 4 years combined. That says something about where his command was this season and if you fold those additional baserunners into his WHIP it paints a better picture of where his season was.

I would agree on Pagan. Probably should have included that, but my list was already getting to novel-length! I get the stuff is fantastic, but he not a guy you can trust in late innings, he's not a guy you can trust to go longer than 1 inning either, so I would either trade him or cut him. (I don't expect him to have much value, but YNK; someone might get taken in by the K/9 and convince themselves they can fix him, especially if it doesn't cost you much) We need the roster spot, frankly.

For me the list goes something like this: Strike early in the FA market to address at least one problem area. While waiting for the market to come to you can get you good value late, it also creates unease and frustration in the fanbase, and more importantly misses opportunities for landing players that don't have obvious question marks. They don't have to have all or even most of their business done in the first week or so, but at a certain point the strategy of little to no action early is probably hurting the club. No veteran reclamation projects for the rotation. Bundy actually exceeded my expectations, but by no means was he a good pitcher this season, merely a pretty healthy one. (in fairness, he also wasn't the Matt Shoemaker disaster I thought he very well could be) Archer was better (but not as much as I had hoped) but also never got to the point where he was more than a 75 pitch player, and even with the restriction wasn't actually very good. We have better options in house already, so if they sign a starter, he needs to be better than Joe Ryan/Sonny Gray, and not a "hope he bounces back!" player Set a bullpen with 2 pitchers who are expected to go 2+ innings when they come in and pitch every 3 days or so. They're going to have 13 pitchers and 8 of them are relievers. While I understand that there are loud voices insisting that the starters go 6+ innings much more often, I'm more realistic and would like them to at least plan for those 5 innings starts better. Maybe that's bringing in a guy, maybe that's telling Winder/Dobnak/Sands "this is your role", but expecting the bullpen to pitch 4 guys a night isn't going to work. Get a quality RH bat for the OF that can stay healthy. Celestino is a useful player, but doesn't hit enough to punish lefties. Kepler (if he stays), Kirilloff, Larnach, and Wallner are all lefties, and Buxton can't be counted on to play 140 games. They need to have some thump from the right side to keep the lineup balanced and not frag the offense when we face a lefty starter. Make some overhauls on the medical and training staff and be public about how they're going to try and upgrade their services. It's medical, so it may be beyond their control, but they need to make the effort after 2 consecutive seasons with major injury issues, and this year's injury problems derailing the season. Re-sign Gio Urshela. His arbitration number isn't going to be cheap, but he's a quality player who could have some positional flexibility (even if he was almost exclusively at 3B for us, he could back up at other spots). He's worth bringing back and add in a number of areas without taking anything away. Figure out SS for next season. I'd love to have Correa back; I think he's an elite player. I can live with a bridge to Lewis, but that's one that need to get figured out quickly and I don't think palacios is good enough to hold things down for half a season or more.

Washed up reliever? Who are you talking about? Jorge Lopez isn't washed. He was wasn't great for us (small sample size) but had an excellent season as a whole and is only 29. Michael Fulmer? He was solid for us and at 29 hardly looks washed up either.

Love seeing Arraez win a batting title. Rod Carew is smiling today (and I bet Tony O and Joe Mauer are equally happy to add Luis to the club). Varland is going to be battling for a chance at the rotation next season. Ober had better come into camp healthy and ready! (For that matter Maeda needs to as well, or he might find himself in the bullpen) Glad to see Sands have a solid outing, for whatever it's worth this late in the year. I would like to see him possibly evolve into a longer relief role, where he would regularly come in and throw 2-3 innings every 3-4 days to backup the shorter starts that are still likely to happen next season. A disappointing season, but I saw more games in person this year than I have in a while and had a great time at the stadium. There's some players to really root for on this team, and some young players with a lot of talent that I hope are with us a long time. In baseball, hope springs eternal...so wait until next year!