Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

jmlease1

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,746

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    32

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by jmlease1

  1. jmlease1
    Well, this is the question: is Brooks Lee the guy who was a consensus top 8 pick (and many had him top 5) who was also a consensus top 50 prospect in 2023 and 2024 or the guy who has struggled mightily in MLB? This season might tell us a lot about it, He's had some injuries, which have likely sapped him some, but he still played a lot in 2025. Lee never absolutely ruined the league in the minors, but he was also never overwhelmed. You look at his aggregate minor league stats, and this is a guy who always put up an OPS above .800 at basically every level. And while he wasn't good last season, he did improve at the plate from 2024 to 2025. Not enough to be sure, and his defense last season certainly was worse than what we hoped...but he didn't totally flail either. Maybe the best argument for Lee is that he's got some pretty obvious areas for growth, and the biggest one is better command of the strike zone. If he stops chasing and expanding the strike zone it'll almost certainly give him a significant boost. That's probably a better position to be in than "this guy can't handle a MLB fastball"?
  2. jmlease1
    I think they saw Jackson as a viable backup, but only as a backup. Caratini provides cover for 2027 (presuming there is a season) regardless of what happens with Jeffers. Under normal circumstances, I'd be ok with exposing Jackson to waivers and letting him get paid in AAA as strong insurance against a big injury, but this team's self-imposed payroll limits (based on their terrible business practices) makes this abnormal and him more likely for another trade. Right now they're PLANNING on Jeffers being the Opening Day starter, and PROJECTING him to catch 100 games, but it won't take much for Jeffers catching to land closer to 80 again
  3. jmlease1
    If you're just picking through guys on the roster that have already thrown in the Twins bullpen, he's as likely a suspect as anyone. I doubt Adams, Ohl, or Klein have anything locked down.
  4. jmlease1
    I don't mind this move. Hopefully he's still got something left (late career LHP...with the small sample sizes they can really bounce around a bit on their effectiveness year over year) but his veteran status and experience in closing games and filling other relief roles should be of use to the inexperienced twins bullpen as well. He was very good for SF in 2024 and effective for the Reds in 2025 (less so for the Cubs). The K's have dipped a little, but he's still able to get outs when he hits his spots for guys on both sides of the plate. I wouldn't be shocked to see him finishing some games early in the season as the Twins shake out who from their younger pitchers is ready for higher leverage roles. I'd still love for them to get someone with a little more upside, someone who has a little more dominance in them to reinforce the bullpen (probably right-handed), but this fits one of the slots I was hoping they might fill, so no complaints from me about this signing.
  5. jmlease1
    That does seem to be how the Twins front office perceives him. It's very difficult for fans to accept this because of his performance as a Twin (where he was not an acceptable choice in CF, nor in the lineup) and his history with the Dodger over the past 2 seasons. Handing Outman a job on scholarship may not doom the season or anything, but it's hard to see it as anything other than an ego-driven decision to justify the acquisition in the first place (which is silly, since it was always marginal, lottery-ticket kind of move) or an irrational fear of "losing the asset for nothing" (also silly since Outman has functionally no value at present). I'm sort of ok if Outman is really just getting a spring training invite to see if he's turned some things around, figures something out with the new coaching staff, etc and has to earn a spot in a competition with others, with an understanding that his lack of options does guarantee him anything. But that's not how it appears, and the usual silence from the front office and coaching staff about this kind of stuff leaves us little option but to speculate that they intend Outman to be the 4th OF.
  6. jmlease1
    Maybe, but the Brewers fans in my life aren't happy with this trade. (and the starting pitcher market is never closed, right?)
  7. jmlease1
    why do you keep posting this ridiculous complaint on every thread?
  8. jmlease1
    I don't particularly care that much about the ranking within the selections, but As wonderful as Jack Morris' 1 season was with the Twins, it was 1 season and he wasn't even the best pitcher on the team during the regular season. (Thanks, Kevin Tapani for having a career year in 1991!) I'd pick Viola (also a WS winner and WS MVP, and deserved his Cy in '88 and was just as good in '87). If you're counting the Senators years, then it's Camilo Pascual...but I can get only going with Twins seasons. I'll take Frank's extra seasons and sustained greatness (he was awesome for the Twins in '89 before getting dealt) over 1 game of magic. Johan, Kitty, and Bert are easy picks, and I'm down with Radke getting the call. Big Bad Brad was so consistent, he always gave you a chance. He had 1 bad season his whole career (and still had an ERA+ of 95). Even with his shoulder falling off in his final season at 33 he put up an ERA+ of 104 and gave the team 28 starts. (those 2006 Twins are the ultimate "what if?" team to me; a healthy Liriano and Terry Ryan doing something, anything to improve the lineup...) I think people forget just how good Radke was because it was such a high-scoring environment and he played on some rotten teams...but Radke is a twins legend to me.
  9. jmlease1
    all of these acquisitions of terrible infielders are pretty awful. But I don't mind the twins being patient with the market and making moves late to try and get good value from the free agent marketplace, especially since the Cheap Bad at Baseball Business Pohlads have nerfed the payroll. It's fine so long as they're not dogmatic about it. You'd hope they would still also look for opportunities to strike before the markets get set as well? I mean, Terry Ryan used to get all his business done by Christmas, as if finishing up your free agency period early got you some extra credit somewhere, and also used to apparently take some pride in coming in under his budget, so let's not pretend all was well previously. The issue isn't that the Twins are late, it's that they've been adding crappy middle infielders who all look like dreadful hitters without being elite defenders, haven't touched the bullpen at all, and are carrying too many LH outfielders who aren't good defensively (and in some cases aren't good at...hitting.) I hope it comes together, but if Outman is the 4th OF, Larnach is the DH, we've added no relievers, and the backup SS is pulled from one of these clowns, it will not be a successful offseason, despite solid moves for Bell and Caratini.
  10. jmlease1
    #15 (Outman) might not be the most pressing or impactful, but it's the one that drives me the craziest. It's the one that feels like the test case for whether the Front Office can move on or be trapped by the sunk cost fallacy. I didn't like the trade when it happened, because Brock Stewart was worth more with the Twins than they ever going to get for him in a deal, but at the end of the day taking a flier on Outman making a bounce back last season wasn't crazy. But he was awful with the Twins and showed absolutely no real improvement as a MLB player. He didn't hit (the fact that he hit slightly better for Twins than the Dodgers shows how unplayable he was in LA) and his defense looked dreadful. Why exactly should we expect him to improve at 29 after 2 lost seasons? Everything about him is screaming "Quad A player who had a fluke MLB season before the league figured him out" and with his defense imploding, what value does he add? We have plenty of LH OF bats that need playing time/opportunity. Guys with better upside. Guys who can play a more legit CF. If Outman makes the roster, it would be a sign to me that the front office prioritizes "being right" over reality, would rather chase value than cut their losses, and a signpost that there's something fundamentally flawed in their player evaluation if they keep giving Outman chances. I could be wrong. Outman might suddenly put it together again. But the odds are strongly against it. And if the Twins place a bet on Outman as part of how they're going to improve the offense and defense for this team, it looks like a terribly stupid bet based more in arrogance than reality. And if they can't get the easy ones right, why should anyone feel confident they can get the big ones right?
  11. jmlease1
    This is an interesting possibility and would be a fine way of ensuring you have sufficient insurance in the upper minors to cover a significant injury to either Jeffers or Caratini (or have basic competence ensured if there's another sell-off at the deadline). Would he actually pass through? Not sure, but the risk seems appropriate. The Twins roster still has some issues that need addressing: not happy with the backup SS options (nor the dumpster diving claims they've made), the OF doesn't make sense (I'm sorry, if Outman gets a job on scholarship I'm going to be furious), and the bullpen needs reinforcements not just internal options. But I like the bolstering of catcher, so long as it doesn't shut off improvement for every other aspect of the squad.
  12. jmlease1
    As it stands, I like adding Caratini to the squad. He can hit a bit, which is hard to find at catcher, and looks like a good partner for Jeffers to at least somewhat split the job. There's a little positional flexibility in that he can cover some 1B if needed and having that option in a pinch is nice, though I'd prefer he not really be DHing. Is it the best use of the limited resources available to the Twins due to their self-imposed budgetary limitations from the Cheap Pohlads? I dunno, but it at least seems reasonable and should raise the floor. I'm concerned that they're only going to dumpster dive for bullpen support, and while I do believe we have young pitchers that make sense to slide into the bullpen and could certainly have early success...it's asking a lot. In a vacuum, I like this signing. In the context of the roster and the payroll, I have concerns.
  13. jmlease1
    Allison is a pretty fair pick. I just love Mack and don't hold the baseball strike/lockout/work stoppage against him; felt like he had a couple more big years in him as a Twin, but can't blame him for going overseas to get paid.
  14. jmlease1
    How many Twins from the previous regime got serious consideration? The more history you pile up and the more Hall of Famers you put in from your franchise, the higher the bar is for every position and every generation after. Think about how good you actually have to be to displace Rod freakin' Carew! And we're only talking about 9 positions here, and catcher, 1B, 2B, CF, and RF are manned by hall of famers. Maybe Kaelen Culpepper displaces Roy Smalley some day. Or Walker Jenkins grabs Shane Mack's slot. But this is going to be hard for anyone new. If it was easy, we'd have a terrible history with no titles.
  15. jmlease1
    Yeah, I would take both over Morris (it was a great season, but it was one season) for sure.
  16. jmlease1
    well, if you were actually playing it as a team, Hrbek plays 1B and Harmon slides in at DH. But no real arguments here. CF is very well stocked for the Twins. If you wanted to add a bench, I'd go with Battey, Gagne, Knoblauch, and Buxton. (wouldn't mind having a LH bat on that bench, but this the team I'd want. Man, they'd crush.)
  17. jmlease1
    How were these guys mismanaged? Royce getting hurt all the time isn't anyone's fault really, and that's far and away been the biggest issue in his career. (I'm aware that he wasn't good at the plate last season and it extended back to 2024, but he was also hurt for extended periods in both effing years) What did they do wrong with Larnach? He's also been hurt a lot, and the reality is he simply hasn't hit enough to be more than ok. Having him DH more than play LF or RF is mismanagement? What are we talking about? Wallner has been good overall and the Twins have used his options to have him get a re-set from slumps before and he's responded. Last season was a down year for him (and he missed extended time with an injury), but what exactly did they do that was mismanagement? Injuries aren't anyone's "fault", as a rule. And maybe the less than ideal production is more on the players than management.
  18. jmlease1
    This is simply made up. No real evidence that Falvey consistently beats down young players or ruins relationships. The Twins operate in relationship to arbitration like the vast majority of teams in MLB and there's basically nothing in how they behave that's significantly outside the norm.
  19. jmlease1
    It seems pretty reasonable to not ask a player you're going to an arbitration hearing to schlep up for TwinsFest? He's not actually under contract, things might be a little testy, why add to it by asking him to do TwinsFest? The whole arbitration process is weird and a little stupid. It is doing what it's design to do: keep salaries down for young rising talent, while still guaranteeing systemic raises for players regardless of performance. But it doesn't make much sense from a logical standpoint when people think about an arbitration means in the regular context of the word. A little surprised the Twins couldn't meet in the middle with Ryan and avoid the hearing, but who knows what's going on behind the scenes? Maybe Twins management was stupid and is trying to keep his salary under $6M for...reasons. Maybe his agent's negotiating position has been "$6.2M is our best and final". Maybe the MLBPA wants him to be a test case this year. Maybe Ryan wants out of MN because he's deeply offended about being pulled from a start and wasn't allowed to fire the pitching staff when Rocco was fired. Maybe Joe Ryan wants out because he loved Rocco and has been reading Twins Dailey and no longer wants to be associated with Twins fandom. Who knows. The reality is, the Twins were never going to get Ryan to sign a below-market extension, and were never going to get Ryan to sign a long term deal without going to free agency. And with their current self-imposed payroll limitations they won't be competitive when he hits free agency. Sadly, this means he's probably getting dealt at the deadline this year or in the next offseason, which sucks, and makes me hate baseball just a little.
  20. jmlease1
    Willi Castro is a great dude, and I wish him all the luck in the world. But he makes little sense for the Twins, and if he hadn't played for us previously, no one would be talking about him as an option. Yes, he had a career renaissance after joining the Twins, but it's notable that he's been on a real decline since his all-star appearance in 2024. he defensive utility has dropped significantly, he's not impacting games with his legs like he used to, there's less pop in his bat, even as a switch-hitter, he doesn't hit LHP consistently or all that well. Even as a buy low candidate, he's not a great fit, especially since there's zero indication he can play SS at this point. Sorry, Willi. You're a good dude. Hope you get a bag...somewhere else.
  21. jmlease1
    And by having Pablo back in the rotation (and generally having a strong a deep rotation). A full season of Keaschall. Bounce back efforts from Wallner & Lewis. A presumption that there will be some reinforcements for the bullpen. Improvement/contributions from young hitters. It's not that difficult to forecast a team that's significantly better than the disasterville we saw in the second half, particularly after the trade deadline. It's not crazy to think that while the Twins lost like crazy in the second half, they weren't actually the worst team in the baseball from an overall talent perspective. But it's betting on internal improvement, which has not be a team specialty lately.
  22. jmlease1
    Sosa & McGuire? Sosa without the 'roid boost doesn't get any real consideration. He was a good player, not a great one, until he started using. McGuire? Always been a bit overrated and more Cecil Fielder/Ryan Howard than a clear hall of famer. Cut the steroid years back down to size and he'd definitely on the outside looking in. Hells bells, you drop the pure storybook action of 1998 out of his tale and even his stats with all the 'roiding sits borderline. Lot of crap came out of the steroid era. It was not baseball nirvana for sure.
  23. jmlease1
    Not good for Max's future career. When the declining player in their 30's coming off a career worst season gets popped for PEDs it can mean the end.
  24. jmlease1
    or the PA pushed for him to be an arbitration test case this year. Or his agent told him, "we can win this, it's no big deal". It's all speculation. And if either side goes too far or lets this impact the future relationship, then they're both foolish. But people get messed up because of pride.
  25. jmlease1
    It basically never goes down. The MLB arbitration system essentially guarantees raises, regardless of health or performance.
×
×
  • Create New...