jmlease1

Gotta say, even if we had to flip in a rookie ball prospect, I'd send Larnach out for Mountcastle. Gets us RH help at 1B, even if we would need a bounce back season to have him really show value, while also opening up the logjam of LH COF/DH types to allow guys like Roden/Rodriguez/Jenkins real chances for playing time, and saving the $ on Larnach's salary still keeps us within a Cheap Pohlad budget and would leave resources to add bullpen help. While I don't love Mountcastle and would be concerned that he's backup material heading towards replacement level...I was also ready to cut Larnach rather than pay him for the roster spot. But historically, Mountcastle has hit LHP quite well. Exploring possibilities with the O's is a fair idea. We may even have things they want. It'd be great if they'd want a Larnach?

I don't mind giving Ohl a real shot at a bullpen job. He's got a pitch in the changeup that might allow him to thrive, and coming out of a starter/bulk pitching mode, he should be able to handle a workload where he's asked to go 1-2 innings in a stint 2-3 times a week. Maybe going max effort allows his fastball to play up a bit, maybe trimming down/adjusting his pitch mix a little lets him be more consistent. As a candidate for the 7th-8th slot in an 8-man bullpen, he could be a reasonable fit and grow into a higher leverage role. And if not, you still need guys who can give you credible innings in the 5th and 6th innings on a consistent basis. To me, it's not about whether or not Ohl can step in a role, really; it's whether or not he's going to get handed one on scholarship because we don't bring in anyone credible for a high leverage role from the jump. I like having guys like Ohl, Raya, Adams, Preilipp competing for spots in the bullpen. I just think they need to have 3-4 guys like them fighting for 1-2 jobs, not presuming that they already have one...

Good lord, Lopez or Ryan for Mayo sure sounds like a huge overpay to me? All-star pitcher for a maybe slugger at 1B? He's closer to Alan Roden than Emmanuel Rodriguez, other than the mythical "pedigree" of high draft status and prospect ranking. I think the O's would fall all over themselves to send Mayo out if it brought back a starter of Lopez or Ryan's caliber. I'm unenthusiastic about Mountcastle, but he does look like a decent candidate for a bounce back season, considering he was injured and missed 2 months in 2025 and has been pretty consistent as a hitter in 4 previous seasons. It's worth having a conversation with the O's about a 1B. If Lopez gets sent out for Mayo (even with another prospect or 2) though, it tells me that the Cheap Pohlads are at it again.

They gave him a chance to play in a major league organization. They promoted him up the ranks. They even gave him a shot in MLB. He'll always get to say he was a major leaguer, and has a hit to show for it. Letting him flail away for another 100 ABs wasn't going to change anything, and there's a reason he's going to Asia to continue his professional career. I wish him luck. But I don't think the Twins screwed him.

I don't exactly recall a huge outcry over firing Popkins around here. Good for him. Toronto had an excellent season and it's nice he's getting some recognition for his part in it. If Springer falls apart, Varsho keeps declining, etc he might lose his job up there too. I mean, was Popkins responsible for Bo Bichette's return to form or was it just that Bichette was much healthier? He seems like a good coach. He looks like a much better coach with healthy players, a big payroll, etc...

you still have to name names. for you "significant" means top 10, maybe top 5, but I didn't know that until now. And frankly, there can be a big difference for most teams between their 9th best prospect and their 4th. Nats probably aren't looking to trade him, so the Twins would have to be chasing him and make a big-time offer. I doubt Royce Lewis and Dasan Hill gets it done.

I mean, these are going to be interesting guys to follow to see if any of them rise up this season and claim the 3rd spot. Since I don't really follow college baseball and definitely don't try to track high school, I appreciate seeing a preliminary list of guys to keep an eye on. I'm nervous about Lebron because "warts in his hit tool" aren't something you want to hear about the #3 pick, but his production has been impressive and he stepped in and hit immediately in the SEC and improved in his second season as well. It'll be interesting to see where Burress lands at the end of this college season; he was still excellent last year but not as incredible as he was in his freshman season. Bears watching. Struggled in limited time in the Cape Cod league, but it's a tiny sample...but you always wonder about the guys who put up video game numbers with aluminum bats and then have to go wood... I'd be thrilled if Flukey is the opposite of his name and takes another step forward and really dominates. It'd be great if a college pitcher emerges as a legit top 5 pick?

Don't write an article like this unless you're prepared to name the prospects that would have to go out in a deal like this. Royce doesn't have the value to move the needle for the Nats, so who is it that has to go out from the prospects, because it's going to have to be something big, not just an A-ball lotter ticket and Kyler Fedko. Adams would be a great addition to the Twins roster, and would allow Lee to slide over to 3B. But what do we really have to give up to get him? Do the Nats even want Royce? They're probably not ready to give up on Brady House at 3B, so they might be looking at moving Royce to 1B if they acquired him, which further lowers his value. I suspect to get Adams we'd need to not just give up Royce but also probably add a starting pitcher or two from the Morris, Abel, Rojas, Festa, Matthews group, and they'd also be looking for Dasan Hill or someone like that with big upside and more. Adams is not coming cheap, especially with 3 years of control. Tell me who the prospects going out in this deal, because Royce isn't the centerpiece, not by a long shot.

It wasn't a tandem, it was a trio: Wallner, Julien, and Lewis. The three of them had terrific seasons that really showed a promise of more. Wallner is the only one who was able to replicate the success the following season, struggled last year, and is widely reviled by a substantial number of posters around here. Julien has struggled to hit the last 2 seasons like Royce has, but Julien also hasn't shown the defensive upside. Even with Royce's injuries sapping his speed, he's shown more on the basepaths than Julien. Julien also hasn't had the kind of injuries that Royce has, and people (rightfully) are going to give more time and consideration to a player missing substantial time due to injury over one who has been quite healthy, but ineffective. I was on Team Julien, but MLB pitching has a playbook on him and he has not adjusted. And even with Royce's demonstrated struggles, he's still been significantly more productive the last 2 seasons. I hope this is the season where Royce gets it back together at the plate. A healthy offseason (as far as we know?) can't hurt. He's got so much talent that giving up on him seems foolish. I'm not worrying about "all-star" at this point; if he simply hits at career averages, runs and defends like he did in the second half of the season, and plays 130 games, he'll be a quality starter and that would make a real impact for the Twins.

I think these are definitely the most likely 4 players to potentially get selected. Odds are not great for actually losing any of them, however. Rosario adds basically nothing defensively and with position players needing to contribute on almost every roster, he would need to show some level of competence as a hitter immediately, which is a big ask for a guy jumping from AA to MLB. Even if someone takes a flier on him, it would be difficult to roster him all season unless you're a team that's already given up in May...and even then, it's hard to find room for a guy on the 26-man that isn't ready to play. There's a reason COF/DH/1B types don't get picked. Culpepper is probably the most likely to get picked, and his injury history is almost a bonus for a team willing to pull some shenanigans; you could make him the last guy in your bullpen and then stash him on the IL at various points, potentially. But again, tough to hold for a whole season if he's not able to do at least something. If Fedko can still play a respectable CF, he might get snapped up by someone looking to take a shot on a guy? For $100K you're basically giving him a tryout to be the 4th or 5th OF and if he looks rough through spring training you can send him back and not worry about it. Actually losing him isn't super likely, and the fact that the Twins didn't call him up last season, in which he performed well and they had nothing to lose, probably resonates around the league to some extent, and his age is a factor. (remember, just because people around here hate the front office and think they're incompetent boobs who should be shot out of a cannon towards Mars doesn't mean the rest of baseball doesn't respect their opinions on things...) Lewis looks like a stretch: not a high velocity guy, real control problems right now...again, he might get a $100K spring training try-out and/or a team might try and swing a low-impact trade for him using the Rule 5 as a lever...but actually losing him? Seems low.

Never believe anything pro sports owners say about money without access to their actual book and the presence of at least 2 independent forensic accountants. In less than a year the supposed team debt has gone from $400M to $420M to $450M to now $500M. The number is whatever the Pohlad Family wants it to be on any given day. I certainly wouldn't trust Charley "Sid's Dead, So I'm the Biggest Shill in MN!" Walters for accurate info. That said, I'm fairly certain that paying off the debt is where the biggest chunk of the new partner's money is going to go...but would I put it past the billionaire Pohlad Family to do a substantial disbursement to the family so that everyone gets some fresh cash for whatever they want to be doing, whether it's financing a new film or buying a winter home in FL? No, no I would not. But if they are hemorrhaging cash to the point where they are actually adding $50M in debt annually...then their business aspects for the Twins are an utter disaster and Dave St. Peter needs to be sent to a farm upstate and kept very far away from even being an advisor.

Sure did. Not big enough samples of him at 1B to be that confident that yes, he's great defensively. He had a fine season at 1B for Baltimore before being traded. His overall time at 1B over the past 3 season defensively is much more mixed. I'm not sold on a guy being a defensive stalwart after 1 good season, and never playing the position for even close to a full season. Small samples for defense are a great way to lie to yourself. (I'm encouraged by Austin Martin's performance in LF last season, but I'm not sold on him being a plus defender out there and I got to watch him improve as the season went along. Because it was only 250 innings)

Yep. will he keep that success up at 32, and what will we do to attack LHP if he returns to career norms against them? He's a clear upgrade over Clemens offensively, bit of a downgrade defensively, but also looks like a guy that isn't likely to fix our issues against LHP. For us to commit $12M per season, I just don't know if we can use it on a guy who isn't a more significant upgrade and also doesn't address that weakness. Feels like the kind of signing we'd make if O'Hearn's market dries up on him fast because no one believes in him and he needs a home on a 1 year deal...which might be ok?

eh. I'm less enthusiastic about O'Hearn. Players who have a peak season at 31 make me a little nervous. O'Hearn ain't much of a defensive player and the good splits last season hitting LHP might be more small sample size fluke than reality since he's been typically bad against LHP before. While I like pushing Clemens to the bench, where he belongs, I think I'd still rather take a risk on Andujar than O'Hearn, who will be cheaper and fills the need for RH thump better. While 2/$24M would be fair based on his past several seasons, it's probably out of the Cheap Pohlad budget, even with them "allowing" Falvey to add rather than subtract.

Twins have a pretty rough record on first round picks in the top 10. 24 picks in total. 4 that were signed and at least mostly worked out? Jay Bell (traded, but the pick was good), Michael Cuddyer, Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton and 3 with the jury still out (Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Walker Jenkins). Not great. Next guy on the list is Todd Walker (12 year career, 10.5 bWAR), which ain't great. Couple of pitchers we drafted and failed to sign, which is a big fail. The Buxton, Stewart, Gordon, Jay quad shows that tanking for picks/prospects can really crap out as we hit 1 out of 4 top 10 guys and 3 were top 5. The 5 year run that yielded failing to sign Travis Lee, and missing on Mills, Garbe, and Johnson (Cuddyer was good at least) was brutal too. Missing on picks like this is really bad for a franchise. Missing on a bunch of high picks certainly hampered the Mauer Era; they botched high picks before Mauer and outside of Span missed on a lot of low firsts after. A top pick here really will make a difference...one way or another.

I keep forgetting Soto is only 20. Hope he has a healthy year. I'm less excited about Marek Houston at the top of the age-21's; I have real questions about his ability to hit. (even what we think as all-glove, no-hit SS like Andrelton Simmons put up some minor league hitting numbers) Hope I'm wrong about him. I keep reminding myself that Quentin Young ain't Delmon, and it's wrong to look down on him because of his family.

I don't care if they slot him in at AAA after cutting him from the MLB roster. He wants to go to the minors with the Twins and try and figure it out as a depth guy, it'll be fine...because it means that Roden and/or Jenkins/Rodriguez/Gonzalez/Fedko earned a roster spot, so there's probably room for him in Saint Paul. But he gets promised nothing. Frankly, I'd like to see the Twins roster carry Buxton, Martin, Rodriguez or Roden, Gonzalez, and Wallner (with Wallner as a primary DH) in the OF with the other half of the Roden/Rodriguez pair, Jenkins (unless he lights the world on fire a la Keaschall), Rosario, and Fedko getting most of the OF time in AAA and trying to earn the first call up. And that's without Larnach. If Larnach somehow sticks to this roster, then there's really no room for Outman IMHO.

Much as a really do like SWR (dude just keeps stepping up and getting the job done in the face of many many doubters), if you're going to trade a starter he's a better option than Ober, who is more expensive and coming off a down year. Abel isn't getting dealt unless someone comes to us and makes a big offer; there's simply little chance this front office looks to deal a guy they traded for after such a short period...and waving him around to the other GM's probably gets seen as a red flag that drops his return value. ("They just got this guy and now are looking to move on? Bet there's something wrong with him.") I'm not opposed to trading a starter. I'm just afraid the Cheap Pohlads are going to make it so we have to deal Pablo and/or Ryan.

I get that the medical reports on Festa have been encouraging, but we should be skeptical that he's going to be ready by spring training to begin with. Scratch one. So we're really talking about Abel, Bradley, and Matthews competing for the 5th spot, with Bradley having the inside track being a) the most experienced, b) the most effective so far, and c) out of options. Having Abel & Matthews as the the 6th-7th guys in AAA means depth and insurance against injury. And it always seems like someone is getting injured. But it also means that trades to upgrade the roster can be made late in spring training or long before the trade deadline from a position of strength rather than desperation. BTW, Rojas is nowhere near ready to debut this season; he wasn't ready for AAA last year and got his brains kicked in. Not worrying about a guy whose ETA is more likely to be 2027 than 2026. As much as I love Preilipp's talent, he should be heading to the bullpen. We need the talent upgrade there and even if he can stay healthy as a starter, it's hard to see him as being anything more than "5 and fly" guy because of his history. Regardless: he certainly can go in the bullpen this season and be someone who can throw 1-2 innings and still get another look at starting in 2027 depending on how his arm is holding up. And until we know that the Cheap Pohlads aren't going to functionally force a Pablo trade, we ain't got extra starting pitching. We probably have just enough.

I didn't mind the Twins taking a flier on Outman in a lost campaign; it wasn't crazy to see if there was something that might be fixable to get him back on track. The rookie season was impressive after all, even if there were some yellow flags in the hitting. But he didn't look like a guy capable of being the backup CF in his time with the Twins and looked utterly lost at the plate as well. Outman's problem right now is that whatever he's doing in AAA (and he's hammered AAA pitching just fine the last 2 seasons) is not translating to MLB at all. Why should we think it's going to get fixed for 2026? Considering the minor league depth we have for LH corner OF and that others appear to have a better chance to be able to cover CF more effectively, keeping Outman just to potentially keep from losing the asset for nothing is penny wise, pound foolish type thinking. It's the sunk cost fallacy writ large. I'm fine with bringing him to spring training, but his lack of options shouldn't be a consideration at all. Not at his age or with his track record. I don't know if Roden is going to be a guy or not, but he's 4 years younger and struggling in your first taste of MLB pitching (especially in a season where you get traded) is certainly forgivable. But it should be an open competition for a job as 4th OF between Outman, Roden, Rodriguez, Fedko, and Jenkins (and maybe Gonzalez, though GG isn't a CF either) and I wouldn't put even one grain of extra on the scales because of Outman's lack of options.

Seriously. He's...ok. He should be a bench player at best on a good team. He had a blazing hot month and it was very fun, but that doesn't mean he's good. He can fill multiple roles, and is a good clubhouse guy, and when he gets on a hot streak can do some things with the bat, but when it's going bad for him he's absolutely dreadful at the plate. As a 26th man, setting the floor for the team on what's acceptable for a roster spot? Sure. But he hasn't shown he's starting quality. As a bench bat who can give quality defense at a few positions he's got some value, especially since he's a home run threat. As a starting 1B he's going to have to take another significant step forward...at 30. After having probably the best season of his career and getting about as many PA's in MLB as the rest of his career combined.

That's great when everyone is healthy enough to play 140+ games and good enough to earn the time. But the idea that players who can't hit LHP are going to learn how in MLB if we just give them more reps is a fallacy that people have been selling (including Twins players) for decades. And the only guy you listed here that was a LH hitter was Hrbek...who could hit lefties. How well did it work running Jacque Jones out there every day? No one is striving for a platoon, but it's a way to cover up a weakness. Pretending that Kody Clemens is going to learn how to hit MLB LHP if we just give him a lot more chances at it is silly.

It's not really a breakout so much as a return to form. He had the breakout with the Yankees at 23 in 2018 and then had a lot of missed time until 2023. Andujar wouldn't have to be a strict platoon; he could stay on the field as long as he's healthy enough. But management seems hung up on Clemens being in the mix, and if that's the way, then we need at RH bat who can take at least some time at 1B because Clemens simply cannot start against LHP. Period. I'd love (and so would Shelton) to have a lineup of guys who never need to be protected with a platoon, but it's unrealistic.

There's risk with Andujar because of his injury history, but the Twins could slot him in primarily at 1B/DH which also might help keep him on the field. While I wouldn't expect him to light the world on fire defensively at 1B, he's got a little experience there and should be at least passable, especially as he adds experience. As a RH bat, he makes a lot of sense to partner with Clemens at 1B and DH. He's not going to take a lot of walks and he going to swing the bat a lot, but he also gets hits and doesn't K a ton, which should make some people around here happy. He's also got enough pop in his bat to hit 15 dingers and 25 doubles, so he provides a threat. I wouldn't expect to get Cincy Andujar, but even if you get the A's version that's a step up for us. He seems likely to hit above league average and hits LHP quite well without getting torched by RHP. If he's in the $5M range, he's the kind of player it's worth taking a swing on to fill a significant hole. I wouldn't look to him to play any 3B and as little OF as possible, but the Twins have options there and this keeps Clemens from playing against LHP. It's not going to set the world on fire, but it is the kind of floor-raising move that I'm ok with. I'd like to set my sights higher, but I presume that the Cheap Pohlads are setting the payroll at a level where that's unrealistic. Within this context, I like Andujar as a fit for this team that you'd hope wouldn't force the sale of any of the starting pitching.

The projections assume Ryan & Lopez are here in 2026, since they're on the roster. They assume regression to the mean for veteran players, so guys with down seasons like Wallner or Lewis will be projected to have a return to form. It doesn't care about inexperience in late-inning roles for bullpen pitchers, only what they might be able to do statistically in some role without presuming that they'll be better or worse in lower or higher leverage roles. But these projections are often a reasonable evaluation of the overall talent level of a team. It's not that hard to quint and see the opportunity for this team to bounce back quickly and stop sucking. It's just hard for anyone around here not to believe that our terrible owners are going to force a trade of Lopez/Ryan/Buxton, or that we're going to continue to have bad luck with injuries, or our young players will not take a leap forward when needed. Pessimism reigns around here because ownership has put such a black cloud over the fandom. (and the tone-deaf front office hasn't done enough to justify their apparent job security)