TNtwins85

Not gonna happen. Everyone’s lucky that for some reason and stroke of sheer luck they went outside the org for Falvey and didn’t just settle on Rob Antony or the Bill Smith style line of succession. Let the man work without being blindfolded on a plank with both hands tied behind his back. Let the thumbs down commence!

Really? Can we stop this already. Falvey isn’t getting fired. If anything he’s now bought himself another 2-3 years. Y’all can thumbs down this post but that’s the reality. I believe he was hamstrung by the old Pohlad regime. Plain and simple. If he had full reign to do what he wanted I believe it would’ve been more of what got them to 2019 and 2023 rather than what has happened since. It was a long time ago but remember where this franchise was on the field and in the FO 10 years ago? They were the Rockies now essentially. No analytics department. Old school thinking baseball system. A pitching pipeline that had struggled to develop even one playoff caliber starter in decades and down right awful baseball. Remember Terry Ryan? Retread central,pitch to contact, bad trades because of outdated thinking, bad drafting when handed multiple top 10’s, company man who never shook things up when he could've( he had Pohlad trust), had pride in bringing in a payroll under the budget he got. Falvey revamped the whole analytics department, has built a pitching pipeline( not one that produces “Aces” but one that continually can supplement depth. That’s a pipeline), made strategic moves to get the Twins to 2017 and 2019 playoff appearances when it should’ve taken a few more years. Some moves weren’t the best but show me another FO who makes good decisions every time. Compared to Ryan, Falvey is on another level and what this franchise needed in order to not be the Rockies of today. I don’t agree with him on a lot. Maybe we should see what happens when he’s not trying to execute a team plan with his hands tied behind his back so much financially wise. Also, he’s not being fired.

As soon as Walker Jenkins comes up. Other than that everyone else has to prove themselves. Yes, Jenkins is no sure thing but every service time day as a Boras client is one day closer to free agency.

When are we gonna start hearing from the doomsayers? Where is the “baseball is broken”, “they need a cap/floor system”, “fire Rocco, Falvey, the front office, the Pohlads!” Crowd? Anything yet? Oh, I think I hear them coming.

With Falvey and Zoll I believe!

I’m ok with Wallner as a DH. That DH spot is getting really crowded with about 5 guys to rotate through there haha

Yeah, but for what? What do you get for Larnach? An rookie ball relief pitcher?

Exactly, makes me wonder what their plans are for Larnach, Wallner, Roden, Martin, Outman, Clemons, Julien, Gasper, etc etc etc. maybe they can package them all together in a trade to get a Christmas present for the new minority owners!

Well, the Twins paid that guy for awhile too. He talked a big game and turned in 5.1WAR over 2.5 seasons for the bargain price of $100M. That worked out great as well. Goes to show that paying for any FA usually isn’t worth the price. Whether it be $7M or $100M. Paying for a players declining years almost never works out well. You could run a lineup of Josh Bells out every game and be happy that your payroll is $182M. How will that team perform???? Yet it would make some happy that their payroll is $182M!

What prospect at 1B is he blocking?

For 1 game with Baltimore he was worth an 0-1 record with 8IP 5H 1ER 1BB and 3 K’s. That’s what he was worth to Baltimore. More than what MIL got from Ortiz and Hall that postseason but not much more.

Please go back to watching your NFL and NBA games if you have nothing to contribute other than the same beat to death horse. Yes we all know MLB is doomed without the cap/floor. It’s been said 5 billion times in here.

It’s a numbers game. Corbin Burnes- 1 yr of control-provided Bal 3.5WAR DL Hall- 4 years of control left- 0.5WAR Joey Ortiz-4 years of control left- 3.0WAR Hall could be a rotation piece or a LRP. Ortiz provides at the very least very strong defensive shortstop. Devin Williams-1yr of control-provided NYY with -.3WAR Caleb Durbin- 5years of control left- 2.8WAR Nestor Cortes-1yr of control- -.2WAR Durbin is your 3B and was one of the only reliable bats in their playoff run. Cortes provided almost nothing Josh Hader- 1.5yr control- provided SDP with 1.5WAR this one is a bit more complicated but they got Robert Gasser who still has 5 years of control and has provided .3WAR. Dinelson Lamet was immediately waived and signed by the Rockies. Taylor Rogers provided -.4WAR for the rest of 2022. Estuery Ruiz provided -.2WAR in 3 games but was a piece used to acquire William Contreras, Joel Payamps and Justin Yeager. Those 3 have combined for 14.6WAR. Overall Contreras provided most of that but at the catcher position. Burnes, Williams, Hader=4.7WAR Prospects=20.7WAR roughly thats just those trades. Pretty productive I’d say and still providing!

This is the Pohlads fallback position. I’ve stated this several times on Twinsdaily that you can see the plan. The Pohlads have never blown it up when they should have. They hold on to their 2-3 guys to stay “competitive”. In the Pohlads mind “competitive” means they keep guys they should’ve traded to simply claim they’re still “competing”. Through 3 different GM’s/PBO’s this has been the case now. Do I believe they can compete in the central? Yes. But, that’s accompanied by several moves to maximize this core. Maybe Falvey can do what Macphail and Ryan could not. Maybe third time is the charm. In the end three generations of Pohlads have overseen this same situation and it brought us the late 90’s Twins and the 2011-2016 Twins. So sit back and enjoy the show. All while other teams completely tore themselves down to make future legitimate runs at a WS and the Twins continually find themselves back in the same place over 35 years.

I would have tended to agree before the Alonso signing but now that infield seems crowded. Especially added with the Basallo signing. This clearly shows they don’t have the time to let Mayo work out his problems. Do they trust Mayo or Westburg at 3B? Westburg has put up the better numbers and took a step further last year. Could they send down Mayo and let him work it out there? Yes, but at this point he hasn’t quite dominated there but held his own and I think he needs MLB AB’s. The gamble is worth the top 50 pedigree and power potential while also possibly filling the 1B black hole. If that takes a SP not named Ryan or Lopez they need to roll the dice.

I hear ya. I want Mayo purely because it potentially slams shut this revolving door of sub par first baseman. If he plays passable D and hits .240-.260 with 25-35 HR’s for 3-4 years I’m fine trading one of Ober, Bradley, SWR, or Zebby. Somebody has to go I believe in the rotation. If one of those guys get you Mayo I believe they have got to do that. It’s the only way they get a true potential power bat that’s not a 30 something shell of their former selves for a year and at a steep price compared to Mayo. Give him 500 AB’s and try to work the swing and miss out if you can. They’ve gotta bring in someone who truly “Thumps”!

Literally just posted this comparison haha! Morris and Debarge would be a good trade package. I think it takes just a bit more but I was thinking a guy like Morris with C/B level prospect or Zebby straight up. Possibly Ober/ SWR straight up to get Mayo and a high risk high reward lotto ticket as well in a deal.

I don’t think Mayo requires either. He has no place to play, he’s still only 23 and needs AB’s. He’s like a much younger much higher ceiling Wallner who plays a more sought after position for the Twins. I think he could be had for a package like Ober or SWR. They might even get Mayo and a lotto ticket for one of those guys. They want to win the East. How do they get there? Infuse a legit veteran bat(Alonso) and load up on impact pitching. Mayo would be a perfect complement to Clemons and is young enough to really excell for years to come if he figures out RHP. These 2 teams match up really well depending on how deep you wanna go. I’d definitely be willing to sell any pitcher not named Lopez or Ryan to bet high on Mayo.

If he can miss bats as above average as his bat missed he might have a promising future!

Exactly! Earlier this fall in a different article I had proposed a deal that went something like. Joe Ryan, Ryan Jeffers and SWR for Rutchman, Mayo, Bradfield, Watts-Brown and a lotto ticket like Wellington Aracena. Kind of a MLB for MLB “baseball” trade but it shook up the core. Got some pieces. Bet high on 2 higher ceiling guys while still getting you a potential BP arm and a high upside, further away lotto ticket while also extending your catching situation another year with Rutschman being controlled for a year longer than Jeffers I believe to give you a better bridge to Tait and some of these future catchers. Also, brings in Bradfield to allow Buxton to transition to a corner while also being an elite defender 4th OFer. Checks a lot of different boxes, shakes up the core, brings in some talent while still keeping MLB talent. Not sure if that works now still a few months later but I thought it was a good idea at the time.

I missed the part on why a rebuilding club in Washington would want to trade a 25 year old SS with great speed but not great defense averaging 3.4 WAR the last few years for a soon to be 27 year old 3B with limited speed and average at best defense averaging below 1 WAR the last 2 years. Washington wants prospects. Not washed up 1:1’s who are in their late 20’s still trying to find their footing in the MLB.

Yes, I’d bet on Jeffers having a good year in his walk year. If they’re truly keeping everybody and the y can add 1 bat and at least 2 solid relievers and a good amount of depth in the minors if things break reasonably right this team competes in the central. At that point I guess you let him walk as I doubt they offer a QO. But if he has a big year as a catcher maybe he turns it down for a guaranteed 4-5 year deal. I guess if you’re keeping everyone you bet on him having a good year just so you can get the draft pick. Tough call as I don’t know if you really get as good of a prospect as everyone thinks you get for him. Would hate to sell low as there’s nobody ready in the system and if you’re keeping everyone else not having a competent catcher defeats the purpose when pitching is your strong point.

Well, it’s put up or shut up time for Falvey and the Pohlads. The bar is low for them and the central division so if they are competing they need to sign or trade for 1 bigger bat and 2 solid relievers. If this doesn’t happen then it’s been a sham the whole time and they can welcome a lot of empty seats for this generation. If they swing for the fences and bring in the pieces to compete then everyone’s been wrong about Falvey this whole time. Those 3 moves signal that this isn’t a rebuild and was simply a reload. If they’re right there in July they buy. If they’re out of it come July I can be content with them selling at the deadline. Strap in and let’s see what happens!

Harry Ford seemed to be untouchable at the deadline for Twins relievers. The Mariners just shipped him to Washington for a “potential” back of the bullpen reliever. The guy has good stuff and is a legit middle reliever now. This begs 2 questions. 1. What in the heck were the Twins asking for especially for a team desperate for close to MLB caliber catching? 2. What was the Twins scouting report on him that they didn’t like if the reports are that the Mariners wanted Duran or Jax? I thought Ford was a prize catching prospect that the Twins should’ve targeted. He’s not a slam dunk but surely Varland was comparable to Ferrer. Jax for sure and of course Duran. I think they really liked Tait and able because Seattle has a bevy of prospects to pick from as well. So what happened?

Even a shell of himself Goldschmidt is a signing that helps. Anybody above the Ty France should be a target. With them supposedly keeping the big 3 they need to sign at least one decent bat to make that plan believable/ even worth it to compete. A big splash trade for a bat is what really needs to happen but we’ll see. I’m not sure if the recent news clears the waters at all but simply makes it more murky by their definition of “compete” in the central.