Jump to content
Zebby Matthews takes on the White Sox tonight -- come join our game thread! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Nashvilletwin

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,719

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

 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 Nashvilletwin

  1. Nashvilletwin
    Arraez obviously is now basically a perennial all-star who will win another batting title while leading his team to a possible playoff berth. Steer is probably the second most valuable position player on a Reds team battling for the playoffs and would be leading the Twins in virtually every offensive category (if Rocco ever let him play). He will likely finish in the top three in NL ROY and is probably closer to being an all star than any other Twins player except Lewis. CES was probably the headliner for Reds in the deal and is off to a great start. There’s a lot of room between the cup and the lip, but the values of both Steer and CES are significantly higher today than 12 months ago. You are correct that we will need to see a lot more out of Steer and CES before we can say the trade was a franchise altering screwup by our FO. But you must admit, there is definitely a non-zero possibility of that and there’s no chance that the opposite could happen. Both Steer and CES likely currently project as long term, successful major leaguers with some all-star potential for whom our return was less than negligible.
  2. Nashvilletwin
    I agree with much of your post, particularly your point about accountability for development. However, even though Mahle started the season in the rotation, there was much discussion and speculation about his health throughout the off season. Many of us, including myself, had the under on Mahle pitching 100 innings well before the season started. With Maeda in the same camp (I was wrong about Maeda - I think I set the over under at 150 innings combined for the two), the FO had to make a move. If Mahle’s good health had been a certainty, I think it’s possible they would not have done the Lopez-Arraez trade. If for any reason, that’s not the case, then it still probably speaks to the quality of pitching they expected from Mahle if injury free. Regardless, we are where we are - which is playoff bound and in a great spot to compete with a bright future ahead. Lopez is a wonderful addition and we all hope he anchors our rotation for several years.
  3. Nashvilletwin
    I agree with you that the Lopez - Arraez trade was a necessary move and a good deal for both clubs. But let’s not forget that it was precipitated by the failure of the Mahle trade. Mahle was supposed to be Lopez - but when it became obvious that Mahle would not fill that role, an aggressive move had to be made. The Mahle trade was never the right move for three reasons. First, Mahle was never really consistently very good (he was just ok) and had recent injury issues/concerns. Second, the Twins probably didn’t quite know how good a ballplayer they had in Steer; clearly he was behind several current players/prospects in the pecking order to whom Steer is now clearly superior. Third, that particular trade (Mahle for Steer and CES - who may turn out to be the even bigger gem) was too risky given the fundamental flaws of last season’s club. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but breakdowns in player evaluations and an overestimation of the teams capabilities made that trade tough for us from the get go. This is possibly why the FO, wisely IMHO, pretty much stood pat this season.
  4. Nashvilletwin
    You don’t know that. What about Miranda, Larnach, Kiriloff, Wallner, etc. - all or most of whom were higher ranked? Who knows what we offered and what they wanted. Besides, that only assumes you make the trade in the first place. There is a difference between being “aggressive” and making ill-conceived, risky moves. Yes, you need to make moves - I agree 100%. But the Mahle trade was a reach from the start. And because the trade was such a disaster, we ended up getting Lopez for Luis, CES and Steer - that’s three ultra bonafide players and existing or potential all-stars (and spare us the Salas upside), Sometimes it’s ok to stand pat (like at this year’s deadline) and sometimes it makes sense to roll the dice (Lopez-Arraez for example when SP help was truly needed when it was apparent Mahle wasn’t going to work). BTW, are you sure you like Julien more? Steer plays an extremely competent 1B, 2B, 3B and LF. He hits against both lefties and righties - unlike (Rocco’s use of) Julien. He’d be leading the Twins in hits, runs, extra base hits, HRs, RBIs, ABs and Games Played, How about Kiriloff? Steer or Kiriloff? Don’t get me wrong, I love both Julien and Kiriloff. But Steer is a legit MLBer, and given his use by his manager on a playoff calibre team, mind you, has outproduced both of them (and every other Twin for that matter) this season. CES isn’t far behind.
  5. Nashvilletwin
    Yeah, a Maeda/Ober combo as the #3 might be an alternative. Still time to make that decision.
  6. Nashvilletwin
    I’m wondering if a RH batter hitting .270 with 22 dingers, 82 RBIs and an OPs of .815 in over 540 ABs playing in 147 games would be considered our best hitter, if not team MVP? Fleeced. BTW, that’s also how you develop a young player with just 28 career major league games prior to this season. You let the player play to see what you have. The Reds did and now look what they have.
  7. Nashvilletwin
    Steer would be the best hitter on the Twins this year. That Mahle trade was literally the worst ever: a) was an unnecessary, risky strategic move; b) we gave up a ton and got zippo; and c) its utter failure precipitated the Lopez Arraez trade.
  8. Nashvilletwin
    2024 may very well be a transition year (maybe 2025, too); however, not to Jenkins, but more likely Rodriguez. My understanding is that he is only playing CF in the minors and Jenkins projects more as a corner OFer. CF over the next two years will most likely be a combo of Martin, Castro and, yes, Gordon. That solution would be plenty good enough. In 2026 one of Rodriguez or Jenkins takes center and the other plays a corner (unless Martin proves himself and then both Jenkins and Rodriguez move to the corners - think about how cool that is!). Buxton will, sadly, likely be long retired by then. Lewis stays in the IF at 3B and Lee is at 2B. Kiriloff ideally will be at 1B and Julien will be traded ala Arraez for pitching. Jeffers plus one of our up and coming catchers are behind the dish. There is plenty of current and approaching talent in the organization to fill all the remaining utility roles. That is one hell of an exciting young and inexpensive (excluding Correa) position player lineup. The future is quite bright.
  9. Nashvilletwin
    Couldn’t agree more - a first round bye would be huge for this team (or any team for that matter). The way the schedule is lining up for the rest of the year, it’s not outside the realm of reasonable probability that the Twins could go on a big run. Regardless, having solid momentum going into the playoffs would be a big plus for the confidence of this club given our most recent playoff history. Keep the pedal to the metal and see what happens!
  10. Nashvilletwin
    Love Wallner, but the jury’s still out on him too. 100% agree - Gallo ABs (and $11MM) were wasted in terms of player development and future trade value - regardless of whether all or some were allocated to Larnach, Wallner and/or someone else. But the point remains the same - Larnach is unlikely going to get his shot to be an every day major leaguer here in Minnesota at this point. And he knows it. And so he probably prays he gets a shot somewhere else, ala Steer et al.
  11. Nashvilletwin
    Your suggestion is exactly my point about why Larnach prays every night to be traded. Yeah, just what he wants - to be kept in AAA for most or all of another year as “depth”. The man wants to be a major leaguer - not a permanent AAAer. For crying out loud, the Twins spent $11MM on Joey Gallo and gave him hundreds of ABs while Larnach has festered in St.Paul. Larnach must be shaking his head wondering how much better he’d be if he had those major league ABs (and how much more valuable he might be for the Twins in the trade market - his value couldn’t really be any lower now.). Honestly, Larnach must be wondering how much the organization thinks of him with Gallo having played nearly the entire season. Not much is the answer. Meanwhile, Larnach is in AAA thinking Garlick looks like his best career ceiling with the Twins. Free the man - he needs another organization. He deserves it.
  12. Nashvilletwin
    Excellent point. But let’s say we do want another top end starter but don’t want extra payroll. One way to achieve that is to resign Gray. So, assuming Gray costs $25MM +, would we rather have Gray and Larnach, or Kepler and Polanco (Gallo’s $11 MM I’m already assuming is in the pot)? We’d have to trade a lot more prospect capital than Larnach to come up with a starter like Gray.
  13. Nashvilletwin
    Or we could not pick up the options and use the $18MM or so on a FA starter. But, you are most likely correct, both options are probably going to be picked up and that means less/no room for Larnach. If I’m Larnach I’m praying every night that I get traded to a team that will give me a true shot - not the up and down circus he’s had here in Minnesota. He has nothing else to prove in AAA and he’s not getting younger. Free the man - let him have his shot at what he has worked hard for his entire life, namely to be a major league ballplayer. He’s earned that shot in our organization and he’s damn well good enough.
  14. Nashvilletwin
    Agree - the best comp is obvious: he’s Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs in The Natural.
  15. Nashvilletwin
    This is now Lewis’s team
  16. Nashvilletwin
    Yep, the reason we had to trade Arraez for Lopez was because of the disaster trade for Mahle. Mahle was supposed to be Lopez. If that had been the case, we could have had our cake and eaten too - but that’s water under the bridge. If we really think about it, the backlog in the infield going forward is caused by Correa. Would we resign Correa today for his current deal knowing what we now have in Lewis, Lee, Julien and Kiriloff? I’m not so sure. Those Correa $s are worth a ton of pitching. Julien has hit everywhere - he will continue to do so. He needs to keep getting ABs, especially against lefties. His fielding is fine and getting better. He is not an outfielder though. So, he either ends up at 1B and Kiriloff goes to LF or he ends up at 2B and Lewis goes to LF. I favor the latter with Wallner in RF, Martin/Buxton/Gordon/? in CF. Just don’t trade him yet - his value is growing quickly.
  17. Nashvilletwin
    Nah, we own the Rangers. I’d take them.
  18. Nashvilletwin
    Nick, Super article and you are spot on: if the FO doesn’t overthink things, we should be in for a solid open window stretch for several years. For example, not dealing our young talent at this year’s deadline is a good example of just staying in the lane that is right before our eyes. The FO has done well drafting - ranging from insightful later round picks to not goofing off with their good luck in the first round the past two years (Lee falling to them and the lottery luck to get Jenkins - again, not overthinking those two picks). The three big keys for ‘24 are: 1) make sure the young players continue to get better; 2) build the pen; and 3) add one more mid to upper level type starter (like a Gray). By focusing on the young core, we should have the cash to address #2 and #3. #1 causes the most concern - if we are successful with that, the next several years could be ridiculously fun; if not, it will truly be a waste of a special, once in a decade, opportunity. Now, let’s step on the Guardians’ throats tomorrow and get ready to go win some playoff games!
  19. Nashvilletwin
    First, the Guardians figure out that they really aren’t very good and are likely not going anywhere this year, so they sell at that deadline in order to get better in ‘24 and beyond. Second, they are down seven games facing the Twins best two starters and their season is about to end. Instead, they win both games, pull to within five, and get new life and some momentum. Third, they say “what the heck - we essentially have a free run at the division now and it will only cost us a few bucks”. So they put in the waiver claims for what we all know wins games down the stretch (pitching, duh) and now they are in a position to have their cake (selling at the deadline to get better in ‘24 and beyond) and eat it too (compete for the division with some new blood). Those two losses by the Twins this week were huge. And the Guardians look damn smart in how they’ve handled their roster. Those three pitchers will most definitely help the Guardians and the Twins better step up their game. It ain’t over by any means. And if we blow this, there should be hell to pay with the FO and coaching staff.
  20. Nashvilletwin
    To quote Wayne Campbell: “Game on!” Or Sherlock Holmes: “The game’s afoot”. Obviously, it’s good we have a five game lead, but by no means is that a safe lead with this team. We had a chance to bury the Guardians and we let them off the hook. It will be devastating if we lose the division this year. I’m certainly not expecting that we will. But make no mistake, if we do, Rocco, Falvey, and probably Levine will likely be shown the door. Those guys are probably battling for their jobs as right now.
  21. Nashvilletwin
    I know we have to play them one game at a time, but let’s sweep these guys and wrap this division up by September 1st. This team is actually getting fun to watch with the young players making such big contributions. The team seems to have more life now than at any time this year - and it’s been growing since about the break and as Jeffers, Julien, Wallner and Lewis have started to play bigger roles. Let’s get Kiriloff back and Martin called up and continue this young guns explosion of energy.
  22. Nashvilletwin
    Was at Target field for the first time in about six years since my dad passed. In town to see family and friends and play some golf. I could not have been more impressed with the entire “product” tonight. Obviously the team played a great all around game. But everything from the stadium, the scoreboard, the greeters, the food, the fireworks, and the fellow fans made for an unbelievable night out. It was A1 entertainment. The Twin Cities and the state are very lucky to have this team, in this facility, being led by an ownership group that clearly cares. Whether we keep the baseball guys or not next year can be a discussion for another day. Tonight was just simply a grand time out.
  23. Nashvilletwin
    Exchange Kiriloff for Williams and Buxton (obligatorily) for Prato and I for one would take that lineup right now coming out of camp in ‘24. Except I actually would have Lee in the infield and Lewis in LF. Why? Because all nine of those players should be in the starting lineup and Lewis can be more of an outfielder than Lee. I do think one of Kepler or Polanco will be with the club next year. Add in Vasquez and two of Castro, Larnach, Gordon and maybe one or two others (Prato?) and you have your 13 position players. It won’t work that way - no chance they break camp next year with Lee and Martin on the big club.
  24. Nashvilletwin
    It would be nice if at least 6 of the 7 position players and 2 of the 3 pitchers on this list were everyday players on the Twins by May 1, 2024.
  25. Nashvilletwin
    There are multiple permutations. One written about earlier this week suggested Lee go to 1B and, I guess, moving Kiriloff to LF. Not sure this is on the radar screen, Here’s another: if CF is so dangerous, why not have Lewis in LF? We could put Wallner (with his arm) in RF and Martin (with his speed) in CF. This gives us our desired infield (left to right) of Lee, Correa, Julien and Kiriloff. Regardless, sometime in early ‘24 we need Lewis, Lee, Julien, Kiriloff, Wallner and Jeffers in the starting lineup as often as possible (understanding Jeffers and Vasquez should be about a 60:40 split). This leaves Correa at SS and one open, presumably OF, position player spot. Candidates for that include Castro, Martin, Kepler and Gordon. Add in Buxton and there is your 13 position player lineup in ‘24 with nine of those players essentially making league minimum. Exchange Larnach for Kepler (which makes sense in spite of Max’s recent resurgence) and only Correa, Buxton and Vasquez would be making real dough. Or, instead, keep Polanco and not Kepler. Either way, investment opportunities for the mound - both starting and in relief - should be enormous. Maybe, we then resign Gray and/or Maeda…. I’m going to enjoy the rest of this season - who knows where it could go, especially if we get good Lopez and good Gray in games 1 & 2 in any playoff series. However, in ‘24 I’m really, really looking forward to getting rid of ‘23’s “one and done” rentals and heavily investing my avid fan interest in an essentially new era of Twins baseball.
×
×
  • Create New...