Nashvilletwin

Yes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ober is out of the rotation by year end.

Possibly missing the most important, relevant question, particularly to T-Cubed: Can the Twins beat last year’s 25 year record low attendance (since 2000, excluding covid) of 1.77 million this season? BTW, when these are your top 25 questions, you know your season’s expectations are in bad shape. One example: the question isn’t if Lewis will actually consistently produce, but whether he will be healthy (as if being heathy is the only factor to guarantee his legitimacy - btw, with Buxton you could say that).

The consensus seems to be that Keaschall now has a weak arm. If so, get real.

Ideally the pattern is full in the OF with our future trio of Jenkins, ERod and Gonzalez. All of those three are better overall defensive OF alternatives inclusive of speed and arm. But who knows.

Don’t disagree - lots of options. But that doesn’t mean Jeffers for one year or less is going to return more. If the market for Jeffers were a near-term legitimate position player or starter, we’d have hit the bid. You are overestimating Jeffer’s value in the trade market. Wish it weren’t so. For example, one trade analyser suggests a fair swap of Abner Uribe (25 year old #4 relief pitcher for the Brewers) for Jeffers and Julien. That’s the kind of deal we should expect for Jeffers.

Yes, a really good article. Thank you. He very well could be our starting SS later this season and certainly in ‘27. However, ideally Houston’s bat gets good enough that we utilize his D at SS in ‘28. If Lewis can figure things out, Culpepper could slide to 2B and, please Lord, Keaschall is our long-term raking 1B. I and a lot of Twins fans would be very enthusiastic post the strike to embrace that infield.

Hope springs eternal……lol. Anything is possible…..I guess. But I’ll take the under on that. And we will see what we get for him. You can take both nothing and a near term (by ‘27) legitimate position player or starter prospect. I’ll take a dart throw or a decent young reliever with upside. Gentleman’s wager between friends.

Well, the timing all depends on the offers on the table and the amount of risk you want to assume. Given he won’t be back, he must be moved no later than the deadline. If he has a good first half, he’s healthy, and there are some injuries to other catchers on contenders (which I agree is very possible), then his value may go up. If any of the opposites are the case, then his value might be higher now. We don’t know what the current bids are, so it’s difficult to say what is the right move. But trying to sneak Jackson through waivers and losing him might complicate the catching lineup later in the season. So that would suggest a benefit to moving Jeffers before opening day if they don’t want to carry three catchers. Btw, you are mistaken if you think Jeffers is going to return a relatively near-term projectible starting position player or starter. That’s just not going to happen - his value, especially for less than a half of year, is just not that high. A young solid reliever who projects as part of the bullpen for several years and has some upside as a later inning type would be an excellent return for Jeffers. Otherwise, you’re looking at a longer-term dice roll - of which the organization is long already.

The smart move is to now move Jeffers while his value is highest. Ideally the return is a player who already has some MLB experience and is controllable for several years. A solid reliever candidate might be an option. The additional benefit is that it opens up needed ABs for the players who still have a chance to prove if they can be part of the next core. This includes current rostered Twins and near-term prospects. We need more investment in these players - not less. 2026 is the perfect year to do that. If Jeffers stays, the roster just becomes more of a Rocco-inspired platoon model. Snooze……

To be fair, Duran, Ryan, and Cruz are really on nobody’s list and, five years from now, nobody will be even remotely be thinking about them as all time Twins. Those players are real stretches. The exercise includes all regimes - and this regime has zippo to-date and, possibly, zero on the horizon among current rostered players. Here’s hoping, however, my grandkids and I have develop great memories watching all time great Twins Lewis and Keaschall. Let’s throw in Jenkins, ERod, Culpepper and Tait. That would be wonderful.

What’s so sad about this list and all the comments is that there is only one Twin from the current regime that even basically gets a few honourable mention votes: Buxton. No other position players and no other starters. And what’s even sadder is there are no other current Twins that likely would ever be considered for a list like this. Boy, how this franchise, which has produced so many great memorable players, has fallen. The Pohlads, Falvey and Rocco have produced nothing of lasting fan value and devotion over their entire regime together. Nada. There is a whole generation of young Twins fans who have no players to look back on as their idols or to relish their accomplishments. That’s really sad. The Falvey/Rocco era will not be remembered for producing any great Twins. (And that, by the way, is why you tear down and rebuild by investing in and committing to a young core - you might just get some Hrbeks, Gaettis, Puckett, Mauers, and Morneaus. And by creating these “legends”, one builds enduring and greater franchise value and fan devotion. Just saying…. Our ownership and leadership are basically brain dead for not being able to see these basics and recognising their failures).

Meanwhile Tucker signs with the Dodgers for $240MM/4 years. That’s $60MM per year or about as much as the Twins total team budget sans Correa’s subsidy. The salary cap with a high minimum is sorely needed. But look for a huge fight against it from the rich teams and the high priced players and their agents. 2027 is going to be a bloodbath.

Actually it’s a good thing that our drafted players (and those mostly developed in our system like Martin) are actually playing. It’s wonderful to see and the right move, especially for a cash constrained franchise like the Twins. Time to see what they can do (notwithstanding the retreads brought in to still steal innings and ABs). I personally hope we see much more of it as the season progresses. But to claim as the author did that most of these young players finally getting their true legit chance are already “legitimate contributors” is a bit disingenuous.

“Minnesota has managed to turn a long list of those selections into legitimate big-league contributors and, in some cases, foundational pieces”. Then Buxton, Lewis, Lee, Wallner, Larnach, Jeffers and Keaschall are listed as examples. These claims/statements are so ridiculous and inaccurate that it obviated the need/desire to read the rest of the post. The only “long list” is the list of failures under Falvey/Rocco et al. Buxton and Jeffers - yes. But from a different regime. The rest are either big disappointments to date (Lewis, Lee, Larnach), platoon players (Wallner, Larnach), likely utility players at best (Lee - the TD can’t wait for Culpepper to take over SS), had their careers to date mismanaged (Lewis, Larnach, Wallner) or yet to be proven (Keaschall). Btw, Martin should be added to list and could be included in many of the above categories. Not one of those at this point is a legitimate every day reliable major league contributor. Just because they are in the projected starting lineup for our beloved Twins does not make it so. Now, some may still get there with Lewis and Keaschall being the most likely. Let’s hope so. But to even suggest that position player development under Falvey has even had a modicum of success is just pure propaganda.

Yeah, the offseason has been a huge disappointment. Jackson is the only addition that on the margin could be considered a decent move. The rest are - collectively and individually- a joke. Not a single player added thus far brings any real value to the future upside of this franchise or will sell an additional ticket. Zippo on both fronts. Tough Talkin’ Tom has been the biggest disappointment. He’s been a bag of wind thus far. Falvey is Falvey and will continue to be until he’s fired. Shelton’s hiring is less than inspiring to be kind. But T-Cubed came in all full of piss and vinegar and has turned out to be all hat and no cattle. He almost makes me nostalgic for the Nephew…..

either ride him to a championship run Seriously……..?

So, the Twins just can’t say “Ok, because you’ve done such great work here and we love you so much, we will give you your arbitration ask” and call it a day?

Tough Talkin’ Tom strikes again. What a complete joke…..

If there were any hope of signing him to an extension - and I mean any sliver of hope - the Twins would not be arguing over $500k with their #1 starter. That’s just not how you build good will with the all-star you theoretically want to lead the team when the next window opens. Think about how Ryan must feel. The orginazation frets over a well deserved $500k for arguably their most important player while paying Josh Bell $7MM. Seriously? Ryan can’t wait to get out of Dodge. And you can’t blame him. So much for Tough Talking Tom. What a bag of wind. The first thing he should’ve done after taking over from the Nephew was to make nice with Ryan. Want to show the fans what a great new sheriff you are? Then sign Ryan to an extension, even if it costs a bit more. The fact that they are now haggling over $500k just show how irreparable the relationship with Ryan has become. It’s just a matter of time before he is dealt. Be patient. It will happen.

Ok, so the Twins have managed to turn a few lower draft picks into about average major league pitchers (#3-5 starter types). They haven’t developed a similar (or any, for that matter) positions player since Jeffers. I guess having a good minor league system is a prerequisite for developing internal talent into viable major leaguers. But if none of them ever make it, then does it really matter? I’d much rather have a dismal minor league system that at least produces a true major leaguer every year or two. The point is that getting results at Target Field is what counts. I’m glad that Twins executives can slap themselves on the back about how great their minor league system is while the major league club never sees the results. Listen - it’s either the minor league system has actually been overrated or the Twins under Rocco just plain stunk developing the talent handed over to them. It’s one or the other. The lack of accountability and responsibility in this franchise is a joke.

Exactly - especially if the chances of extending him are practically zero. Why? 1. We can’t afford him. 2. If there’s a strike (as predicted), his value will be even higher than if there is not a strike (one less year if wear and tear). 3. He doesn’t want to be here anyway. Btw, he’s the only Twin who’s going to arbitration this year. 4. Boras. Agree, he should be dealt by opening day.

I can’t confirm your question about becoming free agents, but it’s hard to imagine it being any other way. Therefore, your hypothesis about declining values makes complete sense and it makes the holding on to Ryan, Lopez and Buxton that much riskier (and the risks - performance and injury for each - are already big). The SP market seems to be thawing a bit. I’d be really surprised if we broke camp with all three. Again, they need to pull a Canucks’ Quinn Hughes deal for each of them at some point. To get nothing or very little for them would be a huge dereliction of duty if the Twins don’t (as expected ) compete. They are playing with fire, but I’m staying patient for the time being.

You are right on the money. Other than the overall randomness of professional baseball and long shot wagers on resurgent/emerging talents, the doom and gloom expectations are merited. There has been nothing done to-date to even minimally change that narrative for the positive. And, btw, that’s both on and off the field as T-Cubed and Shelton cannot yet be projected to be significant updgrades over the Nephew and Rocco, respectively, and the architect of the current mess, Falvey, seems to still be pulling (his usual) strings. Having said that, there are a few things I’m actually very interested in seeing/monitoring this season and these things will be the basis on which success or failure should ultimately be based (given W-L success is unlikely gravy at this point). 1. How do our current crop of young major leaguers, many of whom arguably have had their developments mismanaged by Rocco, et al, respond to a new manager? These players include Lewis, Wallner, Martin, Lee and, yes, even Julien (I’m leaving Larnach out at this point). If just one or two of them (and ideally Lewis is one of those) can demonstrably become part of the next core, that would be a huge success. 2. Do we give our top position player prospects a real opportunity this season (and not just a cup of coffee)? This list includes Keaschall (who 100% should), Jenkins, ERod, Gonzalez, and Culpepper. Maybe Roden too. Ideally, one or two at least prove that they belong in the every day starting lineup in 2027. 3. Who emerges from our young crop of pitchers as reliable options as either starters or relievers for ‘27 and beyond? This audition may be the most entertaining and interesting of all. Again, ideally a couple of reliable options as SPs and RPs emerge. 4. What can we get for Ryan, Lopez, Buxton and Jeffers at the deadline? We have to assume that these trades will be merited as the first half of the season draws to an end. The FO is wagering their prices will rise as the season unfolds and if the hope and prayer strategy doesn’t pan out. Ideally by the time these trades happen - and they must if we are not contending - we will be able to identify the biggest holes/risks to the next core and look to address those. If somehow T-Cubed, Falvey and Shelton put these four initiatives as their core objectives upon which the success of the season should ultimately be based and ultimately execute on them more or less, the Twins will 100% exit 2026 in a much improved position with a more exciting, talented and entertaining roster for the future.

It’s not only Jeffers who’s represented by Boras and is never signing an extension……ahem, Ryan. The Twins will need to pull a Canucks’ Quinn Hughes deal on several Twins this season. We know the four valuable candidates. But the wait and see strategy might actually work; namely, wait and see if we catch fire and can contend, while real contenders emerge and/or suffer injuries. The starting pitcher market has been slow, but already feels as if values are going up a bit, The patience might work. But let’s not get delusional and ultimately get nada for them.

There will be a lot more opportunities for all of these guys when Ryan and Lopez are traded no later than the deadline……