Nashvilletwin

The injury excuse certainly has merit - but only for part of the Twins’ problems last year. Poor fundamentals, poor in-game management, spotty situational hitting and pitching, lack of improvement throughout the season, etc. are just as important reasons for the poor finish. As a small/mid-market team, we will never compete for a pennant unless we do all those things well. Never. We can never stack our team so deeply to overcome poor performance in those areas. So it doesn’t matter if we resigned Correa, or any other big name -they’d help, but just adding one or two of them is not sufficient. We’ve had three “big” additions and two “big” subtractions. Re the additions, Vasquez was an excellent pick-up, Farmer will not move the dial, Gallo was a Hail Mary. The losses of Correa and Urshela are much more significant. There is no way this team on a positional player basis is better today than at the end of the year. So the strategy basically is: 1. Get people healthy. 2. Hope people have better seasons or improve. 3. Count on the additions of Mahle and Maeda to make a distinguishable difference. I get the rationale that we can’t waste the last year of Gray, Maeda and Mahle being here (and it’s absolutely the last year for at least two of them). But this roster is not built to compete for a pennant, let alone our miserable division, unless they improve considerable in the little things. I have no confidence that this team has the managerial or veteran leadership to make a big jump in these areas. Also, this team, especially any day Buxton is not playing, will be boring to watch. Farmer, Gallo, Kepler, Polanco? I’m asleep just thinking about it. They will be unbearable to watch if they throw the ball around or continue to struggle with the fundamentals.

Fair enough take. That’s exactly the FO’s thinking and why it’s basically a Hail Mary to take advantage of one year of Gray, Mahle and Maeda. Let’s hope it works (I’ve got the under though). The only caveat is there is also opportunity cost of the third option if we keep him all year (which I think is the least likely scenario if we are not competitive).

1. No chance they trade one of Maeda, Gray or Mahle before the season starts. If that is the FO’s thinking, why the earth shattering Gallo signing? In all seriousness, two of the three have injury concerns so better to bet on proving those concerns wrong and increasing value anyway. 2. The FO will attempt to extend one or two of them no later than the trade deadline based on first half performance and mutual interest from the pitcher (don’t take that for granted - all three may want a change in scenery and/or want to bet on themselves). 3. Unless we are competing (which includes deluding ourselves into think we are) and assuming no extensions, at least two and maybe all three are moved at the deadline. So yes, in all likelihood it will make sense to trade some or all of them at some time, but not now.

I’ve often wondered if the FO and ownership reads the DN, Now I know for sure that they do: only one of them would give this a “B”. Lol

1. Several of us are assuming we are moving Kepler. Seems logical. But let’s make sure that happens. What if the FO moves Lanarch or Wallner? Who knows what they will do. 2. Even so, many of us were assuming Kepler was going to get moved anyway. This would bring something in return (SP or RP most likely) while unclogging the left handed corner OF glut and give valuable ABs and innings to a up and comer. Now we still have the issue. 3. Want to wait until September? What difference does it make if he has a decent season or is a bust? Twins don’t compete (let’s be real here, ok), Gallo leaves anyway, and Wallner, Larnach, Gordon (who is playing better than anyone mentioned in this post), Kiriloff and Martin lose development time. Also, let’s even wait until September to see who has a better year between Gallo and Kepler (as pathetic as Kepler has been at the plate it’s far from a no brainer that Gallo will have a better season than Kepler).

I said the “exchange” of Urshela for Farmer. It was not a trade, rather replacing one infielder with a similar one who could provide a more direct hedge at SS if we were unsuccessful in the SS sweepstakes. At the moment Farmer is our everyday SS and in that role he’s a marginal upgrade over Urshela. Having said that, I personally would much rather have Urshela still on the team than Gallo. To me, maybe not for others, that’s a no brainer.

I have a deep enough affection for the Twins that I’m much more interested in doing what is best for developing a multi year window of true pennant contending opportunity than I am in this FO trying to kick save the last year of Gray, Mahle and Maeda after failing miserably on Correa, et al. Joey Gallo’s one season stop in Minnesota (if he even lasts that long) would appear to possibly delay the former while being a risky, desperate example of the latter. The tenure of The Nephew is off to a rocky start. It’s baseball, so one never knows. But I’ve got the under on 1.5MM attendance in ‘23 if Kyle Farmer is our everyday SS and Mr. Buck Sixty Joey Gallo is our starting RF. I’m what they call in the business a “super fan” and at this point even I have no interest in making watching the current projected lineup a daily priority.

You are correct - there should be no expectation that any player can really single handedly lead a team to the playoffs. Having said that, is there truly any realistic expectation that Gallo with move the dial in that direction in any meaningful way? The FO is nibbling at the edges - Vasquez is strong move, Farmer is a good exchange for Urshela, and Gallo may or may not be an upgrade from Kepler/Larnach/Wallner. Maybe more is to come, but in total do these three moves make the Twins look like a pennant contender in ‘23? Re Gallo, what are the opportunity costs of $11MM and the ABs for someone who almost certainly won’t be here in ‘24, let alone by the trade deadline.

Perfectly stated ??

100% - he is our most reliably producing outfielder at the moment and very fun to watch. After I posted my comment, I thought to myself that Gordon is specifically one of the young guys I’ll tune in for. Sorry Nick - I left you off my list.

Exactly - well said. To add to this, if this is the style of baseball the Twins continue to play, then they will never be competitive. As a small/mid-market team, they need to be exceptional in those areas - not mediocre to below average. Usually I’m a “watch every game” type of guy regardless of if they are contending. 150 games last season. There are specific reasons I tune in besides just loving baseball and the Twins: Ryan pitching, Buxton, Arraez, and Correa ABs, and/or a young player getting innings. Could be basically down to Ryan and fewer prospects on that list soon. I most certainly will not be tuning in to specifically watch Joey Gallo. I would much prefer to watch Julien, Martin, Lee and now likely Larnach and/or Wallner at St. Paul this year.

This is a desperate attempt by the FO to kick save their Gray, Maeda, and Mahle trades before they all are gone next year - thinking of the long-run be damned. Don’t worry though - either we are contending or we start truly thinking of the long-term at the deadline (and ideally with a new FO and manager who has proven the ability to develop young players to their potential).

The goal is to build a roster that can compete for a Pennant year in and year out. This FO is desperate to take one more crack at making their Gray, Maeda and Mahle trades work before they all leave next season. Sorry, we just disagree. IMHO, there is absolutely no reason to mortgage our future - whether it’s moving more young talent or taking away badly needed innings - to try to save Falvey, Levine and Rocco’s jobs. The good news is that we will run this strategy up the flagpole. If (or when) it doesn’t work, the firesale before the deadline will commence and the true rebuild will begin. Boy, I can just imagine the analytics team all sitting around the room talking themselves into how Gallo is this or that (TF ave, no shift, good years before, etc.).

Please let this be the case…but I don’t think Nephew Joey has the intestinal fortitude for that.

Second best, behind Gordon? At the moment Gordon is our overall most reliable OF. Sorry to have to say that, but BB on the bench is not our best OF.

Makes sense for what purpose? Is Gallo going to lead us to the playoffs, let alone a playoff win? Are fans going to show up to see Gallo k twice a game? Or buy his jersey? Is this the move a club makes to position itself for a true run? Listen, who knows in the mediocre AL Central. But this is not a move by any stretch of anyone’s imagination that moves the dial for this club in ‘23 and most certainly not in ‘24. The only redeeming possibility is that he plays well enough that we move him by the deadline for a decent prospect. Vasquez was a good signing. Farmer made more sense than Urshela in our lineup. We shall see how Gallo for Kepler plus whatever Kepler brings in a trade looks soon I’m sure. But regardless, this is a FO nipping at the edges to try to fill the big gaping hole left by Correa.

Btw, love the photo of Gallo at the top of the post - looks like he just K’d waving at strike three out of zone. We will see a lot of that in ‘23.

Nah, it’s worse than that….

You’re kidding right? Seriously - so we sit Larnach, Kiriloff, Gordon, and Wallner to let Gallo and Kepler eat up at bats? And then throw in Garlick when needed vs. a lefty? Sorry, I won’t be watching that clown show (Kepler is as good as gone btw). Nephew Joey is off to a rough start and is going to have a lot of wood to chop. I’ve got the under on 1.5MM fans this season. Maybe they can make up the lost revenue selling those hideous M hats or fans buying new jerseys with Gallo’s name and number on the back. Lol.

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Hoping to see a lot of new faces this year: Lee, Lewis, Julien, Wallner, Martin, SWR, Winder, Varland, Henriquez, Sales, and maybe Balazovic. Hope to see a lot of some somewhat new faces too: Kiriloff, Larnach, Miranda, Alcala, and Ober. Yep, looking forward to see who emerges as the new young core out of that group of 16 to augment Buxton, Arraez, Gordon, Jeffers, Vasquez, Ryan, Duran, and Jax.

Couldn’t agree more. I was thinking about what is going to get me to watch another 150 games this upcoming season, and I was dreading the prospect of not only the names you mentioned, but also Kepler, Garlick, and, yes, even Polanco. I’ve seen all those guys and to be honest I’m not all that interested in seeing them a lot more. Don’t get me wrong - they are excellent ball players and worthy of tremendous respect. Max and Jorge are two of my favorites. It’s just that I don’t see much excitement in tuning in to see them when the team is a non-contender and they probably won’t be around when the new core arrives. I mean, watching Max hit 0.225 is just not interesting anymore. Now, give me Lee, Lewis, Martin and Julien and I’ll be tuning in every day - even if they have their struggles. By August, they should be on the field pretty regularly.

Nothing like a little Everett Dirksen reference in the morning…

Exactly. Either pony up or embrace who we really are. Since we won’t do the former, we’d better do the later. Unfortunately, this FO will do neither. I can live with a rebuild. I like a lot of our young talent. But what is hard to stomach is trading that talent and/or not developing it. This FO and manager are not right for the strategy we must embrace if we want to have a true chance to compete.

Haha, maybe he throws us a consolation bone?