Seth Stohs

I'll say Jake Reed. I don't see a hitter. I do think Nick Gordon will have a strong camp.

Is it necessary to take something away from a Get to Know 'Em article?

Should be Astudillo if baseball is what's important (as opposed to keeping around a popular player). Adrianza gives them a real backup at SS. Gonzalez can play 7 positions OK. Cave can play 3. Adrianza can play 5. Astudillo has played 5, but C and 3B are really the only that he can be adequate at. And, remember the days when having a 3rd catcher was about the worst thing that Gardy could do? Ha! Also of note... We're assuming a four-man bench but at some point they're likely to go to a 13-man pitching staff which means three bench spots. Taht's when it gets really interesting.

Romero is an exciting option in th bullpen with his fastball/slider combo. He's also intriguing to me as a starter. I would have left him as a starting option... but he is exciting as a bullpen arm.

I love the Schoop signing. There's almost no down side. I mean, obviously if he gets hurt, that would be, but can't predict that. If he is just what he was last year, that wouldn't be good, but almost a break-even for the team at the position. And he's got just a ton of offensive and defensive upside. WAy more than LeMaheiu, for sure. As for Gordon, he's got to prove himself in AAA, but he was really good when they asked him to return to AA to start last season and did add some power there (which is why he (and LaMonte Wade) went back there. He is so impressive to talk to. The value of his genetics comes in at a time like this. Dee and Tom both had rough spots and could counsel him. Nick's very mature when it comes to baseball (mentally). He's just got to show that he can hold up physically over 140 games (much less 160). The Schoop signing allows them to be more patient, and that's OK.

Alex Hassan grew up in the Boston area. Following three years at Duke, he was drafted by the Red Sox. Five years later, he made his big league debut with his hometown team. After his playing career ended, Hassan took some time away from baseball, but last offseason, newly-appointed Twins Director of Minor League Operations Jeremy Zoll reached out and offered him an opportunity to be the Twins Assistant Director of Minor League Operations. He accepted and is working with the Twins player development team to help improve the Twins minor league system. Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with the Twins Assistant Director of Minor League Operations. His is an interesting story. It’s fun to learn about and understand his story and how it can help him in his current position. Let’s Get to Know Alex Hassan.Alex Hassan grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was a four-year letter winner in baseball at Boston College High School. He recalls, “I played almost exclusively baseball during high school. I say ‘almost’ because I played one season of basketball my freshman year. Let’s just say I was not nearly as committed to becoming a good basketball player as I was committed to becoming a good baseball player. "I was a good player in high school, and I worked really hard during my four years at Boston College High School to improve and get better as a player. I was fortunate to have a really good coach in high school who invested a lot in my development, Norm Walsh.” “A good player in high school” may have been an understatement. Following his senior season, he was named the Louisville Slugger Massachusetts Player of the Year. In addition, his AAU team won two state championships and his Legion team won a state title too. He had a few options coming out of high school, but he chose to head south and play at Duke. “I had some options coming out of high school, but my final choices came down to Duke, Notre Dame and Boston College. Ultimately, having grown up in Massachusetts where I was relegated to training indoors for a good portion of the year due to the weather, I decided I would attend the best academic school I could get into that was the furthest down South, and that happened to be Duke.“ At Duke, he was able to be a two-way player. As a freshman, he made 11 starts and won two games. Over his final two seasons, he moved to the bullpen. His sophomore season, he went 5-0 with five saves and a 1.30 ERA in 17 appearances. His junior season, he worked in 16 games and went 2-2 with eight saves. He was also a strong hitter in the Blue Devils lineup. He batted in 49 games and hit .262 with 17 extra base hits as a freshman. His sophomore year, he hit .353/.458/.486 (.924) with 17 doubles and four homers. He also stole 14 bases. His junior season, he hit .342/.424/.498 (.922) with 17 doubles, four triples and three homers. Over those final two seasons, he walked 56 times and struck out just 38. “I really enjoyed my time at Duke. I spent three years there from 2007-2009 before being drafted by the Red Sox after my junior year. Similar to high school, I put a lot of time and effort into becoming a better baseball player at Duke. I also made lifelong friends, many of whom were in my wedding.“ Hassan had put together a strong resume in his three years at Duke on the field and in the classroom. He also played well in his time in the Cape Cod League. However, just a few weeks before the draft, he pulled his oblique and didn’t pitch at all as the draft approached. So, he wasn’t sure at all what the draft would bring. “I figured that would hurt my draft stock, as more teams were looking at me as a pitcher than as a position player, but I had no idea by how much.” He did have to wait a while to hear his name, even to start getting calls from teams. “On draft day the first call I received was in the 10th round but the team calling was not willing to offer me the amount of money I was asking for so I told them not to take me-- they ended up passing on me. As the rounds went on, each subsequent call I received from teams were offering less and less money- things were not trending in the direction I was hoping. At a certain point, I decided I would just return to Duke for my senior year.” Certainly there was some disappointment, but then things started picking up again. “In the 20th round a scout from the Cubs called me and told me they were taking me with their next pick, so I was glued to streaming draft feed on my laptop waiting for the Cubs to pick me.” But then a surprise, a pleasant surprise. “In the 2009 draft, the Red Sox were slotted two or three picks before the Cubs, and when it was time for the Red Sox to make their pick in the 20th round, I saw my name pop up. I was completely shocked, but elated at the same time that I had been drafted by the team that I rooted for my whole life growing up.” A dream come true, to be certain, but even then the process took time to develop. Hassan found himself waiting, and wondering. “I ended up not signing right away with the Red Sox and instead went to Cape Cod where I played the field and pitched. By the end of the summer the Red Sox wanted to sign me as a position player and not a pitcher and offered me a contract, which I ultimately signed.” After signing, he played 26 games of rookie league ball and ended with eight games in Low A. In 2010, he spent the season in High-A, though he did spend three games in AAA. In 2011, he spent the full season in AA. He was hurt some in 2012 but played in AAA. He was limited to just 55 games in 2013 at Triple-A. In 2014, he started the season in AAA again. But late in May, he got the call that every ball player dreams of. “We had a night game in late May at home in Pawtucket and I remember it was a fairly uneventful game for me. I showered and went home like I normally would and when I got home I received a call from my manager Kevin Boles telling me that he needed me to come back to the field. When I got back to the stadium I went into his office and he had a big smile on his face and congratulated me and told me I was going to the big leagues and gave me a big hug. Nothing was official until the following day, so I think I only told my now wife and parents. The night before I went to the big leagues, I did not sleep one minute; I was too excited.” On June 1st, he made his major-league debut at Fenway Park. Can you imagine jogging out to your position at the ballpark you frequented as a kid, with family and friends in the stands? “The most memorable moment was running out to right field for the top of the first inning thinking that once the first pitch is thrown, I will officially have made it to the big leagues and there isn’t anything that would ever change that. I was really proud of that accomplishment because of just how difficult the path to getting there was for me.” In the game, he played right field and went 1-for-3 with a walk. But his bigger memory was an interesting, and scary, feeling he had in the field. “The other thing I remember was how bad the sun was shining in my eyes standing in right field the first game that I started. It was a day game and if anyone hit a fly ball in my general direction I was going to have a really hard time picking up its trajectory because the sun was directly in my line of sight. To make matter worse, Jon Lester was on the mound that day, and I found him to be an extremely intimidating person. Very nice guy, but also very intense and intimidating. So, most of the day I was praying that no one hit a fly ball to right field because if they did I was almost certainly not going to catch it. Luckily for me, no one did.” Two days later, he was back in the lineup and went 0-for-4 in Cleveland. He was sent back to the minors. He was called back up in mid-August and got one more at-bat. And that was it for his big-league career. Three games. Nine plate appearances. One hit. But a lifetime of memories and a huge accomplishment. “I was really, and still am, really proud of making it to the big leagues. I was not the most naturally gifted athlete but I put a lot of time and effort into refining my skills over the years. Trying to become a good major league baseball player is an extremely difficult pursuit, and the lessons I learned along that journey are still serving me to this day.” He spent 2015 playing in AAA in the Blue Jays, A’s and Rangers system. In 2016, he spent the season on the AAA roster of the Dodgers, in Oklahoma City. Following that season, he knew it was time. He was ready to retire from playing the game. “The decision to move on was really easy for me as towards the end of my career I could no longer physically perform at a level I would need to in order to give myself a chance to get to the major leagues. Injuries had compounded over the years, and I did not do a good enough job managing those, so by the end of 2016, I was physically ready to move on.” At Duke, Hassan had studied psychology. Upon his retirement, he returned to the school and graduated in 2017. His season in the Dodgers organization allowed him a great networking opportunity, one that eventually led him to his current job with the Twins. “Luckily for me, Jeremy Zoll and Gabe Kapler gave me the opportunity to get some exposure to the player development side of the Dodgers front office while I was finishing school. I traveled out to Glendale during my spring break to get a sense of what working in the front office might look like and also made a few trips to affiliates during my time in school.“ He noted that the timing just wasn’t right for he and his wife to join the Dodgers full -time. They moved back to Boston, and he got a job with Dell Technologies for a little while. He took time away from the game of baseball, something he feels was important for him. “I think getting away from the game for a period of time was good and healthy for me. This time away reinforced to me just how passionate I still was about baseball and how eager I was to continuing to learning and developing in the game.” However, months later, the situation changed. “After about six to eight months, Jeremy reached out to me about his new opportunity with the Twins and gauged my interest in getting back into baseball. Jeremy and I first began talking when I was a AAA player with the Dodgers in 2016 and he was working as the assistant farm director for the Dodgers. I remember asking him a lot of questions when he would come in town in OKC and he was always extremely approachable and willing to talk to me. From day 1 he really blew me away with his baseball and general intelligence. When I had the opportunity to join him with the Twins, my wife and I were in a better situation in our personal lives and we were really excited to make the jump.” He was offered the job as the Twins Assistant Director of Minor League Operations. In the position, he is involved in several aspects of the minor leagues and player development. “I’m responsible for assisting in the oversight of the minor league system. I work with player development leaders- Jeremy Zoll (Farm Director), Edgar Varela (Field Coordinator), and all of minor league coordinators regarding on-field philosophies, training, and special programs that we’re running. Also, I aid the Research and Development department in the implementation of various initiatives and findings with our coaching staff and our players.“ In his role, he will spend spring training in Ft. Myers and throughout the season, he will travel to see each of the Twins seven minor league affiliates multiple times. He recently passed the one-year mark in the job and has found a lot about it enjoyable. “What I’ve enjoyed the most is how much I’m learning about the game of baseball and that I’m in a position where I have the ability to impact people to help them improve and reach their goals.” Alex Hassan reached the big leagues, something the great majority of the minor leaguers haven’t done yet and dream of being able to do. His experiences as a player, good and bad, help him to better understand what the players are dealing with from day to day. Understanding the game helps him understand the players and their struggles. “The thing I would like to bring from my experience as a player to this job is never forgetting just how difficult this game is. Sometimes, the further you get from your playing career the easier the game seems to be. I try to never forget just how challenging this game was for me and how hard I had to work to just be a below average player. I would like to think I bring a great deal of empathy to this job.” When you consider the technology used in the Twins minor leagues, the addition of coaches and coordinators, and new ideas and thinking on development, Twins fans should be excited about the direction of the organization as it relates to player development. “I think Twins fans should feel really good about the direction the player development department is headed. What I’m most proud of is the team that we have built and how we’re collectively working toward a shared purpose of making the players better. As part of that, we’re all collectively striving to improve ourselves, ask the better questions, and not being afraid of what we don’t know. We, and more specifically, Jeremy has fostered a culture of continual improvement and my hope and goal is that a couple years from now we’ll still have the same mentality as we did on Day 1- that we still have so much improvement ahead of us.” Hassan and his wife moved to Minneapolis in August. “So far, we have really loved it. It is quite cold in the winter.” Click here to view the article

Yes... Stuff matters. Starting with May, Rogers, Hildenberger, Reed and Parker is solid. Romero in the bullpen is really exciting. Magill increased his average fastball in 2018 to 94.7 as well as his spin rate. Mejia could be out there. Vasquez and Moya have big potential. I'd be fine with adding a guy like Warren on a minor league deal. He's still relatively young.

The alternatives being signing the 2nd-tier guys for reasonable money and less years and with about the same odds of staying healthy after 30. Or, Turning things over to a Fernando Romero. I'm not saying any of those are sure things. None of them are.

Reed is a great example of why I have no problem with the Twins staying away from signing 30+ relievers. Reed had been healthy and really good for 7+ seasons, and he was only 29 and getting over-used over 2-3 years, he finally broke down. Kimbrel's a little older and has been used a lot as well (not even considering playoff innings/games). If healthy, however, Reed is really good, here's hoping he does return to form. Hildenberger is going to be just fine as well. Again, when he went well, he got used all the time... when your arm gets tired, you lose mechanics, which is what Hildy is saying affected his command.

I think we will. First, I hear he graded out very well defensively. Second, after the long college season, they weren't going to have him catch a ton last year. In the rookie leagues, ,the teams typically have 3-4 catchers and they play pretty equally behind the plate. Of course,, Jeffers' bat was going to be in the lineup still.

Ryan Jeffers was recently named by Twins Daily as the Twins #13 ranked prospect. He was a walk-on at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and didn’t start often as a freshman. He wasn’t on the MLB Top 200 draft prospects in 2018. So when the Twins used their secnd-round pick last year on the catcher, eyes were raised. And Jeffers is just fine with that. I caught up with the talented catcher at Twins Fest about his background, his game, and proving people wrong.Ryan Jeffers grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he became a star on the baseball team at Sanderson High School. He played on Perfect Game and Impact teams nationally as well as Dirtbags, a developmental team that has many MLB alumni including Chris Archer, Wil Myers and Kyle and Corey Seager. Jeffers competed on the organization’s top team. For college, he made the two-hour drive south from Raleigh to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. “I had a couple of options. Wilmington wasn’t the highest offer, but I felt the best going there. That was going to give me the best place to develop, and best coaching staff, and I really felt comfortable there. So I made the decision to go there. I didn’t play a ton as a freshman, but I worked really hard and earned my spot, earned my starting job.” As a freshman, he played in just 13 games, but he hit .348 (8-for-23) with three doubles and a homer. After that, Jeffers became a starter and made the most of it. As a sophomore, he played in 53 games and hit .328/.422/.604 (1.026) with 19 doubles and 10 triples. He was even better as a junior in 2018. In 62 games, he hit .315/.460/.635 (1.095) with 22 doubles and 16 home runs. As he got more playing time, the scouts certainly took notice. Jeffers noted, “Sophomore year, we had a lot of really good players, so there were a lot of scouts there all the time. So they got to see me play a little bit then. Then my junior year, it just kind of started exploding on me. A lot of people were talking, and I had a lot of conversations.” Last June, the Twins surprised a lot of people, a lot of “experts” when they made him their second-round pick. His selection was aired on MLB Network and their panel talked about how he wasn’t even in their Top 200 draft prospects. They said that he was definitely considered a bat-first catcher, that he could hit, but there were a lot of questions about his defense behind the plate. Jeffers watched. He heard his name called and all of his question marks put out on national TV. His response to that discussion should please Twins fans. “It’s kind of fun. It’s kind of my story, coming through high school. I actually walked on at UNC-W. So I’ve kind of always earned my spot. Coming into the draft, being under the radar there too, and it’s just been the story of my career.” But as we know, it just takes one team to take a chance. Jeffers continued, “The Twins believed in me. The Twins loved me. But still there’s a lot of doubters out there, doubt if I can still catch, doubt if I can do that. All I can say is just watch me. Just watch me. I bet you I’ll prove you wrong.” Jeffers has always been a catcher. “I grew up as a catcher. When I got to high school, I just kept catching.“ He was a catcher at Wilmington. He spent a little time in left field to keep his bat in the lineup, but to keep his legs fresh behind the plate. He’s heard the questions about his defense time and again. It has become a source of motivation. “It’s happened to me for so long. It adds a little fuel to the fire, but it’s always been my goal to be the best catcher that I can be. Obviously the offense is going to be there, but my goal is to be the best catcher I can be, and that’s something I plan to do for the rest of my career. I plan on catching here at Target Field one day, hopefully in the near future.” While it’s great to have that motivation, Jeffers knows that it is an area where he has room to improve. He touted the value of having minor league catching coordinator Tanner Swanson present, particularly throughout the offseason, to work with him on the technical aspects of the position. “That’s always been the part of my game that I need to work on the most. Yeah, I work on offense, but it’s something that's been a lot more natural to me. Defensively, I think I’m such a quick learner and have the aptitude to learn so fast. In college, I never had a catching coach. I was pretty much self-taught, and I still had numbers that were comparable with some of the better receivers in the nation. When I got to pro ball, I worked with Tanner (Swanson), I just soaked in so much knowledge and I’ve been feeling better than ever behind the plate. Worked hard this offseason getting ready for the year behind the plate.” In fact, reports from a variety of sources indicate that his defense impressed people in and around the organization, both by the eye test and through some statistics, specifically his pitch framing. Jeffers adds, “Receiving is the most important aspect of the catcher’s job, by far. Tanner always tells us, ‘Think of how many times you receive the ball versus how many times you throw the ball per game.’ It’s like 200 to maybe one or two.That’s the part where you, as a catcher, can make your biggest impact on the game. That’s what I’ve really taken into the offseason to focus on.” Another part of the fun of catching is trying to think with and even out-think the opposing batters. It is an aspect of the game that Jeffers really enjoys. “I was a physics major at school. I’m very scientific, analytic, a really good thinker. So I love that kind of strategic part of catching, calling the game, reading the hitters, reading the pitcher, reading emotions. I love that part.” As a side note, I asked Jeffers if he plans to return to college to finish up his college physics degree. “I still have a year left. I’ll eventually,” and then he paused, “maybe, but hoping that I never have to go back to school. I don’t feel like hopping back into Quantum Mechanics or anything like that.” Now let’s get to the fun stuff. Let’s talk about Ryan Jeffers’ bat, the aspect of his game that he is known for. What a first impression he made in his professional debut. He began by playing 28 games in Elizabethton. He hit an impressive .422/.543/.578 (1.121) with seven doubles and three homers. “I wasn’t surprised. I think I surprised a lot of people. I think a lot of people believed in my bat, but I don’t think a lot of people expected what I did do. I knew that was what was going to come. I knew that’s how I played. But I think it did surprise people... I mean, you’re going to surprise a lot of people when you hit .422 in rookie ball. That’s kind of who I am.” He finished the season with 36 games for Cedar Rapids. Things weren’t quite as easy for him, but he still more than held his own. He hit .288/.361/.446 (.807) with 10 doubles and four homers. It was a strong debut. Jeffers showed some power, got on base, and generally put the ball in play. So what kind of hitter is Jeffers? In his own words, “I think I’m a very well-rounded hitter with a lot of power. That’s how I would describe it. I can hit for power. I can hit for average, like I’ve shown, but I also take pride in trying to walk more than I strike out. I don’t strike out a lot normally at all. I put the ball in play. A higher average, but also a lot of power that I can utilize and get to a lot in games.” While Jeffers says that he isn’t necessarily one to set a lot of goals for himself, it does enjoy taking that analytic approach to his game and to his numbers. “I’m playing to do the best I can do. I can take information very well. So I can look at numbers and say if I want to get to this point, I need to do a little better here or a little over there. People say that you shouldn’t look at your stats, but stats tell you how you’re doing. I like to look at my stats. If I’m struggling a little bit, it’s going to show up in your stats. Some let stats affect them the wrong way.” Jeffers' season ended following the Kernels run in the Midwest League playoffs. He headed back home to Wilmington, but his stay wasn’t very long. Hurricane Florence was bearing down on the east coast and heading straight for Wilmington. “I had just gotten back from the season the day before. We evacuated the day after I got home. I didn’t even unpack, just left the suitcases in the car and headed out.” Fortunately Wilmington is doing well and Jeffers quickly returned. With no school classes to worry about, Jeffers still returned to school to keep on working to better himself. “We have a really good facility down at UNC-W where I’ve been working out with a bunch of other pro guys. We have the weight room and the batting cages to get in and really get a good workout in. From there it was nutrition-focused and focus on stuff that is going to make me a better baseball player and not have to focus on anything outside of baseball.” He made the trek down to Ft. Myers a couple of time to participate in camps with teammates, trainers and instructors. “I went to pretty much every strength camp which is working out with Ian (Kadish), the strength coach. We worked on moving the body right. They watched how we do it, and then send home with a work out. Then Instructs and catching camp were both after the season.” When he’s not doing baseball activities, Jeffers enjoys what Wilmington has to offer. “I really am down with the beach. Wilmington is on the beach. We love just to be down there. Just spend as much time as we can, me and my fiance, just touring around and hanging out really.” You can call it what you want. A chip on his shoulder. A little extra fuel for the fire. Extra motivation. Ryan Jeffers has the attitude and the drive to prove a lot of people wrong. His bat may carry him, but he believes he can be a strong defensive backstop too. Jeffers will soon be starting his first full season as a professional baseball player. Most likely he will begin with some more time in Cedar Rapids, but he could move up to the Miracle in Ft. Myers quickly. For Jeffers, he will just keep working hard to prove people wrong on his way to the big leagues. Click here to view the article

Of course, pitchers today were basically just throwing 80% fastballs and curveballs with a little spin on them, rather than worrying about getting hitters out.

I asked him about that on twitter but didn't get a response. Not sure why an injury to his non-throwing shoulder would affect his throwing shoulder.

Correct... If you have 30ish good prospects, there's a better chance that one or two of them become really solid MLB regulars than if you only have 10 good prospects. I'm also really impressed with what Jeremy Zoll and all of those coordinators are doing on the player development side. Much more instruction. Much more technology and individual learning to go with games and regular things. We'll see how it works, but it's very much encouraging.

The Twins locked up outfielder Max Kepler and shortstop Jorge Polanco to long-term contract extensions this past week. The logical question is: Will there be other more young core players extended before the season starts? Specifically, will they be able to sign All-Star pitcher Jose Berrios to an extension? If so, what might it look like? For that, we may have been given a couple of clues this week of what range a Berrios contract could approach.That the Twins locked up Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco to long-term extensions doesn’t give us any clue what it might take to lock up other young, core Twins players. We only know that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have made it clear that there have been other conversations with other players. But also in the last week, two young All-Star pitchers signed long-term extensions which will keep them with their current teams through and potentially beyond their arbitration years. AARON NOLA - PHILLIES The Phillies signed 25-year-old RHP Aaron Nola to a four year, $45 million with an option for a fifth season. It buys out three arbitration seasons, a free agent season and possibly a second free agent season. Nola was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft. He debuted with the Phillies in 2015 and went 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 13 starts. In 2016, he went 6-9 with 4.78 ERA in 20 starts. However, he took off in 2017. He went 12-11 with a 3.54 ERA. He finished third in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2018 when he went 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 212 1/3 innings over 33 starts. Over 380 1/3 innings in the last two seasons he struck out 408 batters (9.7 K/9). LUIS SEVERINO - YANKEES The Yankees signed RHP Luis Severino to a four year, $40 million with an option for a fifth season. It buys out his four arbitration seasons and provides an option for his first free agent season. Severino made his MLB debut in 2015 when he went 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA. However, in 2016, he went just 3-8 with a 5.83 ERA over 22 games (11 starts). However, in 2017, he made 31 starts and went 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA in 193 1/3 innings. He finished third in the American League Cy Young vote that season. In 2018, he was 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts. Over 384 2/3 innings in the last two seasons, he struck out 450 batters (10.5 K/9). JOSE BERRIOS - TWINS The Twins 2018 All-Star will turn 25 in late May. He made his debut in 2016 and in 14 starts, he went 3-7 with an ERA of 8.02. He came back better in 2017. In 26 games (25 starts), he went 14-8 with a 3.89 ERA. In 2018, he made 32 starts and went 12-11 with a 3.84 ERA. Over these past two seasons, he has thrown a combined 341 strikeouts in 338 innings of work (9.1 K/9). TIMING IS EVERYTHING As you can see from the above, Berrios is essentially one year behind Severino and Nola in terms of service time. 2019 was the first arbitration season for both Nola and Severino. In Severino’s case, it was his first of four arbitration seasons. Berrios will have three arbitration years, starting in 2020. While Berrios has had two straight seasons with sub-4.00 ERAs and an All-Star Game appearance, Severino and Nola each has had a third-place Cy Young finish, better ERAs (in their past two seasons) and a higher strikeout rate. That said, most believe that there is more potential in Berrios’s arm and we all hope to see that in 2019. If that is the case and he puts up a mid-2s ERA instead of a mid-3s ERA, Berrios will be in the same position as Nola and Severino were this year when they signed their extensions. In other words, if we look at the extensions of Nola and Severino on a year-by-year basis, Berrios should be slightly below those numbers, though he should ask for the same type of numbers. What might a potential Jose Berrios extension look like relative to the Nola and Severino deals? In the below chart, we look at the actual year-by-year breakdown of the Nola and Severino contracts. The third column shows how a similarly-built Berrios contract might look. The final column shows how that contract could be front loaded (similar to Max Kepler’s Unique Contract). NOTE: A1 (1st arbitration season), FA (Free Agent), PA (Pre-Arbitration), O$ (Option Year) So what do you think? A five year, $41 million contract for Jose Berrios? If the option was to be picked up, it would be approximately a six year, $53 million contract. Even if Berrios’s option is picked up, he would be a free agent at the age of 30 and able to get another big deal. Click here to view the article

I mean, the downside is that he doesn't every play again... And yes, this type of signing for these types of dollars involve some risk on both sides... they all do. The Twins have plenty of money available this year. They've found a way to level it out so that he never makes the real huge money in any one year. OK, maybe I'll change "incredible" to "really good" or something more appropriate. And, I will likely applaud most of these types of deals.

That's why I said "If you believe in it" (or something to that intent)... Honestly, all I meant for it to say was that even if he stays at what he was in 2018 (which was like 2.8 fWAR), then $7 million is a great deal. And, has been mentioned, if he does take any sort of step forward, it's even more of a steal.

Depending upon how people feel about FanGraphs valuation of a player... approximately $7.1 million per 1.0 fWAR... Kepler has been worth the following: 2016: 1.2 bWAR - $9.9 million 2017: 1.4 bWAR - $11.2 million 2018: 2.6 bWAR - $20.8 million For those three years, he made $1.7-$1.8 million... Getting him for $6-7 million over each of the next three years is a steal. Buying out a year of free agency for just $8.5 million is incredible. Getting a second year of free agency (only if the team wants to) for $10 million is incredible. I really like the contract. It's as if they agreed to the overall terms and then they moved the dollars around to make it more level. It's really unusual and creative.

That's the work of Brock Beauchamp, who did a great job with the graphics!

Fun interview between Peter Gammons and Max Kepler on MLB Network following today's press conference.

In Case You Were Wondering: Our rankings: Seth (1), Nick (1), Tom (1), Cody (1)

Kaat is incredible. He's like 82, had a long playing career and a long broadcasting career. He has an incredible eye for detail, and a memory and an ability to tell great stories. I really am looking foward to it. For me, Hunter was a lot like Tom Kelly. Kelly was great the first time he did it because he just talked. It seemed after that, he heard how much people enjoyed it and he tried to do too much and it was never the same. Hunter was kind of fun the first time, but it was not good, and frankly, I always felt a little (lot?) uncomfortable wondering what he would say next. I think LaTroy and Roy are terrific. And, I'm a big fan of Bremer. I thin he's very good at being able to let the color analyst shine. He knows this game and the team and the organization so well, but he lets the other guy get the glory. He sets up good questions to help.