Matt Kummer

What happens with Mauer over the final 3 years of his contract is going to be one of the most compelling storylines with the Twins. He is now blocking younger players who have more upside. I think the potential Park signing is a sign the Twins understand that they can't just pencil Joe into the 3 spot and all will be OK. They need more. Will we see a situation where someone gets traded and goes on to star for someone else, because the Twins are stuck/stubbornly committed to running Mauer out there as an everyday starter? Or will they get creative with roster construction by making him a complimentary piece?

Agree, I think the Twins get the most back for Rosario at this point. You figure either he or Kepler will have to be moved if the Twins are actually serious about putting Sano in the OF.

I'm generally comfortable with the in-house options. A rotation of Santana/Hughes/Gibson/Duffey/Milone to start the season is fine. Quite frankly, I think May is needed more in the bullpen where he can ramp up his FB to the upper 90's and miss bats. You have Berrios available at AAA if someone falters or gets hurt-- which will happen. I didn't even mention Nolasco, assuming he's with the team. (If he is, he probably gets a rotation spot out of spring training.) If the Twins are contending at the deadline, that's the time to look at bringing in the "ace". a la Toronto and Price, or KC and Cueto. I'd be uneasy about spending more guaranteed money on a long term deal to one of the FA's out there. A postseason rotation of: Trade-deadline "ace", Santana, Berrios and one of Hughes/Gibson and most importantly an absolute shutdown beast of a bullpen looks damn close to what KC did this year.

I couldn't believe I was actually agreeing with Sou... and then he went full on troll by bringing up the tired "coddling" theme. And that he needs to hit the weight room. It distracts from the larger point, which we've all discussed: Mauer is blocking younger, potentially more talented options at 1B. And please tell me why he need to constantly rip Aaron Hicks. It's the 2nd column in a week. Hicks was one of the reasons the team stayed in contention for a wild card spot. The fact Hicks did it with Buxton right there speaks well of his being able to handle the pressure.

Here's my 25 man playoff roster: Starters (9) C: Suzuki 1B: Mauer 2B: Dozier 3B: Plouffe SS: Escobar LF: Rosario CF: Hicks RF: Hunter DH: Sano Bench (4) C: Herrmann (he should never play, but he's there if Suzuki gets hurt) OF: Buxton (Replaces Hunter in 8th inning or later when ahead or tied) IF: Nunez PH: Vargas Rotation (4) SP: Hughes SP: Gibson SP: Duffey SP: Pelfrey ( I just threw up in my mouth a little bit) Bullpen (8) CL: Jepsen RP: Perkins RP: May RP: Fien RP: Boyer RP: Cotts RP: O'Rourke (as a LOOGY. Don't think about letting him face RH hitters.) RP: Nolasco Essentially, ROR, Nolasco and Vargas are my 23-25 guys. -I'm sure the Twins will put Duensing in bullpen (veteran-ness!) and ignore his awful splits, at the expense of O'Rourke-- who's not been great, but he's actually been pretty good against lefties. -If Nolasco is healthy, I think using him as an innings eater in the back of a bullpen is fine. They're paying him, may as well use him. -Vargas pinch hits late in games when you have a favorable matchup or you need a home run threat.

I think the Twins have to go 5-2, minimum, to have even a shot at a Game 163. Doesn't guarantee anything. Should be a fun ride. I'm ecstatic that we are able to see the Twins play meaningful games and contending for a playoff spot in the last week of the season. It's been 5 LONG years.

Hicks' OBP is .335. Better than Dozier's, and just a few points better than Mauer. He's not a perfect lead off man, but I think he can handle it now. Rosario has .750 OPS, which is behind only Sano, Dozier and Plouffe. I think hitting them 1-2 is worth a shot and backed up by the numbers.

Right now, the lineup as constructed is hurting the Twins. Dozier should not be hitting in the leadoff spot. I believe Mike Berardino pointed out that 15 of his 23 HR's have been solo. Dozier has 30 HR potential. He should be hitting middle of the order where there is more chance of having runners on. Right now, Sano is the only threat in the middle of the order, and pitchers are happy to walk him to take their chances elsewhere. Mauer is not a middle of the order hitter. He is rapidly turning into the biggest issue the team has, because they will not address his decline and take steps to mitigate it. I'd run this lineup out: 1. Hicks (he's seriously turned it around) 2. Rosario (hitting reasonably well and fast enough to stay out of enough DP's) 3, Dozier 4. Sano (Having a power threat in front and behind him might actually get him pitches to hit) 5. Plouffe 6. Hunter 7. Mauer (He's a .265-.270 hitter with no power. He belongs down here) 8. Suzuki 9. Escobar

Nice post, my brother! I hadn't realized that Marco Estrada was having that kind of year. He was never remarkable for the Brewers. But, given the offense he has, and that it's facing the kind of pitcher that it should destroy, he won't have to be good. I predict a 10-5 loss. Hughes doesn't last 4 innings. (And having said that, watch Phil toss 7 innings of 1 run ball.) I will say it again about Mauer: He poses huge roster issues for this team going forward. We are at the point where is blocking guys who have a good chance to easily exceed his slash numbers.

Send Santana down. Give Escobar the SS job. Nunez becomes the super-utility. Arcia gets called up as a left handed DH/PH option. This improves the Twins as follows: 1. They're likely to get league average production from Escobar at SS. His numbers are terrible for a LF. For a SS, a .685 OPS with average defense is a vast improvement over Santana. 2. Nunez can spot start in the IF, and in LF. His bat is clearly more valuable than his fielding. 3. Arcia gives you LH hitting power to slot in at DH or off the bench as a PH. He should only see the field in an emergency. He's there to hit for power. Let him have a role where he can do just that.

If you're looking for a left handed bat who would PH, DH and play a corner OF position sparingly, why not bring up Arcia and DFA Nunez? I actually think Nunez's bat does have some value, but if the Twins are going to keep Escobar as the utility guy, Nunez becomes redundant. Danny Santana isn't going to be a superstar, but he is the best option to start at SS right now. I'd rather have the left handed power bat available down the stretch, as opposed to both of the Eduardos.

Nice work, brother. Yes, you got me riled up again... 1. I have a feeling (maybe blind hope) that I won't want to throw something at the TV when I watch Santana pitch this summer. When I watch Pelfrey (like with Nolasco), I just feel that disaster is lurking behind every pitch. I continue to feel that Pelf could be very effective in a bullpen role. He just seems to run into problems as he goes through a lineup multiple times. 2. I hear you on the Pirates. But, Cutch hasn't looked right all year. You can tell the knee still isn't 100%. I'd like him to get going (after tonight, of course), because I'm one of those guys who shelled out a lot of fake $ for my fantasy team. And Marte's play on Mauer's 30 hop 3 RBI single was awful. Have fun in Virginia Beach!

Detroit is the #11 TV market in the country. Mpls/St. Paul is #15. $35-40M for the Tigers is probably about right. They also have an additional several hundred thousand people in the Windsor, Ontario area just across the border that are not counted in that figure.