LA Vikes Fan

I'm going to repeat what I've said before - a roster without Auston Martin on this team is pure insanity. Not only should he make the team, he should be playing EVERY DAY to see if he can match last year's .284/.374/.365, 3 OOA in LF, and 11 SBs in 15 attempts. If he drops off in the first 2 months, you send him down. The idea that he should be left off of the 26 man roster in favor of a 29 year old Eric Wagaman, he of the massive .674 OPS last yar in almost 500 ABs with poor defense, or so we can keep the 29 year old Kody Clemens who hit all of .213 last year, is just crazy talk. Neither of those guys offer much upside beyond what we've seen. Martin, on the other hand is good enough to be a regular on a decent team now and if he can raise that SLG to even .400 while keeping his OPS above .360, he's an every day player for years to come. I hope this is just the Cody's attempt at humor or spitballing and isn't based on any inside information. Sadly, though, he may be right about Funderburk. That's pretty unfair given how well he pitched the last two months of last year. It does bother me to send him to AAA so that 35 year old Chafin can make the team. Guys, this team needs to move on to the next core. I can't tell you who will be on that core but I can tell you with great confidence it won't include Eric Wagaman, or Andrew Chafin, and probably won't include Kody Clemens. It might include Austin Martin, Alan Roden and Kody Funderburk, but not if we don't give them a chance to play. This is easy. Trade one of Wallner or Larnach and make the other a 4th OF/DH. You now have room for Martin AND Roden to start most days, improve your defense, and back up CF when Buxton needs a blow. Even better, Kreidler can back up CF if he makes the team. Clemens can be the 5th OF since all three starters can play at least a passable CF. Funderburk is tougher because of the other 3 LH relievers but I would start with 4 LHs in the bullpen if they are among the 8 best relievers and I think they are. BUILD A TEAM in 2026, don't play a bunch of mediocre vets to win 2-3 more games. Sheesh,

Clemens is not a starting 1B on anybody's decent baseball team. He is at best the strong side of a 1B platoon on a bad team. I have to remind you that his stats against RH pitching are .219/.286/.496 (.782) and has a .486 OPS(!) against LH pitching. In other words, so far he's shown that he doesn't really hit RH pitching well enough to even be a regular platoon bat, with some HR power, and he can't hit LHs at all. He's a bench guy. Josh Bell was brought in to play 1B, not to just DH. I give that idea about a month before we see that he just can't handle the position in the field well enough to be there regularly. I agree with the poster who suggested we should get a real SS and move Lee to 1B. The problem is we don't have that SS and there isn't anyone available to play 1B unless you want Wilmer Flores. How about trading Larnach for Ryan Mountcastle? Ugh. Just not a good way out of this mess.

I can definitely see that order with Martin in the 9 hole to start the season. I'd still like to see Larnach (or Wallner) traded so that there is an opening in RF/DH spot for one of Roden, Emma or GG. I just think that the improvement in our OF defense in the corners from Wallner and Larnach to Martin and Roden or Emma would be a real boon to the pitching staff without a huge offensive drop off.

I have to disagree with some of the OP comments and I hope they are not based on inside information from the team. Here are the issues as I see them: (1) Wallner and Larnach are both DHs/5th OFs, not every day OFs. One will be traded, probably Larnach although frankly at this point he is arguably the better hitter but with less upside. (2) Martin starts the year as the everyday LF. Why? 2025 stats - .284/.374/.365 (.739), 3 OAA in left field, 11 SBs in 15 attempts, that's why. He won a job. Raise that SLG to even .375-.400 and you have an above averaging fielding, above average hitting, above average running player. Why on earth would you make him a short side platoon bat or a bench player on a below average team, particularly so you can start a plodding, poor fielding guy with an average bat? Insanity. Note that Martin lead off and played CF yesterday and had 2 hits in a 3-0 win. We will see that again. (3) Assuming #1 and #2, there's spots for two OFs. If he hits in ST, Alan Roden gets one because he hits LH and can play CF. He and Martin are the backup CFs (plus Kreidler if he makes the team). The last OF spot goes to Clemens over Outman to start the season with GG or Emma next up once enough time passes that this year doesn't count towards FA. Might even be Emma if he can beat out Jackson and Wagaman. (4) Last SS spot goes to Gray over Kreidler but could go the other way. Both have a shot to beat out Lee over the first couple months of the season if they hit because they are both Much better in the field. Roster/Batting order (w/o pitchers) - Martin (LF), Buxton (CF), Keaschall(2B), Bell (1B), Lewis (3B), Larnach/Wallner (DH), Jeffers (C), Lee (SS), Roden(RF). Bench - Caratini (C/1B/3B/RH DH), Gray/Kreidler (SS/UTL), Clemens (IF/OF UTL (no SS)) Jackson (C). Jackson. Emma, and Wagaman are now playing for the 26th spot depending on who hits better, how much they like Caratini at RH DH, and whether they think they can find 3-4 days a week for Emma to play. My bet is Jackson makes the team so there's a Catcher when Jeffers starts and Caratini plays 1B or DH, Wagaman passes through waivers and is in St. Paul, and Emma starts in AAA but is up by mid-season.

Agree with you on Martin, He was by far the best of the young players in last year's August/September tryout camp. He should get a shot this year playing everyday to see if his .374 OBP from last year can stay above .350 and he can get his SLG from .365 to at least .380-.400. Add his above average LF defense to that roughly .725-.750 OPS and you have a starting OF, particularly if he can steal 25 plus bases at an 80% plus clip (last year he was 11-15, 12-15 would be 80%). He was much more than a short side platoon bat or 4th OF last year in 50 games/156 ABs. Maybe last year was a mirage, but let's find out. We aren't going to find out if he plays 2-3 days a week. Hit him in the leadoff or 9 hole. Get him out there 5 days a week and see what we got. I don't know why the assumption here is that Larnach is the starting LF. We've seen that movie and it ends badly because he cannot field the position. I get that he was resigned at 4.7M(?). So what? Make him the LH DH with Bell at 1B and Wallner in RF or trade him for whatever prospect you can get. As of the end of last year, Martin brought more to the table IMHO.

This is the answer, especially if you are looking for prospect return as compared to quality major league hitting return. It is my view that teams do better in terms of prospects when they trade at the deadline. Teams are more desperate, and the supply of quality starting pitching is much lower than it is now. A guy like Ryan could easily be seen as a piece that takes a contending team into championship contention. I would wait until July, see where we are, and if we’re languishing, that’s when you trade Ryan. The only reason to trade him now is if someone is offering a quality middle of the order controllable bat plus prospects in return. I haven’t heard anything like that.

I'm with you, FatBat. I say the Slim Reaper is the closer by mid-season. Has the right arsenal and makes sense with his injury issues. Great nickname for a closer. Add in some walk up music like "The Grim Reaper" by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, or "The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, or even really heavy metal like "Rock You to Hell" by Grim Reaper or Gursach's "I'm the Grim Reaper" and you have a 9th inning show.

While I generally agree with Cody, I would at least look into acquiring Zack Littel. First, Giolito makes no sense. He's older, injury prone, and expensive. The projections I've seen are for a 3.95 to 4.25 ERA, with a slightly better than .500 record. In other words, a solid #3, good #4 on a contending team. Why pick that up for the projected $16-22M a year on a 2 or 3 year deal? Littel is more of a solid back of rotation guy, 150-180 innings of mid 4s ERA work, winning 8-12 games depending on the team he plays for, all for $8-10M a year on a 2 year deal. That isn't too exciting but he comes with the ability to transition into a very good reliever if the young guys work out and gives us some rotation stability to start the season. He's also the kind of guy who would fetch a decent return at the deadline because of his affordability. He may have no interest in coming to MN but he's worth a look at that price. I would look into Little and see if I could get him below $10M a year on a 2 year deal, a $10M 1 year deal even better. Otherwise, enough on the "let's pick up a FA starter or trade for one" talk. Start the guys we have, sort through the mix, and set yourself up for next year.

I hear you. Wallner "running" to get a ball in the gap can be very painful to watch.

Agree with you on Keaschall, but not so much on the others. It's not just their level of experience, it's also what's behind them coming up. Wallner needs to hit at least .235-.250 and get his SOs below the 30% he had last year (although that was an improvement) and Martin needs to show he can have a .350 plus OBP and hit with a little power (.400 SLG would be nice) because we have 3 OFs with real potential who are going to be ready to play at the MLB level pretty soon. Culpeper is lurking behind Lee and Lewis, Abel, Matthews, and maybe Festa behind SWR and Bradley, and Roden and Matthews are 26 and need to leave AAAA status behind for good soon. My point is that we should give the younger guys a real chance but it's not a forever chance. This team is at the point where it needs to sift through what we have and this is the year to do it.

I agree that this is a "make it or break it" year for Lee both because this is the year he will exceed that 1000-1200 ABs where you're still developing and it may be his last chance to hold off Culpeper and/or Marek for the job. Having said that, we need to give him the shot and see what we have here. That means 400-500 plus ABs and 100 plus games at SS. We aren't going anywhere this year and Culpeper and Marek aren't just a couple of months away. This is his opportunity. Let's make it a real opportunity, I felt like this year was a "prove it opportunity" year for at least 5-6 guys on the roster before Pablo got hurt. Now, it is absolutely an opportunity/make it or break it year for AT LEAST the following guys - Lee, Martin, Keaschall, Wallner, Bradley, SWR, and Lewis, and that may expand to include Roden, Matthews, and Adams depending on injury and whether the other guys perform. But you can't give guys an opportunity to make it or break it of they don't get to play regularly. Right now, we are poised to give all of those guys a real shot. Don't change that structure. I want to see an everyday lineup with Martin in LF, Keaschall at 2B, Lewis at 3B, Wallner in RF or at DH, and Lee at SS at least through mid-June pretty much almost regardless of results. Don't replace these guys with average vets like Giolito to squeeze out an extra 2 wins or replace them with the next shiny unproven object like Abel, GG, Emma, Culpeper, etc. until they've had their chance. Give them that chance now, If they don't take advantage, then pivot to a full scale rebuild in July but not until then.

This sucks in pretty much every way. Such is the risk when you sign pitchers to multi-year contracts. It seem rare that any team gets good years throughout the contract. There's usually an injury or two that causes at least one of those years to crater. I absolutely would not sign Lucas Giolito or anyone like him. This is now the opportunity to see what level of pitching depth we actually have. Ryan, Ober and SWR are locks; Bradley probably is too (assuming no more injuries). The door is now open for Matthews and Abel, probably both since there will be a 10-15 day IL stint for at least one or two of the top 5 if not all 5 of them. I would still move Festa to the BP but my bet is he will stay as a starter for awhile given all of the veteran bullpen guys we have signed. With Banda, Hendricks, Rogers, Chafin, and Merryweather, there's plenty of mediocrity to fill up the pen without Festa.

I'm a little surprised that Jeffers and Peredes have a similar BBTV. I would have guessed that Jeffers was 2 or 3 points higher since he competently plays a tougher position. Maybe the difference in contract length with Jeffers a FA after this season plays a role in that, but it still seems off to me. Having said that, I wouldn't be opposed to this kind of deal IF Peredes can actually play 1B as opposed to standing out there with a glove and is a meaningful defensive upgrade from Bell. I guess it would all depend on the secondary return for Jeffers and Larnach. I personally would prefer a relief pitcher to a prospect.

This probably doesn't work for the top 3 starters on the Twins, but I could see an argument for this system maybe for SWR or Bradley. I could see a situation where the Lopez, Ryan, and Ober starts are handled the traditional way and the SWR starts in particular are basically SWR for 5-6 innings, Festa or Matthews for 3-4 innings. Sounds interesting in theory but very hard to implement and really prevents SWR from becoming a solid #3 guy who you hope can go 7 innings, happy if he goes 6, and expect at least 5 kind of guy, Seems like a bad idea given how well he pitched in the second half of 2025. I get the concept, but I just don't see this working.

I agree with your top 6, all locks unless injured. That 7th or 8th man may be Dan Altavilla. Had a 2.48 ERA, with a 1.17 WHIP, but a 5.45 FIP last year for the White Sox. 29 innings in 28 appearances. 95-98 MPH fastball, power slider, 97 MPH sinker, decent change up. 2025 was by far his best year. Pitched 7th or 8th inning as a set up guy, occasional closer. He's on a minor league deal. I really think the 7th and 8th BP spots will come down to a battle between Hendricks, Altavilla, and Festa/Prielipp IF they decide to move the young guys to the bullpen now. Given Festa's TOS which will limit his innings and his lack of starting success, I think he goes to the pen. Interesting stat - Festa first time through the order holds hitters to a .134/.194/.179 (.374) line. Second and third times through - .393/.456/787 (1.243) batting line. 25% K, 8% BB. He's been passed in the starting pecking order by Bradley, SWR, Matthews, and probably Abel. The stats and his physical limitations scream Bullpen to me. I think he's the closer in waiting. Give Prielipp one more year to show he can be a starter; convert Festa to a back end bullpen piece now.

He's been better these last 2 years with the Dodgers and has successfully pitched some high leverage innings. You're right that his ERA and FIP was bad when he started and frankly his FIP still isn't that good. That could be a red flag given how poor our IF defense was last year. Still, he's shown himself to be a competent reliever which is a big plus for this bullpen, IMHO.

Disagree with you on Banda, but time will tell. I think the Bullpen is now pretty much set except for two spots. The group is Sands, Topa, Rogers, Funderburk, Banda, and Orze (3 RH, 3 LH), plus two of Dan Altavilla, Liam Hendricks, David Festa, and Connor Preilipp. It also would not surprise me if the Twins made one more trade for a decent but not great reliever by trading Larnach, or signed a still available FA like Coulombe, Beeks, or even a reunion with Jorge Lopez. If things stay as they are, the most likely result, Altavilla makes the team with a decent ST given his 2.48 ERA last year in 28 appearances with the White Sucks. Hendricks will make the team if he shows something in the WBC and/or ST and we're done. Festa and Prielipp start in AAA and are available when one of the vets stinks or gets hurt along with Adams, Klein, Bowman, Raya, Morris, etc. Sands is the initial closer but more of a closer by committee with Sands, Rogers, Topa, and Funderburk getting most of the late inning work. Not a great bullpen by any stretch, but possibly functional and with at least some depth. We could use one more proven guy - Coulombe is still out there - and it's a top 2/3 but not top 1/2 bullpen. You know, kind of like the rest of the team. Now to find a shortstop . . .

This is a good move. I live in LA and Banda has been a good, pretty relievable reliever for the Dodgers the last two years. Not only that, they haven't been afraid to use him in higher leverage situations; he's not just a middle inning guy. The only concern is that his ERA is better than his FIP so he may have benefitted from an above average Dodger defense. The Twins, not so good on defense. Still, good floor raising signing and one that could have a late inning impact.

Thanks for this, Sure makes you hope that we're talking to Danny Coulombe, Shelby Miller, or Andrew Chafin, doesn't it? I don't care that two of those three are left-handed. We just need guys that can get people out. I would actually be even satisfied with Paul Sewald, Jalen Beeks, or Jose LeClerc at this point. I will say that this reinforces my thinking that Michael Kopech isn't worth the 2 year $10 million-$12 million contract that he is apparently seeking. That looks like a commitment we shouldn't be making.

I have to agree with Fire Dan Gladden on both counts. This is a classic lottery ticket; a formerly effective relief pitcher coming back from injury. It might be a complete waste of time or we could wind up with a useful guy that helps the bullpen for a couple of years ala Caleb Theilbar. Maybe more importantly, we should all be cheering for Liam Hendricks. The man had cancer followed by TJ surgery and is trying to come back. Hard not to root for that guy. I also agree on the whole level of vitriol issue. I don't read the comments in the Athletic because most of them are either two guys insulting each other and claiming they must be on one political extreme or the other, which apparently means you have no value as a human because you don't agree with me, or brilliance such as "the GM sucks", "that player will never amount to anything even though he's 23 years old and is just starting out", or "I'm smarter than everybody else and you're a moron if you don't agree with me." Maybe I'm old school, but to me one of the real beauties of this site is that I've learned things from reading others' comments, people actually listen to each other and potentially adjust their position/thinking based on comments, and people actually try to provide useful information. It's kind of like going to or watching a game with a real knowledgeable fan who happens to root for the same team that you do; it can be a really fun, enriching experience. It would be great if it stayed that way rather than yelling at each other. I can get that by tuning into any political website.

Ah yes, another day, another bullpen discussion. The only thing that changes is we are another day closer to accepting the reality that there isn't any cavalry riding over that hill to make the bullpen better. This year's bullpen will be based on what we have in house right now. To me, the answer is becoming more and more obvious. At least 1 and probably 2 of our current group of "young starters" are going to be in the bullpen for most if not all of 2026. My view is that will be Festa and Prielipp. Both have at least one good secondary pitch, but the fastball has just not quite been good enough. A couple of ticks up on the fastball velocity from pitching in short stints may be the answer there. Both have injury issues that make it unlikely that they will be able to pitch more than 75-100 innings this year. That's just not enough from a starter. Both are at the age that they need to either show they can pitch in the Bigs or watch their prospect star fade. They are both really more suited to the bullpen at this stage and both could really help us. Klein and Morris could also help (especially since neither looks like they will make it as MLB starters), but I see them as the AAA depth with Adams for the inevitable injury needs. I would start both out in the AAA bullpen in high leverage spots to test their mettle. In sum. here's how I see things shaking out absent injuries in ST. SWR and Bradely are the #4 and #5 staters behind Lopez, Ryan and Ober, with Matthews, Abel, Rojas, CJ Culpepper, and maybe a FA castoff like Matt Bowman or someone we pick up on waivers as the AAA depth in that order. The Twins bullpen is Sands, Topa, Rogers, Orze, Funderburk, plus 3 from Dan Altavilla, Jackson Kowar, Festa and Prielipp, with the odd man out, Morris, Klein, Adams, Bowman, and Raya as the AAA depth in that order. A guy like Trent Baker or Mike Peredes could join the bullpen depth list and move up quickly in the order. Caterino is a complete wild card but starts at AAA and could be anywhere from hurt to the top of depth list. That's my prediction.

Well said. This inconsistency between the messaging and action is the thing that it most harming the Twins brand and credibility with the fan base, i.e., it's customers. One would assume that Tom Pohlad understands that as an experienced business person. What is incomprehensible to me is that there does not appear to be any effort to square the team's actions with its expressed intent or to provide any sort of long or even medium term vision to explain how the team plans to achieve the expressed goal of year-to-year competitiveness. Most of this is Business 101 so it's a little hard to understand why we are where we are. As result most fans are going to the negative conclusion that there really isn't going to be an effort to achieve year-to-year competitiveness if that effort requires spending money, which it clearly does, and that management's statements are all simply business platitudes designed to get people to buy tickets. There's an easy solution – make a plan, tell people what it is, and stick to it. If that plan is simply to tear down the existing team and start over with a rebuild, so be it. If the plan is to keep the existing core, augment that core in some way, and try to be competitive in a short term, that could also work. Just explain how the team plans to go forward. If the plan is to simply bring back what we already have and hope for a better result, just explain why you think that better result is likely. The absence of any of these things actually being said is not only killing interest in the team, it is likely killing the effort of the players themselves. As someone who played on a number of teams in high school and college, there's nothing worse than playing on a team that has no underlying belief in its own ability to compete. Yet that appears to be what the Twins are creating here.

I like both ideas, although I agree with other posters that it's hard to see the Mets being interested given their existing pitching depth. Having said that, the description makes it seem like Baty and Vientos play the same basic positions - 3B, 1B, and DH. One of those is now occupied long term on the Mets with Bichette moving to 3B. It almost seems like they should choose between the two and trade one. The obvious one to trade would be Vientos. I would give up Morris, Rojas, or even one of them plus a 20-30 prospect for Vientos. If the price was Matthews or Festa, I would expect a Mets pitching prospect in the 15-20 range or an established 7th or 8th inning reliever to come back with Vientos. To me, Abel and Prielipp are off the table.

I think signing Kopech is a very interesting.... pipe dream. If one believes what you read, he's looking for at least 2 years at $11-15m a year and the Yankees, Giants, and Tigers are interested (the Tigers may be out now after losing to Skubal and signing Valdez). It's hard to imagine (a) the Twins paying him in that range, especially considering his injury history, and (b) him coming to Minnesota when he has teams that might contend interested without the Twins overpaying. Interesting thought experiment and I get that this site has to create off season content, but this is not happening unless every other team drops out. Maybe Liam Hendricks will look good in the WBC and be interested in a nostalgic reunion . . .

Agree here. Trading Jeffers would stink but probably makes sense unless we think there is a realistic hope of signing him to an extension. I do understand the business reasons to at least try to contend in the first half and then trade at the deadline, so maybe that's the plan. Still, it's hard to see a way that Jeffers is still with the Twins after July 30 (or Aug 4 since that's this year's deadline). Waaaay to early to decide that Keaschall is only going to be a bench bat based on analytics. Let's actually give him one healthy season before we chart out his future career with certainty. I believe in analytics, but there's way to much projection from small samples that goes on and this is a prime example of that.