LA Vikes Fan

Why such a hater? Martin isn't a competent CF, that's for sure, but he can clear the "decent OF, not a defensive liability" hurdle in LF or RF. He's also hitting .377/.487/.475 in AAA this year after .305/.461/.431 last year in AAA, and hit .253/.318/.352 last year with the Twins in 233 ABs. Not great, but not a bad first crack at the majors and he just turned 26. Certainly better than Keirsey. Who knows, there may be something there. Of course, I think there may be something there with Julien too so I'm probably just the eternal optimist. I think there's still a chance for one for both of those guys to become solid MLB players. Also, both might make for value add throw-ins with a guy like Paddack to get a better return at the deadline.

I'm with you here. I think we missed a bet in the offseason/spring training not trying to teach either Wallner or Larnach to play 1B. Instead, we wound up with France who is playing at even a slightly lesser level than the one that got him released by Seattle, a team with whom we are supposedly contending for a wild card spot. Larnach would be a lot more valuable to the team as the stronger half of a 1B platoon who could also play in the OF. We did not do this last off-season, let's be sure to do it this off-season.

I'm with you here. I think we missed a bet in the offseason/spring training not trying to teach either Wallner or Larnach to play 1B. Instead, we wound up with France who is playing at even a slightly lesser level than the one that got him released by Seattle, a team with whom we are supposedly contending for a wild card spot. Larnach would be a lot more valuable to the team as the stronger half of a 1B platoon who could also play in the OF. We did not do this last off-season, let's be sure to do it this off-season.

You're right on the issue. I'd actually be ok with keeping the guys we have and running it back next year except that isn't an option. As you point out, doing that is a $150m payroll and you still need 5 guys to fill out the roster. Not a chance with the current ownership; probably not real likely even with new ownership. There is no "let's keep everybody we have for next year" option available. We've got 3 basic options. We either (1) play for this year by keeping everyone and watch 5-7 guys walk at year end, for sure including Castro and probably Bader and Paddack; (2) re-sign one or more of the impending free agents or at least know we can in the offseason (I vote for Bader and Castro in that order because I think Keaschall/Lee can replace Castro), or (3) trade plyers with value on expiring contacts for solid or better prospects to try to re-stock the system and play the guys we've mentioned for the rest of this year to see what we have. I'd frankly prefer to re-sign Bader and Castro and trade Paddack, Coulombe, France, and the rest. I just don't think that's going to happen at these prices so I say trade these guys instead of just watching them walk away for nothing in the offseason. I wish there was a better way. Maybe a new owner could provide one but there doesn't seem to be that white knight on the horizon.

Well put. Maybe Rocco isn't such an idiot after all to essentially platoon Larnach by sitting him against lefties. I hear the argument that this is somehow the organization's fault for not playing him enough against LH pitching, but the stats are pretty grim. His OPS from the left side over the last 3 years is .475 this year in 67 PAs, .579 in 2024 in 22 PAs, and .412 in 2023 in 33 PAs. Overall, his numbers for those 2.5 seasons come out to 18 hits in 107 ABs (112 PAs) with 1 HR, 5 doubles, 9 RBIs, a walk rate of 4.5% (5) and a SO rate of 33% (37), all for robust slash line of .168/.215/.243 (.448). Obviously a very small sample size but really shows how unplayable he's been against LH pitching. I think you really have to question if its going to get that much better with more ABs against LH pitching. Even if all the numbers go up 25-30% you still have an unplayable slash line unless you're elite defensively, and he's not. Conversely, against RH pitching for the same three years, Larnach has 193 hits in 836 PAs, 744 ABs, with 34 doubles, 33 HRs and 111 RBIs. for a slash line of .259/.340/.438 (.778), with an 11% walk rate and 28.8% SO rate. The numbers get even better if we just look at 2024 and year to date in 2025 - 648 PAs, 582 ABs, with 27 doubles, 26 HRs, 84 RBIs, a 10.2% walk rate and 21.8% SO rate, all for a .268/.350/.448 (.798) slash line. That's a guy who plays every day against RH pitching regardless of his defense. Bottom line is that Larnach is probably being used the way he should be used. Always play him against RH starters, sit him against LH starters, leave him in when LH relievers come in if the game isn't close so he can hopefully improve but sub him out if it is, and have him as a dangerous pinch hitter when a team goes from a LH starter to a RH reliever. I don't think you can play him every day if you're trying to be competitive but you can if you fall out of the race to get him more ABs against LH pitching. Still, he is 28 so hoping for more than a marginal improvement against LH pitching may be a pipe dream. I would be curious on how Wallner rates in these same stats but I've wasted enough time at work so I have to get back to it.

Agreed. The point is long term or short term vision. If the idea is to maximize wins this year, don't trade anybody. It's my view that that's a recipe for a mediocre or slightly better season without any playoffs or a quick exit if we sneak in. Even worse, you wind up losing seven or eight guys to free agency in the off-season and really don't have any idea if the guys you have can take their place so it's hard to make an offseason shopping list. I would actually be okay with that approach if I thought we had a chance to make the playoffs and be a real contender. I just don't think we do. I think the better move is to look at this year as a development year where making the playoffs would be an added bonus. What we're really playing for is 2026 and 2027. In order to do that, you either re–sign guys like Castro, Bader, Paddack, and Coloumbe with the idea that they will be on your team next year and hopefully the year after, or you see what they can fetch on the trade market. I would make a move if you can get a 40+-45 or better prospect on the Fangraphs scale for one or even 2 in combination. To make that a little more clear, Fangraphs rates Keaschall, Matthews, Culpepper, Raya, Martin and Damuery Pena at 45, and Doncon, De los Santos, Soto. Morris and Prielipp at 40+. Interestingly enough, SWR is a 40 and I would take another one of him for Coloumbe in a second. If you can't get that kind of value in a trade, keep them for the rest of the year. With lesser guys like France on down, you might even take a 40 prospect equivalent to Funderburk, Rosario, Winokur, or Darren Bowen or even a 35+ like Cory Lewis, Travis Adams or Cody Lawyerson. All you're giving up is one half a season of the veteran guys unless you think you're going to re–sign them in the off-season and if you keep them, you better be right. You then call up guys like Keaschall, Julien, Funderburk, Ohl, Martin, and Julien and see what you got so you know if you can fill any holes internally. That's what I would do given where we are this year. We're probably two weeks away from having to make any sort of decision on direction. My main point is to actually make a decision on direction, not just throw the same old guys out there and hope, all followed by watching all of them walk away at the end of the year.

Well, they're 5 games out with 7 teams ahead of them in the WC standings. They have to pass 5 teams to get the last spot. I would love to see them come together and make a run and I can squint hard enough to see a way with players coming back, underperformers getting better, etc. I get it that hope springs eternal. Having said that, to me and more clear I view it is that given that they are below .500 and have a big hill to climb, contending with the current group is just not very likely. No one is advocating for trading guys for crumbs, or running out a AAA lineup. Those are both red herrings. What I'm really advocating for is them using their assets properly. Castro, Bader, Paddack, and Coloumbe in particular are assets for which they can receive a return if they trade them. I would love to see them re-sign Castro and Bader but with all for these guys, if they don't re-sign them, they walk for nothing at the year. That's a risk worth taking if you think you're going to contend. I don't think we are so to me it makes a lot more sense to trade the contracts assuming you can get a solid prospect return. If not, don't trade them. The lineup will still have at least seven of nine positions manned by guys that are on the MLB roster now most days and the rotation will have five of the top six starters from the beginning of the year. This is not a huge downgrade and may be an upgrade if the AAA players prosper. If they can't prosper, we need to know that now so we know what we need to pick up this next off-season (hopefully with a bigger budget through a new owner). Here's what I don't want to see happen – we keep the same guys, win 78-83 games, miss the playoffs or squeak in to get blown out in the first round, and then lose all of these people in the off-season to other teams. That's where I think we are currently headed and that is just another step along the path to constant mediocrity.

Thanks for this. I see some or all of Castro, Paddack, Bader, Coulombe, and France being traded. I would much rather use these guys to augment the current roster after trades than trade for veteran stop gaps. I would add Martin to this list because I think he will get a chance if Bader is traded, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Julien getting another shot in August.

I agree that getting SP or a C back in trade would be ideal. I don't think any of those guys will generate a AAA pitcher or catcher on the MLB cusp. I do think some iteration of the Castro, Paddack, Bader, Coulombe, and France group could generate quality AA or A+ prospects at both SP and C. We might have to package 2 of them or include either Julien or our own IF prospect to get an AA guy who projects as a mid-rotation SP or a possible catcher, but it is doable. I agree that those two spots are the ones to target. The important thing to me is to take these expiring contracts and turn them into longer term assets if we can before they become non-assets at the end of the year. I say this with a heavy heart but saving them for a playoff run this year doesn't make a lot of sense to me. By the way, there's no reason we couldn't trade one or more of these guys and still re-sign them as FAs in the offseason. I would be particularly interested in returning Castro, Bader, and maybe Coloumbe. They all seem to like MN and all have thrived on the Twins more than elsewhere. Maybe with a new owner that has a little looser purse strings a re-sign could very well happen.

Well put NYCTK. The Twins should be in "purposeful selling" mode with their rental players unless they can re-sign them - Castro, Bader, Coloumbe, and Paddack all have some value, and Stewart may. Also, maybe we could get an A or A+ guy for one of or some combination of France, Topa, and Vasquez. My point is here is that we do have some tradable assets. NYCTK is right - don't trade just to trade or trade to get marginal vets, trade with a real purpose in mind. That purpose should be to get solid or better prospects. Be willing to go farther out (A or A+ ball) to get better players. This FO has had more success trading vets for prospects than the other way around. Focus there.

Keaschall and Julien are both good ideas that I was thinking about. Julien has shown he can hit MLB pitching but couldn't adjust when the pitching adjusted. Not the first guy who has had that problem and had to go back to AAA. I feel like we should give Julien another shot. The issue is who goes to make room. I have a feeling that the trade deadline will tell us that. I also really like the idea of Keaschall having an everyday spot when he comes back. I remember reading that he played 1B in the minors so there's a potential spot without tying up the DH spot. I guess what I'd really like to see is France gone, traded if possible, with Julien and Keaschall both getting a shot in the second half. Unfortunately, that probably means a trade of Castro or Bader to make room. That's too high a price just to make room but I think you trade those guys unless you re-sign them now or know you have a very good shot or re-signing them in the offseason. It would not surprise me to see either or both of them traded by the deadline.

Agree with you here except I'm not thrilled with Clemens playing 1B. I realize he's the best we have other than France. Still, that .203/.293/.471 (.764)with 10 HRs in 148 PAS and a 27% SO rate stat line is pretty Dave Kingmanesqe. He's also 29 so it's hardy to see him getting a lot better although maybe he could hit .225 if he played regularly against RH pitching. Still pretty weak even though I love the power. I think the team missed the boat by not spending time teaching 1B to Larnach or Wallner in Spring Training, probably Larnach. We can't live with both of them in the OF defensively and they are going to get crowded out by Martin, Emma, Jenkins, etc. in the next 2-3 years. It would really help of one of them could play 1B, maybe even full time. If I'm wrong and one of them can play a little 1B, let's do it now.

First of all, I have to echo the other posters and say this is a really bad idea. Controllable catching is a very rare commodity. You wouldn't trade Jeffers if you intend to compete in the next 2-3 years. The message trading Jeffers sends is that the Twins are raising the white flag on 2025 AND 2026 at this year's deadline. Having said that, what about Noah Cardenas as the next man up in AAA? He's supposedly very strong defensively. He's also hitting some this year at both AA and AAA after admittedly a lousy 2024 at AA, following a strong 2023 in A+, with a .825 OPS in 100 ABs in AA and a .861 OPS so far in 40 ABs in AAA this year. I think he may be the future #2 catcher behind Jeffers next year, and wouldn't mind him getting an audition this year.

Two necessary changes for next week. First, no TBD on Friday. That's Ryan's 5th day after pitching Sunday, pitch him. Give him a longer break if he doesn't make the AS team as a replacement player. Bullpen game Saturday against Skenes. Maximize your chances to win Friday by pitching Ryan against Burrows. SWR against Heaney Sunday. Second, change up the batting order. Drop Correa to the 6 or 7 hole with Lewis in the 4 spot, Bader 5. Wallner 6 or 7, Lee 8. Catcher 9 if Vasquez, 7 or 8 if Jeffers. Hit guys where their recent hitting puts them, not on reputation.

Agreed. Keeping Bader will require a new contract. Probably in the 9-12m a year for 2-3 years range. Worth it? I think so but a tough call, assuming he wants to stay.

We need a 1B at the MLB level badly. I would argue that is the biggest hole in the current lineup. Is Sabato a quality 1B with the glove?

I hear you on Bader. He is a great fourth outfielder. I just think he wants to go someplace where he can start and/or make closer to 8 to 10m a year rather than 6 million a year. If they can re-sign him for two or three years at an appropriate price, I’d be fine with keeping him on the team. I just don’t think they can so I would like to get some value for him.

Trade for Prospects - Castro, Paddack, Bader, Coulombe, and France. The return won't be great except maybe for the first two, but none of these guys are part of the 2026 team. I would try to re-sign Castro but I don't think he'll sign on the cusp of free agency and it's hard to commit to future payroll with the team up for sale. All of the trades are for prospects and I want as much quality as possible so I trade for better guys farther away if we can. None of the prospects we get are on the MLB roster until at least 2026. You could also substitute Stewart for Coulombe but we need to keep one and trade one. DFA/Use as Trade Add-Ons - Clemens, Wentz, Vasquez, Keirsey (or send him back to AAA). I don't think any team will want these guys but who knows, they might go as part of a package with one of the guys above. Catching is always hard to find so maybe some one will a want or need a catcher badly enough to give up something for Vasquez? Ahhh, probably not. Players back from Il - Matthews, Keaschall. Both are supposed to return in July so I assume they will do so, have their rehab at AAA and be back with the Twins. Up From AAA - Noah Cardenas (C), Travis Adams (RP/long man), Austin Martin (OF), Emmanuel Rodriguez (CF), Anthony Prato (UTL), Pierson Ohl (RP). C: Ryan Jeffers ($4.70M) 1B: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 2B: Brooks Lee ($0.80M) 3B: Royce Lewis ($2.30M) SS: Carlos Correa ($36.00M) LF: Trevor Larnach ($2.10M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Matt Wallner ($0.80M) DH: Austin Martin ($0.80M) 4th OF: Emmanuel Rodriguez ($0.80M) Utility: Anthony Prato ($0.80M) Utility: Eduard Julien ($0.80M) Backup C: Noah Cardenas ($0.80M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: David Festa ($0.80M) SP2: Joe Ryan ($3.80M) SP3: Bailey Ober ($4.30M) SP4: Zebby Matthews ($0.80M) SP5: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($3.70M) RP: Brock Stewart ($0.80M) RP: Griffin Jax ($2.60M) RP: Pierson Ohl ($0.80M) RP: Cole Sands ($0.80M) RP: Justin Topa ($1.30M) RP: Louie Varland ($0.80M) RP: Travis Adams ($0.80M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 38.90% under budget. This is the "let's play for 2026 and beyond and who knows, maybe we'll be this year's version of last year's Tigers" approach. Or it could be this year's version of last year's White Sox. The current group just isn't good enough to contend. This group might be or might not be either but let's find out.

We're heading toward the trade deadline and things are not going well, to put it mildly. Where does everyone think we'll be on August 1 and how will we get there? My view is that we should be playing for 2026 and beyond at this point. The current iteration of this team is unlikely to make the playoffs and very unlikely to do anything if they sneak into the postseason. We're also not trading for an impact vet with the team up for sale. I say we pivot to see what we have by trading vets for prospects and giving opportunity to others. Here are the steps: Trade for Prospects - Castro, Paddack, Bader, Coulombe, and France. The return won't be great except maybe for the first two, but none of these guys are part of the 2026 team. I would try to re-sign Castro but I don't think he'll sign on the cusp of free agency and it's hard to commit to future payroll with the team up for sale. All of the trades are for prospects and I want as much quality as possible so I trade for better guys farther away if we can. None of the prospects we get are on the MLB roster until at least 2026. You could also substitute Stewart for Coulombe but we need to keep one and trade one. DFA/Use as Trade Add-Ons - Clemens, Wentz, Vasquez, Keirsey (or send him back to AAA). I don't think any team will want these guys but who knows, they might go as part of a package with one of the guys above. Catching is always hard to find so maybe some one will a want or need a catcher badly enough to give up something for Vasquez? Ahhh, probably not. Players back from Il - Matthews, Keaschall. Both are supposed to return in July so I assume they will do so, have their rehab at AAA and be back with the Twins. Up From AAA - Noah Cardenas (C), Travis Adams (RP/long man), Austin Martin (OF), Emmanuel Rodriguez (CF), Anthony Prato (UTL), Pierson Ohl (RP). This is pretty much all we got at AAA. Miranda isn't hitting at all, Fitzgerald is 31 and not in our long term plans, and we saw what the team thinks of McCusker. I added Emma because he plays CF but could see McCusker with Martin the backup CF. It's not great if Buxton goes done but we're totally screwed for the year if Buxton goes down any way. I thought about Eeles for the UTL spot but went with Prato because he plays SS and Eeles doesn't. Besides Prato just turned 27 and if he's going to make the Show, now is the time. Eeles is only 25 and just came back from injury. Lineup on August 1 going forward: Keaschall - 1B Buxton - CF Larnach or Wallner - RF/LF/DH Lewis - 3B Correa - SS Lee - 2B Wallner or Larnach - RF/DH Jeffers or Cardenas - C Martin/Rodriguez - DH/OF Bench (all play 2-3 days a week) - Julien (1B/2B), Jeffers/Cardenas (C), Martin/Rodriguez (OF), Prato (SS/3B). Starting Pitchers: Ryan Ober Matthews Festa SWR Lopez takes over for whoever is injured or not performing when he comes back. If all are healthy and performing, low man goes to the bullpen. Bullpen: Duran (closer) Jax (high leverage/8th inning) Varland (high leverage/7th inning) Topa Stewart Adams Sands Ohl Funderburk Is this a great roster? Nope. Is this as good or maybe better than what we have now? maybe. Does this have a better chance of setting us up for 20026 and beyond while hopefully replenishing the farm? Absolutely. Let's find out what we got. This is the way to do it, IMHO. What do you guys think?

This makes sense to me. We need to either re-sign or trade Castro and guys like him. A guy like Schlittler wouldn’t be a bad return. What could be had for Paddack, France, and/or Bader?

Not sure I agree with you IF there is a real need at SS on a contending team. There might be that need for the Yankees. Correa would stabilize SS on defense for them and they don't need his bat to play higher than 6 or 7 in the lineup. He would actually improve that team playing instead of Volpe. The question is whether they would give up someone like Volpe plus a prospect or a good prospect plus a solid one. Not sure that Correa could fetch that but it's worth inquiring. LA and the Mets have no real need so they wouldn't be willing to pay much.

I agree with Bigfork in the sense that absent a sale, it's unlikely anything much is going to happen.

One suggestion that interests me is to see if there's a market for Correa. Maybe trade him to NYY for Volpe or Lombard plus a real hitting or pitching, prospect at the AAA or AAA level, 1B or C preferred, although the Yankees don't really have any 1B prospect other than Ben Rice who is likely unavailable. The Mets might be another option. It's a timeline issue. Correa's got maybe through 2027 to be a real contributor. He may need to go to another team to be in contention in 2025 or 2026 so he may be open to the right kind of trade. I don't know that he has a lot of value outside of NY or LA given his contract, but it's certainly something worth exploring. .

I start with the premise that this year's team is unlikely to make the payoffs and even more unlikely to do anything if they squeak in. In my view, we are playing for next year more than this year. If you start there, trading France, Bader, Paddack and Castro makes a lot of sense since they are on expiring contracts. They are assets that cease being assets when the WS ends. As I said on another thread, I would try to re-sign all but France now and trade them if you can't re-sign them or at least think you will in the offseason, France is a nice player, very average in pretty much every way. That;s why Seattle cut him and he's the same guy in MN that he was in Seattle. 1B is the position that is in most need of an offensive upgrade. We have to do better for next year. The other reason to trade these guys is to open up playing time for others to see what you actually have for next year. Keaschall, Lewis, Lee, Larnach, and Wallner need to play every day if we're switching the core. Castro would be a nice addition to that core for the right price and we don't have a CF replacement for Bader so re-signing those two makes some sense at the right price. Matthews needs to pitch every 5th day and frankly Festa and SWR should too. These things don't happen if we have vets on expiring contracts playing out a non-competitive season. Maybe we get lucky and have a Detroit like run, maybe we fall on our faces. either way we learn a lot. We have to do this sometime, let's do it now.

This had to happen. Promoting Funderburk was the right call so we had the extra LH reliever., Anything to avoid having to pitch Joey Wendel. I think the next move is Adams for Wendel and/or a switch to a 4 man rotation until the ASB. The 4 man rotation is my preference. By the way, I don't think the open hole in the rotation is until Saturday. All 4 remaining starters can pitch on regular rest Tuesday through Friday. The issue is Ryan and SWR on 3 days rest Saturday and Sunday. Then, with the Monday off day, everyone stays on regular rest until Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th where you'd have Festa and Paddack on 3 days rest. I would go with a 4 man rotation and bring up Adams as a long reliver/bulk man to cover any shorter starts. There just isn't anyone in AAA that deserves an MLB start right now.