LA Vikes Fan

Slight disagreement on OFs and pitchers. Catchers: Ryan Jeffers, Jose Godoy, Gary Sanchez Infielders: Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Gio Urshela, Luis Arraez, Nick Gordon, Daniel Roberton (NRI) Outfielders: Alex Kirilloff, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Kyle Garlick or FA RH OF, Jake Cave (NRI), Brent Rooker (IL) Pitchers: Sonny Gray, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Jharel Cotton, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Joe Smith, Cody Stashak, Jovani Moran, Jhon Romero, Devin Smeltzer, Danny Coulombe (NRI), Jake Faria (NRI), Devin Smeltzer (NRI), Josh Winder (#1 starter in AAA) OF - Garlick or FA RH hitting OF from another team in, Rooker on IL to start season, then to AAA rehab assignment, then decision. Depends on if someone decent comes available. P - Smeltzer in as a long man, WInder as starter in St. Paul, although could see WInder as piggyback/long man on a 5 day schedule with Jax going down. I think they want Winder on a 5 day "starter Schedule" because he's the #6 starter. May need him sooner rather than later with the question marks around Bundy and Archer. I still think there's a possibility that Colulombe makes team instead of Stashak or Duran. 40 Man Issues - Enlow goes on 60 day IL as corresponding move for Smeltzer on 40 man. Corresponding move for Coulombe harder to find, does putting Rooker on 15 day IL open a spot? If not, maybe Rooker goes on 60 day IL or a trade happens. May need Rooker's 40 man spot for Garlick and my mythical FA RH OF from another team so Coloumbe may be out of luck absent an IL move for someone else. Then he's AAA depth.

Kepler will start in RF until Larnach or Celestino is ready to take over. Unfortunately his contact is too rich for the 4th OF spot, so he will then have to be cut, traded, or his contract re-done.

I agree, I don't see Sanchez as anything more than an occasional catcher, backup 1B, and DH. How much he plays depends entirely on how much he hits and he gets to DH a lot if he its, not catch. Godoy is the 2nd catcher - LH hitter, good defender.

I think Godoy makes the team as a 2nd/3rd Catcher while they decide if Sanchez can field the position well enough to play him behind the plate. That's probably why Sanchez is seeing significant time behind the plate during spring training. After the 1st month of the season, if Sanchez is hitting he stays as a right-handed bench bat/occasional catcher with Jeffers and Godoy doing most of the catching. I think this actually makes the most sense because no one is really being blocked; Larnach, Rooker and Miranda all need regular at bats to prove they belong and they won't get them on this roster. I think Larnach and Miranda are back up reasonably soon due to an injury and the ineffectiveness of someone else, I don't think much of Rooker as a long-term player for this team. That still leaves open the question of who's going to be the 4th outfielder/right-handed bat to be a reserve and replace Kepler if he once again can't hit left-handed pitching. It's starting to look more and more like Garlick will be that player but I'm hopeful that someone better will become available through waivers or a minor trade as we get closer to the start of the season and teams struggle with issues regarding their 40 man roster spots. Gordon is the backup centerfielder with Celestino playing CF every day in AAA until Buxton hits the injured list. Finally, I like Winder a lot but I think there is no room at the inn for him to be in the starting rotation. I think he goes AAA as the "6th starter" and is the 1st 1 up. I think they want to build up his innings as a starter and not put him in the bullpen since none of the 5 in the rotation are likely candidates for a "piggyback" situation. I would actually like to see Smeltzer make the team given his performance in spring training after last year's injury issues. We are going to need long relievers at the beginning of the season and he looks like the best one we have. Jax also makes the opening roster for the same reason. If I'm counting right, that means two of Stashack, Moran and Duran go down - my guess is Duran and Moran.

It's really a 5 man bench to me with one of them filling the DH role every day. Sanchez is a lock unless we can find a way to trade him. I would love to trade him for a RP because he's the one blocking Miranda, Larnach, et al. He's too big a defensive liability to play behind the plate often and he doesn't hit enough to regularly DH. Let's face it, we got stuck with Sanchez as the price for the Yankees eating all of Donaldson's contract. The problem is there's no market for him so Twins will try to get him hitting again like it's 2107 or 2019 before they give up. Arraez is also a lock for the reasons in the article. I hope he's the DH a whole lot more often than Sanchez. I think the last 3 are Gordon, Godoy and either Garlick or a player not currently on the team who hits RH and plays a passable LF/RF. We need Gordon to back up the middle IF and CF, and Godoy as the 2nd not 3rd Catcher (that's Sanchez). We need a RH hitting OF to play against lefties for Kepler and give Kirilloff a break. We don't have that guy yet. Rooker is a butcher in the field and can't hit. Send him to AAA. Garlick is another poor OF but he can hit LH pitching. He isn't really good enough to make the team and I think we will be looking for an upgrade if one becomes available when cuts start happening next week. I'm not just sure one will be available. Larnach and Miranda need to be playing regularly. They go to AAA unless there's a significant trade. Both will be up playing regularly for the Twins at some point this season due to injury or ineffectiveness of others. Rooker also goes to AAA but I think he's unlikely to be an MLB player so he's the third or 4th call up and may wind up with another team before season's end as a trade add or lost on waivers.

Why Rooker on the 28 man? Has he shown something in ST other than what we saw last year? He should be in AAA learning to control the strike zone and honing his swing. He was good but not great in 2019, his last year in the minors - good counting stats with a .933 OPS but 95 SOs in 274 PAs. (33.5%). Guys that SO 33.5% in AAA are going to SO 33% in the Majors like Rooker did in 2021. Can't play a guy who strikes out 33% unless he hits 35+ HRs or ha a >850 OPS, and you can't play that guy, Sano, and Sanchez. Rooker has not yet completely conquered the minors or forced his way up. Send him down. It's likely he will get through waivers if that's necessary. I say there are 2 much better choices. One is to keep Godoy as the 2nd C so that Sanchez (3rd C) doesn't see the field much and only DHs 2 or 3 times a week. Godoy hits LH, is pretty good defensively and project to a .687 OPS - not great but not horrible for a Catcher. The other is to to keep up Miranda if we can find him some playing time somewhere, maybe LF. He did force his way up last year with his performance. He deserves a shot. Let's reward performance and actually fill our roster needs. Miranda has performed. Godoy fills a need. Rooker does neither.

Agreed. To me "competitive" means over .500 at the break with a shot at winning 85-88 games. I think this team is good enough to do that and maybe a little more. I also think this team could fall flat on its face and win 72-75 games again. My over/under is 83 wins.

I like it in the sense that we now have at least some cover if Bundy, Ober or Ryan flame out early. Sounds like Winder starts the season in AAA and is the first call up in the case of injury or ineffectiveness. Prevents us from having to have 3 guys who are basically rookies in the top 5. There will be plenty of opportunities for Winder, Balazovic and Duran this season with innings limitations, ineffectiveness, and injury. Those 3 can start out in AAA and sort themselves out in order in the Minors. Besides, there is some potential upside here. Archer is 3 years away from being an effective MLB starter, with 2018 the last last decent year. He lost most of 2019 to a shoulder injury, and then part of 2020 and all of 2021 to a hip injury (likely because he changed his motion due to the shoulder issue). IF that's now all ok, a big IF, maybe he rebounds to a 3.75-4.25 ERA, 130-150 IP performance like he used to have before the injury. Not great, but plenty good enough for a #5 starter.

Arraez is the issue, high OBP but poor running speed makes it hard to hit him in front of Buxton, Polanco and Correa to start off the game. We want the top three guys free to wreak havoc on the bases when possible. How about hitting Arraez on the #6 or #7 hole and putting Kepler in the #9 hole, aka the second leadoff spot? Something like this - Buxton (CF), Polanco (2B), Correa (SS), Kirilloff (LF), Sano (1B), Urshela/Miranda (3B/DH), Arraez/Miranda (3B/DH), Jeffers/Sanchez/Godoy (C), Kepler (RF). Kepler's decent but not great OBP skills should open up more RBI opportunities for the front 1/3 of the order, and it helps hide his low batting average. It also makes it easier to play bench players without changing the batting order much - Gordon, Larnach or whoever is the 4th OF, and Miranda slot in where Kepler, Urshela or Arraez is, etc. You could get the same result by leading off Kepler but he doesn't have the OBP for the leadoff spot yet it's pretty good for a #9 guy. He also will be after the high SO/low OBP catching group so it's likely he will come up with no one base a lot if not most of the time. It's also a reflection of what Kepler is as a player - excellent defense, occasional power, low BA player, who walks a lot and runs well. Not good enough to hit in the front 6 of a solid batting order but good enough to start and play a lot, especially against RH pitching,

What about Smeltzer making the team as an opener/5thstrater/long reliever? He seems to be having a very good spring. HE also went 3 innings last time out. Glad to see you don't have CHi Chi Gonzalez on the team. I actually think there was thought that he cold be a #5 starter. They're actually stretching him out and he started against ATL. God help us if he gets any time on the big league level...

I live in LA and turned on the 11 pm Pacific time version of Sports Center on ESPN when they announced the move by teasing the announcement at the beginning. I actually stayed up to watch until about 15 minutes in the show to make sure I had heard it right. I then checked the sports websites to be sure ESPN wasn't pulling my leg and checked again in the morning to make sure it was actually happening. I'm still curbing my excitement until I read that Correa has actually put pen to paper and shown up at Spring Training. Good stuff. Now go get Montas.

Two really great qotes in that article. The first is from Polanco saying we are going to be a really good team. That’s buy in from your BEST player and a guy who can lead the others. You start there and now this team is going to expect to win, not just hope they can win. Second is from Lewis saying he’s not upset but it would be a different story if he was on the big league team. That’s a guy who wants to OWN the shortstop position and thinks that he’s good enough to play with the likes of Carlos Correa. That’s the kind of guy you want as your best prospect. It’s amazing how getting a player like this can improve the outlook and attitude of your entire team. Now, let’s get a pitcher!

This is unbelievable! I live in LA and was just getting ready to go to bed late last night when this came across my phone. I have to congratulate the FO on this. Now the Donelson deal makes sense. Yes, we still need at least one good starting pitcher and probably one decent to good reliever to make this work but at least there’s hope. As for the lineup, I have a slightly different take: 3B Arraez CF Buxton 2B Polanco SS Correa LF Kiriloff DH Urshela IB Sano RF Kepler C Jeffers By the way, I think there are two more moves coming. One is to trade prospect capital for a starting pitcher either with the A’s, Marlins, or maybe even the Reds. The second is to sign another outfielder to either start in left field or be the fourth outfielder. I think that Michael Conforto, Kevin Pillar, and Tommy Pham are all still available and I’m guessing prices are starting to come down since they haven’t yet landed that contract. May not happen, but after last night a guy can dream….

Amazing! I just heard the news on ESPN SportsCenter here in LA. I’m shocked! Now get a starting pitcher and this is starting to make sense.

Detroit is singing Michael Pineda. Another possible starter bites the dust. I hope this trade with the As thing is real...

We wouldn't actually start the season with Garlick, Rooker or Cave in LF, would we? Please, Dear God no. Cave and Rooker belong in AAA, and Garlick is at most a RH part of an outfield platoon and only then if there is a decision to play a younger, breaking in LH hitter in LF that we want to take some pressure off of. I pity the team that has any of those 3 guys on the opening day roster with an intent to play them any significant amount of time. Kirilloff is in leftfield. Sano is the 1st baseman. If you want to pair Miranda with those 2 in kind of an overall platoon where he is to play a couple days a week to break in, okay, but not the other 3 chumps. The DH spot is a rotation that includes off days for people plus Gary Sanchez. Any of those 3 getting any significant playing time would be enough for me to lose a little hair I have left.

Guys, I think we're in the same place with these deals that we were Monday. If the trade of Donaldson, IKF and Rotvedt freed up payroll that we spend on Story, someone like him, or helps us extend a Montas type to a 3-4 year deal after trading for him, the Yankees trade makes sense. If we wind up with what we have now, the trade doesn't make much sense other than lowering payroll. Ben Rotvedt is a glove first 2nd or 3rd string catcher IF he improves his hitting. Right now, he's AAA depth and unlikely to be more unless he hits better. He's not the issue. The issue is we need another Starting Pitcher and a SS. It's starting to look more and more like those 2 are tied together in the sense that Story may not want to come to the Twins unless and until they sign another quality Starting Pitcher because he's tired of being on a losing team. I don't know that he has a lot of other options but it does strike me that Houston has an opening at shortstop and I suspect others might have an interest. Whether or not trading our prior 3rd string catcher, aging 3rd baseman on the downside of his career but still a quality player for the roughly 100 games year he can actually play, and a decent but not great shortstop we had for a day in return for a decent but not great 3rd baseman and a backup catcher/DH who hits home runs but strikes out too much was a good idea depends on the next step. I went to the garage and found my torch and pitchfork but I haven't yet looked for or found the lighter. In another few days I'll find the lighter. In another week to 10 days I'm ready to storm the castle but not until then.

Bryant's contract may just have pushed Story to a higher number that the Twins won't pay. I am now less optimistic that he will sign with us. Also, the addition of KC and the NYY (among others) into the mix for Montas and Maneaa coupled with the reds saying Castillo and Mahle won't be traded makes me less optimistic that we will trade for another starter. Michael Pineda may be our best shot and we'll have competition there. We may be looking at the Twins roster going forward this year. Ugh. By the way, what is up with Colorado? They won't re-sign Story and give Bryant a $182m contract. Huh?

I'm in. I also subscribe to the Athletic and read their comments after the articles. Not only are the article here just as good as they are there, the quality of the commentary here is much better than the noise in the comments there. I learn a lot and it's a fun group of guys to talk Twins with - knowledgeable, friendly, and informed. Kind of like talking to your brother or to a good friend over a beer or, in my case, a scotch. This is a great site and deserves our support. By the way, I see the subscription comes with a ticket to the Winter Meltdown. I live in LA now, and no offense guys, the chance of me coming back to Minnesota in mid-winter are somewhere close to the chances of me dating a supermodel. Hey, it could happen. If you want to, give the ticket to somebody fun and expand the group.

I agree with farmerguychris completely. Trevor Story is a good player, maybe a great player but at least a good player. He plays a position of need. We now have a chance to get him by freeing up payroll from paying Donaldson on the downside of his career. Analysis over. Try to sign Trevor Story and even be willing to overpay a little necessary to get him. You now have a shortstop for the next four or five years. Lewis and Martin (I had to avoid saying Martin and Lewis to avoid thoughts of Laugh In, or do I have that backwards? )? Both are interesting players, and great prospects. They are not in the way of signing Trevor Story and should not really be a consideration. If they make it as shortstops, great trade chips or stars with Story being traded. If they movedto another position and excel? Same analysis, different names. The idea that signing Story to a multiyear contract is in any way impacted by their timelines is simply poor roster management. Adding real talent to the roster at a position of need is almost never a bad idea. Story is real talent. We can find a place for Lewis and Martin when and if the time comes.

I just saw that the Reds (!) traded Amir Garrett for Mike Minor. The trade makes no sense from the Reds standpoint; they let Wade Miley go on waivers and he's better than Mike Minor with almost exactly the same salary for the same term. Amir Garrett actually has some value so why treating him for a guy is worse than someone you could have simply kept? I have this sneaking suspicion: this is the front and of a trade with the Twins. We are going to get my Minor and somebody else, hopefully a starter but may be a reliever, in return for prospects. The Royals would never trade Minor to us directly since were in the same division. Not sure if I like this idea or not, but I think this may be in the cards.

I agree and would add in Castillo or Mahle from the Reds to the list of pitchers who could make this all come together. Sign Story, trade for one more starter, trade for Lou Trevino from the As, and find one more RP. We fill LF internally and now you have a team.

Here's a question: is a starting infield of Arraez/Miranda at 3B and Urshela/Gordon at SS better or worse than last year's combination of Donaldson and Simmons? Before you react, add in the factor of durability and games played. When you do that, I don't think it's that big a drop off if even much of a drop-off at all. The SS defense suffers but the 3B defense is probably just as good or better since Donaldson had no range and that certainly wasn't getting any better this year. Add in the fact that these guys are likely to be available to play most of the year whereas we would be lucky to get 90 games a year at 3B out of Donaldson. The offense gets much better it shortstop while there may be a small downgrade at 3rd base but again, not huge given that you're only getting 80-120 games out of Donaldson even if he DHs a good part of the year. On balance, I do think it's a small downgrade because of the shortstop defense but I don't think it's a very big downgrade. The point of this is not that the Twins should pocket the $25 million a year they just saved by moving Donaldson's contract. My thinking is we should spend that money but I don't think we have to spend it all on a shortstop like Story. I think it would be just as smart to trade for a guy like Sean Maneaa, Frankie Montas, Tyler Mahle, or Luis Castillo, and then use the money to extend their contracts out at 15 – $20 million a year for 2 or 3 years. As far as SS goes, Jonathan Villar is still available for that stopgap role. Another way to look at this would be to basically trade Donaldson's contract for a combination of Villar to play short, Pineda to pitch in the rotation, and a relief pitcher like Archie Bradley or Mychal Givens. Now maybe we have gotten better even if we don't sign Trevor Story. Add in a trade of prospects for Amneaa, Montas, Mahle or Castillo and I do think it's a viable strategy. My thinking is there a lot of ways still to go make the team better for this year and beyond including signing Trevor Story or something like outlined above. If we do nothing more? Then I think it's time to get out the pitchforks and torches and storm the castle. I do have my torch handy, but I'm not going to light it for at least 2 or 3 weeks to see how the rest of this puzzle plays out.

I think this is a good take. When you sign these aging stars in their 30s you wind up paying for the back end years where they won't be worth the money (see Pujols, Albert). We unloaded those years on the Yankees. I do agree with those who say that this makes the FO look bad for signing Donaldson 2 years ago when they clearly overestimated whether the twins had an open "window" to compete. Having said that, at least they were smart enough to cut bait when the time came.

While I’m not sure I like this trade, or even that I completely understand what’s going on, I don’t think I agree with some of the comments here about where we gotten weaker and where we’ve gotten stronger. Can you put everything you’ve done together, I think we are weaker at catcher, stronger in the rotation with the addition of Sonny Gray, a little bit weaker but not much at third base since Urshela Is a better fielder than Donaldson, similar but not quite as good a hitter, and substantially less injury prone. We also now have some payroll flexibility to either sign someone like Trevor Story or trade for a pitcher that either has a good size salary or can be extended. As we sit, we definitely have a black hole at shortstop so one has to assume we’re going to do something to resolve that. Truly bizarre. I think we’re basically halfway through the novel and still in suspense because we can’t figure out the ending. All I can say is I certainly hope we don’t end up here.