LA Vikes Fan

I hear your point about a 7 year deal, but I disagree that to justify the contract Berrios has to pitch like an ace. $20 a year is not the price for an "ace" starter – that is closer to $25 million-$30 million a year. For $20 million a year in today's MLB, you get a solid to strong #2 starter. Not an ace, not even an average#1 starter, you get a good #2 starter. Toronto now has two good #2 starters in Ryu and Berrios, each at $20 million a year, but they don't have that ace unless Robbie Ray comes back and is the same guy he was last year (unlikely on both counts). I actually think that's a very viable strategy and applaud the Blue Jays for their moves. As for the Twins, looks like the strategy is to try to buy time for a year or two with a couple guys like Pineda and hope that the pitching fills out through guys that are presently in the minors or acquired through trades. The problem is the lineup will be gone/aged out by the time the pitching is ready to contend. That's why I think the likely move is to start dropping contracts and players from the lineup for prospects. I'm afraid we are becoming another Cleveland without the pitching pipeline. The 2022 Twins – Get To Know 'Em!

Well, it sure looks like the kind of deal that the Twins that should have been willing and able to make either last year or this off-season. Add into that the fact that Thor has signed a one-year deal with the Angels for $21 million and I think we know the price of pitching this off-season. Any thoughts of Stroman or Ray signing for less than $22 – 25 million a season over at least three or four years, and probably more like five, are gone. Even guys like Jon Gray are going to cost more like $17 million a year, not $14 or 15 million a year. It is a tough day to be a Twins fan. It is becoming more and more clear that the current regime is either badly underestimating the market cost for starting pitching of various types or ownership is unwilling to commit to the market price for pitching. We can all rail about how these guys are "overpaid" or "not worth the money" but frankly that's all irrelevant noise. The market is what the market is. We can either pay the market price and in the case of the Twins, probably a small premium over that due to the weather, last year's bad results, and the lack of ancillary financial opportunities, or we simply won't get anyone. Given that the Twins don't even seem to have been in on what appear to be not overly generous contracts to Rodriguez and Thor, and were not really in on what now appears to be a reasonable price to Berrios before trading him, it is very hard to imagine that the team will belong to pay the necessary freight to sign even a second tier free-agent starting pitcher. I think the next couple of weeks before the current CBA expires and all free-agent activity stops will be fascinating for the Twins. The timetable is now accelerated; they have to make a decision as to whether we want to be competitive in 2022/2023, or tear it all down and go into a full rebuild. I really think it's a binary choice. To me, some middle ground where we sign a couple of number three type starters and proclaim that were ready to go is not only a bad choice, it's effectively a rebuild. Maybe I'm wrong and we are close to a trade for Sonny Gray or Castillo from the Reds, or maybe someone from Miami, but it sure looks like we are out of the free agency sweepstakes almost before it even really began. My prediction (admittedly based upon being irritated by today's news ) - this is the start of the teardown. We won't be able to sign Buxton and he will be traded. Once that happens, we will trade Donaldson rather than pay him $25 million to hit 4th on a sub .500 team. The FO will gush about the "great" prospect return for those two, and move forward with trading either Sano, Garver or Kepler, or perhaps all three, for more prospects. The cycle starts anew. The sad thing is that I could get behind that strategy if the team was honest and said we think we need to tear down and rebuild. What makes this hard to stomach is the public statements about how were going to reload and be competitive in 2022, followed by news that shows we aren't really even making an effort to reload. The good news is I live in Southern California so if Thor works out, maybe the Angels will be fun to watch this year for change.

Interesting. I know Sano is a lousy 1B, but we have no where else to play him if we keep Donaldson. Donaldson needs at least 50-60 games at DH if we want 140 games from him and Sano isn't worth keeping if he's only going to play 80-90 games a year at Dh at a few at 1B. This conundrum plus the need to find a place to give Miranda a chance has me thinking more and more that we should trade one of those two guys. I just think it's really hard to keep both on the team, unless you play Sano at 1B, Donaldson/Arraez/Miranda at 3B/DH and Kirilloff/Arraez in LF. Perhaps not the best approach.

Guys, unless there is a trade we already know who is going to play LF next season - Alex Kirilloff. Think about how the roster is presently constructed. Sano is going to play virtually every day absent injury and he can only play IB or DH. Same for Donaldson, and he can only play 3B or DH, an probably needs to DH at least 40-50% of the time. They want to keep Arraez' bat in the lineup and he can only really play 2B, 3B or DH. Polanco is our best player and he will get 140 games next year at 2B. Kepler is the everyday RF with some platoon from a RH hitter. So where's the room for Kirilloff to be an everyday player on the present roster? Left Field and only Left Field. Obviously, a trade would change everything and potentially open up IB or RF for Kirilloff if Sano or Kepler are traded, or if Donaldson is traded and Sano becomes a full time DH with Arraez and Miranda sharing 3B. At this point, the only trades involving these guys that make sense are either a trade of Sano, Polanco, Arraez or Kepler PLUS young MiLB talent (probably pitching) for young controllable MLB pitching, or a salary dump trade of Donaldson to open up payroll space to sign a free-agent pitcher. The 1st seems unlikely because Sano, Arraez, and Kepler just don't have that much value to anyone other than a hitting starved team like Miami, and they won't trade Polanco's team friendly contract unless there is an unlikely pitching overpay by someone. The 2nd seems unlikely if the team/FO is being honest that they intend to try to contend in 2022. Trading Donaldson would be equivalent to putting out a sign that says "2022 is a development year, hopefully we'll contend by 2023 or more likely 2024." While both scenarios could happen, I think the odds are at least 60/40 that neither will happen and that next year's opening day roster will include Donaldson, Kepler, Sano, Arraez and Polanco, each of whom the team will be looking to get at least 500 to 550 plate appearances. that leaves LF as the ONLY option to get 500+ ABs for Kirilloff. The good news is that a healthy Kirilloff in LF should substantially improve the team's standing in the statistical rankings for that position. I think we can reasonably expect a baseline of .270-.280/ .330-.350/.450+ from him if he stays healthy. I think Celestino is the team's 4th OF and he will get some play in LF. Larnach will at least start the season in AAA and probably doesn't come up to the majors unless there is an injury or we have another lousy season and they want to give him at bats in August or September. I think the team is seen enough of Rooker for the time being and he will either be with someone else if taken in the Rule 5 draft, or he will get another year at AAA to try to boost his standing and hope that Martin, de la Trinidad, Contreras, etc. don't pass him up. So, there just is no room at the Inn for a guy like Canha, Conforto, or for the guy I would like to see come back, Eddie Rosario. Lucas is right that we need improved production from LF. I think we will get it and get it from Alex Kirilloff. I think the Twins should spend all of their free agent money on pitching, pitching, and more pitching, plus a stopgap shortstop, and not on anything else. The good news is is at least they declined the option on Colome. That represents a good start.

I could see signing Gray to a 3-5 year 15-17m a year kind of contract. Not sure if those numbers are high enough, but I think they might be. He would slot in as a #2/3 along with Pineda. This works IF the Twins go out and sign at least a semi-legit #1 like Stroman or Ray, or trade for that guy. Alternatively, sign Jon Gray and Pineda, and trade for Sonny Gray. Yes, that's a rotation of #2/#3 types followed by young kids. It might be more doable and that kind of rotation can get you into the playoffs in the short term. Long term, one of the kids has to develop into Berrios or better. Not sure if we have that pitcher but may be we do....

I agree with the grades and I think we already know 2/3 of next year's OF - Buxton in CF and Kirilloff in LF (Sano isn't tradeable and he has to play 1B so Donaldson can get 80 games a year at DH). Kepler is really the wild card going into next season. I think he is what he is and what you described, a low avg., low OBP, decent power, strong defensive OF. In other words, the perfect 4th OF on a contending team who gets 350-400 ABs a year playing all three OF positions, occasional DH, and LH pinch hitter. The question is whether there's anyone who can be that 3rd OF and take his job. Watch Celestino, he's the one possibility I see. Hit well in AAA after he was sent back, could start as the 4th OF this year and slowly squeeze Max out of the starting lineup to the bench. Larnach is another year away. Rooker is trade bait or AAA home run champion but he isn't an everyday MLB player.

That might have been me but don't let me take someone else's credit. Regardless of from whence it came, the conundrum is clear: we have a lineup that appears capable competing now and for the next 2 – 4 years, paired with a pitching staff that absent outside of multiple free agents or trades is not capable of competing that same time frame. If that's correct, the logical choices seem to be to either trade away our more veteran position players for prospects/controllable pitching with a plan to compete starting in 2003 or 2024, more likely not until 2024, or import pitching so we can compete in 2022 and 2023, and perhaps beyond. Both approaches have pluses and minuses. That's why I think the key issue this off-season will be whether or not we can sign Byron Buxton into a long term deal. He is the key position player to make and keep that lineup competitive. With him, all we really need is good health and some incremental development from guys like Kirilloff and we have a top 10 and perhaps a top 5 offensive team. Add in a strong defensive SS and the defense jumps into the top half and maybe even higher. Without him, the lineup is probably top half at best and without him and without a strong defensive SS, the lineup is mediocre at best defensively. I really think the FO has to pick a path and stick to it. If competing in the short term is the goal, Cody is right. We need to overpay if necessary to sign a top tier starter, plus sign (John Gray) or trade for a #2 like Alcantra (in a trade that does not involve trading Kirilloff, Lewis or Martin, everybody else is available), sign Pineda to be the #3 and then use Ober and Ryan, WInder, Dobnak, etc. as the backend of the rotation. We also need to sign at least a Freddie Galvis type to play short. If that isn't viable or the FO decides the long-term development route is the way to go, then the path is also pretty clear. Trade Buxton in the off-season for pitching, pitching and more pitching. Trade Donaldson and promote Miranda, sign Rogers to an arbitration deal and hope he is healthy enough to trade for big return at the deadline, at least explore the trade market for Sano and Kepler in return for pitching, even if it's prospects, and consider whether trading Polanco gets you enough to approximate his pretty high value. I don't like this latter approach as a fan, but I could at least understand it if you went full bore on development, promoted guys even if they're not quite ready, and pushed the process as quickly as possible . What I can't understand is playing it halfway in between. My vote is to sign Buxton, sign Stroman (overpaying if you must), trade real prospects plus Kepler or Sano for Alcantra, keep Donaldson, and sign Galvis or Iglesias. Let's compete next season, if there is a next season.

Like Graveman, but doubt the Astros will let him go. Knebel.

I think the only way Kirilloff is the everyday 1B next year is if Sano or Donaldson is gone. Think about it. Sano can only play 1B or DH. Donaldson has to DH at least 50-60 games or more if we want 135 games a year out of him and I think that's an absolute necessity to compete. Arraez needs 30 games at DH to save his knees, so that only leaves a max of 70-80 DH games for Sano. He will play every day. I think Sano is your everyday 1B unless either he or Donaldson gets traded and I think that's a low probability. The good news is that Kirilloff can play LF and play it better than Larnach or Rooker. There's no one else pushing for that spot so Kirilloff in LF makes a great deal of sense to me. That's the only way you can get Kirilloff, Donaldson, Sao, and Arraez all in the lineup at the same time.

Interesting article, but I don't think that there's a binary choice here of Rooker or Gralick. Frankly, I don't either one of them will make the MLB team and I think that's the right answer. By the time you have the 8 starters in the field plus Arraez, Celestino or another 4th OF, Jeffers as the 2nd catcher and 13 pitchers, there's only 2 spots left. I expect Gordon to get one of them - he showed more this year than Larnach or Rooker. I think that last spot on the roster comes down to Mranda (my choice), Refsnyder, Larnach or Rooker (Kirilloff is the LF and I think Astudillo and Cave are gone). I think Rooker finishes no higher than 3rd in that pecking order and I would say 4th. The only way he stays is if we trade Kepler or Sano with high upside MiLB players for starting pitching in the off season. Then, Rooker as a 5th OF/backup 1B/ part time DH might work but even then I'm dubious with the other 3 all better choices.

Great post. The real problem is that the pitching and lineup are not in sync on the development curve. The lineup is close to being ready to compete and might be if Buxton plays 140 games. The pitching, both ends but particularly the rotation, is not. By the time the presently in house pitching is ready (if ever, always a crapshoot), the lineup will be too old or too expensive. So, which way do we go? I say we compete, mostly because I think we have enough on the farm to make a decent trade or two. On the 6 questions: (1) Lewis or Palacios may be the long term solution so this next year we sign a stop gap. Freddy Galvis or Iglesias make sense. Save the $$$ for pitching. (2) 2 new starters at a minimum, 3 if re-signing Pineda counts as "new". Sign one premium free agent like Stroman, Rondon or Jon Gray to a 3-5 year deal. Stay away from older types like Verlander or Greinke. Stay far, far away from not quite there types like Alex Cobb or Danny Duffy. That spot goes to Pineda. Trade for one more starter - Alcantara or Rogers from Miami, Zach Gallen, someone like that and don't be afraid to part with real non-pitching assets like Martin or Miranda in combo with Kepler or Sano to get a good, young controllable starter. Re-sign Pineda. Rotation goes Stroman, Alcantara, Pineda, Ober, Ryan. Don't worry about the other prospects getting an MLB chance in 2022; there will be plenty of IL time, etc. available for the others like Balazovic, Winder, Strotman, etc. to get a chance to show what they can do at the MLB level. (3) Go to arbitration with Rogers and pay him. If he appears healthy try to negotiate a 2-3 year deal by the AS break and if you can't, keep him if you're in contention, trade him if you aren't. If he isn't able to go physically, eat the arb salary with a smile - it was worth the shot. (4) Don't play reliever roulette - keep the 6 guys mentioned, use guys like Jax or a FA to fill out the pen. Keep Colome but only if Rocco promises he'll use a "closer by situation" approach, not a "Colome every time" approach. (5) The DH is for rotation. Donaldson plays 50/50 DH and 3B, same for Arraez. When one sits, 4th Of (Celestino), or backup IF like Gordon or Miranda DHs. Do NOT sign a full time DH unless you trade Donaldson. You can't have both. (6) SIGN BUXTON. He is one of the 2 keys to contention along with the rotation. Almost as importantly, signing him shows the team and the fan base that you're serious about winning. Will we need to over pay/take risk? Yup. He's worth it. The twins cannot win consistently, or even every now and then, without taking significant risk. He is worth that risk.

I agree on Celestino. Assuming no trades of outfielders, I think Celestino profiles nicely as the 4th OF in 2022 playing in a platoon in RF with Kepler and being Buxton's primary backup. Let's get him 250-300 plus ABs next year and I think he could be starter material by 2023.

Interesting idea. I wonder if a combination of Garver and Kepler would be enough to interest Miami in trading someone like Sandy Alcantra, or more likely Pablo Lopez, Sixto Sanchez or Trevor Rogers? There would undoubtedly need to be some adjusting Minor Leaguers included depending on the target but I think this is a combination worth exploring. BTW, I'd also be willing to swap out Jeffers for Garver or add Sano or swap him out for Kepler to get the best return. I also agree that we need to get a veteran LH backup catcher to pair with which ever catcher is left if we make a trade like this. Rotvedt isn't MLB ready at the plate yet. He needs at least another year at the AAA level and can be the emergency 3rd catcher to call up in case of injury. .

Agreed. This is why it's so hard to evaluate Rocco.

I think the C/C- is justified based on what Baldelli did outside of the player issues he had to deal with by bad FA signings. He seems to have a hard time shifting when things don't go according to plan. This lack of flexibility is the opposite of what a manager should do; the manager needs to adjust to the talent and performance, not the other way around (same problem with Zimmer). Two examples: (1) Colome showed early that he wasn't ready to be the closer. Baldelli said it was closer by committee and would use matchups and performance. Still, he decided to ride Colome as a closer after he didn't perform and never went to closer by committee. Colome in April and May is one of the main reasons this season went off the rails but Baldelli didn't see it happening and adjust. He also seems to hew to that hackneyed notion that relief pitchers need to "know their roles" and have consistent roles. Horse feathers. Good relief pitchers can adjust to different situations. If ours can't, they aren't good. Bad, very bad at adjusting to the facts on the ground this year. (2) The season was over by May 30, really over by June 30. After that, it was time to play the younger guys and see what we had for next year. He did some of that, but.... Why Simmons at SS all season? Why not try Polanco and Gordon on an every day basis? Why Colome as the closer again in August and September? Why not Alcala? Why even play Cave or Astudillo (or for that matter Refsnyder or Kepler even)? At least the first 2 of those 4 will not be with the Twins in 2022. His primary goal post 6/15 or so should have been to evaluate guys for next year. Instead, he seemed fixed in his ways and overly focused on short term wins over longer term development. As a result, we aren't as prepared for the off season as we could be. I think Baldelli has the possibility of being a good MLB manager. By that, I mean one who can adjust on the fly and change philosophies to match the talent he's given, all while keeping everyone loose and performing. He did not do the first part of that this year. Still, he seems to have both the ear and respect of the team and he did keep them competing in a lost season. Hopefully he's learned from his mistakes and can be more flexible going forward. If he can't, he needs to be replaced.

Extremely well said, sir. Especially the part about giving Rocco an experienced bench coach. Well, all of it well said.

Excellent point. I didn't realize he had 2 options remaining. Still a tough call on the 40 man, but does increase his value both to the Twins and to other teams after they stash him for a year as a Rule 5 draftee. I still wouldn't keep him on the 40 man over a youngish pitcher but I would keep him over a 30+ year old reliever with no clear path to the 26 man roster like Kyle Barraclaugh, Nick Vincent and Luke Farrell. His lack of defensive ability really limits his utility - he's got to be a .850 plus OPS guy to really be usable on a contending team. Still, it wouldn't kill me to have him as the 39th or 40th man so we can give him one more try.

I really think the main difference between us is that I say sign two free agent starters and you’re using some of that money to sign relief, and then trading for that second starter. I think either approach works well. The key is getting two guys to handle rotation. I don’t think our needs in relief are as great. I think we may have actually found a decent group in the second half. If we go to the trade route, Miami seems illogical partner. I live in LA, and I seriously doubt if the Dodgers will trade pitching so I don’t think either they or the Padres are likely to trade anyone any good. My only other disagreement is I think we would be buying high on Robbie Ray if we signed him and I don’t think he is anywhere near as good as the other guys you mentioned. But Hey, I would be happy if your plan came to fruition.

That is the question. Who gets the 4-5 year $20-$25 million a year contract? If you aren’t willing to pay that, you cannot expect to get a tier 1 or even a tier 2 starter. That is why we no longer have Berrios. We didn’t offer that kind of money and he will get there or more when he becomes a free agent. And that’s for a tier 2 starter like Berrios. I would go high twice, on short term, one long-term. For the short term, I would offer Verlander and Greinke each 20 to 25m a year on a 2 year deal given their age. That maybe a tough sell because they are going to want to go to a team they see is being contenders in their last two years. Verlander Is a little younger so he may want and get more years. Greinke is my target - Older guy, doesn’t like the limelight. If that doesn’t work you drop the money and pivot to Cory Kluber or Robbie Ray. Then, you sign a younger younger pitcher to a four or five year $20-$25 million a year deal. Best choices are Marcus Stroman and Carlos Rondon. Push hard to get one of them. Those two guys head the rotation, Pineda comes back at somewhere between 8 and $10 million a year for a couple of years, and Ober and Ryan fill out the rotation. There will be plenty of opportunities in 2022 for other guys to get a shot do the injury and there isn’t anybody else in the system that is shown they are worthy of a full year shot at this point. How do I pay for this? That is where all of the off-season money goes. We sign a stopgap glove first shortstop like Iglesias or Galvis or even Simmons to a $5 or less million deal, and we run with the bullpen and lineup we have. Yes, that means picking up Colome’s option and also signing Rogers to a three-year $20-$25 million backloaded deal. It’s back loaded so that Rogers salary jumps when the older starter comes off the books. Overall, this commits another roughly $50-70 million a year to the payroll, which should put us between $140-160 million If my memory is right on what’s committed to next year, etc. If necessary, we trade Kepler and/or Sano as part of a package for young pitching to reduce payroll so we can spend the money on major-league pitching. I think this approach makes us competitive next year without putting an unrealistic strain on payroll. It also gives us options as guys develop over the next two or three years.

It’s very hard to see Rooker as having any long term place on the Twins for all the reasons stated. He also won’t have any trade value until after the 40 man is announced for the Rule 5 draft. Why would any team trade for him when there’s at least a decent chance that he would be protected? I think the smart move is to leave him on the 40 man roster and then try to trade him maybe as a sweetener in a package deal. If there isn’t a reasonable deal out there, he does have an option left so we can give it one more yearBut that’s probably just delaying the inevitable. All this assumes there’s room for him on the 40 man without having to expose a decent pitching prospect. It’s a choice between him and any kind of pitcher with any kind of upside, Rooker should go.

For those of us not as well versed as others, who needs to be added to the 40 man roster after the season that isn't on the 40 man roster now? Is there a site where this information is available?

It's hard to see Thorpe, Smeltzer or Barnes as MLB starting pitchers. Smeltzer might offer some Long relief of LH Bullpen value, but again it seems like that could be replaced with pitchers released from other Organizations or Rule 5 pickups. I owuld not put any of those 3 on the 40 man roster unless we have open spots and it seems unlikely that they will be selected in the Rule 5 draft. We should be ale to keep Barnes and Smeltzer in the organization with Minor League contracts with an invitation to Spring training and have them in AAA to start the season. No big deal if one of them is lost. They will get another chance next year with the twins due to the injury or ineffectiveness of others. Jax and Stashack are tougher calls because I could see one of them him being drafted in the Rule 5 Draft by a poor team. I would leave them both on the 40 man. Gant may be our 5th starter next year and, if he isn't, he will be in the Twins bullpen or at the top of the AAA rotation. He stays on the 40 man. Same analysis for Dobnak. Unfortunately, theis means the RH pitchers stay and the LH pitchers go. Not good. Still, their performance seems to compel this result.

Colome is a tough call because since May he's actually been a pretty good reliver. We need pretty good relievers because the starters are rarely going to go more than 5-6 innings next year unless we bring in a FA that can lead the staff. It's more likely that we'll have a guy like Greinke, then Pineda, than three of the Ober/Ryan/Dobnak/Jax/Barnes/Winder/(fill in more names here) crowd. I agree with the poster who said a mid market team can make it work with 5-6 inning starters with a quality bullpen. Colome could be part of a quality bullpen, but not as a traditional closer. The problem is that Baldelli insists on making Colome a traditional style closer. This season has taught us that he is not good at that role at this point in his career. By the way, neither is Taylor Rogers. In order to make this work, we need to either get a free agent "traditional" closer who effectively gets the ball in every save situation, or we need to play matchups and have 3 or 4 guys can pitch in the 8th and 9th inning depending on the opponent and matchups. Baldelli said that shifting/flexibility was what he was going to do, and then he frankly acts like Ron Gardenhire by designating a closer and going to him every time. He exacerbated his mistake by having the wrong guy designated as the closer. If I would point to one mistake that Baldelli has consistently made this year that makes me question whether he can be an effective major league manager, it's his bullpen management. It has been poor to say the least. He has been inflexible and beholden to the idea that the relievers need to have "set roles" to be effective. This may simply be the problem with having a former player from a different era manage. If we have relievers that have to have a set goal to be effective we need to get different relievers because that is not the way to win modern baseball games. So, bottom line, happy to keep Colome on the team if he is an interchangeable part rather than a set traditional closer. I question whether Baldelli can actually make that transition. The Front Office may need to take that option away from him. I hope he is self curious and self reflective and really studies what he did this year that didn't work. If he does, he should conclude that his set role bullpen management was a mistake and commit to greater flexibility. if he does that, Colome may have an effective role on this team.

Good analysis. This article points out something we all kind of know and supports it with real data. Kepler is an above average fielding corner outfielder with a well below average bat. I don't think moving him to centerfield really helps a lot because tat minimizes his one asset, an above average glove, because he would be an average at best centerfielder. The problem is he just can't hit and for some reason he is unwilling to do anything other than pull the ball on regular basis. He's got to be the easiest guy in the American League to shift against. With these flaws, I think it's unlikely that we would be able to trade him for much pitching unless we included an upside prospect with him in a package. Maybe somebody who is not an elite or even strong prospect but projects to be a possible mid to back rotation starter or solid bullpen piece regarding whom there is still some doubt. That might be someone like Winder or Strotman or, if we are willing to take more risk on the return side, maybe someone like Jax or Barnes. I will say that if I'm right on the possible return, Kepler probably has more value to the Twins than he does to anybody else. We are probably still a year away from having a capable replacement given the somewhat gaping hole we presently have in left field. Even if Kirilloff becomes our regular leftfielder and continues his development as a solid or better than that hitter, it's not like we have another outfielder banging on the door to take Kepler's place in 2022. Larnach wasn't quite ready when he came up this year and neither is Celestino or Rooker. I think the best thing for Kepler is to continue to work with him on learning to hit the ball to left field while at the same time effectively platooning him with who we think is our best right-handed hitting outfield prospect to give that player a chance to develop. In my view, that's probably Celestino given how well he hit at AAA when he went back down. We use the 1st half to two thirds of 2022 to see if the younger player can develop and/or if Kepler and finally gets a better approach at the plate and each of them and effectively also functions as the backup centerfielder. I just don't think trading him makes sense because of the low likely return and I do think the Twins highest priority in the off-season is to re-sign Buxton

I agree on the SS position. I just don't see them trusting Polanco or Gordon, nor should they. I would expect them to sign someone like Freddy Galvis or Jose Iglesias although the latter just had kind of a brutal year in the field for the Angels. How about Sano as a bounce back candidate? He's had a strong second half but he was so bad the first half that he was almost unplayable. I would consider a .240 avg., 35 HRs and a 30% or less strikeout rate a great improvement. That may be more of an improvement than a bounce back though. The other bounce back candidate is Tyler Duffy. Again, better in the second half but not good in the first. I would love to se him show up in shape and have a sub 3.00 ERA year but having two good halves instead of just one.