puckett1992

Yes, Knoblauch may have made some rather poor decisions in his life after leaving the Twins, but his election to the Twins HOF is long overdue. He is easily the best second baseman the Twins have had since Carew and produced some legendary seasons (as noted by Parker), in addition to being a key member of the 1991 World Series team. The Twins of the last few years and 2014 desperately need a player of his caliber and intensity. I was glad to hear he is planning on attending the ceremony as he has not participated in other ceremonies, such as the all Metrodome team and 50 best Twins team. Perhaps he has overcome his previous issues, so please stop with the dome dog references as we all remember that.

Well, given it's unlikely the Twins try for Jackson, Marcum, or Lohse yet this offseason after not even offering contracts for Dempster or McCarthy among others, and Ryan is interested in getting pitching depth, then yes! After all, Slowey only wants to be a starter and we need starting pitching.

I think a relief pitcher based on what Ryan said in the interview, but am not totally sure.

I didn't realize Jason Lane had moved to the mound. Looks like the same power hitter that used to play for Houston. Yes, this is the same Jason Lane. During an interview last week on Reusse and Mackey on 1500, Ryan mentioned that Lane pitched for Gary Gaetti's Independent League team and Gaetti kept on recommending him. Ryan said, what the heck, let's sign him. It sounds like Lane can throw hard, but is 35 if I remember correctly.

Agreed to a point. At this point Harden has been injured so often that he cannot be counted on as anything other than a reliever, perhaps similar to Jared Burton last year for whom the Twins had to take previous injury history into account when using him on consecutive days. Though, Harden will likely want more than a minor league deal that Burton received. Perhaps something like Zumaya, but hopefully Harden doesn't blow his arm out in spring training. I'm not so optimistic on Webb. He hasn't been able to catch on with any team for a few years despite his rehab work. It would be a nice, low cost addition, though.

Villanueva is an interesting option that hasn't been mentioned much over the last few weeks. I also wonder about the status of Edwin Jackson and Shaun Marcum and what is required to get those mid-tier type of guys. The fact the Nationals let Jackson go and don't seem interested in re-signing him, and Jackson's bouncing around from team to team the last number of years, make one wonder about his mental makeup in addition to his stuff.

If this hasn't been mentioned already, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick had some notes from the winter meetings today that are relevant to the Twins: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/31214/twins-seeking-to-add-more-pitching His article mentions that Joe Blanton is a prime target for the Twins, which, I suppose shouldn't be surprising. He also mentions pitchers such as Kevin Correia, Brett Myers, John Lannan, Mike Pelfrey, and Vincente Padilla (???) as possible targets. I would expect the Twins to sign at least one of these types and think that Blanton, Myers, or Pelfrey could be decent additions and provide some depth/insurance for the development of Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendricks. Hopefully the price will be right if adding any of these.

Bringing Dempster aboard for veteran leadership for younger pitchers on the staff would be ideal, but going more than 2 years on Dempster is asking for trouble. He also seems better suited for the NL given his stuff, though he only played 2 months with Texas this past year with pretty sub-par results in a pennant race. Based on reports from the mlbtraderumors site several days ago, Dempster rejected a 2 year/$26 million offer from the Brewers, so 3 years/$39 million may do it, but I would hope the Twins would only give a third year as an option and not at $13 million for the third year.

I definitely agree. Unless the Twins are definitely in rebuilding mode or get an incredible pitching return for Willingham, then you don't deal him in this offseason. At the trade deadline if the team's out of contention or next offseason may be another story. Willingham has been the right-handed slugger the Twins have been searching for for years. I agree with the sell-high idea, but that applies to someone like Delmon Young who, I guess, decided to dedicate himself to the game for some time in 2010 and put up good numbers and contribute. Sell high on players that you don't think have the ability or commitment to sustain the success. Liriano after 2010 is another example. Willingham was very solid in 2012 and 2011, and is somewhat of a late bloomer. As long as injuries don't hamper him in 2013, then I don't see why he can't replicate either of his last two seasons. If a team offers good quality pitching for Willingham, then you'd have to consider the deal. Based on what Phil Mackey from 1500 reported a few weeks ago, another executive said that the Twins would be lucky to get a #3 starter for Willingham at this point. If that's truly the case, then why deal him when you need his offense in the lineup?

This is my first post at the site after perusing the many articles over the last several months. This is a great site for Twins fans and I like getting the Twins Centric articles away from the Strib web site. So, props to the braintrust of the site that launched it and continue to maintain it. I found the Fangraphs title of "Nationals Steal Denard Span from Twins" by Dave Cameron to be funny, if not ridiculous. Obviously, the success of this trade from the Twins' perspective will be determined in 2014, 2015, and beyond. Meyer could be a complete bust or be leading the Twins rotation within the next few years. The Nationals benefit from the trade immediately and Span will be a key asset towards their quest for a World Series appearance and maybe championship. Good for Span to get this opportunity even though I'm sure he's torn about leaving the Twins. I personally like the trade because it addresses a need for young pitching while dealing from a position of strength, even thought the pitching won't contribute to the major league team in 2013. To me, this doesn't mean the Twins are necessarily rebuilding next year. Span can be replaced by Revere to some extent and there are other options in the outfield. If Revere cannot handle the job offensively over an entire full season, then Hicks and others may be able to push him. Let's see what happens during the Winter Meetings and throughout December and January. If adequate starting pitchers are signed or traded for, then there is hope for next year without a miracle like the Orioles experienced in 2012. If Ryan deals away Willingham and/or Morneau for lower tier MLB starting pitchers or A-level prospects, then it's safe to assume they're rebuilding. Based on comments from Ryan on 1500espn on Monday and earlier in the offseason, he doesn't want to enter a prolonged rebuilding operation, so I would assume other moves are coming. Other than just possibly re-signing Liriano.