cjm0926

It definetly is a risky plan, high risk, low-mid reward. I think with the right steps it could bolster the roster quite a bit

How could I forget!!!!, might as well delete the article haha

I could agree with most of what you said, there is a lot of things that have to fall in place for this to happen. I only thought we could trade Rogers to Arizona so maybe they could use him as a trade piece, kind of far fetched though. The only reason I am skeptical on Rogers is because he is coming off a finger injury that costed him over 2 months. For Donaldson I would trade him to whoever would be willing to take on most of the contract. Nobody specific, maybe the Mets. I would trade him for one or 2 or an organizations 10-15 prospects, maybe a little higher depending on the ranking, anything above is a plus. Esentially a salary dump. Donaldson definetly is a good 3B, no doubt, I just don't think he fits in great with the teams plans for the next few years, with Arraez and Miranda fully capable of handling 3B for roughly $20 Million less.

Like many others on Twins Daily, I will be describing an offseason I hope to see the Twins have. Who to sign, who to trade, and everything else I wish to see happen this offseason. I'd love to see comments about what you like/dislike and anything you might change. Below I have included my version on the payroll spreadsheet. First off, I sign Buxton to a 5 year, $75 million extension with the incentives wanted by Buxton's party. I also make a few big splashes in free agency, signing Trevor Story to a 5 year, $100 million deal. It may not be very likely to sign him for that little, but if things play out the right way I could see it happening. Also, that means Story is the shortstop of the future, no need to worry about Lewis at SS long term and if he will take over and be the guy. He could be traded, or developed to play another position that doesn't have as much wear and tear on the body. Next I sign Stroman to a 3 Year, $70 Million deal. It seems unlikely he would come to Minnesota, but that is why I pay a little more than his expected value (expected around $20 Million) per year to get him to come to Minnesota. I also sign Corey Dickerson for 1 Year, $6 Million to play corner outfield. I also sign a few bullpen arms, them being Brad Hand (1 year, $2 Million), Ryan Tepera (1 Year, $5 Million), and Kendall Graveman (1 Year, $4 Million). I also make a few trades during the offseason, the first being Kepler to New York for Luis Severino. I don't know how likely this is, but Baseball Trade Values listed it as an overpay for Minnesota. Also with New York being interested in Kepler quite a bit around last year's deadline, I could see it happen. Severino is coming back from a few injuries and hasn't pitched a whole lot during the past 2 years, but I feel he could regain some of his fire he had before he got hurt and become an amazing #3 starter. If he doesn't have it, he could be gone after this season, or there is a $15 million option for 2023. I trade Ryan Jeffers, Matt Canterino, and Taylor Rogers to Arizona for Zac Gallen. I think this could be solid framework for this to happen, although it all depends on what Arizona wants, Arizona gets 2 good, young players with much potential, and one of the games best closers over the past couple years, Taylor Rogers. Arizona is not going anywhere anytime soon and with Gallen's name coming up in rumors during the season I could see him getting traded. I am a little nervous about Rogers coming off a finger injury and getting paid $7 million so that is why I trade him off while he still has solid value. Lastly I trade Donaldson for salary relief, which helps us sign some of the big free agents mentioned previously. Donaldson is definitely a good player, no doubt about it, I just don't see it helping a lot in the coming years for the team due to age and injury concerns. All I expect to get out of it is 1 or 2 "Slapdick" - Blake Snell, prospects. We will also eat $7 Million per year. For everyone else, I see Garver and Rortvedt splitting catching duties, with a current minor leaguer, maybe Tomas Telis or Roy Morales being a short term option incase of an injury. I see Kirilloff and Sano splitting time at 1B, Polanco being primary 2B, Arraez and Miranda splitting 3B and Utility duties, and Story being the shortstop of the future. In the outfield, I trust Larnach will get back on track, Buxton will Buxton, and Dickerson can fill in in RF or LF. I also have Celestino, Gordon, and could call up Rooker or Contreras if needed. Celestino will be 4th OF, and Gordon can be super utility, filling in at SS or CF if needed, as well as almost any other position. For the rotation I am going to roll with Stroman, Gallen, Severino, Ryan, Ober. The first 3 I explained above, and Ober and Ryan don't need much explanation. I could see us rolling with a 6 man rotation for a while to keep wear off young arms, but otherwise it is pretty self explanatory. In the pen I am returning Duffey, Alcala, Minaya, Moran, and Thielbar. I go out and sign Tepera, Graveman, and Hand as explained above. That gives me 3 lefties and 5 righties with Rogers gone. I think that pen would work out pretty well, and if someone isn't performing, there are young guys in Triple-A ready to show up. Went a few million over budget, but that should hopefully be fine. Lastly I am eating up a combined $11.25 Million between Maeda, Donaldson, and Colome buyout.Thank you for reading my first blog on Twins Daily, any feedback would be appreciated.

These are exactly my thoughts. I don't think Rortvedt is a go to guy this year or possibly part of next year, but that is why I would sign a vet to kind of offset that. But yea, I am not chomping at the bit to get them traded, but if we get a solid return for both, that could be something to try.

I think Jeffers is the right one to trade away of the 2 for the value, it is a luxury to have both. My only fear is how long Garver can stay at catcher. I think Rortvedt can turn into a solid catcher, and have a maybe slightly below average bat.

Nothing too specific, I am also not saying we should trade them both away just because, but I think if the return is good we should do it. Possibly one of them and more players to Miami, or a package to Arizona for Gallen, just whatever can get us back into contention

I know it was just a hypothetical trade but I hope the Twins keep Sands, I think he can turn into a solid ML starter. He seems to be a good pitcher, not just a good thrower.

I will start it off by saying, this is just an idea, I am not saying it should or will happen. I am also not saying it is a terrible idea and it could possibly work. With that being said, here we go. The Twins currently have 2 very good catchers, one being Mitch Garver, a well above average batting catcher who is nearly 31 years old. The other, Ryan Jeffers, a 24 year old catcher who underperformed with his bat this past season. While neither player is an AL MVP candidate Twins are likely set for the coming years with this duo. But I recently had a thought that I will explain below. Mitch Garver is a beast with the bat, no doubt about it. But he is getting up there in age for a catcher, being 31 years old by next opening day. If I remember right, that is the age that Joe Mauer moved over to 1B full time. Currently, the Twins are set at first base, with Alex Kirilloff, the expected 1st Baseman for the better part of the 2020's, and Miguel Sano, who appeared to have finally figured something out towards the end of the 2021 season, holding down the position. Nobody is saying that Garver will not catch for another 5 years, but the odds are pointing against it. Garver had a career year in 2019, a horrible year in 2020, and looked to have bounced back in 2021, but was injured for a lot of it. Mitch Garver currently has a 10.9 trade rating on baseballtradevalues.com. Ryan Jeffers was a former highly regarded prospect within the Twins system. He debuted in 2020, hitting .273 with 3 homers in 62 Plate Appearances. However, in 2021 he took a massive step back offensively, hitting below the Mendoza line, although he showed solid power hitting 14 home runs in 293 Plate Appearances. He also struck out at a nearly 37% clip. Jeffers was drafted as a bat first catcher, but has turned into a very good defender, which is more important for a catcher than any other position, being directly involved in every play. Jeffers is rated at 19.2 on baseballtradevalues.com. Now, we look at the primary catchers for the 2 best teams in their own respective leagues, Travis d'Arnaud and Martin Maldonado. We will start off with d'Arnaud. He hit .220 with 7 homers in the regular season for the eventual World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, and posted an 0.2 WAR. Maldonado for the Astros hit .172 with 12 bombs, posting a -0.1 WAR. I am not saying that just because these teams had average to below average hitting catchers with very strong defense it improved their World Series odds, but I am saying there could be something to be taken away from that. Catcher is the most important on the field defensively, calling pitches, controlling baserunners, aligning defense, etc. But offensively they can get away with things that other positions can't like low averages, low power, etc. which makes a lot of sense. Catching puts a lot of wear and tear on the body causing many to eventually move away from the position or retire early, like Posey and Mauer. The Twins have frankly been spoiled at the position offensively since 2019, and they could try a different approach to fill other holes in 2022. The Twins have a massive need for top of the rotation type pitching, and with many 2022 offseason blueprints being posted on Twins Daily, a catcher is often in a trade to acquire said pitching. I have seen both Garver and Jeffers name thrown around in those blueprints as trade bait for a high end starter. But what if I said the Twins should trade both of them. They both have very good value and could be a solid part of a package to bring back good pitchers. Jeffers has about twice as much value according to a website, but Garver could be a huge addition to almost any team being a veteran and above average hitter. It is better to trade a low risk player away a year too early rather than a year too late. Especially with catchers and freak injuries. Say the Twins do trade both away, then what would we do? The Twins have Rortvedt making the league minimum and providing stellar defense, even better than Garver and Jeffers. Rortvedt's huge downside is his bat. In 2021 Rortvedt hit .169 with 3 homers in 98 Plate Appearances. He also struck out at around a 30% rate. If Rortvedt can hit around .200 and cut down the strikeouts a bit, he could become a solid catcher for years to come. That solves half of the puzzle, now what do the Twins do about the other catcher? There are many low risk, low reward catchers available in free agency this offseason that could be had for 1 or 2 year deals at very low prices. Possibly a right handed bat to platoon with Rortvedt, a lefty, like the Twins did in 2019 with Castro and Garver. Although Rortvedt and another catcher wouldn't be as nice offensively as Jeffers and Garver, it could be very nice defensively, which is what a catching tandem needs most. For a catcher 3 or 4, they can call on a guy in AAA or AA to fill in for a week or two. What I have noticed is that an offensive catcher is just a cherry on top, not needed, hence the Astros and Braves making the World Series with their average offensive catchers. Defense is needed much more and strong offense can only overshadow bad defense so much *cough cough Gary Sanchez* I am also not saying the Twins are as talented as Houston or Atlanta at other positions, but filling the holes through trading the catchers could make it much closer. Although this isn't the prettiest or nicest plan to hear as a fan, it could be what is needed for the Twins to jump back into contention and fill the holes. Leave a comment on what you think about this, and don't be afraid to say if you think its garbage, just have some reasoning and I'll happily discuss. Thank you for reading.

Good post, I feel we have so much potential in the system that it could go very well, but there is also a part of me that feels like it could be handled wrong and become a huge bust.

I just don't know about Rodon. I believe he is a good pitcher but I also believe this year was just a career year and he will never be quite as good. For a team like the Twins who many tend to believe they are more frugal with their money I would rather spend it on a guy with multiple seasons of good success, maybe Stroman or even Gausman. I do hope we could get Rodriguez for 2/$24, that would be huge.

I hope Larnach can become that guy but I am just not too sure. I wouldn't mind keeping him and developing him but also if he could be a big piece of a trade bringing in an ace I could find that hard to turn down as well. I guess we will just wait and see.