Rod Carews Birthday

The Twins have plenty of problems. Matt Wallner definitely isn’t one of them. If the rest of our hitters could match his OPS, we might be in first place instead of nearly last. Larnach is an OK placeholder. He’s not a starter on a good team but he’s not an embarrassment either. I expect he will be DFAd this winter. I hope we find someone better, but that’s not a sure thing.

Would we be dealing for damaged goods? The career arc looks pretty scary from where I sit, and the Orioles would likely want a haul for him (for what he used to be).

Nope. I expect a team that Mickey Gasper doesn't have a role on. I fear that he's next year's backup catcher.

No. Not yet, but it would have really helped my morale if one of the acquisitions would have had a solid beginning to his Twins career. We didn't think it was that bare in the mid-90's either. There were plenty of prospects that just didn't materialize the way we wanted them to. I was also around in the late 70's/early 80's. My optimism told me we had a shot, but boy was that a long time coming. I will in fact do that. I could just be a lot happier with those players coming up in the next 12 months and some bullpen arms left in the fold, and without the seeming impending doom of trading Ryan and Lopez. Admittedly, we don't exactly know what will happen on that front, but we aren't exactly being given signs that it won't happen. For what it's worth, I agree that wailing and rending garments about ownership and management won't do any good even though they deserve it. It will just make you sweaty and frustrate you more. I'm probably different that a lot of people on TD. There really isn't a major difference in quality for me when watching a team play on a daily basis between a 75 win team and an 85 win team. Yes, one will lose more games, but any game can and likely will go either direction. What I don't want is a 60-65 win team, because those really are painful to watch (I live in Chicago -- believe me, it's ugly), particularly one that might be in that big hole for awhile. Unfortunately, that's where I see a Twins team composed almost exclusively of youngsters in the next couple of years. Hanging onto Lopez/Ryan/Jeffers (Buxton is assumed) at least keeps us in the realm of respectable and gives me the feeling that we might win a few games. I'm not personally big on the "leadership" factor in a vacuum, but I also know that a team full of rookies seldom develops in the same was as they would with something good to observe and emulate. Making the playoffs would be fantastic and making a world series would be even better, but spending our time in 60 win purgatory year after year is worse to a degree I don't enjoy thinking about. I share the frustration of @Nick Nelson and that of all of the other Twins fans currently dealing with this. I'm hoping to get past it, because I've been a fan since about 1972 and it's part of my life. People are going to feel the way they feel, and they need time to process it.

This is all very well said. I would only add that usually the “new core” doesn’t replace the “old core” in the out with old and in with the new sense. . The new core usually comes in to supplement the old core who provides guidance/leadership/production, then as the new core develops, it displaces the old core as they phase out. The problem is that there is no old core left to slowly displace. In the Twins’ case, they are starting from scratch or ground zero in terms of remaining talent. I’m afraid that barring some big changes or an absurd amount of fortunate luck, we’re looking at several years of wandering in the desert.

This lineup looks to be pretty painful in 2026, not mentioning the career-growth stunting effect of being a below replacement level player on a very poor team could have on the players. It would be a pretty big surprise if all of those youngsters could come up and succeed. I know we all like to dream about what the 90th percentile outcomes look like from our prospects, but IF those outcomes occur, it is likely not for several years — and usually an indication that they have been trained well in the minor leagues and brought up when they are truly ready. Bringing them up before they are ready can lead to year after year of second division finishes. I’ve already lived through that more than once and I don’t want to do it again. Don’t misunderstand. I would love it if all of these guys were here in 2026 and were playing well. I just want to make sure they are ready first.

If the talent isn't there, no amount of coaching will solve the problem. If the talent is there, it's a lot harder to screw it up. The Twins have had SOME good players/hitters, but never really a team of them for a few years. Injuries also didn't help. We definitely need some serious reinforcements in the hitting department or the numbers will continue to circle the drain.

Seriously? A guy has hit in the minor leagues but shown nothing at the plate for two teams, is currently injured and out for the season, and he’s a bright spot? Yikes! Come on man!

Great. . . let's trade away half the team and then put us on a national stage. That should improve what the rest of the world thinks of the Minnesota Twins. Timing is everything and this just reinforces a bad narrative.

I have generally heard 1000 plate appearances, but your point is very well taken. I was surprised that Wallner and Lewis were under 900. I'm of the opinion that Larnach has had too many at this point, but the jury is still out on some of the less experienced guys. It's time though. Now would be a good time to get it going or get passed up by prospects.

Not only did they not get rid of any of the members of the core, most of the returns from the trades of their bullpen strength are also pitchers. Last time I checked, the pitching was outplaying the defense and the offense by a pretty healthy margin. If you are trading from a strength, you should address a weakness rather than trading for a bunch of decent looking random prospects.

Please slow down the hype train. He looks like he could be good. Evaluate his readiness in ways other than getting excited about the Prospect Promotion Incentive.

This is where we disagree. With Ryan and Lopez returning, and both having solid years, which is not a crazy assumption, the Twins could indeed be .500 or better. It will require some player improvement and acquisition, but not 3-4 ROY type performances. What would that look like? Let's start with the easiest stuff first: 1. Ober returns to form and the other two (or three if no Ober) rotation spots are filled in a reasonable manner by some of their many starting pitchers and starting pitcher prospects. That should be doable. 2. Buxton remains pretty healthy, which really hasn't been a problem this year, so here's hoping for the best. 3. Lee, Lewis, & Keaschall hold down 3/4 of the infield defensively and two of the three decide to hit. I'm less sure of this, but it could happen. Besides, hopefully Culpepper will be knocking on the door soon. 4. The Twins sign/trade for a first baseman who can hit and play enough defense to be successful. Wallner becomes a mostly full-time DH and learns how to play first base enough to be the backup. Requires some $$ layout, but even the Pohlads won't sign $0 worth of free agents. 5. Ryan Jeffers continues to catch and we trade for/sign a solid #2 catcher, perhaps a young one who could step into the #1 role next year. That would be a luxury. I'll take passable. Same caveat as #4 on money. 5. The outfield becomes Buxton, Roden (I think he will hit -- he has every step of the way until this year), and one of the youngsters -- ERod, GGonzalez or WJenkins steps up to be a full-time starter in the majors. That doesn't seem far-fetched either. 6. The bench is Clemens, Martin, and Outman (until he is displaced). Don't love it, but it's better than we've had at various times in the past. 7. The bullpen is a mess. Take a couple of failed starters (Ohl, etc.), add a couple of didn't make the rotation types (whoever is left standing without a chair), sign/trade for a couple of unproven but seem likely to succeed types, spend a little money on a proven back end reliever or two. Shake it up. The whole thing has to jell somehow. This is the one I'm least sure of, but also can be (and has been in the past) built on the fly during the season -- I think we're doing this right now, although not very successfully. Who are we trading? People with little to no value for a bag of balls -- leftover bullpen arms, Miranda, AAAA guys. People with a little bit of value -- Larnach, Julien, maybe Outman, a prospect or two, a non-prospect or two -- packaged together for at least some bullpen arms. This requires a little bit of expenditure for a first baseman, a second catcher, and some back end bullpen help. I'm not convinced that the Pohlads are going to break the bank, but with all the cuts they made, it's a very affordable situation - even for them. The difference between my approach and yours is that you see light at the end of a short two year tunnel. I do not. I think that without those two anchoring starting pitchers, things get really gloomy in Target Field next year. If we trade those two without adequate replacements, we're looking at a 100 loss team that has nothing to build on to get better in 2027. If we're lucky, in 2028, we're back where we are now and we've suffered through two years of really ugly baseball. If we're not. . . Yikes!

THIS. I have lived through several long bouts of terrible and I don't want to do it again. (Ah, the Ron Coomer Glory Years). Take what you have, supplement where necessary, and build something better. Trading everyone just makes us start from a lower point. It may take years to get back to where we are now, let along contending.

I think the plan with Pablo Lopez is the same regardless of whether or not the Twins want to trade him in the offseason or have him be an anchor on next year's staff. Get him healthy and pitching well, so that we know he can be counted on. I personally vote to NOT trade him, but I'm not going to get the phone call to register my vote. As to SWR, again, I think it's just get him healthy and feeling good. It sounds like the guy went through something kind of nasty, so recovering strength is key. I think the question for him is whether they think he will still belong in the rotation as the 4/5 starter, whether he could successfully go to the bullpen, or whether they can get a team to bite on his old pedigree and limited experience in the rotation. I'm less sure of the right answer for SWR.

Ugh. He had a signing bonus of $6.725M, plus the roughly $2.5M he's earned (maybe?) last year and this year. If he really is that worried about his counting stats and the impact they may have on future earnings, then he needs to keep his mouth shut about it. The problem is that he thinks he's a star (he isn't yet at least), but he hasn't figured out yet where he sits in the pecking order. He's also a fool if he thinks that not changing the way he's unsuccessfully doing things is going to lead to better anything. Get some perspective. Not impressive Mr. Lewis. Not impressive at all.

I was thinking long relief, but if he could add a little oomph, he has a nice arsenal for short relief. Rather than blowing them away, he could have more weapons.

The Twins are filled with players who are near make or break status. Roden getting hurt was really terrible, but mostly for the Twins. Now they have an outfielder who is a good fielder that they won’t know about until next year. Could be a solid improvement on Larnach, but we can’t know yet. They’re not going to cut ties with him because he is the return for Varland. SWR gets a bad rap because he isn’t flashy but he quietly has been as effective as anyone but Ryan and Lopez over the last two years. If he doesn’t stick in the rotation, long relief could be a good option. Goodness knows we need relief arms. Lewis is a mess. One problem is that he still thinks that he is a star. He might be someday, but now is not yet that time. His talent is tantalizing, but the production has been disastrous over the past year. They won’t cut him loose because they haven’t given up on him and nobody is pushing him out of a job — YET. Of the other guys out there, I think Martin and Clemons have played themselves into bench jobs next year. They are flexible (but just ok) defensively and can hit enough to make themselves relevant. Not perfect, but not bad either. On the “probably already out of the Twins’ plans” wagon. . . . certainly Miranda, and likely Julien — although his bat (his only tool) seems to be showing a little more life this time around. In the “I’m worried about their future” category is Brooks Lee, who needs to figure it out with the bat; Matt Wallner, who needs to get a little more consistency so that people will get off his back (look at his OPS!); and Trevor Larnach, who would just like to improve enough to be Matt Wallner. On the pitching side there are lots of arms who have a lot to prove, but with the complete gaping hole that is the bullpen, several of the non-starting rotation winning pitchers will likely slot there. That;s definitely not going to get sorted out until spring. Questions. . . . Questions. .. .Questions. Let’s hope that we find some answers.

While I know this to be somewhat unlikely, I would prefer to keep both of these guys around and then extending one of them as the bridge to the next good team. Certainly more talent is needed on the offensive and defensive side of the ledger, but IMHO tearing down what you have that is right isn’t the way to go. I’m less convinced that they are miles away from being a contender — this obviously depends on your definition/desire. For me, I’m pretty happy if we consistently play decent baseball and challenge for the division title regularly. The gamble that I am willing to take is that if you make the playoffs you have a shot. 1987 taught me that. The current roster, with some development, call-ups, and supplements could make it happen. I think gutting the rotation by trading Lopez and Ryan means that we are destined to be non-competitive for the next several years. I’ve lived through that before and would choose not to do that again if I can. Byron Buxton would probably agree.

I would love for this to be true for the Twins, but I think Cleveland is an outlier, not the rule. I don’t want to gamble on being another outlier.

Not really. My argument is that it is extremely difficult to replace a playoff caliber starter. We spent years trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to do that. Now that we have them in hand, we would get rid of them? The value from acquired prospects is far less of a sure thing, regardless of who runs the front office.

I actually agree with this. My real argument was that they were unlikely to bring back players/prospects who were likely to provide more value than they would by keeping them.

In a perfect world, trading Ryan and Lopez brings back two pitchers who are just like . . . . wait for it. . . . Ryan and Lopez. The odds of getting more than that out of a trade are very slim. The odds of getting less are quite high. With that in mind, why trade those two pitchers now? Right now, the Twins have a ways to go to even be competitive in the AL Central. If they play their cards right and trade Ryan and Lopez, lots of things need to break right to get them back to where they are (pre-trade deadline) right now. In two years. With a lot of pain in the meantime. And no guarantee (or even likelihood) of being competitive in 2027 or 2028. Saying that we just need to trade everybody else oversimplifies the difficulty of building a competitive team. Having a team like the Twins had the past two years and adding the right parts makes them competitive (assuming reasonable health). A completely torn down team isn't magically going to be competitive in 2028 because we say we'd like it to be. It may not even be any better than it is now, post-trade deadline. In the meantime, we've missed out on getting to watch Ryan and Lopez pitch for the Twins during their peak years.

? Really?

So you’re saying that his numbers compare well with the worst numbers of a bunch of guys who are having terrible seasons? You’re correct. He only has 500+ at bats, but this should be the time when he figures it out. While he is a better defensive player, in what way is he a better offensive player than Eddie Julien?