PatPfund

That probably is up to your cable provider; my best guess is if your current service includes a package of regional sports networks (like FanDuel), Twins.tv will slot into that package. If not, you might need to balance an upgrade versus just streaming the Twins. Your provider may not have the details yet, but ultimately they'd be the ones making the final coverage calls.

Look. Trade Wallner or Larnach to upgrade the team, sure. But the obsession about too much LH hitting is foolish. We don't need to ditch useful bats just because they hit LH and are "corner outfielders". (This just in; corner outfielders are only 2/9 of a lineup.) Say we face a lefty; you can field a lineup with either catcher (or even Camargo), Miranda, Lee, Correa, Lewis, Castro/Martin, Buxton, and Wallner. 8 RH bats, one lefty (a REALLY powerful lefty).

It is the offseason, so you can raise 'what if' questions about any position on the field, and most require a lot fewer 'what ifs' than 2B. Sort of "What if Lee, Julien, Castro, Martin, Helman, Keaschall don't work out, 'cause then we have a problem?" As opposed to "What if Buxton gets hurt?" or "What if Correa gets hurt?" or "What if Lopez gets hurt?" or "What if Lewis gets hurt regardless of where he plays in the field?" That last one is my biggest actual worry about 2B, because I think moving Lewis - a bat the Twins MUST have healthy and in the lineup to succeed this year, and somebody who has already had two major knee injuries - to 2B is the most foolish idea since moving Sano to the OF. 2B is a position that features a LOT of playing with your back to baserunners, and physical pivots; it features the shortest physical height average in sports (because you have to be nimble to survive), and it regularly devours its players with gruesome knee injuries (ask Utley or Pedroia about that). Lewis would be one of the largest 2B in MLB this season, and an injury waiting to happen. No. Please.

We'll see about Ryan. The other two were never claimed by me to have a cap other than by useage history, but the reason doesn't matter. If you can only average 5 innings (or less) that is major innings for the bullpen to cover. If multiple starters are doing that regularly, that is a problem. You left them out in your comments, but SWR made 28 starts (and essentially saved the year for a while), but he averaged under 5 IP per start with a marked weardown at the end (he never made it to 5.0 IP after August 21), and Paddack, well... is Paddack. You don't have to agree, but my main burning bullpen question remains as I stated.

If you mean you'll be able to watch Twins' home games with a regular MLB.tv subscription (and without the extra-legal use of VPN to hide your location) instead of an MLB.tv + Twins.tv combo, I hope you are right, and if you (as exPat) don't live in the area, that might be true. But local fans like myself will almost certainly have to pay a premium for live home games on top of the base MLB.tv subscription (or the Twins are terrible at business). (Though we should also be able to skip the MLB.tv part if we just want Twins.)

Because Ryan is coming off a shoulder injury, and barely pitched the last third of the season; pitchers are often capped under those conditions (even assuming he is as effective and doesn't re-injure himself). Because Festa (by usage as mentioned) threw more than 5.0 innings exactly once in 13 starts and one bulk appearance (not for lack of pitches; he is terribly inefficient, which is a known issue with him). Matthews? Because he never made it past 5.0 even once in his 9 starts, and five times failed to get that far. (The Twins went 3-6 in those starts, while Zebby compiled a 6.69 ERA, and looked talented, but unready for MLB.)

We were rated at the top last year, but injuries and and churn in the rotation (we were down to Lopez, Ober, and 3 rookies for something like a third of the season) washed out much of the impact of decent relief pitching. 2025 starts with a rotation that has at least one starter under a IP cap (Ryan), and another under Severe Injury Watch and an IP cap (Paddack), plus one that wore down last year (SWR). The top two replacements by 2024 usage (Festa and Matthews) likely have in-game and season inning caps as well. So my top two burning questions are: 1. Will rotation churn wipe out the bullpen again? 2. Can Rocco master the use of a long reliever (something his tinker-constantly impulses have pretty much prevented so far, but something a stretched out Varland might be good for)? (And OK, health, but I'd put Topa in there as much a Stewart.)

For sure, I'd give him a taste in Spring Training with a planned start in St Paul, and let his pitching determine next moves.

MLB.tv was required to blackout most local games due to contracts between the teams and various regional broadcasters. As teams move to MLB as their broadcaster (as the Twins have done) the blackout restriction goes away, so... If you live in the Twins' local area, it sounds like you would sign up for Twins streaming if you want to watch (almost) all of their games live, and if you want to see Twins and others, you sign up for MLB.tv. (If you don't live in the Twins local zone, you can just do MLB.tv and watch them since you are 'out of market'. The only exception is if you are located in a team-with-a-blackout-regional-sports-network contract (then you can watch all Twins' games except those against your "home" team). (I actually held on to a crappy internet service for a couple extra years, because the server was based in Chicago, so the Twins were 'out of market' according to MLB.tv unless they were playing the Pale Hose or Cubs.) @Original_JB as a regular MLB.tv subscriber, I'd bet money you will need to add a +Twins package to watch local games live on MLB.tv. Away games are likely free with your package, and you can watch home games once they are archived (about a couple hours after broadcast ends). @LambchoP my experience is not only that you get available spring training games on MLB.tv, but they tend to offer them even to non-subscribers to lure people into subscribing for the season. But the key word there is "available". Broadcasters don't televise almost every game as they do once the season starts; still fun to get peeks at your team's prospects, and the number of games shown goes up as ST progresses. Random thoughts: 1. The Twins are NOT the broadcaster, MLB is; that means any rough estimates of team "profits" should be scaled back. The reason the Twins stuck with a bankrupt RSN last year is even the crummy deal looked better than MLB's offer. 2. At the very least, this is at least a model than provides some incentive to make the team better (for the new owner if not the Pohlads); the better the team, the more interested fans, the more subscription revenue). 3. I'll miss Smalley, but then I'm old enough to have seen him play for the Twins. 4. Looks like I'll get to see more live Twins games this year. (Now I just have to figure out if MLB.tv is back or not, though the minor league game broadcasts are addictive enough I might have to re-up there, too.)

The Twins don't have the pitching depth to even worry about this. One of the top three is coming off a serious shoulder injury and likely has an innings limit. #4 hasn't approached anything like a healthy season since 2019. SWR had a solid rookie year, but showed signs of wearing down at the end. The only pitcher you list in AAA that looks MLB ready is Festa, and even if he starts there (as Ober did two years ago), I have no doubt he'll be in the MLB rotation quickly due to injury (Ryan/Paddack?) or regression (SWR?) as Ober was two years ago. Zebby clearly needs more work in the minors, and Raya has rarely pitched more than 5 innings as a pro. Plus, there is also evidence (there was a recent Athletic article about the Dodgers' potential six-man) that lots of pitchers pitch worse on an extra day's rest. So, yeah it is possible, but this team needs to pray for general health, and use its minor league "depth" to spot spell IP limited starters, (And hope some of the other AAA assets like Adams and Morris step up. If they don't, and/or something happens to Lopez or Ober, we might be blackly laughing at SP depth articles by mid-May.

Great article defining the different systems for calculations. Skipping to the nub of the recent series on the Pohlad series (or some basic deduction from the fact the Pohlads' main business is now downtown commercial real estate, and recent stories on how the bottom has dropped out of similar businesses), I think (emphasis on I) what matters to ownership right now is real dollars they have to spend now and this year, not when it was actually spent or how future/past spending accounts for this year. I think they want to keep the value of their for-sale asset as intact as they can (to maximize return) without adding costs they can't recover in a sale as extra value. That fits with the holding pattern of retaining their arbitration players, while adding nothing substantial. Strip the null words off the statements, and you get a strong sense "we can do this forever" while hoping internally they really, really don't have to.

Castro makes the most sense as a trade candidate (unless you make a deal for Larnach or Wallner), because his flexibility has broad appeal, his salary is big enough to matter to the Twins but not many other teams, and he actually had a good year last year so there is actually a chance to return value. Throw in Tonkin on the Milwaukee deal (they get a cheap serviceable MLB RP in addition to the everyday player, we open a guaranteed salary slot for the new guy in the 'pen.

Apropos of nothing, @tony&rodney, I adore your screen name. First Twins debate I ever had was with my brother over the best Twin (I was an Oliva guy, Michael a Carew backer; no wrong answers there).

Polemics aside (and there is a LOT of that here; interest rates are only "high" now if you ignore historic context and the fact they "soared" in the early '20's from zero aka free money, and money can't remain free without destroying the value of that money including the money that makes up retired worker pensions), the series essentially boils down to Carl was an unpleasant businessman, and (most importantly) even though his kids may not be as bad, the collapse of downtown real estate (see recent stories on Madison Equities in St Paul or the Strib's look yesterday at Mpls) is likely driving the sale of the Twins. There is likely need for some liquidity, or at least stability in the face of other (big) concerns. The last paragraph, though, is pure gold. That indeed is our system, except I'd add a third option to screaming or fighting, and that is to emotionally opt out. Ultimately sports are a diversion, and there are a LOT of diversions out there. (Enough baseball fans are opting out emotionally that the sport at some point may have a reckoning between nine-figure contracts, and shrinking popular interests, the same way real estate is dealing with big mortgages and shrinking occupancy rates.)

Until there is an end to the offseason there is always a potential path. One might be the team changing hands quickly, the new owners authorizing a payroll increase, and the Twins sign Flaherty and Santander, trade Julien and Vasquez for a solid LH relief arm, move Paddack to the bullpen as a power arm, and find out Buxton, Correa, Miranda, and Lewis all had great offseasons and report healthy and ready to go. I'd call that a great offseason. (And why issue "grades" even once Spring Training starts? Only the regular season will tell on so-called grades. Remember the ones that gave the Twins an A for trade deadline moves a couple years ago, and gave Chicago and Cleveland Fs? The same Chicago and Cleveland that blew past the Twins after "Failing" the trade deadline?)

So Gasper is older than Helman, plays worse defense at fewer positions, is shorter, and would be an underwhelmingly weak bat at 1B especially with RH hitting Miranda on the roster. If he is rated as better than Helman by the Twins, they are just stupid. Though both could probably be waived without getting claimed, and neither has shown they are MLB players yet. Cartaya isn’t a top prospect any more and was dumped for a lottery ticket for a reason; he can’t hit upper minors pitching. So Camargo isn’t getting waived (traded maybe but not waived); Cartaya has an option as well so he probably makes it through camp and gets sent down. I also don’t see them dumping the pitchers you mention, because they have upside and may get claimed. Tonkin, Funderburk, and Headrick are all fungible talents you could waive and have a decent chance of them not getting claimed, or just replace them with someone else if you need spots ahead of ST.

The more Ford and Gasper are on the active MLB roster, the worse this team is. Both are scrap heap material nearing expiration dates (they are 29 and 32 and both have career WARs under zero; aka they stink). Larnach is younger, vastly better, tall, a lefty bat, plays an OK OF, and can certainly learn the easiest defensive position on the field during Spring Training. And if Emmanuel Rodriguez pushes his way to the big leagues, and Julien struggles early, you have a space for Emma, a platoon match for Miranda, and you give the team flexibility to rotate their big bats through DH. And probably your most tradable asset, Castro, can be traded; maybe for the pitching help they need (like a steady eddie starter, or a good LH RP), or maybe to free up salary to add the help. That's the Larnach 1B stuff.

Being healthy is a fine start, so good to know the small sample size indicates a good outcome there. Be nice to know how many innings the starters went, though, because outside of Lopez and Ober I see potential IP limits all over the current #3-#7 SPs (including Ryan).

If they can move Vazquez's salary they will (might be easier than Paddack's given the injury history), but more likely might be a Castro trade (Martin could take that spot; a good left arm the target). They also should work Larnach out at 1B; his bat would put Gasper's and Ford's to shame, his athleticism and size gives him more defensive upside, and with Rodriguez on the cusp of MLB they will need to keep their best bats in the lineup when E arrives. Though fine for organizational depth, if the Twins play many games with Gasper or Ford on the big league roster, it will be a bad, bad omen on the team success front.

Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors seems confused by what 'lame duck' means (which is somebody serving in a position AFTER their eligibility for renewal is gone, or they have been terminated but remain on the job for a time). Rocco isn't a lame duck even if his contract is up at the end of next season, because he can be extended. Though, as the OP here aptly points out, he really hasn't earned an extension; two of the last three years have ended with an epic team collapse. Hopefully he knows he is managing for his job this year, because he really should be.

Miranda isn't a baseline; if healthy he is a major step up from any of these players, and on the upside of his career instead of the downside. If you sign a veteran, Rocco will play him despite all evidence the younger player is better; we don't need another Joey Gallo/Manuel Margot clogging the roster (or reviving the terrible idea of Lewis playing 2B, so Miranda can play, so a weak link can stand at first). And I like Wade, but I'm guessing his market never warms ups. A pop-less platoon weak defender with a slightly above average OPS+ isn't any team's dream for a critical offensive position.

Keaschall is not a pitcher, and so doesn't need the same recovery time. The surgery was delayed to give him maximum playing time last year, and then done on a schedule so that he would be fully recovered for Spring Training.

That isn't really a comfort since they make the actual decisions. Like the stupid decision to try Sano in the OF. Lewis would be one of the largest 2B in baseball and brings a history of serious knee injuries to a position that demands back-to-runner shiftiness and ruins knees (career-ending ruination) more than any other.

I don't see the glaring need for anyone on this list (other than Alonso who is more likely sign on Mars than here). Until he tweaked his back, Miranda wasn't just passable, he tied an all-time record for consecutive hits, and posted monthly 'sOPS+'s of 123, 110, 160, and 203. He's your 1B. Julien should get a shot at being the LH option, and Larnach should get work there. (If the Twins move Vasquez's or Paddack's contract, Castro plays a lot of LF, if not then Martin can play the position with flex for E-Rod's likely arrival at some point.) Going with Miranda as the primary 1B also undercuts the stupid idea of moving Royce Lewis to 2B (a position notorious for career-wrecking knee injuries). Brooks Lee, Julien, Castro, and Martin can cover the space, letting Lewis actually get (hopefully) healthy extended time at 3B. Keaschall may also be there by season's end.

I'd love to see Vasquez go back to Boston, both for him and for us. And, yeah, this third year at $10 million has turned painful, but in case people forgot, it is the only reason he signed here (the Twins were the only ones offering a third year), and Vasquez truly stabilized one of the weakest parts of our team. The guy is a pro's pro, has probably been key to keeping Jeffers healthy, and it is a bummer the collapse of the Twins' financial model (big loss in TV revenue, feeble post-pandemic attendance) has them scaling back. But that's where we are.