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  1. MTV
    Varland has proven to be solid as a back-end starter, and still has #3 starter potential; he can be an innings-eater for this team for years to come and shouldn’t be moved to a bullpen role. Maeda has done very well since returning from injury but if he starts to struggle shifting him to the bullpen in the back-half of the year shouldn’t be all bad. Keuchel is an interesting option, I think the Twins could start experimenting him in the bullpen, but having him as starter depth wouldn’t hurt, especially considering his 0.64 ERA in 3 AAA starts. I think that Patrick Murphy and Cody Funderburk should be the top relief options for the Twins right now, and should just keep shuffling guys until something clicks. It worked for Brock Stewart, let’s see if anything else can surprise this team.
  2. MTV
    Injuries will certainly be apparent, Kirilloff can move to an outfield corner for a little bit if necessary, plus DH if Buxton can move to the outfield again. Julien and (hopefully) Miranda are young sparks on an old roster and should be built around instead of sold off, similar to Lee, Lewis, Wallner and Rodriguez
  3. MTV
    I really don’t understand the argument for NOT extending Mahle. At this point, you might as well get what you can out of him, and extra pitching depth can only help the Twins, having an extra starter who could be a serious #3 sounds very helpful, especially considering he’ll be 29 and 30 in 2024 and 2025. Do you remember 2021, where we had no depth and relied on J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker, Griffin Jax and John Gant for most of our starts? Depth is exactly why this current team isn’t sitting below the Guardians and White Sox right now, even with our lack of offense. I do think a 2-year deal is what the Twins should shoot for, but $20m doesn’t seem like the right price tag. I think $3m in his first year, $12m in his second year and a $3m Innings escalator incentive would be nice (ex. $500k for each inning mark: 75, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180) and a $1m Cy Young escalator Incentive. So 2yr/$15m.
  4. MTV
    I think the needs are set for Minnesota at the deadline: 2 bats, 2 relievers. One of those relievers should be a 1-year guy for Kepler, maybe eat some of his contract or surrender a low-level prospect, and a high-leverage guy to balance out Duran. DFA Pagan or make someone take him, I don’t care. Getting a serious 1B/DH would be a good option if Kirilloff/Buxton get injured long-term (knock on wood), but the outfield needs to be addressed. I don’t like Larnach’s lack of hitting off-speeds and think he should be traded, and a righty corner bat is necessary. Also getting a better CF than Taylor would help a lot, doesn’t need to be a huge improvement but just someone to balance out playing time.
  5. MTV
    I still think Kep still has some Value, at least more value than a DFA or a space where the Twins eat his salary. I think he’d be worth a solid prospect or 2, but I do think the trade deadline is the place to swap him. My ideal trade for Kepler is to trade him and Donovan Solano to the Seattle Mariners for OF Jonatan Clase and RHP Prelander Berroa, the M’s #12 and #14 prospects. Clase has had a breakout year and is one of the fastest players in the minors, and looks like a prime candidate to cover center Field. He’s already stolen 36 bags in 48 games, on top of posting a .952 OPS. On the other hand, Berroa has electric stuff and would work well in a high-leverage relief role, which the Twins need right now. He’s held a modest ERA around 4.5, and is beginning to transition into a relief role in the high minors.
  6. MTV
    that does look like a solid 1-5, but I still wanna see the team get another high-end starter, hopefully an Ace. Lopez looks like a #2, Ryan Looks like a #3, and Ober looks like a #4 in a great playoff rotation. We need someone who can be that #1, because the 2/3/4 is very good, and the Twins still have a lot of depth options lined up for next year.
  7. MTV
    Option Castro and Larnach once Kirilloff and Farmer are ready, start Kirilloff mostly at first, have Gallo in either Right (for Gordon) or Left (for Kepler), and platoon Kepler/Gordon. See if one of these two can get the bat going, if not then they’ll be expendable by the deadline. I think Kepler definitely goes, while Gordon is an in-between. If his bat can heat up then there’s a reason for keeping him.
  8. MTV
    Im seeing a lot of comments about Balazovic and Winder turning into quality middle-relievers, and while I think it could work, I wouldn’t push it. Let’s see these guys pitch some starts for a couple of months, there’s no point in turning a quality starter into a reliever unless he’s struggling, you can turn a good starter prospect into 2 good relievers if you’re smart. I think Sands and Moran are contenders, but trading for a reliever or 2 wouldn’t be hard. Let’s be patient.
  9. MTV
    Let the season run it’s course and see where you are at the All-Star Break. If all 5 of these guys are still healthy and performing and Ober/Varland/SWR are having great season at AAA then trading a starter seems alright, I could see Sonny Gray being shipped off for a Top Prospect or Influential bat
  10. MTV
    I think that opening day is one of the most important games of the year, since you showcase (usually) most of your star-power early on and determine where you go from there. I think 2022’s opening day game was accurate: a close game, Buxton homers, Duran shines, but in the end the twins collapse under a guy like Gary Sanchez. The Twins looked different today, with a 2-5 of Correa/Buxton/Larnach/Miranda looking like a fearsome group and a quality all-round pitching staff with quality defense. A good leadoff hitter would help (don’t you dare bring up Arraez) and a bullpen arm, but this team looks good in the 1 game I’ve seen. Call it superstition, but ever since Falvey/Levine took over the front office, the season hinges on opening day. If we win, it’s a winning season. If we don’t, it’s a losing season. Call me crazy but it’s happened each year since 2016.
  11. MTV
    My Prediction: Sands becomes a quality long-reliever, Emilio Pagan’s struggles continue and Maeda struggles in starts but succeeds in a reliever role, resulting in: Sands and Maeda in the pen as long-relievers, Ober to the majors as the #5 starter, Pagan likely DFA’d
  12. MTV
    “Nowhere close to an Ace” is a very bold take for a guy that can hold an ERA around 3.00 consistently and give you 180 innings in a year
  13. MTV
    There’s one key element in trading a player at the right time that you skipped over: who’s going to replace said player once they’re gone. Sure, you could trade for a younger player of similar talent/position, but usually you only trade a player when you know you’ll get better production out of the newcomers, or the replacements. You wouldn’t trade Byron Buxton after a great campaign unless you have a legitimate center fielder as a backup/in AAA, or there’s a serious Center Fielder that would be worth acquiring. Trading away Caleb Thielbar wouldn’t make sense because you A) don’t have a lefty reliever high enough in the wings or at the same quality of Thielbar to replaces his values as a lefty/high-end reliever immediately and B) you won’t really find a younger/more controllable lefty reliever that you could get for only trading Thielbar instead of in a package deal. This is why I think our most tradable piece is Jorge Polanco, but at the deadline instead of 2021. Polanco has shown that his offense is legit and seems capable of returning to peak form once his IL stint ends. I don’t doubt his value will return, and Polanco could be the main piece in a trade that finally snags the Twins a bonafide Ace for the rotation. As for replacing him, there are endless possibilities: at the majors, a platoon of Nick Gordon/Donovan Solano will do nicely for the time being, and in the minors, ho boy are there options: Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien, Austin Martin, not to mention several shortstop prospects that are still in the lower minors that could end up as second basemen in the future; Point being, Second Base isn’t a hard position to fill, and the Twins sure do have enough depth to supplement the keystone. If the Twins play this right, they could have a serious playoff-bound roster with an Ace leading them down the stretch.
  14. MTV
    Lee/Correa/Lewis/Kirilloff (left to right) look to be the infield 4 for a while, Miranda looks best suited for DH while Julien might get shut down to the bench, which doesn’t sound all to bad: with injuries and an ability to play multiple positions, Julien can shift around 1B/2B/DH for a good portion of the year or if anyone goes down. Another contingency with Julien: he can’t hit lefties. He had a .649 OPS against lefties last year in Wichita, which basically reduces him to a platoon-only role. Still, he provides necessary infield depth that’ll be vital to the twins for the future.
  15. MTV
    Let’s see what we can get in 2023. If he struggles and gets injured, probably not. But if he can be consistent and dominant sign him for a while. Also, if you will extend him, keep it under $30 million
  16. MTV
    The Twins need to start seeing some serious development from former top-prospects so they can get dangled and traded at the deadline, players like Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Nicky G, Noah Miller, Jordan Balazovic, Austin Martin, etc. as well as our surprisingly deep rotation in vets like Gray and Maeda or Josh Winder or Bailey Ober are all players we should be willing to ship out to get that true Ace: I wouldn’t mind Max Meyer or Mitch Keller, but someone like Burnes, Woodruff, Bieber, Fried or Gallen would make for stud aces to highlight this rotation and hopefully an extension will be reached, because the likes of Lewis, Lee, Julien, Rodriguez and Wallner look like staples in the future of this lineup. If Lee/Lewis/Rodriguez can becomes stars to backup Buxton/Correa who knows how far this lineup will go.
  17. MTV
    Odd moves on both fronts, with some similarities between the 2. I’ll start with Santana: he’s got good fastball velo and limits hard-contact to a surprising degree, but definitely needs to limit the walks. Was solid in Texas for the back end of 2021 and start of 2022, but fell off a cliff at the end of 2022. Not a ton of pretty stuff for splits, but did hold a 2.25 ERA in the 9th last year for what it’s worth. Most likely a DFA candidate, but maybe a bullpen injury pushes him into the pen to start the year. As for Hoffman, he has less on his shoulders with the minor league contract. Similar story, good fastball/movement but got torched in Cincinnati last year. Similar to Trevor Megill and Santana, he was surprisingly excellent in the first half of 2022 but fell off. Looks like a guy that could eat some innings as an early reliever (5th, 6th, 7th) if injuries hit the pen, don’t throw him in during the late innings. not horrific moves, maybe some reclamation projects but not guys I’m gonna expect to make an impact in 2023.
  18. MTV
    I like Solano overall, I’m just concerned with who gets shoved out of the starting 26 to make room for him. Kirilloff or Polanco due to injuries? Larnach to AAA?
  19. MTV
    Something has to give before this makes sense. Either they’re about to move someone or somebody’s about to get injured, wether it’s an infielder like Polanco, Miranda or Kirilloff or any infield prospects like Julien, Martin or Lewis having a setback. If they really wanted depth they would’ve signed Solano to a minor-league deal, Larnach seems like the only realistic player to option down, and I’d much rather see Larnach than Solano. Maybe there’s something to tweak with Larnach and they want to start him at Saint Paul, otherwise something’s about to happen, something bigger.
  20. MTV
    At this point, find out if there’s anything there. Try him out as a starter in Saint Paul and see if he succeeds. If not, push him to a reliever role and try him there. Unless the twins somehow get more injured than last year he’s likely out of the picture in 2023. If he can prove to be a strong starter or elite reliever in AAA, he could factor in as a part of the depth chart in 2024, but he has to show he can handle a full year. I would say if he has an ERA over 3.50 as a starter or an ERA over 2.50 as a reliever than he doesn’t deserve a call up.
  21. MTV
    I think the twins will eventually move some of these guys to relievers, so long as we don’t have another Balazovic-incident happen to any of the starters at AAA. If SWR, Varland, Winder and Balazovic all prove they are capable starters then pitchers like Sands and Henriquez could start thriving in the pen, where they look better off in. Cole Sands looks like another Tyler Duffey while Henriquez looks like a serious long-reliever or potential high-end piece.
  22. MTV
    Probably Megill, he got shelled in the second half of the year and having another lefty in the pen would be better, plus I trust Moran more. I’d rather have Ober as a 6th Starter or at least throw 2-3 quality innings in the pen over a struggling Megill, although I think Megill has potential
  23. MTV
    With Lopez-Gray-Ryan-Mahle-Maeda-Ober as the 6-man rotation (they aren’t gonna option Ober down) that leaves 7 bullpen spots for 8 major league-ready relievers: Duran, Lopez, Thielbar, Jax, and Pagan (No MILB options) are locks for 5 spots, the remaining 2 have to be fought over by Megill, Moran and Alcala. The only world where I see Alcala not being one of the 2 is if he gets injured in spring training or shows too much regression, which I doubt will happen. I would pick Moran over Megill for variation, along with the fact that Megill has Multiple MILB options while Moran only has 1. There is absolutely a good pitcher here, Megill had a 2.25 ERA before the All-Star break and had a solid ERA in the 6th (2.08) and 7th (4.26) but had an ERA over 8.5 in the 8th/9th. If he can start moving his fastball out of the heart of the plate this could be a seriously effective reliever for the twins for the next few years.
  24. MTV
    I think Julien will have a similar year to Luis Arraez in 2019, a very good rookie called up mid-season that pushes out one of the veterans on the roster. After this year, it looks like Julien will take the same role as Jose Miranda this year, push out a veteran and hold down a position for a couple months until a super-prospect gets called up, in Miranda’s case it’s Royce Lewis, for Julien it will likely be Brooks Lee. I really hope this team doesn’t sell off any infield prospects soon because having an infield of (Right to left) Kirilloff, Lee, Lewis and Correa with Miranda and Julien as backups/DH options would be fantastic
  25. MTV
    I know this year will be better already. Lopez-Gray-Ryan-Mahle-Maeda with Ober in the pen is already a good rotation, but having guys like Josh Winder, Louie Varland and Simeon Woods-Richardson as opposed to Chi Chi Gonzalez and a struggling Cole Sands really does look better, even if 2-3 of the starters go down at the same time.
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