golfboy1

I'm not sure if you are replying to me but... I agree they should try whatever they can to improve .Hopefully Morneau isn't back & I don't mind them trading Willingham for a decent prospect. Maybe the Cuban 1b is an option but I don't see Ellsbury as an option. He is going to want a LOT of money for a LOT of years. That doesn't fit the Twins MO & why sign a CF long term when that is the position we have minor league strength at? "Oh, and if they roll out Thomas, Plouffe, Morneau, Doumit, Floriman..as 55% of the lineup most days...you really think the offense is going to be "competitive"? " Sadly, no. I think they are going to suck next year also. But my point was the whole offense...minus Mauer, sucks. Dumping 2 guys that have a proven history of producingwhile we keep running guys like Plouoffe, Thomas, Hermann Berneir , etc out there just shows how much work the Twins have to do & how hard it can be to acquire good, solid players. It's easy to say.. They suck, let's get someone else in here but it's actually not that easy to find players who are better. I'm sick of seeing Thomas & Plouffe at the plate every game but the reality is they haven't found anyone better right now. Maybe.(big maybe).. Parmelee produces but I'm willing to bet he never puts up numbers as good as Willingham did in 2012 or previous seasons.

This year, yes they have been bad. Last year Willingham had 35H'sR & 110RBI's & Doumit was 18 & 75. Morneau was/is untradeable with his contract & his stats. Unless the Twins did an Astro's style complete rebuild they weren't going to unload them last winter. Ryan has taken the approach of trying to stay competitive & rebuild at the same time. You could argue whether this is best but I can see their rationale in this approach. This winter I would hope that Morneau isn't resigned & they try to move Willingham at some point. Doumit has little value & they might as well keep him for now. If they are going to get rid of them just because they are 1/3 of one of the worst offenses in the league(this year)....they better get rid of Plouffe,Thomas, Florimon, etc. Someone has to play & right now there doesn't appear to be anyone better to take their place.

I think they should be traded if they get a reasonable prospect back but I don't see why they would just dump them for nothing...especially Willingham. Who are they taking up spots from? If we just dump Willinghan & Doumit who is going to play OF/DH & 1st next year that is doing so good we need to find room for them by dumping ML players? Arcia need to play, after that nobody is forcing the Twins to find room for them. I guess they can give Parmelee more chances but he hasn't impressed so far. It seems like he starts every AB with an 0-2 count & he can't hit a good fastball. I'm not against trading Willingham but if he is healthy he has proven to be a very good RH power hitter. With his reasonable contract that has some value.

This is an accurate assessment. Compared to 12 months ago the ML team is marginally better. Ryan did an excellent job trading for Mays & Meyers since we need high upside arms more than anything. They did a good job grabbing Pressley in the rule 5..he looks like a good arm for the future. I like Dozier & Florimon up the middle. They are a big improvement over previous years MI. That's about it for the good news. I never thought the Twins had a chance to compete this year so I wish they would have done more to improve long term. If they could have traded Willinghamm. Doumit or Burton last off season for good prospects they should have. This winter they should listen to offers on every one of their RP....including Perkins. I don't think they have a hitter worth trading ...maybe Willinghamm but it's probably better to hope he rebounds & trade him mid season. They could/should be more aggressive on the international front. Signing a few big time talents from the IF would really help speed up the process. The future looks a lot better than 12 months ago. They didn't have Meyers, Mays or Stewart.... & Gibson was more of a question mark. Sano & Buxton have made huge jumps & it looks like there are a lot of others prospects who could make an impact further down the road. I think we are going to have to suffer thru 2014 but hopefully Meyer, Mays, Sano, Pinto , Rosario, Santana & a few others at least get their feet wet so they can actually contribute in 2015.I expect Buxton will be up by 2015 also.

Yea, he's been under the radar but his stats the last 2 years are pretty impressive. I've not heard much about him. What's his stuff like? That's the best group the Twins have sent to the AFL. I'm looking forward to seeing all of them perform

I understand your POV...& agree with it to a certain extent. I'm just saying that it appears that Morneau has very little trade value & if other teams want the Twins to pay his salary & still just send a filler prospect I can see why Ryan would say no. Regarding the others trades I mentioned. There are obvious differences but Rios is a far superior player than Morneau & they still only received a player who is probably equal to Escobar..plus the Twins also received Hernandez. Dejesus was let go for cash considerations per BA.. ".Chicago received cash considerations from Washington, but more pertinently, they saved the remainder of DeJesus’ $4.25 million salary—an estimated $708,000 per month—plus his $1.5 million buyout for 2014." Apparently neither of these players is as valuable as Butera since the Twins received a superior prospect in that trade (IMHO). This argument can be flipped. Why won't the other team pay his salary if they think Morneau will help them win a playoff spot? How can a team be so blanking cheap they won't pay $3 million to help themselves win a playoff spot? My opinion is it is about more than just the money..ie.. the prospect in question is the holdup. Another question. If it's ok to just dump Morneau for anything we can get, plus pay his salary why doesn't every team do this? Colorado could send Helton(plus money) packing. Seattle could trader off Ibanez, Morales, Morse. I'm sure I could think of a few others that fall into the same category. Teams will take these players if they get them for no money & a bag of balls. I respect your POV but I'm willing to give the Twins/Ryan enough credit that if they could get a reasonable prospect in return, the money would not be the holdup...since it's been stated plenty that the Twins owe Morneau the money regardless

The problem is we don't know who or what is being offered so we are left to speculate & make our own guesses. If they could get a return similar to Liriano I hope they would do it. It seems like they can't even get that much based on what is known. #1. Morneau cleared waivers so nobody thought he was worth his salary or was even worried another team might grab him. This seems to indicate he doesn't have great value. #2. Texas got Rios PLUS money for a package that is less than Liriano(IMHO) #3. The Cubs let DeJesus go for nothing just to get rid of his salary & he isn't that bad of a player. Morneau's stats are slightly better but Dejesus is a very good OF & would give a team a PR while Morneau's value is all bat. My "guess" is that very few teams are interested in Morneau...& they want the Twins to pay his salary & send back a very marginal prospect. I understand why Ryan would say no to that. I haven't read every post here but has anyone named who even wants Morneau? I can see Baltimore having some interest but I also read that they didn't actually want Morneau. If they aren't interested..who else is?

I believe you are overvaluing Morneau. Nobody claimed him off waivers because they didn't want to take the chance they would get stuck with him. Let's say a team told the Twins they would do a trade if the Twins payed 90% of Morneau's salary. If the Twins said no the Twins are still paying 100% of his salary so it seems likely that nobody is offering anything better than a filler prospect. Texas acquired Rios from Chicago for practically nothing AND the White Sox had to throw in money. Texas had a big need for a RF after Cruz was suspended, Rios is better than Morneau & Texas still got him cheap. There are a lot of players besides Morneau available. Rumors have Dunn, Ibanez, Morales ,Lind & plenty of other players available. On the surface, it seems crazy that the Twins could get more for Butera than Morneau but they are separate issues. I can't believe the Twins got anything worthwhile for Butera but just because the Dodgers are stupid doesn't mean everyone else will be. I still hope they trade Morneau but just moving him for a nobody isn't good business... like some have said...saying no is part of being a good negotiator. We are all working off limited info but I'll give TR the benefit of the doubt & assume he would have traded Morneau if the right situation/player had arisen.

I think your view is correct. Morneau is...at best, a marginal upgrade for a few teams & since nobody wanted to take the chance they would get stuck with him he cleared waivers. Chicago had to send money to Texas to take Alex Rios & they received a marginal prospect in return. I think most contenders would rather have Rios over Morneau. The market for Morneau is probably very small. I believe the Twins would rather keep Morneau than pay money to receive a marginal prospect back. I don't entirely disagree with that approach. He's been a Twins favorite for a long time & just dumping him for a nobody isn't the right thing to do(IMHO). Some posters seem to think the Twins are being cheap by taking this approach but I don't think that is true. If they don't trade him they STILL have to pay him his salary so how is that being cheap? If it was just about money they could probably pay 70/80% of his salary & someone would take him.

This sums up the situation. Dozier & Florimon are average (at best) at this point in time but they both play solid defense & with the Twins pitching that is important. In short, #1. They are a vast improvement from last year #2. The Twins have so many other problems that need attention that they can live with their current MI for the forseeable future.

Hopefully Ryan will at least consider trading Perkins but I agree, it would take a great offer to trade him. Boston seems the most likely partner but I think Bogaerts is practically untouchable. I think a couple of options are LHP Henry Owens, RHP Rubby DeLaRosa & low A prospect Manuel Margot. I love Bogaerts but he is not getting traded for Perkins & the Twins need pitchers more than anything. Owens & Delarosa are both solid pitching prospects & Margot is a lottery ticket that might develop into a star. I don't mind seeing the Twins punt the rest of this year...if it means they are better in 2014/2015 & beyond. Perkins can help those years also so they need a very good return but I also think they have other options for the pen while high upside SP are the hardest thing to find.

Indiana is still playing so I think LEN III jumped the gun on this one but I imagine they will sign Eades, Demuth & Sleger after the college WS.

He signed with Florida, right? It's going to take more than that.

They are never going to sign all their picks so it's not a big deal. The Diamonbacks drafted Cory Hahn, who is paralyzed. IIRC some team drafted a female pitcher recently. It's PR...a feel good move & it doesn't prevent them from drafting anyone who they think they have a chance to sign. You can only draft so many good fielding crappy hitting backup catchers in one draft.

I have a feeling Denney is close to unsignable at this point. I think I'd prefer Bolt.

Bolt's injury could work either way. He could go to Nebraska & improve his stock or he could decide to take the money & not risk getting hurt @ collage & end up with nothing. I imagine the Twins have some idea what his thinking is but if they have a reasonable chance at him I hope they go for it. Maybe being from Minnesota will give them a slight edge. Tyler O'Neill might be a good pick if they want to add a catcher. I don't believe he would be a hard sign.

I've posted on here that I believe the Twins had better choices of whom to remove from the roster (Son of Sal) but you are way overvaluing Benson. He has shown zero ability to hit above the AA level. The fact he will be out of options DOES matter. He need to be on a ML roster next year or they would still lose him Do you think 18 FANTASTIC AB in Frisco is really going to make a long term difference? Benson has no trade value. Texas couldn't get anything for Borbon & his track record was way better than Bensons. The Twins orginization makes mistakes but this is so minor it doesn't even make a blip. If you are still faulting them for "wasting" Garrett Jones I guess you hold them to a very high...almost impossible standard. Baltimore should be pissed about Florimon, Boston about Pressley, etc, etc. It happens, players bounce around & some of them eventually succeed I could post ad nauseum about mistakes every team makes but Benson wouldn't make the list. I'll reiterate, I'd rather have seen Butera cut but apparently the Twins had had enough of Benson & decided it would be better if he got a fresh start someplace else. In all lilelyhood, they would have had to release him next year anyway.

Well, they are playing Parmelee & Doumit out there now so that is certainly an option. I'm not claiming that Mastro or Ramirez would be a very good option as a starter but I don't see how Ortiz or Benson would qualify as an improvement. Ortiz is doing better @ AA but he is still hitting .294 & striking out once a game. He would be overmatched @ the ML level & unless Benson does a miracle turnaround I don't see him making an impact. I think the Span & Revere trades were worthwhile but the Twins should have found someone to bring to camp who was a reasonable option. At the least, they should have went after Borbon when he was available since Hicks was off to a poor start by then.

I agree about Hicks & Arcia (hopefully they play well enough). If they get a good offer for Willingham they should trade him. I don't see where Benson or Ortiz rate that highly. Parmelee might still be around for RF plus Douhmit, Ramirez, Mastroianni & Colabello are likely ahead of Benson or Ortiz.

I never thought I'd see 11 pages about Benson being waived but WTF, I might as well add my 2 cents worth. In a vacuum, losing Benson is no big deal (it's less of a big deal than the Twins losing Alex Burnett this spring). BUT, the Twins have ZERO CF behind a guy hitting .150 & they have several other players "worthy" of being waived. Odds are, Benson will continue to suck & with no more options he would have been lost next spring anyway. Where the Twins %!#$@ up is not having any options for Hicks. They should/could have traded Benson to Texas for Borbon since Texas ended up giving him away. I'd much rather have Borbon, long & short term than Benson. I'm guessing the Twins figured it was better for Benson to get a fresh start & just get him out of the orginization. Otherwise, it seems like *Son of Sal* should have been waived.

Hang in there, eventually we are going to get to play the Astro's.

After last season Sano should have started in A+, there is no way he should have started higher. He's been killing it at A+ so I would expect/hope they promote him to AA in the near future but I don't think it makes much difference if they wait until after the June draft, which is likely. Machado is a rare exception, not the norm. He's a fantastic prospect..(compared to A-Rod as a teenagee)r. Baltimore had a need at 3rd & he's a superior defender...something Sano isn't. Plus, Baltimore was in a playoff race so there was a much better reason to promote him & Bundy. I'm not against pushing prospects but to say.. "The Twins suck, lets see how our prospects in A & AA would do in the majors" isn't a good solution(IMHO).

It seems like Meadows & Frazier have slipped a little lately. After the top three, the only other player who seems like a high impact, top line prospect is Stewart. The Twins could certainly use a power arm. I say take Stewart...if he doesn't sign they get the #5 pick next year & that seems better than Moran, Frazier or Meadows.

Where do you want them to promote Sano to? I think it's likely they will send him to AA at some point this season but most "experts" think he needs to work on his fielding & the fact he still strikes out a ton. He's certainly not ready for a higher level. Buxton ...like Machado,Trout & Harper could easily be the exception to the rule & move fast but most prospects that the Twins have had don't fit that scenerio. I think it's safe to say that taking the slow approach helped Span & Hunter develop into solid players & pushing them faster would have had a negative impact on them. I think Hicks would be better off with that approach. The biggest problem is starting pitching....you can't hit enough to overcome the crappy SP the Twins have. At least the future looks better than it did a year ago. Gibson, Meyer, Mays, Berrios & several others have a chance to be solid starters but I don't think rushing them is going to be a long term benefit.

Hicks should be in AAA..he needs to work on his game & that is what AAA is for. The only player on the team that made the jump to the majors & was never sent back to AAA for more "seasoning" is Mauer. Everyone else has gone up & down until they made the neccessary adjustments/improvements. Before Mauer the last guy who stuck was probably Koskie so it's not unreasonable to think that a guy batting .144 should be sent to AAA. Right now, I'd rather see Butera at the plate than Hicks batting LH. He's close to an automatic out right now from the LS. It's not a punishment...he needs to improve & AAA is the best place for that. He is "killing" the Twins & while you can live with a certain amount of struggling from a young player the major leagues is still about winning.... it's not a player develoment league. Don't forget, Hicks never played an inning at AAA so it was always expecting a lot to think he could jump straight to the majors. The Twins %#$@% up by not having any solid options in case Hicks faltered. They should have at least traded for Borbon when they had the chance.