JD-TWINS

To me, Julien’s defense isn’t even part of the conversation……….ha has nearly zero power after hitting 17 HR’s in part of a first full season……..he can’t hit .200!!! He has no business on the roster. Miranda is obviously gone. Clemons may get tested next week as he hit 3HR’s & a double last night. He’s a fallback, 13th guy on roster do to his defensive flexibility in ‘26 - doubtful. …….. SWR has to stick, somewhere/somehow.

If Topa’s stuff and Adam’s stuff are considered “reasonable” for the bullpen going forward, how can they not think SWR isn’t able to throw to 3-7 batters per outing? He’s only going to be 24 & he has 4 years of control left ………. how is he potentially a decent 5th starter but not good enough to throw out of the PEN? I don’t know he isn’t the 5th guy in rotation that then rolls into the PEN if someone else becomes a better option.

DITTO on all points. Sonny Gray left for locale to his home & guaranteed $$$$. The B.S. about Baldelli and how he handles the Rotation is nuts. In’23 the Rotation had most innings pitched through August because they had a competent rotation - unlike the Chris Archer days prior and David Festa/SWR rotation since then. Ober/Ryan/Looez ALL pitch into the 6th & 7th routinely if “they are healthy” and if they are not in the midst of an “unusually high pitch count”. Players play and that’s how games are won……Earl Weaver - Sparky Anderson - Joe Torre among numerous others, all state to a man, “good players make good managers!”

Didn’t look hard at comments because my assumption is it’s hate or a whole bunch of hate? F.O. ……… plenty of decent trades and solid FA signings under this regime ……. certainly approaching double digit failures as well, to me, that’s baseball. Cannot go from $154M in ‘23 to $135M in ‘24 to $125M in ‘25 (now under $100M for last 2 months of ‘25) …….and expect better Win/Loss …….not realistic! Can site failures all day but this reduction in salary spend year over year cannot be overcome……particularly when ownership bought into the $35M/yr to Correa. Cannot sign him to those $$ levels and then slash overall spending. Cripples F.O.’s capabilities to better the Club. Lopez hurt - Ober hurt - Festa hurt - Matthews hurt ……….. Paddack was OK but had maybe a 50/50 effectiveness over his starts. Lewis hurt & ineffective - Wallner hurt & ineffective - Keaschall hurt - Correa inneffective …………. to me, these are not F.O. driven problems. Baldelli manages the guys he’s had - PEN was lights out early and better than average up to the deadline………really the only positives with the Roster other than Buxton & a very limited Keaschall. He sends Kiersey, a fringe - speed guy, up to bunt 3 different times over a 3/4 week period and he Butchers it every time. Fans sympathize with Kiersey routinely for not getting consistent AB’s & not enough “bunting practice, due to coaching” and bitch about Baldelli. To me, it’s ridiculous. ………… It’s cited in the article here that his popularity dropped in August (after organization shipped out 10 guys from Roster in 4/5 days) and it leveled in September when the roster was taken into consideration. Same roster in both months, essentially. OWNERSHIP sets the tone with commitment & the hires they make………..this ownership isn’t committed and distances themselves from any accountability!!!!! The ownership is squarely behind the poor results in a broad sense. The Guardians are 75-71 and on the edge of a playoff spot………. this year’s Twins team, with historically average performances by the players, would be right there and assumed to be ahead of this win pace. The team construction, to me, wasn’t the problem (key injuries and lack of performance by PLAYERS) with the lack of success in ‘25.

Bet you didn’t know Guardado & Hunter were coaches in LA until today if you don’t know any Twin’s coaches - right? My assumption is they prefer living in LA vs Chanhassen or like.

Completely agree - he’s like the 2nd or 3rd fastest guy on the bases but too slow to play CF? - makes no sense, regardless of his initial reaction time. Assuming Rodriguez can stay healthy enough to play for 2-3 months straight, at any position, is just “hopeful” at this point. Jenkins, I’m assuming, isn’t considered for Big Club until at least later May/June of ‘26. Team needs to concern themselves with 1B (not Clemens daily) & Catcher ……..couple proven PEN guys…… Buxton being moved is just something to write about. OF & Rotation has enough pieces in Sum to find the right answers based on performance in early ‘26………..some may get their foot in the door over next 15 games?

EVERYONE wants to win! Don’t understand why anyone would debate this bottom line premise? ……… loyalty (possibly to a fault), family wishes, and fear of the unknown can cripple anyone’s desire to make a move in any career. He’s human and not just an athlete. Organization has backed the guy heavily & he’s being applauded for surpassing 100 games in back to back seasons. There’s been give and take in the relationship.

Seems they need to be approved prior to transaction - right? Maybe they were part of a group to acquire all control and then split off? Maybe they do not need to be approved if they are not “controlling” interest?

Nothing will change & it will only get worse……🙁 Seems a little dark. FULL rotation in ‘26 - right? Young arms to fill 5 spots in PEN along with a couple FA’s. (Adams - Abel, 3 outs at a time?) Prielipp - Raya & a few other possibilities. Need to acquire Catching depth that’s “ready” and not prospect. This can be trade or FA. Certainly doable……probably not perfect. 1B via FA. OF ………. Larnach - Wallner - Outman - Buxton - Martin - Gonzalez - Rodriguez - Jenkins ……, I think they can win with this group. Do they make Castro an offer….,is he a positive? Certainly not too costly. I just don’t see the Club as being that bad. They give up 12 runs every 4/5 days now and lose a tight game every 4/5 days…….. ALL due to 4-5 guys in the PEN not being MLB caliber OR guys that can pitch, being used too often or exposed to too many hitters due to NO options. TEAMS that are 3-8 games above .500 are still in the Playoff hunt on September 11th - pretty attainable bar - one that can be quickly surpassed with some tweaks. Need 2 - FA position signings and 2 PEN signings via FA………..possible to trade for talent but it’s seldom for MLB ready guys & that’s what’s needed. Nobody that has $400M to put into a concern is going to be good with status quo and $100M payroll in MLB…….something positive will happen……..no guarantees it will work.

What is the front office supposed to communicate (or any other business not selling stock) about their plans? What franchises lay out in one season “what the off-season plan is” for the business/franchise? None, or awfully few, from my viewpoint. If there are still crickets in December…….let em have it!!! Until then, they need time to sort things and target specific guys to try and trade for, or sign as FA’s. Pro sports teams don’t expose plans - targeted players - it just isn’t done. Can’t say “we’re going to spend $45M in free agency” ……. agents will eat that up & leverage disappears. They may or may not do well nor what the “fans want”? We’ll see. Deciding they should tell all, in September, doesn’t make sense! From my point of view, again here at TD, the group that threw in $400M have to have some caveats attached to their cash infusion!! STATUS QUO ……..on roster, spending, marketing………isn’t in the cards.

Wallner, as much as I struggle with his plate approach, certainly deserves another year to look over ………. Larnach being considered “too expensive” is nuts ……. he may make just north of $4M in ‘26 ………. he can DH or play either corner OF spot & has a career .765 OPS v. RH pitching. He should certainly hold a spot until Rodriguez or Jenkins are 100% ready for an MLB spot. Can’t take on Roden or Outman as the only placeholders!

Any thoughts on either the ‘24 or ‘25 First Round picks being able to play SS at some point in ‘26? Was hoping Lee may move to 2B or bench guy (back-up across the dirt) at some point unless his level of play elevates.

Just like Michael Hellman in Texas - he’s a star!! 😉

I don’t get the assumption by Doc, (paraphrasing) “everyone deserves endless opportunities……”. IT’s PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL not church league softball!!! Kiersey - Miranda - Julien & on & on have had numerous “opportunities” and repeatedly are way worse than sub-par! How did Sano not have enough opportunities? He was in The Show for most of 7 plus years and then went away offensively. In his last full season he struck out 183 times - 34% of his trips to the plate & 39% of the time when he didn’t walk. That was his SEVENTH SEASON in MLB………gotta have some personal responsibility by then! “It’s the philosophy” - “it’s the coaching” David Popkins may get (if there is such a thing?) BEST POSITION COACH in all of MLB this year in Toronto!!! Do I think he’s special? No. Do I think the TWINS PLAYERS sucked in ‘24 and his coaching had nearly zero to do with the huge decline & inconsistency? Yes. Blue Jays have 3 guys above .300 - another above .290 - 6 regulars above .265…………Ty France is hitting .320 in 81AB’s with Toronto and their INEPT hitting coach (Popkins), after being jettisoned from Target Field. I think it might be the Player’s responsibility for their performance.😉

It’s hard, and a lot to deal with between the ears……..his best shot is somewhere else with a fresh start and w/o Royce Lewis squarely in front of him. I wish him well but his steep decline from the guy that went 12-12 in the middle of last summer has washed his chances with the Twins.

All makes sense until the Outman piece (don’t disagree that he may be cooked?) since the Manager/GM don’t need to explain the plan to get someone back on track. This is competitive professional sports and not some politically correct forum. The player acquisition was a flier with some upside potential. Gotta play him to see where he’s at and whether he has tools to continue to work with going forward. Same thing they are doing with Funderburk and Topa in new situations. The organization gave up on “winning” being the driver for balance of ‘25 over a month ago. Outman needs some steady AB’s to see what he can do…….can he show signs of improvement?

I get that Martin’s Season Totals aren’t great nor what Team needs going forward. Maybe it’s because of the mediocrity on the roster now that surrounds him, but I think he’s playing better baseball! He looks competent in the outfield and he’s much more refined in his approach at the plate (has matured?). He’s not going to be a star but he’s definitely a capable #12-#13 guy on the roster. I think Gonzalez, with a few more months of progress, probably displaces him next summer but if Martin progresses just a bit more he’ll stick. To me, Rodriguez is overrated not because he lacks talent to be capable at MLB level but his durability is terrible. Jenkins, to me, isn’t considered to be in the Show until at least June/July. These two guys push Wallner & Larnach to elevate their games or they are pushed aside. A combination of Martin/Lee are the replacements for Castro, IMO. I’d like a quicker & more athletic SS from our system to take that spot in ‘26 on the regular. Need a FA 1B! …….Lewis at 3B - (farm system guy at SS) - Keaschall at 2B……..Lee behind all 3 spots. I still consider Keaschall at 1B & Lee at 2B. Go ahead & sign Castro for 2 years at $9M /yr …….. he’s a know commodity and affordable. So many possibilities if the just spend $140M!!

CORRECT! If Ober was injured, he wouldn’t be in the 26-man in September. Most guys hurt some nearly every day after May……every year. It’s professional sports. I have hindsight here and know he pitched well against a hungry line-up that’s traditionally given him problems. I think he’s probably nicked up a bit but he’s pitching for personal $$ and the Team would like to see more than one consecutive good start from him. He’ll keep pitching another turn or three in September.

Things were going to get worse after July 31st, that was pretty obvious. I do not like the Team looking non-competitive any more than anyone else……that said, the guys they moved from the PEN do not denote a Salary Dump. They weren’t going anywhere this year so they looked at getting better starter depth, assuming they could put together a new PEN in ‘26. Certainly remains to be seen! (Coulombe - Paddack - Dobnack) these were salary moves and they made perfect sense! The PEN is terrible now & arguably only has 2-3 MLB level guys in the 8/9 player mix. It sucks and is tough to watch. Today’s reality: Coulombe is on IL …… Stewart is on IL ……. as much as I love Louie’s story/path, he has not been good in Toronto (6.91 ERA in 15 appearances)…….. Jax is 0-2 in Tampa with a 7.20 ERA (8 earned in 10 innings with 6 walks) One can argue that Varland & Jax would be better if they remained in MN - it’s supposition. DURAN has been very good & yes, they were probably shying away from paying him $7-8M per year via arbitration. I am hopeful for the ‘26 PEN #7 & #8 slots (currently 2 & 3) in ‘26 are Topa & Funderburk …… #4 slot is Sands. Everyone else is new. Adams could be #8 (one inning at a time!!)? Prielipp - Raya - Morris - Lewis - Abel/Bradley - Festa/SWR ………between these 8 guys and the 3 mentioned previously, there should be 6-7 reasonable MLB options. 2 FA signings (guys with quality upside based on track record) & the Pen is reconstructed. NEED to figure out (probably not easy) the closer role! I don't like the losing either but it was the path forward after moving 10-11 guys in one week. Martin looks like a probable MLB contributor - Keaschall is a solid guy every day - Lewis will be better - assuming Wallner will be better. Fitzgerald - Gasper/Vazquez - Julien - Kiersey - Outman - Roden ………. (Clemens?) will all be freed from the 26 man roster so there are spots for Gonzalez/Rodriguez, new FA Catcher, new FA 1B, etc.

These two are not the answer every 5th day, maybe anywhere? Can’t consider either, even in the ‘26 PEN, IMO. Cole Sands scuffled for 2-3 years and has evolved……I think he may have more physical attributes than either of these two guys……(it’s possible they could get outs one inning at a time?) TWINS released Ronny Henriquez…… their expectations, in ‘26, when it counts have to be higher than Ohl or Adams!

Completely agree on Ober - he’s got some, or had an injury along the way that has affected his delivery/mechanics. The inability to throw at 91Mph, which distinguishes his change-up as a very good pitch, is an issue going forward. His relatively thin margin for error gets magnified. He has to get a real shot in ‘26 as he’s potentially a superior #5 starter in the rotation v. other #5’s around baseball. I didn’t see the game yesterday but with what I read, it seems Topa got a ground ball to first to get out of the inning and Lee butchered the return throw to 1B to complete a double play. Inning’s over and zero runs…….right?

Ryan - Matthews - SWR - Bradley - Ober are the starters for now………assuming they’ll sit Ober by the end of the week with some injury, “tired arm” ……….Lopez will probably start Friday or Saturday?

Don’t think it’s anyone’s intent for Topa to be high leverage………Funderburk came in the other day for the Save in the 9th. Those two guys are #7 & #8 in the PEN up until the deadline. They belong in the #7&#8 slots going forward, at best. The PEN needs to be reconstructed for sure between now & March 1st. Topa can be a 3.75 ERA guy for 5th-7th inning situations for around $1.3M - OK value when considering his experience.

Certainly bat speed is not overrated if a Team or hitter values extra base hits, chiefly……..but barreling up the ball (regardless of bat speed) has always been king, IMO. Luis Arraez makes a living getting the bat on the ball & putting it in play (can’t imagine his bat speed is very high % v League) ……. personally, I think he (and his approach) has great value for 3-5 guys in the line-up. Arraez at 1B next year OR Keaschall at 1B next year would make me happy! Personally, I see Keaschall as more of a catalyst and in the 1-3 spot in the line-up & would like to plug Arraez in at #5 everyday to produce RBI …….. great guy to protect the 4 hole hitter and a guy that can drive in RISP. Maybe unorthodox with lack of power but I think it’s more effective. Nothing more disappointing to watch & to waste potential WINS as a guy striking out with Zero or One out with RISP. Arraez doesn’t steal bases so having him hit at the Top negates his value of putting the ball in play. Bat speed, in the end, is worthless if not connected to bat to ball skills and high contact rate…….i.e. Matt Wallner. .216 and 20 HR with 36 RBI (close to ‘25 stat line) is a lot less valuable than the potential Arraez would bring with .295 - 6 HR - 75 RBI at this point next year, if batting 5 or 6 in the line-up. Wallner (w/o looking) probably strikes out 8:1 that of Arraez?

Baldelli is responsible for the pitcher’s lack of availability/health??? Lopez - Ober - Matthews - Festa - SWR ALL on IL within past few weeks …….. when they do pitch it’s often a disappointment! How is “his positioning” of starters, other than giving them the ball, in question?