Jump to content
Can the Twins take advantage of a reeling Mets team? Join the discussion! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

JD-TWINS

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,898

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    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?
  2. JD-TWINS
    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?
  3. JD-TWINS
    CORRECT! How about the Batting Instructor, David Popkins? For 2 seasons no I stuck up for the coaches and out the ineffectiveness back on the multi-million $$ players. Popkins is in his first year in Toronto and as of Thursday they had 3 guys hitting over .300 & Kirk was at .299………..,Popkins sucks though and the Toronto hitters are just lucky!!!!
  4. JD-TWINS
    Larnach next year ……$3.5M absolute max ……my assumption, haven’t paid too much attention. Career .765 OPS v. RH pitching…… I think I saw that here? Maybe just over a couple seasons? He’s a much better last guy than some of the other options and that amount of money is awfully affordable!
  5. JD-TWINS
    But come on - maybe another team would give up a “multi talented player for Big Matt?” Why not? …….oh, it’s not fantasy baseball, that’s why. He’s got great power with terrible bat to ball skills…..a great arm, but slow and not intuitive…..and he likes to show off his arm by overthrowing the cut off routinely. Sucks in the clutch. Obviously, a guy someone would trade a better, more polished player for in return. 19 HR’s & 32 RBI ……. a nearly impossible feat.
  6. JD-TWINS
    I got lost in the $$ spent: Buxton $15M ……. Lopez $21.5M…….Ryan & Jeffers at $7.5M each = $51.5M Lewis - Ober - Larnach at $15M max. = $66.5M Topa - Sands -Clemens at $5M total 16other guys at $800K is a total of $12.8M = $85M. Maybe I’m missing something - a guy? Maybe you too have the same total - I didn’t see how to get there? My hope is they spend up to $125M and the team is filled out with a couple PEN helpers and a couple hitters, one being a Catcher…….maybe 2 Catchers if Jeffers can play 1B and be 3rd Catcher(optimal to me). Do we think new partners threw in $400M to be bad and not generate positive ROI?…….$125M ……maybe as low as $115M. They spent $154M in ‘23.
  7. JD-TWINS
    I get the frustration but outing pressure on the defense with 2 guys in scoring position isn’t a terrible thing. No responsibility to the players, ever? Larnach is up with one out and guys at first and third - did Rocco direct him into hitting into the double play - again & again & again?
  8. JD-TWINS
    I’m struggling with Abel not being up for tonight or the next reliever (start) slot this weekend ………unless he’s a mental midget and not equipped for the SHOW, I don’t know what else he can do with the Saints?
  9. JD-TWINS
    11 hits & 5 walks …… two guys went 1-3 & four guys had multi-hit games …….. any team would take that daily! ……. Can’t execute in ANY clutch situation - hard to watch!!
  10. JD-TWINS
    Understand the logic, but nobody’s searching for a .215 hitter that may hit 30 HR’s IF he can stay healthy. That’s Rowdy Telez or the like - just doesn’t seem like something to build around. Where’s Emma & better yet, Gonzalez in the potential OF pecking order. To me, Outman has a much better shot than Roden.
  11. JD-TWINS
    1) The Twins/Brewers would play 7 games in each park/city not 14 games at Target. 2) Brewers fans from Madison to LaCrosse to Superior would travel to the Twin Cities for games on the regular from one season to the next. Sure seems to happen now and the Teams are in different Leagues - within same Division the rivalry will grow & thrive. That said, I’d just as soon keep AL & NL discreet. How does exchanging the Royals and Cleveland for Cubs & Brewers address “cross country travel”……….makes no sense to juggle relatively local opponents under the guise of saving money on long haul travel as well as player health & well being improving greatly.
  12. JD-TWINS
    4 walks in 4 innings with two in the first for Matthews (4 innings & 92 pitches)…….next guy, 4 more walks ……… gave up 12 hits between the group with 9 walks. Nobody wins that game with that pitching, including the ‘27 Yankees!
  13. JD-TWINS
    It’s not Rocket Science - typical reaction from TD - Soto is one guy out of 29 mentioned. Whoever the 12th pitcher might be in organization ….. how’s that? Maybe should re-read my slant on pitchers. Can’t have 11 starting Pitchers on the 40-man, IMO. Pretty sure I had 12 guys including Ryan & Lopez as starters now……5 to start year with 2-3 in waiting …… my math says there are at least 4-5 guys that are available to contribute in the Show outside of the rotation, while still continuing to develop in St Paul. Wallner - Larnach/Roden - Buxton - Outman - Gonzalez - Rodriguez ……….Keaschall/Clemens for additional options in corners as well as on the dirt. Lewis - Keaschall - Lee - Culpepper - Houston - Eeles ……..I’d try to utilize Jeffers as 3rd Catcher 2-3 times per month and play him regularly at 1B. Offensive trade & FA targets at Catcher & DH……maybe a couple Pen arms.
  14. JD-TWINS
    Could be an A’s fan…….. I mean, Sacramento fan……. Obviously, not selling sucks but there are some pretty decent players coming 4-6 over next two seasons and 3-4 more just traded for and 7-9 on current 26 man along with Festa - SWR - Lopez all back at some point. They don’t need 9-10 capable starters going into ‘26…….. some body’s getting traded and/or shifted to the bullpen. If they spend $40M of the $70M they will have shed by end of ‘25 they’ll be good next season. I get everyone here likes to be negative so they can “be right” or “pleasantly surprised” in the future………MLB & Player’s Association won’t let them just not spend anything….. will effect revenue share. To me they have 4 position player holes and 2 Pen holes to fill via FA and via youth. Very doable!! Festa - Bradley - Abel - Matthews - SWR - Ober - Morris - Prielipp - Raya - Soto…….have got to cover 3 PEN slots with this group…….10 guys, can’t be that tough. 2 guys in FA for Pen. (Coulombe type plus hard throwing RH - FA) Plus Topa - Sands - Funderburk. Ryan & Lopez plus 3 from list above with 2 in the wings. Staff seems just fine to me, on paper.
  15. JD-TWINS
    Seems to me, similar to what you are intimating, once one looks past the disappointment and angst of fan base …….nobody throws $400M at something that is poorly marketed and whose customer’s are pissed off and walking away……. without some agreed to path to change. It’s not in the minority owners best interest to just turn over a huge amount of $$ to the Pohlads ownership w/o some framework of a plan for success. Can’t just be “we’ll write you a check and then let’s shoot from the hip & hope” ……. gotta expect moves to get the Team competitive in ‘26 to maintain and better revenues…….. only path to decent ROI - right?!?! The ownership is no longer the Pohlad’s in a vacuum and the 2 groups that “invested” are not clueless & carefree with $400M - just not realistic! Gotta expect some positive change.
  16. JD-TWINS
    Agree, unless he’s in a deep dive with pitch development or new mechanics in St Paul - Team sure could use a 4th starter. This year doesn’t matter much at the MLB level …… maybe banking ability to “option him” in the future? Seems odd Team is rolling with 3 starters in rotation.
  17. JD-TWINS
    I agree on #2 & #5 for sure …… somewhat meaningless how these two “feel”. #1 ……. Duran & Jax have generally been in talks for trade since last off-season (young Catcher, Abel, & Bradley got them talented, young upside with more control)…..at least as possibilities in trade. They’ll make $11-12M combined in ‘26…,,not a huge savings. Trading both was a little discouraging for ‘26 ……..(Jax still struggling with Tampa, btw) The guys on 1 year deals would have been dealt by ANY organization that was on the outside looking in at the end of July! Varland was not a salary dump. Correa was an anvil around the neck of the organization at $35M…..,missed a bunch of time in ‘23 & ‘24 & was sub-par on average for 4 months of ‘25. As a Minnesotan, Varland was difficult to get head around but it’s not $$ based. #4 Nobody spends $400-$450M without having some influence on how to better the organization to maximize ROI. The money came from smart $$ people - they aren’t just handing Pohlad’s money to “bail them out” w/o a plan to increase revenues & fan support. I think there’s flexibility now with payroll due to Castro - Bader - Duran - Jax - Coulombe - Correa being gone ……. Vazquez off payroll in 7 weeks. That is roughly $67-$70M in salary….. if they utilize the new, young assets and previous rostered guys, and spend $40M of what was saved on 3-4 FA’s for PEN & a couple bats, they are good next year. Nothing stopping them from trading young pitching for a Catcher that can play now in off-season.
  18. JD-TWINS
    6-6 since the Deadline with only 7 of 13 pitchers that are potentially on the 26 man Roster next April (3 starters). …… 6 or 7 position players that may start with Clemens & Lee as depth guys. Playing with some grit - only chance in MLB for some of them.
  19. JD-TWINS
    Topa is hanging with Clemens.
  20. JD-TWINS
    I realize this is very RAW and a real bummer but does anyone at TD really think new investors are going to spend a few hundred million $$ without some stipulations on how things are handled going forward??? Gotta take a few breaths. There’s obvious payroll flexibility for next season, even if they just go back to 2025 $ total. They have probably 6 starting level guys on their roster for position players. 2-3 guys from farm system ready by June of ‘26 if not on opening day. They have 3-4 guys that are suitable for depth/platoon roles (i.e. Lee & Clemens). Need Catching replacement & DH from FA market OR via trade in offseason. Rotation is in very good shape relative to talent & depth going forward. PEN needs a couple FA signings……..lots of young options/arms to fill roles recently left void. Am frustrated with partial move on a sale, big time - Team still isn’t that far away on the field.
  21. JD-TWINS
    I guess we all should be glad that their “focus throughout has been what’s best for the long-term future of the TWINS.” I feel better. They slashed payroll 2 weeks ago - $$ spent in ‘23 were in the $154M range ………if they can get anywhere near that $$ spend total in ‘26, keeping Lopez, etc. …….. they can be a very competitive Team…….even $145M! I doubt new investors/partners are oblivious to the probable fan reaction with this news and therefore, the need to build credibility quickly. Can’t just sell “youth” and need for fiscal responsibility to gain Season Ticket Holders…..new $$ partners have to have serious influence in the operation plans going forward!
  22. JD-TWINS
    Gotta trade for a Catcher - somehow - a guy that’s ready, no “prospects”!!
  23. JD-TWINS
    $$$ - loss of player control one year sooner is my assumption, along with guys not being ready in Club’s eyes.
  24. JD-TWINS
    Arbitration & pre-arbitration eligible in ‘26 @ $59M up to (with same total of 23 guys) arbitration & pre-arbitration in ‘27 @ $135M. I get you are just reporting what you see published but does this seem realistic? Hard for me to fathom this type of increase with one more year of service time……everyone more than doubles salary on average?
  25. JD-TWINS
    Ober is a starter or traded. Larnach is a starter or more than likely traded (.768 OPS v. RH pitching - hesitation) Festa doesn’t seem to have the durability at this point to start….. he’s in my PEN & Matthews is moved to Closer Emma has shown zero signs of being able to play for more than a month in a row - Gonzalez has his spot on my roster. Winkel seems OK for #2 Catcher, per your description - right? SPEND on FA Catcher …… move Jeffers to 3rd string C and play him 2-3 times per month behind plate …. regular at 1B! Clemens is #13 guy, with 4 position versatility. Lee - Larnach - Roden - SWR - Ober - Festa are all trade candidates along with prospects. Rotation: Lopez-Ryan-Bradley-Abel-Ober (or other) PEN gets 1-2 FA signings & Prielipp - Matthews - Sands - Raya - Morris - SWR - Festa - Funderburk ……..Adams has to go away
×
×
  • Create New...