JD-TWINS

Assuming Lopez isn’t going anywhere - same with Ryan - Ober, we’ll see how he looks over the next few weeks? Bradley - Matthews - Festa - SWR Prielipp & lefty obtained from Toronto (Rojas?) could be bullpen options along with Abel from Philadelphia…………moving Matthews or Bradley to Closer seems viable to me but probably not well received by anyone else? Somebody, maybe Lopez? (I assume they keep him for stability and to educate by example), may get traded in off-season. He would also, with reasonable performance in ‘26, be very valuable at the deadline next year if Twins are not competitive. The rotation is deep enough to Win right away. Filling Vazquez spot with some positive impact at C shouldn’t be difficult……. & there’s Jeffers. Lewis - Lee - Keaschall all seem to slot in on the dirt and if Keaschall is 75-80% of what he showed when called up this group is solid offensively, as Lewis seems to have turned a corner……..I do think that K. Culpepper will have an opportunity at SS by mid ‘26. Larnach - Buxton - Martin? - Emma? - Wallner? NEW, impact guy via FA or from trading a pitcher……… Wallner is closing in on Julien & Miranda as a one year wonder & potentially not viable in MLB with mediocre defense & 19 singles in 213 AB’s ……. his OBP is good for a guy perpetually hitting .204 but he’s a hole in the line-up that occasionally hits a bomb ……. usually with bases empty. A .455 Slug% with 22 RBI with 25 XBH …….. not very clutch, terrible with RISP!!! 1B & DH ………. Keaschall, to me makes sense at 1B long term with his near-term arm issues. Also, a FA signing for one or both of these slots is realistic. ……..this year’s #1 pick from Wake seems to slot as long-term 2B, IMO. $25-30M budget on (2) FA position players & $10-$14M budget on(3) FA Bullpen ………. with some arbitration increases (most will be neutral) the total spend should be near or less than ‘25. For the record - Lewis hasn’t been an option at SS for at least 4-5 years.

As of 6:00 Eastern Thursday night the Twins had 17 guys on the active 26 Man Roster……..there’s room for Walker! Traded Louie Varland, innings leader in PEN & improving ………under control through ‘30. What’s up with that?

.300 over last 274 AB’s - 1/3 of season to go…….not really that bad. Not complaining about moving him and the contract. Saving $20M/year for 3 years. Took away $11.6M from PEN with a cost of $3.7M to replace 5 spots with young guys…..$7.9M NET savings. Took away $46M with the 4 position players (assuming $11M is Twin’s share of CC) the NET savings w/o replacements is $35M. Paddack & Dobnack is another $10M saved. Total of $53M to be applied to future roster and that’s budgeting the same number in ‘26 as they spent in ‘25. Buxton - Larnach - Keaschall - Jeffers - Lewis - Wallner - Lee ………….along with fresh faces in ‘26.

Hitting .300 over his last 274 AB’s ……. no pop …..not much in clutch either (preaching to the choir) BUT he’s been OK or better on average since May 1. Playing on a winning club mixed in with Altuve & a handful of other capable bats will help the mental outlook a bunch!!

I guess you throw Abel & Bradley into the fire and work on the fixes in off-season & next Spring?? Gotta have somebody in PEN. May be a couple dFA’s available to throw relief😉😉 Gotta watch Prielipp’s innings……PEN is seriously blown up!

Were they able to trade Kiersey? I don’t see his name here and he’s started 2 of 3……..I hope he got thrown into a deal!! Sorry DeShawn but you’re not the answer. Buxton may get some extended rest through last couple months……mental health days!! Jax for Bradley - OK All the others, OK. WHY Varland though????

???????? Target Field is highly thought of throughout MLB……..there’s no connection with the two venues other than sponsor name.

That’s the solution for Matt Wallner? Solution for CC having less than 10 HR? Solution for FO signing Ty France as the solution at 1B? Solution for Ober’s performance and injuries? Solution for Lopez missing half the year, or more, with 2 different IL stints? The Yankees can’t win without Boone managing - Mets can’t win w/o their manager - Phillies can’t win……Dodgers can’t win…..etc. Ridiculous - the players perform at mediocre levels and it has nothing to do with motivation nor direction from the Manager. Fly ball to right and Castro looks like an 11 year old approaching the can of corn …… Lee ends up dropping it ….. leads to big inning & loss. Players have to make plays AND be available.

“fading fast” ……. .300 over last 274 AB’s - defense is similar to last 2-3 years…………..that said, I have no issue moving him to free up $20 plus million, assuming they’ll still have to pay $10M/yr. Trading him, generally, will not alienate the fans IF they’ll still $$ freed up get spent on new talent or extending current “key” talent. Worrying about how other future “free agents” see the organization due to trading long-term FA’s is silly………new ownership in the way …… clean slate with MLBPA viewpoint. CC has a NO trade clause, so if he gets traded it’s approved by him - IMO, that buys credibility with future FA’s

Hey genius - Skenes was the #1 pick in the draft - he’s started the All-star game his first two years - Z. Matthews was like a 16th round pick. Glavine & Maddux are in the HOF (top 1%) ……..Festa was sometime after round 10. Expecting Twin’s two guys to be on the level of all-time Freaks in the game doesn’t make a hell if a lot of sense. My point is Glavine and Maddux pitched for 3-5 years in pro ball…….in the Show, by the time they were 25. Nobody is providing the instruction nor competition at bumble f… university for Matthews & Festa to reach their potential by 25. It’s not just the Twins organization with this reality it’s all of MLB. Ober and Ryan didn’t show **** until they were 27……..

Keaschall was very success in a 7 game stint at MLB level …… 5 steals - .388 BA - etc. ……… he got knocked out with a broken forearm on a pitched ball. Can’t control that. Emma is continually hurt.

Maddux was 8-18 in his first 2 seasons ……. Glavine was 9-21 in his first 2 seasons. Guys of yesteryear were drafted young and brought into Majors as 20 - 21 - 22 year olds…….the guys like Festa, Matthews, & Ohl are being coddled in college and then drafted as 22 year olds so they don’t reach MLB for 3-4 years after guys like Glavine & Maddux did 35 years ago.

…….a good team & they traded away Rafael Devers!! I do see on MLB Network this a.m. that Houston has interest in re-uniting with Carlos Correa 🤞🤞🤞……….not sure why or where he’d play? If TWINS could get $25M of salary relief and a minor league prospect of any kind (even a couple of doughnuts) hopefully, a Catcher, it would be a huge move. Immediately extend Castro for Utility and take a flier on Lewis - Lee - Keaschall on the dirt with 1B TBD for ‘26. Trade Harrison along with a pitcher for a “real player” & maybe re-sign Bader in off season if desired. Still leaves $15M for improvements within same budget as ‘25.

I trade somebody (Jax - Sands/Coulombe - SWR/Sands) for Catcher/1B Rushing of Dodgers. They are in “win now” mode, big time! They need competent relievers!! Sands/Coulombe really lengthens their PEN ….. Stewart/Coulombe is also an option. Twins could try to re-sign Coulombe over the Winter if desired. …… Maybe we flip the Catcher prospect from Detroit & Stewart &/or Coulombe for Rushing? To me, seriously considering moving Jeffers to 1B & have him be the 3rd Catcher (10% of starts) makes a bunch of sense. Rushing as primary Catcher ….. a Vazquez type for 30% of games for $4.5M is probably realistic. Clemens seems to be a stretch for ‘26 if offensive upgrades are sought, but Lee & Clemens cover a bunch of spots as Utility guys. Lewis - CC - Keaschall - Jeffers - Rushing (IF) Larnach - Buxton - Wallner (OF) Need to spend on DH & RH hitting OF (via off-season trades potentially)…..FA🤞 Have to come to realization that Lee may be a lifer back-up and Wallner may be a wash out. These two, along with Martin are the Poster Boys for why a Team can’t give up contributors for other team’s “valued prospects.” Tough to get opponents to trade good players and there aren’t many worthwhile in free agency year over year. One guy here just wants team to sign 3 guys hitting .275-.300 (no problem???) ……..not many teams that have 2 guys hitting .275 in today’s game!

OR, hang on to him and sign him under new ownership at $9.5M. With Wallner & Larnach almost certainly coming back with the potential of Emma being pretty serious contender, that’s 3 lefties with Buxton in OF going forward……..maybe Keaschall but I think he’s the new (more limited) Willi Castro, playing 2B & corner OF. Bottom line is they’ll be looking for a RH hitting OF. Could trade Bader AND try to re-sign him? Seems he has a player option for ‘26 (team option, maybe not?) that would travel with him. I see him declining at the plate over the months (expected) and am not stuck on him but he does play good defense and brings an upbeat attitude to the yard every day…..that’s a big deal IMO. Kiersey, along with Adams, need to be given to another team in trade or more realistically, DFA’d. Can’t see Kiersey as any kind of option in the Show in ‘26 or even August of ‘25! If they trade Bader & Castro, Buxton gets way more days off unless there’s some unforeseen 7 game win streak in the near future………these events put Kiersey in position to start ballgames through balance of the year. Sure hope that doesn’t happen!

Churio of the Brewers is another possible target……..seems Castro would fit there very well, with maybe Sands and a young arm, & hang on to Jax?

Bader/Paddack package with The Sheriff going into the Dodger pen (a definite need) isn’t terribly far fetched. Bader/Jax nets Rushing and somebody else from their system?

2026 TWINS: Buxton - CC - Lewis - Keaschall - Jeffers aren’t going anywhere. Larnach - Wallner - Lee are all average to below average but probably remain on roster in ‘26. Sands - Varland - Stewart - Duran SWR - Matthews - Festa - Ober - Ryan - Lopez (5 of these guys to open ‘26) Seriously consider moving Jax for a position player that can play out the last two months of this year in Mpls ………C hopefully or RH hitting OF or 1B. Coulombe, Bader, Paddack & Castro can all go and be mixed and matched to help contenders. Paddack - Jax - Coulombe all as relievers can help contenders through October……Castro & Bader can also provide real stretch value. As a number of people have stated at TD, probably have to combine a couple guys to get player ready value back. Bader & Coulombe or Jax & Castro have to be attractive for a handful of clubs. Quero (C) from Milwaukee, maybe Rushing (C) from LA……….need to fill that void. Maybe Jeffers could go to 1B next year if 2 Catchers were brought in & he could catch 10% of the time to keep him in tune for potential needs & to keep other guys fresh? Bring in one via trade now and one via FA signing this winter. If Team sweeps Red Sox they still need to go 33-21, to get close to a Wildcard spot, from August 1st forward. That’s 36-21 starting tomorrow. Maybe a 10–15% chance of that happening? …… that’s if Keaschall helps a bunch and Ober & Lopez are flawless down the stretch.

“Slow” = Timmy Laudner - Killebrew in last 6/7 years of his career ……….. CC seems to be pumping those arms and running 🏃 under water. He also seems to choose what/where it’s appropriate for him to end up VERY early in the action.

If Castro is gone - Bader is gone - Coulombe is gone - Vazquez is gone, that’s $28M freed up. Am assuming that ownership will allow spending to (at least) go back to 2023 level of $154M in ‘26 ………….that’s plenty of financial flexibility. Wallner - Larnach - Keaschall - Lee - Lewis - Jeffers - CC - Buxton total to about $65M……should be able to easily put the bulk of the Staff together for $45M, with Lopez getting $22M.

I too like the Dodgers trade for Jax …… am not a big proponent of trading either of these two but sometimes one has to be flexible. Cannot see trading both!……. Rushing is a pretty big carrot. I was on the Tristan Casas bandwagon every other day here for about 4 months starting last November……..I don’t know Payton Tolle. I like Duran for Duran with the Red Sox as an option to consider……maybe Twins throw in a young AA starter OR Castro, since Sox are trying to make playoffs……….I think they want arms?………Sox are riding with Aroldis Chapman at age 37. Chapman is having arguably his best year of his 16 year career. Couple him with Duran and games become 7 innings long in playoffs - on paper. The Dodger deal, getting Rushing behind the plate 55-60% of the time with Jeffers potentially being our regular 1B going forward (could extend Ryan?) & catching 10% of the time…………even Vazquez (or like) on an inexpensive $4.5-$6M deal catching 30% of the time. Do both & new line-up: Duran - Buxton - Keaschall (not sure if he can throw in ‘25?) - Lewis - Larnach - Correa - Jeffers - Wallner - Rushing, to finish ‘25 & heading into ‘26. If both relievers go their’s a big void in the back end!

Gotta score runs to win - can’t give up 0-2 count HR’s, ever - Jax absolutely CANNOT WALK the guy they want to get to with cutters/skiders…….and then dot two straight fastballs to Freeman…..who is calling pitches? - no execution! Bader had a chance ……. Betts was out on his checked swing. Tough one!

He looks different at 3B - looks different running the bases - looks better at the plate with 6 hits in his last 13 AB’s ……..5 for XBH over 3.5 games. It’s Wednesday afternoon and on Saturday the headline at TD was “…………..The unending struggles of Royce Lewis are tough to decipher.” What will tomorrow bring?

Varland’s mental make-up scares me as a closer! He’s, “…….I’m going to throw this through a wall” too often without command. Outing against Dodgers on Tuesday night is evidence of this approach for him. His STUFF is really getting to a high level!! Fastball from 97-99mph - a slider/cutter that’s better & better - knuckle curve has developed into a nice 2nd pitch for him. Those 3 offerings for a reliever are impressive! I have been really impressed with Louie this year - Top 3 or 4 in Team MVP. Personally, with new ownership on the horizon, I keep the electric arms in PEN together. (Lou - Stewart - Jax - Duran) If Team is out of it after Red Sox series next week, Sands & Coulombe - maybe Matthews, even Topa are all guys that could actually help a contender’s Pen - particularly 2 of them together. Ober & Lopez could be a nice add to a contender that’s focussed on being good in September & Playoffs……..don’t promote this as a strategy. Can’t trade Ryan! Hoping they get to .500 by end of Sox series and a couple games closer to them in Wildcard.

You gotta play Bader & Castro if Team is trying to win games…….. Bader in OF pushes Castro into the infield. Can’t make developing players a priority when still in a Playoff race. That scenario may change soon!! Others at TD have called for numerous guys “to get a chance” and having the Manager “stand behind them through tough times while they develop”. The Manager’s primary job is to manage the players to Win games. They are professionals. Kiersey - Camargo - Matthews - Lee(nearly 300 AB’s) - Emma - Alcala - McCusker - Funderburk - Martin …………play your way in to the roster & perform when called on …….. Luke Keaschall was the poster boy for this in a very short stint…….he earned AB’s and will get them the remainder of the season. Varland was sent down numerous times and ultimately, he’s figured it out. “It” being a means to contribute. Not preaching here with above comments, everything has two sides or some rationalization potential. I see other Teams sending guys up and down to AAA routinely - teams in races and teams that are not competitive - it’s part of the deal, looking for guys with talent and mental fortitude to handle the Majors.