JD-TWINS

Agreed. Gotta get a “real” player for a guy as valuable as Duran! I have no problem trading him while his value is still very good/excellent and moving Jax to Closer. The “needs”, to me are offensive!! 1B & Catcher are positions without organizational depth and of immediate need at the MLB level. Don’t need a prospect arm…….,Morris - Matthews - Lewis - Raya are those prospect arms. Couple another guy (Matthews), with Duran, & get a real 1B or Catcher…….not a couple “controllable…….Top 10 organization prospects”……need an immediate above average contributor. It’s a high bar! A young starter and a Top 10 reliever in the game (arguably) is worth “real player” back. IF it’s a Top 5 organization option at Catcher (for only Duran), then you keep both Jeffers & Vazquez to start the year and possibly look to move 1 guy at the deadline. Duran’s salary is projected at $3.7M - not $1.8M suggested above, so there is minor $$ help in moving him as well ……..not the driver for the move since he is of great value! Bottom line is that I think Duran is a big chip! Also, Jax is an employee. He wants an opportunity to make more money. If he’s a Closer and he performs there’s as good a chance he makes as much in that role as he could as an average starter. Comments about him wanting to be a starter aren’t going to drive how the Team behaves. ……….I equate this to the 28 year old that has had some success in business and “wants” to be Vice President……..not happening.

It’s baseball. There’s no crystal ball for FO personnel nor TD contributors. Pretty sure, and I think you are as well, that the FO evaluates talent, position depth, upside, & floor for each player. There’s always “opportunities” but will they pan out? We suggest things - personal thoughts……..FO gets hired & fired based on their abilities over a large sample to perform like a crystal ball. I understand you’d like action v. no action. Not sure who the players that held value last year that were not moved (Kirilloff/Julien?)? To me, Julien was a really nice find after ‘23 & fully expected .250 BA - .350 OBP - 20 HR in ‘24………he was pathetic after April 27. Not sure how any talent evaluator can see that type of thing coming with no change in the player’s health? Anyway, I too hope we pull off a nice trade or two!

.274 - .258 - .283 - .276 ……..Christian Vazquez BA’s from ‘22 back to ‘19. He’s done it before. Can he regress back toward his mean performance at the plate? If he hits .240 plus it would be a nice improvement over his past 2 seasons………..I get the skepticism! Is it crazy for the FO to just swallow that $14.7M for the two Catchers is an acceptable number? Camargo certainly isn’t a performance upgrade. Is this thinking on Vazquez crazy? Most here assume that a Vazquez trade will only really net a $6M savings due to the need to cover a portion of his salary if moved. After they sign his replacement - what’s the net gain for payroll flexibility? Seems pretty minimal. Weigh the $ savings v. continuity in Clubhouse and familiarity with the Staff. If they can trade for a young Catcher and/or move Vazquez with a pitcher or some prospect to avoid spending anything against his salary, great. Just saying that his pluses along with his potential probability to “regress positively” may make him worthwhile to hang on to.

Not sure I understand this? Castro should have been mentioned on the list of potential guys to regress, that’s my assumption. He played in too many games (158) in 2024 and that wore on his sharpness at the plate and it chipped away at his health. I’d like to see him get another dozen or more days off for a total of maybe 140-145 games. In my opinion, that nobody will probably share, is that he regressed in 2024. He played 124 games in ‘23 with a WAR of 2.7……he played 158 games in ‘24 with a WAR of 1.6. He hit .247 in ‘24 & his career average is .248. His OPS was 33 points less in ‘24 than the previous year. Obviously nobody has a crystal ball, but I think Castro will have every bit as good a year in ‘25 with a probable uptick……….. needs a little more rest sprinkled in through the season.

Decent pitching with well below offense was much of the last 6 weeks in 2024. Even with his ups & downs, can’t afford to move Wallner for more pitching. Can add a guy or two via trade or modest FA signing but can’t trade away any of the Top 6 hitters.

100% with you at Catcher depth……. I do think 2B depth is rich, just don’t see Eddie being part of the wealth……definitely part of the 1B plan…..Julien has 19 innings at 1B over 2 seasons.

Jovani Moran wasn’t putting anyone in the seats at Target Field - right? Why would the front office or anyone care much about the guy we got in trade being a “fan draw”? It’s an organizational depth move at Catcher & 1B. Makes some sense if he can make contact at AAA into May - an option if needed at that point. Team has waaaay too many options at 2B to ever worry about seeing Mickey there! It’s still December - Teams do not have rosters set at this point - if ever. Deep breaths……..

Vazquez Caught & played 2-3 other infield spots in emergency situations only. Still good to have a bit of flexibility……..you’re right, he’s needed as a Catcher!

Obviously, age is a probable detriment in any athlete’s earnings leverage. The QO is for one year. Nothing about my logic suggests a one year deal is something Walker should have considered. He’s getting paid $20M/year for 3 years. IMO, there’s no logic in adding 2 years for $10-$15M more over the 5 years. The 5 year deal reduces his income per year to between $12M-$15M/year …….contracts will be higher paid across the board by 2028 season…..his taking the $60M over 3 years is his best option.

Do the Twins have espionage moles in the FO? How does anybody know what conversations may have occurred regarding Carlos Correa with any other Teams? I don’t get it - must be missing something. The Twins not sharing who they might trade for, or exposing any information to the FANS seems to be, not only frustrating for the fans, but also a prudent way to run an organization. I hadn’t seen any headlines that the D-backs were going to sign Corbin Burnes……..good for them. Why do so many here think the Team/FO owes the fan base a blue print of how they are going to operate and who they are interested in pursuing? Again, I don’t get it………no other businesses tell their competitors who they would like to hire - what direction they want to take their business. Other than marketing a hopeful future and marketing the assets already in play, the FO doesn't need to share any of the “real information” behind running the Club. Why would they?

Can’t trade away stars/core players and expect to draw interest in a sale. That’s just not happening. Seems most everyone here agrees on this. Buying an ongoing business in the range of $1.35 - $1.7B isn’t going to be changed by whether a Team spends plus/minus $15-$20M in the upcoming season. The statement the organization/ownership made about not reducing payroll in ‘25 has been construed that the number is fixed……..not sure why that seems to be locked in all TD follower’s opinions? My assumption is that $130M is the committed to, minimum target spend for ‘25. This, to me, doesn’t mean ownership wouldn’t spend $143M (or whatever) if an opportunity to really improve became available through the FO intel. Having an attractive asset on the field with some competitive momentum is a hell of a lot easier to sell than one that isn’t those things but has a projected bottom line of $23M (fictitious example) better w/o any spending past $130M in ‘25. As the next 2-3 months unfold the buyer’s seriousness should come more into the light…. and hopefully we’ll all be encouraged about the TWIN’s future!

I gotta say (just because I’ve seen Cruz smack a few balls) that Ketel Marte is the outlier here. Isn’t he the D-backs second baseman? I can’t think of more than 5-6 power guys (hard hit balls) that gave played 2B in my lifetime……late 60’s. Kent - Davey Johnson - Sandberg - Grich must be a few more but none come to mind easily for me.

Signing guys in their 40’s with continual injury issues doesn’t seem like a good move. They were 7-10 between them last year with about a 4.70 ERA combined…… and they combined to throw 130 total innings……pretty sad for $30M potential cost and 2 roster spots! The $15M/yr seems to make even less sense than the health issues. Maybe one or two of them decide to sign with Detroit out if sentimentality. I like Casas…….he cannot be worse prospect at 1B defensively than Julien…..Miranda can’t be a bunch better defensively. Vazquez - Paddack - Duran - Miranda for Casas & youth Catcher. Can’t afford to trade Lopez for anything but an impact offensive player - he stays on the roster…….does save $22M. Gotta be a better target than Alcantara……Tommy John is nothing to be assumed to be like a minor cold or something automatically recovered from, easily. Keaschall & Castro for depth……Lee-CC-Lewis-Casas for the IF. Sign Cassalli as a 2nd Cather option with Jeffers. There’s $20M saved from the Boston trade and Lopez is still on staff. Take some spare $$ and figure out how much to spend on a quality lefty, either as a FA or pay him after acquiring through trade.

Eddie lead the Major Leagues in strikeouts looking - the next closest guy had 200 more AB’s …….,that’s more than something minor. IMO, pure conjecture, he needs to spend time with a sports psychologist not just a new hitting coach. He had 7 HR on April 27 (nice month!) - 1 HR the remainder of the year…..I realize he was in St Paul for a good chunk of time (due to poor pert) but 1 HR in approximately 2.5 more months is like falling off a cliff. He hit .199 in 2024. His OBP dropped 90 points from ‘23 - his slug% dropped 220 points - he was an absolute mess at the plate……..I hope he can bounce back but I think it’s not very likely. BTW, Eddie played 17 innings at 1B in ‘23 & 2 innings at 1B in ‘24. Just throwing that out there for many here that view him as a solid alternative at 1B going into ‘24……I just don’t understand that thinking. Keaschall’s 3rd position is 1B - not sure how else to say that. He’s not going to be stunted playing 30% of the time at 1B. He’s a bat first guy - only reason to want him in the mix. He could DH or play one of two other positions. I was only responding to the post - I have no affinity for LaMont Wade - he might work? There are certainly parallel options internally.

IMO, Eddie is in borrowed time. Wade could take his spot in my opinion, without any angst. Keaschall is supposed to be able to play 2B as a more natural position, as well as some LF. I don’t think he gets pigeonholed in a 1B platoon. My concern is that he might not be able to handle many normal reps throwing for a few months after elbow surgery.

It appears that Wade played 55-60% of the time with just over 400 PA’s. Not sure if he was platooned or hurt some? Could Keaschall fit as his mirror guy as needed? Miranda is a reverse splits guy & better v. RH pitching, so not a good option with Wade.

Can’t imagine a resurgence from Jorge at this point. Getting a FA “to try out at 1B” doesn’t seem like much of a plan. Wade could be a nice line-up fit as he hits like Julien did in ‘23. Very selective - little less power - better contact guy though v. Eddie. Wade’s K % is just slightly above Lesgue average. He already plays 1B, so that’s a plus! .380 OBP last year …….could be a nice fit for the #2 spot in the line-up. Hitting #2 & being somewhat protected, he may get more pitches to drive as well. Can’t imagine why SF would trade a guy like that at $4.7M/yr.? He could be a nice fit for Minnesota!

Guarantee he will not be part of the depth chart for 3B - his arm can be 115%. Lewis/Lee/Castro/Miranda are ALL currently ahead of him. Miranda was supposed to be ready in Spring Training this year - wasn’t…….takes time to throw every day with maximum effort coming off an injury with one’s arm. I hope he’s in the mix at 2B!

Meddling has to be better than a catatonic state!

ME TOO on Lewis!!! Just don’t think there will be any pursuit of this path. NEED to get an offensive threat at 1B - commensurate to what’s expected in Pop for the position. Obviously, Lewis fits that profile! Lee - CC - Keaschall - Lewis would be a hopeful infield at some point in the future. If this happened in ‘25 - fantastic. My deal is a framework to show we have guys of value to trade that won’t cripple the Team elsewhere. Can’t trade only Paddack - Julien - Dobnack - etc. (trade value for value) need to trade guys that other Teams want! They need some impact change at 1B - my proposed trade for Casas is to emphasize the Team needs to be taking big swings - don’t offer from a place of hope - get something done! Trading a handful (2-3 guys) to obtain a ready to play Catcher and moving Lewis to 1B would be the best solution in my mind. If Lewis is at 2B & Keaschall plays 1B - fine. Gotta be some change in offensive punch.

Only one trade of note: Duran - Matthews - Vazquez - Miranda to the Red Sox for Tristan Casas ……..Boston takes all of Vazquez contract due to the player value coming their way. Sign FA Curt Cassalli to take the Vazquez spot. Sign Martin Perez for another long reliever/spot starter guy. $7.5M for 1 year. PEN is still solid with Jax as closer and the addition of Varland - Paddack - Perez. C: Ryan Jeffers ($4.70M) 1B: Tristan Casas ($1.00M) 2B: Willi Castro ($6.20M) 3B: Royce Lewis ($2.30M) SS: Carlos Correa ($36.00M) LF: Trevor Larnach ($2.10M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Matt Wallner ($0.80M) DH: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 4th OF: Austin Martin ($0.80M) Utility: Brooks Lee ($.80M) Utility: DaShawn Keirsey ($0.80M) Backup C: Curt Cassalli ($2.30M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Pablo Lopez ($21.50M) SP2: Joe Ryan ($3.80M) SP3: Bailey Ober ($4.30M) SP4: David Festa ($.80M) SP5: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) RP: Chris Paddack ($7.50M) RP: Brock Stewart ($0.80M) RP: Griffin Jax ($2.60M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.50M) RP: Cole Sands ($0.80M) RP: Justin Topa ($1.30M) RP: Louie Varland ($0.80M) RP: Martin Perez ($7.50M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 1.85% under budget

Yep - I was pretty surprised that Cleveland spent $12M at 1B - not surprised by the player but surprised relative to budget.

So: Festa - SWR - Ryan - Ober - Lopez Lewis - Adams - Matthews - Morris - Raya FA’s: Martin Perez? - Andrew Heaney? - DeSlafani on Minor League deal???…….all of those 3 push one back to sticking with youth! How long will it take to realize that Paddack is the “100 inning swing guy” to pitch long relief and 6-8 spot starts through the year? $7.5M is pretty affordable……they know what they got with him!

How many more weeks until they sign DeSclafani to a Minor League deal???

Both Prielipp & Canterino need to pitch 30-40 innings (all in the same season) before any talk of them being promoted to MLB Pen. I like the potential of Prielipp - Canterino - Morris - Raya (1 or 2 of these guys) joining the Pen in September!!