Hawkeye Bean Counter

If Gomez can handle the pressure of being a closer that is great. Then put the more leverage situations on Hoffman and Morris.

It sure seemed like you were comparing them as prospects. Most long limbed fireball pitchers struggle with Command. Randy Johnson average over 6BB/9 until he was 28. Yes Randy isn't the norm, but this isn't something that has never happened before either. His walks jumped this year. Ok - but this isn't a death nail for his career which is what you appear to be doing. His value has gone from an excess value of over 20 to 8. Having a prospect retest a level isn't the worst thing. I understand your concern but the upside is still immense and he has pretty good chance at meeting it. I would also venture he does go to AA next year.

I will agree - I actually think they should have gone all in last deadline. That was the time to try then to sell at the winter meetings. I think the issue was Rocco had lost the clubhouse and you had some pretty good dissent coming from some prominent players in the clubhouse. The other issue is the organization was cash strapped due to the debt. So they traded the assets they had.

Keaschall is a former wrestler who will grind until he figures it out. He doesn't get frustrated, he just keeps pounding away until he gets better. Offense is still his bread and butter, but pitchers adjusted to him earlier this year, started pitching him differently. Guess what - he adjusted continued to grind is again having good success with the bat again. I have little doubt that he will get better at a defensive position that he is truly dedicated to.

Just to make sure we are talking about the same guy you are comparing Dasan Hill to Chris Vallimont who went to Mercyhurst was drafted in the 5th round and we got as PTBNL from Marlins for Diaz? The same Vallimont that generally has a 9,7K per a 9 in the minors and was never a top 100 prospect. The most likely outcome - being that he is 6'5" and only 20 that he will gain more control of those limbs and the walks will come down. My comparison is a more refined Brody Brecht 6'4" that is 3 years older. Similar K/9 numbers and both high walk numbers. Both picked in same draft - Brecht 38 and Hill 69. Both have a high risk of becoming relievers. I think Dasan will always be a higher walk pitcher, but I also think he lost some confidence this year. Baltimore likes to take these high octane arms and they convert several. Especially for the bullpen. Maybe he flounders, but my guess is he starts turning a corner which the last start may have been (zero walks) gains confidence and repeats at high A before going to AA and the lefty high octane arm will still be on track.

I see him as a more athletic Dozier that will improve with more time in the position. Standard Total Zone DRS Range Factor Baserunners Season Age Team Lg Pos G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% lgFld% Rtot Rtot/yr Rdrs Rdrs/yr RF/9 lgRF9 RF/G lgRFG SB CS Pick Awards 9 Yrs 1122 1094 1024 9665.0 5039 1864 3100 7 2012 25 MIN AL SS 83 81 81 732.1 413 111 287 15 70 .964 .977 -5 -8 1 2 4.89 4.43 4.80 4.40 2013 26 MIN AL 2B 146 141 135 1255.1 734 267 461 6 110 .992 .985 -1 -1 -3 -3 5.22 4.64 4.99 4.62 2014 27 MIN AL 2B 156 155 150 1361.0 751 261 475 15 98 .980 .984 -11 -10 3 3 4.87 4.61 4.72 4.60 2015 28 MIN AL 2B 157 157 148 1383.0 767 303 456 8 111 .990 .983 -7 -6 0 0 4.94 4.58 4.83 4.55 AS,MVP-28 2016 29 MIN AL 2B 151 151 143 1331.0 713 286 419 8 118 .989 .983 -5 -5 -2 -2 4.77 4.49 4.67 4.44 MVP-13 2016 29 MIN AL DH 2 2 0.00 MVP-13 2017 30 MIN AL 2B 152 151 138 1311.0 674 264 405 5 109 .993 .983 2 2 1 1 4.59 4.35 4.40 4.30 MVP-11,GG 2018 31 2TM 2LG 2B 148 141 125 1253.0 572 218 342 12 79 .979 .982 -3 -3 -5 -5 4.02 4.17 3.78 4.14 2018 31 MIN AL 2B 103 101 98 906.1 418 150 260 8 60 .981 .982 -3 -5 -7 -9 4.07 4.12 3.98 4.08 2018 31 LAD NL 2B 45 40 27 346.2 154 68 82 4 19 .974 .982 0 1 2 7 3.89 4.31 3.33 4.29 2019 32 WSN NL 2B 123 114 103 1009.0 398 145 248 5 61 .987 .983 -5 -6 0 0 3.51 4.15 3.20 4.13 2019 32 WSN NL P 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 1.80 0.00 1.60 0 0 0 2020 33 NYM NL 2B 5 3 1 28.1 17 9 7 1 3 .941 .978 0 -17 -2 -85 5.08 3.97 3.20 3.80 2020 33 NYM NL DH 1 1 0.00

I did this last year after the trade deadline. It was interesting enough I'll try it again. Lets see if the Twins can make a playoff run. Twins Record 56-57 Chances of Playoff 27% They have the 16th best record Current Lottery odds #1 Pick - Less than 1% Top 6 Pick - 8.7%

The Twins really need a sweep here if they are going to make a serious run.

@USAFChief The Pohlads had their meeting in late November. Prior to the Winter Meeting Falvey had been given no direction on budget but the implication was they would need to decrease it further and Joe Ryan was heavily being floated in trades specifically the Red Sox. The day before Winter Meetings Falvey notified teams they would not be trading Ryan. Joe went MIA after the Pohlad Meeting. The Twins did zero at the winter meetings. December 17th Tom Pohlad officially announce https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/wild-owner-revealed-as-twins-minority-investor-tom-pohlad-takes-over-as-clubs-top-executive/ December 19th signed Bell https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-bell-twins-contract January 23rd Caratini signs with Twins https://www.mlb.com/news/victor-caratini-twins-contract

He is 20 with extremely long limbs. With his stuff he just needs to get down to around a little higher or lower than 4 walks. His last start he threw 54 pitches with 43 strikes and zero walks. He had 6 strike outs in 3 innings. He has an absurd 15k/9. So yes there is some bullpen risk, which so be it - that would be a hell of a weapon in the bullpen. If he gains a little more Control he is a #1/#2. Thats the risk Brandon. You gave up 6 years of a dynamic arm, for 1 year and 2 months of a closer.

I think the Kremer deal will be viewed as the best of the 3 most likely in hindsight 2-3 years down the road. I think he will be a solid player for the next year and 2 months and could possibly be flipped going into next year. I also think Reyes has a high probability of washing out. Hoffman I like, but Dasan Hill with a little more control is a top 20 arm in the minor leagues.

I would argue they gave up more in 2022. Steer was in AAA and also a top 10 prospect similar to Dasan Hill. Hill had the higher ceiling but Steer had the much higher floor. CES really had a pop up season in 2022. He is a much better prospect than Reyes. Povich, and Hajjar were both highly respected young arms in the system. Lastly you had the high octane arm of Cano. Dasan Hill has the highest ceiling of any prospect traded between the 2 years, but 2022 had a lot of really good players sent out - CES, Hajjar, Povich and Cano.

It appears the Twins didn't have any real steam on trying to get Neto. Dex said none his sources said this was a real option. Maybe there was a call, but the Twins were not "all over" Neto. Nightengale truly doing his thing.

If we liked Kremer, he was a likely DFA candidate at the end of the year. You could have given up a cheaper prospect to get him at the end of the season.

Keaschall's home is most likely at 2nd base. I would rather him get more opportunity there.

The other thing is work the counts. He nibbles, there should be ample balls. Don't create a ton of weak contact on 1-3 pitch at bats.

The issue was, is this the year to spend at all. We are 1 game below .500 and the only reason we are still in it because of how bad the majority of the AL is. That isn't a vote of confidence. The White Sox did a full tear down. They are now seeing the fruits of that tear down and the fans are coming back. We short circuited the tear down to avoid some fan discomfort for 1/2 a season and weakly buy using some decent prospects. Yippee.

We gave up a #12 prospect on some lists (Reyes) for what some view as a backend starter at best. I am a little more optimistic. We gave up a #7 Pitching prospect for 210 games for a volatile closer. I also like Hoffman. However you can't say we didn't give up a lot when both of those players have immense upside for both players who we control for 1 year and 2 months. This is all about trying to sell tickets. Thats its.

Ryan vs Dobnak. Will we actually be able to hit Dobnak this time around. Dobnak seems to have found the special pixie dust he had in 2019.

Whats the over/under on how many runs the Mighty Mussels score tonight? I say 8 would be the number. I think they go over at 10/11.

"Half measures are not good, and you'll probably get to know me over time," Pohlad said. "I'm not a half-measure guy. I'm a 'go big or go home' guy." Ok- he never bought this year for the bullpen to start the year that he said he would. His 3 deals which cost 1 of our better young arms have increased our chances in the playoff (checks the stats . . . oh they have gone down from 30% to 27%). This seems to be the definition of a half measure. Do enough to get just enough positive articles, a few more butts in the seat but this team doesn't have a shot at winning it all unless 3-4 batters go on an absolute tear. I just don't see it.

I am firmly in the camp that the Dean Kremer trade will be viewed positively. 36 innings and 6.5 ERA is a small sample size and a guy coming back from injury, but his stuff under the hood still looks good. I think he will be a good steady #3 at best or #4 pitcher similar in the Ober mold (with better stuff). Hoffman and Kremer were both players that had recent hiccups and some lack of confidence from ownership/fans. Hoffman took a lot of backlash for the World Series. Kremer's return from injury so far has been a bit ugly but has been the victim of a 3.0 HR/9. They were effectively buy low candidates with upside. The issue is we still paid quite a bit for Hoffman - I just wish we had done something like this is the offseason. Actually spent some money and traded a few decent pieces when prices were cheaper. We paid a premium on all 3 trades, I just think the margin of improvement is likely greater than what we paid for Kremer, Hoffman on the other hand - even though I like him I don't understand it. He can be a top 10 closer for the next 210+ games. However to acquire that closer was pretty costly and is a luxury that a mediocre team doesn't need. We have a 27% chance at the playoffs even after the trade. Between the starting pitching wearing out, or the hitters not producing the same amount of runs they did pre deadline I am just not sure we have enough to even make it to the playoffs, let alone do something in the playoffs. If you think the Twins can be WS champions, there are currently +8000 odds for you LOL. Tom will get his wish of a few more fans in the stands for the next few weeks and then we will see if they are still competing for a spot or not. This really only pays off for Tom if they can be in the race all the way up til the end of the season. I am still unsure how many tickets he can sell for next season if we get into the playoffs.

Both Bell and Caratini were signed after Tom took over. We were set to sell Ryan at the winter meetings and direction suddenly changed. Next thing we knew Joe was out and Tom was in.

I’ve learned to take Tom at his word. He said he wasn’t trading Jeffers or Buxton or Ryan. What I don’t agree with is fake buying, We will buy to not hurt fan feelings. Even if you don’t agree with what the dispute was, probably a multitude of things, micro manager, unrealistic expectations with the likelihood of losing his job. The issue is they didn’t even interview. They just gave Zoll the job. Fans wouldn’t revolt over losing 2 months of Jeffers especially if the trade return was good.

If we are current contenders then why are we at +7000-+8000.