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IMO we need pitchers in the long relief role who don't make mistakes, have live arms & good action on their pitches. With the pitch clock, the Twins can't afford to have marginal guys as long relievers, or else the game will get away from them. They need to be good like Ober. I'm not confident about Jax pitching more than 1 inning. Sometimes he's got it but other times he doesn't. I wouldn't want guys who have already been passed over as starters. Moran is another guy that I don't have enough confidence in. He's a lefty but doesn't pitch enough strikes. Pitchers that rely on pitches way out of the zone for K's are bound to produce more BB's. Once they start letting guys on base then Rocco will need to go back to the BP which defeats the purpose of long relief in 2023.

I like his live arm and comparing his stature to Pedro Martinez, Henriquez is still young and may eventually pan out as a starter. But if being a long reliever keeps him healthy & effective, then let him work multiple innings to maximize his assets as soon as possible. If he can shine in that role then that's just as good as being a starter if not better for the Twins. It will be like calling in the cavalry. Let him get some K's without the wear & tear of high pitch counts, and instead of worrying about the weak links when resorting to a chain of multiple single inning relievers.

That;s great news about Kenta. He Maeda my day!

I'm not concerned about Polanco's health this year, Last year was an outlier year because he's been such a workhorse while carrying the team in previous years and was being underpaid to boot. The Twins have coverage for every emergency this year, and can even provide 2 IF players with a day off at the same time, & even if one IF gets injured. The AAA prospects need to wait for their opportunity plain & simple. Lewis is my primary interest & I think that Solano may be more of a platoon at 1B & backup at 2B when needed. Any player can end up becoming a rental at the trade deadline depending on where the Twins are in the standings, but I doubt that the Twins will trade Jorge if he's producing like an All Star. The Twins will be a better team with both Lewis & Polanco this year than without them. I just hope that Polanco gets to vest independent of whether he's a trade candidate next year or not. He's generally delivered when the pressure is on like a true pro. If Lewis pans out then IDK how long Farmer will stick either. He's older than Polanco and doesn't switch hit. It depends on whether Lewis can back up SS or not after surgery, and should not be based on how much Polanco will be paid next year if he vests.

I'm hopeful that he can pitch well enough to get his contract renewed with the Twins. I'll go out on a limb and predict that Maeda will have at least a .600 win-loss record this year., perhaps finishing out between .600 - .650. A fellar can dream right? Maeda said that he feels good enough to go and hit some HR's! What a riot! He's got quite a sense of humor!

Both Solano and Farmer have some familiarity with NL pitchers that could be helpful in some situations. The same may apply to the ex-Reds pitchers that are now with the Twins, & Maeda too. Since there's more games with the NL this year then knowing a little more about the NL opponents can't hurt.

Maybe Driveline improvements are one of the reasons why Rocco has vowed to let the starters pitch deeper into games this year. Rocco Wants Starters to Pitch Deeper and Carry Twins in 2023 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/rocco-baldelli-starters-carry-twins/?fbclid=IwAR0beRzsGZ_0nrbHeIq_R6YhTxI8m6VbLEhzHrxQ2_pqF5zmfmhl1JxBPCA

Yes, Buck does need to stay healthy. But he also needs to be allowed to play to earn his bonus money for plate appearances. Last year he only had 382 plate appearances and didn't earn any bonus money. If Rocco is too conservative with him, then he's going to be disappointed if it's due to Rocco keeping him off the field. As long as he's healthy he should play. And the Twins will have a better chance of winning the Division with him being in the lineup. Plate Appearances $500,000 each for 502, 533, 567, 600, 625

If he has a healthy season and hits well, Buxton can make big bonus money depending on how many MVP votes that he receives. The shift ban could eventually help to reward him with many millions of $$, so he has plenty of incentive. In the past, he's placed 18th & 16th in MVP voting. Annual MVP Bonuses: 1st: $8M 2nd: $7M 3rd: $6M 4th: $5M 5th: $4M 6th-10th: $3M

I'm not sure that an ace is even available this year that would take the Twins to contender status. But Rocco is on the hot seat since BARRING INJURIES, if he wants the credit for wins then he needs to also take the blame for losses. He simply needs to find a way to win with the players that we have. We can't blame it on aces that we don't have or necessarily need. We need to win with a combination of good ball play and good moves. Bench the players that don't produce and let someone else play. Rocco needs to act and players need to play like their jobs depend on it. Develop the winning formula, that's how pro baseball is supposed to work without any excuses.

Did you make one up with Luis Arraez before he was traded?

I think it's silly to compare his throws from 2B to throws from 3B because 2nd basemen don't need to throw hard. But his arm from SS was just fine as was his nearly 100 mph throws from the OF. Any SS worth his salt can play 3B. There's not one credible source for the statements that are being made that Nick will never play the infield again. That's pure honkey-tonk. If Farmer, Polanco, Correa or Miranda get injured then Nick can play anywhere in the infield. If any player in the OF gets injured then Nick can play anywhere in the outfield. Why in the world would the Twins trade Arraez if Gordon couldn't fill his shoes and more. The negative comments about Nick's many talents just don't make any sense. He adjusted his swing to provide more power as he was asked to do, and he has one of the nicest swings on the team. And he knows how to bunt and run the bases. IMO too many fans are looking at a gift horse in the mouth. He was a bona fide 1st round pick that had a slow track of development that's finally paying off. Maybe some fans simply don't like that he now displays more talent and durability than some of their favorite prospects. I guess we'll see who produces, plays which positions and gets traded first. I like Nick's hair color and I'm not going to trash him over it it took some getting used to but it grew on me and doesn't bother me any more. I like it more than ever because I realized his talents are worth their weight in gold.

If he can be as effective as he was last year then it would be a good signing. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/handbr01.shtml

I posted these on my wife's Facebook page! You're the Goat You're the best catch I ever made We're a match Maeda in Heaven

I don't know but I doubt that it matters much. Here's his spray charts which shows that he hits a lot of ground balls to the left side that aren't singles. He either improves his hitting with men on base or he doesn't. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/kyle-farmer/14813/spray-charts?position=SS&type=battedball

Prato made 2 highlight reel catches to show that he's not a fluke. The 1st is after the 2:30 mark. The 2nd was when he was in college. Phenomenal effort. Stats: https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/205349/

My main concerns about Farmer are that his "double plays grounded into" seems high & he gets hit by a lot of pitches. Rocco needs to find the best spot in the batting order for him to not hit as many GIDP's, and hope that getting hit by pitches doesn't cause him serious enough injury to miss time when we need him. Double Plays Grounded Into 2021 NL 16 (6th) 2022 NL 20 (3rd) Hit By Pitch 2021 NL 18 (2nd) 2022 NL 16 (4th) https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/farmeky01.shtml

The Twins Bomba Squad beat the Bronx Bombers head to head in a season competition to set the new bomba record. Setting the new record despite having a larger home ballpark was a much more noteworthy accomplishment than winning the playoff round. Setting the new bomba record clearly offsets the playoff loss since the Yankees did not go on to win the world series or even play in it because they lost to the Astros in 6 games. Future generations will long remember the record breaking bomba season as the year that the Twins bested the Yankees and not the other way around. Sometimes losing enough playoff games to the Yankees has its just rewards.

If Kirilloff's choice is between having manageable pain and unmanageable pain again this year, then he could end up becoming just another part time player on the roster similar to Buck with his tendonitis. We can only hope that any promotion is not being rushed before he's allowed maximum time to fully recover. Another big question for this year would be even if his pain remains manageable, could it still negatively affect his hitting and by how much? We probably won't know until he starts swinging the bat somewhere again even if that's in AAA because he's missed so much playing time. Kirilloff will probably need to have an excellent spring training before being awarded the 1B position. And how will Rocco manage him from there, by giving him extra days off or by making him a part time DH? Those are some questions that need to be considered if Kirilloff is to become the everyday starter at 1B. Otherwise he could end up being just another platoon player with unrealistic expectations by the fans, but with an excuse if he doesn't deliver.

Twins sign RH relief pitcher Connor Sadzeck to a AAA contract. He has 36 innings of experience in the majors, mostly in 2019. He's listed as 6' 7" tall. https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-connor-sadzeck-signs-with-minnesota/ Stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sadzeco01.shtml

Maybe the Marlins didn't provide him with enough run support. I doubt that the fans expect him to be an ace when the Twins only traded 1 player yet received 3 in return.

I agree to an extent but for the sake of argument I'd say that it's still a matter of properly managing each pitcher individually to keep them stretched out as starters. That could mean 2 pitchers in for about 5 and 4 innings each. Then you save your closer and BP for the next game. If the platooned pitcher doesn't get in enough pitches during that outing then he can throw another 20 pitches in a bullpen session immediately after the game "if necessary." What do they do when a starter needs to be pulled in the 3rd inning because he got pulled? Let's not assume a planned 2 inning scenario when that's not what platooning 2 starters is intended to be about. This is more about managing a different type of pitching based on modern realities of how long starters usually last and piggybacking them. Not for 2 innings, but 4 or 5. Ober & Varland may be exactly those kind of guys. You know that Rocco goes by pitch count. It's about thinking outside of the box to make the best "full use" of the pitchers that are available on the staff, & Rocco gets to choose his staff. The rest can be waiting in the wings in AAA. The Twins signed another guy that might work as long relief or as a backup starter and that's De Leon. AFAIK he's been signed as a "starter type" with limited MLB experience and an injury history but may become ready for prime time. Maybe his injury history will allow him to pitch 2-3+ instead of 5. The point is to manage the BP to last the whole season & to help keep them effective. It's just an idea that I wish they would actually try out using decent pitchers.

In case of injury, there will be a lot of BP depth on the Saints just a phone call away. It's a waiting game to see how this year's depth signings work out. iMulti-mllions of $$$ doesn't grow on trees, and they also need to grow the attendance. Doesn't the MLB still need to fix the TV rights problem?

If Sano were sent to the Saints, then he could get some good press and generate fan support that would follow him back to Target Field if he makes a comeback. If not sent up then the Saints fans would have a slugger to root for. Even if Sano made it back to Target Field,, that wouldn't mean that he couldn't play at the same time as Gallo. Sano would only need to prove that he can make quality at bats & get some hits. Maybe Sano could hit better than Palacios when he came up too. Sano's power depth is insurance as long as his price is right.

I'd rather see extra starters that can be platooned and that can help keep the BP fresh over the course of the season. That could also allow all of the starters to have some friendly competition among themselves which could help set a performance baseline for future contract considerations. Moore had a bounce back 2022 but who knows if he can keep it up.