BillyBallLives

Provide we don't score 7 runs....whose pitching the 9th Mr. Rocco?

Not insane, but I think you may be on the Kool-Aid. "every team" is a complete stretch. Polanco was a proven switch-hitter with positional versatility and clubhouse leadership. The Twins gave him up for an injured reliever, a pitcher who’s already off the roster, and a couple of prospects who might pan out. Gonzales has been solid lately—credit where it’s due—but saying every team would take him over Polanco “straight up” total exaggeration. What did we get? Anthony DeSclafani: Never threw a pitch. Out for the season. Gone. Justin Topa: Injured. Again. Able to pitch in 2025 after being out most of 2024. FA now. Gabriel Gonzalez: Still in Double-A. Solid tools, but hitting around .250 with questions about plate discipline. Dylan Moore? Utility guy, replacement level.

YES ! Once a team finally committed to giving him regular ABs as a DH and let him focus on hitting, and not worrying about his glove.... he delivered. As other's have noted however, power hitting was a known quantity with Rooker. Q: Why don't the Twins do the same thing with Wallner?

Jury is still out on the trade that acquired Gonzales, but we do know the Twins traded away a proven, versatile MLB player in Jorge Polanco for two injured pitchers and a couple of maybe prospects. Classic Falvey. I hope Gonzales pans out, but it’s hard to see how this helps the big-league club anytime soon. ( Would really like to know what's so disagreeable about my statement?) Did Falvey not trade away a proven player for two injured pitchers? Yes...totally factual. Is Gonzales going to pan out.....we'll see? Is he helping the team now...NO. ) ( you'all must have a crystal ball that I don't )

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/17759/harrison-bader According to Spotrac, the Twins can still lock Bader in for 2026 with a $10 million option. But it's classified as "mutual". So after a decent year, Bader can still walk if he think he can get at least that? Probably best to trade him. He can still walk away if he wants.

This is petty I know, but just curious if anyone else thought this: That photo doesn't look like Gibson to me. No number on jersey to confirm one way or the other. Either way, he was a Twin I wished they had held on to.

I am not against that idea of modeling the Cards....but you also have to factor in: While the Cardinals and Twins are both small-market teams. That’s where the similarities end. St. Louis has a great fan base, stronger TV income, and a franchise worth over $2.5 billion. Yet, one could say, St. Louis proves "small market" doesn't have to be a barrier, it’s a mindset.

Think Yankee, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. Or really, anyone else willing to trade with them.

Or, you could put it this way: Falvey believes in the roster like a 6 year old kid believes in Santa Claus, even when he doesn't get what he wants for Christmas.

thanks for the info....my source is incorrect then.

And...it's not the first time I've seen errors on that chart....whoever's doing it isn't paying attention.

Can't fool us, you somehow got a transcript from the front office.

Also, Wallner has a career total of 39 homers, but only 60 rbi's to go with them.

These are the things that make you shake your head and wonder, "what were they thinking"? The Twins gave Donaldson 4 years, $92 million at age 34, a total misfire. Somehow got lucky and escaped. Then what do they do? Turn around and hand Correa 6 years, $200 million… Mets and SF bail on him, and yet, Twins bite. You’d think one expensive lesson would’ve been enough. Guess not. Twins are now stuck with C4 till the end—unless they’re willing to eat half the contract just to give him away. My only hope is C4 seems to have a lot of respect for himself, being a leader, etc. His work ethic may bail him out to some degree. But not to the tune of 30+ million per year.

Found this read to be a really good "state of the union" address for the Twins nation. Unfortunately, all we can do for now is hope. -- Hope Buxton stays healthy. -- Hope Lopez, Ober, Zebby comeback healthy enough to contribute. -- Hope Royce discovers his former mojo. -- Hope the bats wake up. Wallner, Larnach, etc. -- Hope new owners bring urgency. -- Hope Falvey doesn’t blow it again. BTW… "hope" is not a strategy, but for now, it's all we have.

Wow, you’re really digging up some dark memories. The trade for Delmon Young was made by Terry Ryan, then Bill Smith took over and made even more blunders. Remember trading away Carlos Gómez to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy, only to ship Hardy and Brendan Harris to Baltimore for practically nothing—just Jim Hoey and some guy named Jacobson who never made it to the majors? On top of that, the Twins released Craig Breslow so Hoey could pitch. Hoey ended up throwing 24 innings for the Twins, then never pitched in MLB again. Meanwhile, Breslow went on to pitch for nine more seasons. Being a GM is an incredibly tough job, so we have to give these guys some room for error. But recalling those terrible trades from 2007 to 2009 just shows how badly the Twins got set back. If they had just held onto Garza and Bartlett… wow, maybe we’d could have celebrated a third World Series championship team. Some of the best trades you make and the ones you don't make. ( Keep Joe Ryan)

Emphasis on "hopefully" but its another reason to be thankful for the DH. That's a role he could fill well. Personally I think it works best when a team has one main consistent DH like a David Ortiz or Nelson Cruz type Being a DH is a challenging role to fill physically mentally, its not as simple as just showing up to hit.

Nothing you said disproves nothing I didn't say about the nothing they didn't do.

"wrong and flawed? !" Prove it, use AI if you want. The facts are the facts...what year is it....1991?

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What's the difference? Just used it to find all the things I read in the pre-season. Took 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes. Don't miss the point.

Exactly.....only 10 million to spend. But why? C4's contract is killing this team. Let’s be honest — the Twins are stuck in neutral until 2028. The only real play is to blow it all up, something totally radical. Trying to keep players or find missing pieces is a pipe dream. Twins are only 2.5 years in on a 6 year deal. They have to do whatever it takes to push him toward demanding a trade. Carlos Correa’s six-year, $200 million contract with Minnesota includes vesting options that could push the total to $270 million over a decade. His annual salaries are $32 million (2023-24), $36 million (2025), $31.5 million (2026), $30.5 million (2027), and $30 million (2028). On top of that, the deal comes with a full no-trade clause and no opt-outs — effectively tying the Twins’ hands.

Everything is debatable: . National Consensus MLB.com ranked the Twins' rotation as one of the top in baseball, praising the trio of Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober as a formidable top-three. ESPN’s Cy Young futures placed all three of them in the AL top 15. López, in particular, was highlighted as a legitimate ace and Cy Young frontrunner. Sports Illustrated, referencing Steamer projections, placed López at #11 and Ryan at #17 among all MLB starters. 2. Statistical Backing ERA+ (2024 Season): López (123), Ober (122), and Ryan (116) — All well above league average. K/BB ratio (2024): All three in the AL’s top 20. xFIP & WHIP: Each posted top-30 metrics leaguewide. These weren’t just solid #2 or #3 arms—they were performing like low-end #1s or high-end #2s. 3. Depth and Ceiling Chris Paddack was slotted as the #4 with a healthy offseason and promising velocity bump. Young arms like David Festa and Simeon Woods-Richardson offered upside and Triple-A success. 4. Expert Takeaways Fangraphs’ Positional Power Rankings put the Twins’ rotation in the top 10 overall, emphasizing their efficiency and consistency. Keith Law (The Athletic) said, "Minnesota is sneaky-good in the rotation. Not flashy, but three above-average arms, and a fourth in Paddack who could make noise." Conclusion The idea that the Twins lacked a strong rotation in 2025 is simply revisionist. When the season opened, both numbers and expert opinions placed them near the top of the league. Yes, injuries and regression happen, but that doesn’t erase the fact: Minnesota entered 2025 with a legitimate, top-tier rotation.

The time to secure your rotation is in the winter, not July. That said, I think the Twins set themselves up for 2025 to have very good rotation. -- Lopes -- Ober -- Ryan -- SWR -- Paddack -- Festa -- Matthews No need to revisit why it hasn't worked out as planned.

I just think we all need to respect how hard Falvey's job is. Its easy to Monday Morning Quarterback all his moves. He’s not running the *Dodgers or the Yankees where you can just write a blank check and fix problems with money. And yet, I don’t blindly trust him. But I also don’t think it’s fair to act like this is some cakewalk job. *Dodgers ( they have the have money , But let’s not pretend that’s the only reason they’re good. Those guys know how to scout and develop talent, too.)