MGX

People need to keep writing articles about sending players down. There was one on Martin & then he had 4 hits, including an HR & now this one & Roden had 3 hits including a pair of doubles. Who's next? lol

Roden is hitting the ball harder & has lowered his ground ball rate so he may improve & at some point & be more valuable than Martin. This article is questioning Martin's value on the roster currently & there is no doubt he is more valuable than Roden.

The question should be Does Alan Roden belong on this roster? If Roden is sent down in a week due to calling up Jenkins then Martin's spot could be in jeopardy when Buxton returns. Austin Martin - In July .250/.422/.344 - .766 OPS - in 2026 .236/.351/.315 - .666 OPS, +2 Def run value & .8 WAR Alan Roden - In July .205/.289.205 - .494 OPS - in 2026 .222/.315.244 - .559 OPS, -1 Def run value & -.1 WAR

They can decide on Larnach next season for this season he is the primary LF. They can play Martin for him VS LHP. While Larnach is a below average defensive player (-3 Fielding run value in 644 Innings), his offensive production this season far outweighs anything his defense has cost the Twins. Agree with @jorgenswest where did the Twins make it abundantly clear they were going to trade Larnach leading up to the deadline? At the deadline they wanted to add a quality reliever & we have to assume that Houston asked about Larnach in return.

I'm a Keaschall fan, but positional fit it is an issue. If the Twins get what they're hoping for from Culpepper & Houston they should be the 3B & SS. So who plays 1B & 2B is the question. If Royce continues his hot hitting & Clemens continues his overall year over year improvement it seems they're the likely candidates for those two positions. Corner OF positions are offense first positions so if Keaschall can continue to progress on offense maybe he can start in LF or RF. The thing is there is a lot of competition arriving soon for those spots. CF would require a big improvement in his defensive game at this point. I agree with you on his work ethic & ability so hopefully he continues to develop & takes one of those spots or at least makes it very difficult for someone else to to take it. The more talented players the Twins have on the roster the better chance at success. Even if he isn't an everyday starter there should be plenty of AB's available to a productive player.

Who knows what changes are coming this off-season & how that impacts the Twins roster. With that said if we're just talking about existing players here is my best guess... C - Caratini - unless Jeffers somehow remains a Twin then he is the obvious starter 1B - Clemens/Lewis 2B - Lewis/Clemens 3B - Lee SS - Culpepper LF - Em Rodriguez CF - Buxton RF - Jenkins DH - Keaschall Bench - Jackson, Kreidler, Martin & Mendez Hopefully, Houston is at AAA to start the season & forces his way onto the team at some point. That would force a decision to be made on Lee. By then the Twins would have more data to make that decision.

This is based on what the Twins need, I think these are all more than reasonable deals for a team that considers itself a Buyer... • Padres get: LHP Robbie Ray • Giants get: RHP Miguel Mendez, IF Joniel Hernandez • Brewers get: RHP Dustin May, LHP JoJo Romero • Cardinals get: OF Alexander Frias, OF Carson Ragsdale • Cubs get: RHP Kevin Gausman • Blue Jays get: OF Brett Bateman, INF Ty Southisene • Rays get: RHP Freddy Peralta • Mets get: OF Aidan Smith, RHP Gary Gill Hill, 2B Émilien Pitre

A lot of players moving that could have helped the Twins & many at bargain prices & here we are with the most impactful player acquired being AJ Minter. At least there is still time to change that.

If Minter is the most impactful player we acquire this isn't really buying at the deadline. If that's the case maybe we should have sold expiring contracts. This team has clawed & scratched it's way to around .500, but they need a real boost to push for the playoffs IMO. There is still time to make a big move. The Angels have been the most active sellers as expected & now that they acquired a young SS, the Twins could still make a big move for Neto & Detmers. I know it's not going to happen, but that would make things interesting.

Point taken, but Greene is a risky player signed for - 15, 16 & 21 million per season. How much value do those years of control add? At any rate, I prefer other options out there.

If the Twins use a comp trade, why not use the Skubal trade since it just happened. Skubal is much more valuable than Greene, so based on that the Twins wouldn't need to offer as much for Greene since he carries a lot of risk with him. Even Crochet at the time he was traded would have carried more value than Greene. The bottom line is I hope the Twins make a difference making trade (I'm actually hoping for a bat), but the offer needs to match the value coming back in the trade.

I'm hoping for something more substantial. Pre-injury Minter was an effective reliever & he may get back to that, but the injury has limited him to 35 IP in the last two seasons. He came back in May & was effective with 14 consecutive scoreless outings, but since the start of July he's been hit hard. Hopefully, the Twins saw something that allows him to regain his pre-injury form. I'm cautiously optimistic for now.

I don't exactly disagree, but, if they did go "all in" as you say, they wouldn't be a .500 team any more. We have to assume going "all in" makes them better, right? For me this means a difference making bat (Abrams, Pena or Neto) to move Kreidler into a utility role. Then a difference making SP (Soriano or Detmers) to move Prielipp to the pen. Lastly, finding a reasonably priced reliever (Zeferjahn or one of many others) to add depth to the bullpen. While I don't see the Twins making these moves, they would be a much better team than the .500 team they are now if they did.

I've been more on the wait to see how this team does side of things. I agree completely with your thought, no half measures, if the team is good enough to be a buyer, get a couple of difference makers, not fringe players. One other thought for me is I'd rather see them go after a SP & move Prielipp to the bullpen than overpay for a reliever. If management is just going to add fringe players then they might as well trade Jeffers & Ryan. Tom said no half measures, let's see if he keeps his word.

If the Twins could get any of Pena, Abrams or Neto that would be great. Yes, the prospect cost would be high, as it should be, those are difference makers. Adding any of those three to an already productive lineup & then trading for a SP like Jose Soriano & moving Prielipp & suddenly this team looks dangerous. Someone else asked for three players to get at the deadline in another article. My response was one deal with the Angels for Soriano, Zeferjahn & Neto. I picked the Angels because they will be selling. The trade would cost a ton, especially for Neto, but this team would be a threat. Of course the odds of something like this happening are slim & none, but never hurts to dream.