MGX

I like the moves from both the Tigers & Royals - they're trying to compete. That's what teams should do. Last year in the pre-season people gave the Marlins zero chance of finishing in the top 3 in the NL East & making the playoffs, yet that's what they did. The D-Backs were given about the same chance of making the playoffs & they made the World Series. I remember a post on here suggesting we could get Gallen because the D-Backs weren't in a position to contend. The Reds fell a little short of the playoffs, but no one expected them to be a .500 team. As was pointed out above we should also remember who the Twins were last year, an 87 win team who was 1 game under .500 at the end of June (41-42). As a Twins fan I don't want to take anything away from what was accomplished last season, it was great watching them win a playoff series. We need to keep in mind that while the Tigers & Royals have made additions to make there teams making them better we only have subtractions, including a big one with no indication that anything will be done about it. We should feel good about the fact we were 46-33 from July on. We should also look at Detroit who was 43-38 during the same time frame & now they've made their team better & again we've done nothing to fill the holes FA has created on our roster. I hope the Twins younger core can improve this year because we're going to need it.

He should be available for trade if the return justifies it. Seattle could use both Polanco & Kepler & has a lot of young talented pitching. In the right deal I'd trade either or both if needed. I'd rather trade Kepler in a deal that gets us a quality SP & give Larnach another chance than go with with our rotation as it stands & have Max in RF. On the other hand if we don't get the right offer for either Kepler or Polanco then keep them both as they're both productive players.

Agree 100% with this post, if they ever adopt a salary cap I certainly hope it comes with with a healthy salary floor. The second point on being more 'have-nots' than 'haves is right on the money as well. The 'have-nots' are content with the way things are because of how much money they make.

For me the only one of those options to consider is Farmer in a deal for Taylor. I think the Twins would need a little more to make this deal work though. The other options I wouldn't want the Twins to do. We should trade Polanco if & only if he is part of a deal that gets us a quality SP. I'd plan to have Julien as my starting 2B unless we get an offer that can't be refused.

To each their own I guess - The offensive production for Verdugo has declined every year since his career year in 2020 & all of those seasons in a hitter's park. Meanwhile, Kepler has had some ups & downs while bouncing back to produce an excellent year in 2023. Defensively, Verdugo has typically been below average while Kepler has been solidly above average. The original comparison is of some value as they're similar players, but to me Kepler is currently more valuable.

At the salary he will get, No thanks. As others have mentioned the #1 priority should be a SP.

After seeing interviews with Lopez after the trade I became a fan for the reasons you describe. Enjoyed the write up!

Unreal

I like the way your thinking!

Yes!!!!!

Believe!!!

In our half of the inning, if we get someone on in front of Royce it will get loud.

Believe!!! - In spite of the awful ump.

Believe!!!

All I have to say is LET's GO!!!

It would be nice to add Lopez or Moore to our bullpen. Of the position players available I like Bader the best.

This team is very different from the '87 Twins. In '87 the they clinched with 5 games left in the season & must have celebrated a bit too much as they went 0-5 to finish the season. Also, making it seem like the '87 AL West was anywhere near as bad as the '23 Central is completely inaccurate. All 7 teams in our division in '87 had 75+ wins that year & the Royals were above .500 & A's finished .500. It's unlikely that any other team in the '23 Central will finish at '500 or better & all of them could finish with less than 75 wins. That team was entertaining on offense with Hrbek, Gaetti, Puckett & Brunansky & had a true ace in Viola & solid #2 in Blyleven leading a thin pitching staff. They were also an excellent team at home (.691) winning percentage. We had home field advantage throughout the playoffs that year & won every home game that post-season. All of that is to say this team feels nothing like the '87 Twins did. It would be great if they could put together a run in the playoffs this year, but they don't inspire that feeling when watching them during the season.

Wow, this is a lot of analysis over 5 innings of pitching. Keuchel is likely to stay with the Twins on a start by start basis. The first start worked out very well regardless of the analysis. He was up against one of the better pitchers in the game & we got the W, that's what counts. Next time out maybe he gets lit up, but every game that we get from him that works out well is an unexpected bonus.

2023 OAA Polanco -3 in 113 attempts Julien -3 in 134 attempts 2022 OAA Polanco -9 in 338 attempts I like Polanco, but to pretend that he is a superior defensive player to Julien is just wrong.

Tony La Russa's teams won nearly 3000 games in his managerial career along with 6 Pennants & 3 World Series. Rocco Baldelli's teams have won a little over 300 while playing just over .500 ball & nothing in the post-season. There is a huge difference in those two managers. The 2021 Sox won 93 games under La Russa & last year they were 63-65. So his teams did fine. Both seasons under his leadership the winning % was higher than Rocco's was here. It seemed the comment above was directed at the way Rocco's teams have played - they look lost & show no sense of urgency.

The best move they can make is to trade/DFA vets who aren't producing to get them out of the way of younger players who are already out producing them. Why is Gallo still a Twin???

E-Rod for a reliever. I get that Bednar is good, but no way would I want the Twins to consider this. No interest in trading for Connor Joe at all. It sounds like the Guardians just traded Civale for a prospect. We can win the division with what we have. If we're not good enough as is then Bednar & Joe aren't going to be enough of a difference to help us win the division & in the playoffs. I hope the Twins stand pat or if they do anything add a reliever like Hernandez in KC if the cost is reasonable.

If the Twins do anything at the deadline I'm hoping they take a look at the following... 1. Lane Thomas 2. Carlos Hernandez 3. Jordan Hicks

Lane Thomas would be a great addition. Like everyone else just wonder about the cost. On the reliever side the pitcher I'd want is Hunter Harvey, but he's currently on the IL so don't think that's it. The other effective pitchers they have all seem to have walk issues, which the Twins tend to shy away from.

I know the focus has been on improving the offense & justifiably so. We have seen some improvement with the players we have over the past few weeks. With that said if we can make a deal for Lane Thomas I'd be all for it since he isn't a rental, is good enough to be a starter going forward & has hammered LHP throughout his career & even more so this year. My main focus would be adding some bullpen help & two pitchers I hope the Twins look at are Jason Foley on Detroit & Carlos Hernandez on KC. Foley is having very nice year & his numbers show it so he may cost a bit more. Hernandez on the other hand has decent numbers, but has shown dramatic improvement in the area that had been his main issue - Walk rate. Hernandez is also controllable beyond this year so maybe the Royals don't deal him, but I'm sure they're listening.