JADBP

Y ah but Ryan is unhappy. I don’t see him signing an extension with the Twins. Even at $120 mill

Geez, this is just sickennng!

With the players/MLB strike/lockout coming up in 2027, it is highly likely that few players will have trade much value at next summer’s trade deadline. I think the only trades will be for players on long term contracts or rookies/prospects with a long runway of salary control. Who is gonna trade for Lopez or Ryan if they expect to sit out.2027? Not many takers! so next summer will be really weird. I hate to say tear down, but if you do not expect to extend Lopez and Ryan, then the best plan might be to trade one of them. Ryan has a ton of value, especially to a rich team that figures they can extend him. the downside of this approach is that you probably lose Buxton. Either he demands and gets a trade or he sits down on the job (like so many did after the 2025 trade deadline). Losing him hurts even more because he is elite and he’s such a great guy. But he can only tolerate so much from mgmt. I wouldn’t blame him.

Right on! And more to the point, SHELTON needs that Wiley old pro on the bench to help him too! It’s not that he’s a rookie. It’s just that he needs that extra voice to whisper in his ear once in a while. Like “steal some bases…” Even super coach Joe Torre still had Zimmer and he loved his advice. That was Rocco’s key problem: he thought he was smarter than the other coaches so he didn’t listen. And he just kept doing the same failing plays over and over, like T3 said!

Right on! I say FIRE FALVEY!!! But the problem is he can NOT! At least not right now. At this moment he needs Falvey to put together some sort of team. There isn’t really time right now to go through the hiring process. And still sign, trade, draft, and plan, etc. so he’s stuck with Falvey for now, prob most of the season. On the other hand, if he stays stuck with Falvey, he bakes in another year of the same-o same-o BS plans from Falvey that Falveys been running out there for the last 7-8 yrs. Falvey ain’t gonna change his stripes. So Tom is Double-secret-stuck!!! I believe Tom believes he’s a take charge kind of boss. Let’s see if he really is. Let’s see how he handles Double-Secret-Stuck!

OMG, that’s precious! I can just imagine everyone looking at each other asking “Where’s Joe?!!!???!?! “. Joe is gonna be in Singapore or anyplace other than Dad’s house!!!

He DID use the words accountability and communications… Time will tell

I fully agree. That’s why I expect Falvey is on the short leash—about to be snapped off. As he said, Something’s Gotta Give. .

Buxton is elite Ryan is elite. and we gave at least 3 guys in minors who rate as elite.

Damn! That’s a good question. Think of Spanky (from the gang) jumping up and down waving his hands wildly and screaming with that squeaky voice “Pick me! Pick ME!” the old man said OK, but DO NOT SCREW THIS UP! Then he did!

Very very interesting comments. Yes, the Twin’s way is broken. I think someone in the family has finally stood up at the Pohlad thanksgiving table and shouted and screamed until he finally got through….”you keep trying the same ******** over and over and you just keep failing!” He finally got through to the uncles. But what does this mean? Bad people or bad process? It’s BOTH! So he’s gotta take the time to figure out who the bad apples are and cull them and bring in new people with new processes. My guess is that he already has an idea of who to replace. I doubt they would dump Shelton but the FO is likely on the super high burner…

I’m just soooo glad to see Joey gone! now Falvey….

I don't dislike the signing...we HAD to do something to get some thump out of 1B. We will never get that out of Clemens or Keaschall and I am pretty sure that Julien will never be back, unless he rides in on a pink Unicorn. Here is an interesting question: Bell is not the long term answer, so who do we start training in on 1B so he can take over in a couple of years? We keep drafting highly rated SS's (Lewis, Lee, Culpepper, Houston, Winokur, Young, and likely another SS in 2026 draft, and don't forget Noah Miller, Cavaco, Austin Martin, Will Holland, etc) on the basis that they are such good athletes that we can move them anywhere on the field. But we never do! So, if we have all of these great athletes, which of them would you move to 1B? Honestly, I think the only one that really fits at 1B/3B is Lewis--he has the bat/power skills. But, we just spent a couple of years trying to teach him 3B now, so let's not mess with that....anyone else? Emma or Gabriel? They have hit tool, but might be too useful in the OF (I am looking forward to an OF of Emma, Gabby and Jenkins). Larnach and Wallner...and maybe only Wallner??? Could he convert to a good 1B man? The no-speed plays, but the K's do not. Sabato has been in AAA for five years now, and for good reason. So, it seems like we need to draft or trade for a long term 1Bman and use guys like Bell/Clemens/Keaschall until he is ready. We are stuck with Bell. Could we come up with a package for any one of these guys?? We have ZERO future at 1B as it stands right now (other than, uhhhh.....Sabato, not gonna happen).

Love the comment. I am not surprised by Popkins, though I wanted him out too. I regret my earlier comments. As a retired businessman and executive, I can say this; A leaders fundamental job is to: 1) set goals, expectations, and directions for the enterprise 2) Communicate/teach/coach and support those who will implement #1 above. 3) Get the hell out of the way. some might add strategic analysis but that is usually done at lower levels. Upper management finalizes by choosing direction (#1). The Twins are a tough case as a mid-market franchise with limited income, massive (unsustainable) debt, and disinterested or distracted ownership. So the owners decide to cash out…until they realize that the franchise is worth less than they thought (again, massive debt). So, the franchise leadership tries a bunch of stuff. Better players? Sure, let’s get some (but they are expensive). That didn’t work. Dang, then let’s tear it down and start over. Again, the fans exploded! Oops Let’s try something else, Let’s Swap coaches! Still no love, Target Field is gonna be empty! Hey—just kidding—no rebuild. We have a strong base of good players. Maybe Twins OWNERSHIP and MANAGEMENT needs to be replaced! They can’t get out of their own way! I get the feeling that Falvey commands everyone how they should do their jobs. I hate that. If true, it has been a horrible failure

Royce can be fine if he learns to close up his batting holes.

Sorry to say, GOOD BYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE. I don’t see LAD forcing Ohtani to play all over the infield or subbing him out in the 4th inning when an LHP enters the game. When they do, then I will know that Rocco is actually having an influence on the team. Otherwise, this is probably just a mercy hire—his best buddy is a top guy there.

I have very high confidence that Royce can shine as a Twin. The first step was to get rid of Rocco and the nonsensical bullcrap that Royce has had to put up with!!! Like: “Hey Royce, go play 2B today. Oh, and go buy a 1Bman glove too! You’re batting bottom of the order today but might slot you in at #4 tomorrow. One more thing, Royce … can you pitch? “ Rocco was a NUTCASE with Royce.

I am pretty sure that Buster Posey called up Falvey before the draft and said “Hey Buddy, you owe me one…how’s about you draft that Susac guy and flip him our way? Pick some loser off our low A or lower. We’ll cover the fees…. It’s just like the Louie Varland trade, which made absolutely zero sense (wish I could have used a number a lot lower than Zero there!). But you are right…Falvey seems to have some perverse addiction to trades. I can only guess it is his narcissistic side coming out. It must make him FEEL powerful, smart, maybe even beloved, But in actuality, he’s being suckered by other teams to agree to these inane trades. Maybe he believes we’re gonna love him even more. I think he needs to double check the “Do you approve of the job Falvey is doing ….” polls here on TD!!!

Lots of chatter here! Yuup it’s hard to say changing the coaches is worth 10 wins! But Rocco had lost the trust of the team and when that happens he HAS to go. I am not saying that Shelton would be that much better but if he is different, that could lead to many wins. There is plenty of talent in the team but it was misused and abused. Pulling lefties in the 4th inning, moving players from position to position, poor training and preparation, crazy usage of RPs, and running Margot out there hoping for at l ast a single hit. Rocco stubbornly refused to learn from his errors. Only when the handwriting was on the wall (he was getting fired) did he try something different (stealing bases). So let’s all hope that Shelly is just DIFFERENT!!!

I agree....if I were the Mets, I would AT LEAST have Maddon on speed dial as a highly paid consultant, if not head coach or full time adviser. Is Carlos Mendoza really the answer there (an 86 win team)? They are still searching for answers...when they just be paying for answers. Oh well....

I agree....a 5 win player is fairly rare. But 5 win managers are extremely rare. I really think there are probably only 2-3 managers out there than can take a woefully bad team and make them shine...like a Maddon. Dave Roberts in LAD (even with WS wins) is not one, because the owner loads up the team with massive talent and he just keeps them all running in the same general direction and keeps out of the way. But talent is not the only ingredient...look at the Mets! So, what is wrong here? Its a whole ecosystem, players, managers, coaches, facilities, belief, management, ownership, the whole shebang. Since the Twins have two strikes against us already (ownership (Huge #1!)) and maybe management, the coaches and players might never get to the promised land.

Well teams just don't play managers the types of salaries that top level player talent command. You will never find a $35 million manager in MLB (maybe decades from now).... just because teams can get away with it.

LOL.....Well, I can't imagine that Shelton is worth 10 wins, but maybe Baldelli was -5 and Shelton is +5? I can well remember several games that Baldelli just simply blew by his constant substitutions and having players play out of the position that they spent five years learning.

interesting thought....what is the Baldelli switcheroo worth? 2-3 wins? 4-5 wins? 6-10 wins or even more? Less? Any thoughts, fandom?

“At some point, for almost every major league athlete, one begins to crave a role on a team that is competitive. That ship sailed when the Twins failed to properly evaluate their roster and make proactive moves following the 2023 season”. NO! That ship sailed after the ignorant Twins ran up nearly $500,000,000.00 in debt on the team!!!