Chembry

What about Scott Servais who managed the Mariners from 2016-2024? He has experience with rebuilding teams. After the 2018 season, Seattle unloaded Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz. At the 2019 deadline, Seatlle dealt 3 more pitchers and finished 2019 with 68 wins. They were rebuilding. He used 2020 as a development year and had Seattle back to a 90 win team by 2021. He now works for the Padres in Player Development. Plus he is a local guy (La Crosse, WI).

That list outdated and looks to be from 2024, This is just a few of the list that I know off the top of my head: Skip Schumaker left the Marlins after the 2024 season and is now an assistant to the GM for the Rangers. He probably has the inside track to the Rangers managerial position. David Bell was fired in 2024 by the Reds and now vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager for the Blue Jays. The Reds are now managed by Terry Francona Scott Servias was fired the Mariners in 2024 and now works for the Padres in player development Will Venable is now the White Sox manager. My guess is the Twins will look hard at both Jayce Tingler and Toby Gardenhire. Personally, I like Scott Servais. He is a local guy (Lacrosse, WI) and has experience with rebuilding teams. He managed Seattle from 2016-2024. In 2019 Seattle finished with a 68-94 record and they traded away a bunch of players after 2018 and at the 2019 deadline. By 2021 he had them back to a 90 win team by 2021.

Baseball has been and is a huge part of my life. I played through college and now coach on top of my day job. Additionally, I have been a STH for a while and renewed for next year. My 9 year old son has also picked up my love for baseball. He plays travel, watches MLB recap rundown every morning, and follows many other players. Obviously, the Twins are our favorite team and we want them to win, but we are still watching major league games and players. Buxton, Pablo, Ryan, Keaschall, Lewis (when he is hot) are really fun to watch. I have been fortunate enough to have several conversations over the years with Buxton and Pablo. Both are fantastic people! Buxton even signed my son’s cast when he broke his wrist over the winter. Definitely understand where you are coming from, and most fans would. Hopefully, the young guys we will start seeing next year will bring some life to the Twins. Ultimately, I do believe the team we will see next year will be more fun to watch, and more competitive than what we are seeing now. My hope is that the way this year ends leaves a sour taste in their mouths and put in extra work during the offseason.

This has been my perspective all along.

I would love that deal for the Twins, but I don't think the Cubs would go for that... The Cubs currently have 4 catchers rostered. Carson Kelly is signed through 2026 and Miguel Amaya is pre-arbitration. Reese McGuire will probably be non-tendered after this year. And they recently promoted Ballesteros. I don't know if they will let him go...I can see them shopping Miguel Amaya to hold on to Ballesteros.

I love Michael Bush and Moises Ballesteros for Ryan, but no way the Cubs accept that offer. I could see Bush and a lower prospect, or Ballesteros and another high end prospect like Kevin Alcantra or Johnathon Long.

Naylor keeps getting thrown out there, but what about Ryan O'Hearn? Obviously, I would rather have Naylor, but I know Seattle has expressed interest in re-signing him and I assume other teams will be in the mix. I assume O'Hearn will be cheaper than Naylor. Average stats over last 3 years: Naylor: 137G, .276avg, 22 HR, 97 RBI, 15% K rate, 8% BB rate, .803 OPS, 123 OPS+, 122 wRC+, 2.1 WAR O'Hearn: 129G, .272 avg, 15 HR, 58 RBI, 18% K rate, 8,5% BB rate, .781 OPS, 120 OPS+, 118 wRC+, 1.7 WAR Average Statcast metrics over Last 3 years: Naylor: Batting run value = 15, Baserunning value = -1.3, Fielding run value = 1, Outs above average = 1.6 O'Hearn: Batting run value = 8, Baserunning value = -1, fielding run value = 1.3, OAA = 2.7 As mentioned previously, if we are going to sign a FA 1B, I would rather have Naylor, but O'Hearn isn't a bad option either and could be had for a bit less money. If we are going to the depths of France, Wilmer Flores, Josh Bell, etc...I would much rather let the younger guys get a shot. Let's also not discount trading for a pre-arb C/1B. There could be several options available.

I understand the Hayes article said that. I read the article and the article on the Cubs last year. I don’t believe it was a cost cutting measure. We don’t know who his source is and I don’t want to speculate. Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Cubs, Red Sox, Mariners, Rays, and Brewers have all cut their pro scouting departments in the last 5 years. Significantly cut their departments. Cubs reduced staff by 20, Angels by 23, Dodgers by 13, Giants by 13, Mariners by 23, Both Rays and Brewers reduced by 10…are they all cutting costs? Absolutely not. The Cubs are looking to resign Tucker, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox never shy away from spending money… The only reason this it’s viewed as a cost cutting measure is because it’s the Twins and the Pohlads. I am not a Pohlad apologist, I want them gone as well, but this move in particular isn’t a cost cutting measure.

Spot on with all your posts in this thread... It wasn't a cost cutting move...Many other teams have also cut their pro scouting departments in favor of video scouting. Cubs cut their scouting department last year. It's more a sign of the direction the MLB is heading versus cutting costs.

I don't think it's necessarily a given. Falvey has been on record twice since the trade deadline saying he is looking toward 2026 with a rotation led by Pablo and Ryan. Here is a direct quote from an article in the Athletic published August 27th: “I look at a Pablo López- and Joe Ryan-led pitching group,” Falvey said. “With guys like Bailey Ober, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson behind, with all of these other young players like Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and a kid named Kendry Rojas, who’s not quite there.” Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6573800/2025/08/27/twins-starting-pitching-depth-options-2026/ The other was an interview with Darren Wolfson. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't change and it may very well once the offseason begins and the phone starts ringing. But I don't believe it's the done deal most assume.

The article also states that this is becoming a trend in MLB. They used the Cubs as an example, saying the Cubs drastically reduced their pro scouting department in 2024.

Pereda would be a serviceable back up. He is a much better defensive catcher than Gasper that also has some positional flexibility. Pereda has played 107G at 1B in the minors. He is a career .296 hitter in AAA (5 seasons) and .240 in MLB over a small sample size. Defensively he has a MLB CS rate of 24% (small sample size) and MiLB CS rate of 33%, both of which are better than Jeffers. We could do quite a bit worse as a back up. Personally though, I think we have to we shoot for better if we can. I really like the idea of trading for long term cost controlled C/1B. There are a some options that could become available, depending on circumstances that unfold during the offseason. Austin Wells or Ben Rice from NYY if Judge moves to 1B. Moises Ballesteros or Miguel Amaya from Cubs as they currently have 4 C's rostered. All of these guys would be controllable through at least 2029. There is also the possibility of trading for a long term C to take some pressure off development of Tait. Harry Ford (blocked by Cal Raleigh), White Sox have Teel, Quero, and Lee...Lots of possibilities.

According to statcast, Keaschall is in the 7th percentile for arm strength. For 2B, statcast averages top 5% of throws with a minimum of 75 throws to qualify. That all leads to a 75.8 mph average and a rank of 352 of 380 qualified MLB players. Specifically for 2B, SS, and 3B (lumped together) he ranks 160 out of 168. For comparison, Matt Wallner is 4th in MLB averaging 96 mph on his throws. With that being said, I assume he will improve significantly next year with longer recovery time. I was able to find a prep report and he was clocked in the mid 80’s. Assuming he can get back to where he was, that would put him close to MLB average overall and in top 50 of the 2B, SS, 3B group. If Keaschall can play an average 2B while continuing hitting the way he has (batting run value of 12 which is in 71st percentile of all MLB), he will be big asset to the Twins.

FWIW-Derek Falvey is on record saying his focus going into 2026 is with a rotation led by Pablo and Ryan. This was said in August in an article in the athletic. Here is a direct quote from the article: “I look at a Pablo López- and Joe Ryan-led pitching group,” Falvey said. “With guys like Bailey Ober, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson behind, with all of these other young players like Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and a kid named Kendry Rojas, who’s not quite there.” https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6573800/2025/08/27/twins-starting-pitching-depth-options-2026/ Obviously, this can change between now and spring training. I don't expect Falvey to say any different, but at least he is on record saying a rotation led by Pablo and Ryan.

As Parfigliano aready mentioned, Festa recently saw a specialist and it is believed he has thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). There are 3 types of TOS: vascular (venous), arterial, and neurogenic. It is believed Festa has neurogenic, which seems to have a larger impact on throwing and be difficult to return back to normal form. He will meet with a vascular surgeon for a formal diagnosis and treatment plan. As of now, I would say this is an ominous diagnosis and questionable when he will return.

Bradley pitched reasonably well today. Not good news on Festa. Specialist he saw in Dallas thinks he is suffering from neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Good article on mlbtr about it.

I also think most are too down on Roden. I do believe the sole reason is the trade deadline and in particular, the trade that brought him to MN. The initial series in Cleveland he went 1/10 with 6Ks and the knee jerk reactions were very loud. Many guys struggle in their first taste of MLB pitching. His AAA stats suggest he could be a decent MLB hitter. We need to give him some time to adjust. I had a bunch of stats typed out showing his AAA numbers are better than Buxton's, Jarren Duran, Jackson Holiday, and very similar to Roman Anthony, but I deleted them. FWIW, none of the guys mentioned never played a full season at AAA. Most played a similar amount of games to Roden. By no means am I suggesting that he will be the hitter any of them are, or even an everyday contributor, but he should be allowed some leeway (not 12G in MN) before we start to get too down on him. When comparing other stats to Martin: Defensively, Roden is the better defender as it stands today. Roden's fielding run value is 3 vs Martin's -2. Roden posted a 2 OAA vs Martins -1. Roden has better arm strength averaging 88,8 mph vs Martin's 83.9. Sprint speeds are quite similar with Martin edging out Roden at 28.2 ft/s vs 27.8 ft/s. This could change because Martin is certainly improving. All of this is a long way to say, Roden seems to have the tools to be a decent MLB hitter and defensively is well above MLB average (75th percentile in fielding run value, 79th percentile in arm strength, and 82nd percentile in OAA). Roden should be given every opportunity to win a starting spot in spring training next year alongside Martin, Jenkins, ERod, Fedko, etc... If he can't adjust, we have the depth to adjust.

Wallner has decent trade value, Larnach not so much. There is quite a debate about Wallner, but his batting run value, according to Statcast/baseball savant, has been on the level of very good established MLB DH's. I don't want to debate that again, beyond the purview of this conversation. On to the topic of trades and what we could get for Wallner, his BBTV is 29.1. I know that doesn't mean alot, but it calculates a trade value based on stats (WAR), projection, salary, years of control, etc...and those are updated on a weekly basis. That BBTV of 29.1 puts him in some decent company. Suffice to say he has some trade value. Trevor Larnach's BBTV is 7.2 On to the trades to see what we could get. Several, including me, have proposed trades that could benefit the Twins in the long run. Here are some trades that would be accepted based on BBTV's: Wallner (29.1) to NYY for Ben Rice (31.6, C/1B) straight up Wallner (29.1) and Charlie Soto (7.8) to NYY for Austin Wells (42.4, C) Wallner (29.1) to SEA for Harry Ford (19.1, C) and Luke Raley (5.3, OF/1B) or Ben Williamson (4.7, 3B/1B) Wallner (29.1) to CHW for Kyle Teel (23.7, C) or Edgar Quero (18.2, C) Wallner (29.1) to MIL for Jefferson Quero (23,8 C) Wallner (29.1) to LAD for Daulton Rushing (35.9, C), Twins would have to add more here, but I didn't want to take the time to figure out who matches up. Obviously these aren't perfect scenarios and are hypothetical. There are some obvious limitations to BBTVs. Salary is a major limitation. Several high salary guys have lower BBTVs due to the negative impact on salary and statistical production. Several lower salary guys have higher BBTVs due to the amount of production vs their salary. These trades may or may not be accepted, but does give you some idea that Wallner at least has some trade value. Edit: All the trades mentioned are pre-arbitration so values are really a matter of statistical output, projection, and years of control.

Did you mean Harry Ford from Seattle? I think most would welcome that trade. I will add another to the mix, although most, including me, would probably be less enthusiastic about it. Austin Wells from NYY. There is a lot of talk of Judge moving to 1B next year and Ben Rice taking over the primary catching duties. They would need a RF and Wallner would be an upgrade from Stanton defensively. Austin Wells is also under team control through 2029. He is another left handed hitter though, but very good defensively.

I don't know about offending for 3 years, but the CBA states that teams must spend 150% of their revenue sharing dollars on MLB payroll. A quick google search says a grievance can be filed for any action violating the CBA. No time requirement as far as I can tell. Nobody knows how much the Twins receive, but it was speculated that the A's received or were to receive $70M (100% of their revenue sharing dollars) in 2025. The A's only received 25% in 2022, 50% in 2023, and 75% in 2024 which is one of the reasons (probably many others) they didn't spend as much. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/12/09/mlb-athletics-payroll-spending/ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/athletics-risk-mlbpa-grievance-without-further-payroll-increases.html

Curious if anyone has heard anything on Marek Houston. He was removed from Wednesday’s game and hasn’t played since. Haven’t read anything that he got hurt and still on the active roster. Was hoping to see him play a few more games before the season is over.

I read today, on another social media site, that some think Canterino should be given a chance to make the bullpen next year. I responded by saying he hasn't pitched in a professional game since 2022 and that was a AA game. There is no way he competes for a spot next year. If he gets healthy and stays healthy, maybe in a few years, but no way will that happen next year. Not saying it can't be done...Cam Boozer did it, but it also took him 4 years to work his way up to the MLB after not pitching in professional baseball for 4 years.

Personally I would put both Festa and Prielipp in the pen as well and I think both will thrive there. I don't disagree with Funderburk, Adams, and Ohl at all. I was just saying they are the most likely of the current roster to stay in the pen. I don't want them up here if we start trying to use them for more than 1-2 innings. I was trying to limit the number of FA signings. I do think Raya also has a good chance of being in the pen next year. Time will tell. It's a fun conversation because there are many possibilities.

I just calculated some stats since the trade deadline, mainly focusing on the bullpen. Record since trade deadline: 11-21 Bullpen since trade deadline: 131 1/3 IP, 84R, 76ER, ERA 5.28 Bullpen first 22 games after deadline: 95 1/3 IP, 41R, 36ER, 3.40 ERA Bullpen Last 10 games: 35IP, 44R, 41ER, ERA 10.54 (really shows how bad the bullpen has been lately) What may surprise many is that the Twins have lost leads or ties in the 6th inning or later 12 times since the trade deadline. Those types of games are going to happen from time to time, but not 12 times in 32 games (38% of games). If those blown games were cut in half, our record would be 17-15 since the deadline. The bullpen initially after the deadline wasn't awful. However, the last 10 games has been absolutely dreadful. The point of this post is yes, the bullpen needs to be addressed. The vast majority of the bullpen more than likely won't have roles with the organization in 2026, or they shouldn't have roles. Below are my thoughts. Current Bullpen/2026 role: Travis Adams: Only should be used in 1-2 inning stints Genesis Cabrera: UFA not resigned Kody Funderburk: Pre-arb...This one is tough, but I don't think he has the stuff. Non-tendered. Thomas Hatch: I think he has done enough to stay on a 1 year deal at league minimum, but assume the Twins non-tender Brooks Kriske: non-tendered Cole Sands: offered arbitration Michael Tonkin: non-tendered Justin Topa: I don't like it, but I think the twins will pick up his option Pierson Ohl (I know not on current active roster): Only should be used in 1-2 inning stints The way the current roster sits, our 2026 bullpen looks like: Adams, Ohl, Sands, and Topa. That leaves 4 spots open for internal candidates and FA signings. I can see the Twins signing 2 FA on 1 year deals of the Tommy Kahnle/Tim Mayza/Caleb Ferguson types. The bigger question is who internally from AAA will take the last few roster spots in the bullpen. In my opinion, there are two internal candidates that make sense. Festa and Raya. Both have had shoulder issues that could limit their use as a starter, which a bullpen role makes sense to maximize their value to the organization. Raya has been pitching out of the bullpen recently in 1-3 inning stretches. Giving what is going on with Festa, we can draw parallels to Duran. Duran started having shoulder fatigue in spring training of 2021. He only pitched 16 innings that year and was transitioned to full time closer by 2022. Festa started having shoulder fatigue in spring training this year and pitched 84 2/3 innings this year before being shut down for the year. The Twins may very well have him try starting again next year, but recurring shoulder issues tend to lead to bullpen roles. There are two other internal candidates that are less likely in Morris and Prielipp. The Twins will probably want to see what they have as starters first before they move them to the pen. Prielipp could be interesting because we don't know if he can stay healthy enough to be a reliable starter. This year is by far the most he has pitched in a season and that's only 67 2/3 IP. Depending on how he responds in spring training, we may see him in the pen in 2026. Can the Twins build a bullpen, yes they can, but this is a long way to say that it's not going to happen overnight. There will probably be significant experimentation next year with several younger guys to see who sticks and who doesn't.

Definitely agree. Since the vast majority of the current bullpen won't have a future in the Twins organization, why wouldn't we give some of the younger guys a chance? Give them some experience against MLB hitters for the last month of the season and get a jump start on 2026. I responded that exact question to a Gleeman tweet, and he responded that Morris is still being built up after coming back from injury and Raya has >6 ERA in AAA. As a reliever, Raya's ERA is 4.97, still not great. But if we feel his future with the organization is in the pen, let's get some experience now. There is no reason to run Davis, Kriske, Cabrera, Funderburk (I know he has been better as of late), etc...out there when we have younger guys that would probably be better (definitely not any worse) and could use the experience. Davis should be DFA'd today when Pablo is reinstated.