Chembry

I am thinking they try both...Up until Nov 21 deadline to offer arbitration.

sorry double post

I agree with you...That's why I try to explain his stats...Here are a few examples:

I argue these facts all the time on other social media platforms against those who say Wallner should be DFA'd or released by the Twins.

Understood on that. Just didn’t know if he pitched Sunday, Monday, or yesterday

Jax had something like a 8.59 ERA since joining the Rays...that was reported prior to Sunday's game so it may have changed since.

You know what's crazy about that? Looking at statcast, both Wallner and Stanton are almost identical in their batting run values over the last 3 years. The only difference is Stanton has been producing at that level for quite a bit longer.

I don't see the Twins spending FA money on Naylor, I would love it, but just don't see it. His market value is $17M/year according to Spotrac. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/market-value/_/id/17627/josh-naylor Speculation on my part, but I am guessing he will want a long term contract now that he is 28 and want to take advantage of this season. I just don't think he will want to sign a 1-2 year contract and I don't see the Twins going long term. Maybe they will surprise us. If they sign a FA 1B, I see them signing a Carlos Santana/Wilmer Flores type of guy on a short term deal.

Yes, but he is also 3 years older and played 2 years of college.

I agree with the assessment on Keaschall. I don't see the Twins doing it before Culpepper or Jenkins. If they were going to extend one, it would more than likely be Jenkins. But Scott Boras doesn't like his clients to sign extensions until they reach free agency to maximize their worth. None of the guys I mentioned are represented by Boras. The likelihood of extending Jenkins is almost zero.

I believe the OP is referring to is signing pre-arbitration players to extended contracts. While not a new idea, this is becoming more of trend in recent years. Jackson Merrill, Jackson Churio, Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Colt Keith, Corbin Carroll, Ceddanne Rafaela, Julio Rodriguez, etc...have all been signed to extended contracts into what would be the first years of their unrestricted free agency. All of them had limited or zero MLB service time when extended. Now Basallo is in the same category. Spend a bit more now to save money in the future. Especially if it's constructed like Basallo's, $1M/year 2026 through 2028, $4M in 2029, $7M in 2030, $11M in 2031, $15M in 2032 and 2033, and $18M in 2034. There is a $7M buyout option in 2034. Obviously there is risk to this approach, but if you are confident that the guy is a significant part of the future, it will save money in the long run. Should the Twins do that with any of their young(er) guys? Right now, the only one I would consider is Keaschall, and only do it if the money is right. Once they get to the show, you could consider Culpepper and Jenkins, However, Jenkins is a Boras client and he probably wouldn't allow Jenkins to sign an extension that early in his career. Again, there is risk and you have to be confident that the guys are going to perform and be a part of the future of the organization. Especially when considering the following: Jackson Merrill signed a 9 year $135M extension after his all-star year last year. This year, he is hitting .261 with 9 HR, 51 RBI, and .729 OPS. Kristian Campbell signed a 8 year, $60M extension after 5 days of MLB service time in April 2025. He was sent back down to AAA in June and is still there.

I think most are in agreement that at least one of the current 3 (López/Ryan/Ober) will be traded. Quite frankly, I think Ryan has the best odds there…will bring back a very high return. I would argue against trading Pablo for the reasons I already stated.

You are making assumptions…both López and Ryan are on team friendly contracts. Even keeping both of them, the Twins may face a grievance from MLBPA . The current CBA requires teams to spend 150% of revenue sharing on MLB payroll. With that being said, nobody knows what that true figure is, but suffice to say even the Pohlads can only cut payroll to a certain extent. I would also argue keeping López is worth far more than his salary anyway. He attends other pitchers bullpen sessions for support and mentorship. He acts as a secondary pitching coach. A veteran presence like that in the clubhouse, is invaluable. We do have enough pitching depth, on paper, to trade 1-2 starters, but the Twins have shown this year why you need 8-9 MLB ready starters. If we do trade one, Ryan makes the most sense as he gives you the best return. Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea to move a starter into a closer role. I have floated the idea of moving Zebby there, but I think he could be a very good starter. Festa would also be very good in that role. His fastball would probably sit in the upper 90’s, touching 100. Couple that with his secondary pitches, it would be extremely valuable as a closer. There a a few AAA guys that could also step up into a high leverage bullpen role, depending on how the Twins view their future based on their injury history and track record in Raya, Prelipp, and Morris. I think Rojas will stay a starter for now. Let’s assume Festa is moved to the closer role, if we don’t move Lopez/Ryan, the rotation sits at: lopez, Ryan, Ober, Zebby…the has Abel, Bradley, SWR, Raya, and Morris all fighting for the #5 spot. If we move Lopez or Ryan, then we have: Lopez/Ryan (#1), Ober, Zebby…then Abel, Bradley, SWR, Raya, and Morris all fighting for the #4 and #5 spot.

My season ticket prices didn't go up...they stayed the same price.

He was support to start for the Saints tomorrow, Dan Hayes reported Abel traveled with the Twins to Chicago. So it looks likely Abel will make a start this weekend. He also reported Bradley could make a start, but no word on whether he is in Chicago.

I don't see the Twins spending much this offseason, just some bullpen help. Will their payroll be under $100M...who knows. Nobody knows what the Twins number is, but it is likely they will have to have a payroll close to $100M to avoid a grievance from MLBPA. I do see the them being active on the trade market. I can see them making moves that help now and in the future. For example, there is quite a bit of speculation that Aaron Judge is moving to first base after this year That moves Ben Rice behind the plate and the need to fill RF. Austin Wells has been seeing limited playing time recently . I can see the Twins trading Larnach or Wallner (plus a prospect if needed to even out) for Austin Wells (who can play C or 1B) who would be under team control through 2029. That is purely a hypothetical trade, but I can see the Twins making moves similar to that.

I was at the game last night...After Lewis flew out in bottom of 8th, Buxton had his arm around him and they were talking the entire time between innings. It was a big spot...I can't imagine anyone is putting more pressure on Royce than himself...Hopefully, Buxton can push Royce to get back on track. If not, Culpepper may be on the brink of coming in next year.

I was there last night, I would say that number is fairly accurate. I have definitely been to worse attended games this year.

I don't think they are waiting until Sep 1st for Bradley. As you say, he has quite a bit of MLB experience at a young age. I saw an interview with him. He is working on his split finger at AAA: https://kstp.com/minnesota-sports/twins-new-acquisitions-abel-bradley-and-outman-settling-in-with-triple-a-st-paul-saints/ My guess is they will want to see if he can continue starting at the MLB level after he starts getting more consistent results with his pitches. Even though he struggled this year, he had a sub 4 ERA heading into June.

This exactly...Marek was on the Twins TV broadcast and said he was trying to get back in the swing of things after taking some time off. Yes, he did strike out a bit more than historical numbers, but that is solely based on small sample size. Judging his first 12 games in pro ball looking solely at K% ignores his other offensive stats, that were pretty stout. He hit .370, .868 OPS, and .488 BABIP. Let's hope those numbers keep translating as he moves up.

Maybe Royce needs some tough love... Spencer Torkelson had a good year in 2023, but was down significantly in 2024 and was demoted to AAA where he spent quite a bit of time. AJ Hinch told him that he wasn't guaranteed a roster spot in 2025 and would have to earn it. We all know what he has done since. This was published in the Detroit Free Press: https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/03/13/spencer-torkelson-giving-detroit-tigers-lot-to-like-spring-training/82342571007/ Maybe that would give Royce some incentive to work hard this offseason. I am not saying he doesn't, but maybe he works harder. He still looks unsteady in the box with his feet moving and front shoulder flying open. But, I don't think his roster spot should be guaranteed. Especially with the defensive utility of Lee and Culpepper (who played 3rd quite a bit at K-State). I am assuming Culpepper is invited to spring training and we will see him some time in 2026.

Your judging Houston on 12 games in low A? Nobody "backed away" from Houston. He was the 15th rated prospect by MLB, 22nd by ESPN and was drafted 16th. The scouting report stated he is a plus defender and contact over power profile. That has held true through his first 12 games in low A. I am quite surprised he hasn't been promoted to A+ yet. 1. You are ignoring the fact that he is hitting .370, .868 OPS, and .488 BABIP...That's pretty strong. Yes, his K rate is up a bit from college (16% at WF vs 22% in A (13K in 59 PA)), but very small sample size creates significant variability. 2. You are using Kaelen Culpepper as a comparison for K rate, but his BA and BABIP numbers are worse than Houston's. (.297, .907 OPS, .273 BABIP) Again, I am not saying he is going to ever be a fantastic hitter in MLB, but let's not judge someone in 10-12 games using only K% as a metric.

He also doesn’t play defense very well. At least Outman is very good defensively. Hopefully he can figure something out and get back to his 2023 form.

Not sure you can make that judgement on Roden yet. He has a total of 150 plate appearances. He is a career .302 hitter in the minors and was hitting .331 in AAA this year. He won the starting LF in Toronto out of spring training hitting over .400 with >200 wRC+. He is a plus defender. The guy can obviously hit. I am not saying he will be a great major league hitter, but he should be given every chance the rest of this year to adjust. Outman has struggled for the better part of 2 seasons at the major league level. Why should he be given the opportunity over Roden? I understand that may be the move if Roden goes on the IL after his thumb injury.

I think the vast majority agree... My biggest gripe is if we are going younger and using 2025 as tryouts, why do we have 35 year old journeymen relievers on this team? Lets call up some young arms and let them get their feet wet. Now that we are at August 15th, maybe we should call up some younger guys and they can maintain their rookie status for next year.