Dman

I think you are probably right about Badoo he has the speed for center and good power for a center fielder his eye appeared to be good as well. The issue though was his arm is suspect and he had contact issues even at the lower levels. Most teams have good outfield prospects so given his time off and the fact he may may never hit enough I see him as a long shot at this point. I think Wells would be a tough pick as well since he never had elite velocity and hasn't pitched much in the last two plus years. I would think there would be better candidates out there with more defined track records or upside. While Jax could be taken again he appears pretty easy to replace and his K9 is not that great. Maybe a move to the pen changes some of that but he seems like a long shot to me. Rijo is the one that worries me and Maybe I am overestimating his ability as I only have second hand reports and have never seen him pitch but he is young with a good enough fastball and a potentially elite secondary pitch. What's not to like about grabbing a guy like that in the Rule V a guy that looks like he has the upside to be an elite relief arm if not a back end starter. I think there is a pretty decent chance he gets taken but the scouts know best and we will see how he stacks up to what is out there.

Honestly I don't see any position players being taken in the Rule V. If there were a catcher there maybe but none of guys scream take me. if I was a down on my luck team I would have to say I might be interested in Rijo. He has a good to great secondary pitch so might be able to make MLB bullpen. Probably worth a try for some team but I guess we will have to wait and see. The rest of what the Twins have other teams have so I don't think those players will be worth a Rule V move. If I am the Twins I would skip grabbing someone in Rule V. There will be good players on the FA market likely for cheap and they are more proven players and we are at a point where proven players are better than wild cards. I guess we will find out soon enough if we lose Rijo or not.

For me losing Cruz to the WhiteSox would be the straw that breaks it for me. He would make their lineup absolutely crazy good and it would knock ours down a peg. He can be a bit injury prone but he takes good care of his body. He is great in the clubhouse. If I am the Twins I would give him that two year deal he is looking for.

The White Sox are pushing their chips on the table. Doesn't look like they want to wait around for that division title. Unfortunately I think they are going to be a dominant team for quite some time. Here's hoping our guys have some moves to match their moves.

Personally I was wondering if LA thought the Twins robbed them with the Dozier trade thus got half of those assets back in Raley in the next trade. Given Doziers production and the fact they were not going to resign him make it a win IMO. I mean even just the HOPE of something worthwhile coming back would have been worth it as the alternative was nothing, zip, nada. I would have rather had hope than nothing at all. At least Smeltzer made it and I think he will end up a decent reliever in time. Has to stop giving up HR balls first though. For me the Twins won this trade the moment they made it. I guess you could argue they could have gotten more but it seems unlikely IMO.

I am torn on Cruz. The first month of the season he was Mr. Clutch and literally almost single handedly propelled the Twins into 1st place in the division. The next month where it looked liked he was hurt not so good. Honestly I don't love the idea of losing his bat as it seems to be the most consistent bat we have. It is also a bat that can do damage. The question is will he stay relatively healthy throughout the season? If no then that money could be spent on pitching and or as you said rotating players through the DH. If he does stay healthy though you lose one of the best bats in MLB and that will hurt especially come playoff time.

While the numbers are SSS they still look good IMO. HIs WHIP is only 1.14 and with his K-9 that is plenty good for a reliever. I guess you have to decide if it is sustainable on basically one pitch or not. The SSS does us no favors telling us how those numbers would look for a whole season. Just one bad game or two from bumping up that ERA and if enough players figure out his Slider then the K-9 could slip too. For the money and all they invested in him though it still seems like an odd decision to me. They must have something in mind more long term to just DFA him. Again for the results and price tag you would think they could have gotten at least a C level prospect lottery ticket for him. This looks to be an interesting offseason for sure.

Well reasoned IMO. I think most of us could see the writing on the wall with two of our best prospects pretty much ready to contribute. Seems hard to believe they couldn't get something in trade for him. Teams down on their luck rebuilding could use a guy like Eddie. I certainly enjoyed Eddie's passion for the game and his fearless attitude at the plate I will miss him.

Kirilloff was one of the best hitters in the minors when healthy so I think the odds are good his hit tool will translate. The greatest risk for early extension would be injury IMO. Is he someone who is going to be able to stay healthy? He also isn't going to play a premium position like Robert either so could end up at 1st base and or DH depending on what other options the Twins have in the outfield. So how much is just the bat worth as that is all you can really count on at this point. I would say the odds are low that the Twins would extend him this early as they are pretty risk averse. They waited on Kepler, Polonco, and Sano and might not be able to resign Berrios so there is no precedent for an early move. The bat makes him look like he would be a candidate but everything else screams wait.

Like it or not our best Prospects are outfielders and if they are on the 40 man they need to be used. Rooker, Kirilloff, and Larnach need to start playing Major league ball and Left field is the best place for them to start. I like Rosario and a DFA seems a waste to me but if he is sooo good why can't the Twins seem to trade him? Probably because he has his limitation's. He is definitely an unpredictable and dangerous hitter but he has his warts too and other teams appear to be Leary of his potential as well. I concur with others who have said that it is time to move on. Use the young assets you have to replace Rosario and use the saved money to strengthen the team in other areas.

I was surprised by Ober but probably shouldn't be given his age and the success he has had when healthy. Maybe I am wrong about Rijo but I kind of thought they might add him as well. I thought he was throwing mid 90's and had at least one really good maybe elite offspeed pitch. Maybe he isn't quite good enough to make a major league roster just yet and Twins certainly have know more about him than I do but I thought they might have added him. Position players rarely get taken in rule V so not surprised about Badoo etc and Jax, Wells, and Barnes are all solid pitchers but nothing special at least not yet so can see why they were not added. We lost a catcher in the Rule V before so I can see why they added Ben. His defense is good enough to play in the bigs and there are signs the bat may come around. Should also give them another guy who they bring up and down as needed if injuries happen. I think it was a good move.

I Guess if they think they are going to lose May and or Rogers and or Clippard and they like something they see in these guys the move makes a lot of sense. I always get a little nervous when guys with little to no track record have to stay on the 40 man. The Twins schooled me on Wisler but I feel like I knew better on the Tyle rKinley move. The Twins have a good track record of getting the most out of relievers that they grab so I here's hoping they continue that trend. There are not a ton of ready arms in the minors. I count Colina and Chalmers as guys that might work out early other than that it is hard to say who might be ready next year. So this is likely they best build the pen back if they are not planning on paying much for relievers this year.

I am not sure what I would do with Littell Seems a bit early to give up on him. If Payroll is going to be light next year then it probably makes sense to hang onto him unless something better comes along later. The Twins do have Chalmers and Colina in the wings as guys who could aspire to bullpen roles later in the season. They have dark horses in Ober, Barnes and maybe Romero who might carve out roles later in the season. We still have guys that might step up and Falvine always seem to find guys that fall through the cracks but I think it makes sense to hang onto a pitcher like Littell. I would add him back onto the 40 man. If he stink next year then DFA him but my gut says he can pitch and overcome the issues he had this year.

Even if you weren't biased you would have a pretty good point. With Hill and Baily out and Pineda still serving his suspension Randy filled a hole early that no else really could. I mean the number of bullpen games played was scary enough as it was. His solid early performances were one of the few bright spots early in the season. If he hadn't faded down the stretch I think he wins this hands down. Even with the fade he still might deserve it more than Jeffers but fair or not it is a what have you done lately that in most remembered so on that score I think Jeffers did enough to get there. Randy was a fortunate find for the Twins and I hope he continues to dominate for many years.

Of the four catchers (if you include Astudillo) only Avila bats left handed. Garver can play first or DH if Cruz is hurting. Astudillo can play 1st 2nd, 3rd, left field or catcher and is contact hitter off the bench. So there is versatility there if needed. I like the Kirilloff add. How much worse could be than Sano against righty pitchers? He could be a decent pinch hitter as well. I think he is nice option to have available even if they don't use him at all. I think saving HIll for the next series makes the most sense. He could be used as a two three inning starter that gives way to Berrios or Pineda or if effective another good starter. He wasn't going to help until game three if then so rest him and have him ready. Not sure about the Alcala decision but he was off at the end of the season (hurt?). At any rate I trust the FO knows what they are doing with that decision and it is the only one I really question.

His last time out he seemed pretty wild had trouble finding the zone so I wondered the same thing. Sounds like since we got him from Houston they might know him a little too well so give that arm some rest and we see him next series.

I made a case in another article that they should have called him up for the last couple of weeks of the season as he couldn't do any worse than Wade or Cave. I guess things are bad enough now that a fresh bat, a good contact bat is needed in this strikeout heavy offense. Honestly he would be a good replacement for a slumping Sano and if Buxton cannot go then he should be fine in the outfield. Personally I think it is a good move.

OK so after the Twins lost that series in Chicago I was kind of hoping they would give up and drop down for draft position. The way Chicago was playing it seemed like there was no way we would have a chance at the division. I mean Chicago was going to have to almost lose out for us to win it. I guess that is baseball, where the near impossible ends up being possible. This has been a frustrating season watching this offense regress to mediocrity or worse. The Bombas were still there but fewer with a ton of strike outs. While my confidence is low for the playoffs they are in the best spot they can be for the post season. Here's hoping for a some playoff wins to get that monkey off of our back. Go Twins. Thanks for never giving up and another division win.

While not every move they have made has worked out they have done a really good job of revamping\updating the entire system. When other teams are poaching your coaches you must be doing something right. Player development has never looked better IMO. While they whiffed on the Anderson trade they have done a good job developing and grabbing bullpen help from castoffs and FA. Not all of their bullpen moves have worked but it is hard to argue with the results they have gotten this year. Lot's people on this board wanted the FO to sign Cruz and while I thought he was an OK addition at the time he has truly been the heart and soul of this team which I did not see coming. Getting him to sign was a huge win for this FO. I am record as not liking the Jeffers pick but it just goes to show Stats can only take you so far in evaluating players. Jeffers looks like a natural behind the plate and his eye and bat seem rock solid as well. They did well get him there as I don't think they had a third round pick that years and I think that is the round more in line with where he was projected to go. While I didn't love losing 6 years of Graterol the Twins really needed better starting pitching and to this point the move to get Maeda has paid off big time. He has been our best pitcher which is what we so desperately needed and they got him at a bargain considering what he gives to this team. It hurt to lose that second pick in a short draft but again the FO has to be given kudos for getting what the team desperately needed. I have to agree that I have been more often wrong about the FO moves than right. They most always make very solid moves and have this team in a good place right now.

Man have I had to eat a lot of crow on Jeffers. While I felt like he had kind of a poor spring and didn't perform to expectations there. I have to say I think he looks great behind the plate right now and his bat has played well at the MLB level so far. I can see why the Twins have been so high on him all the way through the system. I have always been a bit of Jeffers doubter but he has had a strong debut IMO. I still like Mitch but his eye at the plate is off this year and he has added much more swing and miss this year. I don't now if his prep was off or what the deal was but baseball is like that. It gives you breaks and makes you a hero and then you can't catch a break and it drops you to a zero. I still think he has a power bat and if the eye returns can be a tough out. At this point in time though I would rather see Jeffers on the post season roster than Mitch.

Bring on the Yankee's and lets slay that dragon. This team can do it. Once that monkey id off the back then they can try and match up with the other teams.

I liked that he took that walk after the HR. The pitcher wasn't going to give him anything to hit and took what the pitcher gave. The icing on the cake was the home with him on base. It is the little that add up and change games. I am happy to see him improve that part of his game.

Good natured article. The Sox have been down for so long I actually started to feel sorry for them. This shortened year I can actually cheer for them to have some success. The tough part is they have a very young, very talented team that is likely to be very good for at least the next 6 years if not longer. So I am sure my competitive rage will return. For now though I am kind of happy for them to have some success.

If he keeps hitting HR's I think they will. What is it now 5 in the last 8 games? There is a point where teams will need to change that approach. I am just surprised how little they seem to even nibble they just throw it right over the plate most of the time when he is up. He seems vulnerable to sliders in the dirt over the plate I would think they would throw more of those than they do. I love what Buck is doing right now but it seems like it won't last much longer as he is just stinging the ball too much now for pitchers to pitch him that way. I think more breaking balls would kill his momentum but who knows.

I know Buxton doesn't walk much but that may be by design. It seems like most pitchers have been aggressive pitching against Buck. Lot's of pitches in the zone so I don't think other teams want to put him on base with a walk and with his batting average would like to see him earn his way on. If he continues to be successful maybe that will change a bit. No team wants Byron on base and for now they seem to believe the odds are better making him work for it.