Dman

I am no Scout and know very little about the Cuban defector. If he is a potential ace then the Twins need to do everything they can to get him because we have no pitching prospects capable of being an ace in double A or Triple A that I can tell. TR is going to have to do something soon because he cannot get the pitching he needs soon enough through the draft to match the other prospects level of play in a timely manner. If they get rid of Morneau and Carrol's contracts they have 20 Million a year to play with for next year. Even if this guy flopped it wouldn't hurt this team that badly while they wait out the contract. If they didn't sign anyone else then payroll wouldn't even increase from last year. If this might be the guy they can afford to do this. I know free agents do not necessarily equal success but we are starved for pitching and should be more desperate to find some than we appear to be. Even teams that have good pitching are still looking for better pitching. Why can't we outbid somebody for once?

With maybe the exception of Burton I kind of hope we hang onto our relievers. It is one of the few areas that seem solid on this team right now. Don't want to mess with a good thing.

I think that is what the risk takers are saying. There is plenty of room to take a risk and it won't even be that risky if it completely fails because you are still building through the draft etc. It is getting harder to be an apologist for Ryan. I think he is just determined to rebuild like the A's, Pirates, Houston etc. on the cheap through the draft and int'l signings. Likely will take longer but should leave the team in good shape once he is done. As much as the guy frustrates me I still like him in the GM role.

It's not like they let Gomez go for nothing. They got Hardy in return. Unfortunately they didn't get much for Hardy. Gardy seemed to love Go,Go but they couldn't seem to stop him from swinging at pitches low and away. I thought they had given him long enough to improve offensively. Everyone loved his defense and speed when he could get on base but his 220 batting average didn't want to budge. I thought the trade they made was good until they got rid of Hardy right away.

I don't think the Twins will trade Perkins. He gave the team a hometown deal to stay in his hometown in Minnesota. The Twins are loyal and will honor that gentleman's agreement. Yes I know they don't have too but I think they will do what Perk wants and he wants to stay here. It does make some sense to trade Perkins as he likely won't be around when the young guys get things going. If he continues to pitch this well then another team will step in at the end of this contract and offer crazy money and if he gets hurt then likely is done anyway. His value will likely never be higher than it is right now. If by some miracle they do trade him get ready to read about another former Twin turned All-Star for another team.

Any idea if the Twins are willing go over their pool amount significantly to DeMuth or Halstad?

I don't think we will see much roster movement until around the Trade deadline. If they do nothing there then we will have to wait until September when they can expand the roster. Or maybe someone getting injured would clear a spot. Colabello more than any other player in AAA deserves his shot. He has been consistent. He is hitting for average and power. What more do they want?

Yeah there is no question that he can't see them all just the more prominent ones. Still there was a market for the higher ranked prospects and the top prospect was around 2.5 million so other GM's seem to agree with those rankings. Probably not the exact order but likely close. Twins seemed to be the only team really, really interested in the slow footed Diaz. Kid must have a sweet swing because he looks to be locked into first base. There were Ortiz comps so that is a positive. Hope the Twins picked the right guy.

I just always figured they would never blame him for this mess and bring him back no matter what since the team appears it will be good in the near future. I certainly don't see them replacing him mid year unless he resigned. The Twins are too loyal and there doesn't appear any dire need to change managers before the end of the year. Even if they get a new manager they are going to be bad again next year because it is going to take awhile for the pitching to turn around and they need to incorporate Sano, Buxton and Rosario into MLB players. It will likely be 2015 or 2016 before this team starts to rise from the ashes. I like Gardy but the timing is right for both parties to part ways.

Yeah it looks like the Cubs will incur penalties this year but by getting two guys in the top three this year you could spread that and say they got 1 top guy per year. I think the main point is that the Twins had number 4 money but didn't get anyone in the top 5. As has been discussed that may not mean anything and they did get a high ceiling power hitter but some of us would like to see them take a chance at the higher prospects while the team is bad and has the money. Others think the ceiling is similar on lower rated prospects so quantity is the better approach as lots of these guys do not make it. The Twins have a decent track record with international prospects so they probably know better than I do but some times you like to see your team swing for the fences.

Third, I don't care about them spending the money, I care if they spend it on quality instead of quantity. Regardless of what some think, there are scouts who go down there and see enough of those guys to get a feel for how they'll be. The rankings aren't meaningless, or why do they even bother to scout them or give them ranking to begin with? Just because SOME don't feel there's any validity, doesn't make it true. Cubs went out and were aggressive to get players scouts ranked high. e? I am no Scout and have no idea how to evaluate baseball talent but I agree with ThePuck here. Either most teams are duped into believing there is better talent and a better chance for success in the top ten or the top ten are truly valuable. When teams are willing to pay 2 million dollars for the top choice I tend to believe there is value there. Unlike the Twins the Cubs were very aggressive in grabbing a few high upside guys and out spending everyone in the process to get 2 of the top three guys. To me that says to the fans that they are going to do everything they can to get the best talent out there to build their team. Yes it is high risk, high reward but you have to like them going for the home run. Whether it works out or not I think there approach builds trust with their fan base. The Twins did sign a top 10 guy who is currently a singles hitter with great power potential but he is also slow and doesn't have a great arm. Fine for a 1st baseman I guess but the tools and or upside are very limited. I like the Ruar Verkurk signing but it is hard to get excited about it. The Twins have a lower payroll this year so as a fan you kind of hope that they are going to spend big while they have the chance and get 5 tool guys or guys that have a chance to be better than average after going through the system. That being said the Cubs could spend all that money and still end up with nothing. These guys are 16 and projecting that far out seems crazy tough to me. Some of the lower prospects could be late bloomers and overtake the guys at the top so who knows how it will all shake out in the end. All I know is unless someone can find me stats to say I am wrong is that I want to get the guys rated at the top once in a while and see if they become stars. I just really liked the Cubs aggressive approach.

I get the start now approach and I agree I think they are close but it seems like a bit of an unnecessary gamble to me. See what you have first and then get what you need in FA. Not guess what you need and maybe need something else when the time comes. It seems like there is always a FA pitcher every year I see no reason to rush it. On the international free agent market they said they would spend it all this year but with the Twins who knows. I was hoping that since payroll is low this year they would over spend just enough in the international market not to incur penalties. I was also hoping that they would target fewer but higher rated prospects but I guess again that was wishful thinking. I am starting to see the trend others have noticed about Ryan and the Twins. They seem to like quantity over quality but then again I am no scout and probably do not grasp the finer points of rating players. It would be nice that if they aren't going to spend payroll that they max out their spending for prospects but I guess the Twins are the Twins.

OK I just don't think the time is right to sign a big free agent pitcher just yet because I don't think this team is really ready to compete for the playoffs until probably 2016. Maybe just maybe things fall together and they are there 1 year earlier who knows but I don't see a reason to be good until the young players are in place. In my opinion it makes more sense to get higher draft picks and more money for international prospects by being bad. Why spend in FA to be middle of the road? It serves no good purpose other than to have won a handful more games and you lose time on that pitchers arm losing anyway. I don't see value in FA right now I see the opposite. I will agree with you that when the young guys are in place and payroll is low and they do nothing to fill the pitching hole in free agency then I will be done with this team. There will be no reason to watch or follow them if they are not going to go all in when they have the window to do it. TR does not have a good track record of going big in free agency but if he fails this time around then he needs to go.

I agree that a lot of top prospects do not pan out in baseball in the top 5 picks but alot of superstars do get picked early. The Twins did well with Number 1 pick Joe Mauer and appear like they will do well with Number 2 pick Buxton. Also they will draft high in round 2 which is like having a low Number 1 pick. As has been seen many times in baseball. Teams that lose badly typically turn things around and become strong teams for several years. I like our chances picking higher versus lower.

It probably is time for Gardy to go but will the Twins do it? I just don't think there is enough animosity there for them to get rid of him. I think they think he has a bad team and will absolve him of responsibility but I could be and often am wrong. You are correct that they have guys who could step in there and it might be good for the team but will they do that? A very good case could be made to get rid of him but you could just easily make a case that most of the losing wasn't his fault as the pitching he had just wasn't good at all. 12 years is a long time they are probably due for a change we shall see.

Although a good case could be made to get rid of the GM and HC after another terrible losing season I don't see that happening. The Pohlad's are going to give TR and RG every chance to see this thing through. The farm system is there and TR's low budget philosophy is very in tune with the Pohlad's so I don't see them changing even if the Twins are the worst in the league this year. It is not like TR is incompetent or made costly mistakes in evaluating talent. The one white lie told was that this team had a chance this year to be good. Although there is always a chance that might be true, he had to know that was a stretch. But what could he say? He couldn't say don;t come and watch any games because this team is in rebuilding mode. TR does have to figure this pitching thing out soon though or his window of opportunity is going to shrink. Mark my words he won't be fired even if the Twins are dead last and I think he is the right guy to turn this team around. Once he gets this team there he better start to figure out Free Agency and Pohlad better open his wallet or I am done with this team. There will be holes to fill and they better do it when the time comes.

Personally I am hoping they can be in the top 3 of the draft next year and that is going to take a lot of losing. With that said I want the players to do well. Get those batting averages up and ERA's down but find a way to lose by at least 1 run. I know it sucks for this year but we need more pitching and we are unlikely to pay for it in FA. The draft is the only way and we need to find an ace somewhere in the next 2 to 3 years as a lot of young players are going to be ready for MLB. Hopefully just this and next for bad years and then on the way back up for a loooong period of time. Do well but keep losing Twins.

Could the Twins have gotten Sanchez? Maybe for $100 Million and 6 years but that is a steep price to pay if he breaks down anytime in the first three years. Could the Twins afford the failure given their current payroll I would have to say yes. Should they have done it? I don't think so but I probably don't have what it takes to make that kind of gamble. When Sanchez was on the market the following teams were interested in him. "In addition to the Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers are known to have interest in Sanchez, sources say. It’s not clear if any will meet the $90 million price tag." None of those teams felt he was worth the money for the risk involved for how he would pitch in the future and if he would remain fairly injury free and those are teams typically willing to take risk for pitching. I think most GM's felt he had a good run in the playoffs but might regress to more pedestrian numbers or someone would have offered more. Even the Tiger's didn't want him for the original 6 years and $90 Million. If I had to guess they figured they could get three solid years maybe four and were willing to eat the rest but they are ready to win now and it is the right kind of risk for them to take. I don't see how you can beat TR up over Sanchez? It just isn't the right time to make a move like that in my opinion and based on who was interested other GM's would agree with TR. On another note I will say this. The Twins are building this team backward. They should have focused on Pitching before position players like the A's did. The pitching needs to be in place at some point or you will never compete for a WS. Pitching other than lucking into Radke and Santana has been the Twins Achilles heal. If they can't buy it or develop it when everyone is in place it will be another a few years of respectability and back to rebuilding.

I agree using the Pirates is a dangerous analogy but the Philosophy is the same. It seems like often times in Baseball you have to get really, really bad to get good. If you are in the middle you tend to stay in the middle until you finally get really, really bad. I am sure there are exceptions and some teams take longer to rebound than others but unless you are going to spend like the Yankee's, Angels, and Dodgers then I think really, really bad is the way to go as it gives you a chance that if build correctly and get a little lucky then you can win a WS. Otherwise you just stay stuck in the middle.

A lot of interesting philosophy's on the subject of building a team. Really good ideas and great insight. In the end I put myself on Brock's side as it seems to me the way most teams with average to limited resources build there teams. The Pirates were bad for a long time but it looks like their plan of building a strong farm system through the draft and international signings is paying off now. The A's purged and rebuilt there system on pitching and never spend heavily in free agency and they appear to have one of the better teams in baseball now. The Yankee's and Angel's have spent heavily in free agency and are they really much better than teams built through the draft with time and patience? I think the Twins are doing this the right way. Build a strong core of young players and then spend away in free Agency to fill the few holes left. I think that is Ryan's philosophy for Free agency. I understand the other arguments that we are capable of spending more to field a competitive team and that even if the team is still bad having assets to trade can net some extra prospects but I don't think those kind of prospects are going to make or break your club down the road. If we are not going to be above 500 then I would prefer we lose as much as possible because we will have a better shot at a true star and difference maker in the draft. Next years draft is deep so picking high should net two quality players. I agree with everyone that we are in deep trouble developing pitching. You can see that even in the Minor's our pitching is not as good as other teams especially at the higher levels. They need to everything they can to shore that up or even with the great position players coming up there prime years will be wasted losing 8-5. Make sure we have a team of position players who can really compete and then use free agency to buy the extra pitching you need. Otherwise keep trying to build through the draft and pick high to find stars.

I really think Chris deserves a shot and i hope the Twins give it to him after the trade deadline. He has earned his shot at the MLB level. I also agree with several posters here though that he get that time not at the expense of Parmalee. I really feel like Parmalee is going to come around. Maybe he will never be a star but I think he will become a very solid major league player. We need to find out about both of those guys before we give another team a very good player for nothing.

I love Morneau and he is my favorite Twins player because he plays hard and can be clutch, but I would rather see the Twins spend Money on pitching than any other position on this team. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't think the same Morneau will ever be back. If you can't get anything for him let him walk. We need to start over and we need to spend money on pitching.

Colobello if he is as good as his AAA numbers suggest has a good 4 years left and 1st base is a position an older player can get away with playing for a long number of years so he could be a part of the Twins future if he is truly good. I might be biased by the fact that I really like the story behind this guy and given his consistency in the minors believe he deserves an extended shot at the MLB level to see what he could bring to the team. At the very least if he is good and not a part of the Twins future he could be trade bait for another younger prospect. He is too good to just sit in the minors and waste away. The Twins need to make room for him this year after the trade deadline.

I don't think the players that play the game can try to lose. You get where they are by being a highly competitive presence. Management could set the team up to lose but even that would not be a guarantee that the team would lose given that the players would be trying to win. I am going to take the low road on this one despite though despite the facts. I just feel whether justifiable or not that the higher draft picks tend to have greater superstar potential. Although there are many, many examples of this assumption not working out I still believe picking higher throughout all rounds not to mention in the International draft is more advantageous than picking lower. If my team isn't likely to crack 500 then I am rooting for the players to do well but for the team to somehow lose. I think this season might be the last one where the twins will have a chance at the top 5 and then I think they are on their way up again if they find the pitching they need.

I don't think the players that play the game can try to lose. You get where they are by being a highly competitive presence. Management could set the team up to lose but even that would not be a guarantee that the team would lose given that the players would be trying to win. I am going to take the low road on this one despite though despite the facts. I just feel whether justifiable or not that the higher draft picks tend to have greater superstar potential. Although there are many, many examples of this assumption not working out I still believe picking higher throughout all rounds not to mention in the International draft is more advantageous than picking lower. If my team isn't likely to crack 500 then I am rooting for the players to do well but for the team to somehow lose. I think this season might be the last one where the twins will have a chance at the top 5 and then I think they are on their way up again if they find the pitching they need.