Dman

I get the thinking as he made the All Star team in 2024, but his bat is just so unreliable the Twins could just as well go with a young guy there and build toward the future. Kreidler was their pick for Shortstop and Center as he is the perfect no hit bat they seem to prefer in that spot. The outfield is full and other than short the infield looks covered. I'd just move on at this point.

I noticed some of the same things. His in zone contact rate isn't great either. There are warts in the profile but he is very young, so plenty of time to try and iron things out. Will be fun to watch him this coming year and see how he does.

Fitzgereld was never going to be a long term solution for this team so not a huge deal, but I just don't get the Kreidler love. I must be missing something. At any rate the Twins were one team away from having him slip through, but the pesky Dodgers have him for now. Sometimes I wonder if Friedman just likes to stick it to Falvey. Anyway I wish Fitzgerald the best. He was fun to watch at AAA and the majors last year. I think he is a good defender and found some power in his bat which makes him a nice utility option. I'll be watching the Kriedler, Fitzgerald stats closely this year.

I tend to agree. I was plenty high on DeAndrade, but he repeated high A with a similar OPS of .700 which isn't that great. I get he has been young for levels but he has never had an OPS over 750 yet. There's still time for improvement and I am not writing him off, but it looks like utility player is his ceiling and the bat has a long way to go. Still only 21 but for what he has shown so so far I don't see him making it. Even MLB.com has him as their number 30 prospect so he is just hanging on. This year is gonna be a big year for him. The bat has to get better or as you mentioned he will be irrelevant given the other options the Twins will have.

Glad they got that done and they can make it work if they keep him as they can technically keep Gonzalez, Mendez, Rodriguez and Roden at AAA as they have options left. Martin has an option left as well, but since he had a 150 OPS+ against lefties they are going to need him on the 26 man. That leaves Buxton, Wallner, Outman and Larnach to battle it out. Not sure if they will want to carry 5 outfielders, but they have ways to work around it if needed. Larnach sure does look like the odd man out. It makes more sense to get Roden in there and see what he can do and Rodriguez isn't far behind. Somethings gotta give and he looks like the most likely candidate.

Well stated OP! Not much to argue about. I was going to say the following (now in Italics) but I see Rodriguez only has one option year left. So as you stated he likely is next man up as soon as he solidifies himself at AAA. Still I think Jenkins has a chance to press the issue with good numbers at AAA. The only nit I might pick is Jenkins versus Rodriguez. Honestly I view those two as neck and neck for the next callup. Which ever one performs best should get the next shot. Jenkins makes better in zone contact. He runs, and throws as well if not better than Rodriguez and while I give Rodriguez the slight in edge in power right now in time there likely won't be much difference. Jenkins has never had a K rate over 20 percent until AAA where in a smaller sampler sample he hit 25%. Rodriguez has had K rates hovering around 30% most of his career. I get that E-Rod has the advantage of a 40 man spot, but if Jenkins is out performing him they could easily remove Outman, Larnach, Jullien, Gasper for the guy who likely will be there long term. There's a reason Jenkins is rated higher in top 100 lists than Rodriguez as his underlying numbers just look better. Rodriguez missed a huge opportunity last year to get reps at the MLB level and establish himself. I don't see him as having the inside track on Jenkins with them being at the same level, but with only having one option year left that might change things.

I do think Realmuto will sign with the Phillies as I can't see him getting a huge payday anywhere else due to his age and last seasons numbers. However, If they did need to trade for Jeffers I think your idea of Wood makes sense as he was picked in the late first round which would be like getting a comp pick. Wood also has Joe Ryan like fastball qualities if his shoulder can handle a starters load. That would be a good get for one year of Jeffers, but Woods shoulder is a risky bet. It would be high risk with potential high reward, but something the Twins would have to consider IMO. If they wanted to go younger they could also create a package around Matthew Fisher who got 1.2M to sign and was one of the better high school arms in last years draft. Not sure how the Twins feel about him though. I would steer clear of Aroon Escobar as we don't need even more 2nd baseman. Like other's I don't see the Phillies trading one of their top three for one year of Jeffers. Even Wood is a bit of a stretch, but doable for them IMO. It would hurt to lose Jeffers in a lineup low on just competent bats, but I'd still consider it for an overpay. If nothing else the Twins can wait and see how things look for the team at the deadline. Jeffers could likely get something decent if they are out of it and are not going to resign him. Still I think this little check-in for the Phillies is more about putting pressure on Realmuto to come to terms than anything else.

I agree, This is my view as well. It's just really, really, hard to know by essentially age 15 what their skill set will be around 18 or 19 or 20 like the MLB draft. Certainly there are traits to look for, but the hit tool is just so hard to predict because as you move up levels and the ball dips and dives etc. it takes some special hand eye coordination to be successful. Way to hard to know at 15 IMO. I would echo @nicksaviking it feels like it has been a long time since the Twins have gotten anything meaningful from their International signings and it can really help the farm when more of those players hit. I also concur with @Seth Stohsthat the better strategy in general seems to be to take more guys in the $900,000 to $400,000 range rather than one big 4 to 5M guy. The more darts you get to throw at upper level talent the better the odds IMO. The best hitter for the Twins in the DSL last year was Joyner Perez (.950 OPS) and he only cost $390,000 versus Leon 1.7M who had a (.700 OPS). Granted this is the DSL where stats mean very little, but I think it shows the amount of money spent on one player doesn't mean much other than hopefully higher potential if everything clicks and everything clicking doesn't happen that often. The Phillies got Tait for $90,000K and helped them get Duran one of the better closers in Baseball. I get that it's hard to figure out who to grab, but the Twins could use some better luck in this market.

I do think the Twins need at least one more reliever they can use in the 8th or 9th inning. Still what this article ignores is that the Twins have a 40 man with 12 young arms with 2 option years or more. You can't just keep all of those arms at AAA you need to develop some of them. They have Lopez, Ryan, Ober and SWR locked into four of the rotation spots as they have no options remaining. That leaves one of Abel, Bradley and Matthews for the last spot. I'd give Bradley the inside track since he only has one option year left. So they need to find out this year if he is a starter or needs to move to the pen where they should be able to carry him no matter what. There isn't much set in the pen as things stand. I'd say Topa and Sands for sure and likely Funderburk as he is currently the only lefty they have. Orze still has an Option year but just like Bradley they'll want to get him as much MLB experience as possible to see if he can make it. That is four arms max that seem likely. Ohl pitched well down the stretch and maybe he could be included in the group above, but I'd still say he needs to prove it as does Adams who I'd only trust in low leverage situations. Festa could be included in the starter grouping but with potential shoulder issues the pen seems safer and if disaster strikes injury wise they could slowly stretch him out if needed. So that is seven potential arms already and you still have Morris, Prielipp, Klein, Rojas and Raya taking up 40 man space and two of Matthews, Able or Bradley with one winning the 5th starter spot. That is 7 arms waiting in the wings., I have to believe the Twins go with more young arms than maybe we'd like but since they all have options they would have the ability move arms up and down and thus hopefully figure out who is going to excel and be a part of the future and who is going to struggle and need more time. So bottom line I don't see them signing a bunch of vets. Maybe two tops but more than likely just one with a bunch of signings for AAA invite to spring training arms. Given the offense for this team is so up in the air and far from elite I think going young is the way to go. Find out what you have. There's just too many young arms that need chances to succeed. AAA is full of 40 man arms. I think the only starter not on the 40 man is MaCleod. Also for those that want to wait on these arms we have a group of Hill, Soto, and Bohorquez at High A who may work themselves up to AA or AAA next year and at AA they have Gallagher, Oliveros and Culpepper who will be looking to pitch themselves up to AAA. There is a point where there just isn't going to be room for all these guys., They need these young arms to prove themselves to keep things moving. I know hope is not a strategy, but this season is going to depend on how fast young players can develop IMO. I know that might be wasting a year of Ryan and Lopez and Buxton, but I also don't see the Twins buying their way out of the current situation. It's young guys or bust with good experienced starting pitching. Will it be enough to compete I guess we'll find out.

My feelings exactly. It is totally for the splits. They don't like Clemens against lefties I guess. I'm not a huge Fitzgerald backer but at least he was serviceable at the plate and had the versatility to play multiple Positions. Kreidler appears to be a black hole at the plate, and he doesn't have really good speed from what I understand. Bragg had good K9 numbers until AA, but it always takes a little time to refine things as you move up levels. The Twins just can't stop trading relievers even at the minor league level. It's not an end of the world move or anything as we are talking guys on the low end of the 40 man, but if I'm the Marlins I am pretty happy with getting something for nothing. Hopefully Wagaman lives up to the lefty hype.

He needed a fresh start. He isn't a great fit for this team right now anyway. I hope he can get back to MLB and perform well there once again. Might take some time but he always had good bat to ball skills.

It seems like it will be hard to move off of the 4 Shortstops at the top of the draft. Cholowsky and Emerson both have elite hit tools I can't see them moving much. Lebron and Lombard have hit tool concerns, but Lebron could be a 5 tool player if he can straighten out some of the chase and bring his K rate down. He doesn't look all that Different than Cholowsky to me and Lebron has better wheels. The hit tool is king though so if Lebron fails to hit he could fall. Same for Lombard. Burress is interesting with the power stroke but he isn't an elite runner and then add in he is a 5'9" center fielder and I don't love that at number 3. If one the arms has a Skeens like run and Lebron and Lombard falter I could see them going arm at 3, but it seems like a long shot at this point. If Lebron can hit he sure looks like the pick to me. That would make him close enough to Cholowsky to warrant number 3 IMO. Lot's of time left for players to position themselves, but right now it looks like another Shortstop for Minnesota.

Nice analysis! If that is the case then this signing looks somewhat better.

Man I had wanted the Twins to draft Jackson that year and they passed on him for Gordon I believe. I felt Nola didn't have the needed velocity to be good at the MLB level (lol). Turner was the player I had my super draft crush on but was told by most of this board that with no power and being injury prone he shouldn't go top 5. I guess the industry felt the same as he was picked outside the top 10 (#13). It just goes to show we don't really know how guys are going to develop at the professional level. Given the numbers Jackson has put up I'm not a big believer. Still it is nice to have a good defensive backstop to control the running game, steal strikes and keep balls from getting away. Hopefully the bat gets better and the Twins find a diamond in the rough catcher they can keep on the cheap for the next three years.

I always seem to lean negative on these types of signings only to have to eat crow later. I was vehemently against the Santana signing when they made it and he had a solid year at the plate and won a gold glove then went on to earn real money the next year. I thought Bader was kind of washed up offensively when the Twins signed him and he ended with a near .800 OPS and great defense. So I was wrong again. The France signing doesn't rise to the level we are talking about since he only signed for 1M, but he won a gold glove and while a .680 OPS isn't great, Toronto felt he was valuable enough to stick on their playoff roster. Bell might be a long shot, but the Twins have done fairly well with these types of signings. So I am going to wait and see this time. Maybe this is the year their luck on bounce backs runs out. Hard to say. Bell is just one of many of things that have to go right for this team to be in the hunt. Hopefully things go well.

I think this is pretty much how I feel about the situation. The other side of this coin though is how much more bad baseball can fans take and not lose almost complete interest in the team? It's tough to watch a bad team all season. I checked out early in 2025 until they went on that winning streak and I'm a pretty big fan of the team. It's a fine line between competing and being in it and just completely out of it with little to hope for your team. In the end I think I agree with what the Owners\FO are doing. Keeping some core players and seeing what area's of the team improve or don't improve. They can still get good returns at the deadline if this whole thing falls in on them. If they look like a team on the rise then why not keep guys around that can give you a better chance? if winning is in the cards then at the very least they should be able to get comp picks for Ryan and Lopez in the end. I can see it both ways, but prefer having a shot at being good this year.

That's certainly one way to do it. Granted Lee probably needs more time, but his bat has been a bit of black hole and short is about the only way it plays right now IMO. I don't think moving him to second solves much. Lee's bat was supposed to carry him and so far it hasn't. if he doesn't improve I don't see how they can roster him and his .650 OPS. If you put Keaschal in left what are you doing with Martin? He was a great onbase bat with speed to steal bases and his defense improved in left as well. Granted Keaschal is better in most every way as a hitter, but I am not sure his weak arm plays all that great in Left. Would rather have a weaker armed player at second. Moving Keaschal to left also causes a log jam for the outfield with Outman, Roden, Martin and Wallner. Not to mention hopefully soon in 2026 Rodriguez and Gonzalez and with any luck maybe even Jenkins. I just don't see a better fit for Keaschal than 2nd base. If you are doing this just for a solution to play Lee my recommendation would be to eliminate him from the infield altogether since his bat appears to be the weakest of any other infield player and he hasn't looked that great at 2nd base to me and third is Lewis's, Just take out the .650 OPS guy or use him as your utility guy and keep Keaschal at second. I think that works best.

Don't completely disagree, but some of those should fall out as they grab more free agents.

Yeah but those players aren't on the 40 man.

Twins have been pretty big on Alabama guys, add in great makeup and its hard to see them passing on Lebron if he is there. I agree the K rate is a bit concerning but it feels like Culpepper got dinged as a chaser and seemed to turn that corner fairly quickly. Still something to watch this year. He really looks like he could be a five tool player which is hard to find. I've been a bit low on Buress I guess mainly because of his size, but the pop is there. My other question is would he be a plus defender in center? I'll have to look at him closer as he is high on most lists. I kind of have a thing for Strosnider. Wondering if the Twins would make a deal to save money and grab him. He could be five tool as well if his hit tool can advance a bit more. Surprised no Lombard in this list as I think if his hit tool improves with less chase Tampa might take him at number 2. Bottom line the Twins could really use a center fielder with plus or plus, plus defense. I know that is hard to find and am not sure if Burress or Strosnider fit the bill. We'll know more this spring, but I already like a lot players for pick number 3.

But when you make a Rule V pick he is stuck on the 26 man until at least the start of the season taking up a spot that could be used for another free agent signing or waiver claim. If you return them then what was the point or advantage of taking them in the first place? They simply kept another 40 man spot from opening for other talent. The odds of Rule V's working out is very low mainly because they have no MLB experience and it is tough to break in at that level. I agree with you on doing a Jackson like signing later rather than sooner. I guess maybe sometimes you have to decide to make a deal early or lose out? Not sure why they wanted Jackson early or at all. In my mind he sort of was their Rule V pick. I also agree that Susac is a decent upside play, but with no ability to move him up and down he could end up a liability for the team if he can't perform at that level. I don't know enough about his defense to know if that can carry him as it seems highly unlikely his offense will. Obviously the Giants felt there was competition for him or they wouldn't have traded with the Twins. Given what we experienced with Vasquez I'd say he could stick. We'll see how it turns out. I don't disagree on bringing in competition for first base, but relying on bats from Rule V that would be inexperienced at the MLB level doesn't seem like a smart play. I think this draft points that out as only one position player was taken (Susac). It's just not something teams do as the odds of it working out are too low IMO.

While they never report the amount of cash in these minor type trades I would bet you that the Giants had to at minimum cover the 100K fee for the pick. I don't see the Twins willing to spend any money to buy a player that has significant bust potential just to help the Giants get Susak. It wouldn't be worth it to a money conscious team like the Twins. They would have just passed altogether if they had to pay anything. If I had to guess they got together with their international scouts. Picked out a few guys they liked and when the Giants said yes to someone they thought had potential it was a done deal or the Gioants offered several players and let the Twins pick the one they liked best. It is interesting to me that they chose a catcher and not an arm, but maybe this is as much as SF was willing to offer? Hard to say. At any rate it's hard to fault them for getting something in return if they weren't going to pick a Rule V player at all. I agree Posey see's something in Susac or they wouldn't have made absolutely sure they got him. Still it is so hard to hit at the MLB level and his bat hasn't been super strong. I assume they are counting on him playing solid defense and if his bat ever does hit then they got a steal. If not they lose very little for taking a chance. If Minnesota hadn't tied themselves to Jackson I would have been fine if they had picked Susac, but having two players that might be weak links at the catcher position that couldn't be moved on the 26 man didn't make sense. I might be in the minority but am kind of glad they didn't get anybody in Rule V as those players are stuck on the 26 man and clog things up. Would rather they have the flexibility to move the young arms they have up and down without worrying about a Rule V player. I think the Twins did OK even if the catcher doesn't work out at least they tried and if they do somehow hit lotto jackpot then they will have made the team stronger.

Yeah gotta love that pick, lol. It does look like they are short on outfield Depth at AA and I guess this is the best they could find? Stat line is pretty bad though. Well it's an extra body and they can hope for some improvement I guess. Given those stats I think I would have just promoted someone early or looked harder at AA free agents. Oh well no big deal, but I did have your same reaction.

I'd say odds are the Twins will get some money back as well. I doubt they would pay the pick fee to just get the lotto ticket unless this guy ahs more potential than I think at this point.

I assume they traded him for money. Didn't they do that with San Diego a few years back? My bad it was cash and another Rule V pick. In December 2016, the Minnesota Twins used their #1 overall Rule 5 Draft pick to select RHP Miguel Diaz from the Brewers, then immediately traded him to the San Diego Padres for RHP Justin Haley (also a Rule 5 pick) and cash or a player to be named later, completing a complex multi-team deal where the Padres acquired Diaz and another prospect (Luis Torrens) for Haley, ultimately getting the top prospects they wanted for cash. The Twins got a player (Haley) and cash, while the Padres got two promising young players (Diaz & Torrens)