Trevor0333

The A's Brett Anderson or Jeff Smardizja from the Cubs could probably be had for Dozier. Both are due to be FA in 2015 so you'll have to resign them but they are established pitchers with some issues who have some potential to be retty good still.

Rosario is seriously being under rated here. Dozier's been a definite bright spot & I'm all for rolling with him & Plouffe starting next season at 3B/2B and make him show this isn't a fluke. Sano & Rosario atleast starting next year at AAA and being called up when you find the right deal for Plouffe & Dozier maybe even packaged with Hammer is the way it should go.

Find a team needing major league ready SS & 2B, send Florimon & Dozier to a 3rd team as part of a 3 way trade to get prospects the Rangers desire in return for Jurickson Profar. Obviously The Twins would likely have to add another prospect as well Like Edy or Gonsalves types. Sano/Profar/Rosario the infield is loaded for 10 years.

Isn't J. Johnsons velocity still way down? I think I'd prefer Hughes but he has not been able to stay healthy at all. Missing a large chunk of time with a elbow or shoulder is one thing but he is always hurt with something. Myself I very much prefer going after Tim Hudson & Colby Lewis.

I like Lincecum but he will be offered arbitration which will be in the 14 mill range which is a fair price for him. Problem is that meants the Twins will have to give up a 1st rnd pick to sign him which will definitely not happen.

Im really high on Stewart but its highly doubtfull to see him at all in 2015. Maybe Sept 2016 and hopefully a fixture by 2017. Worley will be DFA'd by the end of next year.... They still need a #1 & #2 starter for the next 2-3 years. I like Meyer and a little lesser May but they will take a couple years to establish themselves. It's quite rare for a rookie SP to come in and be good from the get go that young. Also I wish the push Rosario back to the OF would stop. Your tunring a possible great hitting 2B to a solid to average corner OF? No thanks, you make Dozier prove it another year &or trade him in a package for more near MLB ready SP talent. Odds of all 3 of Meyer, May, & Gibson all panning out is fairly low.

The article says the Twins CAN improve the rotation through free agency but then down plays the possibility of any of the listed players coming to the team. How does that help improve the rotation? The 3 likely rotation locks going forward. Deduno, Corriea, & Gibson leaving 2 spots open. Corriea is on the last year so that opens up another spot by 2015 or even Sept 2014. I expect Alex Meyer to come in by mid season, given his missed time this season I suspect the team to want to start him off in AAA next year. That still leaves 2 rotation spots that need to be filled. The Albers & Hendriks need to be in AAA & only injury replacements at best. May is more in the 2015 picture IMO. Realistically you want 2 pitchers to bridge a 2 year gap. The 2 SP I hope the Twins will go for, Tim Hudson & Colby Lewis. Hudson will preffer to stay in Atlanta but they will atleast wait on him and feel the market out. 2/20 would be enough to ward them off and the 2nd guaranteed year should entice him to sign. 10 mill a year is steep but the payroll will be low until raises for some of these younger players kick in and he will be off the books in time for that. Hudson was very good until breaking his ankle on that freak play. Lewis missing this year mainly due to hip issues that required surgery will be another year removed from that elbow surgery leaving his arm strong & primed for a rebound next year. Given what Texas gave up for Garza I would imagine they will focus on resigning him & hopefully taking their attention away from Lewis. A 2 year 15-20 mill range deal should be enough to bring him to MN. Both these deals are overpay but they give you the short years that you want when the young talented pitchers finally coming through the system are established. 2014: Hudson; Lewis; Deduno; Corriea; Gibson with Meyer being a injury callup or taking Corrieas place possibly mid season. 2015: Hudson; Lewis; Deduno; Meyer; Gibson with May filling the same role Meyer did the previous year.

Plouffe needs to be a 1B platoon with Parmalee next year with both players serving as a bench/4th OF when the other is not in the lineup. It would be so much easier if Dozier could slide back over to SS for Rosario to come up as well.

The only way it makes sense is on a incentive laden deal while moving both Doumit & Willingham in the offseason.

How is 100 pitches coddling a guy & 120 is not, if he can do 120 why not 150 or 200. I could use your own logic against you and say your response is preposterous, 120 pitches is coddling the guy.

People get way to worked up about pitch counts. Its not that a pitchers arm is going to fall off by throwing 25 more pitches a week. The simple fact is they can easily throw 150 pitches but they aren't used to throwing that many & when pitchers fatigue they lose their mechanics and thats when injuries happen from exerting even more pressure on those shoulders & elbows from pitching with poor mechanics. Ok easy answer is stretch the pitchers out out more often, right? Umm no, most pitchers aren't good enough to fool hitters a 3rd & 4th time through the order. They start getting crushed and don't get to properly stretch out their arms to regularly throw 150-200 a game.

I can't wait for an outfield of Hicks/Buxton/Keppler with Arcia DH'ing

Arcia, Parmelee, Gibson, & Hicks should all start next year. Pinto, Meyer, May, Rosario, Sano, Tonkin, & Hermenson should all be mid season callups and Buxton possibly in September. 2015 is the real year for the kids, You start next year with Plouffe, Dozier, Mastrioanni, Willingham, Doumit, Correa, & Burton then trade them all at the deadline to make way for the next wave.

Plouffe & Dozier have very modest trade value. They are no where near Spans value. They should end up being very solid vet backups on a great team. Unless you need to clear salary there is no point moving them for fringe 40 man roster prospects. The Twins inf of the future is Sano/Florimon/Rosario. The 3 big ? marks next season are 1B, OF, & SP. 1B Options: Parmelee, Collabello, Josmil Pinto, Kenny Vargas Besides Parmelee & Collabello Pinto & Vargas are the oldest near mlb ready guys. Adam Walker & Travis Harrison are better power prospects but a few years away yet. Unless Morneau has a huge Aug & Sept 1B will be a Parmelee/Collabello & DH platoon with Hammer. If they fail, Pinto could be ready for atbats mid year even making Doumit tradeable. Vargas is not far behind either. OF Options: Mastrioanni, Doumit, Thomas, Parmelee, Morales. Willingham will start the year with the team likely being an obvious trade deadline fodder for a contender. The FO will likely explore off season trades for Hammer but I expect he will need to restablish some value with a good start. Thomas could be back as a 4th OF but I expect Arcia will move to RF and Mastroianni will have the inside track with Angel Morales being a sleeper option in LF. If the Twins resign Morneau to a 2 year deal Parmelee is the obvious 1st option to sink or swim. SP options: Deduno, Gibson, Correa, Pelfrey (will be resinged) are the top 4. Meyer/May will not be considered to start the season at least. I don't see Correa surviving the entire year. Look for a Phil Hughes Josh Johnson type signing to go along with a Pelfrey being resigned to a 2 year deal. May & Meyer will be AAA insurance for the first SP to flame out from injury or innefectiveness. Wimmers could be sleeper if he finds his touch after a year removed from TJ surgery.

I agree that they do need to aim high, they have the money to spend. Garza & Lincecum are the best FA to be pitchers available by far. Garza was alienated by the coaching staff and I doubt he could be convinced to come back. Lincecum is a west coast guy and the Twins have also shied away from giving multi year deals to pitchers like Lincecum with such a violent delivery. Josh Johnson used to be elite but has not been the same since TJ surgery a few years ago. Basically, they would need to dip into the trade market to find someone of that quality.

There is absolutely no chance James Shields option is declined. As well as he's pitching Royals need another year to convince him they can contend so they can resign him. Best options FA wise are likely reclamation projects like Hughes, Johnson, Volquez, & Haren. I don't think Garza or Lincecum are coming here except for a massive overpay that won't happen.

The Yankees would definitely be a fit, as would Washington, Baltimore, & Texas to lesser degree's. If you can get Hi or Low single A level prospect with some pretty good upside you trade Morneau. If you can't get anything more than a player like a Pedro Hernandez or Eduardo Escobar like they got for Liriano you don't make the trade. You can sign fringe 40 man roster guys every year. You don't need to trade a veteran whos been a class act and good team player his entire career just for that crap filler.