Major League Ready

If you are not suggesting he take money out of his own pocket, his wealth is absolutely meaningless in this discussion.

Your interpretation of what happened ignores the facts. Sanchez was better than Garver and he was available / more durable. Where Rosario is concerned he was literally one of the very worst corner outfielders in the entire league. The stats show very clearly that the various people that replaced Rosario were all better than him. Your version of the truth follows none of the facts.

Look at the impact of Cleveland trading Clevinger, Kluber, and Lindor. Do you see a reason now? Gimenez was a 6 WAR player. Clause is one of the best closers in the game. They also got Naylor / Straw and Quantril by trading away established players. I guess there is no reason if we only care about immediate impact but the mid-market and small-market teams having success are trading depth or guys they won't be able to resign. Cleveland managed to get guys that were close to contributing so the wait for production was not that long. The examples are numerous if you are willing to look.

They could play Arraez or Urshela at 2B. Then, IF Julien or Martin come up and kill it, they could put one of them at 2B. The Rays, A's and Cleveland have all clearly demonstrated the value in moving players like Polanco when they have depth. Just take a look at how Cleveland built their current team. Trading Kluber, Clevinger and Lindor is the reason they were good this year and have a great chance at sustained success.

I like it!

I have been saying the same thing because the current roster is full of low-cost players. The distinction is that we have not been in this position in as long as I can remember. We are positioned right now. This argument is made every year. The fact is that there are many teams with far more money. They can afford to pay twice as much per WAR. I use WAR to just to illustrate a measure. A small or mid market team spending that much is simply not an efficient use of payroll and very likely diminishes the chances of putting together and/or sustaining a dominant roster. That's why it's so rare for ANY team to spend in this way. The whole it's a Twin's cheapness thing ignores the fact that none of the other teams with equal or less revenue acquires the highest regarded FAs. Just to reiterate. I happen to agree with you that this is the time. However, that opinion is based on the fact that we have not been nearly so well positioned in terms of inexpensive talent in a long time. Most of the time, spending on a big name free agent pitcher would have a high probability of sinking the team for multiple years and history is quite clear on this point.

Is it an "unwillingness" to spend when another team has literally twice the revenue? If you don't have it, wouldn't that be an inability rather than an unwillingness. Are you unwilling to spend the money for a $5M home (assuming you don't live in one) or are you unable to buy a $5M home. I am surprised this type of statement is repeated so often when we know several other teams have far greater financial means which translate to an ABILITY.

So, what you are saying is the question is not will they but should they? Having collected the data on every 5 year or greater contract, it's easy to understand your point and I definitely agree in general. However, I would not say "never ever". It can make sense for a mid market team like the twins if they develop a roster full of productive players from within. They can then use that financial flexibility we hear mentioned to secure a top of the rotation free agent SP. Obviously, they still have to choose wisely (like Indiana Jones) because they fail more than they succeed. The right guy might not exist this year. I was hoping Musgrove would be available until I realized San Diego was his home market. I have that at $130M if they added Rodon while adding Hanigar, resigning Sanchez and keeping Urshela. Next year Urshela / Gray and Mahle roll off. That leaves us at about $100M with Rodon / Ryan / Ober and we would need to come up with 2 SPs between Varland / SWR / Paddack. Perhaps Henriguez or Sands step up or they could go get a Bundy type for the 5th spot. That leaves them some room to extend a couple guys and keep this going for several years. They would also have Kepler rolling off in 24 or perhaps he is traded this year. They are positioned well. Now, they need to execute some tweaks in the roster construction. This is a long way of saying you hit this one on the head. We should not just assume signing a big name free agent pitcher is the best way to build a winner. I remember some people being mad we did not get Bumgardner. It's too soon to tell just how good a decision it was to not give Berrios a 7 year deal but that decision and trade are looking very good at the moment.

Actually, The "collection of trash" (not your quote) that replaced him have all outperformed him with the exception of Cave. Their OPS and wRC+ is as follows. Rosario has an OPS of 675 and a wRC+ of 82 since he left. All of these players outperformed Rosario for $8M less. I will take this collection of guys and the $8M toward an RP or Mitch Hannigar all day long. This coming from a guy who was once a big Rosario fan. Kyle Garlick – 728 103 Nick Gordon – 711 /101 (all positions) Trevor Larnach – 687 / 95 Brent Roker – 688 / 91 Rob Refsnyder – 663 / 88

Julien now has the highest OPS in the AFL by 100 points. Martin is 4th. Talk about a dream scenario. Keep it up guys!

The list should consist of Rodon and Bassitt. I would much rather invest the innings in developing SWR / Varland and perhaps Winder if Rodon or Bassitt can't be persuaded to play here. Not to mention, Maeda and eventually Paddack being as good or better as most of these options. There is more to be gained by investing in RPs even with the caveat that RPs are as unpredictable as it gets.

I think there is a reasonable chance that happens because as you mentioned the WCS is he goes back to the BP. It's a lot easier to come up with a good BP arm than a top of the rotation starter. That said, I could see them not wanting to mess with success.

They could get better than a "decent reliever" with the salary saved but I am with you. How about a good RP and invest the $8.5M elsewhere? I would be OK with a good prospect of any kind (especially a catcher) and invest the $8.5M in pitching.

I am part way there with you. They had something like the 2nd most time lost to injury in the league. However, I still never believed this team was a serious contender. More pieces have emerged but I still think they are a fringe contender with Correa. So, It comes down to how the front office projects Lewis. He is not as valuable at any other position. Houston is a very well run organization. They were basically faced with the same scenario. They chose to go with Pena and invest the $35M elsewhere. Of course, Houston is a bigger market with more revenue. Even the Yankees, passed on the big SS class last year. I bet theyb do the same this year because they have a couple great SS prospects. It's simply more productive to invest elsewhere when a team has a young player ready to take over a position. I was so disappointed when he got hurt because we were perfectly set-up for him to transition this year knowing Correa would opt out. I see a Lewis / Lee left side of the infield in a couple years.

Since we "jettisoned" Rosario he has been below replacement level. Please enlighten us as to how it was a mistake to jettison a replacement level player. The premise we would have a shot at the post season had we kept a guy that performed worse than the players that replaced him is ridiculous.

I just prefer to be optimistic. Tatis Jr. was not highly thought of and was acquired for a veteran pitcher who performed horribly after the trade. I am far more interested in what Julien is doing today than when he was drafted. BTW ... I was listening to the MLB network and one of the big name prospect guys was being interview by Grant Paulson. I thought it was Calis but I don't remember. It could have been Mayo who did the article Jorgenswest linked above. Paulson asked who the guys he was going to be watching among those who were not already well because of their draft position. The first name out of his mouth was Eduardo Julien. Point being he is showing that he has a legit chance in the eyes of those who evaluate players for a living. So, I am going to enjoy his current success and be happy we got a guy that last that has a shot rather than presuming he will fail.

How many were drafted after 539 that went on the have good / productive careers? The fact that this specific draft pick has not done well is not relevant unless no players drafted that late went on the be productive players.

That's not how it works. They have X dollars to spend. In other words, they have a budget based on revenue like every other business or just as any responsible adult has a spending limit based on income. They will no doubt discuss Correa and any other player requiring a huge contract. Pohlad will certainly ask Falvey it is wise to spend 25% of their budget on one player (140/35). It's one thing to do it for a year. It's entirely different to commit that percentage to one player for 8-10 years. It's not a Twins thing and it's not a Pohlad thing. Teams are very reluctant to spend anywhere near 25% of their budget on one player.

Wouldn't that basically be the same team we have this year plus a RH outfielder? Would Mitch Hannigar makes this team anything close to a contender? I am hoping for a more significant change.

f course it all depends on the return but now is the time if we can get a decent return. I like the idea of signing Haniger to get a RH OFer. We have Larnach / Wallner, and Kirilloff from the left side. I like the odds of filling the role between the three of them. I am still ticked off they took Cavaco is team of Corbin Carroll who debuted this year and would be the perfect complement to this team given Buxton's injury history. He had a wRC+ of 133 in his 1st 32 games and he is a great defender. We would be in a great position to deal Kepler had they drafted Carroll.

The answer is not a SS that is so horrible at the plate that he is below replacement value when both offense and defense are combined. The answer is the best player in aggregate. Didn't you complain Larnach was going to be horrible too? He was just fine. Miranda had a small sample size at 3rd but I honestly don't recall him costing any runs at all in the time he played 3B. I do recall him driving in the most runs on the team. Iglesias would be a decent move to bridge the gap to Lewis. His net production would be better than Simmons and he could fill a utility role thereafter.

I can't tell if you are kidding. I was a big fan but his offense has become so bad I just don't want to watch that all year. His wRC+ was 27 and his WAR was negative. How would this be a good idea?

No, they don't have all those great players and retaining (not adding) Correa is not going to make them anywhere near as good as those other teams. Lewis or Brooks doing a good job replacing him and spending that $35M on players like Cruz that produce nearly as well for 40% of the money is how a mid market team can compete. You listed the most players for Houston the team that let him and George Springer go. It's all about producing the Correa / Springer / Valdez / Bregman / Alvarez, etc. Then, spending on free agents matter retaining Correa or signing big free agents means nothing if we don't build a great core from within.

My memory might be off but I recall quite a few people who insisted we got worse at 3B and Catcher. I think their hope (the FO) was basically to break even on the short-term production (talent) and get rid of Donaldson's contract. I think Mark G has the grade about right. B+/A- for 2022. However, 2022 is not likely the best part of this trade. They are now in a FAR better position for 23 than they would have been keeping Donaldson. In 2024 the benefit is likely an additional $8M they would have paid to cut him.

The Cardinals average about $75M more in revenue as compared to the twins. They have done a great job acquiring the right "big names" with the huge revenue of the biggest markets. So, give them credit but they can cover a couple big contracts with the incremental revenue they have beyond the twins revenue. In other words, if the Twins had another $75m in revenue I would be saying they should sign Correa.