Major League Ready

I am not siding with anyone. I am stating fact in that teams spend according to revenue and that's the way the world works. If suggesting that expecting spending to align with revenue is siding … you are welcome to that opinion. What you are asking is that we find an owner who unlike all the other owners is willing to forgo profit or even take a loss. That would be great but it but it’s a fanatical expectation IMO. If it's such a good idea, why haven't other mid market teams signed the top FAs? There has literally been one signing of the kind of FA (Bauer) by a mid market team in the last 20 years. That was Grienke and The Dbacks had just signed a $1B TV contract. That signing did not bring them success.

That theory is popular with fans who don't think a little thing like a significant revenue disadvantage should stop them from spending like a large market team. I guess the theory is the big markets would make a good profit and the small market owners should take a loss. Not too many guys signing up to buy mid/small market teams under that premise. I would like to have an owner that was indifferent about financial concerns but it's certainly don't expect someone to spend 10 of millions/year to entertain me. There is also the fact that their actions (spending) are quite consistent with revenue across all the MLB teams. They consistently make a solid profit except when the team rapidly declines while they have a high payroll. In those cases, that problem is rectified quickly which speaks to their financial focus / goals. The Twins spending is relatively consistent with other teams of equal revenue. They all operate to make a profit. We should also keep in mind that the value of the team is completely predicated it's ability to produce a profit. These guys are not going to spend a billion plus to lose money annually as well as reduce the asset value. Perhaps more to the point, if they were willing to basically donate 10s of millions to a cause, I certainly hope they would donate to a better cause than a couple more wins for their baseball team. It is mind boggling to me to suggest they spend (donate) 20 or 30+ million a year to get 3 or 4 more wins in a given year when that money could be allocated to MUCH more worthy causes. I would add, if the theory is owning is fun therefore they should be willing to forgo a profit, why do we so readily accept the players focus on getting every dollar they can as they did during Covid?

A "businessman" that has amassed a billion dollar net worth is not going to operate at a loss which is what the post you responded to is hoping to find. The constant complaining about spending is misguided. The appropriate thing to complain about would be that the Twins have half the revenue of the Yankees/Dodgers and a lot less than than several others. To complain they don't spend money they don't have is the equivalent of calling a guy cheap who makes $50K/yr because he does not drive a $100K vehicle. Small/mid market teams never operate this way. Are they all incompetent. Tampa has consistently been successful trading for players before they are established. Tatis Jr. was acquired for James Shields who was bad to horrible after the trade. Chicago's team was bolstered considerably because they traded away very good established players. Boston with an enormous budget compared to the Twins let Betts go. Where are they now? The Angels spent a fortune and and stink even after hitting the draft jackpot in Pujlos. How have they been doing. The Phillies signed Harper / Degrom and traded for Realmuto. How did that go for them? The bottom line is that we don't have the revenue to sign the "Bauers". Therfore, we can complain they don't spend money they don't have or we can embrace the need to draft / trade and develop. People with average incomes don't drive a Ferrari.

Would you feel better if I had suggested it is easier said than done or it would be great if all our pitchers developed another effect pitch. I guess I could have responded the same way to the OP but I thought it was fair to suggest developing a change-up would make Alcala a great RP just as I thought it was fair to point out this is relatively true for all pitchers. Lighten up Francis!

Another pitch would make a lot of RPs more effective. Not being able to throw another pitch is why they are RPs instead of SPs. That said, I hope he is able to develop a change-up.

So, it was Rocco's fault when Simmons (elite defender) dropped a throw right to him and it was Rocco's fault when Arraez airmailed 1st base on a routine play and on and on? It's Rocco's fault our Cy Young candidate has been ineffective or hurt? When players make great plays do we say wow that guy is well-managed? None of us have the access and ability to observe Rocco to adequately assess his level of competency. Fans adore players. Therefore, it's managements fault. It might be in this case but their is a mountain of evidence that suggests players have failed. Of course, the injuries, who was injured and when they were injured has contributed but players have failed to execute and that's why we are where we are. Go ahead. blame everyone except the people actually playing the game if it makes you feel better. Where we can find fault is signing a 38 yo SP and a 41 yo DH. None of this was really criticized at the time but there is an inherent risk. We also have to ask if there were better FA options. I like Taijuan Walker myself but I did not see much support for him here. Most people here wanted Odorizzi resigned and he has been quite bad. Clippard is out and Wisler has been bad. We could have traded away good prospects for Snell as so many insisted was the thing to do. He has been mediocre. We would still suck and part of our future would be lost. So, to sum up, had they followed the consensus we would be in worse shape.

I am assuming Mike means that Buxton was a top 5 player for 5 weeks. It's hard to imaging teams are going to value him based on those 5 weeks without considering his level of play for the past 5 years. It would be or will be interesting to see how Buxton is valued if a trade comes to fruition. However, I would have to believe his value will be quite high if he returns to something close to his level of play before he was injured. Someone might just take a chance he will stay healthy the next year plus. It would be great if the return was a good SS prospect. It would be fantastic if they could get Abrams so I applaud the idea. I am with Bighat on Donaldson even though I have always thought very highly of him. This team needs a retooling beyond just this year. It would be ideal for him to get hot and get moved. Add an asset or two by trading him and make room for Miranda.

If we were a contender... would you pay more to have a top player for the rest of this year vs just next year when as we all know a team might not live up to it's potential.

That would be a phenomenal trade for the Twins but San Diego is not giving up that much for 1 1/2 years of control. They made a bunch of moves but generally kept their top prospects while getting guys with more control than Berrios/Buxton. The Trade Simulator shows Abrahams alone has equivalent value to Buxton and Berrios combined. That said, it would be great to put together a trade for a top SS prospect.

Seth, I have heard he has a plus change-up. What else does he have going for him. Does he have plus command? He is a soft tosser, right? Just wondering if his stuff plays at the MLB level. Is he Gonsalves 2.0? I just signed up for Milb TV so I will catch his next start.

Pitching always rules at the deadline and probably more so this year. Therefore, I would think Pineda has the most value especially if a playoff team loses a top SP and Pineda would get playoff starts. Happ would appeal to a team in a tight race if he regains something close to his usual form. They guy that could really jump in value is Robles. He needs to get a better handle on his command between now and the deadline. If so, he might bring as much or more than Cruz who is going to have limited suitors. Simmons is only going to have significant value if the right team has an injury or two. That is not a reach this year. Dman makes a good point about 2B. They could make Polono or Arraez available and not hurt the team. I am really pulling for Gordon to sustain his recent success. It would be fun to have a base stealer besides Buxton and it would be like finding a good player out of nowhere given his mediocre play up to this year. They are going to move every pending free agent they can. The real question will be if they trade Berrios and/or Buxton or perhaps a 2B.

Shoemaker – I did not think much of the Shoemaker signing either but IMO a $2M SP that was signed as back of the rotation or depth is not exactly a big miss. Signing Jake Arrieta for 3/75 to be a difference maker and getting 3.6 WAR total over 3 years is a big problem. Signing Jordan Zimmerman for 5/110 and getting 5.2 WAR over 5 years is a costly mistake. Kenley Jansen and Wade Davis were costly mistakes. A 1 year deal for $2M SP is not a big deal unless you have plenty of payroll capacity and fail to use it. Colome was a quality addition. Like the majority of established / expensive RPs, he has not performed as hoped. Given the option, I would definitely go back in time and sign May instead of Colome if May was willing. He seems to like the big city. Robles has also been effective in the past too. Let’s not forget the guy many wanted us to keep (Clippard) has been bad. Rosenthal is out. Several posters wanted Brad Hand. He has negative Fwar. Treinen has been OK. His Fwar is .3. The point is that RPs are a roll of the dice.

Buxton was playing as well as anyone in MLB. He went down. Our Cy Young candidate from last year is hurt and performed poorly before he went down. Garver had been tearing it up and he went down. The guy everyone wanted retained (Cruz) has been pretty mediocre since May 1. Arraez is hurt. Duffy and Stashak had been reliable and they have not been good. Pretty hard to blame this stuff on the front office.

I was really just trying to convey how nice it would be to have an elite SS. At one point it looked like we might get one between Lewis and Javier. Those odds look pretty short (pun intended) at the moment. It's been a long time since this team had that type of SS. Brujan may not be the guy either given the concerns about his arm. I just ant to watch a great SS for the next few years. Buxton was awesome to start the season but I would trade him for a great SS prospect that was near ready.

I did not articulate where I was going with the 3 team scenario. I would not suggest Sano would being even close for Brujan. I was thinking sending assets which might include Berrios or even Buxton to a 3rd team who sent assets to Tampa to make it work. It's a pipedream. I was really just making the point I would love to get Brujan! That's the kind of scenario where it makes sense to move Berrios or Buxton. Damn TB with him and Franco and they signed Brujan for $15K. People complain because we don't sign more $3M+ guys when we have a few and none of them have really panned out. I want to see the Twins find a couple of these gems for nothing.

Agree. Lewis and Miranda panning out would be huge for this team even if Lewis ends up in CF.

There is still a lot of season left. Let's hope Ober continues to show well and hopefully he is just the first. We need to keep in mind Duran and Balazovic started late. Those two plus Winder and Ober could make this an extremely good year in terms of developing pitching. Watching this unfold is going to be very interesting and hopefully a very positive part of this horrid season.

That could make sense IF Sano gains consistency between now and the deadline and they continue to get low production from first base and the twins are willing to eat a significant part of his salary. I would like to find a package the Ray's like for Brujan has is ready to debut. Maybe a 3 team team trade. He could take over for Simmons right now and he has a 949 OPS at AAA. The Rays have Franco waiting in the wings so they could move Brujan.

I might have missed it but I did not see any reasons as to why he needs to be traded now as opposed to later.

I am not to caught up in them making a historic comeback. That's not happening. What I would like to see is a competitive team playing reasonably well and it would be really great if someone prospects get a shot and perform really well. Today Ober looked like a guy that can contribute for a few years. Just one step of many to field a team that contends but good to see just the same. Gordon has been a nice surprise so far too.

We don't really know what they are thinking just because they say the rotation is "staying the same for now". They might be thinking they need to jettison Shoemaker as soon as possible but don't feel they have anyone ready at the moment. They might be thinking they will get a look or 2 at Ober and Jax and then make a move. Perhaps they want a couple more weeks for Duran or maybe they want to shuffle some SPs and get Winder moved up to AAA. We should no better than to assume the statement by Rocco indicates they don't see a need to make a change. It sounds to me like a nice way of saying we need a moment to get our ducks in a row.

Wouldn't every other team also prefer to spend his $12M salary more effectively? Another team is not taking him right now without us taking back salary which kind of defeats the purpose unless the deal was for the Twins to eat his 2021 salary and the trade partner covers 2022. I think we need to hope he finds his 2019 form real soon and becomes tradable. His wRC+ is 122 over the past 3 weeks so it's not a great leap. He just needs to be more consistent than he has been lately. I would love for them to move Donaldson too. It's too soon to get carried away on Miranda but he looks to have taken a leap forward and could be the next position player to earn a promotion. Let's hope his success continues because Kirilloff / Larnach / Miranda and eventually Lewis could be a very good core of position players. Plus, all that young (cheap) talent would leave us with significant payroll budget to add talent.

I have to agree. Use that spot to take a look at Ober / Jax. Happ and Pineda hopefully pitch really well and get traded for something of value between now and the deadline opening two more spots. Watching the pitching prospects will be a reason to tune-in to the games. Maybe they can give us hope for the future.

Seth, I heard an interview when Jax was named MilB pitcher of the week that suggested his velocity has ticked up. They went on to say the increased difference between his FB and secondary pitches has made those pitches more effective. Do you suspect he is going to be on the radar for promotion? One other question... Which top prospects are showing the most consistent command?

I don't see this as being much of an issue. They will gain 2 rosters spots in September. More importantly, we should see several trade deadline deals that will make room to audition prospects. I hope the SP prospects are showing well enough by late July that we have 3 spots in the rotation occupied by prospects and another couple guys in the BP.