Major League Ready

In 2015 it means We have a shot to be a 500 teamWe won't be relying on AAAA SPsOne spot available for May, Meyer, Milone or it means you are relying on an injury to make room for them. Sps are often injured but it is hard to feel good about relying on failure (injury) to make room. It just is not consistent with building a contender. Loss of a 2nd round pick. Not a big deal but a guy like Burdi is valuable for several years.Provides an opportunity to trade Milone, Pelfrey or both. Would the Giants trade Susac and two top SP prospects for Plouffe and Milone. (pelfrey too if they want him)For 2016 If position prospects advance as expected, we are likely above 500 but not likely to contendOne spot open for May, Meyer, Berrios, Milone, and others. This troubles me because I don't like any of the potential scenarios. The only way there is room for they guys we need to develop in order to contend is multiple injuries. For 2017-18 Hughes is likely goneMaybe Nolasco and Santana defy age regression and play a role in contentionMaybe they defy age regression and we trade them for prospectsMore likely, Age related regression is makes Nolasco and Santana league average or worse. They are not tradable and the money invested in them could have been used to get one legit front of the rotation starter or elite position player with money left over.So, these investments give us a decent team the next couple of years but not contender. If we are quite lucky in terms of them maintaining performance and health, Nolasco and Santana could supply veteran leadership and be part of bring the Twins into contention. If we are not lucky or if they regress normally and have the normal level of injuries for 33-35 y/o SPs, we tie up payroll that could have been better utilized. I guess the question is ... should we take this risk to improve to what is likely 500 at best this year and perhaps slightly better than 500 in 2016? Obviouly, this is wildly speculative. Anything could happen. These are just likely scenarios.

Good point that Walker does likely make a ML roster given his RH power. I guess the intrigue is that if this guy's approach improves, he could be an all-star.

The good news is there are a lot of options that are legitimate candidates to break-out and be significant contributors to the ML club in the near future. My slightly different spin is that there are a few I watch closely because they could be boom or bust. Walker tops that list for me. He could be a beast or never make a ML roster. I would love to see Walker and Rosario break through and all of the sudden we have a very dynamic outfield in 2016. Gonsalves and Burdi seem like the most obvious pitching candidates but who knows. If we are going to wish, let's wish Stewart shows his ability to be a future ace. That way we have Berrios, Meyer, and May all on the immediate horizon and Stewart no too far behinds. That would mean we can start watching a quality product again soon.

I don't understand why some disregard Milone so easily. I ran the stats for 2012-2013. There is very little difference in their numbers over that period between Nolasco, Masterson, Buehrle, and Milone. Of course, the others pitched more innings. He must at least have trade value but why would we let him go at this point. Give him a chance to establish some value at the same time we see what we have in May, Meyer, and eventually Berrios. You would have to believe we would be in pretty decent shape if he is our #5 starter.

I hope Terry Ryan does not give up anything for a player coming of a year with an OPS+ of 84, especially at $10M$ plus a year and two years of control. Ricky Nolasco and Aaron Hicks, yes. With Phil Hughes, not even a consideration!

I watched the AFL Championship game on TV today and Rosario was really impressive. He went 4-5 with a HR, double and 2 singles. The HR was blasted pretty good, the double was a bullet over the RFer's head, the two singles were right on the button up the middle and in his 5th at bat he scorched a line drive but right at the RFer.

For some reason quotes don't appear when I click on quote. Anyone know what's up with that? Anyway ... I was listening to the MLB network on satellite radio and it came up that Rasmus has some issues with attitude but the mention. I agree on the club option but if we were willing to overpay the 1st year, and the option was attractive enough, the extension might fly. Not likely but I would like to see this type of creativity at least attempted.

Rasmus is a good candidate to take a 1 year deal to rebuild his value and he would have to like his odds of staying in the line-up here. My question would be is he a head case that we don't need? How about a 1 year deal with an option for a 2 year extension. That way, if he works out, he would be a trade asset as Rosario, Kepler, and others are ready.

I would hope that Arcia has enough desire to improve that it would not require financial compensation to convince him to show up early and work on defense. I would also like to see him show up 20 pounds lighter.

I don't like the idea of Santana spending another year in CF. His highest potential value is at SS. Of course, CF is also very though/expensive to fill through free agency. There are not many options in LF but there are a couple that seem feasible. Then, a platoon of Hicks/Schaefer would be workable because they also serve as 4th outfielders/pinch runners and defensive replacements. I wish I knew more about Tomas. He could be part of the rebuild which has much more merit than an aging place holder. Yes, the Twins have not done this in the past. However, we need to keep in mind that the Twins were among the lower tier of teams from a revenue perspective until very recently (historically speaking). Now, they are still middle of the pack in terms of revenue but this type of acquisition is much more realistic with the incremental revenue produced by moving to Target field. Tomas in left with a Hicks/Schafer platoon in CF and Santana to SS seems like the best rebuilding plan to me. Hopefully, Rosario keeps raking and we see him in the mix. I would probably roll with Nolasco / Hughes / Gibson with May, Meyer and Milone competing for the 4th and 5th starter. Milone was pretty darn good and it is time to test May & Meyer. It is time to fully embrace we are rebuilding. However, I would not object to Masterson on a 1 year deal.

I am torn on signing another SP. If you sign another SP you have that player, Nolasco, Hughes, and Gibson. Therefore, you have 1 spot available for May, Meyer, Malone, and Barrios. I realize Sps get hurt but that arrangement would not have provided much opportunity for prospects this year. Many people here say the Twins need to embrace rebuilding. Signing FA SPs on the wrong side of 30 is not a sound strategy in rebuilding, especially the ones that require a contract where they are very likely no longer performing in the final couple years. I also think while no one says FAs always work out. Those same advocates do not put much weight on the impact over the course of the contract and they likely deterioration in production from these older FAs. If we sign a "Lester tye" for $20M or more and they end up like CC or Lincecum or any one of many other examples, the Twins are going to have $60M tied up in Mauer, Nolasco, and this mythical FA in 2016 & 2017 when there is a real chance they could be contending. Some will respond they will have plenty of cheap talent so they could afford. That is a very parochial view. What could they be if they had the $60M to spend to fill the holes necessary to be a dominant team?

If the Twins were to approach this type of trade, Buxton is the closest comp. We can't trade Meyers because he is not under contract with the MN Twins. Therefore, Buxton and Meyers are equal in this scenario. The Royals did not improve by 15 games because of this trade. They improved by 15 games because a whole host of other players, some that were still prospects when this trade was made, improved the team. The Royals we also very fortunate in terms of injury of lack thereof. Most fans think quite differently than GMs or for that matter leaders of most organizations. Fans think much shorter term - We still don't know if Will Meyers is going to be the star he projected to be as Roy or the significantly less effective injured player from last year. However, from a management decision perspective. The projected cost was 4-6 WAR per year for 4 years after this year. I am not a fan of WAR but it illustrates this case clearly. 4-6 games could very well keep them out of the playoffs more than once over the next 4 yrs.

How many here would trade Buxton, a SP prospect equivalent to Odorizzi, and a couple other prospects for a one game playoff? It just so happens that KC got very hot and it has worked out but would you make the trade knowing it was for a one game playoff?

A couple interesting points regarding the 2006 Tigers. They finished second in the division to the Twins managed by RGThey did not have the ace many insist we must have. They had 4 solid starters with an ERA between 3.63 and 4.08Their free agent acquisition that put them over the top was Kenny Rogers who was 41 y/o on a 2 year contract. He gave them 195 innins and went 17-8.The other most significant addition to the team was a rookie named Verlander.Bonderman who had been poor in his first 3 seasons gave them 214 innings at 4.08. In other words, that improvement came from within.Robertson gave them 208 innings at 3.85. He was pretty bad in 2005 and went 7-16 with a 4.48 ERA. HisThe 2006 Tigers are a very poor example in terms of proving what many suggest we must do. They did it by acquiring a mid level FA for 2 years, a rookie performing well, and the two Sps that remained from 2005 improving substantially.

I like Dozier a lot. He is a great example to our young players on how to play the game. He has great focus on D, plate discipline, and has also shown the value of good base running. Having said this, I would still entertain trading him for the right return. We don't look so good in terms of OF prospects. AB Walker might turn into something but what if we could get a Joc Pederson type OFer in return. We have enough middle infield prospects that I am confident we could replace Dozier. I don't think that is true in terms of corner OFers. By 2016 we could have this team ... C - Pinto 1-Santana 1B - Mauer 2-Buxton 2B - Polanco 3-Mauer 3B - Sano 4-Sano SS - Santana 5-Vargas CF - Buxton 6-Arcia or new OFer OF - "Pederson type" 7-Arcia or new OFer OF - Arcia 8-Pinto DH - Vargas 9-Polanco That looks like a line-up with incredible potential. Meyer Barrios Nolasco Hughes May And a bullpen with a bunch of power arms. You also have Stewart, Gordon, a very high pick this year and a whole lot of other depth waiting in the wings.

I have to agree that Santana should be starting 80% of the games in September at short with Schafer or Hicks in CF. I guess this is a product of putting the best team on the field because contending teams should face our best. I would argue the team with these suggested changes is no worse than what has been put out there lately. We need to acquire a LF via free agency and platoon Schafer and Hicks in CF. If one of them earns the everyday job, great. Plus, that makes one of them available as a late inning defensive replacement or pitch runner or both. That team would be quite different than the one we started with in 2014.

I think it is safe to say that elite FA SPs are not a new idea to teams outside the top whatever number you want to use in terms of revenue. If we go back over the top FA SPs for the past 10 years we will find they all landed with 7 or 8 teams. We can safely conclude that all of those other teams were aware of their availability but NONE of them EVER made such an acquisition. Are they all incompetent? Do the fans who promote this approach know more about manage a MLB franchise? It is not a matter of if the they can come up with the budget. The Astros had a $12M payroll last year. Did they make any such transaction? The cubs had the payroll room and so have other clubs in this position over the course of the last decade or two. The strategy looks pretty good if viewed in the context of the first year or two. What about in 2016 and 2017 when we could actually be in contention. Mauer, Nolasco and XX Elite SP would constitute 50% of the entire payroll budget. (if the Twins set new revenue records) That is a scary thought. Mauer and Nolasco are likely to way underperform by then. So now we should take on another huge contract of someone who is very likely going to also underperform in the final couple years of their contract. And we would do this so we could be mediocre the next couple years and then have a bunch of dead weight on the books about the time we start getting good. You don't have to look very hard to see the ONLY successful model for mid-market or small-market teams is to draft and develop. Of course smart trades help too.

Can you name an elite starter signed in FA by a team outside the top 10 in revenue that was not a retention or extension?

How many legit "Aces" have been signed in free agency by teams outside the top 10 in revenue? Let's say in the last 20 years. If this is a good idea for the Twins, shouldn't the Astros and Cubs, White Sox, and Diamond Backs also be pursuing the elite FA starters?

I was thing the same. When you have sucked as bad as Arcia you should be seeking advice, not giving it. It causes me some concern about Arcia for the future. Apparently, getting his a$$ handed to him by ML pitching on a regular basis is not a learning experience for him. We all know the definition of insanity. In this case it is the definition of stupidity.