Major League Ready

The evidence is never conclusive in these instances and even if it was you would not be privy to it so no wonder you have not seen it. Man, why do so many sports fans such a difficult time recognizing they simply don't have access to critical information? People keep saying why would anyone want this job? Are you kidding me? For starters, there are only 30 such jobs in the world and it pays a couple million bucks/yr.. If you are a past GM or an aspiring GM, this job is of interest. They are basically where KC was a few years ago with a little more revenue to work with. We also have substantial depth in the farm system that should feed the ML club for several years not to mention a top pick next June. Edit: I should have also said these jobs generally don't open up when everything with the team is perfect. Any qualified candidate would expect there will be obstacles to overcome.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. You make a good point about neither being capable of playing CF but they might be able to get away with this given Rosario and Kepler can both b/u CF although neither is great defensively in CF. They might also just keep Santana around simply because he can bu SS and CF as well as pinch run. I would just love to see one of them surprise us and get past their contact issues. That would be a nice boost to this team. Let's hope at this time next year we are saying remember when Walker or Palka had trouble making contact and now they are tearing it up. I man can dream, right?

He sure has been hot of late. His average is somewhere around 375 the last month. It would be really interesting to know if they have done something with his swing mechanics. Has he gotten better at identifying pitches or is he simply on a hot streak. Palka's average at AAA is over 300 now and he is not a defensive liability. I think he is a better bet although both of their strike out rates make them suspect at the ML level. Walker might just end being traded. Hopefully, his play of late is the result of something that is sustainable and he ends up being a valuable part of the future or a valuable trade asset.

I don't mind this position so much. I enjoy the victories and the sting is not so bad knowing the loss might end up helping us get that front of the rotation guy. Hopefully, it's a dominant college SP that will fly through the minor leagues. During the course of the rest of the season I hope to see Sano/Kepler/Rosario/Vargas/Duffey and eventually Berrios and Chargois show they are going to be a great core in the not too distant future. Then, after I do all that "hoping" I pray every night Buxton will show he will someday master this level too.

Agree. Plus, none of us is privy to trade talks underway. The vast majority of us have not seen these MiLB play lately or perhaps ever. Maybe someone wanted Boshers back because their scouts will be attending ML games and they want to see him. Maybe they are fine tuning something with Chargois right now and just want to give him a couple more weeks. Maybe they have a plan to move multiple people around so they just want to get through the trade deadline and then make these moves once several questions have been answered. Maybe some of these MiLB players are part of deals and we could go on for every with the maybes. We don’t know any of these things. Go ahead and ask the questions but to draw conclusions with a fraction of the information would be considered absolute incompetence in terms of management practice so to do so and then speak of others incompetence is ridiculous. It’s no wonder some of you are so frustrated. I get it. The team has the worst record in baseball. Very reasonable to be frustrated with that fact but to be frustrated because you don't understand something when you have a fraction of the information is just silly.

Simple. Because it is very likely a couple players will be traded in the next ten days and that will open spots for them. I don't think much of Ramirez but he might be needed for awhile if Kinzler or Abad or both are traded. Chargois moves up to the ML club and Hildenberger goes to AAA. If Abad and Kinzler get traded, Chargois and one of the others mentioned get moved up. It just does not make sense to debut guys right now when the landscape will be considerably more clear in 10 days. Plus ... Ramirez was just sent to AAA and replaced by Boshers. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/minnesota-twins

I hope they eat those contracts too but it’s really easy to spend another person’s money. “Tax loopholes are generally tax policies that mitigate taxes paid on profits. You can’t make a loss magically disappear. The amount of the loss is decreased by the amount of tax that would have been paid on equivalent profit. In other words, profit goes down by the amount of the write-off and the tax liability is lessened by the amount of tax that would have been paid on those profits. It sounds like you are hoping they just pretend those mistakes did not happen. Of course, from a fan’s perspective that would be wonderful. Just start all over. Just write off $66M/year (Mauer/Santana/Nolasco/Hughes) for the next two years and go out and replace them as if that expense really did not happen. In the real world, that is an absolutely preposterous premise. To put that amount in context. It is the equivalent of 300+ years salary for 100 average Americans. They can write them off and replace them but make no mistake these dollars will be included in the allotted budget. They are not going to pretend they are not paying those salaries and spend whatever they were going to budget plus the salaries that have been written off. There is a business case that could be made to pay half of Santana’s salary and hopefully get a prospect back that contributes at the ML level. However, there is also a case to be made that you accept a deal that is a salary dump. Nolasco and Perkin’s contracts are up next year. Those three equate to a FA front of the rotation SP. To be realistic, there are exactly two such signings by a team outside the top 12 in revenue since the turn of the century. One of those was Greinke last year and Arizona just signed an enormous TV contract so it’s hardly a parallel scenario. Regardless, dumping Santana positions to have some financial flexibility in 2017 when they will hopefully be back in contention. Mauer and Hughes are up at the end of 2018 so they could spend again in 2019.

I am with you, Mike. Of course it's about money but how do you generate more revenue? Put a much better team on the field. Geez! Reusse did not put much thought into that article.

I was thinking the same thing. We are also just guessing which is a bit ironic given the origin of this conversation is managerial competency. As fans, we constantly speculate and draw conclusions without adequate information. We make wild generalities like all of the people Ryan hired should be fired, etc. We come to conclusions we support rigorously with information that is so inadequate that anyone drawing conclusions this way in the real world would get to print a lot of resumes. My own theories on the reasons for Ryan’s dismissal would start with that they did not adapt to new trends. They also did not go outside to add talent. Of course, the two are related. They also got virtually nothing out of the free agent dollars they spent. To add insult to injury, the extended Hughes and Perkins when there was absolutely no need to do at the time those transactions took place. Jim Pohlad did not need to be a “baseball guy” to recognize these things.

I can see trading for Zunino but definitely not for Kepler. Granted, I have a man crush on Kepler but trading a guy who looks like he can be a 2,3, or 5 hole hitter and play good D for a guy who's WRc+ was 47 last year does not seem too prudent. Zunino is hitting at AAA but he we all know that is no assurance of success at the ML level. I would love to see them get him for Nunez given our current catching situation but not at the expense of a top 5 or 6 prospect.

Not only did he not have to make that move, I cant think of a any logical reason why they would have not waited until after the 2015 season when he still would have had a year remaining. The only possible logic was that he repeated 2014 and the priice would have gone up a bit but I take that chance after a career year, right? For me this might be the worst decision of the past few years. Not in terms of impact but because there was no reason to lock in Hughes at that point. Perkins might be #2 on that list because the team did not need a closer at that point of what was obviously a rebuild despite the fact they refused to treat it like a rebuild.

What information are you using to come to the conclusion on who is calling whom? Do you have some inside knowledge or are you drawing conclusion from bits and pieces of trade rumors?

I have said all along (look back) that the question right now is not if the team has a problem with making a big deal but should the team be making a big deal. These deals have either happened or have been proposed here. Is it not relevant to ask if they would have been positive long-term deals for this organization. The whole point is that there is a lot of complaining here about something the Twins wont do when if fact they should not being doing that type of deal right now. What's the problem? Fans want it right now and many are obviously willing to throw away the future for instant gratification. Complain If they don't do anything when they get into contention but to complain now is ridiculous. Yes, they have not made this type of deal in the past but they also did not sign $180M extensions in the past either. There is a good chance Ryan won't even be here when they are in contention. So, why all the belly aching now? Maybe the problem is my expectation of fans being reasonable when the term fan is derived from fanatic.

The Twins have gotten equivalent production from the SS position without taking on the $22M in salary and therefore don't have what will likely be another contract like Mauer's on the books until 2021. That money instead can be used for a productive FA once the team is once again contending or to keep our key players long-term. Think Royals with the ability to go out an add another key piece through FA. I am not sure what's difficult to understand about that.

What about Lucroy? Would that have been a good idea? What trade that actually happened would have been a good move for the Twins? We would all like to trade for a great player without trading great prospects. That is the fallacy that always exists in these discussions.

How is this relevant? We are not discussing if Toronto should have made this trade. The two teams are in very different positions.

The entire content was relevant to why the Twins should not have done any of these deals last year or now. Let’s not talk about ignoring elements of a post when … You ignored the part about explaining how the Twins could have gotten Tulo without giving up a top prospect given Colorado got a top 50 and two other pitching prospects. You ignored the fact that Reyes had $48M remaining and Tulo had $109M. You might not think this is relevant but anyone I have ever worked with that has every managed at $100M plus P&L would consider that omission a significant lapse in judgment. You also ignored there is also a risk in acquiring a good player like Miller. You also refused to acknowledge that the Twins were not ready and giving up top prospects at this time would have been a bad idea, especially for Lucroy who would have been a FA after next year. You ignored that the Twins would have very likely ended up with a couple years of a very bad contract with Greinke or Tulo and that those contracts would be bad when the Twins are much more likely to be contending. Most importantly, you ignored the potential for these deals to kill a franchise for several years. Perhaps you can explain how none of this was germane to your post.

First, tell me how they would have traded for Tulo without giving up a top prospect. The Jays gave up a top 50 pitching prospect plus two other pitching prospects. Casto is already pitching at the ML level already and Hoffman is #46 on MLB.com. Second, they have gotten equivalent product from current players at $20M less per year. Third, do you think the back-end of Tulo’s contract is likely to be “Mauer like” in terms of value? The high profile players that are part of these trades don’t always pan out either. The Dbacks deal for Shelby Miller is a very is a good example because the scenario is so similar. They are a team that had been very bad but had pieces in place. They made the big deal you and others are so enamored with believing it will make the team a contender. How is that one working out? Miller was just sent to AAA. That’s how bad he has been and the Dbacks are under 500. And, they would not be in contention even if Miller had performed at his career norm. They were not ready which is what I keep saying about the Twins and you keep insisting they should go for it anyway. The dbacks are going to have Grienke’s contract until he is just short of 38 years old. That big deal will probably hurt this franchise for several years to come. Just like Tulo’s contract is likely be an anchor for Toronto in the final couple years. These deals can kill a franchise. That's the disconnect between fans and the people responsible for the long-term health of an organization. Why would you risk this now when the Twins when they are positioned to put a great product on the field for a decade or more? To answer your question. Yes, there is a time. The Twins are just absolutely not in that time. You make these kind of deals when you are in a window of contention. Posters here were ready to trade Kepler plus whatever else for Lucroy during the off-season. He would have been gone after next year and the Twins will have Kepler who will likely be a better player for an additional five years. We would have gained (arguably) nothing by trading for Tulo. We would have picked up $20M in salary on an aging SS. Gordon will be almost 26 years old when Tulo’s contract is up. How is that not going to end up being a problem? Plus, once we are finally out from under Mauer’s contract, we would have another boat anchor and you and others would be complaining that we can’t sign big name free agents or perhaps even keep our own players. It all sounds wonderful if you ignore the almost certain long-term cost.

No doubt that it happens to every team but it does seem like more than our fair share have done well elsewhere. I don't think one can deny we have also not developed front of the rotation starters. This is where I find fault with the organization. To be fair, it does look like we have some guys in the system right now that could or even should be legit.

Are you suggesting it would have been a good idea to go all-in last year. Obviously, that would have required they give up several of their best prospects. Berrios and Kepler would be history and so would have a couple others. Keep in mind that there was no way they were winning the division. The benefit of paying the all-in price, if successful, would have been a wild card. In other words, a 50/50 shot at a series. BTW ... The 2015 Mets and 2015 Twins were not even remotely similar cases. Please compare those two teams starting with starting pitching. I would argue that following the 2015 Mets model would have been grossly incompetent.

OR ... It could be they did not do any of those deals because non contending team don't do this type of deal. Teams like Philly and the Twins sell off these assets. Giving up top prospects for aging players when you are as down as the Twins or Philly or Atlanta is absolutely incompetent. It is true, the Twins acted like a small market team in the past. Maybe because they were. Now that they have a little more revenue ... we will see. How many $180M contracts have teams of with equivalent revenue given out and they also broke out the check book in free agency. Regardless, lack of desire did not prevent them for doing these deals. The fact they would have been very ill-advised drove that decision before any desire or lack thereof to make a big deal had any chance to influence the decision.

You need to look back. I like a few others here thought they were overachieving. I remember one thread in particular where I wrote something about them having a unsustainable average w/RISP. You may also recall I listed the math associated with the risk they were taking. Which was basically the odds that odds makers gave them and then multiply by .5 because a wild card is a one game playoff. In other words, even if they got the wildcard they only had a 50/50 shot of making the playoffs. I opposed all of the maneuvers that were basically a product that were were about to contend. I thought the Tulo idea was absolutely a horrible idea as well as the idea of trading away top prospects for Lucroy who would be gone after next year. My support for the front office was that I was in the form of defending them not doing these things.

The question you have to answer before asking why they did not attempt such a trade is should they have been in the Price/Hamels market? When you say “they Thompson is a top 50 SP prospect. Williams is #58 and Alfaro is a catcher ranked #86 prospect. It would have taken Berrios, Kepler, and one other top 100 ranked plus a couple lower ranked guys like Chin-Wei Hu to equate to what the Rangers gave in trade. Are you really saying the team should have considered such a move when it is obvious they were not anywhere near the point of maintaining contention? Should they have given up the very players that likely get them to contention to be a little better for 3 years if he does not regress as he will be 35 at the end of the contract. I would prefer 6 years of Kepler + 6 years or Berrios + 6 years of Gordon or Jay or whoever else it would have taken for 6 years, plus the $67.5M over 3 years that could be spent on a very good FA SP. I just don’t understand why so many posters here want us to give away our future for a player that makes us a little better than the terrible team we are now. It’s a very good way to stay bad or mediocre. I really don’t think there is not a GM in baseball that would consider this trade for 30 seconds given the Twins status.

What becomes of Rosario in that scenario?