Cris E

This. When people were suggesting taking a weak-armed 2B to left field I wanted to say "Hey, we're already doing that." Let's finish that one before discarding another infielder. It's not like there's a better 2B queued behind LK.

This is laughable. Only ten Twins had over 300 AB last season. Assigning 1000 to these four guys is a wild over-reach. Jackson -may- get 300, last year all non-Jeffers catcher ABs only totaled 314, but he was not terrible. I'm not expecting 111 OPS+ again, but even if he were around 80 he'd be about par for backup catchers, and very few teams avoid giving 300 AB to a weak hitting catcher. Kreidler and Arcia will get 300 AB between them, mostly at SS. Lee will play SS until he's injured or so bad they throw the keys to Culpepper. Clemons will be soaking up a bunch of those utility innings, especially at 2b and 3b. Julien and Martin will get chances at 2B before these two just to see if they're ever allowed near it again. Wagamon will only get as many AB as he earns, and since all Josh Bell's value is derived from hitting against RH there won't be many chances against those for the youngster. But again, if he hits LH pitching like he has been it may not be the end of the world for him to get 300. You can catastrophize if that's what makes you happy, but "the worst hitters in MLB" are not here to start, or even play a lot. They include a backup catcher and some infield contingency plans. This is about what replacement level players in these roles look like. We had great luck with Castro, but many teams accept holes in the lineup and work to fill them over time. Have you seen Cleveland's middle infield? Schneeman and Arias neatly matched around 130 games and 76 OPS+ with Rochio backing them up with his 75 OPS+ in 115 games. In DET Sweeney led their SS with 118 games of 53 OPS+ and his backup was Baez with a wildly sucessful 87 OPS+ that marked a complete win for him. It's tough out there, but when you trade away your starting SS on short notice there's going to be a period of pain while you get something better in place. Culpepper is close.

If things go well most of these guys won't play much at all. Jackson will get some reps to rest Jeffers and Wags may get some ABs on the short side of a platoon. But Arcia won't play unless Lee completely breaks down and Culpepper fails as his replacement, and even then he may be fighting with Kreidler for time. 2026 is a year to see what they have, so they're playing what they have. If they did go sign someone there'd be complaining about blocking the kids, so they get some backups and a couple lotto tickets in case things fall apart. I swear the people on this site just love to hate.

It looked for all the world like he was having leg problems that led to this terrible swing. It was as if he couldn't push off, didn't see the pitch well and was guessing with a hurried stride to get out there for the fastball. I'm no mechanics guy, so I'm happy to accept this reading of the numbers to explain what was happening. But none of these interpretations matter as much as how Lewis and his coaches respond to it. He looked bad last year, even after he started looking healthy and athletic. Too bad he didn't want to make changes during the season, but now is the time to fix things. Five weeks to see how it went.

The BB trade simulator is a bad way to evaluate players. It is measuring excess value vs contract, not the value of the player himself, not the state of the payroll or luxury tax, and it thus leads to idiocy. Exhibit 1: Ryan with two years remaining being three times as valuable as Byron Buxton on a $15m deal with four years remaining! Exhibit 2: Wallner after a down year being worth more than Buxton. This series sort of does the same thing, but it tries to accommodate things like positional scarcity within the organization. It's got some issues, but Nick knows who will and won't be traded, where the holes in the org are and which prospects are nearly worth what the projections say.

You're working kind of hard to pretend that they never went out and got Correa. They have gone out and filled holes just as you asked, and then people complain about how that went, so when they dump that guy you get to complain that we never make any moves. I get that you're talking more generally than one specific position, that Bell and Arcia were signed because we don't have kids ready for the spots. But honestly you're complaining baselessly about a lot of veteran fringe, backup guys that Falvey has had decent luck with. You really need to get on Royce and Wallner and Larnach for not doing anything with the full years they were granted in 2025. They're not young and they didn't have to share time that much and they proved to be mostly average.

It's odd that positional scarcity is cited in the intro and then Jeffers appears at #19. He's the poster child for positional scarcity, as both within the org and across baseball there are just not enough starting catchers that can hit at all. I'd have him much higher because he's got a ton of value either as trade bait or because it would be nearly impossible to replace him.

(oops, double)

You need someone to play the games and not look like the scorched remains of 2022. People who are complaining about Bell (who is here on a 1 year deal) were the same ones complaining about Bader and Taylor and tons of old arms like Coloumbe who took a spot and left. Those guys were there to hold down roles that our 26 year old youngsters were not able to fill. Remember that without Bell, Kody and Edouard were slated to take their massive histories of outstanding awesomeness into 2026. Every team has some Bondo guys that you never dream on but fill in when someone gets hurt, or forgets how to hit, or just doesn't develop. You need them because the kids do not just drop through the system and into roles, on plan and covered in unicorn sparkles. If Bell was here on a 2-3 year deal, or they went out and got Kwan to decay in place for four years while we tried to sift through our kids in St Paul then you'd have a point. But that is not what they're doing. Which 30-something on a multi-year deal most upset the progress of what prospect? Be specific, because it's been a while since we had a 1B,C, SS prospect to block, Paddack was out for a year when acquired, and Correa was planted in the hole at SS, so are we back to Gallo again? He only had 330 PAs, so half time and he was a 100 OPS+. Not awesome, but not a full season of crap like Andrelton Simmons.

I think Ober is fine and just tried pitching through a minor injury while others were out to be a team guy, but it ended up getting worse and wrecking his season. Dumb by him but really dumb by the staff for letting him. His hip should be better by now and I expect his 26 to be back to normal. I think Ryan should be extended unless he really doesn't want to stay. It'll take some convincing by Tom P that they really think they can win, and I think Buxton has to be part of that discussion. That means budget plans and expectations for what the CBA will produce for 27, and I'm not certain how that would go. Otherwise I believe a huge trade for a top 1B prospect like Eldridge with a team that need pitching like SF is a must. I'd do multiple youth rather than Ryan or Lopez, but it should be doable for a position where we have a clear need and no heir apparent.

When Falvey has budget he makes moves. He loves moves. He traded Arreaz for Lopez, picked up Correa when no one expected it, dug up late career gems like Taylor and Bader and Coulombe and Stewart. And he has very clearly shown the ability to burn down a roster with little notice. That was almost alarming, really. You are not watching the Dodger$ here, this franchise has never gone free agent shopping the way you seem to dream of. But he has traded before and he can certainly trade again; there have been a bunch of decent sized trades this week already, and it's Christmas. Signing Bell was just filling a hole that no youth was ready to take on, but there are trades that can fill gaps and provide a foundation for the future. I would suggest a challenge trade from our deep pile of good arms (short of Lopez and Ryan) and go get a young 1B or SS. I mean a big one, like Eldridge, from a team like SF that needs pitching. Maybe Ober or SWR plus a kid or two will do it, but this is a move that helps in 2026 and says no half measures.

The bad hitting directly ties back to the date of the HBP. Directly. If it really is a concussion then these things can take a long time to recover from, as shown by the careers of Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Koskie, etc. But if San Diego has the roster space and patience to let him hang out and recover they could be looking at a nice prize in 3-30 months. Best of luck to him.

I understand the frustration, but Falvey has been getting whip-sawed by weak ownership for several years here and fans need to know that he always spent the money he had. If you think Falvey was the one who chopped the payroll you're out of your mind. He's the swashbuckler that loves the big splash deals. Shazam, Lopez! Voila, Correa! Poof, extensions! He's been told to live within the family budget and he's trying. Now the family fought it out and he's getting new direction. No one has announced what those numbers are, but the chaos is real. Josh Bell might be a good or bad sign, depending on how prominently the new boss was involved. A flashy trade for a young 1B might have been a better indicator of change, for example. But it was still better than a full endorsement of Cody Clemons as one of _our_ guys that we _totally_ believe in.

The pull-back after 2023 is the whole story of Twins ownership in a nutshell. It led to everything that followed, and the recent coup is just the last gasp of the Joe era, old family cookie jar business model. Now we find out if they think it can be run as a business for real or if they are just straightening the books for a sale.

It does kind of make sense. Joe was the old school, invest 57% of revenue, nice guys finish third, Twins organization dating back 40 years. He threw some cash in when a playoff run was all but guaranteed in 2023, rolled it back as soon as the World Series did not materialize, and assumes no one knows who is running things and will forgive all. Falvey had a budget that he spent pretty aggressively, got told the money would be there as long as he won, was probably shocked to find out what constituted winning and that he hadn't won enough in 2023 to keep his budget. So he falls back, digs in along the new budget line and gets excoriated for it. Then a team sale fell apart due to loads of debt and a huge vacuum where MLB's plans for post-RSN revenue streams was supposed to be. Ownership went into a silent conclave and all management was told was "we'll see what we have in 26, weather the lockout in 27, and go for it in 28" which was enough to hire Shelton and put us where we are today. The only piece that doesn't easily fit was the culpability for the fire sale decision. If there was never going to be any money until after the new CBA then it was probably Joe's call under the Falvey advice that they couldn't win with the hand they have so throw it all in and start over. The huge collapse in fan support was probably a large part of what got things hot in the boardroom and drew out the fratricide. Tom's crew probably felt they didn't need to go that far back with just some investment and gumption. What comes next is filling in some of this history, actually announcing some sort of budget, maybe extending someone to show earnestness, and then hunkering down until summer. As someone mentioned above, it's a bad time to prove your mettle: right after most mid-range free agents have been signed, right after a manager hire, months before the season starts. Plus there's no indication that the TV revenue situation has a solution. I guess some CBA saber rattling is a place to show activity, maybe show that they want to follow the San Diego model of merely hoping to keep the team self-sufficient rather than a lucrative holding. Good luck buys. Hope Christmas is merrier than this article hints at.

@Riverbrianpart of the problem with comparing the chances Lewis and Lee got vs LH outfielders is that those two are our only obvious candidates for SS/3B right now and there's a parade of LH corner OF guys waiting to get a chance to hit against lefties. It's not some giant plot, just a mismatch in the number of platoon partners for those guys. After the trade deadline Rocco may have wanted to give them more or fewer opportunities to hit against lefties, but there was no obvious youngster to check out on the left side of the infield whereas Outman and Roden and Larnach and Wallner and Keirsey all need to be given a chance and then kept or tossed. In 2026 Shelton is going to be asked to see what we have and what it will take to complete in either 2027 or 2028 (depending on the CBA tumult.) Looking at the organizational roster there were no internal 1B options to build around so they spent some money, similar to what they'll do in the bullpen. They were short some RH pop so they got a vaguely league average stick and are probably not going to let him hit LH very much because they have a lot of LH hitters to evaluate this year. Any complaints about Teams That Are Serious About Winning just comes from fans being fans, not a serious attempt to understand what the team is doing. To be fair the team is still flailing a bit in this regard, but from what Shelton said when he was hired, a year of evaluation followed by steps back towards contention supports what has been done so far. They're going to sort through what they have, fill the gaps that don't have obvious candidates and look ahead once they see the new hands start coming into their own. EDIT: I seem to have hit Enter too soon.

Lewis is in that uncomfortable space between having shown us some great MLB potential and having proven who he is. He was slowed in his step forward by a lot of injuries, similar to Buxton when he was trying to cement his place in the game. And like Buxton I think the next step has to him figuring out how to stay on the field. I think the team has done well by him, giving him a set role and as much rope and he could handle to prove himself. It's time for Royce to not comment on the guys around him and just focus on his health, his hitting, his availability and the rest will work itself out. Alas I said the same things in the past with very mixed results. Buxton could always hit but has only managed 50% attendance in his career, and Miranda's road back was crushed by his beaning last year, so the precedence for these guys seems to remain more tantalizing than complete.

Lewis gets treated like a superstar for one reason: 5 grand slams in his first 16 HR, and doing it during the playoff season. Sure, he's a great interview, but so are a lot of guys; even Julien was a quirky media darling for a while (Edouard Julien, Are You Gonna Rule Again?) when he was hitting. But if Royce had just hit 3-run HRs in those situations he'd be held in much different esteem today, and his diminished control of the strike zone, loss of power and vaguely improving defense would leave him much closer to Walner than Budding Superstar darling. In fact if Walner had hit a couple more clutch HR in the last year or two he could easily be sitting in the Favorite Son position. So where does that leave him for 2026? Some above have proposed just throwing him out there and letting him play, but that's what 2025 was. He got a very long leash, playing whenever he was available, but he only managed to stay on the field regularly for the second half. And he did improve as he got further from his injuries, but that's something he seems to share with Buxton: they need to learn to take care of the body and spend as much time on maintenance as playing. There's a certain amount of luck involved, but Byron has gotten better about it as he's aged (ie more injuries from HBP than walls) so maybe he can teach it to Royce. Lewis only seems to make adjustments in the offseason. Last year it was reportedly throwing and defense, so my hope is that he's spent this winter working on his hitting. His power is down, his walks are down, and if he wants to say it was his legs then fine, focus on building the foundation. But this year determines if he's a career MLB player or just another Kevin Maas.

Raya was so bad last year that he may as well stay in the AAA rotation until he proves he's over whatever happened in 2025. He's so far from relevant that the long-term goal may as well remain in place. If he blows the doors off he can come up to Mpls as a swingman or fill a rotation hole, but if he's in the Saints' pen his utility is lower.

I'm done clicking on Cody S. This is more crap.

The problem with Lowe is that if they commit real resources to him he blocks the experiments that the team needs to conduct at 1B. Someone needs to leave the OF in the coming years and 1B is a place to perhaps park someone's bad glove. (Looking at you, Wallner.) But if it's modest money they can cut him back when better options appear, like they did with Gallo and France. They can grab both these relievers, but at some point they need to convert a couple young starters to the end of the game and this is the year to begin that. There's a lot more fungibility with bullpen roles, but we need to keep a few chairs for our callow youth and not just fling open the gates like some refugee haven. Remember we already grabbed Orza so this bus is filling up already.

I don't think this is pressure, I think it's signaling their plans quietly. This should not have been written without acknowledging that Shelton went through his interviews with Falvey and came out with an understanding of what was coming, and was satisfied with the plan. Falvey can't be claiming no idea on budget and boundaries if that's the case. I mean maybe Shelton likes youngsters and losing, but it's far more likely he heard a tale of "evaluate in 26, lockout and new lineup in 27, win in 28." Last weekend the infallible Charlie Walters (ha!) said the new minority investors get right of first refusal once the CBA sets new revenue rules and sale talks spiral back up. The idea they spend this season keeping their powder dry until 27 makes sense, as would keeping Byron, trading away Lopez (who they don't extend) and signing Ryan longer term with the freed money. The one thing that I still don't get it why the new partners are still shrouded. I mean no one likes the PE guys, but the local one would make a nice distraction.

Molitor was not a numbers guy. He was the last old school guy in the org, and the only reason he worked a day for Falvey was the MoY award that made him impossible to fire. He would make a good scout, but not because he's any kind of numbers guy.

Glad to see them taking a measured approach to the restaffing. There were some things that were not working and there were parts that were, and Maki and his crew were pretty much delivering.

He doesn't feel much different from the last couple guys who held the job. Worse, Detroit had some of the same problems in 2025 that the Twins saw. A late season swoon, some youngsters plateauing or sliding back, a couple others showing some steps forward, but in the end not enough offense to go where they wanted to be. Think about how Lewis has stalled since 2024 and then look at Baez or Torkelson over the past three years and tell me he'll help him make changes. OTOH Beauregard has to be excited about his prospects in 2027 once he's scapegoated in MN and hired by some playoff team.