DJL44

Baez has a 2023 opt-out. After seeing the SS market this offseason I'm guessing he opts out.

I like the idea but I think I'd lean in harder to this idea. The Twins should be positioning themselves to sell off the roster in July. It's clear this isn't a contender as constructed. The good thing about negative value veteran players is their value will go up as their contract goes down. The Twins have $50M in the budget. They should be trying to get the large market teams to give them prospects to take on high priced contracts of players they no longer want on the roster. The Twins don't want long-term commitments so they should be focused on players with 1-2 years remaining on their deal. You found one perfect player in Carrasco. Here's a list of players with <= 3 years on their contract playing for teams with high payrolls who are probably no longer wanted by those teams. Player Name Team years remaining $$ remaining Josh Donaldson Yankees 2 $37M Aaron Hicks Yankees 3 $32M James McCann Mets 2 $24M Carlos Carrasco Mets 1 $14M Chris Sale Red Sox 2 $55M Hyun-Jin Ryu Blue Jays 1 $20M (injured and not tradeable by the deadline) Yusei Kikuchi Blue Jays 2 $20M Tommy La Stella Giants 1 $11M Scott Kingery Phillies 1 $8M All of these players will be worth more at the July trade deadline than they are currently worth. Those teams may be motivated to give the Twins prospects to take them off their payroll. Example trades: Jasson Dominguez, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Donaldson and Hicks for Max Kepler and Trevor Megill Carlos Carrasco and Matt Allan for Emilio Pagan

The Tigers just fired the general manager who signed Baez.

I think I'd rather schedule a teeth cleaning than sit in a room with Patrick Reusse.

Swanson will get more than Javy Baez did last winter.

Is the goal of the Twins to maximize their profit or to win baseball games? I think they look more at the bottom line than the winning percentage at the end of the season. There's more than one way to keep score.

They're always going to be in a rebuild. Trade the expensive players for cheaper players. That's actually their plan with the pitching staff - have a pipeline and replace a starting pitcher every season.

It wouldn't shock me if Crawford is traded but he would probably rather be traded to a team that can be a contender (Yankees).

Gray is eligible for a qualifying offer. Any trade for him has got to be pretty highly priced. Maeda will likely be worth more at the trade deadline than he is right now.

Grab Mauricio Feliciano from the Brewers

Tell me your team has a losing record without telling me your team has a losing record.

You're out of state. I was referring to the rural residents of Minnesota who think Minneapolis is perpetually on fire.

Not by much though. Zunino got $6M for this season. Oh no, they spent an extra $5M on the roster. They won't win the wins per dollar pennant this year.

The only pitcher this front office has given a long-term contract to is Randy Dobnak.

I know this is intended as a sarcastic comment but I'm ready for Mike Veeck to run the Twins.

I thought outstate people were too terrified of Minneapolis in broad daylight to get closer than 494/694.

Maybe they could play professional pickleball there after the baseball game. That's getting more popular.

They are positioned to be the team everyone is calling at the July trade deadline.

Another veteran with a higher salary who could help: Manuel Margot of the Rays (there's your RH hitting OF).

This team should not be trading away any more top prospect capital. Don't eat your seed corn. They have money to spend and should be looking to spend it. If they acquire players in trade they should be expensive veterans with little trade value who can help the team in 2023. Some examples: Javy Baez has an opt-out after the 2023 season and is likely to use it after seeing what happened this winter. He might be available pretty cheaply from the Tigers. German Marquez could improve if you get him out of Denver. Kris Bryant would be a great fit for the Twins but I doubt you'll get Colorado to eat that contract already. My favorite way to upgrade the rotation is still to use Jhoan Duran there. If they can make an ace pitcher out of Duran they'll have tripled his value. I think they can upgrade the bullpen pretty cheaply. Relievers don't usually get 3 year deals, let alone 13 year deals. The best relievers are usually failed starting pitchers. Grab 5th-6th starters for nothing and convert them to bullpen guys.

I agree that you may get more out of Vazquez if you play him less often. On the other hand, he just got paid a lot of money by the Twins and you want to use him less often? Their goal should be to get everything out of Vazquez while they can in 2023.

I'm not optimistic about the Twins signing Dansby Swanson. There are more teams in on him (Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, Red Sox) than were interested in Correa. Those teams all have deeper pockets than the Twins.

Fixed

That's only allowed with commissioner approval. You can't be an executive and an employee.

Wil Myers is marginally better at hitting lefties than Kyle Garlick. .815 OPS for Myers, .805 OPS for Garlick in 2022.