DJL44

Add Darin Ruf to the list of players the Mets want to put on a different roster. He's only making $3M but that costs the Mets $4.8M after penalties. I would trade Kyle Garlick for Ruf and two of their A-ball pitching prospects. McCann's $24M salary is going to cost the Mets $38.5M. McCann, Carrasco and Ruf will cost the Mets $65M if they can't get rid of them. They would cost the Twins $41M but Carrasco might be tradeable at the deadline. McCann, Carrasco and Ruf plus 6 prospects in their top 20 for Contreras, Garlick and Pagan?

The team still had leverage because the players were not free agents and the Twins were the only offer.

I want them to bring it onto the field before every game so we can all root for payroll flexibility.

Well yeah. Who would want Donaldson or Hicks as an actual solution for trying to win? It's all about buying prospects from contenders by giving them luxury tax relief. You're right that Donaldson would be mad. I think he gets motivated when he's mad. DH him and tell him to hit his way onto a good team.

You left out locking up Randy Dobnak with the only contract longer than 2 years they have given to a pitcher.

All those teams rumored to be interested in trading for Emilio Pagan - it's time to return some phone calls.

Why would top free agents sign with the Twins? Even if they do get a good contract they know they'll be the only star player on the team. The alternative is playing for a team with multiple stars on one of the coasts with much better endorsement opportunities.

Acquire some help for the bullpen. Hope the team is healthy through April and May. Get the new TV deal done by June and sell off all the veterans in July. Bring up Varland and Wallner in August - they have big enough families to sell a few hundred tickets on their own.

That could get them into second place in the division.

Inflation is a major reason why people weren't attending last year. The cost of everything went up which means people had a lot less money available to spend on entertainment. It is the first item people will cut to save money. I will also state that Major League Baseball is less entertaining now than at any point I can remember. Games take longer than ever before and there is less action (fewer balls in play, fewer stolen bases) in between those long pauses.

Most casual fans do NOT know you can bring in your own food. It is something you can't do at other sporting events. They also either don't know there is a family concession stand or aren't able to walk that far from their seat to get food.

If the Dodgers want him they'll get him.

Josh Donaldson's contract is interesting. He costs $21M plus a $6M buyout of his 2024 $16M salary. However his luxury tax number is $25M. The cost to the Yankees is at least 30% more because they are at least $20M over the limit. Taking on Donaldson and Hicks would cost the Twins $57M in salary but save the Yankees at least $65M. They're both still useful big leaguers, just not stars worth the money they are being paid. The Twins could potentially flip Donaldson in July as well, which matches up nicely with Royce Lewis return to the team.

The Twins don't need cash. They have plenty of cash, especially if they unload their big contracts to contenders in July. Get prospects instead. Sending back Pagan was just to clear the 40 man roster spot.

The Twins should be the ones receiving prospects to put Chris Sale on their roster. He has huge negative value.

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