richardkr34

Actually, the Rangers are looking more for a power bat, so Arcia and Berrios might be a better package. If it took, say, adding in Adam Brett Walker or Kepler, I'd throw that in, too. I'm confident a package of Arcia, Berrios, and Walker would easily get it done. Rosario could shift back to the OF and the Twins could rely on Sano, Buxton, and Dozier for power going forward. I'm really bullish on the Twins' rotation post-2014 if we can get some guys to bridge the gap to a Meyer/Stewart-led pitching corps (2016ish). With the money the Twins have to spend, they could easily sign Porcello to an extension through 2019 (he has two years of team control left, so a four-year deal wouldn't be out of the question), and that would allow the Twins to bring guys like Jorge, Thorpe, Gonsalves, and Stewart into the fold. Hughes could be signed to a one-year deal as a placeholder for Meyer, and Garza would probably have to be signed until 2018. The Twins are in a great position to add another top 3 arm in the upcoming draft (Kolek? Hoffman?), so getting rid of Berrios shouldn't be that big of a hit on the system, considering there are bigger ceiling guys lower in the system (Jorge, Stewart and Thorpe), and if the Twins sign a proven MLB starter (and yes, Porcello is proven, just not necessarily a #3 starter or above...yet), it's insurance against prospect attrition, which will surely happen. But again, none of this will happen. I saw one of the guys I follow on twitter suggesting that the Twins sign Shin Shoo Choo because, well, he's good and it would excite the fanbase. I think a better way to excite the fan base is to add a player who can play SS for the foreseeable future at a high rate, who's a former #1 overall prospect in the game, with the knowledge that the current #1 prospect is coming in the next couple of years. But that's just wishful thinking...

This is a completely ridiculous-not-going-to-happen-in-a-million-years-but-could-if-Terry-Ryan-was-ludicrously-bold offseason plan. First off, the Twins will only have $46 million allotted to non-rookie contracts; this should free up tons of money. I'm not going to get into money that in depth, but I would like to think any of the players I mention as FA pickups would fit within the budget. Soooo, here it is: 1) Biggest, boldest, boldesterest move: Trade for Jurickson Profar. This seems crazy, and it's absolutely not going to happen, but it would be a godsend for the Twins. Profar would shore up the SS position for years to come, provide good offense for the position, and it would just be generally awesome. I'm thinking a package of Rosario and Berrios would get it done. 2) Big, slightly less bold move: Trade for Rick Porcello. The Twins need pitching and Porcello could be had from the Tigers relatively cheap considering his age, that he's under control for two more years, and that his stuff (particularly the usage of his CB) seems to be on the upswing. For Porcello, the Twins could dangle Danny Santana and Jared Burton. 3) Sort of bold move: Sign Garza. He's hovering around 30, but he's been a solid 3/4 starter his whole career. Correia is the "ace" of the staff, and he's clearly a 5. 4) Not bold move: Sign Phil Hughes. He had a 3.88 era on the road. He's 27. Why not do this? That's it. Three new pitchers and one new SS. Make no mistake, even with a Dodgers-like budget heading into the 2014 offseason, this team would not make the playoffs next year. These moves are to move the team into a position to succeed in 2015. That being said, this is what the team would look like to start 2014: Rotation: 1) Garza 2) Porcello 3) Correia 4) Hughes 5) Gibson/Deduno/Diamond/Worley Lineup: SS: Profar 2B: Dozier 1B: Mauer DH/LF: Willingham DH/RF: Doumit 3B: Plouffe LF/RF/DH: Arcia C: Pinto CF: Hicks/Presley This, of course, is not a pretty Twins line up, BUT the pitching is much improved, the infield and outfield is solid up the middle, and there are pieces that can be easily jettisoned for mid-season/September call ups in preparation for 2015. Around July, I'd pencil this configuration as a perfect world scenario: 1) Garza 2) Porcello 3) Gibson (he takes a step up) 4) Hughes 5) Meyer (Correia is flipped for a HD-DVD player or a case of OK Soda) Lineup: SS: Profar 2B: Dozier 1B: Mauer 3B: Sano RF: Arcia DH: Doumit C: Pinto LF: Presley CF: Hicks (Willingham is trade for the ghost of whatever he could have netted in 2012) All this, off course, leads to 2015, when Buxton shows up and turns water into wine. So, that's my plan that will never, ever happen. Yup.

Setting aside 2014 (since the Twins won't be competing), here's what I hope they do and what the rotation looks like in 2015 (pitching-wise): 1. Sign Garza to a four-year deal. He's consistently put up 3/4 starter numbers for the last six years, has made at least 24 starts in 5/6 of those years, and has had a cumulative era of under 4.00 in every one of those years. He's expressed a desire to come back to Minneapolis and shouldn't be that much more (if at all) expensive than Nolasco, so why not? 2. Trade Rosario and a throw in (Levi Michael?) for Porcello. Porcello is on the upswing, has two years of control left, the Twins will have money to resign him, and Rosario is expendable with the emergence of Dozier. 3. Sign Phil Hughes to a two-year deal. He's splits indicate that Yankee stadium is his problem. Two years bridges the gap until 2016 and also allows Meyer to fine tune his approach in AAA for 2014 until post-All Star break. 4. Draft the highest ceiling arm in the draft. The Twins need to keep the cupboard stocked. So, to start 2014, the Twins could have a rotation looking like this: 1. Garza 2. Porcello 3. Correia 4. Hughes 5. Gibson and have Deduno, Worley, and Diamond in the mix Around the trade deadline, I would want the Twins to trade Correia for whatever they could get, getting a prospect (a bad one, I'm sure) and opening up a spot for Meyer. So, on opening day 2015, the rotation would look like this: 1. Garza 2. Meyer 3.Porcello 4. Gibson 5. Hughes Which isn't a bad set up, considering the 2013 rotation. Hopefully, Stewart, Berrios, Eades, etc would be able to push for rotation spots in 2016 just as Sano, Buxton, and Arica are hitting their strides and the supporting cast of Hicks, Mauer, Pinto, and Dozier are contributing.

[*=left]CF Byron Buxton [*=left]3B Miguel Sano [*=left]RHP Alex Meyer [*=left]RHP Kohl Stewart [*=left]C Josmil Pinto [*=left]RHP Jose Berrios [*=left]2B/CF Eddie Rosario [*=left]LHP Lewis Thorpe [*=left]RHP Felix Jorge [*=left]2B Jorge Polanco

1) Price has two years of arbitration, not three. 2) Montgomery has completely fallen off the map (4.72 ERA and 48/77 BB/K ratio) and Odorizzi is the consummate #5 starter-type prospect. Joe Blanton-esque. 3) Rosario just missed Parks' top 50 midseason; he was 41 on Law's. Berrios just missed Parks' midseason 50. Kepler is not a throw in; if you think that, you're just saying things right now that have no meaning. Harrison has 65 raw power and has some idea how to hit. 4) The Rays paid Rodney 2.5 mil; Perk made the same. He gets a raise in the next few years, but he's younger and better. 5) Again, just because the Royals made a stupid trade doesn't mean 29 other teams are going to. The Cubs got a 3b who can't hit, a fringe top-100 guy, and two throw ins for Garza. I know it's different talent/contract issues, but an elite closer, a top 50 guy, a top 50-75 guy, a top 100 guy, and a 20-year-old with 65 raw and an at least average hit tool blows that out of the water and is more realistic than basing a presumed Price trade on Dayton Moore's stupidity.

Good to see Ted Cruz is a Twins fan. We'll take whoever we can.

They got Shields and Davis for, essentially, Myers. This is a cheap, proven, dependable closer, an almost-ready top 50 prospect, two top 100 prospects, and a projectable power bat. And in two years, with Perk gone, the Twins would have Mauer and little else on the payroll. Shields would be 30 and could ask for, at most, six years. They could afforded it, and the Rays would listen. Just because the Royals made a stupid trade doesn't mean the other 29 teams would do the same.

If the Rays would take a package of Perkins, Rosario, Berrios, Harrison, and Kepler for Price, I'd pull the trigger in a heartbeat. Payroll commitments in Twins Territory are going to be low from 2015 onward, when they'd have to pay Price.

Sign Phil Hughes. SHould be reasonable and his road splits look favorable.

Look at the 2011 draft. Construct a team using SEC players. Ask yourself if they could beat a team of proven NFL players (The Panthers being the worst team that year).

Sorry, I was referring to that projected September 2014 lineup; Hicks in RF instead of Rosario. As far as Walker goes, he needs to get to at least AA before his prospect status really takes off. He was a college player who spent his entire season in low A. He'll be a 22-year-old in High-A to begin next year. Hicks was in AA and doing well at the same age.

.250 is about average for a major league hitter. On a good team, you'd want Dozier hitting seventh.

Hicks would be in RF. Best arm on the team.

Let's not forget that Terry has been given a go ahead to spend money in the off season. I wouldn't be surprised to see an opening day starting rotation like this: 1. Correria 2. Phil Hughes 3. Gibson 4. Diamond 5 Worley (not sure about Deduno's injury yet)