Mike Sixel

Hack Wilson 9:49 It feels like the longer the Darvish situation drags on the slighter the Twins chances get. Does this feel accurate to you? Jeff Sullivan 9:50 That's my feeling. I think -- I *think* -- the only reason he's still out there unsigned is because he's waiting for the Dodgers to trade Matt Kemp https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jeff-sullivan-fangraphs-chat-2-9-18/

The my thoughts were from the article, not Mike's....

I'm not sure what the point is of this post is....my point about Darvish, who is not from MN and probably wants to live where there are more Japanese (though we don't know that) and/or more diversity than you can find in MN.....is that MLB players don't actually spend that much time in their home cities. And, almost all the school year is not the MLB season.

some serious Granite love: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-2018-all-katoh-team/

Exciting for sure.

I won't copy the whole thing here....but FGs awesome prospect week continues today, with players KATOH loves: F1 – Zack Granite, Minnesota (Profile) Why KATOH Loves Him Granite’s back for his second tour of duty on the All-KATOH team, and frankly, his prospect case has only improved.......... Why Scouts Don’t (Eric Longenhagen) Granite’s swing is extremely linear .......... My Thoughts After destroying Triple-A pitching, ............... Even if Granite just hits a little bit, he’s a solid regular. Three Twins make the second team: Garver Wade Littel https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-2018-all-katoh-team/

I'm not sure why he'd live in MN in the off season......an MLB player is only in town for 3-4 months, max. There really is no reason to live there, if you don't want to. I don't think we know what he wants, but if I had to guess, MN and Mil are not the top of the list.

Aggressive. He's never called plays, I don't think. Let's hope he can convince Zimmer to play to win on offense. That would be a nice change.

His WAR was bad because he had a ridiculously low BABIP and not so good K numbers......which indicates it is probably he won't achieve the same results this coming year. The Twins already have May, hoping on him is very different than trading for him. Some of us just don't think Jake's success is sustainable. We could be wrong. But, there is a zero percent chance I trade legit prospects for him. Zero.

Agreed.

Makes you wonder if they should be dealing from their OF "excess" for pitching (hopefully with more success than the Span trade....)

I read the other day there was a fund that existed that went up when the market was not volatile.....it lost 90% of its value, and no longer exists. Ouch. If you were a magician, and could predict these swings, you'd be rich!

At this rate, I'm going to owe money for every share I own!

I don't know what this post means. If they add a good player this year, this is one less they need to add next year. What does the lame part mean?

I asked the logical follow up, about Gordon moving off of SS, but the chat was pretty much over. Maybe I'll tweet him...

Given Wade, Granite, even Lewis and Rooker, and the availability of Gomez.....I'd do that trade also. I'd rather have Archer and Wade/Granite/Gomez as the RF, than Kepler and, um, ???. edit to add: You could probably sign Gomez for 2 years, 17-20MM....and have Archer for his pay, and still afford to sign another SP from the Lynn/Cobb list, or hope/wait for ESAN to return. Also, Archer isn't old....and has averaged 200IP the last two years, with a better than median ERA among qualifiers.

0% chance I do that deal for Odorizzi.

If you want to use ERA for some reason....Archer is 38th in baseball in ERA if you combine the last two years......with over 400 innings pitched. That would be insanely valuable on a WC team.

Wow. And, what an awful trade by NE. Awful.

I swear this is his real answer, and not me just typing the answer myself! But I agree. mike sixel 2:32 I understand that long term deals stink at the end, generally, but they are often good for the team at the beginning.....from a $/WAR stance. If teams are really going to balk at long term deals, which we'll see probably isn't true still this spring and next year, won't they almost "have" to pay more on an AAV basis? If I was an agent, that would be my argument. Keith Law 2:34 The $/WAR stuff is so overblown - getting a 'good deal' is nice, but if your team isn't in a position to capitalize on those marginal wins, then ... you got a nice deal, congrats? If I were running a team within range of a wild-card spot or division title, I'd be less concerned about getting the most efficient deal specifically and more about getting the marginal wins I need to get into the playoffs. So I'd be fine overpaying on an AAV basis - and if anything I'd overpay in the short-term to try to get one or two fewer years at the end of the contract, when, as you said, most of them have long gone bad. Drew 2:41 If the Twins were to opt for a trade as a way to get SP help would a Kepler/Gordon package for Archer be enough and/or a good use of their resources? Keith Law 2:41 My guess is the Rays would insist on more, probably Romero too. Although Gordon fits the Rays' m.o. of acquiring shortstops who don't project to stay at shortstop. Darren 2:42 How would you rank? Brent Rooker Peter Alonso Lewin Diaz Keith Law 2:42 Just like that. John 2:55 In years past, I would try to measure who was the best defensive CF in the game, and it would vary from stat to stat. This past year, it kinda looks like Buxton stands out above all of them. Is that your assessment? Keith Law 2:55 Yes, I think he's the best. An 80 defender, 80 runner, huge arm strength, and not bad at the plate. SJ 3:01 Do you see Zach Granite ever hitting enough to be a starter? If so, is his ceiling Kevin Pillar or more Kiermaier/someone else? Keith Law 3:02 I don't.

well, it would be Kepler and 2-3 more players....not just Kepler. Also, they have 2-3 SP prospects people love, on the verge of the majors, they need more hitters. Not saying they'd do it....but if you like Kepler a lot, and you can get 2-3 more players you believe in.....no one is saying 1:1 for Kepler, and I don't think anyone is saying TB is punting right now either.

Yup, no issue there, as long as your team is willing to sign FA pitchers, or trade for them.....and I'm not arguing Lewis was a bad pick at all....just that at some point, you have to get pitching.

What we've learned in the last few years....is that ERA is dependent on a lot of things out of the pitcher's control. It isn't necessarily as predictive as we used ot think. It is not useless....I am not saying that....I'm saying that defense and luck play a much larger role in ERA than we used to believe. Some believe that Archer would have better defense here, and if his luck changes, he is more of a 2 than a 3. Oh, and a 3 is incredibly valuable....especially with that low pay. Way valuable.

People sure have a lot of eggs in the Rooker basket.....and I am talking about this year, not next year or some future year. Napoli is not a good player. Adding him subtracts from the bench, because he can only DH. Sano can DH vs lefties.....or Nunez. Nunez hit better than Napoli, and can "play" positions.

The IFA is capped now, so they are spending less there....and I'm not sure what you mean by investing in the farm. They've capped pay for draftees also, which is the major expense of the farm.