Mike Sixel

Lord to like in this post, but no prospect ranking sites thought Lewis would stick at short..... Not that I recall.

Why would they trade for a SS, when they have Culpepper? They have one C and no 1B (maybe Clemens is one). Like, just not trust Culpepper at all for 2-3 years? What SS is ready right now, but not on a roster that they can trade for?

All. The Time.

To have more money. The fifth yacht needs a wash.

Moore looks like he's out for the year.

Scary. I hope he's ok.

Wallner with a 121 wrc+ again....up to 1.1 fwar in 73 games. And there are a huge number of people here that just want to DFA him.....

I'm not super confident in Lee, but there is a zero percent chance I sign a bad veteran to play SS next year. Lee or Culpepper are your SS next year. They aren't signing Bichette unless they have new owners, and even then, why? You have to trust that one of these guys will work at some point.....this isn't a team (even with new owners most likely ) that can buy a full team. I guess they could get owners that will sign him? But I have zero interest in any of the others. Most of them are actually worse hitters than Lee..........

hahahaha. Nah, we just differ on a few things. Please don't apologize for having an opinion about baseball!

Ya. Houston is playing against less talent than he did in college, so we know nothing about his bat at this point. He should be in high A.

Power wins games easier than BA. Much. The math is really clear at this point. It's hard to string his together..... Agreed..

Fair. I'll never understand that trade.

Definitely not looking great for Lee so far, but he's much more comfortable on the left side..... No idea if Culpeper will be good or not, but that's the nature of anyone without years in the majors. He's the most promising SS prospect they've had in years, outside Lee.... I'm just not going to panic yet.

Agreed! Stop with veterans that aren't actually good.

Noah Miller won't hit. At all..

Because the season is over and they are trying to see what they have. Dude was awesome in the minors. Some guys take time.

Ya, bringing this kind of thing up is truly lame. Truly. Only judging things years later is truly lame. It adds nothing to any conversation. Plus, bad decisions can work, doesn't make them good decisions (like not killing someone while driving drunk) and good decisions can fail, doesn't make them bad decisions. Could be bad luck. Could be anything.

They'll have to give up on four guys being starters between now and the beginning of the year. I just don't see them doing that. I could be wrong.

Interesting! He was basically a number 4 the two years before....but really struggled this year.

Sure, but it took 2-3 years to build.....I think we all see the vision. The other thing it requires is making the decision next year....not in 2-3 years. That's been an issue for this FO, imo. Waiting too long to move guys (Jax and Varland were never going to be successful starters).

You'd have to add a number 4 (though this year 5) starter (with 4 years of control) to Duran to get the deal.

I'm going to grade them from easiest for me to grade, to hardest. I'm also going to use a 0 -100 spread, because A-F isn't big enough for the first one. Easy for me to grade: Brock Stewart to the Dodgers — Grade: negative 1 million (on a 0-100 scale) Return: OF James Outman Look, Outman is one of the 2000 best baseball players on the planet! That does not make him a MLB player. He's 28, in AAA, and can't beat Kiersey, Martin, or Gasper for a roster spot. He doesn't fit the present, or the future. Get an A ball pitcher with 1 pitch and try to make him a RP......but not a 28 yo you don't even think is a MLB player now. A truly baffling trade. Carlos Correa to the Astros — Grade: 75 Return: RHP Matt Mikulski, ~$70M in salary relief Whether they re-use the money or not, it was a good trade for the team from a business perspective, and likely even a baseball perspective. I loved the CC signing, but he's not been CC for a bit of time now, and I think this team is 1-3 years away from being good, so there was no place for him. This either makes the team easier to sell, gives them more payroll room for others, or just gives the Pohlads more money (thankfully, I was getting worried about their ability to even eat). Danny Coulombe to the Rangers — Grade: 65 Return: LHP Garrett Horn If they move Horn to the bullpen, teach him 2 pitches, and are aggressive, he could be in MN in 2027. This FO won't do that, they'll diddle around for 4 years trying to make him a starter....but I actually like this return for Danny. Chris Paddack & Randy Dobnak to the Tigers — Grade: 50 Return: C Enrique Jimenez I really hate they included a negative asset and reduced their return. But, that return was a catcher, and at some point if you throw enough pieces of spaghetti at the wall, one of them might stick. I'm giving this a fairly neutral grade, when maybe I should give it s 30-40? Maybe this should be in the next grouping? OTOH, I'm not sure how much value Paddack really had, so there's that. I'm not sure how to grade these: Harrison Bader to the Phillies — Grade: either a 20 or 85. Return: OF Hendry Mendez, RHP Geremy Villoria Mendez kind of excites me! But man, the scouting reports are not great. IMO, I'd move him to 1B or even catcher (? wut?), because he's not likely to play OF for this team given the other options they have. He's either going to hit, or just provide no value. As for Villoria? Who the F has any idea. I don't think there is much in between here. Either he hits and has value, or he has none. But they got them for an expiring deal on a guy that was going to be way too expensive for this ownership group to re-sign. Jhoan Duran to the Phillies — Grade: Incomplete Return: C Eduardo Tait, RHP Mick Abel I mean, sure, if you go by MLB.com, they got two top 100 guys. If you go by Fangrapsh, they got zero (but close). These two have the most upside of any of the guys they got. Huge, high, ceilings. But, man, the floors are also really low. Heck, one of them being really good and the other busting is possible. Both busting is possible. Both working is possible. Abel has great stuff, but can he harness it? Tait is a baby in A ball, those guys are so hard to predict. In other words, the TWins took all the risk here, while dealing their most valuable asset. I really DO NOT like that part of the deal. OTOH, they went for ceiling, not floor, and I LOVE that. Willi Castro to the Cubs — Grade: No idea Return: RHP Ryan Gallagher, RHP Sam Armstrong Neither of these guys does much for me, frankly. But I'm going to assume there is something here to like, or I don't get this one. I'd have preferred one guy with more upside, but whatever. I just don't have the energy to actually care about this one..... Griffin Jax to the Rays — Grade: 60 Return: RHP Taj Bradley Another trade that makes a lot of sense (on its own, I'm judging these deals on their own, as a group I don't like them). A RP for a potential SP. But, man, Bradley has struggled some.......but, ya, a RP for a potential SP, I can see how this makes sense. I think 60 might be generous, but I'm in a good mood after listening to KPOP Demon Hunters. Louis Varland & Ty France to the Blue Jays — Grade: 35 Return: LHP Kendry Rojas, OF Alan Roden I think Roden and Rojas have pretty good odds of being valuable to the Twins, so that's a plus. OTOH, Varland looks like a closer, with, what, five years of control? Plus, and this does matter to a lot of MN people, he's from MN. I actually think Roden replaces Larnach to start next year full time. I think he can hit and catch the ball. I think Rojas could be good, in some role. I just don't get trading a guy with this much control, unless you are insanely in love with what you got back, and I'm more in like.

The Stewart trade is embarrassing, truly. An awful trade. They didn't give up much, and got negative value in return. Outman should be DFA.

Not Brooks Lee. Wallner.

Could be.