DocBauer

I think I speak for an awful lot of us here, probably most of us, especially considering this topic has been discussed a great deal on TD, that the milb pay structure needs to change. Most affiliates, of course, are owned independently and not by the parent club. And I am a little unsure where and who milb player salaries are paid through, to be honest. But in the multi billion dollar business that is MLB, I would like to see ownership, and the players union, step forward to make salary changes in milb. Prospects are the lifeblood of the sport, PERIOD, even though a small percentage make it, much less make it big. But there is no reason...pennies on the dollar in the sport...salaries couldn't be raised to a more acceptable "cost of living" type level.

I also like this idea. Of course, Smith would be ideal. And even with expected/hoped for re-signs, FA signing or trade for the rotation, there is plenty of $ available to add another piece to the pen. (Even with a Romo signing that shouldn't be very large). Despite being proven, just how many $ and years could Smith actually expect? Especially after so many FA RP seemed to bottom put last season. Diekman could be an outstanding signing if Johnson and company can "see" alterations to improve his control.

Being as brief as I can. Odorizzi and Romo are back. I'd bet on Pineda as well. Would love Castro back, but at a slightly reduced salary TBD. Depends on if he gets any real offers to be a primary catcher for a good contract. I'm just not convinced he gets a 2-3yr deal to do so. I think Cron is also back. Schoop is gone. So is Gibson. Just no room at this point for many factors. Perez, gone. Hildenberger, Stewart and also Harper, gone. Gonsalves is an interesting name brought up. He has been a top prospect for a couple years now and teased some with his 2018 late season promotion. Not a polished prospect yet, his milb numbers and success screamed potential 4-5 SP...with growth potential to being a decent #3 with experience, IMHO...but mjssed virtually the entire 2019 season. If not protected, he will not slip through rule V. I believe he was still ranked anywhere from top 10-15 after 2018. Does the FO believe in him, healthy, enough to keep him?

A lot of angst over a guy who was once a top draft choice and top prospect who just hasn't turned out yet. EVERYONE grabs fliers like this, not just the Twins. And some turn out to be really good fliers. This is just is just due diligence, that every single team does. MLB and milb are filled with guys with big FB who couldn't throw a consistent breaking pitch to save their life, much less their career. Here is a 27yo, former top prospect who seemingly has a good/great slider in plac. The FB, and consistent placement of it, is still #1 in any pitcher's arsenal. From just a single season of results, Johnson seems to have a good trip on making adjustments to help pitchers center themselves, find a consistent delivery, and improve their FB. He does that here, with a potential I man bullpen, and options available for other speculated arms making the pen for versatility sake, you could have a potential steal on your hands. You also have a guy you could dump and try to slide through waivers at some point.

I am a huge fan of Eddie, but I am not blind to his flaws. He sometimes takes bad routes, misplays a ball, or tests his arm when he shouldn't. He also is more of a free swinger than I'd like, to be certain. But he also makes great plays and great throws. He comes up with a lot of big hits in big moments, sometimes on pitches that you can't believe anyone else would have connected with. And you smile, laugh, and say to yourself, "That's Eddie being Eddie." One thing we know, and one thing we don't know: 1] With even a small bit of greater control/experience/maturity, he can be an even better defensive OF and a more dangerous hitter. 2] I don't think any of us can really know how much his ankle injury affected him for most of the last two months of the season. I think it's a little too easy to say his .800 OPS and production should have been expected while hitting #4. The fact is he still put up numbers and produced. I think it's unfair to say anyone COULD have done that. So I'm with Seth on that one. Rocco played his lineup the way he felt it worked best, including staggering opposite side and switch hitters. At the end of the day, it's pretty hard to argue with the results. That being said, 2020 offers a different opportunity. It would not surprise me in the least if there was already a consideration of a change at the top where Arraez and Polanco could be the top 2, allowing Kepler to slide down to #3 or #4, depending on whether you then slot Cruz at #3 or #4. However it makes sense, those guys constitute your top 4. Sano and Rosario are now a very dangerous 5-6, followed by some combination of Cron, potentially, and Garver with Buxton again dangerous and turning over the lineup from the 9 hole. I ramble and offer up various possibilities. But I think Rosario fits very well somewhere, however it shakes out. And I think his value, for at least another season, is greater on the Twins than gone. With the likes of Kirilloff, Larnach, Rooker and Raley on the way, that could change by 2021.

Berrios is a fine fielding pitcher. He's probably as deserving as anyone to win the award. And I'm sure he would be proud to put it in his trophy case. But I agree with previous comments that in the scheme of things, and various over-sights we have all seen in the past, I'm just "meh" about the award any longer.

I like your idea even better, lol, but to be fair, I really meant door #4 for Pineda and the kids filling the 5th spot.

I agree I will/would feel better with both already in the fold. But I think we are clearly in the driver's seat here, assuming offers are fair. Both have enjoyed their time here, vice versa from all that has been reported, and vague comments from both sides have already been spoken,. QO available to Odorizzi also can easily transition to an extended offer. IMO, Pineda is slightly less than Odorizzi as a "sure thing" for various reasons. But the money is absolutely there to get a fair deal done without compromising payroll at all for the "big get", whoever and how "big" that get turns out to be.

Thanks for all your hard work, Steve. Much appreciated and enjoyed. Great to see Lewis finish the season so strong and take a step forward. Very pleased to see Raley finish so strong. In my mind, re-established what he did in 2018 and what we saw him do last season before injury. Chalmers final numbers may not be quite what you'd like, but additional IP, the velocity and SO numbers have me very encouraged. The other arms have were rather "meh" overall, but got me to take a good look at Neff for the first time.

Don't know how good he is out there, but the Twins had him play a lot of CF last ST. While he is probably more of a corner guy, he is absolutely a fine athlete and it would seem he can play the spot at least a little. A hit start, I wouldn't be surprised if he just flat out passed Cave and Wade for a promotion. He was the better player of the 3 last year before his injury.

I'm with you on Rosario. I freely admit he makes a few really bad decisions once in a while, whether tracking-diving-overthrowing, but think he is a quality OF who more than makes up for a bad play with 2 or 3 really good ones. I know what statistics say, but I know what I watch and see over the course of a season with him. But for goodness sake, could he please stop snapping his glove on a catch?

Battle beat me to it, but yeah, Odorizzi and a "still be acquired" round out the rotation with Berrios, Pineda and "prospect".

Good points but I will pass and take door #5 and resign Pineda. For my 5th spot, I'm auditioning and rotating my young arms.

Wasn't openly stated if you are simply saying next man up as the roster sits now, or projecting best man up for the 5th rotation spot. I am assuming the latter as... 1] Berrios/Acquisition 2] Acquisition/Berrios 3] Odorizzi 4] Pineda/Acquisition ...would seem logical. I agree Dobnak makes the most sense at this point as 1st choice for the last spot. His stuff is decent and he knows how to pitch. How good he can become, obviously, is to be determined. Smeltzer, Thorpe and Graterol will all offer still competition. And all 4 will help at some point. Should also point out that if Pineda is back, we are going to need a couple of these guys the first 30 days or so.

Just to re-iterate something I've speculated on previously, Dyson could sign a deal something similar to what Pineda did. Something like a cheap 1yr deal for rehab time and then a contract for 2021, possible with guaranteed money and incentives vs fully guaranteed. They may just move on. But they may decide they already have an investment here and would like to see a potential return.

Agreed Smith could be too costly, and have too many suitors, to become a Twin. Diekman and Pomeranz could be outstanding and for less cost. Going to disagree on Dobnak only because I think he has a pretty good shot at being the 5th SP. There will be competition, for sure, but I wouldn't pencil him in for this role until that is decided. Small detail, but just where I'm going with it. Very possible, IMO, there really isn't a true 8th man in the pen as it could be a constant rotation spot between Minnesota and Rochester as needed. Well thought out and agree on everything except the Dobnak comment.

I absolutely agree with this, and the premise of the entire OP. And as I've stated a couple times, I think Odorizzi is back in some fashion. Makes too much sense for both parties. I still feel Pineda is back for pretty much the same reason, though his situation is a bit more gray, no pun intended. That still leaves another very important acquisition that needs to take place. I've said several times I'm 50/50 on a FA vs an impact trade. The biggest problem is, the FO, the analytics department Rocco and Johnson aren't going to share their viewpoints on ANY of the proposed additions until they actually make a move. Nor should they be expected to do so. I don't see Kershaw being offered up. I just don't. Same with Paddack. The Padres appear pretty close and have a lot of young talent. I don't really follow the Reds, but from the outside, I'm not sure I know what they are doing. I'm not convinced they do either. Gray could be available for a quality package and intrigues me. I'm buy low on Archer. I could be way off base, but he always struck me as big arm with big SO numbers that never reached the next level. Is that because of playing for some not so great teams or just hadn't taken the next step or what? Seems the Pirates lost in the deal to get him. Would they be willing to just move on for a handful of quality prospects at this point? Or would they be more inclined to hire a new pitching coach and see what 2020 brings?

Going to post a short follow up after reading several intelligent, if passionate posts. 1] I think jts a valid arguement Buxton was promoted too early when he had some rough edges that additional milb time might have smoothed over. Remember, some injuries robbed him of said developmental time. Also, there should have been a better plan in place by the previous FO so he wasn't rushed. Same thing happened to Hicks, if you recall. Technically, his service time probably started a little earlier than it should have. This is NOT picking on Byron at all, just reflecting on opinions and 20/20 hindsight that is clearly evident. 2] While this opinion is debatable to be sure, I think it could be easily argued that after a disappointing, miserable and jnjury-plagued 2018, even after a hot streak the last few weeks didn't earn him a promotion back up, he may have been better off not coming up and just having his season and when it did. Why? What if he had dinged himself again? What if be bas struggled poorly at the end of a lost season? Both situations could have lead to a different Buxton than the one we saw the first half of 2019. He worked hard gained muscle, and flashed the tremendous talent and potential we have been waiting to see before his shoulder injury shelved him. I think the FO was being extremely forthright when they stated, very openly, that service time was only one part of the equation. And based on agreed terms, it was there right after a lost season to use that consideration. But I think they were also open and honest that their greatest concern was getting him right for 2019.

Me personally, I'm weary of the arguement as it feels we've already been down this road multiple times before. I like Buxton. I believe in a healthy Buxton. I believe the team does as well, and would love to pay him a nice extended contract. But considering all the injuries and poor performance, I just dont see how a hot streak at the end of the AAA season necessarily warranted some automatic ML promotion for a player who had been through so much.

Hilarious! But one thought I had, as a follow up, that might sound crazy considering the OF pipeline we have coming up. Rooker, Kirilloff and Larnach just aren't ready yet. And while I like Cave and think Wade has a chance, what about bringing in a different 4th OF with speed and defense and ML experience? I don't have a list of potentials in front of me at the moment...getting tired and retiring for the evening...but might there be such an OF on the cheap side to push their way on the roster, or AAA depth with a possible out that would make sense? Asking.

Absolutely! Just because he didn't tantalize everyone by skyrocketing to MLB by age 22, doesn't mean he doesn't have real potential still. I made similar comments in the recent Gordon particular article that I'd like to have him, we're I the Twins or another team. He is coming of a quality AAA season, even if jt was somewhat abbreviated. After a hot start followed by injury, be was probably brought up before Arraez. We will never know. And as I also stated in the other post, Adrianza actually hit in milb, but never received an extended stay at the ML level. Neither did Escobar. But what happened over time? Sometimes, we are just too impatient and quick to judge. Unless traded, I expect to see Gordon spend time with the Twins in 2020 at some point. He has ability to field, hit, get OB, run, and even provide some pop. How quickly will he show any of this and develop is a mystery. But so was the case for both Adrianza and Escobar. Note: You want an interesting prospect to watch for 2020 that nobody really knows or talks about? Andrew Bechtold. A year from now, we could be talking about him as a 2021 ready to make an appearance as a 1B/2B/3B/OF option. Sorry if I got off track somewhat.

I want to agree with you, and mostly do, but not bringing back Cron doesn't increase team speed. This kind of goes back to my previous post a short while ago...re-read I found some ugly typos and a team HR comment I blew because I was distracted, embarrassed now, lol...in regard to Lewis becoming a future fixture at 3B, or wherever yada yada. However you construct your team, you want to put the best, deepest and most versatile lineup together you can. This not only your starting, primary 9, but your reserves as well. With or without Cron, the Twins have a powerful and productive lineup. And there is athleticism and speed on hand, though only Buxton has elite speed. But Rosario, Kepler, Polanco and even Cave all have pretty good speed. And speed is not just about SB, but also taking the extra base and legging out XB hits. I think the Twins do that pretty well as constructed. I ABSOLUTELY hope and wish they would steal a few more bases and play a little more hit and run to put pressure on the other team. But I'm not certain they are built that way at the moment. And unless you find a Erstad to play 1B, replacing Cron will not increase increase team speed. Now, in theory, Lewis at 3B, or wherever, and Sano at 1B, or Kirilloff, etc, then you HAVE added more speed. Again, that may be a year away. Removing Cron at this point just doesn't increase team speed without a significant change to tbe roster. NOTE: When things change, and things start to level, everyone is looking for the next change/advantage. The recent successful Royals teams relied on defense, bullpen and speed. The Dirty Sox saw improvement by running more to help their offense. Despite a radical shift to power and launch angles and the such, one of these days, probably sooner than later, someone is going to put together a quality staff and be content with 180-200 HR with a TON of doubles and re-invent the idea of the SB with contact and hit and run and drive other teams nuts.

Agreed. I know people don't want to hear this, but I think Lewis could be the next 3B. And it's not because he can't play or won't play at SS. It's because I believe he has the athleticism to be good there, and the arm. I disagree with those who suggest his talent would be "wasted" there. Now, ultimately, we don't knkw his offensive potential just yet, or how much power he will have. But saying his talented woukd be a waste at 3B is like saying A-Rod or Machado were "wasted" at 3B because they could also play SS. And I NOT saying Lewis WON'T take over SS and shuffle the infield where Polanco or Arraez ends up 3B. My thoughts are based more on Lewis's ability, and continued improvement from both Polanco and Arraez. At the end of the day, you want the most talent on the field and in the lineup you can have. If you have 5 guys in your lineup at various positions, does it matter what position they play? If your offense is excellent and your DH or 1B is a hitting, OB machine who sets the table, are you truly lacking? A long way of agreeing with you and simply stating there are moving parts not yet ready who could change the structure of the lineup in the near future. Improvement from what is on hand is not too much to be expected. And a healthy Cron is a pretty nice and relatively inexpensive part to plug in to the 2020 lineup. BTW, despite all I have said, I could easily see Sano as the primary DH who also plays 1B and 3B in a year or two, with the idea of Lewis taking a spot and 1B being Kirilloff, Larnach or Rooker. Guys don't have to be pigeonholed in to a single spot. Nor does your DH HAVE to be ONE GUY every day if your roster is deep, talented and flexible.

Have already commented about Castro being back and my choice. He absolutely did tail off later in the season. (Also why I'm not sure he gets a bug offer anywhere else). I think the split becomes more 60/40 next season which should still be very productive and keep everyone fresh and healthy.

Going to disagree with you here. I don't expect Sano to ever be great at 3B. But I like his charging, like his ability to chase pop ups and foul balls, LOVE his arm, just want him a little more consistent on the balls he can get to. No question he is a big man and his range is limited. But he's young enough that if he just keeps working...and it seems his ethic has really changed...I could see improvement in this area. To me the improvement, for now, comes from Polanco and Arraez. Personally, from what I saw most of the year, I thought Cron played a pretty solid 1B.