DocBauer

Sorry...my POS computer at work took Jake Reed and made James out of it. Literally, the system used is called POS. lol

While this particular AFL class may not have the glamour of last season, I think it's a very interesting group! Rogers could have a future, even in the pen, while Burdi and James are both very intriguing as bullpen options. Possibly by mid-season 2016 if they get their control back and keep it? Walker is a lightening rod for hopes as well as debate! As stated, even able to hit in the .240-.250 range at the ML level with his doubles and HR power could be great. Turner and Garver are no sure thing...but both have shown flashes...both hit better in the second half of their respective seasons, (second year in a row for Turner to do this), and both have quality defensive reputations. A long way to go with both of them, but this could provide a nice springboard to see what we really have here.

The problem or issue going in to 2016 is not a lack of talent available, regardless of ML experience, but rather, almost too many options and not enough certainty. Now, that's not a doom and gloom statement, just a reality. Sano can DH and play some 3B when Plouffe DH's or plays 1B or sits. Or, you can trade Plouffe and play Sano full time at 3B. This changes the DH situation for Arcia and possibly Vargas. But what if Arcia is needed for the OF because Hicks regresses or Buxton needs AAA time? There's just enough "If" factors that complicate things that would prevent me from trading Hicks at this time. And while I'm more flexible on Arcia, I tend to want to keep him...for now...for the same reason. I could see Hicks and Arcia in a quasi-platoon in RF with Hicks as the late game defensive replacement. I could see Hicks starting in CF with Arcia in RF...initially...with someone like Robinson off the bench as a defensive replacement. (*I just don't see Hunter taking a discount to come back as a part time OF/DH) Buxton may be the linchpin here. I say it's 60-40/70-30 he begins the season with the Twins. While I don't think he will necessarily come out of the gates playing to his full potential, I believe his defense, and a somewhat improved offense based on ability and this season's experiences, will allow him to be kept from day one while still performing some "on the job" training. Call it being overly optimistic if you will, but I prefer it to be a belief in Buxton.

Really nice work Seth. And we are all guilty in getting too wrapped up in pure speed. If velocity was that big of a determining factor, Boyer would have been a top set-up man the past few years in the pen, and we'd already be talking about what Meyer could do next year in a full ML season. And, HOF'er Greg Maddux would be 1st cousins with Bob Tewksbury instead of enshrined in Cooperstown.

Late to the party but my thoughts on a few matters here....FWIW. 1* I feel the Hughes signing is quite similar to the Aretha acquisition. I don't know who "wins" the scenario, nor do I think it necessarily matters. But if you are keeping score, I'd wait another season before proclaiming anything. 2* I think re-sign in Pelfrey, for whatever reason (s) shows the Twins as status quo. I think the signings of Hughes and Santana were out of the "normal" way of Twins thinking and show adaptation taking place. I also believe the number of promoted youngsters as of late shows a change in philosophy as well. 3* I think it's very fair to say the Twins are a year behind the Astros, given all the information provided, and we're further hampered by lost seasons by both Sano and Buxton. 4* Something interesting to chew on or disregard, your choice. With all due respect to the Cubs (who I like) and Epstein (who I admire) the AL was +30 in wins during inter-league play this season. The NL had 5 teams that finished with fewer than 70 wins, and a 6th with 71. The AL had only 1 team with fewer than 70 wins. I find this interesting when trying to compare who has done what, how quickly, who is ahead or behind, etc.

The reason there is love for Plouffe is because he's a quality ballplayer. The more of those you have, the better your team is, and the better your chance of winning. So what if he's not an all-star. Not everyone can be. He has developed in to a fine defensive player, he hits generally OK, he has XB and HR power and knocks guys in. He's the best 3B the Twins have had since Koskie. As mentioned previously, that's not only been a while, but there are speed bumps of buried failures at the hot corner for the Twins. I, for one, have never said the Twins should block Sano with Plouffe. Sano SHOULD play 3B. And he'll be fine doing so, though he probably won't be as good as Plouffe initially. Gaetti learned...Koskie learned...Plouffe learned...and Sano will learn. I'm 50-50 on trading Plouffe. Assuming, of course, you are getting quality and useful/needed value in return. But regardless of your feelings on Hunter, he did provide power and RBI this season, as did Plouffe. Hunter should be gone. If you trade Plouffe, and you could maybe use another power bat to begin with, now what? We have a great deal of young talent arrived and arriving. They are exciting and loaded with potential. But today, now, heading in to the off season in preperation for 2016, we are uncertain what we have in Vargas and Arcia, despite there being lot of things to like. Kepler will almost assuredly begin '16 at Rochester, and Buxton might join him initially. So I can see where keeping Plouffe to move between 3B/1B/DH with Mauer and Sano may be a good idea.

I have said before I believe the Twins could use a veteran LH bat on the bench as a PH who could maybe DH or play in the field a day here and there. The truth is Mauer would be perfect for this role. And if we ignore his contract, which we always say you must do, then honesty and reality states again that this is the role he is best suited for; veteran bat off the bench that can still provide production. There is a lot of reason to believe he could be a heck of a PH. Now, I sure hope he pulls a Morneau and another year gone by sees that resurgence in production back to the old Mauer. Or at least something close. But Souhan is right about Mauer's offensive decline, as well as all the young talent the Twins have and have coming up still, and needing room for them. Where Souhan is wrong is the whole super utility idea. Could Joe have played 3B once upon a time? Probably. But I doubt any longer. Too much wear and tear on the body. Besides, you already have 2 3B already and utility players. Could Mauer play some corner OF? This answer I honestly don't know. Daily? I'd say no. Occassionally? Heck, if Willingham could, maybe Mauer could a little here and there. Might be worth trying in ST just to see. Assuming Mauer doesn't reverse Father Time, there is nothing wrong, and everything right, in trying to put the very best, most competitive team on the field. And that means Joe as a LH veteran PH/DH/backup 1B who MIGHT be able to play a corner OF spot here and there.

Well thought out premise and argument from Dave in which I found myself most agreeing with. Then I reached for a bottle. LOL I kid...I kid! For the record, I think the tenure of Ryan is difficult to break down as was done here, number of seasons of this and that, etc, and perhaps a bit unfair. Ryan's tenure has covered two very different time-frames for the Twins; metro-dome and then Target Field. Among many factors, simple finances dictated different ways of approaching the building and maintenance of a team. I think it could be argued that in his second tenure, Ryan has had to learn and adapt a bit after taking his time off and coming back to a team that has the ability to operate differently now due to said changes in finance. That being said, I think it is very true to have certain expectations at this time. I don't know that we can really say the re-build and overhaul of the club is complete, but it is definatly in the final stages, as witnessed by the playoff push this season. To me personally, where I hold TR at finger-pointing length is to not be complacent. I don't feel this club is in need of a mega deal. I think what it really needs is the talented youngsters already onboard to continue to improve while adding a couple more soon, i.e. Berrios and Kepler prime examples. But the past couple of seasons, Ryan seemed content to leave the CF spot and bullpen mostly alone, fill in with fodder, and hope/assume he'd have prospects up soon to take over roles. We just can't be that conservative at this time. FA or trade, we need to shore up the catcher spot and the bullpen. And possibly a LH bat off the bench as well. The middle ground, middle of the pack type pitcher and position player is not what this team needs to sign any longer. In fact, we could actually stand to lose a player/contract or two at this point.

Is it just me? Am I just too much of an optimist? But I have this feeling that Buxton will take all his experience and lessons from this season and apply them next spring and force his way on to the roster to begin the season. Not saying he will peak and reach his full potential from day one, but he will be markedly better and not need the AAA time that has been mentioned a lot.

Forgot May was a rookie still! I agree Sano is the obvious choice. It doesn't matter he didn't play much in the field. A lot of that was because the Twins already had a good guy playing there. And Sano's impact just can't be ignored, not only because of the pure production, but because even with his outstanding contributions, the Twins offensive numbers slipped the second half of the season. Imagine were he not there? Rosario is fun to watch. I love watching him play defense as well. (except for a couple head-scratchers) What he accomplished is pretty remarkable over all. I see more HR power in the future, and have stated so before. We know he can hit. I don't see him ever having an overly high OB%, but even a little more patience and experience will raise both the BA and OB. I can live with that considering all the other tools. Hard to pick between May and Duffey. Frankly, I think it's more about rookie position player and rookie pitcher when you look at the impact and quality of the Twins 2015 rookie class. Duffey was phenomenal! And while it was only for a couple of months, if you look at his numbers, and breaking a couple losing streaks, he pitched very much like a #1 for the Twins in that time frame. However, May had numbers to indicate he might have been the Twins best SP when he was moved to the pen, was pitching better and better, but never had the chance to finish the season out as a starter. Though his accomplishments in the pen can't be denied. I don't know...Sano is the obvious choice to me and a 3 way tie for second. How is that for fair?

NOT going to get in to another debate as to what truly qualifies as an "Ace" SP. The Twins won their WS in '87 with, what I would call, a pair of "aces". Their second, they had a single "ace" and a couple solid starters. During the Gardenhire era they clearly had an ace quality pitcher in Santana, one of the best in all of baseball, and at times, almost a second #1 SP in Radke. Certainly, he was a very nice #2. And yet, they did not win a title. It would be nice to have that Cy Young, #1, "Ace" SP, but there are plenty of teams in the past that have had one and not won the WS. It is still a complete team effort at the end of the day. With Hughes pitching like he did in 2014, and I believe a rebound to that is not only possible, but probable, and Santana pitching like Santana normally does, and did this year with the exception of a couple of games, and just a bit more improvement from Gibson again, we could be talking about a team with three #2 caliber SP's to lead the rotation. And the argument could be made that Hughes and Santana both pitch like a #1 at times. I feel pretty good about that depth, especially when you realize how strong out 4th and 5th spots could be.

And here is where the rub comes in. Some opinions have him with no trade value after this past season, despite what he has shown previously. And by your comments here, you seem to agree with me, that he has talent and worth. IMO, other GM's know there is risk with Arcia, but they also know real steal potential when they see it. I believe he has legitimate trade value in part of a package, should the Twins be inclined. Possibly with Polanco and a pitcher??? Possibly for catching help? Possibly for a high quality RP? What the Twins have to decide is what makes them stronger in the long run; 1) keeping Arcia, believing in his LH bat or 2) deciding other needs outweigh the risk of his blossoming elsewhere. (Especially with a young roster becoming more and more replete with talent)

What I've said all along. Pay half the remaining contract and toss someone else in to move him and hopefully get at least a marginal prospect back, if not an honest to goodness reliever. His previous success and track record in the NL, IMHO, should make him attractive to someone who needs rotation depth and would be interested in 2 years at half price.

Some well thought out options. Nolasco is the only one I'm really buying though. Or is it selling? With his previous track record, and a clean bill of health, I believe he will have value to someone needing depth in their rotation, as long as the Twins pick up half his remaining two seasons, and possibly/probably toss in someone else. With his past considered, I'd say a NL team may be the best option. The Dodgers may indeed be a solid option. I believe the return, at best, would be a quality bullpen arm. More than likely it would be a prospect. But the key would be freeing up the SP logjam and freeing up additional money for an addition; say a FA arm for the pen?

We are just about right on 100%. Big question may be, health presumed, is the team "overstocked" at this point? Potentially? And we haven't even talked about Vargas at this point. Could the Twins almost be "forced", in a nice and productive way, to make a move or two at this point?

Valid points. But then again, Ryan is a bit conservative in nature. So I don't think he'd be looking at a player...twice in two years...were he not really interested. Maybe he just didn't like the cost at the time?

I actually like Herrmann behind the plate. I have always been a supporter of his potential there, but also at the plate, and his ability to play other positions. And I've even chastised the Twins for not building on his position flexibility. But right now, it just seems he is one of those guys that is athletic, but just. It a ML hitter. And I think that is a real shame. Maybe a late bloomer if he just got some more consistent AAA time? I hope so. But Ryan is no dummy, and he HAS to see this as well. I hope it is more about what the Braves asked for/expected. I have a hard time thinking TR would have given AJ two seconds of thoughts at the deadline, or a year and a half ago, if he really felt there was a personality issue.

Great post. Similar, though not exact, for the same reasons for Berrios and Kepler to begin at Rochester. It may simply be more prudent, long term, to let a couple youngsters get a month or so of AAA time as the ML roster sorts itself out some. After all, Arcia is a prime talent, but out of options, and we are nearing the place where the rubber meets the road. Or, if you prefer, the leather meets the wood.

I echo your sentiment. I feel this has more to do with Atlanta vs the Twins than AJ vs the Twins. First of all, a player seldom has control over where they are traded. Secondly, if I remember correctly, AJ was talking to the Twins pretty seriously before the 2014 season and signing, misguidedly, with the BoSox. To me, this is one of those moves that just makes sooooo much sense that you almost can't conceive it not actually happening.

I have always despised Mark Buehrle because he was a "pale hose" and owned us for a time. But on a higher road, I always respected and appreciated him. He always seemed to be a class act to me and a real professional. And while never a star, he was imminently stable and consistent. And that is meant as a huge compliment. I just wish he had been a Twin. Best wishes.

On board with you. Look, we know Arcia is a young player and a free spirit. Not saying that is bad. Enthusiasm is great! We have NEVER, to my knowledge, heard he is a negative influence. But there is some suggestion in his approach that may indicate an undisciplined nature in his approach. I don't think that is shocking news to anyone. And you're right that a bad year might "mature" him, for lack of a better word, and he may settle down, listen to his coaches more, relax, try something different, and begin a more patient and disciplined approach. I hope you are right in your suggestion as I am a fan of Arcia. Someone, I believe Nick, wrote a neat piece on Arcia a couple months ago that talked about his past couple of seasons, what he has accomplished, as well as a solid start to begin 2015 before his injury. And as I read the article, two thought came to mind: 1* I don't want to lose this guy and his potential to anyone else. 2* If I AM somebody else, this is a guy I'd really like to steal from the Twins if I could. There is nothing shameful or wrong or disappointing in any way if the Twins decide that Buxton should begin next season in AAA. (My hunch is he won't have to, building on his experiences this year in the spring). Nobody guaranteed he'd be Willy May's upon his first promotion. Sheesh, but we get wrapped up in expectation at times. And should this happen, and Arcia make a firm step forward again, it would do nothing but increase the talent level and roster flexibility of the Twins.

I'm just sayin'. We have a whole, way, way too long off season and hot stove league to discuss endless possibilities for our Twins and 2016. And we will. Over and over again. But if there were a poll taken today, day in and day out, as the team is currently constructed, I think we can all agree that the area most in need of some sort of upgrade/improvement for next year would be catcher. No disrespect for Kurt Suzuki who I find to be tough as nails, an excellent catcher in regard to his handling of the staff and doing what a catcher should, and has probably been of more value than he is often given credit for, but he by himself is just not enough for a team with playoff aspiration in 2016 that should be expected and warranted. Now, I wish we had the next Mauer ready to be promoted along with the same talent influx pipeline as Rosario, Buxton, Sano and the rest. But it just isn't the case. And maybe the Twins will move some nice pieces..but not TOO shiny please...and come away with a really nice young catcher this off season. I'm not saying they shouldn't. But what I am going to report is this: A.J. Pierzynski career slash line: .282/.321/.424/.745 A.j. Pierzynski 2015 slash line: .300/.339/.430/.769 Career CS%: .3239% 2015 CS%: .3134% I know he's soon to be 39. And this is NOT some continuation of "put the band back together". He is a veteran catcher. He hits LH vs Suzuki being RH. (Quasi-platoon?) The Twins could use a little more LH pop. His numbers could drop 20-25 points across the board and still be solid and above Suzuki's line. I'm just sayin'.

Agree with you 100%! But here is my concern; forget injury...forget any attitude problem with how his season worked out or his reported free spirit demeanor or anything personality wise...can a big, strong, whirlwind swinging-go for the fences Arcia adapt to being a role player off the bench? Now, there are a couple very possible and very feasible rosters I can give you for 2016 where he is either starting in the OF, or is the team's primary DH. But it is just as easy, if not more so, to see his role...at least initially...as a reserve OF who would be asked to DH and PH occassionally. And I have reservations that his approach, his "game" could adapt to that on a successful level. I think he's better off on a daily/mostly basis either with the Twins or elsewhere.

Back to the discussion of a veteran LH bat for the bench that can PH, occassionally DH and play once in a while; what about David Murphy? I honestly don't know much about him defensively, but I believe he plays both corner OF spots and should be available in FA. LH hitter with a career triple slash of .274/.333/.765 with some power. Coming off a solid season. 34 next year. I don't have any career PH information in him at this time.

I think you are either IN or OUT on Nunez. Seems to be only the two camps. I'm in the IN, or "like" camp. I don't care he's not a stud defensively or a big bat off the bench. He is solid in both phases of the game doing exactly what he is supposed to do; be a utility/backup infielder. He's solid defensively, occassionally quite good from a few plays I've seen, and according to Molly who talked about his improvement this season. He can run some, has a little pop, and can hit OK. Really, I just don't know what there is to dislike. And my initial roster has 12 spots spoken for position wise. #13 could be a 5th OF, a 3rd catcher in some scenarios, or a second utility player. Why not Santana? I like his potential...assuming he never evolves in to a full time SS...as a utility INF/OF with speed and some pop. If he can play CF, which he can a bit, he can play LF also, if not right. There should be no reason he can't learn to play 2B. 3B? Maybe. It's a different skill set. But he's such a good athlete with a good arm I'd like to think he could learn it as well.