short ornery norwegian

any trade possibilities have to be looked at in the prism of the Twins' payroll. this is not meant as an anti-Pohlad rant - but just facing reality. Ownership cut the payroll $30-million. Next year, odds are very good that their local TV revenue will be even less than this year. So figure that the payroll stays the same. Crochet is currently at $800,000 a year but has two years of arbitration coming. so not bad in terms of salary, but the question is how much would the Twins have to pay in terms of prospects? Sheets is also in the $750,000 range with 3 arbitration years ahead. again, salary is fine, so the question is what do the Twins have to give up. I would be more willing to part with prospects for a pitcher as opposed to a position player.

Another factor with the pitching - in case anyone has forgotten - the Twins had their pitching coach leave halfway through the '22 season. That had to have at least some impact. I think a lot of onlookers were surprised when Pete Maki was retained as the full-time pitching coach for '23. So now we get to see what the staff does under Maki for a full season. Someday I hope we find out the full story behind Wes Johnson's departure. that whole deal still seems weird to me.

One way or another, this is going to be a pivotal year. a lot of questions need to be answered - can the team stay healthy? how good is the pitching depth? can young players emerge? Depending on how those questions are answered, it will go a long way to deciding the immediate future of the franchise. I'm not saying that Falvey and Levine's jobs are on the line, but at some point, we need to see some evidence that what they're doing is working and the team is on the right track. And another "if" involves Joe Pohlad. Is he really going to be more of a hands-on owner, and what does that mean going forward? A lot to watch - assuming we can watch the games (this bankruptcy with Bally's and the other RSN's is going to be an ongoing story.)