laloesch

I agree. And there are others that share the sentiment that they should have moved several of the older vets (which many here object too) in favor of long term pieces that will help this team beyond 2018/2019. A couple of these trade chips are at positions of depth and a bit older (mid 30's). However, that didn't happen for the most part for better or for worse.

and he's got two years maybe until he really starts to decline as he gets into his late 30's.

No and No. Give that rotation spots to a legit top of the order starter or to one of the youngsters (Enns, Gonsalves, Meija, LIttell, etc.).

What do you mean the rebuild is over? This team still needs several starting pitchers including an ace, multiple bullpen arms and perhaps a bench bat or two. I just don't agree.

And Jay.

None of these options excites me. Jimenez is just awful, Cahill has not been a full time starter with any success since 2013, Hellickson to me is a fringe starter / long RP for a good team Tyson Ross has some intriguing K numbers when healthy but hasn't had a good year in for a couple of seasons. I would consider Chris tillman only if it's a low dollar short term deal given his low k numbers.

Well if were doing this Vegas style I put some money on Lance Lynn. I think he'd be a decent addition to the rotation. Not an ace but he would be a solid #3 and push Gibson down to the bottom of the rotation.

I think this is the hope. I'm hoping they pick up a GOOD FA this offseason to trifecta with Berrios and Santana. Part of the reasoning is that Santana is 35 this year. How many more seasons does he have before serious decline? two, three tops. They need to stat thinking long term. There will be room for May once he's fully recovered. I also hope that Thorpe gets a fall callup in 2018, but that might be far fetched.

If he's healthy he should be able to go more than 120 maybe in the 150 range. Matt Harvey's limit in his first year back was 185 innings and he went 200. Not saying he should do the same, but 120 is quite low and overly cautious IMO. He's also going to have a full year of recovery by March 2018 so he should be ready by spring training. But if he's erratic and has control issues it might be a moot point anyways.

May will be a factor in the rotation next season maybe not right away but at some point. 100% healthy he will push Gibson and Mejia IMO and that's a good thing. I also think Littell, Enns and Gonsalves will be a factor too. What the Twins need is a top of the rotation to pair with Berrios and Santana. The rest can fill out the #4 and #5 spots.

Not the season i recall for Jake Reed. He was solid end to end although he did miss a few games early on. I'm still surprised he didn't get a September callup this year.

Most of their starting pitching that year was signed via free agency with the exception of Cueto who they gave up Finnegan, Lamb and Reed for. The rest (Young, Volquez, Guthrie) all signed 2 or 3 year deals which worked out quite well for the Royals. Duffey and Ventura were home grown.

I don't follow Brock. What i said makes perfect sense. The Twins need good young pitching and how they go get it via free agency or trading veterans for prospects. Nobody is saying THEY WILL trade Santana or Dozier for anything. All that is being said by some is that its ONE WAY to bring in future building blocks that this franchise needs. Nothing more nothing less. I don't understand why everyone is getting so bent out of shape about it. Happens all the time. I am not interested in getting into a cut and paste spat here. .

JDL in and of himself was not a sufficient return for Brian Dozier but who knows what exactly was on the table in that deal. It's clear though that the Twins were right (for now) for not moving forward in that potential trade. However, I agree in principal though that you deal from strength to address weak spots which currently is starting pitching. Trading Dozier and Santana for the right long term pieces is the right move here. Especially Dozier because they have Escobar, Gordon, etc. that could take over at second. I think many here are being extremely short sighted and somewhat hypocritical based on their comments last offseason when there was all the trade buzz surrounding Dozier. But that is not the big picture here. Santana is an unrestricted free agent in 2020 and 34 already. How much longer do you think he keeps this up before declining significantly? Wouldn't it be better to trade him in the right deal for pitching prospects while he still has high value knowing that he's 35 next offseason? I don't know. I just see too many holes on this team to not be open minded about dealing some of the older veterans for key long term pieces. They REALLLY NEED to start bringing in good young starters to fill out the rotation with Berrios NOW! I doubt they do it via free agency given current payroll and holding some back to extend Sano, Buxton, Rosario, etc. I get what you are saying no doubt.

It would be nice to see Jay called up in 2018. Still dissapointed that they gave up on him as a starter, but i still see a role for him as a shut down LH RP. Would also be nice to see Reed get a call in 2018 as well. Those two could be good additions to the pen next season.

The front office has repeatedly stated that May will be utilized as a starter going forward. Not saying that won't change but i wouldn't count on him in the pen.

I understand both sides on this issue. I get your point, not sure i 100% agree, but i respect your opinion AND I don't need or want to mock your ideas in the process as seemed to be happening on page 3....and now after reading this thread it's perfectly clear to me why it happens so often in general on this site. I am firmly in the camp that this team needs to go after front line starters and soon. Ervin is not going to be around that much longer and that leaves us with basically Berrios and a whole lot of question marks afterwords. I think the only real solution is to trade one or multiple young prospects for a front end rotation guy. Might end up having to be one or multiple guys from Sano, Buxton, Dozier, Kepler, Rosario and other lesser prospects such as Gordon. It would be easier to add a mid rotation guy like Lance Lynn via free agency once you have that ace starter in place to build around. We'll see. I'm not convinced it happens any time soon.

Assuming he's willing to sign and for a reasonable amount.

Come on Mike.... he said "Pablo Sandoval is a 5'11" slap hitter" creating the impression that he's a Jason Tyner, Jason Bartlett or Nick Punto type hitter / build. Sandoval is NOT a slap hitter toothpick. He's had health issues the last couple of seasons but both (Sano and Sandoval) have similar builds with the exception of their height difference. And yes Sandoval is heavier then he should be.

lol, Pablo Sandoval is not a slap hitter, talk about false narrative.

I agree in principal as well. He needs to prove it. I wouldn't throw him everything at once. I respect him as a hitter and how he has improved at 3rd but i need to see more. Buxton is a much easier decision if you ask me, but Sano not so sure yet.

I don't think he signs an extension with the I was about to say he spends a lot of time there in the offseason. I wonder if he even signs an extension with the Twins. If he turns down one or two reasonable offers they need to trade him in a package for an ace caliper pitcher i think.

It would certainly be worth looking into but carefully studied the numbers may not work. Then there is the safety factor that know one wants to talk about particularly El Salvador and Guatemala.

But central America for the most part is dirt and i mean DIRT poor. How could any of those countries down there possibly sustain a major league team with comparative payrolls to US teams? Panama and Costa Rica have yearly average incomes of $2740. Honduras $760 and Nicaragua less than $500 a year! If you jump over to the island of Hispaniola it doesn't get any better with Haiti at $460 and Domincan Republic is not much better. Just south of our border Mexico averages $4,400 a year.

Charlotte is booming again. As someone who has lived in DC, Cincy, Nashville, Buffalo, Twin Cities and now Charlotte i can honestly say that they could support a team. Charlotte is hungry for baseball. The banking sector is BOOMING in Charlotte and they have scores of other business now. The AAA Knights have ranked #1 in attendance since 2014 after BB&T ballpark opened downtown. The AAA Nashville Sounds also have high attendance numbers and Nashville has a vibrant growing downtown and is a central distribution center for companies in the midwest. Both cities are ripe for MLB baseball in my opinion.