laloesch

Yikes!

I can kinda guess. Bartolo Colon has basically been guaranteed a rotation spot after the All-Star break. Don't believe me watch the Falvey interview he was smiling ear to ear about a 44 year old starter who is absolutely struggling. Tells you all you need to know right there. Dumpster diving at it's finest. Are they? They certainly haven't fielded replacements at 1b yet and that's just over a year away. You would think if that was the intention (let Mauer go in free agency) that auditions would be starting already but I see nothing of the sort happening. In fact it's very possible that Mauer (who is hometown hero and worshiped like a god in some circles in the TC's) could be offered a much reduced extension carrying him to retirement (another 4 years or so).

You do realize Santana is 34 and will be 35 before next season? He's certainly on the downhill side of his career while the young core is still trying to reach the top of the hill. Do you just let him ride it out or try and get something for him, possibly a haul judging by the trade that just happened?

Yes, perhaps instead of adding a starter they should be looking to sell Santana to see what they can get for him.

Wow! If this is what it takes to land a #3 starter there is no way in hell that Falvey and Levine make a similar move such as trading for Sonny Gray before the deadline. NO WAY! Just insane!

I just don't see this front office giving up the talent via trade to bring in effective starters or paying the even higher priced free agents either. When they did go after free agents they were all reclamation projects. Nolasco, Hughes, Santana all reclamation projects one step above the scrap heap. That is the legacy of dumpster diving Terry Ryan. Nothing will change with this new FO with current ownership still in place just a shuffling of chairs on the deck and more posturing. Might as well bring back Terry and be content lol.

It would set them back that's for sure. The problem is who replaces him. We would literally have one solid starter (Berrios) whose still very very green followed by Mejia who may or may not develop into a solid starter and then a whole lot of garbage behind him (Gibson, Santiago, Colon...yuck). That's a tough pill to swallow considering how little there is down the pipeline on the farm besides Jorge, Romero and Gonsalves. And besides Romero most of the options are back of rotation types at best. I guess you can cross your fingers and hope May comes back successfully mid next season, but he will be on an innings limit and not likely himself for much of it. Maybe if Thorpe continues to progress and they move him up to AA by years end he could be an option by early 2019, but that's a lot of ifs. As I've been saying since the draft. The Twins should have gone after college starters with the #1 pick and #35 supplementary pick. I'm tired of listening to the no-it-alls who scream "you never ever draft pitchers with high draft picks because they ALWAYS FAIL" or the ones that say you only "draft the best player available" blah blah blah. This organization can not continue to ignore it's biggest glaring deficiency. To not have drafted and developed an ACE in 35 years (Frank Viola was the last) is atrocious. Enough with the excuses address the problem NOW!

I would be thrilled if the team could get Gray for a reasonable price. If they could pull that off, get rid of Santiago and Gibson right off the bat.

Well they had the #1:1 pick and a supplemental pick (#35) and could have drafted several college pitchers who could fast track to the majors instead of a "toolsey infielder" and Outfielder / future DH both of which they have an overabundance in compared to quality pitching. At some point you have to start addressing the key deficiency in the system instead of wishing for something to appear out of thin air.

I don't mean to be negative but quality defense in CF doesn't make up for the fact that he hasn't hit diddly squat so far in almost 700 at-bats and 221 games at the major league level. At what point does he cross over from promising young prospect to major disappointment and finally bust? 4 or 5 years? A decade? He's only 23 right? If some team came knocking offering up a promising young starter like Archer and asked for Buxton as a major key piece in a trade i'd sure as hell listen that's for sure.

Yep at this point.

WOW! That's a bold prediction if i may say so. Not saying right or wrong, just bold. Getting back to the buyers vs. sellers, I don't think the Twins are either at this point. Falvey has hinted they aren't going to mortgage the teams future on rentals to try and sneak into the post season. They might add a couple of minuscule bullpen pieces but nothing major IMO. That said, I still think they should explore moving Dozier and Santana, for the right price that is. However, Dozier is certainly not helping matters and is having a DOWN season ( surprise surprise), and his trade value has shrunk considerably from last season. While i hate to give up Santana he is probably the most valuable trade chip right now and the AStros need pitching help right now after some starting staff injuries. Could be a good fit there and they have a deep farm system right now. Explore that for sure. The only other thing i can think of is see what Oakland wants for Sonny Gray. His is having a decent 2017 season so far averaging 9.1 strikeouts per K9 which would push him ahead of Berrios K/9. A's are looking for outfielders which we have in abundance. Two options Rosario, Granite or Buxton, Granite + Wade or pitching prospect not Romero or Gonsalves. Anyhow, two things I look forward too this offseason. Santiago let go (thank god) along with Scaredy Cat Meow Mix Nibbler Gibson. Both guys have mental fortitude issues and they can cut bait with them with no strings attached. Beyond that i have no idea what happens. Hughes is still with us till 2020 and Joe through next season. After that plenty of cash to go after free agents. In the meantime they should be auditioning Jorge, Romero and Gonsalves now, not next season. If any of these options hit the ground running, give em a mile long leash and let em RUN!

Yeah, would like to see another good start from Jorge to hopefully force his way into the rotation. No reason to continue to put up with mediocrity in the rotation.

Still think we should have taken one of the four pitchers with the first pick and possibly another with the supplemental, but hey it's not my team to run. Have warmed up a bit on the Lewis and Rooker picks. Maybe Lewis turns out to be a great great shortstop. Now we have an abundance of potential SS and trade bait in Lewis, Gordon, Vielma, Javier and Marte. That said, I'm concerned that a consensus has developed that its simply too risky to use high 1st round draft picks on college level starters or high school prep pitchers with ace potential even when a team is so devoid of pitching talent.

Nice to see Thorpe pitching again.

Hopefully he keeps it going, but more importantly becomes more consistent and slowly raises the bar. That said, we've seen him do this before where he comes to life for a couple of games and then falls asleep again for weeks on end.

It would be nice to see them called up to AAA sooner rather than later. Although with Romero that may happen next year.

Why don't they move him closer to the plate? I mean he's got 10-12 inches from his toes to the edge of the batters box.

So a plus curveball, 91-94 mph fastball (prior to spring 2017) and a seldom used change. Several draft forums have documented a significant decline in FB velocity, down from 94 to low 90's and bottoming out in the upper 80's. This is one of the reasons he fell out of the 1st round and into the hands of the Twins. Reminds me of Tyler Duffey (a two pitch reliever).

By the time either one of these guys (Enlow or Leach) make it to the majors it won't matter as the current offensive core will be departing via free agency.

Given that Romero, Gonsalves and Jorge have not pitched above the AA level makes any chance of a fall callup unlikely. If they had started the year at AAA the situation would be different.

Wow Thorpe at 10?

They may not have said it but several of these guys were college guys so the expectation is that they will move faster to the majors than high school draftees. They also can't hide behind the injury bug forever.

How is the thought of trading Dozier (has several guys behind him that can play 2nd or short) or Santana (free agent after next season possibly) "pie-in-the-sky"? I get that there might be limited options in trading either one but "pie-in-the-sky"? come-onnnn

I get what you are saying, but when an organization is so deficient in one area at all levels you SHOULD have that at the top of your wish list of drafting priorities. I'm not saying every pick should be a college level starting pitcher, but it should have been the first couple of picks in my opinion in this years draft because there were plenty of good options available worthy of top 5 picks. No amount of spin can make Lewis a consensus 1:1 pick (which he's not).