EGFTShaw

And Tovar had a knack of getting HBP... Reminds of the Cheers episode with Diane and Coach. Coach says: "Go head Diane try and miss me".😆

These articles are excellent but... I wish that you would present similar stats on the pitches at the beginning of each prospect. For example, with Morris you give his FB velocity, etc then with Matthews you didn't. I know these aren't the end all indicators of a pitchers success, but it establishes a baseline when we are comparing pitchers. if they make it to the Bigs then we have a new set of M & M Brothers, pitching version. Thanks overall though, this was something i asked for at the end of the season, a series of articles about the pitching in the Twins system.

Did you scare everyone away from commenting??? 😆

Two different thoughts on my part & not a thorough explanation who to trade started out with Lee & Julien. I didn’t like this option. I pivoted to Polanco/Farmer/Kepler I wasn’t thinking of the current version Pablo because he is rated far better now than when when we traded for him. but if there is a pitcher our FO thinks is like Marlins Lopez that could become the Twins Lopez that is who I would target. we can’t afford to deplete our farm like the big markets and then buy our way out of any mistakes. you are spot on that we are not getting a current Lopez for our veterans I listed.

>>How many players would you like to see with double-digit steals for the Twins in 2024? I want at least 5 with double-digit steals and success rate of 80% or higher for those 5. >>Who do you think gets there? Castro (probable could steal 10 will sitting on the bench) Martin (he will play about 80-100 games if some trades happen) Buxton (9/9 on a bum knee, I think one more is in his bag) Lewis (easily will get 10 even if we protect his 2 ACL knee) Julien (easily will get 10) BREAK GLASS In Case of Injury Selection: DaShawn Keirsey

Hrbek once stole 2nd base. I wonder how many times that was shown mocking the battery teammates when that happened. 😁

I would be ok with that list. $4M isn't going to break us, but I understand given it's the Twins a penny saved is $4M we may not spend elsewhere. But back to the point of this article I think we are in agreement; it would be Polanco or Farmer and not Julien or Lee. I am also OK, we stand pat with everyone, trading no one, unless it has the potential to be Pablo Lopez or higher and see what some of our younger pitchers have. As things stand now, I said this in another post here in TD, the Twins win the division by 10 games, (assuming the injury bug is no bi-annual), and that's without relying on a fully healthy Buxton. Mark my words. (been watching too much Outlander) Bonnie Prince EGFTShaw

Sarcasm with a dose of truth on a Friday. Happy weekend everyone. I don't see this as an issue that has to be fixed right away. In fact I am 90% in the camp of keeping both. EJ - improved a lot, (bar was low to start), in his defensive work at 2nd. BL - unproven in the Bigs, but I want more the Brooks Lee type players, not fewer. (I'll deny this statement if he Sano-s 😁). We aren't simply looking at 2024, but 2024, (to Infinity), and beyond. If I was trading today, I would start with Farmer. I feel Farmer and Polanco are duplicates at this point with Polanco providing a more dangerous bat and a switch hitter. (NOTE: I said IF, also I like Farmer) I would do this before EJ or BL.

There are enough “No”s I don’t need to add my No that I said I would not to the pile of “No”s already oops I did it again 😂😂

Let’s trust the coaching and veteran leadership when it comes to our Young Guns. i think we have good people in place on both those points. Remember Wallner is a MN kid and you don’t grow up in MN without a work ethic. It’s not limited to MN of course, but 9/10 times the MN raised person had it. if pitchers adjust, hitters adjust. It’s a game of cat and mouse for the life of your MLB career. Even though I should be 100% pessimistic after being a Vikings fan since the PPEaters, 0-4 in Super Bowls, a kicker who was 100% up until a key FG in the playoffs, I am still optimistic when it comes to our Twins next year. ill go on record now, they win the Division by 10 games. MN Mic 🎙️ Drop

But then again you did Heat things up on the cold Hot Stove here in Twinkie land... Major props for that. BTV actually does a pretty good job in estimating trade values, but as with all simulators certain things will be off. If you pop on the BTV site look around where they evaluate actual trades against their model. If nothing else, it is a pretty interesting assessment. Pull Lee and one of Keplar/Polanco out of that mix and I think it is more balanced and maybe the Twins toss in some A level talent that the Marlins always seem to develop in to Trade Gold. If I was trading Kepler or Polanco, I would look at this aspect: Which one do I keep that provides me with the best insurance against injury. I think that's Kepler. I love Polanco a lot, but either he or Farmer goes. Polanco could easily become a better hitting and definitely step into a starting role than Farmer. We have outfield depth as well, but no similar comparison at the moment to the Farmer/Polanco dynamic. This has to be the first Hot Stove season in a very long time where I am bored. The core of this team is good, very good I think. If we can flip some of our duplicating talent for another PLopez type, (a pitcher that moves into the top two spots), then great. I don't want to trade for a number 4 or 5, I would rather we use our pipeline for that. We can't simply think of this next year, but I want us to dominate the Central for the next 5 years so that Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City are demoralized. *insert Dr Evil laugh*

The 😆was for the Lake Wobegon reference.

There is a difference between untouchable and most likely won't be traded. There is no on the Twins team right now who is the Best at their position. Duran comes close, but I could never imagine when a RP would ever be untouchable due to their volatile nature. If the right offer comes along to improve the Twins, then no one is untouchable. That said, players I wouldn't trade without a lot of consternation: WalkerJ RoyceL PabloL JRyan JDuran Next would be: BrooksL EJulien Wallner AK-19 And there still are some very good players on the Twins team. But IMHO, there are no Untouchables.

I agree 107% with @Cory Engelhardt wrote. I see NO value in bringing in back of the end rotation guy. None. Use this for our top minor league pitchers. I understand the alleged, (and I say alleged because it is short sighted given the contracts the Twins have on the hooks after 24 and 25 seasons), rationale for downsizing our payroll, but we just finished with the best we have in over the past 20 years. IRON HOT STRIKE WHILE I don't know if there is a deal to be made, but if this notion of going after a backend guy is real and not a ruse, then the Twins are going to continue to be midlevel team and never advance out this self-imposed cage.

First comment: Whelp this got some people active on TD... 😆 Second comment: I am not in favor of trading Brooks Lee in general. Third comment: No one should be considered untouchable if the return is right. Well, the No Trade guys are I guess by definition untouchable. But if you have a change to improve your team, you make the deal. But as with any trade that is an attempt to foretell the future outcome, it is fraught with risk. As the Lopez/Arraez trade shows it can be a win/win and at this moment the Rogers/Paddock/et al trade at the moment can be a lose/lose. Note: It is trending towards a Twins win if Paddock contributes at a meaningful level. But go BIG or go HOME to the Oakland Las Vegas Athletics.

They are speculating Nola $150M/6yrs, Monty $150M/6yrs, Yamamoto $225M/9yrs, Snell $200M/7yrs, Imanaga $85M/5yrs, Rodriguez $82M/4yrs, LG $44M/2yrs, Stroman $44M/2yrs and SonnyG $90M/4yrs. Ponder away.

LG is what the Twins FO has done, even back beyond our current FO, is go cheap and hope to hit a HR. As a Twins fan, with a team set up to win, No Thanks. All indications are that SonnyG will leave, I am aware of that, as I stated in other articles when it comes to signing him its length/$$s conundrum. We are not going to pay for 4 years of SonnyG. 2-3 years perhaps. But if we are not spending $20-$25M to keep SonnyG, we sure as hell not getting the other pitchers since either the term of the contract will be too long or the AAV will be too high. Snell? If you think this, please share with all Twins Fans what you're smoking. Often, it is better the Devil you know, than the Devil you don't know. Hence spending the $$s on C4 AFTER we had him one year makes sense. If you 💖LG or any other Bet On Their Upside FA pitchers great, but 💖the from afar.

" Prior to his drop-off over the past couple seasons" Enough said. 👎👎

The difference, and it's a huge difference, is that SonnyG's has had an uptick since leaving NY and LG has gone in the opposite direction. Two Trends passing in the night.

A regressed SonnyG is still better than Wacha IMHO. Wacha is not a bad choice overall I guess if we have lost SonnyG.

The article I read about the payroll loan by the Padres is it is not unusual for MLB teams to do this. So I wouldn't read too much into it.

I'd put Gray at 30-35% chance of coming back. 10% is way too low. I think Maeda is about right. I'd like to see him back on a 1-2 year contract. Donnie Barrels: I am going lower. Not because I don't think he is worth it, just that if the keep Farmer, (for trading possibilities) there is also Polanco who could fill that SUtil role. This assumes that JP isn't traded. If you keep Polanco, excellent value, he can play 2nd, SS and 3rd. That means you don't have to worry about Donnie Barrels or KFarmer. It will be a very interesting, and in a positive way for once, this off season for the Twins. Good foundation, some key moving parts, luxury of having assets to trade from experienced to prospects to fill the needs.

Bingo. This sums it up perfectly with the addition of how the Twins think Gray will perform against: a) the other available FAs they are willing to sign b) other pitchers they are willing to trade for

FanGraphs has SonnyG at: 98-85 3.47ERA 3.57FIP 3.67xFIP Looking over these stats in FanGraphs, he looks to be a good 3.00-3.50 ERA and worth 2-4WAR. I agree 5 is an outlier until backed up by at LEAST 1 more season. But I'll take SonnyG at 2-4 over any of the currently available pitching FAs when you factor in the $$s. Rodon was the talk of the FA market last year. I reluctantly thought he might be a good addition, foolishly swayed by some articles I read, and look how that turned out. Rangers won the WS despite the lack of pitching from there big FA signing. I'd even bring Maeda back on 1yr deal of about $12-$15M. He pitched well down the stretch and it is the second season after a elbow procedure that a pitcher gets back to normal. Thank God we didn't spend on Thor last year on a prove it deal.

I am loathe, and that isn't even strong enough word, to venture into the FA market with the exception of our FAs. I know a lot of people are high on a couple of FAs out there, Jordan or Eduardo who seem to fascinate many, I've read rankings of these pitchers in a couple of different articles, and I am not enamored. I'd rather go with our youngsters vs any of the non-Twins FAs out there. We seemed to be very shortsighted when it comes to the Twins having luck signing FA pitchers. I find it amusing that everyone is assuming that Gray will regress, and other pitchers will magically improve. Of course, Gray's HR rate will regress but he has been a 3.00-3.50 ERA pitcher. Also don't necessarily make assumptions on the payroll. We would never have guessed that the Twins payroll would ever go over $150M, yet here we are. I more open to trading for a pitcher than signing one of the non-Twin FA pitchers. But even that has been mixed over the years. So, I am clearly in the SonnyG house even if it is for more $$s. I stated in another article, that the Twins and Gray will have to compromise between length and $$s. I think the owners and the FO will make the best decision for the Twins to compete this year.