EGFTShaw

Won't matter.  The Dodgers conspicuously spent minimal dollars this year and they will break out the bank for him next year.

Warren Zevon ? Awesome name from the past.

Perhaps, Mount Rushmore should be expanded when it comes to talking baseball, (or football for that matter) because of the number of players on the field at one time.

I can see limiting hockey or basketball to 4, but baseball, also give its long history, only 4 is extremely limited.

I do think lineage counts, so the franchise is the Sens/Twins.

Otherwise, can you imagine the LAD leaving off everyone who was great when they were in Brooklyn?  Same too of the SFG when then were in NY.

But it does get you thinking and remembering the players who have played for our team.

But that pandora of a box was opened up when Killer was listed as playing for the Twins from 1954...they were still the Sens at that time.

Big Train...what a great nickname...

You beat me to this post. I was going to put the same thing. I feel it is important to include the Washington Senators in these type of things. It's our franchise history.

If you remember Ryan's two starts on the west coast, once in LA and once in SD, he didn't do very hot. He gave up 10 runs in SD and didn't do much better in LA. If you take away those two starts, he has an ERA under 3, so I do think it is possible. 

Why not just take a Bailey Ober for #5?

What about Sonny?

Monetary: Is overall cash revenues greater than before player X was traded?  With the recent LArraez trade I think they will be.  But I don't think is an indicator of his popularity.  This may simply be the Twins overall are better to watch and winning more.
Fan Morale: I think it will dip a bit, but not to far when it comes to Arraez simply because we netted a need that every Twins fan knew needed.  Quality Pitching.  Had the return been Archer/Pagan then you might see a difference.
Team Morale: This will dip among the Tres Amigos, Miranda, Arraez and El Otro Muchacho (can't remember his name...), but for the full clubhouse?  I don't think so.

Similar way to measure any fan favorite that gets traded.  If we had done Puckett for Greg Maddox (I think their timelines crossed properly) that would have been interesting.  HUGE favorite in Puckett and Maddox HoF pitcher's pitcher. (NOTE: don't debate the trade idea, it was to illustrate that the bigger the fan favorite the bigger the prize coming back has to be.)

If you want to investigate this more, go outside of baseball and into the Wayne Gretsky Trade to LA Kings.  It should provide more extremes to help answer your question and refine your metrics.

There's two of him? Great!

Best case for Jorge Polanci is .... Jorge Polanco in odd numbered years.

Had an argument with a guy who HATED Frank Thomas, almost 30 years ago. “He’s not anywhere near as good as Lou Gehrig or Ed Murray.” Okay then,  was my response. These are the names you have to pull up to dis Frank Thomas? So he’s, what, the third best hitting first baseman ever? Stony silence from the other guy  
My point being that if comps for Arraez include Tony Gwynn, life is good for Luis
 

Great article Adam!  And great comments, especially Doc Bauer.  I agree, Larnach could easily be added to this list.  However, I believe a trade or two is in the offing and some of these players could be included.  I don't think any of the 4 Adam listed will be, although I'd be willing to part with jeffers in a package to acquire a better catching prospect.  It's interesting so many on TD are "down" on Pablo Lopez when he's the same age as Ryan and has performed in a similar fashion.  I'd take another Joe Ryan on our staff in a heartbeat.  And if Lopez was acquired and performed well, I would expect the Twins to extend him.  They didn't extend Berrios, and it was probably the right move.  If Ryan and Lopez are performing I think they would keep them both and someone like Paddock to be the foundation of a starting staff going forward.  

Great post, super detailed and informative. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Jeffers and Kirilloff can do with with a full, healthy season. 

A great article! Very detailed and in depth! Couldn't agree more. I'm a believer in Jeffer's potential and don't think we've seen the best of him yet. I think a lot of people sell him short on his defense and handling of the staff, and don't realize he's as young as he is, and still only has a little over 500 ML AB.
Boy, if AK could just get healthy and stay that way, what a difference he could make!
I would have made your post "6" instead of 4.
Larnach could also be a major difference maker. He's solid enough in the OF, should get better in time, and has a tremendous arm. We've seen flashes of what his bat might bring.
And I think a lot of people forget about and undersell on Ober. While his IP were regulated in 2021, with just cause, he looked really good and finished strong. He was good to great in 2022 when healthy. Will he always have injury concerns? Or did all the changes and improvements he made in 2021 just get temporarily messed up due to non monitored offseason workouts and a short ST? I believe he's a solid mid rotation starter if he can just take the mound a good 26-28 turns.

So, has anyone offered to be your Huckleberry Mr Birkleberry? ? (Val Kilmer reference)

That said, aside from communicating better about what you meant by contend, should have been Win the AL since it does go through Houston, but not only Houston.  Seattle took a step forward.  Yankees are always the Yankees.  And you can never count out Tampa.

But I want to see what our guys can do.  I think there is some excitement in line with these younger players.

I want to see AK with a full HEALTHY season.  

I want to see RL with a full Healthy season.

I want to see BB with a full HEALTHY SEASON.  (If this happens, MVP votes will follow)

I want to see if Ryan takes the next step.

I want to see if Lopez regains his form.

I want to see if Pagan can live up to 80% of the HyperDrool people have had over his skill set.

I want to see Maeda pitch again like he did in 2020.

There is a LOT to like.

I do think this teams needs a Hrbek/Cuddyer type character...a guy who keeps everyone loose.

So, has anyone offered to be your Huckleberry Mr Birkleberry? ? (Val Kilmer reference)

That said, aside from communicating better about what you meant by contend, should have been Win the AL since it does go through Houston, but not only Houston.  Seattle took a step forward.  Yankees are always the Yankees.  And you can never count out Tampa.

But I want to see what our guys can do.  I think there is some excitement in line with these younger players.

I want to see AK with a full HEALTHY season.  

I want to see RL with a full Healthy season.

I want to see BB with a full HEALTHY SEASON.  (If this happens, MVP votes will follow)

I want to see if Ryan takes the next step.

I want to see if Lopez regains his form.

I want to see if Pagan can live up to 80% of the HyperDrool people have had over his skill set.

I want to see Maeda pitch again like he did in 2020.

There is a LOT to like.

I do think this teams needs a Hrbek/Cuddyer type character...a guy who keeps everyone loose.

Let Lewis play as long as he needs in St. Paul, but choose a position and run him out there as a regular. I would rathr see Lewis get built-up and push someone out of the outfield than bring him back waaaaay too soon.
 
Decide, too, what to do with Austin Martin. Suddenly the Twins could have a wealth of disposable redundant outfield talent. I like Martin on the bases. Put him in a lineup with a running Julien, Arraez somewhere, Lewis, Buxton and someone like Corea.......phew!

I doubt the Astros take a step back. I could see the starting pitching taking a step forward. Certainly better than last year. Considering we don’t know if Kiriloff will ever play again and Larnach’s history of injuries and not really having shown he belongs, this seems highly unlikely. Miranda could also sophomore slump. ( that’s probably more likely)  I think Duran staying healthy is 50/50  
Jeffers being an all star or even a legit MLB catcher is VERY unlikely  
 

As I stated before BTV is a great tool to get an idea about trades. Yet I always think they undervalue the Twins but probably all fans feel that way and in general the Twins are probably are under valued.  
Arraez was an all-star, batting champ, silver slugger, GG nomination, I believe most players would see a notable uptick in value, Arraez needle did not move. Julien had a MVP AFL performance, his needle didn't move. Martin had a very good & steady AFL performance, his value fell from 11 to 7. Hopefully GMs are less bias.
This won't let this deter my trading but it's a little frustrating

Another thing to consider is the Twins graduated Ryan, Duran, Miranda and traded Petty from their Jan 2022 list. Maybe the quality of hitting prospects gets them to spend on a high end pitcher? One can hope...The lack of catching prospects about A ball is definitely a glaring weakness on the Twins system. Maybe they address that yet this offseason in trades.

Are they really #6? Maybe. Rankings like this are just so subjective that I don't know how on earth you can have any sort of general consensus. But despite trades and promotions of a number of young players...not necessarily 100% proven at this point...I never bought the system was suddenly downgraded to the bottom third. That's a pretty good looking top 10, IMO, even if it's hitter heavy. Outside that top 10...and this is to offer a little more hope and perspective...what happens if Balazovic is 100% and rebounds next year? Varland, maybe not a stud, isn't even in that top 10. While I don't think either Sands or Henriquez are going to probably stick in the rotation, I could see both transitioning to being really solid bullpen pieces. And there's real value in that, even if neither are the type to bump rankings. And the same may be true of LH Headrick, who might stick as a rotation piece.
If there is a "problem" within the system, and the rankings, it would be an absence of top prospects around the AA level. Not saying there's not talent that will be at that level in 2023, but it feels the best talent is at AAA and low A and the Rookie level. But I think recent foreign signings and the 2022 draft, and the 2023 one, could change that perspective very quickly. 
Maybe most encouraging by that differential in talent levels? Over the next couple of seasons we're going to see Lewis, Lee, Wallner, Julien, SWR, Varland, Larnach, Kirilloff, and others being low cost and very good young players at the ML level allowing for those A and Rookie level players rising through the system.
Things are not dark in the system at all.

Keith's reports are usually pretty good. Although I do remember him questioning the Jose Berrios drafting.  But this was based on his size primarily.  He developed very nicely even though he had a rough year with the Jays this past year.

It goes to show what your scouting and development teams can produce if you have good people.

It goes to show what your scouting and development teams can produce if you have good people.