Clear Lake Twinsfan

Another name that I'd add for consideration is Hunter Harvey. Soon to be 31 years old, he pitched well for Washington in 2022 and 2023, took a step back in 2024, and then only appeared in 12 games last year due to injuries. He made $3.7 million last year with the Royals, but will likely have to accept less on a one year deal this year. If healthy, he has experience pitching in the late innings that could be valuable for the Twins.

Thanks for doing the research and sharing with us. I'd expect to see some of these 23 year olds get some playing time in August.

Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezConnor PrielippDasan HillCharlee SotoMarek HoustonGabriel GonzalezMarco RayaBrandon WinokurKyle DeBargeAndrew MorrisRiley QuickKhadim DiawCJ CulpepperDanny De AndradeBilly AmickRicardo OlivarQuentin Young

I like Otto Kemp as a target from the Phillies. He had a great run in the Arizona Fall League last year, and as Dman pointed out, he followed that up with impressive numbers at AAA this year, especially against LHP. I wonder though, with Alec Bohm going on the IL for the Phillies, how willing they will be to trade Kemp.

I agree with TopGunn#22. I think that we can be sellers and still compete for the Wild Card this year and set us up for 2026. I'd trade Castro, Paddack, Bader, France and Coulombe for the best offers that I could find. Some of those will be nothing more than taking a flier on a low level prospect, but some of these guys should bring back guys who might help the Twins sooner. I'd send Julien and Miranda to the Rockies, Marlins or Pirates for whatever I could get. I'd be much more targeted with Duran. If the Dodgers would be interested in him I'd want their #1 prospect Dalton Rushing, a left handed hitting catcher, included in the deal. I think that he would pair well with Jeffers this year and in the future. Heck, after Will Smith and Rushing, the Dodgers don't have another catcher on their 40 man roster, so maybe they'd even take Vasquez in the deal.

Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallEmmanuel RodriguezKaelen CulpepperConnor PrielippDasan HillCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisBrandon WinokurKyle DeBargeGabriel GonzalezKhadim DiawMarco RayaBilly AmickCJ CulpepperEduardo BeltreDanny De AndradeTanner SchobelTravis AdamsRicardo Olivar

Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallEmmanuel RodriguezConnor PrielippCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisMarco RayaBrandon WinokurKaelen CulpepperDasan HillCory LewisKyle DeBargeEduardo BeltreCJ CulpepperYasser MercedesRicardo OlivarGabriel GonzalezBilly AmickTravis AdamsDanny De Andrade

I also had been thinking that Duran would be an excellent fit for the Dodgers. However, I think that we need to aim higher in our asking price. I agree with TopGunn#22 that the deal needs to start with Dalton Rushing. I also like Andy Pages, mentioned by Cory Englehardt, as part of the deal. In 403 at bats with the Dodgers last year he had an OPS of .712, but his slash line against left handed pitching was .357/.396/.520. The Dodgers played him in center field in 87 games, but he seems better suited to a corner outfield spot with the ability to fill in in center. I think that both of these guys could contribute in 2025 and each have 6 years of team control left.

That's an exciting list. Three thoughts: As Seth Stohs has reminded us for many years, prospect growth is not always linear. Unfortunately, there is always the chance that someone on your list is impacted by an injury or simply doesn't show the anticipated growth. I think that there is a good chance that one of the three prospects that you assume to graduate from the prospect ranks this year doesn't. That could be due to injury, under performance, or lack of opportunity at the major league level. With the 16th pick in next year's draft, there is a good chance that our first pick lands in the top 5 of next year's prospect list. I enjoyed the article.

How far down the list of hardest hit balls do we have to go before we see one that wasn't hit by Wallner?

I've done a little reading on the possibility of trading a portion of a team's international signing pool, and while the current players agreement makes this easier to do than under the previous agreement, there are still limits on the amount that can be traded. Specifically, the amount traded must be in increments of $250,000 (unless the trading team has less than $250,000 left in the pool) and the acquiring team may only acquire an amount up to 60% of their original pool amount. For 2025, the Twins pool amount is $7,550,500, San Diego's is $6,261,600 and the Dodgers have a pool of $5,146,200. This means that the maximum amount that the Twins could trade to San Diego is $3,750,000 and the maximum that could be traded to the Dodgers is $3,000,000. So we'll have to dial back the idea to trade $5 million to a team just a bit.

Instead of including a prospect or eating a portion of his salary, I wonder if San Diego would take Vazquez and his full $10 million salary if we included some International Pool money to help them sign Roki Sasaki when he gets posted. If we include say $2.5 million of our pool in the deal, we don't actually send that money to San Diego, but it allows San Diego to spend $2.5 million more of their own money to sign Sasaki. We'd still probably only net a flyer type of prospect in the deal, and we'd have that much less to spend on International free agents this year, but we would free up the entire $10 million of Vazquez' salary.

Is there any chance that the Twins have another year before Marco Raya and Kala'i Rosario become eligible for the Rule 5 draft? Both were still 17 when the Twins selected them in the June 2020 draft. I believe that both signed their initial contracts before their 18th birthday (in Rosario's case, the Twins announced his signing the day before his 18th birthday.). While that would normally provide an extra year before becoming Rule 5 eligible, I don't know if we have to count 2020 when there was no minor league season.

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezDavid FestaLuke KeaschallZebby MatthewsKaelen CulpepperMarco RayaGabriel GonzalezCharlee SotoRicardo OlivarCory LewisYasser MercedesBrandon WinokurDanny De AndradeCJ CulpepperAndrew MorrisTanner SchobelConnor PrielippMatt Canterino

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezGabriel GonzalezSimeon Woods RichardsonDavid FestaMarco RayaCharlee SotoBrandon WinokurAustin MartinLuke KeaschallTanner SchobelKala'i RosarioDanny De AndradeZebby MatthewsCJ CulpepperConnor PrielippCory LewisRicardo OlivarMatt Canterino