IndianaTwin

And assuming a healthy Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SWR, 5th guy with the Twins, pretty loaded at the high minors as well (pending exodus to the big league bullpen). Knowing that using the term Pipeline® creates angst on TD, there does appear to be some semblance of a duct/hose/line/aqueduct/canal/channel/conduit/conveyer/spout/trough in development.

Though it's also exciting that on average he was 4.1 years younger than average in Low-A and 3.0 years younger than average in High-A. One would think the hitters would have a bit more polish than the pitchers with that much age difference.

He's another guy where they chose the very consistent, methodical approach to his workload. His first 19 starts were on Saturday, skipping three throughout the season. In the first eight, he never threw more than 62 pitches. In the remaining 12 starts, with one exception, he threw from 61 to 80 pitches.* With only four starts at High A, I suspect they will start him there with hopes of moving him up to Wichita in Junish and perhaps even a couple of year-end starts in St. Paul if things go swimmingly. *This pattern sets him up for regular "How are they going to develop him into an MLB starter if he never throws more than five innings" comments on TD, but like most teams, their emphasis is more on pitch count than inning in the minors.

I really like MLBTR and highly recommend it to anyone not familiar with this source. They do a good job of reporting factual information and making regular updates to their stories as more information becomes available. They will report Tweets from other writers, but regularly offer alternative Tweets from people. They also do a great job of explaining contract nuances and their comprehensive views of teams and positional situations are indeed very comprehensive.

Thanks, OTH. You saved me a bunch of keystrokes. I think it's a good move as well for the reasons you describe and will add a little. They earlier talked about Jeffers being the "No. 1 catcher," rather than a 50/50 split. Caratini seems like an excellent fit for a 2/1 split, with Jeffers getting about 108 starts and Caratini 54. Jeffers in the first and third games of series, Caratini in the middle, etc. That's better than alternating Jeffers and Vazquez. The team has improved at catcher. Caratini is a great fit should Jeffers get hurt, a definite improvement over Jackson. Last year's No. 3 option was Gasper. Jackson seems better. Having Jackson on a "guaranteed" contract is not a problem. As others have noted, Jackson's Dobnakian contract paying $1.35M makes it unlikely he'd get claimed on waivers if DFAed. His contract also makes it unlikely he opts out, so he's a great insurance policy, better than the minor league signings of catchers that often come with an opt out that's invoked when they see greener pastures elsewhere. If everybody's healthy, expect to see Jackson start on Opening Day at St. Paul. Jackson is a great fit as a backup to Caratini if Jeffers gets hurt; he's a great fit as a backup to Jeffers (the previous plan) if Caratini gets hurt. Folks have longed for an extension with Jeffers. He's a Boras client, which generally decreases the chances of an extension. They just did arguably the next best thing by locking in Caratini for two years, ensuring an MLB-level catcher is on the roster for 2027. Folks are expecting a trade. Based on things like keeping the veterans and these modest spendings, I don't see that happening with Jeffers or Caratini. The time when fringe catchers do get traded or moved around is at the end of spring training, when teams have had an injury and are desperate for a live body for their backup. If all three are healthy and they do want to trade, I could see the Twins getting more than Peyton Eeles for Jackson in a trade in late March. And if all three aren't healthy or if nobody comes calling, see bullet 3. As you said, smart move.

Yep. And what we did hear most recently (after new ownership was announced and after it was stated that Ryan, Lopez and Buxton, and I'd say by extension, Jeffers, were staying around) was language that the FO had a little flexibility and would potentially be able to add some salary. No one implied $140-$150M, but it wasn't sounding like $100M either. It's still four weeks from spring training and the MO has been to move late. The Coulombes of the world are still available. I suspect we'll still see one or two of those that add $5-$8M.

One of the great moments in broadcasting history, worthy of a display in Cooperstown alongside "We'll see you tomorrow night" and "The Giants win the pennant." If I'm remembering correctly, I timed it at 52 seconds of total silence, followed by a deflated Hawk saying, "And we'll be back," as they went to a commercial for a pitching change. Have you ever found the clip on YouTube? I've searched for it in vain.

I liked Gaetti a lot, but with Mauer, Carew, Morneau and Hrbek around, you pretty much need to move Killebrew to 3B to maximize any version of an all-time Twins team. Same with keeping Carew at 2B and Mauer at C.

Related, it's easy to focus on the "what might have been" with Buxton's health, but I'm not sure folks recognize frequently enough that he only needs 8.8 bWAR to pass Hrbek into the retired number category. Getting 13.3 bWAR would pass Oliva and get him into the Twins legend stratosphere. Buxton had 4.9 bWAR last year, so those are very reachable numbers with three years left on his contract.

Shane Mack and his 19.6 fWAR as a Twin is called underrated. That's not wrong, but I'd say Bob Allison and his 35.3 fWAR (4.2 of which came as a Senator pre-move) is more underrated. Folks a bit older than me speak about Allison with glowing terms. It's easy to be overlooked when you are batting behind Carew-Oliva-Killebrew.

Were you thinking they would get more for what amounts to a trade for Gasper (but that could also still result in keeping Gasper around in AAA)?

AAA salary as a starter = $45K-$90K if on the 40-man, plus $31.50 per diem (in 2025) while on the road. MLB salary as a reliever = $780k, plus $117.50 per diem (less if a meal is provided) while on the road. I don't think a move to the bullpen is an overly difficult sale if it presents a nearly guaranteed path to the majors.

I'll go a step further and say you WILL have more than one "leader" in the clubhouse. With 26 guys it's inevitable that there are going to be different leadership styles and that people will respond differently to different leadership styles, etc. There's positional differences as well -- you hear regularly of guys who are leaders on a pitching staff, etc. Your picture captures the type of leadership I've perceived in Buxton as well. And while it's impossible to judge from the outside, my sense is that Lewis responds better to how Buxton seems to lead than to how Correa seemed to lead. That's not a knock on Correa, just an example -- others may benefit from more rah-rah than Buxton seems to provide. We're all different. Leadership isn't enough to get and maintain a spot on the roster, but if that's an aspect Bell brings to the roster, cool. I'm struck that leadership was perceived as something Santana brought to the roster a couple years ago. Bell's 110 OPS+ last year was better than the 101 Santana had in the year prior to joining the team. I think Bell's a solid add, but the key is still going to be the rest of the roster. As I've said elsewhere, for the Twins to be good offensively, Bell needs to be batting sixth or seventh, shoved down the lineup by a thriving Lewis/Wallner/Keaschall, etc. If he's batting fourth, they will struggle.

As long as he doesn't call Ozney "Ozzie."

I'm not arguing for this, but in 2024 he played nearly as much CF as 2B. My understanding is that they didn't use him in the outfield in 2025 because of his return from Tommy John surgery. From a December story: “'It could be really valuable if he could run out to left field or center field along the way,' Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll said. 'We’re going to have some more formal conversations on what all that is going to look like pretty soon.' In the minors Keaschall played 173 2/3 innings in the outfield, all of which came in center field. His speed makes him an ideal fit there, and his arm strength has never been an issue, prior to Tommy John."

From the OP: "As things stand, the Twins favor Wallner and Roden for regular roles early in 2026, with Outman serving as the primary backup to Byron Buxton in center field." Have the Twins made statements to this effect? The word on TD is to expect Martin in the lineup and I've also read of speculation on Keaschall relocating to the outfield.

Yikes. There have been so many Manny Margot sightings on TD that my mind subliminally went there on my initial very quick read. Needless to say, that changed my interpretation of your comments... 🤣

Prior to the OP's quotes from the Gelb article, the Gelb article also says, "The prevailing sentiment is that the Phillies and Realmuto will find common ground again. He needs them. They need him. There is no single sticking point, according to major-league sources familiar with the talks. Realmuto wants more than the Phillies have offered; the club is believed to have discussed various multi-year scenarios with the catcher. As one of the more decorated catchers in the sport, Realmuto commands a level of respect, but the Phillies are again uncertain about what Realmuto’s market looks like." "League sources" also had Ryan, Lopez and Buxton on the trading block. Trading Jeffers doesn't fit with keeping those three and trying to contend.

Good questions as well. Which speaks to the dilemma. Those of us with hope are optimistic about (to combine your two posts) a yes from many of Wallner, Lewis, Jeffers, Buxton, Keaschall, etc., while those of us without hope are assuming a no. The likely scenario is probably somewhere in between, but the cupboard isn't bare. Though I've wanted a good 1B signing, I've been saying all winter that success is more dependent on these guys than it is on the signing. To say it another way, if you assume Bell is going to play a lot, success is dependent on him being pushed into the No. 6 or 7 spot in the order rather than on him batting cleanup.

Probably because post-ASB he played in 64 of 66 games at 27 HR/29 SB pace, lifting his BA and slugging percentage significantly in the process. I'm not sure that I consider him "most likely to succeed," since I put as much or more stock in Wallner's OPS+ of 143 over 2023-24 as I do in his only 110 a year ago, but I'm willing to believe that both could easily be middle of the order bats. I agree with others that Keaschel's ability to maintain much of his offensive prowess over a full season is probably more of a difference maker than Lee's improvement to merely average, but having even a 95 or so OPS in Lee batting 8th or 9th would speak to having a pretty long lineup.

I'd love to see Martin turn into a great player. What continues to baffle me is people seeing Martin as a given in the lineup based on his 181 PAs in 2025 with an OPS+ of 106, while ignoring his previous 257 PAs with an OPS+ of 89. Yet they simultaneously consider Wallner a question mark because he only had an OPS+ of 110 over 392 PAs in 2025, ignoring his previous 580 PAs with an OPS+ of 139.

I don't care if Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva AND Rod Carew had gone to Alabama, I'm still going to root against them in football.

Actually, the piece I am intrigued by is... Cuddyer, drafted ninth, ranked in top 50 as a minor leaguer, bounced around a few positions after coming up before settling into being a regular at age 25; probably would have gotten ripped on for not developing quickly enough if Twins Daily had been around back then.. Lee, drafted eighth, ranked in top 50 as a minor league, bounced around a few positions after coming up before getting his first chance to start the season as a regular at age 25; has gotten ripped on for not developing quickly enough. They aren't perfect parallels, but there are similarities, enough to serve as a reminder that maturing into being even a solid major leaguer often doesn't happen overnight.

I don't get the angst about needing another RH bat: C: Jeffers (R) 1B: Bell (S) 2B: Keaschall (R) SS: Lee (S) 3B: Lewis (R) LF: Martin (R) CF: Buxton (R) RF: Wallner (L) DH: Larnach (L) And if it's Jackson's (R) day to catch, you can DH Jeffers. So we're worried that in the 25 percent of games that they face a LH starter, we have one or two LH batters in the game? That assumes a bench of Jackson, Clemens, Fitzgerald, Roden, Outman in their current configuration. If you're looking to increase platoon advantage, the bigger issue is that several of the guys who are going to play every day (Buxton, Keaschall, Lewis, Catcher) are RH, so on the 75 percent of games when they face a RH starter, at most they will have five LH batters in the lineup. If they to force a platoon advantage, they would actually replace one or two of those with a LH batter. To maximize LH batters, you'd have to do something like: C: Jeffers 1B: Bell 2B: Clemens SS: Lee 3B: Fitzgerald LF: Roden CF: Buxton RF: Wallner DH: Larnach Which means benching Keaschall and Lewis. Said another way, the consistency in the lineup is already among the right-handed hitters. It's the left-handed side that needs improving.

Given Robertson’s age and past effectiveness, I’d be into an incentive-driven contract, in the vein of $2M guaranteed and then an extra $1M at 30, 40, 50, 60 innings.