IndianaTwin

So what you are alluding to is that Miami will skillfully and cunningly avoid making the playoffs? But you think they are being delusionary and will make it anyway?

Five, actually. 3, 6, 28, 29, 36

Splitting hairs, but Farmer’s is a mutual option, which is rarely exercised by both. Also, add Dobnak’s $3M. I agree with what I think is your overall point, however, that the decline this year is reflective of significant increases next year.

I heard the reason it was rejected was that the heft required to publish the book brought concern it could be a dangerous projectile.

Not to mention that, if I understand it correctly, any guy they picked up on waivers has already made it past a bunch of teams once. Times can change and a team could reconsider, but for the most part, they are just needing to sneak the guy past a few of the teams, teams that in theory are stronger teams.

Are you referencing the Twins 60 day opening up? If so, who? It seems like the first time in a few years that we don't have someone headed that way as soon as needed.

And Randy Dobnak. 😀 I do suspect they'll sign another body or two. Even if they don't pull a Keuchel and earn a callup, they are needed to keep the "real" prospects on schedule in terms of days off, etc.

To summarize... Duran Jax Stewart Thielbar Funderburk Jackson Staumont Duarte Topa Alcala Balazovic Winder And a lot of those have options. I get that relievers are volatile, but that's a lot of possibilities that have had some level of MLB success, plus a couple at the end who seem to have potential. Beyond that... In looking at this list, I'm not too hung up on exposing Balazovic to waivers if it comes to that. I don't see how you add Varland to that list when doing so currently means SWR as the No. 6 option as a starter. Related, have we had any AAAA starters added on minor league contracts yet?

I guess I'm not understanding the need to search for a RH batting outfielder. I mean, yes, if you look at the roster, Buxton is the only pure RH hitter in the outfield listing, but the infield can easily be all RH if they want to play platoon, and we know the C will be as well. With only 13 position players, you need a lot of switch hitters to create an entire platoon lineup. Ain't gonna happen. And given the preponderance of right-handed pitchers, if you're going to err, err on the side of having too many LH batters. Facing a lefty, all you need to do is put Farmer at 2B and the switch-hitting Castro in one of the corners, and you've got seven righties: Jeffers/Vazquez (c), Santana (1b), Farmer (2b), Correa (ss), Lewis (3b), Buxton (cf) and the switch-hitting Castro (lf/rf). That leaves two from Kepler, Wallner, Kirilloff (or even Julien) to have the other corner outfield spot and DH. And shucks, if it's Vazquez's day to catch, you could even use Jeffers as the DH and have eight righties. (To anticipate the question, what about Buxton getting hurt? Well, Castro plays CF against lefties, so you might have three LH batters in the lineup, rather than just two. But if's that big of a deal and Martin is pounding the ball, he's also an option to bring up.)

Waiting is not allowed on the internet. One must make a strong and immediate opinion and then yell it loudly. /s

Or they think it’s more likely they can sneak Jensen through waivers than Balazovic. After all, a good number of teams have already passed once on Jensen.

He was hurt most of the year and he was below average in hard-hit balls. Seems like those two might be related?

Out of curiosity, what's your evidence that Seattle initiated this trade? Overall, I don't think their silence is evidence of their not pursuing people. More likely, I think it's evidence of their preference to work below the radar.

I'd welcome a repeat of that Saturday morning two winters ago when I woke up and freaked out to the news of a Correa signing, this time with Bellinger. The handedness is wrong, but there's not many guys who could solve the challenges of having a Buxton backup, a proven first baseman and an extra bat with one roster spot. His agent is, ahem, Mr. Boras, and the Twins have shown the willingness to be creative with him late in the offseason. This FO also been good at pulling off deals and signings that were completely under/off the radar. (You heard it here first, film at 11. 😀)

The last part of your first question is key. After a good start, Bundy kept getting starts because the alternatives were Anibel Sanchez, Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Chi Chi Gonzalez and the 2022 versions of Varland, Woods Richardson and Sands. I think we're optimistic that this year's 7-12 are better than that crew. If they are, and if DeSclafini is at 4.89, I doubt he gets 29 starts like Bundy did.

On the 2024 team... 1. Realistically, Polanco wasn't going to get more than 350-400 at bats, which now get spread among some combination of Larnach, Miranda, Julien, Kirilloff, Lee and perhaps others. Aren't we clamoring to let the kids play? 2. DeSclafini doesn't line up at the top of the rotation, but after his 2021 (130 ERA+), there were certainly folks on TD who were interested. Yes, that was two winters ago, but the past two years have been injury-riddled. I trust the Twins doctors more than I trust us on TD. At any rate, what this does is greatly increase the likelihood that SWR doesn't make the opening day rotation. Because without DeSclafini, the Twins were only one injury away from that happening. 3. DeSclafini may not improve the No. 5 spot, but I think he greatly improves the No. 6 spot by having Varland there rather than SWR. Last year we were worked up about Ober starting the season in St. Paul and he was up by the end of April. Varland hasn't done as much through 2023 as Ober had done through 2022, so I'm not concerned about Varland not being in the opening day rotation. If he's healthy and pitches anywhere close to solidly in his first start or two at St. Paul, he will make a start for the Twins by the end of April by virtue of an injury. If he doesn't, that means health -- cool! 4. The Twins approach to the bullpen is to throw a lot of darts at the wall and see who sticks. In Topa, they just got another dart. I don't know if he can be counted on to be in the Jax/Thielbar/Stewart group at 2-4 in the bullpen, but it sure seems like he's another in the Alcala/Funderburk/Staumont/Headrick... group. Topa even has two options, which adds flexibility. 5. And that doesn't take into account the freed up money, particularly if, as noted above, Seattle is chipping in $8M. (And then there's the prospects.) I've often said that this team's MO is generally not to make massive moves, and this isn't one of them. Instead, they seem to make moves that keep nudging the needle in the right direction. It seems this one does some of that, and we still don't know the carryover effect to other moves that are in the pipeline.

@Cody Christie, how do you categorize Jose Miranda and Bubba Thompson among the hitters. The latter, in particular, seems like he could be on the list above. What is the option status on them? Beyond that... Hitters: Trades and injuries will happen, but right now I'd think the 13 hitters desired (by the FO, not by those on TD) hitters are Jeffers, Vazquez, Correa, Farmer, Julien, Lewis, Polanco, Castro, Kepler, Kirilloff, Larnach, Wallner, Buxton. From there: If there's an injury to a catcher, Camargo takes his spot. (He does have options, right?) If there's an injury to someone else, Gordon gets the spot. If there's NOT an injury to someone else, the Twins are loathe to give up on someone, so I suspect they'd keep Gordon in favor of Larnach, just to give him a final shot. The likelihood of an injury or trade makes this scenario doubtful. Pitchers: Trades and injuries will happen. Otherwise... Right now, Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Varland are the starters. Woods-Richardson is No. 6. Duran, Jax, Stewart and Thielbar are the first four in the bullpen, likely followed in some order by Alcala, Funderburk and Headrick. Do any of the last three have options. In that scenario, Balazovic gets the No. 8 bullpen spot until he either pitches himself up the chain of command or out of the organization, followed by one of the guys above. EDIT to add: Apparently @stringer bell and I were typing simultaneously and largely got to the same conclusion, with him choosing Miranda and me Larnach. Either way, one's up, one's down and Gordon is relying on an injury to free up a spot. Because of the option situation, Miranda and Larnach only BOTH make the list is if there are two injuries.

<Hand shake> <Double hair tousle> I need to track this down for a re-watch. Originally a date night for me and the future Mrs. IT.

Thanks. I don’t have a good handle on the location. And yeah, “If it ever gets built” is the key phrase.

Not only that, but Gallo provided many on TD with a late-season whipping boy when they needed someone to replace Kepler, since the Twins' patience with Kepler seemed to be paying off. /s *"Gallo plugged some holes with an average bat for 1 year." To add to your point, during the first half of the year, when he was playing most regularly, he was somewhat of an above-average bat. During the last half of the year , when he was struggling offensively, he was disproportionately serving as a defensive replacement.

Thanks. I'd missed that. For history buffs, two other spots I have gone to (and that are worth it) are the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls (2.5 hours). Very near that are a number of Harriet Tubman sites (including her grave) in Auburn.

Sandy Koufax was 36 when elected, but I think Mauer is currently the youngest.

I would echo the things Ted says in the article, particularly… The ceremony is great, but if your focus is on visiting the Hall itself, choose a different time of year. The Parade of Legends was the highlight of the weekend for me. A guy standing behind us kept yelling, “Thank you, ______,” so nearly all of the players turned and waved, which made for some good pictures. Get lodging early. If you are thinking at all about going, make reservations now at a place you can cancel if needed. If you want a chain hotel, you’re probably looking at an hour or more away, but I got a Comfort Inn at regular price in Albany when I reserved in January. Had I waited, I’d have been shut out or paid quite a bit more. Perhaps implied but not specifically stated in Ted’s encouragement to stake out a place is that it’s okay to do so on Saturday already (or even Friday). We got to town Saturday morning around 9 and made that our first stop. There were already a good number of blankets and chairs set out. The area inside the fence (for Hall members and invited guests) is pretty large, so you are going to have sit some distance away. Binoculars wouldn’t be a bad idea. There are spaces marked off as aisles for getting to the reserved area, so we chose to sit on the far side of one, which gave us the front “row” in our section. Other options nearby are the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in Oneonta and the Fenimore Art Museum, on land owned by James Fenimore Cooper, and The Farmer’s Museum, a living history museum that connects to the area’s rural heritage. The latter two are in Cooperstown. I’ve not been to any of the three, but they’re options if they connect to your interests.

Here’s something I put together following my trip to last year’s induction ceremony: If you don’t feel like watching the whole thing, the description notes the times for different “chapters,” like an intro to what you will see about inductees, some highlights from the hall, the Parade of Legends and the ceremony itself.

Well played, Mauer.