HarmonK03

Falvey had the business operations taken away from him and he did not agree with it. Very few teams have someone over the business and baseball operations. We don't know if Tom P. did that to force to him out, but by his own words that was a factor in his leaving. It's not Tommy's job to hire scouts, that is Zoll, and if he is requesting more hopefully Tommy will authorize the spending. Where Tommy has failed is not hiring a competent GM who can manage both upwards and down and set up the baseball operations with a structure that will provide sustainable success. Zoll is not the one to do this and not much will change until he is gone.

When was the analytics department downsized, we have heard about the scouts but I don't recall hearing anything about the analytics department.

Falvey left on his own, and he was the one who started to downsize the scouting staff over the last few years.

I have little hope of Zoll leading this effort. This shows why there is a need for an experienced baseball executive that knows how to use all the tools at their disposal. This is where I want Tom P. to make the first meaningful investment, otherwise it will just be more of the same.

Jackson was put on waivers three times last year and no one claimed him. I think it is more of a case of his being overvalued in TD land. I wouldn't mind if he was the third catcher, available in case of injury but I am not sure he should be counted on for more than that.

Opening day outfield and DH is a mix of ERod, Jenkins, Buxton and Keaschall. I didn't say Roden had to be in AAA, but the choices are either backup OF or AAA. I am not starting him over two of the top prospects in the organization or Buxton or Keaschall You haven't said why you think he should get regular playing time, is this based on a small sample size of 50 good plate appearances. He has always put up good numbers in AAA, it has to translate to the majors and hasn't yet.

He had a good August and in July he was below league average. And in 2025, he couldn't hit in the major leagues either. I am not clearing a spot for him based on one month of good production in the major leagues when he is no longer a top prospect.

The Twins have been going all in on analytics since Falvey arrived in 2017. They are now trying to field staff that buys in more it appears. Last year that was one of the things they said about the new hitting coach is he could translate the data better to hitters. This is just another step in the overuse of analytics, it should be a tool not the driving decision maker.

While I want them to rotate the DH spot and not have a DH only player, Roden is a fourth outfielder, AAA depth piece. He has done nothing to say we have to find a place in the lineup for him and he is no longer a prospect at 27.

In July he performed poorly like every other time he has been in the big leagues, he did well in August and September in the same number of at bats. I wouldn't get rid of him, but he did not do enough to say he is any more than a bench piece at this time.

I don't think much has changed, they have been reducing the scouting staff for a few years now. The only real change is Falvey is gone along with a couple of the a couple of assistant GM's. So who does Zoll listen to among the baseball development i.e. analytic geniuses is the biggest question. And one of the assistant GM's was probably a Falvey guy as he was helping on the business side of the operations which is why he left, so there hasn't much turnover. And there really should be more.

If they go into the season with Caratini as the number 1 catcher, the position will be a black hole. There is nothing in his history that says he is a #1 catcher and will be 34 next year. He is an overpaid backup and is another one of many Falvey head scratching signings.

Based on the box scores throughout the system, it appeared most pitchers were capped at 4 innings or 60 to 70 pitches, I didn't look every day but did most days and it looked fairly consistent.

I would go with Luke as well. Clemens had some good moments at the plate. He can play multiple positions on defense but that does not make him a good defender. His arm is not strong enough or accurate enough to play the outfield on a regular basis. His best position is probably 2B as he can't scoop throws at first.

I agree with this except for Roden. What has he done to earn regular playing time other than we traded for him. He had a good stretch in the last month of the season but every other stint in the major leagues he was below average. And his good stretch came when he wasn't playing every day, which sounds more like a bench player. Now if he can rake on a regular basis and force his way into the lineup that is a different discussion. But he is past prospect status and has yet to earn regular playing with either Toronto or us. He looks more like a fourth outfielder at best. We don't need more experiments at 1B.

Hopefully Zoll will identify someone and Pohlad will back up his words and approve the funds. But I really hope Pohlad isn't telling him which players to sign.

Are you referring to the same Bradley that Tampa sent to AAA before trading because they could not unlock his talent. I was not a huge Pete Maki fan, but he or someone on the Twins helped Bradley take the next step not Tampa.

This comment leads me to believe that they are going to push analytics even more onto the pitching staff. Kalk is the analytics guru of the front office and has no baseball experience and they value this relationship. Analytics has a place as a tool but my concern it will be the driving decision maker. I actually don't mind the hire, was hoping for someone with major league experience but at least he came from a well run system and had been there for a while.

In his three stints in the major leagues he has basically had one good month playing as a reserve. Now it is still a small sample size, but I am not sure I am going to create a spot for him based on one month of decent productivity. I think he can have a role as a 4th or 5th outfielder as a depth piece but there isn't a lot of room for him at this point. And I don't want to see him forced into the lineup just because we traded for him, prioritize the guys you have drafted and developed first.

Zoll has been a part of this organization for 10 years, he was not hired in January. And in my opinion he has been an integral part of the front office for at least the last 5 years. And we have one WC playoff series in that time. His time with the Dodgers means little to me, he was starting out his career, how much exposure did he really get and understand when he was just a cog in the machine. He is not some wonder kid or he would have been lured away by another organization. He helped put the roster together that we went into the season with. There may have been disagreements on certain moves, but Falvey didn't make every decision himself. And it's not just Zoll, it's the whole front office. They need an overhaul and I don't think Zoll is the one to lead or to complete it. Moving on from a couple of assistant GM's means little to me. So he was told by his boss that he wanted to be competitive, his job was to find a way to do that. I don't agree with the decision but this happens in every organization in every sport. Just recently the Wilfs did this with the Vikings when Cousins contract was up when they said no rebuild. An experienced leader comes up with a plan and maybe can still go down the path of the rebuild by convincing their bosses they can meet their goals and still develop a winning team. I want a team that going into a season we know they have a reasonable chance to get to the ALCS and hopefully the World Series. Not just win the Central and see what happens when the playoffs come. Tom P. needs to talk to ARod and Lore, they identified a leader for the Wolves and convinced Taylor because he was still the controlling owner to hire Connelly. We at least feel there is a reasonable chance to get to the conference championship plus more. Who is Pohlad talking to, is it anyone. I have a hard time believing if he is that everyone is telling him he has the best man possible for the job in Zoll. He needs to talk to people around baseball and identify a proven leader and not just necessarily the number 2 or 3 in the Brewers or Rays organization, I want someone who has a proven track record and it's not my job to find him. I am sure ARod and Lore didn't just google "basketball leader" and came up with Connelly's name, they talked to people. This is where I am frustrated with Tom P.

He was Falvey's number 2 since 2024 in the organization, he had a great amount of influence. It was even hinted at when Levine left, that Zoll had replaced him in the pecking order of having Falvey's ear for the prior couple of years. Zoll's fingerprints are all over this roster and the trade deadline from last year.

What does getting Abel back do for the team. He has a had few good outings, so have many other pitchers in their careers. I keep seeing comments that he is a savior for this team, why, we don't know what he can do yet. Yes if he can replicate his success of the last couple outings he pitched this year he will be a key cog. But we have no way of knowing what he will do next year.

He started the season as their starting LF and was replaced by Davis Schneider. There was a reason Toronto was willing to include him in the trade. There is not a place on the roster currently for Roden except as AAA depth.

In my opinion this is an organizational decision in that they don't value stolen bases and feel they have minimal impact from an analytical standpoint therefore they don't work at holding runners on. I am not sure how we can grade our catchers on caught stealing because they get no help from the pitchers.

I just don't want Kremer in front of them though. I think Preilipp and Zebby have earned the right to be in the rotation at the beginning of spring training. Having a 30 something as your 5th starter is just the same middle of the road approach. Give the young guys a chance to develop and see if they can take the next step.