USAFChief

Spot on. The Twins would have been better off putting another 225 IP on Santana's arm for another season and taking the comp. And I also said so at the time. The difference here is, for one thing I'm having a hard time seeing the Twins compete in 2022, so another season of Buxton perhaps isn't worth much, and for another thing, the compensation system isn't what it was then, and might be even worse with the new CBA. I probably put less value on "prospects" than just about anyone here, but unless they can sign Buxton, they need to trade him. That said...sign him, forpetesakes!

First of all, neither you or I have accurate financial information, unless you're Dave St Peter. Second, I'd imagine "profit/loss responsibility" belongs to St Peter, not Falvey. We're discussing baseball transactions here, not net gain. I understand Falvey has a budget to work within, but I doubt he "profitability" as a metric on his annual performance report. He gets graded on Wins and Losses. I don't give a rodents behind if Jim Pohlad earns a yearly profit or not. It's of no interest to me. But here's the thing....the value of this franchise has gone from ~$45m to ~$1.4b since Carl bought it. You claim these are smart people, so I have to believe they're making GOOD money or these smart people wouldn't keep bidding up the value of these franchises. So I'm left to believe Jim Pohlad, operating in a publicly financed facility, could easily chose to spend more on player acquisition, development, and salary if he wanted. Cries of small market this, or mid market that, or 9 figure industries, arent very relevant to a discussion of whether the Minnesota Twins could have "afforded" Jose Berrios. Of course they could have. Easily. Ridiculously easily. It's literally a "mid market" contract. There are arguments to be made about whether or not trading Berrios, or Buxton for that matter, are wise BASEBALL moves. Financial arguments aren't in the least relevant, and only serve as smokescreen and diversion.

Thank god we have you here to keep us "average people's" ego in check.

I came here just to see MLR's use of the phrase "below average revenue." I'm keeping count.

None of the options you listed constitute a quality, or even average, MLB shortstop. There isn't one in the organization. It's possible that at some point, Lewis might develop into one. It's a long shot for that to be any time on 2022. The Twins need to go outside the organization and fill the hole at SS, and hopefully with an asset rather than a stopgap.

Yes.

Thanks to all who help make this place a great home for Twins fans!

Yes.

Atlanta didn't "nibble at the edges." They lost 2/3rds of their outfield, including all-world Ronald Acuna. They were below .500, on the fringe of contention, in a weak division. Instead of giving up, they remade their entire OF. That's the lesson learned. No season should EVER be given away, until there's zero hope. Spend a little prospect capital EVERY time, when it benefits the MLB club. Prospects are the most overrated thing in baseball.

If they bring in Simmons, they're not doing it to play Polanco at SS. And I personally don't want them to move Polanco back. That, to me, is a worse option than Simmons.

I'd say we don't have a decent SS in the organization even IF Polanco moves back there.

That's a fair take. Who plays SS next year?

I see Simmons as a pretty good bounce back candidate, with a floor of "really good defense." He's not a good hitter, and never will be, but he's likely better than he showed last year. I'd rather they get Correa, but that ain't happening, and there's no internal option, so it wouldn't surprise me at all. I would require vaccination, though, or no deal.

Completely agree with the OP. Kudos to the Braves. Losing Acuna and Ozuna, It would have been easy to curl up into the fetal position. Instead, they looked at a winnable division and took steps to make themselves better. Fill holes. I wish our front office were similarly aggressive.

YOU LEFT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS: You attended the game with Chief, and Wallner got an RBI from the HBP! Jeez, get your act together, Mr high-falutin' blogger.

Trading for "a few young exceptional arms" is almost impossible.

Syndergaard comes closest to possibly being an "ace" AND possibly being within the Twins realm of possibilities. Then perhaps Ray, although it's a stretch to call him an ace.

I like it. It'll take some long shots coming through (like a season of 2019 Verlander) and some gambles paying off (Galvis/Lewis at SS, Larnach in RF) for the Twins to contend in 2022. These are chances/gambles with some realistic possibilities. However, I can't imagine Kepler nets you Manaea.

I don't think signing Donaldson had any impact on the Rosario decision, but it's possible. However, signing Donaldson had zero impact on Berrios. None. And Donaldson will have zero impact on their ability to sign Buxton. If anything, it might make it easier to convince Buxton thr team is serious about contending.

If anyone really wants to know how the 2 primary WARS are calculated: bWAR: https://www.baseball-reference.com/about/war_explained.shtml fWAR: https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/war/ They are calculated differently. For example, fWAR uses what a pitcher "should have done (FIP)," bWAR what actually happened (RA9). There are also differences in offensive measures used. The two systems use completely different measures of defense as well. Both, IMO, are well intentioned...and virtually worthless.

Eh-DEE Eh-DEE Eh-DEE

That's not "closer money."

I think 3/$15 would be a bargain for someone with Knebel's talent. Bullpens have been getting more and more important, and that trend isn't going to stop. 60 IP of really solid relief is easily worth that money. They should be signing 3 or 4 guys at that level. However, the Twins won't spend that.

< 1% chance the Twins sign Knebel. He's getting a 3 yr deal at minimum, and for north of $15m

Well, yeah. I'm not the one questioning the statement he was a below average MLB hitter during this time.