snarkerbarnyard

If the Twins are in contention and the Nats aren't, I think making a midseason move for Strasburg would make a lot of sense. But, if thats the case, he's likely to be the number one rental target and command a lot of value.

While third is farther away from first base, the ball is generally hit harder at the third baseman than the shortstop, giving them time to set their feet and make a good thrown instead of rushing one. I think Polanco's arm would play there. My only concern is would he hit enough. By no means is it a foolproof plan, and would only really happen if Plouffe got traded, Park needed to be sent down and Sano's defense at third was atrocious.

I think it's almost a certainty that Plouffe goes, and that the Twins have 0 interest in putting Sano in the outfield. A big deal was made about getting Sano OF reps in winter ball, and I believe it was 100% only to keep some leverage when trying to deal Plouffe. If Park struggles, then you send him to AAA and let him season. His 70 grade power will play eventually. At that point you have Arcia or Vargas assume the DH role. And, if every pessimist's opinion on Sano's D at 3rd comes to fruition, then you see how Polanco handles it over there. He would be a hell of a lot better option than Nunez.

This is my dream. For some reason I think that this is THE move, along with prospect development and trading Ricky Nolasco for a bag if baseballs, that catapults the Twins into legitimate postseason contention. Plouffe is a valuable player. He doesn't walk much, but he has some pop at a sought after position, along with above average defense. He has value, and trading him for less than he's worth could prove to be a catastrophic mistake. That's not what I'm advocating for. This could only work if another team was willing to spend for Plouffe. Preferably a good/really good bullpen guy, a catcher, or some prospects with upside. Now that Plouffe is out of the picture, our shining beacon of hope Miguel Sano can move to third and develop there before he gets too immobile to play there in maybe 3 or 4 years. And that leaves a big spot for Chris Davis to fill at DH. I'm not certain but I think Davis is also comparable to Mauer at 1B, so they could share time. Thats not the issue, the issue is outbidding the Red Sox/Dodgers/etc. for him. He's estimated to get around 5/$105 I think, or at least thats what I've seen thrown around on here. He could definitely get more than that, but I think that if the Twins stay at 5 years, don't go overboard on the AAV, and can dump Nolasco's salary, it shouldn't prove to be too big of a burden in years 4-5. Davis can get on base, and he can sock dingers, and in my opinion thats something every lineup in the league could use some more of. So, what do you think? Am I nuts? If so, is it because it's a bad idea, or because the notion of the Twins signing Chris Davis is that ridiculous? I know I neglected Davis's down year and strikeouts but I think that's just because I like him so much.

If the twins are going to pursue a big time FA ace this year, I'd rather them go for Price. If they're going to spend $150 mil+, why not make the best available guy their #1 target?

Using Plouffe in a utility role is a waste of his value. Because he's a better 3B than Sano, if they keep him, that's where he's playing. Because I think the Twin's goal should be to inject as much offense into the lineup as they can without playing people completely out of position, I think they should trade Plouffe and pursue a better DH bat. Letting an above average 3B be our utility man would be a terrible misallocation of resources. He's worth the most to the Twins as our starting 3B or in a trade.

I would prefer to trade him. I know he's probably a lot better than Sano defensively, but Sano's bat (which profiles well anywhere you put it) profiles REALLY well at third base. Also, Sano at third opens up a spot at DH, which can be filled with a big bat from either within (Arcia, Vargas, ABW) or outside (Sign Chris Davis?, trade?) the organization. Plus, Plouffe could be helpful in netting us a player we really need, like a catcher, shortstop, or quality SP.

I saw on twitter that the Marlins are taking offers on Carter Capps, the guy with a 17 k/9. I could see Loria trying to dump more salary on someone to take him. He got almost nothing for latos or haren.

I agree that right now our biggest priority should be to acquire a catcher, either now or this offseason, but I personally think we're going to be hung out to dry at SS until Nick Gordon gets here. Escobar and Santana were likely flukes last year, and we need to bridge the gap to Gordon (who I'm pretty sure just started hitting at CR). Tulo is a little old, I would only talk to CO and see if we could get him w/o Berrios if we took on his whole contract. Otherwise, I might look at Jose Ramirez of the Indians, who's blocked by Super Shortstop Francisco Lindor. He had a solid year defensively last year, and is raking at AAA right now despite struggling in the Show. I wouldn't let the fact that he's an in division rival bother me. Is he really an improvement over Santana Polanco or Escobar? He is defensively, but outside of that I have no idea, I'm just posing another option.

A catcher who's also 30 years old and cooled off tremendously in June. These are also the same Athletics who traded Josh Donaldson for basically Marcus Semien. I think Max Kepler and some other near-MLB ready talent could get the job done. But Sano or Berrios? Preposterous.

I'm fairly certain the Twins could get Stephen Vogt from the Athletics without mortgaging the future. If I were TR, I'd look to make that deal happen, and also for a lockdown reliever. No names jump out at me, but there have to be some. Remember, the hottest team wins the world series, not the best. Otherwise they would've crowned the Nationals in February. I'm confident that if you put the Twins we saw in May in the postseason, they would have won the World Series. The playoffs this year should be our ultimate goal.

As someone who has suffered a Stress Reaction in their back before, I'll say that it's not that hard of an injury to come back from, and if he waits 3 months and keeps up with his core strength, he, and the Twins, shouldn't be worrying! I'd love for the Twins to take Allard. A reaction is just a bruised bone, not like a fracture, which would mean the vertebra was actually broken.

I like Van Slyke, but as others said Torii basically took his spot. He was not a good CF when he played there last year, but I would've loved him in left. And I don't like him enough to part with more than one top 7-15 prospect. He strikes out a lot, and that shiny .290 BA was over quite a SSS.

The fact that Altuve isn't in the top 3 on the list goes to show that the "Shredder" is silly and values aging, declining player (Zobrist, Pedroia) over new stars.

I think the Tigers have one more run in them, but they'll most likely go nowhere fast in the postseason without any bullpen upgrades. I think Detroit's main rivals in the central this year will be the White Sox.

Zimmerman only makes sense for a team on the cusp of contending (not us) and Strasburg only makes sense for the Twins IF (it's a big if, that's why it's in caps) they can extend him. Now, this trade would probably have to include 1). Our best position player, Dozier and 2). 1-2 of our top 5 prospects. I think Dozier plus Kohl Stewart and some bullpen help (something they're looking for) might do it, but honestly, I don't even think trading a 4 WAR 2nd baseman for a 4-5 WAR starter straight up is a good deal.

July 23rd against the Angels. I have no idea why. It just feels right.

One thing I noticed right off the bat watching his different swings is how much more pronounced his hands dropping is. That's just extra movement that's making him slower, and likely a contributor to his inability to hit balls up in the zone. He shouldn't necessarily drop the uppercut that makes him hit balls the way he does, just tone down the glaring hole that any pitcher from high school up would know how to exploit.

Bagwell Biggio Johnson P Martinez E Martinez Mussina Piazza Schilling Smoltz Walker I'd vote for Bonds and Clemens if there weren't so many choices. Integrity moves you down on the priority list.

Nothing really seems super improbable, the only improbable thing would be all of this happening in one season. But hey, it's about time we had some good luck!

Arcia's lefty-righty splits are terrible. The K%'s are comparable at 32% against lefties and 30% against righties, but he's shown the ability to hit for power against righties, with a nearly 300 point difference in OPS. Now he's shown us that his floor is as a strikeout prone, power hitting, platoon OFer. But, if he can start hitting for power against lefties this year, he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

I wanted to say Berrios for all of the reasons listed above, but for the sake of variety, I'll say Burdi. There's something about 3-digits that just puts a smile on my face. Man, I can't wait to see him up.

It won't matter who's in our pitching staff if we have a trio of poor defenders in the OF. Which is why I think we should trade for someone I surprisingly haven't seen mentioned on the past months I've been lurking. Ben Zobrist A guy who, if you look at his WAR, has been one of the most consistent players in the MLB the past 5 years, can (sort of) play center, and slide to a corner and play stellar defense if Hicks/Buxton hits his way up this season. We could put him in right while Torii DHs and Vargas (as much as I love to see him hit) plays AAA for the first time. And he'll certainly hit better than Jordan Schafer. The only problem is cost, because a lot of other teams think he's just as attractive. But then again, the Rays didn't swing a mountain of prospects for Price, so maybe it'll be reasonable.