RealTwinsFan357

I'm not suggesting Clippard is a PTBNL, I'm just saying that his acquisition is secondary for the Twins because he is a rental. Now isn't the time to trade the farm for 2 month rentals without acquiring young talent as well. Kazmir isn't part of the future of this team. Also Kazmir's splits away from Oakland aren't fantastic this season.

I just don't see the need to acquire a rental rotation arm (like Kazmir). Honestly I see Phegley as the real prize here. The way I see it, we give up something of value (maybe prospects, maybe MLB ready talent) for Phegley and see if the As will throw Clippard in as a bonus

Fair enough. I would center a package around Hicks for them, May probably not.

I have always been a huge fan of Zobrist, and I agree he is better than the Eduardos, I would just want him to play enough to be valuable is all. I didn't think about postseason experience, but that's a really good point and could come into play

Tyler Clippard is a name that has been thrown around for awhile on these forums. Likewise, I have been reading a lot of comments about the Twins catching situation. I think if the Twins decide to trade for Clippard, they should also try to acquire Josh Phegley. His defensive seems like it would be an improvement over Suzuki (he has thrown out around 38% of baserunners, not sure what number is considered good there, but he does have an overall positive defensive rating according to Fangraphs). He is also performing well at the plate in small samples and is blocked by Stephen Vogt at his position. I figure he could split time with Suzuki this year and take over as the starter next year. Even if he doesn't pan out, he is an improvement as a backup catcher and at least gives us another option to bridge the cap to Turner (if he ever starts hitting), Garver, and Swim. Clippard, of course, would become our setup man and help stabilize our bullpen. I would consider offering a package centered around Arcia or Santana for these guys a the A's tend to favor young MLB talent to prospects. I don't think the price would be too high. Thoughts?

Clippard I like, but I don't see a need for Zobrist, especially if Polanco starts at SS. We would still have the 2 Eduardos for infield backup along with Robinson and Hicks (assuming Rosario, Buxton, and Hunter in the OF) to backup the outfield. Arcia could get thrown into the mix, too (especially in sept).

I'm not suggesting the Twins trade for Justin Upton right now, but should the Twins consider offering him a contract this offseason? Although signing him would not add left-handed power to this team, it would give us a fantastic hitter to bat behind Sano. My thought is that after trading for Upton, the Twins would be free to offer a deal for a young, cost-controlled catcher centered around Plouffe (Susac comes to mind). The Twins could then roll with this type of lineup: 1. Dozier 2B 2. Mauer 1B 3. Sano 3B 4. Upton LF 5. Arcia/Vargas/??? DH 6. Newly Acquired Catcher C 7. Rosario RF 8. Polanco/Santana/??? SS 9. Buxton CF This lineup looks pretty decent to me, especially the speed that comes with Rosario, Polanco/Santana, Buxton, and Dozier hitting consecutively. When/if Buxton is ready to lead off, everybody can just shift down one spot. What do you all think? I like this better than extending Hunter, and I think even with our minor league depth it's too risky for the Twins not to sign a FA outfielder.

I love the idea here but I ask (mainly out of curiosity) whether the MVP will go to the player who helps their team the most or just the best player. It has always seemed to me that it goes to the best player, but I could be wrong.

I don't see Bob Melvin being fired any time soon, and the Blue Jays are only one game under 500, which makes them contenders in the AL east. Also just pulled up Rizzo's and Bryant's stats...Rizzo leads in almost every category: hr, avg, obp, slg, wRC+, etc. Sure Bryant leads in some (rbi, bb%), but Rizzo is clearly the better offensive player

I can think of a couple examples: The A's bat Vogt 2nd The Blue Jays bat Donaldson 2nd The Cubs bat Rizzo 2nd I don't see anything wrong with batting your best hitter 2nd, especially if your second/third best hitters are as solid as Bautista/Encarnacion/Bryant

I would say Brian would be in the discussion, but I don't think he would get many votes. Maybe if the MVP was always given to the player with the highest war he would have a chance, but I just don't see him competing with Trout/Cabrera/Donaldson etc Not directly related but I hope Goldschmidt wins the NL MVP this year, he might be my favorite non-Twin

I like things like "the twins should not trade player x for any package! He's completely untouchable!!" I mean every player has a price...the angels would probably give us Trout for Sano, Buxton, Berrios, Dozier, Perkins, Plouffe, May, Meyer, Polanco, and Duensing! (Also adding Duensing to every trade, that one makes me smile)

I've been giving this a lot of thought, actually, so here's my two cents: Buxton: No reason he doesn't start in CF for the Twins next year. He might still be rough around the edges, but his potential is too high to start him in the minors and his defense will help regardless. Although I hope he sticks, he might have to be sent down sometime next year if his hitting doesn't start to improve. Rosario: I'm a big fan of Eddie Rosario, but I have to point out that he's not a great player yet (not saying I'm disappointed, Rosario is one of my favorite players to watch this year). Fangraphs gives him a wRC+ of 95, right around league average, while giving him a negative rating on defense. He does pass the eye test, but I would like to see his stats (offensive and defense) improve a little bit. That being said, I would definitely want him starting in LF next year. If his offense improves, he will be a great asset in the corner outfield and if Buxton needs to be sent down, Rosario is a legitimate backup plan in center. Arcia: Arcia needs to start in RF for the Twins next year. Left handed power is perhaps this team's biggest need on the offensive side. He has done some good things at the MLB level before, and I hope he gets a callup soon and continues to build off of it this year. He won't be worse than Torii in RF (defensively) and with Buxton and Rosario playing the other two positions, the team can afford a below average defender in one of the corners. Hicks: I see a lot of people suggesting Hicks should be the starting right fielder for the Twins, but I don't see it. Hicks still can't hit. His average may be up from last year, but he has a wRC+ of 59 this year according to fangraphs. That's not acceptable for a corner outfielder. Because of his defense and speed, Hicks would make a nice 4th OF. He can pinch run, sub for Arcia come the 7th inning, and play all three positions well (although I haven't actually seen him in left). As much as it pains me to say it, I think Hicks's opportunity to be a long-term starter is gone. Kepler: I absolutely love what Kepler is doing in the minor leagues right now. An outfield of Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler would excite me both offensively and defensively. The biggest problem I see with that is our corner players would then be Mauer, Plouffe, Rosario, and Kepler. There isn't much in terms of power threat amongst those four. Certainly Sano could DH, but that would give the team only two bats with legitimate HR potential (Sano and Dozier). If Plouffe were traded, allowing Sano to play third and moving Arcia or Vargas into the DH role, I would feel better about the team's power potential. It is also worth mentioning that Kepler is having a breakout season and hasn't been consistently this solid in the minors. Because of this, I would probably start Kepler in AAA with the idea that he's the first one up if he's hitting and somebody else is floundering or gets injured. Walker: I understand the argument that Walker's stats are (and have been for quite some time) amazing in the minor leagues. I also agree that he will probably strike out almost 50% of the time against MLB pitching. Because of this, I look to let Walker finish the year in AA and start him in AAA next year. If he manages to punish AAA pitching, I place him behind Kepler on the waiting list for an MLB audition. the power potential is real, but unless the strikeouts improve, I have my reservations. Hunter: Torii Hunter is a time bomb at this point. Sure, he's putting up solid numbers this year, but I have a feeling that his ability will plummet at any time (whether it be this year or in the future). We have candidates to play the corner outfield spots and DH, so we have no place for Hunter next year. Even if it would win us a couple of additional games in the short term, it would come at the cost of giving Arcia/Kepler/Walker/etc opportunities to prove they are MLB caliber players. Harrison: Travis Harrison doesn't excite me as much as some other prospects. I don't see him getting much of a shot next year unless he really breaks out or there are a lot of injuries. Santana: I really don't see Danny Santana as a long term solution in the OF, but if the team doesn't think he will be their SS, he should learn LF, RF, 2B, and 3B. He has the tools to be a useful utility player with some pop. Plouffe: The Twins are not going to move Plouffe to the outfield. I honestly think they should trade him as part of a package to find a solution at catcher. The trade deadline might be too soon, but if Sano performs well for the remainder of the season, I could see Plouffe being traded during the offseason. I also think the fact that Plouffe's offense has taken a hit since the start of June could mean that Sano outperforms him as early as this year. Robinson: I don't think the Twins need Robinson anymore after this year. If the Twins open with Buxton, Rosario, Arcia, and Hicks as their outfielders with Santana also on the team, they should be set on backups. If need be, they would still have players like Danny Ortiz in AAA in addition to Kepler and Walker.

Just read on mlbtraderumors that the Twins are calling up Sano! The future is here!!!

I haven't been on this thread, so maybe somebody already posted this, but I felt like this would have been a great opportunity to promote Kepler...He could have played CF for three games until Hicks comes off the DL at the end of the weekend

My biggest positive has to be Dozier (although not unexpected) or Pelfrey...on the negative side, I'm torn between Mauer and Arcia-I really thought Mauer would bounce back this year and Arcia would break out (maybe even hit .270 with 25-30 HR)

I wouldn't mind seeing the Twins pursue Lucroy from the Brewers. I know they've said they aren't looking to trade him, but if we offered the right package and extended Lucroy our catching situation would look much better

I like the idea, but I'll go even further and say we lose 14-13, since scoring zero runs is a loss regardless of who pitches

I want to preface this by saying I have no data to back this up, but it seems like the Twins starters are throwing way too many fastballs (specifically 4-seam fastballs). I have mainly noticed it with May, Hughes, and Pelfrey. Pelfrey, I think, has always been a one-pitch pitcher, but I feel like the others would have more success using their secondary offerings. A couple weeks ago, I saw May give up 3 or 4 straight hits without throwing anything but 4-seam fastballs, and during the current game I think Hughes went almost an entire inning with all 4-seamers. I've seen his throw 2 cutters and one curve (it's the fourth inning). Is this a function of our coaching, our catcher, the pitchers themselves? I just feel like more variety would mean fewer hits, and ultimately fewer runs.

I wanted the Twins to sign Salty, I'll admit that. I didn't want them to go over two years, the thought being if his offensive success continued for one year he could back up Pinto this year. I've always been a fan and hopes he turns it around with another team.

I like how we brought in Hunter and Santana to stabilize the outfield and mentor the young players-teaching them to use steroids and take personal shots at umpires is such a great philosophy

TIm Stauffer has not impressed me at all so far in Spring training. I know it's still early, but his numbers look absolutely horrible (ERA of 15.00, only 2 strikeouts in 6 innings). With so many candidates for both the fifth starter job and bullpen spots, I just don't see how Stauffer fits in at all. Would the Twins cut him despite signing him as a free agent this offseason?

My prediction is that he doesn't, Molitor isn't Gardy. Although I'll laugh if he does and we lose 11-10 or something

I know we have to take it with a grain of salt, but for what it's worth, Sano's steamer projections for next year are higher than Plouffe's in almost every catergory... Plouffe | Sano AVG .248 | .237 OBP .315 | .308 SLG .412 | .456 OPS .727 | .764 wRC+ 106 | 114 BB% 8.3 | 8.5 K% 19.8 | 27.5 HR per 150 games 19.7 | 30 Def rating per 150 games -7.13 | 2.63 WAR per 150 games 1.72 | 3.375 ISO .164 | .219 BABIP .283 | .284 Now I know these are projections, so they don't really mean that much, but the idea that Sano could be the better player this year is exciting. I think Sano's floor is what Plouffe was last year. In my opinion, if Sano does well in the minors for a few months, the Twins should definitely try to flip Plouffe at the deadline. Sano will end up being the better player. As a side note, although I don't know how the estimate was made I'm excited by the positive defensive projection for Sano. If he plays above average defense at third, he will erase what little doubt the Twins have in his abilities.

I agree Oakland's offense suffered, but they scored plenty of runs in the wildcard game, their ace and bullpen lost them that game