Platoon

In the current situation it's a good deal. We gave up a decent player at a position we had depth in and got back a serviceable MLB starter. I agree with those who doubt/fear we are done dealing. Someone like this, in this division, could get us to the WC game. But it still leaves us short on playoff level match ups. It will also be interesting to see what happens to the 40 man. Add in the Sano issues, there's still going to be a lot of moving parts going forward.

Sanchez won't be the 40th man. He will either be the 25th man, and likely a SP, or he won't be.

We used to call that a bird in the hand.........

To me it's simply the roster spot. The money isn't worth mentioning in the context of not allowing a valid signing. I just don't see the allure in baseball to such veteran deference. It's almost not possible for one of the teams more talented younger arms not to outpitch him. This is a move that is utterly baffling.

I was amused by the news that the Molitor will maybe go with a 4 man rotation until mid April. I am not sure whether it was Molitor, or the writer who made it seem like this would mitigate the loss of Big Erv. Now if the loss had been one of our numerous candidates to fill the #5 slot, then that would make sense. We may need to devise a metric for "explanations"? Give them some sort of numerical grade. We could call it pWOE. Pronounced Pee Woe. 'pulling Wool Over Eyes'.

I like a lot of the things Falvine is doing in general. Draft, develop, orginisational changes, metrics adoption*, and at first glance the additions to the BP. I am in essence a build from within guy. That makes life easier because the Twins can't logically compete with the big markets year to year for FA. Now, here comes the but. Almost all major sports rely on filling in your roster with an important piece or two if you are in a playoff window. The Twins are in one, or very close. That's when you roll the dice. And yet they have not, when it's obvious the SP is not playoff caliber. I think Falvine, and in all honesty Ryan are/were in a bad postion. They get judged by the fans on how many games the team wins. They get judged by JP on the annual P&L. Those two criteria are counterproductive. I never expect them to make any money oriented splashes. All I hope for is they can make up for their owner implied restraints by putting together an extremely solid year to year operation. * While not a metrics afficianado, I realize that like the switch to the internal combustion engine, times do change!

Tis a shame when gallows humor is all that the off season has produced in the SP department!

Yes! In my scenario there at least stands a chance!

Is it possible to sign a "player to be named later"?

You are never normally this optimistic.

Words for all Twins fans to keep handy at all times!

Well I have not seen Navarreto play, just going by reports of outstanding defense. As for Garver, his history is some bat aptitude, but he was always behind Turner with a glove. And the few times I saw him catch last year, he frankly looked completely lost. Poor positioning on blocks, always at an angle. And really struggled to receive the ball comfortably. Jitters? Possibly. But his rep in MiLB as a defensive catcher seems to indicate this isn't nerves. But again, like the SS position, some see the offensive part of the job to have more importance than others. I am not of that philosophy.

I should have been clearer. While its one of the three options they haven't. Their only semi agressive approach has been draft and develop, and that has been mitigated by the fact (appearance) of avoiding high bonus draftees.

Pretty much all of the above. Sticking strictly to the Twins. If the Pohlads business model does not allow for the flexibility to dive head first into a Darvish type situation during a window of opportunity, then while they will remain profitable year in and year out. (they likely would anyway), they will remain simply a MLB team in a league. With fans who love baseball following them, but never seeing the buzz of a competitor. And that is their option. But there is an alternate fact. And that is that they are a franchise in a business where they have to bid for talent. It doesn't really make any difference if the bids make their CPA happy, it's what it is, IF you want to compete within this franchise, or simply want to hang up the shingle and go to the owners meetings. And due to the structure of the franchise, you really cannot compete simply bye draft and develop, or FA, or the trade route, it takes all three. And since the Twins seem reticent to go the FA or trade route with any vigor, it's unlikely anything will change. Even after 26 pages. And 26 pages will be a pittance if the next contract does not level the playing field, so to speak, for all the teams. While I think that JP was extremely short sighted not to take a legitimate run at Darvish, I am not fool enough to insinuate that he can play day to day with the big boys. This was a situational opportunity, missed.

If the arguement is that a 6 year deal for a Darvish aged player is way too long then there are likely 3 options. Don't sign him, sign him, sign him with an opt out. If you go the sign him route, why not the option. It's a given he isn't going to be worth the money at the end of the deal, so if he walks after 2 or 3 you have gotten the best years of the deal and can move on with the remainder of the cash. If he doesn't leave it's the same as not having an opt out, and you likely got him for less with the opt out in the first place. Is this a player favorable arrangement? Probably. But it doesn't have to be zero sum, as the team gets something in return. Of course you can stand on principle, Phil Hughes will appreciate the opportunity.

It's a shame when "an acquisition" and a "?" are 40% of your SP. And that after an off season when the competion for FA was weirdly stilted. The Navrreto backup catcher idea is intriguing. Garver was supposed to, and maybe someday will, hit enough to cover up for his defense. So far that hasn't happened. Add that to the fact that he appears to be a very mediocre defender, and you end up with an awful lot of games for Castro. I would think after having Mauer behind the plate for those years, and suffering through Suzuki, that the value of a defensive backstop would be more apparent.

Good. Pitching. Beats. Good. Hitting.

Mike Barardino did something on Jim Kaat in today's PP. while I know things have changed so much over the years and analytics has its place, I still think there is room for guys like him in baseball. I always considered him by far the best color man, analysist, in the game. There may have been some more "entertaining", but I doubt more knowledgeable. I assume from the column these thoughts are tweets he has posted. Everyone will have opinions on these. It might be fun to hear them. I thought the last two had merit for discussion. Pitch velocity and exit velocity have merit when they are achieved with inherent abilities. But many a pitcher has been ruined by the God of velocity, will hitters now fall in the same trap? Kaats thoughts: I’ll still go with brain, eyes, hands over the machine. Who is entering the data? Is it accurate? Nothing like hands-on experience. No right or wrong. Just my preference.” “Before analytics players used their brain and their eyes and their hands. Better than any computer. I had a front-row seat watching and listening to Rod (Carew) and Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew execute their craft.” “That stat (exit velocity) just tempts those without (Aaron) Judge’s or (Giancarlo) Stanton’s power to swing harder, strike out more, strain something. Only ‘candy’ for the fans.” “Young pitchers, a few thoughts. ‘It will rust out before it will wear out.’ LIGHT pitching daily is good. If you are capable of reaching 92 (mph), try getting hitters out pitching at 88. It’s called pitching, not throwing. #Smartpitching.”

The sad part is without some SP, whether or not Kepler breaks out is a moot point to the teams success. As are Doziers HR's, Sanos leg, and Mauers last contract year. So I would likely trade Kepler for Archer. But if Molitor would then insist on putting R. Grossman in the OF 5 times a week, I would have to wonder if the net WAR would be worth it. He is practically Sano without the arm out there.

I don't think the opt out clause is cut and dried, bad or good. If you need a pitcher for a window of opportunity and you sign a six year FA, opt out or not 6 yrs is the most years possible. If your projected window is 3 years, win or lose you then have a chance of getting out of that contract. And if he walks, you still have that contract off the books and can resign someone else if you think It makes sense. Now if it's a younger arm, and your window is 4 years and he wants a 2 year out, then it's not a good idea. Point being, opt outs are not simple yes or no's.

There's a lot of moving parts here, but I would take the opportunity to turn Sano into pitching in a heartbeat. I have always been a big fan of his, but the warning signs are getting more and more obvious. Today Molitor more or less admitted in the Trib that so far other players have failed to make any inroads with him. His unique ability to hit a baseball might never be fully realized.

I am not a moderator, but I played a moderator on tv. There is a yellow lab thread on LabradorsDaily.com. Please take your discussion there. . Or, on the other hand, you can stay. It's likely as relevant as the Mauer comparisons.

I normally am not a big FA guy. I don't want a Napoli just because he is a name, or another stick. And he is just one example. But on this team, at this time, and adding in the Santana medical issue, Darvish was a huge deal. He was the best chance to close a gap. Three years ago, I would have thought him a waste of resources. It's not even that they didn't get him, it's that they didn't force him to make a choice. RB is right, there is still a chance to redeem the off season, but the options are not good. One last thought. There are 11 pages here. It's not because of the singular loss of Yu Darvish. It's because this has been the operational philosophy of the MN Twins since they moved here from DC.

6. Soccer FTFY

While I could give a rats rear end about JP's bank balance, I know all business require some discipline. And I know most MLB teams run on the 51% payroll standard. So big market teams have more cash to spend. I get that. But at the same time, all teams have windows, and that's when you stretch the budget to take advantage of that time frame. That's when you spend the money you squirreled away in the down years. Baseball may be a business, but it's not a prototypical one. All good businesses have relationships with their customers. But pro sports franchises have a much greater responsibility to their customers given the nature of the relationship. When your DeWalt drill driver goes to hell, you are unhappy. When your team loses a big game, an awful lot of the state is unhappy. If the Pohlads can't grasp that distinction, then the new FO is mostly a fresh coat of paint.