John Bonnes

Aaron and John talk about Cory Provus replacing Dick Bremer as the Twins' television voice, the free-agent departures of Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Emilio Pagán, how the Twins will look to fill the sizable holes in the pitching staff, and what exactly goes on at the Winter Meetings. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

I need your input and (maybe) help. One pie-in-the-sky thing I've been thinking about for years is creating a photo archive for Twins Daily. We have a ton of photographers in our community who take pictures of players, especially minor leaguers. I'd love to create a searchable archive to use both internally and maybe even externally if I can get a team of people willing to contribute and catalog them. Ideally, we might be able to do something like add a nominal licensing fee, so it might even pay for itself, or compensate the photographers. Or maybe we provide it for Caretakers and use some of the funds we get from them? Primarily, I just want to create something where it is easy to add and catalogue photos and easy to search and find photos. Here's one thing I do know: this is going to take a team of people and some management. So I need your help and input. 1) I'd love any brainstorming or ideas you have around this project that we can kick around below. 2) Also, if you would like to be involved, either as a photographer or as someone who helps catalog photos, can you you reply below? Thank you for your interest, and for making Twins Daily a community and resource that is unique among baseball fan-bases. Thanks, John

After four years with the Twins, the right-hander will pitch the next two years for a division rival. Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports The Twins must say goodbye to Kenta Maeda, as the veteran right-hander inked a two-year, $24-million deal with the Detroit Tigers. Maeda, a familiar face from his time in Minnesota, will now don the uniform of a division rival, forcing the Twins to grapple with his presence on the mound as an opponent. Earlier reports had linked Maeda to the Tigers, but the Twins were still in the mix, albeit with a preference for a shorter-term commitment. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the Tigers secured Maeda with a multi-year deal, closing the door on any potential reunion. With Maeda's arrival in Detroit, the Tigers gain an experienced arm for their young rotation, helping to replace Eduardo Rodriguez, who became a free agent after opting out of his deal earlier this month. Maeda, entering his age-36 season, is expected to stabilize Detroit's starting staff. Meanwhile, losing Maeda means the Twins must replace a pitcher who provided stability, interspersed with bursts of excellence when healthy. Maeda became a full-time starter after being acquired by the Twins from the Dodgers for Brusdar Graterol before the 2020 season, and he shined. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting after that 2020 COVID-shortened season, throwing 66 2/3 innings of 2.70-ERA ball. His 2021 season was much more of a struggle, ending with Tommy John surgery, which also cost him the entirety of the 2022 season. He returned in 2023, but battled a triceps injury that cost him most of the first half of the season. He then reverted to his old form, throwing 88 1/3 innings with a 3.36 ERA from June 23 on. Last season was the last year of the eight-year contract with the Dodgers he signed when he came over from Japan. The deal gave only $3 million annually in guaranteed money, with incentives for starting that could raise his salary to $10 million or more each year. That team-friendly contract was an appealing aspect of acquiring Maeda. His new deal is much more standard for pitchers, guaranteeing an eight-figure salary regardless of his health or role. In Twins Daily's Offseason Handbook, we estimated he would receive a 1-year, $12-million contract, but we debated internally if he would end up with a multi-year deal. The Tigers reportedly landed him, despite interest by the Twins in re-signing him, by agreeing to the extra year. The Twins are also in the market for a veteran free-agent starting pitcher to replace Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray. Maeda is the fourth veteran starting pitcher to sign, joining Aaron Nola (7 years, $172M) and other ex-Twins Kyle Gibson (1-year/$12M) and Lance Lynn(1-year/$11M). Twins Daily's Offseason Handbook profiled an additional 18 available starters that will likely be on the Twins' wish list. Other available pitchers at Maeda's level included Jack Flaherty, Luis Severino, and Frankie Montas. The Twins must now consider these other, less familiar, names. View full article

Aaron and John talk about Kyle Farmer, Jorge Polanco, and the Twins' most likely trade bait, tendering contracts to all seven arbitration-eligible players, Aaron Nola and the early free-agent pitching market, and why the Twins are far from the only team with a bursting TV bubble. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the fears of the Twins' payroll declining coming true, what that means for their free agent and trade options this offseason, why going young and cheap doesn't have to be a bad thing, and Dick Bremer's exit from the TV booth after 40 years. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

The Twins are cutting payroll. Here are six bad impacts - and one good one. Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports Two days ago, we framed the Twins payroll situation, emphasizing that before the individual roster decisions needed to be made, some more significant decisions needed to be made. The top one was what the Twins would do about their expiring $54M TV deal. What is clear is that $55M in gross revenue is at stake. The Twins (and most MLB clubs) claim they spend slightly over 50% of their gross revenue on players' salaries. That could mean an estimated $30M drop in payroll. That's the bad news. The really bad news came yesterday: that is the plan. Dan Hayes reported that the Twins Opening Day payroll is likely in the $125-$140M range, down roughly $15-30M from last year's ~$155M Opening Day Payroll. If you play with Twins Daily's Payroll Blueprint for even five minutes, you'll see just how limiting that is because their default payroll is already $115-$125M. Here are the six crummiest results you'll find. 1. See Ya, Sonny The Twins were likely to be measured chasing free-agent starting pitching; they have been ever since Falvey took charge of the Twins in 2017. To return to last year's (admittedly) excellent standard, they must sign at least one pitcher that can replace the American League ERA leader, Sonny Gray. That's not going to happen now. Today's Offseason Handbook story details the starting pitching market and categorizes players as "too hot" (the Twins won't pay that much), "too cold" (the Twins can afford them, but they don't replace Gray), or "just right" (they can replace Gray but could be expensive). Today's news means they're targeting pitchers that only need a one-year contract, all of whom will fall in the "too cold" or below category. They could sign a pitcher at the level of Kenta Maeda, or a riskier pitcher with higher upside on a make-good contract, or a veteran #4 or #5 pitcher who can eat some innings. But whomever they choose, they aren't replacing Gray - or anyone even near his level - via free agency. 2. So-so Center Fielder and Blowing Off Batters Dreaming of adding that big, right-handed bat this winter? Keep dreaming. Unless payroll is subtracted in some other way (which we'll get to), this cut only leaves money for one mediocre bat to be added. That one is likely spoken for: the Twins need a center fielder. With Michael A. Taylor becoming a free agent and Byron Buxton's health in question, center field is the one "to do" that must get done. This payroll cut means it won't be a high-end option like Cody Bellinger or Japan's Jung Hoo Lee. The Twins are likely limited to precisely the level of Taylor or below while hoping that some of their prospects, like Austin Martin, challenge for the role by midyear. 3. Desirable Duo The Twins want Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco on the roster next year. The veteran duo will not need to be moved to hit the new payroll level. But trading either would give the team an additional $10M for other needs. So, while the Twins won't actively shop Polanco and Kepler, they won't need to. Polanco is more valuable than any other second baseman (indeed, middle infielder) free agent. Max Kepler would be a top-10 hitter in this thin free-agent market. Teams looking to get better are already asking about them. In addition, any team the Twins approach about a trade (for, perhaps, a starting pitcher) will ask for Polanco or Kepler as a possible return. So, this cut doesn't mean they'll be moved; I'd still put the chances as less than 50% that either will be traded. But it does mean the Twins front office will have a better reason to listen. 4. Farewell Farmer The Twins have one borderline case for arbitration, and payroll cuts are not good news for borderline arbitration cases. Offering Kyle Farmer arbitration guarantees him approximately $6-7M to be a utility player. The Twins now need that money for a less luxurious role, like a center fielder. Farmer will either be non-tendered by the Twins next week before the non-tender deadline (11/18) or traded to a team that needs a shortstop, the same way the Twins did when they acquired Farmer last year. Either way, he won't be on next year's roster. 5. Harvesting the Farm Don't get too attached to your favorite Twins' prospect because this cut means it's much more likely they'll get traded away this year. If the Twins can't replace their pitching or center fielder with money, they'll resort to trading prospects. The good news is that this has often worked well for the Twins. Jake Odorizzi, Gray, Maeda, and Taylor came from trading away prospects. 6. Foul Up Fan Support After waiting almost 20 years for a postseason win, Twins fans finally experienced a postseason run. When the Twins won that first game of the Wild Card Round and then advanced, tickets that cost $4 for Game 1 of the Wild Card were selling for $100 for Game 3 of the ALDS. That support, I'm sure the Twins hoped, would transform into season ticket holders. But the easiest way to squash any support from the Twins fan base is to threaten their team by withholding resources. Minnesotans are too familiar with that song after hearing it for 60+ years and multiple ownership groups. This storyline has plagued the Twins throughout their career and is the single most damaging narrative to marketing the team. And now the team is reinforcing it. 7. The Silver Lining is Streaming One piece of good news: the Twins clearly understand the value of streaming their games on the internet. Streaming rights have been the source of this conflict, ending their TV deal. If they're sacrificing tens of millions of revenue, they think they have identified avenues for fans to stream content in 2024 that have not existed for years. Whatever the new TV solution is, those fans who have cut the cord will get to watch their Twins in 2024 and beyond. It'll just be a more financially slimmed-down version of the team. View full article

The Twins suffer from Goldilocks syndrome: they won't pay for "too good" but try to stay away from "too bad." Let's see which of MLB's top 20 free agent pitchers would be "just right?" Image courtesy of Twins Daily The Twins' pursuit of free agent pitchers under Derek Falvey has yet to be particularly fruitful in any sense of the word. On the one hand, they have yet to sign any high-end names, even when they've tried to be aggressive. Second (and probably related), those cheaper free agents they've signed haven't been good. (It's worth calling out the exceptions: Michael Pineda. That's it. That's the list.) The thin line they have walked is thinner this year because they already have a rotation in-house that qualifies as decent with Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack , and Louie Varland. The Twins don't need to sign a lower-end-of-rotation starter like J.A. Happ or Dylan Bundy or Homer Bailey or Chris Archer or Matt Shoemaker or oh my gawd make it stop..... But they do have to sign someone if they want their rotation to be a strength again because they're losing both Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda to free agency. The current rotation looks good enough to compete in the AL Central, but if the Twins want to make noise in the postseason again, having another playoff-caliber starter is a requirement. So let's divide the acceptable free agent pitchers into the three groups Goldilocks did: too hot, too cold, and just right. View full article

In a couple of weeks, we're going to try to do a series of stories on trade targets or trade ideas for the Twins. I'd love to hear the communities ideas, so we compile them, and then work with some of the best in a couple of weeks. So if you have something you're thinking about, PLEASE spend 5-10 minutes and submit it using this form below by Wednesday morning? You may find your idea the source of a story in the upcoming weeks. (You can also share them below, but please use the form, first.) Thanks! John

Starting TODAY we're gradually releasing our 2024 Offseason Handbook over the next three weeks. You can get the first gorgeous chapter today by becoming a Caretaker - at a discount! Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp Over the next three Mondays we'll drop three chapters of the publication, starting today with the Free Agents chapter that you can download NOW. It includes a complete breakdown of the Twins payroll heading into the offseason, along with a list of 30+ Twins' free agents targets and their contract estimates. But there's more coming! Next week we'll take a look at the internal decisions the Twins need to make including a thorough depth chart of the organization, from the majors to the lowest levels of the minors. We'll also go through the the Twins' most tradable assets, ranked. That leads us into the third week, where we'll look at Trade Targets and Ideas. Plus, you can use all this information to fill out your own 2024 Roster Blueprint and share it with the Twins Daily community. These all come absolutely free with a Caretaker membership. Our original idea - to place the reader into the decision-making role of the Twins GM - was unique then and is unique now; to our knowledge no other fan base gets this kind of opportunity with this kind of information. You can't buy it. You might find bits an pieces in various places, but you'll get ALL of it by becoming a Caretaker. You'll also get Exclusive content all year, like Twins' player mechanics breakdowns by Matthew Trueblood (like this) and Parker Hageman (like this). Early (only?) access to tickets for the Winter Meltdown. Exclusive audio reports from Twins spring training. Your generous support will be recognized in your comments on Twins Daily. BECOME A CARETAKER Plus, now is the perfect time because we're running a rare promotion: use the code 2024HANDBOOK and you'll get a 25% discount on whichever membership you choose. By doing so, you will support a site and community upon which you rely - both during the season and offseason - to feed and support our shared Twins obsession. It's a good obsession that led, back in 2009, to the creation of the Offseason Handbook. It's an obsession that led to the creation of Twins Daily in 2012. Hopefully, it's an obsession that we'll feed for the next generation of Twins fans, and you'll help make that happen. So THANK YOU for your support and enjoy your Offseason Handbook. Let the offseason begin! BECOME A CARETAKER and DOWNLOAD THE OFFSEASON HANDBOOK View full article