John Bonnes

Aaron and John discuss the Twins turning down Sergio Romo's option, two new bullpen additions, negotiations with Nelson Cruz, rewatching Game 163, the AL Central's managerial merry-go-round and Aaron's favorite night ever. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Download attachment: Listen Now Button Small.jpg Click here to view the article

Aaron and John dive into the Twins payroll situation for the 2021 season, discuss why it matters, and review their Big Board draft, including why Josh Donaldson didn't make their lists. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Click Hear To Listen Click here to view the article

What do you think the Twins should do this winter to prepare for the 2021 season? Do you have all (or at least some) of the answers? Show us by creating your own 2021 Twins team at TwinsPayroll.com.The Twins are facing at least six big decisions this offseason, so we've set up a google sheet at TwinsPayroll.com where you can answer those questions, and many more. At what level would you set the Twins' payroll? Would you bring back Nelson Cruz? How about Eddie Rosario? Or would you want to chase a big name free agent? When you click over, you'll be asked if you want to make your own copy. Say you do, then make your choices and the spreadsheet will add up the salaries and compare it to the whatever payroll level you think the Twins should adopt. Then, share yours by starting a thread in our Twins Talk Forum and other can weigh in on your choices. Download attachment: Twinspayroll share.png You can share your payroll with others by clicking on the "Share" button and copying a link. Then share the link on our forums so others can view your handiwork. It's fun. You'll also get a better sense of the decisions with which Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are wrestling this offseason. Plus, it'll make the rest of the offseason more fun, as you evaluate the team's moves and contrast them with your own. But mostly, it's fun. So click over, take your shot, and let us know what you think in the comments below. TwinsPayroll.com Click here to view the article

Aaron and John list their Twins' MVPs, review their AL Central over-under picks and catch up on the playoffs and some offseason news. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Listen Here Now Click here to view the article

The Twins’ projected payroll is almost always the closest thing we have to a crystal ball. For the last fifteen years, it has been the lens through which we can understand offseason possibilities, and how aggressive or passive the team is likely to be. The same thing is true this year, but uff-da – that lens is sure covered with a bunch of gunk.Still, through the crud, we can see the Twins wrestling with six big decisions. The first is the biggest, and everything else is dependent on it: Decision 1: How much will the Twins budget in player payroll next year? This is always a small mystery, but we usually have an idea within $10 million or (at most) $20 million. This year? It could be as much as a $60 million swing between the lowest and highest number. Last year’s payroll was about $138 million. If it increases by 10% or so (which would be expected in a normal year), it could be as high as $150 million. If they anticipate zero fan revenue and being stuck with a full season of paying players, it’s possible it could be as low as … yikes. Your guess is as good as mine. Anything under $90M would be disastrous, so let’s set the floor there. The difference is even bigger than it looks, because $87 million is pretty much committed, so they could have anywhere from $3M to $63M to spend. Here’s a breakdown. For more on these numbers, make sure to watch . My best guess? It is reduced to $115-125M, leaving them $28M to $38M to spend. But they need to fill five pretty large holes that weren’t included in that $87M. Decision 2: How much to spend on a designated hitter? Nelson Cruz is a free agent. They can try and bring him back, but he’s going to cost $13-$15M. Or they can search for someone cheaper on the free agent market. Or they can plug in one of the Twins’ prospect bats, like Brent Rooker, Alex Kirilloff or Trevor Larnach, and save the money for another spot. Decision 3: Bring back Eddie Rosario? If the Twins offer Eddie Rosario arbitration, he will make around $10M. (That $10M is not included in the $87M figure.) Or they can sever ties and play some combination of prospects plus Jake Cave or Lamonte Wade Jr in left field for less than $1M, and save that money for another spot. Decision 4: How much to spend on a starting pitcher? Jake Odorizzi and Rich Hill (and Homer Bailey) are all free agents. The starting rotation next year still has Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Randy Dobnak, but that leaves a spot open. If you believe the Twins need an ace, Trevor Bauer will be a free agent, but he could cost $30M. Is this where they should spend their money, or budget less for a back-end-of-the-rotation starter? Decision 5: Who must be paid in the bullpen? Trevor May is a free agent, and likely to earn $4-6M. Taylor Rogers will be eligible for arbitration and be due a raise up to $6-7M if the Twins offer it. Sergio Romo has a $5M team option. None of those are included in the committed $87M, so bringing them all back boosts the payroll almost $17M, or a little more than paying Nelson Cruz to return. Or should the Twins feel comfortable relying on their existing bullpen depth? Decision 6: How much to invest in a utility player? Both Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza are free agents this offseason, and together they played 97 games (in a 60-game season). Should the Twins roll the dice with cheaper internal options, right after they went through a season depending on utility players due to injuries to Josh Donaldson and Luis Arraez, and as Jorge Polanco undergoes offseason surgery? How important is that compared to the other decisions? I’d encourage you to answer these questions yourself. Keep track of the totals. See where your payroll ends up. See if you can hit a number you’re comfortable with. I think you’ll find that tough choices are going to need to be made. Difficult priorities will need to be set. How brutal those choices are depends on a lot on the budget, and oddly enough, it doesn’t appear the Twins (or several other MLB teams) really know the answer to that question yet. Like a lot during the pandemic, the answer is to keep one’s head up and adjust. But those adjustments will still depend on payroll and its crystal ball. Even if it is cloudy. Click here to view the article

If you're a Twins fan, you know by now that the team's biggest limitation is always payroll. So Tuesday night, John Bonnes was joined by Ted Schwerzler and Nate Palmer in a live discussion including the Twins Daily community. Find out what to expect this offseason, and some of the tough decisions the Twins will need to make. You can watch it on , Facebook, or Twitter or in the video below. FacebookTwitter Click here to view the article

Aaron and John walk through each of the Twins' impending free agents and discuss whether or not a path exists in which they return to the team. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Listen Now Here Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about another disappointing, early playoff exit for the Twins and go position-by-position through the lineup in search of a cure for 2021. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Listen Now Click here to view the article

I almost invariably can't really do it. I don't watch the playoffs for awhile after the Twins are eliminated. Then, some night, I'll turn on the TC, and there will be some postseason drama that will draw me in, and then I know I'm probably back. Or mostly back.

You're playing. And you think everything is going fine. But then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. And you try to fight back but the harder you fight the deeper you sink til you can't move. You can't breathe. Cuz you're in over your head like quicksand. - Quicksand ;)As I write this, the weather is changing. The temperature is dropping. A gray cloud rolls through downtown. The wind is positively whipping. I don’t have an answer for that. I cannot explain why, every year on the day my team gets eliminated from the postseason, the weather changes. I expect you think it’s my imagination. Go ahead and look up the meteorological record for every elimination game in 2004 and 2006 and 2009 and 2010 and 2017 and 2019 and now 2020. I don’t need to. I know what happened. I felt it. I also don’t have any answers about what happened the last two days at Target Field. Or about 0-18. Or the helplessness I have felt at the end of the postseason each year since 2004. We will all try. We will identify targets for our pain: the players, the managers, the umpires. But targets are not answers, and the truth is that the struggle was bigger than a couple of plays or players. It surrounded the team. One thing goes wrong and then another and another, and deeper into the quicksand we sink. This is the reality, and it’s a reality that anyone familiar with believing, investing, trying, risking… learns. Our culture – especially masculine culture - denigrates those who lose, tells you that you should never accept it. But combatants will tell you otherwise: losing is a part of the game. Nobody lasts long if they can’t find their way past it, around it, over it. Above it? Plus, in truth, while this one hurt, it didn’t hurt as much as 2004 or 2006. The late start and season’s brevity absolutely hurt our team, but it helped the fan base stay less invested. So did the modified playoff format, which sort of ripped the Band-Aid off quickly. Still, it means the Twins wasted one of the best rosters they had ever assembled. Or was it? It looked like it last March. But the two-game sweep reflected the same strengths and weaknesses we saw over the 60-game season. This team never got its supposed high-powered offense rolling. They ended the season ranked 19th in MLB in runs scored. And now the front office will need to find answers. Players regressed. Players broke down. Perhaps some players just aren’t going to be who we thought they were. Health was also an issue, and worse, it was last year too. For two years, the organization and especially the manager have emphasized rest and recuperation and been careful about over-extending players. And both years, come the end of September, the team has limped into the postseason with a roster full of underperforming dinged-up players. Also, now questions will be raised whether being the best overall team for 162 games is really that important. For the second year in a row, a 100-win pace team was not only swept out of the postseason, but didn’t really give a fight. Last year, pitching let the team down. This year, hitting tanked. Maybe the depth that wins games in the summer’s marathon doesn’t mean as much in the postseason. I mean, Dusty Baker ended the Twins season using just six pitchers, and not all of them were particularly good. Finally, all of those questions must be answered while the really big questions remain unanswered. “Will there be a season?” “How many games?” “Versus whom?” “Will there be minor leagues?” The Twins faces a daunting task far earlier than they - or we - had hoped. I doubt they believe they have any of those answers right now. I know I don’t. I can’t even tell you what happened to this season’s promise. Or how to deal with loss. Or why the weather is changing, right on schedule, from summer to fall. Again. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' best and worst potential playoff matchups, if avoiding New York is the only thing that matters, Mitch Garver's return creating a catching debate, Josh Donaldson getting ejected after a homer, and the state of the rotation heading into the final week. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Click here to view the article

This weekend’s results push the Twins towards one of four postseason opponents. Major League Baseball’s regular season ends in two weeks, and MLB’s postseason will look a lot different than in past years. Thanks to some beatdowns delivered to the Orioles and Tigers this weekend, the playoff field for the American League is almost already set. What’s more, several of the postseason scenarios are clearer. Here’s an educated guess at the seeds and matchups:In this first round, the teams will play just three games, and in all three games the higher seed will be the home team, meaning that even if they play in a neutral site, they’ll get to bat last. The Rays, A’s, White Sox and Twins are likely to be those home teams, but their exact seeding is still a jumble. The top three spots will go do the division winners in order of record. The Rays and A’s have a 3.5 and 6 game lead on their divisions respectively, so they’re both heavy favorites to end up with one of the top three spots. The Twins and White Sox are one game apart and face each other this week. Whichever team wins the Al Central will get one of the top three spots. The other team will likely get the fourth spot, which will belong to the second place team with the best record. Beyond that, it’s too early to call the order of the top three spots. All of those teams are within a game of each other with two weeks left to play. Of the four teams, it looks like the White Sox have the toughest schedule, but they also control their own destiny with 8 games versus AL Central rivals Minnesota and Cleveland. The four teams who will be the “road” teams are likewise mostly determined, and their seeds are a little more clear. After being swept by the Twins this weekend, Cleveland looks to be the third place finisher in the AL Central. They’ll be the seventh or eighth seed unless they make up a lot of ground versus the White Sox when they play them in a four-game set the final week of the season. The Yankees and Blue Jays are a half game apart for second place in the AL East, and still play each other another seven times this year. The winner will likely end up in the fifth spot and the loser will end up in the seventh or eighth spot, depending on how Cleveland finishes. Finally, it looks like Houston has the sixth spot to themselves. They are the second best team in the AL West, but have a .500 record, meaning they’ll likely be the worst second place team. If the playoffs started today, the Twins would be seeded fourth and play the fifth place seed, which would be the Blue Jays. But both teams could be in a very different situation by the end of the week, as the Twins face the White Sox and the Blue Jays face the Yankees. Speaking of the Yankees, if you think this is looking a lot like the Twins could end up facing them again in the first round of the playoffs – well, that’s because it could certainly happen. It’ll likely be one of four teams, they’re one of those four teams, and if you have any history with Minnesota sports, that seems like the obvious conclusion. But more objectively, it just about a 25% chance. Click here to view the article