John Bonnes

Happy Offseason! At Twins Daily, we let Honus Wagner stare out the window and wait for spring. We dig in, with Twins talk every crazy day and we kick it off with our Offseason Handbook. It’s yours to download for whatever price you think is fair and has everything you’ll need to plan out your own offseason plan for your favorite baseball team. It includes: An analysis of the Twins payroll and how much they are likely to spend on free agents.A summary of free agent starting pitchers, relievers and right-handed hitters that would be prime targets for the Twins.A complete review of the organization’s depth, position-by-position, from the majors down to the rookie leagues.A summary of the arbitration decisions the Twins must make and their likely choices.Analysis of the top trade targets on the Twins.Essays by Twins Daily writers on special topics looking back at the season and at the upcoming offseason.A sample blueprint on a path the Twins could take in building for 2018 and beyond.We encourage you to check it out, make your own blueprint, and then follow along on Twins Daily as we track the Twins, their rumors, their news and the rest of the American League. C'mon - you’ve got some time this afternoon, so order it now and you’ll be able to download it immediately. Thank you for checking it out and for stopping by Twins Daily for your Twins fix. Click here to view the article

It’s almost here… the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook will be sent out at the last out of the World Series, but those folks who have preordered received Nick Nelson’s essay examining the trade market for Jorge Polanco. You can too - just pre-order it. As soon as you do (at whatever price you think is fair) you’ll be able to download Nick’s essay AND you’ll get the Handbook the moment it is released.If you even visit this site occasionally, you're going to love the Offseason Handbook. It lays out the whole offseason as if you were the Twins General Manager: the free agents, the trade options, the payroll limitations, and a complete organizational depth chart featuring all your minor league players. At the end, we share Nick Nelson's blueprint for what he would do if he was the GM, and this week other Twins Daily writers will share theirs. We invite you to share yours too, in the Forums. It makes a long cold offseason a whole lot more fun and we want everyone to have a chance to play with it, so you choose how much to pay. Again, pre-order it now, so you can get Nick's essay early! Click here to view the article

Aaron and John discuss new Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston, Glen Perkins career, John's attempt to run a half-marathon with the help of RxBars and their preseason picks in the AL East. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Click here to view the article

Tired or waiting for the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook? If you pre-ordered it, you got a sneak peek at it on Saturday night, when we sent out Parker's essay detailing how Byron Buxton's swing was rebuilt on the fly this season. And you can still get it! Just pre-order it. You'll not only immediately be able to download Parker's essay but you'll also get:1. Nick Nelson's essay on a prime trade target on the Twins and 2. The Twins Daily Offseason Handbook as soon as the offseason starts, when the last out of the World Series is recorded. If you even visit this site occasionally, you're going to love the Offseason Handbook. It lays out the whole offseason as if you were the Twins General Manager: the free agents, the trade options, the payroll limitations, and a complete organizational depth chart featuring all your minor league players. At the end, we share Nick Nelson's blueprint for what he would do if he was the GM, and this week other Twins Daily writers will share theirs. We invite you to share yours too, in the Forums. It makes a long cold offseason a whole lot more fun and we want everyone to have a chance to play with it, so you choose how much to pay. Again, pre-order it now, so you can get Parker's and Nick's essays early! Download attachment: CTA-Banner.jpg Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about Ron Gardenhire's return to the AL Central with the Tigers, the Twins' pitching coach search, their Friday night activities, Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel joining the Twins' scouting department, betting on Nick Blackburn, plugging books and handbooks, Delmon Young's clean slate in Australia, and the results of the preseason AL West over/under picks. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 If you would like to check out the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook which we talk about on this podcast, click on this: Download attachment: CTA-Banner.jpg Click here to view the article

Aaron and John react to the Twins manager Paul Molitor's contract extension, preview how much the Twins will have to spend this offseason, debate Brian Dozier's future with the Twins, and discuss whether or not Miguel Sano should play third base next year. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

Opportunity almost always chooses to knock when you’re stuck on the phone talking to tech support. She does not accommodate your schedule. You play on hers, or you don’t play. This offseason, the Twins will face that reality, because they have a small window to accomplish something they’ve been waiting to do for years. This offseason is the single best – and maybe only – chance to lock up three of the Twins most important players to long-term deals that keep them in Minnesota beyond their initial free agent years. Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario are all in the sweet spot to negotiate a long-term deal.I understand this is not terribly convenient, which brings us back to Opportunity. You may feel like it’s too early. You may not trust Sano’s health. You may not trust Rosario’s plate discipline. You may not trust Buxton’s batting average. You may want to focus on a lot of other issues, like how to fix the pitching staff or who is going to fill the spots on the coaching staff. I mean, do we really need to decide this right now? Opportunity recognizes this is hard. She also does not care. She must leave after this offseason and here is why. All three of these players have over two years and under three years of major league service time. Which means this is the last year they’ll be making between $550,000 and $600,000. That’s a lot of money, but it isn’t “lifetime security” money. So if something happens – a concussion, a blown-up knee or suddenly they just can’t hit – they are left to their own devices for the rest of their careers. If the Twins want to wait until next year, the players and their agents might still be willing to listen, but at this time next year they’ll each be in line for a guaranteed salary of $3M-$5M. That is at least close to “lifetime security” money. And they get it whether they negotiate a long-term deal or not. So if you want to lock them up – either because you want to save money or because you want to guarantee they stick around for some free agent years – now is the best time. At a high level, that means making a sizable commitment. Each deal will likely require five guaranteed years and at least $28M, something like $1M/$3M/$5.5M/$8M/$10.5M. That’s the starting point. In this year’s TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook (it’s coming SOON), we’ll give you a chance to craft a more precise and fair offer for each of them, and also give you a handful of comparable recent deals to help you out. In the meantime, here are some questions to ask yourself and debate in the comments below, provided you have registered: Are you comfortable signing each player to a long-term deal?Which players are your priority if you can only sign one or two?How many years of team options do you want after the guaranteed money? It might be easier to tack three years onto the end for Buxton (who would still only be 31 years old when he finishes the deal) than Rosario (who would be 33 years old, and might want to hit the free agency a little sooner).Or are you uncomfortable with the whole idea? If so, Opportunity understands, but will you excuse her? She has other stops to make. Best of luck…. Click here to view the article

On the one hand, I think Molitor is a thoughtful guys who has proved himself fairly adept at handling the media, and that's a big part of the job. One also must look at the growth of the lineup and give him credit where it is due. On the other hand, I wonder a lot about his ability to develop a bullpen. Maybe some changes to the coaching staff can help with that. But the truth is that we are all in a really tough position when it comes to evaluating his performance and the guys above him are in a much better position for that. He must have done well enough that they trusted him more than their own hand-picked choice. I'm a little surprised by this, to be honest, but I'm certainly not in a position to know one way or the other what the inside story was. A 3-year contract (provided all years are guaranteed) is no joke. I'll be interested in the money to see just how much of a commitment they have made.

Aaron and John are at Rock 4 Rescues at Sociable Cider Works, talking about whether anything can be learned from the Al Wild Card game, John's trip to New York, the rumors (and silence) about an extension for Paul Molitor and a couple of questions about the offseason. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

The 2017 Minnesota Twins season came to an end last night in The Bronx with yet another loss to the New York Yankees in the playoffs. Following the game, Aaron Gleeman went into the KFAN studio and took phone calls from Twins fans for well over an hour with Eric Nordquist. The Twins Geek called in from Yankees Stadium after the game to discuss the game and the atmosphere, as well. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.You can listen to the postgame show in its entirety here. http://hwcdn.libsyn....51a1ebc86a197fd Click here to view the article

On Monday in New York City, the focus was on the 0-4 New York Giants, with a small portion left for the surprising “success” of the 2-2 Jets. But as Tuesday drew closer, the focus turned to the Baby Bombers and their Wild Card matchup with the Twins. How do Gotham’s writers and fans see this game? You can start below...Wondering how the Yankees roster and lineup will look Tuesday night? Yankees manager Joe Girardi isn’t saying, but Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News predicts it will be similar to what faced Ervin Santana two weeks ago. That means that Aaron Hicks will not be starting in center field. He also lays out the way Girardi would like to use his bullpen. Mazzeo writes that while Aaron Judge’s remarkable season is nice, Yankees players are judged (and revered) by their fans by their performance in October. The New York Times’ Billy Witz agrees, noting the difference between Mr. October and Mr. May. The New York Daily News’ John Harper sees a Yankees team that could make a surprise run this October - IF they can win a dicey one-game Wild Card versus the Twins. Meanwhile, if you want to throw up in your mouth, you can read the Daily News’ Frank Kilinski’s review of the Twins-Yankees postseason battles. Enough about the Yankees. The New York Posts’ Kevin Kernan wants to talk about Byron Buxton and how he could be a Yankees nightmare. Nice try at a reverse jinx, Kevin. You’re not fooling us. Meanwhile, the Post’s Ken Davidoff thinks it is a Yankees player, specifically Gary Sanchez, who will find himself in the spotlight. The video-heavy Newsday reports that Girardi expects a win, based on how his team has done in September. Newsday’s Erik Boland finds that a lot of that confidence is rooted in Luis Severino, the Yankees starting pitcher. That confidence may be reflected in how much Yankees fans are paying for tickets for Tuesday night’s game. Newsday’s Neil Best reports the prices are far higherthan for the last Wild Card game the Yankees found themselves in. In short, New York sees it the same way as the rest of the country, including Minnesota. The Yankees are favored, but it’s one game and anything can happen in one game. Whichever team loses will need to take solace in a bright future, albeit a future that will be a little more distant than the coming month. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John preview the Minnesota Twins' Wild Card game versus the New York Yankees. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

Our view of the 2017 Twins will be altered by time: softened and comforted. Today the view is more raw, and I want to embrace that. In the immediate aftermath, when I look at the victory we just witnessed, I see two traits that are the cornerstones of most victories: resilience and growth. “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear.” - Greg KincaidIn mid-April, the Twins lost six of seven games in a week to division foes. In May, they lost five of six to Cleveland and Houston, which included one gut-wrenching loss and several drubbings. At the end of July they lost seven of eight and traded away a starting pitcher and their closer. Finally, just last week, they lost five of six in the midst of the Wild Card race. In each case they persevered. In each case they bounced back, most recently with a five-game winning streak. Also, to be fair, in each case their rivals kind of blew it. The Royals struggled badly out of the gate. Several Wild Card contenders stumbled shortly after the trade deadline. The Angels were getting swept themselves when the Twins were swept by the Yankees. But focusing on rivals’ problems need not be disparaging. The Twins did what the others could not – they persevered. It’s easy in today’s society to overlook Grit in the search for The Shiny. That is our failing. Grit is a differentiator. “My turn shall also come: I sense the spreading of a wing.” - Osip Mendelstam The Twins overall philosophy as a smallish market club has not changed. One can also find it with other teams and with families. The family grows with the kids. It invests in them, probably to its short-term detriment. And it does this in the hope that one day The Growth happens and raises everyone up. Baseball prospects get more early attention than ever before, and so the clock starts ticking earlier on them in the minds of the media and fans. It’s not surprising that we grow impatient. Eventually, we even grow impatient with the impatience. It took a while, but all those investments were paid back in full this August. When the season was on the brink, they Twins were led back from the ledge by the kids. The Twins went 20-10 in August, and the engine was their offense, which outscored the rest of the American League. A couple of veterans, Brian Dozier (1.023 OPS) & Joe Mauer (.863 OPS) paced the team, but the surge was driven by three guys under the age of 26: Jorge Polanco (1.099 OPS), Byron Buxton (.973 OPS) & Eddie Rosario (.944 OPS). None of them are going to keep up that pace for their careers, but none of them have fallen off a cliff in September, either. We’re sensing the spreading of wings. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan I was not optimistic about this bullpen, and neither was Twins manager Paul Molitor. There have been times, like that terrible Houston series, where they have been more embarrassing than I could have imagined. There have been times where they were ranked dead last in ERA. In fact, by that metric, they’re still not … good. Their 4.45 ERA ranks 12th in the American League. But there is a better advanced stat for measuring bullpen efficacy: WPA. It measures the ability of the bullpen to turn a game into a win – or a loss. The Twins bullpen ranks 9th in the AL and has a value of .31, which means they’re about 1/3 of a win better than bullpens have historically been. That isn’t especially impressive, but …. This team traded away its closer, Brandon Kintxler, at the trade deadline. Their best reliever in the second half, Trevor Hildenberger, spent part of last year in High-A Fort Myers. Their current shutdown closer, Matt Belisle, was a late-season, low-cost free agent pickup who had a 5.82 ERA in the first half of the season. They are a collection of no-names who have kept it together to survive and protect the games they needed to protect. If a handful would have slipped away, the Twins are also-rans. They bent – a lot – but they did not break, and the team survived. “The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud.” – Goldie Hawn The Twins were supposed to have a thin starting rotation – and then they lost three arms: Trevor May, Hector Santiago, and Phil Hughes. That put a large burden on Ervin Santana, who served both as staff ace (especially early) and workhorse. However, the year was saved when the other 80% of the starts were taken by youngsters or pitchers who bloomed despite dealing with their share of mud. Jose Berrios has been a dependable #2 starter; his ERA was 8.02 last year. Adalberto Mejia, to quote the movie Clerks, wasn’t even supposed to be here. Neither was 44-year-old Bartolo Colon, who injected hope mid-season after posting an 8.14 ERA with Atlanta. And finally, Kyle Gibson, who had a 6.05 ERA and looked like he had pitched himself out of a baseball career in mid-August, posted a 2.56 ERA in his last seven starts, all of which the Twins won. The rotation hasn’t thrived, but it survived, and we’re seeing a couple of the petals open one by one. “Change may not always bring growth, but there is no growth without change.” ― Roy T. Bennett We may look back on the 2017 Twins the way we look back on the 1984 season or the 2002 season as a year of breakthroughs, a sign of things to come. Twins fans (and the Twins organization) have traveled a similar road, but that doesn’t make it any easier when one is lost and wondering if this path will go anywhere. This time, it did, but it took a lot of resilience and growth to get there. "We will either find a way, or make one." - Anibal Barca ~~~~ Click here to view the article