chpettit19

Are the Twins going to immediately extend Rutschman? If not, then I don't think this makes much sense. It puts them in the same position with him as they're in with the pitchers now. They're not going to be competitive in 2026 and then you're down to 1 year of team control on him in a season where you're not likely a true competitor and you don't want to then lose him for just a comp pick. Trading those pitchers is about getting talent that better aligns with their window in terms of team control. Adley doesn't accomplish that goal unless they're going to extend him immediately. Trading Lopez or Ryan for the chance to see if Adley is toast or can bounce back and not having control of him when you're most likely to be competitive doesn't seem ideal.

There's talk of the M's possibly being willing to move Castillo. If that's the case, they could try to acquire the position player talent they want from that trade while acquiring an arm to replace him in the rotation from MN for Ford. I'd think that's the best matchup these 2 teams have for a trade scenario. The Twins shouldn't be trading any of their prospects. Trying to guess which ones will succeed and which ones won't is a fool's errand. Prospects are a numbers game. Keep them all while adding Ford to the bunch. Wallner may be of interest to Seattle in the DH spot depending on what they think about Canzone's breakout and Raley's ability to bounce back at age 31. But I'd think Ryan or Lopez replacing Castillo in their rotation is probably the best chance to get Ford.

I said it after the deadline and was kind of hoping I was wrong (like I often am), but this feels exactly like trying to live in both worlds. They're trying to be competitive in 2026 and beyond. Not by going out and adding real pieces, but by just having such a massive misread on the talent in their clubhouse. And because they think there's more talent than there is they won't make the moves necessary to give themselves a real shot at any point. I don't know if this is bad business or bad baseball decision making. I don't know if it's Falvey and the FO legitimately thinking they can be competitive next year without massive changes or if it's Falvey and the business department (Pohlads) thinking they'll be competitive enough to draw fans and that they haven't completely burned the 2026 bridge. Maybe a combination of both. But, either way, it's an awful plan. Which, unfortunately, is becoming all too common on both the baseball and business sides these days.

I think Lewis described himself well with the quote about having a bit of a wide receiver's attitude. He's turned into quite the diva. I've defended him and his comments a lot on these boards. He never said he didn't slump, he said he didn't do the slump mentality. He never refused to play 2B, he just said he wasn't as comfortable there so would prefer not to. But it's all piling up too much. The comments about not being willing to make adjustments in season because it'll cost him in arbitration are probably thoughts lots of players have, but when you're OPSing in the .630 range and your team is failing because you were supposed to be an important part of the offense and are completely failing it comes across horribly. Complaining about feeling like you aren't important when you're given every opportunity and are unquestionably not a young guy on a short leash comes across as being completely out of touch with the situation. I don't know what the conversations behind closed doors were like. I don't know what lead him to feel like he wasn't important. But based on the playing time he was given compared to his performance it doesn't look good from the outside. I hope he does well, and I still think he has incredible talent. But his comments have painted him in a different light for me. Rocco went and met him in person last offseason, too. Lewis had nice things to say about that meeting as well. Is he going to pout if he struggles for a month and Shelton lowers his playing time in favor of someone else? He's been through a lot. He handled his injuries as well as anyone could ask. I always say there's no reason to be honest with the media/fans because there's very little good that can come of it. This is an example. He's coming across more and more as an incredibly selfish diva. Every pro athlete has an ego to some extent. Much of coaching/managing at the professional level in any sport is managing those egos. Lewis has great talent, but he hasn't earned this diva attitude. This is a put up or shut up year for him. I'm quite surprised Boras hasn't told him, or at least not convinced him, to just shut up and play at this point.

If the Twins were happy with what the 3 or 4 innings every 4 days experiment looked like, I would like to see them implement that with a few guys in the MLB pen this year. Festa, Prielipp, Raya, Morris, etc. Whether Matthews, Abel, and/or Bradley are involved in that as well would depend on whether or not Ryan and Lopez are still in the rotation. If your opening day rotation is Ryan, Lopez, Ober, SWR, Matthews (for example) then you can add Abel and Bradley to the every 4 day group or have them in AAA as depth depending on how easy it is to switch from a 3 day rest cycle to a 4 day rest cycle when injuries open spots in the rotation. If Lopez and/or Ryan are moved that obviously opens spots in the rotation for those 2. I think this plan keeps those young guys stretched out and allows them to get experience working through multiple innings at the major league level while also not making them go through the lineup numerous times. If they can succeed with that it gives them a nice stepping stone to rotation spots in the future. If they struggle they get moved down to 1 inning guys to see if they can do that better. It also gives them a need for fewer 1 inning relievers. If you have 3 (as an example) guys covering 3 or 4 innings every 4 days you are able to give your 5 one inning guys more rest. It'd be a pretty sizable change in how a team is managed and it'd take Shelton buying in and also being willing to let those guys finish games instead of always going to 1 inning pen arms. If Lopez goes 6 and it's a day that Festa is scheduled to do his bulk pitching, is Shelton willing to let Festa go all 3 instead of pulling him for a 1 inning guy in the 9th? There may be some situations where it makes sense; like if the 1 inning guys are all very well rested and it's a 1 run game in the 9th and Festa has been a little wobbly in his first 2 innings. But if he's cruising and the pen isn't super rested, would Shelton let him role for the 9th and give the pen an entire night off? My plan for 15 game chunk: Game 1- Lopez backed by 1 inning guys Game 2- Ryan backed by bulk guy1 Game 3- Ober backed by bulk guy2 Game 4- SWR backed by bulk guy3 Game 5- Zebby backed by 1 inning guys Game 6- Lopez backed by bulk guy1 Game 7- Ryan backed by bulk guy2 Game 8- Ober backed by bulk guy3 Game 9- SWR backed by 1 inning guys Game 10- Zebby backed by bulk guy1 Game 11- Lopez backed by bulk guy2 Game 12- Ryan backed by bulk guy3 Game 13- Ober backed by 1 inning guys Game 14- SWR backed by bulk guy1 Game 15- Zebby backed by bulk guy2 I don't think the Twins have a great chance to compete in 2026 so I'd take the season to experiment with this. The Twins have a lot of young starting pitching prospects. Some are going to be good enough to be legit starters and some won't. This gives them the chance to get all those arms a lot of innings in a season where I don't think the roster will be good enough to truly compete. Lopez, Ryan, and Ober get to go as long as they can in games so there'll be some days where the "bulk guy" doesn't get 3 or 4 because Lopez went 7 or 8 (as an example). That's fine. Little extra built in rest for that arm. Off days obviously make it so there'll be days where "bulk guy1" is supposed to pitch but there is no game and you have to make a decision on what that looks like from a prep perspective for that pitcher (when they do their bullpens, etc.) but teams already have to do that with starters so it shouldn't be a problem. I just think 2026 provides a unique opportunity to try this since they have so many young starters they want to learn about and it's a kind of "resetting" season for them as they work towards the future. And I'd bet it's easier to sell Festa (as an example) on a move to the "pen" if he's still getting bulk innings.

Oh, I'm sure they'd trade him, but Larnach and Gasper aren't what they'd be looking for in return. The Phillies would just wait for Larnach to be non-tendered and throw him 3 mil and he'd be in their outfield if they wanted him. Gasper does nothing for them. Neither does Julien. I'm all for getting something for any of those guys, but I don't see any chance that it's a legit MLB player who's actually better than any of them. It would be the most shocking move of any team this offseason.

And we'll never know. Fans who dislike him will point to the players who underperformed and blame him. Fans that like him will point to the players who overperformed and give him credit. Neither will be right. They'll both be right. Nobody on the outside knows. Why did Harrison Bader have the best offensive season of his career this year? Was it the incompetent hitting coach? Why were/are people excited about Kody Clemens' "breakout" this year? Was it the incompetent hitting coach? How about Austin Martin or Luke Keaschall? Ryan Jeffers? Willi Castro fell apart when he left, was Borgschulte holding him together? But he got good under Popkins and fell apart with the Cubs, so were Popkins and Borgschulte both good and the Cubs guy bad? The amount of opinions about coaches around here is always fascinating to me. To my knowledge, there's not a lot of people on these boards who've interviewed these guys or know anything real about them. It's all just made up in our heads. We have no legitimate way of knowing how good any of these guys are. Every team's lineup and pitching staffs are full of successes and failures. Who you credit or blame for that is all up to your own biases, really.

I think the Twins actually push their top guys relatively quickly. The problem is they don't tend to have a lot of truly high-end prospects. Brooks Lee, Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins, and Kaelen Culpepper have all been pushed pretty quickly. Based on games played, Emmanuel Rodriguez has been as well. Jenkins is the only guy that would go into a season with high hopes of winning the ROY award, so he's the only one they should be considering that with. The other guys make more sense to be playing the service time game with and take your chances that they don't win the award because the odds are so low that they would. Jenkins' injuries have thrown his timeline off so he's caught in the middle now and is likely out of the running for that consideration because he won't debut opening day, but he shouldn't need the entire season in AAA either. The extra pick should certainly be factored in, but you need good enough prospects to worry about it and then there's still numerous variables to the decision. The Twins just need more ROY candidate type prospects.

Not sure why Philly would do that trade. They're giving up the best player in the deal for a non-tender in Larnach and a non-mlber in Gasper. They certainly wouldn't be the ones throwing in a prospect on that deal.

I don't think Basallo is available. I mean, everyone is available at the right price, but I think the cost for Basallo would be more than any team is willing to pay. Rutschman may be on his way out and Basallo is their future. The price tag on guys who debut at 20 years old is astronomical. Any trade of Ryan or Lopez to Baltimore would probably return Trey Gibson, Ike Irish, or Wehiwa Aloy as the centerpiece, not Basallo. I don't think Baltimore is a good match. Ryan Mountcastle is the type of guy you can get off their major league team, and I don't see the fit for him in Minnesota.

If they sit around and do nothing I'm going to somehow find another level of disappointment in them. They absolutely can't just sit on their hands and go into 2026 with this roster.

I don't doubt at all that Larnach will be on an opening day roster in 2026 (assuming health). I'm absolutely not trying to suggest he isn't worthy of an MLB roster spot. My only contention is that he's worth anything in trade. He isn't worth the 4.7 or 5ish mil in arb money he's due next year. Teams don't generally trade useful pieces for guys that aren't worth their contract. I think Cleveland is definitely a team that would call Trevor's agents if/when he's non-tendered. Just like Eddie Rosario landed in Cleveland after he was non-tendered. But it'll be for more like 3 mil instead of 5. Trevor will get a spot on a roster as a platoon DH/cOFer next year. I don't have any doubts at all about that. I just don't think it'll be here and I don't think he'll be traded.

Sure, that'd be great, but I'm not sure why the other team would do that. Good stuff and just a health concern is a better player than Larnach simply not being good enough for his money. Why would the other team give up the guy with a legit chance to be good? I hope they can get something for him. Even if it's a no name prospect that likely never even reaches the majors. I always prefer to get something instead of nothing. I just don't see the motivation for other teams to trade for him when they can sign him or the equivalent for less at any time of the offseason. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't see a trade happening.

I don't know that that's the true value they gave to him, but I also don't value Varland as highly as many around here do. Just because it was 2 players coming back doesn't mean they valued them both equally. Roden may have been 90% of that trade return or 10.

Have you actually looked at Nick Gordon's stats? More versatile at the plate? The guy hit .244 with a .283 OBP for his career. What's versatile about that? Nick Gordon had 1 good year. It was the year he slugged over .400. He wasn't versatile at all.

It could be, but I think it'd be a bad one. Taking on $5 million deals for guys who aren't worth $5 million is not good team building strategy. It's why teams don't do it often. I think the Larnach situation is far more of a comp to Eddie Rosario than Nick Gordon. They'll try to trade him but he's much more likely to be non-tendered at that price point.

Gordon made 900k for the Marlins. Far different trade scenario than Larnach and his 5ish mil contract. You'd have to find a reliever that isn't worth the 5 mil they're making to offset the money.

Yeah, have to agree with the last few comments...the Tweet says "everyday outfielders." The Twins don't have that. Buxton is at his peak value but holds all the cards when it comes to a trade this season. He could fetch real value if he agrees to be traded. He may even have to demand a trade for the Twins to move him. Wallner has value because even his down year was an above average season. He's better suited to mash and K out of the 5 or 6 hole instead of the top 4 in a lineup, but he's a legit threat in the batter's box and that carries value. Larnach is far more likely to be non-tendered than return anything meaningful in trade. Austin Martin may have a little value, but nothing outrageous. He's not bringing back a top 100 prospect or anything. Rumors are Steven Kwan is on the block and he's the guy teams would go for before hoping Martin can be Kwan. Outman and Roden have no trade value at all. They aren't even established as 13th guy on the bench outfielders let alone everyday outfielders. Emma, Jenkins, GG, Fedko, or anyone else people want to throw out are far from sure things. Jenkins has massive value, and I'm sure they could get something for Emma and GG, but trying to pick the 1 or 2 prospects that will make it and trading the ones who won't is an awful front office practice at this point of a team building cycle. You need to keep all your prospects to give yourself the best chance to get some that actually make it. The Twins are not a source of everyday outfield talent for the league. Not even close.

Oh, I don't think it'd be expensive to get Bart. Fedko sounds about right. Older "prospect" who's likely a AAAA player max. Sure, the Larnach's of the world can't turn down their contract, but why would you give up anything for him and then pay more than he's worth? He's not making you a contender. Good free agents with multiple options tell the Pirates to stop calling, but they sign guys in the Larnach realm of players every year. Tommy Pham, IKF, Adam Frazier, etc. If Larnach is non-tendered and they offer him 3 or 4 mil he very well may end up there without them giving up anything and they save a couple mil. If not him, they can find a 1-year vet with a league average bat and no defensive value pretty easily. You only bring in Larnach if you think you can get more out of him so you'll risk the arb money.

Why wouldn't they just use Bart at DH and save 2+ million? Their bats are essentially the same. Larnach had a 99 OPS+ this year after maxing out at 116 the year before. Bart was 96 this year and 121 the year before. I don't think Larnach has any trade value at all. I don't think any team is going to trade for him. Certainly not to give up a cheaper bat of the same quality who also catches. I think the dream of trading Larnach for a useful piece is one with almost no chance of happening. Gleeman reported they tried to trade him at the deadline and got no bites. He's now more expensive. The fact that he hit as high in the Twins lineup as he did is a prime example of how much they need lineup help. I'm not sure which catchers that quote is referring to for sure, but if one is Henry Davis I don't think it makes much sense. Davis is younger, but he's a worse hitter than Vazquez. I'd assume another is Endy Rodriguez who is also younger but has an MLB wRC+ of 59. The 3rd one is likely Rafael Flores who is a better argument for things. Endy plays C/1B/2B/LF so they don't need to move their 2nd best hitter in order to get him time. If 2.7 mil for their 2nd best hitter (with 200 PAs according to wRC+) is too much, they certainly aren't trading for Larnach at 5 mil when his wRC+ was 102 compared to Bart's 101.

I think the more unrealistic trade is Larnach for Bart. Not sure why the Pirates would do that. Is Bart a non-tender candidate? Larnach surely is. I don't think that trade has any shot.

Not sure why they keep Ryan if they're selling everyone else and going with a bare bones payroll. The fact that he's a good deal at that price is why you sell him. You're not winning while you have him here so go get somebody who will be here when you are ready to win.

It's accounted for in the blueprint but it doesn't show here for whatever reason. But it's on the worksheet when you build the blueprint. The above salaries total 95.6 million.

It'll be interesting to see where Bo signs this offseason and what that team's infield looks like as far as where he plays. He certainly wouldn't be my long-term plan at SS, but he'd start there in 2026 and I'd move him as I get a better feel for my infield options during the season and into the future. Sliding him to 2B now, and even DH for the last few years of his deal would be just fine with me. That bat would be huge in this lineup, though. Unfortunately, I don't think the Twins even call his agent this offseason. Or Naylor's probably. I just think that when you have a roster you know is going to have a ton of minimum contract dudes on it now and in the near future that's the time to make a splash by spending big on proven guys. Having so many minimum salaried guys on the roster makes it so I can get Naylor, Bichette, and Buxton all on the same team without even hitting 110 mil in payroll. Imagine if they could/would just go to 130ish. Another 20 mil lets you keep Pablo or sign a similar pitcher to a longer deal. The key is still development, but there's so much room for big time players when you're filling so many slots with cheap guys. Just need to have those cheap guys be good.

My 1 semi-logical post for the month! Enjoy!