chpettit19

I still hope they trade Ryan. I still hope they trade Jeffers. I've never waivered from that. I hope they do it. I also hope they use bulk pitchers on 3 days rest. I hope they do a lot of things. I wanted them to use Varland as that bulk guy last year. I wish they'd do it with Festa no matter what this year. Pablo was the exact risk many of us spent all offseason talking about. I don't think it changes the strategies at the top because I don't think their strategies were baseball based. Unfortunately. They're in a bad spot. We'll see where they go from here.

I am not comparing Prielipp to Randy Johnson in terms of Prielipp being a Hall of Famer or having a 20+ year career, but Randy was 25 when he debuted. He turned out alright. Yes, I'd prefer the Twins top prospects to debut at an earlier age if possible, because it's generally a sign of higher upside. But Connor comes with some caveats. He blew out his elbow. It happens. A lot. But he threw 82.2 innings last year. I don't know why we're acting like he threw 42.2. 83 is a solid number to build on. He went 5 and 6 innings in his last 2 starts. Could he be a great closer? Sure. But could he be a frontline starter? Also, a yes. And I'll take a frontline starter over a great closer 100% of the time. Yes, there's a chance he blows out his elbow again if he's a starter. There's also a chance he blows out his elbow again if he's a closer. Throwing a baseball really, really hard is bad for your elbow. Keep him as a starter. Get him to 130 innings and see where the chips fall.

Lucas Giolito had a 3.41 ERA in more innings than any Twins pitcher not named Ober or Ryan last year. Not sure that's a "reclamation project" exactly. We're not talking about Chris Archer or JA Happ here. If I had it my way 3 of those inexperienced guys would throw multiple innings every 4th day as bulk relievers like they did with a handful of guys in the minors last year. But they don't ask me what I'd do with the team. As it turns out, what the newest Pohlad they found has to say about the direction is the only thing that matters. I'd have 8 guys scheduled for 100+ innings with health and performance this year and take a bunch of the load off the 1 inning relievers while not expecting those "young" guys to get through the lineup multiple times until they show they can succeed in multiple innings. I'm all for playing the young guys. I don't care about the Ws and Ls this year (obviously prefer more Ws). But the guy at the top claims he does care. And if he does, then their best chance to gain more Ws is to sign somebody like Giolito or Littell. That's all I'm saying.

I think it should be, but it isn't. I want them to pick a lane. I said it at the deadline. I said it at the beginning of the offseason. Middle of the offseason. Now. I agree with you. They should rebuild. But more so, I just want them to a pick a lane. I'd prefer the rebuild lane, but if they prefer the "judge us on wins and losses" lane, the "meaningful September baseball" lane, then get in that lane. Lucas Giolito is a legitimate major league starting pitcher. A team trying to win starts the season with Lucas Giolito in its rotation, not Taj Bradley or Mick Abel or Zebby Matthews or David Festa. I'd have preferred they traded Ryan and Pablo and had all those guys in the rotation because they're rebuilding, but they didn't and they aren't. Once you make that decision, then fully make that decision. Taj, Mick, Zebby, and David have all debuted already. At 22, 23, 24, 24 years old. They all have things to work on. None of them have shown enough to be in the opening day rotation of a team trying to win in 2026. Yes, I'd prefer they rebuild, but they aren't. And I'd prefer they actually try to win if that's what they're trying to do instead of playing the middle ground and not doing either. Pick a lane. I don't need you to spend 150 mil on an opening day payroll this season, but don't do this nonsense "roll it back while picking up a bunch of cheap relievers" routine. Pick a lane. That's what I'm asking. They say they've picked the "compete" lane. Spring training is here. The new head man is in place. I'm going to take them at their word. If that's their lane then it's the one I'm going to view things through. So, I want them to get in that lane. And that means getting legit major leaguers for the opening day roster.

No, I don't think they should be trying to contend. I think they should have gone full rebuild, and a potential elbow injury to one of their most valuable trade chips is the exact risk they take by not doing it over the offseason. It sounds like they're just being cautious with Pablo at this point, but this is a good reminder to all the "they have the same value at the deadline" people out there who don't think there's any risk in holding Ryan and Pablo. A blown elbow takes their value to 0. Immediately. Likely for the length of their remaining contracts. Yes, I am speaking to the mixed messaging of ownership, but also just the mixed team building strategy I think they've been taking since the deadline. I said it deadline day. I didn't think they were going full rebuild then. I thought they were trying to thread the needle. I don't know if that was the intent, but it's ended up being the result at this point. I never thought anyone in the org would come out and say that success in 2026 is vital to building future successful teams, though. None of that matters, though. They're "trying" to win. They could announce surgery for Pablo tomorrow and they aren't trading Ryan the day after. This team is "trying" to win. So, bring in another arm. Bring in more talent. Depth. That's the point now. The Twins are going to need more than 5 starters this year. If they are trying to win this year, they are going to need their rotation to carry them. Like nearly 100%. The lineup is unlikely to do much heavy lifting. The defense will do no lifting. The bullpen will do no lifting. It is almost all on the rotation while the lineup, I'd guess, has some nice stretches where it provides some nice support, but also goes ice cold for other stretches and they only win games where the rotation is superhuman. That means you need to go 10 deep in rotation arms because every team goes through 9+ arms a year. Bradley, Abel, Zebby, and/or Festa can't spend the first month or 2 getting their feet under them in the majors. Your best bet for guys coming out of the gates strong are veterans who've been there and done that. But they have to be in camp early. So, you need to sign them now. You can't wait until a week before the season and bring in Giolito. If they actually have money to spend, like they claim to. And if they're really trying to compete, like they claim to be. Go get more talent. The talent that is still available on the FA market are guys like Lucas Giolito. Go get him. Or Littell. Go get more talent.

Pablo getting an MRI. If they're still trying to compete, yes, they should look at bringing in another starting pitcher. No matter what the results of that MRI are. Their rotation has to be lights out. Has to be top 5 in the AL, top 10 in baseball if they're going to compete. They can't rely on Zebby, Festa, Abel, or Bradley being good. Or Ober even at this point. They need another starter if they're trying to contend.

Buxton is still the best CFer on the 40-man. He'll still be the best when Jenkins is called up. Emma is better than Jenkins in center from what I've seen of them in the minors. Ideally, Jenkins is in a corner in the majors, but he'll stay in CF until they have to move him because Buxton and Emma are such massive injury risks ahead of him. This isn't a 2026 move. But PCA is a much better CFer than Buxton now and he'll play there over Buxton in the WBC for defensive purposes. It would be nice if Buxton gets some time in left during the WBC to get the idea in his head and make that conversation easier for the Twins for 2027 or 2028 or beyond. The transition will happen eventually, but this is not the year. The Twins don't have anyone nearly worthy of pushing Buxton to a corner. If they're trying to compete there isn't any conversation worth having about Buxton going to LF. Not even the injury one when the best backup CF options are an even bigger injury risk in Emma or Alan Roden. Buxton will have to move to a corner eventually, but you'll want a true CFer here when he does if you're trying to compete when it happens. If they were going into this year with a blown-up rotation in the middle of a real rebuild, I'd say get it out of the way and put Emma and/or Jenkins out there. But they aren't. So, the job is Buxton's.

When actual changes to how the team is run and performs on a consistent basis are made, I will change my opinion on the team. I've done it before, and I assume most of us here have. I'll do it again, and I assume most of us here will. But I'm not going to do it just because Trevor Plouffe tells me Tom Pohlad touched on the same bullet points he had written down. Tom didn't tell me his plan. And what his plan is doesn't matter, anyway. His execution of his plan, and what those results are, is all that matters. Once we see that, I'll change my opinion. Or further entrench my opinion. But so far, I have been unimpressed. I hope Tom is right. And I'll do as Tom asked and judge this team by wins and losses and meaningful September baseball. I also hope Plouffe is right and Wallner launches 50 bombs this year. That'd be a good step towards meaningful September baseball.

I love this idea and I've been suggesting they use it for a long time. You don't have to take Pablo Lopez or Joe Ryan out after 5 innings because it's a "bulk day." Or 6 innings. Or 7 innings. Or 8 innings. Hopefully 9 innings because they threw a shutout and the Twins managed at least 1 run and the game is over. If the Twins (or any team trying something like this) are going to be so rigid as to say "well it's been 5 innings, have to take him out" no matter who is pitching and how they're pitching, then, no, don't do this. It's a terrible idea and will never work. But if they can be flexible and use their brains then I love the idea. I think the 2026 MN Twins are uniquely setup to try this idea. Anyone here want to standup and proclaim the back of this pen to be too good to risk trying Festa for the 8th and 9th or Abel for the 7th through 9th or Bradley for the 6th through 8th before Rogers against 2 lefties and a righty in the 9th? We're not looking at Varland, Jax, and Duran to close out games anymore. We're looking at Topa, Rogers, and Sands. Why are people even pretending to fight for that as something we have to turn the ball over to instead of Festa, Bradley, Matthews, or Abel for an extra inning? If Pablo or Ryan go 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 then your bulk guy gets an extra day rest. Just like a normal starter gets an extra day rest when there's an off day in the schedule or they get sick or they're a little tight in the morning or whatever. No, the Twins should absolutely, positively, 100% not be so rigid as to pull Pablo or Ryan after 5 simply because it's a "bulk day" and Abel is scheduled for 4 even though Ryan has 15 Ks through 5. But let's not pretend Pablo, Joe, or anyone else is going to average 7 innings a start this year. Maybe, MAYBE, 1 Twins starter will average almost 6 innings a start this year. We can't have 1 or 2 guys going 3 or 4 innings on those days? If Pablo or Joe go 8 then have that guy close it down. It's not like we're skipping Jhoan Duran to go to Festa or Abel or whoever. We're skipping somebody none of us want closing anyways. I love this idea and I hope they do it. I honestly want 2 or 3 guys doing the bulk thing. Because our best pitchers are our starters and our starter prospects. Our pen is a joke. It's awful. I don't want 70+ innings out of Eric Orze. I want 100+ out of Mick Abel.

I've mentioned it a few times around here the last year or so, but I will be having a fun little adventure this summer and enjoying a game in every team's home park. I chose this summer so I could also enjoy a World Baseball Classic game or 2. Since I know you all can't get enough of my thoughts, feelings, and opinions on all things baseball, I figured I'd start a blog and share the journey with you. This first entry is to lay out the plan for you so you can see what it's going to look like and I can see what people are interested in hearing about. Ticket plans: My plans for game tickets to MLB games are to get the cheapest tickets I can to almost every game. I want to see the parks. I want to see what the views are like from different angles and areas. I don't plan to be in my seat for most of the game so I don't want to waste money on expensive seats. The stadium I am most considering getting specific seats to is Fenway. I think it'd be fun to sit on The Monster. So, I may do that. If anyone has insight on other seat locations at other parks that are truly special and really provide a unique vantage point to a game, please let me know! Travel plans: I don't want to drive in New York, so I will be doing a flight out to Washington and then trains and ubers and rental cars from there on my east coast swing. But the rest will be done in my trusty camper van. That will lead to some long days and tight windows on getting to some games and getting out of town after games, but it'll make for an exciting adventure! The WBC trip will be done solo, but the plan is to bring my dog with on the others. There'll be some hotel nights mixed in when we just need a night indoors with some comfort, but we're hearty, northern camping folk so we'll be good on the road most of the time. This will also allow us to save a few bucks over the flight and hotel option. Schedule: WBC/Spring Training- 3/11 Dominican Republic vs Venezuela in Miami 3/12 Mets vs Cardinals in Jupiter 3/12 Nats vs Astros in West Palm Beach 3/13 Pool C vs Pool D WBC Quarterfinal in Miami West Coast- 5/1 Colorado Rockies vs Braves 5/3 Sacramento Athletics vs Guardians 5/4 San Francisco Giants vs Padres 5/6 Los Angeles Angels vs White Sox 5/7 San Diego Padres vs Cardinals 5/8 Los Angeles Dodgers vs Braves 5/9 Arizona Diamondbacks vs Mets 5/11 Texas Rangers vs Diamondbacks 5/12 Houston Astros vs Mariners Northeast- 5/21 Washington Nationals vs Mets 5/22 Baltimore Orioles vs Tigers 5/23 Philadelphia Phillies vs Guardians 5/24 New York Yankees vs Rays 5/25 New York Mets vs Reds 5/26 Boston Red Sox vs Braves Midwest- Chicago Cubs either start or end the trip with them depending on a couple other life events 6/22 Chicago White Sox vs Guardians 6/23 Cincinnati Reds vs Brewers 6/24 Pittsburgh Pirates vs Mariners 6/25 Toronto Blue Jays vs Rangers 6/26 Detroit Tigers vs Astros 6/27 Cleveland Guardians vs Mariners 6/28 Milwaukee Brewers vs Cubs Southeast- 8/9 Kansas City Royals vs Cubs 8/10 St Louis Cardinals vs Phillies 8/11 Atlanta Braves vs Mets 8/13 Miami Marlins vs Pirates 8/14 Tampa Bay Rays vs Orioles Seattle- 9/22 Seattle Mariners vs Astros I'm in Seattle for a conference in September so they get their own special stand-alone game. Minnesota- Whenever. I live here. So, I'll go when the mood strikes. There is an ability to move some games around and adjust with most of the schedule. Some of the schedule is pretty tight and that'll be fun and stressful all at the same time. I'm excited for the summer and think it'll be a pretty cool adventure. Let me know what you think will be fun about it, what you think the pain points will be, and what things you think I should write about. What are you guys interested to know about all the different parks across the country and the challenge of seeing them all in one summer? Anything you're curious about with the WBC games? Let me know and I'll try my best to report back on it all! Spring training has arrived and baseball season is right around the corner!

Guess I'm confused on the idea of the Twins having a backup catcher for the Astros. Ryan Jeffers is not a backup catcher. He's a starting/tandem catcher. And Alex Jackson is no different than Cesar Salazar. I actually don't think the Twins and Astros line up well on a trade at all, unless you're talking Wallner. I don't see why the Astros would want to give up Paredes for a deal that is centered around Jeffers as the main return. Or Larnach. Larnach isn't enough to even get the conversation started and Jeffers isn't the right type of piece to fit their puzzle. The Astros have some fella named Alvarez as their DH, and Christian Walker is their right-handed 1B. Jeffers doesn't help their lineup enough to give up Paredes for. And Larnach isn't a good enough bat to even start a discussion as the main piece for Paredes. Wallner might be, though. If you're the Astros, you aren't looking for a backup catcher as the main return for a guy like Paredes. Injury protection for Diaz is obviously nice, but that isn't what you're trading a piece like Paredes for. They're looking for a starting OFer for Paredes, not a backup C. Wallner is who we should be discussing. Not Jeffers, Jackson, or Larnach.

I don't mind this deal. They likely weren't going to spend that pool money anyways and have been atrocious in the international market recently anyways. This isn't an exciting move, though. Banda being their "big" bullpen get is not impressive. He's not a closer. He's not a leverage arm. He's a lefty specialist. Gave up an OPS of .774 against righties last year and .739 the year before. I'm told Trevor Larnach OPSing .759 against righties is a sign he's a good hitter. Well, that's how Banda gets hit by righties. As others have pointed out, his FIP is well above his ERA and he has just gotten a significant downgrade in the talent behind him. This being a decent enough little upgrade to the pen just tells us how incredibly devoid of talent the pen was, and still is. But I think expecting him to be a leverage arm is a mistake. People are looking at his last 2 years with the Dodgers and seeing nice ERAs and getting excited. Is the team better now than it was yesterday? I think so. Is this actually a meaningful step towards a truly competent and competitive bullpen and team? I don't think so. This pen was, and still is, just so incredibly devoid of MLB talent. Another floor raising/setting move that doesn't even brush the ceiling, let alone move it.

I guess I'm confused then. What's the comparison? These are guys that hit from the start and had superior physical tools which allowed them to play short at Lee's age. Lee doesn't hit anywhere near average, let alone at their level, and doesn't have their physical tools. I'm not sure what you're trying to compare here. Yes, Lee still has a chance to improve. His story is not finished. He doesn't have the arm they had/have, or the speed they had/have, though. He's 30-year-old Seager at the age of 24, athletically. And he has a spine disorder. I don't think he even profiles as a stopgap at shortstop on a team that has a shortstop. But, as BA states, the 2026 MN Twins don't have a shortstop so here we are. Brooks Lee may improve. I've been one of the lower posters on him for some time. Said he's a utility player with some spike years as a nice regular at 2B or 3B when everything comes together. He simply doesn't have the physical tools to be the star people seemed to be hoping for. He can turn out to be a useful piece to a winning team. He can turn into a good player. My contention with your other post was the comparison to 2 of the best players in the game. He doesn't compare to Seager or Bichette. He doesn't have their tools. He doesn't hit like them. He'll never have their tools. He'll never hit like them. Yes, hitting at Seager or Bichette levels can make up for lacking tools in other areas, but Lee is never going to be that guy, so I don't understand the comparison.

They aren't just elite hitters for their position, they're elite hitters. You're talking about 2 of the best hitters on the planet. And their arms are not worse than Lee's in general. They've both had years with max velos over 90. Lee has topped out at 86.1. Bichette, in particular, has had a better arm throughout his career than Lee. And neither of those guys were slower than Lee at his age. At age 23 and 24 Corey Seager had sprint speeds of 26.8 and 26.1 ft/2. Bo Bichette was 28.0 and 27.5. Brooks Lee is 25.6 and 26.1. That 26.1 from Seager at age 24 was the only time he wasn't faster than Brooks Lee until his age 30 season. And he was tied with Lee. Bo Bichette has been clearly faster than Lee every year until this year when he missed time with a knee injury. These are not the comps you think they are. You're comparing 30-year-old Corey Seager and injured Bo Bichette to a 24-year-old Brooks Lee. Neither of those 2 are considered good fielders, but they're better athletes than Lee and they're 2 of the best hitters on the planet. You can put them at any position and their bat plays. I don't think anybody wants to make an argument that Brooks Lee is going to hit so well that we don't care where he plays or what his glove is like.

Don't they think Khadim Diaw, Enrique Jiminez, and Eduardo Tait are catchers? Don't they think Hendry Mendez is a 1B? Can't you move just about anybody down the defensive spectrum from SS to 1B? I mean, that is my point. If you have extra SS they can move other places. And I don't think it's fair to start off with "if you think Houston or Culpepper are a SS why would you trade for one" and follow that up with them having "questions in the OF" and ignoring Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, etc. If you're claiming Houston and Culpepper are enough to not need a SS then I'd say having 3 of your top prospects as AAA outfielders should probably mean something. I'll stick to my original argument. Get the best baseball players you can and figure it out from there. They can move their Fernando Tatis Jr and Jackson Merrill to the OF to cover those questions if they need to when they're so overwhelmed with All Star SSs at the MLB level.

I had to do a few double checks and make sure I was on the real page.

According to the official Twins website, Lewis is the backup to Gio...

Because I've thought a lot of guys were a lot of things and was wrong time and time again. Just like every MLB team in history. It's all about improving your odds. And if you're right on all 3 (or 4 or 5 or as many as you have) then you move some to other positions like every MLB team in history. Up the middle players are hard to find. It's why they're drafted so high and paid so much. If you can get another possible (that's the key word here) up the middle player, do it. Houston (assuming he's the best defender of the group) at SS, Culpepper at 3B, and trade acquisition guy at 2B is a nice outcome in 2 years. If you're only right on one of them, then that guy gets the SS spot and that's a nice outcome. If you're wrong on both Houston and Culpepper but you didn't bring in any other SS because you thought those 2 were the guys, that is not a nice outcome. Get the highest upside talent you can. And as much of it as you can. The highest upside guys are up the middle guys. Figure the rest out later. The Twins can move their Fernando Tatis Jr to RF. And they can move their Jackson Merrill to CF to play next to him. Just get the best baseball players you can.

FYI he moved there before the AFL, just didn't really get to play much in the AFL because he left for personal reasons. But this isn't a new decision. He's not a fast runner and not a good outfielder so they made this move at the end of the season. Hopefully he's been working on it for a few months and there's something to work with here.

That entire post was about how its entirely possible the Twins could be good. You have not admitted anything. Your entire stance in this thread has been lecturing "typical Twins fans" on their outlook on the team. Never once have you said that they may actually be correct in their assessment of the team. But I did say that we may be wrong and there is a chance that the team performs well. This "discussion" has run its course. You have done nothing but lecture me and other fans on how we should view the team. Not one single time have you said we could be right and you could be wrong. You're now replying to a comment where I am literally stating that I understand there's other possibilities besides the outcome I'm predicting and your stance is that I'm "certain I am not wrong." You haven't presented any evidence of why you think the Twins may succeed. You simply want to lecture people. Feel free to feel as superior as you want. They'll play the games no matter how any of us feel about how the team is run. And none of us are losing sleep over our opinions on the Twins.

Yes, that absolutely does happen. And it absolutely is within the realm of possibilities that the Twins are good this year. It's possible they see a 20 win bump in their record, it just isn't likely. That's why I said we were having honest and realistic discussions. I didn't say improvements, I said additions. The additions they made weren't internal, that isn't how additions work. The internal guys can improve, that, as you state, is their hope. It was their hope last year, as well. And the year before. How'd that work out? You will find plenty of posters around here who have defended the idea of not blowing things up and actually building around the rotation. A number of them are starting to get frustrated with the lack of actual building, though. "Hey, guys who haven't shown they can sustainably perform at a higher level may sustainably perform at a higher level this year" is not a plan many people feel highly confident in. It has been acknowledged by most of us that it is entirely possible that it does happen, it just isn't likely. And its all about odds. That's what team building is. Improve your odds of success. Right now, as of this moment, the Twins odds of having a successful season are very low. You are welcome to ignore those odds and focus on the tiny chance things go well. But the rest of us are free to look at things from a far more realistic view and see that this team has no bullpen, and below average offense, and no defense and say things are likely going to go pretty poorly this season.

The Twins are projected to win anywhere from roughly 70 to 77 games this year. If living in the real world and trying to have realistic conversations about our favorite team is "pissing in our own cereal" then sure, that's what all us "typical Twins fans" are doing. Or, maybe, just maybe, we're just having honest conversations about the state of a team that just went 70-92 and didn't make any meaningful upgrades to their roster. I didn't say anything that wasn't true and accurate in that post. If you feel I'm being negative about the Twins, and in that post the Pohlads, then maybe you need to be honest about the Twins, and in that post the Pohlads. Because all I did was state facts about the Twins, and in that post the Pohlads. That didn't ruin my day. Didn't have any impact on my day at all. I wasn't worried anyone did anything to my cereal. Didn't even eat cereal. Just provided information. If your day is highly impacted by your personal opinion about the Minnesota Twins you may want to seek help. I'm quite positive the rest of us just enjoy having open, honest conversations about them during our free time. Sometimes our opinions are positive. Sometimes they're negative. We have this weird ability to not let that impact our lives on the whole. We aren't negative just to be negative. We aren't positive just to be positive. At least not all of us. Some of us just look at a team that went 70-92 and who's "big" additions were a 110 OPS+ DH, a backup catcher/1B/DH, and a middle reliever and think the team is likely not going to be significantly better than the previous season's 70-92 record. And none of us have told you you're not allowed to be an atypical Twins fan and believe they're going 92-70 instead. Have at it. Welcome to Twins Daily. The land of wildly varied opinions. Lay out your reasoning for why we're all being negative just to be negative and we're about to see a 20-win jump because of Josh Bell, Victor Caratini, and the return of Taylor Rogers.

We must be watching different organizations and reading different reports. They claimed to have lost half a billion dollars on a franchise that set a record for consecutive playoff game losses and missed the playoffs in 4 of the 5 years in which they claim the have racked up those losses. The Pohlads themselves don't even claim to be "about even" on their own decisions.

I completely understand your points. They are not well-kept secrets. You are not a complicated man.

I provided exact dates of legitimate articles. I don't know what else you want me to do when setting a timeline 🤷‍♂️ Can't win them all, I guess. I say repeatedly that I wanted Falvey gone and I'm glad that happened, but I don't say it the way you want, or didn't say it as early as you wanted me to, or something, so I guess it doesn't count. Or, you're just so incredibly blinded by your hate for him that you can't even discuss anything else that may be going on around the organization. Maybe that's a possibility? No. Definitely not a possibility. Thanks for your input. Always helpful.