diehardtwinsfan

yeah, chicks dig the long ball. I think something could be said that perhaps the Twins feel that a lack of Ks might be overvalued a bit and are targeting guys that K more (with power and perhaps some OBP) because teams are passing those types of guys by a bit... who knows. Or it simply could be Ashburry's path of least resistance. Both Murphy and Palka were pretty good gets for what was given up.

I'm guessing that Ryan would listen on offers to anyone if they came in. That said, this is where I tend to value Ryan as a GM. He will get value for Plouffe or he won't trade him. Not sure if it will be a MLB reliever with a prospect, an MLB reliever and the ability to unload Nolasco, or just prospects, but I suspect if he trades Plouffe, he'll get something he wants. The real question is what type of offers are coming in.

I don't know if I like the idea of giving up Berrios for Fernandez. I wonder though if guys like Gibson, Duffey, or May might be in conversation here. I guess I'm not sure what the Marlin's pitching staff looks like, and I think I'd struggle more sending guys I like to that trainwreck of a franchise, but given the pitching we have right now, to get a guy like Fernandez, I'd have to think we would want to send some mlready arms over. I don't see Florida taking Nolasco or Milone off our hands.

I liked the mlb.com headline on this. Park hits home run to Minnesota...

According to hardball times at least. That's an odd fit. I'd be curious what his role would be in that scenario.

Come to the dark side my friend.

I'm only on episode 4. No spoilers please.

yeah, just started watching this. 4 episodes in. I liked Krysten Ritter in a few minor roles (Breaking bad in particular), but yeah, she's done pretty well in this. So far, I really like this show. My wife is even hooked on it, and she's not exactly a Marvel person. It will be interesting to see if they do a bit of cross over between DareDevil and Jessica Jones given that both are in Hell's kitchen at approximately the same time frame.

I suppose if all Trevor is worth is relief help, then that team is taking Nolasco off our hands too or at least that's what Id' want... I'd think we can get more than bullpen arm, unless of course it's a lights out 8th inning guy. Now bullpen guy plus a decent prospect and I'd be pretty interested there too.

Honestly, if Walker is up next year for anything more than a cup of coffee, that means some things went seriously wrong. He's behind several guys who will get a shot well ahead of him.

I'm still trying to figure out where that ball landed.

I'd make that drive to see a competitive team. Best thing about Chitown is that the WhiteSox following is so fair weather that it will probably be a stadium filled with Twins fans.

The solution is to have him hitting against Duffey this spring whenever Duffey is working on his curve.

I have a tough time believing that whomever they will take in the Rule V draft next month will have the upside or be any more likely to stick than Pinto. Achter isn't too much a loss (wish him well), but I'm a bit surprised about Pinto.

I cannot like this enough. May was our best starting pitcher when he got demoted, and that was in spite of those clunkers. The guy has a chance to be a 1/2 type pitcher. They need to let that develop, not waste it in the pen.

The thing about Duffey is that you saw his peripherals improve with each step up the ladder. That certainly was encouraging. I'm not quite sure the type of pitcher he's going to be, but with a mid-90s FB and a hammer curve, he could be a pretty good one. I thought he would profile as 3 at best. He pitched like that in his rookie year and could potentially get better (he could get worse too).

The issue with Dean is where he is on the pecking order and where to stash him. There are 7 guys on the 25 man roster right now who are starting pitchers. Even if Nolasco and Milone are traded, you now have Dean sitting behind Rogers, Berrios, and quite possibly Meyer in AAA. I'm not necessarily against keeping him if there's room on the 40 man, but I suspect that may be a bit of a long shot given the org's need for some decent relief pitching and quite possibly another OF.

May needs to be in the rotation. I'd trade Milone for a reliever or a prospect. Darren O'Day would be on my list, and getting Drew Storen for a reasonable price would be another one. The pen that you have laid out is pretty much last year's pen. Not a fan given how bad it was. You add O'Day and Storen and you have a pretty formidable back end of the pen. In AAA you have Berrios and Rogers or maybe even Meyer who can come up if someone struggles or is hurt. There's nice depth there. No reason to keep Milone around. I'd probably DFA Nolasco if I couldn't find any trade for him.

He's on the back end of my list. He's a bit younger than Palacios and didn't do quite as well, but still did quite well in rookie ball.

I'm not seeing the fit here: 1) Span wont' be ready by ST. That's the biggest issue as he would likely be a temporary stop gap to Buxton/Kepler 2) Span is probably not going to do a 1 year deal. If these two aren't an issue, then I'd most definitely say bringing him in on a 1 year make good deal makes a ton of sense.

If this happens, next year will be a very good year. I like your optimism.

I'd probably note their ages here too. Fuenmeyer would be an interesting guy to grab if he was say 23. That said, Michael will be in Rochester next season playing an up the middle position with a bat that was well above average for said position. He's a former first rounder who definitely struggled at first. I can see it either way, but if I was hurting for MI help, Michael would be a decent get. He might be a bench guy in MLB this year, but you could burn an option getting him development in AAA and then have him for 5 more years after that. Personally, I'd protect him. I do agree that the Twins probably have a better feel for whether or not that is necessary, and that answer may very well be that it isn't. I'm not sure I'd take the risk unless there's a rule V guy they have to have or a few more FAs they plan on getting.

yeah, have to admit, I really like the idea. Looking at the numbers though, I have to think Upton is worth more than Nolasco, simply b/c he plays CF...

That may fit you and your friends, but turning this into a blanket statement about what Twins fans believe to a board full of Twins fans (who usually disagree with you) is just trolling. It won't win you any points with people reading you.

I’m a bit late to the party. The Twins have already made 3 moves, so I’ll simply tailor my plan moving forward from that point. What I see right now is a short term hole in the OF. There’s one starter penciled in with Rosario, and I wouldn’t exactly count on him as a sure thing. In the high minors, Rochester will be fielding an OF of Buxton, Kepler, and Walker. I fully expect one of those guys to be banging the door down by May and quite possibly 2 or 3 by the end of the season. Injuries will certainly allow any of them to be on the Rochester shuttle to Minneapolis, and given that all are on the 40 man, I half expect to see that as time progresses. I’m going to go with the assumption that Arcia will be starting in RF at the beginning of the year, not because he deserves it, but because he’s out of options. I’d rather him be at DH, but with Park around, I really don’t see that happening, especially with Mauer at 1B. I do think that Mauer is going to see his reps dropped, even with a Plouffe trade, there’s a bit of a glut of corner position guys, so if Mauer’s slide continues (though he’ll get every opportunity to bounce back), I somewhat expect to see his role start to diminish in 2016. On the other side, the Twins seem to have a bit of a glut of back end rotation guys/guys under contract clogging up the rotation. This is going to cause problems for guys like May and Duffey who have certainly earned the right to start, but are blocked. Hughes isn’t going anywhere, neither is Santana or Gibson. That leaves 2 spots. My plan would be to alleviate some of the competition here, as it has value to other teams and it’s blocking key cogs. My plan as follows. 1. Trade Nolasco for anything. I really don’t care what we get or how much needs to be eaten. This is a sunk cost. Not that I have inside info here, but I don’t get the impression that he likes it here either. He’s basically what Carl Pavano was to the Yankees a few years ago. If someone will give a bag of balls for Nolasco and 50% of his remaining contract, I’d jump on it. If not, my plan for him would be to be in the pen where I do think his stuff will likely play a bit better, but given the rotation options, he’s not in it at this point. Melvin Upton in SD might be a good target here as he can play CF and could shift to a corner once Buxton is ready. I’m guessing he will cost more than Nolasco though, so either there’s money included or another prospect to balance it out. 2. Trade Tommy Millone – There are always teams in need of pitching, and while Milone is hardly a top target, he’s a reliable back end target that can shore up a weak rotation, and could very likely be a fall back plan for teams that miss out on their guy or who don’t want to pay the price for Sonny Gray. There are lots of fits, and Millone wouldn’t be that expensive. As a guess, I’ll go with the Texas Rangers. They won 88 games despite bad pitching, and they are potentially losing two starting cogs in Lewis and Gallarado to free agency this offseason. Millone won’t cost them a lot. My first try would be to the rangers for Ryan Cordell, who had a pretty decent season in A+ ball but struggled in AA. He’s not a rule V risk for a bit yet, and he plays multiple positions with a bat that could be decent. My main requirement would be to free up additional 40 man spots given some of the prospects in the high minors that will require them. 3. Trade Trevor Plouffe – With the acquisition of a catcher already in the books, trading Plouffe for catching help doesn’t strike me as something that will be happening (or that honestly needs to happen). At this point, I’d trade him for a prospect. 4. Sign Darren O’Day to a 3 year 16M deal. There’s a bit of a risk here. He’s 32, which is not a great age for relievers. He’s been pretty good though striking out more than a batter an inning, limiting walks and home runs, while maintaining a sub 2 ERA. That should add one more solid arm to the pen, and when guys like Burdi are ready, he can be used to mentor them as well as move to a more suitable role if his skills are starting to dry up. 5. Trade J.T. Chargois or Zach Jones to Washington for Drew Storen. This is contingent on Storen being willing to be a setup man for Perkins, though I’d be clear that he’s first in line if Perk is hurt again or simply loses it. It’s a high price to play for 2 years of Storen, as Chargois could potentially be the same type of reliever for 6-7 years for the Nationals, but Chargois doesn’t come without his own set of risks, so I think it would be a fair offer. I’d listen on that 2nd round pick too if that’s what the Nats wanted. 6. Float Kyle Gibson. I’d float him, but honestly, I’m expecting to be a bit underwhelmed here, and he would remain a Twin for 2016. I think he can improve, so I wouldn’t necessarily give him away, but with the starting pitching already on the team, I'd definitely see if someone would be willing to give up value for Gibson. There would need to be a very good prospect headlining the deal. 7. Sign a couple more relievers to minor league contracts – This is more of a throw it at the wall and see what sticks. I’d get a couple of guys to minor league deals and see what sticks. 8. If Melvin Upton isn’t an option, I’d target an OF on a 1 year make good deal that could do CF temporarily. My team: C – Suzuki/Murphy 1B – Mauer/Park 2B – Dozier SS – Escobar 3B – Sano LF – Rosario CF – Upton/FA (eventually Buxton) RF – Arcia DH – Park/Pinto/Arcia BN – Pinto, Santana (as an OF), Nunez, Murphy SP – Hughes, Santana, Gibson, May, Duffey RP – Perkins, Storen, O’Day, Jepsen, Tonkin, Fein (though this spot is not guaranteed), O’Rourke/Chargois/potential RP pickup