Twodogs

You only have 22 players? No DH and a 10 man pitching staff. You could bring in some stud relief pitchers.

Hey looks like Eduardo Escobar is probably available?? ?

Eh, this kind of stuff has happened before, the 80's and 90's steinbrenner Yankees. I even think the Mets have done this before, remember Bobby Bonilla? The McCourt Dodgers, the Arte Moreno Angels have spent big money over and over again, Pujols, Hamilton, Rendon, etc, etc, etc..... I predict the Mets will have so much pressure on them to win the WS this year that they might not even make the playoffs. I mean good luck getting past Atlanta and the Philly. Atlanta doesn't spend anywhere close to what the big market teams pay. But they are always better, now they may have cheated a little a couple of years ago with foreign signings and such, but by and large they have developed their team much better than the Mets and the Mets are the Mets, most likely they won't win the WS this year. So if you don't feel like following the Twins because you want to fish more, or you don't want to follow them because their own front office keeps screwing up the roster I'd get it. But not watching the Twins because the Mets do something stupid, and probably something that will keep them from winning big for years to come seems overboard a little. All I'm saying is that don't just assume the Mets are going to be good because of this. Always remember they are still the Mets, and they will always be second fiddle in their own town. So just relax, I know our own front office seems to always be screwing things up. But that's independent of the Mets screwing up their own team.

So SF made a mistake and resolved it by making up a fake medical issue?? I mean if that is truly the case then SF will have a tough time ever signing any free agent. I mean if Boras thinks SF did something wrong then he will convince all of his clients to go elsewhere. So I think something really came up and Correa pivoted. I sure hope SF didn't get buyers remorse.

ARod and Tom Brady were judging their new girlfriends and dozens of other very good looking women in a spur of the moment bikini contest. I have all of the photos, but in order for you to see them you must pay the caretaker fee. ?????? I couldn't resist. I'm just joking, I don't mind the caretaker fee. But when I see something I can make fun of, I just can't stop myself.

No, I didn't say that you said that. I was just throwing out there what the Yankees would probably offer. Especially after watching them bench him in the playoffs. No I didn't say that you said that at all. I've been frustrated with Kepler, but I just don't want them to give him away. That's all I was saying.

I sure hope they don't trade him for Isaiah Kiner Falafa. To me that would regulate Farmer to the bench and I think would make the Twins worse overall. But I'm not sure that all of these teams are really in on Kepler or if they are just kicking tires to see what looks good. I mean there are a lot of OF'ers laying around such as Conforto that they could get without trading anything away. That's the main reason I don't want them to trade Kepler just to trade him because these teams know there are other guys available and they have the power to really low-ball the Twins. So to me this front office probably needs to consider keeping him until at least they know if we are competitive or not, say June/July. If they aren't in the running then trade Kepler and probably about 3 or 4 other guys. Because then you'll know which teams have injuries that they are trying to fill etc..... It just seems like this front office does things to appease the fan base. I mean when they can't accomplish the big thing to appease the fans, like Wheeler, then they go out and get Donaldson. When they can't resign Correa they go and pull in Gallo. I also think that everyone wants to move on from Kepler, which I get he hasn't lived up to what he was billed as. Especially after his big 2019 season. But Kirillof and Larnach just haven't proven themselves at this point in time. And believe me, I would love for one or both of those guys to break out and hit 25 bombs and have a .800 ops but I was hoping for that with Restovich and Buchanan too. It never materialized, at least we know that with an OF of Buxton, Gallo, and Kepler the Twins will have the best fielding outfield in the AL. If Gallo and Kepler rebound just a little then they would have a chance to do something. But we will see what happens. There seems to be a lot of relief pitchers sitting around out there still also.

Yeah you could be right. But I put Garlick on the roster because they seemed to use him a lot vs left-handed pitchers?? So I kind of looked at that ability to pinch hit late in a game against a lefty reliever or to start vs some left-handed starter.

Yeah it's weird. I mean like it or not the starting pitching doesn't look bad, especially when you consider they are competing in the AL Central. But the hitting lineup looks way below average. They have some potential up and comers like Royce, Julien, maybe Walner, Kirillof, Larnach, Lee, Martin, etc.... But by the time they know weather they can depend on this new group of hitters almost all of the pitchers will be gone??? Just doesn't seem like they have been able to time things very well.

With no more moves this is my opening day roster. C: Christian Vazquez ($10.00M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) SS: Kyle Farmer ($3.16M) LF: Joey Gallo ($11.00M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Max Kepler ($8.50M) DH: Alex Kirillof ($0.70M) 4th OF: Kyle Garlick ($0.70M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: Trevor Larnach ($0.70M) Backup C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.70M) SP5: Bailey Ober ($0.70M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Lopez ($3.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) RP: Jovani Moran ($0.70M) RP: Emili Pagan ($3.00M) RP: Cole Sands ($0.70M) Payroll is 24.24% under budget

Hey Eric Hosmer is available??

At least with Kepler and the ban on the shift he has a chance to do better. Gallo strikes out 200 times per year. I mean with over 600 plate appearances in 2021 Gallo didn't even break 100 hits. The shift doesnt field strikeouts.

I think with the injury history that the Twins have had the last few years that they should stay away from making a big splash and start trying to pick up competent players for depth. Pick up a good 4th Ofer instead of running Cave out there. Pick up a good middle infielder that can rotate around the diamond and find 2 or 3 competitive relief pitching arms. If they just go after depth they won't spend a bunch and when guys get hurt they won't be struggling to find someone to run out there every day for a few weeks while someone is recovering. My observation at this point is dont make a big splash just to make a big splash. I mean if Rodon was still available I would have gone after him, but since he isn't then get some depth and go with what we have projected as with our young guys.

Twins need to find out how much the Astros and Dodgers pay their guys who are in charge of player development and then offer those guys triple what they are getting paid. Then the twins won't have to trade of buy a pitcher from the free agency route. Rather they'd develop some pitchers.

I like the pin stripes, but when did we become the Marlins?

Wow, imagine Sano in Colorado?? If he can right the ship that could be an awesome opportunity for him. I just have to think, I know people have written about how he is a big human being and that he swings so hard, even mentioning 495 and 496 foot home runs. I mean I saw him swing and whiff at fastballs last year. I have to imagine that as big as he is that if he worried more about contact he'd still hit home runs. I mean 380 - 400 foot shots are still home runs? They might not look as pretty as the 490 foot variety but nonetheless go out just the same. If someone can just convince him to cut his swing down a little he will still hit home runs because of how big he is. I hope the best for him, I hope he lands in a situation like Colorado and hits 30 - 35 bombs again. I'm glad he's not with the twins anymore. At least for now, someday I might wish that he comes back.

Bundy has been ok, but because he can't get passed 5 innings ever he causes the Twins to have to occasionally use a guy like Pagan, so Bundy does ok, but because he can't go further the Twins lose some of his starts and other pitchers starts that can't go more than 5 innings because they have to use guys like Pagan. They can't use Duran and Jax every night.

Yeah I'm not saying that they are coming into the dugout and telling him what to do. But they are saying that, you have a lefty reliever in the pen, you have a left handed hitter up, we don't care if the starting pitcher is throwing a shutout on only 68 pitches we expect you to put the lefty vs lefty matchup everytime, it doesn't matter that the starter has gotten that lefty out twice already. The other night Mahle was pulled after 83 pitches, he has thrown over 100 pitches 10 times this season and with a high of 119 in a 5 -3 complete game. So I get it when you can bring in a guy like Duran or Lopez. But when you have to use them every night against the same team they are going to probably get hit. So if Mahle goes 1 more inning and they bring in Fulmer in the 8th and Duran in the 9th they still win 4 - 0 probably. Then last night if Bundy goes at least one more, maybe two. Then Theilbar, Jax and Lopez closes it. Duran and Lopez don't get over exposed. People always say the bullpen is getting overused, the actual pitchers arent really throwing too many innings, it's just that, to me, they are throwing too many times against the same teams in a row. These MLB hitters are good and if they see you one day and then get to see you again tomorrow their odds go up. JMO

Is it the manager who is in love with the bullpen or are the decisions coming down from the top? Like I mean if that is the situation and Rocco doesn't do what they say he will lose his job. I mean that's kind of why St Louis got rid of their manager last year and he was in the manager of the year running I think?

Well these players get paid based on previous results put up. So Correa has put up numbers in the past that warrants him making 35 million, like you said I hope he picks it up and can bring in similar numbers as what he did before. But if Correa is making too much money based on his performance then guys like Miranda, Ryan, and Duran are severely under paid based on their performance. So if you were basing salaries based on performance there probably wouldn't be a lot of money left over if you took some of Correa's cash because his performance doesnt hold up for a 35 million player at this point in time. I mean Buxton isnt really earning his money this year also, mostly due to injury, but nonetheless they could be using his money on other things too. I guess my main point is that if we are going to blame a player for not earning his money, then we also need to say that the guys that are over performing need to get more money which in the long run would probably even out and the Twins wouldn't have a bunch of money to spend elsewhere. I mean they probably could just spend some money and fix some stuff but that doesnt really seem to be the Twins way.

MLB teams also weren't worth Billions of dollars with mega TV deals. So times have changed. If Rod Carew we're playing today he would be asking for 35 million dollar contracts too.

It's too bad that "step brothers" has been released. He impressed me when he went to the bullpen and started throwing mid 90's striking people out left and right. It's weird how bullpen guys seem to flame out so fast. I remember Addison Reed was really good and then all of the sudden couldn't get anyone out. I don't usually see starting pitchers just go from doing well to having absolutely nothing overnight, they usually gradually get worse over time. I hope the "Duffman" catches on with a new team figures it out and can pitch another 4 - 5 years. I wish him luck. Pagan, what is up with that? It sure would be nice to have a couple of starters that were capable of going 7 innings then they'd be less dependent on a few of these guys night in and night out.

I'm glad they are trying to get better. I just hope and pray that they don't get burnt on another one of these reliever trades. Seems like the Twins have just had some bad luck with these types of guys.

IDK I'm kinda pessimistic about this season. I mean if the Twins were in the position of the Yankees, Houston, etc.... I'd go for another front line starter and deal almost whatever it took to get that guy. But even if the Twins get Castillo, and make the playoffs they don't likely match up with those teams anyway. So I'd go after a couple of bullpen pieces to get the Twins into the playoffs. Next year they should start off with Gray, Ryan, Ober and Maeda at the front of the rotation which at this point looks pretty good. Don't really want to screw that up going for it with the team that they have right now. But back in 2019 I'd have done something to try and match up better, but back then I thought the Twins had a better chance. But apparently they didn't, but at this point in time in 2019 I didn't know that.

Yeah that's for sure