Twodogs

However, after this year Odorizzi is gone, Pineda is gone after 2 years. So they are actually going to need someone whether it's Ryu or Keuchel to slot in as at least that #3 - #4 dude even if Grateral, or Thorpe pass them to be a #2 starter in the future. So a 3 or 4 year deal solidifies the rotation for next year, but also give them something to work with in 2 and 3 years. I'm not confident that the Twins will handle the White Sox this year.

Pitching is gonna kill this club.

Just use MarGo at 3rd and then you have Gordon as a utility man.

Nice, but they need a starter!! He had a great season last year. Hope he can keep that going.

Just move the Twins corporate offices to like Santa Barbara or something like that. They don't need to know that the team plays in Minnesota, once they sign their deal in the Santa Barbara offices they will be stuck??

Hopefully something happens soon, pitchers are flying off the board. Tehran signed, Gio Gonzalez gone, etc.... Twins still no one.

No I know, he was terrible last year when they put him in the bullpen. He had that glimps of success the year before in his first 5 or so starts. Looked like he had real promise then kinda fell apart. Maybe he has learned something or found something that he didn't have the year before??

I wonder if they will give Fernando Romero another shot at starting this spring?

Well, if they are errors then technically his ERA wouldn't be affected at all. I think Keuchel is not as good as people make him out to be, but I don't think he is as bad as everyone makes him out to be either. I'd predict a 4.00 to a 4.20 era with 180 to 200 innings pitched in a full season. Wins and losses depend on a lot of other stuff, but I think he would man that 3rd or 4th spot in the rotation and allow the Twins to compete for the division. He won't lead them to the World Series, the Twins will have to Trade for that guy when July rolls around which at that point in time it would bump Keuchel down to the 5th spot, behind Pineda, Odorizzi, new guy, and Berrios. But until the Twins find that guy, I just feel that he solidifies their chances to win a few games. Where I don't have that much faith in Smeltzer's and Dobnak, I don't think those guys will even get to 150 innings this year. But again that's just my opinion.

I think age affects the pitchers that throw hard more than the control guys. Otherwise Keuchel should have been cooked years ago.

I think with Ryu and Wheeler, that Wheeler wins the age battle. I think people right or wrong fear the age thing with Ryu.

I haven't been a big fan of Keuchel, however, after looking at the Twins situation they really can't go the first 40 games with 2 guys. Yeah Keuchel is not that sexy frontline starter, and yeah he isn't the guy who is going to match up with Cole and the Yankees in the ALCS or anything like that. However, he is the guy who has proven can toss 200 innings up without an issue and really that is what the Twins need desperately right now. They need a dude that can slot into the 3rd or 4th spot in the rotation who can eat innings during the season. He has proven that he can throw a lot of innings, yeah he is not a fireballer who will rack up a ton of K's. But, he will go out there and throw innings which will save on our bullpen a little. Right now the only pitcher on the staff that has really proven he can toss 200 innings is Berrios. Beyond that, I mean Odorizzi was an All star, but he threw like 150 innings. Also Keuchel is at least as good as Gibson was, maybe better especially after he got sick, so it is an upgrade for sure. I get it, the Twins needed a stud to get to the World Series. They didn't get him, and they won't during this off season. So go get a horse that can log innings, won't kill you and can help get you to the finish line. I mean they will have to use a few of the other options anyway, such as the Dobnak's and the Smeltzer's but you don't know how many times those guys will have to get pulled after 2 or 3 innings and will put a lot of stress on the bullpen. They will also throw some 7 inning gems because they are capable of that too. But just like Odorizzi, there are going to be some games where they are pitching ok and they will pull them after 5 and then the bullpen will be responsible for almost half the game, this was a struggle last year too. At least with Keuchel, even if he's given up a few hits, 3 - 4 runs they can keep him out there knowing he won't implode, he can average 6 - 7 innings per start and that will be one day where the bullpen can relax a bit. Because those guys need to be fresh if they are going to have any shot at the post season. Also, Keuchel only pitched half a season last year, so he should be a little extra rested as he didn't have to put in a full season last year. I think Keuchel is a Twins type of guy, he is a Twins type of signing and he will get us to the post season. Now if the Twins want to compete in the post season they will need to get that Ace or strong #2 guy at the trade deadline, now that is a whole nother issue, obviously, since the fearless leaders seem to be a little apprehensive at pulling the trigger when they need to. But since the big game is gone at this point, go and get a Keuchel to strengthen the rotation so we can get to the trade deadline in the hunt. At that point, some team with a stud will be out of it. Go and get that guy to put you over the top. Just can't wait around for something to fall in our laps, because I don't think it's going to this year.

They have Cespedes hanging around in there also. He is listed as probable to start the season.

I think the problem is that these teams all need their Syndergaard's way more than they need their Buxton's and Rosario's right now. Almost every team is all in right now to at least make the wild card. Tampa Bay a year or two ago were dumping guys, but they already had their replacements in hand. So Cleveland dumping Kluber isn't really a sign that they have given up either, they already have real good young pitchers to take over. I don't think there is any way anyone will pry a Syndergaard away from the Mets. I mean they are signing 4th and 5th guys for the rotation as we speak, guys like Porcello. You are not going out there and shoring up your rotation for the beginning of the year only to dump one of your best guys. I mean in order to get someone like that it would have to be such an extreme overpay where they couldn't refuse. No one, especially the Twins will offer up some crazy overpay. Right now, for whatever reason, almost all of the teams are all in. Not only that, but almost all teams value their systems more than they used to. So the Twins and a few other teams would develop within and teams like the Dodgers would be out buying whoever they could and would dump their minor league depth in order to do so. But not anymore. Everyone is holding on. Only way a mega deal gets done is at the deadline.

But that's not really that much money in today's market.

So only 6 dudes have come through the draft. Scary for a team that has to rely on building from within.

Wade Miley signs 2 years 15 mill with the Reds? That would have helped the rotation a little.

I don't think Ryu is the Ace that will lead us to the promised Land. He will make our rotation better, however, he hasn't thrown more than 200 innings in a season since his first two seasons over seas. Madbum has thrown tons of 200 inning seasons. I think Ryu over a 4 year deal will average about 15 - 20 starts per year. One year he may start 30 games, but the next year he'll start 10. It is just not that predictable. But in those starts he will be tough. It's just he is not that reliable as far as pitching goes anymore. In all of the post season extravaganza that the Dodgers have had over the last bunch of years, Ryu has a total of 8 starts of which he has a 4.00 era and has only averaged 5 innings per start. Not exactly ace like, no reason to think he will all of the sudden do better now. I mean Cole, Strasburg, Verlander, etc... We're regularly throwing 7 inning games in post season. So even with Ryu we still don't match up, we become overly dependant on our bullpen. Ryu makes the rotation more solid for the regular season but does not shore us up for a playoff run.

Not that this is any better, but it's the 3rd. Odorizzi accepts QA realistically would be the #1.

I'm glad they re-signed him. Seems like he is able to get important outs, albeit he is not a 9th inning guy, more like a late 7th or early 8th inning dude.

Everyone nowadays always dismiss the pitchers once they hit that certain age. I know I have also, I remember thinking that Verlander wasn't going to be that great when he went to Houston a couple of years ago. Also, look at Charlie Morton, he pretty much was not good all the way to his 31st birthday. I mean he must have had potential because teams kept running him out there, but dang, look at what he has done since then. I was listening to Smoltz on the MLB channel and he was mentioning that 15-20 years ago the depth of pitching was much greater. He said you'd sit around and talk about the top 10 pitchers in the league and now after those guys there is a huge drop off, he said back then there was the top 10 and then the next 10 and then the 3rd 10 and he said back then you could build a staff out of those 3rd 10 pitchers and still win it all. But that is not the case anymore. I'm starting to think that the Twins may have to go out there and identify a couple of those older type guys 32+ guys who have had talent who have shown flashes, guys who have continued to work on their craft. A CC Sabathia 6 - 7 years ago etc.. Those are the types of guys the Twins could get on a 1 or 2 year deal and not get too tied up with while they are trying to develop a Grateral and a Balazovich etc.... Plus at that older age it's not like you have to save these guys, can probably drag a few more innings out of those guys. They need to find the Nelson Cruz of pitching. It may take giving 2 or 3 of those guys contracts in order to get one good one, then cut the other two etc.. just an idea because I'm getting frustrated with this off-season nothingness so far.

And it kinda looks like the white sox are striving to get there again, soon.

Seems a little weird that the Dbacks would sign Madbum after getting rid of Greinke??

Twins are going to get a couple of guys like Tehran and Homer Bailey, then by July one of them will be cut and the other will have an average season and the Twins will find another guy out of the independent leagues who will surprise everyone for a month and then fade away down the stretch.

Im from up there in Twins country, but I've lived in Southern California for the last 20+ years and Angels fans complain about Pujols contract, they complain about Hamilton, Mo Vaughn, etc... It goes on and on about who they complain about as a waste of money.