Poli_Crandall

LaVelle Neal Just confirmed it on Twitter. Out of Baseball activities for 5months. Damn <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First round pick Alex Kirilloff needs Tommy John surgery on left elbow. Done for year</p>— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaVelleNeal/status/836942303918977024">March 1, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Palka was a college hitter coming into the draft while Kirilloff came out of high school. You have to think of the age at the level that they are competing in. Alex Kirilloff will be much younger then Palka was when starting out in A ball (19 compared to 23). Thats a big difference. Palka has always been older then his competition while conversely Kirilloff has been younger.

I dont understand why you would want to keep Dozier at leadoff. Why not put Mauer, who still gets on base at a very good rate and sees a lot of pitches, ahead of him? Mauer had a .363 obp which ranked the 2nd highest on the team and averaged over 4 pitches per plate appearance.

I, for one, am content (if not a bit excited) with this if it happens. I know the practical side of me says that we should/need to rebuild and sell off Dozier/Santana et al but I am still a fan that watches games and this would get me excited about 2017. That excitement might not last very long but at least it'll be there. As for my lineup i'd go: 3-MAUER 4-DOZIER 7-KEPLER 5-SANO 9-BAUTISTA DH-PARK/VARGAS/GROSSMAN 2-CASTRO 6-POLANCO 8-BUXTON

The Mets are a good trade partner in that they lack a true CF with Lagares not being the same player he was 2 years ago (injuries). However, I don't think they would bite for Dozier because of their MIers are more 2nd basement then shortstops. If we hope to get a combination of a catcher (Plawecki more likely then D'Arnourd) and one of their top tier Pitchers (I believe it'll be Harvey that'll be the one to go if anyone) it'll have to be one of our OFers. Hicks and prospects wont get that done. It'd have to be either Buxton (with low tier prospects) or Kepler (with mid tier prospects...think Jay, Meyer or Gonsalves). Idk if the twins would get that done but you have to trade good players to get good players.

Robinson is a 4th outfielder through and through. He can do well to spell regulars on days games and come in late as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. Arcia does not fit the profile of a 4th outfielder. He either needs to play everyday to see what he has or be traded. Simple as that.

You're trades have potential and I think you did a very good job in identifying teams that would be fit the player to be traded. I agree that if a trade to the Mets would go down the pitcher coming back would be Harvery or Wheeler. The rest of that pitching core is untouchable. Harvey has worn out his welcome and has made it very clear he will not discuss extension talks (being a Boras client). Of all the trades I think that to be the most reasonable if we believe we have a shot next year or the year after. Something along the lines of getting Plawecki and Harvey would be a good get. Now the price would be huge though and would require a position of need for the Mets, CF. John Manuel of BA tweeted last night that Scouts have been raving about Kepler and see his potential as an equal to that of Buxton's (he explained mainly that it has much to do with how Kepler has risen and not because Buxton has lost value). A deal revolving around Kepler (who's natural position is CF which Kieth Law pointed out) would make this work. Naturally there would have to be more pieces going the Mets way but that would make the discussion interesting.

In regards to Terry Ryan and his apprehensiveness to do anything meaningful at the deadline, you must realize the immensely difficult position he was in. The team was by all accounts overachieving and every statistic out there signaled regression fast. In hindsight, ya maybe he could have done more to ensure the team had a better chance to compete but at that moment he thought it better tweak from within rather then overhaul and to let the team play out with what they had, unfortunately it wasn't enough to get to the postseason. I strongly believe that the Twins organization should and is mirroring that of the Pirates organization 3-4 years ago. The Pirates stuck to their plan, didn't touch their young core of players, tweaked here and there and are now a perennial postseason team because of it. The Twins are very much on that same path now which will come to fruition as soon as next year. It was a difficult decision TR had to make and it was the right one. I applaud him for sticking to the plan.

Die-hard Definition: a person who strongly opposes change or who continues to support something in spite of opposition. I Think the only die hards is TR himself

I think the best option is to sell while his stock is high. The Twins obviously do not see him as a primary contributor in their future plans and EE is blocked by better options in both MI positions and 3rd. If he becomes a super utility (ie a Ben Zobrist type) where he can play the OF corners respectably as well i think it would be beneficial for the twins to keep him. If not I think it is best to try to package him to a team for pitching. The team that jumps out to me is the Mets. It has been discussed that they will be extremely active in the trade market for a solid SS and OFer in exchange for their plethora of SP talent . I wonder if the Mets would bite on a package that included EE and Arcia. Keith Law did a piece on the Starting Pitching market for this offseason and mentioned Zach Wheeler as a potential trade chip for the Mets. I don't know if a package of EE and Arcia would be enough but its certainly worth looking into.

Buster Olney's recent blog post stated some very interesting offensive players that can be potential candidates this offseason because of the influx of a strong Starting pitcher FA market and the lack of positional players. Of the players he lists one particular candidate, Jason Heyward, seems like a fascinating option for the twins to go after. He states that because of 2015 being his final year under contract and him being somewhat of an offensive enigma, he is a candidate to be traded. In my opinion he is the perfect candidate for the twins to target. He immediately upgrades an OF defense that ranked near the bottom and brings a solid top of the order bat that can provide power, speed, and on base percentage. The asking price would be very steep and I don't think it would be viable if we dont lock him up to a long term deal as well but He would be perfect for the twins organization. Some possible trade candidates that I think that would peak their interests would be Brian Dozier as they dont have a solid solution at 2nd base and/or Trevor Plouffe. We would probably have to include something else like a B grade pitching prospect but i definitely think we should make the leap. Stick Rosario or Santana at second and open the door for Sano to take over 3rd base at some point in the mid season. What are your guy's thoughts?