fridleyphil

I like what Justin Lebron would bring to the Twins, but everyone is correct, a lot can change during the college season. But what do I know. I was amazed that Andrew Susac was going to be our backup catcher. But that excitement was destroyed an hour later when his trade to SF was announced. For whatever reason, that was a big let-down buzz kill.

I agree 100%

The 2026 draft has the most high end talent in the last twenty years. I would love to see the Twins get the #2 pick and have one of the biggest draft $$ pools in the draft. Being able to go over slot with picks in round 2, comp pick B, round 3, and round 4 would be fantastic. That would allow us to select a top college player in round one, then go over slot for a high school kid or two. I have followed the baseball draft since 1984 when I bought my first Baseball America. Over the years, I have noticed that selecting college players from the SEC will often pay off in the middle and late rounds. You can also find solid, but under-rated talent in the Big 12 and the ACC. When it comes to the Big West, Mountain West, and other conferences, the opposition is weaker, so you can really only focus on tools over stats.

Early in the off-season, I was thinking that the Twins would get the best return possible if they traded both guys to the same team. Neither Lopez or Ryan gets you a teams #1 prospect. But both together puts you in #1 prospect range. The first teams that I looked at were the Blue Jays and Red Sox, and they have both already improved their rotation. The top remaining teams with the best prospects are the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Rangers, and Reds, The Rangers are rebuilding and the Reds are a mid-market like the Twins. The Mets are always desperate to win next year.

Using the trade simulator, I traded Joe Ryan and Alan Roden to the Red Sox for Marcel Mayer and 2025 1st round pick Marcus Phillips to be a relief pitcher in 2026. Then I later made another trade with Boston on the trade simulator. I traded Pablo Lopez, Taj Bradley, and Pierson Ohl for pitchers Kyson Witherspoon, Payton Tolle, Anthony Eyanson, catcher Johanfran Garcia, 17 yr old 6*3 SS Dorian Soto, and 21 yr old CF Miguel Bleis. I cut payroll and stocked the farm system with 8 more ranked prospects. Boston gets two stud pitchers, a former top prospect in Taj Bradley. I doubt they would trade all this prospect capital, but I worked with my only trade partner, and balanced two trades. The money I saved will be spent signing 1B Rhys Hoskins for $5m, and Kenley Jansen for $7m. I signed former Twin Gary Sanchez to be my backup catcher to start the year. Lane Thomas can be my 4th OF. I expect Marcel Mayer to make the team out of spring training. With injuries and slumps, there are plenty of at bats for Luke Keaschell, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, and Marcel Mayer. I signed four major league starting pitchers to reinforce the rotation, and also the three top SP prospects in my 2026 bullpen. Overall, my pitching staff has 8 starting pitchers, and I have 9 veteran bullpen options under contract. And these are not superstars that would not sign here right. These are guys all looking for an opportunity. C: Ryan Jeffers ($6.60M) 1B: Rhys Hoskins ($5.4M) 2B: Luke Keaschall ($0.80M) 3B: Royce Lewis ($3.00M) SS: Brooks Lee ($0.80M) LF: Walker Jenkins+Em Rodriguez ($1.60M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Matt Wallner ($0.80M) DH: Trevor Larnach ($4.70M) 4th OF: Lane Thomas ($1.50M) Utility: Austin Martin ($0.80M) Utility: Marcel Mayer ($0.80M) Backup C: Gary Sanchez ($1.50M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Bailey Ober+JordanMontgmry ($11.00M) SP2: Walker Buehler/Griffin Canning ($11.00M) SP3: Simeon Woods Richardson ($0.80M) SP4: Mick Abel+Nestor Cortes ($3.80M) SP5: Zebby Matthews ($0.80M) RP: Kenley Jansen ($7.00M) RP: Michael Kopech ($3.00M) RP: Cole Sands+Danny Coulombe ($3.00M) RP: Marcus Phillips-SP ($0.80M) RP: Scott Barlow+Jordan Romano ($3.50M) RP: Taylor Rogers+Chad Green ($4.00M) RP: Payton Tolle+Ryne Stanek ($1.60M) RP: Kyson Witherspoon-SP ($0.80M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 14.18% under budget

I we can't get Spaceman, I would like to see former Twin Mike Marshall get a shot. At least give him a shot in the Minors as a roving instructor.