iTwins

I'm not saying the Royals wont' have good pitching when (if) Shields departs. What they will have is two less high level prospects (who would likely be two major league players at this point) and no Shields. They're likely to be down an ace, two top prospects and have nothing more than a playoff appearance to show for it. I question if the move the Royals made was the right one. They had a good core, and I believe they cost themselves some long term success in an attempt to chase a playoff appearance. It's entirely possible that Wil Myers fails, Odorizzi never develops and the Royals come out looking OK when it's all said and done - heck, it's possible the Royals go on a run and win a World Series this year on the back of James Shields (If that's the case, then they obviously made the right move). As it stands now, I don't believe those things will happen. I feel like they made a mistake and jumped the gun. I'm getting the impression that by taking the counterpoint to "trading for an ace" some are automatically thinking the only other position is: "anti trade, prospects only rebuild" - my point is only in relation to the original question. Do I want to the Twins to emulate the Royals approach? No. I want them to be smarter and stay patient when they're close, but not quite there.

As with moth arguments, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. That lovely "gray" zone. Simply put, if the right trade is available, you make the move. If a team comes calling with a very highly regarded pitcher (prospect or otherwise) you have to listen if you're the Twins. You don't shop him just to move him. There's value to keeping him as a member of the Twins - but if the right deal comes across your desk - you'd be foolish to refuse it outright because "Dozier is a franchise guy".

Trust me Ricky, I wish you were still with LA too.

Emulate KC? You mean by pushing your biggest chips "all in" before you actually have a good hand to play? KC may be playoff bound, but are they deep enough to actually make a run - to actually win a World Series? I have my doubts. Is that the goal? Just to make the playoffs? Or should we be focused on not just building a team that gets in, but a team that can make a run? I'd pick the latter. KC went all in and grabbed a wildcard this year. If Shields walks in free agency, they'll be back to where they were before the trade - a solid core but not quite having the pieces to contend...except they won't have a young core of well regarded prospects, those went to Tampa Bay so they could make the playoffs...once. There are sound elements to want to duplicate - building an offensive core around your young prospects as well as building a great bullpen with multiple flamethrowing power arms but the exact execution of their plan was botched. Dayton Moore was on the hot seat, panicked and made a splash to save his job. It worked, but the long term cost may have done more harm than good. So no, I don't want to the Twins to emulate the Royals. I want the Twins to see the Royals hurt a long, patient rebuild by going big a bit too soon. Hopefully the Twins learn from the Royals and manage to pull off their rebuild a bit more efficiently.

Gardy is back, but most of his staff is not.

The outfield overload in LA is something I think the Twins can take advantage of. Kemp would be my preference - and I'd start any trade talk for Kemp with Nolasco. Bad contract for bad contract - each with a chance to rebound if the other team is willing to take the risk.

I think it's Phil Hughes. If you need an everyday player, I'd be in favor of Dozier - but his late season slump has taken some of the shine off of that notion. I'd argue Plouffe could earn some consideration. Improved offense, improved defense - he was consistently solid all year - on a bad team, that's a bright spot. Danny certainly has been one of the most exciting players on the Twins this season - but I'd hesitate to bestow him with the "most valuable" label when he's only played half a season.

Bonus points to Sickels for throwing a "call" out there in 2014 for Santana (Something tells me he "could exceed expectations") That's a pretty good hunch that turned out to be true for this season. Santana's skills are easy to see, and I love his bat speed and effortless swing. I don't think he's a .300 hitter (his BABIP is in the stratosphere at the moment) but I don't see him tanking into a non-entity like some have been predicting. It still bothers me how little the Twins played Santana at short down the stretch. This last month should have been the time to see if he had the chops to play short full time. Instead, we're still left with a major question surrounding his game heading into 2015.

The Astros moved BACK to the NL Central in this mythical world?

Late to the discussion - but I'll agree with the notion that Pelfrey isn't a viable starter any longer. I do think that he can provide value in a bullpen role. Either as a longman (Swarzak) or even a set up guy (Burton). Out of the pen, he may be able to add 1 to 2 MPH to his fastball and still be a viable arm for the Twins. I'm not ready to cut free of Pelfrey just yet. However, if he comes out of spring training looking every bit as hittable, then the Twins should knock him off the 40 man and cut their losses.

He's said a lot of the right things over the past few years, but the issue is following through. Sure, the 5 best guys should get a rotation spot - just like the 25 best guys should make the roster. Yet, when push comes to shove it seems like we're getting justifications for Bartlett making the team, contrary to whatever had been said previously. TR has said the pitching isn't good enough. Last year he made an effort to fix that. Hopefully he continues to back up his statements this offseason. (Throw my hat into the "Nolasco is traded this offseason" ring as well. Bad contract for bad contract - perhaps a deal with the Dodgers...)

Right, I think that proposed trade works for teams that are close (Like KC, or Cleveland) more than the Twins. If moves are made, the Twins should be looking for younger talent. They're not quite to the point where adding Bautista would push them into a "contenders" posistion. Bautista is an upgrade, that's for sure - but his prime and the Twins' next prime look to be on two different timelines.

Gardy will have the young guys playing so good, a 3-1 series win is set in stone. In all honesty, I forgot about the final four games being against Detroit. I'm new to snarky comments - I'm not usually that guy. I'll need to practice.

Cleveland (either by plan or one mighty stroke of good luck) had some great starting pitching this season. They let Jimenez and Kazmir leave and had a downright terrible year from Masterson - given that information heading into 2014, you'd have to believe they were due to fall off the cliff. Instead, Kluber becomes an ace - Salazar, Bauer, House all become top tier pitchers - and boom: contending team. Brantley's breakout year helped hide Kipnis' bad year, Carlos Santana finding his swing again after the ASG (he was SOOOO bad pre All Star break) and they managed to survive a poor defense and less than scary offense for much of the season. It all comes back to pitching. With that starting staff, (assuming it holds into next year) they should be in contention for the Central next season.

Pssh. You're letting facts get in the way of a good spin job. They beat the Tigers in the season series! THE TIGERS! Obviously, you bring Gardy back after that. (Please note the above post is dripping with sarcasm)

It depends on the caliber of player coming back. If we're talking legitimate aces - I'd be OK with it, especially given the depth the Twins look to have at 2B (if the player moved was Dozier, for example). Obviously the trades need to be smart trades, I'm not advocating "blowing things up" just for the sake of change. I'm on board with the notion that with the right pitching coming back, a trade would be savvy move with the team as it sits.

I won't love it if Gardy stays, but I'm not going to boycott the team over it either. Rick Anderson, however, is a whole other topic. He HAS to be let go. If the staff stays as is for yet another year...oh buddy....

I'm open to moving any piece of the current roster for more pitching. I won't even add the caveat "except Mauer" - everyone should be available for the right price. The team NEEDS pitching depth and quality starters. There's a lot of young offense coming, I'd be fine with cashing in on Escobar's breakout year or moving Plouffe, Dozier or Pinto for quality pitching. I've been very patient with the rebuild, but even I'm growing weary of the wait until next year mentality. Time to make a few trades.

I saw this shortly after it happened (via MLB Tonight) - the shot of him laying on the ground, blood running from his face, was hard to see. Early reports seem to indicate he'll be alright - nothing major damaged - no serious concerns. Hopefully Stanton recovers fully without issues. The game is better with him in it.

A large portion of the Twins defensive woes can be attributed to their outfield defense. For most of the season, the team has run out Willingham (bad range, speed) Nunez (a shorstop / infielder) Santana (a shorstop) and Parmelee (not a horrible defender, but ideally still a firstbaseman) to various outfield roles. I think the defensive woes can be alleviated (at least slightly) by filling these positions with actual outfielders. If the team adds a true LF (as has been addressed countless times here already) and allows Hicks / Buxton to play in CF the defense improves nicely already. We have to hope that Arcia keeps learning the position and eventually becomes at least league average in RF. Right now, he's a disaster, but he's just too young to chalk up as a lost cause and relicate him to a fulltime DH role. The infield defense isn't as big of a worry. Plouffe has become better, Dozier is above average, Mauer is improving and looks to be at least league average at first. Santana is the big question mark, but one possible issue out of four roles isn't too bad. Catcher? Catcher concerns me. While Suzuki is good at blocking balls in the dirt, I haven't been impressed with the rest of his defensive game. Pinto is very much a work in progress and I worry that he'll never develop the tools needed. Like Arcia, he's young enough (older than Arica, but still young) to not quite give up on yet, but catcher is a much more demanding position to field. There's questions around this team for sure, but they're young enough that I think those questions are to be expected. Hopefully the Twins address the OF (specifically LF) and Hicks finally earns CF - I think that will go a long way in helping the defense improve for next season.

I'm on record as being a big Plouffe supporter, so obviously I've loved watching his defense grow at third this season. He's gone from a prospect with no place to play to a real major league third baseman. He's changed his approach at the plate so he's not as pull happy - the result has been better contact, more doubles and a better rounded offensive threat. His biggest detraction has always been the defense. This season, he's looked much more comfortable out there than he has in the past. He's made some very difficult plays look routine this season - plays that 2012 / 2013 Plouffe wouldn't have made. I don't know that he'll ever win a Gold Glove, but if he keeps improving like we've seen, Plouffe can certainly be a valuable piece on the next contending Twins team.

I think that would be move too. Promote everyone up a level, let Mientkiewicz get more experience (bonus - he'd effectively be managing the same group of guys through each level) while Molitor holds things down for a few years. Assess again in 2 to 3 years.

Not optimal, but year to year comparisons are probably more useful when trying to factor fatigue or workload. Trying to factor 2012's innings into a workload comparison with 2014 didn't make sense to me. I thought 2013's numbers would better indicate what the player was used to / used for recently. A increase year to year could show fatigue - that's the point I'm making.

I'll second a couple names already mentioned: Pitcher: Chih-Wei Hu Batter: Jason Kanzler Great seasons from each of them this year!

I think they'll end up with the 4th pick. No one is catching the Rangers, the Astros automatically get number 2 for being super shady and the Rockies are a disaster (at least, more of a disaster than the Twins).