mike8791

If the team has a surplus in one area and a deficit in another, then absolutely such a trade makes a lot of sense. Much better yjan nibbling around the edges - a longtime Twins FO philosophy that has ensured non-contention. This offseason is a big test for Pohlad and Zoll to swing big.

Agree completely that replacing Lewis with a power hitting 1B should be a top priority. Other than Burleson, who is probably untouchable, the rest of the list is sort of meh. Agree with idea that Twins could part with Ryan - a pitcher the Cubs would love to have. Would they consider trading Michael Busch? He fell off in '26 but his '25 year showed his potential. He is young, a great fielder and with the Cubs strong offense, might be replacable. I would like to see the Twins also receive one of the top Cub prospect pitchers also, but at the very least, the fit is there.

If Zoll expects his new pitching coaches to participate in pen(or any pitching decisions) he'd better sign them up quickly. He has a narrow window, given that, I believe, new coaches cannot be inked until a few days after the WS(meaning end of October), giving him just the month of November to make transactions before the Dec. 1st lockout. What he does in this 2 month window will go a long way in determining how far the Zoll apple falls from the Falvey tree. Pohlad says they will be very agressive early in the offseason. We shall shortly see if this is the usual BS or if Zoll is cut from a different cloth.

Agree totally Nick. If we go into 2027 expecting Gomez and Morris to be 2 of our top 3 relievers again, we're just kidding ourselves again. Signing Bednar(or equivalent) might cost $15-20MM/year, but that figure could be somewhat offset by not resigning Mintner and not resigning guys like Taylor. No team pushing to be among the league's elite can be successful without a true closer. If the Twins were to add Jeffers(or trade/sign an established catcher), trade/sign for a cleanup hitter at IB, and sign Bednar, that would make for a very successful offseason.

I don't expect Twins to win a bid contest against teams like NYY, but he should make a realistic effort(not window dressing) to keep Jeffers for 2 reasons: 1.) his departure would leave a gaping hole at C; and 2.) it would be an indication to fans that this team is serious about contending next year. While Lackey and/or Tait might be the future, neither is likely to help the Twins next year or the year after. Furthermore, it would help erase the egregious error they made at the trade deadline by holding onto Jeffers.

Frankly, he doesn't have to wait for November. What I'd like to see him do in October: 1. Spend the money to pry a top-rated pitching coach, e.g., the old Twin, Carl Willis. 2. Dump Zoll and hire an established GM who has demonstrated a willingness to think big and is unafraid to take risk. 3. Offer Jeffers a long term contract that reflects market value. Now these would be a real demonstration of his desire to build a winner!

Can't quarrel with grades too much, but from this list a few things stand out: 1. Keaschall looks like a leadoff hitter for years to come if they can find a suitable position. Just can't see him as a corner OF with his lack of power. 2. Bell's 96 ribbies is hard to overlook. Too many people dismiss him prematurely. Is there a better DH internally or FA who is as reasonably priced? 3. You have highlighted the 2 major positions that must be addressed - 1B & C. This is where Pohlad has to spend money in FA to bolster a lineup sadly lacking #3/4 hitters.

Sure, there will be a lot of questions on lineups, the pen and rotation but they will pale in comparison to the two really big questions: 1. What will be the budget for 2027? Will Tom put his money where his mouth is? Will the CBA set a floor for spending in 2027? 2. Who will control player moves going forward? Should Zoll be dumped for a more experienced, agressive GM who, unlike the previous regime of Falvey/Zoll, will have a realistic plan for long term contention and have the cajones and ownership approval to implement his strategy? The rest is just window dressing.

Do you really believe Clemens is the #3 or #4 batter in a contender's lineup with a .230 BA and ,300 OBP? Yes, he's had a great year but would you expect a repeat, given his MLB track record? We need at least one or two more 3-4 WAR players to be a serious contender. Currently, we have none.

Good topic, but maybe the more relevant question is: do the Twins have enough rotation depth to trade Ryan, who almost certainly leaves after 2017? Perhaps keeping both Ober & Kremer would allow them to swing a trade for an established, controllable middle lineup bat who can play 1B. The offense seems to be the Twins biggest weakness and the rotation the biggest strength, so why not trade from strength to fill a major weakness? The FO should not blow this opportunity to trade Ryan like they did at this past deadline to trade Jeffers. Seems the rotation has enough depth to allow for a Ryan trade if, and only if, they can add a 30HR/100RBI potential iB who can play defense. I think Lopez, Bradley, Mathews and Prielipp can provide a solid rotation, augmented by Ober, Kremer, Rodon for #4 & 5 spots. The biggest concern in my mind - does Zoll have the chops to pull together this high level trade?

This was a team built to be a noncontender. Most Twin fans recognized this after the 2025 selloff, the absence of meaningful offseason additions to rebuild the pen, the disruption right before spring training in the FO, and the glaring holes in the lineup that left us barren of any real difference makers except Buxton(who still leads the team in WAR despite missing 1/3 of the season). And no, this was not a "late season collapse"; this was a team that has flirted with .500 most of the season and was in the playoff race only because of the shocking ineptness of the AL this year. But we all love to play the blame game, so here's my list: #1 - The Pohlad Family, headed by TP : With lack of significant prospect player development, the only way this team could have markedly improved was by expanding payroll to sign some difference-making FAs. Instead, payroll has stayed at $100MM, with a slight($8MM) bump at the deadline. With a new owner stepping in, saying this was a contending team and that he knew spending money was the only way to improve chances, the onus is on ownership for failing to do this. They lied to us! #2 - Falvey/Zoll - Granted their hands were tied somewhat by ownerships failure to go big, but Falvey's complete cleansing of the bullpen doomed this team's chances from the beginning. While some of his transactions, e.g., Bradley, Abel/Tait, look reasonable, there is no excuse for unloading Varland, who could have provided stability in the pen from Day 1. And Zoll did nothing about the pen until it literally was too late. Morris and Gomez were pluses until recently, but the rest of the additions were pure crap shoots and as expected, did little to improve our chances to contend. Zoll's trade deadline moves were too late and too little to markedly improve the rotation or bullpen. And his worst performance were his non-moves in not trading Larnach, Jeffers and yes, even Ryan. Larnach's continuing presence blocks development of Keaschal, E-Rod in LF, Jeffers will be lost for nothing, and Ryan might have been the one player who could have brought in 1 or 2 top prospects who could be the long term answers at filling existing weaknesses in the middle of the lineup. Sure, Zoll's passivity can be partly attributed to TP's continued insistence that the Twins were competitive this year, but his deadline moves were underwhelming in any case and certainly did nothing to enhance chances of real contention in the next couple years. Shelton and the players are not even included with the above two. In reality this team has exceeded expectations, given the innate talent level on the roster. No, this is strictly on ownership, followed by GMs with little ability to shape a winning roster. Let's just hope that new ownership with the ability and desire to build a true contender, recognizing they need an imaginative, risk-taking GM to accomplish the goal, and then step aside to let them do their job, will emerge soon!

Without any significant FA addition(s) this is a below average offense. You need at least three 4 WAR batters on a true contender and there is no one on this list that seems capable. Maybe Jenkins in a year or two but who else? Lee, Lewis, Clemens are all average at best and in an ideal world should be replaced. Caratini is well below average and as you note, no real cleanup hitters. And the absence of Bell, Jeffers and even Larnach will hurt, at least in 2027. Agree that the rotation and pen look stronger on paper than the 2026 squad but that offense will hold them down. Just too improbable that 3 rooks can mature enough to carry the lineup. Unless the Pohlads go big on at least one all star FA, this is not a lineup that can be considered true playoff contenders.

Agree. Half measures never work - and that's what they did at this year's trade deadline. While some might applaud their additions, in reality it seems the FO was influenced by TP's foolish pronouncement that the Twins would contend in 2026, hence Zoll's trades for 2 relievers who were upgrades, but really did nothing for building a contender in the ensuing years. Ditto with addition of a marginal #5 starter. Either the Twins should have been more proactive in adding to a very shaky rotation by bringing in someone like Gausman and/or Griffin and an established corner OFer to add more thump to an over-achieving lineup(with an unrealistically high RISP average) or build for the future by trading guys like Jeffers, Larnach, Ober and even Ryan - none of whom were likely to be part of a real contender. Instead, they improved a pen that was built on smoke and mirrors(did they really expect Gomez and Morris to lead a bullpen in the heat of a pennant race) in a feeble attempt to stay in the hunt. This is just not a long term strategy for success. Now events have forced them into promoting KC and Jenkins after falling out of contention. Count me a huge sceptic that this ownership/FO can ever succeed in building a winner.

Yeah, I couldn't decide whether we should jettison Funderburk or Rogers. I opted to keep Rogers only because of his experience at crunch time, but there's little doubt he, too, should be considered for DFA.

Need addition by subtraction now. Adams should not be on a "contender's" team's roster. Send him down, bring up Acton. Do not wait for the Sept. 1st roster expansion. And I know Funderburk has had a good run lately(until yesterday) but he has shown a propensity for walks at the most inopportune time. He can either be replaced by Anderson either now or wait until Sept. 1. With at least 2 starters seemingly incapable of more than 5 innings, we need better depth in the pen and Acton/Anderson seem to offer better odds than do Adams and Funderburk.