Elliot

I do not think the Twins will be a winning team this year. Not an earth shaking take on my part. I also think that “they” (whoever they are) do a poor job in some aspects of player development. I would love to see a greater emphasis on defense, and a process to get players to their best defensive position sooner in their development. It might also help to get some of the minor league starting pitchers into a relief role earlier. I share the preceding to demonstrate that I am not a total FO supporter. That said, I do not buy into the "terrible roster construction" arguments in this article. Specific Objections: The Twins lineup is exceedingly Left Handed – It looks like a typical daily lineup will include 2 switch hitters (Bell and Lee), 2 LH (Larnach and Wallner), and 4 RH (Lewis, Keaschal, Buxton, and Jeffers). LF is a bit of a coin flip between Martin and Outman; one LH and one RH. A lineup featuring 2 or 3 LH out of 9 hitters is not exceedingly LH. Backups lean a bit more left-handed with catcher being the only non-lefty (switch hitter). A thought; is it a RH/LH issue or is it dissatisfaction with 2 of the players in particular? If Jenkins and Rodriguez (both leftys) replaced Larnach and Outman would we still be hearing the same left handedness objections? Allen Roden is a victim – Roden is a young outfielder with potential. He has proven himself at AAA and in spring training. His small MLB sample is not at all impressive. There are a lot of young players who have the potential to be good MLB players who are sitting in AAA. The way to change that is to produce when given the opportunity in the majors. He will get that chance this year, just not on opening day. Roden is a victim in the same way that Dan Altavilla is a victim. Minor league options matter. Roster construction is terrible and costing the Twins dearly – Decisions that resulted in losing Matt Bowman and likely, Alex Jackson, have cost the Twins assets. Releasing Larnach would have as well. Optioning Altavilla and Roden cost them nothing, but it did buy time to possibly make trades involving other assets. Simply good player asset management. More moves will be made in the first half of the season. Space will need to be made for some of the youngsters, including Roden. Until then, let’s enjoy the process and see which young veterans are able to improve and earn a spot on the next wave and which ones play themselves off the team.

As has been the story in the past, the next effective bullpen will appear when 2 or 3 of the young “starters” move to the bullpen. Maybe Festa, Matthews, Rojas, Raya; or some of the next group of hard throwing college arms taken in the past couple of years.

Makes me think of Alex Gordon of KC a decade ago. Drafted at 3B; became star gold glove LF. The Twins have a mess with young players being kept at positions they don’t fit. Lewis seems to finally be settling in at 3B. Lee is a well below average SS who no one knows where he can at least be average. Maybe 2B but probably 1B. Keaschall should probably go full time to the OF. Culpepper is being kept at SS since he hasn’t shown yet that he can’t play there. Damning with faint praise. The only above average infielders they have on the horizon are Huston and Debarge. They need to make defensive decisions earlier in the career path. Shifting around at the MLB level has got to be tough. Probably sets all phases of development back.

I thought you said Brooks Lee was included.

Availability, potential, and production. Three measuring sticks that apply. Availability – applies at all levels; if you are not able to be on the field you are of very limited value. As much as I love Buxton as player, rooting for him has been difficult due to the amount of “out of sight, out of mind” involved. Matt Canterino is the cautionary tale. Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Prielipp all get dinged on this one. Potential – everything is potential until it becomes production. The closer you get to MLB, the less potential should be the driver. However, potntial is intriging. We are still talking about the potential of Lewis, Lee, Keaschal, Wallner, and a number of the young major league pitchers. We even talk about the potential of a full season from Buxton. Matt Canterino is a pitcher of extremely high potential and extremely low availability; resulting in an extremely SSS. Culpepper is the one of the five who is probably gets dinged a bit since the story with him has been that he seems to be performing above expectations or potential. The coming year is crucial for Culpepper. He needs to show that last year was not an anomaly. Production – production is king. A player who has great potential, is available and able to be on the field, should result in on-field production. Edouard Julien is a good example of a player who was never seen as “high potential” but was available and rewarded the Twins with a season that was far above what was expected in terms of production. However, he was seen as lower potential for a reason, and apparently some of those observations have become the current narrative. My rankings. Jenkins – extremely high potential, questionable availability, iffy production due to availability issue. Culpepper – performing above initial potential assessment, high availability, high production. Bonus for positional value. Tait – high potential, high availability, not eyepopping production. I am a sucker for potential. Bonus for positional value. Rodriguez – very high potential, low availability, iffy production. Still love the potential, but it would be nice to see some production before he gets called up. Prielipp – Canterino is too recent a memory to get very excited about Prielipp. Marek Houston is my sleeper pick to surprise and get to the bigs sooner than expected. Once the Twins realize that Lee is not an MLB SS, and that none of the assortment of backup utility players they have accumulated is worthy of a starting SS spot, Houston could be the choice. This is closely tied to Culpepper who would likely be the first option to replace Lee. But if he is unavailable for some reason, Houston’s defense would be a joy to watch.

I am surprised there is not more discussion of the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI). This would seem to be the ideal situation to roll the dice with two or three out of the group of Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Culpepper, and maybe a young arm or two as well. This is probably not a team that is going to compete for a title unless a few youngsters step up in big ways. Why not break camp with one of the young OF in LF and Culpepper at SS? If things work out to the best, you gain an additional high draft pick. If not, you still generate a little fan interest. It sounds like most of those listed, if not all, will make their debuts this year so you are not messing with their timelines much. In most years there are 40 man roster concerns. Not so in 2026. I would think they could clear 3 spots pretty easily. If Julien, Gaspar, Outman et al clear waivers they go to St Paul. If not, NBD. I know I would be much more excited about the upcoming season if I knew there would be a few high end rookies to watch. It would also help my outlook to not have Brooks Lee at SS. I have griped about SS Brooks Lee quite a bit. That doesn’t mean I am not a Brooks Lee fan. His future was always about his hit tool, not his defense. He really did not pass the eye test for me as a hitter (slow swing, defensive, feeling for the ball); however, 16 HR and 64 RBI’s in what seemed to feel like a real crappy year for him gives me hope that there may be more there if they can find him a defensive home. I know that sounds like faint praise, but I really do think he could have a breakout year with the bat.

I hadn’t realized how well Henrique’s had done after leaving MN. Good for him. That’s the reason you sort thru other teams scrap heaps.

I am not a fan of giving up much for a defensively challenged 1B. Especially one that has not shown anything at the MLB level. This type of deal comes down to the ability of the FO to judge the talent level of the players involved. Is Mayo Baltimore’s version of Aaron Sabato, just with a better pedigree? The Twins have a lot of young talent to figure out. Is Lewis a future star or a flash and burn? What do they have in Lee? I loved the pick at the time; a high level college switch hitter who would hit no matter where they played him. However; I have soured on him. Bad defensive player with what appears to be a very slow tentative swing. That being said, 16 HRs and 64 RBI’s is a good start. More power than I expected. Had Mayo put up those numbers in the big leagues there would be a lot more interest in him. Lee will not finish the year as the Twins SS. I expect Lewis will be the 3B barring injury, but optimism for his 3B defense is based more on potential than actual production. In either case, a defensive move is not out of the realm of possibilities, especially if they come to life offensively. The defensive value is higher at 2B if either is a better fit there, however 1B could be in the picture. Keaschel’s arm concerns could move him towards first if his bat turns out to be as good as it looked in 2025’s SSS. All this to say I like idea of having 1B open as an option for the young players currently on the roster. Not from a versatility perspective but with it as a permanent defensive home for a young developing offensive player. With the value of pitching in general, and the glaring BP needs of the Twins, they had better be very confident that Mayo is as close as you can get to a sure bet future offensive star if they are going to spend valuable pitching resources to get him.

If a player excels at a position, you are not looking to move them around. The players with versatility are generally passable at a number, but not good anywhere. Lee is not a SS. Leaving him there ensures he doesn’t excel anywhere. Is he a 2B? Maybe, but no one knows yet. It sounds as if they know already that Keaschel is not a 2B, and probably not an infielder other than 1B. Get him to the OF if that is his best home. Play a SS at SS. That may be a glove first guy they bring in, or take a shot with Culpepper or Houston.

There's a backstory behind that comment. I grew up outside of town and didn't have many neighbors. We still played ball but there were only a couple players on offense and a couple on defense at any given time. First base was an oak tree and third base was a lilac bush. If you could hit the oak tree with your throw before the runner got there he was out. If you hit the ball into the lilac bush on the fly it was also an out. I figure Bell has more range than the oak tree but not more than the lilac bush. The bush was about 8 feet across at it's widest spot. I love the backyard baseball analogy and memory.. Probably the best description of Josh Bell defensively; "somewhere between an oak and a lilac". The real reason for commenting was a break from all of the harshness and vitriol around the Pohlads, divas, coaches, and who has a right to comment or voice opinions. Thank you DJL44 for a pleasant diversion.

In the tree world lilacs have great range. Just try to keep one confined to one area. Difficult.

I am fine with it. He is a good fit if some of the current core performs as well as we hope. If not, I anticipate a lot of moves at the deadline.

Or the Twins could wait until the "young group" get so old that they are never given an opportunity because they are "too old". Thus the conundrum. Leave Walker, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Culpepper, … in the minors and give Lewis, Larnach, Wallner, Lee, … another half year. The youngsters get older, but you try to make good asset decisions on the current group. Or, you make the move to the youngsters immediately and accelerate all of the 40 man roster, option year, and rule 5/ waiver type of issues. Also, you are probably forced into selling low on the current group, or simply cutting them loose. Not easy decisions. And decisions that will be ruthlessly second guessed when made in real time by real decision makers. Fortunately our advice and hypothetical decisions are quickly forgotten by everyone, including those of us making them.

More and more I find myself drawn to the “bring up the kids” comments. However I then remember that the core of the ‘87 WS winners came up in ‘81 - ‘84. There were some good years for individuals, but the team was pretty brutal for 5 years before winning it all in ‘87. For 2026 I say take a flyer on 1B on a one year deal and give the current “young group” one more year. If it still isn’t working, have fun at the trade deadline again and begin the transition.

I would be fine with a Larnach for Mountcastle type of trade. Similar logjam situations for both teams. Not a fan of paying a high prospect or pitching price for upside potential at 1B. Too many current and coming Twins who do not have clear defensive homes but could end up there (Keaschel , Lee, Gonzalez, Winkour, …)