MileHighTwinsFan

Too big a risk? What are the Twins risking by giving Lewis another shot at second next year? He is affordable, this year he was paid $2.8M and will likely not make much more than that next year. Not sure you are getting anything in terms of second baseman that will exceed his current production at that price. Royce is very athletic, is a competitor, and there is every reason to believe that he will be playing major league baseball for the next five to ten years somewhere. To me the bigger risk is that he goes to the Red Sox for nothing, figures it out and helps them win a title or two.

Lewis has a positive OAA at second base and a negative one at first. Clemens was playing stellar defense and hitting when at first. Of course, Clemens will be playing all over the field and Lewis will get time at first. I am simply saying that we need to remain committed to Lewis into next year and the article seems to be proposing a reasonable approach. I will say that I am a little surprised that there is no talk about Lewis getting playing time in the outfield. A right-handed outfielder with power remains a need and having him get the occasional start in left field vs. a nasty left hander seems like another opportunity.

Trading Lewis makes no sense at this point. He is under team control through 2028 and is extremely affordable. I think it is a low cost bet that he will eventually unlock his bat and be an important piece in the future. I think running him out there at second base makes sense with Clemens returning to first base where his power and glove play.

I would love to see Aaron get a shot at the Major League level. Someone would need to get hurt or the Twins would fall out of contention for it to happen this year. Aaron deserves a shot, but it may not be with the Twins.

I love the idea. Not sure about who to Piggy back though. I am hoping that with the addition of Minter, they can be more comfortable limiting innings for starters. A back end of the bullpen with Minter, Morris, and Gomez leaves the 6th where Funderburk, Rogers, Adams, and Nance can play a role.

I love the idea. Not sure about who to Piggy back though. I am hoping that with the addition of Minter, they can be more comfortable limiting innings for starters. A back end of the bullpen with Minter, Morris, and Gomez leaves the 6th where Funderburk, Rogers, Adams, and Nance can play a role.

If you can get a middle of the rotation arm under team control, I would do it in a minute. It would fill an immediate need and provide more depth for next year. They may need to part with a high level prospect to get it done, but minor league depth is a strength. I would love to add a right handed power bat that destroys left handed pitching to platoon for Larnach. I think that Martin and Keaschall are redundant and neither hits for power. I think one of them probably needs to get sent down to make room for another bat.

Buck has one of the most owner friendly contracts in baseball. He earns his value multiple times over in a given year. Trading him to cut payroll makes zero sense. It is a shame that the payroll relief Buck provides is not being reinvested in talent around him for the team to be more competitive. In the end, the decision is Buck’s. If he stays and plays out his contract, he may be able to contribute to the next competitive window. I would love to see a Jenkins, Buck, Rodriguez outfield soon to take the team to next level.

Another blow to the doomsayers. The owners are addressing their debt and positioning themselves for financial stability and along with that a return to competing for division titles. I don’t expect spending to skyrocket anytime soon. But if the team remains competitive this season, they may be willing to add at the trade deadline, rather than stand pat or sell.

I think he believes what he says. I don’t think he is lying. He is trying to win every year. However, he has to work with what ownership gives him.

You may not have liked it, but that is what he did. He got out of a contract that was never going to pay off, traded a bunch of expiring contracts, and relief pitchers to bring in future starters, relievers, and MLB ready position players. The team was going nowhere, he knew it, and he took action.

Thank you! Falvey has been saying this for weeks, but no one took him at his word. So maybe now we can put all this trade chatter and doomsaying to rest.

You are convinced that Royce Lewis is a bust, I think it is too early to make that call. There are plenty of examples of prospects that "fizzled" out of the gate, only to be All Star level players years later (I also acknowledge that there have been can't miss players who were busts). At this point there is no downside in giving Royce the runway to work it out. He probably has one more year to show meaningful progress.

Fine. How about Brett Rooker and Liam Hendriks.

Not all players come up to the major leagues and immediately produce. There are many examples of players on the Twins or players the Twins moved on from that ended up having All Star and even HOF careers (Sorry to bring up the David Ortiz thing.) Byron Buxton, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau - just to name a few had their ups and downs in their early years. Patience is key. Royce Lewis is a prime example. A player with high expectations that has not fully realized his potential. Injuries may have lowered the ceiling, but he is still capable of great things on the field. Right now he is transitioning to a role as a key cog on a young team. He will either rise to the occasion or fail. Only time and more reps will determine that. And no, 900 at bats through several injury riddled seasons is not enough time to judge him. There is no question that the clock is running out on players like Julien, Larnach, and Miranda. Players whose options are expired or who are arbitration eligible have much smaller windows to work with. It is for this reason that seeing what we really have in these players for the next 5 weeks is key to the future. None of that would have happened if Harrison Bader, Ty France, Willie Castro and Carlos Correa were taking those at bats.