SarasotaBill

Wait two months and let's see the results. Ryan in the rotation eases the bullpen which affects the games he doesn't pitch. We will know a lot more in two months about the number of young players on the roster as well. Most likely he will be traded at the deadline when teams have a better idea if they have a chance to win the World Series.

Now there's no choice but to unload everything at the trade deadline. Use 1st half to increase value of anyone on their last year or next to last year. 2nd half is for development for players with more than two years before free agency.

Last year was his true season in five years. Of course the Twins took it easy with him. Let him build up some more this year and see where he's at.

Especially at Home start at SS and bat ninth. If it’s a scoring opportunity have Lee pinch hit him on his first at bat. If not, have him bat once and pinch hit after five innings. Maximize defensive value while minimizing his poor offense.

He's got two years left in his contract so there's no rush. Mid-season provides another 6 months of development that will give more insight into the future. Just too many questions about the young MLB Twins and the high end of prospects. Even a mid-season trade provides teams two playoff years.

Great article. Thank you for the insight. The comments seem that wins matter this year. Spoiler Alert - wins don't matter in 2025 for the Twins It's about development. Obvious Bradley needs more development and refinement. That's why the Twins are letting him pitch through these horrible outings.

Your idea is to bench Lee after one year in MLB, with no immediate replacements in the system, and with next year as a development year (spoiler alert: Twins are not contending for the playoffs next year). Even Buxton struggled is his first year in MLB. Let's use 2026 as a year to evaluate the development and potential of present players and players coming up from AAA. The bar should be: is the player developing (improving) and does he have the potential to be above average starter in the major leagues.

I count 32 of the present 42 probably protected. Probably need to protect 4-5 new minor league players and 3-4 free agent signings. They don't have the space to be care free with guys who will not be on the 40 man in November. It would be stupid to expose them to other team's 40 man roster for a weeks of MLB in September. Sorry - just trying to be realistic.

Unless the Twins already know the player will be on the 40 man roster in November, none should be recalled. If a player is taken off the 40 man then another team only needs to put the player on their 40 man roster. If a player is taken in the Rule 5 draft then that player needs to be on their 26 man roster for a year.

If nothing else, the Twins need to think of 2025-6 as development and evaluation. The payroll now allows extending Ryan and Jeffers. If they don't extend Jeffers during the off season then they have to trade him. Every transaction needs to be about 2027 and after.

Totally agree with above.. The trades are about 2027 and therefore building around the next wave. Trading relievers at the deadline is when you have the maximum leverage in a trade.

Living close to the Tampa Bay Rays I get to see this strategy every year. A few points: 1. Not counting this year and Covid shortened season, the Twins have averaged 83 wins during Falvey vs the previous six seasons of 68 wins. So he's done a good job making the twins competitive. 2. Dumping Correa was to save money for Pohlad but also frees up cash in the next three years. 3. Maximizing the value of relievers is to trade them at the trading deadline when playoff teams are going all-in. 4. Twins under Falvey have a track record of converting failed major league starters into good relievers (Duran, Jax, Varland). The Twins now have a long list of top end pitching prospects: Matthews, Festa, Rojas, Bradley, Prielipp, Abel, Hill, Quick, Culpepper, Soto, Raya, Gallagher, Morris, Klein. Some will be starters, some will become relievers, and some will fail but they have a long bench. 5. The strategy is to align with the next wave (Jenkins, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Keashall, Culpepper). Like it or not, small or mid-market teams have to pick their shots vs the Dodgers and other large market teams. 6. The next owners will influence if Buxton, Lopez, Ryan, Lewis, and Jeffers get traded. Most likely will get traded in the next two years (definitely any Boras player) since they won't align with 2027-2031 time frame. 7. My son is a Rays fan and he hates trading Bradley. On the other hand, I'm always nervous about trading with the Rays. I think the Varland trade happened at the end of the deadline because the Blue Jays buckled to Falvey's price. Varland costs nothing for the next few years and fits in the next wave so Falvey had leverage with the Blue Jays.

Mid 2027: P: Matthews, Rojas, Festa, Abel, SWR, Hill, Prielipp, Soto, Gallagher, Quick,Raya,Morris,Culpepper Inf: Keaschall, Lee, Culpeper OF: Jenkins, Gonzalez, Rodriguez C: Diaw, Tiat, Olivar Util: Debarge Trade Pieces: Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers, Lewis Others: Wallner, Larnach, Outman, Roden, Clemens, Sands, Julian, Miranda

Gallagher looks good from the Cubs.

Does Houston have any good (over 0.190) left hitting outfielders? Derek is looking for another.