Tom Froemming

Congrats on the engagement Steve!

Could be, but now that we're down this rabbit hole, I'm thinking maybe the Twins should call up LA and offer to help solve their excess lefty issue. They also have Julio Urias, another lefty who was used in the pen last season, but I'd imagine they'd rather stretch him back out to start. The Dodgers seem very motivated to stay under the luxury tax threshold. Would they be wiling to part with Alex Wood for a very modest return? He's projected to get $9 million in his final year of arbitration and was demoted to the bullpen at the end of last season. Not sure they want to pay that much for a guy who right now is projected to be an extra piece. Just a thought.

Maybe, but they did already have three lefties in Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Alex Wood penciled into their rotation even before Ryu accepted the offer.

Yes, there does seem to be belief that his slider and changeup are going to develop. I can see how somebody could fall in love with Duran, I'm just not there yet. But, I was also extremely conservative with how I ranked Brusdar Graterol a year ago, so take that with a grain of salt. Interesting that you bring up Romero, I hadn't really made that connection. One of the things I think Thorpe gets knocked down for his his relative lack of size, but he's very similar to Romero in that department. If anything, I'd think Thorpe would get a little bump simply for being a lefty, though he's trailing Romero by quite a bit in terms of stuff.

For as many words as there have been written and said about Joe Mauer, his legacy won’t truly be determined by what anybody outside the game has to say about him. Instead, it’ll be his teammates, opponents and coaches who solidify how Joe is remembered as a ballplayer. There was an impressive group that attended Mauer’s retirement press conference Monday, and even more who shared their praise of Joe on social media, but my favorite response to his retirement came from a longtime rival pitching coach.There were so many great Mauer articles, and I’m sure there will be more to come, but one of my favorite pieces from yesterday came from Scott Merkin of MLB.com. It may seem weird to include something from a White Sox beat writer, but I’ve really enjoyed hearing the reactions to Mauer’s retirement from sources outside of the Twins organization/Twin Cities. Merkin asked former Twins pitcher and longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper about Joe. Cooper called Mauer the best left-handed hitter he’s seen in the 15 years he’s been with Chicago and added “he became a pain in the ass.” I don’t know if you can get a higher compliment than that coming from a very well-respected pitching guru. There are several other glowing quotes from Cooper on Mauer in that piece. It was prospect list mania last week. Seth shared his preliminary top 30 here at the site. Also, Mike Berardino’s top 10 list for Baseball America was unveiled. Lance Brozdowski shared his own top 30 at Prospects Live. Jhoan Duran, who was acquired in the Eduardo Escobar trade, has some serious steam. He was inside the top 10 in each of the lists linked above. I get it, Duran has good size, a smooth delivery and sits 96 mph easy and the secondary stuff is also getting rave reviews. I do think it’s curious that he had relatively little success in his three and a half seasons in the Diamondbacks system, at least in comparison to how he broke out with the Twins. I’m also surprised at the lack of love for Lewis Thorpe. Seth had him at No. 8, which feels about right, but he didn’t make the BA top 10 and Prospects Live had him at 22. I guess in some ways I can understand that too, as Thorpe’s overall athleticism doesn’t stand out like some of the other pitchers in the system. A lot of scouts also believe Thorpe will end up in the bullpen. As with all prospects, you can see a lot of potential future outcomes with these two, but it seems to me like these rankings are generally bumping Duran more for his ceiling while knocking Thorpe down for his floor. I may end up the high man on Thorpe and the lowest on Duran (you’ll be able to find my list in the Twins Prospect Handbook, which comes out later this winter), but all that really means is I’m more comfortable with Thorpe, who’s a much more realized product. If Duran puts up the kind of numbers Thorpe already has in the high minors, I think we’d all be thrilled. Over at FanGraphs, Craig Edwards both ranked and put a dollar value on all the farm systems across baseball. The Twins slotted in at seventh behind only the Padres, Braves, White Sox, Rays, Blue Jays and Reds. Among the many notes in his latest piece, Ken Rosenthal passed along that the Phillies are pushing Carlos Santana aggressively on the trade market. Santana is coming off somewhat of a down year by his standards, but he still had a .352 OBP and more walks than strikeouts. He’s owed more than $35 million total over the next two seasons, then has a $17.5 million option in 2021. A switch-hitter with good on-base skills would look really good in the Twins lineup, and Derek Falvey is obviously very familiar with Santana after all the years they spent together in Cleveland. Over at MLB.com, Mike Petriello listed the Twins as one of the four logical trade destinations for Santana. The other teams listed were the Rockies, Mariners and Angels. Late last week over at The Athletic, Dan Hayes wrote an article about how Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton have put the Twins at a crossroads. There are a lot of interesting parallels drawn between the Twins and some of the most successful teams in baseball right now, along with some interesting quotes from members of the Astros and Cubs front offices. But something Thad Levine said was a bit deflating to me. Levine told Hayes that if Sano and Buxton take a step forward “I think we have primed ownership to then give us the green light to take more of an aggressive step forward with this unit of players.” We’ll see how the offseason unfolds, but that quote leads me to believe there’s going to be more of a holding pattern this upcoming season. That they'll wait for a Sano/Buxton breakout before really getting aggressive. That’s the last thing I want to see. Be buyers or sellers. You’re either in or you’re out. No more middle ground. Looking for a job in baseball? The Twins are hiring a Baseball Research Analyst. Duties include “statistical modeling and quantitative analysis to aid in the creation and improvement of models/tools for decision making in player development, game strategy, scouting, trades and free agency.” I sure hope they hire somebody soon! MLB Trade Rumors released its list of non-tender candidates and there are a number of interesting middle infielders included. They’re on the list for a reason, but guys like Devon Travis, Jonathan Schoop and Tim Beckham are still fairly young and have shown some flashes. Old friend Yangervis Solarte is also on the list. Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that there’s nearly zero chance Michael Brantley returns to the Indians. He adds that the starting outfield as it stands would be some combination of Jason Kipnis, Leonys Martin, Greg Allen or Tyler Naquin. In other words, not good. Jon Heyman of Fancred reported that Cleveland had talks with the Yankees about potential Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco trades. It’s hard to really make any conclusions until actual transactions start to happen, but it’s certainly sounding like Cleveland is more likely to sell off pieces than it is to make any big additions. Six of the seven players who were extended qualifying offers rejected them. The only player to accept was Hyun-Jin Ryu, who will return to the Dodgers. I’m not sure if the Twins would have had a realistic shot to land Ryu, but his absence from the free agent market will create some more competition for the left-handed starters who are available. Click here to view the article

Are Willians Astudillo's days numbered? Jason Castro will be back, Mitch Garver is still around and yet the Twins have shown interest in free agent catcher Robinson Chirinos, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Hmm ... is there some kind of a way to maneuver four catchers on the same roster? Well if Ron Gardenhire couldn't do it, that must mean it's impossible.Chirinos, 34, is coming off a season in which he hit .222/.338/.419 (.757) with 18 home runs and 108 games caught for the Rangers. The Twins already have plenty of catching options, but Garver's 2018 season behind the plate was cut short due to a head injury. It seems signing Chirinos would almost certainly mean the end of Astudillo's time with the Twins. This is a move I cannot endorse. Personal reasons. Derek Wetmore of ESPN 1500 shared his thoughts on both Chirinos and another reported Twins target, J.A. Happ. I talked about the possibility of the Twins signing Happ and the future of the team's rotation in a live stream on Twitter Friday evening. Here's a shorter version of it that I edited down: Speaking of pitching, David O’Brien of The Athletic Tweeted that the Twins are believed to be showing interest in former Reds manager Bryan Price as a candidate for their vacant pitching coach position. Price served as a pitching coach for the Mariners, Diamondbacks and Reds prior to making the jump up to managing. He was fired this April after Cincinnati got off to a 3-15 start. Phil Miller of the Star Tribune highlighted the correlation between offense and success in the American League last season and hinted that the Twins could target power hitters this offseason. Morosi also shared five takeaways from the GM Meetings, among them was the impression that the White Sox are ready to spend. Uh oh. Chicago is still a long way from building a competitive roster, but they could definitely obstruct the Twins in their pursuit of free agents. Some of the veteran hitters that would make a lot of sense for the Twins – Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson – would also seem to fit nicely on the White Sox. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com shared 10 names that created a lot of buzz at the GM Meetings. Among them were a few free agents that could make sense for the Twins, but he also listed trade candidates James Paxton and Sonny Gray. Paxton had a 3.76 ERA and 1.10 WHIP for the Mariners last season and comes with two years of team control, but I’d imagine it’d take quite an impressive haul to acquire him. The Twins have enough depth to put together a package without completely crippling the system, but it’s not clear they’re ready to make that kind of a splash yet. Gray would be much easier to get, but he was nowhere near as good for the Yankees (4.90 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) and only has one season before he becomes a free agent. Twins GM Thad Levine was quoted in a New York Times piece. The article revolved around new Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen transitioning from being an agent to in a front office. Levine made it sound like there’s a very buddy-buddy atmosphere across the league. “There’s more camaraderie in this industry than there once was. You see all the G.M.’s are together, there’s some collegial component and we all compete.” Those GM Meetings after parties must have been lit. Jim Bowden listed logical free agent and trade targets for all 30 teams over at The Athletic. Among the 23 possible free agent targets he listed for the Twins were Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Nathan Eovaldi, Daniel Murphy, Steve Pearce and DJ LeMahieu. Among the 12 trade targets were Justin Smoak, Carlos Santana and Jean Segura. Over at Zone Coverage, Brandon Warne listed 38 potential trade targets for the Twins. Also, Mike Berardino welcomed former Blue Jays scout Kimball Crossley on the Midwest Swing podcast for an interesting inside baseball discussion about the type of things scouts are typically up to this time of year. They also discussed some free agent options that may make sense for the Twins. Baseball America shared its Twins draft report card. The thing that most caught my eye was that Josh Winder, who was the team’s seventh-round pick, was their choice for best fastball in the class. Winder went from sitting 88-92 mph at VMI to 90-94 after the draft. He had a 3.72 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings for Elizabethton. SB Nation conducts a giant GM simulation each offseason in which 30 of its writers assume the role of their team’s GM and they go through the entire offseason. Check out how TJ Gorsegner of Twinkie Town did. Click here to view the article

A 26-year-old who can boast that resume should be able to command something like that on the open market, yes.

The differences are Jason Heyward had a .784 OPS entering free agency (Harper is at .900) and Pujols didn't reach free agency until he was entering his age 31 season (Harper is entering his age 26 season). And while Harper's only had one insane MVP season, he's had several great seasons now. He's 26 and one of the best offensive weapons in baseball, he's going to get a gigantic contract, and deserving so.

Is WAR really that great of a stat? wRC+ 2016-18 Harper 132 Segura 117 Dozier 116 wOBA 2016-18 Harper .375 Dozier .346 Segura .345 OPS 2016-18 Harper .897 Dozier .817 Segura .803 I have a really hard time believing that whatever contributions Dozier and Segura make defensively and on the base paths makes up for that big of a gap in overall offensive production.

The Twins are reportedly interested in J.A. Happ, which may or not really mean anything at all. We can assume the Twins are interested in a lot of guys, right? Welcome to the offseason! There are some other rumblings coming out of the GM Meetings, as well as other happenings in the baseball world that are worth turning your attention to. Let’s get to it ...What are your thoughts on J.A. Happ? Earlier this week, Nick shared his offseason blueprint that envisioned the Twins as big spenders. The site has been booming with blueprints, as both the forums and the blog section have been active. Grab a copy of the Offseason Handbook for whatever price you feel is appropriate and put together your own blueprint today. Matt Eddy of Baseball America shared a list of 520 minor league free agents. One name that really jumped out to me was Dilson Herrera. He’s a 24-year-old second baseman who has some MLB time (108 games) with the Mets and Reds. Herrera has a .290/.349/.461 (.809 OPS) batting line in 1,305 plate appearances in Triple A. The Twins will certainly aim higher in their search for a second baseman, but Herrera is an interesting fallback option. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported that it won’t be too long before the Twins hear final word on Joe Mauer’s future. Also over at The Athletic, Jim Bowdenshared five potential landing spots for J.T. Realmuto, should the Marlins decide to deal him. Spoiler alert! Twins are not listed. Kennys Vargas signed with Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines. Click here to view the article

Sure. For MLB I cut it off at his first 32 innings. MLB: 9.28 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 1.78 K:BB in his first 32 IP AAA: 2.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 4.10 K:BB in 229.2 IP AA: 3.22 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.33 K:BB in 131.1 IP Minors (all levels): 2.77 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.83 K:BB in 591.2 IP

Just for fun, here are some career numbers. Leader among the group in bold ... MLB Gonsalves 6.57 ERA, 2.03 WHIP, 0.73 K:BB in 24.2 IP Littell 6.20 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 1.27 K:BB in 20.1 IP Stewart 3.68 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 1.33 K:BB in 36.2 IP AAA Gonsalves 3.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 1.86 K:BB in 123 IP Thorpe 3.32 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 4.33 K:BB in 21.2 IP Littell 3.57 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2.45 K:BB in 106 IP Stewart 4.34 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2.69 K:BB in 45.2 IP AA Gonsalves 2.23 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 3.00 K:BB in 182 IP Thorpe 3.71 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4.31 K:BB in 114 IP Littell 3.15 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.55 K:BB in 108.2 IP Stewart 3.87 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 1.55 K:BB in 237 IP Minors (all levels) Gonsalves 2.46 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.66 K:BB in 599 IP Thorpe 3.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.53 K:BB in 328.1 IP Littell 3.36 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 3.41 K:BB in 667.1 IP Stewart 3.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1.89 K:BB in 570.2 IP

Hey that sounds amazing to me ... which also means it's probably unrealistic. If the Brewers decide to move Hiura, they're going to set their sights much higher. Gibby has been very good for a year and a half, but he's still got a 94 ERA+ for his career and only comes with one year of team control. Milwaukee is in a competitive stage right now, so I doubt the Gordon and a mid-teens prospect moves the needle at all for them. What do I think it would take to get Hiura? Gibson plus Polanco ... plus May or Garver? Not even sure that would do it, as Hiura was mentioned as a potential centerpiece deal to get Jacob deGrom, who's both better than Gibby and under multiple years of team control.

Free agency officially opens today, so it’s time to move forward and put this 2018 Twins Highlights series to bed. We’re going to end on a high note, covering what I believe are the most exciting plays to watch in baseball: Web gems.Just a reminder, earlier in this series I dedicated an entire post to Eddie Rosario and Willians Astudillo, so those two are not included in any of the compilations below. We’re going to go all the way around the horn, starting with pitchers and catchers. When you think about defense, you don’t often take into account the guy on the mound, but the Twins have a couple of guys who would make even Jim Kaat proud in Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios. Well there you have it, this is the final installment of the 2018 Twins Highlights series. I’m sure there were a few memorable moments or incredible plays I missed, but this was a lot of fun to put together. Here’s a rundown of what was covered: Walk-Off Wins Super Rosario and La Tortuga Top Pitching Performances Longest Home Runs Mauer Milestones and More I hope you enjoyed this series. To celebrate its conclusion, I mashed a bunch of these segments together to form a 20-minute long ultimate mixtape on YouTube. Click here to view the article

I don't understand why everybody's making conclusions on this recent group of graduated prospects. The ink is far from dry yet. Some of the guys have proven to be building blocks already, but remember that Buxton is 24 and Sano is 25. Maybe they never amount to what we envisioned, but it's still way, way too early to throw in the towel.

Take a bow guys, great podcast.

Lots of great points in your comment, but on this topic, Derek Falvey has mentioned before that the Twins don't have the ability to outspend teams in terms of the payroll but they may be able to invest more in the margins than the average club instead. I'd imagine slashing the payroll to this extent would give Falvey carte blanche to go nuts on the team's infrastructure and staff from the top down. Hopefully the majority of the money not invested in additions would be funneled to extensions and beefing up the staff/technology/facilities.

In this scenario, you're rolling with Buxton sink or swim. Things could go very poorly, but by the end of the season you're going to have a better feel for who he is. Still very annoyed they didn't do this in September this past season. But along with Cave, forgotten man Zack Granite's still around too. Arraez would definitely be in the mix for second base. That guy can hit for contact but I'm not sold on the other tools. Do you remember the catching carousel on the 2000 Twins team? They had five different guys make at least 10 starts back there, but by the end of the auditions A.J. had emerged as the guy. That's kind of what I envision with second base in this scenario.

Agreed, this is why I'd be a little gun shy about pushing all the chips in on 2019. I actually started out this exercise by pondering what Buxton and Sano trades might look like, but unfortunately those two have buried their stocks so low that it's really difficult to come up with any ideas that make sense for the Twins and would be realistic.

All solid points in your comment, but I could especially get behind this. Along with having a great season, Gibby also evolved into one of the clubhouse leaders by the end of the year and embraced that role. He even became the team's union rep after the Dozier trade. That extension would take you through his age 33 season, which would be perfect. I just don't see why Kyle signs that deal unless you really make it worth his while. So I didn't really consider this as an option at the onset, but if it's expected to be another ice cold free agent market this year I think guys like Gibson will be much more willing to sign extensions. My main worry, which is also why I ultimately decided not to include a Patrick Corbin signing, is that Gibson backslides and you end up with a guy clogging up a spot in your rotation. I'd love to see things work their way out organically -- spots are fought for and earned in the rotation. Then again, maybe by 2021 there's no such thing as a rotation anymore. Who knows?