Tom Froemming

It's a sad day. Despite my best efforts, the Minnesota Twins were not among the teams listed as the finalists for Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki. I guess there was some other stuff happening in Minnesota sports that was sad, too. Anyway, today's Twins 5 also includes discussion on Baseball Prospectus' Top 101 prospects list, 2025 ZiPS projections for the Twins, the slow moving free agent market and realities regarding the state of payroll for the Twins. View full video

Adam Dunn with more athleticism.

Here are a handful of Minnesota Twins topics that have been in the news and my reactions. The Twins agreed to 2025 deals with all of their arbitration eligible players and came in a little under what they were projected to spend. That's great for the front office, but I'm not so sure Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan and Royce Lewis are going to be thrilled to make under what they were projected. In a recent interview, Twins GM Jeremy Zoll made it sound like they have some spending flexibility. That could be huge because some big name free agents are entertaining the idea of taking short-term deals. Also, the Twins are showing interest in old friend Nick Anderson, but they're facing a roster crunch. With the 40-man roster full, who would you cut if it came down to it? View full video

The Minnesota Twins acquired catcher Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers. A top prospect of his international class and former consensus top-20 prospect in all of baseball, Cartaya was recently DFAed by Los Angeles. The Twins sent over minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez to complete the deal. Here is my reaction to the trade and some analysis on what this could mean for the Twins catching situation. View full video

Happy New Year! The Minnesota Twins remain quiet, but things may start to pick up as we turn the calendar. Either way, we have something to get excited about regardless of any activity: Walker Jenkins. He's perhaps the best hitting prospect in the entire league and I think we'll see him on the Twins in 2025. Other topics discussed are the recent acquisition of Mickey Gasper, trade talks, spending expectations and Kyle Hart, a free agent lefty the Twins have expressed interest in. View full video

My dream of the Minnesota Twins signing Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki is still technically alive. He's met with some teams, seen some presentations, but nothing has motivated him to sign quite yet. That's where we come in. Here are some incentives offered up from Twins fans to the 23-year-old fireballer. View full video

There are gifts wrapped under the tree and they're going to be surprised. I feel like I checked the important boxes. 1) Yes, Mickey Gasper has 3 options. So that's nice. He can go down to St. Paul and be depth, if that's the way things work out. 2) Based on the way Boston used him, I'd guess the answer is no, Gasper probably can't be an adequate catcher. He played 105 games and only caught 20 times last year, zero in the big leagues. The guys the Twins have used in this manner (Chris Williams, Alex Isola and to a lesser extent Ricardo Olivar) aren't very good behind the plate. So my assumption is Gasper is usable back there but not particularly useful. Maybe he'll surprise and clear that bar, but that's my expectation. I'd take a deeper look for myself if 1) There was more to see, and 2) It wasn't X-Mas.

This was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to poke fun at Gasper being our X-Mas present from Falvey. There's nothing in the article that suggests I didn't think the actual trade was fair. I barely even wrote about Morán, and certainly didn't gas him up when I did. If I thought this was a terrible trade or that Morán was some kind of prize this would have been much different and not nearly as light-hearted. If my main goal was to stir up **** and flame bait, I wouldn't waste my time writing on X-Mas Eve about an insignificant trade. There would be much easier targets and more convenient times to do that.

Maybe “Wild Horses” is the Stones song we’re looking for?

Derek Falvey is not a deadbeat who forgot Christmas. He swears Mickey Gasper wasn’t a last minute-panic gift. He just figured a Quad-A catcher with on-base skills was what we always wanted. Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports I have an embarrassing confession to make: I forgot to buy gifts and was forced to resort to my only Christmas Eve shopping option: 24-hour pharmacies. The kids are getting athletic tape that I’ll try to pass off as being all the new-age arts & craft rage. The misses gets a candle. You can never go wrong with a nice candle, right? Oh, and everyone’s also getting a knee brace. I did it, gift checklist complete! I’ve never found Derek Falvey more relatable than in this moment. With the Twins handcuffed by their own payroll limitations yet again this winter, all the front office has provided is a Rule 5 pick and a bunch of minor league signings. Stocking stuffers at the absolute best. Twins fans know better than to expect anything too fancy, but surely Falvey and Co. had something, anything for us wrapped up and under the tree. Well … in reality, Falvey had to run to Walgreens and find a way to make something work for us. “Uh, another minor league signing? No, they already have dozens of those. I know, sign somebody! Shoot, that’s right, Joe has my wallet. Uh, um, I’ve got it! A minor trade!” So Falvey called up the Boston Red Sox, scoured through a list of their available players and blindly landed on the guy he thought had the best baseball name: Mickey Gasper. Nothing against Gasper, a 29-year-old who made his Major League debut in August. If he was the Lifesavers Candy Gift Book that accompanied some bigger, more exciting gifts, that would be perfectly fine. Instead, he’s basically the centerpiece of the Twins offseason thus far. Gasper's cup of coffee with the Red Sox was basically empty, but he’s been interesting in the high minors. The switch-hitting Gasper has a .422 on-base percentage in 70 career Triple-A games that’s backed up by a .401 OBP in 176 career Double-A contests. There’s also some intriguing defensive versatility here, as he has experience not only behind the plate but also at both first base and second base. Gasper received an honorable mention in the Red Sox Minor League Hitter of the Year voting at our sister site, Talk Sox. He was also selected as one of the Minor League All-Stars in Boston's system by SoxProspects.com. While you're not going to see him on any prospect lists, Gasper has been a strong performer in the minor leagues, boasting a .275/.392/.449 line (.841 OPS) over 407 career games down on the farm. With Gasper joining the Twins 40-man roster, it leaves just one empty spot. It’s always possible to create more space, of course, but Gasper feels like exactly the type of guy you designate for assignment in a situation where you need to clear space. The player going to Boston, Jovani Morán, was no longer occupying a spot on the 40 man. He also arguably ranked third on the Twins left-handed reliever depth chart, behind Kody Funderburk and Brent Headrick. Given this is such a role of need for the Twins, we're essentially left to assume the Twins expect Morán to look more like his 2023 self (5.31 ERA, 1.78 K:BB ratio) than his 2022 form (2.21 ERA, 3.00 K:BB ratio). Morán, still only 27, missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Morán always had command issues and that's typically the last thing to come fully back post-TJ. It’s an interesting swap if you’re the type of person who enjoys digging deep into rosters and analyzing how the final few spots of a big league team may shake out, but this is most definitely not what we asked for. Did you not get our Christmas wish list, Derek? P.S. Special shoutout to Matthew Lenz, who mentioned Gasper in an article here at Twins Daily a couple weeks ago. If you want to know what underwhelming piece the Twins may add next, we’ve got you covered. View full article

I think instead of Falvey and Adler they need to put Froemming and Gast at the forefront of this effort. We got this!

The agent for Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasak suggested a soft landing could be beneficial and that it’s possible he might prefer a smaller market. Well, why not the Minnesota Twins? Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Prior to the “soft landing” comment from agent Joel Wolfe, it was presumed by many that Roki Sasaki would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, or at least another team on the West Coast. Wolfe hinted to reporters that things are more complicated than that, referencing the challenges Sasaki has faced with the media to this point in his career. Well, this is technically media, and I’d like to personally ensure that Sasaki knows he’ll be treated like a king here at Twins Daily if he decides to sign with Minnesota. I’ll see to it myself. Roki, we won’t expect perfection out of you. Unlike some other markets, years of disappointment and heartache have lowered our expectations. You can’t hurt us any worse than what we’ve already endured. If you come in and do what we know you're capable of, you’ll be a hero here in Minnesota. If you do that in New York or LA, you’re just another guy in the long line of current stars and franchise icons. What’s the fun in that? You’re still only 23; you’ll have plenty of time to make a late-career run in the limelight if you choose to do so. Minnesota is where you want to come to find comfort and grow into the next chapter of your life. Before any of you readers reply with some variation of “yeah, but cheap Pohlads,” remember: this money is essentially already earmarked for spending. The Twins will use (basically) their entire international bonus pool whether they can land Sasaki or not. And while most teams have around the same amount, the Twins are one of eight teams to have this year’s top pool allotment of around $7.5 million. So are the Twins actually in on Sasaki? Derek Falvey was uncharacteristically direct about this with reporters: “We have interest.” MLB teams are going to flood Sasaki and his agent with presentations trying to woo the fireballer. They will have executives, coaches and even players make their pitch. There are already videos, PowerPoint presentations and PDFs being sent. Will that be enough? Reading through the lines, it seems like Sasaki isn’t necessarily motivated by the same things as your average ballplayer. At least some of his friction with the media in Japan is related to his determination to pitch in the United States, at this early an age. Sasaki has also faced some extraordinary, tragic challenges in his life. He's from Rikuzentakata, a small town on the East Coast of Japan, which was hit hard by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in 2011. Sasaki lost his father and two grandparents, and was one of thousands of residents of that hamlet who never went back home. So nobody’s really sure what’s going to motivate Sasaki. Why not us? The below video is my presentation to Sasaki on why he should consider signing with the Minnesota Twins. I encourage you to make your own pitch. Maybe if enough of us make the case for Minnesota, we can be the difference. Under normal circumstances, the Twins would have little chance to sign such a talent. Fortunately, these are not normal circumstances. Since he is so young, Saski is subject to international bonus pool money restrictions, much like when Shohei Ohtani came to the states. Sasaki was formally posted Monday, Dec. 10, which opened a 45-day window for him to negotiate a deal. Feel free to make your own presentation to Roki Sasaki down in the comments. View full article

Per The Athletic, brothers Justin and Mat Ishbia have shown interest in buying the Minnesota Twins. These billionaire brothers from Michigan currently own the Phoenix Suns. Here's some info on just how filthy rich the Ishbioa brothers are and my feelings about the news as a Twins fan. View full video

The Minnesota Twins made a selection in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft for the first time since 2017. Right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano joins the org after a breakout 2024 season that ended with him being honored as the Phillies minor league pitcher of the year. Here are highlights of Castellano, a look at some of his numbers and a discussion on where he fits on the Twins roster. View full video

I’m sure those guys weren’t eligible. It’s kinda weird. In addition to the 40-man roster, there’s also a Triple-A “roster” where you’re able to protect guys from that minor league phase. The weird thing is those rosters aren’t made public. So if you go and look at the Saints roster on their site, it’s not going to reflect who was on that protection list. Had Olivar or Rosario not been on that roster, they definitely would’ve been picked.