Darius

Sorry to say, but if he’s trying to win a World Series, he wouldn’t be coming back here (and maybe that’s what he’s waiting for). We’re not even the best team in the division. The White Sox just blew our “window” shut with an aggressive offseason that we can only dream of (if you can call competing for the worst division in baseball for a couple years, while everyone else is in an intentional rebuild, and being embarrassingly uncompetitive in the playoffs, a “window”). We watched arguably the greatest roster in Twins history (2019), and the runner up for Cy Young (Maeda) and MVP (Cruz) in 2020....basically the best case scenario two years in a row....and still got brushed out of the first round like a gnat. Not even a sliver of belonging there. Do we really think the roster is better into 2021? If we’re not going to make some more impactful moves, we’ll be lucky to make the playoffs. If we do, Maeda, Berrios, and Pineda just aren’t going to get through multiple playoff series. We just don’t have the starting rotation or bullpen to compete at that level. We’ve seen it play out 3 of the last 4 years. Bring up all the regular season stats you want, it’s just a sad truth right now. J.A. Happ does absolutely nothing to remedy that. I’d rather have Hill and Odorizzi at 4/5 than Happ and Dobnak during the regular season. We also haven’t replaced two of our better relievers (May and Clippard). On top of that, is there a position player on the roster right now that doesn’t have injury issues? Donaldson and Buxton will get hurt. Simmons, Polanco, Arraez, Sano, Kepler, and Garver have also dealt with injuries. Maybe I’m just a cynical old Twins’ fan, but the guys seriously looking for titles are going elsewhere.

I think they don’t bring him back because of age. Nobody wanted Cruz either.

I’m not so sure the FO sees it the same way. After signing Simmons, I could see them using that DH spot to get guys like Polanco, Arraez, Rooker, Kirilloff, Sano, Garver, Jeffers etc. ABs without playing defense every day. There are also may be more days where Donaldson DHs in an attempt to keep him healthy. There’s also Larnach and Lewis that might blow the doors open this year and demand ABs. I don’t think it’s a question of whether he’ll still produce at DH, but preparing a roster that’s likely not good enough to win a title for the future. It’s hard to justify running a 43 year old out there every day on a multi year deal with three top 100 prospects knocking on the door.

The only place that would’ve been worse is the White Sox. I really liked Rosario. When he’s on one of his hot streaks, there may nobody in the game more fun to watch hit. He gets a lot of crap, but he was a big part of these good teams we’ve had recently. He hit a lot of big home runs.

The defense is taking a huge leap with Simmons. There is now a premier gold-glove caliber defender covering the left side of the infield and everywhere up the middle (aside from 2B). We’re all of the sudden the best defensive club in the MLB, arguably.

Lewis has the higher upside at a premium position. That may make him the best prospect to some, and that’s perfectly reasonable. I think Kirilloff is more likely to succeed and stick at the major league level. There is no question about his ability to hit. There is with Lewis.

It’s way more often that the Twins don’t have the high bid. I don’t believe there is a prevailing trend of being turned down by players for a lesser contracts. There are plenty of guys that would play in Minnesota if they paid the most.

I love it, if there’s more to come. Without another middle of the order bat, maybe two, were not a playoff team.

Buxton is way too low, IMO.

I agree with Boras. It’s not all that different than politics, IMO. They have their club, where these crusty, corrupted individuals sit in their positions for a lifetime. In order to be truly effective they need to venture outside of that. Some semblance of integrity and threat of consequence for malfeasance would also help (as opposed to covering for fraud, steroid use, cheating, etc.). Being able to fully trust that the integrity of the game is upheld, and their team is getting a fair shake, would go a long way with fans.

I don’t think it changes the appeal to its current fans. But, it’ll lure in many more MLB fans who follow prospects and brings the exposure to a national level, especially if you’re getting big name prospects through there occasionally. I think it could be a big deal in terms of generating some growth for the Saints. How does it work with coaching? If a player doesn’t have his contract selected by the big club, could that player legally come practice with the team? I’d jump all over that if I’m the Twins. Getting guys like Duran and Balazovic bullpens with the big league coaches every week would be very appealing.

The way Falvine taxis guys back and forth, I wonder if the Pohlads are making this move because they saw the travel costs.

No. They’ve signed one major free agent (Donaldson) in my lifetime, and even that was because nobody else wanted him that badly, and refuse to invest significant resources into the starting rotation. You can get hot at the right time and maybe accomplish something (the Rays this year), but there is just no way this roster is ever going to outclass the big market clubs until they open up the pocket book.

Watch May go elsewhere and be the filthiest reliever in the game for next few years. Our specialty seems to be casting off dominant relievers.

The whole service time system is without a doubt the worst thing in all sports. Imagine how much better the game would be is a large percentage of its best players weren’t in an obscure inferior league somewhere.

We’ll never know the opportunity cost in terms of playoff wins, but imagine dropping Eduardo Escobar’s 2019 production into 3rd base and moving Sano over to 1B in 2019.

As much as I think they should, there is zero chance the Twins sign Bauer.

If I’m a guy like Bauer’s agent, I’m pushing for tiered contracts. I’ll sign for a minimum of $X, whether there are games or not. The contract ratchets up based on the number of games and fans allowed in the stadium. Whether you get them to show up and buy tickets isn’t my problem. No way I’m getting charitable with ownership. You make a windfall next year because ballparks open and people are super enthusiastic about attending games because they’ve been locked up for a year (which isn’t out of the question), I want my cut of that. I’m losing no sleep over a lean year for people who have banked billions in actual earnings and unrealized gains over over the years. I already did my time on the MLBs antiquated arbitration/team control system where you get star players at a bargain for a significant chunk of their career. The smart play may actually be waiting until in season to sign like some did last year. The pandemic has to burn out sometime, one would think, if there is no advance in vaccine, etc. by then. There will be normal baseball again at some point.

The problem with analytics is it’s trying to analyze a black and white outcome in a world full of grey area. This isn’t the same thing as the likelihood of a certain number coming up on a roll of dice. Clearly, analytics have their place. But, some are getting away from human element, and that’s where it can hurt. There is such a thing as clutch. It matters which batters are coming up in the next inning. It matters how the guy feels, his confidence level, days of rest, etc. There’s a lot of things that aren’t accounted for that cause religious followers of these things to be wrong more than they think they should be.

He hit .800, he’s the real deal, ready and all that...so let’s give him zero ABs in a season that we’re all-in then throw him to the wolves in the playoffs. Bold strategy, Cotton. Very coherent and logical.

We need better players. Bottom line. There’s a lot of excuses. Staying healthy and being able to play is part of being a good player. There is clearly a difference between the bright lights of a playoff game and some routine regular season game - most of these guys seem to fold (looking at the box scores of recent playoff games isn’t pretty) - and you can’t make the argument that they’ve been running into dominant ace level pitchers. I don’t think there’s as much luck involved as people think. The guy from the Rays just hit 10 home runs in the playoffs. That takes something more than closing your eyes and getting lucky.

I’m torn on the subject, and have gone back and forth. But, the more I think about it, the more I’m ready to move on. I love what Nelson has done here. Personally, I think he should be getting the praise that some heap on Baldelli. He’s taken young players under his wing (Sano, primarily). He’s demonstrated what it means to be an exemplary professional. He’s been a unifying force in the clubhouse (the robe thing was great). For all the praise Baldelli has gotten for his “hands off” cool dad approach, that doesn’t work without Nelson around. That said, this team is once again stuck in rut and seemingly going nowhere. They’re not winning a World Series next year, short of making another move - and they’re not increasing payroll. They need to start preparing for the future. I’d like to see Larnach replace Rosario in the OF, some combo of Sano/Kiriloff at 1B/DH, Royce Lewis on the left-side (whether short or 3rd), and Jeffers handed the keys to full-time starting catcher. It’s not a total overhaul, that lineup with our current pitching staff could still be a playoff team. But, I think that’s the fastest track to success. Our hotshot hitting prospects need to get some time under their beltS and acclimate to the majors while we still have guys like Buxton, Kepler, and Arraez around. That likely can’t happen with Cruz getting the start at DH everyday. Or Donaldson for that matter. If he gets healthy and comes out of the gates hot next year, trade him for whatever you can get.

No thanks to a utility player that has historically struggled defensively and can’t play the corners (I’m sorry, but don’t know where you get the idea that he has the arm to play 3rd). He’s a full time guy or he’s gone. You can find guys like Adrianza that can play all 4 infield spots, plus the OF, off the bench for a fraction of the cost.

It would be really tough for me to justify paying Rogers $7M+ when he hasn’t been that good since the second half or 2019. He’s been good here, and been a workhorse, but I’d rather have May at half that. That Buxton W-L stat is incredible. I wonder what it would take to lock him up to a 5 year deal, or something that neighborhood. Something clearly clicked offensively this year (or he was finally healthy enough and beyond the head games of people messing with his swing all the time). This time next year it’s not absurd to think we could be talking about the AL MVP. If we get to that point without a deal, there’s no way he’s here long-term (he may not want to be anyway, given the history with the club, and the repeated postseason incompetence, I wouldn’t blame him).

I feel like we’ve been talking about Gray as a potential trade and breakout candidate for a decade. Not saying it’s a bad idea, but maybe there are better/different options to consider?