Darius

Thank God the Pohlads might recoup some of their investment. I was really losing sleep over that. I guess winning I just a luxury for those with competent ownership, and front office personnel, anyway....and apparently for those who have been utterly brain-washed into a Walking Dead-esque zombie of a baseball fan. I seriously can't get over how much consideration people give the shank costs of Pohlad's when they're deciding what is a good move, and what isn't. I'll just remind e wet one: No salary cap. And let's not pretend the Twins weren't setting up Duffy for this all along, by having him work on a change-up that doesn't exist up until a week before the season starts, instead of his deadly hammer that nearly carries the Twins to the playoffs last year. Again, this franchise is a complete joke. They'll piss away all these prospects just like they did in the 2000s (which some, unbelievably, think was the golden age of success).

Is he really guilty? Or, just Steven Avery-guilty?

Hopefully they honor their word and let him walk if he wants to. "Room for you going forward" could mean a number of things. Im hoping one of them isn't "stuck in Rochester until your opt-out because we might have an injury." You would hope that they had that conversion before putting the transaction through, anyway. But, you never know with this front office. A few players (some still on the team) have had their share of grievances over the years.

....Wait.....Were there talk of the Twins trading Plouffe at some point? Interesting. Let's analyze that...

I don't like it, and dont agree that it's a "win now" decision. I don't think you can honestly say that he's not one of the best 5 starting pitchers in the organization right now. Especially not one of the best 5 with the big club, since Berrios won't be there either. It has a lot to do with contracts.

Aaron Hicks didn't get enough time in the minors? D'ohK. Have it ever occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe, it takes time to learn the game at the major league level, and the number of minor league at-bats is unrelated to that learning curve? Maybe it would have taken Gonez three years to figure out the nuances of major league baseball whether he spend 1 year in the minors or 10...Same with Hicks. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that this whole service time issue has been turned into, "the number of minor league at bats directly related to major league success. Is it beneficial for a player to learn the game as an 18-20 year old? Absolutely. But, to think that 200 more minor league at bats for Aaron Hicks at this point, after he has shown success at all levels, is going to somehow turn him into a better major leaguer is just dumb, IMO. Doing Algebra problems for 5 years, versus 2 or 3, isn't going to make you any more prepared for calculus. I know where this is going to go next: "you'll damage their confidence and ruin them as a player." Another one bought hook, line, and sinker from office personnel. Is there a shred of evidence to support this notion? The way I look at it, if they can't figure it out without damaging their psyche beyond repair at 21, why would it be any different at 23? They were probably never going to be a great player in the first place, if they unravel under adversity.

Duffy has the best pure stuff out of everyone who could realistically open the season in the rotation. (Santana, Hughes, Nolasco, Gibson, Milone). He and Sano basically kept the team in the hunt late in the year. It's would be his first full season in the MLB, and was a concerted college closer just a couple of years ago. IMO, that means there is much room for improvement deeper in games (especially relative the old Donkeys that fill out the rest of the rotation - with the exception of Gibson). He's the only guy that will sniff the rotation that can get a strikeout. Considering all of those things, for a team that fancies itself a young team ready to break out, how can you not put him in the rotation and be taken seriously as a baseball guy (looking at you, TR). Honestly, I think it's a joke that we could have a real rotation, consisting of Santana, Berrios, Gibson, Hughes, and Duffy.....and instead they're running out guys like Nolasco and Milone. I won't even get started on the mismanagement of the bullpen....or the outfield (just watch Sweeney get a ridiculous amount of innings). It's time to show TR the door, and get someone in here who isn't living in the dead ball era. The guy's track record is absolutely horrendous (the hilarious 90s, sitting in hands and pissing away good teams in the '00s, and going senile and playing guys off the street in a brand new stadium in the '10s, some of the worst trades and signing in recent MLB history)....yet he still gets the benefit of the doubt from most fans. He, flat out, is a bad General Manager, and would have been canned years ago by any other self-respecting franchise.

Thrylos grasping at straws is about as bad as Nolasco's performance on the mound. Nolasco and Milone are both awful pitchers. Get real.

I think its good for Santana. He is what he is at SS at this point, and its not great. Unfortunately, I think it seals Buxton's fate to start the season in AAA, unless he goes berserk in spring training.

That's already been happening for decades. It seems that people think performance enhancing drugs have been removed the equation after the congressional inquiry, or were unique to a 5-10 year period in the MLB. Various performance enhancers have been used since the beginning of time, they're just getting more sophisticated. Some vigilantes got the league in hot water in the '00s, and they just got smarter about it. Yes, the MLB itself, and all teams are complicit. If you're not inclided towards conspiracy, take a look at the list of players that have tested positive for PEDs since the testing began, and you'll see that its a joke. If it were legit, there would be many more big names on that list. All the big money players that have been exposed were by whistle blowers: Palmiero, Bonds, Clemens, Pettite, A-Rod initially, Giambi, McGwire. Two exceptions: A-Rod: retribution from the league - funny how he went 15 years of insanse numbers, while blowing up like a balloon, and never got busted until late in his career after running his mouth. Braun: a mistake that someone lkely got fired, hence the attempted chain of custody cop-out). It's just a part of all professional sports. The Golden-Boy players (Mauer, Morneu, etc.) that you all think are squeaky clean, likely aren't.

He'll probably start in CF and hit .180 until August.

That outfield will be an absolute disaster. Defensively, and possibly even offensively (assuming Rosario and Sano hit some kind of regression). If only they had a versatile guy, who could play all 3 positions well, with speed and an arm. Someone with an OK approach at the plate who could supply a little pop occasionally. If only they weren't so damned hard to find. If only they were as readily available as part-time catchers are this offseason....

Something I'm not seeing brought up here, that is the most concerning thing to me: If Buxton starts the year in AAA (which, frankly, I will be surprised if he doesn't), Danny Santana is your opening day Center Fielder. At the same time, some appear to think Murphy has some kind of major upside (which Hicks has), which I disagree with. We'll never know until it plays out, but I'll continue to believe that this is an awful trade until I'm proven otherwise (not the other way around). I just like what Hicks brings to table.

Shocker. He's been doing the same thing every year for the past two decades, with poor results. I would say he's insane (by definition...see previous sentence), but it's the owners of the team. Winning baseball game has never been, and will never be, a priority. It's just gravy. i honestly believe that TR is an excellent baseball mind that has been hamstrung by the Pohlads. It must be extremely frustrating. Maybe equally as frustrating as being a season ticket holder to this multi-decade clown show.

May should be a reliever. I really like him in that role. It suits his personality much more, IMO. Milone shouldn't be in the rotstion if you're serious about winning the division and playoff games. Nice spot guy and LR, but I don't want him for 180 innings. Berrios won't see the majors until he hits midnight on the service time clock, if we're being honest about it. Shields, Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Duffey is a legit rotation top to bottom. No dominant ace, but no real glaring weak link, either. It won't happen, but the rotation would be unquestionably better in 2016. They can easily make room for Berrios when the time comes, if they really wanted to (Someone will struggle or get hurt. It's clockwork).

Yes, because I don't care how much money the Pohlad's spend. They're dirt cheap, so we're all under the impression that they "can't afford it." They could pay Shields 10x over and still be clearing boat loads. Let's stop protecting the Pohlad's pocketbook for them. We already paid for their stadium.

Whether or not Plouffe is traded, I think adding an outfielder is a must. There aren't many reliable options there, assuming Buxton and Kepler start in AAA. Aside from that, I don't see TR doing much, outside of a middle reliever. Shields, Santana, Hughes, Gibson, and Duffey would be a very nice opening rotation. Not realistic, IMO, but nice.

It's a nice deal. But, I'm confused as to why people so exited about the terms. There isn't a salary cap, or floor, so "saving money" should be irrelevant to everyone but the Pohlads. It certainly doesn't mean they are spending that "saved money" anywhere else. Whether they give him $4m per, or $20m, the 25-man will likely look exactly the same, so what's the difference? Unfortunately for Park, he didn't have many cards to play I'm that negotiation. Locked into one team, who certainly would have let him walk, at almost 30 years old with an astronomical K rate against awful pitching and no defense. He goes back to re-post on the wrong side of 30, and comes off a down year in Korea, he probably gets peanuts. I'd be pretty upset, if I were his representation, about having to play on that uneven playing field. Borderline extortion in his circumstances. It cost the guy millions that he probably deserves (per an open market). That should be re-examined, IMO. Politics/Economics aside, it'll be fun to see how this guy adjusts to high-end pitching. Scary to think about trading Plouffe before seeing him in Spring Training, at least. Regardless, with this guys swing, the entertainment value will certainly be there. I'll tune in.

Nice to hear. I was starting to wonder what was going on. It's been pretty quiet on him since they posted the fee. I can't see him leaving without a contract. I would assume that its all but signed (at least very close to an agreement) if he's getting on a plane. Now I'm just waiting for TR to give Plouffe away for something like Odrisamer Despaigne a pile of agri-lime.

The comments about TR are highly questionable: -Milone adds depth in the sense that he's a warm body that can prop himself up on a pitching mound. Not really in the sense that he's an additional quality rotation piece of a quality team. -Ryan should be, and has been, chastised about his handling of the bullpen last year. Its certainly not a positive, even considering the late addition of Jepsen. -Its Ryans role that gave the Twins hope in '15? Not sure about that, other than a figure head to hand out the paychecks (figuratively speaking). I think, on the other hand, it was his role that snatched said hope away, after it was created by the likes of Molitor and Dozier. I'm of the opinion that Ryan should get the first ever Turkey Lifetime Achievement Award (let alone Turkey of the Year....even letter alone the Diamond Treasure). Although, he may lose Norm Green by a slim margin for moving the North Stars (after multiple recounts).

Digging a little deeper, in this case, is futile. Johnson's minor league seasons in America can't be compared to Maeda's seasons in Japan. It's like comparing the Canadian Football League to the Arena League, or something like that. There is no way of knowing if there is any correlation between those in relation to the NFL, for example. Also, I'm not really sure age means anything when you're comparing a 31 year old to a near 28 year old. Theoretically, they should both be at, or close to, their physical prime (innings pitched, etc. notwithstanding). A 26 year old to a 21-22 year old, and you may be on to something, but that's not the case here. All you can take away from any of this is: 1) Johnson has 2 MLB seasons, so you probably know what you have in him, which isn't much at the MLB level. 2) Maeda is a complete mystery, regardless of how many successful seasons he's posted in the NPB in relation to Johnson.

I just don't see Maeda being a huge success in the MLB. However, I don't think any of us know enough about foreign baseball leagues (the NPB in this case) to garner any meaningful conclusions based on statistics. Way too many variables. At best, we're all just guessing based on comparables (Park to Choi, etc.). At worst, based on absolutely nothing.

D'ohK.

Can you explain the signficance of that? Given his shortcomings against RHP, he still hit on a 20/20 full season pace last year, with excellent centerfield defense. This argument is so stale. Why can't we just accept that HIcks is a very good ballplayer? What do you expect, Mike Trout? If he narrows the gap in his splits (in a positive way)...he could easily end up in an All-Star game down the road. Wouldn't shock me. Oh well, hopefully Murphy will be a league average catcher in a part-time role, as advertised. That's the missing the piece to the championship puzzle.

Wow. This guy has the stuff to win multiple Cy Young awards, and has a freshly rebuilt arm. The Marlins are a joke. What exactly is the owners' plan....do everything he can to get the team moved from Miami? You just don't trade away pitchers like this, unless its a contract year. I don't care if he pouts a little. Isn't the objective to try and sell more tickets, not fewer?