Rosterman

The Twins will have to vastly overpay for years 1-2-3 with opt outs to get either of these Carlos guys. They could. Will they?

Kepler for Rortvedt and we'll take back Donaldson as our needed right-handed bat, if the Yankees eat his salary.

Let Lewis play as long as he needs in St. Paul, but choose a position and run him out there as a regular. I would rathr see Lewis get built-up and push someone out of the outfield than bring him back waaaaay too soon. Decide, too, what to do with Austin Martin. Suddenly the Twins could have a wealth of disposable redundant outfield talent. I like Martin on the bases. Put him in a lineup with a running Julien, Arraez somewhere, Lewis, Buxton and someone like Corea.......phew!

They are going to change the name from Target Field to Correa Field.

No, but you have to find a comfortable position for him to play. He doesn't seem to be a guy that just wants to hit. He plays better, or so I notice, when he is in the game on the field. His strength is working the count, which makes him a wonderful lead-off hitter. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the base running skills to take that extra base via steal or put pressure on the pitcher, so you run the double-play risk if he bats leadoff and gets on. If he bats second, he stands a good chance of advancing the runner in every at bat, assuming the runner has better bse-running skills that Arraez. I would put Polanco, Buxton, Correa, maybe Lewis, even Kepler in that position. But Kepler needs to start hitting. But then again, Arraez has a wasted at bat if the leadoff hitter gets out, and you don't have a really strong #3 in the order. You gotta bat him early because of his eye-at-the-plate, and his OBP. You want him to get that fifth at bat each and every game. Has he reached his peak? No. Would I sign him long-term? Also, No. partly because he is a man without a...position.

The joy is that all teams are experiencing the same. You can push players, to make up for that lost year, or start to see a logjam. Not that there is any lack of players, with a whole host playing the major league sponsored indy leagues looking for that secondary chance. I also noticed an abundance of plaeyrs in the Mexican leagues. How it all plays out will be fun to watch.

I keep wondering what kind of contract Byron Buxton may have gotten from someone else last season. Sheesh.

Rumor ahs it that whenb the Twins saw what the Padres were doing, they started to cull together offers to top the Padres offers, but the photocopy machine ran out of paper and the players ended up signing elsewhere. But, hey, at least they thought they were in the hunt.

I would've liked to see Celestino get almsot a full year of play at AAA. Should've happened last season (along with Larnach) with the Twins fielding Kirilloff/Buxton/Kepler with Garlick and now Gordon as the reserves. But that failed to happen. I would still nurture him, at age 24, for a regular job in St. Ppaul and see how he goes from there. Play him everyday, in a central place in a line-up. Yes, he may be bypassed by larnach, Wallner, Lewis, Martin and overtaken by Rodriguez soon. I still questioned why they felt the need to keep him on the 40-man, as well as other outfield decisions, in that season the wins lost not just Baddoo, but also Wade.

Well, there goes the chance for Polanco to move on. Wong, longtime Twins fans will remember, was drafted by the Twins in the 16th-round of the 2008 draft, but didn't sign.

Twins will take the "one-more-year" gamble. But Ryan, if nothing else, could develop into a great shutdown bullpen arm. ALways felt he would be best suited for the role of a closer. But as long as he can put up decent starts, I will run him out every fifth day and, hopefully, get four more years out of the guy in a Twins uniform.

He was still young. Probably should've been sent down to AA for awhile, sooner rather than not at all. And basically has trolled in the Twins system long-enough that he would become a minor league free agent if waived off the roster and someone would openly grab him. For the promise alone. But 2023 is his final year to put something together for the Twins. A fast start with decent numbers could make him part of a trade package. But right now, even as a throw-in, he doesn't have much value.

Gambling is the magic word. The future could be bright...if healthy. Can Royce be the longterm solution at shortstop? How long will we have to wait to see. And, if so, where do we plug in Martin and Lee in the seasons following. The outfield logjam. We know Kepler. But Wallner, Kirilloff and Larnach are unknowns, still. Celestino is also still a prospect. We have half-a-catcher. Arraez is great, but he is far from your typical first baseman. But the Twins still have a designated hitter/bench spot need when all is said and done. Hopefully a right-handed puncher who can also play the field, somewhere. Front office, don't try and sell us on a competitive team. Still doing the tryout thing, and the best we can ask is that the guys get playing time, and do well, and surprise us all before you discover they really aen't that good and have to make some mid-season movements, if the team is still competitive. Otherwise, if not, we look at the next batch scheduled to get playing time come end of '23 or soemtime in '24. Unless you open the wallet and sign two top flight free agents (rotation arm and catcher and/or right-handed bat). Of course, you could also trade for a catcher, depending on who you sign for a pitching ace and a right-handed bat from what would then be rotation arm depth and a surplus of outfield "talent."

I'm hoping he becomes our next Jason Kubel, and not our next Jim Eisenreich. At least in a Twins uniform. Although I would like him to comeback in the same way Eisenreich did...for other teams!

I would do that trade.

Great that he is going to work on defense with Correa this winter. Miranda may not be the long-term third baeman, but should suffice for the short-term. He is why Strand was available for trade to the Rangers. Plus the influx of players from Martin, Lewis, Julien, Lee, Shuffield and others that need to find a home. The Twins have to figure out Arraez longterm and where he can play best, or dangle him s a trade chip. Miranda could move to first and MAY be better there than...Arraez. Kirilloff also is in the mix for first. I would not worry about third base for 2023.

I say give him $35m for season 1 and 2 with $30m for 3 & 4 and a $25option for year five. Give him an opt out after each of years 1 and 2.

Paying a free agent piotcher is a luxury for msot teams. You hope for one or two good seasons. With the opt-outs that are in many contracts, you have the ability to front-load for a stud, hope they give you the quality, and let them walk. Or even if you sign a guy to a longer contract (3-5 years) you hopefully have the ability to trade them if it isnb't working out, but their stats are still good enough for a contending team to grab. Even with home grown talent, it is a hard decision. Which is often why it is GREAT if you can nab one of your own talents and sign them longer term by the time they enter arbitration, going that distance of, say, a five year contract into a free agent year or two with mutual options. Most of us in Twins Daily land were on the bubble if Jose Berrios would've been worth a $120 million contract before he was traded to the Blue Jays. Yet one or two years ago, we would've been more than happy to see the Twins sign him for 5-7 years (at what might've been less than $120m). In the end, though, I have a hard time seing the Twins wasting $15-20 million or more on 2-3 so-so arms, rather than just investing in a probably one good arm, if available. Besides the horror stories of old, I was disappointed with the Twins final payout on Archer this last season, where the guy ended up doubling his salary because of his starts, but not really giving us...a start. Right up there with Odorizzi taking the qualifying offer. Thank goodness the 2020 season was shortened and the Twins didn't have to payout the full amount. Again, it is a fine line. Be interesting to see where the Twins go with, say, Joe Ryan. We all remember basically not seeing any longterm worth in the likes of Kyle Gibson, as an example.

Him and Canterino could be studs. Just gotta get the innings. Sadly, see Enlow, at best, becoming a relief arm in the end. He has to advance to AAA. I wish the Twins had sent Balazovic back to AA to work out his rotation kinks. I'm not sure where to be with his status. Should he also start at AA in 2023? Two prospects, along with Canterino, that I doubt will contribute to the team in 2023. And they really don't have a lot of trade value, unless other teams wish to take a flyer on "what could be....."

I hope one is spending an equal amount to Correa's salary on other players to make a winning team.

Well, that opinion solved. Who should we look at next?

I'm not seeing the immediate future, as well as long-term, being a third base issue for the Twins. Which is why they felt comfortable trading Strand to the Reds, I guess. Even shortstop looks to have longer depth (not to mention second-base). The bigger question is first base if you look beyond Arraez and Kirilloff (or move Miranda there). And catcher. And you can always buy a bat to be a DH, and it is a bonus if they can play a position on the field.

I hope we don't lose Severino. Sisk should be picked. We need CATCHERS!

I would go in on Arbeu first (and soon). Otehrwise, might be a reasonable gamble since he can play 1st and the outfield and cycle thru in DH duties. Plus could be a decent bench bat. His strikeout ratio scares me a bit and lessens the desire to have him come off the bench. I'm totally at a loss as to what it would take to sign him. Is he beyond a one-year comeback contract? Does he offer enough for 2-3 years?

If his speed remains and his defense improves, he could push Buxton to right or left field, which would be good! He has power and speed. If he can stop chasing certain pitches, he will be a "force."