Rosterman

What I found interesting was that the Yankees had Isiah on their radar. Somehow the Twins traded Garver for him. I'm sure the Rangers would've taken Sanchez, as I don't expect Garver to play nearly as many games in seasons to come behind the plate as...Sanchez could. Did the Yankees just drop this bigtime? Because it allowed the Twins to grab a Yankee want, and to combine it with...Donaldson and his BIG contract. Suddenly the trade sounds alot better, a shortstop and an aging third baseman going to the Yankees, rather than the Twins basically swapping catchers with the Yankees. But that is basically what they did...swapped Garver for Sanchez, for some reason the Yankees wanted Rortvedt (shades of John Ryan Murphy via Drew Butera for backup strength). For dumping a salary like Donaldson's, you probably should be lucky to get a prospect or two back, but the Twins got a third baseman to replace Donaldson for the moment. Are they thinking of Gio as a shortstop? Where does that put Miranda in the scheme of things - left field or back in AAA for another season? (I still think Beckham will be the Twins starting shortstop, promised a million+ if he makes he team...only reason he signed a minor deal was because that was what was available during the lockout). Sanchez can catch. Not the best, but he can catch. We still have the logjam of rally killing in the lineup of Sano, so I would hate to see Sanchez and Sano play on the same day. But both him and Gio, if they have decent years, could be tradebait if the Twins don't survive the spring. But, yeah...all future points pointed towards Jeffers and Rortvedt sharing the catching duties for the next 4-6 years, with hopeful improvements from both, until the Twins draft or develop someone in the minors. You almost wish Tomas Tellis was still around, he who made thed 26-man because of COVID bu t didn't play. Instead we have David Banuelos (24), Steve Berman (26) and Caleb Hamilton (26) as the big three at the top levels, with Roy Morales (26) thrown in the mis as a good bat but bad plate guy. In the system the Twins have Jair Camargo, who has been around for a while and has some promise, but still two years away, Also Jefferson Morales and the versatile Alex Isola. Charlie Mack and Pat Winkel are promising signees. Oh, and I almost forgot Kyle Schmidt! Who seems to be the roving catcher in the system whenever someone goes down for a short stretch! Now they are up Schitt's creek if something happens to one, elt alone both, or the guys. Makes you almost wish for Willians Astudillo as that 26th man on the roster.

Dondaldson was a salary dump. Congratulate the Twins on that. Otherwise, could the Yankees have traded Sanchez to the Rangers for Isiah? Not sure what went wrong there. But the Twins got the guy the Yankees wanted and a trade proceeded from there. Sanchez may not likable, but he catches more games than Garver. Not that the Twins need that if Jeffers works out. What I hate is that he is basically a clone of Sano, who I don't really want to see in the field either. These two batting in the same lineup - meh! Gio is like a more fleshed-out Escobar. Workable. Maybe Miranda will start the season in leftfield. Maybe not (Garlick, Cave or Rooker?). I picture, as of today, Beckham being the starting shortstop.

It ws a salary dump of Donaldson to someone willing to take the full contract. Gio can be a stopgap at third and also a mid-season tradechip if the Twins go bad. Expect Miranda to start at AAA, unless he pounds the ball this spring and wins the leftfield job over guys like Garlick and Cave (or Rooker). I don't understand Sanchez. He is a clone, basically, or Sano. Bat him back-to-back with Miguel and we can have a real rally killer. Yes, he could float into the DH spot, and maybe produce. I liked Rortvedt. Was always curious to see what a "muscle" guy might be able toa ccomplish in baseball. Man, his arms! And he would've been a great tandem with Jeffers. Right now, who is our catcher is someone goes down? I picture Sanchez being the third catcher/DH. Maybe the Twins can flip Sano? Would you be willing to take the salary of Myers or Hosmer for Sano? Can the Padres throw in a pitcher or two? I hope the dang yearbook hasn't gone to the printer yet!

This all had to work from the angle of: "Hey, someone will take Josh Donaldson off of our hands, and his ENTIRE salary. WHat do we have to do to make this work."

$50 million gone just like that! I'm not sure what to make of one-year of Sanchez. Rortvedt at least had some promise, especially defensively. Is Gio a third baseman, or do they try him at shortstop?

Big salary dump, hopefully, of Donaldson. Clears path for Miranda if Gio can play shortstop. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, we knew you...well, not well.

The pain was that the Twins need to have Ronnie Henriquez on the 40-man roster. A guy who will start and spend most of the season at AA ball. Amidst a roster full of other pitchers that are doomed to be in the minors for msot of the season (Duran, Balazovic, Winder, Vallimont, Enlow). That's six arms you don't want to lose, but are long-shot hopefuls to contribute in 2022 in the majors.

Kiner-Falefa gives them a shortstop without breaking the bank. The Twins have him for two seasons at the worst. We may feel we are weakened at catcher, but now it will be up to Jeffers and Rortvedt to become the duo behind-the-plate for the next five years. And, yes, our new shortstop can also catch! We can pretty much assume now that the Twins really don't see Palacidos, Martin or Lewis coming to the majors in 2022, unless as a drastic injury call-up or added to the roster in September. Beckham is now the main emergency guy at AAA if he has a nice spring training. Gordon and Arraez are the spare infielders who can also play the outfield. Question now is will Kiriloff/Sano/Rooker/Donaldson be 1B/DH rotation with some play in leftfield for two of them, and will this also mean that Miranda might make the roster to join the above four names to rotate around the four positions. But, then, how much playing time do Arraez and Gordon get? Still need pitchers to go mroe than five innings, now that a hard cap of 12 arms is being palced on teams (although I do expect expanded to 28 rosters for the first month).

Picturing the Twins getting shut-out in any further free agent pickings. Sad, sad. They still need to fill roster spots. Currently in St. Paul are BECKHAM, who I believe the Twins DID sign as their shortstop candidate. Pitchers Coulombe, Megill, Smeltzer, Faria and Rodriguez could all be considered for advancement to the Twins, who currently have two roster spots and two more once Maeda (being paid decent bucks for 2022_ and Enlow go on the injured list. Too many of the 40-man NEED to start in the minors. Sadly see Miranda going, unless the Twins can flip out Sano. Larnach, Lewis, Celestino, Rortvedt all go to St. Paul. Rooker probably stays. Jax, Garza, Thorpe, Moran, Strotman could all break camp. WInder, Balazovic, Duran, Sands...and Stashak and Vallimont are all going to AA or AAA. The Twins will be under budget come the end of spring training - BIGTIME!

Keep Sano or not will be the question. Otherwise, a shorten season can be a rebuilding season, and beneficial to the whole organization. Forget minor league free agents and advance guys in the system.

A shorter season would be great for pretty much every Twins pitcher. The ones on the 40-man would still have the training period, but don't need to go much above 100 or 150 innings, depending on who they are. All the minor league guys will still get a full season. The Twins could pretty much write-off the season for being competitive and run a team on the cheap. The problem will be putting fans in the stands, and dealing with revenue streams from advertising, as well as local television and radio. Out of sight, often out of mind. Baseball in Minnesota loses momentum without the spring training to lakes and travels and the outdoors. Doesn't help when you can't even print a yearbook because you aren't sue about the players.

Unless the Twins make some bigtime adds, Jax will be a rotation arm just because he can give the team innings. It may not be pretty, but lots of Twins got hammered as a starter and developed prime careers out of the pen (Mahomes, Hawkins, Guardado, Perkins, Duffey). If the team every starts winning, who knows...he might even be closer material.

I doubt Garver will ever catch more than 80 games again in a season. The Twins still have him around for three more seasons, to say the least. That he can catch is a bonus. I would get him some reps at first base. And he would be a prime DH candidate. The Twins have one more season of Sano. I would happily jettison Sano if Garver shows continued success at the plate, and if Kirilloff is your first baseman for the future, considering you have Sabato and Wallner coming up in the minors. The Twins can also live without Donaldson if we think Miranda is the real thing. Both of those bodies would better suit DH going forward, but not at the expense and, in that sense, they serve little purpose that we can't get from Garver - WHO CAN ALSO CATCH! Garver reminds me of Randy Bush, or Gene Larkin. That guy who can come off the bench, also catch unlike the others mentioned above, and would probably welcome prolonging his career in a Twins uniform. He isn't flashy and would be passed over by other teams as a DH or catcher. But can find and keep a home here.

There's just so many out of the near 900. Hard enough to find room for the retired numbers, let alone when do we stop with the Twins Hall of Fame!

Sadly Major League Baseball has cut down on any inter-action with players. An autographers nightmare, to be sure. But, hey, everyone needs to work twice as hard with all the missed training/playing time from the past two seasons. Besides, you go there to enjoy watching players field, pitch and hit...and play the game.

He is just so....streaky. Coming up with two outs, men on base. You say "Don't swing at that low outside pitch" and nine out of ten times he swings. He like tries hard not to do it for a day, taking one-two-three pitches...and maybe drawing a walk. But what do we have to do to keep him from going after a pitch all pitchers know he will swing at 90% of his at bats? Every ten at bats can you expect two hits, one of which is a homer. One walk. four strikeouts?

Left-field and shortstop are still open. Even if the Twins sign a shortstop, and have Rooker play left...him and Gordon are pegged as the supersubs who can play infield and outfield. A n ice luxury to have.

Odorizzi can't pitch more than five innings. New rules MAY happen in which a player can only be sent back/forth five times in the season. GRIFFIN JAX is the workhorse and may make the roster jsut because of this factor. If you are going to tag-team starters (or use an opener), best to only do this with two pitchers at most. Which means the Twins NEED three pitchers to pitch 150+ innings, 35 starts. And ytou still need to burn thru bullpen arms. You can sign a bunch of minor league free agents, use them and lose them. But you still have to juggle the 40-man roster spot. Right now, the Twins have two openings, and will have at least two more once the season opens when Enlow and Maeda go on the DL.

When you can grab a prospect another team invested $7 million to possibly become a part of your own future, it is hard to take something less. Especially when there is only college numbers to go from. Yet, still, he started out the chute at AA and should be at AAA. Don't expect him with the Twins in 2022 unless he plays shortstop...the Twins will go thru many other folks in what will be a rebuilding year. Sadly, he SHOULD play in 2022 if you look at the big picture, at least at the end of the year. But, hey, 40-man roster decisions are hell.

The question is would he be a fixable gamble for the price. The Twins, in some ways, are pitching prospect rich. Again, you take the best affordable and signable prospect available to you and go from there.

He's going to have to deal with a lot of video and getting thru an order a second or a third time. The game plan, sticking to it, or making healthy adjustments is his key to success. Otherwise, mind willing, he could bvecome the top flight closer the Twins need. But let's give him all the rope he needs to be a top-line rotation arm.

Mor games,ore playing time. You can have a guy pitch fewer innings (thus the need of an opener or two), or just say don't care. Part of the love of baseball is the length of the season. So much can happen. Right now, Twins players need all the playing time they can get. If spring training camp opens a week late, picture the Twins sending out Rortvedt, Lewis, Miranda and Larnach sooner rather than later to get as much develoopment time before the minor league season begins. Last year, the Twins minors held tight to pitches thrown and innings pitched. I imagine we will see a lot of short starts at all levels with pitchers reaching four or five innings come July. The hope would be that ALL minor league starters pitch at least 100 innings and few push 150. Then would be pretty set for 2023. Of course, we want Ober and Ryan to push, in the majors closer to 150. I picture Griffin Jax being the workhorse in Minnesota, barring any free agent signings of note.

Cristian Guzman, who was talked about elsewhere...I keep remembering when he signed four years with the Nats for $14 m illion and our infamous Dark Star said "Nats signed him for $14 million, NATS SIGNED HIM FOR $14 million." Emphasis meaning that it was either a great deal, or they overpaid for someone who wouldn't have to really work hard to produce. Sometimes, I feel the same with Sano. He got that bonus. Put him in a good situation. And the Twins keep throwing money at him that he never ever thought possible. The player then has to decide that THIS IS GREAT or "I can make a ton more money if I really work hard, produce, and wow the sky is the limit." He strikesout. He kills a rally. He can surprise with a loud dinger. Sometimes he seems to be working hard and listening, then abck to chasing low and waaaay outside. If the contract continues into 2023 for the Twins, it is NOT a good contract. Can they trade him now, maybe if a DH happens in the NL. But any sign he shows of pop and average and fielding ability might make him tradeable during the season. Or teams will jsut wait the Twins out and see if they cut him loose, with a $3 million check for doing nothing.

The Twins need innings. Can they BUY or TRADE for two guys who can give them close to 200 over 35 starts? Then we have to be happy. They can sign Pineda or trade for Odorizzi. Only rasoning would be that if the Twins tanked, they would be tradable. Remember, no one called when Pineda as available in 2021. But they we need roster spots, and who do they temporarily push back to St. Paul...Ryan, Ober? Ryan and Ober will make me happy if they reach 150 innings. Jax could pitch more if we put him in the rotation. But pretty much anyne else (Thorpe, Strotman, Sands, Winder) would be hard=-pressed to do 100+ innings. That's the key, how the Twins balance the lightrail between Saints-land and Target Field. And we still have a team that if they wish to wn needs a real closer. Could use an upgrade at shortstop. Tell us who is playing left field. Also, who is on first or playing designated hitter. Can they find space for Arraez and Miranda. If so, where? They have two roster spots. Who comes off in a trade. How much fluff do they still actually have (okay, Enlow and Madea go on the long-term DL once the season starts). Two big starters added to the top would be a plus. Considering the next three would be tag-teaming in 2022 with another 2-3 guys.

At worst,. it jsut means major league players play sooner rather than later and 40-man guys destined for the minors go there on Day One.