Rosterman

I'm not sure the reasoning behind Reed, and why didn't they treat Vasquez the same way. Neither needs to be a part of the 40-man until the offseason. Vasquez not being used, so why? Sure, the Twins need to make some decisions on Duffey, Busenitz and more. They really don't need to drop many players to add guys to protect from the Rule 5, so spring training battles will happen, as well as decisions on folks like Magill and Drake as we enter next season. But back to the original point...every game, with an opener, a starter and a closer will use three pitchers. It seems the concept of having multiple relief pitchers appearing in nearly every-other-game is a concept being explored. Starters eeking thru five innings is the norm. Man, the days with four man rotations and starters pitching 250+ innings and also throwing in relief, at times. A relief pitcher capable of going thru an order once, not getting pulled when they have to face a batter from the "other" side. Plus teams having 12 or 13 pitchers in their team, and another being on standby for immediate call and a send-back. Whew. And yet, hitters still hit.

Navaretto needs to be added to the 40-man, or he can walk to another team. Is he good enough to be the second catcher on the Twins, perhaps in 2020? Is he good enough to get a callup if someone goes down in 2019? Rortvedt and Jeffers won't be here in 2019. But both could be here in 2020. How many games can Garver catch.? Castro, if he comes back strong, is the guy to work with young pitchers. He should catch 50% of the games. More, probably not if Garver is willing and able. Astudillo is a nice luxury, a good bench bat, perhaps, plus he can play multiple positions including catcher. Could he fill in as the main abckup catcher if Garver or Castro goes down...probably. Everyone mentioned in a post above of possibly being "salary relocation" is still cheap enough and filling holes, but all could bring abck prospects if the Twins need to trade guys next mid-season (assuming that they don't extend Gibson or Odorizzi). Yes, if the Twins sign a free agent or trade or a player, the thought is that THAT player needs to be a part of the roster in 2021 and beyond, with at least an option opportunity. Unless the Twins just decide to spend $130-140 million on free agents to win in 2019, which they could do considering the number of roster spots that can be filled by better talents...and push back any prospects for other seasons. a

I'm still with the Front Office and looking at the team as how it might vision out in 2020 and 2021 and what needs to be done to get there and who, from the big list of prospects, may be the impact pieces that can the team to go all-the-way, in 2021. So that means one more hard look at Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Sano, Berrios. Also Hildenberger, May and Rogers. Do you extend them all? It is making decisions on Odorizzi and Gibson. Are they pieces to be traded between now and mid-season or worth tendering for 3+ years. It is giving time to a variety of pitchers who COULD be here in 2020 or beyond. John Curtiss, Fernando Romero, Gabriel Moya, Kohl Stewart, Stephen Gonsalves, Zack Littell. Andrew Vasquez, Adalberto Mejia. There are so many prospects that SHOULD make the majors in the next 2-3 years. ortvedt, Lewis, Krilloff, Larnach, Gordon, Graterol, Rooker, Javier, Severino. Alcala, Maciel, Haley, Miranda, Baladozic, Arraez, Baddoo, Celestino, Enlow, Bechtold, Paul and more. The minors look very very good for potential guys who will make a trip to the majors. Oh, Lewis Thorpe and Griffin Jax, too. Maybe Felix Jorge is still in the mix. Let the front office go with the plan. Maybe supplement the weakness in the infield today with some placeholder signings. But see what the kids can do. It is a weak division. The Twins could actually win and not die (the starting prospects are gems).

Let's go backwards here. The 40-man. The Twins need to add Jake Reed, Nick Gordon and Lamonte Wade, according to MLB Trade Rumors. They also need to think about adding Tyler Jay and Luis Arraez, although both performed okay at AA ball, I wouldn't expect anyone to take a flyer on keeping them on a 40-man all season. They should probably think about Nick Anderson. They could also consider if they want to kep names like Brian Navaretto, Luke Bard, D.J. Baxendale and Ryan Eades in the organization. All have the ability to walk. None are probably necessary to add to the 40-man. Except Navaretto if you want future catching depth, but.... Free Agents: Belisle, Santana, Gimenez, Mauer,Morrison, Forsythe. On the Bubble: Granite, Slegers, Field, Petit, Duffey, Busenitz, Magill, Drake. I think Curtiss does have a bit longer lease for the moment. Adrianza is still inexpensive. Grossman is still inexpensive and now adds a veteran feel to the young team. Reed is owed $8 million. Mejia is still a young lefty and did well in his limited time. But that is like 19 names (holy moley) and picture the need to keep NONE of them in 2020. Remember, you do need names to drop IF you add a free agent. Or a Rule 5 grab (at this point is such a player better than anyone in your high minors). So the Twins only need to lose 4-5 right away and maybe a couple by the first of the year. Corner infield depth. Infield, period. Polanco is still at shortstop. Wasn't he supposed to be better at second? Adrianza and Petit are in the mix as backups, although that doesn't thrill you. Austin can play first. Sano can play third, but wouldn't it be nice to have him rotate, instead, with Austin at 1B/DH instead of keeping Grossman in the DH mix? But then we need someone on third. Escobar is doing okay at Arizona. Could you get him for 3 years at $20-25 million? Would you do it? So if the Twins truly have to add Nick Gordon to the 40-man, then why didn't they bring him up for September and play him. I guess if push comes to shove, they might be able to grab Forsythe for a one year, or better yet look at Dozier again for a one-year rebuild his worth contract, if those bridges haven't been burned. The Twins are a mess in the infield period. And, of course, Joe Mauer could come back. Contracts. The Twins need to see what it would take to keep Jose Berrios for at least five seasons with an option or two. The Twins need to see what it would take to keep Eddie Rosario for the same, although that is a gamble, but you might be lucky to get him to sign a Span-like contract (in today's dollars) and have him continue production and trade him at some point. The Twins also have to look at bullpen arms and decide if May or Hildenberger can be closer material and is it worthwhile to dangle an extension to either. The rotation. Odorizzi has actually pitched well to end the season (think Gibson in 2017). Did you see enough to think of an extension? How much are you going to pay Kyle Gibson? Or do you just play them, trade them in mid-season, and elevate more of the promising arms towards a 2021 success story. No need to buy an arm unless you feel comfortable offering multi-years to some 28-year-old free agent not named Yu. Buxton? If he plays well, he will be richly rewarded. You don't overpay in arbitration because you feel it might be a nice thing to do. All it does is drive up the price you have to pay for the following seasons. You overpay if you wish to extend (or get a good deal if the player themselves wants security over dreams of riches). You can dangle something longterm out there, too. But the question might be...why? If Buxton has a breakout year, you still control him. You have a better look at what is coming up in the system (Krilloff, Larnach). If he has a breakout 2019, you also have a viable player to flip to another team, under control for three more seasons, if he doesn't fit into your long term plans for...well, heaven knows why. Sadly, the team is what we see right now. There is a lot of roster fluff that can be replaced by rookies NOT quite ready for the team, or other roster fluff from other teams. We have Castro coming back. A vet behind-the-plate. Not much with the bat, but a nice mix with Garver. Astudillo is interesting and can be that bench guy who can play 1B/3B/OF and also catch. Deserves another season. Cave will start in center if Buxton doesn't, or work with Kepler in right and be a bench bat, which puts Grossman in limbo. The infield is a total mess. Are future fulltime replacements one or two seasons away is the question there?

Thanks for mentioning Hicks. A guy with all the talent in the world. He may still develop and have a really Big breakout year, or a moment. You never know. Just looking at Twins centerfielders of yore. Who we have played since Torii Hunter. Carlos Gomez was rushed, it seems (and shows what happens when you use up a lot of their service time in development) but did have a couple of monster years. Ben Revere actually showed consistency, but not the powerhouse play to be the top draft pick he was, and was recently released from play. Hicks? Buxton? But look, overall...you hope TOP draft picks make it big. So many don't that you question why millions are thrown their way in the first place. Also, the reality, how many of the 150 guys in a minor league system make it past year two in a system (remember, 30-40 totally new names are added every season and another dozen play musical chairs to fill out rosters). How many guys MAKE a major league roster each season - 3 or 5 (many get tryouts) that stick around for a second season. Then how many stay longer than that? Look at overall roster construction. How many players were developed by the team. How many signed out of other organizations. How many acquired in free agency or via trade. Yes, we may argue about players being pushed too fast (Carlos Gomez was one, perhaps Buxton is another) and those not fast enough (do we want to see Royce Lewis NOW...if a team IS rebuilding, shouldn't they be looking at internal pieces sooner rather than later, spending money on placeholders). I want to see Nick Gordon, Luke Raley, Brent Rooker all getting a shot NOW or sooner rather than later. i would rather see them striking out and missing balls that players who aren't in longterm plans. I am glad the Twins are finding innings for Kohl Stewart, Gonsalves, Littell, De Jong. And considering so many of us were down on Stewart and still question his durability as a starter, he has shown more than the other "prospects." But NOT everyone enters a major league team ready t play extremely well and shine. Sometimes it takes a few months, maybe a season, maybe 1000 at bats, which is why rookies are threaded into rosters rather than starting a whole field of 20-23 year olds. And then you have the players themselves. Look at Delmon Young. Lots and lots of natural talent. He can play decent ball by just showing up, and just think what he would've done if he had kept working and developing. Hopefully with changes that happened this season in the Twins minors they have development totally under control. The success of the A+ and below teams shows that the regime is going in the right direction. Or so we hope.

Spring training will be a tell. Pineda, because he didn't end the season pitching innings, can likely start in rehab in the minors...with the Twins fuming about the $$$ investment. Mejia will get the biggest opportunity, especially since he is a lefty. But the Red Wings rotation looks pretty solid right now...someone will not make it there!

I trust we will have some gems next season between Gonsalves, Romero, Stewart, Thorpe and Littell. So, we are set. De Jong and maybe Slegers in the wings. Someone will be long relief, fer sure. Talent is there.

The pain of the current system also means you have to make decisions on players...take Trevor Plouffe, for example. Not worth his arbitration salary, yet the Twins might've kept him if they could've signed him for what Oakland signed him for. So in that way, the system works against both the team AND the player. You can argue how much time a team should have control of a player before overpaying, so to speak. Is six years outrageous (or more if you have parts of seasons). If the player does produce, they make big bucks. If they don't, they go into a limbo...sometimes having an okay years (see Escobar this year) which results in some riches. Sometimes you do forget the up front money some of these guys do make now in the draft.

2019 will be interesting. Do you need both CAVE and GROSSMAN as 4th outfielders? It will be Buxton's call. The Twins will play Kepler, hoping he improves his stock value. The Twins will keep AUSTIN for 2019...who can play 1B, too. He's out of options. And Astudillo might be a better overall bench bat, too....than two extra outfielders. If Rosario signs an extension, he will probably be here in 2021. But that would be the only certainity.

I remember Falvine duo at the State Fair in 2017. Both were a bit amazed at how well the Twins were playing ball It wasn't what they expected. Sure, the Twins eeked above .500 and got a Wild Card spot, but it was a team that wasn't expected to play (or draw) that well. They were honest in their assessment, talking about the future core of the team, changes they hoped to make in the farm system, and that they had a plan for bringing winning ways back to Minnesota. Didn't see them making a Fair appearance in 2018. If they had, imagine they would say that they were surprised that nothing worked out as planned...free agents failed, the future core had an off season...BUT hope is on the way...maybe not next season, but beyond...and a shill line would follow "that management has given us every resource to improve, if we see the need to spend, in the years ahead." I'm giving them a leash. I am also remember those words that WE were told waaay back when....to paraphrase.....building a new stadium and the glorious (almost paid of on the Pohlad end Target Field) means the Twins will be able to resign their own free agents and pay competitively in the marketplace.

Gimenez and Astudillo allow the Twins to carry one less bullpen arm if both make the team in 2019.

Who's on first? If the Twins seriously want to consider Sano for 1st base, he should be playing there instead of Arianza or Gimenez or anyone not named Mauer. Of course, helps if Sano isn't injured. Salary is the Big Issue. Be interesting to see if he gets offers from other teams. If he doesn't, the Twins Way will be "how low will he go." Be interesting to see how he will fit into the organization longterm. It would be nice to have known if this would happen, though. The Fan Love would be great for his final games!

The joy of one-year guys, you expect they will be playing for their next contract. First, Ervin Santana. Not only to make the Twins consider his option, but to show he could draw a multi year contract one more time. Lance Lynn wanted to prove that he was deserving of a multi-year contract. Brian Dozier needed to produce to grab his golden ticket in the off-season. Logan Morrison needed to prove that 2017 wasn't a fluke. Ferbabdo Rodney needed to show people he could still close, or at least pitch. And those Twins NOT YET IN ARBITRATION needed to show that they were worth well beyond any of the Twins initial offers. You would think with incentives like these, the Twins would've won 100 games, especially in a weak central division. But not to be. One-year "rebirth" contracts and pending free agents should create better than the norm results. 2018 was a bust for the Twins playing in the game.

Right now, I think Addison Reed is the biggest contract on the team for 2019.

Castro added to work with new pitches coming to the major, he would've done a lot of the games Wilson did this year. Hopefully next season he will work with Romero, Stewart, Gonsalves and others. Garver the more experienced in the mix: Odorizzi, Berrios, Pineda. Odorizzi was a gamble. You get him for two seasons at a decent rate. If he really shined, you might've extended him this off-season. You still have the chance to do so after next season (or during the season) and, if nothing else, you should be able to get someone's minor league (shortstop) player back in return. Austin was an interesting grab from the Yankees. What did you expect for Lynn (The Twins also got a low level pitcher who did well this season). The Twins need to keep him in the majors in 2019 or lose him (same as the Yankees). Right now, chances are he is better than Morrison, and probably better than keeping Vargas. Can actually play first or the outfield. Was he a longterm pieces? No. Considering the Twins MAY need a 1B/DH next season, and given a chance to play here in August and September, a nice return in the Lynn trade. Who knows, he might still be on the roster in 2020 or 2021. As to wins...well, everyone else has to lose. The Twins have to look closely and see that Detroit, Kansas City and probably the White Sox are no worse off that then Twins. So they MIGHT have a chance to put up more wins in 2019. Out of a four team standoff, can they at least take series from those teams below them in the standings? I truly thought the Twins would be the same as 2018, if not a tad better. Lynn and Odorizzi added to a staff headed by Santana. See how that worked out? Three veteran arms added to the bullpen in Duke, Rodney, Reed. You can't save games if you are behind. A bat in Morrison at DH capable of hitting .240 with 35-30 homers? Who knew? Polanco, Sano, Buxton, Kepler essentially going backwards. Dozier NOT playing for a great free agent contract. Who would've thought. Let's see. But a starter, some bullpen arms and a bat this off-season. They got the money. Can probably spend more than they did last season (considering they have Santana and Mauer money to spend, too. If that happened, if the roster contained replacements (new expensive and proven) for Lynn, Morrison, Rodney, Duke, Morrison, and if you threw in dollars for a second baseman and ANOTHER rotation arm...would the Twins beat Cleveland? They could. Yes, they still could, and not change much of the "prospects" talent they have that will be given another season to shine.

Lots and lots of great discussion. First off, the Twins hired two guys, a general manager and a VP of Operations (somehow they couldn't give him the title of President). Because of playoffs, they started their of-season late. SUpposedly they were given power to make changes, but - because of starting late - they limited changes in the front office and scouting and even on the field. They also inherited a manager who was the darling of the owner. But they also inherited the worst won/loss record in Twins history. They saw one major area of weakness. They signed Castro to a three year deal...not because he was a great hitter but because he works with pitchers. They signed Gimenez to be a backup. They had Garver in the wings. The Twins lost their other top-notch catching prospect in the Rule 5 (remember Stu Turner anyone?). So, Castro...or bring back Suzuki. You tell me. I like Suzuki. Maybe we should've kept him, too. No one knew the guy to catch young pitchers would be disabled msot of 2018. 2017. The Twins were competitive in a weak division...actually a weak league. They got a Wild Card spot. Whew. You don't fire a manager of the year. You give him an extension (and how do you think about that now?). Happily, teams can eat a manager's contract moreso than a player contract. Suddenly you were looking at a solid core than needed to improve (Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, Polanco, Berrios, Sano and a number of bullpen arms). Now step back for a moment. These young guys in the front office set a plan. They have, supposedly, five years to implement their plan. I';m sure 2017 was spent evaluating everything possible. Changes WERE made in minor league management, some scouting choices, adding more analytics to the ront office, having some fine drafts, picking up a Braves limbo player. Looking at Class A+Ft Myers and below, the duo have done an excellent job of restocking the minor leagues. 2019 will show if the Twins have more than 4-5 GREAT prspects in their top 30 or top 50. MINOR NOTE: No team wants to announce that they are in total rebuild mode. That players will be given an opportunity to fail on their way to being, possibly great. It doesn't sell tickets. So, you have to develop spin. "Getting pieces ot be competitive" "players need time to improve" "a real bargain that produces" "free beer," The Twins appeared hot going into 2018. The town was Super Bowl happy, Vikings high, but the Twins looked like they could battle with Cleveland for the top of the division, especially as the season began. What did the Twins do in the off-season? They needed to strengthen the rotation. They did make a serious run at Yu, someone who would fit into the five year plan. They dangled money. But they weren't the Cubs. They looked around and explored other opportunities. They found Jake Odorizzi, a controllable pitcher that they gave shortstop depth to obtain. Odorizzi, if he has a fine 2018, could be signed for 3-4-5 yers and fit into the longterm plans. (He still can). That was the thinking of Odorizzi. Some ways, same with Pineda,who they were going to get a small look at this season. Both will be trade bait or resigns next season. They managed to sign Lance Lynn for a decent one-year contract. If he produced and love the town, he could come back. We saw how that worked out, but we did get a remarkable return for him, albeit eating his salary. The Twins did a good job adding arms to the bullpen. Both Rodney and Reed were options to staying another season, Duke will be back on the market, so who knows. Logan Morrison was a bargain. Who would think he would have that most horrible start and flay at the ball all season. But, happily, these signings were placesetters and the Twins managed to turn some into stocking a system that was hurt minutely because, for the first time in years, the Twins had lowly draft picks (although they did a good jop...look at Larnach and Jeffers, for example). Who would've thought Castro, Santana, Polanco, Sano and Buxton would absically go down. Go figure. Long-term contracts Always a gamble. Somehow the Twins didn't seem to want Dozier. Guessed right? What will his value be in the off-season. Many thought 2017 was a fluke for Escobar. Throughout his tenure with the Twins he got as much praise as Eddie Rosario, people always finding fault about some of the play, yet the player keeps producing and you scratch your head. At what point does a player get a BIG contract? Always a gamble. The Twins MIGHT be able to revisit Escobar. Now the question is HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY ROSARIO. The youthful four turned down extensiuon. Berrios brings more to the bargaining table and the Twins need to up the offer. We will see. Sano, Buxton and Kepler are all treading water. If we had signed any of them for 3-5 years and say...$50 million each...how much love would we be giving them right now? Happily the Twins still have more time to evaluate and make offers and figure if they should still be here in 2021. That is the team that the Twins are building. 2021. Oh, the current roster "sucks" bigtime. Only 3-4 names MIGHT be added of prospects to the 40-man. We will still have names like Grossman, Drake, Atudillo, Field, Slegers and mroe on the 40-man. But if the ront office finds someone better, some of those names will be replaced. There is no need to replace them with minor league guys who can still come to spring camp and light up play and possibly break camp. Yes, I would like to see a few more guys given an early opportunity. Nick Gordon two years away? Rooker needs more seasoning? Thorpe not ready? In some ways I can understand. But IF the person fills a hole (be it second or shortstop - what happened to people saying Polanco is a better second baseman than shortstop)...I would err on giving a guy a chance. But then we come to Buxton. Should he be allowed to fail even more? Cave is pretty decent. But why do we play Kepler and not Buxton? Is Cave the future of the center outfield (no, Krilloff is). If Buxton is ailing, shut him down...too bad he is on the minor league roster and not getting service time...still getting paid, right? Remember that Gibson went down to the minors last year, and many of us said he should not be offered arbitration...now the Twins are thinking of signing him to be a part of the 2021 experience.) Glen Perkins was removed from the 40-man roster at one point. Things happen in baseball. Sometimes you may be "the Real Deal" but no one wants you. Go figure. Maybe NONE of the names bandied around WILL be a part of the Twins of 2020 or 2021. Go back and look at roster changes over three seasons, over five seasons. 20%? 25% Stay? Now the team has to figure out how to sell the team to fans. That is the Big Question? Will Mauer retiring cause a setback? Or will signing Mauer to do WHAT? be praised? Joe, still a face of the franchise, is still just Minnesota Nice, which is a nice way to say it. Will Tyler Austin take his palce? Well Brent Rooker become a BIG name? Only time will tell. The Twins do have a chance to spend money like they did last year. Maybe gamble on some free agents for a season that they can flip or possibly resign, if need be...especially in the bullpen. Some of that is where they see prospects that they wish to play being in 2019...coming up mid-season or just September looksees. Again, prospects get called whenr regular players go down, so that is a plus for seeing the future, too. Oh, and Ryan Pressly. One of those good Rule 5s. Had a tough 2017 (even though I thought he had closer potential). Had a solid season, even though Molitor would drag him out every othr game for almost any situation...bad overuse. Be interesting to see how the Astros use him. I want to think of him as Jesse Crain, the closer we allowed to get away. But hopefully, like Jesse, he doesn't flame out. I wish him the best and happy the Twins managed to grab a couple of prospects from the rich Astros system, which was part of the thinking of the front office. Some teams have good prospects that they can't keep...if you have the opportunity to go after them do so. And to the comment that the Twins barely make it into the Top 7 of minor league farm systems...well, there are 23 more behind us that wish they were in the Top 7.

The problemi is two: (1) Seeing what you have. They inherited some fine young players. The big two stepped back from okay 2017 seasons, sadly. They might be holding back on a few others, thinking the end of their five year rebuild plan. (2) 2017 was an oddity. They needed to put butts in the seat. Thoughts were given to striking big with a major contract. Instead, they settled on a few modest signings which should've worked out. I had no problem with the off-season moves. In the central division as it is, the Twins should've been competitive. But with their "prospects" slumping and their free agents doing nothing, they did a sell off which will probably payoff bigtime down-the-line. Mark my words. Now they get to do Year Two all over again in Year 3...giving another chance to Sano and Buxton to start to shine. They will look at Gonsalves, Stewart, Littell and others to become mainstays. They have some arms in development for the bullpen. Yes, there are lacking holes in the batting order and you either give a chance to unproven folks (Gordon) or bring in some temporary help. Joe Mauer still remains a question. What does he want compared to what the team offers is the question. Can't wait to see how the market might play for Joe (aand Dozier and Escobar and Santana). I would be happy and content that the Twins try and trade some excess minor league talent for someone like (or a tad better) than Odorizzi who they can control, or just push prospects. The minor leagues did pretty darn good. Yes, it was the lower four levels. The upper two, one filled with minor league AAAA guys mostly, struck out. I hope they advance and play their own prospects more than filling the rosters with other team throwaways. They have the bodies right now, adding a dozen more than expected in the season. The Big Question: Field Staff! Who do they choose.

If you get Escobar, then you seriously consider Sano for 1B/DH. If you have faith in Tyler Austin at 1B/DH...then you may not need Mauer. You also have Willians Astudillo as a bench guy who can play a variety of positions. Escobar solves your third base problem for one season. If lucky, maybe two. If you want pitching, you like at guys like Odorizzi...that you may be able to extend after a season for many more seasons. Sadly, like the free agents the Twins signed, Odorizzi is strictly an arbitration candidate at this point. Any thoughts of extending him 3-5 years is moot, I think. But he can still be trade bait next season. (Unlike Gibson, who has earned an extension...but the question is...how much.) Yes, the Twins have to be looking at 2020 and 2021 and beyond. Which makes the frustrating seasons of Sano, Buxton, Kepler so worrisome. Yes, Rosario has shown he deserves a longer look contract. The Twins would be fools to avoid tying up Berrios. But they also will go the cheap route, sadly, and probably screw that up. It would've been nicer for us fans if they felt more secure in tying up five future cornerstones to the franchise for the next five seasons.

Well, besides Berrios, Gibson and Romero...the Twins have Pineda and Mejia to put into the rotation. Theya re getting good looks at Gonsalves, Littell and Stewart and De Jong. So, they have some choices come spring. At this point, there are probably only 3-4 folks THE TWINS HAVE to add to the 40-man. Look at the rosters of Rochester and Chattanooga. Who would someone gamble a Rule 5 pick to hold on their roster for a year. The Twins have to do some minor league roster shuffling to keep guys from being taken in the minor league part of that draft. So, the Twins need 3-4 roster spots. They also need three roster spots for 60-day guys Pineda, Castro and Mejia. They have free agents: Mauer, Morrison, Santana, Belisle, Forsythe. Only Mauer could be a come backer. I put the following on the bubble for being in team plans for 2019. SOme names will stay because there are roster spots. But my list is: Drake, Duffey, Magill, Slegers, Astudillo, Petit, Field, Gimenez, Granite. Defendng on arbitration, they might not keep Grossman or Adrianza. Both should still be cheap, though...although I don't really see them fitting into a 2020 Twins team, either. The Twins also have to make decisions on Curtiss, Busenitz and Moya. Expect them all to stay because of age, promise. Yes, the Twins have a lot of starter "candidates" (still have Thorpe in the wings,too). Everyone on the current roster should get 4-multi inning appearances before the end of the season. Would also give the Twins an idea if any could work in long relief (replacing, say, Duffey). I would be playing Austin everyday, at first or DH. Let him get his swings. I would also play Sano at first base (if you want to move him there)instead of everyone else on the bench. Some on field decisions boogle me, as well as the inconsistent line-up construction.

They were given a chance for a five year plan. Year One: elevate what they have in a short off-season, spring training, and see what pieces they have. They sat back and watched Molitor and Co. be competitive in a weak division and make the Wild Card. So, a Slight Blip. Front Office, more than likely, wanted to play like they were a competitive team rather than a rebuild. So, they DID spend money and filled holes with talent that, sadly, didn't pan out...except they did get prospects in return. They also showed a willingness to make a competitive longterm offer to a first string starter like Yu who would've been here for the next 5-6 years. Happily, that didn't happen. If you look deeper, they did two drafts, changed a lot of field staff in the minors, and have a better idea how the future prospects might fit into the plan for the future of the Twins. They also extended Molitor for multiple years. I'm not sure if the coaching staff was their choice or Moilitors, but we will see. Happily, they had a season thru August end where butts came to the game and the overall attendance should be solid, not as good as last year, but last year they expected it to be much much worse than it was (think of all those full price tickets they sold (compared to Stub Hub selling discount tickets) as 2017 wound down. They will be in Year Three next season, but I actually call it Year Two as in 2017 they came in late and basically had to deal with everything as is...fron field staff to players to front office to minor league coaches. So, I see 2020 as the deciding year, with a full court press on 2021 being a year to purchase free agents and know who is locked in as a prospect. I truly sit back and wonder who on the 2018 roster will be here in 2020/2021. I see mainly starting pitchers: Berrios, Gonsalves, Romero, Thorpe. One member of the bullpen may be the closer (May or Hildenberger). I sometimes wonder if Sano and/or Buxton will be opening the 2021 season as Twins. And, will the Twins commit to Rosario for a 3-5 year contract. The status of Kepler and GHarver can be up-for-grabs. Moya and Vasquez are possibilities, but haven't seen enough. That's it. So next season will be a tryout season, maybe some more placesetters (and hopefully signings that they can flip like they did this season). _ see, maybe, 3-4 names being added to the 40-man because they have to be added. Otherwise, we say goodbye to Vargas and Baxendale and Bard. I'm not sure that the entire Chattanooga roster will move to Rochester, so see another 10-12 minor league free agent signings. We may still have Grossman on the bench and Drake and Magill in the bullpen. But, again, we have to be looking at 2020 as the eason we see most prospects NOW in the system, either starting the season or as callups.

All the high level starters are on the 40-man roster now. Still some heat in the backwoods. Be interesting to see where they all end up in 2019. Looks like the Twins DID SCORE at the trade deadline!

Polanco is a place setter. Polanco would probably play better at second base. But right now that leaves us with Adrianza at shortstop and nothing special at all with the bat or the base paths in the middle infield. Nick Gordon NEEDED a look this September, just so the major league coaches could evaluate him, just so we could see his hands and movement in the field. He may not be ready, but you could learn if he would be ready at some time in 2019, rather than not. Wander Javier is the dark horse. He is now a season behind Royce Lewis, who will play at AA...and (hey, remember Nick Gordon)...a player can advance from AA to the major leagues due to their stats in the southern league. Players do it all the time, right? The question is: rebuilding team, which means you can give raw rookies a chance early. Or do you continue to fill holes with placesetters who...place set.

Well, the Twins allowed Escobar to go away. The ball is in Escobar's court and now get to find out how much money someone iwill throw his way. He should take as much as he can get in the short-term. If he stays healthy, he can jave a job (not necessarily a regular job) for years to come. So...three years and how much money. $25? $30? What do you think he will give you with his bat in 2021? Looks like Sano WILL be the third baseman. They have to be tough on his off-season. He needs to work - and work hard - especially considering his "time off" in 2018. He can play the position, but he can also get injured. Is it safer to play him at first base? If you are going to make a position change, I would rather see Max Kepler explored for first base...especially if both guys are going to bat less than, say, .250. Sano will be given another chance next season - UNLESS the Twins do explore Escobar. I hope they make an early offer to Eduarco. At this point, I almost ask the question: Would you rather give $20-30 million for up to three years to Escobar or Joe Mauer if you can have one, but not both?

Who's on first? Well, considering a fairly weak free agent class (works to Mauer's advantage) and NO ONE in the system ready, the Twins are stuck with...Joe Mauer. Tyler Austin CAN play first like he CAN play the outfield. So basically, you have Tyler AUstin as DH and Mauer at 1B and the two can spell each other. Good for 2019. Possibly good for 2020. But Austin is still a question mark. We hope he can produce better than, say, Logan Morrison did in 2018. But we really don't know. Who else? Should the Twins have given Kennys Vargas another chance by adding him to the 40-man (instead of a couple of others who WON'T BE HERE in 2019 for sure? Of course, Vargas is not the guy you would put on first everyday. But by adding him to the 40-man, you could've played him and kept him on the 40-man and make a decision to remove him if you bring back Mauer. Considering he is going to walk anyways, you could've brought some time. Do we know Sano can play first base? Fulltime? Or is he just another soul that you rotate with a guy like Austin in the DH role? If you seriously are thinking of Sano in 2019 at first base, you should've started playing him here NOW. Considering you now have Petitt to play third, right? Catching is considered the weak position for depth in the organization. Sadly, the same can be said for first base. No true FIRST BASE candidates exist. Most are capable of playing adequately another position (outfield) as well as first base, and probably just as well as, say, Austin. Names like Rooker and Weil and Diaz and Rodriguez are in the pipeline. So, looks like Mauer will return. Combine him with Austin, maybe give Sano some time, and you are set. If Sano can be comfortable at first base and proves to be the prospect we all think he is, then he will play until he can't. You mention Grossman? Trying to find another play for Robby? I would almost rather see trying Kepler at first base (he played there a bit in the low minors) and opening an outfield position for a hungry Buxton or any of the other young guys who MAY be here in 2020. But when do you try Kepler, if you think you can. I spent this whole season seeing Joe Mauer as the guy screwing everything up...where to play him, where to bat him, how long do you keep him. Now that the Twins have an opportunity to NOT sign him, Miguel Sano becomes the same huy. Where to play him, where to bat him, do you keep him.

The front office was hired to bring a new era to Twins ball. That means looking at fellow front office employees, evaluating the players on the team and, most importantly, in the system. Setting new sights towards player development. And bringing the team back from what was their worst year in baseball history. They came in late in the off-season. The first year, they looked at what the team had on the field, while holding onto senior management's beloved Molitor. The team excelled, in some ways, coming in second and squeeking into the wild card. Guess what? That derailed some of the longterm plans. They needed to show competitiveness in a weak division that they could maybe...squeek thru again. Yes, they made a big offer to Yu which would carry thru into rebuild plans, but instead did some solid shortterm signings So, in regards to the St. Peer end of things, they TRIED to field a team that would sell season tickets and put butts in the seat, which you grab when you can. What they do in this offseason will be telling. Will they get to make a field staff decision. Can we say that the minors, in which many non-baseball folks were put in place (from academics rather than fielded vets) working? Will they be taking a harder look at thinking totally ahead to 2020 or even 2021 when the Twins will start to compete? Not run away with things, but come out of the gate strong and be in the hunt again with eyes towards taking it all, say, towards 2022? The boys were given five years, I believe, to turn it all around. 2018 was a bump where they HAD to look towards putting butts in the season (coming off a Minnesota Super Bowl). They did good in that aspect. Ticket sales are not that far behind last season's numbers, which were much better than anyone expected. And right now, the payroll for 2019 will be so small...possibly the lowest in the league even with the return of a lower-priced (how low will he go) Mauer. Maybe they get another round of rental players to turn into future prospects. Maybe the Pohlad money bin fills to overflowing. The front office IS trying to build their own organization, their own faces on the field. Give them a break!