Rosterman

Escobar is NOT an elite player. I doubt that he will command a super contract in the off-season. Call me wrong when it happens, but I doubt it. Worth $19? Not really. Teams stockpile relief pitchers for the playoffs, possibly guys to replace their 5th starter or real backend of the bullpen guys. The Twins have a few possibilities here. Are ANY of the Twins relief pitches irreplacable (Hildenberger, Pressly, Rogers, etc.). Maybe someone would want Morrison as a bench bat. But more of a salary dump in August and glad someone grabs the guy. Does the Santana option travel with him if traded? If he pans out in his last dozen starts, might not be bad to have him return for Lance Lynn money. The big question, are the Twins going into rebuild mode. Then you look at WHO on the roster should open in 2019. Who will they keep, at this point of time, in 2020. Who is still around in 2021.

Who closes for the Twins in the future> Can Trevor May be made into a closer? Is Pressly worth the trouble? Is Hildenberger for real? Still, we ar talking about heading towards 2020 and 2021, reality. Who on the team will still be on the team in 2019. Better yet, in 2020. Or better yet, 2021. That should also factor into trading current pieces. Remember, you can pretty much sign at this stage of the game comparable players for perhaps 75% of the Twins roster, probably at a cheaper rate that they would receive in pay come 2019 or 2020, if not even the bygone pieces.

See they promoted Ryan Jeffers to the Kernels. Good for him. Let's bump up a couple more catching prospects!

The Twins will, again, be able to offer some bargain free agent contracts, probably for a season, to people hoping to rebuild value (as well as be valuable in mid-season to a club looking to rebuild). The end of this season and msot of next they have to have a quality look at just what the system may be giving them for the next 3-5 seasons, be it extensions to Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Kepler or early looks at Rooker, Arraz, Gordon, even Krilloff and Lewis. Prospects have to be given a chance to come up and fail a bit, maybe go abck down and work some more, and then come up to stay. Then, going into 2020 and 2021 you start looking at heavy multi-million dollar elite free agent contracts. Oh, yes, Mauer manages to stay around for the right price. But I do think he could easily get $7-10 million elsewhere if he desires.

Did miss Alex Perez getting bumped up to Rochester...his third level of play this season!

The BIG question is who to drop (prospects) from the 40-man and who to add. Will Luke Bard get consideration? What is the fate of Kohl Stewart. Depends on if we do see people like Nick Gordon and Brent Rooker still this year, or the Twins just bypass a major league advancement because they can. The jettisoning of free agents alone should make some comfortable space, and the Twins should be able to buy a rotation arm, a couple of bullpen arms, perhaps a backup catcher, and a slugger who can also play first base (sound familiar). But it depends...are they rebuilding, or contending?

First, I do not see the Twins front office taking the gamble and giving a qualifying offer to either Dozier or Escobar. $19 million is a lot for either player. Yes, one one front you would say either player would be foolish NOT to take the offer. But looking at the bigger picture, you will be sitting around the same place in the standings in 2019 and have two guys who will be free agents at season's end and you'd be dangling them and WILL anyone trade for them, plus would you have to eat salary. That is ONE BIG IF! Also, I think we can say that the Twins really have no desire to longterm sign Dozier at this point, and Brian has made it known that he will welcome free agency and now has two months to increase his value and vie for a multi-year deal. If he does it somewhere else, the Twins CAN always come bsck and revisit Dozier, if they see that Gordon or whomever won't replace him in the near scheme of things. Escobar IS NOT an elite player. But at what price do you keep him, and does he see visions of glory in getting a BIG contract for multi-years in 2019? That is the question. CAN the Twins meet him halfway, give him a decent contract (south of, say, $25 million for three years). Is that too much to pay for another season as a starter, if need be, and two seasons as a versatile backup infielder, if push comes to shove. You can also justify overpaying for his clubhouse presence. BUT, and it is a BIG BUT, do you trust that he will not be deadwood at the plate or on the field for the next few seasons. If you can't reach an agreement NOW, you trade him -- and like Dozier, he is a revisit candidate in the off-season. Unfortunately, unless you are surefire that Sano IS your third baseman, you have a void. What do you get in return? Well, at this point neither player is #1 on anyone's want list, so any deadline deal will happen when other possibilities come off the plate, if at all. I don't see much in the way of a quality return (which will hurt the Twins more with the loss of Escobar). BUT if you ARE losing both at season's end, getting something is better than letting them just walk at the point you don't think you can catch Cleveland. And if you decide to ride this out a bit, do you let them walk in the August waiver claim time, hopefully getting a prospect (or pulling them back and keeping them), or just letting them go for salary relief and so you can play THE FUTURE. Escobar is one of your top TRADE CHIPS, although, like I said, he is not an elite piece. He might be a productive piece for the remainder of a season, moreso than any other offensive-category player (Grossman, Morrison, Dozier, Wilson). But right now, he is not a prize glove in the middle infielder and an adequate glove at third base. He hits doubles. He has some power. But he goes hot and cold. He's not a leadoff guy, he's not a cleanup slugger. He is a solid player (this season, and the last two). Unlike Dozier, he ahs been consistent. Dozier may get a hot streak and slug out 20 homers in the next two months and hit .350, which is good for Brian and his future, but not really doing anything for the Twins if they play, at best, .500 ball the rest of the way. You just never know, but now is the time to judge your minor league system, make decisions on guys you have to remove from the 40-man to add more in the off-season. THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT in the future scheme of things. If you egt minor league depth, that second or third prospect in line from an organization, that 41st player, you might be happy. The Twins did a good job signing (and trading) for pieces to make them a stronger team in 2018. Unfortunately, none of them really worked out (shades of Rodney who gives us suspense). The joy is you can still go out and buy a rotation arm, three bullpen arms, a backup catcher and a 1B/DH in the off-season and probably egt what you with the spring training promises this year. But IS IT MORE IMPORTANT to advance and see what you will have for 2019 (or even 2020) now than do this all over again. Dozier you didn't feel like signing in the off-season. There wasn't much of a trade market for him the past couple of seasons. Escobar is an elite bench guy, but NOT an elite regular...although he does have flashes and shines...but I don't see any team going after him to be their 2-3 year future at any position. He will get a contract (think Nunez) and be able to stay in the majors at least 4-5 years in some capacity. But these two players? Well, the Twins will have people kicking the tires and looking them over carefully as they judge other sellable items out there in the realm of baseball, or do they just go with the unproven parts they have in their own system.

You always wonder about the prospects, but the Twins seem to short leash them these days, although SLegers did get a second start and bombed after an excellent first start, shades of 2017. Still, decisions need to be made going forth. Romero may have been tired and rushed, coming uo direct from the minors and thrown into play, but still....the message is there...produce and you stay in the majors. Don't produce, you go down the next day. And even players like Jake Cave have to know that at some point, they may fall to the numbers game (and the desire to keep Robbie Grossman's bat) and no matetr how well you might be playing (remember Ryan LaMarre), you can get demoted. Yet Wilson remains. Belisle pitches. And Willians still hasn't put on a cather's mitt. The Twins do have to remove free agent assets: Dozier, Lynn, Rodney (perhaps), Duke. Morrison and Reed probably should be gone, too. All will walk at season's end. What is the value (monetary) for an Escobar contract. You probably do keep Mauer and let him play out his career in Minnesota because "who's on first?" The Twins gain service time credit on Buxton, Sano is doing whatever in the minors, both not talked about much these days, for some odd reason...the talent IS there. Boston, Toronto and Cleveland could sink the Twins, who still have 30 or so games left in the season against weaker teams.

Wow, it only took Duke 20 pitches and Belisle 26 pitches. But Willians 35. Someday the guy will catch. And, of course, the team somehow at Adrianza at first base. Go figure.

But should it prevent you from figuirng out a way to jettison bodies and salaries and guys who AREN'T coming abck in 2019...especially those NOT producing in 2018. Logan Morrison, Addison Reed, Brian Dozier are all replaceable. So is Robby Grossman. You can probably live with Zach Duke and Fernando Rodney. Lance Lynn and Ervin Santana. If not traded, allow to pass into waiver claim territory come August, which may be the only alternative. I think YOUNG talent can perform equally as well and if the Twins win, it will be because of the future, not the guys trying to restore a career in the final months.

Like all baseball players, one ahs to constantly work at keeping ahead of the film, notes and work of the other teams. It is a tough world out three. You have to have the ability to stay fit, stay sharp, and a comfort to change what you do when on the mound or at the plate for the moment. Hildenberger has worked hard and his success shows. Just hope Molly doesn't overuse him.

What would happen if you just kept Larnach at Ft. Myers, have him start at the Gulf Coast League and then jump him to A+ ball, keep tabs on him in the Florida sunshine! It's not like he's a base in the woods and needs to live in Elizabethton or Cedar Rapids for a month or so.

If willing to give J.Y. a $100 million offer for five years or more, maybe just maybe. Although you would be sacrificing the talent you yourself expect the club to to use to bring you back from the dark hole. And then we have the issue of giving an extended conract to an aging catcher who may not be a catcher in 3-4 years anymore. Or, do you just wait until J.T. becomes a free agent after 2020?

Well, nothing like a little excitement. 10 games left against the Indians. 34 games left against teams weaker, perhaps, than the Twins. Sell or standpat? Maybe Dozier is increasing his value, as is Lynn and Duke. Of course, it should be a slam-dunk on getting rid of potential free agents, if they are underperforming AND COULD possibly be replaced by hungry bodies in house (Goncalves, Moya and Gordon). Hey, on a side note...seven doubles for Boibby Wilson, half of his hits (almost).

Any idea where Felix Jorge will start his comeback?

Slegers could be a fine bullpen arm, perhaps long relief, for a time.

The Twins have three choices: Keep players, play out the season and their contracts, allow them to walk, get nothing in return, and maybe see some September callups with minimal playing time. )We should all remember the returns the Twins got when Nathan, Cuddyer and Hunter walked instead of signing with the Twins, all could've ben dealt in-season with something coming back). Choice number two is to explore trades. The problem here is that a team needs the talent the Twins have to offer, and are they willing to pay for that talent. Except for Escobar, and maybe Gibson and Odorizzi, the majority of playrs the Twins have to offer are role or bench guys who would only see playing time if a contending team comes up with an injury. And maybe some bullpen arms would add veteran depth going into post season play. But the return would be minimal for the few bodies that might attract a suitor (unless it is Gibson or Escobar), the Twins would get some salary relief, although they might have to eat some to get rid of the player/s, and someone new could come up from the minors and get some field time. Likely scenario is number three. The Twins flood the waiver wire come August 1 and they allow a gaggle of players to be claimed, getting nothing in return but salary relief, as well as the opportunity to play the future. Now who should the Twins say so long, goodbye and who can replace. Bobby WIlson catching. You'd think anyone in the system (at Rochester) could replace him, as well as maybe WIllians. ANy reason not to work Garver harder behind the plate? Remember, Cstro will be returning in 2019 and the Twins won't let him walk away...as he does have skills working with pitchers. Joe Mauer and Logan Morrison. The 1B and DH place. Joe is in a swan song. Yes, he is a Minnesota boy. Sad if he ends his career similar to Killebrew in a one-stop in a flyover town (or a playoff bound team). But his time has come. Morrison contributed, barely. Argue with me that you may not get equal results from the bats of Sano and Vargas holding down these positions, and even an early advancement of Rooker could pay better dividens that Morrison this season (shades of Chris "remember my hot September" Parmelee) Dozier needs to go. Can Gordon replicate his average, his base running? Most likely. Maybe a bit less power, but Polanco might just shine. And if all else fails, you move Polanco to second and have Adrianza at short for the remainder of the season, with Motter as the backup infielder. But give Gordon some reps in the big league level. See if he is hungry, if he listens and learns. Now Escobar is the elephant in the room. You need to keep him. He is shining at third, putting up comparable numbers of leaue average and showing THIS is his position. Unfortunately, he is not worth a qualifying offer. You have to ask "is he worth a 2-3 year extension" and for how much. Do you trade and tread water, return Sano to the bag, bring up someone like Leonardo Reginalto or Petit to finish the season? Tough call. You want to reward the guy, but is anyone else going to do that, and can you get some unexpected riches from him leaving the team in a trade and then approaching him for a return in 2019? Cave is holidng his own. Can Buxton do as well as Kepler? Or, Grossman. I think Grossman, for sure. You keep Buxton down on the farm as long as Cave hits. If you need to replace Grossman, if someone comes knocking for his services or claims him in August, you give Zack Granite one more looksee. Granite is either in the mix for 2018 or a 40-man removal. The rotation. You let Lynn go. When Santana comes back, you let anyone claim him, too. Maybe get back some organizational depth. But better to play out two rotation positions for most of august and maybe add a third (and go with a six-man rotation) come September. Littell, Goncalves, Mejia are hungry. May is in the wings. Pineada may be sparking a comeback. Heck, you could even give Thorpe a start! If the bullpen was minus Rodney and Duke and Reed, can you be served by Curtiss, Moya, Jake Reed, Busenitz, and maybe Duffey and a couple of 40-man ads like Nick Anderson and Luke Bard. I think so. I think they will produce. But besiddes Rodney MAYBE bringing back some good returns, and maybe REED because he ahs another year on a contract, you are basically getting rid of age for salary relief. You have to make a strong decision on Rogers and Duffey for keeping on the 40-man and in the organization. Yes, I think the Twins COULD replace numerous parts of their 25-man roster with guys currently in the minors who would produce on par with the players they are replacing. Maybe even better, if they are hungry for major league work. The Twins would be well served to NOT block future looks. They would get back umpteen millions in payroll. The guys leaving really wouldn't be missed...including, sadly, Joe Mauer. Garver C Vargas 1B Polanco 2B Gordon SS Escobar 3B Kepler/Cave RF Buxton CF Rosario LF Vargas DH Berrios Romero Gibson Odorizzi Slegers Mejias Goncalves Pressly Curtiss Busenitz Rogers Moya Jake Reed Hildenberger Magill Duffey (man, you got too many already) Adrianza Motter a catcher one of he four ourfielders Rooker comes into the mix in September so does LaMonte Wade

You have to truly ask WHO the Twins have that would fit into a roster of a contending team. That is the BIG question. Then, how badly does the team need that Twins player, compared to a body from another team. Then we come to the August dumping zone. You throw the guy out there, someone claims him, you let them go and save on salary and give playing time to the future.

The Twins also grabbed JON KEMMER from the Astros for cash. A guy who ahs the potential to be a minor league free agent if not added to the 40-man in the of season. He shows some punch with his bat.

Here's my Take. The Twins have two deadlines: Starting today and going thru the end of July, trding someone. The entire month of August, but hopefully soon out of the gate, putting players on waivers and letting them to whomever places a claim. Sadly, there is not alot to offer in trade, just a dangle and the possibility of getting something in return besides salary relief. Of course, players that you have little but salary invested in, you should be happy to get anything. Allowing a team to walk with a player in August is true salary relief from a body that you have no interest in retaining. If you can still get a prospect back, more power. Happily, you don't have to negotiate with a waiver claim in August. The team takes the player and their contract as is. That said, some thoughts. The Twins NEED to see any and all players that will be contributing to the team in 2019 and beyond. If they have no chance of being on the 2019 roster, let them go sooner rather than later. If there is a smidgen of a chance that they won't be here in 2020 (Odorizzi and Gibson are the notables), try and trade. That said: Catcher. You have to see if Mitch Garver can improve. Bobby Wilson, bless his sole, should've been working with the arms of the future at Rochester more than up here. Now it is too late to consider him a Crash Davis as, according to my plan, the young arms he would work with will be mostly up here. Thus, you can look at Graterol or Rupp as the temporary backup for this year, is Willians isn't competent. Are any of the alternatives prospects for 2019? Probably not. And, remember, we will still have Castro and his framing glove abck for another year in 2019. So we should be content that we have a decent bench bat who can catch in Garver for 2019, as well as Castro, who isn't going anywhere unless he is so injured that he never plays ball again. You lose Wilson and get a 40-man. You might add Graterol/Rupp for the season to take that 40-man spot. INFIELD: The Brian Dozier era is done, sad to say. Two factors. He clearly expressed an interest to look at free agency. The team has no desire to sign him longterm or for extended years. Trade him for a prospect (or two) and if you want to revisit him in the offseason, you will be able to do that at a possible lower cost. 40-man spot cleared. Bring up Nick Gordon, who may not be ready, but play him and see what he has to work on. At best, he does adequate and leans. At worse, you send him down in 3/4 weeks to work a bit more at AAA. He takes your open 40-man spot. KEEPERS: Polanco, Adrianza. Escobar. Ehire is your swing man. Polanco is the shortstop (or the second baseman if you ditch Dozier and play Gordon at short). Escobar is at third. You explore with Eduarco an extension. AT worse, you have him for three years and either trade him in one or have an expensive utility infielder. At worse, he tanks next year totally. So what is an Escobar gamble? Three years? $20 million? $25 million? As you start thinking more, you start wondering if something abck in trade is more worthwhile and, like Dozier, you take a chance in offseason offers being low. Remember, you don't get a guy cheaper unless he enters the free agency marketplace with another team's cap. We have Motter currently on the disabled list. He goes and you have a free 40-man spot. JOE MAUER:.Right now, I look at Joe in two ways. Either this is his swan song with the Twins, you announce it now that he is more than likely leaving the game, and give him a farewell tour. Or you trade Joe to Boston or Chicago Cubs if they want him with a chance to be in the post season and end his career that way. Hasw the front office made it clear not to bring Joe back? Public relations nightmare? Maybe not as bad as one would think. You need to entertain offers and discuss with Joe and force him to make a career decision. Combined with Logan Morrison, who is a slim possibility of getting you a return of a body at the trade deadline and more likely to get a waiver claim and a salary writeoff, you might be oipen to two roster spots. My choices, then, bring back Kennys Cargas as a last chance looksee. And if you have two, Chris Carter can't contribute any worse with the bat than Logan Morrison and would also be resignable, perhaps, for 2019. At the outside, you push up Brent Rooker. OUTFIELD: Rosario, Kepler, Cave. That's are set grouping for now. Convince me the need to bring Grossman back for 2019? If not, replace him with Granite and let's see Zack get sometime in centerfield, like 15-20 games, and if he can be a 4th outfielder or some speed on the path. If 40-man space exists, go ahead and advance LaMonte Wade. Or at least aim for that direction come September. MIGUEL SANO and BYRON BUXTON - keep them in the minors until necessarily needed (they become too hot in the minors or your current players are worse than the stats the two put up already for 2018). But you now have the luxury of looking at some other pieces, decided if Miguel or Escobar will be at third, if Miguel can play 1st, or be dommed to DH land. THE ROTATION. Trade Lynn if there are any takers. Showcase santana and, at the last, allow him to be a waiver claim. You can deal with him in the off-season then. Think of what his value MAY be. Same, again, for Lynn. I'm sure msot folks would agree there is no need to offer Lance Lynn an extended contract. Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi. Both trade guys. You should be able to generate some offers. Yes, both COULD make the team in 2019. But do you really see them as Twins in 2020. Do you have faith in better arms ahead? Go with a 6-man rotation for the rest of the season: Berrios, Slegers, Mejia, Littell, Goncalves. You are killing Rochester. At some point you bring up May and Stewart (whom you need to decide if you wish to add to the 40-man anyways). What have you got to lose. All except Steward are on the 40-man. You will be removing 2-3 pitchers from the 40-man.Remember, Pinedas might also be returning for some September innings. THE BULLPEN: Trade Fernando Rodney and Zach Duke. Both should be pieces that could go as early as tomorrow. Think about jettisoning Addison Reed is someone wants, you free up his expense for 2019. You have so many arms in the minors: Duffey, Reed, Curtis,. Moya, Busenitz already on the 40-man. Vets like Omar Bencomo and Paco Rodriguez. 40-man considerations like Nick Anderson, Luke Bard, Tyler Jay. Maybe even Baxendale should be considered. You lose 3-4 40-man spots in the bullpen (remember, Belisle is taking a spot). You aren't getting much back in return, sadly, except some non-payouts in salary to offset the empty seats during August/September. You have a lot of cheap jerseys to sell at the State Fai. You have a couple of looksees who may not fit into 2019 in the black hole of 1B/DH in Vargas and Carter. You have to make a big decision on Sano. You have to think about spending money on Escobar, or find some guy named Petit to come back until you can enter the off-season. Joe Mauer is becoming more of an issue than a franchise player and the pluf has to be pulled. And, you pull the plug early on manager. Let the front office bring up their guy, Joel Skinner, to finish the season. But you GET RID OF ANYONE/EVERYONE WHO WON'T BE AROUND IN 2019 TODAY...not tomorrow. You question keeping some of the 2019s who don't stand a chance of being here in 2020. Go forth with the plan, teh rebuilding plan!

First of, they came in at the end of a season, but got to do the draft, but still inherited a largely homegrown department of players personnel. Plus, Pohlad wanted Molitor kept. The main job didn't become a shared presidency of the organization, so he sill has to report to someone who wants to sell advertising, fill the seats with season ticket holders, and do anything possible to make sure the team looks and sounds better than it may be. Some decent drafting. And then a winning season in 2017 and a Manager of the Year. We saw them clean house in development of the imnor leagues, sign lots of good draft picks, play the international bonus money and such. Unfortunately, some longtime guys just moved around in the front office, you can't fire a manager of the year even though 2017 wasn't THAT good, and because it looked like they were a possible contender, you scrap the 4-5 year plan and get the go ahead to spend more than you have ever seen the Twins spend before to sell more tickets and maybe conquer a weak division. Happily they didn't spend on longterm contracts, their low-ball offers to promising guys who had yet to prove themselves were rejected, and somehow a lack of leadership from the dugout and possibly the field staff, combined with injuries and slowed progress by TOP prospects is selling a disaster that is far from what anyone expected with the free agent signings of a starter, a trade for another capable arm, three vet additions to the pen, a strength signing at DH I feel the front office was given five years to turn things around, hopefully sooner, but still...in their own way. So, any pieces that aren't contributing to 2020 and 2021 are moot, in the grand scheme of things, and many of the current players at the major league level still under control and in ALL levels of the minors are the true future of this team. Once they know what they can kinda expect, they can move from there and spend money. But they had to derail a bit for 2018. Keep Molitor. Temporary patch holes with some decent free agent (temporary) signings as well as fill the upper minors with lotsa (failed) minor league free agents. The smoke-and-mirrors needed to sell tickets worked for this season, which should be moderately successful after the money bin of 2017 (the Twins budgeted for a much worse attendance than they got last season, and remember...they controlled the selling of full price tickets when the Twins were hot at season's end and few tickets were bargained on StubHub). Unfortunately (or fortunately) with the way things are going, those fans that want to go to a Twins game will be able to go for $5 in August and September. If there is one big fear, and maybe they are justified in playing with veterans like Belisle and Motter and Wilson, is that until the team dropped out-of-sight, they didn't want to fill the roster with farmhands NOT yet on the roster who might not be able to play out a COMPETITIVE season. If your team isn't competitive, then you throw rookies out there for more than a day callup and have them take lumps, within reason. On the plus side, glad to see them extend their control over slumping Buxton and Sano and hopefully they will both take time to reflect on their talents IN THE MINORS. Again, the new front office was looking at 2020 and 2021 for really making steam. Even the guys who have another season (Odorizzi and Gibson, for example) could be viable trade candidates for future pieces, as the chances of either signing on for longterm after THIS season are probably slim to none. So, because of the disaster of 2018, don't get ANY high hopes for a turnaround in 2019. It will be a rebuilding team with prospects given the chance to do or die. Maybe a longer leash. But they will be there in droves and the payroll will probably be the lowest ever in 2019 dollars for the Twins franchise since.......

All we really have is prospects to trade for established players, which won't be a game changer this season, sadly. So keep the prospects and trade the guys who won't be here in 2019, and possibly those who won't be here in 2929 (Gibson, Odorizzi).

Wasn't it before the 2017 season that members here were crying loudly that the Twins should not offer arbitration to Kyle Gibson, basically non-tender the guy? He's 30 going on 31. Next season he could cost %8 million easily. The Twins, this season, have a bargain. Next year, well, we wouldn't know until he would pitch. Here's the rub. He could help out a team contending this season. That team could also have a chance of him replicating his recent success. The Twins don't necessarily need to pay $8-9 million for that gamble, considering the overall track record, the abundance of starters IF THEY ARE in a rebuilding mode, or even if they aren't, they would have more than enough money to spend on a 3-5 year BIG contract and or a couple of medium-sized offers. Better yet, the question you need to ask...would you resign KYLE GIBSON today for a 2-3 year extension and for how much. $35 million? An option year? Or would you rather say, sorry, no. Is he another Kevin Tapani? Is he another Brad Radke? No, he's Kyle Gibson, and he does have material worth in the playing field. As does Eddie Rosario, another player that we all often speak ill of in regards to hitting discipline or outfield play. In the case of Gibson, you hang on and hope he starts 2019 well. But he would be a free agent at series end and get us the same as...well, name it. If he does bad, you might get a waiver claim in August and can choose to rid yourself of the remaining salary if you can't get a prospect, very minor, in return. We have another of those possibilities this season. Next year we have Odorizzi and Pineda both in the rotation. Both will be potential free agents at the end of the season. Okay, we want to add a third, more expensive name to that list? We have Romero and Berrios anchoring the staff. We have the usual band of suspects currently on the 40-man and names like Stewart and Gonsalves not. Plus maybe a dark horse candidate who will end the season with the Lookouts giving a run as a replacement for any parting players. Trevor May is also out there in the mix. And the ability to spend money on free agent rotation arms (NOT bullpen arms, hopefully). Sometimes, you strike when a player is running a bit high (be it Hicks, Revere, Span, Carlos Gomez...all those centerfielders...but, STILL, what did they really bring us in return,. Or we do the DDelmon Young thing, don't sell. And look at what happens. Of course so many factors go into a trade. If we get something of value, depth from another team that can afford to give us a corner infielder prospect, a down-the-line rotation arm, maybe a catcher blocked (shades of Wilson Ramos). You do it. We were all applauding the chance of just cutting him loose awhile back. Basically NOT disappointed when he was sent to the minors and perfectly content if he was another Joe Mays or nick Blackburn WITHOUT the big contract, so to speak. The Twins of 2017 had a decent year with a good palce in the central divsiion as well as making the Wild Card. It was more of a fluke, so to speak. And the front office strayed from rebuiling to build on some possible momentum for that finish by spending to a record payroll, hoping to fill the seats at least for the beginning of the season, as well as building the season ticket base, which is what the other half of the front office desires. You can't sell a bottom rung rebuilding team. We saw some changes in the front office, a good revamp of the minor league training gang, and working to put together a field staff with Manager of the Year Paul Molitor...who would've cried FOUL if the MOY was fired? But back to Gibson, TRADE. You should be able to dangle, starting right now, and possibly pull a good return sooner rather than waiting until the last day of the deadline. Most of the other Twin tradeable assets will be put on waivers in August and if someone will take them, you pretty much SHOULD let them go to save money (which the front office likes) and also allow you to fully play the future.

Okay, Falvey and Levine need to be given the rope to finish their plan, hopefully a solid 5-year vision that got derailed when they had to keep Molitor and work with some front office guys. You can see that they have started to mess with the front office with some changes in analytics and elsewhere, and the staff down-on-the-farm has done an about face. I'm hoping they finally have free reign as this season becomes a disaster. Now something strange happened last season, the Twins came back and actually were a wild card team. Molitor was named Manager of the Year. Did he deserve it? Well, he wasn't fired. That he might've deserved, but got a lucrative contract that will need a payout if he moves on. AAnd he will. Falvey and Levine will have their say in who manages the team, and also get free reign on hiring coaches with a new manager. It's too bad they had to go into this off-season in a spending mode, because above all else the main concern of the Twins braintrust is putting fans in the stands and 2017 gave them a season to market to increase the season ticket base, still play ponzi games with certain seats and games, and hope spending that extra $30 mill will keep the attendance on par with last year when they had a surge and a GREAT year instead of the BAD year that they budgeted. Y'know. The players are still there. Lots of pieces can be jettisoned. I see the Twins moving guys up faster in the seasons ahead, maybe NOT spending big in 2019, but moreso in 2020 and 2021 when many of the names we salivate around in the minors WILL BE HERE and those that are here now will get their act together. They don't have a lot of players demanding any sort of return, except maybe Kyle Gibson (still an expensive arbitration season left) and Escobar (who might get them more than they gave for him back when) and then they would have the ability to possibly resign Esuardo for something more realistic than they would if they kept him. You lose a guy to free agency, you don't necessarily get him abck cheap...someone else does that. Who knows, should the Twins sell high on Eddie Rosario, too. Remember Delmon Young? Can Fast Eddie crash and burn, or is he a true superstar beyond Buxton and Sano and even Kepler in the longrun. Looking forward to lots of September games with very cheap seats and the concession stand lines short, although season tickets have been sold. Means more fees for StubHub instead of the Twins, who cleaned up selling a lot of full prie tickets in 2017. Same won't be said about 2018.

Especially in center field. What next, third base? Shortstop? Come in and pitch when the game is a blowout? I'm excited! And he swings a mean bat, too! This guy is Bix Sexy 2!