nicksaviking

The last two years there are 47 qualified OF, Rosario is 33rd in OPS and 37th in WAR. I'd like to have Rosario around, but mostly for clubhouse or sentimental reasons. He's still a starting level corner outfielder, but he's really an average at best overall player. And based on last year's results against left handed pitching, he's probably getting close to being a platoon player. If Rosario, Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker were the four options for the third OF spot, I think it's unlikely that Rosario would actually end up being the best of that group next year. Odds are that one if not more of the rookies would be able to match Rosario's output, if not surpass it completely.

Or it could be about finding room for the numerous corner outfield prospects, all of whom have a higher ceiling than Rosario.

I guess I wasn't looking for a guarantee. It would be nice if they found a good free agent, but if the team is going to scale back, this is a good year to do it, the free agent market is ugly.

I really like Eddie and I'd like him to stay if the situation was right, but I don't think the team will be worse without him. If Kirilloff and Larnich are the main options to replace him, what ever losses they will feel with the bat, they'll probably make up for in OBP and defense. And, there's also a good chance they wouldn't show any loss with the bat either. In today's game a .800 OPS for a corner outfielder isn't exactly hard to find. This reminds me of Jacque Jones leaving. Most people loved Jacque, he was a core member of the team's resurgence. He had a really decent but streaky bat, but his OBP and defense were iffy and the Twins didn't bother trying to re-sign him as they had Cuddyer and Kubel in need of outfield spots. And while the team may drop payroll (I suspect most every team will) it's not about saving money, it's about reallocating money. Saving 9M on your LF when his replacement likely isn't to be much if any of a downgrade means you can allocate 9M more into pitching or middle infield upgrades.

Well the last two top over all picks were supposed to be great on defense. So maybe Minnesota is Bizzaro World when it comes to that particular skill?

Specifically, I wouldn't want someone with such poor personal decision making skills in charge of a large group of young men. How the heck would the team justify suspending or fining a player for any kind of off field offense now?

This offseason looks like it's set up to really infuriate not just the players but the fans as well. If no one wants to give Brad Hand 10M, that sure seems like most teams aren't going to be doing anything in free agency, but these top free agents WILL find a home, so it will almost certainly be with the clubs still willing to spend, even if they don't open up their wallets as wide as normal. I'm not looking forward to the conversations that will take place if every usable free agent ends up in NY, Boston, LA, Chicago and somewhere in Texas.

Totally agree. The Twins should never give up on fringe starter prospects before giving them a season and a half in the pen. Of course Aussie lefty Liam Hendricks comes to mind, but other non Ausie’s like Andrew Miller or Brad Hand or Zach Britton. Or Taylor Rogers.

The Twins certainly did get taken for a ride in the Hicks deal, but in the long run they may have dodged a bullet. He looks to have peaked right when he needed a new contract. He's injury prone and only modestly more productive than an average OF. Everyone's talking about non-tendering Rosario, I can't imagine many folks around here would be thrilled to have 10M/year tied up in Hicks for the next half decade, especially with his defense starting to slip. And to be clear, I'd never give the team a pass on the trade, they certainly bungled it. To tie this back into the topic at hand though, Sano could very well be productive next year and/or the year after, but the team holding his leash at that time may have an uncomfortable decision to make about a long term commitment. It might be prudent not to be that team making the decision.

It's a fine line with corner outfielders, and usually it does come down to power. If your strong OBP comes with a modest but not terrible .430ish SLG you can probably Nick Markakis your way into a long relevant career. But I don't think a Bip Roberts type player has much of a future these days. The Twins already have that player at 2B (so I guess a Luis Castillo instead of a Bip Roberts).

Next year's free agent class looks awful, and with the pandemic and owners losing money this year, I'll bet many if not most of the decent free agents will know the market is going to stink and will happily accept a reasonable offer from their current team during the exclusive negotiating window. I'm not expecting a lot of big free agent moves, because unless someone wants to squeeze another corner OF into this roster, only Bauer or LeMaheiu seem to have any kind of fit, and the odds are that those two will find a different landing spot. I really hate those middle of the road starting pitching multi year contracts so thankfully it doesn't look like there is a Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes or Ervin Santana this year. The 1 year or 1 year and an option for the bounce back starters always seems like a much better bet to return value, so I'm up for identifying 2021's Michel Pineda or Rich Hill. There looks like there are going to be a LOT of arms that fall into that category. That level of spending will make for a crabby board, but maybe there's a trade or two out there.

1. I'd like to go to a game next year, but who knows what's going to happen. I'd guess at some point there will be some kind of database or ID card for those who have received a vaccine or who have already gotten Covid so those folks can get out and about. Seems like an overreach perhaps, but people are going to want to start opening things up for those no longer at risk at some point. 2. I doubt anyone offers Cruz more than one year + an option. The Twins may drag it out like they normally do with free agents, but I'll bet he comes back, he seems real comfortable here. 3. I don't think the roster has any big needs, so like signing Donaldson last year, just go get the best players you can and sort out the positions later. Trevor Bauer sure does look like a perfect fit. 4. Yeah, I bet Varela is gone. The bats were way off this year. Might not even be his fault but someone will get sacrificed for sure. 5. I'd like to see some trades this off season. Last year I'd have liked to see some prospects moved for pitchers, but I might rather see Kirilloff, Lewis and company instead next year. There's not much room for Rosario, but I don't know who still has value. Kepler and Polanco's contracts should be worth a lot, but then they laid an egg this season. No idea what Sano's value is. Maybe move Arraez? Let Polanco and Lewis man the middle infield? If Berrios won't sign an extension maybe it's time to pull the trigger on him?

We saw the season differently I guess, because it sure seemed to me the offense's inability to get on base was this year's biggest issue. Meanwhile this had to have been the best bullpen this organization has ever seen. I agree that Romo shouldn't have been used as much or in high leverage situations, but they literally had a half dozen arms they could have put in there instead, but stubbornly didn't. With the team acknowledging that Polanco is going to need surgery I wonder why Lewis was never given a shot. It has been clear all year that a half healthy Polanco isn't a very good ball player.

I would disagree with this part. I don't think it's hyperbole at all to say that Romo is the team's 8th best bullpen arm (9th if Alcala was on the roster). That's barely a criticism as the seven above him have been really good. But still, he has no business pitching in the 9th, particularly since he relies on batters chasing his slider out of the zone, and Houston is notoriously good at not chasing pitches out of the zone.

I didn't mind pulling Maeda, but I thought it would be for Wisler. The catcher maneuvers were odd, but I don't know why we are this late into the season and Baldelli hasn't realized that it needs to be Duffey and May at the end of the games instead of Rogers and Romo. Wisler, Clippard, Theilbar and Stashak have been great in bullpen games and middle innings, use them first.

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It doesn't matter if you think Kaepernick is a fraud, 100% complete immaterial. Everyone needs to ask themselves if what he is saying rings true. Forget about his motives, forget if it's Kaepernick or Fred from down the street bringing this up; the only question people need to be thinking about is, "Are black citizens being treated equally in this country?" If not, are you willing to make the sacrifices needed to fix it?

I've always thought the logo was pretty hokey anyway. They can do better. I don't think the Twins need to have a caricature of anyone in their logo, but if for some reason that's essential, why not Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield holding up HOF plaques and looking smugly across the river to the West at a forlorn Kent Hrbek?

Falvey is clearly a bigger fan than me; all this time I always thought they were Australian. In fact, I'd like to call for an investigation. I dare someone to think of a word more Australian sounding than Chumbawamba or Tubthumping.

Excellent, my favorite pitch by a country mile. I look at any pitcher in a new and positive light if they figure out a way to miss more bats.

Looks like it's official, the minor league season has been cancelled. The smart teams are going to be the ones who figure out a way to continue to develop the guys not on 60 man rosters. As far as I know, there's no imperative for Indy Ball leagues to grab players from various teams. The Twins could be geographically positioned well as only six of the American Association teams are playing this year, but they include the Saints and the teams in Winnipeg, Fargo and Sioux Falls, with all games being played in Fargo and Sioux Falls, the Twins two strongest in-market cities. As far as fan interest goes, it probably would behoove all four clubs to use their vacant roster spots on Twins prospects. Hopefully the Twins can find games for Balazovic and many other guys who need playing time.

People were offended by what he said 40 years ago. That’s why every paper reported it. Everyone outside of the bigots knew it was awful even back then. But I’m actually more offended that it appears there are still people who don’t think segregation is or was a big deal or a real world problem. I also can’t imagine that even Tony Olivia would suggest his birthday was more important than desegregation.

I didn’t get the impression it was a player, but either way, I’d be uncomfortable speculating about it publicly anyway.

Yeah, Minnesota teams should be taking the lead right now and it looks like the Twins are more than willing. I've done my fair share of Pohlad complaining in the past, but, fantastic work lately guys. Keep it up.

Now we're talking. I've always loved the athletic HS hitters.