yarnivek1972

Justin Morneau, Jason Bartlett and Michael Cuddyer are 3 I can think of off the top of my head. They all sat far too long while some washed up veteran got playing time. And yes, Gardy definitely berated young players in the press. No, I don’t have links to 10-15 year old articles. Ask anyone here who was around during the BYTO days. They’ll remember.

Not sure he’s the manager for a rebuild. His inclination is to play veterans over inexperienced players. He also has a history of throwing inexperienced players “under the bus” when they make mistakes- as all inexperienced players do. IMO, he was poor at putting players in position to succeed. Jacque Jones as a leadoff hitter for example. Doug Mientkiewicz (and Joe Mauer frankly) as third place hitters. One that perfectly sums up Gardenhire’s ineffectiveness though is when Michael Nakamura made his MLB debut. Instead of bringing him into a low leverage situation, he entered the game in a save situation. Keep in mind, this was not an uber prospect or a future closer. He had a deceptive motion similar to Neshek or Hildenberger. And then a week or so later, was brought into a game without warming up because Gardy made a second coaching visit in an inning. I have no idea if the way he was handled shortened his career or not. I don’t think it helped.

Hughes is signed through 2019.

Wow. He was so bad in that June 11 game that they took a run away from the Twins to turn a 5-4 lead into an 8-4 deficit.

Asking your third place hitter to sacrifice is beyond dumb IMO. There is a reason that guy is hitting third. It usually means he’s one of your best (if not THE BEST) hitters.

Maybe the answer is get the starter and one bullpen piece. No idea what might be out there in terms of names. Kintzler is a decent pitcher, but he’s certainly not a shut down closer or even what I would consider a top late inning reliever. Point being, aim higher. Anyway, that should fit the budget. See what happens and perhaps be in position to trade for a reliever in July, or earlier if it appears to be worth it.

I have no problem going after a top FA starter. I just don’t see that as improvement sufficient enough to close the gap between the Twins and the teams still competing in the postseason. And as I said to make the two bullpen additions that MIGHT close the gap probably doesn’t fit the budget. Probably be about $10 mil or so over what I expect MLB payroll budget to be. Might the Pohlads open the vault knowing this could be Mauer’s last year? Perhaps. Could the Twins save some payroll by trading for bullpen help? Perhaps. But why is any team going to trade away a good to great reliever who is inexpensive?

Please don't change my words to fit your narrative. I said the Twins (and frankly most MLB teams) can't afford to build "THE BULK" of their staff via FA. Sure, the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox with $ 250 mil payrolls can. Nor did I say never trade for anyone. If you want to debate my actual words, let me know. Had to do a little math here, so it may not be 100% accurate. Should be pretty close though. Nolasco was signed to a 4 year, $ 48 mil contract after the 2013 season. He had a career bWAR of 10.1 at the time. Phil Hughes' initial contract was 3 years and $ 24 mil, also after the 2013 season. He had a career bWAR of 6.3. Not as good, thus much cheaper. But also 3 years younger. Nolasco got double the money, but he was not twice as good of a pitcher after 2013. Nolasco overpaid exhibit one. Ervin Santana signed a 4 year $ 55 mil contract after 2014. He had a career bWAR of 16.9 at the time. Adjusted for the general increase of salaries from 2014 to 2015, Ervin and Ricky basically got the same money. Ervin had a far better career track record. Nolasco overpaid exhibit two.

Over the long run, a team is going to be better off developing it’s own pitchers. The Twins failure in that aspect is a major part of why Terry Ryan was fired. Obviously, there is no such thing as building a pitching staff from within in two offseasons. When teams can’t do it, they are forced to overpay Ricky Nolasco and trade too much to get Matt Capps. The Twins will never be able to build the bulk of their staff via free agency. The type of pitchers teams want are in short supply and high demand. As for this offseason, I’m not sure what I think should happen. There is a school of thought that the Twins should go “all in” while Erv, Doz and Joe are under contract and at or near the top of their games. Being realistic, to go “all in” the Twins need a bonafide ace starter, a shut down closer and at least one other top notch late inning reliever. They also need the core of the lineup to remain healthy and be at least as good as they were in 2017. Ideally, with natural progression improvement. I’m not sure the Twins have the budget or the potential trade pieces to make that happen. That’s simply reality.

I suspect that is why, at the end of the season, the Twins had Robbie Grossman and his obp in the 9 hole. So Dozier had a better chance to hit with runners on.

So, let me just float a far fetched, but not totally unrealistic, scenario out there. Unless you have been on the moon, if you live in Minnesota you know the Super Bowl ® is scheduled to be in Minneapolis in February. Let’s say the kneeling/standing issue doesn’t go away. Let’s say the owners decide to demand players stand or face fines. Let’s further say that the NFLPA declares that any such change needs to be collectively bargained. Let’s further say that neither side is prepared to give ground and the NFLPA calls for a strike. Right around say, playoff time. Could we see a scenario where the entire NFL playoffs are wiped out? IMO, it’s going to depend on how hard the owners push. If they push hard, I’d say a strike (at least by the African American players - who compose roughly half the players) is extremely likely. In the past, the players have almost always caved. But this might be different. Sure, there are a lot of blacks “in the trenches” making relatively small salaries. But nearly every receiver, DB and 2/3 of running backs are black. Those are guys who generally make good money and might be able to hold out longer. There is certainly no way the NFL could play games w/o African American players. It could be interesting. Likely scenario? Probably not. But, you never know. Racial tensions in this country are about as bad as they have been in my lifetime. In 1947, Jackie Robinson changed baseball and started this country on the path to racial equality. There is still a loooooooong way to go, but the last 8 years proves we’ve come a long way. Despite Charles Barkley not wanting to be a role model, pro athletes have been catalysts for social change. Will this be the next example?

Quoting the original: I'm pretty sure the Twins plan for next year is to have Sano start at third and if/when he can't

Probably not. However, plate appearances is a totally acceptable incentive for a contract. That involves doing what is needed to stay in the lineup.

Having Rosario try to play third probably makes more sense than having Sano try to play RF. You would have to be doing that NOW though. I'm also not sure Rosario has the footwork or hands to play third.

No one is saying Garver is going to be the primary DH. But, more than likely he will be Castro's backup. From time to time, I would expect him to get in the lineup as the DH also. Often? No. Maybe once a month or so. The most likely scenario for Garver to DH would be if the Twins faced two LHP in a row.

Cody Allen is Cleveland's closer. In the playoffs, at home, winning or losing or tied, your closer is going to pitch the 9th inning.

After 2018, Rosario, Buxton and Sano will still be 3 years away from FA. That’s an awful long time to stay healthy. Especially for Buxton and Sano, who both already have rather extended inury history.

My guess is a mix of Mauer, Sano, Grossman, Garver and maybe Vargas.

In two of the last four seasons, Bryce Harper has had a bWAR under 2 and in only one season in his career is it higher than 5.1. Buyer beware. And like I said, nothing stops the Twins from making an offer in June of next year, long before the free agency season.

Why? Puckett wasn’t. He posted 3 seasons of fWAR of 4.7 or higher in his first 6. They made him MLB’s first $3 mil per year player. Sure, salaries are higher now. So is revenue. Tom Kelly’s last year as manager was 2001. Twins revenue was $75 mil that year. It was $249 mil in 2016. Who knows where revenue will be in 6 years. $300 mil? Not unrealistic IMO. Will the Twins still need to make wise secisions? Yep. Will they need to choose between Buxton and maybe Sano or Rosario? Probably. Can they make Buxton one of the highest paid players in MLB and still field a championship level team? I think so.

Let’s step into the shoes of Derek Falvey for a minute. Are you really prepared to bank the rest of your career on 2 guys that have never posted fWARs above 2.5 and another who posted a 3.5 and never before above 1.7? It’s real easy to say “extend them all” when it isn’t your job on the line if they don’t pan out.

I’m pretty sure there were quotes from Molitor or maybe Falvey or Levine at the time saying that he was sent down because he wasn’t sufficiently stretched out because of being in the WBC. I know Berrios said he had no regrets about going, which certainly suggests he was told he was sent down for that reason. Maybe that was true. But Hector Santiago was on the same team as Berrios and didn’t pitch much either. He started out the season spectacularly.

Of course, we’ll never know what might have been different about Berrios’ season if he had started the year at the MLB level instead of being “punished” in the words of some and sent to AAA for participating in a MLB endorsed, indeed MLB CREATED, event.

That would be fine if they weren’t already making half a million per. They already HAVE money. As for the extensions themselves, I simply disagree with extending them at this time. If I’m going to potentially commit an 8 figure salary for 2 years at the tail end of the contract, I better be pretty sure these are players that are going to be productive at that point. In the cases of Rosario and Sano, we’re talking about players who have never posted an fWAR over 2.5. IMO, that’s not worth 8 figures, particularly when we are talking about a corner OFer and (by that time most likely) a first baseman. If your farm system can’t crank out 2 corners to produce better than that in the next 4 years, your organization is in pretty bad shape IMO. Sure, maybe they get better. Maybe they don’t. Cristian Guzman never did. He posted an fWAR of 3.9 as a 23 year old and posted above 1.8 exactly one more time in his career.

No. Simply that Molitor could decide to retire at pretty much any point.