stringer bell

For the record, both Morejon and David Bednar received QOs, probably lowering their cost to sign, but costing draft picks and/or international money.

RIP Jerry Koosman, an effective pitcher for a lot of years. Born in Appleton (MN), he won 20 for the Twins in 1979 (7.2 WAR) and had over 200 career wins with more than 2000 strikeouts, borderline HOF numbers.

Culpepper is the Opening Day shortstop and there is really no alternative. Lee is a major league hitter, but he doesn't have the range to be a major league shortstop. Kreidler isn't a good enough hitter. Can they find an infielder who could be a Culpepper replacement for injury or ineffectiveness? Otherwise, it is bring back Kreidler or maybe Ross. Jenkins figures to get a starting shot this spring, but if he's terrible in ST, they could send him back to St. Paul for a month or so. Rodriguez is out of options and probably would get the next shot to be a regular. Perhaps both make the team out of ST and flank Buxton, but more likely one is in left and one is in center with Buxton on the IL or the DH. There are legitimate options if either Rodriguez or Jenkins are not up to being regulars and i think that is prudent. Roden. Martin, Mendez and Gonzalez are all on the 40-man roster.

Randy Flores (briefly a Twin in 2010) was named General Manager of the Astros.

I wish them all well. Banda is the only guy I can see the Twins trying to reacquire. Congratulations to Gray for hitting two grand slams and to Sabato for making it to the big leagues.

He's young to be a free agent, so it would figure he is not yet on the downside of his career. I would think that he will be used as a closer with whatever team he signs with. Bringing in a new "best" relief pitcher moves everyone down one slotand really helps the entire 'pen. Color me skeptical that the Twins can get this move done.

Pretty much agree with this take. Rortvedt's "best" season will be three years in the rear view mirror in 2027, and those numbers are at best acceptable for a catcher. I think either he or Jackson would be a decent backup option to be in St. Paul, except for the out-of-options situation. Before the 2026 season, someone did an article on Alex Jackson which highlighted both his defense and a power surge while playing for the Orioles. I have been intrigued since, but apparently Shelton wasn't won over. I do consider both Jackson and Rortvedt about the same, but Jackson would seem to be the superior option if limiting opponents' running game is a top priority. I think Lackey might be closer to the big leagues, but wouldn't want to assume he's on the doorstep until he gets some time in Wichita or St. Paul. It is nice to dream about things going better than expected.

Given the injury histories of Keaschall, Rodriguez, Jenkins and Buxton, I think there will be a place for Martin on the Twins' roster as presently constructed. I'd rather see Martin in the lineup and playing the outfield than Rosario or Gonzalez. He's had a few months of good play (August, September '25 and April '26) so I think a bit run should be given and he's only at about 800 lifetime plate appearances. The low bat speed, exit velocity and hard-hit rate are red flags and he has made more than his share of head scratching mental errors, but with an option remaining, a low salary and the lack of better RH hitting options, I think he should be rostered and probably has at least a partial last chance in 2027.

Martin's statcast profile has quite a bit of red in it, but also way too much subpar stuff. He doesn't hit the ball hard, has a low swing speed and exit velocity. Only Luis Arraez can get away with that and be an above-average hitter. He walks a lot, doesn't chase and has become a good defensive corner outfielder. I don't think the Twins have mishandled him and this season he had a chance to establish himself as an everyday player and he didn't seize the opportunity.

I had visions of Austin Martin becoming the Twins' version of Steven Kwan--good OBP, plus base running and good defense--and despite a really good April, he just wasn't up to it. He has definitely improved as a defender, but he would only be categorized as "above average". He has good, but not elite, speed and that hasn't translated to being an asset on the base paths. The OBP heavy hitting isn't quite average and he really struggled against right handed pitching. Maybe he can add to his game. As mentioned, he has improved dramatically on defense. Maybe he can improve on the bases. He was only successful on 60% of his steal attempts. Royce Lewis has a lower sprint speed, but was successful on 16 of 17 attempts, so he should be fast enough to get over the acceptable 75% success rate. Much has been made of trying to change his swing while he was in the minors. Maybe the Twins were right, they tried to get more power from his swing and if would have average power instead of being in the bottom 20% in slugging, the bar would be lower for him to contribute with the existing defense and base running. Martin has an option remaining which gives him more value to the Twins and anyone who might want to acquire him. The player who was on the team for the entire year needs to be better to secure a spot on the Twins team.

If Bo Naylor didn’t get tohit against the Twins, his stats would be Kreidler-like.

As per usual, @Riverbrian is making a good case and presenting it well. I agree that the Twins are pretty much stuck with Caratini and while I'm not obsessed with the second catcher, I would hope the GM can find the right guy to pair with him to maximize both Caratini and whoever his alternate/backup is. Caratini has twice exceeded the 72 games he caught last year and he will play 2027 as a 33-34 year old, so it would seem that a near 50-50 job sharing would be in order. Defensively, Vic is decent blocking and framing and did a good job with ABS challenges. He is a liability against the running game with a below average arm and slow pop time. As a hitter, Caratini has been slightly better against right handed pitching and was significantly better against righties in 2026, so bringing in a right handed hitting catcher would be a sound strategy. So, Caratini's alternate should be defense-first with running game stopping capability and probably hit right handed. With health, the alternate catcher should be starting more than 60 games, probably closer to 70 or 75. Can that guy be found for a one-year committment and low salary? Maybe it is Alex Jackson, who has an excellent pop time and strong arm (and low arbitration number) or maybe it's somebody else making near major league minimum. I agree that the Twins shouldn't be breaking the bank at catcher.

At a glance, Alex Jackson and Ben Rortvedt are pretty similar hitters. Jackson is 30, has 513 PAs and a 56 OPS+, Rortvedt is 29, has 661 PAs and a 54 OPS+. There are reasons to like their defense, but not enough to overrule their lack of hitting. IMHO, either would be fine as a #3 catcher, but not having options would mean going through DFAs and the possibility of being claimed. What is needed is a strong defensive catcher who can limit the running game who could start at least 35% of the time.

Many of these moves point out the importance of having options and not foolishly wasting them. While it may not have mattered, the Twins used on option on SWR in September in one of his two good seasons so that they could look at someone starting a meaningless game long after they had been eliminated. Starting the clock early on Henriquez had him out of options at a young age. I remember he was the first Twin who was born in the 2000s. A similar case for Headrick, although as a college pitcher he was older. Rodon and Martin continue to have options, which make them more valuable (and tradeable). Wallner, Kreidler and Gray are now out of options, making them considerably less valuable.

My main complaint about Twins' management is failure to develop talent into good players. Since they won over 100 games in 2019, they haven't developed a single position player into an every day player who is among the best at their position. They've had multiple highly regarded minor leaguers the payoff has been remarkedly small. The team debuted three of their top position players last season--Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez--and two top arms--Kendrys Rojas and Connor Preliepp--so it is fair to say that another generation of prospects is now in play. For this poll, I want to define "next All-Star". Repeat All-Stars (Buxton, Ryan, Lopez) don't count. If a player has been an All-Star for another team and makes it as a Twin, they count (Hoffman, Josh Bell). Please specify if you think the next All-Star isn't currently on the roster--will he be acquired in a trade, currently in the minors but not on the roster. If you think the player is on the roster, please name him.