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Twins Daily

Falvey and Lavine fear loss of readers for TD

As I read our reactions to each missed free agent and the excitement of the winter meetings I have come to the conclusion that the FO really is concerned about readership and postings on TD. I mean we have had a "why we should sign him" article about every FA that has been signed so far. Just to be clear - not signed by us. We went from everyone with an arm that has not fallen off to all the hitters who can add to Bomba mania.   We debate, we anguish, and we hope. Well at least we read and post.

2020 Minnesota Twins Top 15 Prospects

The Winter Meetings in San Diego have come to a close and the Minnesota Twins have all sights set on the 2020 Major League Baseball season. Rocco Baldelli is looking to repeat an extraordinary 2019 performance, and the big-league club looks to remain one of the best in the majors.   As the reigning AL Central Division champions, the Twins now have teams gunning for them, and while the offseason still must incorporate significant talent acquisition, getting contributions from a deep and loaded fa

Marco Gonzales: Underrated Target?

Today I'm not going to try to sell you guys a top of the rotation arm that we could trade for. We've seen our fair share of coverage on David Price, Yu Darvish, etc. Instead I wanted to talk about an under the radar move for a valuable pitcher. Despite the criticism among fans for this team's failure to land the big fish, it's the exact kind of move that this front office loves to make. We need arms in this rotation. Not just for Pineda's month plus absence to begin the season, but down the stre

Rule V mania

Yup, we could lose a lot. Our guys are really good. The rest of the MLB teams are salivating to get the Twins prospects!   Rule V happened today - Wander Javier did not happen today. None of the players we had available went anywhere until the second round of AAA Rule V when 24. The Tigers took 2B Brian Schales (Twins).   So, yawn, another big Rule V day went by and the overall impact was zilch. There were a number of pitchers taken by poor clubs with nothing too lose. Good luck to them and

The Marlins, Caleb Smith, and Eddie

While the Twins should absolutely be looking at deals with the Marlins, I question how viable it is. They have remarked how "incredibly high" the Twins price on Eddie Rosario is when they said the same thing about Nomar Mazara who was dealt for a high A outfielder. That just tells me that they aren't even looking for a reasonable deal, but one that is just downright lopsided for them.   I doubt they're too inclined to trade any of their younger guys like Alcantra, Lopez or Yamamoto who have all

Free Agents

When the best is off the table, then the second best is swept up, do we get desperate and jump at the left overs? If we cannot get what we want is it reasonable to say we should get what is left?   I cannot buy into that theory. If Bumgartner does not sign with us I can understand. Does that make Kuechel suddenly desirable? The real question is how does he compare with Dobnak, Graterol, Thorpe, Smeltzer.   I hate buying out of desperation.   The same with Ryu. Why would he sign with us.

Spending First or Not at All

Last night the baseball world watched in awe of the contract that Gerrit Cole was handed by the New York Yankees. He signed the for the largest AAV and total contract value ever given to a pitcher. New York spending money isn’t surprising at all, but there’s a tickle down effect and how it impacts a team like the Twins remains to be seen.   It’s a great thing that the Minnesota Twins have significant funds and a real opportunity ahead of them. What is less than great is there’s only so many desi

Twins Could Trade for a Former Free Agent Target

After bringing back Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda the Minnesota Twins should be turning their focus solely to the top of their rotation. Madison Bumgarner is the presumed name, but Jon Heyman recently reported that former Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu could be the target. What if Minnesota wanted to go a different route entirely?   There’s no denying that Bumgarner and Ryu are the best (see: only) arms left in the second tier of available starters. Bumgarner has been dissected plenty, and Ryu

3 Bold Predictions for the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings

So far the 2019-2020 MLB offseason is getting off to a hot start, while the Atlanta Braves have been resigning some of their own Free Agents they signed Will Smith to a 3yr/$39M deal, they also signed Travis d’arnaud to a 2yr/$16M deal, they even signed Cole Hamels to a 1yr/$18M deal. The White Sox signed the top catcher on this year’s market by signing Yasmani Grandal to a 4yr/$73M deal. The Phillies signed one of the market’s best pitchers by signing Zack Wheeler to a 5yr/$118M deal. The Win

Plan B: Dallas Keuchel and Josh Donaldson

Somewhat expected news dropped on Saturday night when LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune basically removed Hyun-Jin Ryu from the Twins' potential list of targets in his latest Winter Meetings primer article.   Similar to Zack Wheeler, Ryu has a preference to stay on the coast. For Wheeler, the east was most desirable. But for Ryu, he would like to remain in or near Los Angeles, where he has spent his entire career.   With this presumably in mind, Madison Bumgarner has the best resume of the rem

Pros and Cons: Ryu or Bumgarner?

The Twins missed on Zack Wheeler when he signed a 5-year, $118 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine made an offer that Wheeler may have considered had he not been tied so heavily to New Jersey and the National League East.   The good news is that Wheeler is not the only realistic impact pitcher that the Twins can acquire. They took a considerable step forward by resigning Michael Pineda to a 2-year, $20 million contract late Thursday night.   The

Twins Set Up for a Big Splash

So far, the Minnesota Twins have committed something like $30 million in 2020 contracts to three players this offseason. Two pitchers and a backup catch mean the 26-man roster is quickly closing in on finality. At this point, there’s nothing left but the big bang.   Jake Odorizzi returning to the Twins was a great development. A longer-term deal is probably better than the qualifying offer situation, but it’s negligible nonetheless. Michael Pineda is a guy that made sense to QO, and instead Minn

Free Agents - Pick a Team, pick a city

I join others with regret that we continue to move down the the next pitcher on the list essays. If I was more motivated I would go back and see how many "sign this pitcher" essays have been on the site since Thanksgiving.   But the essence of so many comments is - why would they come here, not what they would sign for. I do not think that it is money that is winning. If you or your girlfriend are from Philadelphia you want to go home, if you have had your career in warm cities or are tired of

Twins Prospects Taking Over Bowman

Today is one of the biggest releases on the calendar in the hobby world. As Topps pumps out the latest Bowman Draft product, collectors feast their eyes on an opportunity to grab autographs and cardboard of the next great stars. For the Minnesota Twins specifically, a Bowman product hasn’t been this exciting in a few years.   While collecting sports cards is a hobby, a large contingent of its appeal is monetarily driven and provides an aspect of gambling. Outside of buying specific cards you cov

Olney: Phillies Front Runner For Wheeler, Twins Not Mentioned

Per Buster Olney at ESPN (posted this morning), the Phillies are the front-runners for Wheeler. The Reds, White Sox and Rangers are also mentioned as possibilities.   "The bidding for right-hander Zack Wheeler continues to progress toward resolution, with the Philadelphia Phillies seen by sources as the most potent bidders -- and the Reds, White Sox and Rangers also involved."   SOURCE: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28222913/sources-phillies-seen-top-bidder-zack-wheeler

2020 IBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Once again, it's that time of year and December 1 saw my inbox being hit with the yearly IBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Although this isn't part of the official BBWAA vote to enshrine players in Cooperstown, there's plenty of crossover between voting parties and many of the same principles are the same.   At this time the IBWAA allows voters to select up to 12 candidates. You can find my 2018 ballot here, and my 2019 selections here. As was the case last year, I wound up with a ballot less than the

Fielding in the age of shifts

Judging the fielders in the age of shifts is a difficult challenge. As I read about Sano – should he move to 1B I am constantly trying to evaluate what the qualities are for those two bases. 3B – quick reflexes (believe me the ball gets to 3B quick) and a strong arm. 1B – reflexes of a different type, not grabbing missiles, but rather erratic throws, short hops, flexibility to stretch and grab, and still a range for fielding the position. 1B have that strange responsibility for “covering the bas

What good are records

When the Twins Bombas broke the MLB record for HRs there was elation - and rightfully so. It is fun to see records fall and even to have some marks like 56 straight game hitting streaks seem to be impossible to break. When I was young (1950s) I got hooked on baseball and my little transistor radio would sneak under my pillow at night so I could follow the Milwaukee Braves.   I loved the way baseball connected me with my dad and Grandpa, the way it related to the old town teams my relatives playe

Twins 2020 Offseason BluePrint

My 2020 Offseason Blueprint gives out multiple different avenues the Twins can go down to acquire starting pitching, among some signings for depth/bench pieces. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitchers. Develop pitchers from the farm system. Trade for a young controllable starter. Backup Catcher. Nice bullpen piece. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitching The Twins probably won’t sign Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strausburg, because they will be too much money, so the Twins will sign the next tier of starting pitc

Robo umps and the future of catchers

In one of the discussion entries I saw the question - what will happen to catchers when the Robo ump is put in place and the quick hands ability to steal (frame) a strike is no longer a vital skill. This got me thinking about what are the other attributes of a good catcher.   My first thought is the ability to call a good game, to put the pitcher in a better position to fool the batter. Of course the Houston Astronauts are pushing for a change there too. Maybe we will have head phones on the cat

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