With the rotation in shambles with the failure of Shoemaker and Happ and the ineffectiveness of Dobnak and his injury which put the Twins in a hole where they were best served trading their best pitcher Berrios.  The Twins are now working on a new floor for the rotation, so they have something to work with going into the offseason.  As of now the rotation for 2022 is setting up to be Maeda and ????

To start setting the floor the Twins kept Pineda and there is talk he could sign an extension and stay a while longer.  That would be a boon to our floor.  We have also started Bailey Ober several times and he is starting to turn in some decent starts and may be a solid 4^th or 5^th starter next year.  We are also currently looking at Griffin Jax and Charlie Barnes to see what they can do.  If either of these 2 guys show that they can be counted on to post a 4.5 era we would have another 4^th or 5^th starter who is at least capable at the end of the rotation.  I hope a few others get opportunities too. 

Does anyone know the timeline for Smeltzer’s, or Thorpe’s return from injuries?  With Dobnak’s contract do we know when he will be back too this season.  I know he will be in the mix next season to show this one was the aberration.  As for now the starters we end up keeping will at least give us depth or a long man for next season. 

So now we end 2021 with a rotation of:

Maeda, Ober, Jax, Barnes or anyone who shows promise of being a 4^th or 5^th starter.  We also go into the offseason with a stable of pitchers who are almost ready to contribute at the major league level.

Other potential 4^th or 5^th starters or depth include Thorpe, Smeltzer and Dobnak

We have several pitchers near ready including the three we just acquired Joe Ryan, Strotman, Woods-Richardson.  And the those we developed internally, Balazovich, Duran, Winder, Sands, and maybe Vallimont. 

So how do we turn all of this and other available talent and potential free agent signings into a great rotation that can compete in 2022?

Which pitchers will be available for trade?  With all the pitchers we have, maybe a trade of a 4^th / 5^th starter type like Ober and a developing pitcher like Winder or even Joe Ryan and a player like Larnarch can bring us a decent starting pitcher in a trade?  Who are the available free agents?  It seems we should have around 60-70 million available by back of napkin simple math. 

Based on the available assets with which to build out a rotation I suspect we will have a competitive rotation.  How do you see us rebuilding the rotation with these pieces for next year? 

Here is the list of most of the starting pitchers who are free agents (I removed a few easy no's):  I do not know who is available for trade. 

Brett Anderson (34)               Marcus Stroman (30)            Noah Syndergaard (29)               Julio Teheran (31)                  Jose Urena (30)                     Vince Velasquez (30)        Anthony DeSclafani (32)           Justin Verlander (39)       Michael Wacha (30)               Alex Wood (31)                   Chase Anderson (34)                                                  Tyler Anderson(32)                    Chris Archer (33)                   Mike Fiers (37)                             Jake Arrieta (36)                     Dylan Bundy (29)                   Trevor Cahill (33)              Alex Cobb (34)                            Johnny Cueto (36)                 Zach Davies (29)                          Danny Duffy (33)                    Kevin Gausman (31)              Jon Gray (30)                    Zack Greinke (38)                       Andrew Heaney (31)             Rich Hill (42)                                Merrill Kelly (32)                     Yusei Kikuchi (31)                                                  Kwang-Hyun Kim (33)               Corey Kluber (36)                   Wade LeBlanc (37)                       Jon Lester (38)                        Michael Lorenzen (30)         Jordan Lyles (31)              Carlos Martinez (30)                 Wade Miley (35)                     Mike Montgomery (32)             Matt Moore (33)                     Daniel Norris (29)                                             Ivan Nova (35)                          James Paxton (33)                   Martin Perez (31)                       Michael Pineda (33)               Jose Quintana (33)                 Robbie Ray (30)                Garrett Richards (34)               Tanner Roark (35)                   Carlos Rodon (29)                       Drew Smyly (33)                     Eduardo Rodriguez (29)                                            Tyson Ross (35)                        Aaron Sanchez (29)                 Max Scherzer (37)                

Here is my guestimated rotation for 2022

1.  Maeda     2. Pineda (Resign 2 year 26 million)    3. Johnny Cuerto (1 or 2 year contract w/ no draft picks attached 15 million per season)     4.  Ober     5.  Dobnak     6.  Ryan, Woods-Richardson, Balazovich and Winder on the cusp.   

The Twins seem to prefer not signing pitchers to long term contracts if they can help it.  A 2 year extension for Pineda is the norm.  and Cuerto is advancing in age and is still effective.  A 1 or 2 year deal may work out for him.  Maybe Noah Syndergaard too but he is more of a ? at this point.  I thought of someone like Gray as he is durable and wont cost too much on an annual basis.  There is room for a starter to come up and replace either Ober or Dobnak at any point even both.  (A benefit to having a floor is the floor is replaceable)  Let me know how you see the rotation stacking up for next season.