Lots of moveable parts. Centeno may still be here, but no loss either way.  Do not trust Vargas, might rather see them take a run at Morneau if that is the best you can do, and start with Park in Rochester.  Palka and Walker are the same type of players and would prefer to have them show improvement in Rochester and keep Grossman as the 4th outfielder to start. 

Rotation looks fine except for Gibson, who I hope will not be here. 

Bullpen - Tonkin should be gone, Hughes or Wimmers can be your long man.  Perkins could go either way, and maybe another minor leaguer will take the last spot.  Not bad, but I have a few different choices.

I am almost lock step with this roster.

I do like Centeno and how pitchers seem to do well with him. I would also like to see a nice bullpen arm come in from the outside. The pitching staff still needs work.

With how much we will hit, that pitching staff could win 95 games.

It could also lose 95 games.

Would like to see the new GM make a large acquisition at SP or CP to mark the start of his/her tenure.

You cannot have more than 1 5 inning starter on your staff.  Santiago is better than Gibson, so time to send Gibson packing.

It is fun to see youngsters Sano and Buxton both hitting. IMHO, success in 2016 was predicated on All-Star performance from these two a la Lindor and Correa, but they struggled as 23 year olds often do. Add to that the complete meltdown of the pitching staff and you have a disaster.

I do think the 2017 Twins will score plenty of runs and hit a large number of homers. They absolutely need to get to the middle of pitching stats. They have allowed more than 100 runs more than the next worst staff. No one should be safe on the pitching staff.

Are you proposing that they allow Danny Santana to walk away?

We are seeing the Twins future lineup right now.

Murphy catching. Eitehr Garver as backup (although they might want him to catch fulltime) pr Centeno. I don't see the need to keep Centeno on the 40-man roster, though. It's a gamble that someone would sign him for their 40-man.

Mauer, Dozier, Polanco, Plouffe. I see Plouffe staying, now. Don't know why. If he puts up really great numbers, he will be a sought after free agent. Maybe that is the tradeoff, he NEEDS to put up great numbers to increase his value. For abckup, you got Escobar.

Outfield. Buxton, Kepler, Rosario. You have Walker, Palka and Granite in the wings at AAA. You have to choose between Grossman and Santana as the 4th outfielder (no brainer here, right). Or maybe you bring back Schafer (not). Actually, all three could be non-tendered and you should be able to find a suitable 4th outfielder...anywheres.

DH. Sano. Of course, you can shuffle him between third and Plouffe at firs tand so on. Back up will have to be either Vargas or Park. Park will have to go back to Korea and work all winter on hitting, or find a winter league to work in. He can be sent to the minors AGAIN if need be. Vargas can't. I'm curious to see how Vargas is used in September and he needs a topflight spring training. I think he would thrive in the foreign leagues and draw a bigger paycheck than over here.

We have Santata. We have Hughes. Gibson needs to do something. Santiago is still on the bubble. Berrios will improve. May is only good for 130 or so innings, so he could start the season as a long man in the bullpen. (Albers, Dean, Milone are all gone). We do need to look at Wheeler as being in the mix in case of injury. Meija is also thesuitable abckup. Hopefully Rochester will have otehr Lookout pitchers on their starting staff (Stewart, Gonsalves) uistead of Dean, Darnell, Albers.

Kintzler is a one-inning pitcher we have discovered. Don't let him sit between outs, Molly. If Perk is back, he will be given the chance to close with Kintzler in the wings and possibly Presslye.

You need long guys. Why Rogers didn;t pitch multiple innings more often is beyond me. He is my choice (not Dean). Duffey is my choice for right-handed longman. I want to see the Twins put him in that situation here in September...not starting. 

I would like to see Reed step up and open the season with Chargolis. Then we need some specialioty guys. Who egt get a fly out. Who can get a groundout (Kintzler). Who can get a strikeout.

Baxendale, O'Rourke are in the mix. Tonkin will still be around. Wimmers and Light may need to stay, so their September and spring training will make their careers. It is still a catchall and will be an interesting spring training.

Zach Jones should be in the mix, too.

Burdi, Bard, Cederoth, Hildenberger are all getting close.

But what we see here, now, in September is pretty much what the new GM will work with, unless he trades prospects for vets and they decide to make a go fot it in that way in 2017.

But please, Twins...we have seen enough of Albers, Dean, Milone, Centeno, Suzuki, Santana (wait, he's disabled), Grossman, Schafer, Boshers. If you are going to give these guys playing time, don't. Give it to Walker, Garver, Palka, Reed, Meija, Wheeler, Landa. I listed nine guys NINE GUYS who shouldn't be on the 40-man come November. We lose games with them playing anyways. So let's lose games with guys who need to feel the excitement of major league ball, who dream of playing major league ball, and are a part of the Twins organization past, present and future.

Agree with most of your list. A couple changes/moves I'd like to see the GM make:

*Sign another catcher. I'm looking for someone needing a chance or a change of scenery. Maybe someone available and getting squeezed out. I hate to use his name again, but a John Hicks type to battle it out with Murphy, Centennial and Garver.

*I'd sign a legitimate 4th OF type. He doesn't have to be able to play CF, though it would be nice if he did.

*Take a flyer on a couple LHRP options, look for another Abad surprise hopefully.

*I'd think you keep Kintzler OR sign a veteran who can close initially at least. Either someone on a comeback type season, or looking for that one final season like Hawkins did a year or so ago. This allows someone, maybe Pressly, to be groomed in to a closer role.

*I'd like to see the best AAAA middle infielder and 3B I can find. A couple of guys who have had a cup of coffee or two at the ML level. This helps fortify Rochester, and gives more depth if a call up is necessary without bringing up someone who would embarrass themselves.

My idea lineup:

Buxton

Mauer

Kepler

Sano

Dozier

Vargas

Rosario

Catcher

Polanco or Escobar

Backup catcher, like the starter, is unknown right now. I've already stated signing a proven 4th OF. The Escobar/Polanco "loser" gives a quality and versatile utility guy.The final spot could belong to Plouffe. It could be a versatile utility player not on the roster right now. It could be Grossman, but I'd see him at Rochester. Park? Maybe. He, Vargas and Mauer, whoever is not in the lineup, provides a nice bat bench, but limits lineup possibilities.

Rotation:

Santana

Gibson

Berrios

May

Santiago or Mejia

I'm torn on keeping Santiago, but it's hard not to keep a veteran LHSP and allow Mejia a little more time.

Bullpen:

Vet FA or Kintzler

Pressly

Tonkin

Duffy

OPEN AUDITION

Roger's

OPEN AUDITION

There ARE a lot of bullpen arms seemingly ready or close to it at AAA and AA, plus the couple of LHRP I'd sign. Hence the OPEN AUDITION slots in the pen.

How good is this team? How many games might they win? It's hard to say. But for the most part, youth is still served, and more youth will be up at some point. I like my team as listed and healthy. There's a couple guys that could be flipped at some point as well. An 80 win team? I think that's doable. Playoff contention? Maybe if the kids keep improving.

What is team defense and why do you think the team can win without it?

What is team defense and why do you think the team can win without it?

The OF should be one of the best. I don't really know what to do about the infield that doesn't sacrifice the bats of Sano, Polanco, and Dozier.