I agree, you have to add 2-3 new arms(with higher ceilings) then the Twins currently have(not counting Romero, who seems to have the biggest upside).  I would be very surprised if the Twins won more that 75 games this year, even with Dozier.  To me the difference between 70 and 75 does not exist.  The only chance to compete is to add, pitching, pitching and more pitching.  Twins have enough position players to compete at this level, and you can use money to fill holes next offseason.  Price of pitching is only going up and if Twins cannot get it cheap, they will not be able to contend by 2018-2019, with Pohlad giving 1-2 massive contracts to top of the line starters(very unlikely in my opinion).

While it may seem simplistic, the path to success for the Twins in the future goes through trading Dozier for pitching. But as big as the need for acquiring pitching is, the other understated need is to move Polanco off short. Imagine if the team keeps Dozier, either for two years and gets nothing when he leaves, or heaven forbid, extends him. That either leaves the SS position manned by Polancos bat, him wasting away as a sub, or worse traded. Sadly after 6 years of lousy play the reality is the Twins are still a team of the future. Any decision made to win a few extra games this year should be a huge red flag when analyzing the new FO.

Price of pitching is only going up and if Twins cannot get it cheap, they will not be able to contend by 2018-2019, with Pohlad giving 1-2 massive contracts to top of the line starters(very unlikely in my opinion).

This year there is no pitching that is worth the massive contracts, even if the Twins were inclined to spend the money.

 

This would be the most crushing trade since Justin Morneau was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, 2013.

That was more sad than crushing.  We didn't trade the Justin Morneau, we traded the shadow of the player Morneau used to be.

That was more sad than crushing.  We didn't trade the Justin Morneau, we traded the shadow of the player Morneau used to be.

Correct, what I meant was that it was an emotional farewell. While he wasn't the player he once was, he was an icon to this franchise and one of the most, if not the most, sentimental (from the fans' perspective) players of his era. Eventually, when Mauer moves on, I think it will be significantly less sad then when Morneau left. The loss of production wasn't crushing, it was crushing as in sad, that is what I meant by that.

That was more sad than crushing.  We didn't trade the Justin Morneau, we traded the shadow of the player Morneau used to be.

Not enough patience.

I remember how happy I was for him when he won the NL Batting title the next year. That was fun to see for Justin!

I agree with this article completely.

Dozier is an excellent player, but he is only worth what you can get for him.

He is not going to make us relevant this year. I really appreciate the player and person he is, but we need to get what pitching we can get for him and move forward.

Not enough patience.

I remember how happy I was for him when he won the NL Batting title the next year. That was fun to see for Justin!

Agreed, I was very happy to see Morneau accomplish that in 2014. However, the asterisk on that accomplishment is that he did that at Coors Field. Not to take away from his accomplishments by any means, but that would have been a tough feat to accomplish at Target Field. 

I compare this to a knoblauch trade. The team isn't in as dire need as that team was but it needs to be a changer. We have no one else who can bring back what we need. The johan trade was not that dire. We had pieces then and were close. Just not the money at the time. I think the FO sees this as a kick start to contention in that we need to stockpile pitching to go with our young hitters.

I compare this to a knoblauch trade. The team isn't in as dire need as that team was but it needs to be a changer. We have no one else who can bring back what we need. The johan trade was not that dire. We had pieces then and were close. Just not the money at the time. I think the FO sees this as a kick start to contention in that we need to stockpile pitching to go with our young hitters.

Agreed. The new front office are not taking this trade lightly. They won't trade him just to trade him. They know what this team needs. I project this lineup will produce runs, but the state of the franchise relies on what stands on the pitcher's mound, both starters and relievers. Even without Dozier, the lineup may still be deep enough to produce some offense, but a boost to the starting staff could put this team over the top in the not-too-distant future.