Minnesota Twins Talk

I heard that Cole Hamels is considering a comeback, is this 39 year old worth a minor league deal. I'm sure he could teach the staff a thing or two about pitching and winning. View full rumor

C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) LF: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Max Kepler ($8.50M) 4th OF: Kyle Garlick ($0.70M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: Gilberto Celestino ($0.70M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: …

I'm sure the family is happy about that! Both pitched for Concordia-St. Paul. Since Gus was selected, he'll have to remain on the Brewers active roster for the entire season or be sent back to the Dodgers.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/pirates-win-1-overall-pick-in-draft-lottery.html

Last night, Caleb Hamilton ran a catcher's clinic for my son's baseball team. It was fantastic and I was very impressed with this young player and wanted to share. He was an inspiration to the kids (11U-13U catchers) and he clearly loved the game and was a serious student of it. I know he is now in the Red Sox organization, but I will forever be a fan. I hope he has a long career. I am a lifetime Twins fan, who has lived in the Seattle area for over 20 years now. Caleb grew up in the Seattle area before playing for Oregon State and being drafted by the Twins as an infielder. He was converted to a catcher in the Twins organization. Caleb said at first he hated it, but…

https://www.mlb.com/news/liam-hendriks-trade-talk-free-agents-winter-meetings?partnerID=mlbapp-android_article-share I think we could line up on a trade with White Soxs. They need RF and Left-handed hitter. We have Larnach we could swap for All-Star Closer. View full rumor

In our pursuit for the mythical ace, Jhoan Duran should continue to pop up in discussions. There is no doubt he has the stuff and mental makeup to fill any role on the pitching staff. 2022 postseason hero Ranger Suarez is an inspiring example of what we could do with Duran. In 2020/2021 Suarez was a shut down reliever, and transitioned back to the rotation. He’s been a successful player in their rotation for 1.5 seasons now. What do you think? Do you mess with greatness and move Duran to the rotation?

For those interested, I wrote about Carlos Correa's defensive metrics for BP and tried to get to the bottom of why his numbers were so...average?...last summer. Here's the link: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/79152/carlos-correa-defense-health/. (You should be able to read it for free a basic subscription, so all you need to do is enter an email.) Defensive metrics aren't as solid as their offensive counterparts, but I think we're able to glean a little bit about Correa's defense from them. Basically, he's got a great arm and is a pretty solid defender going to his right, but struggles going to his left according to Outs Above Average. Also UZR has n…

I love what Correa brings to the table here for the Twins, which everybody knows. But as I hear casually what to expect as a result of a signing, I started to get uneasy. #1) His health- He had been fine here with Twins so why should I worry? His health history hasn't been that great, plus his size tend to limit his span of playing SS. This alone doesn't necessarily warrants worry but coupled w/ others, especially the next, it does. #2) The money- Of course it's not my money so why should I worry? being a small/ mid-size market, we are limited to what we can do. When I hear estimates of well over $300MM of 8-9 yrs. it makes me nervous. If we sign Correa, that wi…

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/carlos-rodon-rumors-six-year-deal-free-agency.html View full rumor

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/giants-have-carlos-correa-as-top-option-among-free-agent-shortstops.html View full rumor

What if the Twins ability/decision to sign Correa to a 10yr/$XXXM deal is tied to the money paid to them by Bally Sports North in a new 10yr deal? Need to guarantee that income coming in. Do you do it?

I will be honest folks. I probably enjoy the offseason as much as I do the regular season. So much optimism and hope, so many possibilities. What move might the Twins make? Who will improve? What else is happening around the league? That leads me to my question: What matters to you more: the ride or the results? Lets get this out of the way first. We all want the Twins to win the World Series. But do you consider the season a loss if the Twins don't win it all? Was last year a success for the Twins in your eyes? Can you enjoy the ride for what it is or was? On the other side, can you enjoy the year even if you know the Twins are going to be terribl…

Now that DeGrom is confirmed to be off the board, according to Heyman, the Mets are now in on his market. Given the Mets owner and the fact they desperately need rotation help I feel like it's entirely realistic the Twins are going to get entirely priced out of the market. If that's the case does it make sense for them to go after another pitcher that's left? I feel like it's pretty unlikely the Twins will get Rodon at this point.

I've made pleas (well, at least loud suggestions) that the Twins can perform best by snatching the second-tier free agents, starting about a week from now and on through January. Once the top FAs are gobbled up by big spenders, there are relative bargains available. Those remaining jobless will start to look to solidify the available offers and choose among them. No one (short of a handful) want to begin February without a pretty clear view of where he will play. Once half the teams in the league have hit their theoretical ceilings on payroll, the remaining teams compete against fewer suitors. On the other hand, there comes a point pretty early in the process whe…

He'll be the team's assistant pitching coach: https://www.mlb.com/news/zach-bove-royals-assistant-pitching-coach

Since the winter meetings begin this weekend, I compiled 3 scenarios of free agent hitters the Twins might find themselves considering. All three scenarios cost roughly the same, assuming that an equal amount has been set aside for pitching as well. Scenario #1 has the Twins signing Willson Contreras, Josh Bell, Luke Voit, and Elvis Andrus (who will cover SS at least until Lewis/Lee are ready)... leans more toward RH hitters Scenario #2 - the superstar route - similar to 2022 Scenario #3 features Dansby Swanson as the prime target, with Michael Brantley's 130ish wRC+ and on-base skills providing more offence In scenarios #1 and #2, Jorge Polanco …

MLB Trade Rumors just posted a lengthy article indicating the Mariners want a left handed hitting 2nd baseman and that the FA market is pretty naked. I like Polanco, and perhaps we would be selling low after a down year, but the guy should fetch a very healthy return on a reasonable contract. Hopefully that return would be excellent, and it would also open a spot for Julien and, after recovery, someone like Lewis is we sign a FA SS like Correa. Thoughts? Any juicy targets in the Mariners system we could expect in return? BTV has him set at 19.9, which is probably low for the former All Star who has the bonus of being a switch hitter....

I really like Mitch Haniger but wanted to do a little searching for other options. After trading Urshela and putting Miranda at 3rd you could say we have a RH bat opening at 1st. So now I'm looking for an outfielder/1B who hits lefties that I can platoon with Kep/Arreaz/Kirlloff/Larnach/Gordon, start in a OF corner or at 1st base. Wil Myers: https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player-splits.php?id=10972 Mitch Haniger: https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player-splits.php?id=12491 I'm just looking at their offensive stats here from 2022. I don't believe either is a gold glover anywhere on the field and neither was fully healthy last season. Haniger is the b…

Jon Heyman has reported the Dodgers are interested in the 29-year-old left-hander while Gleeman and Hayes have reported the Twins are pursuing him. At an expected total contract value of around $150m, Rodon will go for a premium this offseason. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/11/dodgers-twins-interested-in-carlos-rodon.html View full rumor

MLB's First Ever Black Friday Sale!!! 30% off all Free Agents!!! EXAMPLES Aaron Judge was 10 years for $450M, now 10/$315M Justin Verlander was 3/$120M, now 3/$84M. Carlos Correa was 8/$280M, now just 8/$196M. Sale ends at midnight tonight. Don't miss out!!!! View full rumor

I has been rumored that TOR will trade one of their catchers for some time now. According to a few Blue Jays podcasts this evening stated that TOR will more likely trade Danny Jansen. They have also said they have had quite a few offers for Jansen. Jansen is pretty good both offensively, defensively & is good with the pitchers. FanGraphs Season Team Level G PA HR AVG OBP SLG wOBA wRC+ WAR 2022 TOR MLB 72 248 15 .260 …

The Twins need a catcher and a shortstop assuming Farmer is in a platoon/utility role. I wondered what Kepler might bring as the main piece the Twins might send in return. I went to BTV searching for shortstops with at least medium trade availability and value in the Kepler range. They include Luis Guillorme, Amed Rosario, Jorge Mateo, Taylor Walls and Edmundo Sosa. . There are also some second basemen that have played SS like Vidal Brujan, Brendan Rogers and Rodolpho Castro. Another name that jumps out in this group is Nick Gordon. I did the same for catchers and came up with Luis Campusano, Reese McGuire, Joey Bart, Austin Nola, Selby Zavala, Tom Murphy, …

Extremely disappointing to see this.

All you hear is our need at SS, and rightfully so because it should be our #1 priority. We talk about Plan A resigning FA Correa or another big name for big bucks and long term or Plan B sign low budget/ low talent short term FA. Or maybe Plan C pick up limbo Kiner Falefa which NYY could let go or keep which we can trade for a song. Plan A will be expensive, Plan B will be terrible, Plan C isn't bad but there could be a Plan D which could be the best. Plan D is making a signficant trade. On the surface there seems to be nothing out there but if you dig deeper you can come up with some nuggets. 1st name is Willy Adames (MIL) has 2 yrs on his contract. He has a solid g…

Mitch Haniger, formerly of the Seattle Mariners, is one of the better OF free agents available this offseason. The 31-year-old possesses a career 123 OPS+ and bats right-handed, traits that are desperately needed in the Twins outfield arrangement. The Twins currently have five corner outfielders, all of which bat left-handed. View full rumor

A minor league deal. No specifics yet. Plays mostly SS and 3B, but has also played 2B and OF. Good utility type guy. Had a big year for Atl back in 2018. Was with Philly last year. Only 28 years old.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-twins-owner-joe-pohlad-replacing-uncle-jim-pohlad-executive-chair/600230696/

Now just bear with me for a moment. In my blueprint idea for 2023 I thought long and hard about Haniger and Wil Myers as FA, RH hitting OF options who could fill a rather desperate need for the Twins. It's debatable whether or not Kepler is kept or moved, and there are clear reasons for either happening. It's possible Kepler is moved and the corner OF spots are filled with a combination of Larnach, Wallner, Kirilloff, and Gordon. One can easily see Wallner beginning 2023 in St Paul if Kepler is kept. That still demands a RH bat with offensive ability to be added. Gaining another $8M from a move of Kepler, obviously, adds to the financial pot at the FO disposal to ad…

If any of you are looking for something from the Twins Clubhouse store at Target Field this post is for you. I went to the clubhouse store today and everything with the old Twins logos (jerseys, hats, other apparel) is all 50% off. I was able to get an old Luis Arraez jersey (regular $175) for $85. They also have the new jerseys and apparel if you want those.