Minnesota Twins Talk

I looked and didn’t see this on Twinsdaily. Like a great baseball writer before him (Reusse), LaVelle E Neal III is being promoted from beat writer for the Twins to columnist. Best wishes.

No Twins Fest in person this year, but the Twins have organized what should be a very fun Virtual Twins Fest on Saturday. From 9-4, there are several events. See schedule here: https://www.mlb.com/twins/community/twinsfest A reading of The Sandlot. A Gardy Party (with Ron and Toby). Talk hitting with Justin Morneau and Ryan Jeffers. A discussion with Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Kirk Cousins. Interviews with Baldelli and Donaldson. Town hall with Pohlad, St. Peter and Falvey. And a Tim McGraw concert too! Share links and discuss here.

Not bad. Bye Marwin. And it looks like Polanco will play more of a utility role or fight over 2B with Arraez. I do think Polanco would be a better 2B in the future so wouldn’t mind that move. I actually prefer him to Arraez longer term. This also sets up nicely for Lewis to take over in 2022

For many MN fans, starting pitching is the greatest concern. I agree that you can never get enough of good pitching but last year our starting rotation did a wonderful job. The core of that rotation is coming back & our options to fill any holes are limitless depending on what level of pitcher you're looking for & how much you want to pay. Maybe to others it's BP but I agree w/ FO that those holes can be filled internally & affordable FAs IMO where we were hurt the most last year was injuries, we had a lot of players playing hurt & on the IL. This really hurt us especially when Buxton & Donaldson were down, we had no one who could take up the slack…

What's going on with Twins struggle to sign anyone significant in free agency? Do players not want to come to Twins team? Last year Twins appeared ready to open checkbook to get Wheeler signed, he was not interested in playing for Twins. Are they not offering enough money? It seems most FAs have signed for more than projected so far. Twins not willing to up the offer to get them signed. Maybe Twins FO does not feel this is the window to go all in for FAs like San Diego has. Plenty of young, unproven players coming up, maybe Twins feel like this is a year to sign a few mid to low level FAs and see how young prospects develop.

Ehire Adrianza posted a Thank You message to the Twins and their fans on his Instagram page earlier today. Can't find any reports yet on who he may have signed with, but sure would look like he is heading to another team. Adrianza was claimed by the Twins and had four really solid seasons as the team's utility infielder. A terrific defender, especially on the left sign of the infield, he even hit a little bit, certainly more than expected.

In attempt to change subject from free agent signings, how will the teams value the time players spent at alternate sites last year. Most FOs want so many ABs at each level of MiLB, with success before moving players up. The alternate site for Twins last year was mostly used for depth, players that were considered MLB ready or had already played at the MLB level. So was just below MLB level competition. They did not have official games but sure they kept stats on hitting and pitching. Will last year count as AAA level experience for those players especially if they had good stats?

All the super utility options remaining are disappointing and very unlikely to move the needle for the Twins. I'm excited to see what Kirilloff can do this year and am wondering why the super utility role couldn't be filled by Royce Lewis. He can theoretically play s.s. and 3rd. He plays center field. I'm sure he could slide into 2nd and corner outfield spots if needed. He'd pick up 2/4 games per week while also learning from the major league staff. He'd be more exciting than resigning Marwin... And he couldn't hit worse! It would bring some excitement to an otherwise forgettable off-season. I'm not saying to make our top prospect a utility player his whole caree…

Who do you guys think is the one who got away? Was a free agent and the Twins let them walk? No not Johan Santana as they traded him, I'm talking Free agent walk year. My first pick would be Jack Morris. After '91 he went to Toronto and won 21 games and another World Series in '92. I think the Twins picked up John Smiley in 92 also, so pairing those two up with Tapani and Erickson would have been pretty good, no? Anyways that's my pick, Jack Morris. My most disheartening one was Shane Mack, I thought he was going to break out had he stayed with the Twins, but he wasn't the best in my opinion.

Horse trading is an art of making shrewd negotiations. In the MLB, TB is well known when a player reach a high value, they put them on the market and maximize their return (w/ no emotions). This year, on the buying side, SD has displayed very good horse trading. Although they lost on the Snell trade to TB, they fleeced the Cubs out of Darvich, they completely plundered the Pirates out of Musgrove. SD saw that the Cubs & PIT is very motivated to sell & they exploited their situation. MN's off season is made up of finding pitchers that nobody wants & retreads that they know that they can tweak & signing economical positional players. To g…

The Twins reportedly have expressed interest in re-signing free agent utilityman Marwin Gonzalez. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand shares the report and co-credits Twins beat writer Doh Young Park on the scoop: Ugh.

Joe Musgrove to the Padres...who else https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/padres-to-acquire-joe-musgrove.html Feel free to rant, rave, bemoan, lament all that is lost as a Twins fan over the lack of action from the front office I prefer to wallow in the COVID-induced coma that has me believing @BauerOutage is moments away from becoming a Twin!

According to Mlbtraderumors the Twins have reached an argeement with J.A. Happ. I feel we need someone better, but need to see the terms before commenting.

Is the Twins DH already on the roster? I love watching Nelson Cruz, but we are going to jam up the pipeline of prospects if we keep Cruz. We are already paying Sano 10 Mil a year. Why not move him to DH. Let him focus of what he does best, MASH THE BASEBALL! We could start getting Kirilloff set at First Base where he might be better defensively and also an upgrade over Sano. We could also use Kirilloff/Rooker/Sano combo in LF, 1st, and DH until Larnach is ready to step into LF. But then again, I wouldn't mind watching Cruz for another year.

Can't find the old thread on this but it's probably time for a new one anyway. Fangraphs just published their playoff odds - https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds Twins have a 2/3 chance! Only the Yankees and Astros are higher. AL East is going to be pretty bad this year, actually, although I'm in the camp that thinks the Red Sox will completely fall apart and finish below .500. Fangraphs doesn't think that. AL West could be brutal. A's and Angels both look good. Squint and you can see ways for each to win the West.

In 1988, I visited DodgerTown in Vero Beach, FL for a Spring training game between the Dodgers and Oriole's Standing along the RF line, took this picture. A few seconds later, LaSorda turned to me, extended his hand and said "Hi..I'm Tommy LaSorda". I was flabbergasted. Never forgot. One of a kind in baseball...what a guy! Thanks Tommy...Rest in Peace.

I would personally be happy to offer up Kirilloff and a few other prospects for him!!! What do you guys think he would cost and would you pull the trigger or not???

The forgotten former top prospect... Remember him? He disappeared from our thoughts after he had issues with his visa attempting to return to the US. Will he be able to keep his last option year for 2021 because of him being on the restricted list? Should he be considered as an internal replacement for one of May, Clippard, or Romo?

Per ESPN: Minnesota Twins communications boss Dustin Morse has been awarded the Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence by Major League Baseball. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30532543/minnesota-twins-dustin-morse-given-fishel-award-pr-excellence-mlb

I thought it would be interesting to start discussion on Twins pitching prospects. Twins only had one pitcher make MLB debut in 2020, Colina. I made a top 10 list of pitchers most likely to make MLB debut for Twins in 2021. 1) Duran, on 40 man roster, top pitching prospect, easy choice. 2) Chalmers, on 40 man roster for second year. See Chalmers as wild card with no MiLB last year, ranked here mostly because he is on roster. 3) Ober-recent 40 man addition. probably not huge upside but could see callup for spot start. 4) Balazovic on 40 man and top prospect. See Twins wanting Balazovic to get plenty of innings at AA and AAA this year, maybe late season call up. That's la…

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-rumors-phillies-open-to-offers-for-zack-wheeler-reds-working-to-trade-sonny-gray/ Twins are interested in Hernandez (utility) & Soria (RP). Happy to hear that because Hernandez is the best solution in the FA to address our need for super utility like never before. LAD might be interested to resign him , if so I`d be interested in a trade for Chris Taylor (LAD, utility) Soria is also a viable FA selection at BP. I believe FO is on the right track

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/twins-place-eddie-rosario-on-outright-waivers.html So long, at least temporarily, old friend.

Buster Olney is reporting that the Phillies are open to trading Zack Wheeler due to the financial crunch caused from the pandemic. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30462167/sources-philadelphia-phillies-open-trade-offers-right-hander-zack-wheeler The Twins were one of the top suitors for Wheeler last year. The main reason the Twins were not able to acquire him was due to his desire to stay on the on the east coast. I know he might not be excited about going to the Twins, but it can't hurt that he would be going to a contender. I don't think the Phillies are contenders any time soon. If the Twins would be willing to take on the whole contract, the prospect cost …

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/twins-radio-announcer-corey-provus-named-as-possible-candidate-for-cubs-tv-broadcaster-opening?fbclid=IwAR3Cw3cuvCaWN2WaQ7iEwb3VUtNPYsnOJsU0DL2jk6QHTkCmI08lqSuMHSg Twins radio play-by-play voice Cory Provus, a native of Chicago, just might be a strong candidate for the Cubs TV job vacated recently by Len Kasper.

It didn't take long for Matt Wisler to find a new home. The right-hander who was non-tendered by the Twins less than a week ago has signed a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. For that price, it's clear that the Twins simply did not believe that his 2020 season was repeatable, probably based on the BB/9 and HR/9 rates.

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, Twins GM Thad Levine may be a candidate in the Phillies search for a Director of Baseball Operations.

With some news coming in on the Twins' arbitration-eligible players, I think it'd make sense to start a discussion on the incoming moves. So far: Rosario placed on outright waivers Thielbar looks like a lock to be in the pen again, though he does have one option remaining just in case.

Am I the only one that doesn’t get the Wisler drop at all!?! Had strong strikeout numbers, could pitch multiple innings, and could pitch innings 1-9. Had some walks issues, but that could have gotten better....He was only going to cost about $2 million, so it wasn’t a huge contract, and the Twins could have cut bait if needed..... Gibaut and Waddell need to be good for this to work out.....

The rumor mill is heating up this afternoon. I’m afraid the Twins won’t be able to outbid the Mets if the rumors of them spending like “drunken sailors” is true. The Mets pitching coach is Jeremy Hefner, who was with the Twins in 2019.

Is Dec.2 the last day that Rosario is a Twin? On "Gleaman & the Geek" , Gleaman stated that Ken Rosenthal wrote an article about each team's must sign player's extention. For MN it was Eddie Rosario, WOW I'm sure that blew the socks off many Twins fans. There are many Rosario haters in our camp which influences the rest of us to relinquish the fact that Rosario will be out right released. On "Gleaman & the Geek" it was not discussed why Rosenthal wrote this & I haven`t read it. But it made perfect sense, even though Rosario`s stock is not worth very much to many Twins fans, it is still worth something to the rest of MLB. So why let Rosario go for nothing, w…