Minnesota Twins Talk

Falvey discusses Sano, payroll, etc. http://www.1500espn.com/twins-2/2018/12/full-interview-derek-falvey-unveils-miguel-sano-plan-mackey-judd/

According to the Star Tribune, Miguel Sano's workouts this off-season are being viewed by the Twins' front office, in an effort to more closely track progress. I think this is a good thing, and I am pleased to see that Falvey is holding Sano accountable during the off-season. That being said, I am curious as to why Joe Mauer was never held to such a standard. It is well-documented (below) that for Joe Mauer, 5 off-seasons were interrupted. 3 off-seasons had no significant weight training and were replaced with stretching. Mauer claimed several years were affected by blurred vision, and the team didn't even know about it during that whole duration. Additionally, Mauer made…

Hey gang! Hopefully by now you've all downloaded your copy of the 2019 Offseason Handbook (if not, you can grab it here). Now, it's time to put all that information to use. Over the coming weeks, you'll find several different blueprints on TD's front page highlighting various approaches the front office might take this winter. We also want to hear your plans for building the Twins into a contender. You can use the names and estimates in the Handbook (or your own, if you please) to create a vision and share it here (you can also write your blueprint up in the Blogs section of the site and link to it here). Feel free to go into as much depth with the rationales as y…

Did the Twins make a mistake jumping the gun on the Schoop signing? Ian Kinsler just signed with San Diego for 2 years $8M total. I don't expect either guy to get close to match their career best seasons in 2019. Sure hope the Twins know what they are doing going forward. What really scares me is that we will not be able to lure any good FA here. As well as the fact the Twins have zero financial commitments past next season. How do you talk a player into joining your team when you have nobody under contract in 2020?

Brian Kenney and others question Falvey about the team, Baldelli and Sano/Buxton.

Since no one else has, I thought I'd start a discussion of the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Issues include whether any of the "exposed" current Twins will be drafted and / or whether the Twins will take the opportunity to fill that 40th / 25th roster spot. Here is MLB's Mayo's take: https://www.mlb.com/news/top-available-prospects-in-mlb-rule-5-draft/c-262486372 It is interesting to note that "There are nine first-round picks from the 2013 Draft -- including three of the first seven players selected...available." One question: how is the draft order determined? I note that the Twins pick 20th.

If we absorbed the money owed Kemp, we could expect a prospect to be added to the salary dump if the dodgers wanted to trade Kemp when they sign Bryce Harper. In July we can get prospects by agreeing to pay the remainder or most of the remaining salary. so we can get a prospect for acquiring him and trading him again. Would it be worth it to do something like this? What kind of prospects could we expect in either scenario? Kemp only has next year left on his contract. San Diego is paying 2.5 million and he is owed 21.75 total. So comparing the SD trade for Phil Hughes SD acquired a 74th pick if I remember right for 8 million. so for us to make the trade…

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/twins-payroll-2019.html They project a 125m payroll.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/mets-seriously-considering-noah-syndergaard-trade-scenarios.html I came across the trade rumor that the Mets are considering trading Thor and would want close to MLB ready prospects for him. I was wondering what it would take to get him from what we have. It looks like they need position players and maybe a pitcher to replace him in the rotation or pen arm. So we can include Sano, Kepler, Cave, Rooker, Austin, Gordon, Maybe Larnarch and Jeffers if the Mets feel they are advanced enough. On pitchers we have lots of back end started. Romero could be a mid rotation starter. of the 14 prospects we aquired at the deadline, …

Here's the Strib article. Surprised nobody has posted anything here yet. http://www.startribune.com/twins-cut-ties-with-robbie-grossman/501672921/

Nontendered today. Any interest?

For better or worse, unless another move takes place over the next few months, with the Cron acquisition, we seem to have 1B "settled" with Cron and Austin as well as Garver, Astudillo and Kepler, (even Sano) possibly available. And there are at least 3 different threads discussing this. And there are various debates about the rotation, pen and OF discussed in most of these threads and others. With the coals growing just a little bit warmer these days, I feel this is a good time to re-visit one of the biggest and most opportune areas for 2019. I know there is debate about another OF addition, (I'm in that camp) as well as the pen and rotation. But we all absolutely kno…

The Giants are in a weird position. Almost similar to the 2010/11 Twins. Lots of veterans on big money contracts, and a barren farm to prevent them from truly going for it. Hence why there are rumors about trading one of their best MLB assets Madison Bumgarner. He's on the last year of his contract making $12 million. The last couple of years have been derailed by fluke injuries. Even with the fluke injuries, he hasn't had anything reconstructive done to his arm. I see Bumgarner as a perfect fit for the Twins... Let's be honest, the Twins will never be in the $20 million AAV market for pitching. Bumgarner's current price tag is right in the Twins' wheelhouse. Con…

#OldFriend Chris Gimenez has decided to retire. He will join the Dodgers coaching staff as a Game Planning Coach. https://twitter.com/jorgecastillo/status/1067905613491912705 Aaron Bates had a cup of coffee with the Red Sox in 2009. He played for the Rochester Red Wings in 2011 and part of 2012.

I realize this subject has been covered occasionally in other threads, but I thought it might be handy to put all of these infield questions in one place. I can't remember an off-season when the Twins had so many question marks about their infield for the coming year. Polanco is a given, but will he stay at shortstop or will the team try him at second? Do we want Sano starting at third base? And what about first base? Is Austin the answer there? The biggest hole seems to be at second base. I have doubts that Nick Gordon is ready for that job, so what does the team do? I read on the SI website, in a column by Ben Reiter, that Josh Harrison might be a good free agent op…

MLBTR say that the Mariners are shopping Cano. The Twins have money and a need for 2B. Cano can also play 1B or DH which are also holes on the roster. Aside from the recent suspension, Cano has an incredible track record of appearing in 150+ games every year since 2006. Plus he is still producing at a high level offensively and above average defensively. I'm thinking that with his age and contract, the prospect return could be low if we took all of the contract. The downside, he is 36 and under an expensive contract for 5 more seasons. He has a full no trade clause and may not be interested in our fine State. He is a bit of a PR problem with the PED suspension. …

1) Why the heck did the Rays waive C.J. Cron? 2) Looks like the Twins have their first baseman ... and gave up nothing to get him.

Just looked at the depth chart on twinsbaseball.com and noticed they list Sano as #1 at 1st base. Sano is not even listed in the depth chart at 3rd base any more. They now have Willians Astudillo as #1 at 3rd base. Will be interesting how the C.J. Cron waiver claim will shake things out now. Worst part is that all 3 DH/1st basemen are all right handed bats. Not sure how much faith I put into this depth chart they put out on their own site. They don't even have Bryon Buxton listed at all.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/yankees-trade-rumors-shop-sonny-gray.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29 Why do I get this feeling that Gray will end up a Twin? If they are going to ship him to an American League team it would be best to send him to the team that does the least damage to them. he would be a buy low candidate. The question is how high is low enough for one year?

They won the rights to negotiate with Nishioka. Turning point of the franchise, right there.

https://www.playersvoice.com.au/luke-hughes-nation-punching-above-weight/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral#vMQYb7KCZbbc34KQ.97 The Players Voice appears to be the Australian version of the Players Tribune. In this story, Luke Hughes wrote about his minor league career, homering in his first at bat in the big leagues off of Max Scherzer, and the response in Australia and much more. Definitely take a few minutes to read this.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Fun discussions about Goldy and Thor-both are unlikely, but as James Q. Carey once said, "So you're saying there's a chance!" Having an IPA and doing some pondering-looking at our division, is now the time to go all-in, even if we might not have a team perfectly ready to do so? Cleveland-maybe a bit weaker now. Will be without Brantley (although they will probably sign a FA OF). Do they trade one of their aces? Does their bullpen get weaker, and pitching staff in general? KC-rebuilding for a year or two. Chi-rebuilding for a year or two. Det-awful. That being said, would you empty our assets to get BOTH Goldy and Thor, if we are ab…

Seeings how it's not my money and I'd just as soon see a major shakeup of any of our Pro Sports teams, rather than be stuck in the middle of the pack as most (here's looking at you Lynx) of our teams seem to always be. I post for pure entertainment a Twins BluePrint only a Money Launderer could appreciate Any of these deals would be the biggest pro move since Herschel Walker ran into town with one shoe. Ultimately, at the end, you'll see what things would look like if ALL of the moves were executed (which might happen to any GM that did all this) All moves look to bring in talent for the next couple years while keeping Lewis and Kirilloff...the trades assume that ea…

Umm guys, this might be huge.

Baseball games are being played again! I know it's only spring training, but I'm a box score junkie and once again I can get my daily fix. Ah, life is worth living again! In addition to the Twins' results, I always scan the other box scores too, looking to see how favorite players and/or ex-Twins players are doing. The results of the game between St. Louis and Miami had a couple of fun facts. The winning pitcher for the Marlins was none other than Alex Wimmers. The losing pitcher for the Cardinals? That was ex-Twins outfielder Jordan Schafer, now trying his luck at pitching.The Marlins were also playing J. B. Shuck, a guy the Twins had in camp last year. Anyone notice…

I suspect we'll hear a few more names rather soon that can be appended to this topic. Wade, already 25 years old, should crack the MLB roster at some point, though the Twins do have some depth there with Kepler, Rosario, Buxton, Cave, and possibly Grossman and Reed ahead of him. Meanwhile, it's hard to say when Gordon will reach the majors, but he needs to have a rebound season at AAA pretty badly as he couldn't hit there this season (.212/.262/.283 batting line in 99 games). Any thoughts? Who else should get added to the 40 man roster?

So, I just threw this question out on Twitter to get more thoughts, but thought this would be an interesting discussion here. Which Twins bullpen arms from 2018 are GIVENS to be on the Twins 2019 Opening Day roster? For me, Addison Reed, Taylor Rogers, Trevor May and Trevor Hildenberger are givens. Gabriel Moya is probably pretty close to a given, but with Adalberto Mejia out of options, he could take a 2nd bullpen lefty job. Or, they could both be solid "Opener" options. What do you think?

http://www.startribune.com/twins-fan-banned-from-target-field-over-pursuit-of-baseballs-goes-to-the-plate-to-come-back/500642671/ According to the above article in the Star Tribune, the Twins banned Jason Gabbert from Target Field. Gabbert says he's just an enthusiastic fan looking for memorabilia. The Twins (and one judge so far) disagree. Gabbert, who is 49 (!), says he will refile in a federal court. Allegations have been that he has been physical, or that he negotiates with fans to get their game-used stuff. I think this is an interesting case, to be sure... and it could lead this thread in several directions. This case, or just how much is too much, or how…

Anyone want an autograph from Justin Morneau? Justin Morneau is partnering with Fan HQ for his coat drive this year and it sounds like if you drop off a coat at Fan HQ, you can get a free autographed photo of Morneau. Last I heard, some of the other things they offer were running out, but I think they still have these available. Here's the press release: JUSTIN MORNEAU COAT DRIVE TO BENEFIT THE SALVATION ARMY HARBOR LIGHT MINNETONKA, MN – Fan HQ is excited to announce the 9th Annual Justin Morneau Winter Warm-Up Coat Drive to benefit The Salvation Army. Fans can trade their new or gently-used winter coats for autographs. Those who donate one winter coat will receive…

Man, for the first time in my fandom, I feel like I don't have any answers for where we are going or what we need to do to get headed in the right direction? Such an odd season, that ended with some solid baseball by a bunch of no-name type of guys. In 2 or less sentences, what do we need to do to get back in the right direction? GO TWINKIES!!!!! HOPE ALL OF YOU ARE DOING WELL, ESPECIALLY MY BYTO'ers.