Minnesota Twins Talk

So I assume one of Robbie Grossman, Zach Granite or Kenny Vargas makes this team as a bench player. So far Robbie is struggling to an 0 for 17 spring.Vargas is likely trying to catch on with another team. He is 5 for 17 with three doubles but also has struck out seven times. Granite is 3 for 18 with a double and an RBI. If Grossman doesn't turn it around, I predict Granite because I don't see Vargas playing the outfield and we already have three guys who can also play first. But leaves us pretty thin at AAA if we need to call someone up if someone gets hurt since both Grossman and Vargas are out of options.

Sounds like both sides are open to it... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/03/twins-byron-buxton-reportedly-interested-in-extension.html I’d be happy with the two comp contracts the article used (basically - 5/30M), but I’d rather tack on another year at 12M, so 6/42M. Also, based on our lack of financial commitments from 2019 and on, I’d like it if the contract was very smoothed out. 6,6,7,7,8,8 or something like that. The comments section is pretty interesting also.

Frankly, from what I've seen so far this spring, it looks pretty iffy. He bounced a throw to first playing second the other day and rushed and bounced one playing SS today.

Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Polanco & Kepler. The 5 current MLB offensive players we got while the team was a floundering mess. Eech has issues and hints of great potential. Who will they become. Sano. Our most troubled member of the group. He has weight issues, he has personality isdues. He has a bat that can kill and an arm that can stop a rally. This is the year we find out what will emerge. A 50 dinger superstar or a moody 320 lb memory of what might have been. Polanco. Under aged at every level. Always improving and then over performing at every level. The last half of last year was more of the same. This year we find out a lot about who he really is. …

With all the discussion regarding upgrades, moves made, not made, and especially roster construction, I have found myself more and more curious about Zack Duke and what his signing brings. There has been a lot of talk about Rodney and Reed, 2 of 3 of Duffey, Pressly and Busentiz, as well as the hard throwing milb arms "lost" one way or another. And it just seems to me Duke has been written in without much thought or discussion. Is it simply a short 2017 and being 34 and not an in house prospect? Or has all the other moves/losses/in house conversation allowed him to slip through the cracks? I'm very hopeful about Jay and Moya, and haven't given up hope for Melotakis yet.…

During the regular season, How much would going with Hughes/ Sanchez/ Mejia/ May/ Gonsalves/ Romero/ Slegers / Littell cost the Twins in wins over trading 3 or 4 good prospects and Kepler for Archer? While I get that Tampa Bay would get more cost effective talent and more talent overall in that trade, This would also help set us up for our run at the top with a low cost ace for the next 4 years. Here is how our rotation sets up this season with the trade Archer Odorizzi Santana Berrios Gibson Mejia/ Hughes/ Sanchez/ May/ Slegers/ Gonsalves/ Romero / Littell as depth options and without it: Odorizzi Santana Berrios Gibson Mejia/ Hughes/ Sanchez/ May/ Slegers/ G…

This should be fun! Rodney

Let's say the over/under on the number of Twins to hit 30+ homeruns is set at 3. What direction would you go? Any other surprise hitters that might make a run at it? Last year: Sano 28 in 114 games Rosario 27 in 151 games Dozier 34 in 152 Morrison 38 in 149 games Kepler 19 in 147 Buxton 16 in 140

On March 1st, Vegas sports books revealed their first odds for the '18 season. As before, I post these not as a gambling aid, but as a reflection of objective assessments. For what its worth (and no surprises) O/U wins Pr(win division) Cleveland 94.5 83.5% Minnesota 84.5 27.0% C White Sox 70.5 2% KC 68.5 1% Detroit 67.5 1% (Technical note: The probabilities add up to more than 100% due to vig). By the way, when I posted similar numbers this time last year, the Twins were 60:1 to win it all. This year, they are 25:1. Again, I post these numbers only as forecasts by objective people who literally put their money where their mouths are. As a HUGE str…

During today's radio/TV simulcast Gladden and Provus were bantering about getting at bats. Apparently Robbie Grossman told Gladden he only needs ten at bats to prepare for the season. It was left to lie without much discussion. If this is true, Molitor is failing the culture of work ethic that Gardy let slip so badly, and Robbie should be on a bus to Rochester when the club heads North.

THE FIRST EPISODE OF MIDWEST SWING: Subscribe: https://t.co/P0BmNXKlyq -or- Listen: https://t.co/S8tIhcHPwH (This will be a running thread just like for The Breakdown)

The Indians signed Napoli to a minor league contract thus preventing Minnesota from making the mistake of signing him.

Please post pitcher velocities and hitter exit velocities as you read, see, or hear about them. And, wheather they’re up or down from last season, if you know. For instance l, Hughes was throwing 90-91....up from last years 89.7mph.

I just went back and looked at their top FAs before the off season began. Interestingly many of their top 12 have yet to be signed. They had Morrison at #15 (with a much heftier estimated salary) Reed at #16. They had Rodney in the "Honorable Mentions" category, presumably because of his age. If we signed Lynn or Cobb that would add #9 or #11. Just for reference last off season we only signed one on the list, Jason Castro at #29 and the year before we didn't sign anyone on that list. That along with the Odorizzi trade is a pretty active off season and a pretty good haul overall. I'm aware these lists are not fool proof and rather subjective but it's nice to see us making …

I'm doing some research myself on this topic for a possible story, but thought I'd reach out to people whose memory or research skills are better than mine. I'm trying to find Twins players who we were sure would be on the Opening Day roster, but ended up hurt in spring training. I'd like to go back at least the last five years. Here's what I have so far. 2018 - Ervin Santana 2017 - Trevor May, JT Chargois, maybe Kennys Vargas 2016 - ??? 2015 - Ervin Santana suspension, 2014 - ??? 2013 - Scott Diamond? Anthony Swarzak Thanks, John

According to MLB Rumors, Twins may have an interest. Link: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/twins-interested-in-logan-morrison.html Am I fooling myself, or doesn't Vargas have at least a chance of putting it together like LoMo did last year. I understand that we don't have any bats in the upper levels that are ready if Vargas or Grossman totally burn out, but can't we wait and see if it happens first before investing in a guy who's career OPS in four times the AB's is only .015 higher than Kennys'?

Lineups. What you think the team will do and what you would like to see them do (most of us dream on moving Dozier from leadoff) while keeping established trends in mind; i.e. L/R balance, power bunched together, etc. probably makes sense to have Lineups with and without Sano, vs LHP and RHP. I only crowdsource this because the L/R balance is more difficult to obviously achieve with the addition of Morrison. I know Molitor doesn’t like to run the same lineup out Day in and day out, so this whole excersize May be moot, but I would be interested in seeing your takes.

Once a fast-rising, hard-throwing reliever in the system, JT Chargois was limited to two outings in 2017 and was later diagnosed with a stress reaction in his elbow. Chargois, who had his UCL surgically repaired in 2013, has been slow to recover from the latest injury. According to the Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino, the Twins may be attempting to clear him through waivers, removing him from the 40-man roster and reassigning him to Rochester. Chargois has spent the offseason working out but there has been little update on his throwing program. It's possible that, given his status, he will sneak through and be able to recover and rebuild in the organization. …

I still think of the Twins as being the lesser part of the long history of the Washington-Minnesota franchise. Not so. The franchise played 60 seasons as the Senators and has completed just 57 as the Twins. But the season is now longer, so they are very close in total games played. In fact, amidst following the pennant race, most of us probably missed that late in the season, the Twins passed the Senators in games played to completion. The Senators were 4223-4864 for 9087 games played. The Twins are now 4501-4594, for 9095 games, so they passed their predecessors last September 23. [Aside: Ironically, I was at the the game and didn't even realize its significance. I p…

Thought I'd check in on the game. https://www.mlb.com/gameday/twins-vs-orioles/2018/02/24/533803#game_state=live,game_tab=boxscore,game=533803 Meija threw two scoreless, and then Romero came on with two perfect innings. K'd Caleb Joseph, Tim Beckham. Schoop grounded out. Next inning, Machado lined out, Adam Jones K'd, and Trey Mancini grounded out. That's it! I'm sold! Glad we didn't sign Darvish, Lynn, or Cobb. El Toro is ready.

Adam Wilk Nik Turley Michael Tonkin Hector Santiago What do they all have in common? Not in the organization anymore. Thanks, Falvey/Levine.

According to today';s STRIB article. Sounds like a painful week but shouldn't affect his playing. Twins should encourage proper kidney health by renaming the hot dogs on Dollar a Dog Night - Dozier Dogs, 100% meat and meat by-products..

I'm tired of talking about and reading about Darvish. Aren't you? And we're not going to talk about him except to make the singular point that is a really nice pitcher and the best pitcher available in the market this year. But he's gone. He's a Cub. We will probably never know the full contract term offered by the Twins, and there is no way Darvish or his reps will ever reveal how serious they considered the Twins regardless. And it's a moot point now gang. The Twins need a starting pitcher of quality. I'm not saying #1 or ACE because they don't grow on trees and aren't usually available except in certain circumstances. The FO recently made a statement in regard to ma…

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/twins-place-j-t-chargois-on-outright-waivers.html Wonder what they're making room for? EDIT: Whoops, sorry about the duplicate post

I read an article on mlb.com with one sentence buried in it stating that Molitor was considering using a four man rotation. My thoughts: - This would warrant a full article on mlb.com, not one small sentence buried in an article about something else with no explanation or source. - The idea of the Twins using a four man rotation is so preposterous I'm amazed anyone would type such a sentence in an article. I'm also surprised an editor would let it go through. The Twins are so afraid of breaking current MLB mores that they won't make Sano a full time DH because he's not a geriatric like most DHs are. If young DHs existed, you can bet the Twins would want one (or they…

As spring draws near, it's time to reflect on the winter that was and look ahead to another season full of hope and promise. I've been thinking a lot about several things and am curious to hear thoughts from the TD community. The Twins Window (2020?) It was great to watch young Twins hitters emerge last year but with four super teams in the AL, we have to consider when is our best window? The core of our offense is still pretty young. Historically, players peak around age 27. For Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Polanco, and Kepler, that puts our offensive peak around 2020. A lot can happen between now and then, but that's 5/9 of our lineup that was very good in 2017 at ages 2…

I have to admit, I am perplexed. What seemed like a slow off-season has morphed into a non-off-season. There are dozens offers agents, including most of the top starters and position players, without a team, a week into February. Now there are the players union and agents coming forward to cry foul and a battle of press releases over who is to blame. Obviously, teams aren’t offering what they did in the past. They seem to be offering fewer years than expected, or considerably less annual salary than expected. Is there collusion? I think there must be. But having several majors players “out” seems to be a factor too. What is the end game here? Are players going t…

I got here Sunday night, nothing going on Monday. But today there was some action. I talked with Thorpe, and mentioned I'd escaped the bitter cold. He said he had to go on the caravan and would wear layers. Good idea. Gibson played catch with someone. But most of my time was watching a trainer work Sano. He had him on his back and did a lot of leg work, stretching forever. His legs are massive! A medicine ball was also used during this. Then, as maybe 6 or 8 players had done before, the trainer had Sano pull weights. There is a harness with 2 straps that are about 12 long and at the end a round fabric of sorts. On that are strapped weights, 90 pounds for Miguel. The…

Which teams are in on Cobb and Lynn? Tillman is likely going to the Os and Liriano is still out there. But who out there is still able and willing to make a financial committment to Cobb and Lynn? I ask cause i wonder if these guys could eventually be had for 1 or 2 year deals. 12-15 mill each season? Would Minnesota jump in and make a splash then? I think they are done really looking at pitchers but if a bargain shows up are we still interested in these two? What do you think they end up signing for? Washington, Philidelphia, Milwaukii, us and who else?

http://www.startribune.com/rays-chris-archer-is-in-twins-sights-as-spring-training-approaches/473745133/