Minnesota Twins Talk

I always recall postings from TwinsFest, this year I find none. Did I miss something??? Just seems weird this year............ any reasons as to why no postings???

As 2016 comes to an end and we all look forward to 2017, I thought it would be good to put out a thread to get to know each other a little bit. Obviously we all are strong, passionate Twins fans, but we're obviously more than that. We obviously want people to respect each other and sometimes remembering that we're all people, with feelings and families and more. I also want those that are new to Twins Daily in the last year to leave a quick comment as well, especially if you've been more of a lurker who just likes to read the articles and take in what others are doing . I'd be looking for the following, and you can use this as a template. Where are you from (be as spe…

Getting closer to the start of Spring Training and crunch time for putting together a pitching staff. We have all been bombarded with rumors and speculation about the likes of the Twins signing free agents like Darvish, Lynn, or Cobb, or trading for someone like Cole (that idea has been taken) or Archer. But what if the Twins are unable to land any of those pitchers? Is there a Plan B? Or more specifically, are than any other quality starting pitcher available (either as a free agent or by trade) that we might be able to get? I loved the signing of Pineda, even though he won't be much of a factor this year due to his rehab, but are there any other "sleeper" candidates for…

They seem like comparable pitchers...

Here is a link to my most recent blog post, Twins Analytics Infrastructure. It is a little on the nerdier side but I would love to get any feedback and/or comments. Thanks!

As much as it would be good for a couple of years it would not be a wise decision to invest over $150M for a SP who by the way will be turning 32 in August. I thought teams were getting smarter not attempting to sign pitchers over 30 to such long term deals. Sure, teams like New York & LA can stomach signing someone knowing that the last 2-3 years the pitcher won't be worth half is salary. The Twins are not that type of team.

OK - Let's discuss the elephant in the clubhouse. The one that was not present at TwinsFest! At least one player on the team and a former player (Plouffe) have tweeted supportive comments for Sano's accuser. I suspect others more quietly are supportive of their teammate Miguel Sano. I believe Twins fans should be concerned about a likely divided clubhouse between the factions that will line up on each side of this, regardless of how well it is investigated by MLB or handled by the team. It could be a potential "Dominicans versus everybody else" split as well or other potential cultural splits ("Good Old Boys" vs. those with a more current cultural viewpoint, for ex…

I know that this is a minority and probably insane idea with our starting pitching construction but hear me out anyways. I think everyone would agree that last season our 3-5 spots in the rotation were a who's on first mystery until Gibson settled in after the All-Star break giving us a respectable 1-3 along with Santana and Berrios. Colon gave us a shot in the arm over a stretch and Mejia was up and down. We have May and Pineda recovering from Tommy John with May estimated to be back by mid-season. Our bullpen is much improved and as we have seen high end pens CAN turn a starters job into a 5 inning night. WHY THEN CAN'T WE TAKE THIS APPROACH WITH THE 4 AND 5 SPOTS IN TH…

Deal is reportedly for 5 years. Maybe this will start to break up any starting pitcher log jam. I’m guessing this means the Brewers were the unnamed fifth team in the Darvish sweepstakes. My guess is that the Twins will end up with Cobb.

According to this tweet from Granite City Sports (am1390 in St. Cloud, a station I'm on weekly during the season), Glen Perkins is retiring. Thad Levine told a group in St. Cloud today that the Twins closer will be welcomed back with a front office role if and when he wants.

Just read it on Yahoo Sports. Apparently, the Twins want to see if they can sign Yu Darvish first. I'd rather have the younger Chris Archer (great contract), but don't tell that to my Japanese, Twins-fan Mother-in-Law.

Buddy Boshers is off the 40-man. This makes room for Addison Reed.

Although there are a few days left until this gets decided, it doesn't look like there will many decisions to make. If you assume that the Twins are adding a starter(Darvish), and they are done adding relief pitchers, twenty four spots are pretty set. I went back and looked at last year's opening day roster and I think 2018 matches up very favorably. Seven pitchers and two bench players will be different, and I contend they are to a man an upgrade.Let's take a look; 2018 2017 Darvish (or other) Santana Santana …

[NOTE: Use this thread to post your sightings and stories of the Twins Caravan as they make their way through the various communities. Thanks, Yarni, for getting it going with your sighting from Winona.] The Twins are on their caravan tour and in Winona. They are just finishing at a local eatery I frequent. We mostly left them alone, but they did oblige some autographs. Busenitz, Escobar, Molitor, Morris and Gladden are here. No sign of TC...

2 years, 17 mil. Uh, didn't see that one coming.

According to Passan, Cole is expected to be traded within the week. Pirates are looking for Torres from the Yankees, but they don’t want to part with their prized SS prospect. If there’s anything Levine has as trade chips it’s SS prospects. Can he be the one Passan mentions as the team to swoop in to pry away Gerrit Cole? https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-yankees-continue-push-gerrit-cole-pittsburgh-expects-deal-soon-030645878.html

Eduardo signs for $4.85M.

Here is a link to my first blog post, New Approach on Signing Yu Darvish. I would love to get any feedback and/or comments. Thanks!

Darren Wolfson tweets that the Twins and Ryan Pressly have agreed on a 1 year, $1.6 million deal for 2018 to avoid arbitration. '

http://www.startribune.com/twins-ehire-adrianza-agree-on-1-million-contract/468983523/ LaVelle Neal writes that the Twins and Ehire Adrianza have agreed on a 2018 contract to avoid arbitration. As expected, Adrianza will make $1 million.

Ben Lindbergh's Effectively Wild podcast on Fangraphs is out with an episode today that features a lengthy interview with Daniel Adler, the Twins' Director of Baseball Operations. Check it out here.

I recall moderators we’re asking feedback on how to stimulate more content providers and one of the challenges was paying them (currently based on page views). Tried finding the thread but to no avail so started a new one I have an innovative idea. How about allow users to send virtual stickers (or gifts) to be able to allow readers to donate in a fun way. I know of a product that offers just that. It’s in its alpha stages right now but in the next few months will roll out to a base for 30M users. I’m in a small group chat that includes the CEO and staff and I could get you in touch to see if it’s a possibility for blogging platforms like this. I wonder if they wo…

Twins sign Fernando Rodney. Break out the champagne! Twins agree to terms with Zach Duke. Sign me up for 4 season tickets! So you think the new Falvey/Levine regime is going to jump into the free agent market and create a championship team? Ha, ha- think again, suckers. Pitching is everything, right? So the new front office promised to address this area when they came aboard in 2017. Let me remind everyone of their additions: 1.) Craig Breslow 2.) Matt Belisle 3.) Justin Haley Apparently, signing all the geriatric pitchers was intended to provide leadership and it must have worked! The new save specialist is 41, and the new loogy will be 35 in April. Thank God for these t…

Per the Strib: Twins sign utilityman Jordan Pacheco. http://www.startribune.com/twins-sign-utilityman-jordan-pacheco/468351773/

I'm sure this thread will be locked when the real article is posted, so maybe it's best to save comments for that. Meanwhile, enjoy. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/01/justin-morneau-to-join-twins-as-special-assistant.html

For some bizarre reason i started thinking about third-string catchers tonight, and in particular, what would the Twins do this coming season if there was an injury to Jason Castro or Mitch Garver? I assume they are not bringing back Chris Gimenez to catch (or pitch) in 2018, so who would be the emergency call-up if they needed an extra catcher early in the season? Someone from their own farm system, or elsewhere? I know it's not a question that will keep anyone awake at night, but I was just curious.

A recent NYT article, "Who Needs Trade Talks, These Days General Managers Just Use Emojis", has some references to and quotes from Twin GM Thad Levine. When Thad Levine, the general manager of the Minnesota Twins, started working in baseball in the late 1990s, most general managers traveled frequently with their team — as well as to the All-Star Game or World Series, and of course to the general managers’ and winter meetings — with the express purpose of meeting face to face with their counterparts to initiate trades. “But today, we negotiate hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts and make massive trades without ever picking up the phone and speaking directly wi…

I think this is the first piece I've posted here from PP, but it was a fun one to put together, and I thought it'd bring some good discussion forth. I also sourced both Ted and Tom in the piece, so it's got some Twins Daily flavor as well! https://puckettspond.com/2018/01/04/minnesota-twins-molitors-resolutions/

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/1/4/16849216/yu-darvish-free-agent-rumors-twins Author suggests Twins are either stupid, incompetent or Darvish doesn't want to sign with us.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/01/05/indians-twins-series-in-puerto-rico-still-set-for-april/