Minnesota Twins Talk

This article found on reddit discusses how good Zack Granite's plate discipline is. https://www.reddit.com/r/minnesotatwins/comments/7g9tik/zack_granites_impressive_plate_discipline/

At that point, you have to go all in, right? Not so much ALL IN FOR 2018, but ALL IN for 2018-2020. If this happens, what else do you want the Twins to do? My plan, you ask? -Go out and get an elite closer: Wade Davis or Greg Holland. -Go out and get one more good RP, one "solid" RP/Flyer RP Basically two of: Watson/Hunter/Kintzler/Swarzak/Liriano/Neshek/ -Go out and get an upgrade for 4th OF, Util guy and backup catcher. If you don't wanna pay up for Wade Davis or Holland then dangle some prospects for some help.

The Vegas books have the Twins 60:1 to win it all in '18. I guess that is not so surprising given the strength of the Elite Eight in '17. But what I find "curious" is that these are (tied with Atlanta and Baltimore) the 20th longest odds. I recognize that there isn't a one-to-one relation between odds to win it all and projected win-losses, but these odds are at least consistent with the Twins sporting only the 20th best record. In 2017, the 20th best record was 75-87. I am in no way advocating wagering. I just want to point out that those who literally put their money where their mouths are, remain unimpressed. Just FYI: Shortest odds are, not surprisingly, are A…

If I understand it correctly. The Twins have the third highest amount of International Pool dollars to offer him but it really isn't enough of a difference to stop him from simply choosing whatever team he wants to sign with. It seems that his recruitment will have the feel of the top QB picking what college team he wants to play for. The Coaches will be buzzing with promises. So with that in mind... what unique thing can Minnesota offer him to get him to spurn those other teams and sign with us. Here's some ideas: 1. Have the State of Minnesota declare that Mille Lacs Lake will be called Lake Otani. Mille Lacs is a goofy name anyway. 2. Promise him a starri…

Park's tenure with the Twins is done.

Just driving home today had MLB radio on and on Inside Pitch and they talked quite a bit about how Yu Darvish & Shohei Otani are really good friends and also sound like they want to play together. It would a nice pair of pitchers to bring into 2018.

According to a Phil Miller article in the Strib, the Twins will be heading back to WCCO in 2018. http://www.startribune.com/twins-radio-broadcasts-will-move-back-to-wcco-radio/458079313/

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/twins-trade-rumors-gerrit-cole-pirates-jake-odorizzi-rays.html Not really a surprise. Not sure how interested Pitt is in moving Cole but Rays probably want out of Odorizzi. The report also says Twins aren't looking at the biggest names in the relief pitcher market which is also not really a surprise.

Every time I’ve seen Cleveland, it seems that Santana is banging a couple of balls off the wall or over it. Projections for his contract look lower than expected, and he could give the Twins their best DH since Chili Davis, while being a good back-up for Mauer. Also, because he would stabilize the position, two other spots on the 40-man would come open, because both Grossman and Vargas would become superfluous. Regardless of what happens with Sano, Santana would be a great fit. If they don’t get him, the attempt in itself could be good, if it drives up his cost to Cleveland or whoever signs him. Finally, every good Santana should play for the Twins!

Here's my take on the 40-man roster, blueprint, rankings or whatever you want to call it This leaves room for a Rule 5 pickup if there's a fit Drop Order is who I'd drop if there were Free Agent Signings

This is not an attempt at a blueprint, per say. Rather, it's more of an approach idea, and what approach you would take if you were in charge. Think of it as an overview. To state the very obvious: The Twins have a fine nucleus in place, overall. The OF of Rosario, Buxton and Kepler is good, with the potential to be outstanding. These guys are all just beginning to reach their potential. Dozier is a fine player. Mauer has seen a resurgence. Polanco has great skills and also shows real potential. Sano needs to just stay healthy, really. Castro is solid to good, depending on your perspective. And there are a couple nice role players in Escobar and Adrianza. The opti…

The Twins "window" is NOW, and by trading for Stanton you are getting his 3 prime years before he inevitably opts out of his contract. Just think of what a lineup of: Buxton Dozier Stanton Sano Could do? The package: Kepler Gordon Kirillkoff Romero

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/minnesota-twins-final-grade-021617 http://media.giphy.com/media/QgixZj4y3TwnS/giphy.gif

Let the speculation begin... or become enhanced. Baseball America's Ben Badler learned that the Twins have voided their $3 million deal with Dominican SS Jelfrey Marte for something that came out during a recent physical. According to the article, it is believed to be something related to his vision. UPDATED - Per JJ Cooper, this does not give the Twins an extra $3 million. They have $3.2 million to spend internationally still. http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/twins-void-3-million-contract-dominican-shortstop-jelfry-marte/

Cheap, veteran leader, future HOF, and posssibly sending out Otani-attracting pheromones?

I ask this question of Aaron in the latest Gleeman and the Geek podcast, but I'll ask it of our community, too. It seems like there is a lot of optimism that the Twins will have an aggressive offseason in free agency and perhaps sign a top starting pitcher (say Lance Lynn or better) or a closer-caliber arm for the bullpen. Or that payroll will increase significantly. I'm wondering - is there any evidence to support this? For instance, have I missed some quotes from the front office where they hinted this would be the case? If not (and you're one of the optimistic ones), where does this optimism come from?

1. Extensions I would consider offering extensions to almost all of the Twin's young core, but these two would be my priority: A. Byron Buxton 7 years/$75M B. Jose Berrios 7 years/$44M The others still have something to prove in my mind (Sano-health, Rosario-consistency at plate, Kepler-ability to hit LH pitching, Polanco-able to stick at SS and continue to hit) and unless they are willing to take less than market value, I'd hold off. I wouldn't consider an extension for Dozier at this time because I feel we have some depth up the middle and I think there's a good chance we could sign him after next season if we feel we need to. 2. Trades A. Send Wander Javier, Tyl…

Saw it on Morosi's Twitter earlier. Some reason my phone won't let me post the link.

Ivan Nova has 2 years and 18 million left in his contract. could probably be had for a prospect or two. would Businetz and Kohl Stewart be enough? This isnt meant to be our only pitching aquisition either. but him and another starter makes our rotation look good.

According to the below tweet from Mike Berardino, the Twins have been able to sell the rights to right-handed pitcher Michael Tonkin to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Tonkin will get a two-year, $2.1 million deal with another $0.5 million in incentives.

Couldn't resist 2nd week of Deer Camp twist on the Topic Title A little Thursday morning reading that is both refreshing and supports my prophetic Profile Sig MLBTR suggesting bigger things from the Twins...and the Cheese-curds With a link to Jon Heyman suggesting Twins are at least considering all options for pitching Don't sleep on the Thad Levine/Rangers/Darvish connection...Thad may not say much but he seems to me to be like a duck cruising across the pond..."Calm, cool and composed on the surface....but paddling like crazy under the water" (here ends the hunting analogies) Where there is Smoke...either LaVelle E. Neal III is nearby with a Cigar or there mi…

Santana and Nolasco both got roughly the 4/48m deal from the Twins in free agency. Here's a list of all the pitchers who got bigger deals from 13-16. In 2013 the big three deals were for Grienke, Edwin Jackson and Anibal Sanchez. Grienke's been great although his contract had an opt out that he used to sign with the Dbacks. Sanchez and Jackson were horrible. Both contracts are now over and they combined for 9 years, about 1000 innings, nearly $125m and 3 WAR. The Cubs and Tigers, of course, could afford that. In 2014- Tanaka, Garza and Ubaldo Jimenz. Tanaka was a bit special as a FA from Japan and younger than most. The Yankees gave him a 7/155 deal which hasn't be…

Some of the SP FA candidates mentioned here have received qualifying offers. I don't fully understand the implications to the Twins of signing one of these, as the draft pick(s) lost depend on the financial situations of both the Twins and the FA's previous team and the allocation of competitive balance picks, (see: http://m.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/qualifying-offer). But, my guess is that the Twins would lose their 2nd round pick. On the one hand-- the roughly 60th best prospect is valuable. But on the other, as Seth's review of the top prospects is revealing, the Twins seem to have a lot of prospects that would rank right around where that pick would end up.…

40 YEARS YOUNG TODAY

A tad surprising to say the least. Congratulations to him.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/rays-will-extend-qualifying-offer-to-alex-cobb.html So this means Cobb could take a one year, 17.4m deal. If he rejects it, the team compensation depends on how much he signs for. Here's the primer: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/08/offseason-primer-the-new-qualifying-offer-rules.html If I read that correctly, if the Twins sign Cobb for less than 50m, they'd lose their third highest pick in the upcoming draft.

He lost the battle with pancreatic cancer today. Thoughts to his family and friends.

Derek Shelton!

LENIII reports that Gardenhire recruited Joe Vavra away from the Twins. Same article also indicates that Ron Anderson might be Detroit's next bullpen coach. The Twins are looking for a new bench coach both internally and externally.

David Schoenfield posted hsi way-too-early power rankings for next year last night: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21139850/ranking-mlb-teams-ahead-offseason He has the Twins at #19, which seems way-too-low for our favorite team. He obviously thinks the Twins over-performed last year. I would have had them in the 10-12 range.