2020 Opening Day Roster

[jz7233]

 

  On 10/6/2019 at 1:04 AM, KL1551 said:

Alright everyone - 

 

This series has me super depressed. Seeing that we more than likely aren't going to come back and win the series, I've already moved on to 2020.  I am anxious to see what the roster might look like next year.  Here is what I am hoping the opening day roster looks like next year. I'm trying to be somewhat realistic based on the types of acquisitions the Twins make; however, I realize my roster would be pretty expensive and may not be the most accurate.

 

C) Garver, Austin Romine (free agent signing that shouldn't cost too much)

1B) Jose Abreu on a 3 year deal? (non-tender Cron) 

2B) Arraez

3B) Sano, Gonzalez 

SS) Polanco, Adrianza

LF) Rosario (although, I wouldn't be opposed to them trading him this offseason while he still has some value)

CF) Buxton, Cave

RF) Kepler

 

SP) Berrios, Dobnak, and 3 free agents signings (hoping we can get Pineda back, and would love to get someone like a Hyun-Jin Ryu and Zach Wheeler)

 

RP) Rogers, Duffey, Littell, May, Graterol, Thorpe, Smelzer, Will Harris (free agent signing from the Astros)

 

I see them non-tendering Sam Dyson and CJ Cron and re-signing Pineda.

 

 

What do you guys think? What does your "way too early" 2020 opening day roster look like?

Dobnak might not survive in the major league. Getting Odorizzi and Pineda back would be important. Let Perez and Gibson walk, try to sign Wheeler or Minor or both. Romo should be brought back and Graterol is going to be a starter in the minor to get ready, Smeltzer could be the long reliever, getting one more effective reliever like Harris would be a step in the right direction.

[cmoss84]

I like to zig when everyone else is zagging. Think that's why the Rays are where they are. We could do something very similar with our pitching staff. Here is my off-season take (feel free to laugh!). 

 

I do like the idea of Grandal catching and Garver playing primarily 1B, but I'm guessing Milwaukee picks up his option. Instead, I want to sign Castellanos and have him play 1B/part time OF/part time DH. If you can play 3B, you should be able to play 1B. He is going to be expensive. He will be worth it. He is going to be cheaper than Abreu, and 5 years younger. He will be in his prime during our "window." Though Cron did a nice job for us this year, but no mas. 

Nicolas Castellanos 5 years/125 million with opt out after year 2

 

I'm not huge on Castro as a backup, but not many options as a bridge to our farm boys. He is familiar with our staff, which puts him slightly ahead of a few other FA catchers. 

Jason Castro 1 year/3 million

 

Sano stays at third. Polanco stays at SS. Arraez 2B, Marwin/Gordon/Ehire UTIL. Cruz DH. Keeping our outfield in tact as well. Rosario/Buxton/Kepler. Roll the dice and extend Buxton 5 years/40 million.

 

Here's where we get a little funky.

Madison Bumgarner 3 years/50 million

Will Smith 3 years/40 million 

Dellin Betances 2 years/10 million

Tony Cingrani 2 years/10 million

 

Berrios is our lone "full-time starter." 

Bumgarner, Smeltzer, Dobnak are part time starters/part time secondary pitchers. 

Betances, Cingrani, and Graterol are openers/middle pen guys. 

Rogers, Duffey, May and Stashak back-end guys. AAA and AA guys audition for final spot(s). 

[Tomj14]

 

  On 10/8/2019 at 5:37 AM, howeda7 said:

I think $35 million/year for Cole is realistic. Might have to go to 6 years though.

 

Why can't Gordon play SS? He hit .292 OPS .801 this year. His defense appears at least average. He may flop, but why can't he be given a shot? He'll be 24 and has 600 AAA at bats. It's time to $%% or get off the pot with him. 

a 100 plus win team, moving an all star SS to 2B, to bring up a 24 year old rookie with no major league experience, played only 40 games at SS in AAA to be the starting SS for a division winning team?

That would be like replacing three veteran starting pitchers who were at times great and mostly pretty good with a few stinkers with with 3 rookie pitchers?

 

Doesn't sound like a recipe for success, unless your plan is that you are going to break the home run record two years in a row, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City don't improve and Cleveland get hit with the injury bug again.

 

I think Gordon could be a good plan in case Polanco or Arraez get hurt. And if that happens hopefully he pulls an Arraez and is so good you can't take him off the field.

The same as Smeltzer/Dobnak/Graterol/Thorpe as starting pitchers.

 

 

[pierre75275]

Yasamani Grandel option with the brewers is a mutual option which almost never gets agreed on. Either the player declines it thinking he can get more or the team does thinking they can get better value elsewhere

[yarnivek1972]

  On 10/9/2019 at 6:33 PM, cmoss84 said:

I like to zig when everyone else is zagging. Think that's why the Rays are where they are. We could do something very similar with our pitching staff. Here is my off-season take (feel free to laugh!).

 

I do like the idea of Grandal catching and Garver playing primarily 1B, but I'm guessing Milwaukee picks up his option. Instead, I want to sign Castellanos and have him play 1B/part time OF/part time DH. If you can play 3B, you should be able to play 1B. He is going to be expensive. He will be worth it. He is going to be cheaper than Abreu, and 5 years younger. He will be in his prime during our "window." Though Cron did a nice job for us this year, but no mas.

Nicolas Castellanos 5 years/125 million with opt out after year 2

 

I'm not huge on Castro as a backup, but not many options as a bridge to our farm boys. He is familiar with our staff, which puts him slightly ahead of a few other FA catchers.

Jason Castro 1 year/3 million

 

Sano stays at third. Polanco stays at SS. Arraez 2B, Marwin/Gordon/Ehire UTIL. Cruz DH. Keeping our outfield in tact as well. Rosario/Buxton/Kepler. Roll the dice and extend Buxton 5 years/40 million.

 

Here's where we get a little funky.

Madison Bumgarner 3 years/50 million

Will Smith 3 years/40 million

Dellin Betances 2 years/10 million

Tony Cingrani 2 years/10 million

 

Berrios is our lone "full-time starter."

Bumgarner, Smeltzer, Dobnak are part time starters/part time secondary pitchers.

Betances, Cingrani, and Graterol are openers/middle pen guys.

Rogers, Duffey, May and Stashak back-end guys. AAA and AA guys audition for final spot(s).

You’re going to pay Bumgarner that kind of coin to be a “part time starter/part time secondary pitcher”?

[cmoss84]

yes. 

 

He would still give us 150-175 innings. Just innings through multiple scenarios. He has tons of post-season experience, still was very effective last year, and would (hopefully) be a great mentor to all of the younger arms. 

[Mike Sixel]

  On 10/9/2019 at 8:36 PM, cmoss84 said:

yes.

 

He would still give us 150-175 innings. Just innings through multiple scenarios. He has tons of post-season experience, still was very effective last year, and would (hopefully) be a great mentor to all of the younger arms.

if he averages three innings in your scenario, that's over fifty appearances, with multiple innings most games. That didn't happen anymore, does it?

[cmoss84]

 

  On 10/9/2019 at 9:13 PM, Mike Sixel said:

if he averages three innings in your scenario, that's over fifty appearances, with multiple innings most games. That didn't happen anymore, does it?

My closest comp to this role would be Ryan Yarbrough. He had 28 appearances and half of them were starts. He came up just shy of 150 innings. 

 

For Bumgarner, I would want him to start some games and go 4-5 inn, and come in after the opener some games for 3-4 innings. If he had 35-40 appearances...let's say half of each, he would end up around 160 inn. 

[DocBauer]

  On 10/8/2019 at 5:30 AM, TNTwinsFan said:

The team you listed above (with the exceptions of Bumgarner and Pineda) just got swept in the playoffs. Do Bumgarner and Pineda win a game or 2 in the playoffs next year? I'm not so sure they do.

Sorry for the late response TNT, was just really busy.

 

Absolutely agree with your question and your sentiment.

 

1] Do Bumgarner or Pineda win a game or two in the playoffs next season? Why not? It's all speculation, of course, both in regard to next season AND th3js season. Game 3 was embarrassing to me. And maybe nothing would have turned out differently in the long run. But I sure would have liked Pineda for one of those starts now. Maybe we win one in N.Y., no matter the rotation order. I see no reason Pineda can't do in 2020 what he did this season. I am not 100% sold on Bumgarner. And he was a little down this season. But he has say and experience. The velocity seems to be there. And while I remain a bit leery of a NL pitcher making the move to the AL, I am INTRIGUED by Bumgarner getting a new challenge, on a new and good team, working with Johnson.

 

One of the things that worried me about this past series was lack of experience on the big stage. At times, I think we saw that. The Yankees had it. The Twins didn't. That could change next season.

 

2] The team I listed just got swept in the playoffs? Yep. Reference my above comment about experience. But let's also remember that except for Cruz, Castro, Marwin and late addition Romo, this is still a largely young team just coming in to it's own. Pineda, a healthy Gibson, Kepler, Marwin and Cron not rusty and "limping" in to the series could make this a whole different story.

[Brandon]

There is a Starting Pitcher out there we could get who had 11.5 k/9 and has a career 11.1 k/9 He also had 2.8 bb/9 and he comes at a decent rate for a starting pitcher.  4 years and 81 million.  This is already pre-negotiated.  All we need to get him is send some talent over to the Cubs for Yu Darvish....  Now is the perfect time to get him.  He has shown he is past his injury.  The Cubs are looking to cut cash (though maybe not as much of a need with several players off the books)  but we could send several prospects including pitching.  We could send from: Stashak, Thorpe, Romero, Poppen, Littell, Alcala, Kohl Stewart, and we have lots of other pitchers in the minors... Wells is coming back from surgery....

 

I'm assuming Graterol and Dobnak are not on the market.  

 

Once we have him we can go after another pitcher on a short term contract.  we would probably want some money thrown in but the Redsox would probably like to trade Price to save some cash moving forward.  If we can get them to include 7-12 million a year cash He becomes a pitcher on a 20-25 million starter a year on a 3 year contract.  I dont think we would have to give up too much to make this deal happen either.

 

now we still have 15-20 million left for another starting pitcher.  We could resign Odorizzi? or Pineda?  or Bumgarner should be in this price range.  I don't know how old the Twins want to make their rotation.  but going the trade route could bring us the arms we need on shorter term deals than FA.  

[howeda7]

 

  On 10/9/2019 at 6:52 PM, Tomj14 said:

a 100 plus win team, moving an all star SS to 2B, to bring up a 24 year old rookie with no major league experience, played only 40 games at SS in AAA to be the starting SS for a division winning team?

That would be like replacing three veteran starting pitchers who were at times great and mostly pretty good with a few stinkers with with 3 rookie pitchers?

 

Doesn't sound like a recipe for success, unless your plan is that you are going to break the home run record two years in a row, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City don't improve and Cleveland get hit with the injury bug again.

 

I think Gordon could be a good plan in case Polanco or Arraez get hurt. And if that happens hopefully he pulls an Arraez and is so good you can't take him off the field.

The same as Smeltzer/Dobnak/Graterol/Thorpe as starting pitchers.

Polanco wasn't an All-star for his glove. I think the IF defense must be shored up. Long-term we are better off with Polanco at 2B or 3B. If we believe that Lewis is sticking at SS, signing a FA doesn't make sense. I don't know if Gordon can hack it or not, but I would like to give him a shot. If he fails you can always move Gonzalez to 3B and Arreaz and Polanco back to 2B and SS. I see no harm in at least giving Gordon a long look in Spring Training.

[yarnivek1972]

  On 10/9/2019 at 10:08 PM, cmoss84 said:

My closest comp to this role would be Ryan Yarbrough. He had 28 appearances and half of them were starts. He came up just shy of 150 innings.

 

For Bumgarner, I would want him to start some games and go 4-5 inn, and come in after the opener some games for 3-4 innings. If he had 35-40 appearances...let's say half of each, he would end up around 160 inn.

40 appearances is going to be 3 days rest in most cases. You’re talking 60-70 pitches in most cases. Not sure somebody with Bumgarner’s mileage is up for that.

[cmoss84]

 

  On 10/10/2019 at 10:33 PM, yarnivek1972 said:

40 appearances is going to be 3 days rest in most cases. You’re talking 60-70 pitches in most cases. Not sure somebody with Bumgarner’s mileage is up for that.

90-110 pitches every 5th day = 60-70 pitches every 4th day? Who knows?

 

Just throwin stuff out there.