Just for fun-here is 1 player at each position that might be worth the money and my contract estimates:

 

C- Sandy Leon 1 year/1.5 mil

 

1B (UTIL)- Danny Santana 2 years/4 mil

 

2B- Tommy La Stella 1 year/2 mil

 

SS- Andrelton Simmons (this would be my favorite move of the season: trade Polanco or move him to utility as previously mentioned on this board) 2 years/16 mil

 

3B- Travis Shaw 1 year/1.5 mil

 

DH/OF/Emergency C- Schwarber 3 years/12 mil (also would like this move, especially if we do not resign Cruz)

 

SP- James Paxton 2 years/20 mil or Carlos Rodon 2 years/10 mil

 

 

RP- Roberto Osuna 3 years/21 mil

BTW, here's the link I used if anyone wants to give it a go. Kinda fun. 

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/2021-mlb-free-agents-by-position

Last post, I promise.

 

If we were able to sign Simmons, would you be willing to trade Polanco straight up for Hader? 

I would but Milwaukee wouldn't.

I'm not really a Simmons fan. I really don't like going for the offensive black hole just to get the plus defense.

 

Is he even elite anymore? He's on the wrong side of 30.

 

I would but Milwaukee wouldn't.

A close call-but you're probably right. Might not take a lot more to get it done? Not our top prospects at least?

 

I'm not really a Simmons fan. I really don't like going for the offensive black hole just to get the plus defense.

 

Is he even elite anymore? He's on the wrong side of 30.

I like Polanco-I do. But I would rather have Simmons + Hader vs. Polanco + lower level prospects, if possible. 

 

Simmons is not what he used to be, but we would get 2 years of much better defense than Polanco. 

I've wondered if the new clarity on the NL DH roles, will bring the cost of Ozuna into the Twin range. I love Nelly, but if you could get Ozuna for 3/60, over him, it may be a better long term solution. 

You must be kidding about Polanco for Hader, right? Or, there must have been a report on Polanco's ankle, which would seriously reduce his effectiveness. Everyone saw how tough it was for Polanco to play nearly all of the shortened season with a bum wheel. The only report I saw was very positive, but I don't search widely for information and am willing to concede that an injured Polanco is not going to produce the American League All-Star starting nod. If Jorge is back to whole, the Twins have quite the value and it would take much more than Hader to interest Falvine in consideration of the importance of the shortstop position. I love Ehire Adrianza but he isn't going to play 150 games as a starting mlb shorstop.

You must be kidding about Polanco for Hader, right? Or, there must have been a report on Polanco's ankle, which would seriously reduce his effectiveness. Everyone saw how tough it was for Polanco to play nearly all of the shortened season with a bum wheel. The only report I saw was very positive, but I don't search widely for information and am willing to concede that an injured Polanco is not going to produce the American League All-Star starting nod. If Jorge is back to whole, the Twins have quite the value and it would take much more than Hader to interest Falvine in consideration of the importance of the shortstop position. I love Ehire Adrianza but he isn't going to play 150 games as a starting mlb shorstop.

The premise is if we signed Simmons to play SS...

I like Simmons ... a lot. However, a healthy Polanco (hope he is fully healed) means the Twins are set at shortstop and the money for players like Simmons/Hader is better spent on Liam Hendriks.

On another note, if the Twins moved Garver because Tampa Bay is crazy the idea of Sandy Leon is worthwhile and I always liked Danny Santana for some reason. I think the dollar bargains might be in a trade (Ketel) or in a free agent  like Kluber or maybe (miraculously) Paxton.

La Stella for $2M? After how he's hit in 2019-20 (.289/.356/.471 .827 OPS)? Sign me up if that's all he gets.

I agree about LaStella for 2-million.  I'd take that in a heartbeat.

I'm also with Tony&Rodney on trading for Ketel Marte   He would be a regular in the lineup, just able to play multiple positions.  I think he should be a top priority.

I would put David Dahl on that list.  Tremendous hitter who can play all three OF positions and could be had for about $4-million per year.  He's also insurance for Kiriloff and Larnach even though I want both of them playing for the Twins in 2021.  Health is always an issue.  Maybe away from the altitude of Coors helps.

I think Paxton is a good idea.  We need a Lefty.

 

I like Simmons ... a lot. However, a healthy Polanco (hope he is fully healed) means the Twins are set at shortstop and the money for players like Simmons/Hader is better spent on Liam Hendriks.

On another note, if the Twins moved Garver because Tampa Bay is crazy the idea of Sandy Leon is worthwhile and I always liked Danny Santana for some reason. I think the dollar bargains might be in a trade (Ketel) or in a free agent  like Kluber or maybe (miraculously) Paxton.

 

So basically it comes down to: would you rather have Simmons/Hader or Polanco/Hendriks in this scenario. Lots of variables though-would the Polanco/Hader trade work out? Can we sign Hendriks? 

 

I would love to sign Hendriks. Just get the feeling the cubs are going to offer him a nice paycheck to attempt to stop the bleeding on their closer woes. 

 

Ketel is going to cost A LOT. 

 

La Stella for $2M? After how he's hit in 2019-20 (.289/.356/.471 .827 OPS)? Sign me up if that's all he gets.

 

You're absolutely right-I was probably low...and low on most of the guys I included. Just so hard to gauge how much money will be thrown around right now...

We see Jeffers maybe being here all year.

 

Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker will be Twins for most of 2021.

 

Is there any hope of Gordon doing something, anything...or just being a reserve. Royce Lewis could also push for a team spot if Polanco goes down for a count. Is Royce truly a shortstop of the future?

 

The Twins need one bonafide starter. 

 

They need to sign a real closer.

 

If the Twins sign anoptehr catcher, does Garver become a good bench bat/DH/1B who can also catch?

 

 

 

What about DJ at 4/68M as projected by MLBTradeRumors? We would have to let Cruz go, but it would give us much more versatility and theoretically doesn't cost much more than Cruz. He could be the true super utility player we hoped Marwin could be. He has played significant time at 2B, 3B and 1B. He could help keep Donalson, Arraez and Sano healthy as well as take a significant number of AB at DH. I love Cruz, but I think this is better for the team long-term.

LeMahieu has already turned down 4yrs/$75-80 MM from the Yankees and reportedly wants 5/$100 MM, so I don't think 4/$68 MM will get it done....

 

LeMahieu has already turned down 4yrs/$75-80 MM from the Yankees and reportedly wants 5/$100 MM, so I don't think 4/$68 MM will get it done....

I went with the MLBTradeRumors estimate as I hadn't seen any info on his negotiations. He may want 5/$100 M, but that doesn't mean he gets it. The fact that he hasn't signed yet, leads me to believe that the Yankees are playing hardball with him. I would be willing to add a year and maybe go to 5/$90M (1 additional year and +$1M per season). He is a GG 2B who can also play the corners. I think his versatility would be a perfect fit and suspect his skill-set would age well (age 32-36 seasons). Ultimately, we can't win a battle with the Yankees if they really want him.

 

 

I went with the MLBTradeRumors estimate as I hadn't seen any info on his negotiations. He may want 5/$100 M, but that doesn't mean he gets it. The fact that he hasn't signed yet, leads me to believe that the Yankees are playing hardball with him. I would be willing to add a year and maybe go to 5/$90M (1 additional year and +$1M per season). He is a GG 2B who can also play the corners. I think his versatility would be a perfect fit and suspect his skill-set would age well (age 32-36 seasons). Ultimately, we can't win a battle with the Yankees if they really want him.

That being said, this doesn't really fit the original idea of this thread, which is "value" shopping.

I think the Twins trade for a low cost starter like Musgrove from Pittsburgh and then sign a SS and Cruz. I think Santana could be a good value play as a bench player who can play the OF and 1B and 2B...not sure about 3rd...the last value play would be to sign another low cost arm for the bullpen.

 

Just for fun-here is 1 player at each position that might be worth the money and my contract estimates:

 

C- Sandy Leon 1 year/1.5 mil

 

1B (UTIL)- Danny Santana 2 years/4 mil

 

2B- Tommy La Stella 1 year/2 mil

 

SS- Andrelton Simmons (this would be my favorite move of the season: trade Polanco or move him to utility as previously mentioned on this board) 2 years/16 mil

 

3B- Travis Shaw 1 year/1.5 mil

 

DH/OF/Emergency C- Schwarber 3 years/12 mil (also would like this move, especially if we do not resign Cruz)

 

SP- James Paxton 2 years/20 mil or Carlos Rodon 2 years/10 mil

 

 

RP- Roberto Osuna 3 years/21 mil

Yay.

Now sign Paxton and either sign Osuna or trade Polanco for Hader! 

A quick idea on value shopping.  Why not bring back reliever Brandon Kintzler?  This puts my first name back on the Twins but more importantly a solid reliever at a low cost.  He has a career 3.38 ERA and he is consistent about his performance year in and year out so you know what to expect.  He can be used in 5th - 9th innings.  and be had on a 1 year deal to keep flexibility.  I do expect that we will circle back and resign Tyler Clippard.  but we could do worse than Kintzler.  Just a thought.

 

Why not both Clippard and Kintzler

Value guys that I could and would like if we could land ..... 

SP.... Archer ..... Porcello..... T. Walker ... (likely would take more than a 1 year deal but ...) 

 

RP... Rosenthal or Osuna (not a value pick but ..).... Kela.... Meloncon.... Shane Green...

 

Not sure we are needing anything else at this time ... 

 

 

I would be okay with Kintzler and/or Clippard on the cheap-could do worse for good veteran depth-as long as we get at least one more high leverage kinda guy. Osuna doesn't seem to be a "value" guy, but maybe he is flying a little under the radar and we could capitalize.

 

If we are unable to resign Nelly, I wonder if Joc Pederson would make any sense on a 1 or 2 year deal? He can play all 3 outfield positions and would be a nice left-handed DH option. 29 years old...

I don't want Kintzler. Give me strikeouts or give me death.

 

Clippard seems like a no-brainer to bring back though. But considering he's been an overall excellent reliever, and he's been on ten different teams in seven years, there's got to be a reason teams never bring him back and it's not due to a lack of effectiveness.

I'm not excited about Kintzler, but he makes much more sense with Simmons in the IF.

I don't want Kintzler. Give me strikeouts or give me death.

 

Clippard seems like a no-brainer to bring back though. But considering he's been an overall excellent reliever, and he's been on ten different teams in seven years, there's got to be a reason teams never bring him back and it's not due to a lack of effectiveness.

I think they don’t bring him back because of age. Nobody wanted Cruz either.