Remaining free agents - are the Twins in?

[mikelink45]

I was fascinated by the Athletic article where Jim Bowden looked at the top 25 remaining free agents and who might sign them.  There were a lot of teams listed for the top 18 - none were the Twins. 

Finally at number 19 the Twins were listed for Michael Pineda, but we were also the sixth team.  

Then at 25 Donovan Solano who could be a SS - we were listed ninth.

So what do you think.  Will we surprise anyone?  Will we jump in to get one or more of these players?

Bowden's top twenty five remaining free agents.

[Doctor Gast]

I imagine that they rate these FAs by the amount of interest that teams have shown so far. This shows that our FO hasn't contacted anyone of real value. IMO no FA will sign with any team that hasn't been persistently showing much interest. If there is any doubt a FA will go with the team that has shown the most interest. So I think not

[Old fox]

Isn’t this normal behavior for the Twins?

[Brock Beauchamp]

While I'm really down on the Twins and their offseason, I also try not to listen to literally anything Jim Bowden says or writes. It has served me quite well in life.

[old nurse]

It is the Lance Lynn effect.  The team is gun shy after the mediocrity and black cloud that Lynn was when he was here. 

[Rosterman]

My only hope on the availability of Michael Pineda, maybe for even less than the Twins signed him for in seasons past, is the lack of interest they got for him during the trade deadline. That, along, would've made me sign soon and fast once the season ended, if I was Michael. Unless his agent knows something I don't.

 

The Twins also seem to have a dire need for a stopgap at shortstop. I don't see them moving Polanco there at all. Gordon could be a possibility. Wil they trust him? Is Lewis or Martin truly the shortstop of the future and at what point do you play them in 2022. Would you start either at short instead of Gordon out of spring training? Even Palacios hasn't had much AAA experience.

 

The Twins have a lot of prospect rotation arms, but I just don't see any making a major impact in 2022 because al need to get their game up with innings pitched, as well as pushing past the fifth inning. How they do that fighting for time in St. Paul is Wichita will also be a delight to watch. But then, who comes out and pitches in the bigs.

[terrydactyls]

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

IMO no FA will sign with any team that hasn't been persistently showing much interest. 

Do you actually believe a free agent would pass on a million dollars just because no team has been persistent?  If that is true, then they are paid too damn much for playing a game.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

15 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Do you actually believe a free agent would pass on a million dollars just because no team has been persistent?  If that is true, then they are paid too damn much for playing a game.

As @old nurse pointed out, it’s the Lance Lynn effect. Players will eventually take the lowball rather than sit out, but do you really want that? “I guess I’ll take it, if I have to”. 

Quite inspirational 

[old nurse]

22 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

As @old nurse pointed out, it’s the Lance Lynn effect. Players will eventually take the lowball rather than sit out, but do you really want that? “I guess I’ll take it, if I have to”. 

Quite inspirational 

The sad thing was that the Twins paid he more money for the year than he had ever earned before, or since. They gave him a fair one year contract. 

[terrydactyls]

31 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

As @old nurse pointed out, it’s the Lance Lynn effect. Players will eventually take the lowball rather than sit out, but do you really want that? “I guess I’ll take it, if I have to”. 

Quite inspirational 

I'm glad you agree with me.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 minute ago, old nurse said:

The sad thing was that the Twins paid he more money for the year than he had ever earned before, or since. They gave him a fair one year contract. 

Absolutely, but “How” matters as much as “what”. Therein lies the issue with waiting out the market too long for leverage

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

In my experience reading Bowden:

(a) he tends to throw "hey, this is a thought I had" at the wall without a lot of big-picture consideration;
(b) while I tend to be skeptical of excessive claims of "coast bias" in the media, he really does seem to notice and focus on large markets and large contracts a lot more than everything else. He had an article a few weeks back giving "midseason grades" for the offseason, and he basically entirely based his grade ratings on how many contracts or dollars a team had committed, with little deeper analysis of any moves.

If you wanna read transaction speculation and analysis for its own sake (which, in a slow lockout season...why not), Bowden can be worth a read, but he's not a particularly reliable or knowledgeable source.

[gman]

As for free agents, I wouldn't want the team to sign anyone they wouldn't want to trade or cut after May 31. I think 2022, for however many games are played, needs to be a development year. I watch more than 150 games a year in that ball park or on TV and I would much rather see rookies and second year players getting development time than wasting AB's and innings on players that won't be around when the team is relevant.

And no, I don't think the team can trade for or sign free agents  to put themselves into a contending position. 

 

[MABB1959]

Okay, this may be the dumbest question ever and keep in mind I am not into statistics.  I don't see that we have done well acquiring players by statistics.  That is just me and probably not many on this board.  Okay for my dumb question.....we had Berrios and now he is gone.  Now we are looking for pitchers that may not even come close to what he brought or could have brought to this team.  Why don't we keep the players we need?  We let them go as soon as they are ready and then either start dumpster diving (hope/pray for one more good season) or we just go without.  

It makes no sense at all when we have a player the caliber of Berrios (and a few others) and let him go only to not be able to come close to replacing him.  I could see letting him go if we had 3-4 #1 starters but we let him go for "maybes"  Doesn't anyone else get tired of waiting for maybes and then sending them packing when they get to be somebodies?  I want a good team but just as important a consistent team.  I want Berrios, Eddie-Eddie-Eddie, Cruz, Escobar, Hicks and others back.  Those were the ones we waited a long time to get here and as soon as they have a decent or on the brink of a decent season they are gone.  They are extremely patient with Kepler and a few others but let the better players go.  

 

 

[TwinsDr2021]

21 hours ago, gman said:

As for free agents, I wouldn't want the team to sign anyone they wouldn't want to trade or cut after May 31. I think 2022, for however many games are played, needs to be a development year. I watch more than 150 games a year in that ball park or on TV and I would much rather see rookies and second year players getting development time than wasting AB's and innings on players that won't be around when the team is relevant.

And no, I don't think the team can trade for or sign free agents  to put themselves into a contending position. 

 

If that is the case, then they should go out and sign a SS to a long term deal, you can't develop pitchers when your offense is competitive and then develop offense when your pitchers are competitive. Because I and I would guess other fans aren't going to be happy with a payroll around 100 million or less.

So sign Correa, have Lewis and Martin playing 2B, 3B, LF and CF.

That way if the pitching prospects are successful, they are ready to go next year in the final year of Donaldson, who then can quickly be replaced, by Miranda, Lewis or Martin.

[mk]

I read that article and had the same thoughts. It's obvious the author doesn't think about the Twins needs/payroll as much as anyone on this message board. Rather, I'm guessing the teams listed had more to do with tags to get clicks from larger market readers.

[Eicemann]

On 1/8/2022 at 12:47 PM, mikelink45 said:

I was fascinated by the Athletic article where Jim Bowden looked at the top 25 remaining free agents and who might sign them.  There were a lot of teams listed for the top 18 - none were the Twins. 

Finally at number 19 the Twins were listed for Michael Pineda, but we were also the sixth team.  

Then at 25 Donovan Solano who could be a SS - we were listed ninth.

So what do you think.  Will we surprise anyone?  Will we jump in to get one or more of these players?

Bowden's top twenty five remaining free agents.

Bryant would be an excellent fit in LF & then at 3B when Donaldson invariably suffers injury. Castellanos would be a less expensive alternative, but not as solid in IF defense.  I'd love to see the Twins go after Villar; especially if they deal Arraez.  Add Kikuchi & Pineda to the rotation and any of McHugh, Kelly, or Tepera in the bullpen.  Let's go!!!

[Eicemann]

On 1/10/2022 at 8:47 AM, MABB1959 said:

Okay, this may be the dumbest question ever and keep in mind I am not into statistics.  I don't see that we have done well acquiring players by statistics.  That is just me and probably not many on this board.  Okay for my dumb question.....we had Berrios and now he is gone.  Now we are looking for pitchers that may not even come close to what he brought or could have brought to this team.  Why don't we keep the players we need?  We let them go as soon as they are ready and then either start dumpster diving (hope/pray for one more good season) or we just go without.  

It makes no sense at all when we have a player the caliber of Berrios (and a few others) and let him go only to not be able to come close to replacing him.  I could see letting him go if we had 3-4 #1 starters but we let him go for "maybes"  Doesn't anyone else get tired of waiting for maybes and then sending them packing when they get to be somebodies?  I want a good team but just as important a consistent team.  I want Berrios, Eddie-Eddie-Eddie, Cruz, Escobar, Hicks and others back.  Those were the ones we waited a long time to get here and as soon as they have a decent or on the brink of a decent season they are gone.  They are extremely patient with Kepler and a few others but let the better players go.  

 

 

Trading Berrios is difficult to defend without factoring in his pending FA status.  Because of the way negotiations had played out Berrios seemed bound & determined to test the market rather than re-up with the Twins.  But he is absolutely the type of player that the Twins should make every effort to retain rather than continue to expect to sign to a sweetheart hometown discount.  They need to get past that mindset.  There are lots of nice places to play ball.  Not every guy is going to go all out to stay in the Twin Cities.

[Steve71]

I have basically reached the conclusion that this FO is never, ever, going to sign a pitcher to a sizeable long-term deal.

Period.

(They may be right)

[Dman]

I think the Twins grab Pineda and Likely call it good.  They were not listed as potential suitors for anyone else and I have to believe the only reason Pineda isn't already signed is that the Twins didn't want to move anyone else off the 40 man and they will get two more spots once they can put Maeda and Enlow on the injured list.

I'd still like to know what their plan is at shortstop and maybe it is Palcios if he doesn't get taken in the rule V draft because there doesn't seem to be much out there.  It is starting to feel more and more like they are lining up 2023 to take their shot.

This is going to be an interesting year to be sure.

[DocBauer]

On 1/10/2022 at 8:47 AM, MABB1959 said:

Okay, this may be the dumbest question ever and keep in mind I am not into statistics.  I don't see that we have done well acquiring players by statistics.  That is just me and probably not many on this board.  Okay for my dumb question.....we had Berrios and now he is gone.  Now we are looking for pitchers that may not even come close to what he brought or could have brought to this team.  Why don't we keep the players we need?  We let them go as soon as they are ready and then either start dumpster diving (hope/pray for one more good season) or we just go without.  

It makes no sense at all when we have a player the caliber of Berrios (and a few others) and let him go only to not be able to come close to replacing him.  I could see letting him go if we had 3-4 #1 starters but we let him go for "maybes"  Doesn't anyone else get tired of waiting for maybes and then sending them packing when they get to be somebodies?  I want a good team but just as important a consistent team.  I want Berrios, Eddie-Eddie-Eddie, Cruz, Escobar, Hicks and others back.  Those were the ones we waited a long time to get here and as soon as they have a decent or on the brink of a decent season they are gone.  They are extremely patient with Kepler and a few others but let the better players go.  

 

 

I will attempt to answer your Berrios question the best I can.

The FO is not opposed to extensions, if it makes sense to them. Witness early extensions to Kepler, Polanco and Sano. Those extensions are very "Cleveland-like", as well as others, when you guarantee money to a young player. They extended Buxton to a long term deal. They stepped up to sign Donaldson. They offered Wheeler an initial deal that was shot down immediately because he wanted to stay on the east coast. A couple years ago they were in on Darvish and were at the top of his list, until the Cubs upped their offer with an extra guaranteed year. 

There remains debate as to Berrios's decision to test the market vs signing an extension. That's all the more confusing as he upped with Toronto before hitting the market. IMO, it was NOT the annual salary. Right or wrong, the FO simply doesn't believe in signing a pitcher beyond 4-5yrs. I suppose if they had a true ACE SP on the team, or someone they felt was on the verge of becoming one, they might change their philosophy. They DID attempt to sign Berrios to an extension each of the previous couple years but couldn't come to terms, or, Berrios wasn't interested enough. And that's no knock on Jose! Sometimes it just is what it is.

The FO decided it was simply prudent to move him, get a great return, and move to the next chapter.

I don't endorse or rally negative for their decision in my explanation. That's a whole different topic, lol. But again, their philosophy is to not overpay for extended SP contracts. History will tell you they are correct. But history will also indicate wins and losses and the value of early returns vs losses later on and can your organization absorb those losses. Again, a different debate.

[DocBauer]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

I think the Twins grab Pineda and Likely call it good.  They were not listed as potential suitors for anyone else and I have to believe the only reason Pineda isn't already signed is that the Twins didn't want to move anyone else off the 40 man and they will get two more spots once they can put Maeda and Enlow on the injured list.

I'd still like to know what their plan is at shortstop and maybe it is Palcios if he doesn't get taken in the rule V draft because there doesn't seem to be much out there.  It is starting to feel more and more like they are lining up 2023 to take their shot.

This is going to be an interesting year to be sure.

I tend to agree with you here. I'm almost more curious about SS as I am the rotation. I'm really starting to like the idea of a "cheap" trade with the Cardinals for DeLong as I don't think they want to pay him to  be a backup. And we can easily afford him. 

And I agree that I think Pineda is an easy sign and both parties are in agreement on something.

My question to you is do you really think they are done there? I'm not so sure. I DON'T think they are looking at a major trade that will cost them someone from the ML roster of real importance...Arraez may be the exception...or moving TOP prospects that they have worked so hard to acquire. As ticked off as we are right now for missed opportunity to do SOMETHING, we also have to remember how and when Odorizzi and Maeda were added. Can they yet again pull a rabbit out of their cap??? Dunno.

I see a couple of possibilities to add, in addition to Pineda, without costing players/prospects.

1] For various reasons, Rodon is still out there. Do the Twins do a 1yr for around $20M-ish, maybe with a 2nd year option? Or is everyone going to jump at the chance post lockout to bring him in?

2] Tyler Anderson is still out there as an experienced, mediocre, but OK SP who can eat some IP and actually pitched 167 innings last year. Kikuchi has some quality stuff that hasn't fully manifested in to production yet. Do you see a move for one of these on a short  term deal? 

I do. Nothing given up player or prospect wise and room to still promote and audition the young arms. But still lends some authenticity to the rotation.

Thoughts?

 

 

[Dman]

8 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I tend to agree with you here. I'm almost more curious about SS as I am the rotation. I'm really starting to like the idea of a "cheap" trade with the Cardinals for DeLong as I don't think they want to pay him to  be a backup. And we can easily afford him. 

And I agree that I think Pineda is an easy sign and both parties are in agreement on something.

My question to you is do you really think they are done there? I'm not so sure. I DON'T think they are looking at a major trade that will cost them someone from the ML roster of real importance...Arraez may be the exception...or moving TOP prospects that they have worked so hard to acquire. As ticked off as we are right now for missed opportunity to do SOMETHING, we also have to remember how and when Odorizzi and Maeda were added. Can they yet again pull a rabbit out of their cap??? Dunno.

I see a couple of possibilities to add, in addition to Pineda, without costing players/prospects.

1] For various reasons, Rodon is still out there. Do the Twins do a 1yr for around $20M-ish, maybe with a 2nd year option? Or is everyone going to jump at the chance post lockout to bring him in?

2] Tyler Anderson is still out there as an experienced, mediocre, but OK SP who can eat some IP and actually pitched 167 innings last year. Kikuchi has some quality stuff that hasn't fully manifested in to production yet. Do you see a move for one of these on a short  term deal? 

I do. Nothing given up player or prospect wise and room to still promote and audition the young arms. But still lends some authenticity to the rotation.

Thoughts?

 

 

I don't see them spending big money on Rodon and his possibly injury prone arm.  That seems like way more risk than they would normally take on.  They possibly could grab another FA but it just feels unlikely to me and given they weren't even mentioned by Bowden they don't "appear" to be a team that is shopping for players.  Things can always change in a hurry but if you look into the future I think they have to find out what they have in some of their younger pitchers.

Why do I think that?  If you look at the 2019 draft class you have Wallner, Canterino, Steer, Gipson-Long, Varland and Jullien that will need to be added to the 40 man. Not everyone can fit and their are three valuable pitchers there and three decent bats.  They can't just sit on their hands anymore.

You mention trades and that is the wildcard for me.  They have the assets to make trades but who do they and or are they willing to give up most likely out of Strotman, Balazovich, Duran, and Winder or Lewis, Martin and Miranda because those are likely the assets other teams would be asking for.  So I don't know I guess I can see them standing pat and going with their young guys as well. 

They have had trades up their sleeves before so that is a possibility but if they don't trade I feel there is a lot of pressure to play young guys and find out what they have before the next roster crunch. Thus not adding extra free agents.

[DocBauer]

11 hours ago, Dman said:

I don't see them spending big money on Rodon and his possibly injury prone arm.  That seems like way more risk than they would normally take on.  They possibly could grab another FA but it just feels unlikely to me and given they weren't even mentioned by Bowden they don't "appear" to be a team that is shopping for players.  Things can always change in a hurry but if you look into the future I think they have to find out what they have in some of their younger pitchers.

Why do I think that?  If you look at the 2019 draft class you have Wallner, Canterino, Steer, Gipson-Long, Varland and Jullien that will need to be added to the 40 man. Not everyone can fit and their are three valuable pitchers there and three decent bats.  They can't just sit on their hands anymore.

You mention trades and that is the wildcard for me.  They have the assets to make trades but who do they and or are they willing to give up most likely out of Strotman, Balazovich, Duran, and Winder or Lewis, Martin and Miranda because those are likely the assets other teams would be asking for.  So I don't know I guess I can see them standing pat and going with their young guys as well. 

They have had trades up their sleeves before so that is a possibility but if they don't trade I feel there is a lot of pressure to play young guys and find out what they have before the next roster crunch. Thus not adding extra free agents.

Again, I think we're pretty much on the same page. I reference Rodon because there may be an opportunity for a 1yr and the money is there, assuming he checks out physically. He'd be a nice front to the rotation if they really want to contend in 2022. But I also don't see it happening. Then again, I didn't see the Donaldson signing coming either.

I'm mixed on the addition of a 2nd veteran SP. On the one hand, we have, potentially, 5 or 6 arms to audition and get their feet wet and even run them between St Paul and the Twins as needed. But there is also the IP factor to consider. I just wouldn't be shocked at all if they brought in a pair of arms for depth and innings. And while I'm not crazy about any remaining FA, other than Pineda, I think it would make more sense to look at someone like Kikuchi or Anderson rather than trade for someone with only a year or two of control. I think that functions as a too expensive of a bandaid, player capital wise, when you already passed on the first round of FA that would have only cost $.

In addition to all the kids to work with, one name I hadn't thought about was Jharel Cotton. There was an interesting article on Fangraphs a few days ago in which the writer extolled his potential as a mid to back end SP option now that he's healthy and seemingly "back". I have only seen him as a BP piece going forward. And I think that's how the Twins see him. Still, it got me wondering.

All good stuff and fodder for speculation whenever this damned lockout is over. And that can't happen soon enough!

[Dman]

3 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Again, I think we're pretty much on the same page. I reference Rodon because there may be an opportunity for a 1yr and the money is there, assuming he checks out physically. He'd be a nice front to the rotation if they really want to contend in 2022. But I also don't see it happening. Then again, I didn't see the Donaldson signing coming either.

I'm mixed on the addition of a 2nd veteran SP. On the one hand, we have, potentially, 5 or 6 arms to audition and get their feet wet and even run them between St Paul and the Twins as needed. But there is also the IP factor to consider. I just wouldn't be shocked at all if they brought in a pair of arms for depth and innings. And while I'm not crazy about any remaining FA, other than Pineda, I think it would make more sense to look at someone like Kikuchi or Anderson rather than trade for someone with only a year or two of control. I think that functions as a too expensive of a bandaid, player capital wise, when you already passed on the first round of FA that would have only cost $.

In addition to all the kids to work with, one name I hadn't thought about was Jharel Cotton. There was an interesting article on Fangraphs a few days ago in which the writer extolled his potential as a mid to back end SP option now that he's healthy and seemingly "back". I have only seen him as a BP piece going forward. And I think that's how the Twins see him. Still, it got me wondering.

All good stuff and fodder for speculation whenever this damned lockout is over. And that can't happen soon enough!

Totally agree with everything you said I certainly don't have a crystal ball.  After the lockout is over all kinds of things could happen and happen quickly.  The FO sat out the first round of FA and could decide to be active in the second wave hard to say. 

Other than Rodon there isn't a ton of difference making pitchers and I think the bidding will be high for whoever is left over and the Twins haven't been ones to overbid for players.  Donaldson maybe being the notable exception and there were not a ton of bidders for his services IIRC.  There will be lot's of bidders for the remaining difference making FA arms.  It is not a scenario I have seen the Twins come out on top before but hey anything can happen.

I too read the Cotton, Fangraphs article and came away impressed with the research they did on him.  I was pretty down on the move at the time and never considered him a potential starter but he was a top 100 prospect at one point and injury is what seemed to derail him.  A little surprised given all the money Texas threw around in free agency that they didn't just pay the man but I guess they thought he would make it through without being taken.  His control problems still have me worried but if he could put that behind him the Twins might have something there.

So the Twins appear to have Ober, Ryan, Dobnak, Bundy, maybe Jax and I think likely Pineda and maybe even Cotton for the rotation right now.  Not an ideal group but guys that need a spot to pitch. It is also possible that Winder, Balazovic, Sands and Strotman could be in the mix to start the year with the Twins depending on spring training if there is spring training.  That seems like a lot of arms to work through.  The 40 man is pretty full especially with a lot of young up and coming pitching.  I just think the goal has to be to figure out which of those 10 guys work out as starters, who might move to the pen or who do they expose to waivers.  It just feels like they need to find out and they need to develop some arms that are better than a number 5.  

I think that other than maybe Pineda and a shortstop this is likely it for FA additions.  They believe in the guys they have and sink or swim with the pitching they have developed in the system.  Just a gut feeling that could be way off but that is how I see it right now.

[DocBauer]

2 minutes ago, Dman said:

Totally agree with everything you said I certainly don't have a crystal ball.  After the lockout is over all kinds of things could happen and happen quickly.  The FO sat out the first round of FA and could decide to be active in the second wave hard to say. 

Other than Rodon there isn't a ton of difference making pitchers and I think the bidding will be high for whoever is left over and the Twins haven't been ones to overbid for players.  Donaldson maybe being the notable exception and there were not a ton of bidders for his services IIRC.  There will be lot's of bidders for the remaining difference making FA arms.  It is not a scenario I have seen the Twins come out on top before but hey anything can happen.

I too read the Cotton, Fangraphs article and came away impressed with the research they did on him.  I was pretty down on the move at the time and never considered him a potential starter but he was a top 100 prospect at one point and injury is what seemed to derail him.  A little surprised given all the money Texas threw around in free agency that they didn't just pay the man but I guess they thought he would make it through without being taken.  His control problems still have me worried but if he could put that behind him the Twins might have something there.

So the Twins appear to have Ober, Ryan, Dobnak, Bundy, maybe Jax and I think likely Pineda and maybe even Cotton for the rotation right now.  Not an ideal group but guys that need a spot to pitch. It is also possible that Winder, Balazovic, Sands and Strotman could be in the mix to start the year with the Twins depending on spring training if there is spring training.  That seems like a lot of arms to work through.  The 40 man is pretty full especially with a lot of young up and coming pitching.  I just think the goal has to be to figure out which of those 10 guys work out as starters, who might move to the pen or who do they expose to waivers.  It just feels like they need to find out and they need to develop some arms that are better than a number 5.  

I think that other than maybe Pineda and a shortstop this is likely it for FA additions.  They believe in the guys they have and sink or swim with the pitching they have developed in the system.  Just a gut feeling that could be way off but that is how I see it right now.

One thing I've thought about the past few days is the length of the lockout and how it might affect ST. Agreed the prospects are going to get their shot, deservedly so and NEEDED at this point. But any sort of abbreviated ST might increase the need and "value" of an OK veteran arm while the young arms ramp up in St Paul due to lack of spring opportunity. 

As you stated, a lot of unknowns and we're stuck with pure conjecture at this point.

[Dman]

2 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

One thing I've thought about the past few days is the length of the lockout and how it might affect ST. Agreed the prospects are going to get their shot, deservedly so and NEEDED at this point. But any sort of abbreviated ST might increase the need and "value" of an OK veteran arm while the young arms ramp up in St Paul due to lack of spring opportunity. 

As you stated, a lot of unknowns and we're stuck with pure conjecture at this point.

Yeah that could be something that changes their plans.  If there is no spring training and not being able to see Winder, Strotman, Sands and Balazovic in live games against MLB batters the safe play would be starting them back in MiLB.  In that scenario it would be good to have another FA arm even if they sign Pineda. 

If the lockout lasts beyond Spring training then they should have some time to evaluate those guys at the MiLB level before MLB games start.  Lot's of uncertainty right now. so hard to say how things play out.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

If the lockout lasts beyond Spring training then they should have some time to evaluate those guys at the MiLB level before MLB games start.  Lot's of uncertainty right now. so hard to say how things play out.

Every player is locked out that is currently on the 40 person roster. Ober, Ryan, Dobnak, Thorpe, Vallimont, Sands, Winder, Strotman, Duran, Jax, Balazovic, Cotton, Moran, Stashek, Garza, and Alcala are the young pitchers that would not get to pitch in the minor leagues. A lockout that lasts will really hurt the Twins.

[RpR]

I actually stumbled onto the Fanside site through baseball link last week and while checking search engine links to the Twins future this one popped up about free agents by Eric Treuden:

Enter 32-year old Andrelton Simmons, one of the best defensive shortstops the game has ever seen. Last season was Simmons’ first season as a Twin and, while his defensive chops are still as sharp as ever (2.3 dWAR in 131 games), he struggled mightily on offense.

Across 451 plate appearances in 2021, Andrelton Simmons managed to hit just three home runs and had a .223/.283/.274 batting line to go with his ghastly wRC+ of 56 (100 and up is considered good). The entire offensive line on the back of his baseball card is well below-average, but Simmons’ game has always been and always will be led by his defense. Since his debut in 2012 with the Braves, Simmons has won four Gold Glove awards and is a six-time Fielding Bible Award winner. That’s the most all-time at the shortstop position.

With no clear internal options available behind a mixture of Arraez, Polanco, and Nick Gordon, the Minnesota Twins could certainly use Andrelton Simmons at the shortstop position for at least one more season. With exciting prospect Royce Lewis looming in the minor leagues, he could be ready to take over as soon as 2023.

Now I do not know if this is just another dude or has inside connections but I like him.

[h2oface]

I think the Twins' FO is still listening to old Asleep At The Wheel records during the lock out, and will still be navigating as the door slams totally shut. I think they are banking on the farm. And Pineda is still not trying to get in shape for the coming season.