Roundtable: How Do You Feel about the Twins Deadline Day Deals?

[Seth Stohs]

The Minnesota Twins added a starting pitcher, two relief pitchers and a backup catcher option before Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline. They lost some really good prospects to do so. With a day to reflect, what are your thoughts on what the Twins did at the deadline? 

 

The Twins waited until Tuesday, the trade deadline, to make their moves, but in the end, they added right-handed starter Tyler Mahle, right-handed relievers Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer, and a backup catcher option in Sandy Leon. It came at a price as the Twins dealt infielders Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, left-handed pitchers Cade Povich, Steve Hajjar and Juan Rojas, right-handed pitchers Yennier Cano, Sawyer Gipson Long and Juan Nunez. 

Seth Stohs: As you know, I don’t like to see prospects traded, and yet, I fully understand that it is a necessary evil in order for the big-league club to add talent and fill holes. Before the deadline, the obvious question is: What do the Twins need to do? I would tell people that they need to add at least one starter, two reliable relievers, and another catching option. That’s exactly what the Twins front office did. Mahle now rejoins Sonny Gray at the top of the Twins rotation. Lopez should team with Jhoan Duran at the end of ball games. Fulmer should slot into 7th and 8th innings with Griffin Jax.

Back to the prospects, Spencer Steer has a chance to be a really good player, but with the Twins, he’s behind Jose Miranda and others. Same with Christian Encarnacion-Strand who has destroyed baseballs since entering pro ball in 2021. Steve Hajjar has had an up and down season, but he has a chance to be good if healthy. Cade Povich has a chance to be a mid-rotation starter, maybe even more. The Twins had to give up something in order to get something, but they did just that. The front office made the necessary moves. The question, in my mind, is if the Twins added enough to stay ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central. We shall see. 

Jeremy Nygaard: For me, the long and the short of it is that you hope your prospects turn into productive players. Not that they’re great comparisons, but you hope you can develop Cade Povich into a player with Tyler Mahle’s ability. You hope that any of those other pitching prospects that were dealt if they fail as starters, turn into really good relievers like Jorge Lopez. And that’s exactly how the teams that dealt Mahle and Lopez feel too. They just acquired three or four chances. Nobody that the Twins dealt is sure things and like you mentioned, Seth, even Steer was going to have a hard time breaking into the lineup. It’s hard not to like the deals they made because they give the Twins a chance to go deeper this year, Mahle will be a big part of the rotation in ‘23 and Lopez helps the bullpen for the next two years. Plus they still have all their top prospects. Sure, Fulmer was a rental, but at a low cost. Now, if you want to talk about if Lopez has two more years being the dude he is now… well, that’s another story.

Melissa Berman: Tuesday represented the most active trade deadline day the Twins have had in years, maybe ever, and is a clear message from the front office: "We see ourselves as serious contenders, and we want to win now." While losing high-flying prospects like Steer and Encarnacion-Strand is unfortunate, it simultaneously is a vote of confidence for the Twins' young corps of Arraez, Miranda, Lewis, Kirilloff, and Larnach. When healthy, each player has produced at a high level, and it is outwardly apparent that the Twins see them in their long-term outlook. Consequently, there would not be a lot of places for these hitting prospects to go in the Twins organization. The Twins made good moves on Tuesday that provide them with much-needed help for the rest of the 2022 season and several more to come.

Contrast the multitude of Twins moves with the Chicago White Sox, who only added reliever Jake Diekman, and the Cleveland Guardians, who added pitcher Ian Hamilton. The lack of moves could mean one of two things: the teams think they can compete with what they currently have, or, conversely, they don't see themselves as serious division contenders this season. Rebuilding and major retooling of lineups are best done in the offseason with the free agent market at a team’s disposal. Time will tell if the AL Central, currently the most competitive division race in baseball, will stay a close three-horse race, and if the Twins’ moves will be enough to keep them on top. 

Rena Wang: To echo Melissa, it was exciting as a fan to see the Twins so active at the trade deadline for the first time in years. We’ve become accustomed to disappointment and a lack of urgency to win (CC. the trade Correa crew), but we’ve known in the back of our minds all along that the Twins’ front office is ready to win with the moves that were made in the offseason.

It's always painful to lose prospects, especially Christian Encarnacion-Strand who was recently named the Minor League Hitter of the Month for the second time, but the definition of a prospect speaks for itself. I’m always an advocate of taking a risk for something tangible and certain. The Twins also exceeded expectations by trading for Jorge López, the best young closer in baseball. Although Michael Fulmer fits the profile of the average Twins’ trade target, he’s having a career season in the bullpen and would slot in perfectly with Griffin Jax and Tyler Duffey as a middle reliever. Tyler Mahle is the starter that the Twins desperately need with Bailey Ober headed to the 60-Day IL. All in all, if these trade targets continue to perform as advertised, the Twins have a real shot to compete for the first time in years. 

Theo Tollefson: The Falvey and Levine regime had their best trade deadline to date Tuesday. They acquired the bare minimum of what many Twins fans had been asking for since mid-June with a reliable middle-of-the-rotation starter and two backend relievers. 

Tyler Mahle was the best acquisition of them all. Mahle has had much better numbers on the road this year than he had at Great American Ballpark with the Red. Given that Target Field is more of a pitcher-friendly ballpark than GAB, Mahle should find himself more comfortable in his new home ballpark for the next year and a half with the Twins. 

Jorge Lopez was a surprise acquisition but a welcomed one at that. Lopez has finally reached the potential he was given as a prospect with the Brewers over seven years ago. Although Rocco Baldelli has never officially designated someone as the closer in his five years as manager, people can expect Lopez to unofficially fill that role for the Twins and take a load off of Duran and the rest of the bullpen.

Michael Fulmer is just another good addition for a depleted Twins bullpen. He will certainly help in any role he is used for in relief. 

The Twins did give up a good amount of prospects to acquire who they needed this deadline, but they did not sell their entire farm system as the Padres did to get what they needed. This sets the team up well to win the AL Central this season and retool themselves for next year as well. 

Nash Walker: The Twins filled their biggest hole with a bang in Jorge López. They so badly needed a high-leverage right-handed reliever to pair with Jhoan Duran in the back of the bullpen. Other than Josh Hader, López was the best reliever dealt during the deadline. He’s also under team control through 2024, a significant wrinkle that sets up the Twins’ backend for the future. 

Tyler Mahle was my No. 1 target for the Twins when combining every factor. He should thrive outside of Cincinnati and I love his stuff. He knows how to pitch and there’s room for upside. Mahle is a mid-rotation starter *right now,* but I think there’s a real chance he’s a frontline starter very soon. Could they have used another starter? No question. Mahle is a great addition either way. 

After Mahle and López, I was hoping the Twins wouldn’t stop short. They then traded for Michael Fulmer, who I think is one of the more underrated relievers in baseball. Fulmer shuts down right-handed hitters and the Twins now boast a strength in the bullpen with Duran, López, Griffin Jax and Fulmer. It was a good finish to a good deadline. Let’s see how it plays out. 

Matt Braun: This was exactly the trade deadline the Twins needed; each move perfectly covered a weakness and two of the deals netted players who will impact future Twins teams as well. It’s hard to complain about that. What excites me—beyond the added talent—is that the team found a way to trade uncertain or blocked prospects without losing the big names. Spencer Steer is a major loss, but he had no easy path to the Twins; Cade Povich is a serious blow—I thought that he had the potential to become a solid mid-rotation arm—but he’s the only player I’m truly worked up over. 

Tyler Mahle is the dude. I’ve wanted Mahle on the team for years; I think his performance has another gear left and moving him away from a little league ballpark will neutralize his home run issue. I’m absolutely ecstatic that the Twins snagged him away from the Reds, and I might argue that he would be a theoretical game 1 starter (don’t worry, I knocked on wood after typing that). Jorge López is another great get. His stuff is mind-bending, he’s only 29, and the Twins will have him for two more years following this season. He and Jhoan Duran in the back-end may be the best—and nastiest—1-2 punch the team has had in a long time. Michael Fulmer is an acceptable get; he fills the 6th/7th inning role adequately—although his control worries me—and a middle relief piece deepens the bullpen. Gone are the days of Tyler Thornburg pitching in the 8th inning.

My only qualm is that Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer still constitute 40% of the starting rotation. That’s not a terrible problem—every team will tell you that they aren’t fully comfortable with their starting staff—but it’s still an area the team could have improved upon. Netting Carlos Rodón would have made this an award-winning deadline; instead, it’s a great one.

Your Turn: Share your thoughts in the comments below. Try to keep it to 150-200 words, and enjoy reading the thoughts of others.  

 

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[1Hit the ball]

Depending on his work ethic Mahle will either be excited or disappointed that he won't pitch more than five innings.  

[bighat]

I think they did OK.

We have to remember that here in 2022, Mahle is going to probably only pitch in - at most - 10 games for this team. If the Twins go 5-5 during those games, do we consider this a good trade? Getting him for next year is great, but in order for this to be a good trade for 2022, we're going to need Mahle to go 6-7 innings per start and the Twins need to go 7-3 or 8-2 when he is on the mound. Is that realistic?

The bullpen guys I'm fine with, good additions, same goes for the catcher.

Honestly I think the Twins (and many fans) are denying the problems that this team has on offense. Of course, the pitching has been so horrific that it's hard to blame anyone for that. But I really think to have a chance at a successful season, the Twins needed to add a bat and they didn't do it. And they probably couldn't do it, because they have nobody left to trade.

Grade: C

[Nashvilletwin]

The FO did a great job solving for the holes that were apparent for quite some time: namely relief pitching and a quality starter, They did their research on both sides of the trade market prioritising whom they wanted and whom they were willing to deal.

Yesterday’s win was a textbook example of how a relief corp should operate. It just hasn’t felt we’ve had that all year. Hopefully, we now have some defined roles in the pen with Jax in early high leverage relief, Fulmer and Duran in the set up roles depending on matchups, and López closing. Resign Fulmer and a solid relief corp is on hand for at least a couple of years. That’s been our biggest hole and it was solved. 

The Mahle deal is saved by the extra year of control. Outside of injury risk, he is a solid upgrade to Archer and Bundy giving us three solid starters joining Ryan and Gray. Assuming we get to playoff baseball, that’s a good starting point to be able to compete (especially when coupled with the new core in the pen). 

The cost definitely hurt a bit, but none of the players given up were likely to contribute in ‘23 and maybe even ‘24 - both years being projected open window years. Importantly, the core of our young, controllable, and relatively cheap position players were not touched. Drafting Lee and Miller, along with Lewis, takes the sting off of losing Steer (let’s be grateful he played so well this year driving up his value). CES is a masher - and will have to continue to be as a likely DH in the bigs. Again, assuming health, would we rather have Miranda, Kiriloff or Larnach? Yes.

Re filling position player holes, the FO had enough time to fill Jeffers’ spot, especially given the backup nature of the need. The injuries to Kepler and Kiriloff were a bit late in the game, and hopefully, transitory enough that quickly developing a plan and spending more capital to fill the bigger (i.e more expensive) need those injuries created just probably didn’t make sense.

Overall, the FO gets an A for their reactive actions in filling the biggest holes and positioning the team for a bit of a run this year as well as building/not damaging the future for the next couple of years. However, they don’t get as much commendation for their actions in the off season creating the pitching staff leading to the needs.

One final thought - given his solid, but not spectacular, performance this season to-date, Correa might just stick around next year for $35MM and a team better poised to compete. Just wondering….

 

[Mark G]

I wasn't expecting much to begin with this year, so I have to say I am pleasantly surprised.  I like the BP additions, I am optimistic about Mahle, and any catcher is better than no catcher, although when another team's AAA catcher is better than our AAA catcher, we should be looking long term at the catching situation in this organization.  We literally had no one we felt could be brought up from any level (which means we still don't).  That needs to be addressed.  Otherwise, I like the control we got with a couple of the pitchers, and the BP is looking a lot more competitive today than it did Tuesday morning.  I do agree with the sentiment that Mahle needs to be allowed to do what he does best, which is eat innings; that will be interesting to see.  It will only be worth getting an innings eater if we allow him to eat the innings.  A real test of Rocco and his philosophy.    

Overall, they did a lot more than I thought they would, and got some arms that just might be the difference.  We will know in 58 games, I guess, but it appears (at least on paper) that we are a better team overall today than we were 2 days ago.

[Whitey333]

Great moves by the Twins.  Now if somebody can train Rocco how to use a pitching staff it may work out great.  The starting pitchers need to regularly go 6-7 innings at this point in the season.  If the philosophy is to only let your starters go 5 innings then I'm afraid the new additions may succumb to lower expectations for Mahle and burnout use for the new guys.  Yesterday the Twins won 4-1 with Ryan pitching a very good game.  Yet not even allowed to pitch 6 innings we wound up using 4 relievers.  I view the trades as good not only for this year but for most for the years ahead.  They gave up some prospects but none of their top ones.  

Grade B+. Not quite an A because we still have Correa who hasnt performed at a superstar status.  We likely lose him for nothing after the season.  Could maybe have replenished some prospect pool.

[rv78]

I am more excited for 2023 than I am for 2022. Having Mahle and Lopez for more than just the rest of this year is huge. If the injury bug ever goes away and they can field their best players for an entire season this could be a really good team. It'd be nice to have a  lineup with a healthy Buxton, and Larnach in the outfield. Jeffers/Leon, Kirilloff/Arraez, Polanco, Correa/Lewis, Miranda in the Infield. A rotation of Gray, Mahle, Maeda, Ryan, and 1 of Ober/Paddock/Winder/Smeltzer. Add Alcala to the pen with Lopez, Duran, Jax. Extend Fulmer. Trade Kepler, Urshela and Sanchez for another/better outfielder and 2 or 3 more good bullpen arms. If they can't get what they want thru trade be aggressive for them during Free Agency. 2023 has the possibility of being the best year of this organization in a long time despite Rocco mismanaging the team. Just think how much better they could be with a good manager.

[MinnInPa]

hated to lose Steer  ..and Strand....but, all others wont matter one bit. Glad we didnt have to part with Miranda, Kiriloff, Wallner or Lewis. We now have a pretty good top 3 rotation and a bonifide closer. and i'd trust Fullmer over Duffy and Jax. Over all , id give the trade deadline deals an A

[RJA]

I like what they did across the board.  They got two pitchers with control beyond this year, and a rental who will definitely help this year.  Even Leon was a good addition as he is a quality defensive catcher.  I guess I am a little like Seth and some others on this site as I really enjoy watching the prospects develop, and we lost some good ones.  I hope they all do well in their new surroundings.  We dealt CES and Steer from a position of strength with Miranda, Arraez, Polanco, Lewis and soon Lee to form a great infield nucleus for the foreseeable future.  Povich and Hajjar are a loss, but we managed to keep Raya who I think may have more potential than either of those two, and we have hope that Winder, Canterino, Alcala and others can get healthy and contribute next year.  Plus, Prielipp may be as close to the bigs as either Povich or Hajjar.  If the Twins want to compete this year, these moves had to be done.  The question is:  do they have enough to win the division and make noise in the postseason?  I am not sure they do, but they have a heck of a better chance today than they did before these trades. Now we have to wait and see and enjoy the race.

[Linus]

I’m excited by all the moves. They shored up the pitching for this year and next and used their excess at 2nd and 3rd to do it. It was as good an outcome as I was hoping for now we will see how it plays out. 
Leone looks very smooth behind the plate - he is already our best defensive catcher. 

[Seth Stohs]

25 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

 

Grade B+. Not quite an A because we still have Correa who hasnt performed at a superstar status.  We likely lose him for nothing after the season.  Could maybe have replenished some prospect pool.

Just to verify... great that they went and got three quality pitchers to put the pitching in a better spot for 2022, but they should have traded Correa for prospects? I get that Correa isn't hitting at a .900 OPS clip, but man, he's been solid offensively and defensively as well as leading the team. 

[jorgenswest]

These were necessary trades at the deadline and a credit to the drafting and development of talent that can bring back a controllable reliever and starter at the deadline.

I hope this is a win for both sides of these trades at the deadline and we see the Twins win the central and a playoff series while the prospects they traded find their way to the major leagues down the road.

[Dantes929]

No loss on position players.    I know we want depth but Miranda, Polanco and Arraez should be main stays for the next several years.     I am on board.  

[Otaknam]

They solidified the BP and added a capable starter so that helps. I’m big on player development so losing the minor leaguers hurts but they didn’t have to trade Larnach, Kiriloff, Lewis, Canterino, or others who are close to the bigs. But the lack of an ace is the big issue going forward since now they have a handful of number three starters. That may win a division but not win you the World Series. 

[old nurse]

59 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Great moves by the Twins.  Now if somebody can train Rocco how to use a pitching staff it may work out great.  The starting pitchers need to regularly go 6-7 innings at this point in the season.  If the philosophy is to only let your starters go 5 innings then I'm afraid the new additions may succumb to lower expectations for Mahle and burnout use for the new guys.  Yesterday the Twins won 4-1 with Ryan pitching a very good game.  Yet not even allowed to pitch 6 innings we wound up using 4 relievers.  I view the trades as good not only for this year but for most for the years ahead.  They gave up some prospects but none of their top ones.  

Grade B+. Not quite an A because we still have Correa who hasnt performed at a superstar status.  We likely lose him for nothing after the season.  Could maybe have replenished some prospect pool.

About Correa, after a rough April he has been hitting as well as he ever has for a season,. That he was considered a superstar when he got here, what were you expecting?

[roger]

Unlike several above, I was not surprised by what our FO did on Tuesday.  Heck no, I was shocked.

None of us has a clue how any of the prospects will turn out, even E-S.  If history holds, a couple will play in the major leagues and maybe one becomes a very good player.  In return the Twins restocked to make a legitimate run for the Central Division crown and maybe, just maybe a few wins in the playoffs.  

I expect we are going to be happy with all the pitchers.  But I have this nagging feeling that the big reward is going to be Leon.  The Twins catchers weren't good defensively, to my eyes, and both were disappointing with their bats...although Jeffers was hitting better when injured.  I could be wrong, but I remember Leon as a very good defensive catcher when playing for Cleveland over the years, someone who could actually throw out a base stealer.  Considering he is only 33, I was surprised that he was both no longer on Cleveland's 40-man roster and available for such a little cost.  I can foresee him being behind the plate half the time for the remainder of the season with our pitchers performing better as a result.  Hopefully, that starts tomorrow with his catching Mahle in his first start.

[Brandon]

Sandy Leon has already justified his acquisition yesterday with his offensive performance.  The two relievers are off to a nice start but they cost more so it will be a while before their trades are justified.  Well maybe not Fullmer…. 
 

How could any Twins fan not be thrilled with the deadline trades?

[mk]

Love that the Twins made moves to win this year. Also love they didn't mortgage the future by overspending for SP rentals like Syndergaard or Rodon.

SS is in as good of hands this year as ever. The hard truth is that even with production below what everyone dreamed on with Correa, it's better than what can be expected out of anyone else that would have been available so the time to try is now. The fact that Correa is earning big $$$ doesn't matter. If Correa didn't sign with the Twins I'd wager that $35MM "leftover" budget just doesn't get spent.

I'm excited to follow the Twins for the rest of this year and with the rest of the division making minimal moves, the AL Central is theirs for the taking. Next year looks good too. Correa would be better than any other option, but even when Correa  moves on, having his $35MM come off the books (as well as Sano's $12MM, Sanchez's $9MM, and Urshela's $6.5MM) the budget should allow for significant upgrades (or at least some interesting offseason blueprints).

[SockNet]

Gleeman stated the need for OF help with all the injuries. I've read O'dubell Hererra and JBJ have been DFA's. I wonder if the Twins will be looking for these kinds of pick ups for some short term help?

[Doctor Gast]

I rate this trade an A, I moved it up from an A- because I was very impressed by Leon's 1st appearance. This trade ranks right up there with MacPhail's trades. I take back every negative word about this FO inability to be proactive in trades. Although I've held out hope that they'd pull off trades like these. 

I don't get it with fans who'd want to horde redundant players & prospects only to lose potential undeveloped prospects during the #5 rule draft  (we could've lost Miranda). This philosophy  will get us nowhere, We lost some redundant bats and a couple of potential pitchers. We haven't develop a very good pitcher except Berrios and we traded him away,

These trades should put us in the post season and maybe next.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

The FO couldn't possibly say with a straight face that they are trying to win and then trade Correa.  I agree that he isn't necessarily living up to his contract (at least at the plate) but you may have lost the clubhouse if he was traded.  I love the moves.  I think Povich has a real chance to be a good major league pitcher, but you got an all-star closer and one of the top 5 starting pitchers that got moved.  A- grade at least. 

[tony&rodney]

Lopez and Fulmer were exactly what the bullpen needed. I expect that life will calm down after the starters are pulled. Mahle was a big addition as well because he has the ability to throw quality innings every time out. We get to see him against a very good Toronto team in his first appearance as a Twin. I do think that it would have been possible to lure Montas from Oakland with a superior flotilla of players than what the Yankees offered. Montas is capable of repeated high quality 7 inning starts. It was a very successful day for the Twins. Congratulations to their front office team.

[KBJ1]

Great that they made the moves to fill their most glaring needs. They finally dipped their toes in the "win now window of opportunity ".

correa is a great player and an X factor, but I have said all along (and been proven right) they should have rolled the dice with Mjranda & Lewis to begin with and spent 35M on pitching before the season Lewis would still be playing SS as he wouldnt have gotten hurt playing out of position in CF.

My only real question is how did they not go after Hosmer?? The Padres paid his entire contract AND gave away two good prospects to the Red Sox to take him. With both of our 1B out and the fill ins (Arraez & Miranda) playing out of position and making mistakes, a veteran prescence like Hosmer would have been a godsend! As much as we love Arraez as a hitter, he is a one tool player with no speed, a bum knee and a poor fielder.

Urshela needs to back up SS, platoon with Miranda at 3B. Miranda would then  back up Hosmer at 1B. Sano is done & Kiriloff looks to be as well.

Oh well, it is what it is now. They need Buxton, Lanarch, Kepler & hopefully Kiriloff back now that their pitching may give them a chance.

[tony&rodney]

I'm totally flummoxed by any post that even mentions/suggests a trade of Carlos Correa. Maybe those who do so follow the games electronically and pore over statistics. If you watch the games you wouldn't even consider the idea.

[Mortimerkenny21]

1 hour ago, rv78 said:

a  lineup with a healthy Buxton, and Larnach in the outfield. Jeffers/Leon, Kirilloff/Arraez, Polanco, Correa/Lewis, Miranda in the Infield. A rotation of Gray, Mahle, Maeda, Ryan, and 1 of Ober/Paddock/Winder/Smeltzer. Add Alcala to the pen with Lopez, Duran, Jax. Extend Fulmer.

I totally agree with this! It's exciting now and is going to be fun to watch this year. But 2023 could really be an exciting year if this is how the stars line up! It was refreshing to see moves being made, and the exact moves that every Twins has been screaming for every time the bullpen blows a lead!

[MGM4706]

Truth is Twins got out manuvered by Seattle for the real prize (Castillo) who they got for very little. But they at least salvaged something with the pen addition. Starter is another middle of the road guy. Until Twins change their thinking that an ACE is not needed they won't be able to compete with the Big Boys! No team has gone deep in the Playoffs without an Ace in 50 years. Let's start there! You have to Pay to Play! Twins won't so they are what they are .500++ And a One and done team if they make the playoffs. Just reality 

[farmerguychris]

2 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Great moves by the Twins.  Now if somebody can train Rocco how to use a pitching staff it may work out great.  The starting pitchers need to regularly go 6-7 innings at this point in the season.  If the philosophy is to only let your starters go 5 innings then I'm afraid the new additions may succumb to lower expectations for Mahle and burnout use for the new guys.  Yesterday the Twins won 4-1 with Ryan pitching a very good game.  Yet not even allowed to pitch 6 innings we wound up using 4 relievers.  I view the trades as good not only for this year but for most for the years ahead.  They gave up some prospects but none of their top ones.  

Grade B+. Not quite an A because we still have Correa who hasnt performed at a superstar status.  We likely lose him for nothing after the season.  Could maybe have replenished some prospect pool.

Why do you wish the starters to go 6-7 innings when there is statistical data which shows that nearly every pitcher in the history of the game have worse stats when facing hitters for the third time in a day.  When our BP was awful, it made sense to consider pushing the starters longer, hoping they can be the exception to the 3rd time thru the order historical data.  However with an upgraded BP, we should be more confident playing the numbers and having them go thru twice and then turn it over.  Numbers don't lie.

[bunsen82]

26 minutes ago, MGM4706 said:

Truth is Twins got out manuvered by Seattle for the real prize (Castillo) who they got for very little. But they at least salvaged something with the pen addition. Starter is another middle of the road guy. Until Twins change their thinking that an ACE is not needed they won't be able to compete with the Big Boys! No team has gone deep in the Playoffs without an Ace in 50 years. Let's start there! You have to Pay to Play! Twins won't so they are what they are .500++ And a One and done team if they make the playoffs. Just reality 

It has been reported the twins coveted Mahle more than any other pitcher on the market.  Whether due to his lower cost or the expectation he may be as good or better than Castillo or Montas.  Mahle cost quite a bit but we have the option of giving him a qualifying offer and if he does as well as we think he will that would turn into a pick at the end of the first round.  Or we get him for another year.  So right now we are looking at 1 year 2 months and a future end of the first round draft pick, or 2 years and 2 months for Mahle.  That is a pretty good return. 

I truly think the twins think he is an ACE.  We will see if that comes to fruition or not.  As to Lopez,  this current version of him,  he is a stud.  7 pitches 3 up 3 down.  I was talking with my uncle yesterday and he thought I needed to know what a closers roll is since we haven't had one since Molitor left :).   It was refreshing to not load the bases and hope we can get out of the inning by the skin of out teeth.  Lopez for 2+ years for 1 solid prospect, and older reliever with control issues and 2 flyers seems like a very good deal for the Twins.  

Fulmer for a player potential at risk in the rule V draft works out very well for the Twins.  Its another reliable arm to spread out the stress and responsibilites. 

If Maeda can make it back and be a solid reliever in the bullpen,  the bullpen is suddenly a strength of the team. 

The trades made help as much for next year as this year.  The cherry on top may be that Correa seems to be really invested in this team and organization.  There is more of a possibility he may be willing to either not opt out or take a team friendly deal ( I use this term loosely).  This puts the ball in managements court on how they want to attack next years team,  but if Correa stays,  we will have likely one of the top 5-6 teams in MLB and a legit shot at the World Series.   

[Mark G]

9 minutes ago, farmerguychris said:

Why do you wish the starters to go 6-7 innings when there is statistical data which shows that nearly every pitcher in the history of the game have worse stats when facing hitters for the third time in a day.  When our BP was awful, it made sense to consider pushing the starters longer, hoping they can be the exception to the 3rd time thru the order historical data.  However with an upgraded BP, we should be more confident playing the numbers and having them go thru twice and then turn it over.  Numbers don't lie.

If a starter cannot go through a lineup AT LEAST a 3rd time, we won't talk yet about a 4th, then he is nothing more than a long reliever.  Period.  When a BP pitches over 40% of the innings pitched in a season, it wears out; those stats don't lie, either.  And when you go into a game knowing you are going to use 4 or 5 pitchers each and every game, every one of them has to be on that day to succeed.  Tuesday's game should be a shining example of that.  It only took one guy having a bad inning to lose the game, solely on that bad inning.  Our offense scores 3 runs or less 40 plus percent of the games this year; we simply do not have the margin for error to have one reliever having a bad outing on any given game.  Ryan was doing fine, and has proven he has the stamina to go deeper.  If even one of the guys coming in after him had a bad day, well, see Tuesday.  

18 at bats and take a shower is not a starting pitcher.  If the philosophy is piggy back a couple of long relievers and bring in the late inning guys, then go with that, but it means stretching out a lot more of our pen guys to go 3 or so innings.  And how many innings in a season can they do, having never done it before?  Otherwise, you have what we saw the last two days.  5 pitchers all having to be on every game.  Could it possibly, just possibly, be that is a major reason we are only 6 games over .500 in a weak division?  Our leading starter has barely over 90 innings pitched......in the first week in August!  And the BP has been a major reason we are where we are, wearing out as the season goes.  I don't need to see any other analytics than that to see a pretty real problem.  

[Morneau for Gov]

My primary beef with these trades is the timing. Why not "expend" this prospect capital during a 100+ win season like 2019 when their only helpful add was Romo to a team that legitimately had WS aspirations? 

What are the Twins' aspirations this season? Are they beating the Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, or Padres and winning a WS this year? Or are they hoping to win a single playoff game and break that disgusting 18 game losing streak? 

I really like Steer, Encarnacion-Strand, and Povich. I think they're worth giving up...if it's your year to go for it, not just desperate for a pyric victory.