My questions for next season

[mikelink45]

I know that this is the time of year for reflection and thus I am caught up in my own questions for a team that has settled too questionably into the middle of the pack after a quick start that gave us too much hope in a lousy division.  So here are my personal thoughts going forward:

1. Is Correa gone or will the team heap some more money on top of the ridiculous one he was just paid for 2022?  And if not who is the SS interim to Lewis and Lee?  Palacios does not look like the answer, but another fill in SS could block Lewis and make him a CF again.
2. Do we have the courage to rush Lee to the majors like Seattle did with Rodriguez? Is MLB going away from the years in the minors mantra?
3. Gray and Ryan are set, but will the Twins dumpster dive or find one more high quality pitcher?  
4. Do Mahle, Maeda, and Paddock come back healthy?  If so does that complete the rotation?
5. Among the young SP Ober seems to have the highest position, but how do we rank Ober, Winder, Varland, Richardson?
6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect?
7. Will we keep Pagan and Lopez?  Why?
8. How do we build a BP that can hold up to Baldelli's usage?
9. Can Kiriloff and Larnach make it through an entire season?  If they can what is the OF?  Who do we keep from Wallner, Larnach, Kiriloff, Celestino, Kepler, Cave, Gordon, Buxton (of course), Contreras?  
10. Are we bound to keep Leon as backup catcher?
11. Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?
12. Who is going to teach our players how to run the bases?
13. Does Wallner get the iron glove award or is there another challenger?
14. Who becomes the next pitching coach?  
15. Why to we have a bench coach?  Is Tingler the right guy?
16. Is there a big trade coming to clear some of the logjams?
17. What is the expectation for the Central division next year?  Will it still stink or is it rising?  And will the Guardians still be the top team?
18. Finally, what is a good expectation for the Twins next year?  Are we 500 or more?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Good questions!

[Richie the Rally Goat]

38 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Will Falvey and Levine’s brand of Dumpster Diving, signing or trading for high quality but oft-injured players, continue in ‘23? Will contingency plans improve?

[Blyleven2011]

All good questions  ,,,

can the FO take control  and assess these questions and deliver to the fans  a winning twins  team ...

A good check list ...

[Nashvilletwin]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I know that this is the time of year for reflection and thus I am caught up in my own questions for a team that has settled too questionably into the middle of the pack after a quick start that gave us too much hope in a lousy division.  So here are my personal thoughts going forward:

1. Is Correa gone or will the team heap some more money on top of the ridiculous one he was just paid for 2022?  And if not who is the SS interim to Lewis and Lee?  Palacios does not look like the answer, but another fill in SS could block Lewis and make him a CF again.
2. Do we have the courage to rush Lee to the majors like Seattle did with Rodriguez? Is MLB going away from the years in the minors mantra?
3. Gray and Ryan are set, but will the Twins dumpster dive or find one more high quality pitcher?  
4. Do Mahle, Maeda, and Paddock come back healthy?  If so does that complete the rotation?
5. Among the young SP Ober seems to have the highest position, but how do we rank Ober, Winder, Varland, Richardson?
6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect?
7. Will we keep Pagan and Lopez?  Why?
8. How do we build a BP that can hold up to Baldelli's usage?
9. Can Kiriloff and Larnach make it through an entire season?  If they can what is the OF?  Who do we keep from Wallner, Larnach, Kiriloff, Celestino, Kepler, Cave, Gordon, Buxton (of course), Contreras?  
10. Are we bound to keep Leon as backup catcher?
11. Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?
12. Who is going to teach our players how to run the bases?
13. Does Wallner get the iron glove award or is there another challenger?
14. Who becomes the next pitching coach?  
15. Why to we have a bench coach?  Is Tingler the right guy?
16. Is there a big trade coming to clear some of the logjams?
17. What is the expectation for the Central division next year?  Will it still stink or is it rising?  And will the Guardians still be the top team?
18. Finally, what is a good expectation for the Twins next year?  Are we 500 or more?

1. Gone. Polacios until mid season. Then Lee or Lewis.

2. Mid season. He will be ready. 

3. We will add one more starter - #4-5 type.

4. One will be healthy - Maeda. 

5. Your rank is currently correct. All four start games next year and maybe a lot of them.

6. No - sadly. Could be pen destined.

7. No way and maybe. Isn’t Lopez signed to one more year?

8. Cash. Cold hard cash. With our current manager’s strategy, this has to be the absolute #1 priority - a deep, shutdown pen. 

9. No.  But the OF is ok. Kepler is gone. Don’t forget Gordon.

10. No.

11. Yes, but we won’t.  Yes, but it’s not great. Don’t forget Gordon.

12. Lol - supposedly it’s still Rocco and staff. Yeah, right. 

13. The new Delmon Young. But his arm is unbo.

14. Who wants that job with this FO and manager?

15. The entire staff should be replaced - but only if we want to win.

16. Nothing major - probably acquire another injured pitcher for one or two of our top prospects. 

17. Guardians all the way - young, talented, well-managed. They are ascending.  We are not.

18. Take the under if the same leadership returns - no reason to expect otherwise. Anyone - please point to any evidence that this FO/Coaching Staff has what it takes to make this attendance challenged, mid-market team that can’t pitch, hit, throw, run, stay on the field, or not melt against stronger teams a true contender.  Wake up Pohlads.

 

[FlyingFinn]

I think everyone on TD should answer a list of questions like this and we can see who can actually say they should be the next GM (most were right about the Paddack trade but 95% agreed with the Mahle trade, but suddenly 50% say they "knew" this was a bad trade).

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I know that this is the time of year for reflection and thus I am caught up in my own questions for a team that has settled too questionably into the middle of the pack after a quick start that gave us too much hope in a lousy division.  So here are my personal thoughts going forward:

1. Is Correa gone or will the team heap some more money on top of the ridiculous one he was just paid for 2022?  And if not who is the SS interim to Lewis and Lee?  Palacios does not look like the answer, but another fill in SS could block Lewis and make him a CF again.
2. Do we have the courage to rush Lee to the majors like Seattle did with Rodriguez? Is MLB going away from the years in the minors mantra?
3. Gray and Ryan are set, but will the Twins dumpster dive or find one more high quality pitcher?  
4. Do Mahle, Maeda, and Paddock come back healthy?  If so does that complete the rotation?
5. Among the young SP Ober seems to have the highest position, but how do we rank Ober, Winder, Varland, Richardson?
6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect?
7. Will we keep Pagan and Lopez?  Why?
8. How do we build a BP that can hold up to Baldelli's usage?
9. Can Kiriloff and Larnach make it through an entire season?  If they can what is the OF?  Who do we keep from Wallner, Larnach, Kiriloff, Celestino, Kepler, Cave, Gordon, Buxton (of course), Contreras?  
10. Are we bound to keep Leon as backup catcher?
11. Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?
12. Who is going to teach our players how to run the bases?
13. Does Wallner get the iron glove award or is there another challenger?
14. Who becomes the next pitching coach?  
15. Why to we have a bench coach?  Is Tingler the right guy?
16. Is there a big trade coming to clear some of the logjams?
17. What is the expectation for the Central division next year?  Will it still stink or is it rising?  And will the Guardians still be the top team?
18. Finally, what is a good expectation for the Twins next year?  Are we 500 or more?

I will answer two. 

God no on Palacios for anything.

No bullpen can cover 5 innings in two games and two games of 4 innings every week

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

I think everyone on TD should answer a list of questions like this and we can see who can actually say they should be the next GM (most were right about the Paddack trade but 95% agreed with the Mahle trade, but suddenly 50% say they "knew" this was a bad trade).

I was uneasy about both Paddack and Mahle,  but I never said the trade for the pitcher with the questionable arm was "bad" on the day it was made.  I think I said, "I hope they know what they're doing, because they've seen the medicals and I haven't."

I may have to change this policy.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

I think everyone on TD should answer a list of questions like this and we can see who can actually say they should be the next GM (most were right about the Paddack trade but 95% agreed with the Mahle trade, but suddenly 50% say they "knew" this was a bad trade).

Nice idea. I’m in.

Pick some of those questions you are comfortable with, and give us your thoughts. Then I’ll follow, then you can follow that up. 

[FlyingFinn]

1. Correa is gone. Twins will sign a low cost SS who can play well defensively until Lewis gets back. I have changed my mind on Palacios unless the medical staff (oh boy, can we trust those guys with predictions) thinks Lewis is back earlier than expected.

2. No, we will not start with Lee with the Twins. Be ready for him in 2024.

3. No dumpster diving this off-season. Projected rotation - Gray, Ryan, Mahle, Ober, Winder and Maeda (6 man rotation with only Maeda starting with a 4 inning plan, but ramping up from there).

4. Mahle and Maeda come back healthy. Paddock projected for August and shouldn't be counted on.

5. Ober, Winder, Varland, SWR in that order to start with.

6. Balazovic is not a top prospect. I say he will only squeak by even staying on the 40 man roster.

7. We will keep Pagan and Lopez. I expect Lopez to bounce back and be good. Pagan should be gone but Twins like his potential (Note - mlbtraderumors incredibly said Pagan was due for a raise next year!)

8. Bullpen - have two relievers who can play the long relief role - Sands will be one of them.

9. No, both Kirilloff and Larnach will not make it through the entire season. An hbp can put a guy on the IL. OF - Larnach, Buxton, Kepler will start in the OF (though I would like the Twins to move on from Kepler). Sign a rh hitting outfielder. Celestino needs a long stretch in the minors to change his attitude and realize being a MLB OF is guaranteed no matter how you run the bases, miss the cutoff man, etc. Wallner needs some more time in St. Paul, especially to work on his defense.

10. Leon - no. Take a chance on someone else being better than Leon.

11. Yes, shop Polanco. We need a better defensive SS than Palacios with Miranda at 3B.

12. Teams hire coaches for everything now. Hire a base running coach who can also take over as 3B coach.

13. I love Miranda but he played longer than Wallner so he gets the Iron Glove award.

14. Name a pitching coach - no clue really so I will just say Pete Maki.

15. Bench coach changed nothing this year. Making sure we don't make a 2nd mound visit with nobody warming in the pen would be on my job description for him.

16. Trade - not of any of our top minor league prospects as getting Mahle and Lopez was supposed to solve our 2023 pitching issues for the most part. Polanco, Kepler and Urshela are all possibilities to get traded. No Correa, - we should use that money for a top starting pitcher in free agency. We just won't do that as our pitching luck/poor evaluation is that we sign the guy and he gets injured and his career is over, leaving us with a $150 contract to pay.

17. Central division will continue to be mediocre. Guardians injury luck will not continue. White Sox will be better and win the division. Tigers and Royals will be better but not pass the Twins.

18. 81-81

Let us know what you agree/disagree with.

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

14 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

1. Correa is gone. Twins will sign a low cost SS who can play well defensively until Lewis gets back. I have changed my mind on Palacios unless the medical staff (oh boy, can we trust those guys with predictions) thinks Lewis is back earlier than expected.

2. No, we will not start with Lee with the Twins. Be ready for him in 2024.

3. No dumpster diving this off-season. Projected rotation - Gray, Ryan, Mahle, Ober, Winder and Maeda (6 man rotation with only Maeda starting with a 4 inning plan, but ramping up from there).

4. Mahle and Maeda come back healthy. Paddock projected for August and shouldn't be counted on.

5. Ober, Winder, Varland, SWR in that order to start with.

6. Balazovic is not a top prospect. I say he will only squeak by even staying on the 40 man roster.

7. We will keep Pagan and Lopez. I expect Lopez to bounce back and be good. Pagan should be gone but Twins like his potential (Note - mlbtraderumors incredibly said Pagan was due for a raise next year!)

8. Bullpen - have two relievers who can play the long relief role - Sands will be one of them.

9. No, both Kirilloff and Larnach will not make it through the entire season. An hbp can put a guy on the IL. OF - Larnach, Buxton, Kepler will start in the OF (though I would like the Twins to move on from Kepler). Sign a rh hitting outfielder. Celestino needs a long stretch in the minors to change his attitude and realize being a MLB OF is guaranteed no matter how you run the bases, miss the cutoff man, etc. Wallner needs some more time in St. Paul, especially to work on his defense.

10. Leon - no. Take a chance on someone else being better than Leon.

11. Yes, shop Polanco. We need a better defensive SS than Palacios with Miranda at 3B.

12. Teams hire coaches for everything now. Hire a base running coach who can also take over as 3B coach.

13. I love Miranda but he played longer than Wallner so he gets the Iron Glove award.

14. Name a pitching coach - no clue really so I will just say Pete Maki.

15. Bench coach changed nothing this year. Making sure we don't make a 2nd mound visit with nobody warming in the pen would be on my job description for him.

16. Trade - not of any of our top minor league prospects as getting Mahle and Lopez was supposed to solve our 2023 pitching issues for the most part. Polanco, Kepler and Urshela are all possibilities to get traded. No Correa, - we should use that money for a top starting pitcher in free agency. We just won't do that as our pitching luck/poor evaluation is that we sign the guy and he gets injured and his career is over, leaving us with a $150 contract to pay.

17. Central division will continue to be mediocre. Guardians injury luck will not continue. White Sox will be better and win the division. Tigers and Royals will be better but not pass the Twins.

18. 81-81

Let us know what you agree/disagree with.

 

 

Good job. I will reply when I’m at a keyboard. Forewarning: I do not have opinions on everything. 

Also, we run into trouble with surprise moves out of nowhere, like the Taylor Rogers trade. We should not have traded Rogers—how would we know to oppose the trade before it happened?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

5 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

1. Correa is gone. Twins will sign a low cost SS who can play well defensively until Lewis gets back. I have changed my mind on Palacios unless the medical staff (oh boy, can we trust those guys with predictions) thinks Lewis is back earlier than expected.

2. No, we will not start with Lee with the Twins. Be ready for him in 2024.

3. No dumpster diving this off-season. Projected rotation - Gray, Ryan, Mahle, Ober, Winder and Maeda (6 man rotation with only Maeda starting with a 4 inning plan, but ramping up from there).

4. Mahle and Maeda come back healthy. Paddock projected for August and shouldn't be counted on.

5. Ober, Winder, Varland, SWR in that order to start with.

 

1. I agre Correa is gone. Fine. Sign a glove-first guy for 2023, then if Lewis recovers on schedule that will bring him back mid season. We are pretty much in agreement on this. And no I do not consider Palacios or Gordon to be options at short; maybe Polanco if they do not trade him, but see #11.

2. Regarding rushing Brooks Lee to the majors: Well they rushed Luis Arraez and look where that got us.  Actually I would put it at 50-50 that we see Lee in 2023 if what people are saying about him is true. 

3. Short answer is I disagree that Gray and Ryan are set for the rotation and the whole pitching thing is just where this whole project falls apart. The jury is still out on whether Ryan can pitch a whole season as if every team is Detroit or KC, and Gray just seems unhappy, and I would trade him. Obviously if Gray is on the roster and healthy when the season starts then Gray and Ryan are locks for the rotation, but I think they should explore trading Gray. 

4. I don’t think we should count on any of those three being major contributors in 2023. It seems like Mahle has the most potential. Maybe there are some stretching or diet programs he can do that will improve his chances for a good 2023 (not being facetious). 

5. As far as ceilings of being very good, I would put Winder ahead of Ober or Woods Richardson, with no idea about Varland. Varland has not been on my radar. However, Winder seems most likely to have arm issues? Don’t know,… 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect? 
Short answer: SURE
Long answer: TINSTAAPP

7. Will they keep Pagan and Lopez? Yes I think they will but not saying they should. The Twins bullpen will be much better next year, barring another “closer” signing like Colome or Rodney or Pagan who comes in and undoes what all the other pitchers before him did, and if Pagan and Lopez return they need to be considered to be at the bottom of the bullpen ladder, not the top. 
 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Hosken Bombo Disco

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect? 
Short answer: SURE
Long answer: TINSTAAPP

7. Will they keep Pagan and Lopez? Yes I think they will but not saying they should. The Twins bullpen will be much better next year, barring another “closer” signing like Colome or Rodney or Pagan who comes in and undoes what all the other pitchers before him did, and if Pagan and Lopez return they need to be considered to be at the bottom of the bullpen ladder, not the top. 
 

 

They traded 4 prospects for Lopez, he's a 100% lock to be back, the price for him was set based upon the years of control of his contract, for better or worse. As for Pagan, it's mind-blowing how he's still even on the roster despite having 3 straight poor seasons but the front office loves him for whatever reason. You would think they could get him back on a minor league deal, though.

[DJL44]

On 10/2/2022 at 6:57 AM, mikelink45 said:

Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?

I like an infield of Urshela, Iglesias, Arraez and Miranda better. There are a lot of combinations that can work if they can find a SS. That has to be the top priority of the offseason.

[baul0010]

17 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect? 
Short answer: SURE
Long answer: TINSTAAPP

7. Will they keep Pagan and Lopez? Yes I think they will but not saying they should. The Twins bullpen will be much better next year, barring another “closer” signing like Colome or Rodney or Pagan who comes in and undoes what all the other pitchers before him did, and if Pagan and Lopez return they need to be considered to be at the bottom of the bullpen ladder, not the top. 
 

 

Hopefully Alcala is healthy.  He would be a very good addition next year.

[baul0010]

23 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Good job. I will reply when I’m at a keyboard. Forewarning: I do not have opinions on everything. 

Also, we run into trouble with surprise moves out of nowhere, like the Taylor Rogers trade. We should not have traded Rogers—how would we know to oppose the trade before it happened?

Rogers had an almost 5 ERA with negative WAR.  That trade definitely did help or hurt the TWINS....other than we couldn't stop using Pagan.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

16 hours ago, Danchat said:

They traded 4 prospects for Lopez, he's a 100% lock to be back, the price for him was set based upon the years of control of his contract, for better or worse. As for Pagan, it's mind-blowing how he's still even on the roster despite having 3 straight poor seasons but the front office loves him for whatever reason. You would think they could get him back on a minor league deal, though.

Yikes, I wasn’t remembering what we gave up for Lopez.

[nicksaviking]

On 10/2/2022 at 6:57 AM, mikelink45 said:

I know that this is the time of year for reflection and thus I am caught up in my own questions for a team that has settled too questionably into the middle of the pack after a quick start that gave us too much hope in a lousy division.  So here are my personal thoughts going forward:

1. Is Correa gone or will the team heap some more money on top of the ridiculous one he was just paid for 2022?  And if not who is the SS interim to Lewis and Lee?  Palacios does not look like the answer, but another fill in SS could block Lewis and make him a CF again. 
2. Do we have the courage to rush Lee to the majors like Seattle did with Rodriguez? Is MLB going away from the years in the minors mantra?
3. Gray and Ryan are set, but will the Twins dumpster dive or find one more high quality pitcher?  
4. Do Mahle, Maeda, and Paddock come back healthy?  If so does that complete the rotation?
5. Among the young SP Ober seems to have the highest position, but how do we rank Ober, Winder, Varland, Richardson?
6. Is Balazovic still a top prospect?
7. Will we keep Pagan and Lopez?  Why?
8. How do we build a BP that can hold up to Baldelli's usage?
9. Can Kiriloff and Larnach make it through an entire season?  If they can what is the OF?  Who do we keep from Wallner, Larnach, Kiriloff, Celestino, Kepler, Cave, Gordon, Buxton (of course), Contreras?  
10. Are we bound to keep Leon as backup catcher?
11. Is it time to shop Polanco?  Can an infield of Miranda, Palacios, Arraez, Kiriloff field?
12. Who is going to teach our players how to run the bases?
13. Does Wallner get the iron glove award or is there another challenger?
14. Who becomes the next pitching coach?  
15. Why to we have a bench coach?  Is Tingler the right guy?
16. Is there a big trade coming to clear some of the logjams?
17. What is the expectation for the Central division next year?  Will it still stink or is it rising?  And will the Guardians still be the top team?
18. Finally, what is a good expectation for the Twins next year?  Are we 500 or more?

1. The Twins have nothing to spend their large allotment of FA money on, so they'll sign one of the big SS. (Because they won't give pitchers big money)

2. I like Lee, but Rodriguez had been in Seattle's system since 2018 and regularly OPS'd over 1.000. I don't think these prospects are remotely on the same level.

3. One dumpster dive and one trade for an 'I can live with that' pitcher. The dumpster dive does NOT make it past May next year.

4. Maeda: Yes, Mahle: TBD, Paddock: Nope

5. Ober (because he's actually done it), SWR and Varland. Winder would be first if it weren't for the injury concerns.

6. Top prospect? No.

7. Lopez yes, there's something there to fix (not that I know what it is). Pagan, no.

8. Baldelli's usage next year is TBD. The front office seems to change their prerogative with pitcher usage every couple of years and depending on who's in the rotation.

9. Health looks to be an issue for Kirilloff, but there's plenty of OF depth, roll with the hot hands.

10. Heck no. Maybe on a MiLB deal.

11. No need to sell low on Polanco. Reconsider if he rebounds and has another great season.

12. This seems like the spring training special instructor stuff. Soooo, Carew, Molitor or TK? Probably not Hrbek.

13. Better a corner OF than a corner IF.

14. Rick Knapp. Used to be in the Twins system and now has the double important title of assistant pitching and rehab coach for the Rays. The coaching staff is a bunch of young pups, they'll look to get someone with more experience to help out on 70's trivia night. 

15. Everyone has a bench coach. Tingler is probably fine.

16. I wish, but too many of the young guys have to prove their health first. Kepler, if he's at all considered "big".

17. I only hope the White Sox find another terrible coach to drive them further into the ground.

18. Yes? No way they can be this injured next year, right?

[Mike Sixel]

20 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

1. I agre Correa is gone. Fine. Sign a glove-first guy for 2023, then if Lewis recovers on schedule that will bring him back mid season. We are pretty much in agreement on this. And no I do not consider Palacios or Gordon to be options at short; maybe Polanco if they do not trade him, but see #11.

2. Regarding rushing Brooks Lee to the majors: Well they rushed Luis Arraez and look where that got us.  Actually I would put it at 50-50 that we see Lee in 2023 if what people are saying about him is true. 

3. Short answer is I disagree that Gray and Ryan are set for the rotation and the whole pitching thing is just where this whole project falls apart. The jury is still out on whether Ryan can pitch a whole season as if every team is Detroit or KC, and Gray just seems unhappy, and I would trade him. Obviously if Gray is on the roster and healthy when the season starts then Gray and Ryan are locks for the rotation, but I think they should explore trading Gray. 

4. I don’t think we should count on any of those three being major contributors in 2023. It seems like Mahle has the most potential. Maybe there are some stretching or diet programs he can do that will improve his chances for a good 2023 (not being facetious). 

5. As far as ceilings of being very good, I would put Winder ahead of Ober or Woods Richardson, with no idea about Varland. Varland has not been on my radar. However, Winder seems most likely to have arm issues? Don’t know,… 

 

Ryan has the 60th best ERA of starters this year. I don't know why anyone thinks he's not a legit starter. He was a rookie this year. 

I have no idea why they'd trade Gray. He was one of the better pitchers in baseball this year. Just let him throw 6 innings a start and everyone is happy.

[gman]

Obviously. Yes...Maybe...No...(repeat as needed)

[nicksaviking]

22 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Ryan has the 60th best ERA of starters this year. I don't know why anyone thinks he's not a legit starter. He was a rookie this year. 

I have no idea why they'd trade Gray. He was one of the better pitchers in baseball this year. Just let him throw 6 innings a start and everyone is happy.

Plus HE'S ending the season on the IL and the TWINS are ending the season with a bad rep for injuries. I doubt any team is going to be looking to trade for Twins starters unless it's at a discount.

[Number3]

Will they finally realize that Byron Buxton cannot stay healthy and trade him while he has some value? Do not even consider him as the starting center fielder.

Will they stop pretending that they are contending for a Central title and are in a total reconstruct starting with the lot and the foundation? Don't expect more than 60-70 wins next season.

Will they fire Baldelli just to do something and let that be their big move for 2023? Don't pretend that there is a clue as far as player acquisition is concerned. No one on the current roster is untouchable.  j Bring in anyone who has a chance to play and maybe blunder into a diamond in the rough.

Are they willing to pay half of Correa's salary to play for another team because that is exactly what they will have to do to get rid of him. No one else will come close to $35mil a year.

[Twinsoholic]

For #5, add Ronny Henriquez to the list of possible starters. He did fairly well in his major league innings this season. Maybe the Twins will think of him as a long man in the pen, but he might sneak up on a lot of people as a starter. His numbers in the minors this season were not eye catching—particularly because he had s rough time through at least the first half of the season. I liked a lot of what I saw while he was in a Twins jersey. 
 

 

[rv78]

1. Correa is gone. If he doesn't get his big contract and wants back in with the Twins at $35M the Twins can still say no.... Right? Once he opts out the Twins are off the hook, I believe. As for a replacement, they'll sign a stop-gap guy for 1 season or use a combination of Palacios, Gordon, Polanco until Lewis can return.

2. No. Twins will give Lee another full year in the minors.

3. I think what you see is what you get for next year. Unless Gray asks to be traded which is not out of the question. He was obviously not happy with the way Rocco pulled him in a lot of his starts.

4. Mahle and Maeda yes but in limited action due to Rocco and the FO being overly-cautious as usual, Paddock No.

5. Just as you have em.

6. Yes, he finished the year strong and will have a breakout season next year. I'm just hoping.

7. Unfortunately yes. However I think the FO will DFA Pagan midway through the season if he doesn't right the ship, just like they did with Duffey this year.

8. Not sure they can. It'll take a different approach than only using 1 inning guys. They'll need at least 2 long relievers. Henriquez and Sands? 

9. I think at the start of the season it'll be Larnach, Buxton and Kepler. I'd like to see Kepler get traded and replaced with a better bat but I don;t think they'll move him.

10. No, Sanchez will be gone too. This is one area they need to really make a good off-season acquisition. 

11. No, Polanco's value is too low right now, I expect him to have a bounce back season next year. The infield will be a new 1st baseman or a combo of Arraez, Kirilloff, and Miranda, Polanco/Gordon at 2b, SS see #1, Urshela/Miranda at 3rd. 

12. No one, it should have been done in the minors so unless they go back there for learning, it won't happen.

13. Maybe Jeffers and Sanchez, they sure seem to miss blocking a lot of pitches especially with runners on base.

14. Doesn't really matter, Rocco doesn't know how to use his pitchers anyway. Pretty sure that is why Wes Johnson left, IMO.

15. I've never really understood the value of a bench coach. If it's just to advise the Manager then Tingler did nothing to help the team unless Rocco didn't listen to him, which means the bench coach isn't important. 

16. The only logjam I see is 3rd base with Urshela and Miranda. We don't have a true 1st baseman, Polanco is at 2b, SS will be empty once Correa leaves. Jeffers is the only Catcher returning and the Outfield is full of part-time players. 

17. I don't see much change for next year.

18. If the Guardians play like they did this year and the WhiteSox right their ship to the way they were, the Twins will finish 3rd again just slightly above the Royals and Tigers. 82-80.