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Both Adrianza and May can be replaced internally for the minimum. Odorizzi is the wild card. If he duplicates last season, I would try to extend.

I like the outside the box thinking but seems like all we have are big bats and some of them have pretty good splits.. Stacking means there will be times the other team can bring in a righty when you have three right handed batters in a row and then bring in a lefty to face three lefties in a row and you never have a favorable matchup. I never mind our guys being intentionally walked. Its an automatic 1.00 OBP and OPS.

Nice write up, Seth. I still have big hopes for those four hitters. I think all will make the majors.

A much larger adjustment would be to stop crashing into everything!

I think this cut was just for the 40 man guys for service time and injury reasons, right? I do want to see what Kirilloff and Larnach can do in triple-A to start off the year to see what they can do against experienced pitchers. Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Cave, and Gonzalez in the majors and Kirilloff, Larnach, Rooker and Wade Jr. in Rochester. Absolutely stacked position.

You realize how old you are when the first person to come to mind as a cousin of Jose Miranda is Carmen Miranda.

All three are quality, valuable players in their own right. Just a few comments/opinions: 1] Adrianza: Unless a losing/non-contending comes along with a fairly substantial offer as they feel he can help them advance forward...as good as he is...he's not going to move a needle and is probably better off re-signing with the Twins. 2] May is good. Time to accept that. I am not saying the Twins should break the bank for a RP...we all know how volitle that market can be...but they need him and should extend him IMO. The budget should allow for it. 3] Odorizzi: I really like Oddo and think some undervalue him. He's not a #1 and never going to be, but he is very, very good for 5+ innings. No matter how much I like him, and want him to stay, he is not Wheeler with a 95MPH FB that teams hoped would help him take another step up and reach another level. Maybe I'm just lost, but there is no way he would have received $23-25M offers the way Wheeler did. $20M maybe?? But if so, that's only a couple $M than he's signed for this season. Arguements that he made a mistake or his agent is inept are just ridiculous. His salary is very fair and in line with market value the past couple of years, including this one. If not, he's only slightly below. I think all three can be re-signed/extended without any harm to the overall payroll.

I had the same reaction you did, but decided that the meaning was probably lost a bit without hearing emphasis. I suspect that Rocco was distinguishing between close and ready, so he was saying Thorpe is not just close, he's ready. That would make it consistent with the following sentence.

There are not many question marks on the Minnesota Twins 26-man roster coming into the 2020 season. Jake Cave and Willians Astudillo are in contention for the final bench spot, and the rotation has turned into a two-man race. How do Randy Dobnak and Jhoulys Chacin stack up? Coming into the spring there’s no denying the Twins hope was to have the veteran Chacin make this decision easy. Forget that Dobnak was the game two starter during the 2019 ALDS in Yankees Stadium, he’s a guy that showed up out of nowhere and has options remaining. The caveat though, is that he is the one continuing to force Minnesota’s hand. By now you know the story. Former Uber driver that played through all three levels of the farm in 2019 while posting a ridiculous 2.07 ERA, he’s the fun-loving guy with the handlebar mustache. Although he deviates from the traditional strikeout hurlers of today, he’s also incredibly strong with both his control and command. In not allowing hitters to beat him with big innings, he’s pitching in front of a lineup that will always give him a chance. After arguably his worst spring start, Dobnak now own a line of 10.0 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB and 6 K. Dominant, maybe not, but he’s looked the part of a big leaguer ever single time he’s stepped on the mound. Again, with the Twins hoping to unlock the 2018 Milwaukee Brewers version of Chacin, this wasn’t likely part of the equation. The long-time vet was an absolute mess last year. Jhoulys posted a 5.79 ERA while walking everyone before being jettisoned from The Crew. He landed in Boston and things actually got worse. Contributing just north of 14 IP, he tallied an ERA north of 7.00 and continued giving out free passes for frequently than an ice cream man at the playground. Looking to rekindle the arm that produced a 3.50 ERA in 192 innings during the 2018 season, Minnesota made a smart decision by nabbing him on a non-roster deal. Given his big-league experience, the assumption should have always been that the final rotation spot out of the gate was his to lose. He’s been projected as such in each of my roster breakdowns in this space, but it’s becoming ever harder to do so. After his last outing Chacin has now totaled 8.0 IP in Grapefruit League play for Minnesota. Although he does have a solid 8/2 K/BB, he’s given up seven hits, plenty of hard contact, and six earned runs. To say that hitters have rarely been fooled by his stuff would be accurate. Obviously as a newly developed pitching institution, there’s plenty of tweaks the Twins are working on with the Venezuelan. Between analytical deep dives and scrapping of offerings, the goal has been to rekindle a career under the tutelage of Wes Johnson and the infrastructure that Derek Falvey has built. So far, the fruits of everyone’s labor have yet to produce anything ripe. We’re probably still too far out to call this race over, and still with an option Dobnak is going to need to be head and shoulders above his competition. Right now though, it’s inaccurate to call him anything but the most productive candidate, and once again the taxi driver is weaving his way through traffic. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

The Minnesota Twins have emphasized that when it comes to Byron Buxton, his recovery process will be taken one day at a time. On this day however he reached a fairly significant milestone for the 2020 season: Live swings. It happened in front of a near-empty minor league stadium. There were no fans, no fielders and no pressure. A congregation of coaches and a smattering of players lined the wall behind the plate and lingered in the dugout. Buxton’s first live action in the batter’s box since last August didn't exude the gravitas that perhaps the moment should have. In this moment, one of the players with the most electrifying tools in the game, was inching closer to his return.What was Buxton’s instant analysis of the hacks? “It’s the first day, so I was just up there, basically looking at pitches, trying to swing at good pitches, see how the arm feels,” he said. “Felt pretty good, so take the positive side out of it, put the ball in play a little bit. It’s a good day all around.” On Tuesday, Buxton faced a quartet of Twins pitchers, including a couple of Baileys — Homer and Ober -- as well as Bryan Sammons and Lachlan Wells. The field was empty besides on the mound and at the plate. Catchers called pitches and occasionally announced a count. Buxton saw about 16 pitches in all, including a pair of split-changes from Bailey. “I'm glad he's over here and I don't have to deal with that split-change anymore,” Buxton said after the session. “Oh my goodness. It was good.” For the Twins, having Buxton in center field and adding his speed to the lineup to give the opposing battery panic attacks is a massive weapon. After all, in 2019 the Twins were 62-25 when he played, which is certainly notable, but Rocco Baldelli feels that there is something extra that Buxton brings to the team. “There are a lot of skill sets that you see a fair number of in the big leagues, his skill set is not one you see very often,” Baldelli said. “When he does make these plays, there's an energy and it becomes contagious. It gets our team and his teammates a confidence when he's out there. That's something that he does.” Buxton’s emerging leadership is becoming more evident too. During the live session, once the pitchers were done for the day, Buxton would walk out toward the baseline and greet them, giving them a knuckle smash and offering words of encouragement. In regard to his shoulder recovery, Buxton noted that the little things, like a healthy day after live swings, makes a difference. It’s possible, too, that little things such as a passing platitude to a teammate makes a difference. As far as his progression, if all goes well Buxton says he will see live pitching again on Thursday and Friday. Once comfortable with that, he will begin game action but there is no timeline for that -- which is something the manager and player agree upon. “His comfort and progression and health are the most important thing,” said Baldelli. “I don't have a schedule for Byron Buxton. Our training staff does not have a schedule for Byron. He's going to show us what his schedule will be by how well everything goes as it is laid out.” “We are all on the same page,” Buxton said. “Each and every day we take it one day at a time. Today was the first day of live BPs and it felt good.” What does it mean for Opening Day? “Obviously I want to make Opening Day, but if the situation isn’t here, it’s not here,” he said matter-of-factly. “Keep doing what I’m doing, keep working hard, and go from there.” One day at a time. Click here to view the article

I don't really have much problem with him venting, but I'd say he lacks self awareness if he thought he had any shot at making the roster after taking the first week and a half off to tend to personal matters.

more grounded

Byron Buxton will always have swing-and-miss in his game, but he's shored up his vulnerability to whiffs over the last two years, especially in one key respect.Though Byron Buxton has had a long, uneven, complex development curve, it’s clear that he turned a new corner in 2019. After going back to the setup and swing mechanics he had trusted in high school late in the 2018 season, Buxton blossomed into the kind of multi-dimensional, dangerous hitter on which Twins fans had dreamed for years. He not only set a new career high in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, but did so by wide margins, while slashing his strikeout rate. There were many adjustments and improvements involved, but the one that might have been most important seems trivial at first: he whiffed on many fewer fastballs. Over the last five years, there have been 1,666 player-seasons in which a batter swung at least 250 times at fastballs. That’s an average of about 350 per season, and equates to a threshold of coming to bat about 200 times. Buxton has only surpassed that threshold three times, because of his prolonged slumps and (more importantly) many injuries. Here are his whiff rates when swinging at fastballs in those three campaigns, along with their rankings on the list of 1,666. Download attachment: tempsnip.png This could seem like a small change, especially if one studies the list of all those player-seasons. Ronald Acuña, Jr., who was a contender for the NL MVP last season, whiffed as much during that season as Buxton did in 2017. Giancarlo Stanton’s 2017 MVP season saw a similar whiff rate on heat as Buxton had in those two troubled seasons. Meanwhile, the names and seasons around Buxton’s 2019 entry on the list are less inspiring. Buxton, however, isn’t a normal hitter, and he can’t be defined, nor his performance predicted, by analogy. He’s a unique athlete. Though he had a career-low ground-ball rate last season, he posted a .314 BABIP and a .348 batting average on contact (BACON). He did even better than that on contact in 2016 and 2017, but of course, he struck out so much in each season that his production was hampered. Buxton shouldn’t be focused on hitting ground balls, but to the extent that he can get on plane with an incoming pitch and increase his contact rate, he should always do so. His speed and his strength make him a potentially lethal hitter, if he does so. The change itself might feel small, too, but in the context of pitchers and teams trying to gameplan against Buxton, it’s not. Going from the 12th to the 28th percentile in vulnerability to whiffing on fastballs, while continuing to hit the ball hard when one makes contact, represents the elimination of a catastrophic weakness. Buxton might never have an average contact rate on fastballs, but if he’s merely below-average, rather than dwelling near the very bottom of the league, then he’s a tough at-bat and a tough out. It shouldn’t be controversial to say this: Buxton is the most important player on the 2020 Twins. When he’s healthy and functioning at full capacity, he turns the Twins into a juggernaut, closing the only prospective hole in their lineup and fundamentally transforming them from a subpar defensive team to one that catches almost everything in the air. When he’s absent or compromised, the team is still good, but their flaws become much more apparent. If Buxton can continue to hammer fastballs while minimizing his empty swings against them, he adds a dynamism to their lineup that is somewhat wanting otherwise. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I continue to build positions in funeral homes and cemeteries. It's a low volatility sector that could get a huge bump fairly soon, and I think that other investors may be beginning to pile on. Two of my three positions were up today. Not sexy like tech, but more grounded.

Well, the line missing from the Baldelli quote above was: "I can't say he was excited about it, but I think he was understanding." So yeah, not super jazzed. But ... it's up to him at this point ... go and do. He missed a week or so of camp. While I might have wanted to see him continue, they obviously felt he was far enough behind. He'll get his opportunity.

Very good OP! Agreed, Buxton is critical for this 2020 season. If he could get into the first standard of deviation on fastball whiff rate, that would be icing on the cake!

Not unless there are about three injuries, but he and Larnach have made it known to all involved that they just might be ready to contribute when needed.

Lots has been discussed about how the new three-batter rule will effect the pitching side of the game. What hasn't been discussed as much is how it could effect hitting strategies as the new rule is implemented in 2020. So just how could it affect the Twins 2020 lineup?The Minnesota Twins and the rest of the MLB will soon see how the new three-batter minimum rule for relief pitchers will affect in-game strategy. This past weekend Jayson Stark put out an interesting article on how managers may use different strategies in reaction to this rule moving into 2020. Something I hadn’t considered seriously enough was how the three-batter rule may affect lineup construction outside of how valuable being able to alternate lefties and righties might become. Stark explains that there is the potential that intentional walks may be utilized more often to avoid bad matchups. This would allow the continuation of the same-handed batter/pitcher matchup. This is where a new strategy Stark calls a “stack” might become a valuable strategy in regard to lineup construction. A stacked lineup would move managers to construct lineups in a way that would put right-handed or left-handed bats in bunches. Better ensuring that one of their top hitters wouldn’t be intentionally ushered to first base simply because of a bad matchup based on handedness. Shortly after Stark posted said article and strategy we saw a Twins spring training lineup that would fit the stack mold. One of the many strengths of the Twins lineup we have been able to marvel at has been its pretty remarkable strength from both sides of the plate. Because of that, projected lineups for the Twins often have more of the traditional lefty-righty mix. Something like: LH Luis Arraez RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz LH Max Kepler S Jorge Polanco RH Miguel Sano LH Eddie Rosario RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton By no means am I saying this is my Opening Day lineup. It is simply for illustrative purposes and one way the lineup could be constructed. I would guess most of the season the Twins will use this sort of lineup construction. What could a stacked lineup look like if the Twins do face a team who tries to beat the three-batter rule by using intentional walks? Say, Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians. S Jorge Polanco RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz RH Miguel Sano LH Max Kepler LH Eddie Rosario LH Luis Arraez RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton This lineup, in the event intentional walks begin to be utilized more, helps to protect some of the big bats from getting skipped if teams attempt to avoid bad matchups with a good hitter all from a handedness stand point. Only in playing the games will we truly see if this becomes a thing. With a manager like Francona and his history of using his bullpen creatively in the division, it seems that much more likely the Twins could see some unique scenarios this season. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rocco counters with. Can you see this becoming a thing in the MLB this season? Listing out these lineups does continue to reinforce one thing. This Twins lineup is deep and should be very fun to watch in 2020! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

He faced Oderizzi two days ago and didn't swing, during a simulated game on the minor league field. He probably had 4 ab's, After he and Jake discussed the pitches.

It was a day later that it was announced. He could have been told then before it was announced. And Baldelli said he wasn’t exactly happy about, but understood. Honestly, I get it. I think he’s allowed some disappointment. But what he does over the next few weeks, then we’ll see what he does with it.

Impending free agents can have a lot to prove in their final year under contract. Can they outperform their career numbers and hit a big payday? Or do they succumb to the pressure and underperform in one of their most important professional seasons? For three Twins players, there might be even more to prove before becoming free agents for the first time.Ehire Adrianza Adrianza has been part of three different organization and gotten claimed off waivers multiple times, but he has never been a free agent. He provides an interesting case, because he has mostly served a role player during his Twins tenure. In three seasons in Minnesota he has hit .260/.321/.391 (.711) while averaging 89 games played. His 2018 season might give the best glimpse of how he could produce if he was an everyday player. Adrianza was given the opportunity to man shortstop while Jorge Polanco started the year suspended. He played in 114 games that season and compiled a .680 OPS and this included playing over 750 innings at shortstop and third base. He could possibly serve as an everyday player on a club, but he would need an opportunity to prove himself this season. It would take an injury to Polanco for Adrianza to play every day and the Twins certainly don’t want that to happen. Trevor May May’s transition from starter to reliever came with some growing pains, but he has turned into one of the team’s best late-inning options. Something clicked for him when he came back from Tommy John surgery back in 2018. Since that time, he has held opponents to a .195 average with a terrific 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Outside of Taylor Rogers, May might be Minnesota’s best relief option and that’s saying a lot with the current make-up of the bullpen. He should see plenty of time late in games this year and it will be interesting to see if Rocco Baldelli continues to use him in a similar fashion. He was only used for more than an inning in 10 of his appearances last season. Could that change in 2020? If May continues to pitch like he has over the last two seasons, there’s a chance a team would want to add him as a potential closer, even if the closer role continues to evolve. That could lead to an even bigger payday for the 30-year old free agent-to-be. Jake Odorizzi Odorizzi bet on himself this season by accepting the Twins' one-year qualifying offer. Granted the $17.8 million one-year deal is more money than he has made in his entire career, but now he knows he will be a free agent next winter. He might have been kicking himself for accepting the offer after seeing the contracts being handed out to other starters on the open market. He made his first All-Star team this past season on the heels of a first half where he posted a 3.15 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP. Opponents hit only .214/.285/.335 (.620) against him and he had 96 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings pitched. The second half didn’t go nearly as well as batters' OPS rose 111 points. He finished the year by starting Game 3 of the ALDS by allowed two earned runs on five hits over five innings. In an offensive environment like 2019, Odorizzi’s first half is certainly impressive. If he can put together a full season like he did last year then he will be looking at a handsome free agent contract next winter and this time it will be a multi-year deal. Which player has the most to prove this season? Who will score big next off-season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

It will be interesting to see the form of the relief......and if it matters. Because I'm guessing today was all about the relief.....didn't get my 5% gain on my tech stocks, which still would have left me 15-20% down, so still happy I panic sold from that one portfolio.

As always, much depends on how the young guys develop in AA and AAA. If Nick Gordon finally has a healthy season, he's Adrianza's replacement. If one of the power arms in the minors finds better command, then that's a cheaper option than May. Likewise, the Twins have at least a few guys that might invade the starting ro with just a bit more refinement. But Odo will be hard to bump...

Wow ... you guys read quite a bit more into those tweets than I did. I just read those as disappointed, not whiny ... and the 'I decide' I took as it's up to him. He knows what he has to do, now he has to go work on it and earn a call up.

Give Odo a bonus! As in, go back to him and say, "We'll bump you up to $22MM for this year if you give us two more years at $16.6MM each and a $1MM buyout on a $15MM contract for 2023." That's like giving him 3/$56.2MM now, which is slightly better than three years at his $18.7MM QO. Plus, it's guaranteed and slightly front-loaded, which helps him from an investment perspective* and it's slightly beneficial to the FO for planning purposes as other guys move up the arbitration calculation, etc. *Past performance is no guarantee of future results (particularly in this market) yadda, yadda, yadda...

I couldn't figure out a good way to 'sneak' in Hamilton. Ha!

Yeah, I’ve lost a little respect for him. Can’t be that whiny on social media. Not productive, terrible optics. One fan tweeted something along the lines of “see you at Target Field soon.” He responds “Maybe.” Very whiny and petulant in his responses/tweets, IMO. “I get to decide what’s next...not them”, etc. I have a really hard time mustering up empathy for a guy in his position. You’re broke and got laid off from your coal mining job after breaking your back for 20 years? Gripe away. You compete with numerous other players for a lucrative last spot on a professional baseball roster, leave camp for two weeks, thus get relegated for a few weeks? Kindly, shut up, and stop expecting things handed to you.

Assuming the Twins' lineup is as (relatively) productive as last year's (lets see how the ball flies throughout baseball), there isn't much of a reason to fiddle with the structure of the lineup. With a healthy(ish) everyday lineup, the weakest spot in the lineup would be Buxton(!!!) assuming he is healthy) and I don't think that is exactly the kind of hitter that teams walk a guy to get to (what a grammatical nightmare)!

Very nice reading. After reading about Miranda, you start pulling for the guy.

Certainly put a dent into the K-rate last year. I think a lot of that was being more aggressive earlier in the count (lowest Pit/PA of his career). But, it's encouraging that the data also suggests materially less swing-and-miss. I see the BABiP likely coming around a bit as well which is also encouraging. The power really hasn't popped yet, either...which could happen. On the other side, the 2019 XBH% and X/H% (ridiculous doubles rate) are unsustainable over a larger sample...and we all hope we start seeing larger samples.

Chacin has not impressed, Dobnak looks good. Should not be that difficult decision. Chacin just looks like he does not have it anymore. Dobnak on the rise, give him a shot, Pineda coming back mid-May then will have to decide on Bailey or Dobnak. Thorpe, Smeltzer, and Duran waiting for their opportunity as well Hill hopefully mid season.

I am more of a fan of having good bats off the bench than stacking. The stacking can backfire just as much as it helps. First, I am fine with intentional walks from time to time, more runners on base and all. However, think about this. You have normal set up of say Kepler, Polanco, Cruz, I see no one walked if you bring in lefty, which doubt you would to just face Kepler. So change it up, Cruz, Eddie, Donaldson, not sure if that is order just giving example. They bring in top righty, pitcher to Cruz, walk Eddie, then Donaldson, I am fine with that, Donaldson gets to hit with runner on. I would not want a 3 side stacked, maybe 2 in a row but 3 I think will backfire, assuming they do not have good splits.

My bet is lineups will be constructed to counter the starter and alternating left/right hitters will continue to predominate. Stacking could be utilized against teams with only one left-handed reliever so as to “get that over with” early on in hopes that the left-handed hitting stretch will get a second whack at the bullpen later in the game. This could be a strategy used against teams like the Twins with a mostly right-handed bullpen, Clippard and the closer notwithstanding.

In the traditional lineup your hitters get intentionally walked when they have the platoon advantage... meaning there's likely to be a runner on base when one of the platoon-disadvantaged guys comes up. In the "stack" lineup you still have the platoon disadvantage, but this time without the benefit of a free baserunner.

had a nice chat with Rochester Red Wings owner on the way back from Orlando Sunday. She said because of the great depth and success at A and AA levels last year, she believes the Wings are going to be very strong this season. Twins talent overall in the organization appears to be very strong. We are all excited to get the season going. (I'm betting that sports stores are going to have trouble moving Astros gear this year.)

Thanks, Seth. Didn't have a clue he was Lin-Manuel Miranda's cousin. Do appreciate all the smaller bits of information you continually bring us Seth, thanks. Noticed his performance in Pensacola's playoff run last fall. Hopefully, he will build off that success and have a great 2020. Could be the answer of who plays third for the Twins when Donaldson is gone in '24 or before should he move to DH. Also appreciated the insight of life for a player from Puerto Rico. Maybe someday they will become our 51st state and you all will become more familiar with the island.

Tough decisions are ahead. It won't belong before they're more players I like than there is room for.

Dobnak was awesome when I saw him on Tuesday last week, and that was followed up by Chacin looking terrible on Friday. They were complete opposites in terms of the contact they gave up. Predominantly weak for Dobnak, predominantly crushed against Chacin. I think you can confidently put Dobnak in the 5th spot right now, and for me it would not be particularly close.

Lol, I love the "In The Heights" reference in the title. Very sneaky.

My hope/belief is that all three should be signed to extensions no later than July.

It's not ridiculous at all to say he would be better off with a 3-5 year deal averaging 15-20 million than a 1 year 17.8 million deal. If he regresses or has a bad injury, he won't likely see anything near that. He could put up another year like 2019 and make more too. Just saying the logic isn't that he's being underpaid this year, but that he likely could have locked in long term security this offseason had he not signed with QO.

Adrianza was really just backup in 2019 so we don't really need to keep him. Yes, he did contribute 13 homers and a good defensive arm in the infield, but he's not an everyday player and they don't NEED him. Same goes for May. There are tons of good bullpen arms in Minnesota and he can be replaced internally. Odorizzi is a different story. He's a great pitcher and he actually did better than anyone else in the playoffs last year. They really should give him an extension, especially if he has a good year next year.

Yeah, I like Dobnak, even with a loss today. If I had to choose today, I'd go with Dobnak. But we've got two more weeks of Spring training to go. That gives each candidate at least 2 more starts. Things might be clearer then.

Not surprised at all by Thorpe. The Twins are very high on him and his potential. I believe they absolutely see him in the rotation, though he could help in the pen at any time, but right now he needs IP and to be stretched out. No way they are going to rush him in any way to potentially make the pen. I found the comments about Chalmers and Alcala very interesting. Obviously, both have big arms and loads of potential. Really liked the thought about "nursing" Chalmers a bit due to lack of IP. I thought the comment about being focused on the end of the season and not the beginning to be telling. They clearly like the idea of him remaining in the rotation long term potentially. Alcala seems destined for relief, where he could be very good. But I like the idea they won't immediately pigeonhole him in to a singular role. I take that to mean he could open, pitch middle, setup, close, etc. Slightly surprised by Celistino. That tells me Buxton is going to start playing or they might have kept him a little longer. Gordon makes sense at this point. Same with Blenkenhorn. Time for them to get ready for their seasons. Watched the game on Sunday, and while he is on a new diet for his stomach issues, someone get Gordon on a high protein diet. The kid needs weight and muscle to advance. Please, please keep working Blenkenhorn at 3B so he can be at least passable there. I think he has a chance to be a solid 5 position contributor.

how often do you hear of the underling or book keeper getting a slap on the wrist so that they will provide information that convicts the mafia crime boss? At least I see it in the movies... there’s gotta be something there. Look, if you want to adjudicate this as a fan, stop buying tickets. Stop clicking web pages. Separate yourself from Major League Baseball. I’m not happy about what happened with the team. The MLB should have blown that up. The players were absolutely complicit in that, but “took the plea deal”. It’s not the players fault that the jury was rigged. I’m willing to give MLB another shot, even with the stain.

So today was even worse than I expected. Sold a few things at a loss although we'll get some tax incentives for that, I believe, over the next few years. Russia and Saudi Arabia's oil war is really bad for my portfolio.

No surprises here. But it's an exciting list of good, young players that show the talent depth the organization now has.

How can anyone NOT root for Randy Dobnak?!

I'd trade the signed baseball for the time actually spent with Rapid Robert Feller. Wow. What a thrill that was for you. I remember pitching baseball in the back yard with a guy from my hometown named Gair Allie, who was on the Pirates for a year or two. Huge thrill. (But I understand that you would still like to have the baseball signed by Bob Feller. Me too.)

Gil was signed as a free agent by the Twins, Chalmers was a 3rd round pick of the A's. Gil is almost 2 years younger and has performed better on the mound so far. They are the same size. Gil probably projects as a major league pitcher better than Chalmers, while I think Chalmers is a valid prospect with electric stuff. Gil might end up as an upper-strike zone flame thrower where Chalmers, if he can command the fastball better, can carve through a lineup all through strike zone and really gives righties a fit. No trade happens in a vacuum and having Cave has really helped, so I guess I'd choose Cave and Chalmers over Gil. Just don't ask me again tomorrow.