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Cavaco is dropping because like Javier, he ain’t getting it done on the field. That’s totally different than Lewis and Enlow who missed 2020 and were injured in 2021.

We literally can't sign anyone of significance with the lockout going on - unless Trevor Story wants to sign a minor league deal with us!

I see Gordon as a better utility player, it doesn't look than Beckman isn't any better than Gordon at SS, even worse. Yes we now have more depth but what is that quality of depth. But he has some power, to some that's all that matters. I'd rather Palacio have more time in spring training. IMO it's counter productive even more than Garlic because SS is more crucial. We need a real glove to help out our needy pitching

I'd bump Lewis out for Sabato. I'm definitely more forgiving for injury; it's a) almost always outside the player's control, and b) players can come back from it really strong. I'm more worried about guys who perform poorly on the field, and Sabato had a brutal start to his year. He was pretty bad in the FSL and just couldn't make consistent contact, and for a player whose value is going to almost exclusively come from his bat...yuck. Despite the missed time, Lewis is the same age as Sabato and has a better array of tools.

I think you chose a good three to bring out discussion. Royce Lewis has had a strange career. In 2019 he did not look that good until the Fall League and now he has missed two years and who knows what will happen in baseball this year. It is a bad luck career so far and thus we have no real measure of who he is. Potential is an elusive friend. The other two are still not on my radar for the Twins team. Good luck to both. Keoni is will be 21, it is about time for him to show he was draft worthy.

Lewis and Enlow dropped due to injury and inactivity, but truthfully while both players showed promise, neither player really demonstrated can't miss type performances before their injuries. Cavaco has yet to show why he was a first pick. But, all three of these players were drafted out of high school so there is still time for them to shine despite their injuries and challenges. Miranda is a good example of why we should never write off minor league players too early. But, to answer your question, Cody, I would have to say Cavaco's stock has dropped the most since his performance has not been affected by injury like the others, and he looks a little lost at times.

AAA depth. Guys on the 40 man roster can't play minor league ball during lockout

If this is anything other than a flyer on a depth piece, we are in trouble. As a depth piece, there is no harm in taking a look to see what he can do. If the negotiations go badly and stretch out, there will be a shortage of players in the upper minors for sure.

Injuries lead to out of sight, out of mind. It is no big deal that they fall in rankings.

Kinda stole my thunder because I was thinking about this the last couple of days. The evolution of the bullpen has been vast the last few years. I think there is something to be still said about a traditional "closer" if you have one to finish a game. But I think we have discovered/realized that a save by someone facing the bottom of the order doesn't mean what it used to mean, with all due respect to Reardon, Nathan, Perkins and others. There is ABSOLUTELY a place for a CLOSER. Because there ARE games when the heart of the opposition lineup will come up. And the best bullpen will have some STUD to deal with anyone. But those kinds of arms aren't available to everyone. You're lucky if you have one. Not perfect, Rogers has been pretty close to great. Colome was until he wasn't, ugh, what might have been. As far as 2022? I haven't heard a single word of doubt about Rogers. So I'm riding with this, Duffey started poorly, figured stuff out, adapted, has a young arm, I'm OK. Thielbar allowed too many inherited runners to score, then settled down, I'm OK. Alcala was pressed,flashed but was poor, settled down and was beyond OK. Moran didn't have a great debut, but we know what he offers and at least got his feet wet. He has a chance to be really good. But if everyone is healthy and ready to go, he could ramp up at AAA initially. Does Thorpe, out of options, have a shot at the pen as a 3rd LH? Or is he a waiver option we hope sticks around? Colombe is still around as a roster addition if needed. The left side is OK if Rogers is healthy. No disrespect or lack of conviction, but this pen needs another RH to take the pressure off of Rogers and Duffey and Alcala. And there are a number of options available after the lockout. And it's pointless at this point to pick ONE, But there are a few arms who offer competence if not upside. And we need that! The 2022 bullpen is going to roll through options not just for RP, but for SP getting their feet wet in the pen at times. But assuming good health, and one smart FA signing, the pen could easily have 5 guys to depend on. That, potentially, gives you 3 spots to float with all available arms between St Paul and the ML roster. Think Stashak, Jax, and others who could play and audition in the pen, Cotton, and Garza as current options.

I believe that Cavaco was over-rated to begin with and shouldn't even have been a first round selection so seeing him drop in the rating is not much of a surprise.

I agree with the OP. All three players have seen their stock drop. I am still a believer in Lewis and Enlow though. Enlow looked about to break out before injury as did Lewis. There is probably going to be rust as they come back but I still think they will likely play big roles with the MLB team. I just don't know what to think about Cavaceo. Kind of feels like he might be a late bloomer? I don't think that bat is going to be as good as they hoped but it is very early and Covid really hurt his development time. Still I wish instead of a late riser they would have picked the guy I wanted in Corbin Carroll or even Bryson Stot who I wasn't in love with at the time but was a close to ready shortstop. Both of those players had known good hit tools and have been successful thus far in their careers. I hope the Twins learned a lesson there.

Baseball America rates Winder as the Twins 6th best prospect. "His fastball sits at 95 and touches 98. With grades of 60 for his slider and changeup, along with a 50 grade for 12-6 curveball." Seems like pretty good stuff to follow 55 command. Considering his age and the way the seasons have turned out the past couple of years, I would prefer he uses his innings available this year for the Twins. He'll be a rookie so I would expect some failure but by the middle of the year we'll have a lot better idea.

Josh Winder is officially my choice to slot in the middle of the rotation, right after Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon and before Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan. Now if the owners and players could get along ....

Winder was highly scouted but lost velocity in his sophomore year at VMI. It resulted in him falling way down the draft ranks and the Twins picked him up in the 7th round. Most scouting reports on Winder are from draft time. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/josh-winder-comes-on-strong-at-instructs/ Since then, Winder has added 5mph to his fastball and improved his changeup due to the increased velocity alone. Plus his breaking pitches have supposedly gotten better. Winder could have 3 plus pitches at this point, and that's top of the rotation potential.

The Twins continue on the Yawn express. Can we sign someone of significance? I know it is a lockout, but this is not enough to get my pulse to change.

Gordon is now out of options and can’t go to AAA. Last season the Saints had Maggi and Riddle on the roster for the saints. I’m sure this is a depth move and also allows the saints to fill out there roster if MLB doesn’t come to an agreement anytime soon! Between AA and AAA they don’t have enough middle infielders to go around as currently structured.

You keep banging on the same drum, though, that salaries are the issue, and choosing questionable historical end points to make the argument.

Trevor May expressed his opinion on his live twitch stream...

I think Doc Bauer has this. I like the strategy of using a lot of our young arms out of the pen to get them some seasoning but I also think one more GOOD RH arm, preferably someone who could close if need be would be very helpful. The guy I WANTED was Kendall Graveman...but the White Sox snapped him up despite already having Hendricks AND Kimbrell on the roster. So much for a FO that identifies a need and a player who's a good fit and moves aggressively to address it. (Sigh).

MLBPA is hiding behind the term “competitive balance”. They should be upfront and simply say they want teams to spend money. Teams go through cycles and can’t compete for a playoff spot every year - minus the Dodgers and Yankees who can afford $300 million payrolls. They don’t want to see teams shed payroll down to $40 million and take away jobs from mid-tier veteran players. Fans don’t want to see it either. Just ask a Pirates or Orioles fan how fun that’s been the last 5 years.

In the fantastical landscape of millionaires vs billionaires we all have to "suspend belief" in these kinds of activities the way we are forced to do in a Michael Bay film. Pretty hard to feel sorry for either side really. We just want baseball, and we want the game to be good, healthy, and on as equally level playing field as possible. But neither side is asking me, or any of us, for an outside and practical view. Personally, I thought some of the initial BPA asks were pretty outrageous and not good for the game. And while I didn't say it, I found myself wondering if that wasn't a very deliberate tactic they knew would ever fly and would then allow them to back off from those demands and give the appearance of acquiescence in the negotiations. I think that theory has been born out by recent changes. And look, I have no problem with any athlete looking to earn more money. I think we can all appreciate that sentiment. My only, personal, issue with any athlete has been the argument of "only having a few years to make my money before I retire", as if they couldn't do anything else the rest of their lives from mid 30's on or struggle in their retirement financially. And if that sounds petty, please understand I don't mean it to sound that way. It's just a rub of mine as a fan who wants the best for my favorite teams/sports and the growth and health of such teams/sports. Even in this rather absurd sports society of $20 parking, and $12 beers, I am wholly supportive of any player making as much money as they can. But in baseball, particularly in this regard, I remain more concerned about the milb players, and the young players getting a "fair" salary. I am much more in favor of ANY new design where the 1-6yr players receive greater salaries than I am a 30yo receiving $300M in a bidding war amongst a handful of teams vs them making more earlier in their careers and then having to "settle" for a $200M deal amongst a greater number of bidding teams. I'm not talking some "social spending" in baseball. I'm simply talking about a greater spreading of wealth amongst all players, as well as all teams. And where I see the biggest problem is actually amongst the owners at this point, though the players definitely share part of the blame. If the owners actually give a damn about baseball in general, it's appeal and growth, then they should earnestly care about greater competitive balance. That would only create better competition and greater public/fan interest, which would only increase further value/revenue generated! But they can't even get their own house in order. Revenue sharing should be greater and broader. But there is nothing in place to prevent a smaller market team from keeping salaries and spending low and pocketing said revenue dollars. This is why I believe the owners need to allow for greater revenue sharing with some sort of floor, or floating floor. Unlike the NFL, MLB has guaranteed contracts, which is why high and firm resolutes aren't going to work. But a general, semi-even, equitable playing field means you have to run a smart organization and not just write checks, or feel OK eating millions of dollars here and there because you can "afford to do so". The owners are OWNERS of the business that is MLB. The players are employees. That is a fact. And if the owners want to be successful owners, make money, and see their "business" grow, then they need to get their collective heads and backsides together and on the same page and do what is best for their sport/business. The players SHOULD care about their milb brethren because they ALL came from that system one way or another. But even if they continue to ignore that side of their business, as a union, they should be working harder for yearly salaries and yearly raises for ALL players, and not just the elite. (Don't forget the part about initial demands and penalty cap raises and the such). ALL players making more money is a good thing. Isn't that what a union is supposed to do? And they should be pushing for the aforementioned floor or floating floor as much as the owners should be! Again, same but still different, an NFL team can rebuild and turn things around by running their organization well and making smart decisions. Doing so can have a team wining, even in contention, in a couple of years. Right now, based on history, small market teams have to "blow things up" and go through lengthy rebuilds for their next opportunity. Why? They often lack the same finances to sign players or keep their own. Think the Royals. The opposite side? Think the Cubs who have about as much money as anyone and struggled for years before going "all in" and then falling apart. But the choices they made were organizational, and not because they didn't possess the resources. So the players SHOULD care about how money is distributed, and floors in place, for the sake of their members. If the sport grows, then so does revenue and salaries. Especially if there is a check and balance system in place. IF the original proposals by the BPA were indeed absurd ideas presented as a power play to then back down from, fine. Your bluff was called and seemed obvious. But it doesn't mean they don't have real issues and gripes to fight for. If anything, it should have signaled to ownership that NOW we can sit down and have a real discussion how we proceed. Instead, ownership has virtually laughed in their face with condescending counters or no counters and have asked for a federal mediator to be involved. I've heard the BPA rejected that idea. IMPO, that was a mistake. I think a federal mediator, baseball fan or not, would have come in with a clear head and looked at both sides and said "WTH?" And they probably would have kicked a little ass and just might make the owners look a little silly. NOT a federal employee much less a professional mediator, but I'd gladly take the job for a day and tell both sides: OWNERS: Put in a floor or floating floor but share your profits equitably or nobody is going to buy your product in a few years. If an owner has a problem with that,then his franchise needs a different owner. The comments made by the Rockies owner is beyond "sheesh"! It's in the "WTH" category of commets. Then raise the yearly average salary for your employees based on production commensurate with experience and production and stop low balling. You'll be compensated later when you don't pay for over the hill and retires. And your sport will be better when their is more competition, and fan interest and more money comes floating in. PLAYERS: You need to worry about being a union and paying the 1-6yr players more so they can make more money in their career. STUD p,ayers will ALWAYS make their money. They might make a little less when they turn 30yo, but they will make more earlier in their careers. And if you help keep ownership to standards, then as your sport grows, so does payroll and earnings for all of your members. That's what you want, isn't it? BTW, despite some improvements made in the lives of milb players...a place and life you ALL came from, whether it be 1yr or 6yrs...you might want to push for further salary and benefits for those coming up behind you. CONCLUSION: You ALL have a SILVER EGG that needs some shining! Did I say SILVER EGG? Why yes I did indeed! Why not a "GOLDEN EGG" Why that's simple. Pull you're collective heads out of your butts and just do things fair and right! OK, so I'm long winded at times. Sorry, not Sorry, that's me. I have a high soapbox to stand on when I care about something. Going to step down now. But I believe in what I rambled about.

You got that right.

You may want to check your math. The Twins value of 1.325B is roughly 30 times larger than the $44M the Poland’s paid (wasn’t it 80 some million?). 30 times the annual salary of $29k would be roughly $900k, not $9.8M. I suspect the average salary today is much higher than $900k, thus your logic would suggest that players have done better than the owners. i am not arguing in support of the owners, merely pointing out the mistaken math. Personally, I am disgusted with both sides. Unfortunately, neither side appears interested in solving the games real problems, minimal comp to the minor league players, more of the pie going to younger players and better revenue sharing to improve competition among all teams.

I still have a bone to pick with Tim Beckham. Several years ago I was sitting in the club level behind home plate, and Beckham fouled a ball straight back to me. I nonchalantly caught it barehanded, while not spilling my nachos I was holding in my other hand. The woman behind me freaked out because the ball seemed like it was coming right at her. Unfortunately Beckham hit a home run on the next pitch, and any chance of getting on camera with a replay of my catch was gone. A fan came up to me later that the radio announcers had exclaimed about the catch and that I had saved the woman behind me.

I never thought of that, Sconnie.

They added a plan C for SS, hopefully it is plan C.

That or a potential scab

This is happening all on its own. Baseball is dying and here they are fighting about it. Silly. If this lockout extends for a long period, my guess is that you will see baseball become hockey. Instead of trying to engage more fans and make their product more easily accessible on TV, they are fighting about who needs more money. They are cutting their nose off to spite their face.

I disagree. Once teams are in the playoffs they have at least a 40% chance to advance in each round. It's a series of coin flips to get to the World Series. Also, each team is receiving more revenue sharing dollars than the luxury tax spending limits. No team is cash limited for payroll. If the Twins want to spend like the Yankees they're already able to. Of course spending that money on payroll would limit their ability to use cash flow to finance debt to develop real estate around baseball stadiums which is the true business of major league baseball in the current era.

Agreed. If I had to bet on one it would be Lewis, and I wouldn't even think about it. I think Lewis is going to help this team fairly soon, just not sure how much. Cavaco? I hope he has a better career than Javier has so far, but that's not asking for much. At this point I don't see a major league future for him, though of course he could certainly change that with a big jump this year. I'd bet the under, though.

Making the playoffs is not the best measure of competitive balance. Are Twins fans happy with getting to the playoffs? The measure should be the relative ability to get to the WS or win the WS. 20 of the 22 National League teams and 18 of 22 American League teams to reach the WS in the 2000s have been above average revenue teams. Is that parity? To suggest the ability to spend an incremental $80or $100M on players is not an advantage defies every form of logic. Why would the Yankees or Dodgers spend an extra hundred million more than the Rays if it was not advantageous? I mean really, do we need to debate it's an advantage to be able to sign 3 elite players and have the budget of lower revenue teams left over?

I really wish both sides would stop releasing media statements, in some effort to get fans on their side. Fans really do not care how the money gets split up. We want to watch baseball, and in small and mid market games we want to see our teams keep their home grown talent not the continued revolving door of trading them away or manipulating service time. We want to see the best players play and good games. The bickering on how OUR money gets split up between billionaires and millionaires really does not help fans care. The more I read and see coverage of each side releasing statements for the fans, it just makes me angry. Do either side understand that if we the fans just stop watching then there will be no money to fight over? Maybe, the fans should call on a lockout/boycott of games for like 1 month after the game returns. No watching, to attending games, all season ticket holders cancel their tickets. I think the two sides should take the fans input into these since they keep wanting to tell the fans how great and reasonable their proposals are. I propose, all tickets to attend games get cut 50%, all players and manager contracts get cut 25% or they are required to donate 25% of contracts to charities in the community. All food at stadium is sold at 10% above cost. If the two sides really care what I think that is my input, until they want to hear my input, leave the talks behind closed doors.

Cavaco was only higher on the list because of his draft status, but even then he was not very high on many lists. He was seen as a very high risk high reward kind of pick. He is still young and can grow, but I am not optimistic on him. What really sucks is a SS from college picked the exact next pick is looking like he will be making majors next year, Cavaco still has a couple years before you call him a complete miss, but he has not shown much so far. We will see what next year brings.

DISGUSTED with the game. Baseball has been a big part of my life from playing it as a youth to watching my grandchildren play. I have attended too many Twin's game to count. Monday I am calling the Twins to see if I can cancel my season ticket package. I urge everyone in this country to do the same thing with their team. I have no doubt I can find a better way to spend that money than to give it to 2 groups who can't decide how to divide up an amount of money I can not even fathom.

All 3 lost time due to injury last year and all 3 lost the entire 2020 covid year. If all 3 are healthy this year would make our entire system look that much stronger. Since (hopefully) 5-6 players will graduate to the big club this year, I think there will be room in the rankings. I don't mind other players passing them in the rankings, if they are truly better.

Both sides have been incredibly fortunate and you are correct that the value of the Minnesota Twins is 30X what it was in 1970. We should also point out that Player salaries have increased by 136X of 1970 salaries. In other words, salaries have increased almost 5x compared to team values. Regardless of the exact numbers both sides are incredibly fortunate but only one side is wildly unsatisfied and demand more. It's the same side that said we are unwilling to work for a penny less than 100% during a pandemic and refused to bunch an inch. The owners want expanded playoffs which is good for the game and good for players. The also want the universal DH which is good for the game and good for players. They benefit both sides. The owners have not asked for "more" in the form of non-guaranteed contracts like football or max contract lengths like the NBA. They have not asked to eliminate opt outs. The demand for more and the subsequent threat to the MLB season is a product of players who don't feel the incredible compensation they get for playing a game is adequate and are demanding more.

It's all very sad, not only in the fact that the season will be interrupted, but the spectacle of such a small # of people haggling over the distribution of enormous sums of money to such small #'s of people. Most of us posting on this site will never have to worry about whether our profit margins are counted hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, nor whether our annual salaries are too low at $600k +. MLBCorporate, which in the offseason in my mind includes the MLPBA as well as the owners exists in an alternative reality. Owners hoard money. Our economic system rewards such behavior. It is what it is. Personally, I would love to see a culture of profit-sharing model take hold throughout corporate America. CBA's are one tool in the profit sharing chest, but CBA's are only as good as the laws that allow and regulate them and the lawyers that write them. It is an adversarial system that relies on conflict and economic and legal leverage to determine winners and losers. And this is just sad. It would seem there is a lot there to go around, at least so I have read here and elsewhere. I dont know how much actually is " a lot". I assume "a lot" means enough for everyone? If that is true, I wonder then why the players have never tried to organize the many thousands of office and staff employees, so as to represent their interests as well as their own, in these CBA's. Why shouldn't these revenues also be distributed in some organized fashion to the people who make a fraction of the lowest paid MLB level rookie? And to the MiLB players. I get the fact that MLB players are elite, very elite, athletes. 3 million kids aged 6-12 participate in baseball each year, if most Google statistics are accurate. About 1200 will be drafted in the MLB draft each year, about .0004%. Of that group, 120 give or take will ever play a game in MLB. Of that group, a select few will make ridiculous amounts of money playing a kids game for a good chunk of their young adult lives. Good for them. Only 32 owners will make even more ridiculous sums managing franchises. Good for them. But they should not forget from where they came. They'd all do better by themselves and the fan base if they werent so self-focused. I agree with RJA, a mediator may help get things moving, but with or without one, eventually, someone will blink, something will get done, lost games will be made up, and by this November, its all a distant memory. But there will be a winner and loser, so whatever comes of this now only lays the groundwork for the next strike or lockout. If they could set aside ego long to acknowledge that they need each other to be successful, and they need a thriving MiLB system, and their staff employees, and the fans, and the kids and parents who keep a robust LIttle League pipeline moving (although with declining numbers-an area that should be of concern to everyone associated with promoting baseball), then they might begin to broaden their perspectives and find a better, less adversarial way forward. Until then, it is just wash, rinse, repeat. Sorry all for the venting folks. I know we are all frustrated, and we all have varying opinions on causality. I describe it in the way Cpt Benjamin Willard did in describing Vietnam in Apocalypse Now: " Charging someone with murder here is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500." This situation is as much an ethical and moral problem as it is a legal or economic one.

Good points. Both sides are to blame in my opinion. I have spent over $400 for spring training game tickets in March 2022 at Ft. Myers, plus I have rented an AirBnB for a week. I am not a happy camper.

For fans in the know I think the Owners\MLB look pretty bad right now. I love baseball but I don't know that I can support such strongarm tactics and inability to compromise. We all know the current system was broken that certain things needed to be cleaned up. I haven't seen MLB propose anything that fixes how fans feel that players get taken advantage of especially in compensation for the years of control and service time manipulation. I know most of this is just posturing and will need to be waited out but right now I am not feeling good about the owners. Maybe it is time for the fans to get involved and write to Manfred\MLB and let them know how we feel.

I have seen this kid live and on TV and he has impressed me with his stuff and his poise. I add my name to those who are looking forward to seeing him at Target Field, whether that is at the start of the season or a few weeks in. I think one of the most exciting things in baseball is watching the debut of a young starter or position player at the major league level. It reminds us all that this is a great game and many young men are working their tails off to get to the bigs.

Winder is another good example of why I'm not too concerned about national prospect lists largely writing off our pitchers. I don't want to give the front office too much credit until we see more results, but it really feels like they've been able to spot and tap a lot of hidden potential in deeper draft picks.

Watched a lot of his starts on MiLB last summer. He was dominant, leading me to believe he was the best pitcher in the organization. Have been commenting about that since. So glad to finally see someone else giving him some ink. I thank you, I suspect he thanks you and I got a feeling it won't be long and the Twins will be thanking you.

I can see a trade working out depending of course on who we trade back. I think Odo still has some value, and I have more faith in him at this point than Bundy.

If you are talking to Houston ask about Christian Javier. Right now he is not in their 5 man rotation yet he pitched well when he did start for them last year. That would be something I would pursue rather than most any other options I have read.