FlauerPauer

Excellent performance from the lineup today. Great to see Buxton continue to play well. Go Twins!

I'd say let's let these guys see some major league pitching before we offer them long term, high dollar contracts.

Anyone know why Colina is on the IL?

Wasn't all this said about Buxton? Hope Royce crushes it this year, but I think there is more reason to be optimistic about Kirilloff than Lewis. Time will tell. Hope the guy crushes it and forces the hands of Falvey and Levine, or I'd package him for a dynamite starting pitcher. Proven MLB'ers > prospects

Let's hope this guy pans out. He could be a beast and a great 1-2 combo to go with Berrios (if he continues his success). Love the ability to get to triple digits. I believe in Reusse's article Graterol says he really only hits 100 in the first pitch; which he likes to buzz right by the inside part of the plate. Keep up the hard work, Brusdar! Thanks for the write-up, Nick. Very well done.

Universal DH - No - I actually enjoy watching the Twins pitchers hit during inter-league play. 26th Man - Yup - Maybe even make it 27. Definitely not interested in the 28 roster for September. Pitch clock - Yup - What happens when a pitcher is close to the end of the clock and steps off to get a new pitch clock? Mound Visits - No - Eventually only three mound visits? What's stopping the pitcher from stepping off the mound and walking to the foul line and talking with the coach? Three Batter Minimum - No - I think the matchups are intriguing. That's what makes baseball special. Anti-Tanking - No - If teams want to tank, let them. At the end of the day, fans will stop showing up and that ends up hurting the owners pockets. I don't even know how you'd quantify "tanking". I mean the Royals were absolutely terrible during the mid 2000's and I don't think they were losing on purpose; they just had terrible players outside of Mike Sweeney. Their player development was poor and thus they didn't bring high level talent to the MLB club. I'd like to see MLB institute a minimum payroll. There should be no reason that owners are allowed to pocket the revenue sharing money and not invest that into their team. If you can't afford to spend $65 million on your baseball team, you don't deserve to have one, lol

Hopefully this is a replacement for Grossman. If it is, then this is a solid low risk move. If Grossman is on the roster, you gotta think they saw enough to Tyler Austin and Cron takes his place. I suppose there could also be a three player battle for two roster spots come spring training. I do like the move. They aren't going to get Goldschmidt and I don't think Carlos Santana is any better for the salary he makes than Cron.

I don't see Dozier going anywhere. I don't see much value coming back for him and unfortunately might have to bite the bullet here on this one. I wonder if they missed their chance by trying to wait out the Brewers...

He is also an avid video gamer. He is incredible at Fortnite. I could be wrong, but I believe he is a major contributor to the ESports. Seriously though, he is awesome at Fortnite.

After taking a second look at Rooker's year (its been a couple weeks), he is having quite a fine year.

These picks, like Rooker, last year are interesting. Will they have the ability to adjust to the wooden bat and better pitchers? Rooker crushed last year and has had a so-so year at AA this year. I would expect the same from Larnach this year (If he ever gets to the minors, lol).

Excited to seem him play. At the Red Wings game I went to on Monday he looked solid in the field and with the bat. He seemed to have a decent approach for trying to get on base and make the pitcher work. He fouled off a bunch of tough pitches and out the ball in play three out of four times. Made all the plays in the field as well. Didn't really have anything tough to make, but still important to make the easy plays. Very excited to see what he does at the majors. I imagine it will be a minute before he is a stud, but he has the tools, talent, and work ethic to make it there. Good read, Seth and good luck, Nick!

Excellent signing that could pay huge dividends if he hits like he did last year. Suppose this means the end of Vargas. Tough break for the guy as he’s never really gotten a fair shot with the team, in my opinion. Maybe they can trade him, probably not. Sucks to lose a guy like that for nothingnif that’s the case.

Learning that it was just Palacios makes this an incredible deal. Odds are that Jermaine never makes it to the majors and to get a guy that you can plug into the rotation and makes it better is a great trade. Solid job, FO. While he is not an ace, he makes the team better. Does the FO have more moves in store?

Solid move especially if Palacios is the headliner in the deal. Welcome to the Twins, Jake!

I think this is ultimately what it comes down to. We don't know what the terms of the contract were and probably will never know. At the end of the day, Darvish is a human being and can decide to do what he wants. Maybe Minnesota isn't his cup of tea? Maybe he doesn't actually have a good relationship with Lavine or Falvey? Maybe he thinks he has two or three years of competitive baseball left in his arm and wants what he thinks is the best chance for him to win a title. Lots of factors going on here than simply money. The Cubs have shown the initiative to go out and make deals at the deadline to put their team over the edge; the Twins have not. The Cubs have the history on their side; the Twins do not. The Cubs have Wrigley Field; the Twins do not. I think he simply did not want to come here. Let's at least look at the fact that the Twins actually made an offer to the considered top player on the FA market which is something they have not done in the last 20 years. Let the boys regroup and let's see what happens. I, for one, am glad that Darvish didn't sign. Really have never been impressed with him as a pitcher.

I'd probably make a push Archer hoping that he turns into a stud with an improved defense behind him and (hopefully) better run support. If the Twins front believe he is going to be more valuable over the next four years than Kepler will then pull the trigger. I agree that it is easier to replace position players than it is to obtain or develop starting pitching. I'm a Kepler believer, but you have to give up something to get something. I do think the roster looks better with Archer on it than Kepler on it. I also think that in four years looking back at how Archer and Darvish perform, we, as fans, won't be too disappointed. Offer the Rays Kepler, Gordon, their pick of Gonsalves/Romero, and their pick of a wildcard Thorpe/Graterol/Baddoo/Enlow/Palacios for Archer and maybe a wildcard from their system. If they pass, they pass and at that point we know the asking price is too high and probably not worth the plunge. I'd look to sign Maybin or Gomez to a one year deal with a team option for 2019. No way they sign Martinez, although that would be a pretty nice addition to an already solid offense.

The only thing not to like about this guy is he is only 5-11. Hard to get too much bigger to add power without sacrificing speed and agility. Maybe he still will grow a couple inches, but another Matt Lawton wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I'd like to think that Mejia can be a pitcher who gives the team a chance to win more often than he doesn't. If he can control the fastball and work on improving his conditioning, he should be a decent back-end of the rotation pitcher.

I think you have to have a spot for Morneau. Guardado over RIncon. Gaetti over Koskie; although I really like him. Cool idea and a fun read.

I really do think that MLB is beginning to lose their younger fans. I work in a high school and talk to my kids about sports among other things, and there are just not many baseball fans. Could be the area that I am in (Syracuse), but our district has five high schools and only one baseball team. Little leagues are still somewhat popular, but I do feel that the sport needs to adapt a little. I think a pitch clock could be effective, but it doesn't seem to be the main aspect that is hindering popularity of the sport. I go to many minor league baseball games a year, and have not really noticed the game being any quicker due to the pitch clock. I actually really like the clock between innings. I think limiting the amount of times a catcher can visit the mound will help. Perhaps even restricting the amount of times a pitcher can step off the mound or a batter can call for time; this probably wouldn't work for obvious reasons, I am just trying to think where time can be saved. Maybe they look at the umpires and expand the zone to get outs "faster" and make the batters swing the bat. When I watch a game, I don't necessarily feel like it's the game that is slow, more so that the pitchers aren't that good (not throwing strikes, walking guys, giving up hits/runs, etc...) and causing the mound visits and pitching changes that actually do extend the time. As far as Dozier goes, I think giving him a 4-5 year extension is a mistake regardless of money. Where is he going to play in two years? I don't think he has the arm for third nor the reaction time needed. Realistically his next position is as a first baseman and that seems to be the place most suited for Sano if they keep him that long. I know Dozier is a solid player and 30+ home runs and positive leadership are difficult to replace, but sometimes a guy gets squeezed out. Difficult decision to make. I play OOTP baseball on a yearly basis and my team has never really been worse for not signing Dozier to an extension; I also know that a video game doesn't equate real life.

Bernadino is a pretty poor reporter, in my opinion. His articles are mostly rehash of what others have said either nationally or in other local publications. He rarely breaks Twins news and I highly doubt he has the pedigree to be judging prospects and compiling a ranking. I tend to take what he says with a grain of salt. With that said, the BA rankings clearly stated that they were based on ceiling. Gordon is probably a major league player with the ability to show flashes, but won't be THE guy in a lineup or team. Hopefully he turns into a solid second baseman and helps the Twins win baseball games, but he was never a guy that I was hanging my hat on that he'd be a major contributor the way I looked at Sano, Buxton, Kepler, and Rosario. At the end of the day, the rankings are just that; they don't really mean anything until the players begin to produce.

Not a bad signing, but this doesn't address any area of need for 2018. Unless they come away from the winter meetings with Archer, Cole, or a badass reliever one would have to call the winter meetings this year a loss.

If that was the package for Cole, I think it would be a done deal pending physicals. I would create a package around Lewis to get Archer with very, very little hesitation. Lewis, Gonsalves/Romero, Granite/Wade, Jay. Lewis may be a stud five years from now, but Archer is a stud today. Gonsalves is a projected 3. Romero is likely headed to the bullpen. Granite and Wade are extremely replaceable; I don't see either hitting MLB pitching at a high enough level to be more than a fourth outfielder. Jay is a wildcard that could bounce back and become a backend rotation starter or become a nice bullpen guy. I'd imagine there'd be a player coming back from Tampa as well; maybe a bullpen guy? After you make this trade, sign Lynn or Cobb or even better, trade for Cole as well. Use the money saved by not spending it on a starter by putting that into the bullpen and maybe a bench bat. Now we're staring to cook with gas here, boys. Archer Santana Lynn/Cobb/Cole Berrios Gibson/Mejia Pitching staff looks a whole lot better.

Do replays count as commercials?