tony&rodney

Are Steer and Encarnacion-Strand already All Stars? How many wins will each accumulate in 2023? Is it possible that some may be a little ahead of the curve on this trade? Who gets cut from the 40 person if we actually still had these two players? It would have to be two of Julien, Lewis, Miranda, Larnach, Wallner. As much as I liked watching both of the now young Reds, I'm just not seeing any complaint about losing a couple of superstars.

Worrying is just wishing for bad luck.

You can choose which guys you want for 2023 for yourself. The Twins decided that Maeda, Gray, and Mahle fit an MLB roster better than Graterol, Petty, Steer, Hajjar, and E-S. My guess is that the Twins pitchers named above provide more value to their team this year than those names traded by the Twins provide for their new MLB teams. As far as the future goes, there is zero guarantee that any of the prospects traded would have fit in ahead of the other Twins prospects. I really liked the pick of Chase Petty and enjoyed what I saw of the others as well. But even if I might have wanted Montas (oops) or Castillo instead, the Twins have a pretty good rotation heading into this season. Trades remain a solid way to improve a roster.

Sure could happen but Julien will need to show well for Canada.

Given the 40 man roster ... cuts out trades and guys like Lee. that's a fair request. It's early but I'll guess: Julien DH, Buxton CF, Polanco 2B, Correa SS, Kirilloff 1B, Miranda 3B, Gallo LF, Vasquez C, Kepler RF, P. Lopez P.

First, Miranda needs a better uniform number to get noticed beyond the Twin Cities. I like your optimism and how you used some numbers within the post, but these two are so different and you actually point out the glaring differences quite clearly. So I'm not exactly sure why you compared Machado to Miranda. I am sure Miranda will never play shortstop for the Dodgers.

I'm a little surprised that some people are suggesting that the Twins need to spend much more money in 2023. There isn't any benefit in going back but it was in the past years when the Twins could have spent to bolster their roster and chose not to do so. While I have not been a fan of the lack of fundamentals or station to station baseball, it seems like this offseason was positive in accumulating experienced depth. The younger players will need to force their way into the lineup, like Arraez did. How the Pohlads spend their money is none of my business. If the Twins are hustling and playing good baseball I support them financially even in losing seasons. If the team is boring I don't spend my money on them, even if they win. However, it is a little strange to suggest that the owners should spend more than their resources support just because they can. Like anyone, it is fine with me if the Twins sign Soto and Nola in the future. The talent across baseball is strong, but it does appear that some teams do a better job at identifying and developing that talent. This is a place where every team can make strides. Baltimore has some good players that were drafter below Twins guys who are struggling. The Dodgers seem to excel at this angle. Bobby Miller hasn't proven anything yet but he looks to be a better bet than Aaron Sabato. Corbin Carroll looks like he might be better than Keoni Cavaco. The draft is a crap shoot, for sure. Finally, the Twins will win or lose with how some of their younger players develop and how others are used in trades. Free agency has not been an instant cure for roster success through the years, particularly pitchers. I'm excited to see how this current collection of players in the system function through a full season. I believe $150 million is a very fair roster budget, one I argued for last November. Hopefully 2,5 million people attend games at Target Field this summer.

Spring training is for the players to build towards Opening Day. The lists are pretty much the team with the last spots decided in the final week of March. Only injuries will cause any surprises on the roster that is announced in Kansas City and it is a long season where there will be plenty of opportunities for individual players to push for MLB positions. No worries.

It is difficult to anticipate injuries and Buxton seems to have had more than his share of bad luck. If he can avoid HBP, fences, and horrible slides there is a good chance he can actually remain healthy. I agree with the premise of this post. The Twins will need to have open communication with Byron and get him some days off. Having Taylor to fill center field is excellent too. Still, I'm hoping that Buck can start 125 games on the grass.

"Trading for established starters (Gray, Mahle, Maeda) has hurt the farm system..." Chase Petty has yet to win a Cy Young and all of the others traded were blocked and/or lower on the team's list of prospects. Trades remain a good way to build or supplement a roster. It takes two and the timing is critical. In July, we may see some opportunities arise for the Twins to add players if it is the right thing to do. The team does not have any history of signing free agent pitchers of note to high dollar contracts. We should not expect this to change. Extensions are tricky because they rarely involve guys in their walk year, meaning forget all of Gray, Mahle, and Maeda as they should be expected to test their value on the open market. The Twins will keep their eyes and ears open but anyone expecting moves before July will almost certainly be disappointed. The staff is deep and ready to be tested.

MLBTradeRumors has Martin with an injury - UCL sprain. Hope he is ok. View full rumor

Your post points to the direct offseason actions of the Twins. Falvey and group added depth with experienced players and will also have a decent number of young players ready to force their way into playing time. Yes, the Twins need their top guys in the lineup to compete with the best teams but Farmer, Taylor, Solano, and others are solid depth. The roster is better suited to the long haul this year.

Through the exact same amount of time, with a few less games due to the pandemic, where do you find yourself on Baldelli having replaced Molitor? Did the Twins get it right? When the Pohlads hired Falvey it was already determined that a new manager would replace Molitor after one season. Baldelli was then the choice and he has done fine and followed the ideals of Falvey. Molitor has continued on as an advisor to the Pohlads for the Twins and even increased his time working with the minor leagues in the past few years. I'm not sure there is another person in baseball who understands and knows the game of baseball as well as Paul Molitor. The Twins are lucky to have him and Paul keeps active in the game while still being able to live a normal life as opposed to the grinding schedule of MLB, which Molitor is all too familiar with from his many years in the game. I wouldn't say it is a matter of getting it right with Baldelli because the idea was for Falvey to have his man in the dugout. Thus we can expect to see Baldelli there for a few years unless there is some unusual unexpected conflict that arises between dugout and front office, or a major breakdown occurs where the Pohlads decide to clean house across the board. I don't see that as a likely occurrence given the Pohlad business models.

Your point about WAR being incomplete is a solid position. WAR is interesting as one number. I'm not sold nor dismissive. I trust my eyes much more, which is useless unless I have seen the player multiple times. Thus, statistics hold relevance.