nick_hansen

To be fair, we never made a real offer to Wheeler. He eventually accepted 5/$118M from Philly, while Chicago offered 5/$125M (slightly more) and we offered 5/~$100M (considerably less). Unless Wheeler had a specific desire to play in the Midwest, I really do not see why he would even consider our notably lower offer. However, if we had put a Corbin-like offer of around 6/$140M on the table to top Philly, then I do believe that he would have actually given us some true consideration. The reason that falling short on this particular player (in this manner) was so frustrating is because unlike a number of the other FA pitchers in his tier, the future potential was still there and the possibility that his best years may just be ahead of him. Metrics wise, he looks like a solid bet with a top-rated FB and a good arsenal of secondary pitches. Plus he's one of the younger FAs in his class so the odds that his arm will hold up through a greater proportion of the contract is better. He's one of those players that I think with the right coaching staff could take his play to the next level. Financially, we were set up to finally be able to make an aggressive & potentially high ceiling move like this and not let it severely hurt our long term plans should it not fully pan out. I can accept us not getting the player in the end (if Philly outbid us because they felt they HAD to have him), but still it's just so disappointing that we would put up such a lackluster effort like this for a player that could've greatly helped our pitching staff for years to come.

So how bout this? All of us Twins fans take a 2-1/2 month break and if very little has changed, it is ok for us to voice our frustrations .

I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying here. I want us to have a team made up primarily of homegrown talent. Last year, we saw such great development from our position players and our pen. However, our rotation is in tough shape and it needs to be addressed immediately if we are to have any chance at breaking the cycle of getting embarrassed in the playoffs. Right now, we don’t really have much higher-end starting pitching that will be ready in 2020, let alone 2021. We have plenty of financial flexibility through wise contract management by the FO, but this is really the time to set us up to take the next step. I’m not talking about doing anything crazy, but right now we should be spending $140M+ (Around half of overall revenues). I’m going to be patient and give these guys till ST to make a move, but if they can’t get it done or decide to stand pat and go into this season with a payroll closer to $100M (and a roster similar to last yr), that is just not an acceptable outcome IMO.

So what you're saying is that people are being irrational for wanting a big move to shore up the pitching and if the FO decides to not pull the trigger on FA acquisitions or trades and proceed with last year's team that they are being disciplined and in-turn will be more likely to produce better results? Got it.

Exactly what I was going to say. A number of WS teams have made acquisitions through trade or FA. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to expect more considering our financial flexibility and our roster ready to truly compete if the pitching is shored up.

Ok, right, so the reporters close to the situation are wrong 95% of the time. Good to know it’s foolish for ppl to ever have an opinion about this team.

Meaning what? That MadBum is making it up? I’m willing to reasonably believe that we didn’t really have a shot with him and that with a strong offer we could’ve had a shot with Wheeler.

^^^Exactly. Offering up a good sum of money but notably less than what other teams offered is not impressive. The fact is that we didn’t make Wheeler a competitive offer and you could say it was pretty much a “non-offer.” Yeah, I understand that Wheeler and his fiancé/wife had ties back East, but the reality here is that we don’t know what they would’ve done if we would’ve extended a real offer. What is a “real offer”? In my mind, it is something in the ballpark of the contract given to Corbin (6/$140M).

I like the idea though. You get a decent mid to back-end rotation guy with years of control and a RP (Givens) that they had looked at trading for last year at the deadline.

If the shellacking that we took in the playoffs has taught us anything, we need to do something bold with the pitching if we are going to take it to the next level. Doing the traditional Terry Ryan dumpster diving thing is not going to get us to where we want to be.

Giving up what is essentially a mid-second round pick for signing a guy that could be at the front of our rotation for the next half-decade is not that heavy of a price to pay. The farm system is deep and we can afford to forfeit a pick as long as the FA is in our long-term plans.

I think it's pretty optimistic that we would sign three FAs. In my mind, including resigning Pineda, it would be two at most. Bringing back Pineda is a solid move. Keuchel is a tough one because he is now 32 and it will likely take a 3-4 yr deal to get it done. Porcello is really only a back-end innings eater at this point. I just don't see why we don't take a chance and see if we can turn Wheeler into a top-of-the-rotation starter. The tools are all there. For me, if they sign Wheeler and resign Pineda, they are looking pretty decent for next year. Also trading for a SP like Jon Gray wouldn't be a bad idea either and could put them over the top.