billyp4444

Kepler is the only one that has true value. But again, what do you get in return? A similar type player. If they can get a SOLID #3 starter do it today! Resign Big Mike as a #4, Happ and crew at 5. Sano, Cruz, Pineda and Simmons bring bullpen talent at best or lottery ticket prospects . If you truly want an impact trade you have to shop Buxton, I think you shouldn't but he's the most valuable trade piece.

A Shout Out to La Tortuga

https://anchor.fm/bill-porter6/episodes/Recap-and-Reflections-From-Opening-Weekend-eu482a

https://anchor.fm/bill-porter4/episodes/Twins-Spring-Training-1-Week-In-eron3t

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JDNRbS6YCaJNye28T8d0u?si=yWH1HaJ-QTexaeuvn2TI6A

https://anchor.fm/bill-porter4/episodes/Do-the-Twins-sign-Nelson-Cruz-epojpp

It's also time for Nick Gordon to prove it or move on. I'm very interested to see what he brings to the table this year. He should be able to add some depth. I guess where I going is if Arraez and/or Gordon prove capable this sets up Polanco for trade bait perhaps.

Ahhh, the pandemic!! It’s meaning to you is varied, personal and diverse. One thing I believe the nation is ready for is baseball! Let’s get the bats cracking and baseball humming. As MLB firms up its abbreviated spring season, sorting out all the COVID wrinkles, the Minnesota Twins are built for a season of this diversity. This team was assembled to win this year so let’s hope starting the season is a Twins blessing. Let’s take a look why. Before we dive into specifics, let’s look at intangibles: Experience: The Twins have a great blend of veterans and experienced youth. The shorter season should be a chance for our older 35+ players to not hit those dreaded dog days of the middle of the season and keep them fresher: I.e. Rich Hill, Nelson Cruz, Sergio Romo, Tyler Clippard, Josh Donaldson Chemistry: The Twins appear to have a great blend of personalities with jovial, yet work man like dedication. Sergio Romo is a great personality, Nelson Cruz is the consummate professional. Manager Rocco Baldelli gives his players a fair amount of latitude in preparation, keeping his required work organized and efficient. He’s known as a player’s manager and good communicator. Now the specifics: Outfield: The extra time off has allowed Byron Buxton to heal his repaired labrum and he should be ready for Game 1 of the season. Buxton’s speed is supernatural. Having him ready is phenomenal. Max Kepler is settled in as a MLB player and has proven his power. Eddie Rosario is back in left field. I see him as a dark horse MVP candidate. His streaky bat could light up an unusual shortened season, and he’s in an arbitration season. Jake Cave is a very nice utility man for all 3 OF spots. LaMonte Wade Jr offers depth if needed. Infield: Josh Donaldson is a huge signing. He solidified an already potent line up. Having him in the middle should make a huge impact. Luis Arraez and Jorge Polanco shore up the middle infield. Polanco is coming off an All-Star season taking a huge step forward last season. Arraez was amid-season call up and became a tough, tough out and an OBP machine. Miguel Sano moves to 1st Base which should be a great thing for his offense. Hopefully his COVID illness heals quickly, he reports he feels fine. Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza return as very capable utility guys. Catcher: Mitch Garver found a power surge last year and looks to prove it. Alex Avila and the affable Willians Astudillo will back him up. Astudillo will also be utilized at a number of positions with his defensive versatility, assuming he gets back from COVID as well. Pitching: Giving Rich Hill the time needed to heal his surgically repaired labrum was huge assuming he returns to form. Newly acquired Kenta Maeda has to prove himself in the American League but should be a great addition. Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios firm the top of the rotation. Homer Bailey is likely the #5 starting favorite. Randy Dobnak, Devin Smelter and Lewis Thorpe offer depth and options with UFA Jhoulys Chacín as a veteran possibility. The bullpen is anchored by Taylor Rogers who seems to be hitting stride in his career. Trevor May, Tyler Clippard, Tyler Duffy, Sergio Romo are proven. If Thorpe isn’t in the rotation I see him as left hander out of the bullpen. I have optimism. The blend of talented veterans and experienced younger players is ripe. The Twins should have a real shot at a run in the play-offs. The power is proven at the plate. The bullpen and rotation is shored up for the most part. A late season addition is a real possibility. The 2 things to be cautious off, are of course the COVID dilemma shutting the team or season down further and the infield defense is a bit suspect, especially on the right side. Barring setbacks Twins fans should be excited and pumped for 2-3 months of baseball. The time is now!! Minnesota Twins

I like your optimism, let's see how all this plays out. If everyone plays true to past numbers than yes, "put the hay in the barn". However the article is titled reasons for caution, not doomed for failure. I hope I'm wrong on all of these

1) The infield defense is slightly suspect and below average. -Sano, Arraez and Polanco all have below average defensive stats 2) Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios prove to be below average front line starters. Yes they've proven themselves as #3's. Can they repeatably beat other teams 1's and 2's? 3) Byron Buxton is delayed and/or hurt again 4) Mitch Garver and the rest of the offense return to normal temperature instead of red hot 5) Injuries- This applies to any team but 5 starters (Sano, Cruz, Buxton, Donaldson and Kepler) have all battled the injury bug in recent years. Not too mention 5 of the 7 starting pitchers (Odorizzi, Bailey, Maeda, Hill, Pineda) All this said the Twins should be a contender, I'm just saying the hay isn't in the barn yet.....

It was all worked out. The Twins, Dodgers and Red Sox were all satisfied. The Twins receiving the solid 3rd pitcher they needed in Kenta Maeda. The Red Sox were dumping heavy salary for rising prospects. The Dodgers were going all in on the win now season. Than the Red Sox got either embarrassed, cold feet or greedy. The excuse that they didn't know Twins prospect Brusdar Graterol wasn't projected as a starter is a very poor one. It was common knowledge. The Red Sox counter saying they needed another top 10 prospect in the deal made them look very greedy and they should be embarrassed, though that is unlikely. The bottom line was the Red Sox fan base was upset with the departure of fan favorite Mookie Betts with out a sexy superstar in return. Hard truth, they got cold feet and it makes them look bad. Asking for another prospect is the equivalent of a playground bully asking for more lunch money. The Twins absolutely had to back out of the deal. Minnesota is an organization that relies heavily on building from within, not having the luxury of going out and signing big $ free agents. Graterol was a big give away, who is now being unfairly scrutinized. Go away Red Sox, cry in your own bowl of "chowda" ya wankas!

We shall see.....

As we revel in our Holiday cheer I couldn’t help but have some Twins hopes of Christmas sugar plums in sweet free agent pitching signings. Sugar plums would have been the signing of a front line starting pitcher like Madison Bumgarner, Dallas Keuchel or the like. But in Twins fashion they delivered a lump of coal. The Twins went back to the old boneyard to find free agents who maybe have some magic left in the old black hat Frosty found. The Twins Holiday gift was wrapped in 2 formerly proven but oft-injured veteran pitchers coming off of arm problems in Rich Hill and Homer Bailey. Both have had elbow issues in the recent past, but have had some history of success. Oops they did it again….sort of, possibly, maybe not. They're certainly not the top end talent that would figure to make the Twins a serious World Series contender. Could they still have a good year left in them?? The Twins certainly struck gold with Nelson Cruz last year. Rich Hill has a respectable career record of 65-42 and found his niche as a pitcher in his late 30’s as his breaking ball developed, going 39-19 the last 4 seasons. However, with the age has come the injuries. He’s coming off surgery of a partial UCL tear, has some knee issues and will not be back until June. He could prove valuable when and if he stays healthy. Homer Bailey has spent his career off and on the disabled list with a Tommy John surgery in 2017. He had a bounce back season of sorts in 2019 going 13-9 while pitching 163 innings. Maybe his 30’s will bring some stabilization to his career. I would put him at the Twins #3 starting pitcher to start the season. It’s a hopeful stabilization move for the Twins. What has all this done? At best it’s shored up the end of the Twins starting rotation and it may be good enough for a another wild card or division title. I don’t see either pitcher being able to hold a top end line up in check for the play-offs. At worst, both prove past their prime and provide the Twins nothing but wasted money and another frustrated fan base. What do they say about coal…..it can turn into diamonds, let’s hope that’s our 2020 gift from the Twins.

If the Minnesota Twins are going to the boneyard for starting pitchers why not plunge deep. I proclaim it the year of the reclamation project for the Twins. Let me propose Matt Harvey as a candidate. Pros * He still has averaged nearly 6 K’s per game * He has zero leverage and should be very cheap. A 1 year $2M with incentives up to $10M may land him * He needs to do well and is motivated to continue his career. * At age 30 he still should have more productivity left in him * It may be trivial, but it could be transformational for him if needed. Minnesota has what he needs, he has tried to get sober in the past. Minnesota has some of the best treatment facilities in the world. Cons * His walks per inning were the highest in his career in 2019 * Has he matured? See the quest for soberness above * Can he be more than a power pitcher, Harvey’s bread and butter has been his fastball. As he moves into his 30’s can he develop other ways to get batters out? His curve ball and slider % were the highest of his career last season…….but his ERA was also a career high * His fastball is down to a career low 93 The “Dark Knight” is known as a bit of flake. Flakes can be good as they tend to have short term memories.