Cory Engelhardt

I thought Brock wrote this article a little while back, but wasn't it titled "The twins CAN'T trade ________ player! That was a fantastic article.

I’m just surprised the author could only find one fan willing to be interviewed for this article :)

He is exciting Jamie. Awesome article! Have a great day!

More power to him. I make that deal for Mahle every single day of the week. I have zero doubt the Twins ended up with the best player in that trade, and it's really not all that close.

DH against righties, and where does he play against lefties when the DH spot is PROBABLY (at least my guess) going to Buxton? That could work though, I like the thinking. Julien's bat certainly looks ready, even if there are questions for where he can help the team defensively.

Yeah, for me, if one of Dollander, Crews, Langford, Clark or Skenes is there at 5, that’s my pick. This is obviously subject to change, and certainly fun to follow

I can barely plan out what is happening next week, let alone 5-6 years from now. That said, I don't think that player is out of high school at this point, whoever that could be.

Yeah, so this one I don't think needs the sarcasm header. :)

2b or 3b will be his for a long time. Excited to see him

Barring health, to say this team isn't as good as last year, when you are literally replacing (at minimum) Vazquez's pitch calling for Sanchez, Lopez and Mahle and Maeda for Bundy and Archer, and legit depth in the outfield and infield (Farmer/Taylor/Solano) over the likes of Jake Cave et al. I mean, yes, health is always an issue. But to think what I listed aren't massive improvements is shortsighted at best.

I think they win in the range of 88 wins. They were certainly on that path last year before the trade deadline. I think they are a better and deeper team today than at any point in 2022. Doesn't mean they will be better, but if they stay healthy, and the younger guys (Miranda/Kirilloff et al) take a step forward like we expect, then I think they win 88 or more games.

I kind of figure if the Dodgers really want a SS, they'll be talking to either Milwaukee about Adames or Cleveland about Rosario.

I think unless a guy is an absolute high end fit at an up the middle position (cf, ss or catcher) I’d prefer guys have the flexibility to play the other positions as much as possible. Having the ability to cover multiple spots certainly is a benefit, not a curse

Did a bot write this?

I'll throw this out, to me he is kind of a guy who will hopefully CRUSH at St. Paul, make his debut and hit well for a month, and then after that be part of a package for really good starter this July. I very well could be wrong, but this team is prioritizing defense more than it sounds like he will be able to provide. But you have to give something to get something, and if you are trading players, it's a lot easier to trade a non-up the middle defender than otherwise.

I'm really curious to see where he plays position wise. And it FEELS like he will need an injury to get an opening too.

Came here to add this comment.

2nd’d on this

My vote is Mahle, with Lopez at 1a for this rotation. Then Ryan. Then Gray and Maeda. All are solid though, and all are (in my opinion) at least mid-rotation level. I view Mahle and Lopez both as good #2 starters.

Agreed. It MIGHT be Buxton a bit, but I can totally see getting Polanco off his ankles a bit, especially against a lefty. Kirilloff too, since Solano plays 1b pretty well, let him get into a groove before playing him full time more.

And all of this is predicated on health, right? I'd prefer to have depth to help with injuries at any point. But Farmer and Solano both hit lefties well. And the roster in August is going to look a lot different than opening day. It always does.

I more meant, they wouldn't have 6 bench spots for every game. The dh spot would rotate. So it would be 9 position players and 5 bench spots for every game in that scenario no?

Ok, I'll throw it out there; IF the starting pitchers are planning to pitch longer in to games, is there ANY chance that the team carries only 12 pitchers north to start the year, and 5 bench spots? I've assumed forever it would be 13 pitchers who make the opening day roster. But having more positional flexibility isn't the worst thing.

Maybe they are thinking of having Buxton DH quite a bit more this year, at least to start? Want to make CERTAIN that he (among others) is healthy come playoff time. Or it's certainly possible that Kepler is actually traded at some point. Who knows.

If Ober can show he can pitch more than 100 innings in a season, then great! I have Mahle and Lopez and Ryan as firmly better than him. I THINK Maeda and Gray, based on track records, are better than him. But I also firmly believe that Ober has the ability to be a mid-rotation starter. I don't know what the future holds for next year and ongoing, but I'm hoping that Mahle and Lopez get extensions. You mentioned how most teams use 6-7 starters. The Astros had 8 different starters start a game in 2022, and the Dodgers used 12. The Twins used 14, but hopefully they don't have a year with THAT many injuries again. More good pitching isn't a problem. And everyone will get a chance throughout the year assuming for injuries and double-headers etc.