Oldgoat_MN

I don't know about Arraez. You usually want a guy to be hitting under .400 before you send him down.

This would be a nit-picking exercise but for your approach. Using only the next 5 picks makes it interesting. Thank you

It appears that Prince Fielder is getting $24 million this year and next. Too bad he was injured. I've read that he's a pretty good guy and was certainly an amazing talent for Detroit.

Another test to see if these Twins are real. If we take 2 of 3 even those of us who are trying to remain 'cautiously optimistic' are probably going be get pretty high on this team. I'm sorry for Corey Kluber. I truly am. But if factors into the season in a significant way.

It is a rare day that I only check this site once. Love it. One request... on the right side of the page under The Forums you have the last 5 articles that have had a comment posted. An article can roll off the list pretty fast. Could you put something there that we could click that would bring up the 5 before that? I know I would use it frequently.

Lies. All lies.

Well, they make a great deal of money and this is the business they are in. That said, I have often wondered why more contracts don't include a payout in the event of a trade. You have to move to another city and that seems like it should entail some compensation.

I think there's a decent chance you could get either Harper or Machado by offering 3/105. They make $35 million per year and this era of the teams watching their budgets closely may have passed. Also, the new CBA will be coming along and salaries may have escalated for any number of other reasons. $35M per year and sign again while still in your prime. Might tempt a player. Also, it is relatively short term and the Twins would likely make out OK in the $/WAR equation. . Doesn't have to be a 10 year deal.

If I was 30 years younger I'd go find some random baby boy who's left handed and adopt him. I have no millionaires to support me in my aging years. Alas...

There were a pretty healthy number of guys on that team who played in at least one All Star game. This is fun.

Excellent article, clear observations, reasonable conclusions. Only complaint: there should be a link to Part 1. Thanks

Neither Buchholz nor Pomeranz make the Twins a playoff caliber team. I'd like to see them DO something significant about a SP, but doubt such a thing will happen. Guess we'll just hope everyone has a career year. Again.

I appreciate your reluctance, but Gibson led the team in ERA and ERA+. He was second to Berrios in FIP and WHIP. I'd try to lock him up for a couple extra years.

I don't imagine the Diamondbacks will let Corbin go without offering a pretty nice contract. Same as Ryu and the Dodgers. Eovaldi has done well for Boston. I wish you had listed equally good pitchers coming from Kansas City, Baltimore, San Diego, Cincinnati, etc. The teams that these pitchers are attached are successful and have money. In most cases, lots of it.

Of 86 catchers in MLB with >50 PA we had Astudillo at #1 in wRC+ and Garver was 18th. Wilson and Castro were 77th and 78th, respectively. Hopefully Garver will continue to improve, as he did this year, with more playing time. Astudillo, well, if he stays anywhere near where he was this year he will be a fan favorite for everyone. Fortunately he could regress quite a bit and still be a valuable asset.

Of 458 MLB players who had 90 PA or more, Buxton was 457th in OPS. He was 458th in wRC+ and wOBA. Dead last. He is a great fielder, but something extraordinary needs to happen with his bat in order for him to be an asset to this team. No team in the AL can afford to have an automatic out in the lineup. *edit - he was 457th in all 3 categories. Alas...

WAR is a cumulative statistic. If you look at Twins position players who had at least 100 PA Kepler was 9th in wRC+, WOBA and OPS.

I was at the game yesterday. Mauer had to feel the love. That was really special. As Wookie of the Year says, he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory. It will be interesting to see how the member of the BBWAA choose to see it.

I hope that in the next CBA the players have the dignity to insist that minor league players get paid better. And yes, I know that minor league players are not paying dues. It's a shame that no team has stepped up and increased MiLB wages on their own.

1. I am optimistic that Brent Rooker may one day be a good MLB player. However, he has posted a .255/.333/.465 (.798) line in AA. He is not ready. 2. Jake Cave is, and please don't get too upset about this, our best hitting outfielder not named Rosario. Sadly, I don't see any Twins outfielder in the organization swinging a bat well enough to force him to change his position. 3. Sano loses value when he moves to first. It would also open a hole at third. And so far this year Sano has not hit as well as Mauer. It remains to be seen if he will provide above average value at any position. 4. Grossman has a lower BA, OBP and SLG than Mauer. He's also not as good a fielder. I understand you are just trying to start a conversation, but I'm not sure he belongs on this list. 5. Tyler Austin may have some promise, but the Yankees let us have him even as their current first baseman is sporting a .670 OPS. What do they know that we don't yet know? Of the 25 1B with a 'qualified' number of plate appearances in MLB this year, 9 of them have a lower fWAR than Joe Mauer. FanGraphs rates 15 of them as poorer fielders than Mauer (using their Defensive Runs above Replacement metric). I understand that people want the 2006 version of Justin Morneau at first base for the Twins next year, but we don't have one of those. If the Twins sign Mauer for another year, I will not feel that this means they are 'giving up' on 2019. Hopefully someone young and awesome will step up and force their way into the lineup at first base in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, Mauer is a better option than several other teams have managed to put on the field. While frustrating, I believe this to be the truth of the situation.

I'd be impressed if he hit like Ted Uhleander.

I think they should bring him up and let him play. If he starts out next season hitting poorly send him all the way back to AA or even A+ and have him work his way up again. At some point he needs to have an OPS of .700 or better to be a valuable MLB player, even with his amazing skills in the field.

FYI: The Rangers have Elvis Andrus signed through 2022 with an option for 2023. Made me think enough that I looked it up.

How can a guy who is a professional baseball manager continue to put Morrison's name on a lineup card? Enough already.

Thank you for the write-up and your impressions. It's fun to have a fan describe what what it looks like to a fan. Sadly, the impressions of Gonsalves and Gordon were pretty much what I've been thinking. Alas...