kab21

Willingham will be 34 opening day, is injury prone and is only signed for two more years. given how unlikely it is that the Twins can compete in 2013 I think you trade Willy IF there is a solid deal out there. I would take a 2nd Alex Meyer if teams match up. someone like Delgado, cingrani or Corcino would be a good start. Minor or Hellickson would also work since it would give the Twins a solid starter for 5 years vs a very good hitter for 2.

He's a borderline top 50 prospect so this is a pretty weak Devil's Advocate position.

Of course it would have been nice to get a little more but this is exactly the type of move the Twins need to make to fix the franchise long term. Perhaps Meyer is a bust but you need a lot of good arms in your system to produce good starters. This also gives the Twins a little more room to sign FA's this winter. I think people also need to be realistic about how difficult it is for two teams to exactly match up with needs. The Twins got a borderline top 25 pitching prospect and very few teams are willing to give this up. Very few teams also need a CF'er.

Atlanta still needs offense and a LF'er so this ship hasn't completely sailed although it might be Willingham that gets traded. I don't have a problem with that as long as it's a decent return.

Some always will. Baseball's system is light years behind the NFL's system, for instance, but there are still those who get away with steroids in the NFL. Random testing will allow that. You start doing mandatory testing 1-3 times per year on players, and it will become near impossible to dodge drug use unless, of course, that darned Fed Ex guy screws up again. It was my understanding that some of the latest cream based steroids were clear of your system in 24 hours and undetectable after that. Mandatory testing 1-3 times/year will catch a few guys but it would be impossible imo to make a dent in the problem.

Regardless of what you think of the FO, do you really think that Berrios is the type of prospect that is up for good at age 21 or before. We're not talking about a Dylan Bundy here. We're talking about a sandwich pick which some questioned a little at the time that has about 40 rk ball innings and scouting reports that say he can be a good #3. Even now with the hype getting a little out of control very few would put him on a top 100 prospect list. Let's stop acting like the Twins are guilty of taking an ultra conservative route with Berrios when he's one of the few HS'ers that have played at both rk ball levels in their first season. That's not even mentioning that he did it in the year he was drafted due to the new CBA rules which get players signed earlier.

I saw this a week ago and I have about 5-6 to order for Christmas and myself. My favorites are the 'original lake state' and 'game 6 (the red)'. My mom is definitely getting the killer shirt. I also really like the All Day design but I've mostly lost interest in the Vikings. Frankkkkkkkie is also a really well done shirt. I might order one for $5 but I have a beef with him.

I wouldn't be so upset if he wasn't so wishy washy with his lying/backtracking. Just man up.

If he's up in 3-4 yrs he will be 21-22 yrs old. Start naming non-elite prospects that are up for good younger than that. Facts: He was a supplemental pick in a weak draft He hasn't pitched in full season ball Scouts not associated with the Twins expect him to take 3-4 yrs This isn't an example of the Twins holding him back (yet). Let's wait and see what he does in full season ball before we consider 3-4 yrs outrageous.

Awesome! I've stirred things up again.

Are you suggesting that he is not ready to be promoted past rookie ball? What level do you think Berrios is "ready" for? What constitutes being "ready" in your opinion? If you use statistics to measure "readiness", than where would Berrios' stats place him next year, in your opinion? He's absolutely ready for Cedar Rapids. I'm disagreeing with the general notion that he needs to be fast tracked because the Twins have a need at pitcher. Many in this thread are suggesting that he should get to Ft Myers next season and start 2014 in NB. Perhaps that could happen but let's see what he does in full season ball before we start promoting him beyond Cedar Rapids.

Need should not dictate lower level promotions. He should be promoted when he is ready.

I cannot comprehend how the Royals signing guthrie means that the Twins should alter their plans at all. As a matter of fact the Twins current problem has nothing to do with who is in the AL Central. They can't beat anyone. The Twins don't need to do a complete slash and burn rebuild but they do need to avoid any ridiculous FA contracts that can cripple the team in the future. Anyone that thinks the Twins are going to magically turn this around by spending their way out of this mess is setting themselves up for a long run of ineptitude.

The problem with the article is that it hinges on a guy like Sanchez getting something like 4/44M. I'm absolutely in favor of that but I think the TD gurus have him projected considerably lower than what he'll get. I think he'll get something like 5/75 and I become less interested. Edwin Jackson is a fine pitcher to pick up for around 4/40 but I think people need to realize that he's a 4.00 ERA pitcher. He'll improve the team but he's a nice #3 at best on a good team.

Early on some said that he would be a really good line drive hitter but he might not hit a lot of HR's. With his plate discipline he could be a Mauer type player (upside obviously) in a corner OF spot.

Delmon Young actually had a great MiLB career until he reached AAA and then the majors. His problem was that he was simply a superior athlete compared to the kids in the low minors and imo a superior prospect to Sano. So let's not act like Sano is a proven prospect. You do have a fair point about rating prospects with almost no experience but I do value scouts (not BA but actual scouts) think very highly of Buxton so it's not crazy that he's rated higher than Sano. i'm more in the wait and see category but I also don't get to see any of these prospects play.

It was difficult to read through the whole thread but was this thread started last year after the Marlins signed Buehrle, Reyes and Bell to ridiculous deals. That worked out awesome.

I am encouraged by all of the gushing from scouts about Goodrum's tools and his play at SS but I'm unimpressed by the results so far. He had a great June and pretty much sucked the last two months. He would sneak into my top 20 though. The guy that I haven't liked as much as others is Travis Harrison. He is likely headed to 1B and he really didn't hit that well this year for that position. Mediocre power and the stat line only looked good due to a .379 BAPIP. Jorge Polanco had more power, better plate discipline and has good up the middle defense.

Teams run in cycles. It's pretty simple - The Twins got old and they had terrible injury luck the last two seasons. I know that everyone is frustrated by the losing but 120+M teams filled with 30+ yr old players isn't how you rebuild a team. If the Twins hadn't lost pretty much their entire starting rotation to injuries/ineffectiveness they would be winning and the payroll would be in the 110-120M range.

This way he can later say that he opposed/supported it based on public sentiment at the time.

A 1 yr 5M contract will not prohibit the Twins from getting a good pitcher this year. What will limit them getting a good starter this year is the 50M contracts that those pitchers sign.

(Shakes head) I was with ya until the end... lol. yeah, it's pretty awesome looking at Dozier, Floriman and Carroll in the MI next year. There are a couple of guys that I like better than Yunel but he's a decent ballplayer.

I think everyone is disappointed by the lack of pitchers but you have the makings of a potentially elite offensive core that is cheap. There's a reason that people are excited and pitching strength can change in a hurry if Span/Willy are traded for a pitching prospect and the Twins pick a starter at #4.

First off Kelly Johnson is a FA and Josh Johnson was the entire reason that the Jays did the deal. The Buehrle talk is interesting. It is definitely an ugly contract and it's backloaded so it really doesn't work well for what I want the Twins to do. i.e. spend but maintain future payroll flexibility. It's actually not that bad when you look at total dollars spent factoring in Morneau's subtraction. People need to stop acting like he has any trade value. He could be a solid hitter next season but it's a position the Twins can fill between Doumit, Mauer and Parmelee with Arcia and Hicks getting more PT at RF/DH. 2013 - 12M - 14M = 2M savings 2014 - 19M 2015 - 20M Overall it would be a 3 yr 37M contract (minus Morneau) which is exactly what I'm looking at spending on a FA pitcher this year. If you don't like this trade then how confident are you that the Twins can sign a pitcher as good as Buehrle for a similar amount?

I really don't understand this insistence that Shields needs to be signed to an extension if he's traded for. He's signed until he's 33. Players don't sign 1 yr extensions. He'll be looking for 3 more years particularly since he signed such a cheap deal the first time and this will be his only chance at a multi-year FA contract. I think most likely the Twins try to get 1-2 of the prospects that the Reds/Braves/M's have to offer.