kab21

It is entirely possible that they nailed this trade by signing Hill or Teague or trading for a perfect complementary piece (Beverly in LAC). Of course, the Wolves could be playing a dangerous game of PG musical chairs and be left without any decent options. And then Rajon Rondo becomes a legitimate signing. Ick This has been a crazy offseason so far and the Wolves arguably have 3 more moves to make. PG, backup wing and backup big. They need to find solid players at all 3 positions or else the Big(gish) Three that they have assembled will be for naught. One thing about Rubio is that he was only signed for 2 years and when his contract is up the Wolves might not have any cap space with Towns, Wiggins and Gorgui locked up (2 max contracts likely) and not to mention the possibility of a Butler extension (very unlikely but I can dream). They would almost have to resign Rubio to a longer contract and that probably isn't a great idea. If they sign Hill/Teague now then they don't have to worry about that issue (luxury tax will be an issue).

Yes, I read the commentary and it is poor with regards to the McEnroe statement. The commentary is the one making it a fight that doesn't need to be fought. The interviewer asked him to clarify a point and led him to this 'controversial' answer. If McEnroe says that she is the best tennis player ever then she should be better than ANY tennis player. She isn't although she would be more competitive than 700th. But this (McEnroe) has nothing to do with not appreciating the elite women athlete. He made a factual statement that women can't (not yet) compete with men in sports that emphasize speed and power.

The point being that we can't talk about the physical differences between men and women even everyone knows that they are true? Just don't talk about it because it is controversial.

Realistically probably Tyler Chatwood. An average-ish pitcher headed to FA. Probably a similar pitcher with a 2nd year of team control though. The same reason that people want to trade Rosario (or call him a good 4th OF'er) is the same reason that he isn't going to bring back anything great in a trade. I am not suggesting Chatwood specifically is available (Rockies 15 games over .500) or that the Rockies want Rosario but this is the level of pitcher you could get.

I think the key to the free agent signings this year is to avoid alright players and overpay for them resulting in Mozgof or Deng deals. Ingles and Patterson or any mix of mentioned players for the bench look fine. Preferably for <10M/yr and on 2-3 yr deals. This is kind of where Korver could come in since he is old enough that he can't command too many years or even that high of a contract. guys that I see getting paid are Redick and Galinari. Both are probably looking for starting roles also. I believe in Bjelica enough that there NEEDS to be a solid backup big man. Bjelica does one thing well (I like the potential) but the defense falls apart down low when he comes in. Towns and Dieng are fairly decent together but Towns can't make up for a second weaker defender. Aldrich does nothing for me and is simply a contract that comes off the books at some point (2 years). I have enough confidence in Jones (at least compared to the rest of the second string) that there doesn't need to a better backup brought in but that is more a statement of how little depth the team has. They really need a 20+ min/gm wing and big. Once that is addressed they can look at other needs. Getting Lowry (4/150M?) and Rose (trading Rubio for no salary) would likely eat up all of the Wolves remaining cap space. No thanks. If the Wolves go that route (trade Rubio) then I am all about Beverly, George Hill or even George Teague. The first is cheaper (under contract but something needs to be sent in a trade) but if they could land Hill/Teague for 15-18M/yr then it could work quite well. But I think it is dangerous to go that route without having a PG deal 100% secured. The worst thing is not having a capable PG for this team. So we might have to wait until the 1st day of FA to see what they have cooking (secret deals until then).

It looks like we can blast away at Falvey and Levine if we can only be judgmental about results based decisions. What did they see that said the merry go round of mediocrity (the cycling of MiLB pitchers) had any chance of being successful? Some have a decent chance like boshers or Busenitz (based on stuff and stats) but many threw sub 90 in relief (some of those even RH) with mediocre MiLB K rates. I will use Liam Hendriks as a counterpoint to your 'be critical if they succeed elsewhere' belief. I don't think that is a just way to judge a FO. At the time Liam Hendriks was let go by the Twins they had a full bullpen (some young arms taking up spots) and didn't have room to try out a failed starter. He toiled for another year as a starter elsewhere and then became really good. The reality was that there are only so many roster spots. No fault to the FO. This year is different. There are many openings in the bullpen and the FO has promoted many guaranteed mediocre arms to fill them. It isn't that those arms failed, it is that they really had no chance of succeeding. You might think the argument is about Melotakis but it is actually about these promotions. And that argument is actually results based that agrees with every bit of MiLB and scouting data we have.

the teeth gnashing part of this is that the Twins have multiple RP'ers in the pen that are bad and they have given everyone (literally) a shot at the bullpen. Maybe Melotakis's stuff (post TJ) won't translate at all to the majors but AA hitters couldn't figure him out in almost 60 IP (post TJ). Seems like somebody you give a chance at this point.

That is correct now that I have done the math. I think I undercounted the senior underslot signings a little in my head. They do have a fair amount of money if they want to get 1-2 of the late round guys. That would be an extra bonus for this draft since I already like it.

Absolutely. If they are playing with a short bench then they can't have guys missing multiple days with injuries. Gotta DL them.

Yes, that is a frustration but it is equally frustrating that some have considered all cops bad apples. As long as people on both sides continue to make generalizations like this things won't improve.

Eyeballing it I think the Twins have already used most of the 5% extra and won't have anything left for post 10th rd selections. Maybe an extra 100-150K and they can snag one lower level guy. I think most of the interesting overslot picks later in the draft were protection just in case Enlow backed out of any agreement that they had. They still had somebody to sign with the extra money. The savings from Leach and Lewis roughly equal the overslot amount for Enlow (about 100K left over). rds 5-7 were all 180-300K overslot also and the savings on the rds 8-10 seniors were about 100K each.

The bigger problem might be that they don't have 12 effective pitchers and will be overusing all RP's (good or bad). And that doesn't even include Gimenez. I predict that he makes at least 2 appearances in the next 3 weeks.

Going after Kyle Lowry makes no sense. If the Wolves do that then they will have absolutely no bench at all. https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2017/06/wolves-plan-to-target-kyle-lowry-three-others.html Targeting a lower priced (still likely more than Rubio) option like Hill or Teague (or Beverly if the Rockets try to get additional cap room) is an interesting path. Pick up a 3 point shooter at the point to complement Wiggins/Butler on the wings. I am a big Rubio fan but this could potentially work out for the better. Rubio would be sent packing (many happy fans). Perhaps they could still get the Knicks pick Ntilikina (an asset) for him. Still need to get some bench players or else this will turn into a Thibs killing the starters story again. I think the narrative lacks a little substance but if there aren't NBA capable players as options then the starters are going to play the entire game.

This is really an odd move. The Twins have literally given everyone that is likely to be mediocre (and a few with modest upside) a few games in the majors this year. His velocity is a big concern but he has managed to K 30% of hitters in 60 innings since returning from TJ. I could make a long list of RP'ers that got a chance but are less interesting than that. Maybe there is something else though. Did someone mention some friction between Melotakis and the org earlier?

One point of clarification. The Twins have a team option on Ervin for 2019. He is old and at some point he is no longer decent but he isn't in a walk season. The plan has to be to sign or trade for a good starter. Be aggressive and get it done. Berrios/Santana/FA(trade) gives you 60% of the rotation This year find out if one of Hughes or Mejia are answers for next year. Mejia has promise and Hughes doesn't have much. And Gibson looks unlikely although he has thrown only 2 stinkers and 4 QS since returning. Progress I guess. The fifth spot is still pretty shaky but Gonsalves or Romero look to be ready around midseason and could claim. Neither is ready right now to be promoted and wouldn't benefit from getting bombed this year. I would like to see one or both up in August in the bullpen to get their feet wet though. Still shaky but progress.

If the Wolves renounce Shabazz Muhammad's rights then they will have close to 20M in cap room. That should be enough to sign two role players. I think Korver and Redick would be at the top of my list. Danny Green would also be great if he could be had as a salary dump to clear cap room. Unfortunately, the Wolves have very few small trade assets beyond Jones, Bjelica and Patton. I think next years 1st rd pick goes to the Hawks to complete the Payne trade. If it doesn't I think it converts to two 2nd rd picks so they might not even be able to send a timely 2nd rd pick for Green. I would be okay with Brandon Rush coming back as the 4th wing but the wolves also need to add another big man. Preferably one that can from the outside or defend. Preferably both but they will be shopping in the <10M/yr range most likely.

I also think Escobar might be the most likely to be traded. Right now it is tough to find a trade match for Dozier since he is only a 2B. Polanco might possibly interest a team but he is struggling and I think the Twins don't want to sell low on him. And he is probably penciled into the IF somewhere if Escobar and Dozier aren't extended/resigned in 1.5 years. Can't trade Ervin unless they are REALLY blown away (and there have been way too many threads about that). Grossman is an intriguing piece to trade but the Twins could quickly find themselves without a 1B (mauer's contract is almost up) or DH if Vargas doesn't hit better.

It may not have been (almost definitely wasn't) you but many on this board were upset that Santiago was brought back since Berrios and Mejia had to start the year in the minors. And now they are complaining that the Twins didn't bring in more veterans for the rotation. And I still think Santiago will have a nice season. Obviously he has to be healthy which hopefully explains his lack of effectiveness recently.

This is an issue in many important public service jobs in the US and will become worse as $15/hr minimum wage (or higher) increases take place. Why is anyone going to do the training and the really, really hard work when they could do an easier job for fair pay? I honestly can't think of any reason that someone would be a teacher right now considering the pay, the stress, the long hours and scapegoating (not my kid's fault). Same goes firemen, paramedics and many things that we take for granted. But I really think teachers are the most at risk because we treat them awful. And to return to police officers. We are now blaming all of these officers for the actions of what I still consider the few. It is getting harder to maintain the belief that it is just a few but there are probably 100's of thousands of officers in the US and even though these cases are seemingly quite common (way too many though), the vast majority do not behave like this. I have no confidence in the police review (for shootings or use of force) process though. Zero faith in that.

So the Spurs are rumored to be shopping Danny Green. The price is high. Like Justin Patton high? Go get him and then sign a big that is a competent defender with an outside shot (3's are better but hard to find).

Saying that Arrieta would be bad in the AL because he was bad in the AL before was not semantics and that was the greater point. The greater point is that this board will pick apart any pitcher even if they are basically perfect and say not good enough while the team is running AAAA starters out there.

This is the big issue facing the Wolves but it is helped by having a center that can shoot 3's. Patton looks interesting with some potential but I was hoping the Wolves could move more towards small ball 4 that could shoot 3's as a backup big (Bjelica?). Any wing they get will probably be a 20-25 min/gm option to hoist up some 3's.

Arrieta was one of the best pitchers in baseball the last 3 seasons with the Cubs. 2.42 ERA (2nd in baseball) with a 2.72 FIP (Tied for 2nd) and a 3.01 xFIP (5th) Yes, it is disparaging to call that very good. It is elite and he wasn't going to simply revert back to his Baltimore days if he moved to the AL. His age is valid concern going forward but he has been an elite pitcher (until this season). No doubts about it.

and this is why you can't have enough pitching and there should be no outrage if a prospect starts the year in the minors. Every year people are upset that somebody is 'blocked' and every year Twins are cycling through AAAA arms by June/July.

Best of all the Wolves should have plenty of salary cap room to add some complementary players as well. They certainly need a couple to have an NBA level second string. Right now they have Jones and Bjelica and a toolsy center draft pick