kab21

Are you suggesting that a pitcher with a history of arm problems starts the season in the bullpen and then moves to the rotation later? This sounds like the worst possible transition for him. If you want to limit his innings then let him pitch 125-ish in the rotation (AAA or MLB) and then move him to the bullpen down the stretch with no back to back days.

But there are many pitchers and (prospect and MLB'ers) that have injury risk in their scouting report and/or an injury history. Sometimes these pitchers make it without a serious injury but many times they actually end up with a serious arm injury. Like Meyer or any of seemingly a dozen of the Twins RP prospects that we have been hopeful for. For example, JDL had been injured the year before and scouts had mentioned (IIRC) that his mechanics could lead to an arm injury. Any pitcher can get injured but I am not going to completely ignore red flags like that. It will be taken into consideration.

I think one of Rose or Jones would be playing as a wing when together on the court because wing depth is nil on this team right now. Bjelica (WHAT A GAME!) is starting as a wing and Thibs has made it clear that Crawford is the only wing that he will play. This move basically steals garbage time minutes from Hunt or in the scenario where Wiggins, Bjelica or Crawford are also injured. Perhaps Rose is better than Hunt but we are doomed in that scenario. I prefer to play Aldrich/Patton with KAT as a wing.

Yes, the Twins wouldn't have to give up a high draft pick to sign Lynn. I am all for a 15M/yr deal for 1 or 2 (and possibly 3) years. He isn't a great (1 or 2) but he is probably a very good pitcher. The reason I say probably is that his FIP/xFIP is pretty bad but I think he could improve next season in his second season back from TJ and potentially come close to being the pitcher he was before TJ. The downside is that his results (ERA) matches his 2017 FIP (no improvement) and he isn't very good. At that point the damage is minimal on a 1-2 yr deal. There is risk but my confidence in Lynn would be the 2nd highest (behind Berrios) of Twins pitchers entering the season.

Just great. I can sort of see adding a wing but Rose can't shoot or really contribute much anywhere. Let's hope that he is in the 3rd rotation of players that only plays 3 minutes total every 3 weeks. But you know that he is going to get 12 min/game.

It is a numbers game. Slegers - Gonsalves - Romero - Jorge are all ahead of Littel and will be in the AAA rotation. And this doesn't include Enns (probably in the bullpen) or Mejia (probably starting the season in AAA) or someone else that I have forgotten. Littel being in AA is due to the Twins pitching depth in the upper minors and not where he necessarily should be.

The whole JDL trade talks is another example of the Twins FO being less interested in high injury risk pitchers. We saw that again this winter with Bard, Burdi and Chargois being made available in Rule V or waivers. This seems to be a trend. Durability is valued by the FO.

Right now I feel like they will completely miss the playoffs or best case get the 8 seed. Ugh...

But having to get consent to send them down a pitcher vs a player that has options (Mejia) is a big advantage to a guy like Sanchez. Hopefully it is only used for a tiebreaker but I think it is likely that Hughes or Sanchez get every chance to take the #4 and (eventual) #5 spots.

I am excited about Polanco because the Twins appear to have found a starting MI that will be cheap for several years. I don't see a comparison to Santana. Polanco already had half a season of MLB experience and a .756 OPS prior to last season. He also has K and BB rates that support continued success unlike Santana. You are right that there isn't enough of a track record to guarantee anything but it seems pretty likely that Polanco can put up a .725+ OPS as a middle infielder. I am not as optimistic that he will approach an .800 OPS since that would put him at borderline all-star level at SS (always under consideration but rarely making the all-star game).

Why isn't the #4 spot in the rotation up for discussion? Hughes has the inside track on that spot Odorizzi Berrios Gibson #4 = ? Right now Hughes and his contract is the favorite for the 4th starter spot and Anibal is probably the second favorite since I don't think he needs to accept a minor league assignment (can someone verify) even though he has a defined split contract. If both of these options implode for spring training then Mejia should take that spot. He might even take that spot outright if he looks great but typically pitchers without options are given every opportunity to win a spot at the beginning of the season. If Hughes or Sanchez end up at the #4 and the other is cut or DL'd then I would expect the Twins to option Mejia in favor of a true RP until they bring him up as the #5 later in the month.

Let's be serious though. You weren't that close to accepting Teague. He has been hot (shooting %) in Feb/Mar though. KAT has been incredible (offensively) this season. 41% from 3 and 54% from the floor. Now if Wiggins could do something other than inefficiently scoring some points. It is his time to shine with Butler out.

It presents a big opportunity to upgrade an offense that was 4th in the AL in OPS with a .768 OPS. It was actually the only possible improvement that the Twins could have made to the team since the other 8 positions were set. I agree that it was one of the smallest issues (compared to PITCHING) for the Twins but it did present an opportunity for improvement.

So far Hughes has exceeded expectations by actually being able to pitch. I view the 'competition' almost as a competition to be healthy at the end of spring training. If both of them are then I think Mejia is the most likely loser since he has options. Not fair really since I think he is more likely to be better than either this year but it is always better to have more choices for the rotation than fewer. It really isn't surprising at all. The 17.4M QO is no longer available and other players have struggled to sign deals that matched the yearly value of the QO. Those players usually had an issue with the punishing draft pick compensation attached to the signing but this winter has marked a significant hesitation from teams to sign 30 something yr old FA's to 4-5 year contracts.

I consider Gibson almost a no doubter. Sanchez has the smell of that seasoned vet that is given too many chances for seemingly no reason at all. However I think there is a (small) chance that Sanchez surprises us. The upside is more of the Colon level of surprise of 'this guy isn't actually terrible' though.

My prediction when Anibal was signed that Hughes and Sanchez were competing for one spot in the rotation. Odorizzi Berrios Gibson Hughes/Sanchez Mejia - he could get bumped to AAA if both of Sanchez/Hughes look remotely decent this spring

The best scenario for Dozier is that the Twins are winning and he is an important part of a contending team. I really don't understand why so many are making deadline trade plans for this team. This is a concession that you make if everything falls apart. Grossman is the type of guy that good teams have. He is the Gene Larkin of this team. He is a great bench bat that can sub in at DH or in the OF in case of an injury or a matchup. He shouldn't be a starter or a team's primary DH but good teams have solid hitters on the bench. But this role isn't really needed on a team with a 1B and a 1B at DH. And a 3B that might need to DH. And a backup catcher that could DH occasionally. I expect him to start the season on the Twins but I think it is unlikely that he finishes the season with the Twins (injuries happen though). I think this is a stretch. I think this regime is risk averse and not very interested in signing a player to a fairly large contract that ends well into his mid 30's. They could have signed Lynn/Cobb instead of trading a prospect for a lesser pitcher but they (have thus far) chose(n) to not sign Lynn/Cobb to a 4 year contract that likely turns sour by the end. I think the rest of your expectations are reaching. Grossman simply doesn't have a role with this team (with Mauer and Morrison and Sano/Garver here). He may well be out due to that but that has more to do with being okay at a few things and not good at others (like defense). Santana will be gone when he isn't effective. If he has another nice year then I totally expect the Twins to exercise his option. I predict Mauer will get Nowitzki type contracts as long as he wants to play and is moderately good. He could even take the Gene Larkin bench bat/spot starter role that I mentioned about Grossman above.

There really isn't much comparison to not agreeing to tack on a FA year (a huge benefit to a team) to an extension signed during arbitration and approaching a top player about a mega extension before he hits FA. Especially for a player that is already hitting FA for the first time in his 30's. He knows that this contract is his one big payday. They didn't even give him a chance to say no. The Twins FO have basically said that he won't be part of the plans after 2018.

This really shouldn't come as a surprise. If it is this close to free agency then players rarely give a hometown discount for extensions. And perhaps I am mistaken but wasn't there a short article (or perhaps a comment) from Dozier last year that he was surprised that the Twins hadn't approached him about an extension last offseason? He didn't sound upset but just thought that he would have been approached about it. That was the opportunity to extend him. And I already said it but a player's trade value isn't always reflective of his actual value. Contending teams simply didn't need 2B last offseason. I made the argument all offseason that Dozier was going to be hard to trade because of that fact. And he was hard to trade because of that.

Of course. Dozier is a great player right now. I am not convinced that he will be a great player from age 32-36+ though. And it is likely that he isn't even good by the end of his next contract. The Twins have MI depth at all levels in the minors and they even have two very good backup infielders (EE is also an upcoming FA) to replace him in the starting lineup. His overall production will have to be replaced from elsewhere though.

There are reasons to not sign Dozier to an extension or a new contract next offseason. His production during the last 5 years are not one of them. He has unarguably been GREAT. The lack of trade value is also meaningless. Very few contending teams needed a 2B last offseason and that drove down his value. For the record I wouldn't sign Dozier to an extension or a new contract unless the market for him collapses for him. This could happen for similar reasons that FA has been slow this year. Teams don't seem keen on big contracts for aging players. This is justified by how many end up being dead weight for half of the contract.

that is the extreme case of a potentially elite player. That certainly happens. None of the players mentioned are remotely close to being similar. Berrios being held down last year had no effect on his FA or even super 2 status. It was a method to increase the number of potential starters that the Twins had for 2017 and they needed everyone of them (and more actually).

I am not sure I understand the point of the article. Everyone wants Gonsalves, Romero, Littel or Thorpe (not many expect to see him this season) to get their chance and I think everyone expects them to struggle initially. You don't directly say it but it almost seems like the point of your article is an argument for calling them up sooner (or even opening day like some want) rather than later. The reason that they will start in AAA is that they have options while the veterans don't and this creates a natural plan B where the overall numbers are greater. I would also argue that none of these players have mastered AAA yet. Gonsalves is the closest and if injury/ineffectiveness forced Plan B on the Twins as early as spring training I wouldn't hesitate to call him up. Romero hasn't pitched at AAA yet but if forced I could see him skipping a level or pitching minimally at the level. Littell and Thorpe have barely pitched at AA and I wouldn't have a problem if they pitched almost the entire season at AA/AAA. All of the pitchers mentioned will get their chances in the majors even if they have to take their lumps. But mostly I disagree with some of the comments that players are held down to extend years of team control. Sure, this happen for the last month of the season but at the beginning of the season they are held down because they have options while the veterans don't. It is better to have 8-10 possible starters instead of cutting two veterans and now having only 6-8 possible starters for the season. It currently looks like several of the prospects will get a chance to pitch for the Twins this season. I think the article has more relevance to the reluctance to call up older RP's that seemed to go from level to level and never made it up to the Twins. They seemed to be calling up less talented but more AAA/MLB experienced arms last year instead of pushing the more intriguing arms.

I thought both of the Garcia trades were smart moves. And for once they used money to increase the value of a prospect in a trade. This is a new FO even if they stay conservative in some ways.

Getting 3 contributing players in an offseason is doing pretty well for any team. Getting 5 contributing players is a huge offseason for any team. They don't need to be stars but that is adding a lot. I expected one starter and one reliever with other Anibal types mixed in. I was hoping for a better starter but they added way more than expected in the bullpen. Reed is legit great and Rodney/Duke could be solid to good (not great). Morrison is a surprise. but most importantly they didn't hurt any future years with long contracts although I wouldn't have minded a Darvish one.