kab21

If I am Molitor and my bullpen has Perkins (injury concern), Jepsen (good but not great), Fien and some interesting but not proven prospects then I also put May in the bullpen when the rotation is pretty deep. But I would have gone a different direction (still time) this offseason. A direction where needing May in the bullpen wasn't a necessity. I might have even tried to get a younger guy or two up and established last year (or the year before).

No, my point is that if you are going to get a good catcher then you are going to pay a stiff price. You named a half dozen catchers that were all more questionable deals or questionable starters to begin with. Ironically JR Murphy would also be on your list based on how low you set the bar.

Norris was traded for Jesse Hahn - that is like trading a current value Trevor May or Tyler Duffey Cervelli had played 110 MLB games in the previous 4 seasons. Martin got 82M Grandal was part of the Kemp trade Castillo was traded midseason Montero was a good bounceback candidate that had 3/40M left on his contract You actually reinforced my point tbh.

I think people grossly underestimate just how difficult it is to find good catching. What was Ryan going to do in the last two offseasons to better address the position going forward without selling the farm system? It isn't denial.

I am just hoping that a couple of these prospects get a fair shot with the team instead of some entirely mediocre vet. The Twins have had guys that were great in the minors but they could never find a way into the bullpen while someone with no upside threw batting practice as the long man. I think it is difficult to predict who is safe from undergoing TJ but I am not so sure that it is difficult to predict some likely TJ patients. The first time I saw Bard throw I couldn't understand how he even made it through the season with his arm motion. I can't claim to understand pitching mechanics but my elbow hurt just watching the film. Of course there are pitchers like Sale that people used to say could never hold up as a starter that have not had any problems. But I want to see some results (beyond Duffey) that investing a sizable # of draft picks in college RP'ers was a good idea. At least Duffey has come through though.

I don't see this happening at all but definitely not if Plouffe is on the team and Sano is in RF. If that is the case then neither Span nor any prospects have a position opening when Buxton comes up. I am not excited but I see Danny Santana and our next version of Schafer/Robinson competing for the CF spot if Buxton is in AAA. My odds of Buxton being plan A are increasing by the day actually.

The problem isn't specifically LH hitters though. The team simply needs better hitters. 14th best is still average. Sano crushes RHP. Buxton doesn't have a significant MiLB RH/LH split. These are two righties that will play big roles in the future that should be able to handle RHP. Yes, it would be great if they had a .800+ slugging LHB in the middle of the order but I wouldn't make it a priority.

Not a very big concern for me. They will have Rosario, Mauer and Escobar in the lineup and Arcia/Kepler are one of the first guys in if any of several guys get injured. I really don't see a jumbled mess on the roster. There is uncertainty (jumbled mess tbh) as to where Milone and Nolasco will be. There is uncertainty as to who exactly is in the bullpen and there is uncertainty as to who will be in CF. I think the Twins are serious about Sano in the OF. Santana and nunez are the 2nd and 3rd bench players (plus one catcher). The 4th bench player is a bit of a mystery although I think it is likely Arcia.

Do you disagree that JR Murphy can be an average catcher? That is the upside that most are hoping for. Downside is that he is a good backup. Neither of these sound ridiculous.

So far Santana is following Casilla's career path (different types of hitters). Both had excellent defensive tools but neither could consistently make the routine plays. Both showed flashes with the bat but they have also struggled mightily at times. I think this year is his last chance with the Twins. I think Santana will be used as a MI/OF utility player this which gives the Twins some additional flexibility for the 4th and final bench spot since all of the defensive positions will be covered many times over with Santana and Nunez as well as the positional flexibility of Rosario (LF to CF), Sano (RF? to 3B), Park (DH to 1B) and a few others. Most likely the 4th spot goes to Arcia but keeping Vargas isn't impossible (but unlikely).

So somebody is upset because we (seemingly) had a chance to acquire Christian Betancourt to be a part time MLB catcher for 2016? It is strange how there is criticism about the Twins setting their sights too low on JR Murphy but then some wish that Betancourt was the catcher instead. Throughout the minors his hit tool wasn't well liked (regardless of his AWESOME 52 game stint in AAA last year) and he has a severe plate discipline issue. He might be an okay 3rd or 4th catching option but there is no way that I would want him starting 2-4 (unlikely 4) games a week like I expect JR Murphy to be doing next season.

Actually I can see Cuddyer retiring and walking away from some of that money. He is quite down to earth and is a family kind of guy (3 kids). He is probably the type of player that still has 80+% of earned salaries unlike a majority of pro athletes that piss the money away. It is very likely that he doesn't need to earn anymore money ever. And he is my favorite player.

So you think that the Twins are still rebuilding and aren't ready to go for it but you are dissatisfied that they aren't making bigger moves that involve older FA's or trading prospects for veterans?

Weak 3B trade market? Shocking...

At this point TR has to be planning to keep May in the bullpen. That is the only way that this inactivity towards the 10-20M RP'ers can be understood. We might not agree with that direction (May) but that is a fairly solid bullpen. In addition that perhaps this is the year that they start promoting some of these hard throwing bullpen prospects. There is a lot of potential that could be coming up next year. If that is the plan (which I have my doubts) then there isn't much to do this offseason. The Twins basically just need to let young guys play which many of us have been complaining about for years.

Getting nothing in return would be a win for the team. If he makes the team then he takes away a roster spot from a player with more upside and Nolasco probably has more downside. For example if Nolasco is in the rotation then May or Duffey isn't. If he is in the bullpen then Meyer, Burdi, Chargois, Pressly, Graham (or some other hard throwing prospect) isn't.

I didn't hate the Myers/Shields trade as much as many on here (and across the country). I had followed Myers throughout the minors (fanboy-ish) but I wasn't really enamored with him as a top 5 prospect. A more similar trade to this is the Samardzija for Russell trade. Swanson is kind of like Russell although he hasn't played as much. The key for this trade is that Miller needs to continue to beat SABR stats. Some pitchers can but it could reverse since he is going to a much better hitting park compared to ATL and STL.

I think this board would lose it's mind if Plouffe was traded for Adam Warren. He is a pretty good RP'er and I don't think Castro's upside is much better than what Plouffe is doing.

That is arguably a starting offer for Jose Fernandez and Miller is not Jose Fernandez.

Congratulations Atlanta.

The Zobrist deal doesn't really make sense for a team with so many extra 2B/SS. Pretty useful player to have though. He would have been an interesting choice instead of Park for twice the money. The Twins could certainly trade Plouffe and have a good backup. He could have started in the OF where the Twins have talent but questionable certainty for the year.

There is almost no chance that the Twins are able to sign a solid RP'er if they acquire Shields. May would have to head to the pen and there is no turning back. But I prefer Shields (SP)/May (RP) to May (SP)/FA (RP).

I would do this but it also has to include Milone going somewhere (anywhere for anything to offset the higher contract). The one big thing that this cements is that May will be a RP'er. So far the FA market is dwindling and the Twins really need help in the bullpen. With this move the Twins upgrade the rotation and the bullpen while keeping Berrios in AAA as the 6th starter.

The reason is that Sano can lose .075 pts of OPS and still be a great hitter. If Vargas or Arcia lost .075 (or even .050) pts of OPS then they are marginal MLB players. And that is exactly where they are at. This is also Rosario's problem. Rosario hitting .240/.280/.400/.680 is not an unreasonable outcome next year. Every Twins fan needs to enter next season with expectations of a .825-.850 OPS for Sano. It is okay to dream about more (I am) but it is going to be very hard for him to be MCab or Stanton next year but some of the expectations are this high even if people will deny it.

This is pretty much where the team is at. It is young, it has upside but there will still be bumps in the road due to the team being young.