kab21

I don't think the board has given up on him. They have dialed back their unreasonable midseason hype correctly. He is still a very good prospect but he isn't top 25 overall material right now. If he can address his flaws this season then he could certainly move into that category.

The Twins have many guys that might become #3's in a year or two. At some point you have to address the problem - Front of the Rotation arms.

It would be nice if they could have the Wiggins that plays without Butler be the same as when Butler is playing. But this has always been my argument for a staggered lineup. Wiggins and Butler shouldn't share the floor very much. And it is also one reason that I liked PJ Tucker (vs Jamal Crawford) as the 3rd wing. Crawford is great but they simply have too many ball/shot dominant players on the court.

You missed the 11.7 K/9 and 3.45 FIP/xFIP as a RP. Yes, he is still unproven but you don't ignore pitchers with potentially elite strikeout ability. May is exactly the type of player that becomes an elite late inning guy (he May not - so punny...). Just because the FO has filled up the bullpen doesn't mean that May won't find a spot if he is successful in his comeback. My guess is that May goes to extended spring training and then a rehab assignment and he is ready to come up in June when someone is injured or ineffective. The Twins still have a lot of question marks in the bullpen even if it is significantly improved. Or he might get another try as a starter. That is probably the more likely plan because it is fairly easy to switch to the bullpen after building up your strength as a starter.

But they didn't know that Burdi would get taken and we still don't know if he will be returned. If he makes it through Rule V then the Twins have a big advantage in offseason 40 man roster flexibility for this offseason (and possibly next offseason). The Twins also didn't know who would be available at pick #20 in Rule V. I do prefer Burdi to Kinley though but after signing 3 FA RP's this offseason I don't think Kinley's leash is too long and he might not even make it through the offseason if the Twins need to open up a couple more 40 man spots.

This is a pretty deep statistical dive into 31IP. Busenitz is a complete question mark and we have no idea how he will perform. He does throw 95+ and he did have reasonable K rates in the minors as a RP. One thing I cannot understand is the amount of angst (not necessarily by Thrylos) regarding a Rule V pick. The Twins are taking a shot on a guy with a 95+ FB with 11+ K/9 rates (and awful BB rates). Most likely it doesn't work out but these are the kind of risks (minimal to zero risk) that you should take. I will reserve my angst for the time that he is kept on the MLB roster for too long after it is incredibly obvious that he isn't a MLB caliber pitcher. It is January now so it doesn't matter.

Only if the deal could be built around Dieng or a 3 team deal. The reality is that the Wolves don't have many assets to trade. No young players aside from Patton and mid/late rd draft picks.

The Twins are still short a starter or two so I wouldn't commit to Hughes (or Duffey) in the bullpen yet. The article doesn't include TJ returnees May and Pineda as other bullpen options later in the season. It might not be a great bullpen but there is good depth and I am no longer terrified if the 3rd best bullpen option enters the game in a jam. Even the 5th best is pretty good. I will make a bold call and say that Pressly has the best year outside of the 3 acquired veterans. Kinley will need an injury or two to make the team imo. Too many other options. Going with 8 bullpen pitchers almost definitely means that Vargas gets cut in spring training unless someone is injured. I don't like that prospect just to keep a rule V player.

I think the effect that you are talking about reaches further. Many times both Rodney and Reed will be used on the same days. The Twins now have guys like Hildenberger or Rogers as the 4th-6th best options in the bullpen. A bullpen is only as strong as the middle guys (3rd-5th guys) imo. Losing a lead in the 7th is only slightly less damaging than losing a game in the 9th.

I will believe the first point (teams avoiding megacontracts) when I see it. I think the second is largely the reason. Several of the big spending teams are out on big contracts this offseason to get below the luxury tax and also to save up for one of the superstars next offseason. The typo (parody) is actually quite humorous.

Some people are putting too much emphasis on who the closer is and who the setup guy is. Bullpens need 3-4 really strong options and it really doesn't matter much what the order is. the Twins were able to sign 3 fairly decent bullpen arms for around 15-16M and turn a weakness into a possible strength. This has been one of the biggest complaints regarding the FO from last season and they were able to do it at very reasonable prices instead of taking on some potentially ugly RP contracts that wouldn't give them other spending flexibility (for SP).

Yes, I think this is another indication that the Twins aren't just doing business as usual and are willing to make big moves and increase payroll. This doesn't mean that they won't look at a big trade like Cole/Archer but that would also be a very atypical move for the Twins.

It is likely that someone gives him an offer bigger than what an extension could be signed for. And the issue is that then he isn't in the organization any longer. Infield depth looks good right now but Dozier is probably gone as a FA after the season and Sano sticking at 3B is a huge ? due to injury. Not to mention that one of the Twins best trade chips someone who could fill in at those positions. The Twins could very quickly find themselves lacking infield depth w/o Escobar.

The question I posed during the season when he was HOT (and he was really hot) and basically an untouchable prospect was if he was actually that good (SSS). Weren't his K rates, BAPIP and L/R splits warning signs in the 1st half? I don't have his full 1st/2nd half splits but I remember there being warning signs. I think the question should be 'Did Gordon's 1st half lead many to overrate him?' No doubt he is a good prospect and a better one than a year ago. I would also probably bump him up a few places on a Twins prospect list but I think he became very overrated at midseason. Many considered him untouchable for Sonny Gray for example. That (say Gordon and Gonsalves) would be considered a great trade now.

Absolutely. I would even go as far as a 3 year deal right off the bat. It is difficult to predict where the Twins will need IF help in the next 2-3 seasons but Sano might not be a 3B, Dozier might be gone in a year, Gordon could be traded or struggle and Escobar provides a reasonably decent plan B everywhere. Or he could just be a 100-120 game/year supersub.

This isn't a grenade. The Twins only have one above average player to play 1B/DH in 2019 and he is currently the starting 3B. If Mauer has the season that you suggest as a grenade then you first - party like it is 2009 and second - bring him back on a modest deal if he is interested

I see two paths for Joe a) he comes back on a legacy yearly contract similar to Dirk (let's say 7-10M) and fills the role of part time 1B/DH and bench bat. b-) he retires because his body is all beat up and he has enough money I think people are getting ahead of themselves with Rooker. He had a great 40 games at High A but I wouldn't pencil him into any lineups in any year. He still needs to show that he can hit upper minors before we talk about him replacing anyone. Good prospect but let's see how this season goes.

I have been claiming that Gordon was overrated (but still a good prospect) all summer whenever theoretical trades were mentioned or the 2018 Twins roster was being guessed at. You aren't the only one.

Yes, another win against a very good team. Wiggins also had a good night as a supporting player. I think Wiggins has become the next Rubio. There are glaring faults in his game and he will never live up to the expectations (#1 pick and max contract) but I think he becomes a very good supporting player on a potentially great team.

If this is possible then he should be signed today. I think a 6th year and possibly a few more dollar/yr are necessary.

That analysis basically shows the big risk of signing Cobb. He is rather mediocre (4.25 xFIP) without the changeup. Getting good value out of the signing is dependent on him finding his changeup. Now that isn't to say you don't sign him at all. I am on board with a <50M contract since he could reasonably pitch several years with a low 4's ERA. 70-80M for Cobb just doesn't seem like a good idea. Darvish on the other hand already has the peripherals that support him being a 2/3 right now. Obviously there is a point where you have to walk away but this team needs a #2 or better starter and the options are severely limited. Overall I see targeting Cobb as playing it safe and playing for second place. I just don't see how the Twins put together a championship contending rotation with guys that are #3/4's. Darvish could hurt the team but he has the upside of a #1/2 imo.

I am very distrustful of low K rate pitchers like Cobb's 2017 season. If you are buying then you are expecting him to bounce back peripherally to his pre-TJ stats. That may or may not happen. The same is true of Lynn with regards to lowering his walk rates. Darvish on the other hand struck out 10K/9 with some upside for more. And the upside that I speak of are the 13/14 seasons where he cracked a <3.00 ERA and <3.00 xFIP. Nobody expects that to happen but I consider last year as a reasonable expectation with potential (somewhere in between) for more. Unlike Darvish, Cobb/Lynn didn't have good peripherals last season (4.25ish and 4.75ish). If Cobb/Lynn don't improve and their ERA slides down to their FIP/xFIP then they are a #4/5 pitcher on a good team. I don't even see them as remotely comparable pitchers. I would spend 2x on Darvish due to the separation in potential outcomes. The Twins need potential 1/2 pitchers and not 3/4 pitchers that may not even be able to stay in the rotation for the length of their contracts. With that being said I would sign either Lynn or Cobb if they drop down to the 50M range. At the 75M level, I don't consider either and look elsewhere. I also agree with amgt about sign Darvish and then trade for Archer/Cole to really put together a top rotation.

The win tonight is exactly what I am talking about regarding beating good teams. It is disappointing to lose some winnable games last week but the Wolves need to show that they can beat the good teams. Hopefully this is the start of a hot streak.

That would be a done deal if it helped. Gimenez is awesome and the board would be hoping that he would be back if Garver wasn't a factor. If the FO thinks Garver can get it done back there then I definitely want to see what he can do. He has a potentially great bat for a catcher.

I expect Sano's BAPIP to come down to the .340's but that is a long way from regressing to an average for all players. He should have a very high BAPIP. At the same time I expect Sano to make progress at the plate which I think will more than offset the slash stat loss due to BAPIP. He has played parts of 3 MLB seasons at age 21-23 and I think the injuries, position changes and defensive pressure have held him back. I really want to see what he can do with a season w/o distractions. Not sure if that will be this year though.