GopherJeff

Whatever moves the Twins make to acquire existing talent – and many of your suggestions are ambitious and worthy of consideration – Brooks Lee needs to stay. The team needs to develop and promote him. He could be a generational player.

In 2022, Cleveland (AL Central champs) had the lowest payroll in MLB. Next lowest was Baltimore (the O's almost made the playoffs). Seattle (playoffs) and the Twins (mediocre) were about the same. The point: you plan and build for the future. You can have a winning team with low(er) cost personnel (this includes coaching staff). With free agency and the willingness to pay ballplayers $30M, $40M and soon $50M per year, there will be few dynasties.

Agent Boras is going to determine where CC plays next year, and that means he'll go to the highest bidder. That, sadly, leaves the Twins out. Best for the Twins to focus on other needs: a solid shortstop and a top-level starter. If they can't acquire both via free agency, they'll need to put together a trade. What are the Twins willing to give up to get what they need?

Gordon was one of the few pleasant surprises in 2022. He should be in the lineup every day. Since he's got decent speed, perhaps they could have him bunting and stealing bases more in '23.

Getting even 2 innings out of a RP (aka "long relief") seems to be absent from the Twins current pitching philosophy. Archer and Bundy were both poor SP - perhaps they would be more valuable in long relief after the starter gets pulled after 5 -6 IP.

Exactly. Unreliable relief pitchers = repeated blown saves. Unhealthy position players = minor leaguers playing every day. Inability to acquire/develop a legitimate #1 starter = guys like Archer and Bundy pitching every 5th day. Inflexible decision making = fan disenchantment. The Twin Cities metro (3.7 M) is the 16th largest by population in the US. If the team's management wants better than 22,000 average attendance, they need to address all of these oft-cited problems. (St. Louis is 21st in population (2.8 M) and they average 41,000 per game.)

Urshela is a good deal for *at least* 2023. Offensively, he's not a star but he seems to be well-liked and is one of the team's better performers for '22 (which ain't saying much for this team). He's fine defensively - .985 fielding %, which is 2nd in MLB (behind only Matt Chapman). In short, he's definitely not a liability at 3rd base.. There are so many other needs for the Twins. Keeping Urshela around for another year (or more) is wise.

Competing in the AL Central doesn't require much, as 2022 has revealed. If the Twins finish above .500 this year, consider it an 'exceeded expectations' season. I don't think the Twins have enough to go beyond competing in the AL Central in 2023. They need a top-tier SP and a legitimate power hitter. They also need to rethink the coaching staff - pitching, hitting, conditioning.

Agree 100%! Some injuries are just bad luck but there's something wrong when this many players and pitches are in the IL,

Signing Correa was huge. He gets to decide if he'll be back or not. It won't be the end of the world if he leaves but he's a needed presence in the lineup and on the field. As GM/FO, you can't pin your team's hopes on rookies or mid-level free agents. Their success depends on several factors, some of which are controllable - pitching & hitting coaches, conditioning. The Twins have some things to think about with regards to those factors. Athletes get injured. You can't predict that (although with Buxton, you can assume he'll be injured off and on) so you need a plan B at every position. The Twins have some OF depth but, as we have seen this season, not enough to sustain a team throughout a season. It's nice to have guys that can move around, like Arraez, Miranda and Gordon. All three are vital going forward. I'd also like to see the Twins use some $$ to get a legit SP1 and a power hitter.

The Twins have blown almost as many saves (23) as they have converted (24), the worst save % of all 30 MLB teams. This points not only to ineffective personnel but ineffective pitcher management.

I would move Archer to long relief. Let him pitch after the SP (assuming they're still out there) has been through the lineup twice. Archer is not an "innings eater" as a SP so having him pitch 2 innings (5th-6th or 6th-7th, typically) makes sense before going with the 1 inning crew.

I think your points are right on target. Since starters now typically go 4-6 innings, having at least 2 long relievers (LRs?) is crucial. Time for the Twins decision makers to be creative. I remember when the Orioles - 51 years ago - had FOUR starters that each won 20 games. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/pitching.php?y=1971&t=BAL Pitchers/pitching strategy is 180° different now.

It would be nice if he could rediscover his power stroke but it's hard to imagine him supplanting one of the younger guys platooning at 1B unless he suddenly had an OPS north of .750 (in 2019 - the year the Twins hit 307 dingers - Sano hit 34 in only 105 games). However, the Twins need to be realistic and budget conscious. He's not worth $14M. They need to put their money toward one or more reliable relievers.

Archer today - 4 IP, 1 H, SIX BB! Yikes.

While none of these players will actually win ROY, they’ll all play a role in the team’s success this season. The competition in the playoffs (if they’re in them) will be much tougher than the schedule so far. Frankly, I’m more concerned about Buxton being an everyday player.

Buxton's future performance should be expected to be similar to his past performance, which has been highly affected by injuries. There's no reason to expect him to remain less injury-prone. He's 27 now - pretty much in the peak performance period for most MLB hitters. Of course, there are exceptions - but as hitters near and age past 30, we typically see slight annual declines. Buxton's injury-tendancy might accelerate his decline. IF he stays healthy and plays 80-90% of the time, he could be an significant impact player/All Star. And he will definitely make the Twins a better team if he plays that much. Buxton is an exciting player and, if he's playing regularly, will be a draw for fans. Even if the Twins are mediocre, he will be fun to watch - if he's on the field and in the batter's box.

Me too! I've said "there's another former Twin" more that I would have imagined (although they're everywhere)

It is good to see Rosario playing the hero role with his new team. While I'm happy for him, it's hard for me to root for Atlanta if for no other reason than their revolting and offensive "tomahawk chop." Hard to believe they're still doing that.