Monkeypaws

Charisma, joy, and love of the game make me think of a couple bald Gold-Glove Twin center fielders of yesteryear.

This is the smart way to spend money - get guys on the way up for pennies on the dollar compared to big name free agents. 5 years of Kepler > 1 year of Harper, and >> than your average 30 year old 20 million dollar free agent.

This is kind of a fun article to look at with respect to this thread, a review of the 2014 international signings class. Huascar Ynoa was the big fish, signed for 800K. The only thing exceptional about Graterol was that he barely made the age cut-off at 16. Seth asked the question whether it was better to go all in on one player for 3 million or get a bunch of players at 100K. Well, Graterol cost 150K. I think your question is answered sir http://twinsdaily.com/topic/17563-twins-2014-international-signings-ba-review/

Gardy woulda loved this guy.

Thing is they have access to sooooo much more and better information than we do, or at least I would hope so. Doubt Keith Law is must read for them. Hard to evaluate from the outside looking in.

Colon pitching to Astudillo - what a battery that would make.

I want a Berrios Buxton cage match!

We'll have to wait and see how Rocco manages pitching - for Molly, that woulda been a win. A well-managed, competent pitching staff gives you the opportunity to have a deeper bench, which I would like.

Said the old nurse. If there is an MLB team that has paid cash on concussions, it is the Twins: Koskie, Morneau, Mauer, perhaps Garver.

If I were in charge, I'd hand him a standard contract with the years and dollars blank and ask him to fill it out to his liking and return it by the end of the day.

People often point to Hicks as the comp, and perhaps correctly so. But it took him until 27 to become a solid player. Torii Hunter didn't light anything up until his age 25 season, then kaboom. Would much prefer to see Buxton follow 48's path.

A deal like that and this off-season would be a solid success.

Twins drafted Jake Reed - Addison Reed is the one on the 40 man roster. He is still around though, afaik. There is also the OF Michael Reed who they claimed off waivers from Atlanta.

And so the last best hope of the 2014 great reliever draft is gone: Burdi, Cederoth, Clay, Reed, Cutura, Steele, and now finally Curtiss. This draft now riding on the shoulders of Nick Gordon. Ironic that the only reliever to see significant time with the Twins from that draft was the 22nd rounder, Hildenberger.

I remember following him as a prospect and thinking his name was pronounced CUD-dee-er. It wasn't until I heard Herb Carneal say Cu-DYE-er that I learned the true pronunciation. I was way more wrong with Mientkiewicz....

Maybe Reed can be the guy this year, but I like a veteran closer style guy in the pen to act as a stabilizer, mentor. I really think they can help. With Eddy Guardado gone, and Jeremy Hefner in his place, who never had a single MLB save, where are those words of wisdom gonna come from to a guy like May, or Curtiss? Reed or bust?(he does have 125 career saves). I do like the thought of Cody Allen on the Twins. Like Lebowski's rug, he could really hold the pen together.

That's why I like the idea of salary and contract flexibility - some see it as lack of sustainability or something, but being free of anchor contracts makes an organization limber and able to adapt to changing times, kind of like we are seeing now. The UFA market isn't what it used to be. I know, there is no salary cap in baseball, and the owners are obscenely wealthy, etc. However: Risky contracts for the hell of it are opportunity cost. IMHO, Falvine are proceeding appropriately, given the unknowns on the Twins roster. I wouldn't go all in after a losing season and unloading a contract like Mauer's just yet. If Buxton and Sano fulfill some of their potential, and they post a winning record in 2019, they will be in excellent position to add pieces for a push in 2020. "We shoulda signed so and so" ignores the fact that the Twins are 1 of 30 teams, all equally motivated, and all in the same business of winning ballgames.

If the Twins don't keep Astudillo around, I hope some other team will grab him. Good ballplayer, and natural showman that belongs in MLB.

Given their market, the White Sox should be the kingpins of the AL Central, not the sad sacks, competition with the Cubs included.

Larnach vs. Rooker: I think Larnach the much better prospect. a. he is a better hitter for average b. probably better in the field c. much better bb/k ratio d. power is a wash. Mr. Larnach is getting short-changed here.

They have Berrios, Gibson, and Odorizzi. They signed Pineda to be a starter this season. Even if he flops: Mejía, Romero, Stewart, Gonsalves: one of them will hopefully emerge. My money is on Mejía. I'd invest in another rubber-armed reliever who can make 70+ appearances. Hildenberger broke down from too much work. Rogers did not. I've seen the Red Sox are in on Cody Allen - the Twins should definitely try to get him on board. He can pitch often, and would give a real boost to a bullpen with lots of questions.

If only Norway and Sweden started developing stud ballplayers. As much lutefisk, pickled herring and Swedish meatballs as you want....

La Tortuga packed a whole season's worth of thrills into his brief time with the Twins. Hoping for an extended encore in 2019.

For fans of round numbers, Cruz is 40 homers away from 400 for his career.

Sorry Winston, I disagree. Why bother owning a sports team in this market when there are probably better returns on investment for the Pohlads elsewhere? If they really didn't give a hoot TR would still be the GM and Gardy the manager. The Twins being cheap is an old and tired trope. You can waste money on iffy contracts and iffy players, and suffer the negative consequences of opportunity cost. If they lay out the big bucks, best be to fend off the Yankees and Dodgers for players they developed themselves. Keeping your best players is the best the Twins should hope for, provided they rediscover the art of developing star-level players that is I'm looking at you Jose Berrios!