Monkeypaws

Dick babbling about Swihart leaving the game, never mentioned the possibility that someone had traded for him.

This team has more "deer in the headlights" about it than championship swagger. I like the recent moves and am hoping for more.

Cy Eovaldi making quick work of the Twins today.

Wow - Bold - I like it. Grabbing some nice prospects today. When the system overflows, the team will benefit, either through producing quality ML talent, or a surplus to get more ML talent. Celestino was signed by Houston out of the DR in 2015 for 2.5 million.

Holy cow, Torii's goofiness is growing on me in this series. Meaningless, inane, I totally relate.

Lynn can go - Gonsalves has been killing it in AAA. Get him some experience now. Addition by subtraction. Duke? Why not try Mota? Mejía? Dozier? Best keep him or the fans will revolt. Most Twins fans I know read the paper and don't know a hoot about fip or war or any of that stuff. Gotta still try. Not so sure a qualifying offer for him would be so damaging after the season Dozier has had. Could rebound next season, or get a nice pick.

If only.... Were Buxton in the lineup, it would be quite conceivable that the Twins starting 8 in the field from here on out could/would be 100% homegrown: C: Garver 1B: Mauer 2B: Dozier SS: Polanco 3B: Sano LF: Rosario CF: RF: Kepler That has to be extremely rare these days.

Bringing back Sano could make this look like genius asset management if he returns to form.

Here is an article on Duran. He's a big kid, 6'5", 20 years old. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/sports/ct-abn-spt-baseball-cougars-jhoan-duran-st-0611-story.html Pretty good get imo.

Both Gibson and Berrios are in about the top 10-15 or better in the AL for ERA, Strikeouts, batting average against, innings pitched. Pretty heady stuff for homegrown pitching in this organization.

Bittersweet - all depends on the return. Well, they sold high, which is all you can ask of management.

Twins won a WS with Brian Harper as catcher, a very good hitter who was deficient on the defense. I think Garver is better defensively, but a notch below offensively. I'd like to see the Twins turn it over to him next season, with Castro as backup.

Love me some "beat the shift" hitting by Dozier. Don't ban the shift, just make them pay by being competent hitters.

Wow, never heard of Soto until today. What aggressive promotion! 39 games from A, A+, AA to the majors. 19 years old. Well, Kirilloff seems to shred wherever he goes, so he'd be a good candidate to rush.

I'd rather keep Escobar and qualify him if the return is a marginal prospect or two. Clubhouse presence is often overblown, but I don't think it is in his case. The great Twins teams were known for their good chemistry. He adds a lot of versatility to the team as well. In the end you end up with a premium pick or another year of Escobar on a team that has another chance. What are the odds that the system's greatest needs, whatever they might be, will be met by trading him? I'd say slim. Better chance to address that with a top 100 pick next June.

Surprised to see Britton fetch the Yankees #6 prospect per Baseball America. He seems pretty removed from his All-Star days, is a rental, and won't be eligible for a qualifying offer. Maybe there will be some desperate buyers out there after all.

Well it is encouraging when someone starts off better than expected, especially a bonus pool saver.

He has hit for power in the minors - as many as 21 HR, and OPS in the 8-900 range. Still, would rather see a guy like Wade get a shot. Hazelbaker is 30.

I think both Cleveland and San Diego can be happy with this trade. Hand is really coming into his own, 13.2 k/9 this season, hard to hit lefty with years left on a bargain contract. Fills a huge gaping need for a team with post-season aspirations. San Diego gets a blue chip prospect in Mejia around which they can build along with Tatis, Gore, Urias, etc. Good baseball trade.

And every team coulda had Pedroia, Kluber, Judge, JD Martinez(who the Twins actually drafted in 06), 23 teams coulda had Trout, etc. I hate those kind of hindsight comments.

Kind of gives a first hand view of the ideas you see about acquiring Archer, Realmuto, etc. Seems absurd to consider.

Every other sport allows exuberant, adrenaline fueled celebrations of the most extravagant order. Why should baseball players get butthurt if the other team celebrates their success when all other pro athletes just accept it?

Considering St.Peter's quote above, and seeing the value isn't gonna be great for most of these guys, the question is who looks like spare parts if the Twins want to sell some and remain relevant at the same time. Odorizzi and Lynn for sure if Erv gets back soon. Give Romero, Meija, Gonsalves a chance. Duke. He's been solid, but Moya has been incredible at Rochester this year and could get that lefty BP slot. Keep Rodney - cheap, and a club option, plus keeps Belisle from inheriting the role. Keep Dozier and Escobar - EE is the best chip, but also the hardest to replace. Qualifying offers, draft picks, all sounds good to me. I would trade all of them though if the offer was too good to resist.

Another cool thing about Wade that bodes well for his future - he has had more walks than strikeouts every year in the minors, including 2018. Leads to some nice OPS numbers as well.

He sure looks a lot older than 21.