Kwak

It's difficult for me to say "I smell the playoffs" in the middle of February.

You make this sound like "a bad thing"--it isn't!

No. The biggest difference is that Berrios has made the majors, failed and then succeeded. Lewis reached what used to be termed "B" level baseball-period.

Or,... more than all of "those guys" combined!

It was made clear many times that Dozier wants to test the market as a free-agent--and he will! Play him this year until the ASB and then assess the trade market. If the offer is better than the "comp pick" for a lost free agent--make the deal! The Twins can always be aggressive in bidding for Dozier after the 2018 season ends.

There seems to be a disconnect between the Twins and the rest of MLB in the evaluation of Twins prospects. This makes trades "difficult", though not impossible. The next two months should see if that difference has changed or not. The longer the "top prospects" stay in the minors causes me to conclude posters may be over evaluating them compared to the rest of baseball.

RPs will be promoted from the minors during next season. Maybe some of them will have enough success to stick through 2018 and also the future. If not, ... .

Twin, like Swarzcak -- 2yrs for $14MM.

I would have thought his forearm given that gif.

This doesn't move the needle for 2018--just plugs the Kintzler hole with an older pitcher. If the plan is for Rodney to begin as the closer then audition younger RPs to replace Rodney, then great! Twins can trade Rodney to acquire someone with more long-term value. As rosters stand today--the Twins aren't in the playoffs, they will need to make one of two significant upgrades from last season.

This move tells me: New thinking in the FOStatus quo will not be maintainedThere are some in the rotation that will be replaced--soon!Pitching is the #1 priorityMoney won't be as tight as before.I like the move. Mostly because it shows new thinking and better focus on the big picture. Building a consistent winner requires more risk of the occasional step-back. 2018 shouldn't be the #1 priority--long-term success should be emphasized.

"Pare the payroll! Protect Pohlad's money". [Don't] "hand out an expensive multi-year deal." "The closer of the future may be on the roster"--but don't "...throw any of the young arms directly into the fire!" I need to check my calendar--is it December 2017 or years ago with Ryan as GM? The Twins have lots of payroll flexibility: The last year of "the Mauer contract"The last year of Dozier's present contract--he is a viable candidate to trade a`la Miami-like;The last year of Santana's guaranteed money--sure he looks like a favorite to keep, but... ;No longer paying for Nolasco--or for his "replacement".There will always be a need for veteran pitching. One year deals are for "all-in" or "dumpster-scraping"--the Twins are better than that, but not "there" for "all-in". If the Twins sign Kintzler, it's a near certainty that it will be one of those "expensive, multi-year contracts". "Not ready to throw them directly into the fire"? Why not? That's what was done with most of the "new" regular position players and Berrios. Plus some have already had a cup of coffee with the Twins. All that and well below a 50% of gross revenue payroll. Yeah flexibility.

This places a positive spin on guys who didn't hit their first season. Almost like saying "at least these guys can see, as opposed to Marte."

One problem I see when reading "lists" is that all of the numbers from 1 to whatever must get filled. What's missing is some kind of a "value factor". Some number, say one a 1-1000, attached to each prospect in order for people to ascertain both the expected/anticipated value of a prospect and the relative value (difference) between the prospects. Examples could show that prospects 5-15 might be a in range of 2% (20 points), but from 4 to 5 might be more like 90 points. Obviously there could be both narrow and broad differences between "lower level" prospects.

It seems to me that the ramblings about Diaz are as loud as those were for Hrbek.