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The morale throughout Twins territory right now is very low, and rightfully so. We all had been waiting and hoping to sign Correa to that long-term deal to keep him in Minneapolis for the rest of his career. That is until the news broke that he signed a 13 year deal with the San Francisco Giants. There were mixed reactions, some taking shots at the front office, others feeling we dodged a bullet with the contract length. However, life still goes on and the Twins will have to find a different way to build a team in 2023, whether that includes pulling out the young guns, or getting creative in free agency to build a contender. In this article I will be building the team as if we are making a contender, as shown in the blueprint above. Moves Trade Max Kepler, Keoni Cavaco to Yankees for Frankie Montas Trade Gilberto Celestino, Cole Sands to Athletics for Ramon Laureano Sign Michael Brantley - 1 year, $16 million Sign Jean Segura - 1 year $10 million Position players The Twins have a lot of young players they need to take the next step in becoming Major League Baseball players. Currently in the minors they have Julien, Martin, Wallner, Lewis, Lee, and others. It would be very risky to fully rely on them, which could lead to the 3rd disappointing season in as many years. In this blueprint, I have them sign a few veterans and make a few trades, allowing some certainty, but also providing wiggle room, so that they could still work in the young guys, while still having a safe option. Catchers - No moves here, with the signing of Christian Vazquez it stabilizes the position. Vazquez and Jeffers should provide a very solid catching tandem for the next couple years. Infield - Here is where there are a few changes. Jose Miranda is holding down the fort at third base, which was indicated that it was his position when they shipped Gio Urshela off to LA. At Shortstop, many are penciling in Kyle Farmer, which isn't a bad idea. Beyond Farmer though, there is nothing besides maybe Nick Gordon. I personally feel Farmer would be better settled as a utility option for the Twins, not an everyday shortstop, even as a stopgap. Jean Segura provides exactly that, a stopgap. He is manning the position until franchise savior Royce Lewis returns from injury. If everything goes perfect, Lewis will return in June/July and become the shortstop for the Twins until he retires, but as we all know, not everything goes perfectly. Segura gives the Twins a solid veteran option, with solid offense and defense to help ease any possible complications, and it allows one of Lee or Lewis to become the everyday shortstop starting in 2024, while being eased in during 2023. At 2nd we've got long-time Twin Jorge Polanco. As long as he is healthy you know he will be a top of the order bat for the Twins. At first base is Luis Arraez. He is the sparkplug of the offense, providing elite offense and above-average defense. He can also spend some time at DH and second base when needed. Bench - First off the bench is Kyle Farmer, who will actually not spend a whole lot of time on the bench. He can play all over the infield, giving guys days off while still providing value to the team. Next is Alex Kirilloff. I believe 2023 is the year where one of Kirilloff or Larnach will break out and become a force in the Twins lineup. The only problem is that I am not sure which one it will be, making them interchangeable on this blueprint. Like many, I believe if he can get healthy, Kirilloff will be a better option at first base instead of the outfield, but that remains to be seen. Next is Ryan Jeffers. He is catcher 1B and Vazquez is 1A. He will still get plenty of time behind the dish, but as of now he is labeled as the backup. Lastly is Nick Gordon. He can provide at least average defense at any position, including shortstop and center field. He also has a very good bat, amounting to a 113 OPS+ in 2022. He will be the super-utility guy for the Twins for years to come. DH - I signed Michael Brantley to a 1 year contract. He is as good of a hitter as they come, combining power, discipline, and average to be the ultimate Major League hitter. He is coming off an injury-plagued 2022, but I believe he will bounce back. He isn’t solely a DH, he still provides above average defense in left field, even at 35 years old. He will take anywhere from 60-100 games at DH, the others in left field while Arraez and others take the other games at DH. Brantley could provide a veteran spark in the lineup like Nelson Cruz did a few seasons ago. Outfield - In left field I have Trevor Larnach, who is interchangeable with Alex Kirilloff like I mentioned above. One of the two will break out this year and answer many questions about the future of this outfield. Michael Brantley will also spend some time in left, and he can still give you above average defense. In centerfield we have Buxton. We can hope this is the year he stays healthy, but it is seeming increasingly unlikely that it will ever happen. As a Buxton backup we have Nick Gordon, or Austin Martin in AAA waiting for his opportunity. Laureano could also slide over and provide solid defense. Lastly, in right field there is Ramon Laureano. The Twins are getting him from Oakland for 2 players with moderate upside in Celestino and Sands. Laureano is coming off a down year, but there is definitely upside. He had a weird year in 2022 due to injuries and coming off a suspension, allowing the Twins to pick him up at a lower cost. His offensive floor is a Max Kepler type, which is who he is replacing, and his ceiling is providing around a 130 OPS+, which is what he did just a few seasons ago. He also provides very good defense in right field, almost to that of Kepler, with a cannon for an arm, and can hold his own in centerfield as Buxton insurance. He is fairly cheap and comes with 3 seasons of team control, which is why I think it makes all the sense in the world to get him from a rebuilding A’s team. Pitchers The Twins were in an odd spot with pitching during this offseason. People imposed “The Sonny Gray Threshold,” which implied that we didn’t need to add another starter unless he was better than Sonny Gray. Now with Rodon off the board, there really is nobody who clearly fits that bill, only maybe a healthy Nathan Eovaldi. The Twins have very solid backup options knocking at the door in AAA including Louie Varland, SWR, Jordan Balazovic, Josh Winder, and Ronny Henriquez. They may very well be the future of this rotation, but it is far too uncertain to rely on them this year while the Twins still have a shot to contend. In this blueprint, I have them swinging a trade with past target Frankie Montas, giving up longtime outfielder Max Kepler to the dark side. It will be interesting to see how the Twins attack their pitching in 2023, so let’s get on into it. Rotation - It largely consists of returners, with one new face. The top of the rotation has former Red’s teammates Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. I personally believe the Twins need to extend one of them this winter to provide certainty for next winter. Gray may be along the lines of 3 years/ $45 million, whereas Mahle may be about 4 years/ $64 million, but we can figure that out later. Joe Ryan will hopefully take the jump this year to become a top of the rotation starter, but to start out he takes the #3 spot. At #4 we have Frankie Montas. The Yankees have expressed their interest in Max Kepler for years now, and it seems pretty certain he will be dealt this offseason. I have the Twins sending Kepler, along with Cavaco to New York for Frankie Montas. Nothing is saying the Yankees would do this, but with the Rodon signing, their top 4 starters consist of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Severino. That is as good as any team in baseball. For the #5 spot they have a bevy of options, one of them being Montas. They get longtime target Max Kepler, along with former 1st round pick Keoni Cavaco, who has great tools but just hasn’t put them all together yet. Montas didn’t give a good first impression as a Yankee, pitching to a 6.35 ERA in 39.2 innings, but some players just can't play in New York. If the Twins believe his short Yankees tenure was a fluke, and the Yankees would do this trade, it would make a ton of sense. The Yankees have also expressed some interest in free agent Nathan Eovaldi, possibly providing more incentive to make this trade so they can sign him to round out the rotation. Finishing out the rotation in the 5 spot I've got Bailey Ober. In this blueprint, I moved Kenta Maeda to the bullpen, at least temporarily. I just don’t see the value of having him pitch 2-4 innings every start while building back up from surgery, and taxing the bullpen early on. Eventually, when he is built up, he can slide back into the rotation, but it just doesn’t make a ton of sense to start the season. In case of injuries a young arm could fill in for as long as needed, due to the Twins great young depth. Also later in the season they will hopefully get Chris Paddack back, who can provide a late season spark. Maeda will also pitch out of the rotation later in the season. Bullpen - For the lower leverage situations we have arms like Jorge Alcala, Emilio Pagan, and Jovani Moran. They all have good stuff, but just don’t have the track record to warrant more critical situations. Pagan being here will probably draw some negative feedback, and I totally agree. I just don’t think the Twins will cut bait with him, so I kept him to make this as realistic as possible. We have also got Kenta Maeda in the pen to provide long relief, getting roughly the same number of innings he may get to start the season out of the rotation, hopefully pitching 2-3 innings every appearance as he builds back up. For the mid-high leverage arms we have Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, and Jorge Lopez. These guys have all had success in the big leagues, and are very solid pieces to build your bullpen around. For the top guy/ closer it is none other than flamethrower Jhoan Duran. He will build off an outstanding rookie season and cement himself as top reliever in the league. Overall, this blueprint gets the Twins around the payroll of recent years, while putting together a team that I feel could be very good. The AL Central is up for the taking right now, as the Guardians try to prove their young players are here to stay and the White Sox do whatever they are doing over there. An ideal lineup for this team would be: 1 - Luis Arraez 1B 2 - Byron Buxton CF 3 - Michael Brantley DH 4 - Jorge Polanco 2B 5 - Jose Miranda 3B 6 - Ramon Laureano RF 7 - Jean Segura/ Royce Lewis SS 8 - Christian Vazquez C 9 - Trevor Larnach LF Obviously most of this probably won’t happen, but I sure think it would be great if it did. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, and what you would do differently. Thanks for reading, GO TWINS!

The offseason is a time to dream about huge free agent signings and blockbuster trades. The Twins have had their name come up in both of those scenarios. In this first article I will be focusing on the trading aspect for pitching. The Twins currently have a need to some degree for a pitcher or two to bolster the rotation and/or the bullpen. Below are some possible mock trades I built up using Baseball Trade Values. Some of these would make sense for the Twins to make, but others make you think if it would really be worth it for the big name. Disclaimer: Some of the lower end prospects/ players are interchangeable, I just used what I thought a team may want and factored in a player's value from the website. Pitching The Twins are in a tough spot with their pitching right now. Do they really want to pay Carlos Rodon $30+ million a year for the next 5-7 years, trade for a frontline starter, or do they want to go with internal upgrades? If nothing changes, this year they will likely go into spring training with a rotation consisting of Mahle/Gray/Ryan/Maeda/Ober, but after this season, Mahle, Gray, and Maeda are all free agents, creating a need for controllable pitching. These are some mocks I created below. Twins get - Pablo Lopez Marlins get - Luis Arraez, Max Kepler, David Festa The Twins recently announced they would make 2022 AL Batting Champion Luis Arraez available for high-end pitching. I believe that caught the Marlins attention. The Marlins have expressed a desire to add to their Major League offense, and what other way to do it than with Luis Arraez. Moving Arraez would definitely draw mixed reactions within Twins territory, and rightfully so. I do believe the Marlins would hold out for Arraez, and if I were the Twins I may think long and hard about his long term future, including a possible contract extension, his defensive home, and his injury concerns. If they think the time is right, they may do this. As for Kepler, he provides the Marlins with great defense for a reasonable cost, and a possible bounceback offensively. Festa would give the Marlins another solid pitcher in the Minor League ranks, with a chance to fill a future void in the rotation. Lopez is under team control for 2 more seasons, giving the Twins a bit more rotation certainty in future seasons. Depending on who you ask, Lopez probably passes the “Sonny Gray Threshold.” It seems he pitches like an Ace in the first part of the season, but cools off as the season goes on. It would be a high risk, high reward move for the Twins. Twins get - Brandon Woodruff Brewers get - Luis Arraez, Royce Lewis, Simeon Woods-Richardson Woodruff is a better pitcher than Pablo Lopez, with the same amount of control. That would naturally mean his acquisition cost would be higher. The Twins would be giving up a high-end controllable major league hitter in Arraez, a possible franchise shortstop in Royce Lewis, and a very promising young arm in SWR. I personally don't think this is a great trade to make for the Twins. They have no track record of paying top end pitchers, and that is exactly what Woodruff is. He is under team control for 2 more seasons, projecting to make $11 million in arbitration this year, and even more next year. After that, he will likely command $30+ million a season in free agency. Don't get me wrong, Woodruff is a great pitcher, and there is no denying his talent, I'm just not sure I’d be willing to give up a huge part of my future talent and payroll. Even if they are willing to do this, the Brewers leadership would have to give it the okay, as they have said recently they don't plan on moving him, along with a few others this offseason. That brings me to Burnes. Burnes is arguably a top 5 pitcher in the MLB, if you wanted him, you’d only have to add another couple top 5 prospects from your system, or just Brooks Lee. Twins get - German Marquez Rockies get - Jordan Balazovic, Aaron Sabato The Rockies would be trading Marquez at his low, which is what the Twins would be doing with their prospects here. Nobody knows for sure if the Rockies would even trade Marquez, or what they would trade him for. They were reportedly interested in Nimmo before he signed, and they signed Kris Bryant to a big deal last offseason, even though they are still aways from competing in a stacked division, creating more confusion about their current standpoint. Marquez has posted much better road stats than home stats during his career, making him a piece with possible upside. He fits the bill of a back end starter better than a 2 or 3 right now, which is not really what the Twins need. He is also quite expensive, making $15 million this year with a $16 million club option in 2024, knocking down his acquisition cost. He would be an interesting addition, but not really what the Twins need at this point in time, unless they don't believe in Kenta Maeda or Bailey Ober being a rotation contributor in 2023. The Twins would be giving former top prospect Jordan Balazovic, who struggled last year, and former 1st round pick Aaron Sabato, who hasn’t done a whole lot in the pro’s. It would be an odd trade for both sides, so I would be shocked if a trade was made, but the offseason is a time to think out of the box I guess. Twins get - Liam Hendriks White Sox get - Max Kepler, Noah Miller Hendriks is the only relief pitcher on the list, and he sure is a good one. The Sox have said they have floated the idea of trading Hendriks, and they have also expressed interest in Kepler. I don’t know how likely an in-division trade would be, but it could be a way for the White Sox to shed some payroll to get some spending money if they have a free agent they like. Hendriks is on the last guaranteed year of a 3 year, $54 million pact signed with the Sox 2 offseasons ago, so the Twins would be taking on a good chunk of cash, but they would be getting a legit closer. The Sox would gladly take Kepler to strengthen their rather bleak defensive outfield. I don't think Kepler is enough to do it, so the Twins would have to throw in a prospect, so I said Noah Miller. He hasn’t been great with the bat thus far in pro ball, but there are encouraging signs. He is also a great defender. I think that would be enough to get the Sox to trade away the main guy from their very strong bullpen, but it would all rely on the Twins interest in such a deal. As I mentioned above, there will be mixed reactions to these proposals. In my personal opinion I don't think some of these should be made, it is just providing a baseline of what to expect if an actual trade was done. This is the first part of my mock trades, with the second part involving position players. I just figured it would get very long if I added the position players onto this article. I would love to hear any feedback you may have in the comments, and what you like or dislike about these proposals. Thank you for reading!

Starters/Bench: It is pretty much compromised of starters from last years team, I extended Correa, signed Narvaez, and traded for Ramon Laureano, all of which I will explain later. Ive got Kirilloff starting in left field, but him and Larnach are interchangeable. If Kirilloff is still injured you can replace him with Matt Wallner, who ideally will start the year at AAA. I am trading out a bench spot for a 6th starter, which is why Winder is listed as utility. Rotation: I am starting the year with a 6-man rotation to try and maintain the health of our starters, given that all 6 starters missed varying amounts of time last year do to injuries/illness. If we do get hit by the injury bug, we have young starters in AAA such as Henriquez, SWR, Balazovic, and Varland to fill in as needed. Maeda may need long relief after his starts, or start in the bullpen, given he has not pitched in over a year, so you could swap out a bullpen arm such as Moran for an AAA arm to start for or long-relieve Maeda. Bullpen: Should look pretty familiar. We have our 3 righty flamethrowers in Duran, Lopez, and Alcala. I also have Jax and resign Fulmer to give us 5 righties. We have 3 lefties, Thielbar, Moran, and Puk. Thielbar had been a steady force for the past few years, and Moran is looking to build off of a strong 2022 season. I get Puk from Oakland packaged with Laureano. Puk is a pre-arbitration reliever, and former top prospect. He posted a 3.12 ERA in 66.1 innings last year with 76 SO. FA Signings: I only get one new player for this years team, while resigning 2 others. For the new player, I sign Omar Narvaez for 1 year, $4 million. He is a veteran catcher with solid defense to platoon with Jeffers. It doesnt necessarily have to be Narvaez, just preferably a veteran left handed bat, which Jason Castro and Mike Zunino fit that bill. I resign Correa to a 8 year, $250 million contract, which is $31.25 million per year. He will be a huge key to our 2023 success. It certainly will be one of his bigger offers, so hopefully we can retain him to lead this team with Buxton for the next 5-10 years. If Correa signs elsewhere, we will settle for a stopgap such as Andrus or Iglesias until Lewis is ready. Lastly, we resign Fulmer to a 2 year, $10 million deal. He is a steady veteran presence in our bullpen who can pitch in higher leverage situations if need be. Trades: Kepler is the odd man out, his 2019 season looks like a major outlier, and we get some value out of him while we still can. We trade him for 1 or 2 mid level prospects, and wish him luck. We also make a deal with Oakland for Laureano and Puk. We give Oakland Celestino in return. Baseball Trade Values lists Celestino value at 11.2 and Laureano at 6.6, and Puk at 0. Although the values don't match up perfectly, I have a hard time believing a pre-arb reliever such as Puk who has posted good numbers has no value. It sucks to see Celestino go, but having him and Nick Gordon on the roster are kind of redundant. Gordon plays slightly worse defense in the outfield, but can play infield and has a much better bat. Celestino fits Oakland's timeline much better as well. Laureano is an exciting player to get in return though. He is fairly young at 28, but hasn't played a full season in the big leagues (besides 58/60 games in the 2020 season.) He was suspended 80 games between 2021/22 for testing postive for PED's, which may turn some away, but he is a very good player. In the first half of 2022, he posted roughly a 110 OPS+, before having lingering muscular injuries in the second half bringing his overall season OPS+ to 92, which was the worst of his career (Keplers was 93). He also plays very good defense, posting 3 DRS in roughly 500 innings this past year. He has posted below average, and above average defensive marks in CF, depending on the year, making him a possible backup to Buxton if needed. Overall, Kepler has the defensive edge on his new replacement, but Laureano has a much higher offensive upside, and is $4 million cheaper, he also has 2 years of team control left. C: Ryan Jeffers ($0.70M) 1B: Luis Arraez ($4.50M) 2B: Jorge Polanco ($7.50M) 3B: Gio Urshela ($9.00M) SS: Carlos Correa ($31.25M) LF: Alex Kirilloff ($0.70M) CF: Byron Buxton ($15.00M) RF: Ramon Laureano ($4.6M) DH: Jose Miranda ($0.70M) 4th OF: Trevor Larnach ($0.70M) Utility: Nick Gordon ($0.70M) Utility: (SP 6) Josh Winder ($0.70M) Backup C: Omar Narvaez ($4.00M) SP1: Sonny Gray ($12.00M) SP2: Tyler Mahle ($8.00M) SP3: Kenta Maeda ($9.00M) SP4: Joe Ryan ($0.70M) SP5: Bailey Ober ($0.70M) RP: Jhoan Duran ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Lopez ($3.00M) RP: Griffin Jax ($0.70M) RP: Jorge Alcala ($1.00M) RP: Michael Fulmer ($5.00M) RP: Caleb Thielbar ($2.00M) RP: Jovani Moran ($0.70M) RP: AJ Puk ($0.70M) Payroll is 11.25% under budget

Correa is a leader, he has the intangibles that so many just do not have. I am writing this minutes after watching Palacios hit his first career HR in a blowout loss vs. the White Sox. As Palacios crossed home plate, Correa was the only one out of the dugout applauding his teammate in a meaningless game, blowout loss. Correa will be expensive, there is no doubt about it, but the Twins should do everything in their power to retain his services. Him and Buxton leading the team and molding the mindsets of our prospects coming up for years to come will pay huge dividends for this franchises future. It will create the winning culture in this organization, even if this year was not a good sample, largely in part to uncontrollable injuries.

I had a thought during the game. If Correa does leave after this year, the Twins would likely be looking for a stopgap until Lewis is healthy. A common name that has been brought up is Palacios. I haven't heard anyone mention Nick Gordon. In his rookie year, he posted slightly above average defensive marks at SS, while this year he has been slightly below average, although he has only played there for about 75 innings each year. Obviously you probably won't want Gordon to be your long term solution at SS, but it could help with a roster crunch and be a solution to getting him everyday AB's.

One thing that caught my eye was when Nick Gordon hit his home run to tie the game late, the dugout didn't really seem to care. There was hardly anyone on the top step, and they just looked lifeless and like they didn't care. However, when Cleveland was posing a threat in extra innings, they had multiple guys up on the top step (including Ramirez) cheering on their team. I know it's not little league baseball, but when your guys are noticeably rooting for you, it makes a big difference. Just shows who really wants it, considering it was a must win game for Minnesota and Cleveland has some wiggle room.

It came out that the Marlins are now at least willing to entertain trades for Pablo Lopez. They also said they are looking for a good left handed bat in return to help their 2023 lineup. Immediately I thought of Kepler or Larnach. I would assume they would have much more interest in Larnach. We could send them Larnach and maybe a mid-level prospect. I have a hard time thinking that they would say no or that it would be far off at least.

Houston just played better baseball than us for these 3 games, no other way to put it. Houston worked counts and didn't waste any AB's, they were aggressive on the basepaths, and their pitchers went right at hitters. This is a great series to learn from, how we need to be more aggressive if we want to have a real chance against some good teams. Not saying it is going to happen overnight, but Houston looked miles ahead of us in almost every aspect of the game.

I don't think it would be a bad idea to create some in-season competition at a few positions. I am not going to overreact because we have only played 8 games but I feel some players almost take their spot in the lineup everyday for granted. Kepler refuses to do anything but pull the ball, so maybe sit him for a young gun for a few games and see how he reacts when he doesn't get to play everyday. Im sure he wont take it for granted and will try to make adjustments. Same could be said for Sano, bring up Miranda and let him play a bit. That might light a fire in Sano's belly going into a contract year that might get him going a bit faster. You know for a fact these young guys will give it their all every play to try and make a good impression, even though they may struggle. Make it a bit more like a High School/ College team where the people who play well day in and day out play, and those who struggle sit for a bit while they regather themselves. I dont want to overreact this early in the season but soon we may find ourself in a hole too deep to dig out of like last year.

Thank you for the Honorable Mention!!

I totally agree with this. Some people act like injuries will never happen, and then are screwed when they do. Polanco had ankle surgery in 2 straight off-season's, although moving to second base this year likely helped him out in that regard. Donaldson has an injury history, although it did not bite him too bad this year. Those are two positions that Arraez can play well. There is a very real chance Miranda struggles right away in the big leagues, and that is another chance for Arraez to play. Just because he doesn't have a clear spot to play right now, doesn't mean there won't be one come May or June. I would much rather hang onto him unless the trade is too good to decline. Worst case scenario Arraez can play DH and give a starter the day off and play 5 games a week.

Like many other baseball fans, I am very bored during this lockout. There are no free agent rumblings or really much of anything in the baseball world currently. I was doing some research on Kirilloff, and something got me thinking. Alex Kirilloff is a young, left-handed hitting first baseman, who projects to be the first baseman of the future for the Twins. The Twins seem to have a history with left-handed hitting first basemen. Some of those first basemen were named Kent Hrbek, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer. I am sure you can see where I am going with this, so I will just get into the article. Kent Hrbek held down first base for 13 years for the Minnesota Twins. Kent got a glimpse of the big leagues in 1981. In 24 games, he hit .239 with a homer. He also posted an 85 OPS+ (100 is league average) which would be his last time being a below average hitter until his last season in 1994 when he posted a 99 OPS+. He became a full time starter in 1982 and retired at the end of the 1994 season. He was a great hitter with even better defense. Throughout his career he built up a 38.6 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Over his 14 year career he hit .282 with 293 home runs and 1086 RBI’s in 6192 at bats. He had a 128 OPS+ over his career, making him a well above average hitter. In comparison, Freddie Freeman, one of the best first baseman throughout the 2010’s, holds a career 138 OPS+. Kent was very consistent throughout his career, until the last 2 or 3 years where he dealt with injuries. The odd thing about Kent’s career is that he was an All-Star only one time, which was in his first full year in 1982. He didn’t even make an All-Star team when he was 2nd place for MVP in 1984. Part of that is because he played in the steroid era, when some of the best hitters of all time played, steroids or not. Many of the AL All-Star first baseman awards throughout Hrbek’s career went to Eddie Murray, Mark McGwire, and Frank Thomas. Although Kent Hrbek doesn’t have all of the accolades such as gold gloves and all stars to show off, he had a very good career and is one of the best players in Twins history. When Hrbek retired in 1994 until Justin Morneau took over 1B full time in 2004, multiple names split time there. The most notable was Doug Mientkewicz. Also some dude named David Ortiz played there for a few years, I wonder how he turned out? Anyways, Morneau took over 1B in 2004 when Mientkewicz was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Morneau instantly became a fan favorite, hitting .271 with 19 home runs in his first year. He was a well above league average hitter, posting a 122 OPS+. He underwent a bit of a sophomore slump in 2005 before breaking out in a huge way the next year. In 2006 Morneau won the AL MVP by hitting .321 with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. He continued to mash over the next couple years, and signed a 6 year, $80 million extension before the 2008 season. Morneau played in 163 regular season games in 2008, and the contract seemed to be paying off. In 2010, Justin Morneau’s career changed in a huge way. On July 7, 2010 in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Justin Morneau slid into second base trying to break up a double play when he was struck in the head by Blue Jays infielder John McDonald. It was a play that had happened hundreds of times without anything bad happening, but this time it did. Morneau had a concussion and was out for the rest of the 2010 season. He was never the same player after that day. At the 2013 trade deadline the Twins traded Morneau to the Pirates for Alex Presley and Duke Welker. Morneau won the 2014 NL batting title with the Rockies, and played his last year with the White Sox 2016. He officially retired in January of 2018 after not playing in 2017 marking the end of a good career. Morneau posted 22.9 out of a 27 total career WAR in a Twins uniform. He had 1318 of his total 1603 hits with the Twins, and 221 of his 247 home runs with the twins. He also had 860 RBI’s in his career with the Twins, and was nearing 1000 for his whole career with 985 total RBI’s. Throughout his Twins 11 year tenure he posted a 121 OPS+. There is no doubt he had a good career but there will always be the thought of what could’ve been. Joe Mauer was made the full time 1B of the Twins in 2014 after Justin Morneau had served that role for nearly a decade. Mauer had been bitten by the injury bug many times in his career, which ultimately was the reason the Twins had him move over to 1B in 2014. Joe Mauer was drafted 1st overall in 2001 by the Minnesota Twins. He was drafted as a catcher and had played that position for over a decade before making his move to first base. He was on track to become one of the best catchers of all time, winning 3 batting titles, an MVP in 2006, 5 Silver Sluggers and 3 Gold Gloves. The Twins liked what they saw enough to give Mauer an 8 year, $184 million extension, which is still by far the biggest deal in franchise history. During the 2013 season, Mauer suffered a concussion after being hit in the facemask by a foul tip. It was determined early in the following offseason that the Twins would move their franchise cornerstone to first base to preserve his health. Like his good friend Morneau, he was never the same player, which could be partly due to increasing age as well. Mauer played 5 seasons at first base before calling it a career. In his final game, he suited back up into his old catcher's gear to catch a pitch and was given an emotional standing ovation. When somebody mentions the Minnesota Twins, Mauer is often a name that comes to mind. He had that kind of impact on the Twins as a former 1st overall pick and hometown hero. He is at the top tier with franchise greats such as Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett. Mauer will likely join the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the coming years, and rightfully so. He ended his career with 2123 hits (.306 average),143 home runs, 923 RBI’s, a 124 OPS+, and a 55.2 career WAR. He also ended with accomplishments such as 5 Silver Sluggers, 3 Gold Gloves, 3 batting titles, 6 All-Star Game appearances, and last but certainly not least, a 2006 AL MVP Award. It will be exciting to see how his Hall of Fame case goes about in the coming years. All of that brings me to the point of this article, Alex Kirilloff. As you may have noticed, I went over 3 of the best first baseman in franchise history, which happens to be the position Kirilloff plays. Like the other 3, Kirilloff also bats left-handed (although that doesn’t matter much, just a coincidence). Kirilloff broke out in the minors in 2018, placing him high on many lists. He made his much awaited debut in 2020, although surprisingly in the postseason. He didn’t make the team out of spring training, but was up with the Twins not too long after. After his 59 game showing in the majors before his wrist injury, it looked like he would be the first baseman of the future. In the majors in 2021, he hit .251 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI’s with a 98 OPS+, which are not numbers that will wow you. However, he made plenty of hard contact, and looked like he belonged, but just had some back luck. I don't want to put massive expectations on him, but it certainly looks like he is poised to be our first baseman for the next decade. It should be fun to watch him for the next many years alongside the other top prospects we have in the system, but only time will tell. Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!!!

I dont get where you are getting negative numbers for Arraez at 3B, in over 400 innings at 3B he had 5 Defensive Runs Saved, and over 300 at 2B he had 2 DRS. I remember reading in another article that he ranked 4th out of all 3B on SABR's defensive rankings in 2021 at 3B, but I am not super familiar with SABR. For the comment on Jeffers, I would certainly be fine with moving him, but for a good return. I don't want to merely dump him, if he can help us land a good arm, I'm all for it.

Prospects are exciting, but they do come with some risks. The Twins currently seem to have as deep of a system as ever, but until the prospects reach the majors, it doesn’t matter. Today I will be revisiting the 2018 Twins Top 30 Prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, going through #1 to #15 on the list, and give some reason for hope, and some for fear for the current crop. #1 Royce Lewis Acquired: Drafted 2017, 1st Overall Current Team: Twins Organization Royce Lewis was a bit of a surprise being drafted #1 overall in 2017, many believed it would be high school flamethrower Hunter Greene going to the Twins instead. He is still currently the #1 prospect in the Twins system. Royce Lewis has shown plenty to be excited about, but also has shown some concerns, especially tearing his ACL right before spring training in 2021. He figures to be the most important piece to the Twins success in the coming years, will he be able to live up to the hype? #2 Fernando Romero Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2011, $260,000 Signing Bonus Current Team: Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Japan) Likely the biggest letdown on this list, Romero was a late find for the Twins, who had some competition in signing Romero. Ultimately, it all worked out and the Twins got a deal done. Romero played well in his first couple years of minor league ball before tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery, knocking him out of the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He came back and worked his way up to his debut in 2018, pitching well for a few starts and ended the season with a 4.69 ERA. The Twins tried to turn him into a bullpen piece in 2019, but to no avail. It failed miserably and he was sent back to the minors. In 2020 he could not get into the United States for Spring Training due to visa issues, and was ultimately released late in 2020. #3 Stephen Gonsalves Acquired: Drafted 2013, 110th Overall Current Team: Cubs Organization Another massive letdown. Unlike Romero, Gonsalves never found any big league success, even for a few starts. He was expected to go higher, but an incident where he lied to the dean of his high school was made public and as a result, he fell lower in the draft. The Twins signed him away from his San Diego college commitment. He only pitched 24.2 innings in the majors for the Twins, all in 2019 ending with a 6.57 ERA. He has been in multiple other organizations throughout the past 2 years, only having big league time with the Red Sox in 2021. #4 Nick Gordon Acquired: Drafted 2013, 5th Overall Current Team: Twins Gordon has had a rather long journey to the big leagues. He was drafted very high in 2013 and posted solid stats in the minors, and was finally added to the 40-man after the 2018 season. Gordon’s season was limited in 2019 due to injuries, and he endured a rough battle with Covid-19 during the cancelled 2020 minor league season, knocking him out of any possible baseball activity. He finally made his long awaited debut with the Twins, playing his way into a possible future role as a super-utility man. I personally am a big fan of Gordon and think he will be a good player for the Twins in the coming years. Fun fact: Outside of baseball, Nick Gordon also raps with his stage name of G Cinco. #5 Wander Javier Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2015, $4 Million Signing Bonus Current Team: Twins Organization When the Twins signed Wander Javier out of the DR, they gave him the highest signing bonus in franchise history, breaking Miguel Sano’s $3.15 Million in 2010. The first 2 years of his professional career looked good, and he could be a big contributor for the Twins in the future. Since then, not much has gone right. He has battled injuries and has been inconsistent to say the least. On the bright side, he is still only 22 years old, and plays a premium position, shortstop. If he can find what he seemed to once have he still has enough time to become a solid Major Leaguer. #6 Alex Kirilloff Acquired: Drafted 2016, 15th Overall Current Team: Twins Alex Kirilloff was drafted out of Pennsylvania as a good hitting corner outfielder. He didn’t disappoint in his first taste of pro ball in 2016, but in 2017 he needed Tommy John surgery, knocking him out for the year. He really broke out in 2018 and earned a top 20 rank in most prospect lists. Kirilloff had a good first showing in the MLB in 2021, but just had some bad luck on batted balls as well as a wrist injury ended his season early. Although he can play outfield, it appears he will be the Twins first baseman of the future. #7 Brusdar Graterol Acquired: Signed out of Venezuela in 2014, $150,00 Signing Bonus Current Team: Dodgers Saying Brusdar throws hard is an understatement, he throws extremely hard. He also has good offspeed. The Twins traded him along with Luke Raley to the Dodgers in exchange for Kenta Maeda. Graterol has only been used in the bullpen by the Dodgers, and rightfully so. He had posted mixed results. Personally, I am content with the trade. Sure, Brusdar could have been a good bullpen arm for the next 5+ years, but we got a near Cy Young season with Maeda. An elbow injury ended his season early and will likely eat up his whole 2022 season, but he has shown how good of a pitcher he can be, and in my opinion, you cannot be too upset with the trade. #8 Brent Rooker Acquired: Drafted 2017, 35th Overall Current Team: Twins What could have been, and what might still be. Rooker has shown off the light-tower power he was drafted for, but also hasn’t been very consistent. He has proven just about everything he has needed to in the minors, but can’t quite figure it out in the majors. Over his 2 partial year Major League career, he has had a 32.1% strikeout rate. He also plays below average defense in right and left field. If he can find his swing in the majors, he could be a great DH or good corner outfielder, but time is running out, especially since he is already 27. #9 Blayne Enlow Acquired: Drafted 2017, 76th Overall Current Team: Twins Organization The Twins paid Enlow over twice slot value at $2 million, to keep him from going to LSU. He had pitched very well in the minors, but has been injured a fair amount too. A few weeks into the 2021 season it was revealed that he would need Tommy John surgery, keeping him out until mid-2022. The Twins have shown they have faith in him though, adding him to the 40-man roster this offseason rather than risk losing him. He is still young enough though, he is currently 22 and will be 23 on opening day. I think he will become a good starter in the majors. #10 Lewin Diaz Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2014, $1.4 Million Signing Bonus Current Team: Marlins Lewin Diaz was the guy we traded for Sergio Romo at the 2019 trade deadline. More importantly, along with Romo, we obtained Chris Vallimont, who has shown signs of brilliance, but also has had trouble. Lewin Diaz can hold his own at first base defensively, but he has had trouble hitting in the majors. He has hit well enough in the minors, but like Rooker, has never figured it out at the major league level. In his Major League career over 161 AB’s, he owns a .193 batting average. He is currently 25 years old. #11 Akil Baddoo Acquired: Drafted 2016, 74th Overall Current Team: Tigers The one that got away. The Tigers selected Akil Baddoo in the 2020 Rule 5 draft. Nobody could have expected he would play this well. He only had one really good season in the minors, that being in 2017. In 2019, early in the season it was revealed he would need Tommy John surgery, which seems to be a recurring theme in Twins outfield prospects on this list. Anyways, the Tigers selected him in the Rule 5 draft and he was a well above average hitter in the majors, posting a 113 OPS+.You cannot really blame the Twins for losing him, they appeared to have all of the outfield depth in the world, and Baddoo still looked multiple years away from the show. #12 Lewis Thorpe Acquired: Signed out of Australia in 2012, $500,000 Signing Bonus Current Team: Twins Organization There were reports that he was finally reaching his potential this past spring training. He had increased fastball velocity and was in the best shape of his life. None of that translated to games that mattered. He was signed as a crafty lefty out of Australia in 2012, with a fastball sitting around 90 MPH. He has had no big league success to this point, in all 3 years he has appeared in a major league game (2019 ,20, 21), he has been below average. The only way that seems possible for him to stick in the majors is if he becomes a bullpen arm, and like many other Twins fans, I am not buying it. #13 Lamonte Wade Jr. Acquired: Drafted 2015, 260th Overall Current Team: Giants Another one that got away. Lamonte Wade Jr. looked like he could have been a decent 4th outfielder for the Twins. The Twins chose Jake Cave over him, and sent Lamonte packing to San Francisco in exchange for project piece Shaun Anderson. Anderson ended up pitching less than 10 innings for the Twins before being released. Wade Jr. on the other hand, broke out in a huge way. He posted a 117 OPS+ for the Giants and looks to be a big piece of their future. He even received MVP votes in 2021. For the record, I always liked Lamonte Wade over Cave, but no one could have expected he would be this good. I am happy Wade broke out, and even happier it wasn’t for an AL team. #14 Travis Blankenhorn Acquired: Drafted 2015, 80th Overall Current Team: Mets Blankenhorn was pretty average throughout his minor league career for the Twins. His ceiling seemed to be a good utility player. He made his debut in 2020, going 1 for 3 with a double. He played one game for the Twins in 2021, as a defensive replacement. He made a costly error against the Athletics, which was paired with a Luis Arraez throwing error, which cost the game. That game seemed to send the season to the trash can and kind of lost hope for everyone. Days after the error, he was DFA’d and picked up by the Mets, which is where he currently plays. It never seemed meant to be with the Twins, and I hope for the best of luck in the future for Travis. #15 Zack Littell Acquired: From Yankees (Traded for Jaime Garcia at 2017 Deadline) Current Team: Giants Littell was originally drafted by the Mariners, then a few years later traded to the Yankees. Soon after, he was sent to Minnesota along with Dietrich Enns, in exchange for Jaime Garcia and cash considerations, in one of the most puzzling trades in team history. Littell had success out of the pen in 2019, and then looked lost in 2020. I was always a believer in him but it doesn't really matter what I think. He was eventually released and picked up by the San Francisco Giants. Littell rebounded in a huge way in 2021, posting a 2.92 ERA for the Giants in 61.2 innings. He looks to be a reliable bullpen arm for them in the coming years. Notable 16-30 #19 Mitch Garver Acquired: Drafted 2013, 260th Overall Current Team:Twins Garver broke out fairly late in his career, during his age 27 season. However, he broke out in a huge way, cementing himself as one of the best offensive catchers in the MLB. As a result of Garver breaking out late, he is already getting up there in age for a catcher. He will be 31 on opening day, which is decently old for a catcher. If he is still with the Twins after this offseason, he looks like he will catch for a few more years, and then it is likely he will transition over to a 1B/DH role. There is also a small chance he will play one of the most physically demanding positions in sports, catcher, for 5+ more years, due to how Baldelli rests his catchers. #23 Luis Arraez Acquired: Signed out of Venezuela in 2013, $40,000 Signing Bonus Current Team: Twins You always know what you will get with Arraez, high average, not a whole lot of power. That is what has made him one of my favorite Twins to watch. Some people believe Arraez will be dealt this offseason, but only time will tell. He currently holds down a utility role for the Twins. He broke out defensively this year, becoming a top 5 defensive 3rd baseman in 2021. He may have found his defensive home for the future, but he will have to beat out young buck Jose Miranda, who is mentioned soon in this list. Arraez also carries injury concerns, he has torn an ACL during his minor league career, and overall has “balky” knees. I think he could be a great leadoff hitter for the next 10 years if his body can hold up. #25 Ben Rortvedt Acquired: Drafted 2016, 56th Overall Current Team: Twins Like Arraez, you know what you are getting with Rortvedt. Rortvedt isn’t a force with the bat, but does have some power. He is highly regarded for his defense, profiling as the best in the system. With the Twins surplus of catching, he will likely serve as the 3rd catcher, playing most of his games in Saint Paul. It is nice to have him on hand though, as there could be some moves involving catchers after the lockout, and freak injuries happen with catchers. If he can bump his offense to average for a catcher, his defense will carry him to being an above average MLB catcher. #28 Jose Miranda Acquired: Drafted 2016, 73rd Overall Current Team: Twins Organization It wasn’t until this year that Miranda broke out, and he did it in a big way. Everybody knew Miranda had good tools, maybe they didn’t know they were this good though. He finally put them all together and hit over .340 on the season with 30 bombs between AA and AAA. He looks like he will be the 3rd baseman of the future for Minnesota, but stats don’t matter until the show, so we'll just have to wait and see. He is still fairly young, being 23 years old and he is one of, if not the best hitter in the whole system. This list should provide a good realization that prospects are just prospects. Some are more likely to contribute at the MLB, hence the rankings, but odd things can happen. Also, it should show that lower ranking prospects can provide a big impact in the big leagues, so don’t always write them off. This list likely brought up some names you have forgotten, and some you wish you could forget *cough cough Baddoo* The future of this team is resting on their current farm system, which should hopefully provide fun baseball for years to come. After all, even Mike Trout was a prospect once. Thank you for reading. Leave a comment. Go Twins!!!

I personally believe Berrios is not quite as accomplished as Stroman, but has a higher ceiling for sure. I could see both sides of an argument for who is more accomplished though. As far as a Berrios extension with the Twins, it seemed like he just didn't like it here. A big reason why he said he signed that extension with Toronto was because of how much he liked it there, almost implying that Toronto was a much better fit for him than Minnesota. As far as Stroman for 5/$100. I think that is a very fair deal for both sides. The further we get into this offseason makes me think the Twins are waiting for their farm system to provide top end pitchers, rather than buy them as free agents.