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I can see why the Twins went with this trade. It's the result of a failed experiment with CF Keon Broxton who was signed to a minor league contract in 2021. He was a ++++ OF'er who could only manage to hit .173 with 9 HR's in AAA. He was a twin of Taylor in every other respect at 6' 3", 200 ibs. and also from Florida. He was exciting in spring training and I had hopes that he would be brought up but he wasn't. And then in 2022 he was gone and Celestino was brought up instead. I think that the Twins saw how electric that a ++++ outfielder can be to watch, especially if Buck is injured, The fans still want to see an exciting glove. And now the Twins have found one worth trading for in Michael Taylor who basically has the same voltage as Keon Broxton would have provided in 2021 had he been able to hit the ball like he did in spring training. Their profiles are too similar to ignore. A right handed ++++ OF'er is what the Twins need to help win some games & fill the seats when Buck isn't on the field. Unless they want to use Gordon's left hand bat at times. But Gordon can also DH and play other positions. Broxton stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/broxtke01.shtml

If he can keep up his .254 BA by hitting mostly singles then he's not a bad hitting OF. And at 6' 4" tall he should be able to defend a wall and save a few HR's from going over.

Here's a MLB highlight video of Arraez making a sliding catch in LF. I'm convinced that some folks just want to badmouth him because the Twins traded him. https://www.mlb.com/video/luis-arraez-s-sliding-catch

Where is the standard of proof that allows anyone to claim that he was rotten? The stats don't lie, and they don't show that he was rotten. Quite the opposite. He played good in LF.

Here's proof that Arraez was not a bad LF'er. He played 27 games with zero errors and 3 assists. Any claim to the contrary is just a smokescreen. I gave you my opinion and only time will tell which is right and wrong. Don't forget the doctors disagreed about Correa too. I'm erring on the side of caution as the Twins will also be very cautious with Lewis or it will cost Rocco his job. There's no need for Lewis 2 B in the OF.. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/arraelu01.shtml

Common injuries by a players position doesn't reveal the cause of the injury which your reference isn't specific at all. That means it's useless. It also doesn't address the severity of the injury to the player or take the player's injury history into account. You failed to address the point that I made about why Arraez stopped playing left field. His hitting was certainly good enough to earn him a position. Meanwhile Larnach has been injured more than once and just had core surgery, and Kepler can't seem to stay healthy enough to finish out the last month of the season more than once. Jake Cave also injured his back and was out a long time. Playing the OF takes its toll unless you don't want to see the writing on the wall. [pun intended] I'll bet you a zillion Dollars of funny money that Lewis won't be playing the OF any time this year in AAA or MLB. I think that he'll remain an infielder and may even DH. He' should be a better 3B, 1B & hitter than Miranda or Farmer. Rocco's job and the Twins future are on the line. Maybe you're willing to risk your fantasy coaching career but I'd bet that Rocco and the Twins FO won't. The fans won't appreciate Lewis getting any other type of injury in the OF that could affect his playing time & rise to stardom. There's nothing like a concussion to ruin a career which can happen in any collision. Twins fans should know all about concussions with Mauer & Morneau. This is known as a baseball or organizational decision in order to maximize a player's potential while he's under team control. They want to protect a potential back up SS & big bat for the future, After a player is making millions then the fans want to see them play despite the risks. We all know how many times that Trout has been injured. He's probably insured which saves the Angels paying a percentage of his salary. But that's not a good outcome to put a young player like Lewis at risk to dash the hopes of Twins fans if he gets seriously injured again. He's not an experienced MLB outfielder.

It's from my lifetime of experience. I doubt that the Twins would ever allow themselves to be shamed & embarrassed by making the same mistake twice. Especially if Rocco wants to keep his job. OF'ers hit their knees hard on the turf all of the time while making plays, running into walls and colliding with other players. That's not how you protect a valuable player/ asset with a loose knee that can result after having multiple injuries & surgeries. I think it's just common sense and a smart baseball decision to keep Lewis away from playing the OF. The Twins smartened up by taking Arraez out of LF after they tried him there. He made good plays but it's a risky position with bad knees, riskier than playing the infield. You didn't see Buck going back out there much last year either. If it' doesn't lead to a knee injury, it could cause a shoulder injury. Buck also needed shoulder surgery after hitting the wall. It's not easy to develop a 6th sense for the wall and some never do. Before Lewis was injured in CF, he only played 6 games in the OF in 3 years. That's a recipe for disaster for a guy just coming off knee surgery.

IMO there's no way that Lewis will be playing the OF because those positions are too injury prone. If Larnach or Kirilloff can't play the OF then they won't have positions with the Twins except to platoon at 1B or DH. This is why I posted about CF Ryan LaMarre being signed to a minor league contract as a replacement for Jake Cave. He batted .297 in AAA last year. Plus Celestino has good plate discipline and he improved by playing. Fans need to believe that young players can improve. I doubt that there's going to be FA outfielder signed unless someone like Kepler is traded. And even then, Wallner may already give us the additional OF depth.

Why haven't the Twins signed Fulmer yet? If there's more than one suitor then the Twins may do something else unexpectedly. It was said that the Cubs were interested in him back in December.

The average MLB career lasts 5.6 years and Sano played for 7 not including last year. He probably lasted that long due to his surgeries. Cruz is considered to be a superhero compared to the length of most MLB careers. The odds are very low that Sano will ever be a MLB player ever again The average retirement age is about 29.5 years which means that Sano's retirement is right on schedule because he's almost 30. https://www.listfoundation.org/the-short-length-of-the-average-mlb-career

It's no wonder Arraez was traded. A Star tribune article in MSN News states that. Luis was said to have turned down a contract offer from the Twins before last season. And he wound up as their only player among eight eligible for arbitration this go-round to file for a hearing. Bottom line: Arraez felt he was more valuable to the Twins than they did for at least the past two seasons. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/reusse-trade-of-batting-craftsman-arraez-doesn-t-set-well/ar-AA16A8Im?fbclid=IwAR1JOjXOFjQZ3vY2oOVaNxCr_vxaD9OCRfMIMKlURkwRXV_Df-7cIH7pCU0 View full rumor

Sometimes the best players are the ones that stay healthy and available to play. After the Twins invested so much time waiting for Gordon to develop, I'd hate to see him go. I like his speed on the bases for playing small ball and his athleticism in the field.

Jo Adell doesn't appeal to me. It's not like he's a Delmon Young or a Marty Cordova. I would expect that if the Twins have a need then they would acquire more of a proven talent. Either the Twins need a proven player or they don't. I don't agree with expending pitching talent like Sands for a player that's not going to be a keeper. That's what my gut tells me anyway. We still have Celestino who hasn't been dealt yet, and we don't need to risk getting a mediocre outfielder.

Marwin Gonzalez signed with last year's champion Orix Buffaloes for $1.5 mil. https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-mlb-twitter-reacts-marwin-gonzalez-signing-japan-s-orix-buffaloes-it-s-time-retire-red-sox-got-outbid-again#:~:text=After 11 major-league seasons,top league%2C Nippon Professional Baseball.

Japanese baseball fans are going to love watching him play.

The Twins signed Ryan LaMarre to a minor league deal. He's played in 57 games with the Twins in the past. Do you think that we'll see him on the field this year in a Jake Cave type of role? Since he's a right hand bat maybe we won't need to trade for another outfielder this year. Or maybe he can hold down an OF position long enough to allow us to trade Celestino. Do you think, that he will contribute or not? I think that he has enough upside to make some appearances if needed. https://www.si.com/mlb/yankees/news/former-new-york-yankees-ryan-lamarre-signs-minor-league-deal-minnesota-twins?fbclid=IwAR31QC5s7vT3ooRRxewj15lFE1ADAxsDYAlcXTLI9malq6lc2gUM4w-R9fg Statistics: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lamarry01.shtml?fbclid=IwAR02fuQp6GpStJqQLz9dZ0jEBdfRPomgzaYKUQmE2vO6Siv4_5DQo6Tl-V8

George Springer grew up playing Little League in my hometown. A lot of us parents watching him had a feeling that he would make the pros someday. It was around then when he played catch with Tori Hunter at a local Twins AA game and that's how Springer decided that he wanted to be a pro. A lot of it is about dedication. As long as a kid has enough talent and the right development which Springer had in abundance, then the sky is the limit. Plus Springer's dad's nickname was Champ when he was a little kid! And Springer did become a champ too! If one of these kids can work out then it will have been worth it for the Twins. New stars are born every day!

I hope that he can get back his velocity. It seemed to take Syndergaard a long time to recover from TJ surgery and he's still not really a starter. Between Maeda & Paddack, one of them should work out, or maybe a new star in the pipeline will compensate. Twins fans know how to root for underdogs better than the rest.

I feel hat he's worth more in trade with an extension that offers longer control. Then he won't become a free agent in 2026 and his costs will be included in any trade deal. The Twins may be able to get a better pitcher(s) that way or we can just keep him. Give him a performance bonus to help control his future cost if he's willing to extend. That could give us a longer trading window too for the right pitcher. I'm just thinking out loud because maybe it's too early. But if a trade is in the air then I don't see how it could hurt unless he wants a no trade agreement or a restricted list of teams, which could help make him less costly to extend. That could help the Twins too. I would extend him just to be our DH if necessary. He's that good & hitters like him don't come along very often. If he continues to hit then his FA price will go up. That's why I would offer a performance bonus, to protect the Twins and to lock him in now. Feel out his future demands.

Maybe the Twins are testing the waters by trying to work out an extension with Arraez. The Twins could include some performance bonuses if he continues his batting excellence. Some extra money may help him hit better knowing that his family is being taken care of. Plus he was selected to be an All-Star.

I'm more excited about a Dodgers former top RHP prospect named Jose De Leon that was signed by the Twins to a minor league contract in mid-December. He's been pitching in the Puerto Rican Winter League. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/dodgers-former-top-pitching-prospect-signs-with-al-central-team/ar-AA15hU8D?fbclid=IwAR1FJx9b2yF-OcUehjFhIxgwfnIiyOtpUPlKaDxWmXsvk24VFSzkvZMLa-8 Stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=deleon008jos&fbclid=IwAR3spmr8f_EUKJ-t8bJ99gh3bJBxZTI2TIKTpMO4i1vc6I9EUHQq0G-fyvw Youtube video - length 47 seconds:

Trading Arraez is not the cost of doing business to buy lottery ticket pitchers. He's the top hitter in the AL & maybe in all of MLB. If Arraez is wiling to sacrifice his knees to win a world series for the Twins then I want to keep him here. At least see if he is willing to be extended so that we can keep him as a pure DH. He's worth 2 stud pitchers alone. My reasoning is that a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. I don't really like the Twins being dictated to by the Marlins. I would consider trading 2 or 3 players for a pitcher like Luzardo, but Arraez should be off the table unless he's not willing to negotiate a reasonable extension. I realize that the Marlins want players with control. Young pitchers receiving shoestring pay may be able to win some games, but doubtful that each can beat the big market teams. We already have some of those types of pitchers. I'd rather see us keep Arraez, get Luzardo and pay for a free agent like Wacha. Arraez can always be traded later but the Twins only get to keep him once. When we need a proven ace then Arraez can be our real ace in the hole.

I wouldn't want to see Arraez traded for a pitcher with only 2 years of control when the Twins haven't even tried to extend Arraez yet. His trade value would rise if they could extend him and then get 1 or 2 pitchers with more control or more upside. If the Twins can't extend him because he's too steadfast like Rosario was then trade him away. But the Twins need to protect themselves by negotiating with him first. I would prefer to see one or two of the outfielders go like Celestino and Kepler. The Twins should simply purchase a FA pitcher before spring training begins. Since Toronto recently signed Chris Bassit for $21 mil per year, the Twins should at least be able to afford Wacha. We have plenty of young pitchers to fill in for him if he goes on the IL. A small difference in ERA is not that big of a deal if you have disciplined hitters on the team who don't chase at the plate.

IMO there's no doubt that Farmer will be more important than Urshela. Not only did Farmer have more RBI's than Gio (78 Vs. 64 RBI's), but Farmer has played tons of SS with 98 games last year & 121 in 2021. Plus he can play OF which means he's a lot more versatile. Farmer won't replace Gordon, but he may start at 3B while Arraez plays DH which could be often. With all of the complaints about Arraez's weak knees, he doesn't need to play the field very much, just be the best DH and platoon at 1B & 2B. And don't think that Miranda isn't capable of regressing at the plate. Miranda may actually be better suited for 1B so that Lewis can take over 3B after surgery. In this respect, Farmer is much more important this season than Urshela would have been. Plus Farmer has trade value due to having an additional year of control. Urshela was not a very fast runner either. Farmer seems to be an undervalued player which is why I'm bringing attention to him. Forget the WAR, look at his function which I think is to play 3B & SS and to produce RBI's. He'll be a better replacement at SS then Palacios was. Why didn't the Twins play Gio at SS and let Miranda play 3B when CC was out? Miranda is an option at 3B, but not a lock IMO.