Dman

The Stauffer signing never made sense to me. Seemed like they paid more and were getting a lesser player. I trusted TR on that on. Figured he saw something others didn't. Boyer was on the other side of thrity and I thought he pitched well this spring. Personally I would have liked to see the younger guys but that is just me. As Seth stated likely business decisions but even that seems marginal since you have the option to use younger players that likely wouldn't be any worse than these guys. I guess to start you go with guys that have experience already?

Very impressed with the SSS early season pitching from all the affiliates so far! The only real stinker was Burdi walking half the team his first time out. Everyone else pitched well to extremly well. Very encouraged by that as we need pitching especially at the high levels.

Yeah I guess I forget how fragile he is. Near 100 percent probably wasn't a good statement there. My main point was that it didn't necesarily spell Vargas's doom. Granted Vargas might be out be out if they are going with multiple,outfielders and DH Arcia, Mauer, Hunter etc. maybe then there isn't room for Vargas. Hard to say for sure.

I don't think moving Ploufe from third to first means Vargas is gone but that they don't feel Vargas has good enough defense at first. Moving Ploufe also could give more opportunities to Escobar or Nunez as they can play third. sounds more like contingency planning to me as Mauer should be at first almost 100 percent of the time anyway.

Like any sport, in baseball anything can happen. I didn't think Texas would be worse than the Twins last season and I didn't see KC making it to the WS. Injuries can change things for teams in a hurry and a team that gets on a hot streak and gains confidence can put themselves in the mix. You just never know. On paper the Twins appear to have quite the uphill climb but if things break for them they could be right there at the end. I am anxious to see how they do this year and I always have a positive vib heading into the season. No reason to go negative unless things do not turn out later in the year. Even then there are lots of young guys that could give us positives to dwell on for next year. At the very least you have to be exited abut the potential of this club.

I like what the Sox did in the off-season. I think that if that team stays healthy they have as good a chance as any in the division to win it. I still don't think their bullpen is that great as they are more than two arms away from a good bullpen. I still think the pen will be their Achilles heal. You look at that rotation though and you have to be envious. I do agree with several posters that injuries are a concern with this team. Primarily because they have little depth behind most of their players. They are a pretty young team though and can trade to fill holes if they need too. I like their chances this year.

I guess if He is going to give the team a deal to lock him up early then why not do it. If you are going to pay him Kipnis money then why not wait. I think both sides will be happier in the future if they wait and see what he does this year. If he performs as well or better than last year then he gets more money and he won't feel cheated having signed for less. If he performs poorly the team isn't stuck with him to the end of the contract. I think waiting is the better plan for all concerned on this one.

IIRC wasn't Hicks having trouble from the left side. Based on what happens in spring training I am thinking the Twins will Platoon Hicks and Schaeffer in center. That way they can find out what both players bring to the team. Should build trade value for two players instead of one as well. Santana needs to win that shortstop position otherwise how do they get his bat and speed into the game? If he isn't good enough defensively then maybe they make a change and let him play center. I would like to see Escobar play short this year as I think he can build trade value if he does, but he looks like the odd man out in this scenario and back to a utility role. That is my two cents.

i remember looking at BA's scouting report and not being too impressed except that it said he had power potential. He made me a believer after his hot start and even though he cooled down I think he is going to move up quickly. Looks like the Twins might have gotten a steal with Mad Max. Next year will be big. I'll be watching and hoping he has another big year.

I like the way you did this. I feel like it gives a better idea of how our pitchers rank against one another. I also agree that pitching and batting are two different things. This list is very encouraging for the Twins future.

wouldn't that be 199.2 or the ability to round up to get to 200 so 196 or better?

I guess I for one ignored your premise. Although i do agree with you that those positions can typically be filled in house or cheaply the White Sox have been bad in those areas and needed to take fairly drastic measures if they wanted to fix them quickly. For myself I look at resource allocation with a wide view. I think the Twins have more money wrapped up in their rotation than the WhiteSox with far worse results. The Twins have a potentially declining first baseman taking up 20M per year and I don't think the Whitesox have that kind of problem right now. So in my view the WhiteSox had the money to waste so speak to get better now and they used it to do that. Your premise is still correct but in the grand scheme of allocating dollars I don't see that it hurts them that much. Thus I don't think the moves are that bad and ultimately make them better. How much better will depend on injuries as they don't have much depth.

I agree in theory with what you are saying but holistically I think the Sox addressed some pressing needs. Their starters typically gave them the lead going into to 6th inning but their bullpen failed far too often last year. Even though they over payed they had to address that to get better and they did. Their GM says they are not done addressing the bullpen. They have two young very good starting pitchers adding a third makes their rotation as good as any in the division. They didn't give up the farm and Smarzda could be a bridge to Rodon or maybe they will sign or extend him as well. I think they have flexibility there and they still have a very good shortstop and I think 2nd baseman in the minors for infield depth. They lacked clutch hitting last year and seemed to struggle to score runs. They went out and got a guy who can get on base and hits extremely well. Put it all together and they have addressed a lot of the things they needed to become competitive in the division. They lack depth in areas but they excel in others. I think those moves have the potential to make then a very competitive team. Could they have done better for less. Sure I think they could have but they had to outbid other teams to get what they wanted and overpay they did. I don't agree with the money they gave to the closer that is really my only quibble with the moves. The rest seem solid and address significant needs. FWIW I think they did a nice job.

I am not in love with the pick but given what was left to pick from it probably makes the most sense. I don't think the Brave would have left him unprotected if they thought he had great potential. The Braves must believe he will only have average stuff at best. The Braves are usually right. They were right about Diamond and Gillmartin and I suspect they will be right about Graham. I guess time will tell. I was hoping the speedster would fall. Always nice to have those fast pinch runners for when the other team walks the slow HR hitter. If the guys bat got better over time then that would make it a really good pick. Oh well we still have a lot of fun players to watch anyway.

Unless the Twins and Lirano are confident that he is going to do well I don't see Minnesota as a good spot for him. There is already a history of disappointment and if he struggles his past will haunt him quickly in Minnesota not so if he goes elsewhere. I too am not a fan of giving a high 2nd round pick even though it has been pointed out that several of those have not amounted to much. At least not for the gamble that is Liriano. In this case I think it is better for both parties to look elsewhere.

I am kind of a Hu fan myself. He came out of no where last year and seemed unhitable at times. I wonder if he can find the same level of success Berrios had last year. He seems to have the pitches and a good approach. I like him for my sleeper break out candidate. I like the Gonsalves pick and I have always liked him. That was a heck of a pick for the 4th round. I hope he does move quickly. I also agree with Doc in that I like Thorpe as well. Nice to see a good crop of young arms to get excited about.

I am a big Wheeler fan. When moving from high A to AA a pitchers ERA usually goes up pretty significantly. Wheeler stuck around 2 something through all three levels I believe. I think he has things figured out. I would hate to lose him now. Having said that he doesn't throw real hard and could be just another Darnell or Gilmartin it is hard to know but would like to see him for at least one more year. Not a huge Gilmartin fan but I agree a team would likely take him if he was exposed. He seems to run out of gas an give up big innings. Not sure what the deal is but probably should give him another year to see if there is more there than meets the eye. If nothing else you would think he could be trade bait or throw in material. I think those are the only two other guys I would hang onto besides Sano, Rosario and Meyer. Next year this list gets much harder.

Pretty darn nice Arizona performance by Rosario. I hope he bounces back next year and we see him with the Twins in the not too distant future. Nice job by the relievers as well. Hard to complain about 0 ERA's. Should be exciting watching MILB next year.

Thanks for the article SD Buhr! I have been craving to hear how he feels about his incredible first season. Hope he can keep it going and find success in the Bigs.

I don't think that getting A LF and hughes type pitcher is a horrible thing by any means but I have to disagree with you that they wouldn't block anybody for this year. If they get a good LFer then they are basically saying we won't see Rosario or Sano this year until maybe September. It also means we likely won't see much of Hicks as Santana appears entrenched in center unless Esco gets hurt. So if Sano and Rosario are knocking the ball around in double and triple A they won't get called up to replace veteran players who are getting paid a lot of money to play. Does it matter that they get blocked this year? probably not, it just delays their MLB development and then we do this whole dance again next year. I would like them to leave left alone and start Hicks or Schafer in left. If Rosario or Sano hit well in AA then they can play in Left and we can see how well they do. Whoever is ready early though could come up and likely play Left or move someone else to left. Use it to figure out who belongs and who doesn't or at least to give valuable at bats to younger guys. Pitching I would love the Twins to add an Ace anything less and I would prefer to find out more about Meyer, Berrios, Darnell, Gilmartin, Duffy, Wheeler, Rogers etc. I think one or two of those guys can be as good as Nolasco, Correia or Pelfrey. If I thought the Twins could find another Hughes I'd be all for it but it is a 50\50 shot and I would rather find out what we have on the farm this year. Prospects are going to keep bubbling up at higher rates and we won't be able to protect them all on the 40 man. I really think it makes sense to figure out who can play MLB as soon as possible now more than ever before for the Twins. We can buy guys to fill holes but to say they won't block or clog things seems unrealistic IMO.

As I think I said earlier yours is the safer sounder strategy and likely the Twins way of operating. My ideas are a bit pie in the sky but they are more in line with how I feel about this topic.

From the other side no one is saying the team won't win more games with some good FA signings. but FA signings are not the guaranteed success you make them out to be. Many people wanted Drew at SS last year and Escobar performed better and we kept Burdi who could become a fast track bullpen guy. We got a prized pitching FA in Nolasco and what did that get us. I think Meyer could, have done as well as Nolasco. Both Santana and Vargas came up and played well this year. If shortstop was blocked by a veteran we wouldn't know what we have and be out a draft pick. Sure Melky would help this team in the short term likely little question there but where is he three years from now? You look at AA and it is lineup of Buxton, Sano, Polanco, AB Walker, Rosario, Berrios, Duffy, the list goes on. Agreed that most of these guys don't sniff MLB until at least. July if not later but once you have. Melky we won't see Rosario until the contract is up. That is just the way is works. We have the pipeline we should use it not block it.

I guess it depends on what your vision of the future is. Are you interested in player development or a few more wins? Do you see Sano, Buxton, Meyer, Rosario starting 2016 together? If you do then why not get them as much MLB experience as possible. It really comes down to how you view 2016 to me. Maybe they aren't ready or won't be ready there is a decent possibility that will be the case but I also don't see a FA left fielder or pitcher taking us to the playoffs next year. That being said I want to see the team invest MLB time in the future players that might make the playoffs. Odds are the Twins agree with you as they are very patient but I just want to see the young guys move as fast as possible now and if they do I think 2016 will be a lot of fun.

I'm with the let's just roll plan. Let's find out what we have and leave room for Meyer, Sano, Buxton, Rosario, maybe Berrios or Polanco to play this year. While I agree that getting one of the prized pitchers would be an awesome surprise I don't see the Twins doing it. A reclamation project is just as likely to produce Nolasco as much as Hughes and we still have Pelfrey. Why not find out what you have in Meyer, Tonkin, Berrios, Pryor, Pressly, Oliveros, Rosario, Sano. etc. everyone was going crazy about that earlier this year. Are we going to stick with aging vets or find out who has the talent to make it and who doesn't? There is a ton of talent in the pipeline and lots of 40 man decisions to be made. Let's find out what we have so we don't lose the wrong players from the 40 man. Let's go young and keep the young talent moving forward. Not everyone is gonna make it but throw enough talented bodies out there and a core will stick. Or keep them in AAA and block everything up. the talent is in the pipeline lets see what we have.

Mr. St. Peter, If the core guys coming up turn into All-Stars and we finally build a top 5 team will you be willing to spend over the budget to keep that team together for as long as possible? Even if it meant losing money for three or four years if the team was really good would ownership do that for the fans and the city?