clone52

If you aren't going to resign Brian Dozier, Lance Lynn, Zach Duke, Logan Morison or Fernando Rodney after the season, why wouldn't you sell?

Good point, they'd probably demand Lewis. Hell, I might even do that. The LuCroy trade was basically for a package like Lewis, Gonsalves and and a slightly less prospecty Alex Kiriloff for him. Texas also got the Brewers starting closer back in the deal, so its not quite an even comparison.

Eduardo Escobar doesn't know what its like to play in LA or NY or Boston or wherever. He might sign now with the Twins because he loves Minnesota. If they trade him away, he may realize he likes that new place better.

Yeah, so if you do the 17.4 qualifying offer and he signs elsewhere, you get a draft pick.

Its riskier, though. If the team that trades for him wants him, he could be more likely to sign there. I'd keep him with a 3/40 offer. If he doesn't want that, I'd go so far as giving him a $17.4 million qualifying offer.

It would get it in a heartbeat I think. Does position player who only has 2 more years of control get more than 3 Top 100 prospects? I could defintely be wrong.

Seems like there are some dumb things being posted on here. First off, if Castro weren't hurt, Polanco wasn't suspended and Polanco, Buxton and Sano played like their capable of, this roster has everything you'd want in a playoff team, so don't give me any bull**** that it doesn't. Most likely, the Twins are going to be sellers. Sure, maybe they go on a 3 week hot streak, but probably not. Lets assume they are and discuss things. Starters: Odorizzi is staying. Wouldn't be a hot market for him and you'll still get him relatively cheap next year in arbitration. Berrios - No Gibson - Will still be relatively cheap next year, although the way he's pitching, you might actually dangle him and see what you could get. If someone offered you Alex Kiriloff for Gibson, you might do it. Lynn - You absolutely trade him, not matter what you get. This is a guy with a good history and an ERA of 3.27, K/9 of 9.0 and a K/BB of 3.92 in May/June, I bet you get something decent for him. The Angels are trotting out John Lamb and Felix Pena for starts. Red Sox could probably use a 5th starter. if Yu Davish can't stay healthy, do the Cubs want him? May/June Lance Lynn would be an upgrade for pretty much every playoff contender. Minimal financial commitment, 2 very, very solid months coming back from surgery. Can get him without giving up top prospects. There is no way he doesn't get traded. His May/June stats would make him #13 in ERA, #18 in K/9 and #14 in K/BB. His June WHIP would #25. Those numbers clearly make him a #2-#3 starter on average, and easily a #4 on a lot of playoff contenders. If you do trade Lynn and Gibson, you've got plenty of options. Santana, Slegers, Mejia, Enns and even give Gonsalves a shot, plus Pinedo could conceivably come back. Relievers: Duke: trade for anything if you can get something that you like better at any level in minors. Reed: I think you keep him for the price. Rodney: He's on fire. Trade him if you get something nice. With a team option, maybe you keep him. Magill: Surprisingly good, super cheap forever, keep him. Hildenberger: Unsurprisingly good, super cheap forever, keep him. Pressly: Pretty cheap, can be good, probably not a great market for him, but certainly would dangle him. Rogers: super cheap forever, reasonably good, keep him. Position players are where it gets interesting. Mauer: Won't be traded, will be interesting to see if they want to resign him. All of the sudden, first base doesn't seem like a guarenteed future home of Miguel Sano and if Morrison keeps hitting 0.188, you've got a gaping hole at 1B. Dozier: Are you going to sign Dozier long term? Are you going to give Dozier a $17.4 qualifying offer? If the answer is No to both, you trade him for whatever. Sucks that he's slumping, but what else are you going to do? Finish far back from the playoffs and let him walk? I bet you could get a 17 year old who throws 97 and walks 2 hitters an inning for him. Escobar: You dangle him. If you get wowed, go for it. If not, look into a long term extension. 3 or 4 years at around $10-$13 per year. If he balks at that, give him a qualifying offer. Overpay to have him for a year or gain a draft pick. Rosario/Kepler: Keep no matter what. Buxton/Sano: Sure as hell don't sell low. Castro is still around and Garver is serviceable. However, even if they are sellers, there is one move I'd consider. JT Realmuto: At worst, you could get him for Gonsalves, Gordon and Kiriloff? I think I would. Seems like Gonsalves is no slam dunk. You've got a lot of pitchers semi-near his level. Would hate getting rid of Gordon, but Polanco/Adrianza wouldn't be a terrible middle infield duo and you could sign another one until Lewis is ready. Rosario and Kepler seem like keeps and Buxton is a star if he turns it around, plus you have potential OF depth in the minors with Granite, Wade, Rooker, Badoo, Larnach and Keirsey. All of those guys are just as close to the majors as Kiriloff and its likely that 1 or 2 of them turn into good major league players. Conclusion: If I were the Twins, here is what I'd do. Trade Lance Lynn Trade Zach Duke Trade Fernando Rodney Sign Escobar to a 3 or 4 year deal. Trade Gordon, Gonsalves and Kiriloff (or less if you can) for JT Realmuto. Make those moves and I think you are still in contention in 2019 barring things going horribly for the offense this year.

1. Remove the shift. 2 players on IF on each side of 2nd base and 3 OF required. Minor change, but it would lead to more hits. 2. Fans like home runs, so I don't think deadening the ball would be a good idea. If you get more runs scored per game, more fans will come. 3. Pitch clock to speed up the game. Being able to manage a pitch clock becomes a skill players need to have. I see absolutely no issue with this. Players need to adjust. 4. Lower the mound. Instead of 10 inches, lower it to 7 or 8. 5. Maybe even limit how far outfielders can shift from straight away.

Well, you can always use Sano and shuffle things around. Even if he's DHing, thats only part of a game that you are without a DH. If someone does get hurt, you can always call back Petit the next day. I find it a little funny that the argument is that the team needs Adrianza, Petit and Escobar on the roster. Not to mention, that probably won't be an issue for all that long. There is really no need for both Cave and Lamarre to be on the active roster (Mauer probably takes one of their spots) and they'll drop a relief pitcher at some point.

Belisle sucks for Cleveland Cleveland cuts Belisle Twins coaches tell management that Belisle's mechanics are screwed up and it is the same issue they fixed in June of that year. Management signs Belisle Not saying thats what happened, but its completely feasible that the Twins coaches saw something on his film this year that they know they can fix. If we get Belisle like he was from June to the end of the year last year, we have a tremendous asset. If we get Belisle like he was from June to July last year, we have a trade piece. If Belisle just flat out sucks, we don't really lose out on anything.

Its hard to find many catchers that jump up more than 10 games caught between the minors and majors. Realmuto and Mike Zunino jumped 20 games. Buster Posey jumped 10 games. In fact, when healthy, Posey has started between 96 and 122 games a season. Garver on pace for 85-90 seems about right. If he's feeling good later in the season, no reason not to pick up the pace a little bit, but as of now, if the Twins are playoff contenders, does anyone really want to see Garver on the DL in August/September?

You don't think catching more games increases the risk of injuries? Really? Help me find a catcher who had a significant increase in games caught between his final minor league season and first major league season.

Actually, including his time with the Twins, he caught 80 games last year, but he has never caught more than that. 2017: 80 2016: 60 2015: 77 2014: 63 Since Castro got hurt, he's started 16/27 games (not sure if any of those were DH). If he keeps that rate up, he will catch 63 more games which brings his total to 87 games at Catcher, which is more than he ever has. Honestly, if he catches any more than he already is, its extremely likely that he would break down physically.

Far less concerned about his strikeouts than his health. Will he ever stay healthy?

I doubt it will really be an issue. Having everyone healthy and Santana coming back is unlikely to happen. Here are the likeliest options, in my opinion. 1. Santana takes longer to come back. 2. Someone in the rotation gets hurt. 3. Lance Lynn doesn't build upon his good start. 4. Romero starts to struggle and gets sent down. 5. Lynn has another few good starts and becomes trade bait. If he has another few good starts, his 1 year contract could be a very valuable trade chip, especially with Gonsalves, Mejia and even Slegers down in AAA.

Depends on the person. My mom said her kidney stones were more painful than delivering Twins.

The front office might be looking at more than just this season. Lets say that they want to sign a Lance Lynn type pitcher either this year or next year, but are planning on only signing 1. Do they sign Lynn or Cobb this year if they absolutely love Drew Pomeranz, Gio Gonzalez and Zach Britton much more? But, if they wait for those 2019 free agents, they run the risk of not getting anyone in that category. Thats why they pay them the big bucks.

No, its not just as likely. If you take a random sampling of 5 players, the most likely scenario is that they will be better as a group from ages 26-28 than they were from 23-25. Is that going to be true for everyone? Of course not, but generally, that is going to be the case.

Maybe Tampa like Palacios. Maybe other teams though they would DFA him and get him for even less.

Money. Tampa is trying to cut as much money as possible from their payroll. Heck, the released a guy who was an All-star last year and there were rumors that they might have released Odorizzi as well.

I'd do a Phil Hughes for Matt Kemp, Walker Buehler and Jordan Sheffield. Swap Kepler, Gordon and Romero (and low filler) for Chris Archer.

Its only a mistake if it prevents them from signing their #1 guy. If they went into the off seasons with 2 goals, to sign a top of the rotation guy and to sign a bottom of the rotation guy with upside, who the hell cares what order it goes in. If its their only move, I don't like it. Ryan's trap wasn't making the small move first, it was not making a bigger move at all.

I still don't see that as negative value. To me, negative value means you could replace him with anybody. Plus, if the talent level overall of the league goes up, one year a guy could be positive value, he could actually improve and have negative value the next year. I'd much rather see what the average #4 or #5 starter is on teams and if Pineda is better or worse than that. If he's better than the average #4 or #5 starter, then it could be a good signing.

So, half the pitchers in major league baseball are negative value?

Great numbers. Get him healthy, behind a solid defense and out of Yankee Stadium.