TL

100% agree. Especially as it relates to making a trade. See how the season plays out, who is having a great season on a bad team, and go get him at the deadline. Save your prospects for that.

This could be a great move and in reality neither player’s contract should be a barrier to signing any pitcher if it’s only 2 years (or 3 with annual value at $10MM). This may also help make Sano available via trade for a young, controllable front line starter. He is much more likely than Rosario to help gather interest in such a trade.

While unlikely that Cole signs even for that kind of money, I like the aggressive thinking. No doubt we win the division with Cole and Boyd added to the mix and then by October we will be dangerous. I think it is an overpay for Boyd though and could see swapping Rooker for Larnach and then starting Larnach in LF.

Nice job. Realistic. I love the idea on Graterol.

I’d do it! Upgrades and locks down 3b for 5 years instead of 2. We are not signing 2 $30MM free agent pitchers. But, maybe he can influence Strasburg to sign here? Can use Sano in a trade, perhaps for another starter, or move to 1b

I could see him being part of a larger package to bring in a top end starter with years of control left. Twins may be in a good position to be able to deal with more teams because they can offer up both young (but established) MLB players and top end prospects.

I think Royce can stick at SS because of the advances in defensive positioning, but do wonder if he would be better utilized in CF (not better than Buxton, but if we lose Buxton it may be best for the team to have Royce in CF). ...and Jeter is not really a good example to go by to give anyone hope Royce can turn out to be great defensively at SS. Probably the opposite of a good example.

Twins were already set up with a young core and several high end minor leaguers, and then Luis comes along and looks like he will be a key piece for several years to come. That’s a huge windfall. His power should only go up from here (though Altuve-like would be a reach) and hopefully he can make some improvements at second base to turn into an all-star. He will also allow the Twins to be patient with Royce and potentially move him to CF, depending on Buxton’s injury status and willingness to resign in a few years

Love that he is playing some CF. With analytics helping to better place infielders to where the ball is likely to go (the shift) it feels like CF may be over-taking SS as the most important defensive position. Plus with Buxton’s injury history and potential remaining bad blood due to service time manipulation he may not be long-term at CF for the Twins. From what I’ve seen written he has a chance to be an excellent CF.

Paying an extra 4-6MM while limiting it to a 1 year deal is a fair trade off if I'm the Twins. They have only one starter returning with decisions to make on the other 4. I foresee a trade for a top starter and then bringing back one or both of Pineda and Odoriizzi. Hell I may extend them each a QO and hope they both take it or bring back a draft pick.

I’m loving the young and talented MLB team with a very strong pipeline of prospects at virtually every position. We need a couple more guys to break out and become all stars, and several have that ability. I’m not against making a splash in free agency either given low ‘19 payroll and fact that minors will replenish the team with minimum salary guys over next few years.

I would go so far as to say it is very likely the offense is significantly better in the second half. Dozier, Kepler, Polanco, Morrison should all be much better, and a larger dose of playing time for Garver will also help. That’s 5 right there. And then hopefully Sano and Buxton (even if for defense only) could also really help. Then you trade Lynn and have Romero take that spot with Santana also coming back and contributing as a decent back end arm will upgrade the rotation. These things happening may not overtake the Indians unless they slump but it’s not crazy to think Twins can win 65% of games in second half.

I count at least 10 guys currently in the minors that they should be looking to get plenty of playing time in the second half in order to have a better sense of what they should be looking for going into 2019 (and for Santana perhaps to see if there is any trade value prior to July 31). Starters: Romero, Santana, May, Gonsalves Relievers: Moya, Busenitz, Curtiss Batters: Gordon, Buxton, Sano Hopefully they can trade multiple guys in a package to get a better quality prospect or two in return.

Really impressed with the farm system this year and continued development. Nice to see a few power guys (Kirilloff, Rooker) complimenting the middle infield hitting prospects. Seems to be a down year for the MLB club but future continues to be bright and now includes starting pitching help too.

Setting aside risk of injury for a moment the questions becomes one of effectiveness. I think you need to keep Romero’s innings low to make sure his arm is not fatigued come Sept/Oct. Really like the idea of piggybacking him with May initially, and then perhaps Santana does the same with Berrios for a while. After the all star break you can reassess and hopefully young and previously injured guys are ready for the stretch run. Interesting question whether that is a better strategy for keeping a guy fresh versus skipping a turn in the rotation now and then.

I think he’s getting in. The point made by DocBauer on how today’s voters will look at post-concussion performance is a good one and I think his numbers/comparisons plus that enlightenment is going to assure him a spot.

Blackmon turned in a great 2017 season at the right time it seems, and he was probably worth more to the Rockies than anyone else (shades of Joe Mauer 2009). Dozier is a great player but not of same value to the Twins given their middle infield depth and the young star power on the team. Nor is he likely to be of equal value to other teams given what we have seen in contracts for second baseman recently. I would love to sign him for 3 years at ~$60MM and trade a young middle infielder like Gordon for help at the deadline or in the offseason. That would have more immediate value to the team as well as future value as opposed to letting Dozier walk with just a qualifying offer. At 4 years I may do it but the AAV needs to come down.

Setting up the team for the next decade may also consist of trading one or more of these guys away to replenish the system.

Best part is none of the above is all that difficult to imagine! Buxton and Kepler almost have to get off to a better start and hit lefties better respectively. Rosario cutting down on swings outside the zone may be most unlikely but still I think there is a pretty good chance given the trajectory.

I feel really badly for him and thought he really had a chance to take offf and solidify his future as a major leaguer this year. Now that is on hold and will be tough to get his job back if the Twins are competitive given the fact he cannot play in the post season. Looking ahead to next season though there is a potential silver lining. If Adrianza proves valuable at SS and can hit to a league average OPS then it’s so much easier to move Polanco to 2B if Dozier isn’t resigned. Or gives the team another trade chip (either one of them) if Dozier is signed.

Good article and I’m also looking forward to seeing Polanco in ‘18 with a hopefully more consistent year at the plate (that is closer to his second half of ‘17 than the first). Regarding defense, I’m wondering if, with the new-found appreciation for launch angles and balls hit in the air, whether the value of defense at SS has declined somewhat. Not suggesting it is equivalent of first base in terms of value, but perhaps having an average or slightly below average defender is not quite the disadvantage that the common wisdom used to tell us. I’ve seen articles playing up the value of OF defense in this era and I’m thinking that must naturally come with a corresponding decrease in value of SS defense.

This is a strange situation. Based on recent free agent deals for second basemen it feels like he is not going to get what he rightfully thinks he’s worth ($15MM+/year over 4-5 years, and that is even low). I would bet he ends up getting what the Twins would be more than happy to pay but with other, younger and less proven, guys on the team set to cash in soon will his pride cause him to walk? I hope not. Would love to see him back on a 3 year deal and use some of the surplus middle infielders as trade chips at the right time.

A Drew Butera type is always available for almost nothing if needed. Good to see them with an actual strategy behind the plate at the MLB level (Garver on tough lefties) with potential to make the position a strength.

Good article. Agree feels like a good set up and with catcher wear and tear it’s nice to have a backup that can be used in a more strategic manner rather than simply “personal catcher” or when the starter needs a day off regardless of the match up.

To sum up, nobody thinks the Twins got fleeced; everybody would have made the same deal, but he may be more of a 4/5 than a 2/3. There are significant red flags that could indicate we will be disappointed when he is taking up innings that would otherwise be going to a promising youngster. But, we are also putting faith in the Twins new front office and pitching coach that they can tweak something and get him back to above league average. Looking back at comments and articles this offseason it’s clear many thought the Rays would get a much more highly touted return. There are suggestions Kepler would not be out of the question, and this tweet from Berardino, “#Rays remain open to dealing RHP Jake Odorizzi (among others) but have made it clear to potential trade partners they will have to "extend" to get their attention.” Great job Falvine!