richardkr34

Nah, that's not how it would work. Buxton would be replacing, let's say, Hicks' .192/.259/.338 line while playing comparable defense. Sano would be replacing Plouffe's .701 OPS (18th out of 21 among 3B). They don't need to "produce", they just need to not be awful. It has more to do with starting pitching more than anything.

Until the Twins have the next Clu Haywood in their system, I will not be satisfied.

Trout had 23 HRs in 1,117 AB during his minor league run. As far as scouting goes, from what I've heard is this: Buxton has more speed, a better glove, and a much better arm. Does he have the "feel" at the plate? That's what this year will answer.

The discussion of "inner-circle" HOF depends on how many players are in said circle. If we're talking Mays, Mantle, Musial, Hornsby, Wagner, Cobb, Schmidt, Brett, Ruth, W. Johnson, R. Johnson, Koufax, Aaron, T. Williams, then no, Jeter is not on that level.

3. This is a baseball-wide thing, but get rid of "God Bless America" in the stretch. Stupid song, stupid tradition. 2. The computer animated race stuff. Lose it. 1. Turn down the PA's mic. Can barely hear myself talking to the person next to me in between innings.

I like the one scout's comment that Buxton's floor is Torii Hunter. Think about how insane that is.

Definitely. I just want progress at this point. Things like Arcia hitting 20 bombs, Hicks with an OPS of .750, and Gibson with sub-4.00 ERA. That's the kind of things I'm looking for.

Success is - of course - subjective. You cannot expect to go into the post season with this group. Success, in this instance, is quality performances from Nolasco and Hughes, Mauer solidly transitioning to 1B, Meyer and Sano making debuts, Gibson, Arcia, Hicks, and Pinto developing, and Dozier taking another step forward. That's success for me. Oh, and Buxton finishing the last half of the year in AAA.

Stewart is in another galaxy than Kepler and Berrios.

Using the Steamer Projections at Fangraphs, the combo of Drew, Garza and Sano would accumulate 6.4 WAR in 2014; Hamels would garner 3.3. I'm okay with not having Hamels' contract around the team's neck while giving up Sano.

Next year is Jorge's age 20 season

I've only seen reports on the FB at 91-93 or 92-94, touching higher. Never saw a 98 thrown out there. That would be awesome.

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino3h Terry Ryan termed Byron Buxton's left shoulder strain "just a tweak." Said he's "fine now."

Three teams: D-Backs, A's, BoSox

Some interesting thoughts from Keith Law on Arizona's SS prospects: "With Paul Goldschmidt kind of OK over there at first, Trumbo will have to play left field, which will bring back memories of Ryan Klesko for those of you old enough to remember that adventure; I can picture the Diamondbacks' front office sitting there at Salt River Fields in late March and wondering what the heck they'd done. The minor leaguers coming to Arizona -- one from the Angels, reportedly fringy relief prospect AJ Schugel, and one from the White Sox -- don't matter enough to change the fact that this is a net loss of value for the Diamondbacks. There could be a ripple effect for Arizona, as now third baseman Matt Davidson becomes a surplus asset with Martin Prado likely moving from left field to third base. The Diamondbacks also have two comparable shortstops in Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings, only needing to keep one of them, and could try to use these two players to fill any remaining holes." I wonder what it would take to get Chris Owings...

This was in reference to someone asking how often Drew's WAR is 2.5-3.0.

Every time he plays over 100 games, actually.

After getting Gregerson I'm not sure how interested in bullpen help they'll be. Maybe something like Santana and Melotakis...

Here's Goldstein's write-up on Hendriks for the 2011 top 11 list: Year in Review: Nearly unknown entering the year, Hendriks was one of the best statistical performers in the minors, finishing the year with a 1.74 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly nine to one. The Good: Even in a system loaded with control specialists, none can match Hendriks, who treats walks as if they're a criminal offense. He sits at 88-90 mph with his fastball while touching 92, and can mix in a slider, curveball, and changeup, all of which rate as average offerings. All of his pitches play up due to his ability to place them exactly where he wants them, and he mixes his pitches for maximum effectiveness. The Bad: Hendriks will never light up a radar gun, and on a pure scouting level he lacks a single true plus offering. He can morph his two breaking balls into an ineffective slurve at times. He's unproven stamina-wise, as he threw just over 100 innings last year due to an appendectomy, while back and knee issues have plagued him in the past. Ephemera: Of the 227 right-handed batters Hendriks faced in 2010, he walked a grand total of one. Perfect World Projection: A dependable and consistent starter, but one for the back of the rotation. Fantasy Impact: Don't expect much in this department. Path to the Big Leagues: Hendriks will face a big test in 2011 concerning how well his stuff and style will play at Double-A. ETA: 2013 So, four average (or below, having seen him pitch) pitches and he's 25? And he's been knocked around in the bigs? Another blurb by Goldstein says that scouts felt that his extreme control/no stuff ways caught up to him in AAA. This is a pitcher I'm definitely OK with DFA'ing.

Ah, very well. Switch them out for Melontakis and Darnell or something. Or just go with a Gibson, Berrios, Rosario package. Seems fair.

Yeah, something like this. The Twins have prospects, but they're just PROSPECTIVE major leaguers right now, let alone 2/3 type starting pitchers like Samardzija, Kelly, or Lynn. Use the ammo ya got while ya got it.

If the Twins trade Berrios, May, Rosario for Saradzija, the starting rotation looks like this: Samardzija Nolasco Corriea Hughes Dedundo/Gibson/Diamond/Worley With Meyers on the way, and Stewart, Gonsalves, Thorpe, Jorge, Eades on the way from 2016-2018, the Twins are fine on the farm, too. Kind of a no-brainer, eh?

"We don't have the pitchers to trade them"? Are you serious? Go ahead and look at baseball prospectus's Twins Top Ten, Prospects on the Rise, and Factors on the Farm. Out of those pitchers, Berrios, Gonsalves, Eades, and May could be jettisoned; throw Gibson in there and to sweeten it, put Rosario in the mix. Make your own package from those players and tell me again how the Twins don't have the pitching prospects to get something done. Examples: Berrios, May, Rosario May, Gonsalves, Rosario Berrios, Eades, Rosario Gibson, May, Rosario

A pitcher no one mentions is Jeff Samardzija. The Twins have the prospects to get it done, and prospect attrition always happens. The Cubs are probably further off then the Twins are, with a (slightly) weaker farm system. I think it's a no-brainer.

Huhguy is really knocking it out of the ballpark with his comments later. First, Pelfrey is a top of the rotation starter and now? He's complaining about podcasts that no one is forcing him to listen to. Beautiful.