laloesch

I agree 110% Ryan is WAY WAY too conservative of a GM.

I think the front office is going to be subtracting starters at the deadline. Hopefully Pelfrey and or Nolasco. They need to clear the way for Berrios and May. Meyer is less than 50/50 if he continues on the trajectory he is on now, so I'm not factoring him in.

My thoughts are that you focus on a quality reliever and possibly a catcher if available at a reasonable price. That said, if the proposals are outrageous Terry Ryan should stand fast. I don't think it's worth the premium talent (Sano, Buxton, Berrios, May, Polanco, Rosario, Gonsalves), etc at this stage of the game. If the Twins do manage to sneak into the playoffs as the wild card they will almost assuredly lose to the other wild card or get swept in that first series. I think the time to start shuffling talent for missing pieces will be next summer when some of these guys have a chance to play a bit more and establish value. However, if the right deal does come along NOW I'd be willing to move Meyer, Stewart, Duffey, Rogers, Pinto, Arcia, Santana, Hicks, etc. And of course Pelfrey and Nolasco are pretty much free if anyone even asks. The problem I see is that the Twins just haven't properly evaluated some of these prospects yet to make an educated decision. An example would be the slew of flame throwing relievers on the way up. Most if not all of them are struggling mightly right now unfortunately. But that could change dramatically in a few months once these guys start pitching consistently. I'm also not convinced that Pinto is as bad of a catcher as everyone makes him sound. Give the kid a shot later this season if you don't bring anyone else in. Suzuki is just not that good.

I agree. Giving up Gibson and Sano for Tulo would have been a high price to pay in my opinion.

I'd do that deal in a heartbeat. Anyone know what Nolasco's timetable of return is?

I agree. The Twins haven't even given Duffey, Achter, Rodgers, etc. a look yet and we have senior posters on here pronouncing these guys as substandard, AAAA's etc. It's like, what the hell are you talking about? They haven't even been given a chance yet and your already writing them off?

I think it makes a ton of sense to call up Duffey and or Achter. Duffey looks to have a future as a starter which potentially makes Milone expendable, but because he has significant bullpen experience makes him an attractive BP option now. On the other hand letting May rot in the bullpen is a complete total waste of resources. My persistent thinking is that the Twins are trying to move Pelfrey. And the key word is trying. Big whiner / Mike is falling back to earth and it looks more and more like the Twins might be stuck with him the rest of the season. If he continues to slump you have to bench him in favor or May.

I see your point. My own opinion is that Sano, Buxton and Berrios are currently the crown jewels of the Twins farm system. Berrios would level the field a bit. Remember too that other than Gomez and Guerra the rest of the stuff the Mets threw our way for Santana were NEVER highly touted prospects. And as history has shown Only Gomez has had a meaningful positive impact of all four guys traded to Minnesota for Santana. Guerra has toiled away in the minors for YEARS (10 years and he's now 26), likely nothing more than a late innings reliever. Remember he was a key cog of that deal and was touted as the next Santana with his monster change. Humber fizzled out of the Twins organization before making a brief splash with the White Sox. He's still trying to make a go of it with the Astros this season and it's been disastrous to say the least. He was pitched as a mid rotation guy. Mulvey has been done with baseball since 2010. So really this was a horrible horrible trade for the Twins on all fronts. Sure Gomez has blossomed with the Brewers but he was RAW during his time here and Gardy couldn't handle that.

The Span trade is starting to look more and more like a bad deal. Interesting how the Nats have managed to burn the Twins twice now. Think they knew something our front office didn't about Alex Meyer, specifically related to self confidence & control issues.

Please elaborate.

Alex Meyer is a BUST. Book it. There's a reason the Nats were willing to give him up for Span. Kid has ZERO control and confidence issues. Nats 2 - Twins 0 Time to move on.

Beginning of the end and the dive to the bottom of the division.

Trade him. Mike's a good guy but he not part of the long term plans and he's likely having a career year. Move him now for a prospect. While your at it trade Nolasco as well. Offer to pay half his salary and call it a day.

Gibson AND Sano! LOL the Rockies truly are shooting for the moon. There is no way in a million years I'd give up Gibson AND Sano for Tulowitzki, no way. In fact I'm hesitant to even give up Gibson because he's just now entering his prime and we'd be selling low. Maybe Gibson + 1 other starter (take your pick from Nolasco, Milone, Santana, Pelfrey(not sure why they would want him), & any of the AAA's w/ the exception of Berrios & May. If they really want Meyer than be willing to pay a SUBSTANTIAL part of Tulowitzki's salary.

Plus Duffey is a southpaw and has decent stuff for a lefty. Low to mid 90's. The next two years will be very interesting to watch. Lot of good arms at AAA waiting to a chance and a rotation clogged with overpriced, overhyped veterans (Nolasco, Santana & Pelfrey).

This team will fall flat on its face in the second half and wont make the playoffs.

Come of it, he's not going to be ruined by being promoted to AAA Rochester after the tear he has been on the last two seasons. That's just absurd. He's made 26 starts at the AA level and been absolutely awesome. I don't think there is any danger of destroying his confidence or risking catastrophic injury. He has a solid well documented work out regimen and the work ethic and positive attitude to back it up. The results in New Britain / Chattanooga have backed up this assertion. Relax he is ready.

Well Milone has handled the demotion pretty well this time around. He raised a pretty big stink while in Oakland when he was last demoted, but so far he hasn't said anything as far as i'm aware. Kinda surprising. My gut feeling is that Milone OR Pelfrey are traded at the deadline and someone gets demoted when Santana returns. If the Twins are still in the hunt for a playoff spot come July early August that will complicate things further as Santana is banned from the playoffs (total BS if you ask me). Playoff rotation would be Hughes, Gibson, Nolasco, Pelfrey and Milone / May? That said I think folks need to temper their expectations a bit on Milone. 0.28 era through 30 innings and 4 starts is awesome no doubt! But remember it's AAA.

I don't see how you don't listen to offers. Pelfrey is gone at seasons end unless Ryan signs him to another extension, which in that case they might as well trade Alex Meyer and Trevor May with Ervin Santana coming back. One thing is for certain if Pelfrey's run continues into July he will be the most valuable he's ever been as a Twin. The same goes for Nolasco who has strung together several good starts now. If I was the Twins GM i'd be looking to deal both these starters and open up rotation spots for Santana and one other starter (Meyer, Berrios or Rogers).

"Tell your fellow GM's you have an over-supply of pitching and need to cull the herd." Haha. That's about right and it's about to get a whole lot more crowded when Santana returns. If the Twins sit on their hands and do nothing SOMEONE has to go to the pen or AAA in addition to Milone in order to make room for Ervin. At this point it's a wild guess but my vote is Pelfrey. The guy is downright wild at times, but has been decent this year. Time to sell and RUN! We won't get this opportunity again, sell while you still have a chance at getting something for him. Hang onto Milone as insurance in case one of the before mentioned guys falters or Santana needs extended spring training time to shake off the rust. Then the Twins can decide what to do with him at that point as well.

It would be an immense waste of talent. But you gotta remember that he's already 25. If he doesn't make the club in the next year or two he's toast.

Promote Buxton to AAA, cut Schaefer, keep Rosario in the bigs.

All of the sudden it seems like the prospects are pushing upwards. Decision time for the Twins front office.

Patience little grasshopper. All in due time. There is no reason to rush Hicks. Let's see how he does through the month of May. If he's still hitting well towards the end of the month then it's time. Not before though. We've seen this from Aaron before.

I have to admit that after the 1-6 start i was flipping the panic switch. That said, these last two weeks and the Twins return to relevance has been a breath of fresh air. I hope it continues. I like that the front office has called up Rosario and is watching Buxton closely in Chattanooga. That would seem to indicate that changes are likely coming in the outfield soon. Obviously the platoon in CF is not ideal but it hasn't been so terrible (lately) that it has cost us games. Arcia too hasn't exactly been outstanding in LF either. I bet that Ryan is watching Buxton closely and we could see a callup to Rochester in a few weeks. The point is though that help is on the way for the outfield. The next key item is the starting rotation. If these guys can keep these games under control and respectable for the most part this team will win games, there's no doubt in my mind. The offense is good enough to compensate. What has impressed me the most is the FO commitment to May after Nolasco went down with the injury. Maybe it was by chance, but they stuck with him and Trevor has stepped up pretty well. I expect him to gain more steam as the season progresses. Pelfrey....Mike has been a big surprise so far. I think a lot of us had pretty much given up on him, but now he appears to be back on track AND he's added a split finger pitch to his repertoire. My honest opinion.....SELL, put that for sale sign out at the curb RIGHT NOW. Now is our chance to recoup some of the lost investment in him. Especially true given we have Milone, Rogers and Berrios ready to go in AAA. Nolasco. Boy I don't know about this guy. What do you do with him? If he continues to pitch like this i don't see how you keep him in the rotation. He just stinks. Too bad he's signed for two more years. Yuck!