birddog

So happy the trade went through even with the alterations. Both sides are probably feeling like they gave up too much which means it's a fair trade. Twins starting pitching is still not at level of Yankees, Red Sox or Astros but we are closing the gap.

I like the trade a lot. Maeda is not an ace, but he can be very good and that is what we need right now and his contract is so very cheap for a pitcher of his talent. Graterol might be very good in the future but the future is now for the Twins. We gave up a good prospect to get a good starting pitcher, exactly what the front office needed to do. Many wanted Chris Archer, but Maeda has a higher K rate, wins more games and has a lower ERA (yes it is easier to win pitching for Dodgers than Pirates). Kudos to the front office.

I, too, think it's up to Cruz to tell the Twins how long he wants to play and we will get him signed. Hopefully we get Berrios signed to at least a four-year deal. I don't understand many readers' affection for Archer. He has not had a good year since 2015. Sure he gets K's but he doesn't get wins and his ERA and WHIP show why. If we make a trade--and I'm praying we do--it has to make us better. We need much better than Archer. Maybe by waiting until May we find out what teams know they are not going to win this year and are willing to trade.

Great article and fun reading. So we don't all agree with the order you proposed? Imagine how difficult it has to be to swing a trade with another team who may or may not agree on the value of your players or theirs. Needs tend to swing values in a big way. The good news is the present looks good for the Twins and the future appears to be highly rated as well. You can see why teams don't like to go to arbitration with players as they need to accentuate the negative for those players, just like most of us are doing with our top 20. With the good comes the bad. I pray Buxton is #1 next year on this list, for if he is I am looking forward to the healthy season he will have.

Can't miss prospects like Gordon who appear to have missed are part of the reason I want to see a major trade to get the impact SP we need. Our window for winning the division seems to close a bit with every move the White Sox make. I don't see them challenging us this year yet, but in 2021 they could be the team to beat especially, if they stay aggressive and we stand pat. Some of our young prospects may be able to step up--but maybe they won't. The asking price will be more than we want to pay, but get the impact starter(s) we need to complement the bomba squad and the now apparently strong relief corps. I am still fairly confident it will get done. Barring major injuries, it looks apparent we win the division again; however, barring major trade(s) for impact starting pitching it also looks apparent we are once again swept by the Yankees or Astros.

All Twins fans are frustrated that we haven't signed a new impact pitcher, but like every year patience is stressed. We got a taste of success and want to take the next step of advancing in the playoffs and Falvine said they would get us a difference maker and I think our only avenue is through a trade. I gotta believe they are doing their homework and will get it done. Just like the season is long, the off season is too. I like having Odorizzi and Pineda back and the talent of those contending for #4 and #5 is decent enough that I'm not panicking yet. But the clock is ticking. If free agents don't want to come to Minny, get 'em while they have no choice. Cleveland appears to be selling out, but the White Sox are making a move and their young pitching could make them dominant like the Indians were for a decade. We have the prospect assets to acquire that impact SP. Get it done.

Totally agree with the posts about Arraez including the possibility that he may hit 10+ HRs some day. We have a real gem on our hands here and let's not get caught up on what he isn't and just be thankful for what he is. He is young, works hard, and his teammates love him so he will work on the skills that the Twins ask him to, offensively and defensively. Anywhere in the lineup, I just love watching him hit.

I would like to hope that any true Twins fan would rather we keep Rosario while we get two top SPs. How can anyone be disappointed in his numbers? He is what he is, a free swinger. And sometimes that works, but seven times out of 10--as with every hitter--he will fail. We are a better team with him than without him, but without good starting pitching good hitting alone will not bring us the trophy we are seeking. We have no idea if Kiriloff or Lewis will become the stars we hope, just as we are still not sure if we had been better off trading Buxton and Sano for good established pitchers years ago. I would prefer we trade prospects for pitching, but we have to get pitching.

Great article, Nick. I love the concept here. It could make the Twins competitive in signing high end free agents. At the trade deadline I would have loved Bumgarner, but now in the off season my sights are set higher for top-of-the-line pitching. I love every move the front office has made so far and hope they continue the aggressive approach.

I definitely see Carew, Wade Boggs, and Gwynn in Arraez. I expect him to get better every year until he becomes a perrenial league batting title contender. I don't see competition from Gordon any longer and expect him to be traded. I hope he develops more power as he may be our best option at 3B, though I like him anywhere. Nice to see how a prospect who was not a top ten has become a major contributor

Love these articles of our top prospects for the future. Even more fun to read about the future with the present looking good for the Twins--other than all the injuries and starting pitching conundrum. It's a little tough to see that two of our top minor league hitters have been traded until you see the results we got from the two relievers we received in exchange. I know we had 40-man issues with Davis and Diaz and this makes it easier to protect the guys we need to, but more importantly we found that using our prospects to improve the MLB team is a great way to go.

We definitely needed Berrios' last outing in which he finally showed ace stuff and velocity that had been missing for too long. Hard to believe with his workout regime that he could wear out in the season, but that is what has happened. Is it mental or physical? Pretty tough to see us matching up well against the Astros with Verlander and Cole, but we have to remember how bad we were a year ago and how much better we are now. I do think we have a shot against the Yankees this year though. Kudos to the front office for the changes they made to create one of the most memorable seasons ever. Really wish they had made a major move to upgrade our starting pitching at the deadline, but hopefully that is done in the off-season. Let's get healthy for the playoffs when anything can happen in a short series.

Rosario is a proven commodity. I would still prefer sending prospects for pitching, even if it includes Lewis and one of our top young pitchers. Yes, we desperately need pitching and we have to pray that Graterol, Balazovich, Romero, etc. will live up to expectations, but we don't have much track record on our pitching prospects doing that. Way too many "can't miss" prospects that missed. Not holding my breath any more on Gonsalves, Romero, etc. We need pitching for this year and next and can't afford to think our hitting will be this good by the time these prospects are ready. With Berrios' fastball down to the low 90's, even he has become very hittable. We have to ask the question, "Are we just trying to make the playoffs, or win the playoffs?" If we are trying to win, we have to be able to match up against Verlander, Cole, Kershaw, not to mention the great arms Cleveland throws at us. If it takes sending Rosario to get great pitching, so be it; however, no prospect should be untradeable to get the starting pitching we need.

Baseball is such a long season and other than the Verlanders and Scherzers, it is normally a roller coaster of ups and downs. It has already been that way for Odorizzi and Perez. I was skeptical but hopeful when they dominated, but in baseball stats tend to revert to career averages and that is what is happening with these two "serviceable but mostly mediocre" pitchers. Their ERA's are approaching their career averages--3.88 for Odorizzi and 4.58 for Perez--and likely will end the season around those figures. Kyle Gibson has not been hot and cold like those two but is in the same boat with a career ERA of 4.44. Pineda gets a longer look before passing judgment as to what we have with his TJ surgery, but let's face it we have Berrios and then no clue as to what to expect with our other starters. With the success of the Twins this year I don't follow the daily minor league box scores as I did in past years, but I don't see any starters there to step up with eye popping stats or stuff so I am hoping for a trade from our surplus of young talent to land a #2 or #3 starter. I have total confidence in our front office that they will make smart moves to improve the team for today without mortgaging our future. I'm afraid Cleveland is pushing them to make those moves sooner than they would like to.

Great research on this article. No way Miggy should be hitting at the Mendoza line, but his uppercut is an all or nothing swing and when he tries to hit every ball 600 feet it is usually nothing. I was really expecting a phenomenal season from him as he was no longer expected to carry the team--just one of nine power hitters on the lineup card. He is still trying to do too much and not going with that outside pitch, especially with RISP. Nine HR's with only 15 RBI's is not the production we need. In past years we had no better alternative so he had to play. Lately the other 12 bats is a better option, but Rocco knows much better than I what to do. We all would love to see him reach his tremendous potential. Can we afford to wait much longer in the midst of a pennant race?