DaveTMpls

Standing pat, hmmm. The Twins still have some significant upside within the current roster, especially if you include guys that could be promoted. The measure of a RP trade: Would he be better than Tonkin? Sano and Rosario are just getting started. The real Danny Santana is somewhere between last year and this year, but if the errors keep coming, then Escobar is a replacement-level player. The Twins NEED another relief pitcher, but if that's all they get, they can probably hold off Toronto and Baltimore for the wild card. I think the Twins need to shift gears now, and start looking for blue chip players. There are prospects in the minors that are blocked by who is already up here (e.g. Polanco by Dozier). At some point, the Twins have to trade some can't-miss prospects for some blue chippers. Arcia and Milone for Cole Hamels? I don't know what the right trade is, but I know the Twins will have to make some, over the next year or two. P.S. I don't put Tulo in that category. Give me a shortstop with Santana's range and arm, only without the errors, and I think he only has to hit .250 to meet a blue-chip standard. From this perspective, the trading deadline is an opportunity. Teams with blue-chip players are willing to trade for prospects. Can the Twins thin out their collection of top-100 prospects without weakening their future? Where the heck is Kepler going to play, anyway?

I don't have a specific suggestion for improving the team, but I will tell you this: The Twins can beat anybody at home, and I do mean ANYBODY. Because of this, they could win a wild card spot with their current lineup. I agree it would be worth their while to make some improvements. It means making hard choices on-the-fly though. Does Danny Santana have a future with the Twins? How about Arcia? Polanco? Twins can't play everyone. Who are you going to keep? Trading for a good player means giving up a good player.

My only issue with the article is, the Twins did not pay Suzuki big bucks. Everyone knew Suzuki was not a .300 hitter, and the contract seems pretty reasonable. (Note: NBA Free Agency just started, and those contract offers are just CRAZY. DeAndre Jordan at $22 million/year?? It's hard to keep things in perspective). I think the Twins need to play Suzuki less. For whatever reason, he seems worn out to me. I really like bringing Fryer up as the backup catcher. He will not hit any better than Suzuki has this year, but he will be a much better catcher. Small improvements are still improvements.

I disagree with your assessment of Fryer. He's a better defensive catcher than Suzuki, and might be much better. Nothing special on offense, to be sure.

I'd have to say that Blaine Boyer has worked out pretty well for us. The Twins bullpen in May and June was one of the bright spots.

There are a lot of things about Ryan's work as GM that I like, but his track record at assessing/acquiring veteran pitchers is not one of them. Have the Twins acquired ANY veteran NL pitcher in the past decade that actually worked out?

I disagree. Catcher is primarily a defensive position. Fryer>>Suzuki behind the plate.

I sure hope you're right, Nick. Fryer is an excellent defensive catcher, and that's where he will make his contribution.

These guys are not baseball cards. If you trade starters mid-season, after they battled to get to a playoff spot, you lose some of what got you where you are. Team spirit, knowledge of how to work together in the infield, how to do the shifts, etc. I can see trades at the fringes (AAA/bench player for AAA/spare relief pitcher). No way the Twins are trading one of their core guys now.

Rosario is a much better defensive outfielder, and has hit well enough to stay up here. Sano has been excellent as a DH. I don't see Arcia being recalled unless one of those two guys stops hitting.

I assume AAA pitchers would offer more of a challenge.

No, he needs reps + instruction. That's what the minor leagues are for. He has already said that he had not seen curve balls like that at AA.

Nobody's panicking. Buxton's promotion has been good both for him and for the fans. Now that he knows how tough the pitchers are, he will be motivated to actually work on that part of his game. He also learned that there are catchers up here who can throw him out. More motivation. As for me, I love seeing him run. He is the best defensive CF the team has had in a long time, and I would be OK with letting him stay just because of that, if the Twins think he can make progress on his hitting up here.

Buxton needs time at AAA to learn how to hit breaking balls. He's an easy out right now.

Twins have to trade someone. Milone held St. Louis to 1 run tonight, and looked impressive doing it. This is a good problem for a GM to have. Too many starting pitchers, and they're all pitching pretty well except for Nolasco. Somebody must need a starter.