Ted Schwerzler

Good catch, fixed

Schoop has played 17 MLB games at 3B, and not since 2014. That isn't a fit for a marginal offensive player on a team with serious Postseason aspirations.

The 2019 Major League Baseball season officially comes to an end tonight as the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros wrap up game seven of the World Series. As the league calendar switches over to 2020 there will be significant roster shuffling. For the Minnesota Twins that already began yesterday, but the front office isn’t close to done when it comes to a 40-man overhaul. After getting run with the big-league club in September the Twins outrighted a trio of talent off the 40 man yesterday. Outfielders Ian Miller and Ryan LaMarre were jettisoned, and they were joined by utility infielder Ronald Torreyes. With both Byron Buxton and Sean Poppen still on the 60-day IL and needing cleared spots, the Twins effectively have 39 of 40 holes filled. Add in the claiming of Matt Wisler and you’ve got a full boat. There’s a crop of free agents that will be moving on from Minnesota, and then there’s a handful of arbitration and pre-arbitration guys that decisions will need to be made on. Here’s how they could all turn out: Free Agents: Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Sergio Romo, Jason Castro, Jonathan Schoop The only name missing from this group is Michael Pineda, who is also set to become a free agent. With his suspension however, he was immediately removed from the 40 man, and would not count against it for any acquiring team until he is reinstated. Gibson is obviously the longest tenured of this group, and it’ll be weird for both the organization and the player to part after a decade together. Despite how it ended, there were some significant high points, and no one could have represented Twins Territory better. Castro split time with Mitch Garver under Rocco Baldelli this season, and if his body will hold up, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be looking for a starting gig somewhere. Both Schoop and Romo made quick cameos for the Twins. The former was acquired at the trade deadline while the latter was had on a one-year deal. Romo has certain appeal to return as both a good pitcher and strong clubhouse presence, while Schoop would seem to be redundant after the emergence of Luis Arraez. I'd certainly like to see Minnesota hand Odorizzi a qualifying offer and look to work out a two-year deal. If he's the second or third starting rotation piece they add this offseason, then you'd have to feel pretty good about the group as a whole. Non-Tender: Sam Dyson, C.J. Cron Of these two one is a guarantee while the other is far from it. Minnesota dealt for the best reliever at the deadline in Dyson, and instead of a shutdown arm, they got a guy who hid injury (or his former team did) and sapped an asset for nothing. Dyson has one more year of arbitration, and while it would have been great to feel his impact, the only thing Minnesota felt is the bomb he dropped on them after coming here. What happens to C.J. Cron is largely dependent on how the Twins view Miguel Sano. The former Rays and Angels first basemen had a fine year, and especially so considering the sapped power from his thumb injury. If Sano is moving across the diamond or a better third basemen is a target, then there’s no need to tender Cron at something near $8 million. If he comes back, there’s also nothing wrong with going that route, and assuming the thumb is back to 100%, he’s a good bet to put up even better numbers in 2020. Decline Option: Martin Perez There was a time in 2019 when Perez’s option for 2020 looked certain to be picked up, then May 30th happened. Going into that start against the Rays Perez owned a 2.95 ERA and appeared to be the poster child for a Twins influenced fix. He was shelled for six runs in 2.2 IP and owned a 6.29 ERA over his final 21 starts. Left off the Postseason roster the Twins will almost certainly pay the $500k buyout as opposed to the $7.5 million salary next season. Outright: Trevor Hildenberger, Kohl Stewart When outrighting a player off the 40-man you’re considering a certain level of opportunity cost. Neither Hildenberger nor Stewart need to go anywhere, but there’s a pretty compelling argument that they both should. Once a pen stalwart for Paul Molitor, Hildy seemed to be ridden into the ground and then left for dead. He came back from Triple-A last year but was every bit as ineffective and has now posted a 6.35 ERA in his last 89.1 major league innings. For a sidearmer that isn’t fooling anyone, it’s simply not going to cut it. Last season the Twins parted ways with former first round pick Tyler Jay. He never made it to the big leagues, and while Stewart has, this appears to be his time. There’s plenty of better internal options, and Minnesota’s focus this offseason is going to be on pitching. Stewart continued down a path his minor league numbers suggested in that he simply can’t strike anyone out, and the stuff wasn’t good enough to play at the highest level. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

The Minnesota Twins top prospect Royce Lewis split his 2019 season between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola. After a 2018 that saw him put up impressive numbers across the board, 2019 represented the 20-year-old’s first struggles in professional baseball. With his season extended an additional 22 games, Lewis got in 149 contests, or essentially a full major league slate. The competition is fierce in the Arizona Fall League, but the California native held his own en route to a league MVP.As has been customary on teams Lewis plays on, a championship was the culmination of all the hard work for the Salt River squad. Contributing two hits in the trophy clinching victory, Lewis ended on the same high note he’d played at throughout the fall slate. Still fresh with emotion and reflection following the action, I caught up with the 2017 draft pick to check in. Twins Daily: After dealing with somewhat of a frustrating season, how excited were you to get a reset in Arizona and have a chance to showcase your ability against some of the best prospects in baseball? Royce Lewis: I was more excited for the multitude of reps I would be getting against some of the most dominant pitchers. TD: With the Fall League being composed of talent from multiple levels, how did you feel it stacked up against what you saw at Pensacola this year? Was it a step up or did it feel somewhat like an All-Star team collection of talent? RL: It felt like I was playing in a Futures Stars game each and every day! TD: What do you feel like you can attribute the level of success you saw in the Fall League to? An MVP is incredibly impressive. How were you able to continue a high level of production against that level of talent, through the entire schedule. RL: I was able to be more consistent and get hits with runners in scoring position. I consistently put myself in the right situations, in the right counts, and at the right times. TD: A few different outlets have touched on your swing. It’s one of the smoothest to the ball, but the main talking point is your leg kick. Have the Twins tweaked it at all, or do you feel like it will need to evolve as you continue towards the majors? RL: They (the Twins) started to begin to making adjustments in the beginning of the season and in the second half let me go back to being more like myself. You can always evolve, no matter how good you are, in every attribute in every skill of the game so I think everyone is always making adjustments and minor tweaks! TD: Now with something like 9 months of baseball behind you in 2019, how would you define and categorize your season? What were you proud of and where do you want to work on adjusting for 2020? RL: It was a great season of ascension and growth. I was proud of my ability to stay healthy and in shape. As usual continue working on all parts of my game to be better each and every day. TD: Looking at just your experience in Arizona, what’s something you feel like you can take away and utilize specifically to help your game reach the next level? RL: I enjoyed showcasing my ability to play multiple positions on the field, like fellow teammate Luis Arraez. TD: With Spring Training 2020 a few months out, what are you looking forward to providing some relaxation this offseason? Obviously, you’ll have plenty of baseball activities to get you ready for the year ahead, but what is 20-year-old Royce looking forward to off the field? RL: Fantasy football, sleeping in without an alarm, and eating the house down!!! Lewis will almost assuredly begin 2020 at Double-A Pensacola, but as with any elite prospect, the stop in Triple-A could be an abbreviated one. The Twins should be the favorites to repeat in the AL Central Division, and adding a talent like Lewis down the stretch may provide quite the boost to a team already poised to be very good. Click here to view the article

Over the offseason every team in baseball is going to have some sort of opportunity to sign one of the best pitchers in baseball. Gerrit Cole is going to hit the open market, and he’ll likely be joined by Washington Nationals hurler Stephen Strasburg. Those are two arms that represent top-10 talents across the entire sport. Not every team has an ace-caliber pitcher, and rarely do we see two hit the same free agent cycle. We do know that buying pitching is both expensive and cautionary, and for the Twins the easiest plan remains unlocking their own elite arm in Jose Berrios.There should be no expense spared by the Minnesota front office this winter. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have suggested they’ll target impact pitching. Both Cole and Strasburg could be handed blank checks, and the end result may still be in them thumbing their nose at the prospect of playing in the Midwest. I’m very much a fan of what Zack Wheeler could be under the tutelage of Wes Johnson, but it’s the staff ace role that presents the most intrigue. Jose Berrios’ offseason workouts have become the thing of legend. From pulling trucks to flipping tires and doing rigorous beach circuits, there’s nothing that the Puerto Rican native won’t turn into an opportunity to break a sweat. This offseason though, the Twins have presented a new directive. As he left Twins Territory and headed home the plan was for a new training regimen to be instituted. While I have no idea what the specifics of that are, my guess would be that the intensity is likely decreased just a little bit. With the Twins pointed towards a division title as the 2019 season came to an end, Berrios went into August with a 2.80 ERA and capped off the year with a 3.68 mark. The final 10 starts included a 5.83 ERA and .835 OPS against. He surrendered 10 of his 26 homers and gave up an underwhelming 68 hits in 58.2 innings. Certainly, an ugly set of statistics, but it’s become relatively par for the (August) course for the 25-year-old. Now four years into his major league career Berrios owns a 5.96 August ERA and a 4.64 mark in September. Those months also include opposing slugging percentages of .811 and .741 respectively. Despite being from a much warmer climate, his career 3.69 ERA and .627 OPS against before May is light years more impressive. It doesn’t take much analysis to understand that the end of the season is when Berrios is at his absolute worst. From a conceptual standpoint I’d imagine that Minnesota’s plan for Jose this offseason is to find a routine that breeds sustainability. Rocco Baldelli doesn’t want to see his staff ace coming out of the gates flat, but he also needs to know that he’ll take the ball and be just as dominant down the stretch. Working on a routine that allows for endurance and an ability to avoid a breakdown will give pitching coach Wes Johnson a pitcher much more able to pave the way for the starting rotation. Avoiding velocity dips and ineffectiveness for significant periods, the pitcher Berrios was through July represented a talent worthy of Cy Young consideration. I don’t believe we’ve seen the best of Berrios yet, and that shouldn’t be groundbreaking given his youth. It’s on Minnesota to develop him toward taking the next step, and with Falvey’s track record in Cleveland, there should be belief they have the right man for the job. The Twins need to spend and acquire pitching this winter, but the sooner they can unlock their own ace, the better. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY The 2020 Offseason Handbook Is Now Available for Preorder!Dealing with Wheeler Gets Minnesota an AceTwins Trade Targets: 4 Potential Starting Pitching Upgrades Click here to view the article

If the Minnesota Twins are going to put a focus on adding impact pitching this offseason, the reality is they’ll need to venture outside of free agency to accomplish their goals. Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg represent commodities rarely seen on the open market, and they both could be called home to California. I definitely am in on making Zack Wheeler an offer he can’t turn down, but things get messy from there. With prospect capital and some expendable big leaguers, the time to swing a deal appears ideal as well. There’s little reason for any team to part with their best pitcher regardless of current situation. Luis Castillo is an absolute stud in Cincinnati, but the Reds just made a move to get Trevor Bauer last season. Instead of targeting the slam dunk, Minnesota needs to go and find their version of Cole or Justin Verlander or follow the White Sox footsteps in acquiring a guy like Lucas Giolito. All those arms are among the best in the game, but that same definition couldn’t be applied when they switched teams. So, where do the Twins turn their focus? Colorado Rockies- Jon Gray or German Marquez Under team control for two more seasons, Gray was the third overall pick in the 2013 draft. He has sandwiched two strong seasons around a clunker over the course of the last three. The strikeouts are there, and so too is the velocity. Walks are a bit problematic, and the longball has hurt him while playing at Coors Field. Get him to Target Field and let Wes Johnson work some magic. A teammate of Gray, German Marquez is also very intriguing. He’s younger, under team control for a year longer, and arguably has the better profile. Another strikeout arm, who possesses strong command, has been bit heavily by the longball in Colorado. Despite the 4.76 ERA in 2019, Marquez owned a 3.54 xFIP which followed up a 3.10 mark the year prior. He was my dark horse Cy Young pick this season, and he absolutely looked the part for stretches. Pittsburgh Pirates- Joe Musgrove Another former first round pick, Musgrove would be on his third team if dealt, but he too is not a free agent until 2023. He’s never posted a sub 4.00 ERA and the K/9 has never entered 9.0 territory. He doesn’t issue many walks, is moderate with the home run, and could be just a few tweaks from the next step. His hard-hit rate spiked to a career worst 37% this season, but he’s never generated more whiffs. If the Twins believe in their pitching infrastructure, here’s another arm they could salivate about working with. Detroit Tigers- Matthew Boyd The end result couldn’t be further from where he was at the midway point, but Boyd’s final 11.6 K/9 is nasty. He has yet to put it together over the course of a full season, but 2019 was definitely the closest he’s been, and the 3.88 xFIP tells a fairer story. You may pay a premium dealing within the division, but Detroit isn’t going to be good before Boyd hits free agency in 2023. He was dangled at the deadline, and the winter may provide more opportunity. Atlanta Braves- Max Fried or Mike Foltynewicz Brian Snitker has his ace in the form of Mike Soroka. This team is going to be good for a while, but they also have some very real holes to fill. Fried would have a massive price tag being under team control through 2024, but his first full season as a starter went well. The 4.02 ERA was backed by a 3.72 FIP and 3.32 xFIP. He has strikeout stuff and was able to take a big step forward in the command department. Having been demoted to Triple-A, and roughed up in his final Postseason appearance, Mike Foltynewicz may benefit from a change of scenery. After generating Cy Young votes a season ago, he put up a 4.54 ERA in 2019. After heading to the farm with a 6.37 mark through June, Folty returned to the tune of a 2.65 ERA across his final 10 starts. If there’s an opportunity to take advantage here, Minnesota would be wise to do so. Arizona Diamondbacks- Robbie Ray Another guy that was talked about heavily during the deadline, Ray is entering the final year of arbitration eligibility. He’s posted a 12.0 K/9 or better for the past three seasons, and while durability concerns persist, he’s electric while on the bump. The walk and home run rates aren’t pretty, but given the length of his contract, he could also have one of the lower acquisition costs across moveable assets. This Twins front office is also familiar with Arizona having swung the Eduardo Escobar deal a couple of seasons ago. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

There’s some divide when it comes to the understanding of prospect value. In a traditional sense, many believe that a strong farm system or a belief in prospects is representative of a preference to minimize major league spending. The common refrain is that prospects don’t all pan out, and a heavy reliance on them leaves much to be desired on the major league roster. In a certain sense those sentiments hold weight, but the reality is that the best organizations use player development harmoniously with major league growth, and Minnesota has entered the era in which they can begin to cash in.When looking at the World Series participants you’ll quickly be told how the Houston Astros went out and got Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. Max Scherzer was bought by the Washington Nationals, as was Patrick Corbin. These are realities, and they were made possible because of prospect development and timely execution. Houston parted with stellar talent for Verlander and Greinke, while Washington spent because of graduated excellence currently at the highest level. In summary, both these organizations are playing in the ultimate games during October because of how they developed and handled prospects. For the Minnesota Twins coming off a 101-win season, it will be how they handle prospects that allow the next step to be taken. It’s a tough ask for Rocco Baldelli to start multiple rookies out of the gate but utilizing expendable assets to raise the overall talent pool while sprinkling in proven performers is a blueprint that Derek Falvey needs to get right. Recently I opined that Eddie Rosario may be the Twins greatest expendable big-league asset. In that scenario the front office will need to decide if someone like Trevor Larnach or Alex Kirilloff is immediately ready to step in to a major league starting lineup. Because of the ceilings those two possess, how are players like Brent Rooker, Zander Wiel, and Luke Raley handled? Up the middle Royce Lewis is really the only untouchable talent that the Twins have. Does Nick Gordon appeal to the organization as the next mid-season call-up or is he a nice bit of trade fodder after a strong second season at the Triple-A level? It appears that Minnesota has all but one or two positions etched in stone for the foreseeable future so turning some of the strengths on the farm into immediate opportunity is a worthy plan of action. Over the winter Falvey and Thad Levine are going to be focused on pitching acquisitions. If they can parlay both dollars and talent into an arm or two, there’s a good chance the opportunity will again present itself at the deadline. Moving someone like Wander Javier or Jhoan Duran isn’t the most exciting development when looking into the future, but we’ve entered a period where the Twins window is in the here and now. With baseball being a long-play sport in terms of development it’s not fair to view prospects as single-track assets. Developing a strong farm system is not just about graduating talent to the big-league club. Churning out future assets can be viewed as churning out trade capital as well, and that’s where Minnesota currently finds themselves striking it rich. We don’t yet know who is on the move, who will be the next rookie to make an impact, or what it costs to generate the next ace. All those things are on the front office to figure out though, and they are more equipped to do so than ever before. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY Handbook Preview: Welcome to the OffseasonDealing with Wheeler Gets Minnesota an AceTwins Trade Targets: 4 Potential Starting Pitching Upgrades Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins are going to have significant moves to make this offseason. Rather than being measured by the number of acquisitions, it is going to be the impact that each players makes to tell the story. The front office has already suggested that impact pitching is going to be the focus, but what about making sure all the grass is covered in the outfield? Byron Buxton was hurt again, and Eddie Rosario may be on the move. Where does that leave Rocco Baldelli? In 2019 the Twins were very deep in the outfield, until they weren’t. With Rosario, Buxton, and Max Kepler all healthy the outfield was among the best in baseball. Unfortunately, that trio was separated a significant amount of time this last season, and when Buxton was shelved, the strain was felt by the German and eventually led to injury. So rather then signing a good amount of veteran depth to fill out the Triple-A roster in case of emergency, having more than just Jake Cave to turn to could be a logical decision. Should the Twins move on from a starter, Rosario in this case, signing a free agent to a one-year deal that allows flexibility for a prospect like Trevor Larnach or Alex Kirilloff to take over makes sense. Fortunately, there’s a few options I like: Corey Dickerson The former Tampa Bay Rays Gold Glover was DFA’d following an All-Star season in 2017. He then won a Gold Glove in 2019 and was dealt from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia last season. He’s only an option on the corners, but his career .823 OPS will play in any big-league lineup. Dealing with injury for much of the season, Dickerson played just 78 games. He made $8.5 million in 2019 and could be looking for an opportunity to establish health and generate one more payday. He’ll be 31 next year. Matt Joyce I’m not in love with this option, but Joyce is a corner outfielders that gets on base at a ridiculous clip. He played in 129 games for the Braves this season and posted a .408 OBP. Power isn’t really part of his game anymore, and he’s going to be 35 years old. He made just $1.25 million in 2019 though and would represent a very replaceable veteran commodity should Larnach or Kirilloff force Minnesota’s hand early. Cameron Maybin Of the veteran types, this is probably my favorite option. Although Maybin will be 33 and isn’t the same speedster he once was, he can play all three outfield spots and that takes a significant load off the manager’s shoulders. He had to wait for an opportunity but got 82 games in with the Yankees and posted a career best .858 OPS (and 11 HRs). That could come down due to the expected ball changes, but he’s a defensive commodity you can rely on. Avisail Garcia Of the names on the list, Garcia is the only one certain to be seeking a long-term deal. The days of Mini Miggy are long gone, but with a .796 OPS at 28-years-old he should be seeking a consistent home. Garcia was an All Star two years ago with the White Sox, but his .885 OPS hasn’t been replicated either of the past two years. He’d be a fine replacement on the corners for the Twins and is arguably a depth upgrade as well. Even on a multi-year deal the bank isn’t getting broken here. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

$9MM a year is quite a bit for a guy that's barely cracking an .800 OPS

This offseason the Minnesota Twins chief focus is going to be on acquiring impact pitching. The front office has suggested as much, and with most of the lineup positions spoken for, it’s where spending money makes sense. Jose Berrios is the only returning arm at this point, and despite getting substantial levels of consistency from the group last year, Rocco Baldelli is going to need a unit that can raise the bar.Everyone knows what the top of the market will look like. Gerrit Cole is going to command a return that could make even Mike Trout and Bryce Harper blush. He’s been nothing short of exceptional, just turned 29-years-old, and may still have another gear to reach. There’s no guarantee that Stephen Strasburg becomes the second premiere arm, but logic suggests he’ll opt out of the final four years and $100 million of his current deal. Every team in baseball should be tripping over themselves to offer these guys a payday. If the Twins aren’t in on them it’s a problem, but if they get turned down anyway, they’ll need to pivot. For the sake of this argument let’s assume that Derek Falvey offers either of those pitchers a blank check and neither takes the bait. All is not lost with Zack Wheeler still being in the picture. He’s not the arm either of those pitches is, and he is older than Cole, but the former Mets hurler may be the most underappreciated talent looking for a new home. A former first-round pick, Wheeler has been a model of consistency when healthy. In his three full seasons he’s pitched at least 180 innings with strong strikeout numbers and an ERA firmly in the mid-3’s. For New York in 2019 his ERA crept up to a 3.96 mark, but the 3.48 FIP suggests he was likely victimized by one of the worst defensive teams in baseball. Over the course of his career Wheeler has avoided the long ball and kept baserunners to a minimum. He’s not going to challenge for the league lead in strikeouts but the 195 in 2019 was a new career high. With the Mets he was consistently a 10% whiff rate thrower, and he’s expanded his chase rates each of the past two seasons. With an average fastball of 97.1 mph this past season, Wes Johnson should be salivating at the opportunity to take him to the next level. You can bet that the Twins have done a decent amount of background work on Wheeler already. They were in talks with Brodie Van Wagenen regarding Noah Syndergaard, and there’s no doubt that Zack’s name likely was added into the mix. Now costing only dollars, he doesn’t come with the price tag of coveted pieces from within the system. The ability to add a starter with his repertoire and upward projectability is a rare scenario, and one that Minnesota can’t miss on. Paying for pitching on the open market is largely a landmine of failed opportunity. Teams either find themselves looking to overextend for the best option or having to settle for a patchwork piece that doesn’t fit the mold. Developing pitching is the greatest path to sustainable success and being able to acquire someone like Wheeler who provides a fair mix of pay and future potential looks like a slam dunk. Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg represent the outlier opportunity to add one of the 5-10 aces in baseball to your staff. Someone like Wheeler gives the Twins an avenue to have two aces of their staff and allow them to battle each other for that top spot. Click here to view the article

There's no "hate" or malice towards anyone. As someone that's both a fan but then also puts so much time into covering the team, I'd hope for nothing more than everyone be productive. A guy worth 1.2 fWAR with an .800 OPS is not anything to be excited about or look to make excuses for. My hope is that they can trade Rosario under the premise that he's the 3.0+ fWAR guy from 2018 and we get a nice return. There isn't emotion here.

Meaningless in the sense that there was no feeling in the stadium that it was going to play into the final result at all. He hit it, the crowd erupted, and immediately it was a library again. It was a holo homer, just as his slash line was for 2019.

A .923 OPS over the course of 13 ABs is what you're quantifying as more valuable than a season's worth of production? Also, my 1-9 remark was stating that if you're excited about his lone good performance, it overlooks the first two games. I'm also not sure how the relevance of Twins teams from a few years, or even decades ago, have any bearing on what the 2019 group did. They got swept. It stinks. The Yankees are good. That stinks too. None of that has any real connections to what took place years ago.

I mean, he hit a meaningless solo shot in the 8th inning of game three. He was 1-9 in the first two games with 4 K

There seems to be a lot of certainty that Pineda won't do better on the open market. I don't know that I agree with that. Here's some deals from 2019: Happ 2/$34MM Lynn 3/$30MM Even Matt Harvey got $11MM after a two terrible seasons. If you can get Pineda on a QO committing to him for just a year at $13.8MM or whatever it is, there's nothing wrong with that.

Morality in sports doesn't really work like this. You pay for talent. Jorge Polanco is a young player that actually cheated using PEDs (not just a weight loss diuretic) and was handed a 5 year deal.

I laid out in the article that he wouldn't actually be paid $17MM. It'd be just under $14MM, and that is what his market should be near.

That's exactly the pitcher that Zone Coverage's Brandon Warne mentioned moving Rosario for. I would be ecstatic if that's the type of return they could get. I think that would involve some other very real pieces for the Twins though, and would include the sell job I mentioned on Rosario's prospects in Colorado.

He is a shmuck, that’s fair.

The Minnesota Twins are going to be looking at filling a starting rotation that has just one guaranteed arm for 2020. A top-tier talent or two is going to be a must but bolstering the group with a strong 4th or 5th is equally as important. Derek Falvey will need to decide on what holdovers he wants back, but Michael Pineda is a talent that could be worthy of a qualifying offer.Reports have suggested that the 2020 qualifying offer amount will drop to $17.8 million, which is a $100,000 step back from 2019. Determined by the average of the top 125 salaries in the game, it’s the first season that the amount has taken a step backwards. That alone is just another bullet point in a long list that the MLBPA must attack in upcoming CBA discussions. Minnesota organized a shrewd pact with the former Yankees starter prior to the 2018 season. Paying him $2 million to watch over his Tommy John rehab, he then made another $8 million as a fully healthy starter in 2019. Posting one of the best seasons in his career, Pineda was estimated to be worth $21.1 million after accumulating 2.7 fWAR. His season came to an abrupt halt after failing a PED test for taking a diuretic he noted as being for weight loss. At least in part, an appeals process deemed his reasoning sufficient, as his suspension was reduced to 60 games and would not have carried postseason ineligibility. From a merit-based standpoint, Pineda has plenty going in his favor. The 4.01 ERA was the best he had posted since his rookie season, and his 1.7 BB/9 established command not seen since 2015. After an ugly first month of the season, Minnesota got a 3.46 ERA in 117.0 IP from Pineda and he allowed opposing batters just a .670 OPS against him. Prior to his suspension, there was serious steam to him being the Game One starter in the American League Division Series. Looking ahead we see a soon-to-be 31-year-old that has had some health concerns. Pineda is now well distanced from Tommy John surgery, but he’s never pitched more than 175 innings in a given year, and (as evidenced by the intentions of weight loss) is not slight in stature. The body of work and physical profile make him somewhat of a risk on a long-term contract, but that’s mitigated on a one-year deal, and even moreso through the 2020 qualifying offer implications. The Twins have a substantial cash flow going into the upcoming offseason, and while they could certainly afford to pay Pineda nearly $18 million for a single year, that’s probably not the best plan of action. Fortunately, because of his remaining suspension, that’s not what the bill would look like. Having something north of 35 games left to serve for 2020, Pineda’s deal would be a prorated portion of that total QO. Rough math indicates a bill resembling something just shy of $14 million, which would be more enticing. Again, there’s no denying that an arm like Pineda’s can’t be the premiere acquisition, but we saw how important a strong back-end starter can be with the revolving door in 2019. Allowing an internal option or two an avenue to hold down the fort until Pineda is reinstated would be a solid blueprint, and there’s no long-term commitment here either. If the QO gets rejected, Minnesota gets draft pick compensation and wins either way. What do you think? Does Pineda get a QO if you’re in charge? Click here to view the article