Darius

The Angels are scary to me because they'll get a full season of Trout and Upton, where they only got a fraction of a season from each last year. They also swapped Nolasco (the 2017 Twins MVP award winner, IMO) for Ohtani, and anything they potentially get from Ohtani offensively. He's a work in progress offensively, but I heard recently that he was launching balls in BP farther than anyone else on the team. That team has the best baseball player in the world on it. So, there's a big wildcard (no pun intended). They could potentially be adding a front-end starter and a quality DH with one player. They can't help but get better. Could be a lot better if they can stumble into some pitching. The Orioles signed Alex Cobb, which makes them a little more interesting as well.

Vargas seemed like a good guy. I'm sure he was never real happy about it, but he seemed to take the up-and-down treatment (and lack of PT when on the 25) like a professional. He'll put together a nice career in the MLB somewhere. There is always someone who can use a 25 HR guy at DH or as a bat off the bench.

Something else that needs to considered here: Romero is with the big league club....but he's not pitching to big league competition. He's seen a couple of good hitters in ST, but he's not seen great ones in succession like he will in a live regular season game against the Indians, for example. Not sure how much we should buy into this.

I don't necessarily agree with this. Pitchers need to work on pitching to big leaguers at the big league level. AAA won't teach you to do that. Berrios absolutely shredded AAA. He learned how to get AAA hitters out. However, there is a fine line between AAA hitters and big leaguers in terms of pitch recognition. He racked up Ks in AAA that weren't there for him in the majors because the hitters werent chasing the same pitch they would in AAA. There comes a point where your stuff is there and you just need to learn the appropriate locatarion and pitch selection for the situation. That is a lot more vital and demanding in the MLB where you get away with many fewer mistakes. On the job training is the only way. He would've gone through that adjustment whether it was at age 21 or at age 30. Keeping players languishing in AAA assuming there is a magic date in on which they wake up and understand how to get major league players out is damaging to the player and the team, IMO. The player is being robbed of earlier service time related payouts and the team is potentially missing some productive years (for example, if they had brought Berrios up to take his lumps a year earlier, he likely would've reached his current ability to record outs in the MLB a year earlier). There are factors and exceptions of course. But, IMO, that paradigm needs to be shifted.

I would much rather have Lynn, Odiorizzi, and Morrison on the deals they have instead of Darvish and his deal. Much more flexibility going forward. In my lifetime, I'm not sure I have ever seen a Twins FO be praised so profusely. Very refreshing.

I agree with sentiment that Sano will be a full time DH. However, I don't see Sano as someone who is here long-term for a few reasons: 1) There is a lot of young talent on this team. A lot of guys that are on the same schedule, service-time wise, that could earn significant contracts. Buxton, Berrios, Kepler, Rosario, Polanco.....possibly even Gibson if he puts together a full season in 2018 like the second half of 2017. The Twins will not make the financial investment it would take to secure all of those players while still fielding all other positions. IMO, Buxton and Berrios should be the two at the top of the list. High character, proven work-ethic, elite tools, coachability. They will command big-time deals. Sano, unless he absolutely cannot stay healthy, will likely also command a large deal. There will be an odd man out of those three when the bell tolls. 2). There is so much uncertainty in regards to the dreaded "rod." 3). I'm not sure Sano is making any new fans in the front office. Not finding results when it comes to dropping weight (which some people just can't do short of extreme low-calorie diets which can be dangerous and wouldn't help, it doesn't necessarily mean for lack of effort). The media coverage of the sexual harrasment, and Minnesota always seeming to be on the cutting edge of SJWism (not declaring an opinion, just an observation). Ongoing observable media fueds about his weight. Things just keep popping up, and none of them ever seem to do the Twins my PR favors. 4). I don't know why, maybe it's all of his home run and breaking record talk coming off as self-oriented, but I get the feeling he's the most likely of the three to want to test free agency or seek relocation (due to scandal, or pursuit of warmer climate, any number of things). Then, considering Falvine seem pretty economically savvy, they won't let him walk via free agency, and they'll want to get the most value out of him, because he's a potentially extremely valuable ball-player. Conclusion: There is a very high likelihood, IMO, that Sano will get traded in the near future (2018 off-season or when Rooker is ready?), and this is a problem someone else will have to deal with.

Good look behind the curtain there. In regards to the comment comparing Gibson to Blackburn, and hardly being able to watch him pitch: Did you notice Gibson was the best starter on the staff in the second half? In August and September he had about a 3.6 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 15 walks and 6 quality starts in about 63 innings. He was also pretty good in June and July, with two bad games in 10 starts hurting him (6 ER and 7 ER in 10 total innings). The Twins literally wouldn't have made the playoffs without him after Santana fell off the table. He's not going to win a Cy Young, and had struggled in the past. But, he is showing signs of turning into a pretty good pitcher.

If you're not going to do what you can to lock up these guys early, but also won't (aka "can't") spend big on free agents, what exactly are you doing?

Really like him slotted in at DH instead of a Grossman, Escobar, etc. This guy, when healthy, can crush the ball. You can't tell me adding a 25-30 HR caliber power bat into the DH slot in this lineup is a bad thing at this point. Dozier, 2B Mauer, 1B Buxton, CF Sano, 3B Morrison, DH Rosario, LF Kepler, RF Castro, C Polanco, SS ....that's a nice looking lineup against RH SPs (aka most SPs, especially good ones within the division). Then you're left with Garver, Vargas, Escobar, Grossman that can swing from the right side for Castro, Mauer, Kepler. That's a high-end offense.

If Gibson has indeed turned some type of corner, and we get second-half 2017 Gibson out of the 4-5 hole, it's better than "barely too 20." We know what Santana can give. Last won't happen again, but he'll pitch deep into games and give you an ERA around 4. Solid mid rotation guy. Lynn would likely be very similar to Santana. Again, solid mid-rotation guy. Berrios is the key. He's the real "ace," going forward IMO. I think he establishes himself as one of the best young starters in the game this year. He's a legit front-end guy with strikeout stuff. Odorizzi should be fairly solid. High-floor there, but also some ceiling left, IMO. Add those guys to a Gibson pitching like he did in the second-half last year, and that's potentially a very nice rotation.

Could have a lot to do with the young shortstops in the system in a way nobody is talking about. Another established, respected, reputable, spanish-speaker around the club could be very useful in terms of mentorship. Polanco comes to mind immediately, of course, but others could also benefit from picking his brain. Javier, Sano, Rosario, Etc. He has been very successful, both individually and on good teams. He's won a gold glove at SS. He's been a high-end offensive player at his position. He's been an All-Star. He knows how to prepare, practice, conduct himself in the clubhouse and off the field. It can't hurt to have a guy like that around camp as an example. If he ends up playing meaningful innings, there has been a catastrophe with Escobar/Polanco/Sano.

Really nice trade. Moving to the AL Central out of the AL East will help him out. Moving to Target Field from the Thunderdome will help. I think he could be really good here. I don't mind a rotation of Santana, Berrios, Odorizzi, Gibson, Mejia/Gonsalves/Romero/Sanchez for the bulk of the season. I don't think it's unlikely that'll be pretty good. I'd like to throw a Cobb or Lynn in there, but that's not happening.

If you can dial it up to 93-94 as a left handed starter, that's pretty darn good. I think Gio Gonzales is pretty good comp (not just because the names are phonetically similar). The way he's pitched with velocity declining late in his career is a pretty good blueprint for Gonsalves. Both have decent fastballs, big looping curveballs, sliders and changeups. Gonzales has the better curveball, and Gonsalves has the better changeup, but they're pretty similar.

How did I know someone would take this seriously? I'm making fun of the people who think we need to trade a SS ASAP....even though the likelihood of any of them (Gordon, Lewis, Javier) sticking as SS isn't a given....maybe even not likely.

Release him. We have too many shortstops.

In other words, "the actual plan."

I do agree with the premise of the article. We're always pushing things off into the future. We can never sign anyone now, because of how it will affect payroll down the road. With the team we have in place offensively and defensively, considerinf the depressed market....if this isn't the time to sign a quality player, there isn't a time.

Are the Tampa Bay Rays really the blueprint to follow? Do they even have two division titles since their inception?

So they could've shut him down before the playoff game to have surgery, had a better chance of winning the game, AND got him back at the start of the '18 season. Sounds like a couple of missed opportunities there.

The central will be pretty bad. The Indians should be solid again. With that rotation, barring injury, not much question there. The Twins will have a hard time replicating what was done last year. Santana surely won't be as good as he was during the first half. The bullpen is improved slightly, but still not a lockdown pen by any means. They probably won't get the insane streaks simultaneously (Roasario, Buxton, Dozier, and Polanco), and who knows what's happening with Sano. I'm anticipating fewer wins. I also anticipate more competition for that second wildcard spot. One of the two will come out of the east for sure (with Boston and New York). The second will almost certainly come out of the west (with Houston, an improved LA squad with a healthy Trout, and Seattle). As it stands now, I find it difficult to see it shaking out any differently. I'm not sure anything short of signing Darvish could turn the tables to the Twins favor.

It seems antithetical to say they should be in win-now mode, while at the same time calling it irresponsible to invest significantly in a front line starter. Payroll is barely at $100 million (with revenues around $250, and rising). A major signing should by no means hamstring this team going forward, especially with Mauer, Hughes, and Santana coming off the books in the near future. Also, these signings aren't made in a vacuum. A Darvish signing likely increases merchandise revenue, ticket sales, possibly additional revenue from more playoff games, more primetime TV appearances, etc. Sigmkng Darvish vs some washout reclamation project doesn't necessarily mean that the difference in their contract price will equal foregone revenue. The problem, IMO, is that people have convinced themselves that they can't afford it, and I'm not sure why. In reality, they can. It's just a matter of where ownership's priorities lie. Think of it this way, the Pohlad's are risk averse investors. When it comes to baseball, they'd rather take the safe return, and invest in treasury notes as opposed to a potentially volatile, but high-upside IPO.

Gordon and Polanco are too high, IMO. Not real high on Gordon. He could be an OK player, but I just don't see much of a ceiling there. Not an especially great fielder. Not especially blazing fast. No power. Not real sure what he brings that puts him in the top 50 prospects for ESPN. I don't think the Polanco we saw in the second half last year is the guy he is. Offensively, that's clearly unsustainable. Defensively, he couldn't fall apart to the point where you can't warrant playing him at SS. No Kepler in the top 10? He was better in High A to AAA than anyone else on that list, outside of Buxton. He's already shown flashes of brilliance in the majors. Still only 23-24, right? Not sure I could justify putting some of those guys ahead of him. I think Gleeman nailed the list, with the exception that I'd put Kepler ahead of Polanco. It is supposed to be the 10 best players under 25 right now. A guy like Graterol may have a high ceiling, but shouldn't be in this list yet.

Still don't understand why there isn't a way to speed up pitching changes. Are the pomp and circumstance and the half-mile power-walks still necessary? Send a laser signal down to the 'pen and send the pitcher down a zipline. Or, I have some good ideas for trap doors, similar to those used by the Romans to unleash wild beasts in the Colosseum. Or, have the pitcher on the mound keep a smoke bomb in his back pocket, smash it on the ground when he's done, and the new pitcher would have instantaneously replaced the old one when the smoke clears.

I'd take Vargas over any of the options mentioned (because JD Martinez isn't an option). I like the idea of Todd Frazier, but it's not very realistic. Does the team really need a RH bat that badly? Buxton, Sano, and Dozier are locked in every day. Polanco, Escobar, Garver, Grossman, and Vargas all can swing from the right side. I'd let Rosario and Mauer ride most nights against lefties. That leaves Kepler and Castro as the only "true lefties," who you need to get out of the lineup every single time a lefty comes up, IMO....and Kepler still may improve his splits and Castro's defense may offset giving up the out in the 8-hole. Also, the only way to get a young guy like Kepler to turn the corner on his splits is ABs. He's not going to figure it out watching from the bench. I just don't really see a scenario where anyone good enough to warrant a few ABs in lieu of Kepler's development would accept that role.....or that someone willing to accept that role here would warrant a few ABs. Maybe Chris Young hits that sweet spot?

Honestly, I think the argument the they're not cheap is lazy. The argument is: If you're not going to be good, just totally tank it. OK, I get that. But, then you go on to mention 4 young players that needed the seasoning. There are 10 players on the team involved in the game at any given point. So, what's the argument behind not filling the other 6 spots with competent baseball players? Don't the fans that helped build the Golden Gooses deserve to watch at least mediocre baseball on a nightly basis, regardless of whether you think you'll win the World Series? How is perpetually losing 100 games, surrounded by terrible washed out journeyman, a more conducive environment to player development? What exactly does saving that money on other players aside from 4 youngsters accomplish in terms of making the team better? Nobody is asking them to sign someone to a Giancarlo Stanton like contract. There are many serviceable guys out there on short term deals that don't prevent future spending (which, there is really no limit on other than that arbitrarily set by ownership). Per the 2026-2017 free agent tracker from CBS Sports, 21 of the top 30 free agents signed deals with 3-year terms or less. Among the players on the list on short deals (not limited to top 30): Edwin Encarnacion (3), Mike Napoli (1), Rich Hill (1), Wilson Ramos (2), Ivan Nova (3), Greg Holland (1), Carlos Beltran (1), Neil Walker (1), Luis Valbuena (1), Edison Volquez (1), Mitch Moreland (1), Matt Holiday (1), Brad Ziegler (2), Alex Avila (1), Neftali Feliz (1), Koji Uehara (1), Charlie Morton (1), Fernando Rodney (1). How does signing a handful of short-term deals with quality players to make your team respectable mortgage teams future in any way? For example, if you sign all of Encarnacion/Moreland, Hill, Volquez, Holland, and Rodney in the hear 2015, the team is most certainly better and all are off the books going into this year but Encarnacion (who is in his final year....and a pretty damn good player). How would that have affected anything besides the Pohlad's net income? All the young guys play, they win more games and maybe stay relevant beyond May in 2016 or make that final push to the playoffs in 2015. I'm sorry, but they're cheap. The narrative that this somehow beneficial is just false. Since 1992, we've seen the fruits of those spending habits. Even when they good, cheap, homegrown teams in the '00s, the refusal to supplement those in a meaningful way led to early playoff exits. Meanwhile, since the Twins last championship, the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Angels, and Cards have combined for 14 of them. Throw in the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Phillies, White Sox and Cubs in there for 6, who went all out and spent significantly in those years. Even the Astros last year were around $140 at the time they won the World Series, I believe, and are at about $130 going into 2018. Its chicken and egg, and my opinion is you have it backwards. You need to spend something to win. If you sit around and expect to win in order to spend money, history shows you're going to be sitting around for a while. If you're OK with that, more power to you. But it certainly doesn't make those that think the Twins need to spend to be competitive "lazy." Pot/kettle.