The Billy Goat

I'm intrigued by Aaron's statement that years don't matter. Huh. I personally would rather have Berrios signed to a 5 year - $65 million contract verses a 1 year - $65 million contract. I'd take John's position on that point.

The way that things have fallen in free agency, I have a feeling that the Twins are going to trade for their "impact pitcher". The usual names that are thrown out are Price and Darvish, but I wonder if the Twins could go in a different direction. The Padres want out of Myer's contract and are willing to part with prospect capital. Is it a blind dream to wish for a trade of Arraez for Myer and Gore? Gore would be the type of impact pitcher that we need desperately, but can never lure to MN in free agency. Myer could man 1st base. The Padres escape Myer's contract and have a long term solution at 2nd base.

I love this signing. Not only is it a good value for the Twins, especially in this free agency market, but also gives them protection next off-season when Odorizzi is a free agent again.

I have a feeling that Luke Raley is going to be a better MLB player than anticipated. The combination of his hit tool, baseball IQ, and overall tools should play up when he gets the call. He is the one prospect that I hope the Twins hold onto for at least another year or two, as I feel his trade value will go way up, just like the value of Arraez skyrocketed this past year. If I were the Twins, I would pencil Raley in at LF, trade Rosario, and use the savings to upgrade the starting pitching. Salary wise, Eddie and a pitcher in the Gibson-type range (17.9M per MLBTR) would be equivalent to Ryu and Raley (18.55M). I would much rather have the latter tandem.

I personally love the unwritten rules and the history that they bring to the game. If a player feels that an unwritten rule has been broken, I don't mind if he retaliates, within reason. That said, I must be honest in saying that I have never heard of this unwritten rule. It doesn't even make sense to me. By swinging, Cave is moving the game along towards the end. His BABIP is lower than his percentage to draw a walk from that count (especially considering that the next 3 pitches were out of the strike zone). Also, what is gained by him waiting for one more pitch? If it would have been out of the strike zone, is he obligated to swing so that the pitcher saves face from a 4-pitch walk? I also would believe that unwritten rules would require the Giants to wait until Cave is back up to the plate to exact justice. Waiting until he was backed into another 3-0 count before plunking Kepler just points to the fact that Kelley wasn't primarily concerned with enforcing unwritten rules, he was just a frustrated pitcher who took out his anger on an opposing batter. There's no place for that in my opinion.

I'm excited to see what Chalmers can do. That might have been a sneaky good trade return for Fernando Rodney. That said, it sounds like control has always been a problem for him. Here's to hoping that he can be fixed!

Balazovic and Duran are the two prospects that I really want to survive the upcoming month of trades. After all the pitching prospects that rise through the ranks with the asterisk that there is an elevated chance that they become relievers (recently Romero and now Graterol), it feels like they are going to stick as starters with swing-and-miss stuff. We're going to need cheap controllable starting pitching after our current core of players start to get their raises. Also, is it just me or did Sano make an appearance in the video highlights of Balazovic? With all the swing and missing, I'm just assuming that they fit Sano into a different jersey and had him take live batting practice against Jordan.

The relievers that I'd like to see them get are Giles, Diekman, and Tony Watson. Giles and Diekman can also help out next year when the Twins are still contending, and Watson could be great as a LOOGY in the playoffs. Coupled with the addition of Perez or Pineda to the playoff bullpen, this could be a group that is able to slow down opposing offenses without mortgaging their future.

Thanks for the chat! Looking at the top of the national prospect lists, Lewis and Kiriloff are among a small amount of top prospects who are not expected to graduate in the first half of this year. Do you think that there is a chance that the Twins could have 2 of the top 3 or 4 prospects in all of baseball by the end of the year? Also, who do you see following Kiriloff's last year by making a big jump in prospect rankings?

Thanks for the write-up John. There is almost a guilty feeling about leaving friends in Minnesota for a week in the sun. This is the first year that we are visiting the Twins spring training facilities. Any advice for the open house today?

Everything that I have heard about Larnach from national sites seem to point that he would be a plodder in the outfield. If a player does not save runs on defense, then he would be of no value on defense. Defense has carried Kepler while he adjusts to major league pitching. Imagine the pressure on Kepler's offense if he was a nonfactor on defense.

I personally would actually have him higher, above Larnach ar least. These are the type of prospects that end up as top 25 overall prospects in baseball (able to stay at a premium position with a potent bat). Larnach offers no value on defense, so he needs to be twice the offensive player as Javier. That is a lot of pressure to constantly perform year-in and year-out. Seth or Nick might know this, but is his arm capable of making the throws from third base? My hope is a future of Javier at 3rd, Lewis at SS, and Polanco at 2nd. There doesn't seem to be any first-division prospects at 3rd in our farm system.

It seems the newer a prospect, the higher the chance that they are over-ranked. It's almost like we try to will them to be worth trading away a major league asset. Twins fans see a pitcher with the right build, good velo, who pitched to a 2.00 ERA in our organization. In 64% of his innings last year he was a 4.75 ERA pitcher for the Diamondbacks organization. I'd personally have him ranked 15th or so. When we traded away Luis Gil to the Yankees for Jake Cave, Gil instantly received prospect love. Baseball Prospectus even has him as the #6 prospect in the Yankee's organization. We always love the newest toy.

Something about him reminds me of a lefty Scott Baker. Strikeouts in the minors turn into foul balls in the majors. But I'd take Scott Baker in a second. We need a left hander to step up into a solid starting role.

When news broke of a trade that would send Duke to the Mariners, I quickly took a check of the Mariners top 30 prospects at mlb.com. Wow do they have a weak system. A kid in the DSL, who seems comparable to Severino, is their #4 prospect. I just gained in appreciation for the kids that we have down on the farm.