Search the Community

Crickets... That's the sound coming from Minnesota Twins camp so far at the Winter Meetings in Washington DC. There has been some Brian Dozier talk, though some of that was because he was scheduled to be at the meetings for other reasons. They promoted a couple of guys in the scouting department. They signed Ben Paulsen to a minor league deal. Traditionally, Wednesday is the busiest day at the Winter Meetings. The first few days involve a lot of discussions, and then the GMs (and Chief Baseball Officers) take what they've heard and start to reach agreements, be it with free agents or with other trade partners.While such a quiet Winter Meetings may have been frustrating under the Terry Ryan regime, it is completely understandable under Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. As Nick wrote last night, "The Twins moved quickly on Jason Castro, because doing so was necessary to lock up the coveted catcher, but now there is little need for urgency." They should not feel pushed to rush on a Brian Dozier trade. They are 100% correct in saying that they need to be "inspired" to trade him. They should expect elite, young pitching in return. I agree with their philosophy of taking a broad view of the organization before jumping into too much drastic. That’s why I think they’re wise in keeping a lot of the current front office, shifting some people around, and bringing in new talent when it is available. Likewise, they need to know the ins and outs of their 40-man roster and the entire minor league system. While they certainly had some information on everyone in the organization, they likely have grown their knowledge of their new organization tenfold since taking over. There is talent in the organization. Consider in the last year or two the Twins have called up Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, JT Chargois. Adalberto Mejia was acquired in the Eduardo Nunez deal, and he’s a solid starting pitching prospect who should get more of an opportunity in 2017. Also in the next year or two, we could see players like Mitch Garver, Nick Gordon, Engelb Vielma, Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, Mason Melotakis, Trevor Hildenberger, John Curtiss, Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero, Tyler Jay and others. I’m not naive enough to think that they will all pan out. I do know that the more players with the potential of the above names, the more likely that a few of them will pan out and become very good major leaguers and several more will still be able to contribute in a role of some sort. Add to that list a few more prospects with big league potential from a likely Brian Dozier trade, and that’s encouraging. But again, that’s not to say that the Twins should do nothing at all. It’s just important to know that they don’t have to have all of their offseason transactions complete by Thursday. We have heard that the Twins have had discussions regarding Dozier. Yesterday, we learned that they’ve had some discussions regarding Brandon Kintzler. We heard last week that they’ve had some discussions about Kennys Vargas. And, while we haven’t heard it, I would think that some discussions have been had about Hector Santiago. The Winter Meetings are about having those discussions in person. Some deals could be made today or tomorrow, but some discussions with teams or free agents could linger for the next few weeks. And, frankly, there are always still quality players available in January. So, the crickets are chirping, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. BRIAN DOZIER UPDATE TUESDAY RECAP A few things did happen at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday. Here’s a quick rundown: Mike Berardino informed us early in the day on Tuesday that the Twins had re-signed RHP Yorman Landa to a minor league deal. That is almost surprising because why wouldn't they wait until after Thursday's Rule 5 draft to do that. Assuming he's actually signed (and hasn't just agreed to terms) before Thursday morning's Rule 5 draft, he would be eligible to be selected.The big news was, without question the Chris Sale trade to the Boston Red Sox. While there were rumors involving the Nationals earlier in the week, it sounds as if the Red Sox made their offer late last week and let the White Sox see if anyone could top it. Well, offering Yoan Moncada (the #1 prospect in baseball), Michael Kopech (a risk, but a guy who throws 100+ and ‘could’ be a starter) and two other prospects would be tough to beat. Making it better for the White Sox, the Red Sox are still on the hook for the $30 million signing bonus they gave Moncada. For the Red Sox, well, they have a rotation of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez.The White Sox likely aren’t done, and they will likely maintain contact with the Nationals. Jose Quintana is one of the more underrated starting pitchers in baseball, and the Nationals may be a place for him to go. The White Sox will likely also continue shopping 3B Todd Frazier and RP David Robertson.The Red Sox were actually quite busy on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the acquired reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers for three young players including corner infielder Travis Shaw. Thornburg is another strong bullpen arm ready to set up for Craig Kimbrel. Shaw is the guy who beat out Pablo Sandoval as the Red Sox opening day third baseman. Sandoval ended up having surgery. He returned to the Instructional League this fall, and clearly the Red Sox would like him to be their third baseman and this helps open that up for him.The Red Sox also signed veteran first baseman Mitch Moreland. Moreland has an OPS over 1.000 in his career at Fenway Park. He also is statistically one of the best first basemen in baseball defensively. Makes me wonder if Hanley Ramirez makes the move to DH at this point.After midnight, Bob Nightengale tweeted that the Cubs and Royals have an agreement in place. Wade Davis will go to the World Series champs with OF Jorge Soler heading to the Royals. Davis has just one year left on his contract. Soler is immensely talented, but he’s stuck behind the likes of Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward and even Albert Almora in the Cubs talented outfield.A couple of former Twins players found 2017 homes on Tuesday. Carlos Gomez re-signed with the Texas Rangers. He agreed to a one year, $11.5 million deal (pending physical, of course).Wilson Ramos, who would have made a ton of money if not for his late-season knee injury, agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Rays on a two year deal with $12.5 million guaranteed and incentives that could push the deal to $18.25 million over those two years. Again, it is pending physical, which, based on how his rehab is going, could be complex. He is likely to miss at least the first half of the 2017 season, so my assumption is that his incentives would be simply based on Games Played or Plate Appearances. If he’s healthy and able to play, he’ll make more money. But the Rays minimize their risk somewhat too.Yesterday, we heard that Cleveland was talking to Edwin Encarnacion, probably the best hitter on the market. He’s not a guy I would necessarily want to see in the lineup against the Twins 19 times a season. Tuesday, we learned that they talked to another former Blue Jays hitter as well, Jose Bautista. The thought of him hitting against the Twins 19 games a year, rather than six of seven, is a bit scary.Aroldis Chapman allegedly has a $92 million offer on the table. To me, that would likely be a six year deal, right? The Yankees have said they haven’t offered him that. It’s hard to believe that Miami would have offered him that. So, who could have made that offer? Or, is that a case of an agent leaking something, hoping to boost the deals that Chapman has already been offered. He’s going to get paid, for sure. Kenley Jansen is going to make a ton of money too.Feel free to ask questions, discuss rumors or transactions, and enjoy the day. Click here to view the article

Brian Dozier came to town on Monday. The power-hitting second baseman was in DC at the Winter Meetings for a marketing, promotional event for Under Armour. However, with his name mentioned in all kinds of trade rumors, it certainly brought about reason for more talk. But on Monday it appears it was all talk for the Twins new front office, and throughout baseball. There weren't any major transactions announced on Monday, but there was plenty of talk, and much of it was in the American League Central. As always use this thread to share rumors and transactions throughout the day as you hear new information. Of course, if the Twins do make a transaction, we'll post that in an article as quickly as we can.The Winter Meetings are often a place where there is a lot of talking, but there aren't necessarily a lot of transactions. That was the case Monday, but a lot of the talk centered around the American League Central. Here's the rundown from Monday as we look forward to Tuesday at the Winter Meetings when we expect some of these talks to turn into official transactions. The big talker from Monday was the Chicago White Sox. It appears they are going into full rebuild mold. It looks like they are attempting to follow the plan of the cross-town Cubs. Names like Todd Frazier, Adam Eaton and others could be on the move. However, the Chris Sale rumors really heated up on Monday night. It was reported that the Nationals and White Sox are a long way down the path toward a deal that would involve Chris Sale. The White Sox would likely receive elite pitching prospect Lucas Giolito and top outfield prospect Victor Robles, and maybe more. The Nationals appear resigned to the fact that in two years Bryce Harper will leave for major money as a free agent, so they are going to go for it. A rotation with Max Scherzer, Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg at the top of it would give the Nationals a real shot. With Mark Melancon signing a four-year, $62 million deal to be the Giants closer on Monday, the market for top closers has been set. Aroldis Chapman is said to be looking for six years (though I can't imagine him getting it). Kenley Jansen is going to also get huge money, likely from either the Marlins or the Dodgers. With that as the backdrop, the White Sox should certainly look to deal their closer, David Robertson. He's signed at a fair price for the next two years, and if the White Sox are selling, they don't really need an elite closer. Also last night, rumors came out that Cleveland was very much in on former Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion. Despite getting to the World Series, Cleveland didn't have many elite hitters. They had several very good hitters, but Encarnacion would give them an elite bat in the middle to team with Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana to give them a very good lineup to go with their very good pitching staff. They would not only be the favorites in the American League Central, but a favorite to return to the World Series. The Royals certainly are making it known that they need to sell off some of their top talent. It appears they are making attempts to deal outfielder Lorenzo Cain. As Brandon Warne often says, Cain can provide young Torii Hunter defense while providing veteran Torii Hunter offensive production. He was hurt some in 2016, and his defense will soon start to go in the other direction so now is the time to deal him. Back to the closer discussion, the Royals are also said to be dangling Wade Davis. Davis was hurt in the second half of 2016, but he could command a huge return. The Cubs are said to be interested. Jorge Soler's name has been mentioned though I would think that the Cubs would have to add at least one, and maybe two, more pieces. DAILY DOZIER UPDATE Dozier appeared on MLB radio, and Derek Falvey was on earlier on Monday. Both were certainly saying the right things, especially when meeting with local Twin Cities media. Dozier made it clear that he would like to be part of the solution in Minnesota. He's invested a lot of time, work and passion into becoming a great player with the Twins. He wants to stay. But at the same time, he is intrigued by the rumors and says he has paid attention. He wants to win. He wants to be loyal. And he understands the business side of the game in which a 100-loss team needs to add as much talent as they can, even if it means difficult decisions. For his part, Falvey is saying the right things too, which isn't easy. He isn't flat-out lying and saying that nothing's going to happen. He talks about the respect that Dozier has earned and deserves, but he does so while clearly getting a lot of interest from teams on the second baseman. There wasn't a lot of new information on Monday. Jon Heyman pointed out that he learned the Yankees have inquired about Dozier. It's good to hear some specific names of other teams, even if just to let the Dodgers think that they need to up their offer if they really want to acquire Dozier. The Yankees added a lot of talent last summer from their trades of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. Certainly Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge would likely be unavailable. But would pitching prospects like Luis Severino or lefty Justus Sheffield be available? Sheffield is the brother of Jordan Sheffield whose name has been mentioned as a possible return from the Dodgers. James Kaprelian is another pitching prospect of note. Clint Frazier is their top prospect, according to MLB.com. He came to the Yankees in the Andrew Miller deal and played in AAA the second half of the year. The Twins like their talented outfielders from Georgia high schools! An outfield of Kepler, Buxton and Frazier would sure be fun to watch grow! Gleyber Torres came from the Cubs in the Chapman deal. The shortstop was one of the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League and is a top shortstop prospect in the game, ranking even higher than Nick Gordon. A middle infield down the line of Torres and Gordon would sure be nice. They both would start 2017 in AA Chattanooga. This is likely just wishful thinking as I doubt Torres is be available. Let's be honest. Outside of Brian Dozier talk and rumors, things have been very quiet on the Twins front, as it has been throughout baseball through one official day of Winter Meetings will that change on Tuesday? Here's the question for you to discuss and answer in the comments below - along with discussing other rumors of the day - In your opinion, what are the odds that the Twins trade Brian Dozier a.) before the end of the Winter Meetings on Thursday, or b.) this offseason? Discuss below, and take the Twins Daily Twitter survey by clicking below. Click here to view the article