2018-2019 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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BleedGopher said:
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I like the Schoop signing. Meh on the other guy. I'd rather have Astudillo and Adrianza as the back-up IF'ers.
 


Schoop could be a one-year stop-gap signing - basically a place-holder to see if Gordon hits better in his 2nd year at AAA. But, if Schoop really does well, or Gordon is near the Mendoza line at mid-season, I suppose they could try to sign Schoop to a 2 or 3-year deal.

The other idea is to see if Royce Lewis will be ready by 2020, and if he sticks at SS, then slide Polanco over to 2nd.

Thing is, Schoop is a low OBP guy. Twins lost their top two OBP from last year in Mauer and Grossman. If they don't make some additions, or current players don't improve, this could be a real feast-or-famine lineup.

I saw some guy tweet that the Twins would hit 200 HR and score 300 runs, or something like that.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I assume the Twins have a plan. I don't have a clue what that plan is.

I did hear a media type claim that a source told him the Twins are planning to take the payroll down to about $65 million and build around the young kids, with a goal to be competitive in 2020 or there abouts.

If that's true, get used to crowds of about 15,000 at every home game.
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In his latest Scoops Podcast, Doogie said that Pat Reussee reported the Twins expect to have an opening day payroll around $100MM.

http://www.1500espn.com/tag/the-scoop/

Win Twins!!
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Schoop could be a one-year stop-gap signing - basically a place-holder to see if Gordon hits better in his 2nd year at AAA. But, if Schoop really does well, or Gordon is near the Mendoza line at mid-season, I suppose they could try to sign Schoop to a 2 or 3-year deal.

The other idea is to see if Royce Lewis will be ready by 2020, and if he sticks at SS, then slide Polanco over to 2nd.

Thing is, Schoop is a low OBP guy. Twins lost their top two OBP from last year in Mauer and Grossman. If they don't make some additions, or current players don't improve, this could be a real feast-or-famine lineup.

I saw some guy tweet that the Twins would hit 200 HR and score 300 runs, or something like that.
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I hope I'm wrong, but Gordon has always felt to me like a AAA-ceiling guy. When it comes to Lewis, though, it's only a matter of time.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I hope I'm wrong, but Gordon has always felt to me like a AAA-ceiling guy. When it comes to Lewis, though, it's only a matter of time.
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I think Lewis will be a great hitter, but I suspect he may end up as an OF'er.
 

BleedGopher said:
In his latest Scoops Podcast, Doogie said that Pat Reussee reported the Twins expect to have an opening day payroll around $100MM.

http://www.1500espn.com/tag/the-scoop/

Win Twins!!
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I think I saw that, after the Schoop signing, the Twins 2019 payroll is currently projected at about $80-million. That could still go up if they add a couple of arms in the bullpen. but I don't see it hitting $100-million unless they make another major trade or free-agent signing.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I think I saw that, after the Schoop signing, the Twins 2019 payroll is currently projected at about $80-million. That could still go up if they add a couple of arms in the bullpen. but I don't see it hitting $100-million unless they make another major trade or free-agent signing.
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They need to sign at least one starting pitcher. And I would like to see them go after someone like Adam Jones as well. They need some clubhouse leaders and it would force Buxton/Kepler to earn their spot.
 



howeda7 said:
I think Lewis will be a great hitter, but I suspect he may end up as an OF'er.
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He might but I think what will keep him in the infield (at least to start with) is the crowded outfield. Kirilloff and Larnach should be ready around the same time.
 

STrib: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano steal Twins headlines, but don't forget about Michael Pineda for 2019

As the Twins prepare for the 2019 season, the most important factor in their success is the development of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. The next most important factor? Well, that’s a subject for debate — and we’ll center it around a pitcher who hasn’t thrown an inning yet for the Twins.

First take: Michael Rand

So here’s a strange thing: On more than one occasion lately, when thinking about the Twins’ 2019 rotation, I’ve forgotten about Michael Pineda.

He signed last offseason for two years, $10 million — but he was coming off Tommy John surgery and didn’t pitch for the Twins in 2018. I dare say if the Twins at the winter meetings this week signed Pineda to a one-year, $8 million deal, there would be a certain amount of excitement.

Instead, he’s being overlooked. But Pineda has averaged more than a strikeout per inning in his career and should benefit from pitching in Target Field instead of Yankee Stadium. If he has a bounceback year, the top of the Twins’ rotation suddenly looks a lot better and the Twins would be far more dangerous.

Twins beat writer Phil Miller: So we’re debating whether Pineda or Jose Berrios starts Game 1 of the ALDS? I’m all for imagining things going right for a change at Target Field, and when healthy, Pineda owns a fastball that feeds that intrigue.

But Twins fans probably should regard his presence in the rotation with curiosity, not excitement. We’re talking about a player who has been in the big leagues for eight seasons — but has been healthy enough to pitch in only five of them. Shoulder surgeries cost him the 2012-13 seasons, he had elbow ligament replacement surgery that sidelined him all of 2018, and needed knee surgery during his rehab in August. And yes, the Tommy John operation will be 18 months behind him by Opening Day, but I need only two words to caution you about expecting too much: Lance Lynn.

Durability aside, the biggest hesitation about Pineda is this: He has allowed more than a hit an inning in each of his last three seasons, and it’s not just bad luck: His batting average on balls in play was just .302 in 2017, he walked only 21 hitters in 96 innings, yet his ERA was 4.39. In fact, he hasn’t kept his ERA below 4.37 since 2014, and while some of it is due to Yankee Stadium’s pinball dimensions — he’s allowed 49 homers in 47 starts there — he has never lived up to the staff-ace promise he showed as a rookie.



Rand: I think curiosity is a good way to put it. Pineda is definitely a guy whose traditional stats have never seemed to match up with his stuff. I reckon the Twins are hoping the combination of good outfield defense (hello, Buxton) and getting out of Yankee Stadium will help Pineda.

If you go back to his last full season, 2016, he had an xFIP (expected run prevention, independent of defense) of 3.30 — eighth best in the majors.

Miller: OK, I’m sold. Even with his flaws, the Twins have had few pitchers in recent years with his kind of upside. Buying his recovery season by funding his rehab year was a smart gamble, whatever the result.

The crazy part of the transaction, though, is that if Pineda truly returns to form, or something close to it, he probably won’t be a Twin for long. Pineda at his best would almost certainly make him one of the most desirable free-agent pitchers next winter, receiving contract offers that outbid the Twins. The greater he is, in effect, the more temporary his stay. World Series or bust!

http://www.startribune.com/twins-ar...n-byron-buxton-miguel-sano-in-2019/502275061/

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STrib: Twins sapped of clubhouse leaders

When Joe Mauer retired last month, the Twins lost 15 years worth of big-league experience and an unflappable clubhouse presence. But Mauer was only the most conspicuous example of a winnowing process that began long before he walked away from the game.

The Twins have gotten younger over the past few months, a process that occurs annually to every team, but rarely to this extent. None of the 13 oldest players to wear a Twins uniform in 2018 is on the team’s 40-man roster today, a group of exiles that ranges from 41-year-old Fernando Rodney to 31-year-old Lance Lynn, with familiar faces such as Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar and Ervin Santana in between.

And those are hardly the only veterans excised from the team. A total of 27 players born in the 1980s (or earlier) appeared in a Twins game last season. Only six remain.

The oldest current Twin? It’s Jason Castro, who turned 31 in mid-June, a month after undergoing season-ending knee surgery. Each of the other 29 MLB teams have at least two players older than Castro on their rosters.

There’s nothing wrong with weeding out the old guys, of course. It’s a natural evolution of every team’s roster, since most players reach their peak of productivity in their mid- to late 20s. So the Twins, now all but bereft of past-their-prime players, are well-positioned to ride the projected improvement of young players to progress as a team — if they can find the right young players.

But there’s a case to be made for replacing some of that lost experience. In this era of three-places-past-the-decimal-point baseball analysis, it’s difficult to attach a value to clubhouse leadership, to having a veteran presence around all the youngsters — but it’s not zero.

Players whose contributions might seem limited on paper can still help the team by setting a tone that creates comradeship and professionalism off the field, and by offering advice and support to players who are still learning how to succeed at the highest level. They keep the clubhouse from evolving into just 25 guys sitting at their lockers, staring at their phones, and as General Manager Thad Levine put it last summer, they can help prevent three-game losing streaks from turning into eight-game skids.

That’s part of the reason why the Twins signed Chris Gimenez as the backup catcher and Matt Belisle as a reliever in 2017, and why both reappeared in the Twins’ clubhouse during the 2018 season.

http://www.startribune.com/twins-sapped-of-clubhouse-leaders/502130041/

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GophersInIowa said:
They must be keeping Sano at 3B for the long haul. 1B/DH would be very crowded if they signed Cruz.
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I don't get it. Austin/Cron can handle 1B/DH. Plus Garver may not be able to catch anymore and they will still want Sano to DH at least once a week. Unless Austin or Garver are going to play RF and platoon with Kepler it doesn't make much sense.
 

STrib: Twins pondering possibilities of Fernando Romero as their closer

The Twins have been in contact with agents representing several free-agent relief pitchers — Joakim Soria, for instance — and more talks are expected this week during the annual winter meetings.

While they are doing their due diligence in their search for bullpen help, and have not yet made a serious push to sign a free agent, there’s also a chance they already have someone within their organization with the requisite talent.

Someone like Fernando Romero.

The Twins already have a handful of candidates to battle for the fifth spot in the rotation, from lefthanders Adalberto Mejia and Stephen Gonsalves, to righthanders Romero, Kohl Stewart, Aaron Slegers, Trevor May, Chase DeJong and Zack Littell. But Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine didn’t hide their fondness for Romero, who made his major league debut in 2018, because he has the stuff and shows the traits of a lockdown artist. And, as the game continues to evolve, someone like Romero could be used in different ways.

“His mentality fits,” Falvey said. “When people watch him pitch, they see him in the bullpen, they see clear ability there. So we’re open-minded to that.”

What does a “mentality” that fits look like?

“He has a thirst for competition, and it seems to be insatiable,” Levine said. “I think he is one of those guys who goes on the mound and toes the rubber and thinks he’s about 5 inches taller than he is and is prepared to do battle with anybody who is in the box.”

http://www.startribune.com/twins-po...of-fernando-romero-as-their-closer/502422781/

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STrib: No September callup upset Twins' Byron Buxton

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton said he was blindsided by the team’s decision to not call him up in September.

“It’s business,” he said. “They did what they did, I do what I do. At the end of the day, I’m still gonna keep playing hard. I still want to play in Minnesota.”

Asked when he was upset when he found out he wouldn’t be recalled, he said he was. “I ain’t sugarcoating nothing.”

Buxton appeared at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare to pass out gifts along with teammate Trevor Hildenberger and ex-Twins Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

After winning a Gold Glove in 2017, Buxton played with injuries in 2018 and spent much of the season at Class AAA Rochester.

He had a summer filled with migraines, a fractured toe and a strained wrist, all of which limited him to 28 major league games and a .156 batting average. Buxton recovered in August and was expected to be recalled when rosters expanded in September, but the Twins chose not to, a move that will prevent Buxton from reaching free agency until after the 2022 season, rather than 2021.

“I stay in my own lane. I’m only worried about myself,” Buxton said.

http://www.startribune.com/no-september-callup-upset-twins-byron-buxton/502493131/

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Seattle is a pitcher's ballpark. Cruz averaged 40+ HRs while playing there (haven't looked at his home/road splits yet), and his career numbers at Target Field are pretty darn good. I like it.
 


I like the signing. The one downside is it probably means the end of Tyler Austin. I was curious to see what he could do in a full season. I'd rather keep him for 1B than CJ Chron (sp?) but I doubt that will happen. i don't see how they can keep all 3 of them on the roster.
 

Good signing.
When was the last time the Twins signed a top player in the prime of his career? Mauer was already one of us.


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jamiche said:
Good signing.
When was the last time the Twins signed a top player in the prime of his career? Mauer was already one of us.


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I think he's passed his prime but hopefully he still has a year or two left in him.

Edit: he's older than our manager
 

bottlebass said:
I think he's passed his prime but hopefully he still has a year or two left in him.

Edit: he's older than our manager
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Yeah, prime is not a word I would associate Cruz with. Still a good one year signing.
 

jamiche said:
Good signing.
When was the last time the Twins signed a top player in the prime of his career? Mauer was already one of us.
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I hope you're not saying that Cruz is in his prime, as he is way, way past that.

I don't know that the Twins have ever signed a top player in the prime of his career. Probably the closest is Shannon Stewart, but the Twins traded for him. Ervin Santana?

Top players don't come available in their primes very often, and when they do, the Twins won't pay for their services.
 


dpodoll68 said:
I hope you're not saying that Cruz is in his prime, as he is way, way past that.

I don't know that the Twins have ever signed a top player in the prime of his career. Probably the closest is Shannon Stewart, but the Twins traded for him. Ervin Santana?

Top players don't come available in their primes very often, and when they do, the Twins won't pay for their services.
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That’s my point. When the top guys become available in their prime the Twins are never in the conversation. It’s not as if the Pohlads lack resources. We get the guys who are 38-42 who are looking for a final payday.


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jamiche said:
That’s my point. When the top guys become available in their prime the Twins are never in the conversation. It’s not as if the Pohlads lack resources. We get the guys who are 38-42 who are looking for a final payday.


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In fairness, we have won World Series by signing or trading for guys who are at least slightly past their prime: Bert Blyleven, Juan Berenguer, Keith Atherton, George Frazier, Roy Smalley, Joe Niekro, Don Baylor, Mike Pagliarulo, Jack Morris, Chili Davis, Steve Bedrosian. One of the things you gained with many of these guys that you get with Cruz is veteran presence and leadership.
 

Twins don't spend $ on players: "$%^ cheap Pohlads!"

Twins spend $14 million on one of the best available FA hitters: "He's too old! We never sign anyone in their prime! $%^ing cheap Pohlads."

They really can't win with some folks.
 

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