2019-2020 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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TruthSeeker said:
Assuming no massive regression by anyone, there's no hole in that lineup. We have a good bench too.
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Based on history with old guys, there's the fear that Cruz will regress a lot this year. Obviously the hope is that he breaks the mold.
 



We still need 2 aces. Berrios and Odorizzi fell a little short in 2019. Great pitching beats great hitting.
 

OldBob53 said:
We still need 2 aces. Berrios and Odorizzi fell a little short in 2019. Great pitching beats great hitting.
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Agreed. And this entire lineup is almost locked in for 2 to 3 seasons. Now os the time to trade some prospects for top line pitching
 

Bad Gopher said:
Based on history with old guys, there's the fear that Cruz will regress a lot this year. Obviously the hope is that he breaks the mold.
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Last year he was insane. He could be 25 and assume some regression. Last hope its not too much
 

OldBob53 said:
We still need 2 aces. Berrios and Odorizzi fell a little short in 2019. Great pitching beats great hitting.
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Well, you can't just order a couple up like you order pizzas. There were two sure things available in free agency, and neither wanted to play here.

The best way will always be to draft and develop. It's been too long since the Twins did that (Frank Viola). Graterol has a chance.
 



Bad Gopher said:
Well, you can't just order a couple up like you order pizzas. There were two sure things available in free agency, and neither wanted to play here.

The best way will always be to draft and develop. It's been too long since the Twins did that (Frank Viola). Graterol has a chance.
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Berrios still has a chance to be the ace. Radke was another draftee, although he was no viola and a#3 starter on a good team. Just shows how much of a rarity it is for twins
 

Souhan: Twins pull off the improbable, improve a record-breaking lineup

The Twins set a major league record for home runs in 2019.

They will field a better lineup in 2020.

They may not break their own record, because baseball is likely to remove the afterburners from the new crop of baseballs. But they will be deeper, scarier and even more combative.

That’s what the Twins’ signing of All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson means. The Twins signed him Tuesday to a four-year deal worth $92 million. They will move Miguel Sano to first base.

How can a record-setting lineup get better?

Last year, the Twins limited Mitch Garver’s at-bats because of the presence of Jason Castro. Garver is an exceptional hitter. Castro is not. This year, Garver will take the majority of at-bats at the catcher’s position. That’s an upgrade.

Sano will replace C.J. Cron at first base. Cron, perhaps because of injuries, managed an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .780. Sano, despite injuries and a pronounced slump, produced an OPS of .923, and one of .994 over the last three months and three days of the season. That’s a massive upgrade.

www.startribune.com

Twins pull off the improbable, improve a record-breaking lineup

jim souhan
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Win Twins!!
 

Miguel Sano signs with Twins: 'The important thing is to just go out there and play baseball'

Buried deep in Miguel Sano’s new three-year, $30 million contract is some boilerplate language about bonuses, token rewards for excellence that are typical of most MLB contracts. Win a Gold Glove, the paragraph says, and you’ll receive an extra $50,000.

Consider Sano incentivized.

“I can win a Gold Glove,” the burly third baseman contended Tuesday, a claim that’s easy to doubt given that the Twins agreed to a contract with third baseman Josh Donaldson later in the day.

“I’ll win a Gold Glove at first base, too,” Sano said. “I can do it.”

Such is the confidence and goodwill that locking in a $10 million average salary will generate in a ballplayer who grew up impoverished in the Dominican Republic, and whose career has included as many setbacks as breakthroughs. Though still only 18 months removed from a demotion to the minor leagues, Sano smashed a career-high 34 home runs in just 105 games in 2019, and convinced the Twins that he can be a core member of a pennant-contending team.

Even if it means away from his preferred position.

“It’s not really important. I can play outfield, first [base], third [base]. I’m just willing and able to do whatever it takes,” said Sano, whose career as a right fielder lasted all of 38 games in 2016. “The important thing is to just go out there and play baseball.”

www.startribune.com

Miguel Sano signs with Twins: 'The important thing is to just go out there and play baseball'

The Twins slugger landed a new three-year contract. What's next? "I can win a Gold Glove."
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Win Twins!!
 

Love the move. Impact player in the field and at the plate.

And here I thought folks like Howie have been saying for weeks that the offseason was over and it was a colossal failure by the front office? WTF?
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Love the move. Impact player in the field and at the plate.

And here I thought folks like Howie have been saying for weeks that the offseason was over and it was a colossal failure by the front office? WTF?
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I didnt think Donaldson would pick Twins. So yes, figured the off season was over. Twins dont have a great track record
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I didnt think Donaldson would pick Twins. So yes, figured the off season was over. Twins dont have a great track record
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For me, at this relatively early juncture, this current regime has earned the benefit of the doubt and I'll continue to feel that way until they prove that massively incorrect
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
For me, at this relatively early juncture, this current regime has earned the benefit of the doubt and I'll continue to feel that way until they prove that massively incorrect
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Now that the Donaldson signing happened, Im willing to change my tune.

If he only goes 4 years, thats the same annual salary that Mauer was crucified over. So its tied for biggest in twins history (by annual salary) and biggest incoming free agent signing.
 

Sano’s new contract guarantees him over $55,000 per strikeout!
 

Donaldson’s signing his contract 10 years after Mauer so taking inflation of baseball contracts into consideration, its not nearly as egregious an impact on team payroll as that lead weight was.
 


Opening day can't get here fast enough--I hate winter here in the cold and dreary Northeast. Can almost smell the green, green grass of home.
 



Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Love the move. Impact player in the field and at the plate.

And here I thought folks like Howie have been saying for weeks that the offseason was over and it was a colossal failure by the front office? WTF?
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This was literally the only major FA left and the odds of them pulling this off based on history weren't good. And as awesome as their line-up is, Homer Baily, Randy Dobnak and Lewis Thorpe still make up 60% of their rotation.
 

The option year is very likely to be picked up. $14 million to keep him and $8 million to walk away. He'd have to be pretty bad in year 4 to not pick up the 5th year.
 



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