All Things 2020-2021 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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per Shooter:

Among reasons it’s important for the Twins to re-sign free agent Nelson Cruz is that he’s a mentor to Miguel Sano. Cruz, by the way, should be an easy pick for baseball’s Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award for community service.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Falcons’ demise could be a cautionary tale for Vikings

Could the Minnesota Vikings, who host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, be on their way to becoming the Falcons?
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Win Twins!!
 

The White Sox just hired Tony LaRussa as skipper.

TK is just a kid compared to him, bring him back! ;)
 

Ope3 said:
The White Sox just hired Tony LaRussa as skipper.

TK is just a kid compared to him, bring him back! ;)
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Over/Under the amount of games he falls asleep in the dugout?
 




tmvander said:
Over/Under the amount of games he falls asleep in the dugout?
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Hopefully he takes Uber back and forth to Comisky Park, or whatever they are calling it these days.
 

Ope3 said:
The White Sox just hired Tony LaRussa as skipper.

TK is just a kid compared to him, bring him back! ;)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't mind it. At least for the play-off games. He can tell Rocco where to shove his analytics. It's October now.
 


BleedGopher said:
per Shooter:

Among reasons it’s important for the Twins to re-sign free agent Nelson Cruz is that he’s a mentor to Miguel Sano. Cruz, by the way, should be an easy pick for baseball’s Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award for community service.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Falcons’ demise could be a cautionary tale for Vikings

Could the Minnesota Vikings, who host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, be on their way to becoming the Falcons?
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Win Twins!!
Click to expand...
Cruz is set on getting a 2-year deal. They won't give him one, and they shouldn't. I'm afraid we need the DH spot for Donaldson sooner rather than later.
 



if Cruz goes, I can live with that.

My priority (if I was running the show) would be to find ways to get Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker in the lineup on a regular basis.

In a weird way, the Twins may come to regret the Donaldson signing. he did not help in 2020, and now he's getting older with injury issues. If he can't play 3B on a regular basis, then he may wind up at DH where he could be taking at-bats away from one of the young players.
 


BleedGopher said:

Win Twins!!
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Not a good year to be a free agent as I'm sure there will be plenty of owners trying to save/recoup money from 2020...on the flip side, the teams that don't care about spending big bucks (NY, LA) may get even richer, as they could sign players at a potential discount.
 

With the Tigers hiring AJ Hinch, the Twins are the only AL Central team that has a manager without taking a team to the World Series. 3 of them have won it all, albeit with different teams. Francona at least got there with Cleveland.

Francona - Red Sox
LaRussa - A's/Cards
Hinch - Astros

Matheny - Catds
 



Gleeman: Twins offseason shopping list: 17 free agents who could address their needs

Last offseason, the Twins’ biggest need was obvious: starting pitching.

They traded for Kenta Maeda, re-signed Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda, and signed Rich Hill and Homer Bailey. Not every move was successful, but Maeda is a finalist for the Cy Young Award, the trio of Maeda-Pineda-Hill combined to go 10-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 24 starts, and the rotation as a whole improved to the league’s second-best ERA.

They needed rotation help and they got it.

This offseason, the Twins’ biggest need isn’t as obvious, in part because they have several.

Nelson Cruz’s departure as a free agent leaves a massive hole in the middle of the lineup, so either re-signing The Boomstick or replacing him with an impact bat is essential. On a smaller scale, the departures of Marwin González and Ehire Adrianza, combined with questions about the durability of several key hitters, makes it more important than ever to restock the bench with quality depth.

And of course, pitching help is always needed, in the rotation and the bullpen, as Odorizzi, Hill, Bailey, Sergio Romo, Trevor May, and Tyler Clippard are all free agents (and no team has ever thought they had enough high-end pitching).

With that longer shopping list in mind, I’ve chosen some appealing free-agent targets for each of five potential Twins needs, following the “good-better-best” retail pricing method. “Good” is a quality option at a modest price tag. “Better” is a middle-tier option at a standard price point. “Best” is a high-end option at a premium cost. And all of them are better than digging in the discount bin.

theathletic.com

Twins free-agent shopping list: 17 players to target

From DH to starting pitcher to super-utility guy, here are some players who could give the Twins a boost where they need it most.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Win Twins!!
 

The offseason scares me this year. All teams will be looking to cut payroll after not having fans this season and potentially next season. The Twins roster could have quite a few youngsters on it.
 

tmvander said:
The offseason scares me this year. All teams will be looking to cut payroll after not having fans this season and potentially next season. The Twins roster could have quite a few youngsters on it.
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It's going to be really interesting. I'd guess money is going to be way down for free agents. I'd love to see them take a shot on a guy like Kluber on a cheap, one-year prove it deal.
 


Ope3 said:
Hopefully he takes Uber back and forth to Comisky Park, or whatever they are calling it these days.
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La Russa has formally been charged with another DUI.

www.espn.com

Docs: La Russa charged with DUI after Feb. arrest

White Sox manager Tony La Russa was charged with driving under the influence in Arizona after he allegedly ran his car into a curb in February, according to court records obtained by ESPN. It is the second known drunken driving arrest for La Russa.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

Twins drop Rochester Affiliate and now looking at St. Paul (Saints) as to a replacement. Fewer teams it appears starting this coming summer. I would like this as to St. Paul.
 

#2Gopher said:
Twins drop Rochester Affiliate and now looking at St. Paul (Saints) as to a replacement. Fewer teams it appears starting this coming summer. I would like this as to St. Paul.
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this is part of a huge restructuring of Minor League Baseball. as always, two sides to every story, but a lot of people think the Major League owners were pretty heavy-handed in the way they approached the situation. the Major League argument is that they wanted Minor League clubs to upgrade their facilities - but, on the flip side, by dropping roughly 40 minor league teams, it also reduces the expenses for the Major league teams.

If you haven't been following this, Minor Leagues will go from 160-odd teams to about 120. the Short-season leagues will no longer be affiliated with Major League teams. some talk about those teams reforming as college wood-bat leagues or independent clubs. Each Major league team will have four minor league affiliates - AAA, AA, High-A and Low-A and then their Spring training/developmental operation

One of the big pushes is to have minor league teams more geographically aligned to the major league team - i.e. Twins could have St. Paul as the AAA team instead of Rochester, NY. As part of the process, some teams might move up - AA to AAA or move down. Some talk about the Florida State League going from High-A to Low-A, and the Midwest League taking over as the High-A league. One fly in the ointment - minor league teams that move up in class would have to pay a fee - for an independent like St. Paul, MLB is supposedly asking for $20-million as their fee, which the St. Paul owners (including Bill Murray) are balking at paying.

Supposedly, if the St. Paul deal falls through, another option for the Twins AAA club would be Sioux Falls, but the Canaries would have to have a big upgrade in their facilities. And guess who has been rumored as a donor in that instance - yup, T. Denny Sanford himself.
 

tmvander said:
I'd like to see them trade for a shut down closer. Someone who is nasty. I have always liked Edwin Diaz from the Mets. He's fairly cheap and struck out 50 guys in less than 26 innings this year. He'd be on contract a couple of years too. I think he's kind of walk heavy which isn't ideal but when you throw 99 and your ball moves its bound to happen.

I'd be ok giving Romo another chance and let him be your 8th inning guy throwing low 80s sliders than bring in Diaz to slam the door. If you can get Rogers back cheap do it as a situational guy with experience in late innings in case of injury.

The lineup on paper is really good they just never can do anything in the playoffs. Not sure how you fix that
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The Mets are my NY team (baseball is a long season, so I allow myself that privilege) and Diaz is a a bust whenever the save situation is high pressure - he has a propensity to give up homers.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
The Mets are my NY team (baseball is a long season, so I allow myself that privilege) and Diaz is a a bust whenever the save situation is high pressure - he has a propensity to give up homers.
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Which is so strange...the guys stuff is just filthy
 

tmvander said:
Which is so strange...the guys stuff is just filthy
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1000%.

Maybe he needs a new address - pitching here isn't for everyone (Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown were both subpar Yanks).

I don't think Rogers is the guy.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
1000%.

Maybe he needs a new address - pitching here isn't for everyone (Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown were both subpar Yanks).

I don't think Rogers is the guy.
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Noooooo rogers should be a situational guy...he's not an 8th or 9th inning guy. I don't know twins have some young big arms...maybe one figures it out.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
this is part of a huge restructuring of Minor League Baseball. as always, two sides to every story, but a lot of people think the Major League owners were pretty heavy-handed in the way they approached the situation. the Major League argument is that they wanted Minor League clubs to upgrade their facilities - but, on the flip side, by dropping roughly 40 minor league teams, it also reduces the expenses for the Major league teams.

If you haven't been following this, Minor Leagues will go from 160-odd teams to about 120. the Short-season leagues will no longer be affiliated with Major League teams. some talk about those teams reforming as college wood-bat leagues or independent clubs. Each Major league team will have four minor league affiliates - AAA, AA, High-A and Low-A and then their Spring training/developmental operation

One of the big pushes is to have minor league teams more geographically aligned to the major league team - i.e. Twins could have St. Paul as the AAA team instead of Rochester, NY. As part of the process, some teams might move up - AA to AAA or move down. Some talk about the Florida State League going from High-A to Low-A, and the Midwest League taking over as the High-A league. One fly in the ointment - minor league teams that move up in class would have to pay a fee - for an independent like St. Paul, MLB is supposedly asking for $20-million as their fee, which the St. Paul owners (including Bill Murray) are balking at paying.

Supposedly, if the St. Paul deal falls through, another option for the Twins AAA club would be Sioux Falls, but the Canaries would have to have a big upgrade in their facilities. And guess who has been rumored as a donor in that instance - yup, T. Denny Sanford himself.
Click to expand...
T Denny has bigger problems right now...
 

#2Gopher said:
Twins drop Rochester Affiliate and now looking at St. Paul (Saints) as to a replacement. Fewer teams it appears starting this coming summer. I would like this as to St. Paul.
Click to expand...
Looks like it did happen.
www.startribune.com

St. Paul Saints to become Twins' top minor-league team; Class AA in Wichita

www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
www.mlbtraderumors.com

St. Paul Saints To Become Twins' Triple-A Affiliate

The Twins will move their Triple-A team to St. Paul and their Double-A team to Wichita, Kansas. Read more at MLB Trade Rumors.
www.mlbtraderumors.com www.mlbtraderumors.com
 


Ope3 said:
La Russa has formally been charged with another DUI.

www.espn.com

Docs: La Russa charged with DUI after Feb. arrest

White Sox manager Tony La Russa was charged with driving under the influence in Arizona after he allegedly ran his car into a curb in February, according to court records obtained by ESPN. It is the second known drunken driving arrest for La Russa.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...

UBER YOU DINKUS
 


Interesting but not completely unexpected


 
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