All Things 2022-2023 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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This could go either way of course but I'm optimistic about this. Arraez is a great contact hitter but having him at DH or 1B was creating a log jam. I think this opens up the infield a lot more and the fact it immediately gives us a prospect that will be in our top 5 is icing on the cake.
 

golfing18now said:
I like this move too. Arraez isn't a prototypical DH and is a negative defensively regardless of where you put in. He just doesn't have a position.

This was in the works when the Twins initially thought they had Correa and then came back to the forefront when Correa came back to them. Play Brooks Lee all year long at 3B and assume he is ready by 2024. This year Miranda stays at third with Kirilloff at 1st. They probably need a long term option at 2B. Martin and Lewis are obviously in the fold too. That's a good infield if healthy.

The Twins now have 8 or 9 legitimate starting pitching options. They potentially lose 3 at the end of this year. By extending Paddock and getting Lopez, they extend their young, controllable starting pitching into 2024. Hopefully we continue to see fewer and fewer Bundy/Archer type starting pitching signings in the future.

Now trade Kepler for a bullpen piece.
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There's also Edouard Julien at 2B. Underrated guy that could be ready next year. He's like Arraez with more power. And maybe Polanco rebounds this year. They still have him under contract for a few more years for dirt cheap.

I wouldn't be surprised if they hold on to Kepler at this point but we'll see. It would be interesting to see how he does without the shift. Him and Gallo were two of the top players hurt by the shift. But I would be fine if they can trade him for a bullpen arm too.
 

howeda7 said:
It might be a good trade long-term, but I don't see it as a wash for 2023. This likely means either Ober or Maedawill not be in the Opening Day rotation. Is Lopez better than them? Probably. Maeda is a big unknown. Is he significantly better? I doubt it. Not enough to offset the loss on offense.
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It will be interesting how that all shakes out but it usually works itself out as there's always someone hurt. My guess is if everyone is healthy, Ober is the odd man out. Or maybe they start Maeda in the bullpen to get his strength back first. I'm not sure what the status is for Mahle too. Maybe they piggy back him and Maeda to limit their innings early on? I don't know, just guessing.

They may not be done with trades too, we'll see.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I think the Twins are far from being done with trades.

Celestino and Gordon also play CF.
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They are currently claiming Gallo will be the primary back-up CF'er. They don't like Gordon out there and Celistino is not likely to be on the Opening Day roster if Buxton is healthy.
 



GophersInIowa said:
It will be interesting how that all shakes out but it usually works itself out as there's always someone hurt. My guess is if everyone is healthy, Ober is the odd man out. Or maybe they start Maeda in the bullpen to get his strength back first. I'm not sure what the status is for Mahle too. Maybe they piggy back him and Maeda to limit their innings early on? I don't know, just guessing.

They may not be done with trades too, we'll see.
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Didn't they start last year with a six man rotation until Paddock got hurt?

Ryan/Ober/Paddock/Grey/Bundy/Archer?
 

This was a great fucking trade.

Lopez for Arraez straight up was good. We got two prospects one of which is very legit.

Arraez slugging .420 as a 1B just isnt that valuable. He isnt a good defender anywhere else and mostly plays 1B.

Lopez had a 3.75 era last year with a FIP that matched. Hes in his prime so should get better. No need to worry about NL to AL since the DH is universal. Actually, its a upgrade for Lopez. Leaving one of the best divisions(even better since he was on marlins and not the big 3) to come to a division that cant hit nearly as well. Two bad teams. Guardians not a great offense. White Sox notoriously have hit lefties better.

It was a no brainer deal. And I hate our FO
 

golfing18now said:
Didn't they start last year with a six man rotation until Paddock got hurt?

Ryan/Ober/Paddock/Grey/Bundy/Archer?
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They did but that was partly because MLB started with an expanded roster because they missed so much of spring training. I don't believe they will do that this year.
 

from what I've seen on the internets, the Twins have been actively shopping Kepler but the offers they're getting in return are way below what the Twins think Kepler is worth. Unless they just give him away, it may be that the only way Kepler gets moved now is if he's part of a larger deal.

which is why I think the front office is not done making deals yet. they have to do something about the logjam in the outfield.

I wouldn't mind another relief pitcher and the catching depth system-wide is still pretty thin.
 






I was probably slightly against the trade until I saw the prospects.

I'm guessing Julien makes the team out of ST if he hits well.
 





GophersInIowa said:
There's also Edouard Julien at 2B. Underrated guy that could be ready next year. He's like Arraez with more power. And maybe Polanco rebounds this year. They still have him under contract for a few more years for dirt cheap.

I wouldn't be surprised if they hold on to Kepler at this point but we'll see. It would be interesting to see how he does without the shift. Him and Gallo were two of the top players hurt by the shift. But I would be fine if they can trade him for a bullpen arm too.
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This bold portion will be a key in my mind for not only Kepler, but also many other players as well.
 

I'm not sure how I feel about the trade, but what I lament most about losing Arraez is that he played pretty much every day. Especially in today's MLB and the Twins in particular, I don't take just being available for granted.

Hopefully it works out for everyone.
 

2022 stats:

For April, Lopez had a 0.39 ERA. From May 1st to the end of the season, he had a 4.25 ERA.

Dylan Bundy: April: 2.97 ERA. The rest of the season: 5.23.

Chris Archer: April: 2.93 ERA. The rest of the season: 4.84.
 

Ope3 said:
I'm not sure how I feel about the trade, but what I lament most about losing Arraez is that he played pretty much every day. Especially in today's MLB and the Twins in particular, I don't take just being available for granted.

Hopefully it works out for everyone.
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And the guy they are counting on to replace him had some sort of last-ditch surgery to try and fix his wrist. With the way this team has been bitten by injuries, it's easy to be wary of things working out.
 

I didn't know a thing about Lopez before the trade. After reading the write ups on him, the thing that stood out was the dreaded phrase "shoulder soreness." Given the Twins history with such things, I think the fans have every right to be concerned about the Twins bringing in another lame limbed pitcher. I hope the prospects in the trade materialize.

The Twins still don't have a dominant starter. They brought in another above average pitcher who is medium to high risk for arm problems in exchange for the most disciplined hitter in baseball. I'm not opposed to the trade but I don't love it. Arraez's disciplined, reliable bat will be missed more than people realize. Again, I think it's the prospects that will be the juice. I don't trust Lopez's health.
 

Will they let Lopez go 3 innings or stretch him out to 4 innings?
 

If you could somehow take all of the emotion out of the situation, I think the Twins got good value back in the deal.

but fans are emotional.

you have people who are already inclined to criticize anything the Twins do because they don't like the Pohlad's or the front office.

and when they trade a player who was very popular and seen as one of the most "fun" players on the team, it's not surprising to see this type of reaction.

I have no idea what Joe Pohlad thinks about Falvey and Levine. But if the Twins do not have a good season this year, and attendance keeps dropping, along with public opinion, Pohlad may find himself in a situation where someone has to get the axe.
 

I made a joke a week or so ago about the Twins signing a pitcher who could go deep into the 4th inning. Lopez averaged 5.1 innings per start last year. I hope those prospects are really, really good.
 

kg21 said:
Will they let Lopez go 3 innings or stretch him out to 4 innings?
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This sort of stuff bugs me with the Twins. Kind of like a runner. Do you train a runner run a 10-mile race or a 1/2 mile when he could be running further? The Twins are training their guys to go about 5 innings or so.
 

#2Gopher said:
This sort of stuff bugs me with the Twins. Kind of like a runner. Do you train a runner run a 10-mile race or a 1/2 mile when he could be running further? The Twins are training their guys to go about 5 innings or so.
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I would be ok with the 5 inning thing if they had a plethora of reliable arms in the bullpen to get those final 12 outs.

But they don't.
 

Ope3 said:
I would be ok with the 5 inning thing if they had a plethora of reliable arms in the bullpen to get those final 12 outs.

But they don't.
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And the not-overly-great bullpen gets gassed by mid-season because they’re the most worked in the MLB.
 

Twins needs a couple of elite relievers who can pitch 3-4 innings as well as elite 1 inning guys.

Ober could be excellent as a 3 inning reliever.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Twins needs a couple of elite relievers who can pitch 3-4 innings as well as elite 1 inning guys.

Ober could be excellent as a 3 inning reliever.
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Typically any reliever that throws 3 innings gets sent down to St Paul as he won't be available for 3 days.

If they are out of options, they try to put them on the IL.
 
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Ope3 said:
I would be ok with the 5 inning thing if they had a plethora of reliable arms in the bullpen to get those final 12 outs.

But they don't.
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was thinking about this.
before the trade, starting rotation was likely to be: Maeda, Ryan, Gray, Mahle & Ober.

Adding P. Lopez could allow the Twins to put Ober in the bullpen. He is certainly capable of throwing more than 1 inning at a time, and relieving might help him stay healthy.

I would rather have Ober in the pen instead of a guy like Megill.

as it sits now, pen looks like Duran, J. Lopez, Jax, Alcala (if healthy), Thielbar, Moran, Megill and Satan....excuse me, Pagan. Ober IMHO is better than several of those guys.

(side note - FanGraphs has P. Lopez projected as the Twins' best starter.......)
 

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