All Things 2022-2023 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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per Shooter:

— Byron Buxton, asked whether injuries might prompt a position change from center field next year: “I’m the center-fielder! It will take somebody better than me to come get it. And I ain’t changing nothing I’m doing. At the end of the day, you want me out there playing hard, or you want me out there lackadaisical? At the end of the day, you can’t have it both ways.”

—American League batting champion Luis Arraez of the Twins, on the secret to hitting: “Hit the ball at the middle, don’t think too much and enjoy.”

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Vikings’ Justin Jefferson will soon be NFL’s highest-paid receiver

He’s not eligible for the huge extension until after the season.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Shooter:

— Byron Buxton, asked whether injuries might prompt a position change from center field next year: “I’m the center-fielder! It will take somebody better than me to come get it. And I ain’t changing nothing I’m doing. At the end of the day, you want me out there playing hard, or you want me out there lackadaisical? At the end of the day, you can’t have it both ways.”

—American League batting champion Luis Arraez of the Twins, on the secret to hitting: “Hit the ball at the middle, don’t think too much and enjoy.”

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Vikings’ Justin Jefferson will soon be NFL’s highest-paid receiver

He’s not eligible for the huge extension until after the season.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!
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Love Luis and BB needs to learn how to chill it down a notch or 2, maybe 🤔
 


from LaVelle in the Strib:

The Twins have engaged Correa on different deals of different lengths, an attempt to find some common ground with the top shortstop on the market who batted .291 with 22 homers and 64 RBI last season. His 5.4 WAR led the team, he enjoyed his time with the club and is open to returning. Deals as long as 10 years and as short as six have been kicked around, with varying average annual values.

But as the top shortstop available, Correa can command top dollar. And Boras is known to play the slow game with his best free agents in most cases.

It's not clear if the Twins are willing to wait until January or longer for Correa and Boras to decide on where he will sign. Correa has the leverage here, because he's better than Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson and other shortstops on the market. Correa is in his prime, and his athleticism suggests he will age gracefully.

Boras is more than thorough when it comes to shopping his players. He will request a private audience with club owners. He will hold court at the upcoming winter meetings in San Diego and try to drive up interest. He will slow-play, unless a team makes a whopper offer. It's not clear if Twins owner Jim Pohlad will meet with Boras in person, but he's made clear both his fondness for Correa and his desire to get him back. If Correa and Boras decide to wait out the market, will the Twins remain patient or move on to someone else?

That's why the Twins have considered pivoting to Bogaerts, 30, who batted .307 for Boston last season with 15 homers, 73 RBI and an .833 OPS. But Bogaerts also is represented by Boras and might be willing to wait things out as well. So Twins fans might find out later rather than sooner who will be the starting shortstop next spring.
 


From the Parkinglot said:

Cheap Pohlad’s.
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This is a good thing. Jim was barely engaged at all. Joe has been for years. Sure I'd rather they sell the team, but having someone who knows/cares whether they are moving in the right direction is a step up.
 





howeda7 said:
This is a good thing. Jim was barely engaged at all. Joe has been for years. Sure I'd rather they sell the team, but having someone who knows/cares whether they are moving in the right direction is a step up.
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It was sarcasm. Almost 75% of the stuff I post on here is sarcasm.

The Pohlad’s have not even been close to the biggest reason the twins have not won in The post season.
 






I mean if that doesn’t instill confidence for the guy driving the boat I don’t know what will.

“I just need to figure it out as we go”. Are the Pohlad’s so cheap that they won’t hire a PR firm to help them handle and train them to do interviews. My gosh first it was total system failure, then this past off season Jim comes out and says the season was an A+. These morons are worse public speakers than Ziggy’s brother and that takes true talent to be that bad.
 

this is an opportunity for the Twins - if they are willing to take advantage.

A younger guy serving as the primary owner. If the Twins are smart, they'll have him be more visible and serve as the public face for the ownership. Get him on KFAN, WCCO, and doing interviews with the Strib and the Pioneer Press. walk around at games and BS with fans.

this franchise needs all of the positive PR it can generate.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
this is an opportunity for the Twins - if they are willing to take advantage.

A younger guy serving as the primary owner. If the Twins are smart, they'll have him be more visible and serve as the public face for the ownership. Get him on KFAN, WCCO, and doing interviews with the Strib and the Pioneer Press. walk around at games and BS with fans.

this franchise needs all of the positive PR it can generate.
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They have new uniforms. What more can we want?
 



short ornery norwegian said:
this is an opportunity for the Twins - if they are willing to take advantage.

A younger guy serving as the primary owner. If the Twins are smart, they'll have him be more visible and serve as the public face for the ownership. Get him on KFAN, WCCO, and doing interviews with the Strib and the Pioneer Press. walk around at games and BS with fans.

this franchise needs all of the positive PR it can generate.
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I'm not sure why any of this would matter. No one cares what the owner has to say, they just want them to spend the money to put the right amount of pieces in place from top to bottom across the organization.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I'm not sure why any of this would matter. No one cares what the owner has to say, they just want them to spend the money to put the right amount of pieces in place from top to bottom across the organization.
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It's a perception thing. the public - with encouragement from certain media members - looks at the Pohlad family as "the cheap Pohlads" - seeing them as out-of-touch owners who don't care and don't want to spend money.

IF - and I say if - Joe Pohlad can change that perception, that could help create a more positive view among the fans. I have seen some 'insiders' claim that Jim Pohlad was not a fan of long-term, big-money contracts, while Joe may be more willing to consider those types of deals.

Jim Pohlad was never out in public. You never heard a peep from him. Joe Pohlad says he plans to be more public, and also plans to communicate more with the front office and the manager.

it may be a small thing, but if Joe Pohlad can give the team a better public "face," that can help change the perception that the ownership of the team doesn't give a sh*t.

and right now, this franchise needs all the positive PR it can generate.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It's a perception thing. the public - with encouragement from certain media members - looks at the Pohlad family as "the cheap Pohlads" - seeing them as out-of-touch owners who don't care and don't want to spend money.

IF - and I say if - Joe Pohlad can change that perception, that could help create a more positive view among the fans. I have seen some 'insiders' claim that Jim Pohlad was not a fan of long-term, big-money contracts, while Joe may be more willing to consider those types of deals.

Jim Pohlad was never out in public. You never heard a peep from him. Joe Pohlad says he plans to be more public, and also plans to communicate more with the front office and the manager.

it may be a small thing, but if Joe Pohlad can give the team a better public "face," that can help change the perception that the ownership of the team doesn't give a sh*t.

and right now, this franchise needs all the positive PR it can generate.
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This still changes nothing. Talk is cheap. So are the Pohlads until they prove to the fans they are willing to spend the money. Next year will be season 13 in taxpayer funded Target Field, the stadium they said they needed to pay for a competitive team. And it will still be 21 years since their last playoff win, with a consistent bottom 13 payroll.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It's a perception thing. the public - with encouragement from certain media members - looks at the Pohlad family as "the cheap Pohlads" - seeing them as out-of-touch owners who don't care and don't want to spend money.

IF - and I say if - Joe Pohlad can change that perception, that could help create a more positive view among the fans. I have seen some 'insiders' claim that Jim Pohlad was not a fan of long-term, big-money contracts, while Joe may be more willing to consider those types of deals.

Jim Pohlad was never out in public. You never heard a peep from him. Joe Pohlad says he plans to be more public, and also plans to communicate more with the front office and the manager.

it may be a small thing, but if Joe Pohlad can give the team a better public "face," that can help change the perception that the ownership of the team doesn't give a sh*t.

and right now, this franchise needs all the positive PR it can generate.
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I haven't seen or heard from the Wilfs in years (probably since the TCO facility opened). Can't say that bothers me one bit. They spend money and (usually) take action when needed. Short of not bagging Spielman sooner, not much to complain about. Don't hear them speak, but know they are at least attempting to field a good team. Meanwhile the Pohlads come out and say how fantastic their front office and manager are that are borderline inept. Not sure I'd say being public is the way to go.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
This still changes nothing. Talk is cheap. So are the Pohlads until they prove to the fans they are willing to spend the money. Next year will be season 13 in taxpayer funded Target Field, the stadium they said they needed to pay for a competitive team. And it will still be 21 years since their last playoff win, with a consistent bottom 13 payroll.
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They had a payroll of $140-$145 million in 2022. That is perfectly reasonable for the market size. "Cheapness" was not the issue. Poor decisions by the front office of how to deploy it were.
 

howeda7 said:
They had a payroll of $140-$145 million in 2022. That is perfectly reasonable for the market size. "Cheapness" was not the issue. Poor decisions by the front office of how to deploy it were.
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My gripe with the payroll is that they seem to treat it like a salary cap. Their accountants tell them that they can spend $xyz dollars and turn a profit. So they get to this figure of $140mil and spend it. I was advocating for this last offseason - but pretty much everybody said 2022 was not going to be the Twins year. So why drop a bunch on Correa and retread SP? Let your payroll ebb and flow with where it makes sense to. Play the youngsters in '22 and go cheap. Save that money and use it to build a credible rotation in '23 or '24. I understand they don't want to ruffle feathers of season ticket holders and make it seem that they're "not trying" that year by going cheap. However, I would see it as just being realistic and trying to focus the resources where they are most valuable. If they pared back a bit one year and really went for it another, I think fans would understand. A team that spends this much money isn't going to be in it every year. So take a shot when it makes sense, and then you can pare back when it doesn't.

It's not always easy with long-term contracts, I get it. But they could have pared the payroll to around $100mil in '22 (minus Correa and retreads). Then if there are credible SP available in '23, bump up your payroll to $180mil.
 

howeda7 said:
They had a payroll of $140-$145 million in 2022. That is perfectly reasonable for the market size. "Cheapness" was not the issue. Poor decisions by the front office of how to deploy it were.
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Depending on how you slice it, they were still somewhere between 16-20th in payroll. Only 3 teams, Seattle, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay made the playoffs with a lower payroll. They got to that number by giving Correa basically a one year deal, because they didn't want to invest the long term money.

If you don't think they were cheap last season, then lets see what they do heading into next. The Pohlads are still in the top 10 of richest owners in baseball, and have the 14th largest TV market. There's zero reason they shouldn't be top 15 every year and border on top 10 at times. Currently they have under 50 million on the payroll for next season. They should be able to spend at least 100 million on players this offseason. Do you think they will?

I don't, and that's all I really care about. Not what Joe Pohlad says, lets see if they spend the additional 100 million this offseason like they should.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Depending on how you slice it, they were still somewhere between 16-20th in payroll. Only 3 teams, Seattle, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay made the playoffs with a lower payroll. They got to that number by giving Correa basically a one year deal, because they didn't want to invest the long term money.

If you don't think they were cheap last season, then lets see what they do heading into next. The Pohlads are still in the top 10 of richest owners in baseball, and have the 14th largest TV market. There's zero reason they shouldn't be top 15 every year and border on top 10 at times. Currently they have under 50 million on the payroll for next season. They should be able to spend at least 100 million on players this offseason. Do you think they will?

I don't, and that's all I really care about. Not what Joe Pohlad says, lets see if they spend the additional 100 million this offseason like they should.
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They haven't always spent what they should, but they did last year. I share your pessimism about what they will do for 2023. But that is on Falvine. They aren't being told to cut payroll.
 

forever a gopher said:
My gripe with the payroll is that they seem to treat it like a salary cap. Their accountants tell them that they can spend $xyz dollars and turn a profit. So they get to this figure of $140mil and spend it. I was advocating for this last offseason - but pretty much everybody said 2022 was not going to be the Twins year. So why drop a bunch on Correa and retread SP? Let your payroll ebb and flow with where it makes sense to. Play the youngsters in '22 and go cheap. Save that money and use it to build a credible rotation in '23 or '24. I understand they don't want to ruffle feathers of season ticket holders and make it seem that they're "not trying" that year by going cheap. However, I would see it as just being realistic and trying to focus the resources where they are most valuable. If they pared back a bit one year and really went for it another, I think fans would understand. A team that spends this much money isn't going to be in it every year. So take a shot when it makes sense, and then you can pare back when it doesn't.

It's not always easy with long-term contracts, I get it. But they could have pared the payroll to around $100mil in '22 (minus Correa and retreads). Then if there are credible SP available in '23, bump up your payroll to $180mil.
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They do treat it like a salary cap, but it's at a reasonable level. I do wish they would do as you suggest and look at it over a 3 or 5 year cycle instead of year-to-year. It does not appear that is the case.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Depending on how you slice it, they were still somewhere between 16-20th in payroll. Only 3 teams, Seattle, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay made the playoffs with a lower payroll. They got to that number by giving Correa basically a one year deal, because they didn't want to invest the long term money.

If you don't think they were cheap last season, then lets see what they do heading into next. The Pohlads are still in the top 10 of richest owners in baseball, and have the 14th largest TV market. There's zero reason they shouldn't be top 15 every year and border on top 10 at times. Currently they have under 50 million on the payroll for next season. They should be able to spend at least 100 million on players this offseason. Do you think they will?

I don't, and that's all I really care about. Not what Joe Pohlad says, lets see if they spend the additional 100 million this offseason like they should.
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There are multiple teams located in some of the larger tv markets.
 


Crazy money for a pitcher that when healthy is the best pitcher in the world. Of course he had not thrown over 100 innings since 2019. Texas is spending crazy money this off season just like last off season.
 

From the Parkinglot said:

Crazy money for a pitcher that when healthy is the best pitcher in the world. Of course he had not thrown over 100 innings since 2019. Texas is spending crazy money this off season just like last off season.
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I think it’s good for the Mets to let him go at this point and look for a more durable, less expensive option. Not sure what they pitching wise down on the farm.
 

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