All Things 2023-2024 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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From the Parkinglot said:

I’m sorry a guy that has not played center field in a calendar year cannot be the 7th best center fielder in baseball.
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Well, he does have this on his mantle -

No, not Whitey or Billy🥳

Platinum Glove Award-winning center fielder
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Twins keep picking up pitchers - with minimal MLB experience.

latest addition is RH Caleb Boushley. 30 yrs old. from Hortonville, WI - played college ball at UW-La Crosse. drafted by Padres in the 33rd round in 2017. signed to a minor-league deal and assigned to the Saints.

has been kicking around in the minors since 2017. mainly has worked as a starter. career minor-league record of 39-31 with a 4.23 ERA. had a good year in AAA in 2022, going 12-2 with a 3.25 ERA.

made his only major-league appearance with the Brewers last year - credited with the win after working 2-1/3 innings allowing 1 run (on a HR) with 5K and 2 BB.

he has pitched for clubs with interesting names, including the Fort Wayne TinCaps, San Antonio Missions and the El Paso Chihuahuas.
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Falvey hitting the clearance bin at the Dollar Tree hard. I guess it's what our $4.99 streaming subscription can afford him. :rolleyes:
 

Twins news from Twins Fest (from Phil Miller in the Strib)

on Buxton -
Byron Buxton knows the reaction that any declaration of health is certain to provoke in Twins fans, so on Saturday, his confident and reassuring TwinsFest announcement — "I'm going back to center, simple as that" — came with a disclaimer. "What makes me so sure?" Buxton said. "My body tells me that. I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure."

Buxton has spent the winter devoting himself to daily sessions of rehab and training, after the pain in his right knee was corrected by arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 13. At 8 a.m. each morning, he said, he begins two hours of therapy on his legs, followed by two hours on a baseball field — hitting, running, catching fly balls. The result? "Rehab feels money," he said. "Rehab feels money."

In other words, he said, he's hitting with the power that his sore legs sapped from him last year.
"It's different, I can feel it. It feels good," Buxton said. "Things feel back to ... as close to normal as it's going to get. You take the positive and run with it.

----- radio news ---
Dan Gladden, who has provided color commentary on Twins radio broadcasts for 24 seasons, is scaling back his work schedule, a source familiar with the team's plans confirmed. Gladden, 66, will be in the booth for 100 games this summer, working with new full-time play-by-play man Kris Atteberry. To fill out their schedule, the Twins have hired former manager Paul Molitor to broadcast at least 36 games, and former Twins closer Glen Perkins to handle several others.

----injury updates---
• Jose Miranda, who underwent surgery on Oct. 4 to remove scar tissue that had built up on the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, is pain-free and has begun taking batting practice. "There are some days it feels good, some days it feels so-so," the third baseman said, but he expects to be fully healthy by the time spring training begins in mid-February.

• Alex Kirilloff also has begun hitting again after shoulder surgery in late October. "I'm excited. There's some room to kind of polish things up and be ready for live at-bats in February," the first baseman said. "Hopefully I'll be ready by the time we start playing spring training games."

• Carlos Correa, too, feels healthy again after battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot for much of last season. But the shortstop sounded even more excited by the health of another teammate. "We've got [Chris] Paddack in the rotation now. He looked fantastic in the postseason," Correa said of the righthander, who missed most of the 2023 season after Tommy John elbow surgery. "I've never seen anyone work harder than Paddack. I'm expecting a big comeback year for him. I'm calling it — Comeback Player of the Year, right there."
 





From the Parkinglot said:

Explains why he was not at Twinsfest. Not sure I like this move if it’s just to dump money.
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Much rather have traded Kepler. If no ML player is coming back, the payroll is now ~$110 million down from $159 million. I guess they can now survive even if they get $0 in local TV $$. :rolleyes:
 


howeda7 said:
Much rather have traded Kepler.
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Twins have more organizational depth on the infield with players who are closer to the majors. the OF prospects are still a few years away.

just checked a few websites and so far, no one is reporting what the Twins will get in return.
 




short ornery norwegian said:
Twins have more organizational depth on the infield with players who are closer to the majors. the OF prospects are still a few years away.

just checked a few websites and so far, no one is reporting what the Twins will get in return.
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It's all short-term though. I view them as interchangeable. Kiriloff can easily play RF. Julien can play 1B. I think Kepler would likely have brought a much better return but we'll see.
 

update - from Ken Rosenthal -

Twins are getting four players for Polanco - two major leaguers and two minor leaguers.

RH pitcher Justin Topa is among the players in the deal according to "sources."

Topa - 32 yrs old. bounced around minors for a while. looks like he missed a couple of seasons for injuries - no stats shown for 2015 or 2017.

a few starts early but mostly worked in relief.

last year at Seattle 5-4 with 2.61 ERA, 3 saves, 61K in 69 IP.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
update - from Ken Rosenthal -

Twins are getting four players for Polanco - two major leaguers and two minor leaguers.

RH pitcher Justin Topa is among the players in the deal according to "sources."
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Julio Rodriguez the other major leaguer, right?
 



From the Parkinglot said:

Explains why he was not at Twinsfest. Not sure I like this move if it’s just to dump money.
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Given his lack of ability to stay healthy and salary I'm good with the move.

I appreciate Polanco's previous contributions with the Twins and wish him success for the remainder of his career.
 


GophersInIowa said:
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Quantity over quality I guess. No idea on the prospects, but the two ML pitchers are both over 30, arbitration eligible and probably not any better or much cheaper than remaining free agents they could have signed IMO.
 

Gonzalez - OF, plays all 3 positions - 20 yrs old - 3 years in Seattle system. last year at A ball hit .348/.403/.530 - OPS .933 w/ 9 HR. at High-A, only hit .216 but with 9 HR in 43 games.

DeSclafani - RH pitcher - 33 yrs old from Freehold, NJ (Springsteen's home town). 9 years in majors. has been up-and-down.
last year 4-8 with Giants as a starter. 4.88 ERA. best year was 2021 with Giants - went 13-7 w/3.17 ERA. Overall record is 54-56 with 4.20 ERA.

more - Twins Daily says the Twins will be getting some cash back in the deal, because DeSclafani's salary is higher than Polanco's. also say Gonzalez will be ranked as a top-10 prospect in the Twins' minor-league system. described as slugging outfielder but probably not fast enough to stay in CF.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
Quick scan of baseball reference, as I have no clue who the Mariners are -

Topa looks like a decent bullpen arm
DeScalfini a journeyman starter

Any info on your end?
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Gonzalez just turned 20 and is rated as the 79th best prospect in the new rankings. Would be the Twins 4th top 100 prospect.

Anything besides him is gravy IMO. I loved Polanco but this is a win-win for both teams IMO.
 

Seems like the Twins could have gotten Robbie Ray from Seattle for Polanco and Kepler, but that wouldn't have shed any payroll.
 


and - yahoo sports says other player in deal is Darren Bowen. RH pitcher - 22 yrs old. drafted in 13th round from UNC-Pembroke. last year broke in at A ball. 4-2 with 3.88 ERA mainly as a starter. was a strike-out pitcher in college.

so Twins get the #3 prospect in Seattle's minor-league system (Gonzalez) along with a major-league starter, a major-league reliever, and a young pitching prospect.

if nothing else, DeSclafani gives Twins a candidate for #5 starter - which could allow them to keep Varland in bullpen. Or, if Topa fills a bullpen spot, keep Varland as a starter and have more pitching depth in case of injuries or if they want to be careful with Paddack's innings.
 
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GophersInIowa said:
Gonzalez just turned 20 and is rated as the 79th best prospect in the new rankings. Would be the Twins 4th top 100 prospect.
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Wow. That gives us 4 quality/highly ranked Young OFers for three spots in the future. Yipee!!
GophersInIowa said:
Anything besides him is gravy IMO. I loved Polanco but this is a win-win for both teams IMO.
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Topa is legit based on his stats last season

5-4
2.61 ERA
75 games
8K/per 9
1.14 WhIP

www.baseball-reference.com

Justin Topa Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Justin Topa. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
 



reckless speculation - IF Buxton's knee looks good in Spring Training, I could see them trade Kepler and maybe a prospect or two for another Starting Pitcher.
 



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