All Things 2023-2024 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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Gopher_In_NYC said:
Who knows? Could be?

Or maybe we need some analysis which is a bit more in-depth. You’re welcome 😉 via The Athletic’s Gleeman - see link and snippets from article below.

FYI - Tony D only costs $4M & Topa is under $1.5M and we have team control for two more years! @howeda7, there’s all kinds of bargains at the dollar store if you look through enough bins - trust me I’ve become an expert in recent years 😎


https://theathletic.com/5236911/2024/01/30/jorge-polanco-twins-trade-mariners/?source=user_shared_article

Why the Twins traded Jorge Polanco, who they got in return and what comes next


Asked last week about the Minnesota Twins’ lack of offseason activity, manager Rocco Baldelli said he “would bet on” a significant move taking place before the end of spring training.

However, the reality is that the 30-year-old’s time in Minnesota was coming to an end soon, one way or another. Polanco has dealt with numerous leg injuries, playing just 184 of a possible 324 games the past two years. This season’s $10.5 million salary and his $12 million team option for 2025 are each reasonable, but the Twins have a logjam of young, MLB-ready infielders waiting in the wings.

“We think we have a really deep infield group,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said, pointing first to Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis providing stability on the left side. “When we looked at our infield to start the offseason, it’s probably why a lot of questions came up on Polo. All were fair. There are a lot of bodies, a lot of guys.”

This is a prime example of the Twins trading from an area of strength, and it’s also an example of cashing in a veteran player whose value could be much lower at midseason or next offseason given Polanco’s age and injury history. In doing so, the Twins get a quality haul from the Mariners that blends short-term value and long-term upside in a way that’s rare for a trade between contending teams.

“It doesn’t always come together like this,” Falvey said. “But ultimately it came together in a way that allowed us to address the present and the future.”

Gonzalez is a consensus top-100 prospect who would likely slot in at No. 5 on my Twins top prospects list published three weeks ago. Signed out of Venezuela for $1.3 million as a 17-year-old in 2021, he’s a burly corner outfielder and free-swinging right-handed slugger who hit .298/.361/.476 with 18 homers in 116 games across two Single-A levels last season, all before turning 20.

Gonzalez is something of a boom-or-bust prospect, with believers who think he can be a middle-of-the-lineup force and skeptics who worry a lack of discipline at the plate may be a red flag. On its own, getting a top-100 prospect for a good but oft-injured 30-year-old under two seasons of team control at sizable but fair salaries wouldn’t look out of place as a 1-for-1 swap, but the Twins got more.

Bowen is the closest thing this trade has to a toss-in, but even he’s not without upside. Picked in the 13th round of the 2022 draft, the 6-foot-3 right-hander had a solid 2023 pro debut against Low-A hitters and fits the profile the Twins tend to look for in potential velocity gainers. They’ll give him a chance to stick as a starter and Bowen’s fastball/slider combo could also work in relief.

Topa is a late-blooming 32-year-old right-hander who posted a 2.61 ERA and 61-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 69 innings last season, ranking 14th among American League relievers in Win Probability Added. He surrendered just four homers thanks to a mid-90s sinker that generates a ton of groundballs, and his slider can miss some bats, giving Topa an appealing late-inning profile.

Topa is owed $1.25 million for 2024 via arbitration and will also be under team control in 2025 and 2026, likely inexpensively, so he could prove to be a highly valuable component of this trade if last year’s breakthrough was for real. He will join a Twins setup mix that includes Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar and Josh Staumont, working in front of closer Jhoan Duran.

DeSclafani has battled injuries the past two seasons, including missing the final two months of last year with a strained elbow, but he’s expected to be ready for spring training and will likely fill the fifth rotation spot alongside Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryanand Chris Paddack. When healthy, he’s generally been a solid mid-rotation starter, posting a 4.20 ERA in 942 2/3 career innings.

DeSclafani is at the end of a three-year, $36 million deal, but the Twins are on the hook for just $4 million. That means beyond adding much-needed rotation insurance with the 34-year-old right-hander, and bumping Louie Varland to Triple-A starter or big-league bullpen depth, the Twins also created around $7 million in flexibility within their self-imposed payroll limit to fill other holes.
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The always important team control.

Polanco was a logical piece to go given the twins glut of infielders. It is what it is and Polanco might miss half the year with bad knees, so that alone might turn out to be a plus for the twins.
 

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Evan Drellich of The Athletic tweeted some stuff on the TV situation

--Source says Cleveland, Texas, Minnesota are expected to remain on Bally for 2024. These would all be one-year deals.

Drellich said Cleveland and Texas would receive less money for their TV rights from Bally, but the reduction might only be in the range of 15% less. He did not say anything about MN in that tweet.

the proposed deal with Diamond and Amazon likely won't be confirmed in court until summer - if it is confirmed. so streaming for 2024 remains up in the air.

(disclaimer - I am not an Athletic subscriber, so I can't read the full article with more details - just going by what Drellich is tweeting.
 


on another topic - ESPN has a new ranking of its top 100 prospects in baseball. 3 Twins prospects made the list -
14. Walker Jenkins - "potentially plus at everything in the batter's box with a great swing and some defensive value
22. Emmanuel Rodriguez - "plus power and patience"
29. Brooks Lee - "polished, near sure-thing solid everyday infielder with medium upside"

FWIW - Orioles lead list with 7 of top 100 prospects. 6 each for Mets, Padres, Reds, Tigers and Yankees.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
on another topic - ESPN has a new ranking of its top 100 prospects in baseball. 3 Twins prospects made the list -
14. Walker Jenkins - "potentially plus at everything in the batter's box with a great swing and some defensive value
22. Emmanuel Rodriguez - "plus power and patience"
29. Brooks Lee - "polished, near sure-thing solid everyday infielder with medium upside"

FWIW - Orioles lead list with 7 of top 100 prospects. 6 each for Mets, Padres, Reds, Tigers and Yankees.
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For the MLB.com list, the Orioles have had the preseason #1 prospect each of the last 3 seasons. And they're 3 different players. Incredible. They could be a force for awhile.
 

FWIW -

A name as a possible 4th OF that has popped up since the Polanco trade is Adam Duvall, mentioned by both Dan Hayes @ Athletic and the Twins MLB beat writer, Park.

www.baseball-reference.com

Adam Duvall Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Adam Duvall. 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

I’ve always liked his hls game. As he can capably play all three OF positions and had a 1.6 WAR with a .247 avg and 21 big flys in 320 ABs last year.

He was paid $7M last year and likely won’t cost thst much this year. He’s not as good a defender as MAT, but provides more contact and defensive flexibility - he’d be my first choice.

EDIT: I forgot that Duvall can also play first base as well.

Looks like the trial savings from the Polanco trade will be $5M.
 
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O’s to be sold -

www.mlb.com

Angelos family agrees to sell control stake in O's to David Rubenstein

BALTIMORE -- For the first time in 31 years, the Orioles are on the verge of being sold. An agreement is in place for the Angelos family to sell the Orioles to a group led by private equity billionaire David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion, as announced in releases sent by
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

Angelos family agrees to sell control stake in O's to David Rubenstein​


Baltimore, MD – The Angelos family, majority owner of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Baltimore Orioles, has agreed to sell a control stake in the Orioles to Baltimore native, philanthropist, and investor David M. Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. The Angelos family will continue to hold a sizable investment in the Orioles, and John Angelos will serve as a senior advisor to the organization. The transaction is subject to review and approval by MLB’s Ownership Committee and a full vote of MLB ownership.

Mr. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and he will become the controlling owner of the Orioles upon the close of the transaction.
 



Gopher_In_NYC said:
O’s to be sold -

www.mlb.com

Angelos family agrees to sell control stake in O's to David Rubenstein

BALTIMORE -- For the first time in 31 years, the Orioles are on the verge of being sold. An agreement is in place for the Angelos family to sell the Orioles to a group led by private equity billionaire David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion, as announced in releases sent by
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

Angelos family agrees to sell control stake in O's to David Rubenstein​


Baltimore, MD – The Angelos family, majority owner of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Baltimore Orioles, has agreed to sell a control stake in the Orioles to Baltimore native, philanthropist, and investor David M. Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. The Angelos family will continue to hold a sizable investment in the Orioles, and John Angelos will serve as a senior advisor to the organization. The transaction is subject to review and approval by MLB’s Ownership Committee and a full vote of MLB ownership.

Mr. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and he will become the controlling owner of the Orioles upon the close of the transaction.
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on the last Forbes magazine list of MLB valuations, they had the Orioles at $1.7-Billion. that looks spot-on according to this sale price.

FWIW, on the same Forbes list, they had the Twins at just under $1.4-Billion.
 

This is insane. Acuna was unbelievable last year yet was still extremely unlucky.

 

short ornery norwegian said:
on the last Forbes magazine list of MLB valuations, they had the Orioles at $1.7-Billion. that looks spot-on according to this sale price.

FWIW, on the same Forbes list, they had the Twins at just under $1.4-Billion.
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They just sold a controlling stake (depends on how many people own a stake, but for the sake of argument if it's just the Angelo family, that would mean 51%+) for $1.7 Billion. Depending on the percent sold, the actual value thus would be much higher than $1.7 billion. Per the article:

Rubenstein would become the “control person” of the Orioles, a role that had been held by John Angelos since 2019. Angelos will become a senior advisor to the organization and the Angelos family will continue as a major investor.
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So the Angelos will still have a decent share of the team, but just not a controlling stake. They just sold part of a baseball team for $1.7 billion. The team is worth an insane amount of money, but back in 2022 the team received an additional $600MM in public dollars to fix up Camden Yards (bringing the total of public dollars given to the team since 1988 to $1.3 billion). What a world.
 
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forever a gopher said:
They just sold a controlling stake (depends on how many people own a stake, but for the sake of argument if it's just the Angelo family, that would mean 51%+) for $1.7 Billion. Depending on the percent sold, the actual value thus would be much higher than $1.7 billion. Per the article:



So the Angelos will still have a decent share of the team, but just not a controlling stake. They just sold part of a baseball team for $1.7 billion. The team is worth an insane amount of money, but back in 2022 the team received an additional $600MM in public dollars to fix up Camden Yards (bringing the total of public dollars given to the team since 1988 to $1.3 billion). What a world.
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Hopefully their play-by-play man, Kevin Brown, can now feel free to point out things such as when the Orioles break a losing streak against a team or when a player is in a slump or if its a cloudy day.
 





So it appears the twins and Balley’s have a new deal. If the twins have tv money and still cut payroll by $30million that is very poor on ownerships perspective.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
So it appears the twins and Balley’s have a new deal. If the twins have tv money and still cut payroll by $30million that is very poor on ownerships perspective.
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How much did they get? Well short of $54 million I'm guessing. And they gave up streaming rights again. Ugh.
 

I don't fully know the rules on trading picks, so I don't know for sure if that Sonny Gray compensatory pick is even tradeable, but did they at least take a run at Burns, or was his 15 million dollar salary just too much to take on? Looking at the deal, I'd be surprised if the Twins couldn't have beat that offer.
 

from the Strib - Twins back with BSN for one year - no streaming deal yet.

The Twins have reached a one-year agreement with Bally Sports North and its bankrupt parent company, Diamond Sports Group, to televise its games on cable and satellite systems during the 2024 season, a source with knowledge of the deal confirmed Friday.

Financial terms were not revealed, but the contract is expected to include a sharp cut in the $54 million that BSN paid the team last season.

The agreement......does not include the ability for fans to stream BSN's broadcasts without subscribing to a cable or satellite carrier. A direct-to-consumer streaming option, which the Twins had said they were determined to create this year, will apparently have to wait another year while MLB develops a leaguewide strategy for streaming games.

The deal, along with new agreements with the Guardians and Rangers, is not official until federal bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez approves it. A hearing before Judge Lopez has been set for next Friday in Houston.
 

in player news, Twins pick up another relief pitcher as they continue to acquire bullpen options:

The Twins claimed righthanded pitcher Daniel Duarte off waivers from Texas and designated reliever Ryan Jensen for release or assignment Friday.

Duarte pitched in 31 games for Cincinnati last season and had a 3-0 record and 3.69 ERA. In 32 games for Class AAA Louisville, he was 4-0 with a 3.34 ERA and seven saves.

The Rangers traded for him in January for cash considerations, but designated him for assignment this week and the Twins picked him up.

Jensen had been picked up off waivers from Miami on Jan. 4. He was DFA'd to make room on the 40-man roster for Duarte.
 




Gopher_In_NYC said:
This assumption is based on what?

Topa isn’t the one with arm problems, that’s Tony D.

Is it that easy for you to go to the dark side?
😳
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That’s what I meant I like Topa. I have no need for DeSlafani. He’s got the arm that’s gonna fall off. On a side note I love Santana signing.
 

a little more on the Twins deal with Diamond/Bally as it pertains to streaming. Evan Drellich of the Athletic posted a portion of the proposed agreement. it includes the following clause in an amendment to the contract:

d. a commitment that the Twins will not, during the term of the Telecast Rights Agreement, distribute or authorize the distribution by any other party of, on a direct-to-consumer basis, games and programming delivered to the Debtors (Diamond) pursuant to the Telecast Rights Agreement.

in other words, the Twins are not allowed to offer a streaming package outside of the rights deal with Bally. and Bally does not hold the Twins' streaming rights, so the blackouts remain on in-market streaming. If you live outside of the BSN market area, you can receive streaming coverage of the Twins on MLB.TV

if you believe Judd Zulgad, he is claiming that (quoting) There is some real pessimism by MLB that Amazon ends up investing. Amazon not committed to pay anything until July.
 


haven't seen a dollar amount on the Santana signing - but I am seeing some of the Twins Daily crowd claiming that the Twins basically used the money they got back from Seattle in the Polanco deal. I've seen estimates of that cash being as much as $6.5-million. Which would turn the Polanco deal into a 5-for-1 proposition - the 4 players from Seattle and then cash back from Seattle which the Twins (supposedly) used to sign Santana.

that's a heck of a return for a productive but no-longer-young infielder. if this turns out to be accurate, have to give Falvey a big pat on the back for pulling this deal off. and the Twins still have some trading chips they could use if they want.

assuming Santana is - at least - a right-handed hitter for a 1B/DH platoon, how does that impact the potential lineup?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
haven't seen a dollar amount on the Santana signing - but I am seeing some of the Twins Daily crowd claiming that the Twins basically used the money they got back from Seattle in the Polanco deal. I've seen estimates of that cash being as much as $6.5-million. Which would turn the Polanco deal into a 5-for-1 proposition - the 4 players from Seattle and then cash back from Seattle which the Twins (supposedly) used to sign Santana.

that's a heck of a return for a productive but no-longer-young infielder. if this turns out to be accurate, have to give Falvey a big pat on the back for pulling this deal off. and the Twins still have some trading chips they could use if they want.

assuming Santana is - at least - a right-handed hitter for a 1B/DH platoon, how does that impact the potential lineup?
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Supposedly 1 year $5.25 million. Hard to argue with that.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
a little more on the Twins deal with Diamond/Bally as it pertains to streaming. Evan Drellich of the Athletic posted a portion of the proposed agreement. it includes the following clause in an amendment to the contract:

d. a commitment that the Twins will not, during the term of the Telecast Rights Agreement, distribute or authorize the distribution by any other party of, on a direct-to-consumer basis, games and programming delivered to the Debtors (Diamond) pursuant to the Telecast Rights Agreement.

in other words, the Twins are not allowed to offer a streaming package outside of the rights deal with Bally. and Bally does not hold the Twins' streaming rights, so the blackouts remain on in-market streaming. If you live outside of the BSN market area, you can receive streaming coverage of the Twins on MLB.TV

if you believe Judd Zulgad, he is claiming that (quoting) There is some real pessimism by MLB that Amazon ends up investing. Amazon not committed to pay anything until July.
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If the Twins are agreeing not to pursue any other streaming deal, what is the logic in not allowing Bally's to stream it on their app? It makes no sense.
 


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