All Things 2023-2024 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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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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As noted earlier in this thread , MLB Network had the Twins projected lineup with Willi Castro as the DH, batting 9th. I like Santana at DH a little more than that.
 


Still hopeful they can add a right handed OF bat like Duvall.
 

The signing will be worth it if we just get to see this one time.

 

howeda7 said:
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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don't know. But I keep reading and hearing that MLB wants to bring all of its streaming rights in-house, so that they can do a big streaming deal - something akin to what MLS did with Apple. A one-stop solution to streaming any and all MLB games with no blackouts.

from that perspective, MLB - I suspect - does not want to see Diamond/Bally acquire more streaming rights, and then farm those rights out to Amazon. that just makes it more difficult for MLB to get those rights back.

so we have two entities - MLB and Diamond - fighting over streaming rights. and the fans get caught in the middle.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
don't know. But I keep reading and hearing that MLB wants to bring all of its streaming rights in-house, so that they can do a big streaming deal - something akin to what MLS did with Apple. A one-stop solution to streaming any and all MLB games with no blackouts.

from that perspective, MLB - I suspect - does not want to see Diamond/Bally acquire more streaming rights, and then farm those rights out to Amazon. that just makes it more difficult for MLB to get those rights back.

so we have two entities - MLB and Diamond - fighting over streaming rights. and the fans get caught in the middle.
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That would make sense if it was a multi-year contract. But it makes no sense as is. It's clear nothing will happen for 2024.
 


GophersInIowa said:
The bullpen should be top 10, maybe even top 5 in the league.

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We may be nearing the end of the Jordan Balazovic era: he has no options left, so it’s make the roster or bye.

Love the signing, fortifying the pen with Gray’s departure.

We can deal for a starter before the deadline if need be as well.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
We may be nearing the end of the Jordan Balazovic era: he has no options left, so it’s make the roster or bye.

Love the signing, fortifying the pen with Gray’s departure.

We can deal for a starter before the deadline if need be as well.
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Yeah I don't think Balazovic has a future with the team at this point.

I still think there's a chance they make a trade for a #2-3 starter before the season starts.
 




GophersInIowa said:
The bullpen should be top 10, maybe even top 5 in the league.
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someone can back me up on this, but if I'm reading it correctly, FanGraphs has the Twins rated as the #3 bullpen in baseball going into 2024 - and the page included Jackson, so it's up-to-date.

with the changes in the starting rotation, we could see more innings worked by the bullpen this season.

looked it up - last season, Twins were one of the top teams in MLB in innings pitched by the starters.
ranked by Innings Pitched/Games started, the top rankings were
Astros 5.6
Seattle 5.6
Twins 5.5
Phillies 5.5
Toronto 5.5

I would expect that to go down this year based on losing Gray and Maeda - Paddack coming off injury - and just the fact that the Twins will have - on paper - a really deep bullpen.
 






and the merry-go-round of relief pitchers continues.

Twins claimed Zach Weiss on waivers from the Red Sox.
31-yr old RH pitcher. has spent most of his career in the minors. has only appeared in 25 games in MLB. split last year with the Angels and Red Sox. 3.21 ERA in 14 IP. features the slider. still has minor-league options so could be Triple-A depth if he doesn't make the major league roster.

with the signing of Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson, and claiming Weiss - to open spots on the 40-man roster, the Twins DFA'ed recent waiver claims OF Bubba Thompson, and pitcher Daniel Duarte. Also DFA'ed P Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic was once rated as a top-100 prospect, but has gone downhill, pitching poorly in 2022 and suffering a broken jaw during 2023 Spring Training in some type of off-field incident. with Twins in 2023 Balazovic appeared in 18 games with a 4.44 ERA

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FWIW - according to Doogie, he talked to Falvey and Falvey said "we're still working" on possible roster moves. Said it was "possible" that another move could be made in the next week or so.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and the merry-go-round of relief pitchers continues.

Twins claimed Zach Weiss on waivers from the Red Sox.
31-yr old RH pitcher. has spent most of his career in the minors. has only appeared in 25 games in MLB. split last year with the Angels and Red Sox. 3.21 ERA in 14 IP. features the slider. still has minor-league options so could be Triple-A depth if he doesn't make the major league roster.

with the signing of Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson, and claiming Weiss - to open spots on the 40-man roster, the Twins DFA'ed recent waiver claims OF Bubba Thompson, and pitcher Daniel Duarte. Also DFA'ed P Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic was once rated as a top-100 prospect, but has gone downhill, pitching poorly in 2022 and suffering a broken jaw during 2023 Spring Training in some type of off-field incident. with Twins in 2023 Balazovic appeared in 18 games with a 4.44 ERA

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FWIW - according to Doogie, he talked to Falvey and Falvey said "we're still working" on possible roster moves. Said it was "possible" that another move could be made in the next week or so.
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Hi lad Jordan got released now, so he can find a new home, hopefully, for spring training.
 

reminder - virtual court hearing Friday in Bankruptcy Court for Diamond Sports. the agenda involves asking the court to grant emergency motions approving deals with Diamond for the TV rights for the Twins, Guardians and Rangers.

don't know if the Judge will issue a ruling immediately or not.

the portion dealing with the Twins' rights includes this phrase:

Status: The Debtors (Diamond) have received no objections, and therefore believe this matter is uncontested.

so stay tuned. we'll see if anything comes out on the $$ the Twins will receive in the new 1-year deal. supposedly the Guardians and Rangers will be receiving 85% of what their old deals totaled. for the Twins, 85% of the old deal would mean about $46-million. (down from $55-million)

it's a big IF - but If the Twins do get that kind of a deal, would that influence any further personnel moves before the season?
 

Just ran across this - ESPN's MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel released his rankings of the Farm Systems for all 30 teams.

Top farm systems:
1. Orioles (1st last year)
2. Cubs (11th last year)
3. Tigers (21st last year)
4. Padres (23rd last year)
5. Brewers (15th last year)

and the Twins check in at 9th place (17th last year)

Here's the write-up:
It seems like every season as part of a plan, the Twins are integrating a couple of rookies in the beginning of the year and then a few more join them by the end of the year. Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner and Jose Miranda were the main additions in 2023. This year it isn't as clear if any rookie will be in a big role on Opening Day, but Brooks Lee (the fourth infielder I've mentioned here, thus the recent Jorge Polanco trade) is the leading candidate with a number of role player lingering in the upper levels (Austin Martin, David Festa, Matt Canterino, Cory Lewis) along with some high upside types who could become an option in the second half (Emmanuel Rodriguez, Marco Raya). Players from the last two drafts and international signing classes litter the lower minors and given the solid indicators in that group, I'd bet on one or two breakouts.

and on the flip side - the bottom end:
30. Angels (last year 26th)
29. Marlins (last year 18th)
28. Braves (last year 30th)
27. Astros (last year 27th)
26. Royals (last year 28th)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Just ran across this - ESPN's MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel released his rankings of the Farm Systems for all 30 teams.

Top farm systems:
1. Orioles (1st last year)
2. Cubs (11th last year)
3. Tigers (21st last year)
4. Padres (23rd last year)
5. Brewers (15th last year)
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Tigggers had 6 in MLB’s Top 100 and will be a handful in the future.
short ornery norwegian said:
and the Twins check in at 9th place (17th last year)
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Impressive k and exciting m.
short ornery norwegian said:
Here's the write-up:
It seems like every season as part of a plan, the Twins are integrating a couple of rookies in the beginning of the year and then a few more join them by the end of the year. Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner and Jose Miranda were the main additions in 2023. This year it isn't as clear if any rookie will be in a big role on Opening Day, but Brooks Lee (the fourth infielder I've mentioned here, thus the recent Jorge Polanco trade) is the leading candidate with a number of role player lingering in the upper levels (Austin Martin, David Festa, Matt Canterino, Cory Lewis) along with some high upside types who could become an option in the second half (Emmanuel Rodriguez, Marco Raya). Players from the last two drafts and international signing classes litter the lower minors and given the solid indicators in that group, I'd bet on one or two breakouts.

and on the flip side - the bottom end:
30. Angels (last year 26th)
29. Marlins (last year 18th)
28. Braves (last year 30th)
27. Astros (last year 27th)
26. Royals (last year 28th)
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Rodriguez???? Hasn’t played above Class A and MLB has him pegged for 2025. Miranda was 2022 🤦‍♂️. I wish these guys did better homework and weren’t so sloppy.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Tigggers had 6 in MLB’s Top 100 and will be a handful in the future.


Impressive k and exciting m.

Rodriguez???? Hasn’t played above Class A and MLB has him pegged for 2025. Miranda was 2022 🤦‍♂️. I wish these guys did better homework and weren’t so sloppy.
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Yeah highly unlikely we see Rodriguez this season. I'm guessing he'll start the year at AA. I guess it's possible if he just tears it up there. But even then it might be a bit premature. He's just about to turn 21 so he's still young. I think the earliest we see him is 2nd half of 2025.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
reminder - virtual court hearing Friday in Bankruptcy Court for Diamond Sports. the agenda involves asking the court to grant emergency motions approving deals with Diamond for the TV rights for the Twins, Guardians and Rangers.

don't know if the Judge will issue a ruling immediately or not.

the portion dealing with the Twins' rights includes this phrase:

Status: The Debtors (Diamond) have received no objections, and therefore believe this matter is uncontested.

so stay tuned. we'll see if anything comes out on the $$ the Twins will receive in the new 1-year deal. supposedly the Guardians and Rangers will be receiving 85% of what their old deals totaled. for the Twins, 85% of the old deal would mean about $46-million. (down from $55-million)

it's a big IF - but If the Twins do get that kind of a deal, would that influence any further personnel moves before the season?
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Pohlad math: We lost $9 million in TV $$ so we cut payroll $30 million.
 

There's plenty to be excited about in the farm system. Unfortunately it's heavily weighted toward batters. Find more pitching! Dorks.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
There's plenty to be excited about in the farm system. Unfortunately it's heavily weighted toward batters. Find more pitching! Dorks.
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The Twins hardly ever get their high end pitching prospects to the majors. Think of what we could have gotten for Jordan Balazovic two years ago. Remember when Stephen Gonsalvez was a top 50 prospect in baseball? I do and where is he now? Alex Meyer was our #1 prospect for a few years and a top 5 for a few more and he never did anything.

While I agree they need to develop more pitching they also could look to trade some of these guys before they become nobodys
 

tmvander said:
The Twins hardly ever get their high end pitching prospects to the majors. Think of what we could have gotten for Jordan Balazovic two years ago. Remember when Stephen Gonsalvez was a top 50 prospect in baseball? I do and where is he now? Alex Meyer was our #1 prospect for a few years and a top 5 for a few more and he never did anything.

While I agree they need to develop more pitching they also could look to trade some of these guys before they become nobodys
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Gonsalves was never top 50 but was top 100. Meyer was never the Twins top prospect because it was at the same time Buxton and Sano were listed very high.

But point made, they haven't developed well when it comes to pitching and that goes back a long time. I do think pitching is so much harder to scout and predict than position guys. I do believe this current FO has done a better job than the 25+ years prior to them.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Gonsalves was never top 50 but was top 100. Meyer was never the Twins top prospect because it was at the same time Buxton and Sano were listed very high.

But point made, they haven't developed well when it comes to pitching and that goes back a long time. I do think pitching is so much harder to scout and predict than position guys. I do believe this current FO has done a better job than the 25+ years prior to them.
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Both Sano and Buck were in the top 5 overall , as SI did a piece on how they were going to restore our luster.

I think Festa might get a few starts at some point this year, he pitched in the futures game last year.

Ober is a middle rotation guy for the long haul.

Jax and hopefully Funderburk, are good relievers.

I posted last year at some point, that building a rotation via trades/free agents to supplement it from your internal efforts isn’t an outlier, as most teams do it to some extent; the Rays are the exception to the rule.

Pitchers when they get injured, are more at risk of messing up/ending their careers as well, than position players.
 

Bankruptcy court Judge approves new TV deals between Diamond/Bally and the Twins, Guardians and Rangers. that settles the matter - Twins' games will be on BSN this year with no streaming option.

Lawyer for Diamond tells Judge that MLB and Diamond want the terms of the agreements sealed.

in other words, Diamond/Bally does not want the financial terms of the deal made public. So unless or until someone leaks the info, we will not know how much money the Twins will receive in local TV rights this season.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Both Sano and Buck were in the top 5 overall , as SI did a piece on how they were going to restore our luster.

I think Festa might get a few starts at some point this year, he pitched in the futures game last year.

Ober is a middle rotation guy for the long haul.

Jax and hopefully Funderburk, are good relievers.

I posted last year at some point, that building a rotation via trades/free agents to supplement it from your internal efforts isn’t an outlier, as most teams do it to some extent; the Rays are the exception to the rule.

Pitchers when they get injured, are more at risk of messing up/ending their careers as well, than position players.
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Trades are much safer than free agents. Look at some of the worst contracts in recent times and a lot of them are for starting pitchers. If you can develop pitchers, that's great. But at a minimum, just keep developing players overall regardless of position. You need have prospects other teams want. The more you have, the easier it is to part with them in a trade.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Bankruptcy court Judge approves new TV deals between Diamond/Bally and the Twins, Guardians and Rangers. that settles the matter - Twins' games will be on BSN this year with no streaming option.

Lawyer for Diamond tells Judge that MLB and Diamond want the terms of the agreements sealed.

in other words, Diamond/Bally does not want the financial terms of the deal made public. So unless or until someone leaks the info, we will not know how much money the Twins will receive in local TV rights this season.
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Thanks for staying on top of this.
 

Twins PR people are gonna have their hands full.

Win playoff series for first time in forever.

Cut payroll roughly $30million while losing around $5-15million in tv rights.

Product is not available for streaming outside of mlb.tv, so blacked out for everyone in Minnesota.

They let their lovable commentator go to replace him with the radio guy.

Not a great offseason Bob.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Twins PR people are gonna have their hands full.

Win playoff series for first time in forever.

Cut payroll roughly $30million while losing around $5-15million in tv rights.

Product is not available for streaming outside of mlb.tv, so blacked out for everyone in Minnesota.

They let their lovable commentator go to replace him with the radio guy.

Not a great offseason Bob.
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This part was an unknown until now though. They didn't know how much less they would be getting.

The offseason isn't over yet either. I still think they'll make another move or two.
 

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