All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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Assuming we don't re-sign Santana, who are some other realistic FAs that we should target to fill his spot? Or is it to be assumed that we go with someone already in the organization?
 

Slim Tubby said:
Assuming we don't re-sign Santana, who are some other realistic FAs that we should target to fill his spot? Or is it to be assumed that we go with someone already in the organization?
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Maybe Larnach or Miranda at some point?
Miranda second half was meh.

Wallner has such a good arm, I’d want to keep him as a COF and we’ll hopefully need room for Rodriguez and or Walker soon.
 






Breakin' The Plane said:
Unfortunately, that's going to be journeyman NBA swingman Tony Snell and a guy that vaguely looks like 1970s Harrison Ford who appears at parties as "Han Soto" (to narrowly avoid trademark infringement).
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I'll take whatever we can get and call it a win.
 





was reading an article on Twins Daily. the author went through the Twins' roster and projected salaries for 2025. this obviously involved several assumptions on the arbitration-eligible players.

FWIW - the projected roster had
C Jeffers
1B Miranda
2B Julien
3B Lewis
SS Correa
LF Castro
CF Buxton
RF Wallner
DH Larnach

backups - Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, Michael Helman and Christian Vazquez.

Starters - Pablo, Paddack, Ryan, Ober, SWR

Bullpen- Duran, Jax, Alcala, Sands, Brock Stewart, Topa, Funderburk and Varland.

total projected payroll came to just under $134-million. Reminder - $37mill for Correa, $21mill for Pablo, $15-mill for Buxton, $10mill for Vazquez and $7mill for Paddack. That's $90mill for 5 players; $44mill total for the other 21 players on the 26-man roster.

given the pending sale of the team, no one expects the payroll to go up.

so if the Twins want to make any additions, they have to match the salaries by getting rid of current players. If they could find takers for Paddack and Vazquez, that's $17mill off the ledger - but then you need another starting Pitcher and a Catcher.

so - you can talk about how the Twins need this player or that player, but there is no room to add any salary. any players you add - the salaries have to be offset by getting rid of players who are currently on the roster.

the only way to clear any serious salary space would be by trading Correa and/or Pablo.

that's where we stand, for better or worse.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
was reading an article on Twins Daily. the author went through the Twins' roster and projected salaries for 2025. this obviously involved several assumptions on the arbitration-eligible players.

FWIW - the projected roster had
C Jeffers
1B Miranda
2B Julien
3B Lewis
SS Correa
LF Castro
CF Buxton
RF Wallner
DH Larnach

backups - Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, Michael Helman and Christian Vazquez.

Starters - Pablo, Paddack, Ryan, Ober, SWR

Bullpen- Duran, Jax, Alcala, Sands, Brock Stewart, Topa, Funderburk and Varland.

total projected payroll came to just under $134-million. Reminder - $37mill for Correa, $21mill for Pablo, $15-mill for Buxton, $10mill for Vazquez and $7mill for Paddack. That's $90mill for 5 players; $44mill total for the other 21 players on the 26-man roster.

given the pending sale of the team, no one expects the payroll to go up.

so if the Twins want to make any additions, they have to match the salaries by getting rid of current players. If they could find takers for Paddack and Vazquez, that's $17mill off the ledger - but then you need another starting Pitcher and a Catcher.

so - you can talk about how the Twins need this player or that player, but there is no room to add any salary. any players you add - the salaries have to be offset by getting rid of players who are currently on the roster.

the only way to clear any serious salary space would be by trading Correa and/or Pablo.

that's where we stand, for better or worse.
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So it’s a rebuilding year?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
was reading an article on Twins Daily. the author went through the Twins' roster and projected salaries for 2025. this obviously involved several assumptions on the arbitration-eligible players.

FWIW - the projected roster had
C Jeffers
1B Miranda
2B Julien
3B Lewis
SS Correa
LF Castro
CF Buxton
RF Wallner
DH Larnach

backups - Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, Michael Helman and Christian Vazquez.

Starters - Pablo, Paddack, Ryan, Ober, SWR

Bullpen- Duran, Jax, Alcala, Sands, Brock Stewart, Topa, Funderburk and Varland.

total projected payroll came to just under $134-million. Reminder - $37mill for Correa, $21mill for Pablo, $15-mill for Buxton, $10mill for Vazquez and $7mill for Paddack. That's $90mill for 5 players; $44mill total for the other 21 players on the 26-man roster.

given the pending sale of the team, no one expects the payroll to go up.

so if the Twins want to make any additions, they have to match the salaries by getting rid of current players. If they could find takers for Paddack and Vazquez, that's $17mill off the ledger - but then you need another starting Pitcher and a Catcher.

so - you can talk about how the Twins need this player or that player, but there is no room to add any salary. any players you add - the salaries have to be offset by getting rid of players who are currently on the roster.

the only way to clear any serious salary space would be by trading Correa and/or Pablo.

that's where we stand, for better or worse.
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Have a hard time fathoming Julien starting in front of Lee; Lee is the superior defender, offers position flexibility, better bat to ball skills and was the higher drafted, more heralded player - they will always be the incumbent.

Oh, and since Julien showed nothing good last year, why you would start him in front of Lee? The only perceptible advantage for Julien, is power, which is negated by his love affair with backwards Ks (called third strikes).

This reminds me of the Chris Williamson is the RH bat savior from two seasons ago; he was having a good season, for once, after being a career .230 hitter and he was also never a ranked prospect, not on The 40 man. If I was a younger man I’d start the Twins Non-Delusional Daily 🥳.

I’ll put my money where my big yap is, in this case. If both Julien and Lee are heathy, not on the IR, and Julien is the opening day starter over Lee (Lee cant be starting at another infield spot) I’ll ban myself until June 1 from the Twins in season thread. Bookmarked😃

Furthermore (not part of the bet), I do not expect Julien to be on the opening day roster and if Lee stays healthy, he’s gone before the end of the year, if not dealt this offseason. I can see him packaged for a reliever.
 
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this is just what the Twins Daily writer proposed. the focus was more on salary than position. so put Lee in the starting lineup and Julien on the bench - the payroll would still be the same because both are pre-arbitration so they each receive the minimum salary.

and if Julien leaves, and is replaced by anyone other than a rookie-level salary, that increases the payroll - which was the point of the article.

If the Twins stay with the current payroll of $130-mill, they have no financial room to make moves unless they somehow eliminate one or more of the higher-paid players.

and unless the Pohlads turn from Scrooge to Bob Cratchit, the payroll is not going up.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
this is just what the Twins Daily writer proposed. the focus was more on salary than position. so put Lee in the starting lineup and Julien on the bench - the payroll would still be the same because both are pre-arbitration so they each receive the minimum salary.

and if Julien leaves, and is replaced by anyone other than a rookie-level salary, that increases the payroll - which was the point of the article.

If the Twins stay with the current payroll of $130-mill, they have no financial room to make moves unless they somehow eliminate one or more of the higher-paid players.

and unless the Pohlads turn from Scrooge to Bob Cratchit, the payroll is not going up.
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Julien is not a starting caliber second sacker and I encourage Twins Daily or anyone else for that matter to logically W/data prove why, he is a better option than Lee. Martin, Helman or Castro could if course be the backup, there’s no need to replace Julien with another player.

Also, it makes zero sense to have Julien on the roster with both Martin and Helman there as well; it’s redundant. I find this to be lazy writing by the Twins Daily.

Lastly, as President of the Free Willi Fan Club, no way I keep him for his projected $6.2-6.5M salary (I have stated this previously that we shouldn’t keep him), as much as I hate this move and losing my favorite Twin.

FWIW, Judd Zuglad, who I have heard of (vs. Twins Daily) thinks he’ll be moved - part of an article in SI - link below, as he has trade value.

 
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Amazingly, there was basically zero, coverage of the Twins’ Golden Gloves nominees for 2024: Santana & Casto.

www.mlb.com

Here are all of this year's Gold Glove Award finalists

The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists were announced on Oct. 15, with winners set to be unveiled on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both leagues have three finalists at each position, including the utility spot, which was awarded for the first time in 2022.
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com

Here are the relevant snippets in both -

FIRST BASE Nominees
Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers
Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles
Carlos Santana, Twins

Vying for his first Gold Glove Award at the age of 38, Santana led all first basemen with +14 Outs Above Average and tied Mountcastle for the AL lead at the position with 8 Defensive Runs Saved. Lowe, the reigning AL Gold Glove winner at first base, placed second in the AL behind Santana with +6 OAA.


UTILITY Nominees
Willi Castro, Twins
Mauricio Dubón, Astros
Dylan Moore, Mariners

After winning the Gold Glove at this spot a year ago, Dubón had another standout year on defense for the Astros. Appearing at every position besides pitcher and catcher, Dubón recorded +10 Outs Above Average and 6 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024. Castro not only earned his first All-Star selection in 2024 but also made history for the Twins, becoming the first player to log at least 25 defensive appearances at five different positions (2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Moore also shifted around the diamond for the Mariners, playing more than 20 games at four spots (2B, 3B, SS, LF).
 



The Athletic is out with its first off-season Power Rankings- calling them a "fringe playoff contender."

the Twins come in at #17. they were at #14 in the last Power Rankings during the season.

here's the writeup:

17. Minnesota Twins​

2024 Record: 82-80
Final 2024 Power Ranking: 14

Notable free agents and options: OF Max Kepler, 1B Carlos Santana, RHP Caleb Thielbar

Few teams had a more disappointing finish to the 2024 season than the Twins. Collapsing down the stretch, the Twins were overtaken by the upstart Tigers and missed out on a second straight playoff berth, finishing fourth in the AL Central. Their outlook in 2025 is familiar: They have a promising roster, and they compete in an AL Central division that is usually forgiving — though perhaps not anymore. There are also persistent injury concerns with some of their best players. And then there’s the eternal question: How much will the Twins spend this offseason? We’ll know soon enough. The only talk of an impact Twins acquisition in the past year has been, uh, a potential sale of the team. But for now, they look like what they have been: a fringe playoff contender. — Dodd

rest of the AL Central -
Guardians at #8
Tigers at #11
Royals at #13
White Sox at #30
 


short ornery norwegian said:
The Athletic is out with its first off-season Power Rankings- calling them a "fringe playoff contender."

the Twins come in at #17. they were at #14 in the last Power Rankings during the season.

here's the writeup:

17. Minnesota Twins​

2024 Record: 82-80
Final 2024 Power Ranking: 14

Notable free agents and options: OF Max Kepler, 1B Carlos Santana, RHP Caleb Thielbar

Few teams had a more disappointing finish to the 2024 season than the Twins. Collapsing down the stretch, the Twins were overtaken by the upstart Tigers and missed out on a second straight playoff berth, finishing fourth in the AL Central. Their outlook in 2025 is familiar: They have a promising roster, and they compete in an AL Central division that is usually forgiving — though perhaps not anymore. There are also persistent injury concerns with some of their best players. And then there’s the eternal question: How much will the Twins spend this offseason? We’ll know soon enough. The only talk of an impact Twins acquisition in the past year has been, uh, a potential sale of the team. But for now, they look like what they have been: a fringe playoff contender. — Dodd

rest of the AL Central -
Guardians at #8
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Agreed. Annoys me how good Ramirez is; I still can’t get my head around his speed, for a chunkier 3B
short ornery norwegian said:
Tigers at #11
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Great young core, but can they do it again?
Mo sneaking up on people this season.
short ornery norwegian said:
Royals at #13
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Their SPs were relatively healthy. Can they get thst type of production again from Lugo and Wacha?
short ornery norwegian said:
White Sox at #30
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I think we need to bite the bullet and make some trades.

Castro & My nemesis 🤣 Julien, should go.

I also think Rodriguez could fetch a haul.

We got Wallner, Buck, Larnach and Jenkins, so since we’re not playing slow pitch softball, someone’s got to go.

Rodriguez Gets more back than Larnach and I’d keep Wallner as his power is elite and Buck is untradeable.
 
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various sources reporting that the Twins have out-righted multiple players off the 40-man roster and assigned them to AAA St. Paul.

Randy Dobnak
Josh Winder
Scott Blewett
Yunior Severino
Daniel Duarte.

this leaves the Twins with 35 players currently on the 40-man roster. some minor-leaguers will likely be added to the 40-man to avoid the Rule 5 Draft.

(Severino is a surprise. signed as a free agent for $2.5-million.)

and the Twins have picked up the $1.5-million option on Jorge Alcala.
 

All Time Election Day Line up.

P Walter Johnson*
C Gary Carter
1B Reggie Jefferson
2B Adam Kennedy
SS Chris Taylor
3B Howard Johnson*
LF Glen Adams
CF Otis Nixon
RF Claudell Washington
DH Randy Bush

2 Johnsons allowed, one for Andrew and another for LBJ.

SS is the only one I had to resort to Google for help, though Taylor just earned a Ring with the Dodgers.
 

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