All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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The Twins traded center fielder Denard Span to the Nationals for minor league pitcher Alex Meyer on this date in 2012. Oopsy daisies!

Fun Fact: Span is married to St. Cloud native and 2014 Olympic hockey player Anne Schleper. Despite the Minnesota connection, however, they met in Florida when Span was a Giant.

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GophersInIowa said:
Apparently a part of the Snell contract is deferred somewhat like Ohtani. MLB has a problem with these loopholes.
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The Bobby Bonilla thing is funny because it seems like such a small thing now, but they have to do something about it.
 

Actual Twins News --

The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have named Trevor Amicone as assistant hitting coach, Ramon Borrego as first base/infield coach and Rayden Sierra as a hitting coach for the 2025 season.

Amicone recently completed his second season as hitting coach for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the New York Yankees organization. The Sandy, Utah native began his professional coaching career as a roving hitting coach in the Yankees minor league system in 2020, before spending most of 2021 with both Yankees Dominican Summer League teams.

Borrego joins Minnesota’s major league coaching staff for the first time after 21 seasons as a coach or manager in the Twins organization. He managed for 14 seasons in the Twins’ system, spending the last four with Double-A Wichita.

Sierra enters his fifth season in the Twins organization and first as a coach at the major league level. The Boca Chica, Dominican Republic native spent the 2024 season as Minnesota’s minor league assistant hitting coordinator after serving three seasons as hitting coach for Low-A Fort Myers (2021-23) and one campaign as the organization’s minor league assistant hitting and development coach (2021).

Additionally, Hank Conger will transition from first base coach to assistant bench coach and continue working with the catchers. (Tony Diaz was formerly the ass't bench coach and infield coach)

Twins 2025 Manager and Coaching Staff:

Rocco Baldelli – Manager

Trevor Amicone – Assistant Hitting Coach

Matt Borgschulte – Hitting Coach

Ramon Borrego – First Base/Infield Coach

Hank Conger – Assistant Bench/Catching Coach

Nate Dammann – Quality Control Coach

Pete Maki – Pitching Coach

Luis Ramirez – Assistant Pitching Coach

Rayden Sierra – Hitting Coach

Colby Suggs – Bullpen Coach

Jayce Tingler – Bench Coach

Tommy Watkins – Third Base/Outfield Coach
 

short ornery norwegian said:
was reading an article about the Snell signing. bullet points - super-agent Scott Boras had a 'bad' year last year when several of his clients signed for less than expected. He is out to change that.

the Dodgers - even with the Snell signing - have multiple pitchers with injury histories or coming off major surgeries. Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May all had surgeries. Yamamoto only made 18 starts. Glasnow made 22 starts. Walker Buehler made 16 starts. Snell made 20 starts for the Giants and pitched a total of 104 innings. If Clayton Kershaw tries again, he's held together with duct tape. so they could be planning on a 6-man rotation or something of that ilk to try and keep work-loads down.

but bottom line, the Dodgers have money to burn, and they're willing to burn it by accumulating pitchers. and the imbalance between the haves and the have-nots just keeps getting larger.
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The Dodgers non-tendered Ferris.

clutchpoints.com

MLB rumors: Why Dodgers didn't make $21.05 million qualifying offer to Walker Buehler

Can the Dodgers keep Walker Buehler in free agency even after they decided not to tender him a qualifying offer?
clutchpoints.com


On scribe has him as a fit for the Tiggers 😡

www.sportingnews.com

Tigers predicted to land Dodgers $15 million two-time All-Star | Sporting News

The Detroit Tigers could land a World Series hero.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
 

The Twins traded Gerry Arrigo to the Cincinnati Redlegs for minor leaguer César Tovar on this date in 1964.

Arrigo one-hit the White Sox at Met Stadium on June 26, 1964. The no-hitter was broken up leading off the ninth, but Arrigo completed the shutout for a 2-0 Twins win.

IMG_0664.jpeg
 


From the Holy 💩 🦇 👨 portion of the menu -

Luis Severino signed a three year deal with the A’s 🤷‍♂️ for $67M.

This may bode well for Paddock being a traceable asset🤞
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
From the Holy 💩 🦇 👨 portion of the menu -

Luis Severino signed a three year deal with the A’s 🤷‍♂️ for $67M.

This may bode well for Paddock being a traceable asset🤞
Click to expand...
Owners must have missed the memo that you can use the "uncertainty about future revenue" excuse to pocket as much money as you can instead of investing in your team.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Owners must have missed the memo that you can use the "uncertainty about future revenue" excuse to pocket as much money as you can instead of investing in your team.
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Celebrating and gearing up for the 2028 opening of their new digs -

abc7news.com

A's clear last major hurdles for $1.75 billion Las Vegas stadium

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved lease, non-relocation and development documents Thursday to clear the last major hurdles for the Athletics to construct a $1.75 billion stadium.
abc7news.com abc7news.com
 

meanwhile, an update in the Tampa Bay Ballpark melodrama:

In a 4-to-3 vote, St. Petersburg City Council approved its portion of the funding required to build the Tampa Bay Rays a new stadium and keep the team in St. Pete.

the successful vote does not mean the deal is now done.

First, the Pinellas County Commission will have to approve its portion of the funding after delaying a decision twice.

There’s also another problem still remaining. The Rays have said that because of delays, they are experiencing cost increases with the deal, and they will need more money to fill the gap.

According to the agreement signed in July, the Rays are responsible for cost overruns.

The Pinellas County Commission will consider their portion of the funding during a meeting on Dec. 17.

At the advice of the city, the Rays did not attend the Thursday meeting and were not immediately available for comment after the vote.
 



Breakin' The Plane said:
I blame the original Bad News Bears for this, but the move for coaches in my day was to put the fat guy at catcher. It's fine for slow pitch softball, but once stealing comes into the rules, you don't want someone who isn't nimble and mobile back there, especially when the pitcher isn't exactly painting corners.
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So you are saying @Spoofin played 1B in baseball, but C in softball? In my experience, fitness/food intake-challenged folks fit well at 3B in softball too- you barely have time to move. Just take it off the nuts, pick it up, throw him out. @Spoofin likely gets time there as well.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
meanwhile, an update in the Tampa Bay Ballpark melodrama:

In a 4-to-3 vote, St. Petersburg City Council approved its portion of the funding required to build the Tampa Bay Rays a new stadium and keep the team in St. Pete.

the successful vote does not mean the deal is now done.

First, the Pinellas County Commission will have to approve its portion of the funding after delaying a decision twice.

There’s also another problem still remaining. The Rays have said that because of delays, they are experiencing cost increases with the deal, and they will need more money to fill the gap.

According to the agreement signed in July, the Rays are responsible for cost overruns.

The Pinellas County Commission will consider their portion of the funding during a meeting on Dec. 17.

At the advice of the city, the Rays did not attend the Thursday meeting and were not immediately available for comment after the vote.
Click to expand...

Pinellas county is having a snit because the Rays are playing in Hillsborough County while the stadium will be erected.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
The Dodgers non-tendered Ferris.

clutchpoints.com

MLB rumors: Why Dodgers didn't make $21.05 million qualifying offer to Walker Buehler

Can the Dodgers keep Walker Buehler in free agency even after they decided not to tender him a qualifying offer?
clutchpoints.com


On scribe has him as a fit for the Tiggers 😡

www.sportingnews.com

Tigers predicted to land Dodgers $15 million two-time All-Star | Sporting News

The Detroit Tigers could land a World Series hero.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
Click to expand...
It took me way too long to figure out what you were talking about here. I need a beer. Or 5.
 







Happy 71st birthday to former Twins All-Star outfielder Gary Ward.

He hit for the sixth cycle in team history in just his 14th major league game (9/18/80). He and his son Daryle were the only father-son duo to hit for the cycle until the Biggios.
 

The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked on this date in 1941. The Greatest Generation met the global crisis head-on.

Wayne Terwilliger (pictured) enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 and served heroically in the South Pacific. Bob Casey served as a B-17 aircraft turret gunner and was decorated with the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat. Carl Pohlad served as an infantryman in France, Germany, and Austria and was decorated with three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars.

IMG_0701.jpegIMG_0702.jpeg
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
From the Holy 💩 🦇 👨 portion of the menu -

Luis Severino signed a three year deal with the A’s 🤷‍♂️ for $67M.

This may bode well for Paddock being a traceable asset🤞
Click to expand...
Breakin' The Plane said:
Owners must have missed the memo that you can use the "uncertainty about future revenue" excuse to pocket as much money as you can instead of investing in your team.
Click to expand...
Actually the A's future revenue seems more certain than it's ever been with the pending move to Las Vegas.
 

After pitching a no-hitter in his final start of the season, the Rangers sent Bert Blyleven to Pittsburgh as part of a four-team, 11-player trade on this date in 1977.

Blyleven won his first World Series ring with the Pirates in 1979 and brought some championship know-how with him back to Minnesota.
 

saw this the other day -- Twins to receive an additional draft pick in the Competitive Balance Round A.

for those who may not follow this stuff -
Since 2017, Major League Baseball has used a formula that combines revenue, winning percentage and market score to award Draft picks to teams that fall in the bottom 10 in revenue or market size.
This year, there are 15 teams: eight have picks in Round A and seven in Round B.

The Twins will receive the 4th pick in round A. the Round A picks begin after the 1st-round compensation picks (for teams losing free agents). that number could change as more players are signed. so far, the Brewers have a compensation pick coming for losing Willy Adames. Other teams that could add compensation picks after Round 1 include the Orioles and Diamondbacks. bottom line, the Twins get an extra pick that will likely fall somewhere between say 35 and 40 in the 1st round.

and finally - the MLB Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday. the lottery determines the top 6 picks in the draft. 16 teams are in the lottery, including the Twins - but the Twins' odds of receiving the #1 pick are only 1.09%. as of right now, the Twins would draft 12th - but it's possible they could move up to 6th or higher if they get lucky in the lottery.
 





short ornery norwegian said:
saw this the other day -- Twins to receive an additional draft pick in the Competitive Balance Round A.

for those who may not follow this stuff -
Since 2017, Major League Baseball has used a formula that combines revenue, winning percentage and market score to award Draft picks to teams that fall in the bottom 10 in revenue or market size.
This year, there are 15 teams: eight have picks in Round A and seven in Round B.

The Twins will receive the 4th pick in round A. the Round A picks begin after the 1st-round compensation picks (for teams losing free agents). that number could change as more players are signed. so far, the Brewers have a compensation pick coming for losing Willy Adames. Other teams that could add compensation picks after Round 1 include the Orioles and Diamondbacks. bottom line, the Twins get an extra pick that will likely fall somewhere between say 35 and 40 in the 1st round.

and finally - the MLB Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday. the lottery determines the top 6 picks in the draft. 16 teams are in the lottery, including the Twins - but the Twins' odds of receiving the #1 pick are only 1.09%. as of right now, the Twins would draft 12th - but it's possible they could move up to 6th or higher if they get lucky in the lottery.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting.

IIRC, that’s how the ended up with Charlie Soto in the 2023 draft, as he was the 34th pick😃
 

I think the difference in spending is going to get even worse in baseball. The top players in the game are all getting bunched to just a handful of teams.

15 years is insane. It's obviously a lot of money but man, what if he hates it there?
 

Looking at the highest paid players currently, it's crazy how good of a deal the Royals got in Witt's contract. He's currently the 25th highest paid player per year at $26.25M a year. I know they'll likely renegotiate a new contact at some point but that's still a hell of a deal right now.
 


IMHO - any long-term deal in MLB right now is a calculated risk.

the CBA is up in 2026. the last time the CBA was up, owners locked out the players for 99 days from Dec 2, 2021 to March 10, 2022. this time around, there are some potentially major issues at stake - including the economic imbalance in the sport. the real battle could turn out to be owners vs owners - the big-revenue clubs vs the small-revenue clubs - with issues involving the huge disparity in local revenue; deferred contracts; revenue sharing; and questions over a salary cap and/or a salary floor.

at the same time, Manfred has made it very clear that he wants to make major changes in how games are broadcast - moving from a local model to a national model - and how broadcast revenue is shared among teams.

so the next few years could be a real mess with all these issues coming to a head. If Vegas would accept a bet, I'd be willing to bet that there is some type of work stoppage in 2027 - either a lockout or a strike.
 

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