All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
Gopher_In_NYC said:
Agree to disagree; not seeing how you are show demonstrating a reasonable connection, i.e, dominoes ; you/me/or anyone else saying it’s connected , doesn’t make it so.

It’s your opinion (subjective) and not based on data (objective) from what I can ascertain - there is no causal link whatsoever between trading Correra, which you seem to deem a full rebuild,whereas I and likely others wouldn’t, to games being on TV (My god, they traded Correra: cancel the TV Deal now), to a deal not happening for new ownership🤷‍♂️.

Additionally, none of your four events below :

If they go full rebuild (your opinion)
the games aren't on TV (assumption)
attendance plummets (assumption)
the sale of the team falls (assumption)

Would seem l to have an effect on there possibility being an MLB Lockout; if I’m missing something, please feel free to explain to me how they’re connected m
Click to expand...
I think they find this sentiment is very common if they start down this path.

 

howeda7 said:
I think they find this sentiment is very common if they start down this path.
Click to expand...
Not saying it wouldn’t for some, for older fans like me, maybe not, as I/we have lived through a 60 😢 win season in 1982!!

So we’ve seen more 💩 in life (cause we’re older) and hills become less likely to die on as you mellow out; I’m well aware that sometimes I act like an 8 year old vs. a 58 year old, but as a former Type A++++, I’ve made some progress🤷‍♂️

I wouldn’t trade Pablo; my subjective opinion is that Correa is going to end up playing about the same amount of games 86 in 2025 season, as he did last season; the third season out of 10 where he’s played less than 86 games; the other two were in Houston in 2019 & 2020.

If I told you he will play 86 games or less in 2025, would you be willing to trade him to the Yankees or someone else, for a decent haul of prospects?
howeda7 said:
Click to expand...
 

howeda7 said:
It can be a good trade long-term by prospect ranking and still be a bad trade for this team at this time. They are near an all-time high in fan apathy and disgust with ownership at a time when the sport is slowly dying, they are trying to launch a new TV venture and trying to sell the team. It's the wrong time to dump your star player for some prospects who might make you better in 2028.
Click to expand...
Where does this idea come from that MLB is dying or even in bad shape?

Both In person attendance and TV Revenues indicate otherwise.

So I’m curious if it’s something you heard or something to do with it’s relative popularity?
 

atsgopher said:
Where does this idea come from that MLB is dying or even in bad shape?

Both In person attendance and TV Revenues indicate otherwise.

So I’m curious if it’s something you heard or something to do with it’s relative popularity?
Click to expand...
The overall TV ratings have been dropping for years and the average age of the median viewer keeps getting older and older (something like 59 now.) Kids no longer play baseball and they also don't watch it. The revenue remained strong until the RSN model collapsed. Now all but the 4 or 5 richest teams are taking massive cuts in local TV revenue.

It is true that attendance has generally remained strong. But the larger revenue issue is TV and they are way behind the NBA and NFL (obviously) in that area. It's not dying quickly but it is dying. It may eventually plateau at some survivable level, but it might be more like the NHL than the NBA in terms of revenue.
 

actual news - Twins announce plans for Winter Caravan. ***a quite smaller version than previous years - two groups each for two days of stops. four events open to the public. no veteran players - all young guys.

2025 Twins Winter Caravan – Leg 1 (Tuesday, January 21 – Wednesday, January 22)
  • Attendees: Twins Hall of Famer and current television analyst Justin Morneau; Twins utility player Austin Martin and 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Zebby Matthews; and Twins television play-by-play voice Cory Provus.
  • Stops:
  • Tuesday, January 21: Rochester, Minnesota (Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital) for a private visit with patients and their families, in partnership with KROC-FM; La Crosse, Wisconsin for a private visit to the headquarters of longtime Twins partner Kwik Trip; and Welch, Minnesota (Treasure Island Resort & Casino) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KWNG-FM.
  • Wednesday, January 22: St. Cloud, Minnesota (Kennedy Community School) for a private school stop; and Fargo, North Dakota (Sanctuary Events Center) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KFGO-AM.
2025 Twins Winter Caravan – Leg 2 (Tuesday, January 21 – Wednesday, January 22)
  • Attendees: Twins three-time All-Star closer and current broadcaster Glen Perkins; Twins infielder Brooks Lee and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland; and Twins radio play-by-play voice Kris Atteberry.
  • Stops:
  • Tuesday, January 21: Willmar, Minnesota (Willmar Stingers) for a private homecoming visit where both Brooks and Louie played a year of summer ball; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Elmen Center at Augustana University) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KSOO-AM.
  • Wednesday, January 22: Owatonna, Minnesota for a special public stop in partnership with KRFO-AM to celebrate the community’s Bold and Cold Days; and Mankato, Minnesota (The Venue) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KTOE-AM.

Additionally, the Twins will participate in, and provide support for, events on January 22 (Baseball Old Timers Hot Stove League in St. Paul, MN), February 1 (Justin Morneau Ice Fishing Tournament in St. Isle, MN to benefit United Heroes League), February 4 (Second Harvest Heartland’s 16th Annual End Hunger Together Radiothon in Brooklyn Park, MN) and February 5 (Black Woods Blizzard Tour in Carlton, MN to fund the fight against ALS)
 


short ornery norwegian said:
actual news - Twins announce plans for Winter Caravan. ***a quite smaller version than previous years - two groups each for two days of stops. four events open to the public. no veteran players - all young guys.

2025 Twins Winter Caravan – Leg 1 (Tuesday, January 21 – Wednesday, January 22)
  • Attendees: Twins Hall of Famer and current television analyst Justin Morneau; Twins utility player Austin Martin and 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Zebby Matthews; and Twins television play-by-play voice Cory Provus.
  • Stops:
  • Tuesday, January 21: Rochester, Minnesota (Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital) for a private visit with patients and their families, in partnership with KROC-FM; La Crosse, Wisconsin for a private visit to the headquarters of longtime Twins partner Kwik Trip; and Welch, Minnesota (Treasure Island Resort & Casino) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KWNG-FM.
  • Wednesday, January 22: St. Cloud, Minnesota (Kennedy Community School) for a private school stop; and Fargo, North Dakota (Sanctuary Events Center) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KFGO-AM.
2025 Twins Winter Caravan – Leg 2 (Tuesday, January 21 – Wednesday, January 22)
  • Attendees: Twins three-time All-Star closer and current broadcaster Glen Perkins; Twins infielder Brooks Lee and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland; and Twins radio play-by-play voice Kris Atteberry.
  • Stops:
  • Tuesday, January 21: Willmar, Minnesota (Willmar Stingers) for a private homecoming visit where both Brooks and Louie played a year of summer ball; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Elmen Center at Augustana University) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KSOO-AM.
  • Wednesday, January 22: Owatonna, Minnesota for a special public stop in partnership with KRFO-AM to celebrate the community’s Bold and Cold Days; and Mankato, Minnesota (The Venue) for a public Hot Stove event in partnership with KTOE-AM.

Additionally, the Twins will participate in, and provide support for, events on January 22 (Baseball Old Timers Hot Stove League in St. Paul, MN), February 1 (Justin Morneau Ice Fishing Tournament in St. Isle, MN to benefit United Heroes League), February 4 (Second Harvest Heartland’s 16th Annual End Hunger Together Radiothon in Brooklyn Park, MN) and February 5 (Black Woods Blizzard Tour in Carlton, MN to fund the fight against ALS)
Click to expand...
Joe Pohlad has even right-sized the Winter Caravan.
 



gophersfan said:
www.nytimes.com

‘Robust market’ could have new Twins owner in place by Opening Day: Source

Twins ownership believes the club could be sold by Opening Day, an industry source briefed on the Twins’ sale process told The Athletic.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Click to expand...

Very interesting story. if the "industry source" is correct, there are apparently multiple bidders for the Twins and it's possible that a new owner could be selected by the start of the season.

reminder - assuming the Pohlads reach an agreement to sell the team, the other MLB owners have to approve the new ownership group. 3/4 of all owners must vote in favor. The Twins do not vote, so it comes down to (I believe) 22 of 29 owners voting "yes."

the story notes that MLB has already begun to vet some of the potential ownership groups.
here's the part I found intriguing:

The source believes it will be a complete sale of the Twins with an immediate takeover in control.

so - going into speculation mode - if "immediate takeover in control" really means immediate - it is possible (warning - speculation) - that a new ownership group could authorize additional spending. maybe not in time to impact the Opening Day roster, but potentially the team could do something before the trade deadline to improve the roster (assuming there is room to add payroll).

and certainly, if new owners are announced by Opening Day, that should provide a big shot of positive PR in time to impact ticket sales and purchase of streaming TV packages.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Very interesting story. if the "industry source" is correct, there are apparently multiple bidders for the Twins and it's possible that a new owner could be selected by the start of the season.

reminder - assuming the Pohlads reach an agreement to sell the team, the other MLB owners have to approve the new ownership group. 3/4 of all owners must vote in favor. The Twins do not vote, so it comes down to (I believe) 22 of 29 owners voting "yes."

the story notes that MLB has already begun to vet some of the potential ownership groups.
here's the part I found intriguing:

The source believes it will be a complete sale of the Twins with an immediate takeover in control.

so - going into speculation mode - if "immediate takeover in control" really means immediate - it is possible (warning - speculation) - that a new ownership group could authorize additional spending. maybe not in time to impact the Opening Day roster, but potentially the team could do something before the trade deadline to improve the roster (assuming there is room to add payroll).

and certainly, if new owners are announced by Opening Day, that should provide a big shot of positive PR in time to impact ticket sales and purchase of streaming TV packages.
Click to expand...
Your last paragraph nails it, SON. Even if it comes too late to help in 2025, having new ownership would provide a spark of optimism for those fans that have tired of the negative stigma that hangs over the Pohlad regime.

Ishbia is the only name that I've seen mentioned as a potential buyer. Any other names or rumors floating around?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Very interesting story. if the "industry source" is correct, there are apparently multiple bidders for the Twins and it's possible that a new owner could be selected by the start of the season.

reminder - assuming the Pohlads reach an agreement to sell the team, the other MLB owners have to approve the new ownership group. 3/4 of all owners must vote in favor. The Twins do not vote, so it comes down to (I believe) 22 of 29 owners voting "yes."

the story notes that MLB has already begun to vet some of the potential ownership groups.
here's the part I found intriguing:

The source believes it will be a complete sale of the Twins with an immediate takeover in control.

so - going into speculation mode - if "immediate takeover in control" really means immediate - it is possible (warning - speculation) - that a new ownership group could authorize additional spending. maybe not in time to impact the Opening Day roster, but potentially the team could do something before the trade deadline to improve the roster (assuming there is room to add payroll).

and certainly, if new owners are announced by Opening Day, that should provide a big shot of positive PR in time to impact ticket sales and purchase of streaming TV packages.
Click to expand...
At the very least, it should remove the "Payroll is currently $136 million. the budget is $130 million, I guess we have to trade Pablo Lopez" talk go away, even if there's minimal new spending.
 

Happy 49th birthday to Carl Pavano. The #MNTwins acquired the mustachioed right-hander during the 2009 pennant race, which of course led to that thrilling Game 163.

he won 17 games in 2010 and tied for American League lead with seven complete games and two shutouts. (The Twins had SIX pitchers that year with 10 or more wins!)

IMG_1315.jpeg
 

TRF Guy said:
Happy 49th birthday to Carl Pavano. The #MNTwins acquired the mustachioed right-hander during the 2009 pennant race, which of course led to that thrilling Game 163.

he won 17 games in 2010 and tied for American League lead with seven complete games and two shutouts. (The Twins had SIX pitchers that year with 10 or more wins!)
Click to expand...
The 7 Complete Games is amazing in what was less than a generation ago. I doubt we will ever see that again. I doubt as a TEAM the Twins will accomplish that.

The Twins have had 4 Complete Games total since 2021.
 



If you think the Pohlads are bad - try reading about the mess in San Diego.

short version - the former managing owner of the Padres died. One of his brothers is now the 'control person' for the team under the terms of the late owner's trust agreement. But - the widow of the late owner is suing her brothers-in-law, claiming that she should be the 'control person.'

The widow recently claimed that her brothers-in-law want to move the team - an allegation they vehemently deny. the widow also claims that one of her sisters-in-law has made racial insults toward her. (the widow is Indian - the country, not Native American) this is like one of those wacky reality shows where rich people fight with each other.
 

TRF Guy said:
Happy 49th birthday to Carl Pavano. The #MNTwins acquired the mustachioed right-hander during the 2009 pennant race, which of course led to that thrilling Game 163.

he won 17 games in 2010 and tied for American League lead with seven complete games and two shutouts. (The Twins had SIX pitchers that year with 10 or more wins!)

View attachment 35312
Click to expand...
I was at a game that Pavano pitched in 2010.

Time of the game - 1:52 The Twins beat the White Sox 3-2. Mark Buehrle pitched for the Sox.

Twins 3, White Sox 2 - July 17, 2010
 


that sent me down a rabbit hole.

on May 20, 2005, Carlos Silva threw a complete game for the Twins while throwing only 74 pitches.

I thought it was a shutout, but tracked down the box score. Twins beat the Brewers 7-1. Game time was 2:21. Silva gave up 5 hits with no walks and 3 K's. only run on a solo HR (by former Twin Damian Miller).

for the Twins................wait for it................Nick Punto was 4-4. Shannon Stewart had 3 hits. Juan Castro hit a HR. Torii Hunter grounded into 2 double plays.
 

Gleeman drops his annual Top 40 Twins Prospects.

www.nytimes.com

Twins top 40 prospects for 2025, led by Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez

With two elite hitting prospects and strong pitching depth, this is as well-stocked as the Twins' farm system has looked in a decade.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Top 5 are -

Walker
Rodriguez
Keaschell
Matthews - still considered a rookie, as he didn’t pitch enough innings to break his maiden.
Andrew Morris

Interesting note regarding Twins draft strategy regarding starting pitching inthe article -

Matthews and Festa epitomize the Twins’ draft strategy: They take mostly hitters with early picks and then use the middle rounds to load up on right-handed college starters — preferably tall and/or skinny — from non-power conference schools, believing they can develop velocity through strength training and mechanical tweaks. It worked with Bailey Ober, and more are on the way.

While it may. It be perfect, it is a plan and not the concepts thereof.
As my first sales manager taught me -
“Work your plan and plan your work.”
 

short ornery norwegian said:
If you think the Pohlads are bad - try reading about the mess in San Diego.

short version - the former managing owner of the Padres died. One of his brothers is now the 'control person' for the team under the terms of the late owner's trust agreement. But - the widow of the late owner is suing her brothers-in-law, claiming that she should be the 'control person.'

The widow recently claimed that her brothers-in-law want to move the team - an allegation they vehemently deny. the widow also claims that one of her sisters-in-law has made racial insults toward her. (the widow is Indian - the country, not Native American) this is like one of those wacky reality shows where rich people fight with each other.
Click to expand...

Still sounds preferable to the Pohlads.
 




I watched the first episode of "Inside Twins" - their off-season show on radio and YouTube. guest was GM Jeremy Zoll. the only thing approaching "news" was that Griffin Jax will be in the bullpen. Zoll said they talked it over with Jax and his agent. He knows Jax has expressed interest in being a starter again, and "it's still possible in the future," but for now, he'll be in the pen.

also talked about changes in coaching staff. excited about new hitting coach.

a few health updates - all very positive - on Correa, Joe Ryan, etc.

Zoll said they are talking to a lot of teams about potential trades, but "it has to be the right deal."

at 1st base, Zoll said Miranda and Julien are candidates along with Mike Ford.

and they played this game where the guest has to identify a player based on details from his baseball card. yuk, yuk.
 

Twins make a trade.................(details from mlb.com)

The Dodgers traded catcher Diego Cartaya to the Twins in exchange for Minor League right-hander Jose Vasquez, the team announced Thursday.

Cartaya, who was MLB Pipeline's No. 1 Dodgers prospect as recently as 2023, was designated for assignment on Jan. 3 in order to clear room for Hyeseong Kim on Los Angeles' 40-man roster.

Originally signed as an intentional free agent in 2018 out of Maracay, Venezuela, Cartaya once ranked among the most highly regarded prospects in baseball. But after being named the Dodgers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2022, Cartaya took a step back offensively. Between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, he hit .221 with a .686 OPS and 11 homers across 95 games last season.

Heading into his age-23 season, Cartaya has yet to appear in the Majors. In 363 Minor League games with the Dodgers' organization from 2019-24, he slashed .236/.340/.435.

Vasquez, 20, signed with the Twins as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 2022. He spent the last two seasons pitching in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, going 5-2 with an 8.05 ERA across 22 outings (nine starts).
 

and - Twins sign arbitration-eligible players to one-year contracts. details tweeted out by Seth Stohs:

#MNTwins Arbitration Summary (credit @DWolfsonKSTP and @DanHayesMLB).
Willi Castro: $6.4M
Ryan Jeffers: $4.55M
Bailey Ober: $3.55M
Griffin Jax: $2.365M
Joe Ryan: $3.0M
Trevor Larnach: $2.1M
Jhoan Duran: $4.125M
Royce Lewis $1.625M

Previous Agreements:
Michael Tonkin: $1.0M
Justin Topa: $1.225M
Brock Stewart: $870K
And, the Twins picked up Jorge Alcala's 2025 option at $1.5M.

so - payroll speculation:
Twins have $93-mill in guaranteed contracts for Correa, Pablo, Buxton, C. Vazquez, Paddack and the Dobber.

the deals listed above total $32.31-million for 12 players.

so assuming the Dobber is not on the 26-man roster, the Twins have 17 players with deals totaling $125.31-million.

let's say 9 more players at minimum salary of $760K = $6.84-million.

for total projected payroll of $132.15-million.

If the $130-million is a hard number, they need to shed $2.1-million which they could potentially do by trading Paddack and/or Vazquez and replacing them on the 26-man roster with players at lower salaries.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
If the $130-million is a hard number, they need to shed $2.1-million which they could potentially do by trading Paddack and/or Vazquez and replacing them on the 26-man roster with players at lower salaries.
Click to expand...
I realize they already are selling the team, but if you're reaction to this is "our budget is $130 million not $132.1 million, trade someone!" you shouldn't own a professional sports team.

They should certainly trade Vazquez and Paddock if they can. But that $$ should be re-invested in a starter, a LH reliever and a 1B
 

howeda7 said:
I realize they already are selling the team, but if you're reaction to this is "our budget is $130 million not $132.1 million, trade someone!" you shouldn't own a professional sports team.

They should certainly trade Vazquez and Paddock if they can. But that $$ should be re-invested in a starter, a LH reliever and a 1B
Click to expand...

the first word in my sentence is "if." It may not be a hard number - we don't know that for a fact.

we also don't know if the accelerated sale process might lead the Pohlads to rethink some of their restrictions. If they know they're selling the team in a couple of months, they might say bleep it and let the payroll go up (especially if the new owners signal that they're OK with it)

beyond that - by "a starter" do you mean a starting pitcher? they have Pablo, Ober, Ryan, Sim, Festa and Zebby. that's 6 starters. If you're ranking needs on the roster, I would put starting pitching way low on the list. LH reliever would be #1 for me, followed by a RH-hitting OF.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
the first word in my sentence is "if." It may not be a hard number - we don't know that for a fact.

we also don't know if the accelerated sale process might lead the Pohlads to rethink some of their restrictions. If they know they're selling the team in a couple of months, they might say bleep it and let the payroll go up (especially if the new owners signal that they're OK with it)

beyond that - by "a starter" do you mean a starting pitcher? they have Pablo, Ober, Ryan, Sim, Festa and Zebby. that's 6 starters. If you're ranking needs on the roster, I would put starting pitching way low on the list. LH reliever would be #1 for me, followed by a RH-hitting OF.
Click to expand...
Yes. You need 8 starters to get through a season. Zebby should be no better than #8 and I think SWR is a strong candidate for regression. I'd rather he start in St. Paul too. They don't need anyone great, just a veteran to fill the #4/5 spot. Someone like Kyle Gibson would fit well and would only take a 1 year deal for less than $10 million IMO.

If you want to do them all as bringing the band back together, Polanco for 1B and Coulombe for a LH reliever will both probably be cheap. Polcano's never played 1B, but I'd rather try him there than Julien.

I can see adding a RH OF'er, but the bench currently would be the back-up catcher, Julien or Miranda and Austin Martin. If you add a 1B beyond Julien or Miranda, another OF'er would probably take the place of Austin Martin. I think Martin/Castro can back-up the OF well enough. If/when Buxton gets hurt, it will be Emanuel Rodrquez time.
 
Last edited:


howeda7 said:
Twins trying to extend their lease at Target Field to 2059.

Click to expand...
So, are they trying to give the public some assurance that the team won't move even if it's sold, while giving potential buyers some sort of guarantee that they'll have state funding coming in that will help with Target Field maintenance and improvements? Guess that makes sense, but if I was buying the team, that does take away a lot of leverage I'd have in future negotiations.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom