All Things 2025 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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coolhandgopher said:
Alright, call me a cock-eyed optimist (or Billy Mumphrey, for Seinfeld fans), but maybe the near future won't be awful?

-new owners (who won't be skinflints)
-a lineup built around Buxton, Keaschall, Lewis, Lee, Jeffers, Larnach/Wallner (perhaps)
-the emergence of homegrown prospects Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper
-a rotation that doesn't get traded off, led by Lopez and Ryan, with Ober, Matthews, Festa in the mix
-the emergence of Mick Abel, Taj Bradley, and Kendry Rojas either into the rotation or as bullpen pieces (and if they displace one of the aforementioned borderline starters, they get shifted to the bullpen)
-emergence of others such as Emmanuel Rodriguez, Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, CJ Culpepper, Gabriel Gonzalez into capable MLB's sooner rather than later
-good health
-money put into the bullpen and a catcher (not resigning Vazquez) and a veteran bat or two

Damn, so much rests on those new owners. . .tempering hopes until the sale happens; again, hopefully sooner rather than later

Btw, I'm not anticipating contender status for '26, even in the best case scenario of all the young talent emerging and the roster staying relatively healthy, I'm thinking more '27. . .but if I recall, Ope's saying we could be looking at a lock-out that year. It wouldn't get more MN sports than that, would it? A young nucleus emerging, new owners ready to spend the money to push them in that direction, and. . .the season's truncated while Buxton, Lopez, and Ryan age deeper into their 30's.
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Looking at the bullet points and the volatility of the AL Central, contending can come sooner, rather than later
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Looking at the bullet points and the volatility of the AL Central, contending can come sooner, rather than later
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A huge domino in that aspect is Skubal with the Tigers and 1 year remaining before FA.

If Detroit owners pony up the dough AND Skubal accepts, they should be formidable with the pieces they have as well as can add.

Skubal is a Boras client though, so there's also a solid chance he's elsewhere.
 

Ope3 said:
The key above all else is keeping Lopez and Ryan. If a new owner comes in and extends Ryan, then there's hope.

Trade off either/both of those pieces, key up Free Fallin'.
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Ryan is a Boras client too so I don't like the odds of him signing an extension. They can certainly compete next year if the new owner is willing to spend $150 million or so. They need about $20 million to rebuild the bullpen and to get a middle of the order 1B.
 

howeda7 said:
Ryan is a Boras client too so I don't like the odds of him signing an extension. They can certainly compete next year if the new owner is willing to spend $150 million or so. They need about $20 million to rebuild the bullpen and to get a middle of the order 1B.
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Yeah, odds are Ryan is going to hit Free Agency, regardless of which franchise employs him when the time comes.
 

An article from Matthew Leach, Twins beat writer for MLB.com regarding the Varland’s trade -

DETROIT -- As a fan, there’s a good chance you didn’t love the Twins’ Trade Deadline, when they moved 10 players off their Major League roster in four days. But there’s also a good chance that you understood most of the moves.

The Twins moved five pending free agents. They got a huge return for Jhoan Duran. They moved Brock Stewart, who has been very effective but has a checkered health history, at perhaps the peak of his value. The Carlos Correa deal was shocking, but even if you didn’t like it, you probably at least understand the financial aspect.

Perhaps the Griffin Jax trade was hard to swallow, but Jax reportedly requested a trade and the Twins got someone they expect to be in their 2026 starting rotation for him in Taj Bradley.

If there was one trade that clearly confused many people, it was the move of Louis Varland (and Ty France) to Toronto.

It’s the one I got the most questions about. It’s the one that player after player told me caught them off guard. So I asked about it. I asked not only Twins president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey but also some other members of the front office about it.

And I think I understand where they were coming from. So I thought maybe I could help you understand as well. You may still not like it -- that’s your right as a fan. I’m not trying to tell you how to feel or what to think. But maybe I can at least give you a better feel for the team’s reasoning.
Louis Varland​
First, know this: The Twins weren’t looking to move Varland. I don’t think anyone in the front office thought that the hometown kid would be one of the players moved. But as you hear all the time, all it takes is one phone call, and they got the call that made them -- to use a term I heard a lot this week -- “motivated.”

It starts with this: The Twins believe Alan Roden, who came over from the Blue Jays, will be something very close to an everyday Major League outfielder, and as you’ve seen, they’re already playing him that way. They like his athleticism -- he’s the best defensive corner outfielder currently on the roster -- and they like his approach at the plate.

But it’s the other player in the deal who they view as the real prize. The Twins rate lefty Kendry Rojas very, very highly. They were as fond of him as any pitcher in the Blue Jays’ system. Just because analysts don’t have him as a Top-100 prospect, doesn’t mean the Twins view him as lesser.

“That's a potential everyday position player and a really high upside starting pitcher,” Falvey said, “who you know, in the event that he's not a starting pitcher somewhere down the line, it's not hard to envision a world where he's an elite, impact reliever, too. So that was hard for us to look at and pass up based on what we think the talent was.”
Kendry Rojas​
But there’s another aspect, and I found this very interesting. One thing that a lot of people have noted is that Varland still has five years of team control remaining. But I was told by someone in the industry that sometimes teams view that differently for relievers than other positions.

Relief pitchers are, without question, the most volatile players in baseball. If you took a look at the best relievers in 2021 and the best relievers in ‘25, there would be almost no overlap. So the math is just a little different. Yes, you have Varland for five years, but it’s not the same as having a hitter or starter for five years. The value is just different.

None of that may change your view. You may still be angry, sad or frustrated, and I’m not trying to change your mind. But I do hope you have a better understanding of the thought process.
 










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