Twins

[Gunner55]

Read where the NYY are interested in Kepler.

[dutchboy]

I'm probably the only guy in Minnesota who would rather keep Kepler. He's young, he's cheap, he plays almost every day, very good defensibly & has shown the ability to put the ball in play. IMO you can never have to many guys who aren't strikeout prone.

My OPINION only.

[glenn57]

I'm probably the only guy in Minnesota who would rather keep Kepler. He's young, he's cheap, he plays almost every day, very good defensibly & has shown the ability to put the ball in play. IMO you can never have to many guys who aren't strikeout prone.

My OPINION only.

i'm with ya dutchy.......when i do get to watch the twins i enjoyed watching him. he has a sweet swing!!!!! i like Arreaz to but..........

[Gunner55]

  Twins now have 5 lefty hitting OFs for the 2 corner spots & DH. Kepler is the oldest & most expensive. He's due $8.5 this year & there's a club option for $10 next. SF, LAD, & Seattle are all looking for OF help too. Might be able to get some pitching help in return.

[dutchboy]

Twins now have 5 lefty hitting OFs for the 2 corner spots & DH. Kepler is the oldest & most expensive. He's due $8.5 this year & there's a club option for $10 next. SF, LAD, & Seattle are all looking for OF help too. Might be able to get some pitching help in return.

SF, LAD & Seattle are contenders, I don't see them trading any pitching other than maybe single A types. I'd rather see how Kepler starts the season out and worry about him around the trade deadline. I don't think he would bring anything that would help the Twins this year. Other than the salary dump. Who knows, maybe he bounces back with a good year.

[Gunner55]

Yeah, I think he'll definitely benefit from the new rules this year. He's been 1 of the most heavily shifted guys in MLB last couple years because he's such a dead pull hitter. He had a lot of hard-hit balls that didn't fall for him because of that the last couple seasons too. I agree, it would most likely be a young arm or two that's not ready for the majors for a season or 2.

[KEN W]

Yeah.....forgot about the new rule changes. Will be interesting to see how this affects each hitter.

Pitch clock
2 infielders on each side of second base with both feet on the infield dirt.

[dutchboy]

Add the shift change along with bigger bases and it will bring speed back in the game also.

[Gunner55]

  Read something that I was unaware of in the last day or so. The Twins had 8 guys who were going to be elligble for arbitration to begin this season, so they started working on a new deal with all of them at the beginning of last season. All of them agreed to a new deal but 1. Care to guess which 1?

[Steve-o]

Sorry, too early for guessing games.  I don't follow the Hot Stove league close enough.

[dutchboy]

Arraez.

[Steve-o]

OK.  I didn't realize he was also up for arbitration.

I've heard several people say that despite losing a popular player, it was a pretty good deal for the Twins.  I say so too... as long as the pitcher pans out.

[dutchboy]

OK.  I didn't realize he was also up for arbitration.

I've heard several people say that despite losing a popular player, it was a pretty good deal for the Twins.  I say so too... as long as the pitcher pans out.

You can't look at it that way Steve. Whether the pitcher works out for the Twins or not it was a trade they felt they needed to make. If Kirolloff is healthy he plays 1st base, thats why the fat kid is gone. Arraez playing 1st last year was a stop gap with a guy that was hitting the ball. We all loved his antics at the plate and the fact he was willing to spray the ball around. But lets not overlook the fact his average plummeted in the second half when the Twins were trying to hang on. Did he wear out? Did the pitchers figure him out? Was he just returning to his norm? Not really a known at this time. He was a utility guy thrust into a everyday player. I liked him but there is nowhere to play him.

As far as the pitcher received goes he also is a unknown but likely will be a rotation piece. He will never be a #1 but if he can eat a few innings that will help the bullpen. With the way the Twins manage their starters it's imperative that starters go 5 innings. When they have the blowups in the first 3 innings it absolutely kills the bullpen with the added work. Maybe he becomes the 6th guy or the long guy. Maybe he takes somebody else's place in the rotation and they drop down to that roll. Time will tell what becomes of him.

I liked the way Arraez played the game but this is one time I can't blame management for making a move. Besides, there is no guarantee Arraez doesn't blow out a knee this season.

Pitchers & catchers start in a few weeks and we will start getting more answers.

[Gunner55]

  It looks like he got $4.7 & I read where the Twins offered $5 but he was asking for $6. The new deal runs through 2025 though. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/arbitration/miami-marlins/all/ Heard a few say that his glove was a bit suspect no matter his position as well.

[Gunner55]

  It looks like my previous post was as I found this today. https://www.rutlandherald.com/sports/pro_national_sports/batting-champ-arraez-beats-marlins-in-salary-arbitration/article_d58e28d9-3c0e-53df-bf91-0d5b0b3b27c1.html

[Gunner55]

  Less than 2 weeks 'til we get a look at this years team. https://www.mlb.com/press-release/minnesota-twins-announce-2023-spring-training-schedule

[dutchboy]

I can't hardly wait for baseball in general. With Bally Sports going in the dumper soon I'm not sure how I will watch the Twins. Might become a radio thing only for me as I'm not sure I'd pay a streaming service to see them.

[LPS]

I'm curious to see how that all plays out.  Sinclair sure screwed it all up by not letting anyone reup their MLB contracts.  MLB sure screwed up by letting it happen.  A lot of people no longer watch due to that.

[dutchboy]

Baseball is more of a radio game anyway in my opinion. Visualizing the game in your mind is easy if the announcers are good. That said I watch far more games then I listen to since I retired. Although listening to the Twins while mowing grass on the cities dime was great last year.   

[Gunner55]

  The latest I could find on it.https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2023/02/10/bally-sports-owner-miss-payment-next-week-associated-press/

[Gunner55]

ESPN's version https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35625491/mlb-preparing-take-local-broadcasts-necessary

[LPS]

Good article.  Maddening how convoluted it all got.  We had to switch to our local cable company to get Twins games.  Good company too.

[LPS]

I'm probably the only guy in Minnesota who would rather keep Kepler. He's young, he's cheap, he plays almost every day, very good defensibly & has shown the ability to put the ball in play. IMO you can never have to many guys who aren't strikeout prone.

My OPINION only.

He is one of our favorites.  I am no baseball mind neither.  Just watch the games.

[Gunner55]

Good article.  Maddening how convoluted it all got.  We had to switch to our local cable company to get Twins games.  Good company too.

Glad to read that Manfred has already said that if they have to step in they will & they will keep it on cable as well as setting up a streaming service.

[dutchboy]

Good article.  Maddening how convoluted it all got.  We had to switch to our local cable company to get Twins games.  Good company too.

Glad to read that Manfred has already said that if they have to step in they will & they will keep it on cable as well as setting up a streaming service.

I'd rather trust Walz with my last $10 than trust Manfred. He will roll it to streaming with limited availability for more money. I can't see myself paying $59.00 ( or whatever number he comes up with) a month to watch the Twins. Everyone of the major sports owners have forgotten it's the fans who have built them to what they are. 

[Gunner55]

  I hope your wrong as having to pay more to follow your favorite team will chase a lot of fans away from MLB IMO & just undo what they've been trying to do with all of the new rule changes. I know we won't be paying extra for a premium channel or a streaming service & probably won't follow 'em much on the radio either. 

[LPS]

If it isn't part of our regular TV programming we won't pay extra for it neither. 

[Steve-o]

The latest I could find on it.https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2023/02/10/bally-sports-owner-miss-payment-next-week-associated-press/

Yeah, sometimes you gotta wonder about all those multi-billion dollar media deals.  I reckon investors are just hoping for neutral cash flow so they can hold onto the asset long enough until they find a buyer who will give them more then they paid.  Sooner or later the bubble is going to burst.

[Gunner55]

Twins 1st Spring game is tomorrow , it looks to be a split squad affair. TB & Baltimore both with the same start time.

[dutchboy]

Once again the season only boils down to two things...

1) Can Baldelli not burn the bullpen to the ground by August 1st.

2) Will Buxton play over 100 games? I'm not including DH'ing which seems to be the plan.

Pitching health and health of the club will be paramount. They need to find a way to keep these guys on the field & playing.