CheezWizHed

I'm pretty sure he has a name... 😂 Just another option for the International exception. A little odd if they go into TC with 3 kickers, but I'd put $ down that he is on track to be the last PS spot.

My son was just visiting Bordeaux on Sunday and said the air quality was pretty bad. Many roads were closed to keep people from going TO the fires. He said 20 min driving away and the skies were blue

What I saw was a total lack of control. He walked people like crazy, but he wasn't hit hard (the few times he was in the zone). He is basically a freebie veteran pitcher with playoff experience. If he goes to AAA and can't get his control back, you really haven't lost anything.

Classic!

Yeah, I almost included Adamczwwdlkjski if I could just spell his name... But seriously, I didn't want to get too deep into the minors... I was trying to stick with people that are succeeding at the MLB level or very likely players (Made). I cheated at 1B a little by using 3 options at 1B that are close to playing the MLB level... you'd think at least one will make it.

"Retire" in this case is a euphemism for "DFA with grace." It probably won't happen until mid 2027 or more likely 2028 (with $22M cash left). No, I don't assume Yelich will give anything back. Maybe they are able to defer some money? Maybe they just swallow it. Maybe they let him play it out. I'm just saying that letting him go if he can't deliver 750 OPS would be one way to improve the team. Not saying it is likely.

Having fewer options for revenue streams and being broke are two different things. A team in a town of 100 thousand people (or a state of 6 million) is always going to have to make sure NFL policy doesn't work against them if they want to keep competitive with teams that are in cities of 10 million or more. A good owner/manager is ALWAYS going to be working that angle that helps his team.

I have to say that I'm probably more interested in watching the team this year than last year's team (though Rollins' development was interesting to watch last year). This year, Herro is an obvious draw, but he probably doesn't have much upside now. Burries is going to be exciting to watch. Also to see if Rollins can repeat or improve from last year. But we have so many new people that have some upside. Who else are you excited to watch this year?

I have love-hate feelings with them since the 90s (or whenever they first came out). I think it looks good at first glance... but then hate them the longer I look at it.

The $58.5M is going to be paid no matter what. It is a sunk cost. But that doesn't mean we need to keep giving him ABs. We can ask him to retire with his golden parachute. I don't think we are there yet, and I agree with @adambr2 that he will get another shot next year. But if he can't do better than 750 OPS as the DH, I'd prefer to look for an upgrade.

Generally, I do see the team improving over last year, but they certainly aren't without their issues - injuries being one of the bigger ones. Offense: I honestly see the potential for a #1 offense this year. To do that, MLF has to increase the pass/rush ratio, WRs and Love need to stay healthy. OL just needs to solidify. QB: Compared to last year, it is probably "flat". Losing Willis hurts if Love doesn't stay healthy. But another year with the same WRs should help Love be better too. Love needs to get over 4000 yards. WR: Losing Doubs means we lost a very sure-handed WR that was Love's go-to. Watson and Reid had injury issues last year and must stay healthy... but all three starting WRs (including Golden) have higher upside than Doubs. This group could be electric... or on the sidelines. TE: Kraft might've been the best TE in all of football when he got hurt. Depth is thin behind him, but if the WRs hit this year, there won't be many balls behind Kraft. OL: Last year was a massive shuffle where the only players that didn't get injured were either "meh" (Walker) or at new positions (Rhyan/Belton). I think Morgan at LT is an upgrade. Banks improved at the end of the year as he got healthy. Rhyan will have an offseason to improve at C or be replaced by Burton (either should be better than 2025 Rhyan). Same with Belton - he improved all year and with an offseason to practice the technique, I think he will be excellent with a lot of big runs behind him. Tom back healthy is clearly better than our RT all last year. Big arrow up on this group with a big injury caveat. RB: Losing Wilson hurts unless Lynch can stay healthy (big if). Obviously, Jacobs' legal situation is a big concern, but I don't think finding an RB at the end of TC is terribly hard. And this might even push us to pass more, which is a good thing. But Jacobs also has a ON-OFF-ON cycle for his career and this year would be "ON" in that cycle. Defense: Last year, we were comfortably in the top 10 when Parson was injured. I see improvements and concerns for 2026 but could be top 10 again. If we had one top 15 CB, I'd feel much better about the defense's upside. The coaching change will be one to watch also. DL: Wooden did surprisingly well for us last year, but fits the 3-4 less and wasn't a needle mover anyway. Adding McClellan and Hargrave next to Wyatt, Brooks, Brinson, and Stackhouse is a net gain. OLB: Assuming Parsons comes back at 100%, this group is probably about the same. Gary seemed to be regressing last year to just "solid". I think Sorrell can provide that this year. LVN needs to stay healthy to get long term impact. I like Oliver a lot and he should be picking Parson's brain to be a poor-man version. DDS might surprise people too. MLB: Franklin for Walker is the key here. I doubt Franklin will be overall better, but can he be more consistent and let Cooper be the splash player? I'd say this group is about the same. Safety: Quite literally the same unless you want to include ST players. Should be slightly better from the point of view of young players reaching their peak and no one really "over the peak". CB: Here is my main concern for the team. Added two interesting players, but they probably protect our floor more than raise the ceiling. Cisse might be excellent in a couple of years and might start this year... but overall I don't see this group being a strength. Special Teams: It all surrounds what the word "Smack" means in January: I'd love the Smack that kicker!!! He really Smacked that ball!!! Keeping healthy is a key, key area in so many positions with players that have struggled to stay healthy in the past.... though several of them have gotten better there too.

Listening to the news broadcasters in MN, they are trying to make the best of the situation... but no one escapes the reality that you have 3 QBs going into TC in an open competition. And none of them have been really that good at their peak. And two are clearly past their peak...one is questionable at having a peak. They lost a lot of players in the offseason also due to cap reasons. I'm pretty sure they will be last.

Surely Ashby is unavailable tonight after that one big pitch last night!

Looks like I forgot Coleman Crowe at SP. Eight SP deep.

It has been interesting to me how the team has been on renovating the team under a youth movement and still consistently winning. Yes, we are all waiting for a WS victory, but you have to admire the transformation without losing any steam in the standings. Just looking at our future core - anyone with more than 3 years tenure with the club (i.e. club control for 2027-2029). C - Open. Quero and Dinges aren't far off, but there is a lot of uncertainty here. 1B - Open: More options with Adams, Bruke, or maybe Fisher, but still uncertainty. 2B - Turang (5-6 WAR player) SS - Pratt (looking like a 3-4+ WAR player) 3B - Ortiz - not terribly exciting, but a 2-3 WAR player. This is probably Made's future position LF - Chourio - 3+WAR. Likely the "+" kicks in as he matures. I keep forgetting that he is only 22. CF - Mitchell - 3-4 WAR player when healthy. Technically only 2 years of control left. RF - Lara - Not sure where to put him at this point. Seemed easy to peg him as a 2-3 WAR player based on past results, but this year he looks more like a 4+ WAR (both minimal MLB and AAA stats) OF - Frelick 2-3 WAR as a starter. Thought he might have one more gear, but really stepped backwards this year. DH - Open: Yelich has a mutual option for 2029 that is unlikely to be accepted by the club. SP - Miz (6+WAR): true TOR starter and annual Cy Young candidate. SP: Harrison, Priester, Henderson, Sproat, Gasser, Drohan - Rather than list the rest individually... just admire the depth and quality of this group. That is 7 SPs deep with pitchers that are at least 5th SP level today. Sproat's upside is impressive too if he can manage his control and endurance. Not all will remain with the team due to options running out, but still. It is impressive when you have Sproat, Gasser and Drohan fighting for the 5th SP spot. BP: Uribe, Patrick, Hall, Yoho, Ashby*, Koenig*, Anderson* Ashby has club options up to 2029, but I tend to doubt they will take them Koenig and Anderson might be questionable as they work through arbitration and become expensive. That would be 20 of a 26-man roster potentially set for the next 3 years (assuming 2 SPs move to the BP and maxing out at 13 pitchers). Upgrade options: C: Contreras' leadership role with the team and Quero's arm issues make that the most concerning gap on the team. 1B: There are several big stick options close to the majors. I'd bank on one of Adams, Burke, or Fisher (my favorite) to work out there. 3B: Ortiz is probably the target to replace, but Made needs to play somewhere. Fisher isn't far behind either. RF: With Mitchell's injury issues, moving Lara to CF and finding a bigger bat to play in RF would be good. BP: Uribe works at the closer. Keep finding more arms like we always do. DH: Hopefully we have enough quality depth to avoid a DH only player. But overall, that is an impressive group of young, controlled talent to build on.

Normally, a 5th OF fits on the team fine - Chourio, Mitchell, Lara, Lockridge, and Frelick would be very good. But with Yelich at DH only and Bauer's and Vaughn's bats pushing more time for Jake in the OF, there isn't room for a true 5th OFer. Hard to replace Lara at the moment because he is playing so well. Lockridge and Frelick end up being LH/RH versions of similar players. If they hit over 700 OPS, their defense brings good value to the team. If they drop below that, they end up 4th OF material. My hope was that Sal was ascending and we'd end up with a ~300 BA player that provides 3-4 WAR/year. But this season makes you wonder if 2025 was an outlier and the truth lies more in the 650-700 OPS or 80-90 OPS+ range with 2.5 WAR/year. Lockridge was having a great start to the year, but his history has much less to rely on (even in the MiLB he was averaging only 768 OPS). Personally, I'd stick with Chourio, Mitchell, Lara, and Frelick at the MLB level. Looks like Lockridge can be optioned to AAA, so I'd probably do that. Nice level of flexibility when any of Lara, Frelick, or Lockridge can be optioned.

What are the chances of McCullers taking a AAA deal from the Brewers to continue working his way back? I heard some rumors about his returning to Houston (I'm sure he is well ingrained to the organization), but the Brewers might be the better choice to resurrect his career.

True. Sproat to AAA is another decent option. Flip a coin between him and Gasser.. but its been Gasser doing the traveling for now.

I think the plan for McCullers would be to build up and join the starting rotation (assuming all goes well). Otherwise he and Wilson are pretty redundant. I think the Yoho YoYo continues... back down to AAA for now. He is improving at the MLB level, but not a lock for the BP yet - reminds me of Hall a couple of years ago that way. Gasser has been very up and down too. Looks great one game and blah the next. I think you take the chance on McCullers in his spot (once he is built up) and use Gasser as depth for now. Hall is on the 15 day DL and not the 60, so no 40-man roster shuffle needed.

I'm wondering if how they used Miz (4 innings) and Harrison on the DL with forearm tightness might be something they learned from Dodgers when a chunk of their pitching staff took a mid-season holiday and then came back strong late in the season.

Agreed. I'm a little concerned about our SP health at the moment. If Miz, Harrision, and Woody were all pitching strong, it might change things. But most of your core is here for the next couple of years (Woody, Megill, Contreras, Vaughn, and Bauers the exceptions) and most of the core that is here is still developing (Yelich the exception). With a few big options still coming.

"One third of an inning is a big piece of pie".

I think we need a pet parrot for the clubhouse mascot. The tortoise was easier to handle, but we need to go "all in" this year!

Just praying for a little extra Hook magic on these arms.

Where is Frelick on that chart?