Jorge Polanco to Seattle

[Butch Bradford]

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[TheLokNesMonster]

Gonna miss Jorge....

As will I, but it looks like a pretty good return!

Seattle is going for it. Great player for us.

This might be Levine’s legacy move if these guys hit. Like Ryan when he traded AJ. He got a haul, and everybody played and produced for us. History might repeat!

[OliverMiller]

Yeah, Polanco is probably the best Twin of the last decade, but it was obviously the right time to move him.

They filled two holes on the major league roster in getting another good reliever, depth at starting, and a top 70 prospect and another prospect that looks to be solid while saving money.

I still think they need one more arm at the Jordan Montgomery level.

[TheLokNesMonster]

Yeah, Polanco is probably the best Twin of the last decade, but it was obviously the right time to move him.

They filled two holes on the major league roster in getting another good reliever, depth at starting, and a top 70 prospect and another prospect that looks to be solid while saving money.

I still think they need one more arm at the Jordan Montgomery level.

Anybody ready for promotion or are we going to get a FA?

[feekdogg]

Yeah, Polanco is probably the best Twin of the last decade, but it was obviously the right time to move him.

They filled two holes on the major league roster in getting another good reliever, depth at starting, and a top 70 prospect and another prospect that looks to be solid while saving money.

I still think they need one more arm at the Jordan Montgomery level.

Anybody ready for promotion or are we going to get a FA?

Jordan Montgomery is going to get more than 20 million a year. They aren't spending that. The two guys that they have at the AAA level who would be in line for a promotion to the bigs are Matt Canterino (who's coming off arm injuries) or Simeon Woods Richardson (got from the Jays for Berrios), but those are both iffy at best. Wouldn't surprise me if they make another trade for a SP.

[Tuck ya in]

Yeah, Polanco is probably the best Twin of the last decade, but it was obviously the right time to move him.

They filled two holes on the major league roster in getting another good reliever, depth at starting, and a top 70 prospect and another prospect that looks to be solid while saving money.

I still think they need one more arm at the Jordan Montgomery level.

Anybody ready for promotion or are we going to get a FA?

Jordan Montgomery is going to get more than 20 million a year. They aren't spending that. The two guys that they have at the AAA level who would be in line for a promotion to the bigs are Matt Canterino (who's coming off arm injuries) or Simeon Woods Richardson (got from the Jays for Berrios), but those are both iffy at best. Wouldn't surprise me if they make another trade for a SP.

That needed trade will involve Kepler most likely.

[HeHateMe]

Absolutely pathetic this franchise can't sign even one guy on this list.... so far. They should add one of the remaining starters (Falvine mentioned in Gleeman's article they're focusing on position players it appears)...

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/mlb- ... t-signings

Lot of guys who could help here. If salaries continue to be an issue I don't see why they don't move Kepler then... is Kepler staying beyond this season? if not, move him. Let Larnach, Wallner, Gordon and Kirilloff have the corner OF spots. Let Miranda start at 1b, Julien 2nd, Lewis 3rd, Correa SS. Clear some money out to let them get another starter FFS! Last year was fun because the starting pitching looked great.

[feekdogg]

Anybody ready for promotion or are we going to get a FA?

Jordan Montgomery is going to get more than 20 million a year. They aren't spending that. The two guys that they have at the AAA level who would be in line for a promotion to the bigs are Matt Canterino (who's coming off arm injuries) or Simeon Woods Richardson (got from the Jays for Berrios), but those are both iffy at best. Wouldn't surprise me if they make another trade for a SP.

That needed trade will involve Kepler most likely.

For sure. I'd even take it a step further and say that they'll include a pretty good prospect going the other way if they can find someone who's willing to eat Vazquez's stupid contract. They're taking advantage of this whole "we might not get any TV money" scam.

[Tommy_Hawk]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

[OliverMiller]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

The nice thing is they have options behind Julien if that were to happen, but the likelihood of Julien having that level of drop off is significantly lower. His foundation is discipline.

[OliverMiller]

Yeah, Polanco is probably the best Twin of the last decade, but it was obviously the right time to move him.

They filled two holes on the major league roster in getting another good reliever, depth at starting, and a top 70 prospect and another prospect that looks to be solid while saving money.

I still think they need one more arm at the Jordan Montgomery level.

Anybody ready for promotion or are we going to get a FA?

Jordan Montgomery is going to get more than 20 million a year. They aren't spending that. The two guys that they have at the AAA level who would be in line for a promotion to the bigs are Matt Canterino (who's coming off arm injuries) or Simeon Woods Richardson (got from the Jays for Berrios), but those are both iffy at best. Wouldn't surprise me if they make another trade for a SP.

Yeah, I think the constraints the front office is working with this off-season are important to keep in mind with any move.

They likely would have rather made a bigger move, but need to win on the margins with the reduced payroll.

[ForCaleb]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

I'm confident Julien won't pull a Miranda. His defense still needs a lot of work and his high strike-out rate needs to be improved. But he's a streaky hitter, and when things are good, he can carry an offense.

I do like the prospect we got. My guess he's probably top 5 in our system.

DeSclafani is Kevin Correa reincarnated. I'm good if he's just a spot starter but he shouldn't be in the rotation IMO.

[Hoop Dreams]

[weimy froob]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

I'm confident Julien won't pull a Miranda. His defense still needs a lot of work and his high strike-out rate needs to be improved. But he's a streaky hitter, and when things are good, he can carry an offense.

I do like the prospect we got. My guess he's probably top 5 in our system.

DeSclafani is Kevin Correa reincarnated. I'm good if he's just a spot starter but he shouldn't be in the rotation IMO.

julien works hard and you could tell by how improved his fielding was at the end of the season. i don't see that as a problem at all going forward. he takes a lot of pitches and doesn't like to swing if he doesn't think it's a strike. what happens with that approach is you get rung up on close 3-2 count pitches from time to time. you try to get him to change his approach at the plate and you could get in trouble there. might have to take the bad with the good with his ABs.

gonna be interesting for sure to see how his season plays out--but i'm expecting it to be a very good one.

[ForCaleb]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

I'm confident Julien won't pull a Miranda. His defense still needs a lot of work and his high strike-out rate needs to be improved. But he's a streaky hitter, and when things are good, he can carry an offense.

I do like the prospect we got. My guess he's probably top 5 in our system.

DeSclafani is Kevin Correa reincarnated. I'm good if he's just a spot starter but he shouldn't be in the rotation IMO.

julien works hard and you could tell by how improved his fielding was at the end of the season. i don't see that as a problem at all going forward. he takes a lot of pitches and doesn't like to swing if he doesn't think it's a strike. what happens with that approach is you get rung up on close 3-2 count pitches from time to time. you try to get him to change his approach at the plate and you could get in trouble there. might have to take the bad with the good with his ABs.

gonna be interesting for sure to see how his season plays out--but i'm expecting it to be a very good one.

I'm not as confident as you, but I agree with mostly everything you said. He's a solid top of the lineup hitter. LFG

[feekdogg]

I'm not entirely convinced Julien plays 2B most days. I'll believe it when I see it, but assuming Buxton is back in CF, they don't have a DH. I'd assume a lot of mixing/matching at 2B/DH with Julien, Castro, Martin, Gordon, Farmer and maybe even Lee.

[salamander]

We got one of Seattle's best prospects - Gabriel Gonzalez

Just looked and didn't see him in the MLB's top 100 prospects.

But:
Gonzalez, who will be 20 for all of the 2024 season, has already established himself as having a knack for making a lot of contact. He struck out in just 16.6 percent of his plate appearances in 2023, though his approach suffered when he moved up to High-A. His power hasn't come as much yet. He did hit 18 homers in 2023, but his exit velocities and other metrics that measure impact did not take the step forward some evaluators had predicted.

Gonzalez’s ability to drive the ball is important because he’s limited to a corner outfield spot, putting more pressure on his bat. He’s a fringy runner now and might slow down as he matures, though he has decent defensive instincts and has an absolute hose for an arm. He has to keep staying on top of his body and conditioning, and he’s young enough to grow into tapping into his power to fit that corner profile well.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/ga ... lez-694224

[salamander]

I assume this makes the Pohlad's happy by shedding more payroll, and they got cash in return!

You know it! They got a playoff win and now can proceed to bottom out for the next 5 years.

[salamander]

Does he really think we haven't heard this song and dance. Stop it. Fans aren't idiots, we've heard this shit 100 times. That just pisses me off that he said that.

Spend another 150 million and get back to me dirtbag.

[feekdogg]

We got one of Seattle's best prospects - Gabriel Gonzalez

Just looked and didn't see him in the MLB's top 100 prospects.

But:
Gonzalez, who will be 20 for all of the 2024 season, has already established himself as having a knack for making a lot of contact. He struck out in just 16.6 percent of his plate appearances in 2023, though his approach suffered when he moved up to High-A. His power hasn't come as much yet. He did hit 18 homers in 2023, but his exit velocities and other metrics that measure impact did not take the step forward some evaluators had predicted.

Gonzalez’s ability to drive the ball is important because he’s limited to a corner outfield spot, putting more pressure on his bat. He’s a fringy runner now and might slow down as he matures, though he has decent defensive instincts and has an absolute hose for an arm. He has to keep staying on top of his body and conditioning, and he’s young enough to grow into tapping into his power to fit that corner profile well.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/ga ... lez-694224

If you click on your link, he's rated 79th on the Top 100 list (not that that really means anything). 5'10" 165 lbs doesn't exactly scream corner outfielder to me, but he's only 20.

[Bullazin]

Weird. I didn't pick up on this until just now. Polanco was Mt favorite Twin for the last four or five seasons. Looks like they got more for him than I would have expected. Hopefully Julien doesn't pull a Miranda like Miley said.

I’m not worried about Julien, he is going to hit, but I feel ya on Polanco. He was the only hitter in the playoffs beside Correa that had a chance at the plate. Helluva player but since we are the twins and the Pohlads need $ it was time to move him.

[salamander]

We got one of Seattle's best prospects - Gabriel Gonzalez

Just looked and didn't see him in the MLB's top 100 prospects.

But:
Gonzalez, who will be 20 for all of the 2024 season, has already established himself as having a knack for making a lot of contact. He struck out in just 16.6 percent of his plate appearances in 2023, though his approach suffered when he moved up to High-A. His power hasn't come as much yet. He did hit 18 homers in 2023, but his exit velocities and other metrics that measure impact did not take the step forward some evaluators had predicted.

Gonzalez’s ability to drive the ball is important because he’s limited to a corner outfield spot, putting more pressure on his bat. He’s a fringy runner now and might slow down as he matures, though he has decent defensive instincts and has an absolute hose for an arm. He has to keep staying on top of his body and conditioning, and he’s young enough to grow into tapping into his power to fit that corner profile well.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/ga ... lez-694224

If you click on your link, he's rated 79th on the Top 100 list (not that that really means anything). 5'10" 165 lbs doesn't exactly scream corner outfielder to me, but he's only 20.

I musta missed him.

[weimy froob]

By DANE MIZUTANI

With the Twins searching for a potential trade partner this offseason, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey made his expectations clear to anybody who reached out. If he was going to make a move, he was looking for players who could help the Twins in the present, as well as prospects who could help them in the future.

The decision to trade fan favorite second baseman Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners accomplished exactly that. Not only did the Twins acquire a pair of pitchers in Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa, who should be able to contribute immediately, they also added a pair of prospects in Gabby Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, who could make an impact in the future.

The prize of the trade for the Twins was Gonzalez, a 20-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, who is listed among the Top 100 prospects in the game. Asked about the importance of Gonzalez being included in the negotiations, Falvey expressed his excitement, replying, “That’s a critical piece.”

There’s a lot to like about Gonzalez simply by looking at his statistics in the minor leagues. He played 116 games in Single A last season, finishing with a .298 batting average, 18 home runs and 84 runs batted in. He projects as somebody who could have a decent amount of power throughout his rise up the ranks.

“This is a guy who our scouts really like,” Falvey said. “Our player development guys got a chance to look at the video and assess the swing and think about what he can do.”

The key will be keeping Gonzalez on an upward trajectory. There are so many different things that can happen during the development process in the minor leagues. It’s on the Twins to make sure he reaches his full potential now that he’s a part of the organization.

Though it’s nearly impossible to give an exact timeline for Gonzalez at this point, it’s safe to say he won’t be competing for a spot on the big-league Twins roster anytime soon. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He will have time to refine his skill set in the minor leagues alongside a number of other highly regarded prospects.

According to the Top 100 prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline, within the Twins farm system only outfielder Walker Jenkins (No. 10), shortstop Brooks Lee (No. 18) and outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 42) are ahead of Gonzalez (No. 79) at the moment.

“We look down and we see guys like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabby Gonzalez,” Falvey said. “We’re always talking about, ‘How do we get those waves of talent up here?’ ”

The fact that the Twins were able to add Gonzalez to the mix isn’t something they are taking for granted.

“He’s a really good young player,” Falvey said. “We’re really excited about getting him.”

[mlhouse]

By DANE MIZUTANI

With the Twins searching for a potential trade partner this offseason, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey made his expectations clear to anybody who reached out. If he was going to make a move, he was looking for players who could help the Twins in the present, as well as prospects who could help them in the future.

The decision to trade fan favorite second baseman Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners accomplished exactly that. Not only did the Twins acquire a pair of pitchers in Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa, who should be able to contribute immediately, they also added a pair of prospects in Gabby Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, who could make an impact in the future.

The prize of the trade for the Twins was Gonzalez, a 20-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, who is listed among the Top 100 prospects in the game. Asked about the importance of Gonzalez being included in the negotiations, Falvey expressed his excitement, replying, “That’s a critical piece.”

There’s a lot to like about Gonzalez simply by looking at his statistics in the minor leagues. He played 116 games in Single A last season, finishing with a .298 batting average, 18 home runs and 84 runs batted in. He projects as somebody who could have a decent amount of power throughout his rise up the ranks.

“This is a guy who our scouts really like,” Falvey said. “Our player development guys got a chance to look at the video and assess the swing and think about what he can do.”

The key will be keeping Gonzalez on an upward trajectory. There are so many different things that can happen during the development process in the minor leagues. It’s on the Twins to make sure he reaches his full potential now that he’s a part of the organization.

Though it’s nearly impossible to give an exact timeline for Gonzalez at this point, it’s safe to say he won’t be competing for a spot on the big-league Twins roster anytime soon. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He will have time to refine his skill set in the minor leagues alongside a number of other highly regarded prospects.

According to the Top 100 prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline, within the Twins farm system only outfielder Walker Jenkins (No. 10), shortstop Brooks Lee (No. 18) and outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 42) are ahead of Gonzalez (No. 79) at the moment.

“We look down and we see guys like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabby Gonzalez,” Falvey said. “We’re always talking about, ‘How do we get those waves of talent up here?’ ”

The fact that the Twins were able to add Gonzalez to the mix isn’t something they are taking for granted.

“He’s a really good young player,” Falvey said. “We’re really excited about getting him.”

The minor league statistics are a bit blurred because Gonzalez played at both levels of A ball last season. The first part of the season is elite. As a 19 year old in A ball playing for Modesto he hit 348 with 9 home runs, 433 OBP and a OPS of 933. That is tremendous stats given he is 2.1 years younger than the average competition he face.

Then the less good news. Midway through the season he moved up to A+ ball were he was 3.4 years younger than the average competition but only hit 216 with a OBP of 290. He still hit 9 home runs in 181 ABs so the power potential is there.

A couple of issues in the statistics are that the Cali/Northwest leagues used to be hitters paradise that inflated power and averages (go look at the stats back when the Twins had their A club in Visilia). IS there some of that going on? Gonzalez has been advanced through the minors quickly, reaching A ball as an 18 year old and A+ as a 19 year old and he has performed pretty well.

The real test will be when the Twins put him in the Midwest league in Cedar Rapids.

I am still a bit lukewarm on the Polanco trade. It could break any way for both teams. It could be a huge win-win for both teams. If Topa repeats what he did with Seattle last season it is almost a win for the Twins. If Anthony DeSclafani can be a reliable back of the rotation starter for a couple of years it is a win, especially since it carves out playing time for Edouard Julien, Royce Lewis, and potentially in the near term for Brooks Lee. If Gonzalez develops that will be icing on the cake.

[The Real Ted]

I'm not entirely convinced Julien plays 2B most days. I'll believe it when I see it, but assuming Buxton is back in CF, they don't have a DH. I'd assume a lot of mixing/matching at 2B/DH with Julien, Castro, Martin, Gordon, Farmer and maybe even Lee.

I’m not convinced that you can pencil in Buxton to play 162 games in centerfield.

I have doubts that he will complete 1 game in spring training playing centerfield without suffering an injury that will put him on the DL for 12-24 months. Or maybe years.

[feekdogg]

MLB network was talking Twins and they put a projected lineup up on the screen. Batting 9th, the DH, Willi Castro!

Go get a right-handed bat. Like now.

[Tommy_Hawk]

MLB network was talking Twins and they put a projected lineup up on the screen. Batting 9th, the DH, Willi Castro!

Go get a right-handed bat. Like now.

Shit, I'd take A Rod at this point. I can't even remember what side of the plate he bats.

[AlohaBob]

I liked Polanco, but always felt he failed at clutch moments. When he played third in the post season; I was begging for no one to hit to him. Of course, first inning and he gets an error in the field. His post season and late game at bats often resulted in feeble swings and misses. Some players just don't have the clutch gene. Is there a stat that measures close game clutch moments? I am positive Polanco's post season and late-game clutch stats are much worse than his averages.