So his OPS+ of 129 in the 2nd half of last year doesn’t count? What about when it was 146 in 2017? Does that not count either? Must have just been lucky. He’s an above average (switch) hitter and plays 6 positions well in the field.
And an average major league hitter is an upgrade for this lineup….even though I also think Gonzalez is an above average hitter.
my guess he will play 3rd base, I don’t think sano will make the team out of spring training.
All this Sano hatred sound like what was being said about David Ortiz when he was here. Look how that panned out. I think Sano has an excellent chance of erupting this season with the new management and informal leadership structure of this team. He came to camp in great shape, and I don’t think he’d even be allowed to lolly-gag around like he has in the past. Cruz is known for putting a foot in the who-know-what of younger players. No joke, the Twins could be a sneaky good team this year. Wildcard contenders or a 90-game division winner is my prediction. Most exciting Twins team in the last 5 years, at least.
They were in the wild card 2 years ago so lets not make them out to be the worse team in baseball.
Ortiz was released by the Twins and every team had a chance to grab him, so lets not make him out to be a known superstar who the Twins gave away. The Red Sox had no idea what they were getting. Don’t forget he also was linked to steroids.
If Sano wants to go back home and live the rest of his life on his signing bonus he sure can. All he has to do is continue eating his way out of baseball. Should he decide to pursue that multi million dollar deal in 4 years he can buckle down and make himself into a ball player.
It has and will continue to come down to Buxton, Sano & pitching as to what they do this year.
HR and 5 RBI for Buxton yesterday and 2 HR for Kepler today……
WE’RE COMING!!!!! WORLD SERIES RUN!!!!!!! 
Buxton now is 5/5 with 2 dingers and 10 RBI in the first 2 games. This could get interesting. . .
Buxton now is 5/5 with 2 dingers and 10 RBI in the first 2 games. This could get interesting. . .
I’d love to get excited about it but until he’s hitting .280 with 5 dingers in May I can’t believe it.
Remember how Aaron Hicks used to hit .300 and 10 bombs every spring training and then hit 197 for the first two months of the year?
There are guys throwing fish in Seattle with better arms then the first 2 spring training games have.
That sad if Buxton or the fat kid flop again this year the Twinks should have better depth.
In the notes section of the Tribune today they said the fat kid had lost 24lbs this off season. 
I guess next week we will see.
fat kid had lost 24lbs this off season.
Skinny, always hurt kid gained 21 lbs of muscle this offseason too. Maybe our “cant miss” prospects are finally ready to show something
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
fat kid had lost 24lbs this off season.Skinny, always hurt kid gained 21 lbs of muscle this offseason too. Maybe our “cant miss” prospects are finally ready to show something
I’ve got a lot more confidence that Buxton will succeed than Sano. I hope both do. The offense could be pretty fun to watch this year. Let’s hope the pitching doesn’t get in the way.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bass Thumb wrote:</div>
Buxton now is 5/5 with 2 dingers and 10 RBI in the first 2 games. This could get interesting. . .I’d love to get excited about it but until he’s hitting .280 with 5 dingers in May I can’t believe it.
Remember how Aaron Hicks used to hit .300 and 10 bombs every spring training and then hit 197 for the first two months of the year?
Interesting you bring up Aaron Hicks. Check out his stats from the last 2 years. A semi-cautionary tale that no matter how bad Buxton is over the next year or two, the Twins shouldn’t give up and trade him for some minor leaguer with no upside for as long as they can. I won’t claim to how the minor league options work, but I’d hold on to him in the minors until he’s 30 just in case, rather than let him go just to figure it out with someone else.
Both the club and the player need to have things figured out before he becomes arbitration eligible.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bass Thumb wrote:</div>
Buxton now is 5/5 with 2 dingers and 10 RBI in the first 2 games. This could get interesting. . .I’d love to get excited about it but until he’s hitting .280 with 5 dingers in May I can’t believe it.
Remember how Aaron Hicks used to hit .300 and 10 bombs every spring training and then hit 197 for the first two months of the year?
Interesting you bring up Aaron Hicks. Check out his stats from the last 2 years. A semi-cautionary tale that no matter how bad Buxton is over the next year or two, the Twins shouldn’t give up and trade him for some minor leaguer with no upside for as long as they can. I won’t claim to how the minor league options work, but I’d hold on to him in the minors until he’s 30 just in case, rather than let him go just to figure it out with someone else.
I brought up Hicks to caution people on looking into hot spring training stats. Obviously he has been very good for the Yankees. However, I don’t think he gets to where he’s at if he stays in the Twins organization.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bass Thumb wrote:</div>
Buxton now is 5/5 with 2 dingers and 10 RBI in the first 2 games. This could get interesting. . .I’d love to get excited about it but until he’s hitting .280 with 5 dingers in May I can’t believe it.
Remember how Aaron Hicks used to hit .300 and 10 bombs every spring training and then hit 197 for the first two months of the year?
Interesting you bring up Aaron Hicks. Check out his stats from the last 2 years. A semi-cautionary tale that no matter how bad Buxton is over the next year or two, the Twins shouldn’t give up and trade him for some minor leaguer with no upside for as long as they can. I won’t claim to how the minor league options work, but I’d hold on to him in the minors until he’s 30 just in case, rather than let him go just to figure it out with someone else.
You can either look at this as a cautionary tale on giving up on a player too early, or you can look at is as an indictment on the Twins ability to develop young talent.
There isn’t one Twins fan who ever thought Hicks would be more than a 4th outfielder.
Harper signs a 13 year $330 million dollar deal so we can put that silly idea to bed.
Harper signs a 13 year $330 million dollar deal so we can put that silly idea to bed.
Can’t believe anyone would want that burden after FINALLY getting Mauer’s contract off the books. How quickly they forget.
Mauer’s contract did nothing to hold the Twins back. Ownership not caring enough to put quality players around him held the Twins back.
It did enough……Look at all the bats we’ve signed this offseason after he came off the books. Should be signing two more arms too.
It’s true, they are spending some of what he made, but I believe they’re still likely to come in lower than last year’s payroll. And the only thing stopping the Pohlads from adding quality players around Mauer to make a playoff run was themselves.
I imagine a city and ownership group like they have in Philly is not content with merely having a star player exist on their team like the Twins were with Mauer. At some point over that 13-year contract I’m sure they’ll get some other key players to make a run. And if they win one championship, hell if they even make a WS in the next 13 years, as I Twins fan I’d say it’s worth it, cause it’s more than I’ve seen in my adult life.
It’s true, they are spending some of what he made, but I believe they’re still likely to come in lower than last year’s payroll. And the only thing stopping the Pohlads from adding quality players around Mauer to make a playoff run was themselves.
I imagine a city and ownership group like they have in Philly is not content with merely having a star player exist on their team like the Twins were with Mauer. At some point over that 13-year contract I’m sure they’ll get some other key players to make a run. And if they win one championship, hell if they even make a WS in the next 13 years, as I Twins fan I’d say it’s worth it, cause it’s more than I’ve seen in my adult life.
I don’t disagree with you Dan. Pohlads are definitely part of the problem. But under the “Pohlad Budget” the team can do a lot more things with the lineup now that Mauer’s contract isn’t there anymore.
You’re right, and it’s interesting, because of how the pocket-book holders run their teams, how Mauer’s contract will affect a team differently than Harper’s new $330 million/13-yr. contract.
I realize that with that amount of money and years there’s gotta be A TON of language in that deal, possibly up to and including the types of bubble gum in the dugout. But both Harper and Machado got huge contracts, so I wonder what took all offseason?
Philly already took a big step forward before they signed Harper. Realmuto, McCutchen, Jean Segura and David Robertson, all signed before Harper. They spaced his contract out long enough so that they SHOULD have room to sign some starting pitching down the road and really make a run. But they are going to be a good team this year.
Personally I don’t think Harper wanted to end up in Philly. But the deal was just too good. He’s going to get boo’ed A LOT every few weeks when he goes back to DC.
What took all off season was Boras finding somebody to bid against the Phillies. Once he had commitments from the Giants & Dodgers it was a matter of getting the length of contract Harper wanted.
His deal with Washington had more deferred money than Harper wanted. The Phillies is all paid during the 13 years.
Only thing to remember about the Pohlads is they are bankers first, second & third. They will never change.
Saw this coming from a mile away. It’s every year with this guy……be shocked if he plays 60 games this year.
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Geez that took a turn for the worse!
BTW that looks like a screen grab from Twitter, is Phil Miller a good follow? I try and minimize who I follow so I don’t get the same information from dozens of different people. The only Twins reporter I follow is Lavelle E. Neal, who in my opinion should change his name to Lavelle E. Pohlad…he’s a bigtime protector of the ownership and not objective at all. Wondering if Miller would be better.
BTW that looks like a screen grab from Twitter, is Phil Miller a good follow? I try and minimize who I follow so I don’t get the same information from dozens of different people. The only Twins reporter I follow is Lavelle E. Neal, who in my opinion should change his name to Lavelle E. Pohlad…he’s a bigtime protector of the ownership and not objective at all. Wondering if Miller would be better.
Well he’s one of the Twins beat writers for the Strib so I think so. His tweets usually are true. And yes, LaVelle is about the worst writer I’ve seen next to Souhan.
You forgot to mention he can play 3rd for the fat kid.
Great insurance plan for sano
Didn’t take long for Dutchboy and I to hit this one on the head 
and again, thank god it’s Gonzalez not Adrianza
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