Minnesota Sports Forum

monsterpile wrote:

Camden wrote:

Jeff Passan:

Right-hander Chris Archer and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a one-year, $3.5 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Archer, 33, will join the Twins' rotation and can earn up to $9.5 million this season with performance bonuses.

Chris Archer's deal with the Twins has a base of $2.75 million and a $10 million mutual option with a $750K buyout. He can earn up to $6 million in bonuses based on games started or outings with nine or more outs. A healthy Archer would get paid well and be a huge boon for Twins.

Love this. Low-risk, moderately-high reward. Chris Archer still has great stuff, but durability has been the question mark. He was one of the free agents remaining I still had my eyes on. Hopefully, he's effective and can start 20-plus games. I much prefer Archer over Michael Pineda or Johnny Cueto despite the increased risk.

I'll have to ask my guy what happened with Cueto, but I'm not upset by the turnout.

Old if I actually like this deal better than signing Pineda and assuming he will pitch well for half a season. Still there are a couple reasons I like this deal better than what Pineda got.

1. If it doesn't work out it's just 3.5 million and it's done. Pineda got 5.5. He can also earn a decent chunk of incentives around 2.5 million. So the max value for 1 season is similar. Archer is lower risk in terms of salary.

2. A mutual option of 10 million but that also includes the buyout of 750k. If Archer works out they can keep him for a reasonably decent sum next year. There is value in that. If I'm honest I doubt it works out that well but even if there is a 5 percent chance it does that's nice to have something already in place.

Ultimately it's nice to have a veteran starter signed that has a chance of healthy to be solid in the rotation. Of the guys discussed here Pineda Cueto and Archer health was some sort of concern with all of them to some extent. Good starters that have little concerns for injury are expensive and also might require a lengthy contract which may be worth it but I can understand if there is pause.

With the Archer signing Lewis Thorpe was taken off waivers and passed through so he will be at AAA. If I remember right they are looking at him as a reliever now along with Jax. I think that's a good plan for both of them.

Amazing how injuries have plagued Archer. The guy Pittsburg traded for three on average 95 mph. His last two years his average fastball was 92.6 mph.

Say what you want about Wes Johnson the one thing he can do is get people to throw harder. Maybe getting back to 94 mph will help out Archer other stuff. It's not exciting move but it's very low risk move.

Once again it's sad Maeda got hurt. Because I be happy with rotation right now if he was ready to go.

Joe Ryan and Ober have both looked great so far in spring training and I believe Joe Ryan is even throwing that fastball if his a mph or two faster as well. I don't think we talk about how good the twins are going to be defensively now that have Correa.

I recommend everyone go look up Buxton Grand Slam from today. He basically hit out 1 handed man that man is strong.

Anyone have this?

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/33630068/jeff-passan-2022-mlb-season-preview-predictions-every-possible-perspective

Supposedly, Jeff Passan has a prediction about Carlos Correa and Minnesota being his long-term home, which is something I felt was more likely than the media initially thought when it was being called a one-year commitment. I'd like to see exact what was said there.

Camden wrote:I just watched the Carlos Correa introductory presser. I could certainly be wrong, but that presser did not feel like it came from a guy who intended to play in Minnesota for just one season. Lots of talk about culture and development. Mentioned winning division titles and competing for championships. Sounded very excited to live there and settle down with his family. Again, I could be misreading everything and/or Correa is an exceptional actor, but that came across like a guy who is very much open to staying a Twin long-term.

I saw your post today and remembered I was gonna reply to this after watching the PC but I forgot.

Yeah he at the very least seemed pretty open to staying here. Guys may either be sounding good or living in the moment or whatever and then decide to go elsewhere in a short amount of time. It would not shock me if he was here for more than a year but once he signed I was like why not.

I think one thing to consider about the Twins is that they do have 2 championships even if it was over 30 years ago...it sounds like kind of a long time when I type it out... lol Anyways the Twins have had stretches since then of being a pretty good franchise. I probably shouldn't bring this up but...the Yankees haven't been to a World Series since 2009 which is the 2nd longest stretch of their storied history. So really is it so crazy to think the Twins could be a good place to play during the prime of your career? Also it's not like Correa was playing in some sort of star studded market it was Houston not Miami or LA or NY etc. I'm not trying to be a homer here I do think that sometimes we just assume partly based on the failures of other sports franchises in the market to really succeed that we assume it's not a place someone that's a top FA would pick.

If the Twins somehow stay healthy Correa and Buxton is a heck of a 2 players to have on one team. The cupboard is not bare beyond them and this offseason makes me think this front office is willing to make some moves to bolster the roster in season if the team looks like it's gonna actually make a run. It should be an interesting season. I looking forward to it.

The Annual Miguel Sano is in the best shape of his life article.

https://theathletic.com/3214722/2022/04/01/slimmed-down-twins-infielder-miguel-sano-looks-to-regain-form-at-the-plate-i-feel-much-better/?source=user-shared-article


FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Last October, Miguel Sanó discussed an ambitious offseason program with a goal of losing 20-30 pounds. He'd spend the winter working out in Florida, traveling regularly between a sports performance facility in West Palm Beach and the Twins' year-round facility.

Then the lockout began Dec. 2 and Sanó's plans were disrupted. Twins officials weren't allowed to contact him for 99 days.

But instead of using the silent period as an excuse to abandon his plan, Sanó pushed forward. Saying he was motivated by his benching last June, Sanó transformed himself this winter, going from being in satisfactory condition to outstanding shape.

While they sensed from videos on his Instagram account that Sanó was working hard, team officials didn't know what to expect. So when he checked into camp earlier this month 22 pounds lighter, the team was overjoyed. Sanó, 28, said he hopes the weight loss and strength gained help him rediscover his dominant offensive form of 2017 and 2019.

"I'm a different person now, like a man," Sanó said. "I grew up and everything. The mentality I have right now is to be more (on) the field and try to be healthy and play every day. I don't want to be sitting on the bench when my team is playing. I want to be (on) the field and help my team."

Sanó isn't afraid to admit he was initially upset late last June by manager Rocco Baldelli's decision to bench him.

At the time, he was six weeks into a dramatic overhaul of his offensive approach. Continually beat by high fastballs, Sanó tried to implement a swing that used the entire field with a focus on driving the ball to right-center and right field.

But the results weren't there.

Sanó was hitting .178 on June 20 with 13 home runs and a .670 OPS. With Trevor Larnach and Alex Kirilloff in need of experience, Baldelli told his struggling slugger he was no longer an everyday player.

"That was just a very direct conversation that needed to be had," Baldelli said. "But it was honest."


Baldelli liked Sanó's response. It took a few days, but Sanó eventually used their discussion as motivation.

"The first couple days, I felt mad," Sanó said. "After that I understand. I talked to Rocco and said, 'Hey, I'm going to show you. I'm a man. I want to do it every day.' Because I have a lot of respect for Rocco because he shows me he's a coach, he's a man, he's a teammate, he's a brother, he's a friend, he's a dad and everything. He (wants the best for) his players and that's something I love from him and I respect that all the time."

Sanó began to put in extra work in the weight room and the cage. The effort started to carry over to the field. Sanó put together a strong second half and finished batting .223/.312/.466 with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs, which equated to an above-average 112 OPS+.

But he thought there was even more offensive potential to unlock and he intended to find out. In his 2021 exit interview, Sanó informed team officials about his program.

"We wanted to make sure we knew what his plan was, where was he going, what was he looking to do," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "He was committed to it."

Sanó's belief in himself fueled a decision to work out this offseason at Cressey Sports Performance, a facility owned and operated by New York Yankees player health and performance director Eric Cressey. Sanó moved to West Palm Beach within two weeks of the 2021 season ending and started to work.

Not only did he hit the gym hard, Sanó changed his diet. He ditched pork and chicken and ate more fish. He also started increasing his water intake, drinking 14-16 glasses per day.

Those changes and the effort made all the difference when the lockout began. Sanó stayed motivated, and even though he had no guidance from the team, he continued to work out when he traveled home to the Dominican Republic.

"Every day when I woke up, I said, 'I need to be better than yesterday,' and that's what I did," Sanó said.

With the lockout in full swing, Twins director of strength and conditioning Ian Kadish tried to keep tabs on Sanó from afar. The team knew Sanó was in great hands working with Cressey, who is entering his third season with the Yankees and is close with Falvey. They received even more evidence whenever Sanó posted a video to his various social media accounts.

"We looked at his Instagram a lot," Kadish said. "But it's a testament to his work ethic and drive and desire to be a better player, teammate and person that he maintained it and carried on even through the lockout and through the unknown circumstances. ... It was really, really cool to see him invest in himself."

Sanó hopes the investment pays dividends at the plate. He's entering the final season of his $30 million contract extension, though the Twins hold a $14 million club option for 2023 with a $2.75 million buyout. Either way, this is a big year and Sanó wants to do everything he can to be in the best position for success.

When he hit during the offseason, Sanó stayed with the right-side approach he and his coaches worked on last season. He's seen the results -- he had a .856 OPS in 63 games after the Twins traded Nelson Cruz -- and knows it can work. Sanó said losing the weight he did has only made him feel more comfortable at the plate.

"The biggest part is I need to trust myself and do what I need to do," Sanó said. "Last year, when I had better timing at the plate is when I hit more to right field. That's what I worked on (this) offseason and that's what I want to do for my whole life is work right field-middle, right field-middle. If they come inside, I can react to that pitch. I think the 20 pounds I lost, I feel much better than my whole life.

"I started to lose weight during the season and I finished strong. As soon as we finished, I said I'm going to make my own decision and work on my foundation and work by myself. That's what I did."

Pics or it didn't happen.

The article on Sano sounds nice but I'm curious to see what he looks like. I checked on his Instagram (pretty sure I saw the correct one) and there wasn't much there. I'm sure it was the stories he was posting. I hope he lost some legit weight and has a nice season. I actually like the guy more than a lot of Twins fans but I'm skeptical. This story does read a little different though. Most of it is from Sano himself and it feels a bit more legit. We will see it certainly can't hurt. Hopefully he can stay healthy.

R&R for P&P

Oh and cash to the Padres and a prospect to be named coming back to the Twins.

If Rodgers had been healthy and pitching well...he probably would have been traded a few months ago for a big haul relatively speaking but he wasn't and he is a year away from being a FA so here we are. Paddack seems like an intriguing still youngish starter and I really don't have a problem dealing Rooker he turns 28 in November. Maybe he blows up but the Twins have a lot of players that I believe in more. Pagen seems like a decent reliever that at one point was good. Idk if this is the most awesome trade but I don't hate it. I'll hang up the phone and listen.