Will Pohlad keep these guys together???

[Reynolds]

I know this question has probably been in the back of a lot of peoples minds. Will Pohlad shell out the cash to keep this young group of players Twins in the future? You can bet Mauer, Morneau, and Liriano are going to getting some hefty pay increases once their current contracts are up. Garza and Neshek could also be guys down the road who end up making quite a bit more money than they do now. I just hope that Pohlad will make an effort to keep these guys around, especially with that new stadium opening up in 2010. I won't hold my breath though. The Yankees are still in existance for one, and two, we all know Pohlad's track record.

[solbes]

I hope so, this team seems stacked for their age! I'm not that suprised with players like Mauer, Morneau, and Liriano and they will get the money. What we have been blessed with this year is the play of guys like Punto, Barlett, and Tyner. I wonder what kind of dollars they might demand if they can hold to their current performance for more than one year. If we were a bigger market we could keep em all, but I don't see that happening 2-3 years down the line.

[IFallsRon]

Depends on how much playoff money comes home.

There's plenty of guys who are arbitration eligible and due decent money so it'll be hard to tell. Plus expect M & M to get extensions. Eliminating an overpaid centerfielder will free up plenty of cash and Radke's money will go to a free agent pitcher.

[Bobby Bass]

Like any team baseball is a business don't blame Pohlad when money is waved by other teams at current players and pieces of this team head off to other cities. MN just does not have the market to hold on to what will be some big contracts. I hope they will lock in a solid core of players from this team and use what many say is one of the best farm systems to feed the team for the future.

[solbes]

Overpaid centerfielder bailed us out last night. He blasted that thing. Streaky hitter and fantastic fielder. I'd love to see him stay, but if money is his priority - he's gone.

I went to a game two years ago and Hunter made a catch over the wall that was just astounding. The entire crowd was on it's feet cheering for 5-10 minutes. It was an amazing thing to see.

[Reynolds]

Quote:

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Like any team baseball is a business don't blame Pohlad when money is waved by other teams at current players and pieces of this team head off to other cities. MN just does not have the market to hold on to what will be some big contracts. I hope they will lock in a solid core of players from this team and use what many say is one of the best farm systems to feed the team for the future.

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I also hope that we will be able to hang on to our nucleus of young talented players. I think Pohlad owes it to the fans to keep these young guys together. I still feel that we bowed down to his bully tactics by granting him a new stadium. The amount of money he is kicking in he will immediately regain and them some when the new stadium is built. By that I mean, the value of the team will increase over and above what he is contributing. I don't feel that market size has much to do with the size of the payroll Pohlad grants Terry Ryan. I think that if Pohlad owned the Yankees, he would have the same payroll. By the way, Carl Pohlad has quite a bit more money than Steinbrenner. We undoubtedly will have at least one, probably a couple, of season sellouts once the stadium opens up no matter how good or bad that team this. I think the Pohlad family would be content with their newfound revenue that is to come from increased attendence, advertising, and television. I don't think Pohlad takes the same approach as say, Zygi Wilf. Wilf is an owner that to me seems determined to win.

I will never forget that Pohlad was all but ready to let this team be plowed under by CONTRACTION.

[Fish Tales]

Carl Pohlad may not even get to see the park he has wanted for so long, while the younger Pohlads get the rewards. As far as keeping these guys with the subtractions of other money you will see them in the new park minus Hunter. Unless he takes less money than he keeps talking about. M and M boys will both get long term deals. Liriano will have to prove himself next year with hopefully no elbow pain.

[Maximum12]

The annual question regarding the Twins & the answer is always "yes".

Just to play devil's advocate, take a good look at the 2002 roster, when everyone was howling to lock up the first division champ roster in a decade. Think where we'd be now with Guzman, Milton, Lohse, J Jones, Ortiz (oooops, there's a hole in that theory!) tied down to long-term contracts that would now be coming up.

It's always tempting to say "lock 'em all up!" & for myself personally, this team has been more fun to watch than any team since I've been conscious (late '70's is when I was able to start paying attention). On the other hand, the Twins have rights for every player for six years, & by that time, you can start to see some trends & make more intelligent decisions (Milton's violent motion = injury & inconsistency, Koskie = fragile, Guzman = lazy hack, etc.). Who's still around from then? Johann, Radke, Hunter, Cuddyer. On that 2002 roster, who's still contributing elsewhere? AJ, Ortiz, Jacque Jones. The rest are bit players or injury-riddled.

The Twins brain-trust has done pretty well, that's 4 for 7 in my book (although do you know anyone who wept when the Twinkies released Ortiz? Not me). This has been a great year. Let's be clear-eyed about it & see who can do it in '07, '08, and beyond before we start tossing multi-million contracts at folks like Joe Mays (ooops, too late!).

[DTro]

That was very well said Maximum!

You've got to admit the Twins organization has done a very good job of putting a competing team on the field every year.

The only major mistake was letting Ortiz go, yes AJ is doing good, but look how that worked out for us

Even if this team cannot be held together, I'm confident that there will be a competitive Twins team to watch.

[Reynolds]

I also agree that that was a very good analysis Maximum. I am by no means saying that they should lock up this entire team right now. I am looking into the crystal ball three or four years from now. If guys like Santana, Morneau, Liriano, Maurer, and Nathan are still performing at their current level, you will be talking about a significantly higher payroll than what you would assume the Pohlad's would shell out.

[BLACKJACK]

I think you have to tip your hat to Terry Ryan!! What a great job hes done!!!! Good trades (Castillo, Liariano, Silva, Punto), good pickups (Reyes, Redmond), great farm system (Mauer, Morneau), lots of good young arms (Liarano, Baker, Garza, Perkins, Slowney, Neshek, Crain). He hasn't made too many mistakes. Ortiz didn't do squat while he was here, plus he was hurt alot. Mays, who knew he'd blow out his arm? Terry Ryan has done a great job!!!

To answer the question, I think we'll see most of these guys around for a few more years, the only one that can leave is Hunter and hes still signed for next year. Then if he wants to stay with these young guys and play in the new stadium, he'll need to take a pay cut. Radkes salary will go toward the salary increase for the rest. With the young arms that they have, and if they continue to play good defense, they should be competive for the next few years. What more can we ask for?

[Down to Earth]

I thought Hunter has a team option for next year? I could be wrong through.

[xedge2002]

I think the team has an option on hunter. But if they exercise it I think it would cost them 11-12M for next year.

[buzzsaw]

They are talking about restructuring it and extending his contract and paying him less money next year. Only time will tell... (Cue Asia)