GreenMonsterGoon wrote:#1: The Twins drop over 8mil in payroll. That is a huge factor.
Their payroll wouldn't drop over 8mil in total or in 2006.
GreenMonsterGoon wrote: #2: Pitching it at a huge shortage. I think their idea was to keep Arroyo who has 3 years remaining on his deal and deal Radke or Silva for cheap offensive help.
I would doubt that their ideas ever included such a thing. I don't know where you would be getting this, other than through idle speculation on your part. And anyways, Arroyo's 3-year deal didn't exist a week ago.
GreenMonsterGoon wrote:#3: Hunter is a free agent and will DEFINATELY be gone. His trade value isn't that high, the Twins aren't going to beat the White Sox or Indians - so this is a rebuilding year.
Firstly, there's little reason for the Twins to approach this season as a rebuilding year. Their pitching staff is still very strong and will likely benefit from the full-time additions of Liriano and Baker. Their offense was miserable last season, but I would imagine that they expect an improvement with the returns of Hunter and Kubel, also having hope that Morneau rebounds. (The additions of Castillo and White should also help.) Just because the White Sox and Indians seem to be better doesn't mean they should abandon the season; they're still in the mix.
And if this were a rebuilding year, an Arroyo/Hunter trade wouldn't be especially desirable. 29-year-old league-average starters earning $3-4mil have value, but I would say less to a rebuilding team, especially one with some depth in starting pitching.