Monday Morning Minnesota: The "Goodbye 2024" Edition

12/30/2024 12:00 PM

Hello 2025!

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Matt Monitto is back with another edition of his Total Twins Draft League playthrough on Out of the Park, which features a pitchers duel between Brad Radke and Matt Garza.
• Ben Jones has one Christmas wish: Heliot Ramos (or any other right-handed outfielder).
• James Fillmore reminds us what the holidays are all about: watching so-so sports movies with family.
• Zach Koenig takes us through his Twins bobblehead collection.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• We have a change in the Twins beat, as MLB.com reporter Do-Hyoung Park is now moving from reporting on the Twins to new ventures with MLB's Statcast team! His replacement at MLB.com is Matthew Leach - give him a follow!
• Lou Hennessey at Zone Coverage gives his case for why the Twins need to pursue Roki Sasaki.
• Dan Hayes at The Athletic looks back at the best Twins quotes of 2024.

In the World of Baseball:

• Corbin Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks to bolster their rotation. The contract includes an opt-out after the second season. After being traded to Baltimore last season, Burnes put up solid numbers with his new team, with a 2.92 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. However, he had the second-lowest strikeout rate of his career, at 23.1%, along with his second-highest average against, at .225. That being said, he was still the 14th-best starter in terms of fWAR last season and pitched 194.1 innings.
• Gleyber Torres signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. The second baseman is only 28 years old and will provide a good veteran presence for the young squad. After a breakout season in 2019, where he slashed .278/.337/.535 and hit 38 homers, he's failed to reach those heights but still has put up respectable numbers. Since 2022, he's slashed .263/.330/.427 with a 113 wRC+.
• Teoscar Hernandez is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a three-year, $66 million deal. Hernandez had a career year in LA, hitting 33 homers and stealing 12 bags, while slashing .272/.339/.501. While those numbers didn't match his breakout year in 2021, they still showed that he could be a productive outfielder after two relatively down years in the last two seasons. Oh, and he also won a World Series.