Offensive improvement needed in 13??

Heavy majority of people have said to spend every available asset on pitching in the offseason.....you can see where that comes from BUT the hitting was nothing to be impressed with.
2012 rankings
BAve 11th @ .260
OBP 10th @ .325
Slgg 21st @ .390
Runs 16th w/701
Im not advocating goin after Josh Hamilton but there are a couple 2nd/3rd tier guys Id love to pursue that could immediately improve the team/bench

Eric Chavez-in his glory years he couldnt hit LHP but he has recovered enough to be a dominant hitter again vs RHP.
This season in 245ABs vs RHP .298/365/.543 w/ 16hr. He had 50 starts @ 3B & is still solid defensively and can DH/PH & play 1B in an emergency. He only made 900K last yr.
Chavez would play right into Trevor's strengths/weaknesses as Plouffe hit .242/.338/.573 in 124ab's vs LHP. Chavez can also fill in defensively later in games.
MN always keeps 2 middle infielders & would you rather have Chavez as a part time 3B/PH or Escobar (assuming Carroll is the other).

The other guy if BOS OF Cody Ross. The righthanded hitter knocked .295/.373/.636 vs lefties this yr(.284/.353/.575 career).
No question we can use him in RF w/Parm if Morneau stays (another part of the offensive problems) but could bounce around the lineup ala Doumit if Justin is dealt. Ross only made 3m this yr also & would jump at a 2yr deal or more. This is a heavy lefthanded lineup, as is, & he would balance it out considerably. Ross also plays all 3 OF spots & rates very well defensively on the corners.

Anyone else make any realistic/monetary sense??

I think the needs on offensive are being way underplayed around here largely because people have declared the poor pitching as the sole reason for our disappointing season. The fact is, this offense wasn't that great. It was pretty mediocre and there are reasons to be concerned that it overplayed it's talent level to even get that far.

I'd target Yunel Escobar via trade and Jeff Keppinger as a possible starter, but for sure as a guy that can hit lefties and play either MI position. Escobar gives you the chance of an option for a few seasons down the line and Keppinger would just be a good fit with his versatility.

I'm not against picking up bats to help the infield but the last thing this team should be doing is signing more outfielders. The team already has too many on the roster with two more soon to be banging on the door.

The offense is already half improved from within. Next year we have Parmelee trying to show he is ready to make Morneau expendable so they can bring up Arcia or Hicks to take over RF when Parmalee takes over 1B. So the only way left to improve the offense is going to be with a SS or a back up IF as Mastroianni is the back up OF.

So to start the season the lineup will be:
CF Revere
2b Carroll
C Mauer
LF Willingham
1B Morneau then Parmelee
RF Parmelee then Arcia
3B Plouffe
DH Doumit
SS Floriman

IF Mn deals Justin & moves Parm to 1B, who plays RF to start the year???
MN proved this Sept they will refuse to give Arcia/Hicks the job till next Sept.

If they start the season with the one that ended the season (esp Florimon) ......they will lose 90gms again even if they improve the pitching (in the way Terry Ryan will do it).

Why is Terry Ryan even considering keeping Morneau
In 69gms & 258ABs at Target Field this yr, Justin hit .252/.329/.399 w/ 7hr 32rbi
In 143gms/528ABs career, Morneau's at .273/.356/.411 w/11hr 72rbi....its in his head like Cuddy/Kubel. Others dont have troubles there.
RISP this yr... .196/.320/.304 -------RISP w/2 outs .211/.325/.296

I'm not against improving the offense, particularly with depth on the bench or help in the middle, but pitching should be the top priority. Like someone else said, much of it's improvement should come from within. I think you can reasonably expect Morneau to be better than he was this year. Arcia and Hicks should be knocking on the door as well, and I wouldn't put it by Mauer to improve a bit as well. Plouffe and Parmalee are the big question marks, and both have shown the potential to be well above average talent at their positions. I don't see how you can dump either of them given the other problems, so both should be starters until they prove otherwise.

Personally, I'd sign Kelly Johnson and Stephen Drew on one year deals with an option and go hard after starting pitching. Both of those guys are decent bets for bounce backs and should provide a modest improvement in the field. Let Dozier play in AAA and see if he catch fire again.

There's a very good chance the offense is dreadful next year, they could easily end up with batting order holes at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF and DH, based on what many are expecting to be done this offseason.

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Originally Posted by Kobs

There's a very good chance the offense is dreadful next year, they could easily end up with batting order holes at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF and DH, based on what many are expecting to be done this offseason.

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I fail to see your logic. That won't happen unless they trade like half a dozen players, which couldn't "easily" happen.
1B-not unless they trade both Parm and Morneau
RF/CF-not unless they trade both Span and Revere, and then Mastroianni, Hicks, and Arcia all fail
DH-there hasn't been any talk of trading Doumit, who will probably play a good chunk of time there. Mauer, Mourneau/Parmelee and Willingham playing there on off days can't be considered holes either.
Some of those positions could be holes but i highly doubt that 7/9 starting positions will be holes.

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Originally Posted by Kobs

There's a very good chance the offense is dreadful next year, they could easily end up with batting order holes at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF and DH, based on what many are expecting to be done this offseason.

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I think there's a small chance of that but it's unlikely. Doumit had a pretty typical season in 2012. Willingham is probably due to regress. Mauer may progress and the same goes for Morneau. Span had a pretty typical year (if he's healthy). Revere has a little room to grow but could also regress (though most know I'm not high on him at all). Parmelee is a wild card, as is Plouffe. The middle infield needs serious help, though Carroll can step in with a meager yet steady performance if everyone falls on their face.

On the other hand, Hicks and/or Arcia could be up in June or July if somebody falters. To have a dreadful offense, the Twins would have to add no one this offseason and they'd have to suffer several serious injuries. Always a possibility but I'd consider it unlikely.

The obvious spot to improve the offense is the middle infield. I'm not real enthusiastic about Carroll, Florimon, Escobar, and Dozier sharing those positions.

I think the obvious spot the Twins could improve offense is by picking either a SS or 2B that is a decent hitter. The middle infield was the most glaring hole in the Twins offense this season. I don't think Ryan nor Gardy were particularly impressed with any of the players they ran through the middle infield. I like the earlier suggestion of picking up Kelly Johnson. A move to a new team could be the spark he needs to have a turn-around season. He's not likely to be worse than anyone else the Twins threw out there this season.

The offense wasn't that good last year. I would point to Morneau and Doumit as having acceptable stats, but failed soooo often when the game was on the line. The middle IF was bad offensively and needs to improve. Many seem to think that dozier will hit better as a 2B. Is there any evidence for that? Actually, I think Dozier and Florimon should go mano-a-mano in ST for the starting SS spot with the loser ending up in Rochester. I am a minority of very few that wants Casilla as the Twins regular 2B, but failing that, it should be Escobar and Carroll dueling with the loser becoming the utility IF. One of Span or Morneau needs to go and perhaps both if the Twins think Arcia can make the jump.

Home .274/.343/.415 366runs 137doubles 20triples 69Hr 497k 273bb 79/89sb
Road .247/.307/.367 335runs 133doubles 10triples 62HR 572K 232bb 65/83sb

66 wins .315/.380/.484 453runs 144doubles 18triples 75HR 409k 252K 78/93sb
96 loss' .219/.282/.320 248runs 126doubles 12triples 56HR 660k 253bb 57/79sb

Overall Stats @ Position & MLB rankings......Bold highlights for top 5/bottom 5 in category
......B Ave.........OBP........Slgg.......Runs.......DBL.. ........HR...........RBI....TBases.....Ks......... .BB.......SB
C--.304-3rd ..375-1st .426-9th.....76-6th....38--3rd ...12-24th.. 78-13th 258-8th .103-26th. 64-8th 4-6th

1B-.257-17th .337-14th .414-20th 72-22nd 31-19th .20-22nd...75-24th 251-21st 126-17th 70-11th 4-11th
2B-.245 20th .296-26th .308-29th 64-28th 29-18th....1-30th...48-27th 177-29th 90-25th 40-22nd 26-3rd
SS-.226 27th .277-28th .304-28th 67-22nd 19-30th...7-22nd 56-22nd 181-27th 109-16th 41-16th 14-15th
3B-.253 21st .312-19th .423-13th 77-13th 26-27th ..23-8th ....84-14th 252-15th 123-17th 48-17th 2-27th

LF-.259-14th .338-11th .494--5th 91-10th 35--8th ...36-2nd.. 108-3rd 304---4th 161--6th 62-9th 10-22nd
CF-.267-14th .325-19th .357-25th 91-20th 38-6th......4-30th ...48-28th 245-22nd 82-29th 59-12th 31-12th
RF-.281-5th .328-12th .373-27th 76-23rd 19-30th ..10-30th... 67-23rd 240-24th 120-26th 45-24th 33-1st
AL Only
DH-.253-9th .336-6th.. .427-9th.. 78-7th... 33-4th..... 18-11th... 95-3rd ...243-9th .128-7th ..70-4th 8-5th

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Originally Posted by Kobs

There's a very good chance the offense is dreadful next year, they could easily end up with batting order holes at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF and DH, based on what many are expecting to be done this offseason.

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Sounds like the A's. They won with pitching as do most winning clubs. Get a legit MI? Fine, but help is on the way at other positions. This team has an awful track record when it comes to developing their own pitchers. Thats where free agency dollars need to be focused.

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Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kobs

There's a very good chance the offense is dreadful next year, they could easily end up with batting order holes at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF and DH, based on what many are expecting to be done this offseason.

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I think there's a small chance of that but it's unlikely. Doumit had a pretty typical season in 2012. Willingham is probably due to regress. Mauer may progress and the same goes for Morneau. Span had a pretty typical year (if he's healthy). Revere has a little room to grow but could also regress (though most know I'm not high on him at all). Parmelee is a wild card, as is Plouffe. The middle infield needs serious help, though Carroll can step in with a meager yet steady performance if everyone falls on their face.

On the other hand, Hicks and/or Arcia could be up in June or July if somebody falters. To have a dreadful offense, the Twins would have to add no one this offseason and they'd have to suffer several serious injuries. Always a possibility but I'd consider it unlikely.

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Are Morneau and Span going to be here? Should we not expect Jamey Carroll to be a hole in the lineup after a poor 38 year old season? I named seven positions that could be significant problems. Most likely, they won't all miss, but I sure wouldn't be surprised if three or four of those are disasters. Add that in to a relatively weak middle of the order, which is nearly a guarantee unless Willingham can replicate his early season form and Mauer plays like an MVP, and things aren't looking good.

My view of the Twins' offense. Way too little power, way too many one-dimensional players. There is power--Willingham, Doumit, Plouffe, Morneau and there is speed--Revere, Span, Florimon, Mastro. The sluggers can't run and the speed guys can't get XBHs. I've said long and loud that the team can't afford to carry two low-power options in the outfield plus little power at second, short and catcher. While I can't wait to see Hicks, combined with Revere/Span and somebody like Benson or Arcia running down everything, right now the club has to add power and IMHO that means they have to find steady ABs for Parmelee.

Whatever the reason (maybe lack of talent), the Twins did a poor job of situational hitting.

The A's are going to buy out Stephen Drew. He has a good glove and would make a decent platoon against RHP.

edit: on 2nd look, not sure about the glove, I haven't seen him play much tbh. It would be nice to get all those righthanders in the infield a break against RHP though, with someone.