Agreed. Pitching is the actual strength of this team.  There are questions marks at nearly every position. Also agree that keeping Hamilton over Kepler is a good call. 

Hard to argue with you. I agree bats seem like a bigger issue then pitching. I doubt there's enough $ to sign all players you mentioned. Contreras and Haniger I agree on. Especially if they trade Kepler. I think they'd leave LF open for one of Larnach, Kirilloff or Gordon to take. Switch-hitting Bell would be a nice 1b/DH upgrade. I think Bell and Contreras have played some LF the last couple seasons as well.

I'd be on board with finding a good bat in free agency, but not Benentendi. He has no power and has been a disappointment most of his career. Even this year when he "broke out", he only had a .772 OPS. Benentendi actually reminds me a lot of Kepler with all the promise but none of the delivery.

Agree no Benetendi...we have too many LH hitting OFs on the roster already. Beyond that, what we really need is HEALTHY hitters. Look at the injuries...wow...our whole OF was out. Polanco was out. Jeffers was out. Correa and Arreaz were dinged up a bit. That's nearly the entire starting lineup.

I like the idea of RH hitting Haniger. Zunino may be more in our price range for catching, as the Cubs gave Contreras a qualifying offer. Don't think we want to dump a draft pick this time around for him. We should give the Larnach/Kirilloff/Lewis type prospects a chance to show what they can do when healthy. I think Ursela is a stable keeper until one of the corner prospects shows a better glove.

No No No!! Not one team still in the Playoffs does not have an ACE!! If Twins are serious about winning you have to get an Ace. If they don't that's a key sign winning is not a priority but Profit is!!

Reptevia: What team were you watching? The whole middle core of the Twins Pen are AAA Pitchers!! And if Rocco is staying with his 4-5 inning routines they all need to be swapped out!

Sans shift, left handed hitters in general should benefit.  I’m keeping Kepler and maybe flipping him at the trade deadline next year if his production is good in the first half AND Larnach or Kiriloff are doing well at AAA.  I like Wallner as a hitter but I think he needs to play 1B.  Celestinos can continue to be Buxtons back up.  
 

Need a SS stop gap like Iglasias or trade for Walls from Tampa or Kim from San Diego.  Also need a defense first catcher.  I’m standing pat on pitching for now and perhaps trading for that “ace” at next years deadline.  
 

Stay focused on pitching and defense.  Revamp roster to get younger, more athletic and faster.  Lose the slow guys who are range bound on defense, strike out too much and clog the bases when they do get on.  
 

See Cleveland, Seattle and Tampa for examples of what works.  

4 hours ago, MGM4706 said:

No No No!! Not one team still in the Playoffs does not have an ACE!! If Twins are serious about winning you have to get an Ace. If they don't that's a key sign winning is not a priority but Profit is!!

I'd love a Wheeler, Verlander, Cole, Musgrove type ace.

I just think fixing the disastrous hitting situation is more important.

WE actually have two potential aces in Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan. Pair Gray and Ryan with Maeda, Ober and Winder or Varland or Woods Richardson and fix the hitting with iron clad depth. If you look real close, there’s 3 potential aces in my 5 man. Normally, I would agree with you as I am really a pitching guy. But the offensive need, if not fixed will be fatal.

I just want them to build out their depth much better than they have the last two seasons.

This is the post I've been waiting for. Thank goodness someone finally sees what I've been preaching for years. Players make a name for themselves based on how they elevate their play in big moments. The Twins have nothing of the sort among position players. Having a few consistent run producers will negate a handful of subpar pitching performances. We have basr hitters all along the spectrum but they badly lack the ability to string hits together or crack a bases-loaded double/3 run bomb when the moment requires. I'll never forget this season specifically because of how often they crapped away game- turning chances. Position players Arraez, Correa, and Miranda. The rest may go. 

Arraez and Correa got on base, they were , at best, average with runners on base.

8 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I'd be on board with finding a good bat in free agency, but not Benentendi. He has no power and has been a disappointment most of his career. Even this year when he "broke out", he only had a .772 OPS. Benentendi actually reminds me a lot of Kepler with all the promise but none of the delivery.

 Above baseball reference.

A few facts.

As of Oct. 3, Binentendi was tied for 4th in the AL Batting race. His .304 BA was wildly above the league average by about 56 points. His .373 OBP was also wildly above average. 

As to OPS, that stat is for sluggers. Having team of all or most power hitters does not guarantee success as its an unbalanced team. You need balance.

IMO, the ideal lineup would have the 1-2 batters with as high an OBP as possible to give a constant flow of runners for say Correa and Miranda, Bell to drive in.

So with Benintendi batting #2 after Arraez at #1, that would form a dynamic duo of baserunners and Binentendi’s OPS would matter no more than Arraez’s does. It’s just not fair to ask a specialist in getting on base to also hit with power.

Arraez had one of the highest batting averages in the league with runners on. Can't remember if the stat was just with runners on, or runners in scoring position, sorry...he hit something like .371 though from what I recall. Much better than "average"...

Wonder if Boston would consider moving Sale. Shouldn't cost a ton, and they might even eat some salary. I had wondered the same about Tampa and Glasnow, as they generally trade their bigger salaries away. There's two "aces" to explore for starters.

29 minutes ago, Finlander said:

Arraez had one of the highest batting averages in the league with runners on. Can't remember if the stat was just with runners on, or runners in scoring position, sorry...he hit something like .371 though from what I recall. Much better than "average"...

 

Arraez had 7 more RBI this year, 49,  with 120 more at bats.

He was no better than average, at best.

HIs batting title earned him a place on the team , to me, but that is all.

Quote

thi

Arreaz stat line 366/421/862 with 39 RBI's with runners in scoring position. Problem only 105 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.  A 37% success rate. Another problem he had 388 appearances with no one on base.

Miranda stat line 272/328/744 with 46 rbi's in 128 appearances runners in scoring position. A 36% success rate. 255 appearances with bases empty.

Buxton  stat line 145/280/635 with 9 rbi's in 68 appearances with runners in scoring position. A 13% success rate.

Correa stat line 274/366/730 with 30 rbi's in 116 appearances with runners in scoring position. A 26% success rate.

Seems like the real stats speak very well of Arreaz. Maybe he should bat 3rd.

On 10/11/2022 at 12:30 PM, MNTWINSWINAGAIN said:

Sans shift, left handed hitters in general should benefit.  I’m keeping Kepler and maybe flipping him at the trade deadline next year if his production is good in the first half AND Larnach or Kiriloff are doing well at AAA.  I like Wallner as a hitter but I think he needs to play 1B.  Celestinos can continue to be Buxtons back up.  
 

Need a SS stop gap like Iglasias or trade for Walls from Tampa or Kim from San Diego.  Also need a defense first catcher.  I’m standing pat on pitching for now and perhaps trading for that “ace” at next years deadline.  
 

Stay focused on pitching and defense.  Revamp roster to get younger, more athletic and faster.  Lose the slow guys who are range bound on defense, strike out too much and clog the bases when they do get on.  
 

See Cleveland, Seattle and Tampa for examples of what works.  

Celestinos is the organization’s 6th or 7th outfielder & we only carry 5 on the Big Club. Kepler or Gordon will play center when Buxton DH’s or sits. Larnach - Kiriloff are definitely better options than Celestino. If we have a SS when Lewis is ready he’ll be the next right handed hitting outfielder.

Correa leaves & we spend $22 million on NEEDED front end starter and another $10 - $13 million on a real CLOSER (not Lopez!) to help keep Duran fresh and eliminate (within reason) dropping games in inning 8 & 9. Both pitching solutions are easier said than done but the $ should be available!

Contreraz at Catcher would be a noticeable upgrade offensively and worth a look!

On 10/11/2022 at 9:13 AM, MGM4706 said:

No No No!! Not one team still in the Playoffs does not have an ACE!! If Twins are serious about winning you have to get an Ace. If they don't that's a key sign winning is not a priority but Profit is!!

the 2010 Twins did not have an ace

8 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Celestinos is the organization’s 6th or 7th outfielder & we only carry 5 on the Big Club. Kepler or Gordon will play center when Buxton DH’s or sits. Larnach - Kiriloff are definitely better options than Celestino. If we have a SS when Lewis is ready he’ll be the next right handed hitting outfielder.

Correa leaves & we spend $22 million on NEEDED front end starter and another $10 - $13 million on a real CLOSER (not Lopez!) to help keep Duran fresh and eliminate (within reason) dropping games in inning 8 & 9. Both pitching solutions are easier said than done but the $ should be available!

Contreraz at Catcher would be a noticeable upgrade offensively and worth a look!

I agree Contreras would be a huge improvement over both this years catchers and a step in the right direction toward rebuilding a moribund offense. Add Haniger in RF and let Kepler go.

Give me a good, solid right-handed bat who can play the outfield well and also be a designated hitter, and ahs the ability to come off the bench. Also, let's get a catcher who can also be a bat option, although I would settle for a dynamite throwout arm. We also need a stopgap shortstop and could sign a more "utility" like guy just to be on the bench.

On 10/13/2022 at 11:21 PM, Rosterman said:

Give me a good, solid right-handed bat who can play the outfield well and also be a designated hitter, and ahs the ability to come off the bench. Also, let's get a catcher who can also be a bat option, although I would settle for a dynamite throwout arm. We also need a stopgap shortstop and could sign a more "utility" like guy just to be on the bench.

Fill the void left by Sano basically.