Danny Santana

[John Kelsey]

Santana has the better defensive tools, Escobar is the better defender. There's a difference. 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

 

I just do not see it with Escobar. It seems like he's always 0-2. Always digging out of a hole. Can't bunt. Not fast enough to steal a base. Average fielder.

 

Santana's not the answer right now, Polanco's not ready. None of these guys should be starting.

 

Crazy as it sounds, my guy right now would be Nunez.

 

Or Plouffe.

 

Now... That's interesting. Plouffe really improved his defense at third - could that translate to competence at short?

Plouffe as the everyday SS and Sano at 3rd gave me goosebumps.

I don't know if that transition is one that Plouffe can make, considering he's at 3B because he couldn't play SS before, but the work he's put in to become a good infielder is worth something.

[Eris]

 

Gotta stick up for my guy. Danny is by far the best defensive SS. And he can hit. I know, his .319 average last year was due mainly to his extremely high BABIP. So he can make good contact, but not so much this year. As long as they are winning, I'd say stick with Santana.
Polanco is not an option, at least defensively. He made another error tonight, but also is hitting over .400 in Rochester. If they are going to play someone else, I'd say give it to Escobar and leave him there. Nunez could maybe play once a week, but he will eventually kill you with his glove.

Fangraphs has Nunez as the only Twins shortstop with a positive UZR for this year.  Some off these numbers are skewed by limited playing time.  Nunez has been the best shortstop both offensively and defensively for the Twins this year and should be getting more playing time at SS.  He is only 28 and at an earlier point in his life was considered Jeter's replacement.  With the exception of 2011/12 when both Jeter and A-rod were hurt, he has had very little playing time with that split between 3B (1/3)and SS (2/3).  He has always been a decent hitter.

 

# Name                     Inn       DRS   UZR/150   Def  WAR

1 Eduardo Nunez      103         0        9.7         1.2     0.7
2 Jorge Polanco            9         0      -31          -0.2     0
3 Eduardo Escobar   152.1      0      -14.5       -0.8     0.50
4 Danny Santana      489.1   -10       -9.2        -1.7     -1.0

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

According to Fangraphs, over the past few weeks Eduardo Escobar has a tidy little 40% line drive rate and 5:3 K:BB ratio (going back to the Cubs series).

 

The way the Twins were knocking around those Baltimore pitchers yesterday, Santana should have been taking more confident at bats.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

when we called him up, it was to be a backup CF behind Rosario, but now that Hicks is back, Santana has SS back?

This is the really puzzling part.  He was demoted, called back up in a slight emergency for a different role, he posted the exact same ~.520 OPS he had before, and now... he's somehow back as the starting SS.  It's like everybody had their memories erased, Men In Black style.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Now... That's interesting. Plouffe really improved his defense at third - could that translate to competence at short?

Plouffe as the everyday SS and Sano at 3rd gave me goosebumps.

I don't know if that transition is one that Plouffe can make, considering he's at 3B because he couldn't play SS before, but the work he's put in to become a good infielder is worth something.

Plouffe's OPS+ is 108, which is definitely appreciated at 3B, but I don't know if it's really worth the hassle of a move back to SS when there is a real SS with a 87 OPS+ on the roster (Escobar, who also had a 101 OPS+ last season).  Especially not while there is still uncertainty in the OF (i.e. even if Arcia is ready to rake soon, he might be better off starting in place of Rosario, etc.).

 

If somehow the OF, DH, and 1B are all completely set without considering Sano or Plouffe, I guess I could see giving Plouffe some action at SS just to broaden our options.  But we're quite a long ways away from that point!

[Willihammer]

 

Plouffe's OPS+ is 108, which is definitely appreciated at 3B, but I don't know if it's really worth the hassle of a move back to SS when there is a real SS with a 87 OPS+ on the roster (Escobar, who also had a 101 OPS+ last season).  Especially not while there is still uncertainty in the OF (i.e. even if Arcia is ready to rake soon, he might be better off starting in place of Rosario, etc.).

But then Buxton's coming back, and Kepler behind him.

 

Even if there's a dropoff at SS you can probably make up for some of that by moving Hunter (or Arcia) to DH and running a better defensive OF.

 

Seems about as reasonable as moving an infielder into the OF for the first time and sacrificing a key bat in the process, IMO.

[DaveW]

Moving Plouffe to SS and having Sano at 3B only makes sense if you have a rotation full of guys capable of striking out 10+ a game. It makes even less sense when you have guys like Gibson who rely on the ground ball to get a lot of outs (and keep their ERA's down)

 

If the Twins can find a catcher who can hit, it really doesn't matter if you have a guy like Escobar/Nunez/Santana combo playing SS and batting 9th each night.

[TheLeviathan]

 

If the Twins can find a catcher who can hit, it really doesn't matter if you have a guy like Escobar/Nunez/Santana combo playing SS and batting 9th each night.

 

Nick Punto...is that you?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

But then Buxton's coming back, and Kepler behind him.

 

Even if there's a dropoff at SS you can probably make up for some of that by moving Hunter (or Arcia) to DH and running a better defensive OF.

 

Seems about as reasonable as moving an infielder into the OF for the first time and sacrificing a key bat in the process, IMO.

As soon as Buxton and Kepler are ready to produce in the MLB outfield, that will go a long way toward eliminating uncertainty in the OF which was the condition I put forth for the Plouffe to SS idea.  Of course, that day probably won't be in 2015, and if/when it comes, Hunter may be gone and Arcia, Hicks, Rosario, etc. may still not be solidified yet either.

 

I'm no fan of infielders starting in the outfield, I agree with you there.

 

Ultimately, though, Plouffe to SS is just one of several options that make more sense than settling for a .520 OPS inconsistent glove at the spot.  And with the current roster (uncertainty in the OF and also DH without Sano), the other options probably make more sense to try first.

[nicksaviking]

 

I don't know if that transition is one that Plouffe can make, considering he's at 3B because he couldn't play SS before, but the work he's put in to become a good infielder is worth something.

 

Well to be fair, when Plouffe couldn't play SS, he also couldn't play 3B.  Not competently anyway.

 

I'm not sure if Plouffe could play SS.  I think Dozier could though, and if Plouffe can play 3B, he could probably play 2B.  Of course that's a lot of reshuffling, you might be better off just drawing positions out of a hat.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

 

Well to be fair, when Plouffe couldn't play SS, he also couldn't play 3B.  Not competently anyway.

 

I'm not sure if Plouffe could play SS.  I think Dozier could though, and if Plouffe can play 3B, he could probably play 2B.  Of course that's a lot of reshuffling, you might be better off just drawing positions out of a hat.

The thing about putting Plouffe at SS is that the offense can then have Sano, Plouffe, Dozier, Mauer. Hunter, and a DH like Arcia (or Vargas or Kepler or Pinto) all playing on the same day... I suppose that could also work out with Plouffe in a corner OF spot, but the fewer infielders in the outfield, the better.

 

Santana's approach at the plate has been so bad in recent weeks that some alternative has to be coming from the Twins soon. One of the Eduardos or Polanco is an easy choice to replace Santana's starting spot.

 

[drjim]

 

Santana has the better defensive tools, Escobar is the better defender. There's a difference. 

 

And only half of this statement is true.

[jokin]

 

Well to be fair, when Plouffe couldn't play SS, he also couldn't play 3B.  Not competently anyway.

 

I'm not sure if Plouffe could play SS.  I think Dozier could though, and if Plouffe can play 3B, he could probably play 2B.  Of course that's a lot of reshuffling, you might be better off just drawing positions out of a hat.

 

Plouffe at SS or 2B?  No. No. No.  The guy has finally stabilized his career track and established solid trade value in that second tier of guys, just below the elite 3Bs  (ranks 9th in total fWAR for 2014-15).

 

The pitching staff would probably stage an open revolt if the infield were to be disrupted to this level- and adding a rookie to the left side of the infield.  

 

Dozier OTOH would have the best OPS+ over all other AL SS by a wide margin, presumably without much, if any, dropoff defensively with respect to the current SS options.  Perhaps Dozier at SS and Polanco at 2B would be a potential solution for the second half run.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The thing about putting Plouffe at SS is that the offense can then have Sano, Plouffe, Dozier, Mauer. Hunter, and a DH like Arcia (or Vargas or Kepler or Pinto) all playing on the same day... I suppose that could also work out with Plouffe in a corner OF spot, but the fewer infielders in the outfield, the better.

Yup.  But we need Arcia, Vargas, Kepler, or Pinto to actually claim that DH spot, AND the other OF occupants (Rosario and Hicks) to hold on to theirs.  Neither of those conditions seems particularly close at the moment.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

There's the rub.

[Mike Sixel]

Plouffe is a top 10 3B......I just don't get moving him. Maybe RF or 1B.....maybe. SS? What?

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Plouffe is a top 10 3B......I just don't get moving him. Maybe RF or 1B.....maybe. SS? What?

Yeah. Let's not screw with either Plouffe or Dozier, who are the Twins' only above average position players.

 

Go find better players, don't jerk around the guys who are succeeding.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

with all the defensive shifting the Twins do - Plouffe has already essentially been at Short several times this year... I'm not really advocating moving Plouffe off of 3rd, it's just a fun thought experiment.