It's time to make some adjustments

[howeda7]

There are infinite trade possibilities, and everyone knows we need relief pitching and a catcher. But in addition there are a few internal moves that should have been made days or weeks ago.

 

-Arcia needs to be up here. Torii Hunter does not need to play every day as his BA slips towards the .240's. Frankly, neither does Rosario. There's no reason he can't be in the line-up every time there's a RH starer. There's plenty of AB's for Arcia, especially until/unless Buxton returns.

 

-Santana needs to be the corresponding demotion. For a couple weeks you could at least say his defense was better. It's not anymore. Escobar has never been given an extended run at SS. Time to give him one.

 

-Pelfrey and May need to switch spots. Pelfrey's fully turned into a pumpkin and has stuff better suited for the BP than May.

 

-If we don't get another catcher, at least play Suzuki less. Fryer can't hit either, but at least he's not God awful at throwing out runners.

 

 

 

 

[TheLeviathan]

A trade for Chris Ianetta seems in order after this series.....

[Danchat]

I was actually thinking Arcia for Santana earlier today. This should happen sooner than later.

 

Also, May needs to get into the rotation again. I don't see the Twins giving him high-leverage situations this season, so put him back where he's useful.

[jimmer]

 

I was actually thinking Arcia for Santana earlier today. This should happen sooner than later.

 

Also, May needs to get into the rotation again. I don't see the Twins giving him high-leverage situations this season, so put him back where he's useful.

May is being wasted, pure and simple.  Still has more WAR than any starter in the rotation, and he he hasn't been in the rotation for almost a month. He hasn't been used in any tough spots since being moved to the bullpen and he's pitched a whopping 7 innings since being moved to the bullpen.

[drjim]

These strike me as reasonable. I do wonder if they'll wait until the deadline shakes out. I'm actually intrigued by what they might do.

[drjim]

You referenced it but they'll do something in the pen.

 

Boyer won't be on the team on Aug 1. It will be a trade or Tonkin (or both).

[70charger]

 

These strike me as reasonable. I do wonder if they'll wait until the deadline shakes out. I'm actually intrigued by what they might do.

 

Very reasonable to me too. I'm thinking they'll keep Pelfrey in the rotation until the deadline, in case someone wants to offer something intriguing in trade. If not, then hopefully they make the Pelf-May switch right away. May is indeed being wasted.

[Jerr]

 

These strike me as reasonable. I do wonder if they'll wait until the deadline shakes out. I'm actually intrigued by what they might do.

But, if this slide continues only thing for Twins to do will be selling off, still intriguing, but I would like some move now to continue the playoff hopes!

[Brock Beauchamp]

It would have been nice to see Ryan get something done three weeks ago. It's not like the bullpen or catcher issues are new or that they would resolve themselves.

 

But we can't even get them to demote the worst position player in baseball and replace him with a 2.5 WAR guy from last season.

 

Win, Twins.

[Squirrel]

There are infinite trade possibilities, and everyone knows we need relief pitching and a catcher. But in addition there are a few internal moves that should have been made days or weeks ago.

 

-Arcia needs to be up here. Torii Hunter does not need to play every day as his BA slips towards the .240's. Frankly, neither does Rosario. There's no reason he can't be in the line-up every time there's a RH starer. There's plenty of AB's for Arcia, especially until/unless Buxton returns.

 

-Santana needs to be the corresponding demotion. For a couple weeks you could at least say his defense was better. It's not anymore. Escobar has never been given an extended run at SS. Time to give him one.

 

-Pelfrey and May need to switch spots. Pelfrey's fully turned into a pumpkin and has stuff better suited for the BP than May.

 

-If we don't get another catcher, at least play Suzuki less. Fryer can't hit either, but at least he's not God awful at throwing out runners.

I agree with all of these. I wish they'd been done already.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm really curious how much of this is Molitor and how much is Ryan.  The Escobar thing is all on Molitor in my opinion.  No reason he shouldn't be playing SS, and for some odd reason he seems to hit better there too.  That could be a fluke, but at this point, I don't know why it's not being done every day. 

 

That said, jettisoning some dead weight from the pen in favor of Tonkin and Oliveros cannot hurt either.  I cannot imagine them being worse than Boyer and Duensing.  O'Rourke is quietly showing that if he's used properly, he can be an asset.  Bringing in another good reliever though via trade I think would be very wise.

 

Yeah, May needs to go back to the rotation.  Pelfrey's deal with the devil appears to be over.  Time to trade him or put him in the pen.

[Craig Arko]

I'd guess Arcia is called up when Plouffe goes on leave, and then when Plouffe returns either Santana goes down (most likely) or Robinson is DFA.

[DaveW]

 

But we can't even get them to demote the worst position player in baseball and replace him with a 2.5 WAR guy from last season.

 

Escobar's WAR was smoke and mirrors, it's much more likely he is a 0.5 WAR player then a 2.5 WAR player.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Escobar's WAR was smoke and mirrors, it's much more likely he is a 0.5 WAR player then a 2.5 WAR player.

That's still a full two wins higher than Santana has been this season.

[DaveW]

 

That's still a full two wins higher than Santana has been this season.

Since you are bringing up WAR from last year, its convenient you ignore Santana's 3.3 WAR from 2014.

Both aren't good current options, but it's pretty obvious that Santana has a lot more upside then Escobar has/will have.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Since you are bringing up WAR from last year, its convenient you ignore Santana's 3.3 WAR from 2014.

At a different position with a completely unsustainable .400 BABIP. Everything about Santana screamed regression.

 

Do I think Escobar is a 2.5 WAR player? Hell no, I don't.

 

But he's better than Santana and that's what matters.

[DaveW]

 

At a different position with a completely unsustainable .400 BABIP. Everything about Santana screamed regression.

 

Do I think Escobar is a 2.5 WAR player? Hell no, I don't.

 

But he's better than Santana and that's what matters.

At the end of the day, Escobar has no business playing SS every day in the majors. He just doesn't have the range. Santana more than has the range, but seems to just make a lot of dumb mistakes, but shows flashes of brilliance. Santana cost us the game last night most likely, but Escobar definitely cost them the game against Oakland

 

It's pretty clear that the only SS help will come from outside the org this year.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

At the end of the day, Escobar has no business playing SS every day in the majors. He just doesn't have the range. Santana more than has the range, but seems to just make a lot of dumb mistakes, but shows flashes of brilliance. Santana cost us the game last night most likely, but Escobar definitely cost them the game against Oakland

 

It's pretty clear that the only SS help will come from outside the org this year.

I agree that going into 2016, you want better options than Escobar and Santana... But right now, I'm focused on 2015. I think Escobar is enough to limp through 2015 (and possibly thrive in the short-term) and not kill the team.

 

In a perfect world, Escobar is an obvious utility guy and succeeds in the role. We're not in a perfect world.

[Mike Sixel]

Santana is the great college athlete that dominates the NFL combine, but can't play. There are millions of awesome athletes out there, most aren't MLB quality baseball players. Santana hasn't really shown that he is one either. Not in the minors, not in the majors.

[Mike Sixel]

I agree with the OP:

 

• Escobar or Polanco for Santana
• Pelfrey to the pen, or traded, May to the rotation
• Arcia up and playing RF most of the time
• I have no answer at C, since they love Suzuki's intangibles more than they should hate what he does as a player

[jimmer]

 

I agree that going into 2016, you want better options than Escobar and Santana... .

and going into 2015 or basically going into any season since 2010.

 

Though, last year, Twins #1 in WAR from the shortstop position.  Go figure.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

and going into 2015 or basically going into any season since 2010.

 

Though, last year, Twins #1 in WAR from the shortstop position.  Go figure.

I understand rolling the dice on Santana. He played out of his mind in 2014 and while we all saw regression coming, I think most of us thought it'd probably be manageable regression.

 

On a team not expected to contend, that's a fine option.

 

Where the Twins went wrong is that they didn't demote Santana after six weeks and let him figure it out in Rochester for the remainder of the 2015 season.

[USAFChief]

Personally, if not Santana, I'd rather give Polanco a shot. At least he might hit.

[jimbo92107]

 

There are infinite trade possibilities, and everyone knows we need relief pitching and a catcher. But in addition there are a few internal moves that should have been made days or weeks ago.

 

-Arcia needs to be up here. Torii Hunter does not need to play every day as his BA slips towards the .240's. Frankly, neither does Rosario. There's no reason he can't be in the line-up every time there's a RH starer. There's plenty of AB's for Arcia, especially until/unless Buxton returns.

 

-Santana needs to be the corresponding demotion. For a couple weeks you could at least say his defense was better. It's not anymore. Escobar has never been given an extended run at SS. Time to give him one.

 

-Pelfrey and May need to switch spots. Pelfrey's fully turned into a pumpkin and has stuff better suited for the BP than May.

 

-If we don't get another catcher, at least play Suzuki less. Fryer can't hit either, but at least he's not God awful at throwing out runners.

Agreed on all counts, plus I'd bring up Arcia to replace Robinson, Polanco to replace Santana, Berrios and Tonkin to replace Boyer and Fien, and Taylor Rogers to replace Duensing. I would also move AB Walker and Kepler immediately to AAA, get them ready for call up within a month. This team needs relief pitchers and hitters.

 

Sadly, a month from now I might replace Rosario for Kepler, who appears to be about the same type of hitter, but with much better plate discipline. Rosario needs to learn to lay off the high-low game they're throwing at him. He can do that in AAA while Der Kid gets his first big cuppa in Der Show.

[ttreadway]

I agree on all points except for the one you made about Rosario. Maybe once Buxton comes back, he plays a little less, but for now, he's hitting better than any of our other outfielders, and he's solid on defense. Once Buxton comes back, things will get weird in the outfield, but I personally like the problem of too much talent rather than playing Robinson and Escobar out there.

[jimmer]

 

I understand rolling the dice on Santana. He played out of his mind in 2014 and while we all saw regression coming, I think most of us thought it'd probably be manageable regression.

 

On a team not expected to contend, that's a fine option.

 

Where the Twins went wrong is that they didn't demote Santana after six weeks and let him figure it out in Rochester for the remainder of the 2015 season.

I was pretty adamant that I thought Santana would crash pretty hard.  I think I was consistent in that regard.  I said, and explained why, I expected some improvement from Dozier and Plouffe, while expecting regression from Hughes, Santana, Escobar and Suzuki  I wasn't thrilled with Hunter.  

[Brock Beauchamp]

I was pretty adamant that I thought Santana would crash pretty hard. I think I was consistent in that regard. I said, and explained why, I expected some improvement from Dozier and Plouffe, regression from Hughes, Santana, Escobar and Suzuki I wasn't thrilled with Hunter.

 

I also had concerns Santana could crash and burn. On an expected 75 win team, I didn't really care. You let players develop at that point.

 

That's why I don't fault the Twins for starting with Santana but fault them enormously for not adjusting as the situation changed.

[Linus]

 

I also had concerns Santana could crash and burn. On an expected 75 win team, I didn't really care. You let players develop at that point.

That's why I don't fault the Twins for starting with Santana but fault them enormously for not adjusting as the situation changed.

What I fault the Twins for the most is letting him play CF all last year.  Through roster mismanagement, they basically took one entire year of SS development and threw it out the window because Gardy wanted to win 3 more games in a 90+ loss season. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

What I fault the Twins for the most is letting him play CF all last year.

Yeah. Gardy was worried about wins when wins didn't matter. Santana should have played A LOT more SS last season.

[jimmer]

 

Yeah. Gardy was worried about wins when wins didn't matter. Santana should have played A LOT more SS last season.

I'm not at all a Gardy defender, but TR didn't leave him a lot of options, did he? And since both he and Escobar were producing at the plate...

 

Based on the options available, are we saying Escobar should have been in CF instead with Santana at shortstop?