Sano 3rd Base

[mazeville]

 

Kris Bryant making his 9th 2016 start in the OF today  (ESPN Fantasy Players Note: One more start and he's OF eligible ). 

 

Bryant is moving to LF so Tommy La Stella can play 3B. 

 

Soler is on the bench. 

 

In the last 6 games... Bryant has played LF, 3B, 3B, LF, LF 3B. 

 

Maddon isn't crazy. 

 

Dave Roberts isn't crazy either.

 

Kendrick and Utley are both career long 2B and on the same roster... No Problem... Kendrick has been playing LF and 3B along with 2B and it seems to work out OK.  

 

Both teams are in first place... Granted they got some decent pitching but these moves are not killing the club or the player.  

 

You don't have to move Plouffe. Plouffe is a good player who can help us win.

 

You don't avoid signing a talent like Park because you have Mauer, Plouffe and Sano. You fill up the roster with players who can play and then you figure out how to play all of them and sometimes you think outside the box. 

 

I agree that having players who can play multiple positions is good for a team. 

 

Except, that's not happening. The Twins went into this season insisting that Sano would ONLY play RF, after Sano spent almost no time preparing to play for the position going into spring training. And the Twins have indicated that Plouffe should ONLY play 3B, even though he would probably do a better job playing in the outfield than Sano.

 

In addition, Sano is a much bigger person than Kris Bryant. Part of the problem in having Sano play the outfield is that he is just so large. 

 

The other issue is that the Twins have some glaring weaknesses, at catcher and at relief pitcher. They have excess third basemen (don't forget Polanco and Nunez) and too many corner infielders/DH/corner outfielder types. Trading Plouffe would potentially enable you to address an area of weakness (relief) while opening up more playing time in the corner outfield for someone like Arcia.

 

When Plouffe comes back, you'll have to either choose between a horrible defensive outfield in Arcia-Rosario-Sano or Arcia-Santana-Sano or a weaker offensive outfield in Rosario-Santana-Sano. Arcia is a very big bat who should be in the lineup against any righthanded pitcher. Which is most of the time. 

[clone52]

 

You also don't have to move Sano........and, Sano isn't Bryant.......

 

So, they should have no CF, and only DH types? You have to take context into account when building your team, you can't field 9 David Ortiz's just to get his bat in the lineup.

 

So far, Sano has looked brutal in the OF. Maybe they should see if Plouffe looks less brutal.

 

Trying Plouffe in the OF isn't a bad idea.

 

There is the opposite side to this though.  A pretty common thought has been that Sano can't stick at 3B long term.  If thats true, and he does have to end up in the OF down the road, then its probably better to give him a taste of it early in his career.

 

Personally I think he will stick to 3B for his career, but I can understand the other train of thought.

[Riverbrian]

 

You also don't have to move Sano........and, Sano isn't Bryant.......

 

So, they should have no CF, and only DH types? You have to take context into account when building your team, you can't field 9 David Ortiz's just to get his bat in the lineup.

 

So far, Sano has looked brutal in the OF. Maybe they should see if Plouffe looks less brutal.

 

Yep but Sano is Bryant to us. 

 

9 David Ortiz types is excessive but the Twins are getting tripped up by Park, Mauer, Plouffe, Sano Rosario and Arcia. 6 players for 5 spots and the hands are being wrung. 

 

Going back to the Cubs... Think about this. Bryant is the one moving to LF so La Stella can play 3B. 

 

The Cubs signed Zobrist. La Stella is a 2B. Yet it's Zobrist playing 2B and La Stella moving to 3B and Bryant moving to LF. 

 

It would be much simpler to put Zobrist in LF... La Stella at 2B and Bryant in 3B.  

 

Maddon can't do that because Zobrist asked if he could stay at 2B and not get moved around when he agreed to sign with the Cubs and Maddon or Epstein said... sure... we can do that. Some GM's would have said... I'm sorry we got Baez and La Stella. 

 

Open Minds... It's a beautiful thing. The Cubs have a roster full of talent and a manager who make it happen. 

 

The Twins also have a roster full of talent. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Yep but Sano is Bryant to us. 

 

9 David Ortiz types is excessive but the Twins are getting tripped up by Park, Mauer, Plouffe, Sano Rosario and Arcia. 6 players for 5 spots and the hands are being wrung. 

 

Going back to the Cubs... Think about this. Bryant is the one moving to LF so La Stella can play 3B. 

 

The Cubs signed Zobrist. La Stella is a 2B. Yet it's Zobrist playing 2B and La Stella moving to 3B and Bryant moving to LF. 

 

It would be much simpler to put Zobrist in LF... La Stella at 2B and Bryant in 3B.  

 

Maddon can't do that because Zobrist asked if he could stay at 2B and not get moved around when he agreed to sign with the Cubs and Maddon or Epstein said... sure... we can do that. Some GM's would have said... I'm sorry we got Baez and La Stella. 

 

Open Minds... It's a beautiful thing. The Cubs have a roster full of talent and a manager who make it happen. 

 

The Twins also have a roster full of talent. 

 

I see what you did there....

[Riverbrian]

 

I agree that having players who can play multiple positions is good for a team. 

 

Except, that's not happening. The Twins went into this season insisting that Sano would ONLY play RF, after Sano spent almost no time preparing to play for the position going into spring training. And the Twins have indicated that Plouffe should ONLY play 3B, even though he would probably do a better job playing in the outfield than Sano.

 

In addition, Sano is a much bigger person than Kris Bryant. Part of the problem in having Sano play the outfield is that he is just so large. 

 

The other issue is that the Twins have some glaring weaknesses, at catcher and at relief pitcher. They have excess third basemen (don't forget Polanco and Nunez) and too many corner infielders/DH/corner outfielder types. Trading Plouffe would potentially enable you to address an area of weakness (relief) while opening up more playing time in the corner outfield for someone like Arcia.

 

When Plouffe comes back, you'll have to either choose between a horrible defensive outfield in Arcia-Rosario-Sano or Arcia-Santana-Sano or a weaker offensive outfield in Rosario-Santana-Sano. Arcia is a very big bat who should be in the lineup against any righthanded pitcher. Which is most of the time. 

 

I agree... I was especially frustrated this year when we lost 9 games in a row with pretty much the same players. Molitor finally puts Nunez in and Boom. Arcia in... Boom. 

 

The only mistake they made with Sano to the OF was saying that he wasn't going to play 3B. Now that that is over with. I sincerly hope that Molitor thinks about the next option. Mauer or Park with some occasional RF starts. 

 

I'm not holding my breath but it needs to happen. 

[Loosey]

 

Agreed with all of the above. What I don't understand is all the chatter about how "Sano could never be a viable option at third" that popped up this offseason/spring.  My eye test says he could be more than adequate (or at least decent) for some period of time. 

I think Sano is good enough to be a serviceable 3rd baseman, at least until Mauer is no longer able to be a 1st baseman. 

 

My hope is to have Sano play 3rd base through Mauer's existing contract, then move him 1st after that.  Perhaps Mauer is re-signed but I would guess it will be for much less than he makes now and he will be 36 by then.

[Loosey]

 

Just a few minor observations after watching the game last night:

 

1.)  Sano looks like he actually belongs at 3rd base.  Does anyone really think he looks graceful and smooth in RF?  

 

2.) Park is going to be a hitting stud.  Its impressive that he's hit as many home runs as he has being so new to the league.  If he keeps up this pace TR is going to look like a genius (can't believe I'm actually writing that).  

 

3.) Although he can't hit at the moment I think Buxton would have had that ball hit in the left center gap last night.  I thought Santana would have stretched out and gone for it but he didn't dive.

Thought the same exact thing on #3.

 

I also agree on 1 and 2.

[Loosey]

 

 

Trying Plouffe in the OF isn't a bad idea.

 

There is the opposite side to this though.  A pretty common thought has been that Sano can't stick at 3B long term.  If thats true, and he does have to end up in the OF down the road, then its probably better to give him a taste of it early in his career.

 

Personally I think he will stick to 3B for his career, but I can understand the other train of thought.

If he doesn't stick at 3rd base long-term.  (depends on your definition of long-term), then the next viable spot for him is 1st base once that position opens up in 3 years.  3 years is short term in my opinion.

[Ncgo4]

3B, 1B, RF & DH. Sano, Plouffe, Arcia, Park & Mauer. A Twins conundrum or a good problem to have? Right now Plouffe is out so no issues are present. On a long term basis, it seems that Sano and Arcia are the two top prospects. Park has the most up-side potential to be shockingly good. Mauer has the possibility to be over his injuries and again be a high hit contributor to be batted in by the others. Plouffe is a serviceable fielder with the ability to contribute at the plate but he clearly has the least upside.

 

Add to this the real possibility that Rosario, Kepler and Buxton could force themselves into position as the outfield of choice by the middle of the year. Let's face it, because of our years of consistent failure on the field we are loaded with prospects who could be real, real good. The Twin's management team is going to have to make difficult choices and we'll criticize them pretty consistently. They gave up Chih-Wei Hu (sp?) and I was critical of that, but it looks like the right choice.

 

Fun and interesting times ahead.

[ScrapTheNickname]

I am wondering about the positions Park played defensively in Korea, and all I have been able to find is this quote from SB Nation:

 

"Defensively, Park is relatively low on the spectrum. While he spent a lot of time doing drills at third base in 2015 and is likely to expand his defensive utility, Park is still primarily a first baseman or DH."

 

No outfield experience at all, apparently. If anybody knows more, please share.

[DocBauer]

I can still get why they kept Plouffe. Whether you are a fan or not, he's a solid, quality ballplayer. Coming in to the season, nobody knew that Mauer would seemingly find himself again, or if Park would be ready right away. So despite a logjam, I understand keeping him. Your team is always better when you have more good players, especially if those players can offer any kind of versatility.

 

I just never understood the "Sano is strictly an OF unless something catastrophic happens." That is just so short-sighted! And flat out wrong. Sano will make defensive mistakes at 3B. He's still young and still developing. But again, tonce my knowledge, there has never been a scout, coach, manager or front office person who has said he can't be at least acceptable there. (A little better conditioning would help though) The only thing ever stated is that his long term future...whatever time frame that may entail...may be at 1B.

 

The Twins did the right thing last year when they had Plouffe, Sano and Mauer rotate at three spots. Now Park is thrown in to that equation and it complicates things, but the idea remains practical and sound. But yeah, to really make things work, and increase roster and lineup flexability, to get everyone "in the game", someone has to also play a little OF.

[DocBauer]

I've said before, on paper, this is a better team than last season. Even with Buxton needing more time, Santana, as long as is hitting-and he is, and Rosario, who is not hitting at the moment, can at least hold down the position for now.

 

Arcia has worked very hard and seems to be rebounding. I still think he's more comfortable in RF, but he has experience in LF as well. Dozier, Escobar, Nunez and Santana have the middle infield ckvered, with Polanco in reserve and close to ready if not already. Nunez is a solid option at 3B as well, and Plouffe can also play 1B.

 

Other than not having Buxton ready to hold down CF on a permanent basis, there are two situations to be corrected or addressed:

 

1} Simply getting Dozier and Rosario to start hitting.

2} Finding one of the corner INF guys to play an OF corner well enough, in place of or in addition to Sano, to increase the roster flexability.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Trading also doesn't seem to fit the GM's way of doing business.

Is there a "sigh, like" button?

[David HK]

 

The Twins are kind of in a tough position.  The easiest way out is for Plouffe to get healthy, stay hot with the bat and get traded.  It looks like Park is legit, Mauer has bounced back and Sano obviously can hit, so they aren't really hampering their lineup if they do trade Plouffe.  They can't just give him away, though.  They need to get something for him.

 

In the mean time, they have to deal with having Plouffe and Sano.  Everyone keeps saying play Sano at 3rd and move Plouffe.  Do any of us know how Plouffe would do in the outfield?  Maybe he would be even worse than Sano is out there.  I wouldn't have a problem with them trying Plouffe in the outfield, but its no slam dunk.  If Plouffe is bad in the outfield, or the shift to the OF messes up his hitting, you could really hurt his trade value.

 

Even with his size, Sano does look like he can stay at 3rd base though.

 

I wonder if the Twins could get a decent RP and a lower level C prospect for Plouffe.

Plouffe has been in the outfield before, 2010-12.  He was no great shakes out there, but he wasn't a complete liability.  He is not at all mobile, but has a good arm.  They moved him out there because they realized he was not a SS.  He worked really diligently to turn himself into a better 3B, and he does a good job there- not a great one.  I'm sure this season, if he spends the entire year there, will be better than the last- he's improved every year since he's been there full time.  As a veteran, though, a new position would surely be less impactful on his overall game.  He had that terrific first half-season in 2012, when they were moving him all over hell on the diamond.

 

A talent like Sano doesn't come around very often, and he needs to focus on his forte- swinging that bat.  To force an elite talent like that into a brand-new position on the ML level is ludicrous.  I've never agreed with the decision to move him out there, and I think the best of a tough situation is moving TP out there, and keeping the kid at his comfortable position, and letting him mash.

[Jham]

 

Plouffe has been in the outfield before, 2010-12.  He was no great shakes out there, but he wasn't a complete liability.  He is not at all mobile, but has a good arm.  They moved him out there because they realized he was not a SS.  He worked really diligently to turn himself into a better 3B, and he does a good job there- not a great one.  I'm sure this season, if he spends the entire year there, will be better than the last- he's improved every year since he's been there full time.  As a veteran, though, a new position would surely be less impactful on his overall game.  He had that terrific first half-season in 2012, when they were moving him all over hell on the diamond.

 

A talent like Sano doesn't come around very often, and he needs to focus on his forte- swinging that bat.  To force an elite talent like that into a brand-new position on the ML level is ludicrous.  I've never agreed with the decision to move him out there, and I think the best of a tough situation is moving TP out there, and keeping the kid at his comfortable position, and letting him mash.

I love Sano.  His power is extraordinary.  His athleticism for a man his size is ridiculous.  He's fun, wants to be great, and has a patient mature approach.  At the same time, I feel like people got a little carried away with how he started last season.  He's never really hit for much average at any level.  Despite his eye, he strikes out frequently.  He can't catch up to good fastballs, and certainly did not come in ready this spring.  He may hit a lot of HR's, but he may never hit more than .265 or so, and is unlikely to ever lead the league in HR.  He's obviously talented, but part of his initially high prospect rankings were based on his ability to be a plus fielder at 3B if not short.  He's a talented hitter, but not a Pujols, Stanton, Trout, Cabrera talent.

For what it's worth, I think his OF has been plenty adequate after the first week.  He's also looked adequate at 3rd.
 

[Shane Wahl]

Trading Plouffe for a Burdi-Chargois type would be absolutely fine by me. I don't trust that the Twins actually get anything more than 1 out of 3 reliever prospects to get their acts together in the big leagues, so another one would be helpful. Left-handed would be a major plus, of course.