Vargas Movin' On Up... And Out? Riverbrian- This one's especially for you!

[USAFChief]

 

The only reason not to keep Park next year is if he is upset about being in AAA. Right now the Twins have enough 1B and DH but that can change quickly. I think he is a legit MLB player and would like the option of calling him up vs the next Erik Lis if a player gets injured.

Concur.  There's absolutely no reason to dump Park.  The money's spent (and it's not much money anyway), I believe he has options remaining, and depth is a good thing.

 

It would not be real surprising, to me at least, to see Park be a better hitter than Vargas next year.  

[Richie the Rally Goat]

It's actually 8 position players plus a DH, so that does actually leave you room for a bench bat.

oh yeah... he he, still not sure, but less convinced it's not feasible. Still not entirely bought in on Sano playing 3rd, which would put 3 first base/DH types and not a corner outfield DH type

[kab21]

 

He should have been up the whole time and starting.  He has a .905 OPS this year.  

 

Vargas is the 900 OPS guy the team has.  Park is guy the team wants to have the .900 OPS, however. 

Park was the reason that Vargas wasn't up the first couple of months but he wasn't the reason that Vargas spent some time in the minors late in the season and he won't be the reason that Vargas won't be up next year.

[Doomtints]

 

Park was the reason that Vargas wasn't up the first couple of months but he wasn't the reason that Vargas spent some time in the minors late in the season and he won't be the reason that Vargas won't be up next year.

 

You sound a lot like the front office that the organization is about to lay off.  No analytics, just gut feelings.

[DocBauer]

Vargas is young and talented. He put up consistent OPS numbers in the minors. He's shown flashes at the ML level previously. He's now worked hard to improve himself and HAS seemingly done so. He absolutely, positively needs to play daily until/unless he proves he can't. And I don't mean 1 bad game or 1 poor week. Everyone has those. And I agree that Park is on the outside looking in at the moment.

 

As to the roster, you have 12 pitchers. Of your 13 position players you have Rosario, Buxton and Kepler in the OF with, hopefully, a quality FA 4th OF pickup. You have 2 catchers of course, though unknown who at the moment. Mauer and Vargas with Sano at the corners and DH, with Dozier, Escobar and Polanco finishing the infield, as the roster is constructed now.

 

That's 12. Who is #13? I've actually been wondering if Plouffe on the cheap might be a good idea after all, provided he is NOT labeled a guaranteed starter. LOVE the Lawrie idea.

[Kwak]

 

Vargas is young and talented. He put up consistent OPS numbers in the minors. He's shown flashes at the ML level previously. He's now worked hard to improve himself and HAS seemingly done so. He absolutely, positively needs to play daily until/unless he proves he can't. And I don't mean 1 bad game or 1 poor week. Everyone has those. And I agree that Park is on the outside looking in at the moment.

As to the roster, you have 12 pitchers. Of your 13 position players you have Rosario, Buxton and Kepler in the OF with, hopefully, a quality FA 4th OF pickup. You have 2 catchers of course, though unknown who at the moment. Mauer and Vargas with Sano at the corners and DH, with Dozier, Escobar and Polanco finishing the infield, as the roster is constructed now.

That's 12. Who is #13? I've actually been wondering if Plouffe on the cheap might be a good idea after all, provided he is NOT labeled a guaranteed starter. LOVE the Lawrie idea.

Danny Santana    .

[Mike Sixel]

 

Danny Santana    .

 

this reply needs both a love and hate button...

[kab21]

 

You sound a lot like the front office that the organization is about to lay off.  No analytics, just gut feelings.

No I use facts. Park was sent down and he didn't come back up. Once that happened he didn't block Vargas. There is no indication that Park will be up before Vargas next season. You are the one using gut feelings. 

[howieramone2]

 

We'd be selling low on Sano to trade him.  That's ma ybe the only idea I've heard that would be worse than "Let's make him an outfielder!"

Not that low. Package him with a Gonzalves type and we can get an established starting pitcher.

[Twodogs]

The normal everyday lineup should be something like this for the Twins to fully exploit their offensive numbers next year

 

Name                           Current OBP

Polanco  ss                  .335

Mauer  1B                    .363

Dozier  2B                    .345      .905OPS, way out of the norm for him, but he has proven to be good.

Sano  3B                      .325      .797OPS

Vargas  DH                   .355      .859OPS

Kepler RF                     .309

Rosario LF                    .295

Buxton CF                    .272   I would love to see Buxton with his speed at the leadoff position someday

Catcher   Current Suzuki with his ax bat and farting dust is at .302 OBP  Murphy is at .181 OBP so who knows what to do about catcher

[mikelink45]

 

I don't understand why Mauer is starting games in September. He was injured, then "healthy", and hasn't been performing well in quite some time.

 

Let the guy sit and catch his breath. It doesn't matter anyway. He's going to get paid and the Twins will have an opportunity to look at some other guys with more frequency.

 

Man, the entire situation around Mauer is such a bummer. It looked like he might be on the verge of a small rebound earlier this season; his peripherals looked wildly different, he was seeing the ball, and he was making classic Mauer contact. Sure, he's a diminished player at this point but I thought there was a glimmer of a chance we could see him post a .780-.800 season once or twice more before he retires.

It is not just Mauer batting, but also Suzuki at DH that has me puzzled.  A 100 loss team cannot give Walker and Palka a September look?  That is ridiculous.  Playing Mauer and Suzuki should not be allowed.  Where is our minor league catcher; where is the realization that we just might miss the playoffs this year and finding the players for next year should be a priority.  That is true in pitching too where it might have been a chance to see Gonsalves and the minor league bull pen pitchers.  The Twins baffle me.

[DocBauer]

You would think if you were Molitor, and there was any real chance that you could indeed be coming back next season, that you wouldn't worry about losing only 100 games vs maybe 102, and you'd be playing every under 30yo player that may be coming back next season. Just to better see where and how and if they might fit on your roster. DH Dozier for a day and let Beresford play in the field. Play Grossman in the OF for the off chance he could help your bench, maybe, as a 4th or 5th OF DH/PH, I get the team is down a few players due to injury right now and you have to field a complete lineup. But for goodness sake, play Murphy at catcher and DH Centeno over Suzuki. Some of these lineups just don't make a lick of sense.