Morrison activated, Astudillo optioned

[Richie the Rally Goat]

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-logan-morrison-confirmed-for-activation/

 

Who’s this Astudillo guy? He played great for a handful of games and then inexplicably benched, and now sent down instead of Taylor Motter who can’t hit at all...

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Astudillo never caught an inning

[jorgenswest]

Astudillo never caught an inning

That decision was made in Rochester. He had not played catcher in the 4 weeks prior to his first game in the majors. He started mostly at 3B with a few starts in the outfield in that time. He had two months to show the Twins his ability to catch in AAA. If they decided it wasn’t adequate for AAA Molitor had no business starting him at catcher in the majors.

[Riverbrian]

He was up for 19 games.

He had 19 AB's.

 

This roster move was the equivalent of finding a wet spot underneath the couch. 

 

You didn't know it was there. When you notice it, you sop it up with a paper towel and throw the paper towel away. However... it doesn't fix the underlying problem that caused the wet spot in the first place. 

 

 

 

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

That decision was made in Rochester. He had not played catcher in the 4 weeks prior to his first game in the majors. He started mostly at 3B with a few starts in the outfield in that time. He had two months to show the Twins his ability to catch in AAA. If they decided it wasn’t adequate for AAA Molitor had no business starting him at catcher in the majors.

thanks for sharing, I hadn’t seen any timelines, only innings played in triple a,

 

So why was he listed at C on the roster?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

He was up for 19 games.

He had 19 AB's.

 

This roster move was the equivalent of finding a wet spot underneath the couch.

 

You didn't know it was there. When you notice it, you sop it up with a paper towel and throw the paper towel away. However... it doesn't fix the underlying problem that caused the wet spot in the first place.

with the trade deadline looming, the wet spot might get worse

[nclahammer]

I don't understand why he hadn't been given even one start behind the plate either, especially given our present catching situation.  The fact Motter is even on the Twins roster speaks volumes.

[Riverbrian]

 

with the trade deadline looming, the wet spot might get worse

 

We can only hope. 

[jorgenswest]

I don't understand why he hadn't been given even one start behind the plate either, especially given our present catching situation.  The fact Motter is even on the Twins roster speaks volumes.

Probably the same reason he hadn’t played one inning of catcher in AAA in the 4 weeks prior to his first game in the majors.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't understand the plan here at all. Morrison does nothing for the present or future. Move on. Then find a manager that will play the youth.

[Riverbrian]

 

I don't understand the plan here at all. Morrison does nothing for the present or future. Move on. Then find a manager that will play the youth.

 

I've been trying to imagine what next year will be like for Logan Morrison and the personal ramifications of his performance. 

 

His option certainly won't vest and I would be absolutely shocked if the Twins picked up the option. 

 

This makes him a free agent.

 

The 1B pool of Free Agents is really really shallow but the amount of teams looking for Power Only 1st basemen is also really really shallow. 

 

I think there is no question that someone will sign him. 

 

But... I believe it will be a minor league deal. 

 

This puts him squarely at the crossroads of losing around 9 million dollars on his current contract when the Twins cut him loose and being a step away from out of baseball. 

 

He better spend the off season working on fixing his problems because he is gonna have to hit to move from minor league deal to worth paying actual money to. 

 

He did some serious damage to himself this year. 

 

BTW... If you are wondering what the Twins will do with Morrison now. Just go back in your almanac and see what they did with Trevor Plouffe in 2016 after he came off the DL in August.

 

Plouffe started like 27 out of 29 games before going on the DL in September to finish the season. 

 

My prediction is that this will be Trevor Plouffe all over again but with worse numbers. 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

After those first couple games, Molitor refused to play Astudillo. So, the one good thing about this move is that the front office is optioning a guy was not going to play anyway.

 

As for not playing catcher at Rochester before his call up, I think it's more likely Astudillo is capable of playing many positions in addition to catcher and the FO wanted to get him some other innings around the diamond, and not that he needed to move off of catcher for poor skills. His bat is still a question mark at this level, but the no-walk, no-strikeout profile Astudillo carries was written up favorably in Fangraphs. So, yeah.

 

Whole thing's weird.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Probably the same reason he hadn’t played one inning of catcher in AAA in the 4 weeks prior to his first game in the majors.

To be fair, Rochester stopped using Astudillo at catcher when they signed Cameron Rupp. They had a few other exclusive catchers on the roster too, whereas Astudillo has a fairly long record of playing elsewhere.

 

To the extent that I am sure they don't believe Astudillo has a future as a MLB catcher, I am also pretty sure they don't believe he has much of a MLB future at all, yet they called him up. If he has a MLB future at all, it is probably as a utility player including a little catcher. Might as well give him a couple of innings there in a blowout to protect your other catchers (remember the Bobby Wilson heat index fiasco?). If you are willing pitch a position player, or play Astudillo in CF, or start him at 2B, you should probably be willing to at least use him at catcher in that situation.

[Doomtints]

 

He did some serious damage to himself this year. 

 

 

He just wasn't ever very good. A n00b front office jumped on a guy after having one good year.

Speaking of Rays anomalies from 2017, weren't a bunch of us pining for Alex Cobb and Chis Archer too? We were lucky the Twins only fell for one of those.

[Riverbrian]

 

He just wasn't ever very good. A n00b front office jumped on a guy after having one good year.

Speaking of Rays anomalies from 2017, weren't a bunch of us pining for Alex Cobb and Chis Archer too? We were lucky the Twins only fell for one of those.

 

I don't blame the Twins for signing him. I don't blame them for trying and making a mistake trying. It's only money and I hope they try again.  

 

I do blame the Twins for not recognizing the mistake and repeating it over and over again. 

[USAFChief]

I don't blame the Twins for signing him. I don't blame them for trying and making a mistake trying. It's only money and I hope they try again.

 

I do blame the Twins for not recognizing the mistake and repeating it over and over again.

I think it's not so much they dont recognize the mistake as they recognize there isnt a better option.

 

And THAT'S the mistake they should recognize.

[Riverbrian]

 

I think it's not so much they dont recognize the mistake as they recognize there isnt a better option.

And THAT'S the mistake they should recognize.

 

 

Agreed... they need to correct that mistake before they plan for 2019. 

 

However... If the Twins don't have a better option than .167/.287.367 (for DH mind you) anywhere from Minnesota to Elizabethton. They should all turn in their resignations immediately. 

 

 

[USAFChief]

Agreed... they need to correct that mistake before they plan for 2019.

 

However... If the Twins don't have a better option than .167/.287.367 (for DH mind you) anywhere from Minnesota to Elizabethton. They should all turn in their resignations immediately.

Not sure where that slash line is from, but I don't see an obvious better option than Morrison.

 

So are you calling for a new front office?

[KirbyDome89]

 

I don't understand the plan here at all. Morrison does nothing for the present or future. Move on. Then find a manager that will play the youth.

I'd add that a PBO who doesn't share the desire to play washed up vets would go a long way as well. Molitor certainly isn't blameless. He's always preferred veteran players, which was why the hire was questioned early on. Should a manager who has trouble playing younger guys be leading a team relying on youth? 

 

I'm kind of surprised at how much heat Molitor takes for the roster though. 

[Riverbrian]

 

Not sure where that slash line is from, but I don't see an obvious better option than Morrison.

So are you calling for a new front office?

 

Oops, his batting average is .193.

 

I didn't cut and paste and was toggling back and forth for the numbers to quote.

 

I got the .193 confused with Bobby Wilson .176 because they are right next to each other in the low batting average side of things.

 

Then I inverted the 76 part of the .176 to a 67 because I'm old and shouldn't attempt toggling back and forth. 

 

Anyway... You don't see or they didn't let you see?

 

For the last question... I am not calling for anyone's head because I have no idea what the dynamic is inside that room but I am hoping beyond hope that this year ends up being a teaching moment for the new duo at least. 

 

 

 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Agreed... they need to correct that mistake before they plan for 2019.

 

However... If the Twins don't have a better option than .167/.287.367 (for DH mind you) anywhere from Minnesota to Elizabethton. They should all turn in their resignations immediately.

Morrison's rest of season projection is still around a 110 wRC+. I am not sure an organization should be faulted for not having that kind of player sitting in reserve. (And Grossman is up to 94, with a 105 projection for the rest of the season, so he should be a decent alternative.)

[Kelly Vance]

 

I don't understand why he hadn't been given even one start behind the plate either, especially given our present catching situation.  The fact Motter is even on the Twins roster speaks volumes.

I think Motter is on the roster because we may be about to move two infielders

[Riverbrian]

 

Morrison's rest of season projection is still around a 110 wRC+. I am not sure an organization should be faulted for not having that kind of player sitting in reserve. (And Grossman is up to 94, with a 105 projection for the rest of the season, so he should be a decent alternative.)

 

First off... there is a lot of nuance in this discussion and I know that you are aware of that.

 

In simple terms though... Projections are just projections and a front office should sign on anyone based on those projections and I don't fault any organization for not having that kind of player with those projections sitting in reserve. 

 

I can and will fault any organization for not having players in reserve who will be given the chance to top what has to be considered by nearly everyone as extremely low production... especially at the DH position where defense is not a factor, regardless of whatever projections the alternatives have been tagged with. 

 

Relying on projections and not actual production to determine the lineup card is the equivalent to setting your course and refusing to navigate around icebergs.

 

Players will earn a contract based on projections and past performance... I want players to earn their playing time based on today's performance if in contention. 

 

I've said this many times lately... I believe that if the Twins signed Max Muncy in the off season they wouldn't have found out that they signed Max Muncy. 

 

And no.. I don't believe that the Twins signed anybody like Max Muncy but the point is still the same. 

[Kelly Vance]

I dunno.  I was expecting Chris Carter to get a shot because he is a RHB and a power piece,

especially when Morrison was out. 

 

I don't get calling up Motter and AStud... unless it was for comic relief.   I don't see them really helping the club.  I would rather see Gordon or a RP get a taste of the Show to incentivize them. 

[Fritzderkat]

I would prefer keeping Astudillo and playing him to show his worth, rather than either Morrison or Motter.

And speaking of the front office, I wonder now how they like signing Lynn and Odorizzi. Based on their performances, I'd make a case for not having signed them at all and instead running a bunch of the rooks in and out, who hardly could pitch any worse. Is six innings too much to ask?.

[old nurse]

 

He was up for 19 games.

He had 19 AB's.

 

This roster move was the equivalent of finding a wet spot underneath the couch. 

 

You didn't know it was there. When you notice it, you sop it up with a paper towel and throw the paper towel away. However... it doesn't fix the underlying problem that caused the wet spot in the first place. 

What have you been doing on your couch?

 

[shimrod]

That relief appearance doomed him. Molitor has no use for a backup catcher who can't pitch a clean ninth. 

[Danchat]

 

I would prefer keeping Astudillo and playing him to show his worth, rather than either Morrison or Motter.

And speaking of the front office, I wonder now how they like signing Lynn and Odorizzi. Based on their performances, I'd make a case for not having signed them at all and instead running a bunch of the rooks in and out, who hardly could pitch any worse. Is six innings too much to ask?.

Many here have argued that pinning your hopes in rookies and prospects is foolish, and signing veterans to fill areas of weakness is the way to go. I believe that there needs to be a happy medium - you need to develop prospects and push them into starting roles but you also need to supplement the core with free agents. 

 

Unfortunately, the free agency approach went about as poorly as possible, with Morrison, Lynn, Reed, and Odorizzi (trade, but still a veteran) all having their career worst seasons. With that and a general failure to develop prospects over the years, I think the root problem is that the water is tainted. What I mean by that metaphor is that something in our "system" - whether it be development, coaches, something in between - is causing players to fail. I don't know enough to tell you what specifically it is, but I can't believe that the 2016 and 2018 Twins teams are as bad as they are due to a lack of talent, like the 2011-2014 teams were.

[Vanimal46]

As for not playing catcher at Rochester before his call up, I think it's more likely Astudillo is capable of playing many positions in addition to catcher and the FO wanted to get him some other innings around the diamond, and not that he needed to move off of catcher for poor skills. His bat is still a question mark at this level, but the no-walk, no-strikeout profile Astudillo carries was written up favorably in Fangraphs. So, yeah.

 

Whole thing's weird.

I've always believed true catchers don't move around and play other positions in the minors. So it was clear to me he wasn't viewed as a catcher, even though that's what it says on his baseball reference page.

 

I'm not mad about how he was handled or the fact he never started a game at catcher for the Twins.

[Riverbrian]

Many here have argued that pinning your hopes in rookies and prospects is foolish, and signing veterans to fill areas of weakness is the way to go. I believe that there needs to be a happy medium - you need to develop prospects and push them into starting roles but you also need to supplement the core with free agents.

 

Unfortunately, the free agency approach went about as poorly as possible, with Morrison, Lynn, Reed, and Odorizzi (trade, but still a veteran) all having their career worst seasons. With that and a general failure to develop prospects over the years, I think the root problem is that the water is tainted. What I mean by that metaphor is that something in our "system" - whether it be development, coaches, something in between - is causing players to fail. I don't know enough to tell you what specifically it is, but I can't believe that the 2016 and 2018 Twins teams are as bad as they are due to a lack of talent, like the 2011-2014 teams were.

I can’t argue with anything you are saying.

 

I don’t know why but I assume it is something systemic.