Varland starting Friday, Mahle pushed back a day

[Squirrel]

So, apparently Varland starting tomorrow, with Mahle Saturday and PLopez on Sunday. Skipping a Maeda start to give him more rest. I have seen yet what the corresponding move is, but I assume Sands down.

 

[Squirrel]

Another tweet saying basically the same thing:

 

[David HK]

Yikes!

Now what?

[Jocko87]

I had thought they were giving everyone a day, not skipping someone. Not excited to hear Maeda is having an issue. 

[Squirrel]

6 minutes ago, David HK said:

Yikes!

Now what?

Nothing as far as I can tell. Just want to give Maeda some extra rest without having to IL him. Remember he was out all last season, so I don’t think it’s cause for alarm. This also gives Mahle an extra day, and Lopez will pitch in his regular slot. Also reading that Maeda may pitch in Boston.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I had thought they were giving everyone a day, not skipping someone. Not excited to hear Maeda is having an issue. 

I thinking López was always pitching Sunday and he’s still pitching Sunday. Just skipping Maeda and pushing Mahle back a day to give Varland the start tomorrow.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I like that they are being proactive with Maeda’s situation and bringing up Varland while the vibes are good. This has potential to pay off in subtle ways down the road. 

[FlyingFinn]

Obviously, bringing Varland up instead of Ober because he has options and can be sent back down. The Twins probably thought they would get at least one rain out and have a free call up of Ober but it hasn't happened. Also, curious what happens after the Varland start. Can't bring Sands back up right away and we don't want Varland to rot on the bench for two weeks. Plus we don't have a 40 man spot to bring a Derek Rodriguez up to fill the long man role. Would we dare bring Balazovic up, probably not.

[jkcarew]

It sounds like they will do this sporadically with Maeda…and maybe Mahle too? Assuming otherwise ‘normal’ health and effectiveness.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

They have a stretch of 13 games in 13 days so I think they try do a six man rotation for a couple turns through, and then on May 1 see where they stand. 

[Squirrel]

4 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

They have a stretch of 13 games in 13 days so I think they try do a six man rotation for a couple turns through, and then on May 1 see where they stand. 

From what I’m reading in various spots it sounds like the Twins had always planned to insert another starter into the mix because there are so few rest days, as you pointed out. 

[Squirrel]

10 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Obviously, bringing Varland up instead of Ober because he has options and can be sent back down. The Twins probably thought they would get at least one rain out and have a free call up of Ober but it hasn't happened. Also, curious what happens after the Varland start. Can't bring Sands back up right away and we don't want Varland to rot on the bench for two weeks. Plus we don't have a 40 man spot to bring a Derek Rodriguez up to fill the long man role. Would we dare bring Balazovic up, probably not.

I think it was more that Ober pitched yesterday

[IndianaTwin]

19 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Obviously, bringing Varland up instead of Ober because he has options and can be sent back down. The Twins probably thought they would get at least one rain out and have a free call up of Ober but it hasn't happened. Also, curious what happens after the Varland start. Can't bring Sands back up right away and we don't want Varland to rot on the bench for two weeks. Plus we don't have a 40 man spot to bring a Derek Rodriguez up to fill the long man role. Would we dare bring Balazovic up, probably not.

Headrick? Pitched on the 11th and is already on the 40-man. 

[SwainZag]

23 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Obviously, bringing Varland up instead of Ober because he has options and can be sent back down. The Twins probably thought they would get at least one rain out and have a free call up of Ober but it hasn't happened. Also, curious what happens after the Varland start. Can't bring Sands back up right away and we don't want Varland to rot on the bench for two weeks. Plus we don't have a 40 man spot to bring a Derek Rodriguez up to fill the long man role. Would we dare bring Balazovic up, probably not.

Ober is already using an option this season having being sent down I believe. 

[ashbury]

27 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Obviously, bringing Varland up instead of Ober because he has options and can be sent back down. The Twins probably thought they would get at least one rain out and have a free call up of Ober but it hasn't happened. Also, curious what happens after the Varland start. Can't bring Sands back up right away and we don't want Varland to rot on the bench for two weeks. Plus we don't have a 40 man spot to bring a Derek Rodriguez up to fill the long man role. Would we dare bring Balazovic up, probably not.

I share this concern/question.

Varland up for a day, then presumably back down - he's a starter and they won't just let him rot if there's no room in the rotation,  If Sands is now down then he can't come right back up.  Megill is the only AAA reliever I see on the 40-man, and he's had one rancid game and 3 decent ones (small sample, but we do have Magill's larger body of work to go on.  No room on the 40-man for someone new). Balazovic, Headrick, Ober, SWR - all viewed as starters I believe.

I must be overlooking an alternative.  I guess it'll be Megill.  Hopefully used like Sands was used, i.e. not at all.  Break Glass In Case Of Emergency.

In any case, I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

[ashbury]

26 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I think it was more that Ober pitched yesterday

Unless this is a completely unexpected need, the FO could easily have made the call to St Paul to hold Ober back.

[Jocko87]

20 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Unless this is a completely unexpected need, the FO could easily have made the call to St Paul to hold Ober back.

This is what I’m worried about.  I know they had talked about pushing everyone back but never skipping someone.  Hopefully it’s only fatigue but that can mean many things. 

The whole roster is going to be very interesting this weekend. Kepler imminent and Gallo on rehab, now this.  Somebody gonna have to squeak through waivers maybe.  Who’s nursing an owwie that needs a few days? Seems like an IL for Maeda would help a lot but there must be a simpler solution in mind. 
 

 

[Mike Sixel]

I'm not going to assume bad things..... I'm hoping it is just a way to get Maeda rest. Plus, more information about Varland for next year

[stringer bell]

Not presented as an injury to Maeda, correct? It probably will be Sands going to St. Paul and I’ll offer up Winder as the replacement for Varland/Sands. 

[LewFordLives]

The Twins always seem to give their players lots of "rest" and yet they always seem to have lots of "injuries". Are players legitimately getting hurt more often than they used to or are they just less likely these days to play through the daily aches and pains that go along with being a professional athlete?

[dxpavelka]

At least we're not bringing up Andrew Albers or Alex Meyer or Cy Dean.......

[CRF]

I sure hope I'm wrong, but I have this feeling that tonight's game could be over before it starts. I'm just not sold on the idea of throwing Varland in there. I really hope we hit like we did last night, even though that's not likely. I would SO love to kick their butts again! 

[Chachi]

Pure speculation - however, there may be a matchup reason they want to avoid for Maeda at this stage of his return and have depth they might as well take advantage of.

[rv78]

Sounds like it could be another throw away game coming. Varland against the Yanks isn't Joe Ryan and Cortez against the Twins isn't Brito. I'm still rooting for Varland but I'd feel a lot better about the Twins chances if Mahle was pitching instead. 

I wonder how the guys, back in the day baseball wasn't for babies, pitched 300+ innings a year. (Gibson, Koufax, Carlton, Blue, Perry, Palmer, Jenkins, Ryan, Blyleven etc, etc...) 

[Doctor Gast]

I was leary of the durability of Maeda & Mahle, so this move was to be expected. But like I suggested at the end of ST, to reward Ober's ST preformance by keeping him on the club in long relief. Limiting Maeda innings by allowing Ober pitch 3 innings in long relief on Maeda starts. Either this Maeda situation is avoided or Ober is available to spot start.  Either way we are in a better situation than we are now. Any way,            Go Twins!

[Squirrel]

38 minutes ago, CRF said:

I sure hope I'm wrong, but I have this feeling that tonight's game could be over before it starts. I'm just not sold on the idea of throwing Varland in there. I really hope we hit like we did last night, even though that's not likely. I would SO love to kick their butts again! 

Varland pitched against the Yankees last year and had a pretty good line.

[Squirrel]

2 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I was leary of the durability of Maeda & Mahle, so this move was to be expected. But like I suggested at the end of ST, to reward Ober's ST preformance by keeping him on the club in long relief. Limiting Maeda innings by allowing Ober pitch 3 innings in long relief on Maeda starts. Either this situation is avoided or Ober is available to spot start.  

They want keep Ober stretched out as a starter going longer than 3 innings so when they need him, and they will, he's ready. Remember, Maeda didn't pitch at all last year, so giving him some extra rest is a good thing right now. And, he has been pretty good so far.

[Squirrel]

4 hours ago, rv78 said:

Sounds like it could be another throw away game coming. Varland against the Yanks isn't Joe Ryan and Cortez against the Twins isn't Brito. I'm still rooting for Varland but I'd feel a lot better about the Twins chances if Mahle was pitching instead. 

I wonder how the guys, back in the day baseball wasn't for babies, pitched 300+ innings a year. (Gibson, Koufax, Carlton, Blue, Perry, Palmer, Jenkins, Ryan, Blyleven etc, etc...) 

Why are you calling this a 'throw away' game? You act as if the Twins are intentionally trying to lose. That's just not the case. And Varland did well against the Yankees last year. The Twins can't win every game, but it's hardly a throw away game.

Edit to add: And as a moderator, please stop referring to players as babies.

[2wins87]

38 minutes ago, CRF said:

I sure hope I'm wrong, but I have this feeling that tonight's game could be over before it starts. I'm just not sold on the idea of throwing Varland in there. I really hope we hit like we did last night, even though that's not likely. I would SO love to kick their butts again! 

Varland was sitting 95/96 and touched 98 in his first start in St. Paul.  It is AAA, but he also got 40%+ whiffs on his secondary stuff.

Obviously pitching to the Yankees in Yankee stadium will be different, but he already has a track record of reasonable success in the majors, including his debut in Yankee stadium last year.

Seems like they didn't make the decision until yesterday, but I do think a part of the move is them being pleased/impressed with Varland's early season work and thinking he has a good chance of success.  Particularly now that the Yankees will have to go over a new set of scouting reports which might be a little less detailed.

[jorgenswest]

I think this is a pretty good use of that last pitching spot. Rotate Sands out and bring up Varland to pitch on his day. Ease Maeda back in. Fill in with another pitcher in that 13th spot until Winder is ready or Sands comes back. The pitcher in that 13th spot isn’t as critical as the flexibility.