Roster Crunch? Who stays, who goes?

[Mike Sixel]

I'd call up AK and deal Kepler for anything. Yup, risky. But I'm taking that risk. 

They'll wait on AK until someone is hurt. 

[Squirrel]

Pitching roster ... what happens now with Ober? Keep him up, exchange him for a BP arm?

 

 

[Craig Arko]

23 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Pitching roster ... what happens now with Ober? Keep him up, exchange him for a BP arm?

 

 

Based on some statement by Baldelli it sounds like Ober will be around for at least one more start because of the lack of offdays. 

[Craig Arko]

2 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

Based on some statement by Baldelli it sounds like Ober will be around for at least one more start because of the lack of offdays. 

Never mind.

[FlyingFinn]

9 hours ago, stringer bell said:

What should the Twins do? And what do you think they actually will do?

Call Kirilloff up on Wednesday. Trade/release Gordon. Until Farmer returns, I believe (and I think the Twins agree) that Castro is a better backup SS.

The Twins will max out Kirilloff's rehab unless someone gets hurt and....................... trade/release Gordon. In no way am I confident of this. But without Kirilloff, Gordon isn't playing much at all.

[stringer bell]

Ober optioned tonight. I think it will end up being Josh Winder added, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to know. 

[LewFordLives]

Total B.S. Ober is a better pitcher than Maeda right now. This front office is losing me. 

[stringer bell]

The left handed hitters did well last night, so the calls for Kirilloff now won't be quite so loud. I guess Nick Gordon should be feeling some pressure about now in that he hasn't played much at all in a week and the two guys that can replace him (Farmer and Kirilloff) are getting healthy. 

On the pitching side, other than Josh Winder coming off the IL, I can't see a clear choice for a relief pitcher to be added. Whoever he is, that pitcher will probably be working in the next 30 hours. 

[stringer bell]

10 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

 

On the pitching side, other than Josh Winder coming off the IL, I can't see a clear choice for a relief pitcher to be added. Whoever he is, that pitcher will probably be working in the next 30 hours. 

The answer is Brock Stewart, 31 years old, who hasn't been in the majors since 2019. He doesn't appear to be the same type of pitcher he was when he was last in the majors. Now he's a short reliever who throws it in the high 90s. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/04/twins-to-select-brock-stewart.html

[Mike Sixel]

Who had Stewart on their bingo card? Mine mostly says Kiriloff and winder....

[stringer bell]

Given the shakiness of Moran, I have to infer that Winder will be back as soon as he is deemed healthy.

[Azviking101]

Megill DFAd. There goes more of that “outstanding” bullpen depth Falvey went on and on about. Pretty sure 90% of us fans thought Megill was awful and didn’t deserve a 40 man roster spot. Well…we were right. 
 

If one of Jax, Thielbar, Duran, Lopez go down with an injury then this pen is on pace to be a disaster. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Azviking101 said:

Megill DFAd. There goes more of that “outstanding” bullpen depth Falvey went on and on about. Pretty sure 90% of us fans thought Megill was awful and didn’t deserve a 40 man roster spot. Well…we were right. 
 

If one of Jax, Thielbar, Duran, Lopez go down with an injury then this pen is on pace to be a disaster. 

They literally just replaced a guy, from depth. They have plenty of depth. The bullpen has been well above average this year 

[stringer bell]

I'm trying to figure out how the Twins can get a long man up for Headrick and also get Ober in time to make his next start. Headrick was optioned after going five innings today and I have to believe Ober will replace Maeda in the rotation. They could recall Winder right away I guess. There's probably no hurry to recall Ober and actually they can't unless someone (Maeda) goes on the IL.

[FlyingFinn]

18 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

They could recall Winder right away I guess.

Agreed. Only other option is Balazovic but he has only been going 1 to 2 innings per game. Ober up next week for Maeda due to his injury and a stint on the IL (and hopefully a rehab assignment this time).

[SwainZag]

24 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I'm trying to figure out how the Twins can get a long man up for Headrick and also get Ober in time to make his next start. Headrick was optioned after going five innings today and I have to believe Ober will replace Maeda in the rotation. They could recall Winder right away I guess. There's probably no hurry to recall Ober and actually they can't unless someone (Maeda) goes on the IL.

Winder would seemingly be the obvious choice, I think?  Made 5 rehab stints and last was 3 innings on Sunday, so would be good to go if need be tomorrow. Maeda to the IL seems inevitable right now.

[tony&rodney]

No real worries. The bullpen is still in a good place. The Twins have Mahle, Lopez, Gray, and Ryan all scheduled to pitch versus Kansas City and a day off on Monday before Ober/Varland pitch. The Royals have only scored 82 runs thus far this season and we should hope that our starters fare well in this upcoming series. A greater concern is that the Twins have only scored 109 runs, but they look ready to break out. The Twins are in good shape. Perhaps the biggest challenge at this moment of the year concerns who is where defensively.

[Mike Sixel]

I'd guess winder for four days. Then Ober or Varland when Maeda was to start. Let the pipeline flow.....

[Jocko87]

On 4/24/2023 at 10:36 AM, Mike Sixel said:

I'd call up AK and deal Kepler for anything. Yup, risky. But I'm taking that risk. 

They'll wait on AK until someone is hurt. 

Agree with both.  Not the least bit worried about the risk of Kepler being gone.  Too many promising lefty outfielder types waiting for a chance to OPS .693.  Even some good righties coming.  Unfortunately the other teams know this as well which drives the value down.  They may have out thought themselves on this one.  I'd do it now as well but they will wait until the deadline unless they get blown away.

When AK comes up its probably for good barring new injury.  There is just enough time between now and the trading deadline to get comfortable with AK, Larnach, Wallner, Julien or hell even DaShawn Keirsey Jr. rather than Kepler.  They don't have a real crunch other than our angst. 

I've greatly enjoyed Kepler over the years.  I watched him in BP at Nationals park shortly after he came up and it looked and sounded different, I was in. I've been pulling for him for years but I'm a Twins fan first and business is business.

[stringer bell]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'd guess winder for four days. Then Ober or Varland when Maeda was to start. Let the pipeline flow.....

????If Maeda goes on the IL (very likely) there are two spots to fill. Winder could fill the long relief role and Ober/Varland fill the rotation spot. I doubt Winder would be sent down in four days, particularly since he hasn't had his option used for 2023. If the Twins wanted to add back a long man (Sands), they could send down Moran or DFA Pagan rather than sending Winder to St. Paul.

[Riverbrian]

4 deep in the bullpen is not a deep bullpen. I don't care how good those deep 4 are throwing and we do have 4 throwing very well. 

4 won't be enough and we should all know this by now. 

We need a bullpen from top to bottom. Any thought that we can simply absorb Pagan and Moran into low leverage usage is wrong. One injury to those deep 4 and that low leverage redshirt gets ripped off immediately as they are thrust into high leverage.  

If Rocco can't trust Pagan and Moran in high leverage and right now he can't. Their replacements should be immediate. 

Keeping players that you can't trust in big moments is exactly how you end up needing Celestino in September with a playoff berth on the line. 

 

[weitz41]

Kepler is hitting .292 with a .750 OPS in the last 7 games. Correa .200/.539 OPS..Vazquez .125/.317 OPS.

I don't Kep is part of the offensive woes at the moment. 

Looks like Meada is headed to the IL. Ober has earned that spot IMO. But the waiting period would say Varland. 

Bull Pen. Headrick was outstanding last night but got optioned...IDK who you fill his spot with?? Alcara? Balazovic? I don't see any arms on the 40 man that I believe would make it through waivers to add a none roster pitcher to the 40 man. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

????If Maeda goes on the IL (very likely) there are two spots to fill. Winder could fill the long relief role and Ober/Varland fill the rotation spot. I doubt Winder would be sent down in four days, particularly since he hasn't had his option used for 2023. If the Twins wanted to add back a long man (Sands), they could send down Moran or DFA Pagan rather than sending Winder to St. Paul.

Didn't realize Headrick went down. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

4 deep in the bullpen is not a deep bullpen. I don't care how good those deep 4 are throwing and we do have 4 throwing very well. 

4 won't be enough and we should all know this by now. 

We need a bullpen from top to bottom. Any thought that we can simply absorb Pagan and Moran into low leverage usage is wrong. One injury to those deep 4 and that low leverage redshirt gets ripped off immediately as they are thrust into high leverage.  

If Rocco can't trust Pagan and Moran in high leverage and right now he can't. Their replacements should be immediate. 

Keeping players that you can't trust in big moments is exactly how you end up needing Celestino in September with a playoff berth on the line. 

 

Agreed. 

[Riverbrian]

April 27, 2023 - OPS Numbers (Close to everyday players):

Correa - .608

Miranda - .628

Kepler - .647

Taylor - .705

Larnach - .746

I understand that Correa is going to find it and get it going. We assume that Miranda will avoid the sophomore slump and two dingers yesterday was hopefully a sign that he is finding it. I also understand that Larnach has been nothing to complain about. I also hear that Kepler and Taylor are the greatest defensive outfielders in the universe.   

However... these are 5 players who are playing almost every day and none of these current OPS numbers justify keeping anybody else from playing. 

I do not understand any talk of stashing Kirilloff in the minors.

You bring him up to see if he can join Gallo and Polanco as players who actually deserve to play every day by actually producing at a level that justifies it.  

 

[Mike Sixel]

10 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

April 27, 2023 - OPS Numbers (Close to everyday players):

Correa - .608

Miranda - .628

Kepler - .647

Taylor - .705

Larnach - .746

I understand that Correa is going to find it and get it going. We assume that Miranda will avoid the sophomore slump and two dingers yesterday was hopefully a sign that he is finding it. I also understand that Larnach has been nothing to complain about. I also hear that Kepler and Taylor are the greatest defensive outfielders in the universe.   

However... these are 5 players who are playing almost every day and none of these current OPS numbers justify keeping anybody else from playing. 

I do not understand any talk of stashing Kirilloff in the minors.

You bring him up to see if he can join Gallo and Polanco as players who actually deserve to play every day by actually producing at a level that justifies it.  

 

Agreed

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

If Rocco can't trust Pagan and Moran in high leverage and right now he can't. Their replacements should be immediate.

Just to clarify, Rocco can only do what Rocco is given. I hope the FO is watching and listening and working to make necessary changes to the roster. Our BP, for me, anyway, was iffy to start. I'm happy with the ones who have performed, but, it's time to change it up with those who haven't. Hopefully Winder is up soon and Moran back to AAA. Pagan ... feel sorry for him, but I didn't think they should have kept him and I still think they shouldn't.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, weitz41 said:

Looks like Meada is headed to the IL. Ober has earned that spot IMO. But the waiting period would say Varland. 

An injury means the can call up a player without waiting the full time.

[Azalea Park Bob]

Are we a better team with Farmer (when healthy) and Julien on the active roster instead of Castro and Gordon? If so, is there a realistic way to make this happen? Any issues with our defense under this scenario? Also, what happens when Kirilloff is ready to come up? 

 

[Riverbrian]

25 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Just to clarify, Rocco can only do what Rocco is given. I hope the FO is watching and listening and working to make necessary changes to the roster. Our BP, for me, anyway, was iffy to start. I'm happy with the ones who have performed, but, it's time to change it up with those who haven't. Hopefully Winder is up soon and Moran back to AAA. Pagan ... feel sorry for him, but I didn't think they should have kept him and I still think they shouldn't.

From what I see so far.

Pagan is the immediate question mark.

Moran looked real bad against the Yankees just mopping up. He needs to work on something. He has options he can be sent down and somebody else can get the opportunity to show they can be counted on. I don't know who... but anyone else. 

With Pagan. He can't be sent down... So you either trust him or you cut him. 

There is one thing that kills your team. Bad Play is the thing that does it. Average play doesn't kill you... It's bad play and If the manager doesn't trust a player to not play bad when the chips are down. He doesn't belong on the roster. 

Go find someone else. I don't know who... but anyone else. 

We won't survive with 4 that we trust in the bullpen. Finding a 5th and 6th person to trust is an immediate need.