Official: Kyle Farmer activated, Jose Miranda optioned

[DJL44]

27 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

How about this for a lineup shakeup?

Changing the lineup is just rearranging the deck chairs.

[Riverbrian]

34 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Is Farmer going to hit though?

.226/.286/.355 and a K% rivaling Gallo doesn't feel like an upgrade. 

That's a good question.

My gut feeling is that he's not going to be a major needle mover. We have to put a bat in his hands to find out. 

I'm hoping that he will produce better than others are currently producing and I'll take it. My expectations are in check because I'm not expecting current Brent Rooker production to just fall out of the sky.   

Bottom line... If Farmer can't out produce the bottom of our current pile. If he just adds to the bottom of the pile... we don't need him. 

So let's find out what he can bring us... see if he can help us be a little bit better so we can move on to the next guy if he can't. 

We can't afford to watch anyone struggle for 100 AB's.

Cull from the bottom until the bottom is higher. That's how we get out of this.   

 

 

[Ryan Atkins]

I agree with this move. But I also find myself wondering just who on this team is going to start driving in runs. In the last 20 innings, Twins hitters have driven in exactly ONE run and that was Miranda's RBI double last night.

They have gone 36 innings with Miranda's double being the only run-scoring hit that wasn't a homerun. Ooof, that is bad baseball by any measure. Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda both deserve to be in AAA right now, but they have also accounted for nearly a quarter of the team's RBI total thus far. Obviously, someone else is going to have to pick up the slack.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

4 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Don't forget that it's pretty apparent Correa needs some time off, too.

There does seem to be a bit of a temporary shortage of left side infielders.  Moving Miranda to St. Paul was absolutely the right thing for him and for the team -- short and long term.  Now that Farmer has returned, he could slot into 3rd, but that doesn't work so well with giving Correa time off, although Castro should be OK for a spot start at SS.  Keeping Solano away from the left side would seem to be important, so sliding Polanco over to SS for a game would be OK in an emergency.  Gallo at 3B seems like a break glass in case of emergency kind of situation.  He's likely athletic enough but he hasn't played it enough to be proficient in the moment.  Its funny, even though I'm looking at this like it must be an issue, this team does have an almost ridiculous amount of roster flexibility!

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Gordon LF

Buxton DH

Kirilloff 1B

Polanco 2B

Correa SS

Jeffers/Vasquez  C

Gallo/Farmer  3B

Taylor CF

Thoughts? I can't come up with anything better. . .

I don't think Gordon deserves to start he has been terrible (I guess besides the 5 games stretch were he got half of his hits), but with the way they have been hitting any lineup with those names is going to look bad.

[jmlease1]

35 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

There does seem to be a bit of a temporary shortage of left side infielders.  Moving Miranda to St. Paul was absolutely the right thing for him and for the team -- short and long term.  Now that Farmer has returned, he could slot into 3rd, but that doesn't work so well with giving Correa time off, although Castro should be OK for a spot start at SS.  Keeping Solano away from the left side would seem to be important, so sliding Polanco over to SS for a game would be OK in an emergency.  Gallo at 3B seems like a break glass in case of emergency kind of situation.  He's likely athletic enough but he hasn't played it enough to be proficient in the moment.  Its funny, even though I'm looking at this like it must be an issue, this team does have an almost ridiculous amount of roster flexibility!

Really about the only thing this team doesn't have a lot of depth in right now is guys who can play SS/3B effectively. (Solano seems to be cooked at 3B, Gordon has basically never played the spot and might not really have the arm for it anyways, so that leaves farmer and castro who are also the only real options at SS behind Correa...and I don't love Castro there either) Really don't want Polanco back at SS even in an emergency if we can avoid it.

The last week has been pretty rough in terms of hits. Buxton's struggling, Polanco's power has vanished, Gallo is in a big rut, Vazquez has been dreadful, Correa is a mess...lot of bats we are counting on going silent all at once.

[Minny505]

3 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Hopefully over the next 10 days to 2 weeks, Miranda gets a fresh start and is able to reset his mind a bit. There is a good hitter in there, just have to find it.

Now, I'm curious if he is going to be a full time 3b at some point. With Lewis working rehab at 3b, I wonder if Miranda will become more the 1b/dh/3b whenever his bat is ready. 

First, get the bat ready and let the rest get figured out.

I tend to agree with the Lewis take at 3B. Unless Miranda starts raking at AAA I could see Lewis surpassing him on the depth chart at 3B by the time both are ready to get the call again.

Of course, modern MLB teams, perfectly exemplified by the Rays, move guys all around, with only a few players in the lineup every day. 

[MGX]

This may or may not help Miranda, but I sure don't see how playing Farmer everyday helps his offense.

As a bench player & short side platoon I like Farmer, but as an everyday player consistently facing RHP I don't. So far Farmer hasn't even hit LHP this year, but I believe that will change, just don't see him suddenly becoming a good hitter VS RHP.

[Craig Arko]

1 minute ago, MGX said:

This may or may not help Miranda, but I sure don't see how playing Farmer everyday helps his offense.

As a bench player & short side platoon I like Farmer, but as an everyday player consistently facing RHP I don't. So far Farmer hasn't even hit LHP this year, but I believe that will change, just don't see him suddenly becoming a good hitter VS RHP.

I expect we might see Castro a couple of times per week.

[William K Johnson]

For the time being we will just have to plug third base until Lewis is ready.    Miranda was not the answer there.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, HokieRif said:

The move makes sense.  Even last night as I was watching he didn't look comfortable at all at the plate and some swings that were nowhere close to making contact.  Get him away from the Twins hitting coaches, go find a groove in St. Paul, and come back up in a few weeks renewed and ready to hammer the ball.

Get all Twins away from these hitting coaches now.

[davesaxton]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

It’s the only choice! Castro in emergency at 3B or if CC needs a break from Farmer. I expect that Gordon will back-up Polanco just to keep playing time distributed evenly with the back-ups.

Miranda will need most of a month in my opinion. He’s dug himself a pretty big hole in his approach at the plate. If not, they would have kept him up and straightened things out in Mpls.

Lewis is still 45 plus days away to get him, & everyone else involved, comfortable. He’s at 3B by July 15 with Farmer back in his original role with Miranda taking over Solano’s gig as RH 1B - pinch hitter - 3B once a week.

 

I do not understand this obsession with Miranda playing 1B. He was beyond terrible there last year. For weeks these boards were screaming for AK to come in and play 1B but already some people are going to give up on that idea and throw yet another player out of position. If Miranda's footwork isn't good enough for 3B, I absolutely don't want him at 1B being involved in 1/2 the plays in a game. If AK is your guy at 1B in the future, you keep him there and leave it alone. Enough with the rolling every Tom, Dick, and Harry through 1B just for kicks. 

Miranda very well ends up as a bench bat. Lewis, CC, Lee, Martin, Julien, just to name the upper levels are going to be your IF for years. If he can't force his way back on this team, then that's on him and him alone. Based on what he was in 2021 and the second half of last year, the issue to me isn't coaching, it sits squarely between his ears. No amount of coaching or instruction is going to fix that.

[Riverbrian]

I'll start by saying that this is the right move. Something has to be done. How much it solves... we will see.

However... to provide a different viewpoint on the significance of this move. Allow me to point this out:

The guy that we just sent down was our team leader in AB's. 

I'd like everybody to sit back and think about that. The guy that we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. 

Our team is dead last in batting average and the guy we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. 

You can't whistle past this graveyard. You have to watch for the freshly dug holes that you may fall into. 

Dead last in batting average and the guy who gets sent down is the guy that was provided the most opportunity. That should never happen. That's driving 1,000 miles an hour into an abrupt stop.  

This speaks volumes about roster management and playing time allocation. 

Note to Rocco and the front office. I'm supporters of yours but you have to jump off the script right now and grab the wheel with both hands. 

You can't auto-pilot your way to the point where you are sending down your AB leader. Yet here we are. Sometimes players you expect to do well... don't and sometime players you don't expect to do well... do. This conclusion was 124 AB's in the making.     

 

[ICTwin25]

5 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Get all Twins away from these hitting coaches now.

This is where I'm at too. Something with Miranda definitely needed to happen, but what's the plan for the other guys? Of the 18 guys ESPN lists, 14 are batting under .234. 12 of them have an OBP under .309. I really question the group of coaches

[Minny505]

48 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I expect we might see Castro a couple of times per week.

I'm a little surprised they haven't ever played Gordon over there. If he has the arm to get the occassional start at SS, he certainly has the arm to play 3B. I wonder if that changes. It would be a great way to get Gordon into the lineup more often if he can play passable defense.

[HokieRif]

50 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I'll start by saying that this is the right move. Something has to be done. How much it solves... we will see.

However... to provide a different viewpoint on the significance of this move. Allow me to point this out:

The guy that we just sent down was our team leader in AB's. 

I'd like everybody to sit back and think about that. The guy that we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. 

Our team is dead last in batting average and the guy we just sent down was leading our team in AB's. 

You can't whistle past this graveyard. You have to watch for the freshly dug holes that you may fall into. 

Dead last in batting average and the guy who gets sent down is the guy that was provided the most opportunity. That should never happen. That's driving 1,000 miles an hour into an abrupt stop.  

This speaks volumes about roster management and playing time allocation. 

Note to Rocco and the front office. I'm supporters of yours but you have to jump off the script right now and grab the wheel with both hands. 

You can't auto-pilot your way to the point where you are sending down your AB leader. Yet here we are. Sometimes players you expect to do well... don't and sometime players you don't expect to do well... do. This conclusion was 124 AB's in the making.     

 

Counter-point - he was the guy given the most opportunities to hit and wasn't delivering.  Sending down the guy that had the most hits would be a way more shocking jolt to the team.

[Mike Sixel]

Out of the box

Polanco at third, Julien at second, hope for no groundballs.....

This was the right move. Hopefully things get better.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

This is unfortunate but probably the correct call both for the short term needs of the Twins, and for Miranda's long term development. It's not unusual for a player to really struggle in his first two or three years. Hopefully this will just be another step in the journey as the kids say today. It's also good to see the team at least trying to shake things up a little since we can't score runs.  

It will be interesting to see what they do at 3B. I'm intrigued by the idea of Gallo there short term, opening up LF for Gordon to play. The problem is that Farmer was slumping badly right before he got hurt (0-11 in his last 4 games before the injury with 8 SOs) and Gallo isn't hitting at all (0-23 before his hit last night) so I'm not sure we need to find either of them a place to play. Gordon is actually starting to hit a little better (6 for his last 20 with 3 HRs), so I'd like to find Gordon a spot in the lineup before i worry too much about finding ABs for Farmer or Gallo. I don't see Gordon at 3B so I don't see another way to fit him in unless we either play Gallo and Farmer at 3B, or sit Taylor, Gallo, or Kepler.  We need to find a spark somewhere so I'd like to see Gordon get a shot at regular playing time. No that he's great, but he's the best shot we have to find someone who can get hot on the 26 man roster.        

Gordon can & will slot into CF v. RH pitching. Outfield is solid with him flanked by Gallo & Kepler. Gotta hope Gordon keeps trending in the right direction.

Not heard anything about Gallo at 3B - seems to be a stretch to move him from a position of strength to one of “who knows”, not that desperate yet. Gallo has to do better - the HRs are intriguing but we can’t go 3-4 weeks between them. I know he’s going to hit for an average of .200 with another .125 OBP points with walks. Cant’t have him go 0-23 with 6 walks and act like it’s OK.

Farmer started for a bad Reds club for 2 years - he’s not that bad of a hitter to play 130 games per year in the bigs. He can play 3B for 6 weeks until Miranda has things sorted out or Lewis is cleared & ready for a shot.

[h2oface]

5 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

We need offense. 

This is a What we need now move.

Miranda's future is not in jeopardy because of this move. We will see Miranda again... if he starts hitting the ball again. 

We need offense... we are not in position to be able to absorb his struggles at this time. If Correa was hitting and Gallo was hitting and Vazquez was hitting and Kepler was hitting and Taylor was hitting and Polanco was hitting maybe we could absorb it. 

They are not... This is a no-brainer move. 

Donnie Barrels and Castro are not the problem offensively because they are not playing enough to be a problem offensively. If they not playing though... who cares what happens to them. 

This is as much a team problem as it is a Miranda problem. We need solutions. 

  

We just have to absorb the $ men. Correa, Gallo, and Vazquez. Funny how playing time can relate to the $ sometimes, more than the needs.

[h2oface]

2 hours ago, HokieRif said:

Counter-point - he was the guy given the most opportunities to hit and wasn't delivering.  Sending down the guy that had the most hits would be a way more shocking jolt to the team.

They don't send that guy down. In their infinite wisdom, they trade him off the team entirely.

[Jocko87]

6 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Miranda's struggles are just so odd. He's got the second lowest strikeout percentage on the team. You'd think him putting the ball in play is a good sign. Though I guess if the shoulder is off, maybe he's doing it too meekly.

I guess Nick Gordon has the lowest strikeout percentage, so maybe there's an unexpected correlation. Like the fact that those two also see the fewest pitches per plate appearance.

Yup, almost as if strikeouts aren’t a great indicator of productivity. 
 

3 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Really about the only thing this team doesn't have a lot of depth in right now is guys who can play SS/3B effectively. (Solano seems to be cooked at 3B, Gordon has basically never played the spot and might not really have the arm for it anyways, so that leaves farmer and castro who are also the only real options at SS behind Correa...and I don't love Castro there either) Really don't want Polanco back at SS even in an emergency if we can avoid it.

The last week has been pretty rough in terms of hits. Buxton's struggling, Polanco's power has vanished, Gallo is in a big rut, Vazquez has been dreadful, Correa is a mess...lot of bats we are counting on going silent all at once.

The Farmer injury was far more serious as a roster crunch than I first thought. Without being able to play anyone but Correa and Miranda on the left side it certainly impacted how both of those players are hitting. It takes away any other options they had to work with Jose and give him breaks against tough matchups. I’m pretty sure the shoulder isn’t right but it’s progressed to a mental issue with all the struggles. No reason for him to lead the club in plate appearances. 

As for the longer term view, I tend to believe he won’t be back as a full time 3rd baseman. I don’t even want think about the things that would have to go wrong to have him remain as the best option. He needs to get an outfielders glove and get to work. 

[Shaitan]

Hope they leave him there long to actually reset.

They brought Alcala back way too fast imo.

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, davesaxton said:

I do not understand this obsession with Miranda playing 1B. He was beyond terrible there last year. For weeks these boards were screaming for AK to come in and play 1B but already some people are going to give up on that idea and throw yet another player out of position. If Miranda's footwork isn't good enough for 3B, I absolutely don't want him at 1B being involved in 1/2 the plays in a game. If AK is your guy at 1B in the future, you keep him there and leave it alone. Enough with the rolling every Tom, Dick, and Harry through 1B just for kicks. 

Miranda very well ends up as a bench bat. Lewis, CC, Lee, Martin, Julien, just to name the upper levels are going to be your IF for years. If he can't force his way back on this team, then that's on him and him alone. Based on what he was in 2021 and the second half of last year, the issue to me isn't coaching, it sits squarely between his ears. No amount of coaching or instruction is going to fix that.

Agreed - he’s got some issues with what’s going on between his ears - big time!

Kiriloff can’t play 162 games so it makes sense for Miranda to take Solano’s platoon starts v. LH pitching at 1B ……..if he doesn’t move into that roll, along with pinch hitter & back-up 3B (bench bat)……..he’s off the team. No reason to keep an even worse defensive 1B in Solano at 36 years old…..no point to that & he’s a butcher defensively. I’d like to see Kiriloff start 100 of the 125 remaining games. If he can hit LH pitching & stay healthy maybe more starts.

Lee & Lewis seem to be essentially a lock along with CC. Martin, Julien, & Miranda are all maybes with nowhere to play…….Miranda doesn’t seem to have a position & if Julien can only play a mediocre 2B, he’s in trouble as well. They don’t play him anywhere else. Martin has at least a shot in the OF.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, h2oface said:

We just have to absorb the $ men. Correa, Gallo, and Vazquez. Funny how playing time can relate to the $ sometimes, more than the needs.

They’re getting paid more because the expectation of performance is highest. Expected to work it out & succeed. Therefore they get repeated opportunities. We going to release Gallo on May 10th?

3 weeks ago Gallo had 5 homers & was hitting .365 - Vazquez was hitting .335. They’ll be back to historical averages but that may be 2-3 months away.

Problem with Gallo is his history sucks so getting to .200 with a bunch of walks/strikeouts along with 20HR is where we can hope he is by late July. Not a big fan but I understand the long game of us hoping his power helps us win 4-6 games this summer……..people get behind his defense as a rationalization. It’s not that difficult to play an acceptable LF so I’m not in the Defensive WAR camp for Gallo. He needs to produce but he can’t if he doesn’t play & btw he’s an exceptional defender.

[Dave The Dastardly]

I don't get it. What is it about our AAA coaching that can fix batting and/or fielding problems; problems that apparently can't be fixed by our coaches at the major league level? Shouldn't the MLB coaches be our best coaches? Or do the Twins automatically put their best coaches at the AAA level, assuming they'll fix whatever problems MLB players are having after they're demoted? Why not just put those superior AAA coaches at the MLB level, get rid of the MLB level coaches who apparently aren't any good at "fixing" players and eliminate the back and forth? And what's the criteria then for determining who coaches at the ML level? Good at spreadsheets but horse puckey at actually "coaching"? Better at game strategy (though I don't think anyone can make a case for that)?

Oh wait... can struggling players get a "rest" at the minor league level; a rest that suddenly makes them better fielders and hitters? But we've got Rocco at the MLB level don't we?

Help me out, I'm not finding any logic here.

 

 

 

 

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, HokieRif said:

Counter-point - he was the guy given the most opportunities to hit and wasn't delivering.  Sending down the guy that had the most hits would be a way more shocking jolt to the team.

It would be shocking. I would add extremely unjustifiable... Or quite insane actually.  

[Riverbrian]

2 hours ago, h2oface said:

We just have to absorb the $ men. Correa, Gallo, and Vazquez. Funny how playing time can relate to the $ sometimes, more than the needs.

A bad contract that wastes the limited amount of money that you have to work with is one mistake and there isn't much that you can do about it after you have made it. I won't blame an organization if they make this mistake. These things don't work out sometimes. All organizations have made these mistakes.  

Playing that player with the bad contract every single day and allowing that player to ruin your season is a double down on the original mistake and there is something that you can do about that. I will blame an organization if they make this mistake. 

You can make one mistake or two. You have now spent a lot of money to have a player come in and ruin your season. Just spend the money.... you don't need to do the 2nd part. 

Correa... I'm glad they signed him but let's be honest here. If Garlick produced what Correa produced in April... he would be gone... he wouldn't see May. If Larnach produced what Correa did in April (he actually produced better) his May would be sent in St. Paul. 

Obviously Correa is going to remain in the lineup... I expect... I hope.... he won't Javier Baez the season away but until he starts hitting like he should... a day off wouldn't hurt the team... might even help the team. 

Vazquez... I'm also glad he's here... I remember last year with Sanchez but right now in Vazquez is playing two out of three games while Jeffers get one out of three. Vazquez is getting twice the AB's while Jeffers is hitting twice as good. If your team needs an offensive push... Switch it around. Jeffers twice and Vazquez once every three games. Get off the script. 

Gallo... It's going to be a roller coaster. I think his job is to go 1 for 6 with a 3 Run Homer every once in a while. 

 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

I don't get it. What is it about our AAA coaching that can fix batting and/or fielding problems; problems that apparently can't be fixed by our coaches at the major league level? Shouldn't the MLB coaches be our best coaches? Or do the Twins automatically put their best coaches at the AAA level, assuming they'll fix whatever problems MLB players are having after they're demoted? Why not just put those superior AAA coaches at the MLB level, get rid of the MLB level coaches who apparently aren't any good at "fixing" players and eliminate the back and forth? And what's the criteria then for determining who coaches at the ML level? Good at spreadsheets but horse puckey at actually "coaching"? Better at game strategy (though I don't think anyone can make a case for that)?

Oh wait... can struggling players get a "rest" at the minor league level; a rest that suddenly makes them better fielders and hitters? But we've got Rocco at the MLB level don't we?

Help me out, I'm not finding any logic here.

 

 

 

 

Maybe the pitching is better at the MLB level, and it isn't any more complex than that. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

22 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Miranda's struggles are just so odd. He's got the second lowest strikeout percentage on the team. You'd think him putting the ball in play is a good sign. Though I guess if the shoulder is off, maybe he's doing it too meekly.

I guess Nick Gordon has the lowest strikeout percentage, so maybe there's an unexpected correlation. Like the fact that those two also see the fewest pitches per plate appearance.

As we've seen with Kepler over the years, garbage contact is worse than a strikeout. Sure, you might eek out a hit 10-15% of the time but you also GIDP often and make a pitcher's job easy by getting him out of the PA in a couple of pitches.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

As we've seen with Kepler over the years, garbage contact is worse than a strikeout. Sure, you might eek out a hit 10-15% of the time but you also GIDP often and make a pitcher's job easy by getting him out of the PA in a couple of pitches.

This is a point so many miss. A SO is much better than a weak ground ball.