Should The Twins Make A Swap At Third Base?

[Blyleven2011]

1 minute ago, Parfigliano said:

I'd be ecstatic if the current Twins MLB level hitting coaches stay far away from the young Twins hitters.  Then again I've been calling for the Twins hitting coaches to be replaced for months.

Ryan ,mahle and maybe someone else went to driveline over the winter ...

It seems to have helped Ryan some , sometimes you need a different voice ...

I hope all the current twins make reservations at driveline  this winter ...

[gman]

This Twins team isn't on the way to the World Series. Maybe in first place but haven't won more than they've lost and now it's looking like the starters are suffering the strain of having to pitch shutouts to get close to winning. I easily think of 6-7 players I'd prefer to dump or trade if I could find someone to trade for them. We keep on pushing off until next year the incorporation of young guys in the lineup and keep on finding ourselves in the same position.

I expect there to be a lot of changes shortly after the allstar break.

[wornsmooth]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Everyone looks good when you send them to AAA for a while. Larnach has a 1200 OPS in AAA versus a 700 OPS in the big leagues. If you aren't above a 1000 OPS in AAA you probably aren't ready for a promotion.

Is Larnach still leading the team in RBI's?(or at least one of the leaders)

Larnach, Solana, and Lewis seem to get hits with runners on base. That counts for a lot.

[nicksaviking]

If Lewis can learn from the AAA coaches but not the MLB coaches, I think we're asking the wrong questions.

[Shobae]

This is gonna be a hard no from me, obviously lewis has a massive hole here that needs to get fixed (plate discipline, I mean 3% walk rate and 33% K rate just isn't major league caliber). It seems plausible this might be something to work on at AAA but it seems like an approach thing as well, which you can change in the majors. Miranda is the many reason that I am saying no however, a .827 ops in 20 days (idk how many games) at AAA doesn't mean anything in the majors. His overall numbers at AAA are piss poor and until he starts posting an ops .900 over a consistent sample I am not convinced he won't be a dead weight in the lineup, which has enough of those. Also as some pointed out lewis is better with the glove and on the bases, though he certainly needs more reps at third.

[Reptevia]

Since this team is leading the league in K’s, I can only assume that Lewis and others are doing EXACTLY what they’re being told as far as approach. Unless they would get different advice in AAA (they wouldn’t), I don’t see the point in sending him down. 

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

No. But I'd work really hard to convince him to move to the OF and put Miranda back at third. This isn't a very good team, let's find out if it can be next year or not. Personally, I'd promote Lee and Severino to AAA, put them at third and second, and see if they should be in Minnesota sooner rather than later. 

Julien? He's a legit hitter.... But where to play him?

I'm in the camp of ILing Buxton for two weeks, then rehab for a week. Put Julien at DH and Farmer or Lewis or Lee or Severino at second. 

LF - Lewis/Gallo/Larnach

CF - MAT/Buxton

RF - AK/Wallner/Larnach

3B - Miranda/Farmer/Lewis/Solano

2B - Farmer/Julien/Solano

1B - Julien/AK/Gallo/Solano

SS - Correa

Still leaves you Gallo, Solano, Wallner (kepler would be gone)Larnach and Castro. When Polanco comes back you move one of Miranda, Wallner or Larnach back to AAA.

This plenty of at bats for this roster if Buxton is playing mostly in Center, you have position flexibly with everybody but Correa and Buxton being able to play multiple positions. But sticking Buxton solely at DH, makes the team worse unless of course he was actually hitting like he as in the past.

 

[Jham]

I like Lewis, but he isn't that great of an MLB player. Probably won't be. Never an elite hitter. Can't play center or SS any more. His chances of being a bust are greater than him being a star, imo. Miranda has at least been the best hitter (sort of out of nowhere) in our farm system before. And even he snuck up on people. 

Trading guys who can play for questionable return, then keeping guys with higher trade value who can't play is a recipe for getting worse.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Wrong. Correa is a great defensive shortstop. 🙂

But that's not really my point.

Polanco wasn't great at short, but I was fine with him there. Given enough time and a long enough leash, I am betting Lewis would have demonstrated that he was not as good as Correa, but was better than Polanco. Instead, we are discussing whether Lewis is even good enough to hold down third base.

There was an article on MSN sport about the worst Short Stops ever, Polanco was among them; not hard to beat.

[Larry Janisewski]

4 hours ago, srlarson said:

move Lewis to 2nd, put Miranda at 3rd......get them both in the lineup.....lots of other dead weight on the team that can be sent out...

Plus Buxton to the outfield and DH Julien

[KirbyDome89]

3 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

And the articles of over-reaction continue....

 

What's the overreaction here? Lewis got a "breather," yesterday after not starting Sunday either, he went 3-16 with 8 Ks last week, and he's a few IF singles away from posting a pretty ugly slash line. Is he not chasing pitches and failing to draw walks? Is he not being overpowered by FBs? Does this team not desperately need consistent offensive production? 

You can disagree about swapping out 3B without trashing the article. There's plenty of click bait garbage flooding this site, most of which can be dismissed out of hand. A well written, measured piece that makes solid points to back up the premise shouldn't be lumped in with that. 

[Greglw3]

4 hours ago, Karbo said:

I would also move Julian to 1st. Let Lewis play full time and have him stealing some bases. Try to unload Kepler and Gallo and make room for Larmach. This team seems to be going nowhere so might as well let the young guys get some valuable playing time and experience.

Don't forget Chris Williams at AAA and Andrew Stevenson, Matt Wallner plus DaShawn Kiersey.

I’m old enough to remember a struggling Orioles team that called up two speedy rookies and gave them full reign. And Al Bumbry and Rich Coggins both hit in the .330s and everything changed.

[Doctor Gast]

Lewis is our best 3B right now although eventually he'll need to yield to Brooks Lee to get his switch-hitting bat in the line-up. Miranda is definitely not our 3B, no matter how hot his bat gets. Julien shouldn't be at 2B. Lewis isn't lucky, he makes his own luck. Anything that needs adjusting he has proven that he'll adjust,

[Minny505]

He and Julien are concerning. Julien has had even more batted ball luck though so I let him ride while sending Lewis to AAA to get 3B & 2B reps while fixing his approach.

He has only 350ish PAs sprinkled over the last 3.5 seasons. It's no surprise he may need more seasoning before he's truly ready for the show.

[KirbyDome89]

6 hours ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

The idea of sending 24, 25 and 26 year old men to the minor leagues to fix things is a concept I just don't understand. Sure it might work for a player here or there to get their head in the right place, but it seems to be the Twins solution to everything, Bring up a guy at 24 give them a little bit of a chance, if the struggle send them down, they get hot in AAA bring them up, rinse and repeat. Maybe other teams do this as well but it seems like a losing strategy. Because you get into a situation like the current one, a bunch of mid 20 guys that haven't taken a job but are taking of 40 man roster spots. (Lewis, AK, Larnach, Wallner, Miranda, Julien, Gordon)

 

Sometimes it's just as much about getting somebody in the everyday lineup/rotation that isn't actively hurting the team as it is about "resetting," the struggling player. Continuing to run out somebody who is overmatched is also a losing strategy.

Of the 6 names you mentioned (I'm not counting Gordon in with this group) only Larnach is pushing into that awkward zone of becoming a roster issue. The others are either tracking normally (Wallner & Julien) young and still have some MLB experience (Lewis and Miranda) or are playing well at the major league level (AK). 

 

[KirbyDome89]

7 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Sometime later this year I expect the same article about Kirilloff. Young players are going to struggle and go through some rough stretches. I would let both Lewis and Miranda work it out here. There is space for both with Kirilloff in RF. They don’t need to play everyday to develop. 

(Note: veteran’s go through rough stretches also but there are other discussions to address those concerns).

There's a difference between going through a rough stretch, or a slump, and being overmatched. That's the point that the article is making, and that nuance seems to be lost in these comments. 

Also, hard pass on having Lewis or any of these young guys up but not playing consistently. 

[ashbury]

It's cherry picking, but after his monumental home run against Cleveland, his OPS has been .577.

No extra-base hits, only 2 walks.

However.... he's hitting .273 in that span.  It's the classic "empty" batting average, one that's powered by a BABIP north of .400.  Still, he's putting bat on ball, and not being overwhelmed. 

If he was the worst problem on the roster, maybe send him down to AAA, but given his age and pedigree, I'd say to let him keep at it.  Another week's worth of data might change my mind, if the BABIP goes down without an uptick in power or batting eye, and also to wait and see if Miranda's mild resurgence at AAA stands up a bit longer.

[rv78]

Yes they need to go out and get a veteran for at least $11 or $12M who better fits their profile of a .190/homerun/strikeout hitter that plays superior defense. 

[farmerguychris]

7 hours ago, danielp19653 said:

Put Buck on the IL until he can play the field, pull up Miranda, then DH either Miranda or Julien and Lewis takes the other spot. We aren't competitive enough this year to not try and let the youth movement take over.

I've been reluctant to push to have Buxton play in the field if he's not physically ready - BUT, with said I think you have a great point.  Either let Buck rest until he can play CF, or admit that he is simply now a DH.  Too many other talented (possibly) hitters on this roster are being blocked by having him in that DH role, and while our CF play  has been adequate, it is time to bring up both Lewis and Miranda and then can send down someone like Castro, or DFA Kepler or even Pagan.  Season is 40% over - time to make some internal moves to know if we should be buyers or sellers very soon.

[nicksaviking]

4 hours ago, rv78 said:

Yes they need to go out and get a veteran for at least $11 or $12M who better fits their profile of a .190/homerun/strikeout hitter that plays superior defense. 

Please, no more 11-12M veterans. They are almost always a terrible investment. As long as you have enough young guys in the stable, keep trying them until one clicks or you’re sure none will.

[Beast]

Off topic a bit, but I can’t get over how awful that Marlins style hat is.

Not only is this FO incapable of doing anything baseball related, but they turned our uniforms into an abomination as well.

I do like the Navy and Cream uniforms with the TC logo.  I’ll give them that one.  Nothing else on or off the field is acceptable.

[DocBauer]

So as talented and gifted as he is, as much as he's torn through AAA and looked ML ready, we might still be surprised he slumps at some point? Especially with the time he's missed?

I'm a HUGE believer in Lewis. At the now "old" age of 24yo, (SERIOUS sarcasm), I think he's just a NATURAL, with a long and strong career ahead of him. But I've never thought he might not struggle a bit once he reaches the ML level.  He has slumped the past couple of weeks. Even then, he's still out performered more than a couple of other bats. 

He's a rookie coming of so missed time playing 3B, mostly, for the first time in years. He's been solid to good there, even made a handful of great plays. I'm not the least worried about his defense at 3B as he gets more time there, even though I'm not sure it's his permanent position. Everyone struggles with the bat here and there. And I have high hopes that Miranda will find himself again and be an important bat at 3B/1B/DH. But any "hot streak" to get right has been brief. 

No way I'd give Lewis any sort of re-set at this point. It's way too early to he's going through anything but a slump. And way too early to say Miranda has figured it out to be promoted. I even type this as Lewis has 2 hits tonight against Boston. The OP is at least a couple weeks too early IMO.

Lewis stays to work things out for now. 

[jkcarew]

12 hours ago, Cody Pirkl said:

If they were out of the race I'd agree

What race? The absolute worse thing that can happen to a club…is to pretend mediocrity is something other than mediocrity. The division is a bad joke. The Twins are…what…coming up on 10 games UNDER 500 against the league ex/Royals. Tough argument that’s even mediocrity. The FO can only make the situation worse (and longer) by telling themselves the lie that the club is competitive or in a race of any meaningful kind. They’re not. And they’re not.

Youth, and sell at the deadline, are the right things to do. And the division is bad enough that you might still win it, for the little that’s worth in 2023.

Not that I’ll hold my breath that this FO would do the right thing.

[Blyleven2011]

34 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

What race? The absolute worse thing that can happen to a club…is to pretend mediocrity is something other than mediocrity. The division is a bad joke. The Twins are…what…coming up on 10 games UNDER 500 against the league ex/Royals. Tough argument that’s even mediocrity. The FO can only make the situation worse (and longer) by telling themselves the lie that the club is competitive or in a race of any meaningful kind. They’re not. And they’re not.

Youth, and sell at the deadline, are the right things to do. And the division is bad enough that you might still win it, for the little that’s worth in 2023.

Not that I’ll hold my breath that this FO would do the right thing.

Cincinnati traded away the veterans  and now have some prospects  playing  and Cincinnati is in first place in their division  , 

You want to watch some of the prospects from twins and mariners. Watch Cincinnati  and listen to it on WKRP in Cincinnati 

[dxpavelka]

Unless they view Miranda as the future at 3B, NO.  And pretty sure they don't. 

[dxpavelka]

8 hours ago, ashbury said:

It's cherry picking, but after his monumental home run against Cleveland, his OPS has been .577.

No extra-base hits, only 2 walks.

However.... he's hitting .273 in that span.  It's the classic "empty" batting average, one that's powered by a BABIP north of .400.  Still, he's putting bat on ball, and not being overwhelmed. 

If he was the worst problem on the roster, maybe send him down to AAA, but given his age and pedigree, I'd say to let him keep at it.  Another week's worth of data might change my mind, if the BABIP goes down without an uptick in power or batting eye, and also to wait and see if Miranda's mild resurgence at AAA stands up a bit longer.

You mean like the "empty" batting title Arraez won last year?

 

[ashbury]

7 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

You mean like the "empty" batting title Arraez won last year?

 

No.  Emptier.

[Cody Pirkl]

20 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

If Lewis can learn from the AAA coaches but not the MLB coaches, I think we're asking the wrong questions.

It's not a matter of learning from the coaches, it's a matter of facing pitching that affords more opportunities to adjust. It's harder to work on mechanical and plate approach changes in the MLB when you're fighting for your life against the best pitchers on the planet. We see hitters fall into bad habits as a result because they don't have time to adjust when they're just trying to keep their head above water. That's what it looks like Royce is doing when he's swinging at absolutely everything.

[Cody Pirkl]

12 hours ago, DocBauer said:

So as talented and gifted as he is, as much as he's torn through AAA and looked ML ready, we might still be surprised he slumps at some point? Especially with the time he's missed?

I'm a HUGE believer in Lewis. At the now "old" age of 24yo, (SERIOUS sarcasm), I think he's just a NATURAL, with a long and strong career ahead of him. But I've never thought he might not struggle a bit once he reaches the ML level.  He has slumped the past couple of weeks. Even then, he's still out performered more than a couple of other bats. 

He's a rookie coming of so missed time playing 3B, mostly, for the first time in years. He's been solid to good there, even made a handful of great plays. I'm not the least worried about his defense at 3B as he gets more time there, even though I'm not sure it's his permanent position. Everyone struggles with the bat here and there. And I have high hopes that Miranda will find himself again and be an important bat at 3B/1B/DH. But any "hot streak" to get right has been brief. 

No way I'd give Lewis any sort of re-set at this point. It's way too early to he's going through anything but a slump. And way too early to say Miranda has figured it out to be promoted. I even type this as Lewis has 2 hits tonight against Boston. The OP is at least a couple weeks too early IMO.

Lewis stays to work things out for now. 

He was swinging at everything in Triple-A too, he just faced worse pitching. It was a precursor for what we've seen in the MLB, it's just that in the MLB teams will be all over it and he'll stop seeing pitches to hit (aside from the occasional at bat against Corey Kluber).

[Fatbat]

There is plenty of room for Wallner, Larnach and Miranda… just get rid of the aging vets that have sucked the life out of this team since 2021….