Improving This Lineup Is Not as Straightforward as You Think

[Greggory Masterson]

As we approach the 2023 trade deadline, the Twins’ offense has left much to be desired. The deadline presents an opportunity to add thump to the lineup, but the path to acquiring those boosts is unclear.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Entering play on Saturday, the Twins had the 20th-best OPS in MLB, but they’ve managed to stay around a .500 record because of their excellent pitching. It’s easy to see how pumping the offense up to even a bit better than average could lead to a good team down the stretch. However, getting those additional bats is difficult, given the players currently on the roster.

Now, I am not saying that the current players deserve to remain on the roster; the only two Twins positions that rank as a top-10 OPS by position are second base (9th) and designated hitter (3rd) in the league. The issue is that bringing in an additional bat generally necessitates either the displacement of a veteran or the further blocking of a prospect—or both. I wrote last month about how the team has yet to make an active, no-takebacks roster move. Furthermore, the only bat the team has bought at the deadline was backup catcher Sandy Leon, so we don’t have much precedent to go off of. 

Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the difficulty in bringing in a new hitter, starting with the worst-performing offensive position and working down.

Centerfield—28th (and DH—3rd)
Michael A. Taylor has done an admirable job holding down centerfield defensively, but if the team wants to bolster the offense, center is the most glaring weakness. Obviously, the answer could be as simple as moving Byron Buxton from DH to center, but we have yet to get any indication that the Twins are willing to do so, given Buxton’s health.

Specifically, the team could sacrifice defense for offense if they wanted to and shift Taylor to a reserve role. A move for a right-handed centerfielder like Adam Duvall, who has hit lefties well, could be a natural fit. Duvall is neither a star nor a good defensive outfielder, but he will at least stand in center, as opposed to Max Kepler. We'll discuss Kepler and his cronies later on, but it's worth mentioning now that the Twins have a significant backlog in the outfield, and bringing in a new centerfielder will add to that.

If, somehow, Buxton returns to the outfield, the question would be about filling a DH spot, but I’m not getting my hopes up. As it stands, a Duvall-like move seems to be the most promising, though not exciting.

Third Base—24th
Jose Miranda entered the year as the top third baseman in the organization, but he currently has more plate appearances in AAA St. Paul than in Minnesota. Since his recent call-up to replace Royce Lewis, who will miss more than a month with an oblique injury, he has not impressed, nor has he been an everyday player. A motley crew of Kyle Farmer, Willi Castro, and Donovan Solano will play the days he doesn’t start. There would be an opportunity at third base to add a bat.

That is, there would be an opportunity to add a bat if Royce Lewis wasn’t expected back this year. It’s a complex argument to add at the spot where your recently-graduated #1 prospect is supposed to reside, especially because the outfield seems off-limits to him this year.

Corner Outfield—26th (LF) & 19th (RF)
The corners have been the subject of much consternation, hemming, and hawing this year. Joey Gallo and Max Kepler have held their spots in left and right, respectively, and given their veteran status, they have been treated like stalwarts. The situation could be aided by someone like Duvall as a right-handed bat to take the load off against lefties (I promise—last time that I’ll mention Duvall), but that doesn’t completely solve the problem.

Further complicating matters are young corner outfield bats Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, and Matt Wallner. Even if one of Kepler or Gallo were jettisoned to make room for the new bat, the prospects in their mid-20s would continue to be blocked, much to many fans’ dismay.

The team could always just let go of one or both of the veterans, but there’s no great assurance that the young bats will be any better, compared to the prospect of bringing in an established veteran. It’s a difficult situation to navigate, but that’s why Derek Falvey gets paid the big bucks.

Catcher—20th
There are few ways to improve the offense with a bigger bat catcher. First, ignoring the incumbents, bringing in a catcher with a big bat isn’t a reliable strategy. Catchers, for the most part, don’t hit, and bringing in someone who can hit well and play catcher is going to cost an arm and a leg.

Personnel-wise, it’s also tricky. The current duo—Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers—have handled the pitching staff well. Vazquez just signed a three-year, $30M contract, and it’d be difficult to move on from him so early, even with his struggles at the plate. Jeffers looks like the future catcher, with an improved arm, solid framing, and a respectable .792 OPS for a catcher. It’d be surprising to see another catcher brought in.

Shortstop—15th
The only reason to include shortstop on this list is for consistency. Carlos Correa isn’t getting replaced. The only feasible way that a shortstop is brought in is as a Kyle Farmer replacement—hits lefties (hopefully better than Farmer) and is a legit shortstop. Farmer may get lost in roster churn around this time, but Lewis can also backup short, so it’s really not worth considering anyone unless a deal hits them in the face.

First Base—12th
First base has been primarily handled by Kirilloff, Solano, and Gallo this season, and it’s been alright. As much as fans would love a Paul Goldschmidt trade—or any other big bat, first-base-only player—it would lead to a conundrum like the moves in the corner outfield. Kirilloff was the organization’s top prospect a couple of years ago, so they would hypothetically want to keep him in the lineup, likely in the outfield if a new plod was traded for. That would further jam the corners and require additional moves and prospect blocking.

One wrinkle here is the health of Kirilloff’s wrist. In recent weeks, he has shown less ability to drive the ball, despite his continued excellence in putting the bat to the ball. If his wrist isn’t healthy again, playing time at first base would open up, and the team would want to bring in someone who can produce in the power position.

Second Base—9th
The Twins already have too many second basemen. If and when Jorge Polanco returns from injury, they’ll be in a position where two of their top hitters—the other being Edouard Julien —will have only played second base this year. They need to sort that out before they add someone else to the mix.

The Twins would be well-suited to bring in a bat or two somewhere. The issue is that there’s no simple way to do so. “Established” veterans will be removed or moved to reduced roles, and there are young players who deserve full-time work. It's going to be the type of difficult decision that we have yet to see this season. As of yet, there’s no indication of how new hitters would fit, but hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

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[Mike Sixel]

While there is no assurance the youth will be better, it is hard to get worse than 26th. Just take the chance. 

The one I agree on is 2B. Everyone clambering for Polanco to fix the team seems to be forgetting Julien hits about as well as him, so the O isn't getting fixed buy sending him down. 

3B? Promote Severino and see what happens for a month until Lewis is back, or, and this is what I'd 100% do if I was the FO given their reticence at promoting anyone this year w/o an injury reason, put Polanco at third. 

C? Give Jeffers 2/3 of the starts. That would help.

The is no massive backlog of CF, so I have no idea what your point is there....Maybe Martin's arm is healed, he excels for a month in AAA, and he comes up, but the odds of that are about the same as the Twins winning the WS this year....and Celestino isn't ready (if ever). Stevenson isn't likely to be even close to Taylor....

[USAFChief]

Actually, it's really very straightforward. 

There is nothing complicated, for example, by putting a Paul Goldschmidt at 1b. Nothing. It's a no brainer. You move Kirilloff somewhere in the OF. Done. You don't even need to give that 1 second of thought. What are we worried about...Gallo? Kepler? 

The Twins are giving regular playing time to Donovan Solano, MAT, Joey Gallo, Max Kepler. Willi Castro. Kyle Farmer. Hell, we've recently seen Solano hitting 4th. 

There's AMPLE opportunity to improve the lineup. Easy, low hanging fruit. 

It's pretty straightforward. Nobody is getting pushed out of anything deserved or showing huge promise. I suppose there'd be some fans clamoring for Trevor Larnach, but he's proven nothing. Earned nothing. He's currently got a lower MLB OPS than Kepler, ferpetesakes.

[chpettit19]

I think the word "improving" is pretty key here. Changing the lineup is really straightforward. The only straightforward option for trying to improve it is to lean on the young guys and hope they're better. I'm not sold that they are, but hoping that the current guys magically become better is a really straightforward way to not improve. 

I don't agree with the idea that the young guys can't be worse that gets mentioned here pretty often. They absolutely could be. But they could also be better. I think it's time to find out, but a large chunk of that is my fear that they go into next year with the same questions on the younger guys. If I'm being totally honest with myself, I'm not sold on any of these young bats being real answers.

I don't think Wallner hits enough to make up for his bad defense (Gallo with negative defensive value is his most likely outcome to me). I don't think Larnach is significantly better than Kepler with the bat (he simply can't hit off speed stuff), and he's not as good defensively. Celestino is no offensive answer. Martin just started playing again. Basically all the big bats in St Paul strike out a ton there, and I don't know why we'd think they'd be better at that in the bigs. I just don't see a real straightforward answer in the minors. I'd still make moves and give them chances, though. I would've done it a month ago, actually, because it'd have answered the question of which spots really need outside help. But instead we're where the OP describes and have no idea if the young guys are actually answers, and bringing in outside options just means we won't know for next year either.

[Whitey333]

The one thing I would hope younger players bring to the table is some enthusiasm, fire, spark, and grit that our veterans totally lack.  Our veteran hitters have let us down all year.  They not only don't produce much but outs and s poor attitude they portray a don't care attitude.  I'm worried they are not a good example fir our young players.  Let the young guys play.

[Brandon]

Trade prospects for Goldschmidt move Killeroff to LF then trade Gallo for a prospect or whatever you can.  The hard part of this is the money.  The budget is probably tapped out already which makes trading for Goldschmidt difficult.  What else can we include in the trade to help offset some dolars?  Maybe Include RP Lopez and trade Kepler for a prospect and let Larnarch and Wallner compete for RF.  Not sure how much we improve here and lots of moving parts.  
 

But I’m sure there are other more cash neutral deals out there.  Trading Gallo or Kepler for a prospect and bringing up Wallner.  Then trading for Pham or Duvall.     And still give Wallner his shot.  
 

Can Julien play 3rd?  That would solve the blockage at 2B for now.  
 

and of course the minor adjustment is giving Jeffers 60-65% of the playing time at C.  

CF we need to just give time there to Kepler whether he wants it or not.  His .720 OPS plays ok there or Duvall or Pham could get some time there if no one else wants to play CF.  Especially since we would be able to give Wallner his shot if the OF we traded for us standing in CF some nights.

but the biggest improvement should come from Buxton and Correa getting on track and hitting at the .850+ OPS level again.  
 

Our bench is pretty solid for a bench.  This regime like the last one is pretty good at building a strong bench.

[RpR]

6 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

The one thing I would hope younger players bring to the table is some enthusiasm, fire, spark, and grit that our veterans totally lack.  Our veteran hitters have let us down all year.  They not only don't produce much but outs and s poor attitude they portray a don't care attitude.  I'm worried they are not a good example fir our young players.  Let the young guys play.

I agree with you to a point there. There is no sparkplug vet. to get them going through low points.

At that, if Correa tries to help one, I can see them saying, I already have a better BA than you do.

[NotAboutWinning]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

I agree with you to a point there. There is no sparkplug vet. to get them going through low points.

At that, if Correa tries to help one, I can see them saying, I already have a better BA than you do.

Ouch! True, but ouch!

[ashbury]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

At that, if Correa tries to help one, I can see them saying, I already have a better BA than you do.

"Then watch what I do and do the opposite.  Same as with our front office basically.  You're welcome."

[TwinsDr2021]

11 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

The one thing I would hope younger players bring to the table is some enthusiasm, fire, spark, and grit that our veterans totally lack.  Our veteran hitters have let us down all year.  They not only don't produce much but outs and s poor attitude they portray a don't care attitude.  I'm worried they are not a good example fir our young players.  Let the young guys play.

Have to ask what you mean by younger players? the 20,21,22 year old players in High A, the 22,23 year old players in AA or the 25 or older players in AAA?

 

[rv78]

No need to go out and get more veterans and it really isn't that complicated at all. You just need a Manager and FO willing to throw the deadwood into the fire. Solano-1B, Julien-2B, Farmer-SS, Castro-3B, Lewis-3B if/when he returns would handle the infield on a daily basis. Move Kirilloff and bring up Wallner to play the 2 corner spots. If Buxton can't play defense he goes to the IL and you stick with Taylor in CF. Jeffers back to full-time catcher with a day off only when a day game follows a night game. Gallo and Kepler get bench time unless they are needed for defensive purposes late in a game that you are leading. If they don't like that scenario, they get DFA'd. C4 to the bench for pinch hitting and late game defense as well. When he starts hitting, if ever again, then he gets slotted back into the lineup in the 8 or 9 hole where hopefully his penchant for hitting into a DP does the least amount of damage. Give Polanco the DH spot. He can't hit any worse than Buck and if you are going to try to protect someone from injury it should be someone who at least can hit. Isn't that what the DH guy is suppose to do? Buck has been a total failure there. Miranda, Vazquez and Larnach are the next set of bench players that must prove they can hit before being in the lineup. Fire Rocco and get a Manager that will set the same lineup more than 1 day in a row and give these guys consistant at bats on a daily basis and see if that doesn't help them. It sure as hell can't hurt. If at the end of the year the club isn't any better than it is now, fire the FO and everyone else in charge and start over. Currently, this FO should be totally embarrassed by what they have put together and it just not fun for anyone to watch. 

[wsnydes]

Trading for Goldschmidt is a pipe dream.  He'll command a haul of prospects and is only signed through next year.  This team is further away than a Goldschmidt.  If this team was just a Goldschmidt away, I'd have a much different view on this.  He also has a full no-trade clause, if I recall correctly.  I have no idea why he'd waive it to come here.  I'd have no issue moving Kirilloff if they did bring him here, but I have to imagine that he'd be included in the haul the Cardinals would get in return.  So, that's a moot point in my view.

As @chpettit19, I do think a lineup full of young guys could be worse.  That said, I'm at the point where I'd rather see that then the likes of Kepler and Gallo flailing away.  I don't think they have enough even borderline ready guys in places of need to fill the holes this lineup has though.  

 

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Have to ask what you mean by younger players? the 20,21,22 year old players in High A, the 22,23 year old players in AA or the 25 or older players in AAA?

 

I'm told by a certain owner of this site that they aren't slow to promote....and yet, here we are, with no youth in AAA at all....and college guys all over AA and A+

[Florida Flash]

Pretty few options IMO. How about trying to find a big bat, and I dont mean yet another guy that swings for the fences every time and strikes out half the time, (we have plenty of those kind of guys) and put him at DH. Send Bux to StP on some injury rehab or whatever and see if he can get himself going, or simply shut him down for the year if there is something wrong health wise. He sure as heck isn't doing much as a DH, especially hitting 4th, but even with his lousy offensive performance, there is no one on the team with better numbers to hit 4th or 5th. I like Julian 1 or 2 and Krilloff 3 or 4 or 5. Other than that, there aint much to choose from for the meat of the order.

Gotta keep Carlos at SS but I dont think he should be hitting in the top of the order. Is he mentally down because he didnt get the $350 million the Giants were offering or even the $315 million the Mets were offering?

Getting rid of Gallo is no loss, except more money down the drain. Hindsight shows it was a dumb signing. I thought  so back when but then at the season start I was hoping I was wrong. Unfortunately it looks like I wasnt.

I am looking at 3rd place in the pretty bad AL Central.

[TwinsDr2021]

6 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'm told by a certain owner of this site that they aren't slow to promote....and yet, here we are, with no youth in AAA at all....and college guys all over AA and A+

I would assume most teams that have hit as poorly as the Twins would have already given Severino a shot or at minimum moved him to AAA. and maybe even Fajardo (24 in AA, looks like he has a good eye and speed) or maybe even Soularie (also 24 in AA, K's are high but also walks) or even Keirsey (26 in AA). Why are these guys wasting away in AA while AAA is loaded with really old non-prospects?

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

I would assume most teams that have hit as poorly as the Twins would have already given Severino a shot or at minimum moved him to AAA. and maybe even Fajardo (24 in AA, looks like he has a good eye and speed) or maybe even Soularie (also 24 in AA, K's are high but also walks) or even Keirsey (26 in AA). Why are these guys wasting away in AA while AAA is loaded with really old non-prospects?

It's mind boggling Severino isn't in AAA or MN at this point. How he wasn't promoted when Miranda was is truly not ideal, IMO.

[Hubie29]

In my eyes heres what we have on todays rostor:

1B ?

2B Julien / Have to see if he is an MLB player

3B Lewis/ Most proven to date which says alot

SS Correa/ Because we have to

LF ?

CF ?

RF ?

C Jeffers 80% Vazquez 20% by default

Now fill in the rest with youngsters from the minors.  Have to cut the dead wood (Kepler, Gallo, Miranda, Castro, Taylor)

Polanco, Farmer, Kiriloff and Solano as insurance and bit players

My gawd what a pathetic roster.

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

In my eyes heres what we have on todays rostor:

1B ?

2B Julien / Have to see if he is an MLB player

3B Lewis/ Most proven to date which says alot

SS Correa/ Because we have to

LF ?

CF ?

RF ?

C Jeffers 80% Vazquez 20% by default

Now fill in the rest with youngsters from the minors.  Have to cut the dead wood (Kepler, Gallo, Miranda, Castro, Taylor)

Polanco, Farmer, Kiriloff and Solano as insurance and bit players

My gawd what a pathetic roster.

They literally have zero OFers on the roster this year that are signed for next year (unless one thinks Buxton will play there next year). And yet, they refuse to move on from proven bad players and at least see if the youth is better or not. No idea how they'll know what to do next year, given that lack of information (or, they've already decided Larnach and Wallner aren't the answer, in which case they should be dealt).

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

Actually, it's really very straightforward. 

There is nothing complicated, for example, by putting a Paul Goldschmidt at 1b. Nothing. It's a no brainer. You move Kirilloff somewhere in the OF. Done. You don't even need to give that 1 second of thought. What are we worried about...Gallo? Kepler? 

The Twins are giving regular playing time to Donovan Solano, MAT, Joey Gallo, Max Kepler. Willi Castro. Kyle Farmer. Hell, we've recently seen Solano hitting 4th. 

There's AMPLE opportunity to improve the lineup. Easy, low hanging fruit. 

It's pretty straightforward. Nobody is getting pushed out of anything deserved or showing huge promise. I suppose there'd be some fans clamoring for Trevor Larnach, but he's proven nothing. Earned nothing. He's currently got a lower MLB OPS than Kepler, ferpetesakes.

.254 / .306 / .393 with an OPS of .699  and a wRC+ of 93.  These are Goldschmidt's numbers for the past 5 weeks.  It's not that simple and even Goldschmidt is no guarantee to fix this anemic offense.  

[gman]

We have guys on this roster who are not succeeding and have not been good for several years. Are we planning to sign them for the next couple years to fail next year and the year after. Since we already not scoring enough to win, then  there is nothing to lose by letting them go and putting the "younger" guys in and getting ready for next year. They may not succeed but then again they might. If they aren't going to succeed trade them too. Who wants to be sitting here at next years allstar break and seeing if we can't find some hitting.

The Twins lineup as been terrible for 4 years now. This years is the worst but other than 2019 the team hasn't average more than 4.5 runs per game in 6 years.

 

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, gman said:

We have guys on this roster who are not succeeding and have not been good for several years. Are we planning to sign them for the next couple years to fail next year and the year after. Since we already not scoring enough to win, then  there is nothing to lose by letting them go and putting the "younger" guys in and getting ready for next year. They may not succeed but then again they might. If they aren't going to succeed trade them too. Who wants to be sitting here at next years allstar break and seeing if we can't find some hitting.

The Twins lineup as been terrible for 4 years now. This years is the worst but other than 2019 the team hasn't average more than 4.5 runs per game in 6 years.

 

I think you make a good point....40% of their games they've scored 2 or less runs ( I read that, hoping it's true). Sure, each individual could be worse, but scoring 2 or less runs won't win you any games, so those games can't really be worse as a team.

Rip the damn bandaid off....

[Hubie29]

20 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

They literally have zero OFers on the roster this year that are signed for next year (unless one thinks Buxton will play there next year). And yet, they refuse to move on from proven bad players and at least see if the youth is better or not. No idea how they'll know what to do next year, given that lack of information (or, they've already decided Larnach and Wallner aren't the answer, in which case they should be dealt).

Thanks for reminding me.  Larnach is another one you can demote or trade. I have zero confidence in his ability to hit and/or stay healthy.  Wallner would be the one they need to ride the rest of the year out with.  Have to figure out what he can do on an extended basis.

[karcherd]

Why is everybody so down on Kiriloff.  He actually is one of the few members of this team that actually takes quality at bats, maybe needs to be a little more aggressive.  But he doesn't even have 600 plate appearances yet and people think Solano at 35 is going to give better production over the course of the season or even be here next season.  Who gave the energy yesterday, Kiriloff and Julien.  The veterans are sleep walking, say good bye to Gallo and Kepler now, do you really think we can a playoff series with them.

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Why is everybody so down on Kiriloff.  He actually is one of the few members of this team that actually takes quality at bats, maybe needs to be a little more aggressive.  But he doesn't even have 600 plate appearances yet and people think Solano at 35 is going to give better production over the course of the season or even be here next season.  Who gave the energy yesterday, Kiriloff and Julien.  The veterans are sleep walking, say good bye to Gallo and Kepler now, do you really think we can a playoff series with them.

by everybody you mean a handful of people, I assume?

[karcherd]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

by everybody you mean a handful of people, I assume?

I stand corrected, a handful of people, but I still don't understand what the concerns are about Kiriloff.

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, karcherd said:

I stand corrected, a handful of people, but I still don't understand what the concerns are about Kiriloff.

some people expect new players to be studs immediately, or judge them as busts. Thankfully, every FO has more patience than some fans. 

Admittedly, he hasn't exactly been great.....yet.

[OvertheHill]

7 minutes ago, karcherd said:

I stand corrected, a handful of people, but I still don't understand what the concerns are about Kiriloff.

Most of what I've heard (or read) has to do with concerns about his power returning after the wrist surgeries. Most I assume actually like his approach to hitting to all fields and his fielding at 1st has been fine IMO.

[strumdatjag]

It gets a little easier if Buxton plays at least 2/3rds of the games in CF.  Then the DH becomes more flexible rotating  Donnie Barrels (sometimes Castro) and  Kepler/Gallo/Wallner.   For playoffs, expected roster - hoping - 
c:   Jeffers/Vasquez

1B  Kirilloff

2B. Polanco

3B. Lewis

SS.  Correa

RF.  Kepler

CF.  Buxton

LF.  Gallo

DH  Solano 

Bench:  Wallner, Castro, Julien, Taylor, 

plus 12 pitchers.   It’s far from the 1927 Yankees but it’s something - as long as Buxton can play and stay healthy.   Again - nothing happens if Correa and Buxton don’t hit.  The Twins for this season have to rely on those two bats bouncing back. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

.254 / .306 / .393 with an OPS of .699  and a wRC+ of 93.  These are Goldschmidt's numbers for the past 5 weeks.  It's not that simple and even Goldschmidt is no guarantee to fix this anemic offense.  

1. Goldschmidt was an example. It could be somebody(s) else. There's basically nobody anyone should worry about replacing or moving. It's as straightforward as straightforward can be.

2.  But If you want to talk Goldschmidt specifically, ok. He's at .284/.369/.475 for the year. With a LONG history of stellar production, including a .981 OPS in 650 PAs as recently as last year. He's 35, so maybe that's his last great year, but he's without question better today than any current Twin. It's not even close, and he's likely to be so for another year at least. 

3. Nobody said he would "fix" this offense. I was addressing the OP's point that it wouldn't be "straightforward" to improve the offense. Well, yeah, it would. Get better hitters. That'll improve the offense, and except for SS and perhaps 2b it's pretty straightforward to put a new guy in and drop or shift the incumbent. It couldn't be MORE straightforward. Who are we worried about losing playing time? Joey Gallo? 

4. If you don't think swapping out Goldschmidt for Kepler, for example, is a straightforward way to improve the offense, then I don't know what to tell you. Or the OP author.

5. Goldschmidt specifically is a pipe dream anyway. I doubt StL trades him and if so, it won't be to the Twins. Again, he's an example of how perfectly straightforward it would be to improve the offense.

 

 

[Linus]

Here is what I would try. Kepler plays CF and no Max I don’t care if you like it. Call up Wallner to play right  I would also hold my nose and put Julien at third when Polanco comes back. Lastly Jeffers starts two thirds of the games. Ultimately Correa and Buck have to get hot.