A New Position for Royce Lewis?

[JD-TWINS]

Can Lewis get his head around playing OF again without it being a big mental distraction? With Lee coming in ‘24, that option with Lewis could be very valuable.

[gunnarthor]

I like the idea of putting him in CF. Just get him regular playing time.

[chinmusic]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Then, we get really good on D - Buxton in CF, Lewis at 3B, Polanco at 2B and Julien at DH. Great D and the best hitting lineup we can get, with Taylor as a defensive sub in LF.

Sweet dreams are made of this..🎶 (apologies to the Eurythmics)

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

Concur. I think the combination of Buxton at DH, Julien at 2B, Polanco at 3B and Lewis in CF is probably the best and most likely way to finish the regular season, making the shift FF posted for the postseason. I think putting Buxton in CF in the postseason has been the Twins' plan for several months. That plan means hoping for two uncertain things. One, that we qualify for the postseason with our current outfielders and, two, that keeping Buck at DH enables his knee to hold up well enough to play CF in October.

DH is a position with one job.  Hit.  Buxton can not hit.  Continually pretending he can is madness.  Throw in he physically cant play D and he is a wasted roster spot.

[shabbos1]

The reality of ACL injuries is that there is more than one way to surgically re-construct them and sometimes a particular technique doesn't work for a patient and all of a sudden it pops.  If NFL runningbacks can continue their careers after ACL injuries, there's no reason to believe a young baseball player can't play the outfield at a high level.  Look at Ronald Acuna Jr. and how well he's doing after the same injury.

[dxpavelka]

5 hours ago, Chuckkos said:

Any reason he couldn’t play a corner OF spot in order to keep Taylor in for his D in CF?

At least one corner OF spot is needed for Gallo's team strikeout record attempt.  AND the team's run at the MLB team strikeout record.  Don't mess with immortality.

[Mike h]

Polanco came to the Twins as a SS but was moved off the position because of his defense. It was his ARM that was erratic, he just couldn't always make the throws from across the diamond and that's why he was moved to second. So unless he has improved his arm I'm guessing he won't stay at 3B. I don't understand why the Twins don't already know this.

So put Lewis at 3B, Polanco at 2B where he is better than Julien there, and Julien at DH. Buxton has played himself to the bench.

[D.C Twins]

"As long as Byron Buxton remains a full-time designated hitter..."

The root of all Twins offense problems....

[Wizard11]

I believe Joey Gallo is gone at the deadline.  Yesterday’s move of sending down a pitcher was IMO a ST move to facilitate some time to attempt to extract some value for Gallo. I would expect he is DFA’d if they can not package him up some how.  This will start unclogging the position player jam

[jkcarew]

What blasphemy is this!!?

What if a sinkhole opens in the outfield and swallows him whole?

What if it makes his agent crabby?

Much better that we stay the course toward an assured and sustainable state of mediocrity. After all, you can never have too many ALC pennants.

[Jocko87]

I reckon we can table this discussion until Wednesday. 

[Kipp35]

The logjam ends when you DFA Gallo, and either play Buxton in CF (where his only value is) or place him on the IL until he can. Having a DH bat .190 and league average HR, is ridiculous when we continually send Larnach and Wallner back to AAA. Much rather see Larnach, Wallner, Julien, Lewis, Kirlloff and even Taylor in the lineup over Gallo (.170) and Buxton (.190). Not making decisions for this team based on logic. The FO wants to look like they didn't screw up.

For the record, in his last full season with the Twins ('21), Sano hit 30 HR and batted .223. We had to get rid of him because he K's too many times. In 2021, he K'd 183 times (most in his career). Halfway through this season; Gallo = 113 and Buxton = 106. Both, clearly on pace to K a lot more than Sano ever did. Here is my lineup:

Correa - SS

Julien - 2B

Polonco - 3B

Kirlloff - LF

Lewis - 1B

Wallner - DH

Kepler - RF

Jeffers - C

Buxton/Taylor - CF

[DFlow]

Ideal playoff lineup

Lewis-LF

Julien-2B

Kiriloff-1B

Polanco-3B

Wallner-DH

Correa-SS

Buxton-CF

Jeffers-C

Kepler-RF

[rv78]

4 hours ago, madtowntwin said:

Getting really tired of all the Buxton - CF - DH discussion / angst...I mean I do get it, BUT - We are well into the season and it is what it is at this point. We all now realize that his offensive ability SEEMS to pivot off of his defensive prowess. Mental deficiency in regard to DH play is one thing. Physical limitations - in particular a knee injury - are another...We will find out very soon during the off season about the reparability of said injury. IF repair is realistic option we will subsequently find out whether Byron's offensive ability can return in Spring Training NEXT YEAR....Our present reality, however, is that this undefined knee injury (which is so frustrating in and of itself) is universally limiting to one of our best players: Fielding, hitting, and running....Thanks for listening to my rant. Win Twins.  

I'm pretty sure his knee was injured last year into the end of the season. Why wasn't it repaired last off-season? Why is playing your best defensive player at DH better than getting him healthy so he can play both sides of the ball? A lot of his value is on defense. There have been a lot of people, some former players, say that being a DH isn't a good fit for some players. Some need to be involved defensively to be good offensively, which definitely seems to be the case for Buxton. Seems to me, not fixing the problem last off-season was another gamble the FO took that was a huge mistake. Why even consider that an option going into the season. What reasoning is behind NOT doing the surgery as soon as he was injured? Why is playing one of your best players part-time, (because that's what a DH does) better than fixing him? And... If surgery wasn't going to fix him last year why is it going to fix him this year? If he is damaged goods he needs to see the door. He's not helping the team the way he is. 

[gman]

I think Polanco is at third base to demonstrate positional flexibility to anybody who may be watching. Maybe Julian is at second base to prove he can field a position(hope not)to anybody who may be watching. He only has 2 errors at second in 49 games. Maybe a number of other miscues, but only 2 outright errors. Lewis could be back in 2-3 weeks, I think he belongs at third base. Polanco is probably better at second base because of throwing reasons, but he may not be here next week. I'm surprised they put Polanco at third instead of first, but I assume they want Kirilloff at first as much as possible.

The rest of this year, I think they really need to sculpt this into a team that wins not just this year but into the future and maybe becomes a powerhouse instead of a team that's full of pieces not quite fitting together.  Any trades I would prefer to see would accomplish that goal rather than just fit people into places they don't belong.

[PseudoSABR]

Or Buxton? 

[twins_89]

Lewis is finally succeeding at the major league level, so at this point I have no interest in doing anything to disrupt that success. I'd leave him at 3B/SS and find an alternative path to upgrading the outfield.

[darin617]

11 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I don't expect this to happen, but this is the strategy that makes the most sense to me. I actually see the bulk of Lewis' career being in the OF. I'd bet they don't put him out there this year, though. Even if I would.

If a player is going to get it doesn't matter what position they play. 

I still would like to know what is exactly wrong with Buxton "physically". 

Isn't this like buying a new car and not driving it?

[Twinkie]

Maybe this would be the same mistake of giving up Gio Urshela and expecting Jose Miranda to fill in that spot but what about trading Polanco for some players and play Royce Lewis at third. I am wary of Polanco at the corner because of his side arm throw he used as SS to first base was not always powerful enough. How do they expect him to play the corner position? Royce has shown he is capable 

[Rosterman]

Where do we expect Brooks Lee to play again? Not to mention Yennier Severino. Austin Martin. 

[Heiny]

Just a thought, but how bout a trade packaging some combination of Miranda, Polanco, Kepler, Gallo for RH corner OF and LH relief pitcher.  If Gallo can't be included somehow, DFA him.  Make room for Walner and Larnach in the corners.  Play Farmer/Solano at third until Lewis comes back.  IF of Kirilloff Julien CC and Lewis.  OF of Larnach Buxton and Walner.  Keep Taylor for insurance with Castro as backup for both IF and OF.  With the return of a RH corner outfielder we can platoon RF and LF and DH.  I think Larnach and Walner need an extended tryout to see if the fit for '24 or they can be traded in the offseason.  We should still win the division and it would be a good test for the future.  With Lee expected to be up next year and others for depth this seems solid to me.

[RpR]

53 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Just a thought, but how bout a trade packaging some combination of Miranda, Polanco, Kepler, Gallo for RH corner OF and LH relief pitcher.  If Gallo can't be included somehow, DFA him.  Make room for Walner and Larnach in the corners.  Play Farmer/Solano at third until Lewis comes back.  IF of Kirilloff Julien CC and Lewis.  OF of Larnach Buxton and Walner.  Keep Taylor for insurance with Castro as backup for both IF and OF.  With the return of a RH corner outfielder we can platoon RF and LF and DH.  I think Larnach and Walner need an extended tryout to see if the fit for '24 or they can be traded in the offseason.  We should still win the division and it would be a good test for the future.  With Lee expected to be up next year and others for depth this seems solid to me.

WHY?

We want to win the division, not finish behind Detroit!

[Squirrel]

56 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Just a thought, but how bout a trade packaging some combination of Miranda, Polanco, Kepler, Gallo for RH corner OF and LH relief pitcher.  If Gallo can't be included somehow, DFA him.  Make room for Walner and Larnach in the corners.  Play Farmer/Solano at third until Lewis comes back.  IF of Kirilloff Julien CC and Lewis.  OF of Larnach Buxton and Walner.  Keep Taylor for insurance with Castro as backup for both IF and OF.  With the return of a RH corner outfielder we can platoon RF and LF and DH.  I think Larnach and Walner need an extended tryout to see if the fit for '24 or they can be traded in the offseason.  We should still win the division and it would be a good test for the future.  With Lee expected to be up next year and others for depth this seems solid to me.

Who is going to buy those players and give us anything in return to help us the rest of the season? A team rebuilding will want prospects in return for MLB players, and a team in the hunt is going to be looking for better.

[Heiny]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

WHY?

We want to win the division, not finish behind Detroit!

WHY do you think that is less than we are already playing?  Should help our pitching and we would be playing current hitters that are hitting better than what we are playing now.

[Heiny]

2 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Who is going to buy those players and give us anything in return to help us the rest of the season? A team rebuilding will want prospects in return for MLB players, and a team in the hunt is going to be looking for better.

Didn't ask for a lot.  Polanco being the only one that is not an addition by subtraction.  Looking for a RP and a platoon RH corner OF bat?  Polanco alone should be able to draw some interest there.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Didn't ask for a lot.  Polanco being the only one that is not an addition by subtraction.  Looking for a RP and a platoon RH corner OF bat?  Polanco alone should be able to draw some interest there.

Polanco might draw interest from a contending team, but you would have to find a team who has excess on the area we need. But until we know for certain when Lewis is coming back, I’m not ready to trade Polanco and his bat. The way Kepler is playing currently might draw interest, but if he continues playing as he is, he has value to us. Miranda isn’t a crunch on the 26-man, he can remain in St. Paul. It is time to part ways with Gallo, though, one way or another.

If we keep Polanco, Royce may end up in the OF.

[Heiny]

1 minute ago, Squirrel said:

Polanco might draw interest from a contending team, but you would have to find a team who has excess on the area we need. But until we know for certain when Lewis is coming back, I’m not ready to trade Polanco and his bat. The way Kepler is playing currently might draw interest, but if he continues playing as he is, he has value to us. Miranda isn’t a crunch on the 26-man, he can remain in St. Paul. It is time to part ways with Gallo, though, one way or another.

So Kepler is finally having a mini hot streak.  Good reason to use his LH bat as bait when there might be some value there.  You are correct in that Miranda isn't a crunch, but there is no place for him now or in the forseeable future.  Might as well use whatever value he has to improve what we need now.  And I wasn't suggesting that we should try to trade all in one package, but I do believe there teams out there that would have interest in some combination.

[RpR]

14 minutes ago, Heiny said:

WHY do you think that is less than we are already playing?  Should help our pitching and we would be playing current hitters that are hitting better than what we are playing now.

Their sustained ability is  unknown, not more, probably  less, while in defense i a huge amount less. A lot of rookies have come up, shown brightly then gone dim or burned out, recently.

julizn fielding at secone is a nail biter with each throw, Wallner in Right is a degrade from Kepler, Larnach and Miranda's boats have probably sailed.

There is a LOT of play this rookie, play that rookie, and the past years have shown that to be an empty promise.

We are trying to win the division this year, next years Spring Training will weed out some mystery.

Wishful thinking has a smaller sucess rate than shooting craps.

[Heiny]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

Their sustained ability is  unknown, not more, probably  less, while in defense i a huge amount less. A lot of rookies have come up, shown brightly then gone dim or burned out, recently.

julizn fielding at secone is a nail biter with each throw, Wallner in Right is a degrade from Kepler, Larnach and Miranda's boats have probably sailed.

There is a LOT of play this rookie, play that rookie, and the past years have shown that to be an empty promise.

We are trying to win the division this year, next years Spring Training will weed out some mystery.

Wishful thinking has a smaller sucess rate than shooting craps.

So, you believe that we are better off with Kepler/Gallo in the outfield while striking out at herculean paces than the upside of Walner/Larnach.  While I would play Larnach in RF and Walner in LF.  Both have very good to excellent arms.  And as far as sustained ability?  The historical ability of Kepler and Gallo in the lineup hasn't shown to be division winning caliber in my opinion.

[RpR]

35 minutes ago, Heiny said:

So, you believe that we are better off with Kepler/Gallo in the outfield while striking out at herculean paces than the upside of Walner/Larnach.  While I would play Larnach in RF and Walner in LF.  Both have very good to excellent arms.  And as far as sustained ability?  The historical ability of Kepler and Gallo in the lineup hasn't shown to be division winning caliber in my opinion.

Kepler is simply a lot better than either; Gallo -- I have neither been on or off , except he is still a good fielder.

Both Larnach and Wallner are not truly good fielders but Larnach just plain better than Wallner.

This year, Twins need to play what they know; A horrid time to turn into what amounts to a AAA team, in the majors.