Keuchel Opts out of Contract, How Will the Twins Respond?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I don't see much harm in adding Keuchel and giving him 3-4 starts with a six man rotation, especially given the relative struggles of the rotation post-break.

I'm at the point where I understand virtually nothing the front office has done in the past month.

[wabene]

I would give each of the starters a break. Some more than others like maybe a 10 day stint for those that need it. Forget the 6 man, use Keuchel to give them a break moving him through the rotation one spot at a time. Kind of like a six man but with IL stints if necessary. When this is done you will know exactly what you have, which may be 7 viable starters including Varland. Of course by then it would be time to sweet talk Kenta into the pen. 

[Sparky55]

If they were going to let him go why would not trade him? Give Gallo the boot and let Kuechel try a couple of turns through the rotation.

[saviking]

On 8/1/2023 at 9:46 PM, Mortimerkenny21 said:

Hmm, so what was the point of that? Get him conditioned up and looking the part so another team can scoop him up? Either we dodged a bullet or we're going to look foolish.

His era was under one. Guess that wasn't good enough ..

[chpettit19]

1 minute ago, saviking said:

His era was under one. Guess that wasn't good enough ..

FYI, his era was 1.13.

But he is also throwing 87 MPH and giving up nearly a hit per inning against AAA guys, with a 3.4 BB/9. Good for a 1.25 WHIP. He had a 2.31 ERA in 4 AAA starts last year with a 1.029 WHIP and still had a 9.20 ERA in the majors in his 14 starts. Looking at his ERA is not a great way to assess his ability to get major leaguers out. 

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

 

I'm at the point where I understand virtually nothing the front office has done in the past month.

This is where I'm at. The trade for Pablo Lopez seemed to emphasize pitching and defense over offense. The offense fell on its face. Then nothing all summer, although it was decent to send Jorge Lopez home to Miami. I don't have any feel for what type of team the Twins want either now or going forward.

As for DK, I'm not impressed. Are the Twins finally ready to put one of Winder/Sands, Headrick, SWR in as a starter to give Ryan, Gray, and Ober a brief break? If not, then the Twins should give DK a shot. He fails, he is released - no harm for a .500 team to take a chance. I just don't expect much from the crafty lefty at this point. 

I'm more concerned with the Twins reverting to bad habits at the plate. The offense is .... unreliable and uninteresting.

[Whitey333]

Not sure of his status.  I thought he himself opted out of his contract with the Twins.  In that case I don't think the Twins own him and he may not even be a part of the organization.  If that is the case the can't " call him up" because there is nothing to "call up."  In any case I don't mind that they signed him in the first place but he has blown up his tire so to speak.  He hasn't been a quality MLB starting pitcher for about 4 years.  The Twins need a lot more than him to suddenly become relevant.

[IaBeanCounter]

56 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Not sure of his status.  I thought he himself opted out of his contract with the Twins.  In that case I don't think the Twins own him and he may not even be a part of the organization.  If that is the case the can't " call him up" because there is nothing to "call up."  I

From the article "Minnesota now has a couple of days to decide whether or not to add Keuchel to the active roster, or else release the veteran southpaw."  If the article is correct the Twins may be able to add him today.    

[KBJ1]

Keuchel isn't going to be a savior, but bring him up for long relief & an occasional spot start. What's the worst that can happen? Demote Sands, you can always dfa Keuchel & bring up someone else.

His veteran experience & prescense is of value.

[John Belinski]

I just saw a story that he is coming to pitch for the Twins. I think this is a good move for the Twins. He can start games to eat up innings. Twins have nothing to lose by bring him up.

[Althebum82]

So, we now know the answer to the original question.  The new question now is, can Joe Ryan "recover" and contribute the rest of this season?

[Major League Ready]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:40 AM, tony&rodney said:

This is where I'm at. The trade for Pablo Lopez seemed to emphasize pitching and defense over offense. The offense fell on its face. Then nothing all summer, although it was decent to send Jorge Lopez home to Miami. I don't have any feel for what type of team the Twins want either now or going forward.

As for DK, I'm not impressed. Are the Twins finally ready to put one of Winder/Sands, Headrick, SWR in as a starter to give Ryan, Gray, and Ober a brief break? If not, then the Twins should give DK a shot. He fails, he is released - no harm for a .500 team to take a chance. I just don't expect much from the crafty lefty at this point. 

I'm more concerned with the Twins reverting to bad habits at the plate. The offense is .... unreliable and uninteresting.

There is an alternative view.  Perhaps they felt they could insert Julien and get the same level of offense.  YTD Arraez has an OPS of .890 and a wRC+ of 145.  Julien has the exact same wRC+ and an OPS of .881.  One could argue they are getting the same level of offense and added a very good pitcher.  No doubt it is not quite that simple but I don't think they looked at it as being willing to give up offense for pitching.  They had a plethora of options at 2B/DH and you can never have enough front-line pitching.  

[tony&rodney]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

There is an alternative view.  Perhaps they felt they could insert Julien and get the same level of offense.  YTD Arraez has an OPS of .890 and a wRC+ of 145.  Julien has the exact same wRC+ and an OPS of .881.  One could argue they are getting the same level of offense and added a very good pitcher.  No doubt it is not quite that simple but I don't think they looked at it as being willing to give up offense for pitching.  They had a plethora of options at 2B/DH and you can never have enough front-line pitching.  

I want to agree with this view because I thought that was what would happen. I thought after Julien displayed his readiness in Spring Training that he would be a consistent bat in the April lineup. However, the Twins did not use Julien until an injury to Polanco and sent him when Polanco returned. It wasn't until Polanco was injured again and Julien was overwhelmingly the best bat on the team that he kept a position. 

I was in favor of the trade for Pablo Lopez at the time and still am. Simple different look at the trade - I do think the Twins knew there was some offense that would be lost but also felt getting P. Lopez was a good deal. One that was made firm by Miami including Salas and Chourio, two lotto tickets.

Sure would like to see Julien get back to hitting again though. He is in a bit of a slump.