My current plan

[Mike Sixel]

Meh, I'm not trying to convince anyone, especially a few of you.....but here's what I'd do to try to win in the playoffs. My belief is that once you have this opportunity, you should make the most of it. It might not come around again. None of these things put anyone at risk, and we only risk losing two guys that, let's be honest, just aren't good.

1. Move Varland to the bullpen, and get him in MN. He has better stuff than most of the pen, and it won't hurt his ability to start next year. This is the easiest decision on this list for me.

2. Call up Austin Martin, DFA either Gallo or Luplow. The Twins won't miss either. This is an upside play. I'm trying to win, not playing not to lose. He might not be ready....but he's healthy, he's raking, and he was once a top MLB prospect. I put him in CF right now (the Twins are in the bottom 5 of all teams in CF fWAR). Taylor is a great defensive replacement for Wallner lat in games, and should start against lefties (Martin plays left against lefties).

3. Put Buxton in CF in AAA. If he can't play, IL him. If he can, when he's healthy, he comes up. We put Martin at first until AK is back? Or, Martin is a pinch runner / hitter. He can play 2b in a pinch, or when Julien is PH for.

3a. If Kiriloff can come back, I consider DFA of Salano, but I don't think that's realistic. Maybe Farmer? Again, not sure that's realistic. Until AK comes back, I put either Polanco or Martin at first (though, I'll be honest, I'm not sure Polanco will hit this year).

4. Put Ober in the bullpen when Ryan is back. He needs to rest his arm, and he's a better option than the other players. Plus, he's nearly a lock to be in the bullpen in round 1 of the playoffs. Get him ready for that role.

5. Don't worry about Gordon.....he's not better than Castro or likely, imo, Martin. When Castro is back, either Gallo or Luplow go. He might not come back to the team if Martin is working out. Frankly, since Buxton has to replace someone, I'm hoping both are gone for him and Martin, so no idea what happens with Castro.....

If Martin doesn't hit, then he just goes down when Buxton is healthy.....but you aren't winning championships with Gallo and Luplow starting for this team. You MIGHT with Martin starting. I'm trying to win here....and not working out of fear of the unknown. I think the Varland and Martin and Ober (eventually) decisions are easy decisions. What to do when all three of AK, Buxton and Castro are healthy are much tougher decisions. 

I know several of you have zero interest in taking the Martin chance, and I'm not convincing you.....

Alternatively, on Ober, I move Keuchel to the bullpen. But unless he's a low inning lefty RP, I have no interest in him being on the playoff roster.

[GusGus11]

Ill just add a few notes of things I think are musts that play off yours.

Martin is a must add. Versastile and currently raking as you said. Sure we have Castro coming back but when is it ever bad to have to guys with versatility and base stealing late in games? Plus, unlike Castro....Martin potentially has a bat if he stays hot that is worth starting. Castro is a guy we have been forced to start far too many games, he cant hit. But hes a weapon as a late runner and D replacement.

Luplow has a life span of days. Hes gone the moment the first player returns. There is no reason to even talk about anyone else off the bat. Hes the 100% first boot.

My biggest thing is WHERE IS KODY FUNDERBURK. Him not being on this team is literally malpractice by Falvey. Not only is he dominating but hes LEFTY. Hes an absolute need. Right now our current plan of attack is to rotate between guys who cant pitch in AAA and up here over and over(props to Winder for 1 night though). Weve seen Balazovic fail, moran, headrick, sands......MANY TIMES. Stop it. Balazovic was so bad we sent him down 5 days ago, hes the recall vs Texas??

Our only lefty option to face Seager and Lowe last night was Thielbar after throwing 22 pitches the day before. That is comical

Oh Funderburk isnt onthe 40???? Well thats easy, DFA Gordon. Hes DONE. Hes obsolete. Castro is his age and does the same things but better. Isnt Gordon like 50/50 in stolen bags? Lol. Worse defender. Martin adds to that. We dont need Nick Gordon this year, next year or in 2028.

But if hes that valuable. Just move Ortega to the 60 day right away. Sucks for him, but lets be honest.....another guy we do not need.

So yeah, my biggest moves are Get Martin and Funderburk up here and Luplow out of here ASAP. The luplow move is a lock.

Agreed on Buck. If you wanna play, get your A** in the field.

[DJL44]

25 minutes ago, GusGus11 said:

Oh Funderburk isnt onthe 40???? Well thats easy, DFA Gordon. Hes DONE. Hes obsolete. Castro is his age and does the same things but better. Isnt Gordon like 50/50 in stolen bags? Lol. Worse defender. Martin adds to that. We dont need Nick Gordon this year, next year or in 2028.

Gordon's also not ON the 40 man roster.

[CRF]

I'm on board with the plan. Now, let's find a way to get the FO to implement it. 

[GusGus11]

11 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Gordon's also not ON the 40 man roster.

Not officially because he is on the 60 day currently.

But when ever he comes off he has to go on the 40 man and has zero options remaining. So activate him ASAP and cut ties.

No clue why Alcala isnt 60 day'd tho. Or even Miranda. Ortega is another we dont even need to have rostered

We have a bunch of deadweight on the 40 man Funderburk should be up here immediately.

[Trov]

I think the issue that is highlighted is all the what if and when healthy stuff.  I agree that Buck should only play if he can play CF, unless he is just raking.  However, if AK comes back and back to what he was before the shoulder issue, we will have way too many guys we want to see hitting.  Lewis should just stay at 3rd rest of year with CC at short.  2nd Julien against rh, and either Polanco or Salano against lefties.  Salano has been too solid to just cut in my opinion.  He is the glue kind of vet that you can count on for solid at bats and will help in playoffs.  First, should be AK if healthy or whoever you feel can defend it and not be an auto out(GALLO). 

As for OF, Walner and Kepler are too hot to sit.  So that leaves just CF, if not Buck, then Taylor is natural option due to defense and despite his lack luster overall offense he still has HR pop.  Martin is raking in AAA and I would love to see him get called up to try out CF and if he can defend at average level and hit anywhere close to what he is doing AAA I think he would provide a nice boost.  

That is a lot of ifs though.  I think it is nice that we can talk about the problem of having too many players we need to find at-bats for. 

[Squirrel]

3 hours ago, GusGus11 said:

No clue why Alcala isnt 60 day'd tho. Or even Miranda. Ortega is another we dont even need to have rostered

They don’t put anyone in the 60-day until they have a need of the roster space. And then they have to be careful because when that person comes off the 60-day they have to find space again. So you don’t want to 60-day roster anyone until absolutely necessary.

[GusGus11]

1 minute ago, Squirrel said:

They don’t put anyone in the 60-day until they have a need of the roster space. And then they have to be careful because when that person comes off the 60-day they have to find space again. So you don’t want to 60-day roster anyone until absolutely necessary.

A lefty reliever like Funderburk Id say is absolutely necessary.

And Alcala/Miranda wont play again for us this year.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, GusGus11 said:

A lefty reliever like Funderburk Id say is absolutely necessary.

And Alcala/Miranda wont play again for us this year.

You 60-day too many and at the end of the season, they all come off … if you know you will have room for them all then you do it. But if you 60-day everyone, you may lose someone you really want to keep if you don’t have the roster space for them at the end of the season

[chpettit19]

I think a big question is how many pitchers are they going to carry in September and October. I think it's easier to get Martin, Buxton, and Kirilloff on the playoff roster together than it is to get them on the September roster together as I assume the pitching staff will be whittled way down in October so there those 3 replace Gallo, Luplow, and a RP. Maybe that still works if they're not planning on adding an arm to the September roster when they get their 2 extra spots, though? I would, but they've also simply refused to pitch Sands and Winder types for entire weeks so maybe it isn't necessary if they're just going to waste another roster spot on a guy they never use.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I like it.  IF none of the injured guys are coming back.  Especially the Austin Martin piece.  If they come back things get a little too interesting. 

Luplow gone.  He hasn't been useless but he has to be the first to go.

Gallo gone.  Well?  Maybe?  He's a better defender than Solano and the rest of the "not" firstbasemen.

But if/when we get Buxton, Castro, and Kirilloff back, I'm not sure how to pull this off.

The pitching stuff is right on the money, although I would find a  way to try out Funderburk as well. 

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Meh, I'm not trying to convince anyone, especially a few of you.....but here's what I'd do to try to win in the playoffs. My belief is that once you have this opportunity, you should make the most of it. It might not come around again. None of these things put anyone at risk, and we only risk losing two guys that, let's be honest, just aren't good.

1. Move Varland to the bullpen, and get him in MN. He has better stuff than most of the pen, and it won't hurt his ability to start next year. This is the easiest decision on this list for me.

2. Call up Austin Martin, DFA either Gallo or Luplow. The Twins won't miss either. This is an upside play. I'm trying to win, not playing not to lose. He might not be ready....but he's healthy, he's raking, and he was once a top MLB prospect. I put him in CF right now (the Twins are in the bottom 5 of all teams in CF fWAR). Taylor is a great defensive replacement for Wallner lat in games, and should start against lefties (Martin plays left against lefties).

3. Put Buxton in CF in AAA. If he can't play, IL him. If he can, when he's healthy, he comes up. We put Martin at first until AK is back? Or, Martin is a pinch runner / hitter. He can play 2b in a pinch, or when Julien is PH for.

3a. If Kiriloff can come back, I consider DFA of Salano, but I don't think that's realistic. Maybe Farmer? Again, not sure that's realistic. Until AK comes back, I put either Polanco or Martin at first (though, I'll be honest, I'm not sure Polanco will hit this year).

4. Put Ober in the bullpen when Ryan is back. He needs to rest his arm, and he's a better option than the other players. Plus, he's nearly a lock to be in the bullpen in round 1 of the playoffs. Get him ready for that role.

5. Don't worry about Gordon.....he's not better than Castro or likely, imo, Martin. When Castro is back, either Gallo or Luplow go. He might not come back to the team if Martin is working out. Frankly, since Buxton has to replace someone, I'm hoping both are gone for him and Martin, so no idea what happens with Castro.....

If Martin doesn't hit, then he just goes down when Buxton is healthy.....but you aren't winning championships with Gallo and Luplow starting for this team. You MIGHT with Martin starting. I'm trying to win here....and not working out of fear of the unknown. I think the Varland and Martin and Ober (eventually) decisions are easy decisions. What to do when all three of AK, Buxton and Castro are healthy are much tougher decisions. 

I know several of you have zero interest in taking the Martin chance, and I'm not convincing you.....

Alternatively, on Ober, I move Keuchel to the bullpen. But unless he's a low inning lefty RP, I have no interest in him being on the playoff roster.

I really like this plan. Varland should be in the bullpen today or maybe, this weekend since he pitched Tuesday. No more starts in St. Paul, he does the rest of his 2023 work out of the MLB bullpen. 

I agree that we need a RH hitting OF with more upside than Luplow (who has almost no upside) and it would be great if he could play CF to avoid having to play Gallo there like we are tonight. I think Martin is the way to go although I think Castro will be the choice.  

I would move Ober to the BP but would wait until we are past the rest of this tougher stretch. I would rather have Ober start Sunday than Keuchel, for example, since I think any good team will work Keuchel over.  I also would not start Keuchel against Cleveland. Once we are past Tex and Cle we can move Ober to the pen to get him used to it and Keuchel can get his starts against lesser teams. 

[jorgenswest]

The one real impactful addition would be Buxton playing centerfield with a bat that belongs near the top of the line up.  He can change their playoff outlook.

Unless there is concern that this group can’t get them to the playoffs I think it is possible to change to many spots and lose some cohesion as a team.

It is going to take multiple 80th percentile and better stretches to match other more talented teams. They need to keep anyone that can provide that game changing upside even if unlikely.

[glunn]

Great thread.  I hope that someone in the FO reads this.

[GusGus11]

 

Im begging

[Jocko87]

Here's my plan. I just got a reminder that I need to use or lose a couple of weeks of vacation before the end of the year. 

I took the first week of October and booked a flight to MSP. Worst case, my brother lives there and the Chiefs play the Vikings on the 8th.  It will be an excellent sports week in Minnesota regardless.

Best case? Two playoff wins at Target Field and maybe the schedule works out to get another.

Pro tip. Enjoy it. Don't get too wrapped up the machinations of the next 6 weeks. The moves won't always make sense but the plan is for October. We have no influence on the front office and thank goodness for that.

[terrydactyls]

My only concern with your suggestions is moving Ober to the bullpen.  He has a 5.71 ERA in the first two innings he pitches and a 2.31 ERA after that.  I would prefer to see the opposite for a reliever.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

My only concern with your suggestions is moving Ober to the bullpen.  He has a 5.71 ERA in the first two innings he pitches and a 2.31 ERA after that.  I would prefer to see the opposite for a reliever.

There's almost no chance he starts a game in round one. Otherwise I agree.

[Linus]

I like the aggressive nature of this plan. Might even include SWR out of the pen. I know he hasn’t been great in St Paul but if Sands is the bar to clear it might work. One caveat: if Martin comes up he has to play a lot. 

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, Linus said:

I like the aggressive nature of this plan. Might even include SWR out of the pen. I know he hasn’t been great in St Paul but if Sands is the bar to clear it might work. One caveat: if Martin comes up he has to play a lot. 

Martin should start in center. Or first. Yes, this is aggressive, but I'm trying to win. It might not work, but this team isn't winning it with luplow and Gallo playing full time. 

[Linus]

6 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Martin should start in center. Or first. Yes, this is aggressive, but I'm trying to win. It might not work, but this team isn't winning it with luplow and Gallo playing full time. 

That’s one of the reasons I like it. They can make it happen by only impacting guys like Gallo and Luplow. Kind of a potential big upside with hardly any downside. 

[Linus]

Just now, Linus said:

That’s one of the reasons I like it. They can make it happen by only impacting guys like Gallo and Luplow. Kind of a potential big upside with hardly any downside. 

Now ask me if this FO would be this aggressive. The Chan e is slim and none and slim just left town. 

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

There's almost no chance he starts a game in round one. Otherwise I agree.

I don't think he will either.  I'm just not convinced he's a good bullpen option with those splits.

[JD-TWINS]

4 guys in rotation for playoffs ……probably 7 guys in the Pen. 15 bats.

Lopez-Gray-Maeda have been our top 3 pitchers for 2 months!

Ober is a starter due to consistency & mental make-up.

Agreed on Varland & Kuechel.

October Pen:

Ryan - Varland - Kuechel (3 solid long guys) - Jax - Thielbar - Pagan - Duran

If Kirilloff or Buxton aren’t ready to go by September 1 roster expansion, I see Martín being a good idea.

DFAing Donovan Solano or having Martin plug in at 1st base is nuts though……don’t see any logic in either of these moves. We won’t let Julien play first base, for good reason - why would they have a kid come up and play somewhere he isn’t familiar with in the middle of a Divisional race???

Solano plays first base and is clutch & is batting .285 over 110 games - 308 AB’s with a .770 OPS……he’s our 3rd or 4th best hitter. He’s getting it done!

Roster expands in 6 days - Solano & Gallo are at 1B through September until Kirilloff is back!

Luplow got claimed & rostered ahead of farm guys coming up because he’s got a floor they can live with - he’s got nerve - been in the Show - fits in & they can cut anytime due to no future with club. Tough to have a kid come up and get 11 AB’s & get sent back down due to lack of performance or some mistake.

We need to focus on October’s roster……Luplow is the 15th bat or DFA’d by then. Gallo will be dressed and non-rostered by Oct 2. If guys don’t heal we’ll see a couple young guys by next Friday.

Hoping Kirilloff spoils somebody’s chance because we need him!!

Completely open to Funderburk and we can figure out the 40 man roadblock.

No need to worry about Nick Gordon the remainder of this year.

Castro will be back, worst case, by next Friday.

19 runs in 2 games……no guarantees but I think we’re fine.

[Brandon]

If I’m bringing Austin Martin up it’s to be the 4th OF.  Taylor is a superior defender and that matters especially in the playoffs.  He has a .730 OPS and it’s been on the rise.  He doesn’t get on base enough but has speed when he does.  And he bats 9th.  I do think Martin needs to be playing 65-75% of the time to show what he can do.  But it needs to be at several positions. 

 

It would be nice to see what Funderbunk can do in our pen.  I’m fine with rotating him in at some point.   Is Brock coming back this season?  
 

obviously Gallo and Luplow get cut first if Buxton and Killeroff are available to come back from injury.   
 

not sure what to do with Castro but he deserves to be on the roster in the playoffs.  
 

Both Solano and Farmer are safe.  I don’t see us getting rid of either.  I actually want to see Solano retained for next season.  Gotta give the front office props for getting him right before spring training.  If Solano and Gallo had traded salaries we would probably be fine with both players right now ….  Both would be worth what they are getting paid for.

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

Is Brock coming back this season?  

What I last read is that Brock is throwing some BP sessions and is expected back sometime in September ... don't know if that means early, middle, late ... but there is an expectation of a return this season

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, Squirrel said:

What I last read is that Brock is throwing some BP sessions and is expected back sometime in September ... don't know if that means early, middle, late ... but there is an expectation of a return this season

That would lessen the need for a reliever if he comes back effective similar to what he was before his injury.

[Beast]

I like it.

It’s a no brainer to add Martin to the postseason roster, IMO.  He can play all over and he can run the bases.  Being able to hit a little bit from the right side is icing on the cake.

Luplow would be on the outside looking in for me.  He doesn’t bring anything that concerns me to lose.

Assuming RHP - I’d like an OF of Wallner, Buxton, and Kepler (at least against RHP) with Taylor off the bench.  An OF alignment of Taylor, Buxton, Kepler to close out games is phenomenal.  Gallo is a late inning bench bat if a desperation HR is needed.

I’d put Ober and Maeda in the pen and start Gray, Lopez, and Ryan.  Varland to the pen as well.

This is all fun to think about now.  But, there will an injury between now and then.  Wouldn’t surprise me if Buxton or Lewis are unavailable.

 

[Mike Sixel]

I'd also move Lewis and Jeffers up in the order. But that's only a minor improvement. 

[Trov]

For the first round of games, Ober should not be on the 26 man roster, only because he will not start the first 3 games, and he should not be a top guy out of pen.  We can add him to second series if we make it there.  I personally do not think he will make any starts in playoffs, baring injures from others.  He may be used for a long relief person but we really hope that is not needed.  If Ryan is healthy no reason the rotation first round is not Lopez, Gray, and either Ryan or Maeda, and if in second round if we went three games the one that did not start in first round then back to top.  I would want 1 emergency long relief guy of one of our current 6 starters, the other should not be on playoff roster in my opinion.  

I like Ober and think he is a fine pitcher, but he is pitching more than he ever has and had some struggles of late.  All it takes is one bad inning and we lose a post season game.