The End of the Joey Gallo Saga?

[stringer bell]

Alex Kirilloff had another good game in his rehab for the St. Paul Saints, including a go-ahead single in the ninth inning. There have been no reports of health issues and Kirilloff has been on rehab with the Saints since approximately September 1st. It would seem that he is ready to be back with the Twins in time to see major league pitching for a while before the team starts the post season.

With the new rule limiting September rosters to 28 players (14 pitchers), someone will have to be taken off the roster to make room for AK. It would seem there are three choices: 1) Jordan Luplow, who has gotten platoon starts against left handed pitching. He's been unimpressive and does have a minor league option. 2) With fourteen pitchers and a bullpen that is mostly rested right now, the Twins could option a relief pitcher. 3) Joey Gallo plays the same positions as Kirilloff and except going 2-2 with a homer against a position player, only has one hit since his four for four day in Philadelphia. Joey's BA is well below .200 and his OPS is around league average. Gallo hasn't been regularly starting, even against right handed pitching with his usage mostly as a defensive replacement or the league's largest pinch runner.

Gallo can't be optioned, so the club would have to DFA him to make room for Kirilloff. Most of Twins' fan base is ready for Gallo to exit the scene. Gallo plays hard and when he does connect, hits the ball a long way, but I think it's time to say goodbye to Joey and his 43% strikeout rate. I don't know if the Twins front office agrees, but it is past time to move on.

[FlyingFinn]

Julien starting at 1B is a great sign that Rocco doesn't want Joey Gallo. Even without Kirilloff, that would be two people ahead of Gallo at every position. This has got to be the end of his time here.

[4twinsJA]

When you are a LH batter and get pinchhit for with at RH batter against a RH pitcher, does not show much confidence in your ability from manager. I think Gallo has played hard and seems to be a good teammate, but time to move on.

[jorgenswest]

Gallo has been the end of the bench for a while. He is pinch hit for against right handed pitchers by right handed batters. He comes in the game as a defensive replacement or a sub. According to Fangraphs he has only 27 high leverage plate appearances this year which as a ratio ranks below everyone on the roster. My guess is most of those came in April and May. He is the last player on the bench.

[Riverbrian]

I honestly don't know why we are waiting at all. We don't need to wait for Kirilloff. He provides almost zero value right now. 

It was a pretty important game yesterday. Gallo was not in the lineup. Julien started at 1B for the first time yesterday in an important game instead of Gallo and the world didn't come to an end. Stevenson started in CF instead of Gallo. Again that was a fairly important game.  

If Gallo isn't in the lineup against a right handed pitcher yesterday and he is healthy? What value does he provide? 

There is no reason to wait until Kirilloff is healthy. Gallo can be released today. 

What value does he provide?

Pinch Running? There are better running options in AAA. 

Defense? Julien and Solano can play 1B until Kirilloff is back. As a matter of fact... we don't know who will be available come playoff time. We don't know if Kirilloff may need to play OF in the playoffs in order to give us the best lineup possible so... Why not give Julien a run at 1B in September to prepare for the unknown the best you can. Our best playoff lineup might require Julien at 1B. 

Offense? Please... Even if he got hot... he's not going to play enough to demonstrate hotness so we just end up with a large pinch runner and defensive replacement that we can cover easily elsewhere. 

There is no reason to wait for anyone to come off the DL. 

 

 

[ashbury]

27 minutes ago, 4twinsJA said:

I think Gallo has played hard and seems to be a good teammate, but time to move on.

I am not sure I'm willing to grant him even that.  When Josh Donaldson was released by the Yankees last month, an opinion piece in the New York Post mentioned Gallo's "edginess" in the same breath with Donaldson's "prickliness" and implied he's not precisely a good fit in just every clubhouse.  The Post is kind of a rag but I still give some credence when whispers like that are put in print.

[CRF]

Can't wait to see Gallo gone, but I'll believe it when I see it. There really isn't a reason not to DFA him, but he's still here. 

[Parfigliano]

It should be Gallo gone.  Should have been Gallo gone months ago.  Somehow he holds on. History says he holds here too and it's Luplow as odd man out.

[stringer bell]

18 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I honestly don't know why we are waiting at all. We don't need to wait for Kirilloff. He provides almost zero value right now. 

It was a pretty important game yesterday. Gallo was not in the lineup. Julien started at 1B for the first time yesterday in an important game instead of Gallo and the world didn't come to an end. Stevenson started in CF instead of Gallo. Again that was a fairly important game.  

If Gallo isn't in the lineup against a right handed hitter yesterday and he is healthy? What value does he provide? 

There is no reason to wait until Kirilloff is healthy. Gallo can be released today. 

What value does he provide?

Pinch Running? There are better running options in AAA. 

Defense? Julien and Solano can play 1B until Kirilloff is back. As a matter of fact... we don't know who will be available come playoff time. We don't know if Kirilloff may need to play OF in the playoffs in order to give us the best lineup possible so... Why not give Julien a run at 1B in September to prepare for the unknown the best you can. Our best playoff lineup might require Julien at 1B. 

Offense? Please... Even if he got hot... he's not going to play enough to demonstrate hotness so we just end up with a large pinch runner and defensive replacement that we can cover easily elsewhere. 

There is no reason to wait for anyone to come off the DL. 

 

 

Hasn't Kirilloff demonstrated he's healthy.? You don't run with your shoulder and he's certainly hit sufficiently well for the Saints to demonstrate his health. BTW, the injury was to his right (non-throwing) shoulder.

[wabene]

I doubt this front office has the stomach to put a vet like Gallo on the street and they probably made some promises to him. I say this because if they were inclined to make this tough move, why in the hell didn't they do it already?

This is obviously the most universally agreed upon frustration with Falvey and/or Levine. 

I'll bet Rocco shares our frustration, lol. 

[D.C Twins]

If only.....

[Muppet]

He has a little defensive upside. It's not nothing, but that is it. 

[Squirrel]

19 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I am not sure I'm willing to grant him even that.  When Josh Donaldson was released by the Yankees last month, an opinion piece in the New York Post mentioned Gallo's "edginess" in the same breath with Donaldson's "prickliness" and implied he's not precisely a good fit in just every clubhouse.  The Post is kind of a rag but I still give some credence when whispers like that are put in print.

Yeah, the Post. I don’t see him in the same category as Donaldson, so let’s not put him there. He hasn’t the same history. I did read a few things, though, that NY was hard on him mentally, both internally and externally, so perhaps that’s where the perceived prickliness came out with the press but I only heard supportive comments of him from teammates. He just doesn’t have the history Donaldson does, so, as I said, let’s not go there.

That said, it’s going to come down to a choice between Gallo or Luplow. I think Stevenson stays while MAT is out. One of Gallo or Luplow should go and I wonder if Luplow adds more value, even if just a hair.

[Riverbrian]

26 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Hasn't Kirilloff demonstrated he's healthy.? You don't run with your shoulder and he's certainly hit sufficiently well for the Saints to demonstrate his health. BTW, the injury was to his right (non-throwing) shoulder.

I'd like to think so but I don't have all the information that they have. 

But... Regardless, if Kirilloff can come up for Friday's game against the Mets or if he can't. 

I still see no reason for Gallo on the Roster. Luplow at least plays against lefties. Not that we need that but Rocco has a role for him. 

What Gallo provides can be covered by a waiver claim. I'm not suggesting that... I'm just saying that to illustrate how low his value is.   

[insagt1]

I remember when Chris Davis completely lost how to hit major league pitching. At one point he was something like 0-50 to start a season. He was a 'k' machine like Gallo. Fans liked him...to a point, but when it became obvious he was taking up space, the patience wore thin. He used to be a HR machine but that disappeared. His huge contract was a millstone around the O's neck.

Gallo is not a bad guy. But he's not a good hitter. The HR's mask his deficiencies. And there have been very few HR's in the past 2 months...even meaningless ones. This is still a business...to field the best 26-28 ML players available. Don't feel Gallo is one of those 26-28 anymore.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

Yeah, the Post. I don’t see him in the same category as Donaldson, so let’s not put him there. He hasn’t the same history. I did read a few things, though, that NY was hard on him mentally, both internally and externally, so perhaps that’s where the perceived prickliness came out with the press but I only heard supportive comments of him from teammates. He just doesn’t have the history Donaldson does, so, as I said, let’s not go there.

That said, it’s going to come down to a choice between Gallo or Luplow. I think Stevenson stays while MAT is out. One of Gallo or Luplow should go and I wonder if Luplow adds more value, even if just a hair.

Gosh. . . the NY media going out of their way to trash a guy that didn't play well for the Yankees?  I'm shocked.  Shocked I say!

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

I doubt this front office has the stomach to put a vet like Gallo on the street and they probably made some promises to him. I say this because if they were inclined to make this tough move, why in the hell didn't they do it already?

This is obviously the most universally agreed upon frustration with Falvey and/or Levine. 

I'll bet Rocco shares our frustration, lol. 

It's going to be (barring IL necessity for someone) Luplow or maybe Stevenson. Kirilloff will be here soon and Michael A Taylor not far behind. 

[Heymel]

In Falvine's infinite paranoia, they probably fear the Guardians will claim Gallo.  He will get hot and carry them to a division title.

[Azviking101]

In my view, as long as MAT is on the IL they won't move on from Gallo.

Gallo can play CF competently and the Twins want no situation where Stevenson is getting innings in the playoffs.

Without MAT, the only playoff options in CF are Gallo and Castro. Kepler is not playing Center.

[FlyingFinn]

2 minutes ago, Azviking101 said:

Without MAT, the only playoff options in CF are Gallo and Castro.

Martin.......... just him bunting would be better than Gallo.

[Patzky]

1 minute ago, FlyingFinn said:

Martin.......... just him bunting would be better than Gallo.

Make sure there are only two outs in playoff games!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I have Luplow as the last player on the bench, and a Keuchel/Sands/Winder type also being ahead of Gallo on the cut list. They are not cutting Gallo at this point.

Not a fan of the front office leaving Kirilloff in the minors, or Larnach for that matter. Both Gallo and Kirilloff will be on the playoff roster. How many pitchers should they carry for that 3 game series? There should be room for Larnach even if Larnach is the last player on the bench in those games. Kirilloff has got to be starting first baseman in those games. 

[Dave Borton]

[tony&rodney]

Gallo has not been used much lately and as long as the roster position is not needed it just isn't necessary to cut Joey. While I was totally opposed immediately to the signing of Gallo last winter, I'm not seeing any reason right now to DFA Gallo. Maybe things change and his roster spot is needed, but Luplow and a couple of relief pitchers are not really needed either. 

That said, I don't believe there is much call for him to be on a playoff roster.

[Azviking101]

11 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Martin.......... just him bunting would be better than Gallo.

First off, Martin isn't on the 40 so there is no situation where he could play in the playoffs anyway.

Beyond that, while I am excited for his future again, he's played 11 games in CF all year and 12 all last year. Last thing the Twins wanted is a situation where he's being thrown into CF in a do or die playoff game. Unless Buxton miraculously makes a comeback, the Twins CF will almost be guaranteed to be hitting 9th in the lineup. Consistent defense is all they're hoping for. 

Nobody wants Gallo to get CF ABs in the playoffs, but they have to keep their backup options available in case MAT doesn't come back.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

I am not sure I'm willing to grant him even that.  When Josh Donaldson was released by the Yankees last month, an opinion piece in the New York Post mentioned Gallo's "edginess" in the same breath with Donaldson's "prickliness" and implied he's not precisely a good fit in just every clubhouse.  The Post is kind of a rag but I still give some credence when whispers like that are put in print.

 

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

Yeah, the Post. I don’t see him in the same category as Donaldson, so let’s not put him there. He hasn’t the same history. I did read a few things, though, that NY was hard on him mentally, both internally and externally, so perhaps that’s where the perceived prickliness came out with the press but I only heard supportive comments of him from teammates. He just doesn’t have the history Donaldson does, so, as I said, let’s not go there.

From what I remember reading about Gallo leaving the Yankees, he pretty openly said that it had affected him personally when NY sports media and fans amplified the way he already knew, himself, that he wasn't performing. 

Between that and the context in the Post piece, which speculates "Gallo’s edginess that might not mix well with New York," I would interpret that "edginess" means more "being on edge," and less "has an edge that some teammates don't like." 

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Azviking101 said:

First off, Martin isn't on the 40 so there is no situation where he could play in the playoffs anyway.

Not true. See numerous discussions on this in TD.

[mickster]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Alex Kirilloff had another good game in his rehab for the St. Paul Saints, including a go-ahead single in the ninth inning. There have been no reports of health issues and Kirilloff has been on rehab with the Saints since approximately September 1st. It would seem that he is ready to be back with the Twins in time to see major league pitching for a while before the team starts the post season.

With the new rule limiting September rosters to 28 players (14 pitchers), someone will have to be taken off the roster to make room for AK. It would seem there are three choices: 1) Jordan Luplow, who has gotten platoon starts against left handed pitching. He's been unimpressive and does have a minor league option. 2) With fourteen pitchers and a bullpen that is mostly rested right now, the Twins could option a relief pitcher. 3) Joey Gallo plays the same positions as Kirilloff and except going 2-2 with a homer against a position player, only has one hit since his four for four day in Philadelphia. Joey's BA is well below .200 and his OPS is around league average. Gallo hasn't been regularly starting, even against right handed pitching with his usage mostly as a defensive replacement or the league's largest pinch runner.

Gallo can't be optioned, so the club would have to DFA him to make room for Kirilloff. Most of Twins' fan base is ready for Gallo to exit the scene. Gallo plays hard and when he does connect, hits the ball a long way, but I think it's time to say goodbye to Joey and his 43% strikeout rate. I don't know if the Twins front office agrees, but it is past time to move on.

Even though I have thought Gallo would be the one, I think it will be Luplow

[Jocko87]

4 hours ago, CRF said:

Can't wait to see Gallo gone, but I'll believe it when I see it. There really isn't a reason not to DFA him, but he's still here. 

There is a reason to keep him and it’s pretty straightforward.  He’s healthy and can chew up a lot of innings down the stretch so more key figures can get rest.  That’s it.

 The rest of the regular season is about getting healthier and lining up the postseason roster and they need filler players to do that. I’m open to the argument that they should get a Martin or something else up to do that but this far down the line it’s not worth the ire of Boras and the clubhouse to cut a struggling .750 OPS player.  100 OPS+ is league average no matter how he got there.

I know it’s not what we would like or do as fantasy GMs but the reality is highly likely he is with us all year.  He probably won’t make the postseason roster but that doesn’t mean he’s not a helper down the stretch.

There’s also the qualifying offer still hanging out there.  I’m fully aware it’s drawing to an inside straight flush but if he gets hot in garbage time he could very easily go into the offseason as a 28-30 homer, .775 OPS guy in a season where he struggled mightily.  There is value there.  I don’t see it happening but I promise it’s a factor.  
 

 

[Muppet]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Not true. See numerous discussions on this in TD.

For eligibility in the MLB playoff roster, the player has to be on the 40-man team or the 60 Days of Injured list by 31 August, 11:59 pm ET. Any player not on the list cannot be awarded the postseason playoff.Jun 23, 2023