There's a player that I think would be a nice 2024 addition.

[Riverbrian]

Joey Meneses with the Nationals. 

Good Hitter. Nationals are rebuilding. They might take a couple of prospects that are not the prospects none of us want to lose. 

No idea what it would take. I have no idea what the Twins front office or Nationals front office thinks but I think he is someone that would boost our offense. 

 

[Old fox]

Adam Duvall is a 35 yrs old, right handed hitter who plays left field with some power. His statistics are good. He could be used to DH, pinch hit off the bench and play some outfield. 

[Riverbrian]

4 minutes ago, Old fox said:

Adam Duvall is a 35 yrs old, right handed hitter who plays left field with some power. His statistics are good. He could be used to DH, pinch hit off the bench and play some outfield. 

Duvall has actually played more CF than any other OF spots in the past two years. I think he is better defensively than the credit you seem to give him. 

I have always kinda liked Duvall, He's a nice combo of power and defense but I have three issues with him.  

Strikeout rate - He consistently K's over 30% of the time. I'd like the Twins to look for around 20% just to let us all know that the team strikeouts last year was too much and they are at least trying to bring it down.  

Injuries - He gets hurt a lot... Maybe the stars will align so Buxton and Duvall can get hurt at separate times but at this point... 100 games from either of them is something you wouldn't bet on. 

Slumps - He has amazing slumps and crazy hot streaks. The slumps are pretty severe and have pulled him down to average hitter over his career. Average hitter despite a couple of well above average years. 

I'd be Ok... if the Twins went and got him but... he isn't that firm upgrade that I'd like to see. 

 

 

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Joey Meneses with the Nationals. 

Good Hitter. Nationals are rebuilding. They might take a couple of prospects that are not the prospects none of us want to lose. 

No idea what it would take. I have no idea what the Twins front office or Nationals front office thinks but I think he is someone that would boost our offense. 

 

This one was not on my radar.  He was great his rookie season.  Then, mediocre last year.  I don't rule out guys because they are late bloomers but this guy was 30 before he made the show.  I think I would rather give Severino a shot.   

[Riverbrian]

31 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

This one was not on my radar.  He was great his rookie season.  Then, mediocre last year.  I don't rule out guys because they are late bloomers but this guy was 30 before he made the show.  I think I would rather give Severino a shot.   

It's accurate to call him a late bloomer but not as much of a late bloomer as he appears at first glance. He really derailed himself in 2019 with a steroid suspension in Japan and the lost 2020 covid year the following year. He kinda had to start over as a 29 year old in 2021.

His age and that late bloomerism could make him affordable for us.

He's making the minimum, even has options left if we have to walk away which is also affordable to us.

I think he is a pure hitter. 

Severino could still have a shot when the call comes.  

Mexico had him as the #3 hitter in the World Baseball Classic. Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Meneses, Rowdy Tellez, Isaac Peredes is a nice first five and of course... he hit a couple of dingers against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

https://www.google.com/search?q=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS943US943&oq=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRirAtIBCTEwMTY0ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9cb77d56,vid:8FL-eHXfVC8,st:0 

 

[Major League Ready]

12 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

It's accurate to call him a late bloomer but not as much of a late bloomer as he appears at first glance. He really derailed himself in 2019 with a steroid suspension in Japan and the lost 2020 covid year the following year. He kinda had to start over as a 29 year old in 2021.

His age and that late bloomerism could make him affordable for us.

He's making the minimum, even has options left if we have to walk away which is also affordable to us.

I think he is a pure hitter. 

Severino could still have a shot when the call comes.  

Mexico had him as the #3 hitter in the World Baseball Classic. Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Meneses, Rowdy Tellez, Isaac Peredes is a nice first five and of course... he hit a couple of dingers against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

https://www.google.com/search?q=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS943US943&oq=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRirAtIBCTEwMTY0ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9cb77d56,vid:8FL-eHXfVC8,st:0 

 

I didn't know the story.  Definitely unique circumstances.  He is a really interesting possibility.  Have there been rumors of him being shopped?

[Riverbrian]

21 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I didn't know the story.  Definitely unique circumstances.  He is a really interesting possibility.  Have there been rumors of him being shopped?

No Rumors... Just me looking around for a cheaper possible difference maker that doesn't strikeout. 

 

[Brandon]

The high strikeouts are ok if the rest of the AB lead to things that produce runs.  Meneses doesn't walk much.  many with high strikeouts do walk a lot and have a high on base percentage as a result.  Normally I would agree that we strike out too much as a team, but we did tie for the AL lead in HRs and was pretty highly ranked in the league in offense the second half as well.  I am not justifying the strikeouts as ok but there is validity to what the Twins brass is doing with assembling our offense.

[JD-TWINS]

20 hours ago, Old fox said:

Adam Duvall is a 35 yrs old, right handed hitter who plays left field with some power. His statistics are good. He could be used to DH, pinch hit off the bench and play some outfield. 

Sounds a lot like Mr Buxton.

[Riverbrian]

6 hours ago, Brandon said:

The high strikeouts are ok if the rest of the AB lead to things that produce runs.  Meneses doesn't walk much.  many with high strikeouts do walk a lot and have a high on base percentage as a result.  Normally I would agree that we strike out too much as a team, but we did tie for the AL lead in HRs and was pretty highly ranked in the league in offense the second half as well.  I am not justifying the strikeouts as ok but there is validity to what the Twins brass is doing with assembling our offense.

I think a decent sized chunk of us believe strikeouts are going to be a natural by-product of patience and working the count.

It makes sense to be patient and wait for a pitch to drive so I wouldn't suggest that the Twins change that approach just to curb the K's. 

However... no team in history has struck out as many times the Twins did last year and they got to curb the K's without drastically changing the approach.

Last year the Twins drew plenty of walks. Adding a guy who walks less and K's less is a step toward better balance.  

[Trov]

I mean if he is on waivers would I be willing to put a claim in as a flier or trade away someone not even on prospect list sure, but the guy is 32 most of next season, his first full season of MLB ball was last year and he was 0.5 bWAR with OPS .722 and OPS+ of 99.  He was negative defender.  I really do not see much upside with him. He did hit lefties slightly better but not a masher against them. Maybe there is something there and he could have a career flash year at age 32 but most guys at that age are on the downtrend. 

[RpR]

OF the gents, Duvall looks the best; not a gaping hole in the Out Field and a pretty good bat.

[TopGunn#22]

I have mentioned Duval several times because I think he fills the bill of someone who can play a good CF but who also has power.  Drawbacks are, and always have been, high strikeout rate and injury prone.  Riverbrian is spot on with that assessment.  

I have been considering Meneses as well.  He's a similar hitter to Solano except he's got pop (13 HRs and 36 Doubles in 600 ABs). He doesn't walk a lot, but neither did Solano.  He's much younger than Solano and has more power and  would be a good addition as a bat that consistently makes contact.  

The drawback is that he was a DH for 131 games last year.  His time at 1B and in RF really diminished from 2022 to 2023.  Some of that was due to injury in 2022.  We can't really afford to sign someone to be primarily a DH with Buxton.  I'm not sure what the assessment is of Meneses at 1B and LF/RF.  

[DocBauer]

I had to think about this one for a bit. And I'm coming around to this as an interesting idea.

I don't think the Twins are going to add a big bat this year for a couple of reasons:

1] The cost of adding said big bat comes with either a pretty high salary, or trade capital, or both. And I don't think that's where they're headed, especially with a SP still being the top priority. 

2] Despite a generally poor 1st half to 2023...at least very inconsistent...the Twins still ended up with one of the better run producing offenses last year. That despite a poor start, various injuries and slow starts and poor performance, (Gallo except for 1 month), and because there is so much optimism with a reasonably healthy Buxton, a healthy Correa and Kirilloff, and the continued development of Wallner, Lewis, and Julien.

Meneses isn't a difference maker, but he moves the needle some on the fringes. He doesn't walk a ton, but 130K's in over 600 AB is impressive. He's got some HIT ability and XB power. His contract is low, and he doesn't fit a rebuilding Washington roster and should come cheap.

My concern is how good/solid/bad is he defensively at 1B and the corner OF spots? And do the Twins MAYBE have a pair of options in A rebounding Miranda and the non 40 man but versatile Helman already on board as options?

BUT, Helman and Miranda can also begin 2024 at St Paul. Depth is great. And it wouldn't be costly to move on from Meneses if necessary.

Duvall would cost more $, has injury concerns, but can be very dangerous when he's right. Hmmm...interesting ideas here.

If Meneses comes cheap in regard to prospect cost, and can play decent defense, this could be a smart move. He could be the 2024 Solano, but different positions.

[TopGunn#22]

Great points Doc.  To me, the key to Meneses is where can he play defensively for you?  He can be adequate at 1B.  He DH'd 130 games last year because the Nats had Dominic Smith playing 1B and Smith is excellent defensively.  He played a little OF in 2022, but almost none in 2023. 

We need a RH bat in the OF.  In any scenario, Meneses would be a defensive liability in the OF.  I like that he's a super-charged version of Solano.  Solid contact hitter, more power.   Meneses would be very limited defensively.

It was mentioned in another post that an interesting possibility for the Twins could be SF Giants OF Austin Slater.  He's 31, very good defensively in all 3 OF slots and he clobbers LH pitching.  The Giants need a SS in the worst way.  Crawford has retired and their young SS isn't quite ready.  They need at least a one season bridge.  Slater is being pushed out of their plans after they signed Jung-hoo Lee and still have Luis Matos, Mike Yaz and Mitch Hanniger. 

A straight up one-for-one of Farmer for Slater would solve both teams problems and save the Twins about $3 million in payroll.  I think the signing of Nico Goodrum means the Twins WILL trade farmer.    

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Great points Doc.  To me, the key to Meneses is where can he play defensively for you?  He can be adequate at 1B.  He DH'd 130 games last year because the Nats had Dominic Smith playing 1B and Smith is excellent defensively.  He played a little OF in 2022, but almost none in 2023. 

We need a RH bat in the OF.  In any scenario, Meneses would be a defensive liability in the OF.  I like that he's a super-charged version of Solano.  Solid contact hitter, more power.   Meneses would be very limited defensively.

It was mentioned in another post that an interesting possibility for the Twins could be SF Giants OF Austin Slater.  He's 31, very good defensively in all 3 OF slots and he clobbers LH pitching.  The Giants need a SS in the worst way.  Crawford has retired and their young SS isn't quite ready.  They need at least a one season bridge.  Slater is being pushed out of their plans after they signed Jung-hoo Lee and still have Luis Matos, Mike Yaz and Mitch Hanniger. 

A straight up one-for-one of Farmer for Slater would solve both teams problems and save the Twins about $3 million in payroll.  I think the signing of Nico Goodrum means the Twins WILL trade farmer.    

I think Farmer would be a nice fit for the Giants if they want to give Luciano the chance to grab the job out of spring training because Farmer would be decent insurance for a rookie who might lay an egg in his first go around. 

However... the problem with the Giants is this:

They got a lot of Farmer type talent on the roster and what they really really really need are clear upgrades from the long list of average to above average talent that already over flows on their roster. 

If I'm the Giants... I'm shopping bigger. If I'm calling the Twins... I'm asking about Polanco. I'm calling the Brewers about Adames.  I'm thinking about a big contract for Bellinger. They got a lot of middle players... they need some high end dudes.   

Adding Farmer to Estrada, JD Davis, Wade, Conforto, Yaz, Flores, Haniger is like getting your 8th shovel when you should really just go get a snow blower. Farmer may have that curved handle for easier scooping but they need a Toro.  

[Doctor Wu]

21 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I think the signing of Nico Goodrum means the Twins WILL trade farmer. 

You could be right, I was wondering about the Goodrum signing. I always liked him, and he seems suited for the role that Farmer played for us last year. But still ... I really like Farmer and hope we can keep him.