Twins Claim Speedy Outfielder Bubba Thompson Off Waivers

[chpettit19]

5 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

He has played much more left field than center field in the majors. Is that due to his arm or circumstance or maybe both? It makes me wonder about his arm.

His barrel rate of 1.9% and hard hit rate of 21.9% are incredibly low. Unlike slash stats which can take multiple seasons, statcast hard hit rate stabilize pretty quickly. It is possible to be successful in this range. Steven Kwan is an example and maybe the only real example. Kwan does it with a strike out rate at 10% and an in zone contact rate of 95%. Thompson is at 29.9% and 75%. That isn’t going to work with his hard hit rate and that data is pretty stable at his 241 PA sample. I am curious if his hard hit rate or barrel rate was significantly different in the minors.

I was curious about this too so I looked up the Rangers roster and was reminded that Leody Taveras was their CFer and he's quite good so I'm not sure how we should read that when it comes to his defense. If he's a legit CFer it's certainly better than if he's really a LFer. From what I can find quickly he was given 50 arm grades and 55 fielding grades coming up so there's a decent chance he can truly play CF.

[chpettit19]

17 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I think the issue here is that Castro is back and would be the pinch runner in these scenarios, not Thompson. Castro also at least had a history of being able to be a good enough utility defender around the infield at the major league level, while Thompson is just another outfielder. We have a guy just like him in the minors - DaShawn Keirsey - who is a very similar player. 

The only fit I see for Thompson is being stashed at AAA and used if injuries hit the likes of Castro / Martin / Keirsey. Basically a Billy Hamilton / 2020 Aaron Whitefield scenario.

Yeah, I wouldn't even bet on him being on the 40-man at the end of spring. I think there's room for more than just Castro on a playoff roster, though. They carry 14 or 15 position players for that. And with how they pinch hit and platoon Castro is likely to be used pretty quickly when a lefty reliever comes in.

Keirsay is lefthanded, but I agree they're very similar players. I don't know what "just another outfielder" means, but being able to play all 3 outfield positions is a useful talent. I'm not defending this signing or praising it or anything. It's a bottom of the 40-man flier on January 24th. It's not worth having strong feelings about one way or the other. I'm just spit balling ways he could be of use.

[sweetmusicviola16]

Another no risk pickup. See what he can do if he gets the chance in ST.

The question is are we going to take a risk at all this off season? Or are we taking the risky move of not making a risk move at all? I hope not. It would only take a couple of key injuries for the whole thing to fall apart and for the Twins to be the CWS of 2024.

[sweetmusicviola16]

We do need some CF depth and insurance at the position. I'm sure we can also use depth at St.Paul, though I wouldn't want Thompson to be taking playing time away from more legitimate prospects. Martin, Rodriguez, etc. But I have no issue with the pickup what so ever.

But we also shouldn't be expecting Thompson to suddenly discover some sort of magic that he's never shown before. He's almost certainly not a 3 WAR player with a 120 OPS+. 

[Jocko87]

14 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I was curious about this too so I looked up the Rangers roster and was reminded that Leody Taveras was their CFer and he's quite good so I'm not sure how we should read that when it comes to his defense. If he's a legit CFer it's certainly better than if he's really a LFer. From what I can find quickly he was given 50 arm grades and 55 fielding grades coming up so there's a decent chance he can truly play CF.

Was just stopping by to mention Tavares.  I'm assuming he can function in center as a minimum.  I don't have any issues with this move, at least he has at least one elite skill that can play.  He's ahead of Gordon on my personal depth chart already.  I bet he sticks around, there will be many things that come up to effect the 40 man in the next few months.

Right handed hitting outfielders that can play center field is a very weak area of the Twins system.  It's not a bad fit and as a former first round pick with two options it's not a bad pickup.  Ideally he's in St Paul all year figuring some things out and available for the postseason pinch runner role.  Worst case, he's playing decent centerfield and not hitting a lick when all the other options are failing. 

[LastOnePicked]

Okay, fine ... he's my pick to click. He may be a poor man's MAT, but we are poor and we won't have MAT. I say he's gonna do very well in 2024 as a bench CF option. Calling it.

[rv78]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

The team always likes to think they'd be an asset off the bench, but whether it's Billy Hamilton, Darin Mastroiani or Jarvis Brown, it always turns out they weren't.

Exactly. 

According to Nick he is the poor man's Michael Taylor. The Twins are now considered poor.

[rv78]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

If I had to bet... He will end up a 40 man causality before the roster is final and that will happen when a player just a little bit better becomes available. 

Umm.............. there are a lot of guys better that ARE currently "available". It's this Front Offices decision NOT to go after them and add them to the team now or having already have done so. Waiting isn't always the best option. This is a snore move at the dumpster diving level just like every other move they have made so far this off-season. Gee, let's get excited!

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Julien isn't the guy I'd pinch run for. He's not a bad baserunner. Jeffers, however...

Jeffers has to reach base (which he was miserable at doing last postseason) before you can pinch run for him. Also, his spot in the lineup has to up, the game would need to be close, yada yada. I think the incredibly niche role a guy like Thompson would fill is being overrated. 

[CRF]

No chance he makes the team out of ST. He'll be in StP, and maybe not even playing full time there. Late season call up at best. Could be a Buh-Bye Bubba from this organization too.

[Mike Sixel]

16 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Jeffers has to reach base (which he was miserable at doing last postseason) before you can pinch run for him. Also, his spot in the lineup has to up, the game would need to be close, yada yada. I think the incredibly niche role a guy like Thompson would fill is being overrated. 

Sure, let's judge a guy in a handful of games, not a season of them. 

[ashbury]

I'm just as prone to snarking about waiver-wire pickups as the next doofus, in fact I've done so already in this very thread and one last Saturday too.  😀  But I've taken a closer look and I think I see now the merit in this waiver claim.  The analogy to Willi Castro looks apt, even though it's a much different set of skills.  He might be a reluctant DFA for the FO if there comes a roster crunch.

First, on the negative side: as a minor league prospect, the MLB.com scouting reports each year questioned his pitch recognition and plate discipline, and on defense questioned his routes and his arm.  For a while he was super strikeout prone, but seems to have been able to reinvent himself to some degree in that regard in more recent minor league seasons. 

But on the positive side: like Castro, Bubba's not that old, and he likewise has minor league options remaining, so the choice won't be simply to either bring him north with the club or DFA him, if the FO still sort of likes him after seeing him in March and wants him in reserve at St Paul.  Those old scouting reports thought he had potential to develop power (which has yet to happen) and liked his speed in the outfield (of course). 

Maybe most intriguingly, from an armchair scouting perspective, is that as a RH batter he was sort of decent (like Michael A Taylor was decent) against RH pitchers in his two short trials in the majors, but unlike our 2023 CFer he had absolutely terrible numbers (in very small sample size) against lefties.  That's what served to make his overall numbers too weak to impress anyone.  In the high minors he hit lefties just fine.  Most hitters get a boost from chances against opposite-handed pitchers; there was no such Bubba Boost at Texas 2022-23.

So there are a number of "IFs" to this pickup, and it's less than 50/50 everything comes up right.  But if "bad luck" was at play when he batted against lefthanders, and if he can keep the strikeouts in check, and if he's just a late bloomer with a little home run power, and if he's improved in tracking down difficult fly balls, well, he could fill a position of need about as well as MAT did but without the salary outlay necessary to bring the latter back. 

He won't be ideal in CF because his arm appears to be so-so, but.... I can see it.  I think I'm adopting Leslie Arnold Thompson as a rooting interest.  i mean, c'mon, he's Bubba!

[stringer bell]

I'm not sure his hitting can be fixed to a degree that he could establish himself as a major league player. That said, Bubba is a faster runner than Buxton has been since 2019. That kind of speed can be game-changing. 

I don't think this claim will be a success if he is Billy Hamilton lite, but it could be a consolation prize that could be helpful in September or October, much more so than Andrew Stevenson was in 2023. He stands to be the best defensive left fielder or center fielder on the 40-man (perhaps outside of Buxton). Overall, I'd prefer Castro because of his decent hitting, especially as a LH hitter and proven ability to be a base running force in MLB, but chances are Willi will be needed elsewhere. Austin Martin also could be that guy, maybe right away and maybe by mid season. 

As long as there are vacant 40-man spots, it is pretty much risk free as long as the Twins don't lose out on a superior player because of Bubba on the 40-man.

[Jocko87]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

As long as there are vacant 40-man spots, it is pretty much risk free as long as the Twins don't lose out on a superior player because of Bubba on the 40-man.

Nick Gordon is avaliable to make room. Gordon is a couple of years further down the path of former first rounder trying to figure it out but once the options are gone the roster fit is tough.

All of a sudden they are very similar players too.  Different skill sets and pathes to success but Bubba has a singular skill we know can be a weapon swings RH and has options.

[stringer bell]

Kiersey, Castro, and probably Martin are fast. Bubba and Buxton up until his knee injuries are another level. Just having speed like Terrance Gore or Herb Washington isn't enough to be a real contributor (niche is a good word for it), but if Bubba can develop enough of his game around that elite speed, he can help. Yes, it is a long shot, but he's only 25 and stranger things have happened.

[RpR]

He is a back-up for Buxton, his fielding skills are better than  any one still on the team.

 

[TopGunn#22]

THIS is the move I've been waiting all off season for !!  Finally, I can end my Hunger Strike !!

[sweetmusicviola16]

12 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

THIS is the move I've been waiting all off season for !!  Finally, I can end my Hunger Strike !!

As long as you're OK with eating bologna sandwich's on stale bread. EAT!!!!!!!

 

No steak or prime rib for you however.

[Nashvilletwin]

Three possibilities IMHO:

1.  Given Buxton’s injury risk and the unproven/not so incredible CF alternatives (i.e. Castro, Martin, Gordon and Kiersey), having another option to throw at the wall if necessary to see what sticks isn’t stupid per se.

2.  One never knows if one or more of our existing CF backup options might be on the move with Polanco or Kepler or even Vasquez.  This might be a proactive manoeuvre to fill a spot that might suddenly open up.

3. Great September call up option to be on the roster for our WS push.

[Doc Munson]

Absolutely LOVE this move!!!  While I also liek Martin and other potential system guys for a potential CF replacment, I LOVE SPEED!!!!!  if Buck cant play CF just put Bubba in CF and let him bat 9th.  If you though Michael A Taylor was a good move at $4.5M for his defense and speed  with just 1 year over .677 OPS in his 9 years before coming to the Twins, then you have to LOVE this move, with ++ speed, and although he has just a .591 OPS in short time in the bigs, he has a .765 OPS in minors, and comes at just a  league minimum contract.

[KirbyDome89]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, let's judge a guy in a handful of games, not a season of them. 

Relax.

The point was that a "speed only," guy has incredibly limited utility, and what he does bring to the table is tied to variables outside of his own control.

[JesusisLord7]

I like the signing. We have few athletes on our team. If he improved to a .265 to .270 hitter then you have something really special. He did hit .265 in his age 24 season. Barely played in the age 25 season. He could light up the base-pads if he improved as a hitter. As a kid, I watched Rickey Henderson and he was so disruptive. We need to find some players that play in that manner. Thompson, A. Martin, and Lewis all intrigue me. Buxton will be hurt or I'd include him too. 

[weitz41]

hmm..

 

You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket...

[Dave Borton]

Leslie Arnold "Bubba' Thompson -- add him to the nicknamed Twins.

Bubba has been assigned to so many clubs that his hat size, photo shopped, is now 8 1/4.

[Fatbat]

we need depth in St. Paul. No need to get worked up over this signing.  Maybe before he is 28 yo he will stop chasing balls outside the zone. Probably not tho. 
the Twins CF starter is Buxton. He is finally healthy and has an actual chance at 150 games in CF. If you want to watch Bubba play, go to a Saints game. 

[Fezig]

I'm pretty sure it was a Mr. Tom Kelly that stated you had a be patient with the faster players in regard to their development. 25 seems about the right age to find out if he's developed. I like the signing. Play him as much as possible in spring training and see what happens.

[Riverbrian]

12 hours ago, rv78 said:

Umm.............. there are a lot of guys better that ARE currently "available". It's this Front Offices decision NOT to go after them and add them to the team now or having already have done so. Waiting isn't always the best option. This is a snore move at the dumpster diving level just like every other move they have made so far this off-season. Gee, let's get excited!

These type of moves on the edges happen every single year with every single team. 

Yet... People still seemed to get worked up over them. 

[Riverbrian]

13 hours ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

I would like to shred some positivity too.

It will be fun watching him play.

 

Positivity has been shred to the point that it can't be recognized any longer. 

[miracleb]

15 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Would be awfully surprised if he makes it through spring on the 40-man. Wouldn't be as surprised if he makes it through waivers with the Twins as they'll be sending him through at a more chaotic time for rosters than now, but I'll be very surprised if he makes this team. The Twins rotate players way too much to have a speed only guy on the roster. But he is ideal for getting through waivers and then claiming a playoff roster spot to be a late inning steal guy. Or maybe they carry him on the 40-man hoping they never need him during the regular season. But with Rodriguez already on the 40-man you probably don't want another guy who isn't likely to be a real MLB contributor on the 40-man.

I like DaShawn Robert Keirsey Jr. career path ahead of Thompson's....... if one of them had to play for the Twins in 2024!

[Major League Ready]

18 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

These type of moves on the edges happen every single year with every single team. 

Yet... People still seemed to get worked up over them. 

Would it be fair to characterize the moves for Castro and Stewart as being "around the edges"?  I seem to remember similar sentiment towards Castro.  While I don't remember the reaction to Stewart I would bet we could find reference to him as  "dumpster diving".