Can Alex Kirilloff Stay in the Twins' Plans?

[arby58]

6 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I just, that's not what Julien said he was going to do at Twinsfest. He said he is working hard on grounders, at both 2B and 1B, and will play anywhere to help the team win. 

The main thing, we need Julien's bat in the lineup. That's what's most important, right?

Sure, have him in the lineup. However, when looking for the optimal alignment - combining both offense and defense - I don't think Julien at first base is it.

[Riverbrian]

He's the type of hitter that is nice to have on your roster because he is a good hitter at a decent price point. 

He is also the type of hitter that doesn't make you stop looking for better because I'm not sure that he will rise above good hitter. 

If he is able to stay healthy for a few years. If the Twins continue to deploy him like they have so far. He could stay on a major league roster this year and maybe next year. Once he reaches his third arb year (2026) the decision will be interesting. The arbitrators typically give players a pretty decent financial bump that third year and that's when front offices have to decide if he is worth the money or if he will be cut loose like Eddie Rosario was cut loose because the price became too high. If the arbitration price doesn't rise significantly... that means that he didn't play well and isn't worth holding on to anyway.

If the Twins cut him loose... he can sign a low dollar deal with another club looking for left handed swinging specialist. 

Right now... if I had to bet... I'd bet against him surviving with the Twins past 2025. He is currently being strip mined for the only natural resource he has. The ability to hit a right hander. You don't stop looking for better if that is the case and the Twins will find something better. 

Come 2026... It might be helpful that Kirilloff has a 4th year of arbitration in 2027 because there is still a year of control. However, that 4th year will contain another pay bump and with that another assessment of weather he is worth that raise in value. 

Basically... In a nutshell. If Kirilloff has decent health,.. if Kirilloff continues to be deployed how the Twins deploy him. Alex Kirilloff would have to be near the best of the group of other MLB players who are being strip mined for that same resource that Kirilloff has. 

If he is near the best of that group of players... he will reach free agency in 2028 and he might find a team willing to offer a two year deal at best for not very impressive money. 

Something has to change for Kirilloff to be a long term consideration. 

[saviking]

Krilloff has 640 plate appearances, and Larnach has 603 in the majors. Yes, they both have had injury issues, but that's a big part of today's game. My guess is due to weight training, but that's just a guess. It wasn't this way in the sixties and seventies.   

As a result, teams need to have more depth, and I believe we do. Let's let these guys at least get 1,000 at-bats in the bigs, if not the customary 1,500 before we bail on them. Neither has been able to settle in due to injuries, and there is nothing that says either one will miss much time this year, as injuries are unpredictable.

Unless your name is Bryon of course .. 

[chpettit19]

I think the Twins love Kirilloff. It's never safe to assume they won't trade someone, but I think their "offensive profile" stuff is overblown here. Alex Kirilloff started 73 games last year. 74% of those starts (54) came in the 2, 3, or 4 spots in the lineup. That doesn't scream "he doesn't fit our profile!" to me. That says they think he's one of their best hitters. Add in his 8 starts in the 5 hole and you're at 85% of his starts being in the absolute heart of the order. I think the Twins very much believe in Kirilloff's bat.

His concern is his health. Because of that I think this is a bit of a "make or break" year for him in terms of staying in the plans as the primary 1B. If he can't stay healthy this year he's likely out of the plans when it comes to building teams moving forward. Not that he'd necessarily be dealt, but just that they'd not really take him into account when planning their team and anything they get from him would be bonus moving forward. But for 2024 I think their only concern with him is health. You don't hit a guy in the 3 hole more often than any other spot in the lineup if you don't trust his bat.

[Cory Engelhardt]

22 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Sure, have him in the lineup. However, when looking for the optimal alignment - combining both offense and defense - I don't think Julien at first base is it.

What if he is at DH some, at 2B some, and at 1B some depending on the day and the matchup?

Lee, to me, is someone that you will want in the lineup all the time too. He certainly can be 2b, SS and 3b, given the day right?

Lewis also, 3b, dh, 2b, and maybe eventually outfield (but I'd imagine that's far away).

Correa at SS, but he will need some days off.

Having depth is a good thing.

[stringer bell]

I think I'm as big a Kirilloff fan as there is on this site. Two years ago, as the season started, I said Kirilloff's floor was Mark Grace offense and Will Clark defense and his ceiling was Will Clark offense and Mark Grace defense. First round draft choice, excellent minor league number, aggressive promotion--a lot of factors that showed the club thought highly of him--but so far the injuries and frankly the performance have not matched his pedigree. 

I watched the games on the west coast, when Kirilloff mashed and won Player of the Week. Immediately after that he was injured, but stayed in the lineup with near disastrous results. Similarly, Kirilloff tried to play through wrist pain in the previous two years with poor (for him) results. I still believe that a healthy Kirilloff can be an elite hitter--perennial All-Star and contender for a batting championship. 

AK's approach seems different from most. He gets a higher percentage of opposite field homers than anyone on the team (only Julien is close) and so far seems content to get singles from pitches that are middle-in. In 2023 he was far more patient than in his earlier professional experience and I hope that continues. I do think that this slightly different approach might actually be beneficial to the lineup. I also note that AK has struggled against left handed pitching. He certainly needs to improve there soon or he will be branded as a platoon player.  

Kirilloff is younger than Jeffers and Larnach and only a month older than Wallner, but arbitration has started for him. He won't be a minimum wage player. If he can't be both more available and more productive, it is more and more possible that he won't figure in the team's plans. I think this is his last chance to be the unchallenged regular at first base before other options are brought on board. It will be interesting if the Twins bring in a first baseman before the season starts, which would indicate their trust in AK is waning. 

[JD-TWINS]

19 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

What if he is at DH some, at 2B some, and at 1B some depending on the day and the matchup?

Lee, to me, is someone that you will want in the lineup all the time too. He certainly can be 2b, SS and 3b, given the day right?

Lewis also, 3b, dh, 2b, and maybe eventually outfield (but I'd imagine that's far away).

Correa at SS, but he will need some days off.

Having depth is a good thing.

No issue. Assuming Farmer is the “rest guy” for CC and the “rest guy” for Lewis, especially if Miranda doesn’t make the 26 man. Also, he’s the platoon at 2B v. LH pitching most of the time.

[stringer bell]

I keep seeing Lee referred to as a potential second baseman. To my knowledge he has never played second base. I also have seen that Farmer could platoon at first base when he has started the same number of games there as he has started as a catcher. Has Royce Lewis ever played left field or second base? 

I think position switches like this would have to be addressed in Spring Training. Lots of players move around and change their permanent home, usually down the defensive spectrum. I'd hate to see Lewis. Lee or Julien become corner guys until they absolutely have to. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

6 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

No issue. Assuming Farmer is the “rest guy” for CC and the “rest guy” for Lewis, especially if Miranda doesn’t make the 26 man. Also, he’s the platoon at 2B v. LH pitching most of the time.

I know, Farmer is here too. That's a good thing in my mind. 

We'll see with Miranda. I hope he can be back to what he did for a lot of 2022. 

All of this lends to the thinking that they were wanting to use some of their position player depth to trade for pitching, right?

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

I keep seeing Lee referred to as a potential second baseman. To my knowledge he has never played second base. I also have seen that Farmer could platoon at first base when he has started the same number of games there as he has started as a catcher. Has Royce Lewis ever played left field or second base? 

I think position switches like this would have to be addressed in Spring Training. Lots of players move around and change their permanent home, usually down the defensive spectrum. I'd hate to see Lewis. Lee or Julien become corner guys until they absolutely have to. 

I do agree, it's a lot easier to move down the spectrum than up it. 

At the same time, it's not like Lee moving from SS to 2b is at all similar to moving from SS to catcher, right? It's still an up the middle defensive home.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Could respond the same to any of comments so far, just an observation here…….don’t understand the Kirilloff scrutiny other than the obvious health issues? Somewhat healthy in ‘23 as compared to previous couple years, he had a .348 OBP and hit a HR every 25.5 AB (11 in 281) ……..Julien had an approximate OBP of .385 and he hit a HR every 25.5 AB (16 in 408). One guy has no power and the other may take his position away because of his power ……….doesn’t seem to add up?

To me, they are a strong OBP duo with reasonable to better HR pop for the right side of the infield. I think they should stick with this duo and see how it plays out through a season together to evaluate defensively and in key spots in the line-up.

Last post of the day - BIG error by me above here, not trying to confuse……mixed up Julien’s PA’s with AB’s. (16 HR in 338 AB, so HR every 21.2 AB) my bad! Eddie with mild power advantage. Point is still that they are both good players/hitters.

That said - was watching Hot Stove a bit on MLB. They were saying Josh Naylor was going to lead the Guardians back into the “Central mix”.

’23 comparison for kicks:

Naylor - 17 HR in 452 AB - .354  OBP - OPS+ 133

Kirilloff - 11 HR in 281 AB - .348 OBP - OPS+ 117

Julien - 16 HR in 338 AB - .381 OBP - OPS+ 130

Both Twins players outshine Naylor with same AB’s & Guardians are building around his lead. Seems we have a couple of keepers!

[JD-TWINS]

9 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I keep seeing Lee referred to as a potential second baseman. To my knowledge he has never played second base. I also have seen that Farmer could platoon at first base when he has started the same number of games there as he has started as a catcher. Has Royce Lewis ever played left field or second base? 

I think position switches like this would have to be addressed in Spring Training. Lots of players move around and change their permanent home, usually down the defensive spectrum. I'd hate to see Lewis. Lee or Julien become corner guys until they absolutely have to. 

As stated, I like Lee at 3B - Julien at 2B and that’s it ………. hoping for 20 years from now it’s F. Robinson, Henry Aaron, & Royce Lewis as great corner OF’s! They tried him due to ability & fit in CF - unfortunate injury. Seems he could handle LF to get the other guy’s bats in the line-up?………maybe he’s at 1B & Kirilloff moves to the grass?

Farmer is the back-up SS  - back-up 3B - platoon 2B. No first base, as you state.

[TwinsDr2021]

AK is the cautionary tale of all minor league players and the hopes and dreams of fans. He was a top 30 prospect in all of baseball and 4 seasons later and at the age of 26 is still trying to get it figured out and stay healthy. If he can stay healthy and get it figured out he could have a pretty darn good career, probably not with the Twins though. This is the problem with anointing minor league player as the solution prematurely. (Martin, Miranda, etc..) 

If he does figure it out (and man I hope he does) he starts getting expensive real quick, and that why teams like the Twins need their young guys to be healthy and good within the first couple of years, so get the production out of them when they are cheap.

IMO the Twins put him at 1B and in the middle of the order and hope he is everything we hope he is and, pay him arb next year and start looking to trade him for a really nice return. Or be terrible and hurt cut him and let him resurface someplace else in a few years.

 

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

AK must stay healthy this season to stay relevant IMO. Similar to Buxton, he has been very injury prone so far. Unfortunately, he has never been near the quality as BB when healthy.

Don’t disagree, just because there are guys with potential all around him……waiting to succeed.

Buxton is a physical freak when healthy so tough to compare him with most guys when he’s healthy……….been 9 years with Byron though - 1 year above 100 games. Kirilloff has been up for 3 years……..wrist in ‘21 - ‘22 - early ‘23. Assuming that’s fixed now? Messed up shoulder that’s fixed now? He should get a year’s worth of runway with only 700 AB’s to date.

Buxton career:

.239 BA - .300 OBP - 106 OPS+
 

Kirilloff career:

.259 BA - .319 OBP - 104 OPS+

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, HrbieFan said:

At some point availability has to trump potential and that goes for Larnach and Kirilloff. IMO the 1B spot is wide open and ready for someone to step up. Is that Kirilloff, Miranda, Larnach or some FA. 

I would definitely add Buxton to the availability has to trump potential list of Twins

[RpR]

2 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I just, that's not what Julien said he was going to do at Twinsfest. He said he is working hard on grounders, at both 2B and 1B, and will play anywhere to help the team win. 

The main thing, we need Julien's bat in the lineup. That's what's most important, right?

Julien's attitude is one half of the battle.

[Jocko87]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I think the Twins love Kirilloff. It's never safe to assume they won't trade someone, but I think their "offensive profile" stuff is overblown here. Alex Kirilloff started 73 games last year. 74% of those starts (54) came in the 2, 3, or 4 spots in the lineup. That doesn't scream "he doesn't fit our profile!" to me. That says they think he's one of their best hitters. Add in his 8 starts in the 5 hole and you're at 85% of his starts being in the absolute heart of the order. I think the Twins very much believe in Kirilloff's bat.

His concern is his health. Because of that I think this is a bit of a "make or break" year for him in terms of staying in the plans as the primary 1B. If he can't stay healthy this year he's likely out of the plans when it comes to building teams moving forward. Not that he'd necessarily be dealt, but just that they'd not really take him into account when planning their team and anything they get from him would be bonus moving forward. But for 2024 I think their only concern with him is health. You don't hit a guy in the 3 hole more often than any other spot in the lineup if you don't trust his bat.

Agreed, I've argued a few times the AK gets quite a bit more runway than most of the guys.  If he's right, he's the top lefty in the lineup for years.  The key to all this is the team knows when he was hurt or not and how much that plays into his performance, we don't know nearly as much.  Hence they know the healthy upside.  When he was dropped from the postseason roster the injury was a surprise to most, to the point of minor questions about roster manipulation.  Turns out, he had been hurt for a while.

I do think he is a trade candidate though, depending on what they know about his healthy upside.  They are willing to take the time to try get a player fully healthy and have been patient for quite a while already.  I could see him being a very valuable chip at the deadline if he has a healthy first half.

Personally I'd like him to stick at first and let Julien work a little outfield.  I wouldn't expect great defense but if we are looking at a Soler types in FA he can play defense at that level.  Lewis and Lee are not candidates for the outfield at all.

[Linus]

I see AK being in the same boat as Larnach Wallner Julien Miranda and to a lesser extent Lewis and Jeffers. They all have to still prove they are consistent big league hitters for the long run. I think AK has a higher ceiling with the bat than the others except Lewis but he has to do it. 

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Agreed, I've argued a few times the AK gets quite a bit more runway than most of the guys.  If he's right, he's the top lefty in the lineup for years.  The key to all this is the team knows when he was hurt or not and how much that plays into his performance, we don't know nearly as much.  Hence they know the healthy upside.  When he was dropped from the postseason roster the injury was a surprise to most, to the point of minor questions about roster manipulation.  Turns out, he had been hurt for a while.

I do think he is a trade candidate though, depending on what they know about his healthy upside.  They are willing to take the time to try get a player fully healthy and have been patient for quite a while already.  I could see him being a very valuable chip at the deadline if he has a healthy first half.

Personally I'd like him to stick at first and let Julien work a little outfield.  I wouldn't expect great defense but if we are looking at a Soler types in FA he can play defense at that level.  Lewis and Lee are not candidates for the outfield at all.

He's such a wildly difficult player to peg because of his injuries (super rare for the Twins recently, I know). He's had some stretches where I get super excited for who he can be because he looks like a perennial All Star who can do it all at the plate. Then he falls off and looks completely lost. I still think he has maybe the most natural hitting ability on the team, but he needs to show it in a healthy season.

If Lee and Martin take off early, or even Severino and/or Miranda, I could definitely see them considering Kirilloff as a trade chip. 

Julien got some games in the cOF a few years ago and I really wish I knew what that looked like. I don't expect Lewis to be considered an OF option ever, but I'd put him out there if it were up to me and it'd allow for the best 9 guys to be in the lineup. But I know the CF injury has lead to a lot of trepidation there, including by him. So I don't expect it, but if I were running the team it'd be on the table for me. Lee has no shot, though. I've seen him run and he should limit that to short areas in the IF. I wonder what Julien vs Kirilloff in the OF is like. I question how bad Julien was if they decided the fielder we saw early in the year last year was better than the defender they saw for 120ish innings out there in the minors. Would he be better or worse than Kirilloff out there?

[Brandon]

8 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

The problem with Alex as with Arraez & Polanco is that they don't fit the Twins-hitting type. They don't strike out enough. '23 was a good sign for Kiriloff that didn't have any wrist problems, that's what we need to focus on. It took Kiriloff much longer to get back to MLB shape. Thrown into RF right away after a long absence with very little ramp-up time explains his shoulder problems that shouldn't be an issue this season if he gets plenty of ramp-up time. 

'23 is a terrible season to get a real picture of what kind of hitter Kiriloff is. So I don't agree with your assessment of Kiriloff using '23 stats.

Kiriloff still has the tools to be a great hitter & 1Bman. Julien is a 1Bman hopefully Lee will come up sooner than expected to take over 2B, so that Julien can rotate with Kiriloff at 1B/DH/ & Kiriloff to RF. Together with the platoon of Miranda & Farmer, 1B will be probably our best-covered position which absolutely doesn't need to waste money or trade bait for a Gallo-type player.

I agree and using the whole body of work in a small 700 AB sample where he was injured half the time.  I m sure the 22 HRs in 700 AB where the player is injured a good portion is indicative of how he will play when healthy.  I can see the line being we need a healthy 1B or DH if he can’t play in the field.  But we need a full season out of him as he gets more expensive.

[DocBauer]

Personally, I have a lot of faith in Kirilloff IF HEALTHY. And that's the crux of it all isn't it? I think any sort of suggestion that he might not "fit in" with the Twins profile is, at best, pre-mature if not misguided.

He was brought along slowly in 2023 so that he could rehab his 2nd, and aggressive, wrist surgery. The fact that full, projected, power didn't click in completely is easily explained by getting in a groove, but also just "trusting" his wrist to not come back and bite him.

I'd say mission accomplished! 

Repeating his numbers, .270/ .348/ .419/ .793 and an OPS+ of 117. 26 total XB hits...11 of them HR...in 281 AB. Those are good numbers.

Good June, slipped in July, good July again. And then he hurt his shoulder diving for a ball. His wrist appears fine. I think, generally speaking, 1B is a fairly "safe" position unless you're stepped on, or get hurt diving for a ball.

Can he recover 100%, and not take a great deal of time to do so, and his shoulder be fine? The Twins value power, and they should. And AK has power. But there is no "sell out" approach by the Twins that they only want K machines with power. That's only part of the equation. You also need some contact bats, good OB% guys, for a mix of approaches. Saying Kirilloff doesn't fit is like saying Arraez wasn't important in their lineup because all he did was get OB foe guys to knock him in.

As chpettit19 pointed out,  he hit primarily in the 2-4/5 holes because he was hitting, was getting OB, and was showing power and run production. How does a guy like that not fit in?

It simply comes down to health. The wrist appears fixed. The reports on his shoulder injury and repair were good. Can he NOW put that injury history behind him for 400-450 AB? If so, he's an important part of the team and at least the immediate future. 

HOWEVER, there is nothing wrong with Julien being able to also play 1B. There is nothing wrong with the idea of letting Larnach try his hand there in ST to see if he can increase his value by being more flexible. Miranda and Severino may play a part in the future at 1B. That's a good thing, to have that depth. I wouldn't make any sort of major at 1B until or unless I know that AK is going to have further issues. Then it becomes a different ballgame altogether, pun intended.

Sign Duvall for the OF. I only grab one of the remaining 1B options out there if the doctors and trainers are feeling concerned at this point.

But 2024 might be Kirilloff's most important season.

[Markdumont25]

15 hours ago, Sean.h said:

Trading Larnach/Kiriloff now would be a sell low move. Let's give them (at least) one more year to figure it out!

I'm kind of over Larnach, agree that it would be a sell low move though so probably best to hang on to him, but I absolutely think Kiriloff needs another year. Big mistake to trade him now. The injury history is concerning but he didn't have the same recurring injury (wrist) So I think it may just be a unfortunate coincidence and he's still been good. Maybe not the superstar we envisioned but definitely a valuable piece. I need further convincing on Larnach.

[Markdumont25]

7 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Personally, I have a lot of faith in Kirilloff IF HEALTHY. And that's the crux of it all isn't it? I think any sort of suggestion that he might not "fit in" with the Twins profile is, at best, pre-mature if not misguided.

He was brought along slowly in 2023 so that he could rehab his 2nd, and aggressive, wrist surgery. The fact that full, projected, power didn't click in completely is easily explained by getting in a groove, but also just "trusting" his wrist to not come back and bite him.

I'd say mission accomplished! 

Repeating his numbers, .270/ .348/ .419/ .793 and an OPS+ of 117. 26 total XB hits...11 of them HR...in 281 AB. Those are good numbers.

Good June, slipped in July, good July again. And then he hurt his shoulder diving for a ball. His wrist appears fine. I think, generally speaking, 1B is a fairly "safe" position unless you're stepped on, or get hurt diving for a ball.

Can he recover 100%, and not take a great deal of time to do so, and his shoulder be fine? The Twins value power, and they should. And AK has power. But there is no "sell out" approach by the Twins that they only want K machines with power. That's only part of the equation. You also need some contact bats, good OB% guys, for a mix of approaches. Saying Kirilloff doesn't fit is like saying Arraez wasn't important in their lineup because all he did was get OB foe guys to knock him in.

As chpettit19 pointed out,  he hit primarily in the 2-4/5 holes because he was hitting, was getting OB, and was showing power and run production. How does a guy like that not fit in?

It simply comes down to health. The wrist appears fixed. The reports on his shoulder injury and repair were good. Can he NOW put that injury history behind him for 400-450 AB? If so, he's an important part of the team and at least the immediate future. 

HOWEVER, there is nothing wrong with Julien being able to also play 1B. There is nothing wrong with the idea of letting Larnach try his hand there in ST to see if he can increase his value by being more flexible. Miranda and Severino may play a part in the future at 1B. That's a good thing, to have that depth. I wouldn't make any sort of major at 1B until or unless I know that AK is going to have further issues. Then it becomes a different ballgame altogether, pun intended.

Sign Duvall for the OF. I only grab one of the remaining 1B options out there if the doctors and trainers are feeling concerned at this point.

But 2024 might be Kirilloff's most important season.

Completely agree with all this except I don't think anyone really needs a shot at first unless Kiriloff is struggling. He should be our presumed every day 1B unless proven otherwise. Larnach has had enough chances that I think he should be more break in case of emergency than anything else at this point

[HrbieFan]

19 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

I would definitely add Buxton to the availability has to trump potential list of Twins

Agreed, but we are locked into Bux. We can dump Larnach or Kirilloff without cost

[Ctwink]

23 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Could respond the same to any of comments so far, just an observation here…….don’t understand the Kirilloff scrutiny other than the obvious health issues? Somewhat healthy in ‘23 as compared to previous couple years, he had a .348 OBP and hit a HR every 25.5 AB (11 in 281) ……..Julien had an approximate OBP of .385 and he hit a HR every 25.5 AB (16 in 408). One guy has no power and the other may take his position away because of his power ……….doesn’t seem to add up?

To me, they are a strong OBP duo with reasonable to better HR pop for the right side of the infield. I think they should stick with this duo and see how it plays out through a season together to evaluate defensively and in key spots in the line-up.

Thank you - I was going to say the exact thing - Julien is praised for power in the article and Kirillof is tanked, but their Homerun rates are very similar.  Kirillof has 22 HR's in 706 PA while Julien has 16 homeruns in 408 PA.  If you extrapolate Julien's number to the same 706 PA, Julien has 27 HR.  So what's the difference?  Kirilloff has been hurting for half his ML career and has been unable to pull the ball while in Julien's one partial season, he had zero issues affecting his swing.

I have a suggestion - lets just let Kirillof play and see what he does.  Don't judge his career projection off bad data.

[wabene]

21 minutes ago, Ctwink said:

while in Julien's one partial season, he had zero issues affecting his swing.

I agree with your post and think we have not seen the best of Kirilloff. Julien was dinged up towards the end of the season with a hammy or something and his numbers were effected. 

[Riverbrian]

29 minutes ago, wabene said:

I agree with your post and think we have not seen the best of Kirilloff. Julien was dinged up towards the end of the season with a hammy or something and his numbers were effected. 

That's always the tricky thing for us outsiders to assess. We only see the results while the reasons for results are hidden from view. 

However... when I think about such things... the main thing that sticks in my head is this: 

If Injury is causing poor performance... if injury is used as justification for poor performance. Why let them play through injury when the result is poor performance? 

Poor Performance is Poor performance weather it is caused by injury or or caused by talent. 

I wonder about such things.  

[TL]

Best case scenario to me is he is healthy and performing well toward the trade deadline and can be used as part of the package to get that elusive front-line starter! Injuries to him or others have a way of derailing the best-laid plans but that is the way to maximize his value before he gets expensive.

[Fred]

On 2/1/2024 at 9:06 AM, JD-TWINS said:

What’s wrong with .270 BA - .348 OBP - 11 HR in less than 50% of a season’s AB’s - 117 OPS+
 

He’s hurt TOO much, agreed. His output, when in the line-up is good. Still young and continually chasing good health…….no reason to make a move at 1B now.

The Twins set a SO record. Julien is/was part of that problem (38% ?) while Kirilloff was about 26%. Give Kirillof a year platooning with Santana to see what you've got. I read Kirilloff is a + defender at 1st. You won't get that from Julien.

[RpR]

13 minutes ago, Fred said:

The Twins set a SO record. Julien is/was part of that problem (38% ?) while Kirilloff was about 26%. Give Kirillof a year platooning with Santana to see what you've got. I read Kirilloff is a + defender at 1st. You won't get that from Julien.

Kirilloff is no bettr defender than Julien.