Byron Buxton

[jorgenswest]

It has been a pleasure watching Byron run the bases and play centerfield again. I hope this is short term.

I don’t think the maintenance plan worked last year. Byron needs to healthy to be an asset. If he needs to be down for at least a few days I hope they use the IL and get him fully recovered. Bring up Martin for 10 days and share with Castro.

If it looks longer term they need to find a solution for centerfield. I would give the first shot to Emmanuel Rodriguez. Fortunately he is healthy and back in the AA line up. They need his speed and defense. He has on base skills. He is the best upside solution. He might show he is not near ready after a month. The next best longer term solution is Royce Lewis. If Miranda keeps hitting maybe they need to get Lewis prepped for centerfield.

Let’s hope Buxton is back shortly. If not, let’s hope Rodriguez is up to the challenge. Otherwise Lewis has the skills to be a great asset in the outfield and an asset that fits well on the roster in the coming seasons. Lee will be ready. Julien looks to be a fixture at 2B. Carlos isn’t going anywhere. Miranda is starting to earn an everyday role. None of those players looks to be an asset in the outfield. Is there a greater likelihood of injury in the outfield? Running the bases is more risky and I don’t think so and you can’t hide a player from injury in any case.

 

[TopGunn#22]

This is what makes the Margot signing questionable if he's NOT really the backup to Buxton in CF.  It's probably wise to IL Byron for 10 days and get Austin Martin back up.  I would love to see E-Rod get a chance, but I don't think he's quite ready and I've been pleased with what Austin Martin has done so far.  

If martin had NOT played as well as he did, I'd probably be clamoring for E-Rod )or Kiersey).  

[stringer bell]

AFAIK all that is known of Buxton's injury is "right knee soreness". I think a more complete diagnosis and prognosis is needed before making decisions about who to replace him. 

31 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

This is what makes the Margot signing questionable if he's NOT really the backup to Buxton in CF.  

I agree 100%. If Margot isn't the replacement for Buxton, the Twins could have and should have gotten someone with a bit more thump in their bat or just saved the money and gone with Martin in the first place.

[mickster]

42 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

It has been a pleasure watching Byron run the bases and play centerfield again. I hope this is short term.

I don’t think the maintenance plan worked last year. Byron needs to healthy to be an asset. If he needs to be down for at least a few days I hope they use the IL and get him fully recovered. Bring up Martin for 10 days and share with Castro.

If it looks longer term they need to find a solution for centerfield. I would give the first shot to Emmanuel Rodriguez. Fortunately he is healthy and back in the AA line up. They need his speed and defense. He has on base skills. He is the best upside solution. He might show he is not near ready after a month. The next best longer term solution is Royce Lewis. If Miranda keeps hitting maybe they need to get Lewis prepped for centerfield.

Let’s hope Buxton is back shortly. If not, let’s hope Rodriguez is up to the challenge. Otherwise Lewis has the skills to be a great asset in the outfield and an asset that fits well on the roster in the coming seasons. Lee will be ready. Julien looks to be a fixture at 2B. Carlos isn’t going anywhere. Miranda is starting to earn an everyday role. None of those players looks to be an asset in the outfield. Is there a greater likelihood of injury in the outfield? Running the bases is more risky and I don’t think so and you can’t hide a player from injury in any case.

 

I think we go with Martin as the primary CF, and use Margot for a day off.   Castro is too valuable all over the diamond.

[GeorgeLooney]

I think Martin has earned the right to take over in center while buxton is out. Let’s see what he has got! He has the talent to be a long term solution. 

[GeorgeLooney]

I never understood why the front office decided to sign Margot instead of just bringing Taylor back. Taylor is a better fielder with more pop in his bat plus he was cheaper. 

[stringer bell]

11 minutes ago, GeorgeLooney said:

I never understood why the front office decided to sign Margot instead of just bringing Taylor back. Taylor is a better fielder with more pop in his bat plus he was cheaper. 

Taylor was asking for much more money than he ended up with. Could the Twins have waited him out? Maybe, maybe not. If the Twins wanted to get a corner OF that hits right handed, getting Pham, Grichuk, Robbie Grossman or a couple of others would have been preferable to Margot IMHO. BTW, the Twins traded for Margot and are paying for only a portion of his contract.

[jorgenswest]

A request that we focus on solutions and not rehash the decisions winter.

What is your solution if it is short term? Long term?

 

[adjacent]

19 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

A request that we focus on solutions and not rehash the decisions winter.

What is your solution if it is short term? Long term?

 

First, wait today what the diagnostic is. 2nd, if there is a 10 day IL (which is the most probable) Martin. For long term, again, depend on the diagnostic, and how Martin fares. If it is a long term injury and Martin fares well, then this is Martin job. If he doesn't fare well, probably a trade or a FA for next year. I would hate to rush Rodriguez to cover a hole. 

[TopGunn#22]

To me, the short term decision is also the long term decision:  Play Austin Martin and continue to monitor E-Rod's progress.  It's possible Martin just takes the position if things are worse for Buxton than we realize right now.  Now that we're not trying to change Martin's approach to unlock possible "power potential" I'm happy with a guy that makes contact, gets on base at a high clip and can steal some bases hitting #1 or #2 or #8/#9 in our lineup.

And all the while, keep monitoring Emmanuel Rodriguez's progress at AA.  The Twins "COULD" promote him directly from AA but I would advise against that.  And of course, this is all moot if Buxton just has some knee soreness and he'll be fine after some time off.  The only reason we're really discussing this as Twins fans at this point is that we're all more than a little nervous about Buxton.  

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, GeorgeLooney said:

I never understood why the front office decided to sign Margot instead of just bringing Taylor back. Taylor is a better fielder with more pop in his bat plus he was cheaper. 

To make matters worse, we traded the best fielding SS in the minors to Dodgers to get him and he's suddenly hit 5 HR's with a batting average of .250 through May 1. 

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, FlyingFinn said:

To make matters worse, we traded the best fielding SS in the minors to Dodgers to get him and he's suddenly hit 5 HR's with a batting average of .250 through May 1. 

The loss of Miller is mitigated by the acquisition of Doncon, who when I last checked was hitting quite well. 

[RpR]

2 hours ago, GeorgeLooney said:

I think Martin has earned the right to take over in center while buxton is out. Let’s see what he has got! He has the talent to be a long term solution. 

Martin is not a good Center Fielder.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

This is what makes the Margot signing questionable if he's NOT really the backup to Buxton in CF.  It's probably wise to IL Byron for 10 days and get Austin Martin back up.  I would love to see E-Rod get a chance, but I don't think he's quite ready and I've been pleased with what Austin Martin has done so far.  

If martin had NOT played as well as he did, I'd probably be clamoring for E-Rod )or Kiersey).  

Nah. Acquiring Margot at all was questionable when there were free agent options like Michael A. Taylor on the market. The fact Margot can't cover CF anymore makes the trade straight up stupid.

[bean5302]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

Martin is not a good Center Fielder.

 

Yeah, Martin is going to be seriously stretched in CF. He's about as fast as Max Kepler used to be (28.0 ft/sec). 60 grade speed, which is just enough to cover CF, but his arm is probably 45 grade. He does have good instincts, but he's more Jake Cave than Billy Hamilton out there.

Willi Castro at least has the tools to play center field (speed/arm), though his instincts are rough.

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

...If it looks longer term they need to find a solution for centerfield. I would give the first shot to Emmanuel Rodriguez...

 

We saw Rodriquez in Spring Training. He's far from ready.

[Road trip]

9 minutes ago, RpR said:

Martin is not a good Center Fielder.

 

Don't think the stats have any validity after an entire 10 game sample.  Check back at 90 or so games.

He's plenty fast.  His arm is just ok, but it's not like he's Ben Revere...

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

A request that we focus on solutions and not rehash the decisions winter.

What is your solution if it is short term? Long term?

 

This is what the OP has asked. Let’s not rehash the decisions that are made and done. It does no good and really adds little to the discussion. Where’s Brock’s dead horse emoji when you need it? What’s to be done now and forward?

[Oldgoat_MN]

Fewer than 10 weeks ago Emmanuel Rodriguez was 20 years old. He has had fewer than 80 PA in AA ball. His hitting stats look good, but we need to show some patience.

I'd like to see Martin and Castro cover CF until we get Buxton back. Hopefully that will be soon. Really appreciate seeing him in CF and running the bases.

I also believe Buxton, over the season, will have an OPS >.800, as he did each year from 2019 through 2022. 

Go Twins!

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Road trip said:

Don't think the stats have any validity after an entire 10 game sample.  Check back at 90 or so games.

He's plenty fast.  His arm is just ok, but it's not like he's Ben Revere...

Concur on the short sample, and also the arm, except the two-bouncer he threw the other day to third base had me thinking exactly of Revere in the moment.  Opposing runners are going to take liberties when the ball is hit to him; that's not something that shows up in standard stats, is it?

He's got enough speed to play CF, although CF is fast company (no pun intended) and he doesn't have so much as to actually excel.  But CF is more than just speed.  The small sample I've seen of him out there, he seems to have a problem getting a read on the ball soon enough, in other words closing the deal on a play at the wall is beyond him at the moment.  Like the old cliche, "he makes the tough plays look difficult."

LF seems to be the spot for him, defensively.  The other day he left his feet and made a futile Jake Cave attempt at a sinking liner, but fortunately had Byron Buxton there to back him up and prevent an inside the park homer.  Can't do that when he's playing CF because there's no cavalry coming to rescue a bad decision.

The hitting numbers Martin put up in his first taste of the majors would be barely satisfactory if his defense in CF were stellar.  As it is, he's gonna have to hit a ton to be an asset.  If Byron is out indefinitely, Martin looks like only a stopgap at present.

I know I'm a broken record on Martin.  I'm actually rooting for him to prove me wrong.  Daring him.  Begging him.

[FlyingFinn]

41 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The loss of Miller is mitigated by the acquisition of Doncon, who when I last checked was hitting quite well. 

I'm just much higher on Miller in High A. In low A, Doncon has 2 HR's with a .263 BA and has made 3 errors. He won't be a SS if he ever makes it to MLB, and plays 3B now twice as much as he does SS. 

[ashbury]

25 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

I'm just much higher on Miller in High A. In low A, Doncon has 2 HR's with a .263 BA and has made 3 errors. He won't be a SS if he ever makes it to MLB, and plays 3B now twice as much as he does SS. 

I took a look too, and it seems they are hoping against hope that Winokur makes the grade at SS.  So far, he is not (though he is young).  So it's possible that Doncon gets more reps there, soon.  But the scouting I'm aware of suggests that Doncon isn't going to stick at SS either. 

So with Margot not looking like a Buxton replacement a la MAT, I'm left with opting for Willi in CF, maybe sacrificing a little range, until a better solution is found.  That would be quite the resume he'd be building up: good enough to start at SS in Correa's absence, good enough to start in CF when Buxton's out, good enough offense in his Twins tenure* to be an asset at an up-the-middle position.

But I suspect it will be Martin in at least a partial rotation.

 

* Kudos to the hitting coaches, anyone? 😀

[DocBauer]

Martin is probably the right call. He didn't look out of place in his first appearance, had athleticism and potential, and is on the 40 man.

However, Keirsey is off to a great start at St Paul this year...following a pair of good back to back milb seasons...and is an excellent CF. Does it matter if he bats LH? Not to me. He's got to be considered an option at some point, especially in a long term situation.

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

To make matters worse, we traded the best fielding SS in the minors to Dodgers to get him and he's suddenly hit 5 HR's with a batting average of .250 through May 1. 

WOW 5HRs, thank you FlyingFinn for that update. One of the 1st games he hit a walk-off & his best talent is getting OB. I've always said that this was a big mistake. Not only being the best SS, that he'll turn it around hitting once coached right. But what do I know?

[danielp19653]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Martin is not a good Center Fielder.

 

While I agree Martin probably isn't a long term center field option our other is Margot who was just as bad over a full season last year and is running slower this year and putting up negative fielding metrics even in the corners. Martin seems to have more going at the plate at this point as well so if I'm picking between options available I'm going with Martin every time. Yes Margot has a positive value in CF this year but I'm not even entertaining that argument with 1 game played there this year.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Like everything else that's been discussed this season, there's what the Twins 'should' do and what they 'will likely' do. 

I think Castro will get the majority of playing time in CF - especially with Miranda looking comfortable at 3B - and Martin will get the call when Castro either needs a day off or is shifting to the infield to give Miranda or Correa a breather. I don't think we'll see Margot in CF and his role isn't going to change a lot from what it's been over the last month.

For once, I don't think the 'should do' is too far off from what they 'will do'. We can certainly argue that they could have given themselves better options - but that's not the discussion here.

[CRF]

If Buxton does go IL...which he probably will, by all means bring Martin back up, but Castro should get the CF duty, with Martin backing him up. The scary thing about Buxton this time, is that it's the same knee...and he didn't hurt it running into a wall, diving for a ball, or sliding. Not good. Maybe it's just some scar tissue discomfort and he's back soon. Gotta hope for the best. 

[TopGunn#22]

As far as the Margot trade and what we gave up.  I know we have a lot of SS "prospects" but lots of SS prospects end up getting moved to a different position.  And when I see Correa play SS and I hearken back to watching someone like Ozzie Smith, the idea of having a Platinum Glove SS is REALLY appealing to me.  We will probably regret giving him up, especially for a "talent" like Margot.  I'm not sure Margot will finish this season with the Twins.    

[bighat]

3 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Nah. Acquiring Margot at all was questionable when there were free agent options like Michael A. Taylor on the market. The fact Margot can't cover CF anymore makes the trade straight up stupid.

To make it worse, turns out the guy can't hit anymore either! 

[4twinsJA]

The second best CF in Twins system is Kiersay. Kiersay off to good start at the plate also at AAA this season.He is unproven at MLB level. If 40 man roster situation was not a factor, I would think he would be a good choice. But with 40 man roster, adding Kiersay would mean letting someone else go. Don't think FO is willing to do that this early in season.

Edited May 2, 2024 by 4twinsJA
incorrect spelling