Wallner Returning. Who Loses Playing Time?

[stringer bell]

Matt Wallner earned his way back to the major leagues by slugging for the AAA St. Paul Saints. Reliable reports have Wallner being recalled today and the pages of Twins Daily have contained much speculation about the corresponding move to make room for Wallner. The Twins could send a pitcher down today and go with 14 position players on their roster for a few days while they wait to activate or promote someone to join the starting rotation, but eventually a position player will be taken off the active roster.

I find the move curious only in that there is no obvious candidate for less playing time among the position players. In looking how the lineup could be juggled I still see no one who can be replaced by Wallner who should be getting less plate appearances. Here are the options: 1) José Miranda--Miranda has started frequently against right handed pitching, either at third, DH or first base. All he's done is crush righties. His OPS this year against right handed pitching is 1.012 and his career OPS against right handed pitching is better than against lefties. Even before his 12-12 streak, replacing Miranda vs. right handers should have been a no go. Certainly, he should be in the lineup right now against all pitching. 2) Trevor Larnach--Larnach has been strictly platooned and has served frequently as the DH. It sounds like the toe injury he suffered before the regular season will nag him the rest of the season and is one reason why he has DHed as much as he has. This season has been Larnach's best and his batting average and  slugging are up while his strikeouts are down. Larnach has played more in the field recently, so perhaps his injured foot is improving. However, Trevor's overall stats are okay, not outstanding. He played yesterday and had three of his worst at-bats of the season and made a curious play in the outfield. Maybe I'm reading more into those events, but maybe he isn't close to 100% yet. 3) Carlos Santana--Miranda can play first with Larnach/Wallner is left field, that would move Carlos Santana to the bench against right handed pitching. Santana has been a better hitter against lefties again this year and his .708 OPS vs. right handers is about league average. Santana would be a superior glove to Miranda at first base, but Carlos is 38 and on a one-year deal, so resting him against most righties could happen. 4) Brooks Lee--All he has done in four games is hit in each one, drive in runs and play flawless defense. At least until Royce Lewis is healthy, Lee stays in the lineup. The Twins could move Lee to second base and free Willi Castro, but Willi will be in the lineup somewhere. It's quite possible that Willi plays center field when Buxton has a rest day.

Congratulations and best wishes to Matt Wallner. I hope he makes the Twins more successful going forward. 

 

[OptimisticTwinsFan]

To me the easy answer(s) here are Larnach, Santana, and potentially some Kepler. I think one of the things the Twins should be worried about is that they are approaching decision time on some of these younger prospects who are trying to break their way into the MLB and produce consistently without ever really being able to see how good they are because of the general log jam of players that we have seen in recent years. 

I think Wallner could potentially be a prime trade candidate. However, he also might be a .370+ OBP - .800+ OPS hitter who hits 70+ XBH's per year. I think the development of Lewis & Lee along with Correa mean that you don't have to ask Wallner to be a say true #4 hitter. 

If Wallner is a #6 or #7 hitter, the empty at bats between the hard contact may be much more palatable. In addition, that's much more palatable on a roster that is now one of the best contact hitting and lowest strikeout teams in the league. I do think that we know what Larnach is and we know that he's probably about a league average hitter at best. I think Santana has played surprisingly well and has been better than that for stretches but is also probably roughly there as well. 

I think you need to see how good Wallner is and you know that Santana and/or Larnch is available to you to (1) pinch hit (2) certain matchups (3) if Wallner slumps (4) if you want more consistency and experience in a playoff situation.

[Riverbrian]

Wallner, Larnach and Kepler will cover DH, LF and RF vs. Right handed starters. 

As long as Miranda is hitting everything in sight.

Santana will yield the most playing time with Miranda covering 1B when righties take the mound. .