The Twins Should Trade Alex Kirilloff to the Angels

[Mike Sixel]

17 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

I've noticed the same. But I'm actually a big supporter. I want to see him do well. He was obviously not right at the start of the season, striking out in half his plate appearances. 

It's also important to recognize his limitations though. I want to see him continue to be a 130-140 OPS+ guy, but even when he does his defense and position restricts him to being a 3 Win player basically. Whereas Julien could have (and potentially still could be) more like a 5 win player building on last year's production. 

"restricted" to a 3 Win player is a very nice place to be....he was on pace for more than 4 last year, btw....

[NYCTK]

I know! I'm a fan of him in general. 

He was so good last year, and I hope he has found some fix to his swing and continues to produce at an 880 OPS for 2 or 3 years to come. But if we're being honest, he's not one of those players that profiles as a consistent staple in a roster. His two best comps with the bat might be Mark Reynolds and Miguel Sano. Those players combined for a total 1.2 WAR after their age 26 season.

Another positive comp might be someone like Russell Branyan who stuck around the league for a while, hitting 230/330/490 fairly consistently, good enough to hold a major league job but never quite good enough with the bat or glove to hold down a starting spot on any good teams. A solid, 4th OF, DH/PH guy. All told, I feel like that's Wallner's best case scenario. 

[RpR]

8 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

I know! I'm a fan of him in general. 

He was so good last year, and I hope he has found some fix to his swing and continues to produce at an 880 OPS for 2 or 3 years to come. But if we're being honest, he's not one of those players that profiles as a consistent staple in a roster. His two best comps with the bat might be Mark Reynolds and Miguel Sano. Those players combined for a total 1.2 WAR after their age 26 season.

Another positive comp might be someone like Russell Branyan who stuck around the league for a while, hitting 230/330/490 fairly consistently, good enough to hold a major league job but never quite good enough with the bat or glove to hold down a starting spot on any good teams. A solid, 4th OF, DH/PH guy. All told, I feel like that's Wallner's best case scenario. 

You mean the Twins version of Mike Hessman, Minor Leaguer with the most home runs?

[NYCTK]

3 minutes ago, RpR said:

You mean the Twins version of Mike Hessman, Minor Leaguer with the most home runs?

Nah, he's better than that. He's not quite a AAAA player. He isn't a true starter though. I think the Twins would be wise not to count on him as such long-term. 

[Fatbat]

3 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Yeah, a bat only player with a career OPS+ of 100 at the age of 26 isn't exactly going to get much attention. He's a waiver wire reclamation project. Not an asset. 

Thats exactly what people were saying about Miranda most of last year and into april ‘24

[NYCTK]

8 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Thats exactly what people were saying about Miranda most of last year and into april ‘24

That's fine. I'm not saying to give up on him. But no team is lining up to trade for him. 

[RpR]

19 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Thats exactly what people were saying about Miranda most of last year and into april ‘24

Miranda had a good strech but it is fading.

[Fatbat]

33 minutes ago, RpR said:

Miranda had a good strech but it is fading.

Normal eb and flow of a young developing talent. He is also on the 10 day IL again. 

[NYCTK]

21 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Normal eb and flow of a young developing talent. He is also on the 10 day IL again. 

26 isn't really young developing talent anymore. It's typically the start of peak. 

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Fatbat said:

Normal eb and flow of a young developing talent. He is also on the 10 day IL again. 

Eb and Flow but he had better keep it up, as so far this year his defense at 3rd base is definitely better than Lewis, and he keeps bat high, 3rd base is his.

[bean5302]

Matt Wallner was about average defensively last year in the corners, and he has the skills to be well above average with some consistent playing time in a single position. Wallner gets a bad jump from slow reads on contact. No guarantee it'll ever improve as Brent Rooker hardly panned out well despite MLB average speed and a pretty strong arm.
2023 OF - 487.2 Innings
UZR/150 = -0.4
DRS/yr = +2
OAA = -4
Rtot/yr = +2

[Doctor Wu]

17 hours ago, East Coast Twin said:

The trade deadline is fourteen days away. 

Yikes, I keep forgetting about this new early deadline.

[minman1982]

On 7/15/2024 at 10:10 AM, LambchoP said:

I don't like this. If we trade for a pitcher it needs to be an impact pitcher that we can use in the playoffs. We've got plenty of number 4-5 type starters, what we need are top of the rotation guys. As for Kiriloff, trading him now will net us basically nothing. Plus, if he really has been hurt all year, maybe he can finally put it all together next year. Miranda did it right? Plus, both Santana and Kepler will be gone next year. Pretty sure first base will be covered by Miranda or Lewis, but there may be at bats in the outfield. I say give him one more year, after that time to move on.

Same here. What does Detmer provide for the Twins that they don't already have? An AAAA pitcher that can slot in as a 4-5 starter? The Twins have a few of those. A mediocre lefty out of the pen? The Twins have a few of those too. If the Twins are serious, they need to be acquiring someone that isn't on a bad team's scrap heap.

[East Coast Twin]

Since Kirilloff is now on the 60 day IL, it seems likely that his last option will not be used this season.  I can't imagine the Twins will offer him arbitration this off-season though.

 

If in fact Kirilloff is not offered arbitration and becomes a free agent, does that option then expire?

[stringer bell]

21 hours ago, East Coast Twin said:

If in fact Kirilloff is not offered arbitration and becomes a free agent, does that option then expire?

No, the option stays with the player, making him much more valuable. I am among those that think that the bridges haven't been burned for AK, and that he'll be offered a contract for next year. His position will be very similar to Trevor Larnach's this year, but with the added value of the ability to play first base. 

Given his meager stats this year, Kirilloff won't be in for much of a raise, even with arbitration.