It's Time for Minnesota Twins to Give Mickey Gasper a Real Shot

[jorgenswest]

The hope is Gasper can contribute with the bat. To do that he is going to need regular playing time. Would that be two starts a series? Can they give him some time at catcher over Vazquez against teams that have few base stealers? Can he start for France at first twice a week and another start at DH? In his first stretch with the Twins he started in 9 of 35 games. He is going to need more regular play in order to demonstrate he has a major league bat. If they are looking for a guy to fill that last spot and start occasionally, Keirsey is a better fit with his speed and defense to contribute.

[Western SD Fan]

Let's play this out like a bad Choose Your Own Adventure Book from some of our youths.

If the Twins are/stay in contention:  Who on the team is Gaspar better than in which he would deserve playing time over? Maybe Bride or Clemens?  Although Keirsey Jr doesn't provide much offense, he is an improvement in speed and defense over any other possible call ups from St. Paul.  Holland was just activated from the IL.  Eeles is still finding his footing in AAA.  Schobel and E-Rod is on the IL.  McCusker is the OF version of Gaspar.

If the Twins are out of contention:  You are likely trying to trade players with expiring contracts or just outright releasing them to give them a chance to sign on with a playoff team.  Those would be Paddack, Coulombe, Topa ($2M club option), Vazquez, Castro, France, Bader ($10M mutual).  Others which would likely be released provided prospects in St. Paul are ready to play would be Bride and Clemens.  Gaspar might be a placeholder in this situation if the prospects aren't ready yet.  A dream would be someone who thinks that Correa will wake up his bat if he thinks he's playing for a WS contender and find a way to get that albatross off of our backs.  Unfortunately, that fantasy would be like a leprechaun riding a unicorn carrying a pot of gold over the rainbow.

In either case, it doesn't make sense to bring up Gaspar now. 

[stringer bell]

21 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

The hope is Gasper can contribute with the bat. To do that he is going to need regular playing time. Would that be two starts a series? Can they give him some time at catcher over Vazquez against teams that have few base stealers? Can he start for France at first twice a week and another start at DH? In his first stretch with the Twins he started in 9 of 35 games. He is going to need more regular play in order to demonstrate he has a major league bat. If they are looking for a guy to fill that last spot and start occasionally, Keirsey is a better fit with his speed and defense to contribute.

I agree that Keirsey makes sense as a 13th guy who pinch runs and plays defense and it is made possible by the versatility provided by Castro, Clemens, Gasper, Lee and Bader. The other 12 guys can get basically all the at-bats and use Keirsey 95-99%  of the time as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

With the current roster, Gasper could get at-bats taking a game each from Vázquez, Lee (vs. LH pitching), France and Bader, and perhaps Clemens with possibilities of resting Buxton and Correa on one day in the course of two weeks.

Bride just doesn't fit, with his reverse splits for a right handed bat and his hitting has been poor since a quick start with the team. I would think consistent at-bats could be had for Gasper that shouldn't be given to Bride.

[stringer bell]

2 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

Let's play this out like a bad Choose Your Own Adventure Book from some of our youths.

If the Twins are/stay in contention:  Who on the team is Gaspar better than in which he would deserve playing time over? Maybe Bride or Clemens?  Although Keirsey Jr doesn't provide much offense, he is an improvement in speed and defense over any other possible call ups from St. Paul.  Holland was just activated from the IL.  Eeles is still finding his footing in AAA.  Schobel and E-Rod is on the IL.  McCusker is the OF version of Gaspar.

If the Twins are out of contention:  You are likely trying to trade players with expiring contracts or just outright releasing them to give them a chance to sign on with a playoff team.  Those would be Paddack, Coulombe, Topa ($2M club option), Vazquez, Castro, France, Bader ($10M mutual).  Others which would likely be released provided prospects in St. Paul are ready to play would be Bride and Clemens.  Gaspar might be a placeholder in this situation if the prospects aren't ready yet.  A dream would be someone who thinks that Correa will wake up his bat if he thinks he's playing for a WS contender and find a way to get that albatross off of our backs.  Unfortunately, that fantasy would be like a leprechaun riding a unicorn carrying a pot of gold over the rainbow.

In either case, it doesn't make sense to bring up Gaspar now. 

I think you just made the case for Gasper over Bride and that is the case I would make. 

[Parfigliano]

52 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Okay, probably a long post here, but here goes. Gasper's 39 plate appearances over about 40 games isn't really a fair shot. The same could be said for Keirsey and especially McCusker. Keirsey has the advantage of having two skills that play in the major leagues--speed and defense. It is understandable that he was recalled before Gasper. Giving the 29 year old one chance to play consistently makes sense given what he has done at the AAA level. He's hit well at every level below MLB and has raked every bit as much as anyone in the Twins organization, even McCusker. 

Mickey reminds me of a guy who played in the late 90s and early 00s for the Blue Jays and Rangers--Frank Catalanotto. He really didn't have a defensive position, could run a little bit, but he could hit. He maxed out well above .300 in a high-offense era. Gasper also might manage to do the same. Maybe he could be a .270-.290 hitter with a good OBP. That would make him valuable enough to have a spot on the major league roster. If he could add power as he has been producing at Triple A, he could be in the equation for plenty of at-bats. That is a couple of huge "ifs" but not totally beyond the realm of possibility. If he can't produce extra-base power, he would have to hit for an extremely high average. The last season plus Luis Arraez has hit well over .300 and has a WAR of less the 1.0 with similar defense and speed tools. 

The Twins need hitting without question and adding Gasper for Bride would give Gasper a shot. They have enough guys struggling that if he hit, the team could provide at least platoon PAs until Luke Keaschall or Lewis is ready. It's a long shot that he would make a substantial contribution, but he couldn't be much less useful than Jonah Bride has been for the Twins.

If Gasper could hit .270 to .290 he would be at or near the top of the team.

[stringer bell]

17 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

If Gasper could hit .270 to .290 he would be at or near the top of the team.

A singles hitter hitting .270-.290 is Luis Arraez this year. Arraez is hitting .274 and has a -0.2 WAR.

[Western SD Fan]

18 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I think you just made the case for Gasper over Bride and that is the case I would make. 

I wouldn't argue one way or the other with Gasper vs Bride.  Bride may provide better defense, but you're not having him out there because of his defense.  Bride is just a RH bat to put into the lineup against lefties.  Gasper can hit from both sides of the plate so that would negate that.  As long as you're not suggesting he should start and should have the same number of appearances (pitching or hitting) as Bride, you've convinced me that we could replace Bride with Gasper.

[stringer bell]

2 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

I wouldn't argue one way or the other with Gasper vs Bride.  Bride may provide better defense, but you're not having him out there because of his defense.  Bride is just a RH bat to put into the lineup against lefties.  Gasper can hit from both sides of the plate so that would negate that.  As long as you're not suggesting he should start and should have the same number of appearances (pitching or hitting) as Bride, you've convinced me that we could replace Bride with Gasper.

I've said it a few times, but Bride and his reverse splits don't fit this roster. He's getting platoon starts at third, but he is more effective against right handed pitching. He's something like 0-24 right now. No offense and capable, but replaceable defense isn't good enough.

Maybe Jonah Bride is one of the top 30 or so third basemen in MLB. Probably not, but playing him in a short side platoon where he has weaker splits isn't giving him the best chance to succeed. The Fish were totally out of the race when he got close to full-time run late last year and he hit very well. Maybe he could do the same again, but as a platoon player he is close to worthless. 

[DuluthDuke]

I don't see any harm in giving him a shot.  Bride is hitting .206 for the Twins with no power. We can cycle the last bullpen guy rather than keeping him around to pitch occasionally.

Guys without a true position have a hard time breaking through. Rick Short comes to mind. Called up 1st time at 32 after hitting .383 & .456 OBP in AAA. Hit .400 in very brief run in DC. Hit .314, .330, .332 next 3 years in Japan age 33-35. Twins could use someone like that, why not find out if Mr. Gasper can be a MLB hitter...

[Parfigliano]

13 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I've said it a few times, but Bride and his reverse splits don't fit this roster. He's getting platoon starts at third, but he is more effective against right handed pitching. He's something like 0-24 right now. No offense and capable, but replaceable defense isn't good enough.

Maybe Jonah Bride is one of the top 30 or so third basemen in MLB. Probably not, but playing him in a short side platoon where he has weaker splits isn't giving him the best chance to succeed. The Fish were totally out of the race when he got close to full-time run late last year and he hit very well. Maybe he could do the same again, but as a platoon player he is close to worthless. 

He is worthless

[jorgenswest]

He has caught in three of his last seven games in AAA. If the Twins see catcher as a possibility in the majors it may be worth the time in AAA getting him more games there.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, DuluthDuke said:

I don't see any harm in giving him a shot.  Bride is hitting .206 for the Twins with no power. We can cycle the last bullpen guy rather than keeping him around to pitch occasionally.

Guys without a true position have a hard time breaking through. Rick Short comes to mind. Called up 1st time at 32 after hitting .383 & .456 OBP in AAA. Hit .400 in very brief run in DC. Hit .314, .330, .332 next 3 years in Japan age 33-35. Twins could use someone like that, why not find out if Mr. Gasper can be a MLB hitter...

I think this is the issue. If you don't have a position where you can be roughly average defensively, than you really need to hit to get a chip, a chair, and chance. Gasper is a guy who will give it his best shot anywhere, but no one seems to have any confidence on him as a catcher, he's not good at 1B, and makes Ed Julien look smooth and confident at 2B. Haven't seen him try 3B, and while I'm sure he'd be game, I'm not sure it would go well. And for all that people around here crap on Baldelli and the front office for "not caring" about defense...they definitely value it up the middle, which is probably why they're uninterested in replacing some Vazquez time behind the plate with Gasper.

Now, would I still give Gasper a chance? Over Bride, why not? He's not adding anything and is eminently replaceable. With Lee and Castro we have a couple of guys who can play 3B until Lewis is back, and Clemens can play there if needed. Let Gasper get some DH time, maybe a little 1B, but actually PLAY him. I'm not saying hand him a starting job, but give him a start a couple times a week and more game time than just a couple of pinch hit jobs and see whether there might be something there. Give Clemens a night or two off, now that his hot streak is over. 

Bride was an emergency pickup at a time the left side of the infield was really thin. He hasn't done anything, so why not try and add some offense? Because a guy like Bride the definition of replacement level: you can get that guy off the street. Gasper might be nothing more than a Quad-A guy (hell, he probably is) who never figures it out against MLB pitching, but there's very little to lose here.

Gasper in his 17 appearances only got 9 starts and played a full game 6 times. Only got 5 games with at least 4 PA's. Hard to really know what you have in such a small sample and inconsistent PT. Not sure we learn anything by watching him destroy pitching in Saint Paul either.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

I think you just made the case for Gasper over Bride and that is the case I would make. 

Either one of them would be sitting on the bench 80% of the games. You're swapping out the short-side platoon infielder with Clemens taking the bulk of the at-bats.

[stringer bell]

4 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Either one of them would be sitting on the bench 80% of the games. You're swapping out the short-side platoon infielder with Clemens taking the bulk of the at-bats.

Disagree. Switch hitting Gasper would have the platoon advantage all the time. The Twins have played Bader a lot against RH pitching and could swap in Gasper for him. They could give France a day off occasionally as well as Buxton or Correa and get a platoon advantage in the mix. There really is no good time to use Bride. There would be many times to use Gasper (all predicated on him hitting acceptably).

[Western SD Fan]

The idea of having Gasper catch instead of Vazquez is laughable at best.  There's no guarantee Gasper's hitting will be any better than either Jeffers or Vazquez.  Additionally, with the pitching staff suddenly getting a lot younger and precarious, it seems to have been very important to have Vazquez's leadership in helping control the pitching staff than ever before.  Many of us on the daily game blogs have been screaming into the TV that Jeffers needs to be more proactive in going out and talking to the starters when they start to go off the rails, much like Vazquez will do.  I don't see Gasper being able to control the pitching staff any better than Jeffers.  In terms of recent offensive production, there hasn't been much of a difference between Jeffers and Vazquez.  Gasper is only getting playing time at catcher if Jeffers or Vazquez goes down to injury or Vazquez is able to get traded to a team looking for his type of skills.  

[DJL44]

12 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Disagree. Switch hitting Gasper would have the platoon advantage all the time. The Twins have played Bader a lot against RH pitching and could swap in Gasper for him. They could give France a day off occasionally as well as Buxton or Correa and get a platoon advantage in the mix. There really is no good time to use Bride. There would be many times to use Gasper (all predicated on him hitting acceptably).

Playing Gasper instead of Bader is a downgrade. Playing Gasper instead of France is a downgrade. Playing Gasper instead of Buxton or Correa is a definite downgrade. I'm not going to bet that Gasper's LH bat is better than Kody Clemens and his defense is clearly worse.

If the Twins want a switch-hitting utility player to rest other players, they're far better off using Willi Castro instead of Gasper. The only advantage Gasper seems to have versus anyone on the roster is he can potentially hit lefties better than Jonah Bride. That makes him a platoon candidate with either Larnach at DH or Clemens at 2B. The best fit for that role is Luke Keaschall and the second-best fit is Austin Martin. Too bad both of those guys are hurt.

[stringer bell]

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Playing Gasper instead of Bader is a downgrade. Playing Gasper instead of France is a downgrade. Playing Gasper instead of Buxton or Correa is a definite downgrade. I'm not going to bet that Gasper's LH bat is better than Kody Clemens and his defense is clearly worse.

If the Twins want a switch-hitting utility player to rest other players, they're far better off using Willi Castro instead of Gasper. The only advantage Gasper seems to have versus anyone on the roster is he can potentially hit lefties better than Jonah Bride. That makes him a platoon candidate with either Larnach at DH or Clemens at 2B. The best fit for that role is Luke Keaschall and the second-best fit is Austin Martin. Too bad both of those guys are hurt.

This is all speculation on the far less than sure thing that Gasper really can hit major league pitching. If he is a .750-.800 OPS hitter, he is an improvement over Bader, Clemens (another guy we can speculate about), Vázquez and just about anyone else on the roster. Moving people around to give him a chance can be done and not having Bader strike out four times would be nice. If Mickey Gasper can't hit and is given another 75 at bats, at least he was given a chance. I'm sure McCusker would want the same and so would Keirsey. They all are too old to be prospects who have done good things in the minors.

That until this weekend all three of those guys were in St. Paul says that the front office doesn't think they can be productive hitters. They're probably right, but raking in AAA is all Gasper (and McCusker) can do. Rewarding them with a fair shot would be nice, but we know life and baseball isn't fair.

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

This is all speculation on the far less than sure thing that Gasper really can hit major league pitching. If he is a .750-.800 OPS hitter, he is an improvement over Bader, Clemens (another guy we can speculate about), Vázquez and just about anyone else on the roster.

Not when you include defense. Gasper is a below average defender basically everywhere. He's at the bottom of the defensive depth chart for every position.

5 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I'm sure McCusker would want the same and so would Keirsey.

I'd like a free trip to Europe.

Quote

raking in AAA is all Gasper (and McCusker) can do

If Gasper or McCusker could play defense, they would have a job in MLB. That's essentially ALL Dashawn Keirsey can do, and he got the roster spot.

[mikelink45]

Are we that desperate for a player or a story?  Mickey has had enough, just as Bride has.  Let's move on and do something significant. 

[RpR]

5 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Not when you include defense. Gasper is a below average defender basically everywhere. He's at the bottom of the defensive depth chart for every position.

I'd like a free trip to Europe.

If Gasper or McCusker could play defense, they would have a job in MLB. That's essentially ALL Dashawn Keirsey can do, and he got the roster spot.

Gasper would be an HUGE improvement at 2nd base over Castro, or even Lee.

 

[dxpavelka]

22 hours ago, mike8791 said:

Don't think Gaspar would make much difference on Twins offensive futility.  After all, he has never succeeded at ML level.  More interested in what this current roster says about this FO's lack of development over 7 years.

The fact they have guys of the 26 man roster like Clemens, Keirsey and Bride attests to their abject failure to develop a farm system that can produce at least average ML offense.  Looking back over the Falvey regime, how many Twins all stars have emerged from their drafts/development?  Lewis, a #1 draft choice, has never made it.  You might blame injuries, but his past year in the majors does not bode well for any future selections.  Brooks Lee is, at best, likely an average offensive force in middle infield, way below at 3B.  Jenkins and Rodriguez are highly touted but injuries have thwarted any meteoric rise(what else is new).  And while Keaschall looked good in a very small appearance, he is hardly the cleanup hitter this lineup so desperately needs.  Overall, I give Falvey a D grade for providing offense.

And looking at his highly touted pitching pipeline, by far, his top two starters, Ryan and Lopez, were trade pickups.  No other home-grown product approaches any all star levels.  Ober is too erratic  and Festa and Matthews are still unproven, albeit promising.   He has done better on the bullpen side, with Jax, Varland and Sands,but can we say we have developed a shutdown closer who we can count on thruout the season.  Duran has likely passed his peak.  Who's next?  Why hasn't managment tried inserting someone else in the closer spot?  Let's give Falvey a C+grade on pitching development.

Summarizing, many of us on TD have consistently overrated our minor league prospects.  The continuing presence of the little 3 on a supposedly playoff contender is enough of an indictment on the FO's failure to lift this team to a realistic contender level.  Yes, ownership hasn't helped but neither has this FO.

Everyone conveniently forgets that they traded the best pitcher they developed in a generation.  Yeah, I know, they weren't going to be able to re-sign him.  But do we REALLY know that?  I won't even mention that they took a stud who was a starter all thru the minors and made him a reliever.  A really good one but I'd rather have a starter.

[nclahammer]

On 6/17/2025 at 7:39 AM, In My La Z boy said:

DFA Clemens. Gasper plays 2nd, and we sadly need Bride to pitch.

This might be the funniest and saddest comment of the day, the part about "we sadly need Bride to pitch."

[Scrooge]

At this point the offense hasn't hit since August of last year. The lineup isn't doing enough to have any justification to keep someone leading AAA in OPS off the starting lineup. With Lee's flexibility to play anywhere in the infield and Castro's ability to play anywhere, you can find a spot for Gaspar on a team where only a couple guys have consistently had average or better OPS.

[RpR]

17 hours ago, RpR said:

Gasper would be an HUGE improvement at 2nd base over Castro, or even Lee.

 

 Castro

Gasper

[KBJ1]

I'd much prefer Keaschall, but seeing as half of this lineup is perpetually injured, Gasper may be our last gasp! If he can pitch, dfa Bride. Desperate times.........

[Fred]

Two cautionary words : Jake Cave

[RpR]

2 hours ago, Fred said:

Two cautionary words : Jake Cave

Two more: Edward Julien.