How the Twins Can Maximize Their Playoff Chances in the Second Half Before Adding Anything

[bean5302]

6 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

They haven't even attempted to develop a 7th starter, they have everyone pitching as a bulk guy.  They seem to have pushed all their chips in on this concept and it will catch up with them when they need depth.  And this is all the way thru the organization.

When I was at a game in Cedar Rapids, their game notes had an interesting note, the Kernels starters are averaging 3.1 innings which is dead last in the Midwest League.  This concept may have merit for some guys in the lower minors but it seems to becoming the prevailing method of development.

I think it's a factor of desperation. Falzoll didn't address the bullpen, Festa and Lopez are out, SWR flopped, and the Twins have been forced to reach into the minors hard, the waiver wire, anything and everything to get innings that don't wipe the team's chances of winning.

That has led to a vacuum at AAA -> AA -> A+ where the backfill has resulted in early promotions and guys who aren't ready. Plus a lot of guys in the minors returning from injury.

[mikelink45]

Trade Bell and OF prospect - Houston needs OF - clear some space and move on.  We know Bell is one year only so keep Lewis playing and hitting. 

Yes cut Gray. 

Keep Paredes on relief.

Keep all the catchers and then trade Jeffers for RP.  The Yankees need him. Keep moving forward - fill the positions of need and prepare for the end of this year and 2027..

And here is my reach - if Culpepper is down with a bad butt and we want fielding - maybe its Marek time!

[HarmonK03]

Just now, bean5302 said:

I think it's a factor of desperation. Falzoll didn't address the bullpen, Festa and Lopez are out, SWR flopped, and the Twins have been forced to reach into the minors hard, the waiver wire, anything and everything to get innings that don't wipe the team's chances of winning.

That has led to a vacuum at AAA -> AA -> A+ where the backfill has resulted in early promotions and guys who aren't ready. Plus a lot of guys in the minors returning from injury.

I disagree, this was their plan that they started last year and have kept expanding it this year.  No one is pitching past 4 to 5 innings in St. Paul with basically a max of 70 pitches.  Their are guys down there were starters.  But now they are not developing starters or relievers and this is why they have to keep going to the waiver wire, no is ready for a role up here.

[bean5302]

Just now, HarmonK03 said:

I disagree, this was their plan that they started last year and have kept expanding it this year.  No one is pitching past 4 to 5 innings in St. Paul with basically a max of 70 pitches.  Their are guys down there were starters.  But now they are not developing starters or relievers and this is why they have to keep going to the waiver wire, no is ready for a role up here.

I believe what you're saying is true, but also the desperation and backfill has impacted things, too.

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

When did Kreidler become the everyday SS, he has had a couple of three day stretches where he was there every day, but he has been in pretty much a straight platoon with Gray.

I checked and you're closer to right. I thought it was much more Kriedler but its been more of a 60/40 or even 55/45 Kriedler over Gray platoon over the last 6-7 weeks. I think that's a mistake. Gray can't field the position and now isn't hitting. Kriedler's bat has cooled off (a lot), but he really can field the position. He should be the everyday SS unless his bat completely craters for an extended period.   

[HarmonK03]

22 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I checked and you're closer to right. I thought it was much more Kriedler but its been more of a 60/40 or even 55/45 Kriedler over Gray platoon over the last 6-7 weeks. I think that's a mistake. Gray can't field the position and now isn't hitting. Kriedler's bat has cooled off (a lot), but he really can field the position. He should be the everyday SS unless his bat completely craters for an extended period.   

I agree Gray needs to be in St. Paul as insurance and Culpepper needs to be up here when healthy.  Kreidler has cooled off as he has gotten more playing time.  But he is our best option right now and needs to be the starting SS.  He will start at least two games this weekend at least with 2 lefties starting Saturday and Sunday.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Absolutely 100% agree Kriedler should be starting at SS every day and Gray should be sent down. Even if Kriedlers bat stays weak, he is far and away the best defensive option at SS on the ML roster and honestly, the only person with any business even playing there. 

Other than a couple very nice grand slams, one of which I saw in person, Gray has mostly been quite awful on both sides of the ball. At this time, he is now easily the worst player on the team and someone a playoff team cant have on their roster. 

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think they need to keep Paredes stretched out for the rotation. They have no depth beyond him. Send him to AAA to be the 6th starter. They don’t have a 7th starter at the moment.

You are right. ….. but, trying to get to Post-season though, so you roll the dice & start him one more time and then he goes to PEN with Prielipp back.

Maybe there is an acquisition or two by end of the month & then he’s considered to put at AAA?

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

Gray can't field the position and now isn't hitting. Kriedler's bat has cooled off (a lot), 

Both have poor OPS for the first half of July, but Kreidler's BABIP of .211 suggests a lot of batted balls finding gloves, while Gray's is .333 and doesn't provide cause for optimism coupled with high strikeout frequency.  It's all ultra-small sample size, but that's what we have.  The two guys have pretty similar minor-league hitting resumes to go by.  I stick with Kreidler too, not just for the glove but also a chance of decent offense for a shortstop.

[LA Vikes Fan]

29 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Both have poor OPS for the first half of July, but Kreidler's BABIP of .211 suggests a lot of batted balls finding gloves, while Gray's is .333 and doesn't provide cause for optimism coupled with high strikeout frequency.  It's all ultra-small sample size, but that's what we have.  The two guys have pretty similar minor-league hitting resumes to go by.  I stick with Kreidler too, not just for the glove but also a chance of decent offense for a shortstop.

Thanks for the information on the BABIP for both Kreidler and Gray. That comports with the eye test that I get from watching the games; Kriedler seems like he’s hitting the ball well but a lot of well hit ground balls are finding gloves, and he isn’t elevating the ball the way he did earlier, while Gray is striking out a lot, hitting with a lot of soft contact, but is elevating the ball more when he does make hard contact. Just looking at the way they look at the plate lately, one has a lot more confidence that Kreidler might get a hit, and you definitely want him up over Gray with men on base. It will be interesting to see how those two are used coming out of the break. I could see them giving Gray the start tonight against a right handed pitcher, with Kreidler starting the next two games against the left-handers.  The Cleveland series should give us a clear review of who Shelton wants to play more. I would hope Kreidler would start three of those four games.

[weitz41]

5 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Agreed on Paredes and Kreidler.

Lewis upside at the plate is tough to ignore …… Caratini had a career month, that’s what Royce is being compared to here. I let Royce play nearly every day. I do not move him around in the infield unless there’s an injury. He’s the guy at 1B.

Jeffers probably should be traded, with logic in play, due to the contract situation. IF the organization prefers him to be the bulk catcher for remainder of the season, they need to trade Caratini quickly, at PEAK value. Caratini, because he’s under contract through next year, could probably bring back more than Jeffers.

I trade Jeffers & Bell ……. need Caratini for ‘27 season …… for continuity with staff. Team won at slightly higher than .500 with Caratini & Jackson behind the plate.

Bell & Jeffers combined salaries total $13.7M for ‘26………..Luis Arraez makes $12 M in ‘26. Make a BIG swing and work out a deal with the Giants! He moves to 2B everyday - Clemens can then play essentially everyday at LF - RF - 1B - DH. With Bell gone, Larnach moves to DH v RH pitching …. Clemens starts in LF v. RH pitching. Caratini can DH v RH pitching when not behind the plate ….. still needs real rest days as well. Keaschall can DH some & Arraez could DH some. Bell might hit .215 for remainder of season & worst case, Arraez may hit .290. Arraez OPS+ is 132. He’s playing a very good 2B. At this point, he’s got 3.1 WAR for the season.

His acquisition could offset any Clubhouse letdown from one of the Catchers being traded as well as Bell being traded.

Trade Jeffers & Bell to try & attain at least one decent relief arm & trade for Arraez. Arraez can slot behind Lewis (to provide protection) or Buxton.

I like your thinking here. But the article says before adding.

4 hours ago, saviking said:

It amazes me that almost every article seems to focus on shuffling lineups when we have ignored our bullpen since last off-season. There is no way we go anywhere without reforming the bullpen from outside the organization.  And what's crazy is relief pitchers are the least expensive players to pay. And most likely the easiest to trade for.

But I imagine management and followers will just keep a blinds eye to the penny and pretend it isn't are Achilles heal. 

The title says without adding anything. I 100% agree with adding RP. Especially an 6-8th inning leftie imo. But I think he's looking for upgrades already on the roster.

Go needs another 5-10 appearances before I would consider moving on. His stuff looked decent. I also saw the one leave the park. So, I get it.

Due to the wasteland of starters in AAA I think you almost have to keep Paredes in a starting role. Whether with the Saints or with the Twins. When Prielipp is healthy send him down and bring up Klein, Culpepper of one of the others on the 40 man.

Caratini and Kreidler are prime regression candidates with their bats. Kreidler has already started. May be best to leave alone.

I liked the suggestion of promoting Houston. I mean if we're looking for good or better D but light hitter, we could do worse. It should be K Culpepper. But who knows how long a sore A$$ will take to get better. Not this guy!

Need to go 10-6 min before the deadline. Starting tonight. If they do, then time to add and maybe subtract. Need at least 1 more BP arm (preferably 2) like say AJ Minter and a starter. No, not Skubal...

Red Sox and Tigers are making a charge. Going to need more the 83 wins to get in.

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, DannySD said:

With Lewis at 2B and Lee as backup SS as you suggest, the defense would suffer too much. They've prioritized D lately, so there's no way this happens. Royce's personailty and defensive chops are best suited for 1B. 

Backup.... Gray isn't good. I'm not sure what you want from a backup shortstop?

[Cory Engelhardt]

I wouldn’t platoon Lewis, especially with someone who isn’t part of the long term core. I’d give him a chance to fully grab the full time 1b role. If he doesn’t, that’s a conversation for another day.

Also, butt issue is funnier. I agree :)

[mrguy]

Wouldn't it make more sense to drop Adams instead of Go? I guess the fear is that he's already out of options and as a younger arm, he could be taken, but the argument is that Go would also need to be cut too, so you're really stuck in the same spot but with different guys and it's still too soon to really say Go wouldn't work while Adams has had plenty of opportunity across these last two seasons to find his groove and just hasn't really worked as well as hoped. The question can be put off a bit longer as the wait for Sands is nearing an end, maybe let both Adams and Go get opportunities these next couple series and see how the two both do in those positions and then you can judge from that.

[saviking]

5 hours ago, weitz41 said:

I like your thinking here. But the article says before adding.

The title says without adding anything. I 100% agree with adding RP. Especially an 6-8th inning leftie imo. But I think he's looking for upgrades already on the roster.

Go needs another 5-10 appearances before I would consider moving on. His stuff looked decent. I also saw the one leave the park. So, I get it.

Due to the wasteland of starters in AAA I think you almost have to keep Paredes in a starting role. Whether with the Saints or with the Twins. When Prielipp is healthy send him down and bring up Klein, Culpepper of one of the others on the 40 man.

Caratini and Kreidler are prime regression candidates with their bats. Kreidler has already started. May be best to leave alone.

I liked the suggestion of promoting Houston. I mean if we're looking for good or better D but light hitter, we could do worse. It should be K Culpepper. But who knows how long a sore A$$ will take to get better. Not this guy!

Need to go 10-6 min before the deadline. Starting tonight. If they do, then time to add and maybe subtract. Need at least 1 more BP arm (preferably 2) like say AJ Minter and a starter. No, not Skubal...

Red Sox and Tigers are making a charge. Going to need more the 83 wins to get in.

Agree the article followed it's title. Was just saying I haven't seen any articles focusing on the bullpen. It's as if no one wants to address the elephant in the room. 

[DocBauer]

Yes to Kreidlee at SS. Nothing personal toward Gray, but he hasn't hit for a while and as a SS he's only an occasional fill in. Period. K-Pepper healthy and a couple weeks at St Paul to get back in a groove, he's up and Gray is down.

No way you turn Lewis into a part time player when he looks like a much improved hitter who is adapting well to 1B. You want to play Caratini as a LH bat once in a while against a really tough RHP to get a day off, OK. But you don't mess with the psychology/emotions/confidence of Lewis. You're only asking to mess him up again.

And it's ridiculous to think Go on some wasted opportunity after only a couple appearances. True his career in Korea hasn't translated to MLB yet. But he's changed his repertoire a bit and has been very good at AAA so far. Maybe he's finally turned a corner? You have to give him an honest chance. Paredes just isn't special. But he's also pitched his a*s of with the Twins. I haven't totally given up on Adams yet as I've seen enough to tease me to believe he might have another level to reach yet as a middle pen man. But maybe they're better with Paredes in that role for now? But Go deserves an opportunity. 

But another move they could make without a trade? For NOW, just make Rojas a 1 inning power LH arm who can throw 100 with a nasty breaking ball. Re-evaluate him after this season if you will. He has control issues that need to be corrected. But it's also easier to have control for 1 inning than multiple innings. The bubble has been popped. MAXIMIZE the talent you have on hand! Hell, he might gain MORE confidence in his stuff and control in that 1 IP role going forward.