Twins Missed a Golden Opportunity with Byron Buxton Roster Move

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Byron Buxton's exit from Tuesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals immediately became the biggest storyline surrounding the Twins. After leaving in the fifth inning because of discomfort during his second plate appearance, the club officially placed him on the injured list Wednesday with a hip impingement. That decision wasn't surprising. Buxton has been ailing since before the All-Star break, and he needed an injection Wednesday that would have sidelined him for at least a week, anyway.

The corresponding roster move, however, was extremely surprising. Rather than using Buxton's absence as an opportunity to add an impact player or someone capable of filling the obvious void in center field, the Twins called up Tristan Gray. It was a move that continued one of the more confusing trends of Minnesota's season.

Gray simply has not earned another opportunity at the major-league level, but he's getting one, anyway. He owns a .604 OPS this season, and if you remove his hot opening week, that number drops to .580. Defensively, he's struggled at shortstop, posting -4 Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant. He currently owns both a negative fWAR and negative Win Probability Added. Nothing about Gray's performance this season suggests he deserves another call-up. Yet the Twins continue to show an unusual amount of faith in him.

Earlier this year, Gray remained on the roster much longer than many expected. While he was with the club, he started far more games at shortstop than his production warranted. Now, with Buxton landing on the injured list, Gray was once again the organization's choice—this time, over some much more compelling alternatives.

Buxton's injury leaves a massive hole in center field. Luke Keaschall is now the closest thing to an everyday option, but he has played just 11 games at the position and has not exactly looked comfortable there. That inexperience showed up again on Wednesday when he misplayed a carom off the wall, allowing Salvador Perez to take an extra base.

Beyond Keaschall, the Twins technically have Alan Roden, Ryan Kreidler, and Kody Clemens who can handle center field, but their usage throughout the season suggests the coaching staff does not view any of them as legitimate options. Manager Derek Shelton said after the game Wednesday night that Kreidler could see more time in center, but that Keaschall would keep getting most of the run.

That's exactly why this felt like the perfect opportunity to promote Walker Jenkins. Jenkins is widely regarded as one of baseball's top prospects and projects to be a cornerstone of the Twins' future. He's capable of playing center field and has looked every bit like himself since returning from injury. Since rejoining Triple-A St. Paul at the end of June, Jenkins has posted an .858 OPS, while continuing to show the all-around offensive skill set that made him one of the game's top prospects.

There was a natural opening on the roster at a position that matched his defensive ability, for a team desperately looking for an offensive spark heading into one of the biggest stretches of its season. Everything seemed to be lining up for Jenkins.

Some have pointed to the 40-man roster as the reason Minnesota chose not to make the move, but that explanation doesn't really hold up. The Twins have multiple players occupying 40-man roster spots who are not part of the immediate picture, and someone like Mike Paredes could have been transferred to the 60-day injured list to create space if necessary.

If the organization truly believes Jenkins needs more development time, that is a separate conversation. But even then, Gray doesn't feel like the best alternative. Matt Wallner has been on a tear with St. Paul, posting a 1.089 OPS since the beginning of June. Gabriel Gonzalez has offensive upside while providing the right-handed hitting the Twins are losing with Buxton's injury. Kyler Fedko may not have impressed during his first taste of the majors, but he offers legitimate center field defense and speed off the bench—two things that became much more valuable the moment Buxton hit the injured list. Each of those players would have addressed a roster need more directly than Gray.

Instead, the Twins once again chose a player whose overall production has been below replacement level. It's a particularly frustrating decision given where the Twins sit on the calendar. Every game matters as the trade deadline approaches. The front office is focused on buying, but how aggressively they do so could be calibrated by the way they play this week. Calling up Jenkins could have energized the clubhouse, excited a fan base looking for something to rally around, and filled an obvious positional need. Instead, the Twins made one of the least inspiring roster moves they could have made.

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What do you think? Should the Twins have promoted Walker Jenkins, or was Tristan Gray the right choice? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

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[DJL44]

Why do people think Walker Jenkins would provide an immediate boost on offense? He is not doing anything special in St Paul.

They could have promoted Fedko, but he would have sat the bench again. 

Gray can pinch hit for Kreidler.

[bryceboylehoban]

Truly mind-boggling 

[Matt B]

I agree that the decision is puzzling, and even maddening. It does seem like the Twins prefer to wait on promoting prospects until they show extended periods of success (barring injuries on the major league squad), maybe to their detriment.

 

Would def rather give Jenkins a shot over Gray, but maybe the Twins know something we don't.

[HarmonK03]

12 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Why do people think Walker Jenkins would provide an immediate boost on offense? He is not doing anything special in St Paul.

They could have promoted Fedko, but he would have sat the bench again. 

Gray can pinch hit for Kreidler.

First, Jenkins has a lot more potential to provide a boost and we know Gray won't.  And Fedko would only sit because Shelton would not use him.  As it is, Gray should probably get the Fedko treatment and sit as well for 12 games without an AB.  But then why was he brought up.

And no I don't want him pinch hitting for Kreidler just because he hits from the left side.

[dxpavelka]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Why do people think Walker Jenkins would provide an immediate boost on offense? He is not doing anything special in St Paul.

They could have promoted Fedko, but he would have sat the bench again. 

Gray can pinch hit for Kreidler.

I can sum the situation in one sentence:  Walker Jenkins is NOT Tristan Gray.

[dxpavelka]

Gray must have pictures of someone.

[Craig Arko]

I was expecting Wallner.

[Brett]

Trade bait? “And we’ll throw in Tristan Gray.  We really like him…”

[mikelink45]

Baffling for a team that is wanting to push for the playoffs.  Other teams are bringing up prospects at young ages but we have not figured that out.

[Riverbrian]

Infield depth

3 Catchers

Team context

 

 

[HarmonK03]

3 minutes ago, Brett said:

Trade bait? “And we’ll throw in Tristan Gray.  We really like him…”

We might have to give them Jenkins just so they don't hang up the phone.

[Coach]

Not having a true center fielder, and using Kreidler there sometimes, has a domino effect, as our shortstop ability is sharply diminished.  Calling Gray back up is a real head scratcher.

[HarmonK03]

I think this move to Gray shows the impact of the analytics staff on this organization.  I have a hard time believing that Shelton was pounding on his desk for Gray to be back up here.  The only reason is because he hits left handed and the analytics nerds love their match ups regardless of results.

[thelanges5]

Gray and his -7 OAA make the IF defense worse. Bad move. 

[Whitey333]

Yes i totally agree.  Tristan Gray doesn't belong on this team.  For a team that says they want to be aggressive and compete they sure have an odd way of showing it.

[TopGunn#22]

Truly puzzling.  They won't (or shouldn't) have 3 catchers for more than a couple days.  This is the kind of thing that drives Twins fans crazy and just adds to the frustration with the ownership and the "brain trust" that is our FO.  

He wasn't mentioned, but the Twins could have also called up Kaelen Culpepper.  He was to the Saints roster last Friday and seems to have recovered from his glute strain and hand injury.  He hasn't played in many games since June,  and I can understand the Twins feeling he needs a few more games at St. Paul.  But he HAS to be a better option than Gray.  

Absent a Jenkins or Culpepper addition, I would have given Fedko another chance.  

[tony&rodney]

We are not likely to hear a reason for recalling Gray. While it may seem farfetched, there may be a thought that the Twins don't want to need Walker Jenkins to arrive as a savior for their season. At this time only Larnach and Jeffers are hitting. Larnach has reverted to being a hesitant outfielder, slow to attack fly balls with circle routes and (as we saw last night) conservative on playing balls off the fence. The position players needs to have a little talk with their bats.

[ashbury]

I'll start worrying about the 13th man on the active roster after the trade deadline.  I don't expect many transactions, but a few.  Things should clarify soon.  Gray won't IMO be part of the picture.

[AceBee]

Consider putting Alex Jackson in CF may be... Just kidding ! On a serious note, this one seems like ability to play around multiple positions (questionably with defensive metrics) seems to get valued more that any other criterion unless there is some trade deadline context to this move that's happening in the background 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

29 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

I can sum the situation in one sentence:  Walker Jenkins is NOT Tristan Gray.

What is your point?

[Whitey333]

Yes i totally agree.  Tristan Gray doesn't belong on this team.  For a team that says they want to be aggressive and compete they sure have an odd way of showing it. We sure handle our prospects strangely.  3 catchers?  And Jeffers didn't even play.  Your article is spot on.  The Twins have had a strange mix of players.  It's worked decently but could be better.

[DJL44]

31 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

I can sum the situation in one sentence:  Walker Jenkins is NOT Tristan Gray.

So just blind hope

[Coach JT]

Once terrible management of roster. We want the young guys up Twins. 

[shimrod]

Perhaps Walker is included in the upcoming Skubal trade. 

Edited 1 hour ago by shimrod
sarc font

[ashbury]

18 minutes ago, AceBee said:

Consider putting Alex Jackson in CF may be... Just kidding ! 

Josh Bell could be fun.

[Jack Pine]

54 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Why do people think Walker Jenkins would provide an immediate boost on offense? He is not doing anything special in St Paul.

They could have promoted Fedko, but he would have sat the bench again. 

Gray can pinch hit for Kreidler.

why would you?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

43 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

I can sum the situation in one sentence:  Walker Jenkins is NOT Tristan Gray.

What is your point?

[Peter Gravett]

Are they buying time for ERod and his rehab assignment, since he's on the 40-man?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Marek Houston is batting .327 with a .921 OPS. He has been on base in 22 straight games. Yes, yes, I know it is "just AA."....but he could be brought up now and start his career at SS.  Or would you rather have Tristan Gray at SS when Kreidler is in CF?