Twins Missed a Golden Opportunity with Byron Buxton Roster Move

[chinmusic]

59 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Why do people think Walker Jenkins would provide an immediate boost on offense?

Seriously. Sometimes these things take on a life of their own. Hype, over hype. There is  usually a learning curve. (Jackson Holliday, for example) 

That said, agree that  the Gray move is a head scratcher.

I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt here (God knows why). This "move" is still a work in progress. To be clear, I'm not knocking Walker Jenkins. Hope his debut comes sooner rather than later.

[HarmonK03]

4 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

Seriously. Sometimes these things take on a life of their own. Hype, over hype. There is  usually a learning curve. (Jackson Holliday, for example) 

That said, agree that  the Gray move is a head scratcher.

I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt here (God knows why). This "move" is still a work in progress. To be clear, I'm not knocking Walker Jenkins. Hope his debut comes sooner rather than later.

Is this a Zoll burner account 

[arby58]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

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.

Fedko was 0 for 16. That’s a player you sit - at the far end of the bench.

[nicksaviking]

I guess I also might not have called up Jenkins.

Because I'd have called up Culpepper who is about four months overdue for a promotion. 

This team is frustrating. I do think this club can be a top team next year, but only if they find a legit middle of the order hitter amongst the young internal players. And they need to be called up this year just to get their feet wet. Waiting until they are perfect in AAA and expecting instant results at the MLB level means this club hasn't been paying attention to how this typically works, for about the last 150 years.

[rv78]

If we were running this team, the Twins would be in 1st place 20 games over .500. Gray wouldn't even be on the roster, as well as about 10-15 other guys for sure. When it gets right down to it, is there anything that this organization does anymore that makes any sense? Just like the love they showed for a player like Mickey Gasper, who providing nothing, Gray has defensive versatility that they don't need and a worthless bat to go along with it. So, naturally he gets precedent over all the other options everyone else has listed here. 

The #1 problem this organization has had over the past 10-12 years is that Buxton can't be relied upon to be their centerfielder and in those 10-12 years they haven't had anyone worthwhile to take his place.

[nicksaviking]

15 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

Seriously. Sometimes these things take on a life of their own. Hype, over hype. There is  usually a learning curve. (Jackson Holliday, for example) 

 

Right, it's unavoidable, so why are they kicking the can? Get through the curve ASAP.

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Right, it's unavoidable, so why are they kicking the can? Get through the curve ASAP.

He’s still learning in AAA. He hasn’t made it through that part of the learning curve yet.

[chinmusic]

8 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Right, it's unavoidable, so why are they kicking the can? Get through the curve ASAP.

I don't disagree. Who knows, maybe they're going  to bring him up after the deadline, for reasons we don't know about. Smoke might clear within a week.

[Riverbrian]

I don't believe we will miss any games next season because I think both sides know the damage that could cause. 

However... if a lockout is possible and especially if that lockout extends into the season. I can't see any reason to add a potential FUTURE superstar to the 40 and 26 man roster... therefore burning service time and options on the hope that he out performs current players for two months in 2026.

We also don't know what the new CBA will say when an agreement is eventually reached. If the owners want a cap/floor and if they can convince the players association to agree some version of that. MLBPA is going to want something significant in return. Quicker Free Agency? Less Options? Limits on demotion?   

Jenkins and Culpepper don't need to be added to the 40 man until December 2027. For all of us... me included who like to talk about the future. Jenkins and Culpepper called up this year could have negative future implications. 

 

[Drtwins]

I agree the Gray move is a bit of a head-scratcher, but I don't see the Twins adding any of their top prospects to the 40-man roster with a potential labor stoppage looming in 2027.

Adding players like Jenkins or Culpepper could actually do more harm than good. Players on a 40-man roster aren't allowed to participating in team activities during an MLB work stoppage, which would mean no access to Twins staff or ability to play in the minors. That could be a significant loss of development time.

There's also the uncertainty surrounding the next cba. Changes to service time, arbitration eligibility, and free agency are all possible. Calling up Jenkins or Culpepper for a brief stint now could ultimately cost the Twins an additional year of team control under whatever rules are negotiated.

I know team control isn't something most fans care about, but from the Twins' perspective, it's hard to justify accelerating the timeline when they're not realistically positioned to compete with the Dodgers.

[nicksaviking]

21 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

He’s still learning in AAA. He hasn’t made it through that part of the learning curve yet.

He's got an absurd 14% K rate and an equally absurd 14% walk rate in AAA. He's got the gist of it. If you insist on waiting for him to add power before getting called up, we might not see him until he's 26. If ever.

[arby58]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

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.  

Culpepper spent a month on the IL and has just 5 games since coming back. He’s 4 for 20, which suggests he needs a bit more PT at AAA to get back to form.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

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.

History says they never will.

[Riverbrian]

25 minutes ago, Drtwins said:

There's also the uncertainty surrounding the next cba. Changes to service time, arbitration eligibility, and free agency are all possible. Calling up Jenkins or Culpepper for a brief stint now could ultimately cost the Twins an additional year of team control under whatever rules are negotiated.

Who knows but we could be starting his clock early and the new CBA could also shorten the clock. 

That would be synergism. The combination of two forces combined to create a result greater than the sum of the individual results. 

I wouldn't be keen on Jenkins reaching free agency at age 26 or 27.  

 

[nicksaviking]

32 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

I don't disagree. Who knows, maybe they're going  to bring him up after the deadline, for reasons we don't know about. Smoke might clear within a week.

I do suspect the top prospects will be up after the trade deadline as a consolation prize to the fans if they fail to land any big trade targets. And I suspect they'll fail. Which I'll be Ok with.

An unexpectedly enjoyable, yet not terribly fulfilling 2026 should be the preview, fielding a really good team in 2027 should be the real goal.

[thelanges5]

Tigers are calling up Max Clark, taken one pick ahead of Jenkins. Already have McGonigle up. 
 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/07/tigers-call-up-max-clark-top-prospect.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky

[Jeff K]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

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

And he plays centerfield

[HarmonK03]

1 hour ago, chinmusic said:

Seriously. Sometimes these things take on a life of their own. Hype, over hype. There is  usually a learning curve. (Jackson Holliday, for example) 

That said, agree that  the Gray move is a head scratcher.

I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt here (God knows why). This "move" is still a work in progress. To be clear, I'm not knocking Walker Jenkins. Hope his debut comes sooner rather than later.

Or maybe he actually fills a need on the roster like playing center field.

[HarmonK03]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

Fedko was 0 for 16. That’s a player you sit - at the far end of the bench.

I have no idea if Fedko can play up here or not, but he was totally mismanaged and set up to fail by Shelton.  He didn't have a plate appearance for 12 games, then you expect him to just jump in when Buxton left the game and be successful, that was a total screw up.  He looked more comfortable at the plate when he first came up but you could see he was pressing after sitting for 12 days,  A good manager, like TK kept his players sharp so when needed they would be in a better position to succeed.  

And there was an opportunity to play him, Buxton sat for 4 games and they ran Kreidler out there and put Gray at short, leaving him to rot on the bench.  

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, Matt B said:

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.

While I agree that a prospect would be better, it's not one of the OFs. We have been playing without a UTL that can play SS since Jeffers came back. That is the most immediate need to be filled. The way the team is currently roster to either Kriedler has to play every day without any sort of break or Lee has to play some SS. Neither of those are good results. The Twins made the right call on the position that needed to be filled.

Having said that, Gray is definitely the WRONG guy.  Kaelen Culpepper would have been a much better choice and, if he isn't ready since he just came off the IL, Ben Ross is much  more deserving.  Frankly, Tristan Gray was a shot we took this year on a guy who topped out as a AAAA player with Boston to see if we could unlock something that would make him an MLB regular. We took the same shot with Kriedler. Kriedler has worked out to an extent, Gray has not. Why double down on something that didn't work? To me, the better strategy would be to bring up either Culpepper or Ross and see if you've got something better. It's riskier because these guys could make a "rookie mistake" that costs the team a game or two in what we hope is a competitive August and September. Still, that kind of move has much better long-term effects and roster management and a much higher chance of success IMHO. Almost makes you wonder if Shelton is just more comfortable with a veteran in that UTL role and just isn't ready for another young player. Alternatively, it's been pointed out here that there are some real advantages to waiting until August 14 to bring somebody up so they maintain rookie status for 2027 so maybe that's part of the analysis. That strikes me as too much thinking and too cute by half. Overall, a curious move and in my view the wrong move.

[HarmonK03]

30 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

History says they never will.

This is why Zoll has to go and they need a complete overhaul in the front office.

[LA Vikes Fan]

20 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I do suspect the top prospects will be up after the trade deadline as a consolation prize to the fans if they fail to land any big trade targets. And I suspect they'll fail. Which I'll be Ok with.

An unexpectedly enjoyable, yet not terribly fulfilling 2026 should be the preview, fielding a really good team in 2027 should be the real goal.

I think this was the wrong move. I agree with the FO that the Twins needed an infielder, not an outfielder. We need another infielder badly because Kriedelr can't play every day and still hit (he may not be able to hit even if he plays four – five days a week) and we can not put Lee back at SS and expect to win the low-scoring, defensive games that are going to dominate the rest of this season. We also need to find out if the 23-year-old Luke Keaschall can play a competent CF either as the backup going forward or as the starter when Buxton hangs it up. Still, they should have called up Culpepper or Ross to be that infielder. You have to wonder how he trade deadline is playing into this. We have no idea who is being talked about in a trade and it may be that some of the guys people want to call up are being bandied about in trade discussions where it might be to our advantage to keep them in AAA until we know if they're going to be traded, or if there is a strong likelihood they're going to be traded so we would create difficulties for the MLB club if they came up and were traded two days later. I think we need to look at the current roster as a work in progress and this week as one of the times when there is a chance of significant change. We should probably all just keep our powder dry and chill out until next Monday

[Peter Gravett]

1 hour ago, Peter Gravett said:

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

Put him on the 26-man after the smoke clears from the trade deadline?

[arby58]

8 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

I have no idea if Fedko can play up here or not, but he was totally mismanaged and set up to fail by Shelton.  He didn't have a plate appearance for 12 games, then you expect him to just jump in when Buxton left the game and be successful, that was a total screw up.  He looked more comfortable at the plate when he first came up but you could see he was pressing after sitting for 12 days,  A good manager, like TK kept his players sharp so when needed they would be in a better position to succeed.  

And there was an opportunity to play him, Buxton sat for 4 games and they ran Kreidler out there and put Gray at short, leaving him to rot on the bench.  

Regardless, when you go 0 for 16, you’ve had your chance. Grab a bat and get a hit or don’t. There’s no crying in baseball.

[HarmonK03]

2 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Regardless, when you go 0 for 16, you’ve had your chance. Grab a bat and get a hit or don’t. There’s no crying in baseball.

Based on that then Roden should be sent down.  He can't hit .200 in almost 200 plate appearances.  Per this comment he has had his chance as well.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Josh Bell could be fun.

Sano part 2?

[Greglw3]

2 hours 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.

Jenkins is an on base machine with 31 walks in 181 at bats, currently at .383 on base, and 10/12 stolen bases. His .271 average is not eye popping but still well above major league average. And, in theory, he is just going to keep getting better at only 21 years old.

I think with the trade deadline around the corner, they have something else up their sleeve, it may be Rodriguez coming up instead of Jenkins, it may be acquiring an MLB cf, maybe Larnach’s going to be traded with Jenkins coming up then - it could be a lot of things...the new FO has built up a good runway of trust with me, so we’ll see, although I had the same first reaction, What? Why not Jenkins? But let’s see.

[HarmonK03]

7 minutes ago, Peter Gravett said:

Put him on the 26-man after the smoke clears from the trade deadline?

It's not like the games count over the next week.  They need a sense of urgency if they truly think they are contenders and need to start showing it today, not next week.

[HarmonK03]

Just now, Greglw3 said:

Jenkins is an on base machine with 31 walks in 181 at bats, currently at .383 on base, and 10/12 stolen bases. His .271 average is not eye popping but still well above major league average. And, in theory, he is just going to keep getting better at only 21 years old.

I think with the trade deadline around the corner, they have something else up their sleeve, it may be Rodriguez coming up instead of Jenkins, it may be acquiring an MLB cf, maybe Larnach’s going to be traded with Jenkins coming up then - it could be a lot of things...the new FO has built up a good runway of trust with me, so we’ll see, although I had the same first reaction, What? Why not Jenkins? But let’s see.

What new FO are you referring to.  Zoll has been here for almost 10 years and has been one of Falvey's key advisors for at least the last 5 years.  And there were no other personnel changes in the front office over the offseason other than Falvey leaving.  It is the same people pushing the same failed philosophies, the only difference Zoll is the final voice, not Falvey.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, Drtwins said:

 

I agree the Gray move is a bit of a head-scratcher, but I don't see the Twins adding any of their top prospects to the 40-man roster with a potential labor stoppage looming in 2027.

Adding players like Jenkins or Culpepper could actually do more harm than good. Players on a 40-man roster aren't allowed to participating in team activities during an MLB work stoppage, which would mean no access to Twins staff or ability to play in the minors. That could be a significant loss of development time.

There's also the uncertainty surrounding the next cba. Changes to service time, arbitration eligibility, and free agency are all possible. Calling up Jenkins or Culpepper for a brief stint now could ultimately cost the Twins an additional year of team control under whatever rules are negotiated.

I know team control isn't something most fans care about, but from the Twins' perspective, it's hard to justify accelerating the timeline when they're not realistically positioned to compete with the Dodgers.

If that is what the front office believes, then they should be trading everyone for prospects that haven't started their service time clock.