In Hindsight, Bringing Back Trevor Larnach Was The Right Decision

[Jeff K]

18 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

The error was in bringing back Larnach AND signing Bell.  This forced a terrible defender into the field and limited the flexibility of the roster.  

They then doubled down on this mistake by not trading him at the deadline when there was at least some interest in acquiring him.

I believe Erod starts the season with the Twins had there not been a change in direction by the ownership and Larnach would've found a home somewhere else.  Or Bell would never have been signed and Larnach would've played where he belongs at DH.

I fully agree with this.  ERod had a very good spring training and it might have changed the course of his season by starting with the big club.  Bell produced decently, but was yet another poor defender on a team desperate for more athleticism.

[saviking]

22 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

Of course it was.  You got decent production and gave your very young prospects a season to develop while not having to trot out the Outman/Roden types every day. 

I mean this....thank you for your service Trevor and best wishes at your next stop.

I thank him for his service and happy some team will have enough money finally pay him a living wage ..

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

No it wasnt. 

He blocked much more promising prospects all season long while playing crap defense and disappearing at the plate when we needed him most. 

It has been such a disappointing year having to watch his mediocre play most days. I sure hope he is gone before next season 

[DocBauer]

I'm going to push back on the OP, despite Larnach having a good 2/3 of a season.

IDK if $3+M for NOT keeping Larnach would make a difference or not. MAYBE it would have allowed 1 addition signing for a RP that was competent enough to add 1-2 wins.

But I think keeping him only held the Twins back this season vs getting ready for the future.

IMO, Roden was ready. You can point out his rough numbers when he came up this season. But to be fair, he also had a couple clutch hits. And right before he was sent down, he was starting to be more consistent. 

And that's where SSSS is a major issue. Imagine a season where the HOT Roden opens in LF, possibly/probably platooning with Martin. Are we really certain that Roden wouldn't have continued being HOT? Are we so certain that even if he started COLD he wouldn't have been heating up after a couple of weeks?

A Roden/Martin platoon would have provided better defense and better speed on the base paths. Are we really confident that Larnach over Roden was the smart play? I think it's questionable at the very least. And I'd take the over on a Roden/Martin platoon, essentially considering Keaschall should have been hitting #1 come May.

That was MY plan for LF.

The rest of MY PLAN for 2026 was Wallner at DH and just let Rodriguez...who I believed was ready...just play EVERY DAY in RF and back up Buxton in CF...and just get rid of Outman...and LIVE with mistakes as a hitter the same way the Brewers just STUCK with Chourio before he matured in to a STUD player. I'm NOT saying Rodriguez is another Chourio. But he's a massive talent with loads of potential. 

So NO, the Twins DIDN'T make the right choice in keeping Larnach for 2026. He's a competent player for a team starved for a LH bat at DH, who can play a little corner OF. 

Roden and Martin, with better defense and speed still makes more sense to me in LF to begin the season. It also allows time for a younger player YOU TRADED FOR to decide if he has a future with the Twins. 

How much further along might be Rodriguez's development playing the 2026 season when he looked ready?

I admit I BLEW the idea of Wallner being the primary DH for this season. I just never expected a decline like he had. So MY BAD for speculation on Wallner vs Bell. BUT I still believed Rodriguez was ready.  And oh boy, wouldn't it be wonderful if we saw a full season of Rodriguez struggling and starting to figure it out, and getting ready for 2027.

So ultimately, NO, keeping Larnach did NOTHING other than preventing the future. 

[mikelink45]

Based on our record there were a lot of poor decisions over the last three years and keeping Larnach might have been one. 

[Twins GFP]

On 9/19/2026 at 5:29 PM, ashbury said:

A major reason his OPS+ is as high as 121 is that he is shielded by his manager from left-handed pitching to a degree enjoyed by few other batters.

The salary was only a secondary issue.  The roster spot, given younger guys ready to get a chance, was bigger.

So putting a player into the position to be successful is a bad thing?

[Woof Bronzer]

Interesting premise.  Obviously it depends on what your goals were when the decision was made.  If we're talking about Tom Pohlad's season goal of playing competitive ball in September, keeping Larnach didn't get you there.  Not totally his fault of course, but who knows, if Jenkins had been given more of a shot with the big club early on and worked out the rookie hiccups, he could have been a difference maker down the stretch.  

If your goal for 2026 was let the young guys develop and really go after a title in 27/28, keeping Larnach was definitely the wrong decision as he blocked the future and likely won't be a part of those teams.

If your goal for 2026 is just to enjoy watching the Twins or heading out to TF, Larnach was competent and seems like a nice enough fellow.  

If you are concerned about payroll he provided decent value.  

Larnach is the same as about half of their roster.  Average to slightly-above-average 2-3 WAR guys in a vacuum, but collectively they add up to about a 75-win ceiling.  They just aren't good enough.

[ashbury]

12 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

So putting a player into the position to be successful is a bad thing?

You're missing my point.

Some people here (not you) want to trade Byron Buxton because, while he's good when he's on the field, his absences make him worth less than he seems.

Byron will finish the season with 408 plate appearances. Unless Trevor comes back from the 10-day IL, he will finish with 433 plate appearances.  (It will take more than 600 plate appearances to lead the team this year.)

Trevor didn't have any time on the IL until a few days ago.  His frequent absences were because his manager didn't want to write his name in the lineup.

Think about that.

 

 

[Twins GFP]

10 hours ago, ashbury said:

You're missing my point.

Some people here (not you) want to trade Byron Buxton because, while he's good when he's on the field, his absences make him worth less than he seems.

Byron will finish the season with 408 plate appearances. Unless Trevor comes back from the 10-day IL, he will finish with 433 plate appearances.  (It will take more than 600 plate appearances to lead the team this year.)

Trevor didn't have any time on the IL until a few days ago.  His frequent absences were because his manager didn't want to write his name in the lineup.

Think about that.

 

 

I believe the Twins had a plan in place at the beginning of the season that looked something like this:

The Twins thought, at the beginning of the year, they had enough talent to make the post season. In hindsight, they probably did (though another $10-12m invested in the BP would have been helpful). The number of quality SP innings lost to injury and the complete meltdown of SWR were unexpected and cost them that chance.

More than that, I think they were 100% looking to tread water this year. Selling the team is still on the table, but will become much easier with a new labor agreement and known financial future. So for 2026: no major decisions either way, then a lockout/new labor agreement, then the team goes back on the market.

Part of the treading water was that NONE of the high-end prospects were going to be called up to mess with their service time. Having them in the fold longer will make a team sale much easier. This showed to be true as they kept all of the big names down as long as possible, constantly calling up guys that have no future in Minnesota.

You can argue or complain about that plan. I didn't (and still don't) like it, but I could see it coming. Pohlad's are still being dishonest to the public about their intentions, but that is nothing new.  

Back to Larnach... his bat is showing to be big league capable. Where and how really depends on the team and it's needs. For this year, and the current status of this team, he provided what the team needed: a pretty reliable, relatively inexpensive bat on a 1-year deal. He wasn't blocking a prospect, he was keeping the seat warm for them until management changed course. 

[JD-TWINS]

2024 & 2026 stats averaged (he’s an above average platoon bat) & it shows me why he should be kept through arbitration as the LH platoon DH ……… Keaschall & Buxton from the right side as probable DH candidates.

They pay Victor Caratini $7M this year and he’ll cost $9M in ‘27 because he’ll get an additional $2M for his buyout….. paying Larnach $7M to be an effective DH against 73% of starters (RH pitchers) is a simple YES going forward.

2024/2026 blended:

(he faced 118 AB’s v. lefties in ‘25 & it crushed his stats)

.264 BA - .345 OBP - .435 Slug% - 14 HR/year with less than 400 AB’s ………..OPS of .780 - OPS+ of 116 & 121 respectively.

As a platoon DH, what the hell is wrong with Trevor Larnach in ‘27? The TEAM spend was $106 M in ‘26 ……… can’t be anywhere near that low in ‘27!! He’s worth an additional $2.5M and Bell’s $7M will be freed up……… logically, it seems like a straightforward move for ‘27.

[Woof Bronzer]

23 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

The number of quality SP innings lost to injury and the complete meltdown of SWR were unexpected and cost them that chance.

Just, no.  The Twins were league average in terms of injuries, and their #8 starter flaming out in May was not the reason this team missed the playoffs.  My goodness.  They missed the playoffs because the team is not good enough.  

They won 72 games last year and 80 the year before.  They'll win something like 76 this year. 

They are simply not good enough, and blaming injuries are the biggest loser excuse of them all.  "Run it back, but this time nobody will get hurt!" is not a strategy, it's delusion, and it has failed 3 years in a row.  

[Twins GFP]

1 hour ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Just, no.  The Twins were league average in terms of injuries, and their #8 starter flaming out in May was not the reason this team missed the playoffs.  My goodness.  They missed the playoffs because the team is not good enough.  

They won 72 games last year and 80 the year before.  They'll win something like 76 this year. 

They are simply not good enough, and blaming injuries are the biggest loser excuse of them all.  "Run it back, but this time nobody will get hurt!" is not a strategy, it's delusion, and it has failed 3 years in a row.  

Stop cherry picking my comments. I never said this was the best team in MLB, I said management thought this was a potential playoff team and they were. I

It isn't about the number of injuries, it is about the QUALITY of the injuries. How many more games would the Twins have won if Lopez started 30 games? How about the dozen games Ryan missed/pitched hurt? Add in that they felt they had to keep running SWR out there for a third of the season and that is the ballgame.

Complain all you want about the Twins this year, but here are the facts:
- 9th in all MLB in runs scored (2nd in the AL)
- They were just eliminated from the playoffs a few days ago with an atrocious pitching staff

Yes the AL was terrible, but 84 wins probably puts them in the playoffs this year. Before the Lopez injury, 84 wins was a realistic number for this team.

If you can't admit that, then there is nothing I can say that will impact your thoughts.