Breaking: Twins Calling Up Former First-Round Pick Aaron Sabato

[NYCTK]

36 minutes ago, mickster said:

a promotion that leads to a DFA in the offseason

A win-win in his books. He gets to debut in the majors and he gets to leave the Twins. 

[HarmonK03]

2 hours ago, PuckettPond said:

About time. Will he wear #7 as it is the Twins 1st base number. Sabato accepts coaching Lewis does not.

When has Lewis not accepted coaching.

[Linus]

10 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Zoll has to go. They punted a roster spot for 2 months only to let Alex Jackson go in the final week of the season? Incompetence at its finest. 

Yep. I am officially in the camp of moving on from Zoll. 

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, Linus said:

Yep. I am officially in the camp of moving on from Zoll. 

There had to be someone else that could provide more than 4 PAs off the bench since August 1st. What a slap in the face to the fans and the other 25 MLB players. 

[Rosterman]

I hope he can impress in his 20 at bats, and also play first. A right-handed bat that could replace Wallner (no one can be that bad, right) and maybe even Josh Bell on the roster in 2027. Raya already here. Next up, Rosario next season from that class, who also needs to be rostered to escape the Rule 5.

[HarmonK03]

14 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Zoll has to go. They punted a roster spot for 2 months only to let Alex Jackson go in the final week of the season? Incompetence at its finest. 

I can't recall a team punting a roster spot like this for two months unless it was a rule 5 pickup.  Especially for someone that was already released a month ago and no one claimed.  I don't see what more Tom P. needs to see to know Zoll is just not up to the job.

[Linus]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

There had to be someone else that could provide more than 4 PAs off the bench since August 1st. What a slap in the face to the fans and the other 25 MLB players. 

Almost like there wasn’t really a plan for roster management. If you liked him enough to play essentially a player short through a period of time you were trying to contend why would you DFA him now?

[Saxophone Joe]

18 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

[Patzky]

Honestly I hope the Rangers pick Jackson up and I hope we see him at Target Field.

 

[HarmonK03]

24 minutes ago, Linus said:

Almost like there wasn’t really a plan for roster management. If you liked him enough to play essentially a player short through a period of time you were trying to contend why would you DFA him now?

You have high expectations for Zoll thinking he would have a plan.

[jmlease1]

15 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Honestly I hope the Rangers pick Jackson up and I hope we see him at Target Field.

 

They're not going to. He isn't eligible for post-season play with them if they did. Why would they pick up his salary to not play the last 6 games of the season as insurance? To spite the Twins, who probably don't care that much? To try and give a small segment of the Twins fanbase some additional sand to kick in the front-office's face?

I would have preferred they move Royce to the IL so there's a clear path for Sabato to play more, but this will be fine.

[shimrod]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

If Larnach and Lewis are both injured and have been playing through injuries for a month with awful results, that says something really bad about Shelton for keeping them in the lineup every day.

Is that really true? Or agent spin to excuse poor play?

It's hard to believe a MLB manager would keep playing guys who are hurt to the point they're ineffective. Unless, of course, he was under orders to keep recognizable names in the lineup in an effort to sell tickets. 

 

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, Linus said:

Almost like there wasn’t really a plan for roster management. If you liked him enough to play essentially a player short through a period of time you were trying to contend why would you DFA him now?

Especially when anyone on the IL can go on the 60-day. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

I don't have a ton of confidence that Sabato's bat will transition to the ML, but then again guys who I thought would didn't so what I think doesn't matter. But he's up now actually let him play and see what he can do. Bell can sit. So can Martin and Lewis. Let the kid play. 

[Whammy]

16 minutes ago, shimrod said:

Is that really true? Or agent spin to excuse poor play?

It's hard to believe a MLB manager would keep playing guys who are hurt to the point they're ineffective. Unless, of course, he was under orders to keep recognizable names in the lineup in an effort to sell tickets. 

 

That's a silly conspiracy. Larnach and Lewis in the lineup isn't selling one single solitary ticket.

Culpepper, Jenkins, and Rodriguez however, would sell a few more tickets. 

[weitz41]

Nice! He's put the time in and earned it.

A lot of work to be done by the FO this offseason to make the roster work. You never know, could be the beginning or the end for him. Congratz!

[DJL44]

59 minutes ago, shimrod said:

Is that really true? Or agent spin to excuse poor play?

It's hard to believe a MLB manager would keep playing guys who are hurt to the point they're ineffective. Unless, of course, he was under orders to keep recognizable names in the lineup in an effort to sell tickets. 

Larnach is on the injured list. Lewis was listed as day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

[DJL44]

43 minutes ago, Whammy said:

Culpepper, Jenkins, and Rodriguez however, would sell a few more tickets. 

No. Casual fans don’t know who any of those guys are. Nobody is buying Twins tickets right now. They have zero attention.

[MMBoys93]

6 days left, twins are all the way in San Fran, why now? 
Even though he wasn’t claimed twice, they held Jackson tightly even when Jeffers was starting at catcher a week straight.

So many infuriating decisions this year 

 

[Patzky]

52 minutes ago, Whammy said:

That's a silly conspiracy. Larnach and Lewis in the lineup isn't selling one single solitary ticket.

Culpepper, Jenkins, and Rodriguez however, would sell a few more tickets. 

Hope Culpeper is back for a quick goodbye tour Saturday.

[Patzky]

6 minutes ago, MMBoys93 said:

6 days left, twins are all the way in San Fran, why now? 
Even though he wasn’t claimed twice, they held Jackson tightly even when Jeffers was starting at catcher a week straight.

So many infuriating decisions this year 

 

Perhaps they've secretly signed Jeffers to an extension and are waiting for the right time to announce it. 

😂😂😂

[wavedog]

Not a major issue with cutting Jackson but certainly curious move after hanging on to him and using up a roster spot from July only to cut him the last week of the season.    Wasn't really used much but just thinking they would want him as an insurance backup catcher next year.  

[LyleCole]

Very happy for Aaron.   He has worked to improve himself every step of his professional career. 

I doubt it means much in the long run, but it will still create a lot of personal memories for him.

[shimrod]

1 hour ago, Whammy said:

1 hour ago, shimrod said:

Is that really true? Or agent spin to excuse poor play?

It's hard to believe a MLB manager would keep playing guys who are hurt to the point they're ineffective. Unless, of course, he was under orders to keep recognizable names in the lineup in an effort to sell tickets. 

 

That's a silly conspiracy. Larnach and Lewis in the lineup isn't selling one single solitary ticket.

Culpepper, Jenkins, and Rodriguez however, would sell a few more tickets. 

The target audience is not the TD readership. I have relatives in the cities. They occasionally attend games. They couldn't name a single Twins minor leaguer. They do love Buxton and Lewis. 

That said, you're likely correct. As I noted, the most likely explanation is excuse making by agents or others. I'd like to think our management did not keep injured, unproductive players in the lineup while the teams (slim) postseason chances circled the drain. 

[srlarson]

another callup not named Wallner..the entire st paul lineup in Minneapolis......  writing on the wall

[Nashvilletwin]

3 hours ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I generally agree but I think we all need to remember 1 thing - Lewis has had 2 ACL reconstructions and several other significant soft tissue injuries. He's not the same guy he was in 2023. He is a physically diminished player. Just watch him run some time. He's a baseball player, not an offensive lineman. A major knee injury can be a career killer in baseball. Maybe the injuries have affected his swing, maybe not, but he clearly is not the same player we saw in 2023 and probably will never be that guy again.  

I think he would be a great chang of scenery candidate for a trade. I wonder if there's a deal out there to move him to a team like the Angels for a pitcher with arm talent but control issues like Grayson Rodriguez or a young 2B with a "maybe" bat like Vaugh Grissom. Could be good for both teams, could be good for the players as well. This is something we should explore in the offseason. 

Agree.   The injuries were included in the “or whatever” part.

Regardless of the reasons (and there are likely several), Lewis is simply not very good - certainly not good enough to be starting first baseman on a Twins team that is rapidly improving.  It’s just time to move on - best for both parties.

And that is written with a reluctance because virtually all Twins fans, myself most certainly included, wanted Lewis to be star for years to come.  It was just not meant to be.

 

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, Whammy said:

That's a silly conspiracy. Larnach and Lewis in the lineup isn't selling one single solitary ticket.

Culpepper, Jenkins, and Rodriguez however, would sell a few more tickets. 

100% agree.  With those three in the lineup (ideally Culpepper for the last two games), plus now Sabato, the last week of the season is Must Watch TV for me.

I have no particular burning desire or reason to see Lewis or Larnach take another AB as a twin - nothing against either player.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Zoll has to go. They punted a roster spot for 2 months only to let Alex Jackson go in the final week of the season? Incompetence at its finest. 

It's mind boggling.  They carry Jackson for months, don't play, then 6 games left in the season DFA him.  

What possible reason makes sense for Zoll to do this?

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Or any other team. I don’t know why people assume other teams would want players the Twins don’t want. The Rockies traded for Julien and got -1 WAR. 

Absolutely zero chance either passes through waivers if the Twins DFA/release them.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

Yep. I am officially in the camp of moving on from Zoll. 

Come, sit next to the fire where it's warm.