Derek Shelton Knows the Twins Must Be More “Defensive Minded.” How Does It Happen?

[GNess]

The Twins should put less value on positional flexibility and more on positional excellence.

Players need to more fully develop the fundamental skills, understanding of the position and confidence on task - these require more players focused on one position.. (Certainly there is value in having a few utility players that can handle moving around such  as Clemens.)

[HarmonK03]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I can't account for Falvey's comments or what his plan was. But between Falvey and the transition to Zoll and Shelton making out the lineup. 

It was Clemens and Caratini primarily. Bell would draw a start at 1B when Jeffers played DH to give him a rest from squatting.  

 

I don't disagree they changed it up, but that is why I really feel the signing was a huge mistake.  Without Bell, we very likely would have seen ERod in LF at the beginning of the season and Larnach at DH.   But the roster was constructed with Bell playing 1B, so any changes made were reactionary which they had to do, and not as effective because other pieces were already impacted.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Does this mean we rebuild the roster to become more defensive minded or does it mean we hope the players already in place become more defensive minded? 

 

 

Both.

[killercarewoliva]

2 hours ago, TCanWins said:

I feel like Lee at third and Jenkins and Rodriguez in the outfield have all made noticeable defensive improvements to the team. Keaschall is getting comfortable in the corner and sticking catches he would have dropped earlier in the year.

Culpepper TBD with a number of errors as he settles in but his offense is encouraging. 

A catcher who can cut down some stolen bases would be huge. 

Overall I like the direction they're heading in.

making changes towards the eight players in the field. suddenly there's some good AAA coming up. it's not just one or two people. so what do you do with everybody else? they are still pretty young players say the last 2 years the same guys mostly.. caratini makes a nice team effort but improvement is needed like throwing people out and hitting the baseball. first base in my opinion needs to be traded. I love Mr. Lewis's enthusiasm but you have to hit the ball. I'm surprised that is defense at first, not perfect by any means, but he's made some real good plays over there. the second base you know Mr. Clemons is hitting in the 230s but he has decent amount of home runs and RBIs and he can play most anywhere adequately. shortstop Culpeper definitely makes some errors, but he looks good at the plate. doesn't he Houston? I think he gets a lot of stolen. bases hits the baseball really well and plays extraordinary defense. so maybe around August. if we get lucky he could come up then Culpeper would move to second. what do you do? sit Clements on the bench. third Base I look for more next year out of Lee because he's improving everywhere the game requires. then there's the outfield Rodriguez. made an extraordinary catch last night and he really got excited but you can't get excited about his play at the plate. so far he is below average strikes out too much. we do not want another Sano. but Rodriguez must stay on the team. so there needs to be a lot of improvement before spring training starts for his hitting. If Bell does not return then at such a young age but Keaschell I can't get to be top top quality outfielder. that's the DH and try not to be so aggressive on the basis. He's made outs doing that. he is phenomenal to watch out there though. sometimes I have read complaints about Bell Daddy's just not that good or whatever. well, he leads the team in RBIs everybody. I think he's at 93 right now. if I could have a team of 90 RBI people I would certainly sign everyone up to play. who can do that. That's a super successful season. of course we have Mr. Roden. fun guy to watch at the plate. maybe he would be next in line for outfield. certainly should make the team. not the best player but I really like Mr. Martin. he was hitting 333 when the decision was made to have him play against right and left-handers. when you have like 50 extra left-handed hitters so to speak that are all good. you should be able to get some good pitching in a trade. that way they're not all down there wasting away in AAA. seriously on Mr. Lewis I don't think the twins are going to get a lot for him in a trade. oh yes, I must mention Mr. Jenkins attempt in central field. honestly, I did not think he was going to get to that ball but he over got to the ball because it hit him in the heel of the glove. that's a hard play to make when you're moving that fast and you're in the air, but it would have been incredible if he could have caught that. some players are going to have to move on in order for these younger players to take their place that we need to do. we have Mr Mendez waiting. we have Mr. Gonzalez been sent back down twice waiting. you know I really like Mr. sabato but he may not be able to hit well enough. defense is not fantastic I understand, but wouldn't it be great if he could play a little defense and hit 30 home runs. then you got a good first base situation.

[Riverbrian]

13 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

I don't disagree they changed it up, but that is why I really feel the signing was a huge mistake.  Without Bell, we very likely would have seen ERod in LF at the beginning of the season and Larnach at DH.   But the roster was constructed with Bell playing 1B, so any changes made were reactionary which they had to do, and not as effective because other pieces were already impacted.

I will always contend that the DH spot should be a vehicle to get more position players into the lineup more often. Unless you got a Nelson Cruz type King Kong DH that really moves the needle. 

However... You are right. If they don't sign Bell. Someone else could have added to the depth and we would have been better equipped to deal with the crash and burn of Lewis and Wallner. 

And since this a discussion on defense. Bell and Caratini didn't improve the defense one bit other than catcher and Caratini's utilization would have been less than Jeffers so the possible defensive improvement would have been minimal when Jeffers is healthy. 

We rolled into the season with Lewis at 3B, Lee at SS, Keaschall at 2B and Clemens/Caratini combo at 1B. 

If defense was a concern. We certainly didn't address it. Not even close to trying a single bit. 

Disclaimer: I appreciate the need for defense but I am less trusting of the range ratings that accumulate the data so I am not as defensive minded as some of the posters on this site. But even with my diminished concern for the defensive side of the ball. Not having a good defense in 2026 in comparison with the other 29 teams was rather predictable with that lineup. 

That's why I said over and over again in the off-season. We need infield competition for all 4. What happened. Lewis to 1B, Lee to 3B, Clemens to 2B and Keaschall to the OF. Kriedler and Gray who no one was concerned about because they were not suppose to play at all anyway at SS. 

Depth... GO GET IT this off-season. 

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

I think at least half of the answer at 1B and 2B is already in house – put Clemens at 1B. Statistics say he was a better than average defensive 1B and a well below average defensive 2B. Moving him over helps solve two defensive paun points without sacrificing offense since he is going to be in the lineup anyway after this last season.

I think we’re gonna have to go outside the organization for a 2B this year. I don’t think we should rely on Huston to be the solution middle infielder for at least another year or two, if ever. I’m not suggesting he won’t be quality MLB player, I’m just suggesting that it is fools gold to expect that to happen before 2028 or 2029 and the latter is more likely.

I think the solution at C and 2B are probably in the trade market. I would trade Joe Ryan to the Dodgers for Dalton Rushing and a good prospect. I would then trade someone like Zebby Matthews plus a quality AAA outfielder like Rosario to Miami for Xavier Edwards. Finally, I would trade Lewis for a change of scenery candidate like Grayson Rodriguez of the Angels or someone like that, or for some prospects. Do that and you’ve improved the defense with younger players and improved the speed profile. The names may be different, but the concept is to trade Ryan, a young starter with upside like Matthews, and Lewis in return for a young Catcher, 2B, and a younger player with some upside.

[SE23]

12 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I think at least half of the answer at 1B and 2B is already in house – put Clemens at 1B. Statistics say he was a better than average defensive 1B and a well below average defensive 2B. Moving him over helps solve two defensive paun points without sacrificing offense since he is going to be in the lineup anyway after this last season.

I think we’re gonna have to go outside the organization for a 2B this year. I don’t think we should rely on Huston to be the solution middle infielder for at least another year or two, if ever. I’m not suggesting he won’t be quality MLB player, I’m just suggesting that it is fools gold to expect that to happen before 2028 or 2029 and the latter is more likely.

I think the solution at C and 2B are probably in the trade market. I would trade Joe Ryan to the Dodgers for Dalton Rushing and a good prospect. I would then trade someone like Zebby Matthews plus a quality AAA outfielder like Rosario to Miami for Xavier Edwards. Finally, I would trade Lewis for a change of scenery candidate like Grayson Rodriguez of the Angels or someone like that, or for some prospects. Do that and you’ve improved the defense with younger players and improved the speed profile. The names may be different, but the concept is to trade Ryan, a young starter with upside like Matthews, and Lewis in return for a young Catcher, 2B, and a younger player with some upside.

I can live with Clemens at first next year, but I have to squint pretty hard to see it paying off well. I like him as a bench weapon and Super UTIL better. Problem is, I don't have a better solution for 1B. Keaschall maybe? Mendez?

I love Arraez as I have stated numerous times, but Edwards would be a smart get also. Or Brandon Lowe. But only on a short contract as Houston will arrive soon enough and Culpepper will slide to 2B.