How Walker Jenkins Could Be Pushed Off The Twins' Opening Day Roster

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

The article talks about a very real possibility. Jenkins could very well end up starting the season in AAA. Unless they immediately change how they have done things for the past 3 years. 

The article has no mention of the immediate threat. His name is Austin Martin. 

There is no recent evidence that the Twins will not roster Austin Martin because someone has to take the left handed hitters out of the lineup when a left hander is on the mound. The Twins have been consistent doing this sort of thing for the past 3 years.    

We have three locks... Buxton, Keaschall and Emma. Someone is going to have to handcuff to Emma. That would be Martin. Now you have 4 spots locked. 

Once that decision is made and they will make that decision based on how they have approached roster construction for the past 3 years... unless they immediately change how they have done things.  

That leaves the 5th outfield spot. Jenkins, Larnach, Wallner or Roden are all left handed. DH is now a possibility with Bell gone. They could give that spot to Larnach because DH is now a possibility. Larnach can be handcuffed to Caratini at DH as Alex Jackson plays against left handers. Or sign a right handed infielder that can move Lewis to the DH spot against left handed pitchers. 

If anyone can't see this as a very real possibility based upon the recent years of roster construction. If anyone thinks that the Twins wouldn't platoon Jenkins if he did make the lineup hasn't been watching what the Twins do. 

I'm saying this out loud.

If the front office maintain their strict three-year pattern of platoon optimization and attempting to maximize tactical matchups, the path for Walker Jenkins to break camp in the majors becomes incredibly congested.

Martin could force Jenkins to AAA to start the year. Jenkins becomes the call up when Emma gets hurt and Martin will attach to him. Gonzalez becomes the call up when Martin or Keaschall or Buxton gets hurt. 

We are only having this conversation because the Twins are going to staff 3 right handed outfielders despite having 20 left handed better options.     

There can be no argument that this has been the past practice. The dugout staff changed last year and after allowing the Opening Day starters to prove themselves in need of movement, the decision was made to move guys around. That would not have happened from 2019-2025. So, there is a ray of hope that a voice exists to push the Twins away from their past practices/decisions. Hope is all we got there.

Another person asks about Trevor Larnach. Larnach is not an outfielder. He could be a DH who plays once a month in left field. That shifts a discussion to whether the Twins will pay $7M for a DH/PH. Larnach has value (imo), but that value is more likely to another team. People who see Larnach, Jeffers, and Arraez as needed for the 2027 Twins roster are plentiful and those arguments have been discussed/beaten ad infinitum.

A comment correctly posits that Walker Jenkins could suck. That is a possibility. The response is rather simple. Jenkins needs to play through his struggles. If July has arrived and the average is still at or below .200, a confidence boost in AAA may be necessary. I guess the thought here is what are we talking about with Walker Jenkins? Is he vastly overrated or will he blossom? If it is the former the Twins should be hinting to teams that Jenkins is available. 

This November seems crucial for the Twins for their next half dozen years. Zoll is top dog. What can he do?

[hlsballer318]

Serious question: Is it a foregone conclusion that twins hitting coaches can't help lefties hit lefties? Is this a consideration every team makes?

[MackMan]

13 minutes ago, Whammy said:

I agree, but for slightly different reasons. 

I simply don't believe that there is an appreciable difference in wear and tear on Buxton's legs between CF and one of the corner spots.

However,,,

Given Buxton's injury history and the Twins general desire to mix him in at DH, I'd rather play Jenkins every day in CF. I don't like the idea of Buxton playing CF, then moving Jenkins to CF on days when Buxton can't go. I want a level of lineup/defensive consistency that we simply have not seen in a few years. If Buxton does need to miss extended time, replacing him in one of the corners is a lot lower bar and gives us more options than trying to fill in at CF.

The only reason I suggest Buck to RF is because its the shortest field and the least amount of running. Yes, is he going to have to deal with the overhang, YES. But so does every player that plays in that part of the field. But I think it'll be good for him to play that spot. Especially with how wide open Left-Center. Looking at Baseball Savant though indicates he might be better suited for LF because he has a better first step glove-side vs throwing hand. 

Again, I am just looking from a pure "save his legs" aspect. Typically there is less running in RF than either CF or LF. 

[Riverbrian]

5 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

There can be no argument that this has been the past practice. The dugout staff changed last year and after allowing the Opening Day starters to prove themselves in need of movement, the decision was made to move guys around. That would not have happened from 2019-2025. So, there is a ray of hope that a voice exists to push the Twins away from their past practices/decisions. Hope is all we got there.

Another person asks about Trevor Larnach. Larnach is not an outfielder. He could be a DH who plays once a month in left field. That shifts a discussion to whether the Twins will pay $7M for a DH/PH. Larnach has value (imo), but that value is more likely to another team. People who see Larnach, Jeffers, and Arraez as needed for the 2027 Twins roster are plentiful and those arguments have been discussed/beaten ad infinitum.

A comment correctly posits that Walker Jenkins could suck. That is a possibility. The response is rather simple. Jenkins needs to play through his struggles. If July has arrived and the average is still at or below .200, a confidence boost in AAA may be necessary. I guess the thought here is what are we talking about with Walker Jenkins? Is he vastly overrated or will he blossom? If it is the former the Twins should be hinting to teams that Jenkins is available. 

This November seems crucial for the Twins for their next half dozen years. Zoll is top dog. What can he do?

In my opinion. This discussion is critical. The next wave is here. How we handle that wave is imperative to what this team looks like in 4 years. Jenkins will start in AAA if the Twins don't change. 

If we don't change right here... right now. We will have the exact same issue 4 years from now that we are experiencing today. 

The Twins consistently prioritize low-ceiling "role players" over high-upside "pure talent," leading to a repetitive cycle of shortcomings or roster stagnation.

 

I'm begging the front office and I will keep begging that they change.

The selection of role players over talent is a problem that hits us between the eyes every single year. 

Roster Talent throughout the 26 man roster. Be it unrealized talent like Jenkins or realized talent like Buxton.  Just choose talent and let them become what they become at the major league level. 

If they get hurt or struggle. We will have other talented options because we chose talent for every roster spot instead of choosing bit piece role players who can't cover what will eventually be needed from them because it happens every single year without fail.  

It has to stop before a single decision is made this off-season. 

[tony&rodney]

7 minutes ago, hlsballer318 said:

Serious question: Is it a foregone conclusion that twins hitting coaches can't help lefties hit lefties? Is this a consideration every team makes?

Every batter gets as much information as they can handle. The amount of "coaching" is almost exclusively up to the individual. That is true on every team. Hitting a baseball is incredibly difficult. The hand-eye coordination has to follow the mind processing information. Pitchers increasingly tunnel and disguise their pitches. Velocity adds to that degree of difficulty. 

Left-handed batters see fewer LH pitchers growing up, so it is largely a function of experience. The dance is how much experience does one get. Do you sit Oliva, Carew, Mauer, and Morneau? They hit RH pitchers better and had some tough PA versus lefties. 

The coaches do help. Players do improve. Some players struggle versus same side pitchers.

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

In my opinion. This discussion is critical.

The Twins are having that discussion. The front office staff often have different thoughts than those guys working with the players (manager, coaches). Everyone uses analytics and various forms of it have been in baseball from the beginning. One wonders if the suits give more credence to the paperwork. Falvey certainly did. Zoll's up now. Will he follow in the footsteps of his mentor? Hopefully he watched the playoffs.

[Riverbrian]

29 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

The Twins are having that discussion. The front office staff often have different thoughts than those guys working with the players (manager, coaches). Everyone uses analytics and various forms of it have been in baseball from the beginning. One wonders if the suits give more credence to the paperwork. Falvey certainly did. Zoll's up now. Will he follow in the footsteps of his mentor? Hopefully he watched the playoffs.

I hope they are. I'm hoping that the "not built for 162 games" comment from Tom Pohlad at the end of this season was recognition of the problem. However... Until they show it. I will remain nervous. 

They could be baked into the notion that they can take the analytics and math this thing together like they have been trying to do the past 3 years. Injuries along with Wallner and Lewis type performance is going to kill that math before the first month is done. The math can't survive attrition over 162 games. But they just keep doing it in the almost impossible hope that this will be the year that the math holds true.  

All teams use analytics and every team should use analytics. Some weight individual data sets heavier than others. The Twins seem to place more weight on the left on left platoon split more than every other team.  

We will know if they are travelling the very same path, the very second someone in the position of power says they are looking for a right handed anything. Once those words are uttered. It's game over as we commence into year 4 of the same thing. Martin on the roster and Jenkins in AAA. 

You have always been a strong advocate for defense. Here's how you solve that. TALENT is how. They can walk into the season and say that Emma isn't ready so they protect him by attaching Martin to him. It almost sounds sensible, however... That's not a potential talent discussion, that's not a defensive discussion... that's a right handed/left handed decision. That will be choosing someone less talented on purpose.  

Let Emma develop as a hitter while letting him catch fly balls that Martin wouldn't have gotten to. Maybe in 4 years we have the makings of Corbin Carroll. The other side of that coin will be Emma perpetually under the strict requirement that Austin Martin or Gonzalez or Grichuk is attached to him. He will be a consistent two roster spot necessity to cover one spot.   

Until the front office targets premium, everyday tools over specialized, low-cost matchup pieces, they are simply running back the exact same mathematical model that has proven too fragile for a 162-game marathon

[Captain John]

The only way Jenkins is not in the Twins starting line-up when MLB is played next will be if he is injured. Simple and straight forward.

[old nurse]

Every off season is wait and see. This is Zoll’s first off season in charge. Except for a certain trade deadline there wasn’t much aggressiveness out of Falvey. Falvey didn’t trade his prospects much in the offseason except for Petty. There could be a shakeup. With the lockout looming, there could be nothing. Won’t know either way until it happens. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

My kids call this rage bait.

Jenkins is a Twin

[Coach]

Why do the Twins have to be forced to roster a player (E-Rod) that may not be as good as the one he’s replacing (Jenkins).  How much trade value does E-Rod, a #70 prospect (BA) have?
 

[Nashvilletwin]

“Hobbs, we’re sending you down to B ball. Just ‘cuz you have a contract doesn’t mean I have to play you”  - Pop, the manager of the NY Knights in The Natural.

This entire discussion is ridiculous….

[GNess]

Spending more time in AAA for "development" is a false premise in many cases. It certainly is in this case as well. If Jenkins just wets the bed in Spring Training and loses all confidence maybe  a trip to St Paul is warranted. 

Sending Jenkins to AAA to keep Roden with the Twins - NO.

[DJL44]

6 minutes ago, Coach said:

Why do the Twins have to be forced to roster a player (E-Rod) that may not be as good as the one he’s replacing (Jenkins).  How much trade value does E-Rod, a #70 prospect (BA) have?
 

They don’t. They have five roster spots for outfielders. Jenkins in RF. Buxton and Rodriguez share CF. Keaschall and Roden share LF and DH. Martin goes to AAA. If they decide to keep Larnach, then Roden also goes to AAA.

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 hours ago, Jasper said:

One of the lefthanded outfielders will be traded for pitching, probably Roden.

I like it. Also like the thought of trading ERod for pitching, assuming it's good pitching. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

16 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They don’t. They have five roster spots for outfielders. Jenkins in RF. Buxton and Rodriguez share CF. Keaschall and Roden share LF and DH. Martin goes to AAA. If they decide to keep Larnach, then Roden also goes to AAA.

Easy. Also, stop with the assumption that LH hitters can't hit LH pitching. Roden can or at least has so far for the Twins. We don't need an OF to hit LH pitching; we already have one. 

[Mike Sixel]

Perhaps the dumbest article in internet history.

[bjorks]

One of the flaws to the roster construction is we have 3 OFs we assume should be in the OF who can't stay healthy, which puts us in a position where there could be (at times) for 5 who can play in the OF, including CF. 

NOTHING (sadly) in Buxton's career says he can even play 110+ games...what level of confidence do you have ERod or Jenkins can play 135+? If the approach is to handle with care and the approach is like the NBA with "load management" are fans really to expecting to be competitive with an OF of Martin, Roden, Keaschall at times? Are we to put our faith in Gabby and Hendry Mendez? Kreidler or Clemens in an emergency? Sure.

If Gabby (or Keaschall) were MLB caliber 1B they'd already be there. It's laughable anyone thinks Keaschall could be a MLB 1B. This isn't fantasy baseball where you can just say sign Jeffers to an 4 year deal and move him to 1B - it doesn't quite work that way and is actually a credit to how good of an athlete Royce is that he could make a relative smooth transition without looking like he had 2 frying pans on his hands. 

So who's the biggest roll of the dice with who you trust being available between Buxton (not trading unless he asks), Jenkins (untouchable), ERod, Keaschall (almost untouchable), Roden, Gonzalez, Martin, Mendez, Larnach (gone), and Wallner (gone)? 

ERod has the most value and I'd have no problem moving him for something because what's left to choose from in Roden, Gonzalez, Martin and Mendez is nothing to get excited about. Do you want Ian Happ or Teoscar Hernandez for $45/3? Jo Adell or Ketel Marte? I'd take any of those 3 in place of ERod simply because they're known commodities as RH, OF bats. 

 

[Whammy]

Looking forward to the "5 Teams that could trade for Buxton" companion piece

/s