Will Caution Matter for Twins Key Pieces?

AK should start in St. Paul. When he is ready physically, he needs to be ready mentally, and that requires him to play thru it all. Better to have him in AAA for a few weeks to convince himself that ha can get thru the stiffness or ache that he seems to be feeling. Its a long season, so giving him an extra 2 to 6 weeks would be best for him and the team IMHO.

It's one thing to bring players along slowly to avoid further set-backs but it is also not good if those players are not ramped up and ready to contribute due to insufficient at bats in spring training. All of which may cost the team potential wins in April. Being ready to play in games that count should take precedent over being cautious. You can be the most cautious person in the world and still have something bad happen. It is better to find out in spring training if they are ready to play than waiting until the first week or two of the season and then have it blow up in your face costing you games on top of it. Quit playing the AAA squad and get the main roster ready for Game 1.

2 hours ago, rv78 said:

It's one thing to bring players along slowly to avoid further set-backs but it is also not good if those players are not ramped up and ready to contribute due to insufficient at bats in spring training. All of which may cost the team potential wins in April. Being ready to play in games that count should take precedent over being cautious. You can be the most cautious person in the world and still have something bad happen. It is better to find out in spring training if they are ready to play than waiting until the first week or two of the season and then have it blow up in your face costing you games on top of it. Quit playing the AAA squad and get the main roster ready for Game 1.

Buxton, Polanco, Kirilloff, and Gordon (if you can believe it) were all taking Live at bats off of Maeda today according to Do-Hyoung Park. Its not like these guys aren't getting at bats, they are getting more at the fort myers complex than they would at a spring training game (2 or 3 in 2.5 hours). 

Im worried most about Kirilloff.  For almost two years whatever they try his wrist remains a problem.  Not good for a guy whose main contribution is with a bat.

Well with AK continuing to have health issues it’s clearly time to cut bait with Pagan.  The sooner we do that the better AKs situation will be.  
 

At least this season, the Twins are pretty well stocked with replacement players. Gallo, Farmer and Taylor should help prevent the team from depending on rookies and defense-only veterans. 

Last year they over played players when they were really hurt and they rushed players into the line-up only for them to make a u-turn back to the IL. Using a little caution is a breath of air, especially w/ the depth we have. IMO it'll pay big dividends.

If putting Lewis in CF caused his injury, can’t we just ask Buxton to avoid getting on base…you know, to be safe? I mean, we have it pretty narrowed down…Lewis get hurts when he runs, Buxton when he slides, and Kirilloff when he swings. Should be simple to eliminate.

Or…

…once they get healthy…and that means “as healthy as they’re going to get”…let them play the —— game. In Buxton’s case, he has WAY more value as a regular CF as opposed to a primary DH. It’s like having two separate players with drastically different value, and you’re choosing to play the guy with inferior value so the one with superior value won’t get hurt…except the guy with the superior value can still get hurt. It’s a self-fulfilling formula for mediocrity. And dumb.

Buxton suffered his 2022 knee injury on a slide against the Boston Red Sox. There was nothing abnormal about the play, but it changed the entirety of his season. 

You are correct, there was nothing abnormal about the play, instead of hustling out of the box he jogged to first and had to "turn on the jets", leading to the awkward slide at second that caused the knee injury. Todays players are just as much spectators as the fans in the stands.

“(Kirilloff) may be a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman, but it isn’t a position that can afford to have nothing come from the bat.”

Agree. But, are people really that high on him defensively at 1B? He’s made less than 100 appearances there over 7 years in pro ball, so not much of a sample size. If true, it could, at least slightly, or at least in the relative near term, lower the bar a bit on what he needs to produce offensively.

Buxton is working out and getting his work in the batting cages, which he prefers. Correa doing much of the same. Polanco had no surgery, rest and rehab and strength building. His issue is not his ankles, but tendinitis. Yes, it can reoccur, but I'd rather have rehab on that against a surgery rehab. He's also working out.

While AK is a very important piece of the Twins future, I've never been concerned if he was ready Opening Day. It would be nice. But I'm more concerned with the long game and if he's ready come May or even June.

3 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Taylor would be the illustration you'd find if you were to look up "defense-only veteren" in The Baseball Dictionary. 

The fact that he could very easily be in the starting lineup for 80-100ish games in CF seems to fly under the radar here. 

6 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Taylor would be the illustration you'd find if you were to look up "defense-only veteren" in The Baseball Dictionary. 

He also appears under: “The MN Twins starting CF.”

7 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

?????  What does Pagan have to do with Kirilloff?

It’s satire. The reader was expecting me to write its time to cut bait on AK but Pagan blew lots of games last year and is having a terrible spring so any reason is a good one to dump him.  

Does caution matter? Does writing fragile on a package matter? I'd say no to both, but I feel better even if the package falls off the truck, conveyer and cart on it's way to it destination.

Will Caution Matter for Twins Key Pieces?

The answer to that question seems simple, did it help last year?

16 hours ago, LonelyseatinMOA said:

Buxton, Polanco, Kirilloff, and Gordon (if you can believe it) were all taking Live at bats off of Maeda today according to Do-Hyoung Park. Its not like these guys aren't getting at bats, they are getting more at the fort myers complex than they would at a spring training game (2 or 3 in 2.5 hours). 

And a lot can be said for taking at bats in this scenario verses real game action against an opponent who is trying to get you out, including being ON THE FIELD for defensive purposes. I've seen the Twins baby their injury prone players for an entire season and it didn't go well. Now they are even doing it in spring training. Let's hope they don't stub their toe entering the stadium on opening day.