Playing Through Injury Was Only Hurting Both Max Kepler and the Twins

And yet people still argue that players who sit out are "too soft" and should suck it up. If you're so hurt you can't perform well, you're hurt. Quit hurting the team more by trying to play. This isn't difficult.

Kepler being hurt is par for the Twins; we can't count on guys staying healthy, the last 3 years have been tough.

It would nice to see our best 8 guys in the lineup for 135-140 games in a year; I think we'd be pretty damn good.

For Kepler, it's his last year as a Twin, guessing we'll need him in October bit we honestly can't count on anyone to be healthy right now.

3 minutes ago, Coach Wheels said:

It would nice to see our best 8 guys in the lineup for 135-140 games in a year; I think we'd be pretty damn good.

 

True, but it would also be unprecedented in the history of baseball (at least the modern era).

Yes I'm sure we are witnessing Keplers last year with the Twins being on the IL.  Reality is of course the Twins weren't going to have him back anyway.  What easier way for ownership to cut payroll?  I give Kepler credit for trying to perform even though the results weren't there.  He at least tried.  Our great Buxton and Correa seem content on milking the time on the IL.  They were both supposed to be out a short time.  Yet Buxton had been out nearly a month (we are kind of used to that aren't we) and Correa over 2 months.  No I'm not suggesting they should play with serious injuries.  It just seems they aren't that interested at returning anytime soon.  Our two supposedly better players languishing on the IL while their teammates play through it trying to secure a playoff spot.

Go Twins.  Let's take the Royals series this weekend.

IMO  ..Kiersey will be a better replacement for Kepler next year..if they give him a chance. 

Some injuries are more 'predictable' .is anyone even remotely surprised that Buxton is still hurt? Hibs injuries are always measured in months not weeks or days. It happens every year. Correa has also missed a ton of time as a Twin. Lewis was creeping down that road too. It's reality. Twins must adjust and they are fairly proficient at doing just that.

Kepler may be done for the year. And probably done as a Twin too.

If they knew about that one chip all along, they should have.scoped the knee right away at the beginning of the season. You usually don't miss that much time from that.

Poor decision not to.

Kepler outside of 2019 has not had sustained way above average numbers. He fits in the category of good player, not great. He was never going to get the mega contract as a corner outfielder. He will probably find a one year deal in the 10 million range. The ifs of a carryover from the last half of last year are counting on an outlier year. There are far more regressions to their mean than sustaining the outlier year in their 30s

Kepler had a good run for the Twins. One would think it was emotional for him to miss Jorge Polanco in Spring Training and then he hits a foul ball off his knee early in the year. Max tried to grind it out but physical limitations for athletes are difficult to overcome. The inability to be anywhere close to healthy was pretty obvious on the bases and in the field. Hitting with damaged legs removes the base, which will ultimately result in diminished performance. Kepler has had a tough year. I can't see him returning without his legs being 100%. 

The Twins have a somewhat similar situation with Royce Lewis, although it seems Royce is still able to swing a bat. Lewis needs to be plopped in the DH hole and kept away from a glove until he is fully healthy. Perhaps he will find a groove as a hitter and feel better if he can focus solely on his bat. His legs are not healthy and sudden movements mean  reduced effectiveness in the field and on the bases. We see this routinely, especially when he runs the bases, but running the bases slowly is not exactly hurting the team much while the poor fielding is a negative.

Sorry to see Max Kepler end his Twins career on a down note, because I had pretty high hopes for him this year. 

Sad that it ends with a whimper but that's not unusual.

It's clear to me that the knee injury has been bothering Kepler for quite some time.  They should have given him an extended time on the IL much sooner and had Kiersey/Helman up much earlier.  I wonder if there is enough time for Max to get healthy enough to help in time for the playoffs.  

Something else I've noticed is how slowly Royce Lewis coasts down the first base line after hitting a groundball.  It's REALLY noticeable when you see how hard other guys motor down the line.  I believe the team is telling him to take it easy, not a lack of hustle on the part of Lewis.  It has not been addressed by Cory Provus while calling the games but if you haven't noticed it, check it out the next time Lewis hits a groundball.   

On the one hand, I get it.  His bat is hugely important to the Twins and they want to keep him healthy during a possible playoff run.  On the other hand, if he's NOT healthy enough to "play the game" there are many who believe he shouldn't be playing until he IS.  

In another era, Lewis would be called out for this, or Rocco would be, for allowing the perceived lack of hustle to occur.  Even though I can understand the reasons, and probably agree with them, I just can't help cringing every time Lewis takes a slow jog down the first base line.  

I was typing my comment while tony&rodney's comment had just been posted.  So glad to see tony&rodney has noticed this as well about Lewis.  

12 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

It has not been addressed by Cory Provus while calling the games but if you haven't noticed it, check it out the next time Lewis hits a groundball.   

Yes, Royce has ongoing leg issues and clearly is expected to coast while running the bases to avoid a situation where he needs to be shut down. Miranda has a somewhat similar deal. The coaches/front office want these guys in the lineup for their bats but this means jogging on fly balls and infield grounders. The Twins would like to have two or more DH spots to save these guys from further injury. Miranda is pretty slow at third base but Lewis is a virtual statue. However, both could bring the team some wins with their bats so we (and the poor pitchers) will have to accept one of them in the field and hope the +/- is a positive towards the outcomes of each game. I'm sure the coach's cringe but the best available players need to be used. 

Max Kepler reached a point with his injury where he was no longer playing well in the field, couldn't run the bases very decently, and was compromised at the plate and thus couldn't be much of a threat with his bat. Finally, the Twins put him on the IL. 

I've always really liked Max and he's had some real big moments like walk off wins over the years. He's been declining offensively and defensively this year though. How much of that is because of injury I'm not sure, but this is it for his Twins tenure. I hope he gets some kind of chance with another team and can keep his career going, he seems like a real legit dude and we wish him all the best. Thanks for your years of service Max!

I too am sad it’s apparently ending this way but the writings been on the wall as far as Keplers future here.  If he can get his knee right I can see him being helpful to another team but we need to see what we have with Larnach, Walner, Keirsey, et. al. 

It can be hard to tell if a player’s decline in play is due to aging or an injury. I admire Max for playing through his knee pain. He has been a player I’ve enjoyed watching over this career.

It’s obviously time next year for the Twins to move on. A team with little outfield depth may get Max for around $5-8 million. If Max’s season was really affected by a bad knee & he rebounds to his 2nd half 2023 production that team will get a bargain.  If not it’s likely the end of a good career.

The decisions for Kepler to play through the injury, while technically his, was really a joint decision.  You have to wonder what changed over the last 6 weeks that finally had the team putting him on the IL now vs June.  At some point in the next few months he will get it cleaned up.  I do not think he is done, he brings too much to the table when healthy.  Some team will probably get him at a bargain next year.

On a related note, I remember a few years back commentors on this site were obliterating the Twins medical staff, blaming them for all of the injuries.  The Twins have been decimated by injuries this year, have players either trying to play through injuries or pointedly not telling the team about injuries.  Why has there been no discussion about the role the Twins medical staff has played this season?

2 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

It's clear to me that the knee injury has been bothering Kepler for quite some time.  They should have given him an extended time on the IL much sooner and had Kiersey/Helman up much earlier.  I wonder if there is enough time for Max to get healthy enough to help in time for the playoffs.  

Something else I've noticed is how slowly Royce Lewis coasts down the first base line after hitting a groundball.  It's REALLY noticeable when you see how hard other guys motor down the line.  I believe the team is telling him to take it easy, not a lack of hustle on the part of Lewis.  It has not been addressed by Cory Provus while calling the games but if you haven't noticed it, check it out the next time Lewis hits a groundball.   

On the one hand, I get it.  His bat is hugely important to the Twins and they want to keep him healthy during a possible playoff run.  On the other hand, if he's NOT healthy enough to "play the game" there are many who believe he shouldn't be playing until he IS.  

In another era, Lewis would be called out for this, or Rocco would be, for allowing the perceived lack of hustle to occur.  Even though I can understand the reasons, and probably agree with them, I just can't help cringing every time Lewis takes a slow jog down the first base line.  

Yes. Yup. He us not hustling. 

Our healthy replacement has to he better than running an injured player out there.

20 minutes ago, joefish said:

Yes. Yup. He us not hustling. 

Our healthy replacement has to he better than running an injured player out there.

Well, that would be ideal. Sometimes it doesn't work.

Tony Oliva DH'd on one leg for three full years (1973-75) with the Twins. The general feeling was he had to hit a double in order to get to first base safely, which was only somewhat of an exaggeration. That seems ridiculous, but he did put up an OPS+ of 109 his first two years and 103 his third. Low for a DH, but perhaps better than anyone else the Twins had on the bench at the time. Bobby Darwin played RF with an OPS+ of 94 in 1973. Four guys played over 100 games in 1974 with a lower OPS+, including Harmon at 90. They pretty clearly didn't have healthy replacements better than Tony, so he DHd. Not ideal at all, but if you think the Pohlad payroll restrictions are nothing compared to the Calvin Griffith payroll restrictions.

The mouthful of gas Max acquired in the OP' picture probably didn't help. 

If one's production is down & is hurting, you shut him down & fix it. IMO Keirsey should have been brought up after Kiriloff went down & give him some time to prove himself.

Thank you Kepler for your contribution to this team & wish you well.