3 Twins In "No Man's Land" Headed Into 2025

Julien should follow the path of Garlick , play some where else or as he is now stay in AAA.

He never looked like more than an average player, at best, with holes in his glove.

Miranda , like Wallner , I would bet,  will be here for quite some time.

If the Twins don't believe in Alcala he could be pretty good trade bait.

I'm confused by how the Twins seem to think of Alcala, who has a ton of talent and now that he's healthy has the tools to be a shut down flamethrower in the back of the bullpen. But there seems to be some attitude or mental discipline things going on there that we sort of hear rumors about the team being unhappy about but it rarely seems to get into specifics. Maybe he's the million dollar arm/5 cent head guy. or maybe they just need to settle him in a role as a late inning, 1 inning reliever and let him cook, instead mucky around with 2 inning stretches.

The August 18 meltdown was pretty bad, but it happened so fast that they probably couldn't get anyone up in time to stop the bleeding when it quickly because obvious that Alcala didn't have it that day, coming off 1 day of rest. but even with that hellacious outing, he still had a very solid season.

he shouldn't be in no-man's land: he should be looked at being right with Sands as the guys right behind Duran and Jax. But maybe some of the other stuff is impacting that in ways we don't really know?

Alcala is not a super high leverage type guy right now, but he has possibilities.  He pitched in 54 games. He gave up runs in 15 of them, for a 75% of his outings he gave up no runs. 13 of his 54 games was for more than 1 inning.  11 where for less than 1 inning.  Of those 11 only 3 were games where he gave up a run.  Without doing the full deep dive, he did allow 7 of the 25 inherited runners score. 

He has shown he can be a reliable okay relief guy but you are not going to give him the ball in high leverage stuff often. 

20 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm confused by how the Twins seem to think of Alcala, who has a ton of talent and now that he's healthy has the tools to be a shut down flamethrower in the back of the bullpen. But there seems to be some attitude or mental discipline things going on there that we sort of hear rumors about the team being unhappy about but it rarely seems to get into specifics. Maybe he's the million dollar arm/5 cent head guy. or maybe they just need to settle him in a role as a late inning, 1 inning reliever and let him cook, instead mucky around with 2 inning stretches.

The August 18 meltdown was pretty bad, but it happened so fast that they probably couldn't get anyone up in time to stop the bleeding when it quickly because obvious that Alcala didn't have it that day, coming off 1 day of rest. but even with that hellacious outing, he still had a very solid season.

he shouldn't be in no-man's land: he should be looked at being right with Sands as the guys right behind Duran and Jax. But maybe some of the other stuff is impacting that in ways we don't really know?

This is what I see as well. Alcala should be a one inning weapon with a clearly defined role. If this isn't going to happen then it would be very easy to find a team who values Alcala. 

The blowup was a bad day but as I watched that I wondered something .... (and this is my first Rocco complaint ever despite not being a big fan of his style) .... where was the pitching coach and manager. It was clear Alcala had to be pulled. There was time. That has already been discussed ad infinitum. The manager takes the blame for that brain spasm.

Julien and Miranda are so inconsistent. They would have more success on teams with dissimilar personnel. The Twins are loaded with players who have stiff gloves, run like joggers, and are inexperienced, yet still have talent. Both Miranda and Julien deserve to be in the major leagues but need a correct place/team. The best days for each may have colored the eyes of management and made it tough to move forward without giving both another shot. I just wonder what value these two would have for another team. It seems like Seattle or Arizona are fits. 

Borgschulte for 2025 team MVP. Hopefully he'll fix up this group of ruffians (except for Alcala). 

Another article that probably could have included 3 more players...

Other than injuries, inconsistency has been the best word to describe Twins players over the last few years.  Up one day, down the next.  Stretches of brilliance, then huge droughts.  I am waiting to see if the team decides they want them to be a relied upon regular in the lineup.   

I would add Larnach and to a certain extent Lewis and Wallner. Lee still deserves some slack but the rest of these guys gotta step up especially because they don’t offer much on the bases or with the glove. 
Of all of these guys Julien is the one who starts in AAA. His great 3 months his rookie year was based on a 371 babip. Last year is more typical of what he represents. 

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

12 hits in a row even with the number of games really pumps a guys BA/OBP

Well, he did it which is significant. But perhaps you are thinking of looking at the hitter minus that one short stretch, which may be worthwhile.

Our problem isn't the budget crunch it's not making the needed trade, The root word in Chinese for opportunity is crises. This budget crunch should become an opportunity. By learning not to be so dependent on FA, which can make us into a better team for one thing looking to deserving in-house players over expensive inferior outsiders.

Miranda & Alcala both were coming off rehabbing from previous injuries. IMO both were managed incorrectly which led to their poor performance. Hopefully, both will be managed better & both will produce very desirable results. Alcala sticks to 1 inning & nonrepeating outings until he shows he's strong enough to do more. Miranda settled into 1B to improve his glove while mashing.

Julien has no such excuse. W/o Correa to cover for him Julen isn't passable at 2B. The league has taken away his HR advantage. IF he adjusts he won't be the same & no longer has the bat to stick at 1B. He's a liability both defensively & offensively, trade him.

Kepler?

I think the whole organization, and all of us fans, are in "No Man's Land".

20 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm confused by how the Twins seem to think of Alcala, who has a ton of talent and now that he's healthy has the tools to be a shut down flamethrower in the back of the bullpen. But there seems to be some attitude or mental discipline things going on there that we sort of hear rumors about the team being unhappy about but it rarely seems to get into specifics. Maybe he's the million dollar arm/5 cent head guy. or maybe they just need to settle him in a role as a late inning, 1 inning reliever and let him cook, instead mucky around with 2 inning stretches.

The August 18 meltdown was pretty bad, but it happened so fast that they probably couldn't get anyone up in time to stop the bleeding when it quickly because obvious that Alcala didn't have it that day, coming off 1 day of rest. but even with that hellacious outing, he still had a very solid season.

he shouldn't be in no-man's land: he should be looked at being right with Sands as the guys right behind Duran and Jax. But maybe some of the other stuff is impacting that in ways we don't really know?

Seems like the Twins have mishandled Alcala just like they have done with others.  A good manager puts players in a position that best suits the players and then therefore the teams needs.  The Twins don't have such a manager.  Putting Alcala in game situations that he keeps showing he can't handle..  He us a decent one inning pitcher no more than every other day.  I like your article!  There's plenty more unproven players that could be on that list.

I see no reason to move Alcala unless there is something behind the scenes that we’re not aware of. His stuff plays, despite the late season meltdown. Flamethrowers with decent control have a place on the roster. Maybe he can refine his approach or add another solid pitch in the off season program.

Miranda has shown flashes of excellence, such as the 12 straight hits. It sounds like his back held him back last season, contributing to the meltdown. But he could be effective as a bench player, playing DH, first, and occasionally third when needed. And the team needs right handed bats. Julien is another matter because he is too selective at the plate, resulting in too many called strike three outs. But the team should be able to help him improve that. His below average defense is an issue, like Miranda. But he has good power for a second baseman, so he should be able to contribute somewhere, just not on defense. 

5 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Can’t imagine why anyone thinks Eddie Julien is going to be fixed by moving him to 1B? Can’t imagine why/how the organization should talk themselves into this being a sound approach for the Club!

If there’s one guy that seems to be an absolute head case and visually (with his demeanor) makes him hard to root for, it’s Eddie.

I’ll reiterate from above, he lead baseball in backward K’s and the closest guy to him had more than 200 more AB’s.

To my knowledge, he’s only played a handful of innings at 1B in the TWIN’s organization. Becoming competent at a new position and competent at the plate seems like way too much for him, or most struggling players, to navigate through with success in one Spring Training.

He's not competent at 2B. He needs to move off 2B because he's so far down that depth chart defensively that he won't play. If he can hit well enough to make up for his defense at 2B then he can hit well enough to be 1B/DH.

31 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

IMO, he’ll need 3 months in St. Paul, at a minimum,  to even think about playing 1B in the show.

I agree with that. I have more hope that 3 months in AAA can get him to be a competent fielder at 1B than I do that any length of time will make him competent at 2B.