The Twins Have a Rotation; They Still Need a Playoff Ace

Canterino,  is your arm in the minors that could flash if healthy.  I would say the odds are slim.  He seemed to gel well with Paddack.   I think Varland is a better reliever than starting pitcher,  but right now we need him to fill in the depth role for the starters and compete with Desclafani.  

4 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

Starting pitching is certainly one way to do it. Another is a dominant bullpen, which they are taking a stab at. The 15 Royals were game over with a lead in the 5th. With the extra days off in the playoffs the bullpen guys can go every game where the starter has to perform for several innings at once and you still need to pitch the other games.

Duran, Jax, Stewart, Theilbar, one of the new guys and playoff Varland can cover a lot of postseason innings. Ryan, Ober and Paddack do have the ability to get 4-5 postseason innings even if they aren't the 8 inning horses.

That is a pretty good take. Duran is the only sure dominant pitcher in the current bullpen though. Perhaps the Twins and Astros can find an exchange. Bryan Abreu is really good. Would Houston send him for Kepler?

Just now, Cory Engelhardt said:

I doubt they trade Abreu. I also think you are shorting both Jax and Stewart, if you truly think no one else in the bullpen is dominant after Duran. Just my opinion.

You are probably right about Houston holding onto Abreu. I like both Jax and Stewart but they are not in the same class as Abreu. I was reacting to the idea of making the bullpen more dominant with a slim suggestion, that's all.

3 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

It appears they are taking this path, at least for now. Relievers being so volatile, they have about 6-7 options behind Duran to be 3-4 studs. 

Path? I'm not privy to whatever is going on in Falvey's mind and do not understand his actions. No matter though.

Abreu is likely worth Kepler plus Jax. Duran & Abreu would be something to lock down the back end of games. The piles of relievers the Twins are accumulating have all had decent stretches and a good year here and there. I'm not sure how comfortable the front office is with the bullpen if they are adding guys on MLB contracts still. maybe Falvey wants a full squad in St. Paul. It looks like Sands, Winder, Balazovic, and others may be in a hole come April. Who knows what is going on. Still a ton of guys out there to sign I guess.

Some thoughts:

There's a substantial chance that DeSclafani is not ready on April 1 and he stays on the DL or in St Paul to open the year, and at that point he'd need to pitch his way onto the 26 man. Great if he can, but better if he can't because it means someone else is throwing well with the big club.

I am still curious to see how they clear spots on the 40 man to accommodate the new faces. Perhaps they do make a trade to shuffle the deck. It would certainly be good for guys like Gordon that are buried, but it could change where we see depth and risk. (Edit: here I am implying Nick gets traded, not that we somehow rid ourselves of enough 2B or CF depth that he becomes relevant.)

Playoffs can be won with OK starters that make no mistakes and a huge pen that can defend small leads. Examples abound, but no matter how good the pitchers look on paper they have to avoid giving up multiple runs and the offense has to put some runs on the board. Modern playoffs don't require a ten inning Jack Morris shutout, just a solid outing that keeps one of the best teams in the game mostly off the board so your guys can stay within striking distance.  These days it's high risk game of velocity and home runs, not 1968.

On 2/4/2024 at 9:53 AM, MGX said:

I'm guessing the defending champion Texas Rangers see this differently. None of the starters that made big contributions in the post-season were considered "Aces" or "playoff caliber pitchers" going into last season. They made it work with a very good position player group a bullpen that was patched together & some starters who pitched beyond expectations (primarily Eovaldi who has a career ERA of 4.10).

The idea that you can add a SP & that will make all the difference in the playoffs is short sighted. Any improvement in your position player group, bullpen or rotation is valuable. It doesn't have to be from one group.

This isn't the 60's or 70's where a starter will pitch 3 games in a series & go 8+ innings in each start. Those days are long gone & that means all three areas are of similar value in terms generating Wins. IMO a strong position player group holds the most value of the three.

On 2/4/2024 at 9:53 AM, MGX said:

I'm guessing the defending champion Texas Rangers see this differently. None of the starters that made big contributions in the post-season were considered "Aces" or "playoff caliber pitchers" going into last season. They made it work with a very good position player group a bullpen that was patched together & some starters who pitched beyond expectations (primarily Eovaldi who has a career ERA of 4.10).

The idea that you can add a SP & that will make all the difference in the playoffs is short sighted. Any improvement in your position player group, bullpen or rotation is valuable. It doesn't have to be from one group.

This isn't the 60's or 70's where a starter will pitch 3 games in a series & go 8+ innings in each start. Those days are long gone & that means all three areas are of similar value in terms generating Wins. IMO a strong position player group holds the most value of the three.

Times have changed I get it. Funny you bring up the Rangers. Didn’t Falvine get outbid for Eovaldi? Garver would have been a nice bat in the postseason. I think Jeffers had one hit. My point is that the Astros knew the rest of our starters after Pablo were hittable. Even Sonny, as great of a regular season as he had faded down the stretch. Top starters have dominant out pitches plural. There is no one on our staff after Pablo that is going to keep us in a game and hand it over to the bullpen with a chance to win come playoff time. Joe Ryan, maybe. If he rediscovers himself. Ober, Paddock? I think not. I’d rather have Blake Snell than any bat or position player available. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t.