Twins Finalize Opening Day Roster

Does a platoon of Garlick and Cave in LF sound like a part of a championship team?  If not Kiriloff, if not Rooker, then Larnach.  Upside and youth.  Now if Kepler does not produce, if Buxton gets injured the OF suddenly looks subpar.  The BP has some very shaky vets.  Lets hope that everyone finds their stroke, rises to the challenges and all ST worries disappear. 

For their (admittedly short) careers, Garlick has an .845 OPS against lefties, and Cave has an .803 OPS against righties--call it an .820 OPS on average.  Since the beginning of 2019, amongst all outfielders with more than 400 PA's, that places 40th, ahead of such "name" players as Mike Tauchman, Whit Merrifield, Eddie Rosario, and Yasiel Puig.  It's also only .008 behind the Dodger's third best outfielder, A.J. Pollock, so give your worry about the Twins outfield above, let me ask you this--how would you characterize a Dodger's outfield where Pollock falls off an age-related cliff, and Betts gets hurt?

Astudillo has a career average of .318. Source is MLB.com.

That is his career Spring Training batting average (you can tell because it shows him as having AB's with ATL in 2016, and with the Twins in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

In reality, his career BA is .294, with a .747 OPS and a 97 wRC+.  Astudillo certainly is not a bad hitter, but he's not a particularly good one either.  That is perfectly acceptable for a guy who is 12th or 13th in your lineup, and can play 3-5 positions without being a total embarrassment, especially when he is beloved by the rest of the team and one of the positions he can not be an embarrassment at is catcher.

Exactly!

 

The guys mentioned struggled in 2020 and thus the Twins need more bats on balls and Yes - I feel right now that Garlick provides a better chance to put the ball in play than Rooker.  

 

Also - from all accounts - Garlick's defense is better as well.

 

That said I hope Garlick's stay (and eventually Cave's) is short because Rooker, Kirilloff and Larnach force their way onto the roster very soon.

Garlick's awful 2020 isn't a concern though? He's also posted a K rate north of 30% in each major league stint so I'm not sure how he alleviates any perceived contact issues. Basically he doesn't seem like a viable insurance policy if you're truly worried about Kepler, Buxton, and Cave. 

By your description, it sounds like he is just like every other last-guy-on-the-roster player. He is on the roster for his versatility and his attitude, not because he's a frontline starter. If he plays regularly, it's because the starters are having trouble, which would not bode well for the team's chances. Conversely, his butt being on the bench does not hurt him or the team -- he is not a player who is gong to develop into a hall of famer if he gets more playing time.

 

This all adds up; sounds like the Twins made the right move. He fits the criteria for the role.

Crowing about versatility is meaningless without context. Astudillo is a below average defender at every position he plays. The Twins have 4 OFers and a super sub in Arraez. Each position on the team has a defensive backup that is more capable than Astudillo. His "versatility," isn't valuable given the current roster construction. Offensively he has zero plate discipline, doesn't hit for power, and despite his ability to put the ball in play it doesn't find a hole often enough to compensate for what the rest of his offensive game lacks. There are better ways to fill the 26th spot.