What To Do With Gio Urshela?

Keep him, sign him, play him daily. Solid as a rock. Low key. Durable. Proven. Kirillof is too fragile. It would be great to see Correa stay, but that is questionable. Gordon and Royce Lewis upon return can cover many positions. Play Arraez at second and spelling at first. Miranda can DH and alternate at 3rd with Urshela. The OF has plenty of capable players with Larnach, Garlick, Celestino, Cave, Contreras. I don't mention Kepler or Buxton. I would trade them for pitching. Buxton has the long contract but has teams he would allow to go to. Kepler probably has some value, as he is a great defensive fielder but the bat is soft. No shifts will help his average. Buxton is just a mess physically and could DH and play limited games for teams in the field but would allow the Twins to get a top flight starter or starter and relief. 

Only my thoughts. Above all this, I would clean house in the coaching ranks starting with the esteemed Mr. Baldelli. It matters not who we have or where we play them, he will not inspire this team to win. It's funny that once we crumble into third place this guy starts sacrificing, bunting, stealing and letting pitchers actually get into the 6th and 7th innings. Ughhhh. GO TWINS!

Twins geezer............out!

10 hours ago, Beast said:

He’s just not that good.  But, in true Twins style, he’ll be a probably centerpiece/fixture here for the next 5 years.  Batting third.  This is why there’s no hope.

Hes expendable on a legit contender.  He’s a serviceable starter on a bad team.  That’s just all there is to it.  I couldn’t care less whether he’s on the roster or not.  It means nothing.

If he’s a bench/utility guy, or bottom of roster filler, then I’m listening.

Is the “roster crunch” people are referring to sarcasm?  Or are we referring a crunch in regard to who to send packing first?  

Luis Arraez is OPSing less than .800 this year and for his career, and people talk about him as if he’s an HOFer, transcendent talent. The same “analytics” guys telling you BA doesn’t mean squat, will treat powerless Arraez as if he’s playing the same game as Gwynn in the 80s.  That’s basically our centerpiece going forward. Just one example of delusion.  

Im starting to wonder if it’s just time to just fold this tent and move it to whichever obscure southern city will take it.  Is there even a realistic scenario where we’re even remotely competitive in the next century?  Gio freaking Urshela?

Maybe a little hyperbole, here, but my God is this frustrating.  What an absolute disaster in all facets.  From ownership, to administration, to the players, to the media, to the fans.  It’s literally the meme with the dog sitting at kitchen table with the house on fire sipping his coffee.

This is an epic rant that I laughed at the whole way thru.

And it wouldn't be funny if you were wrong. 

I was a big supporter of the trade for Urshela and loved having him on the team.  However, this discussion sounds a lot like last year when the majority thought we should keep Donaldson.  Some absolutely insisted the FO must be incompetent because we had obviously gotten worse at 3B and catcher.  The trade worked out great for 22 and it's likely Donaldson will continue to decline making it an even better trade going forward.   

Going forward Urshela's relative importance to 2023 depends on Kirilloff's health.  If Kirilloff is healthy we have Urshela / Arraez / Miranda, Polanco and Kirilloff for 3 positions with Gordon also able to play 2B.  He is not part of the solution beyond 2023 so I would not be too disappointed if they could get something back and invest the $10M saved elsewhere.  The team is at least at good with Miranda at 3B and they could go get a RH DH/1B with that 10M to complement Arraez and that player would be around longer than 1 year. 

I think I would let him go. He probably has another similar year left but he has little space to decline. I also don’t think he benefits at all with the larger bases or shifting restrictions. Start Miranda at third and Arraez at first. Maybe look to shift some of that money towards catcher. Sanchez has an average to above average arm (14/49) but he will be a free agent. The others with the same pitchers holding runners on threw out 8/62. Base stealing will likely be a larger factor next year.

59 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

I think I would let him go. He probably has another similar year left but he has little space to decline. I also don’t think he benefits at all with the larger bases or shifting restrictions. Start Miranda at third and Arraez at first. Maybe look to shift some of that money towards catcher. Sanchez has an average to above average arm (14/49) but he will be a free agent. The others with the same pitchers holding runners on threw out 8/62. Base stealing will likely be a larger factor next year.

Totally agree on the catching situation.  In the opinion of this extremely humble observer it is as dire as any position we have right now.

But I will continue to submit we get nothing for Urshela by just not tendering him and letting him go.  I would submit that we trade Polanco while he does have value, and move Arraez to 2nd, breaking up that logjam somewhat.  Polanco reminds me a lot of Rasario; once he started to fall, he fell quite a bit.  Polanco is starting to get hurt more, and his production shows.  Trade him while he has value, hold onto Urshela while he is playing well, and keep Miranda free to play both corners.  I just don't trust the health of Polanco and Kirilloff.  

I'd say keep him for a few more year's, he has proven himself. Don't have to worry about his defense at 3rd. He is stability to a team full of instability and injuries.

3 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Mark, What is Urshela plays SS until Lewis or Miller or Lee can prove that he (1 of the 3) is ready to play world class SS for the Twinkies? I really think Gio can do it. OK all you fielding stat experts, prove me wrong. 

A while back (not sure exactly how far, but not too far) I floated the idea of putting Gio at short if Correa left, and I was scolded for that, too.    That's why I didn't do it this time, but I agree with you that it is not a bad short term solution.  He has played it before, and it wouldn't be long term.  And look at it this way:  with all the major shifts we put on left handed pitchers, he has moved over into the traditional SS position so many times he is probably used to it.     

Overall, I like the guy and he isn't that expensive in todays baseball dollars.  Give him an extension.  

I wonder if the reduction in shifts and larger bases will result in a shift in relative defensive value. Will defense up the middle be more valuable and the corners less? 

13 hours ago, Mark G said:

A while back (not sure exactly how far, but not too far) I floated the idea of putting Gio at short if Correa left, and I was scolded for that, too.    That's why I didn't do it this time, but I agree with you that it is not a bad short term solution.  He has played it before, and it wouldn't be long term.  And look at it this way:  with all the major shifts we put on left handed pitchers, he has moved over into the traditional SS position so many times he is probably used to it.     

Overall, I like the guy and he isn't that expensive in todays baseball dollars.  Give him an extension.  

An extension makes little sense.  Miranda is already the better overall player with a good chance of getting better.  The money would be much better spent on 1B if Kirilloff does not return to health.  That position is easier to fill through free agency or trade.  If Kirilloff is healthy, by mid 23 you have Kirilloff / Polanco / Arraez / Miranda / Gordon / Lewis and Urshela for 3 positions and by 24 you probably add Martin and Lee.

12 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

I wonder if the reduction in shifts and larger bases will result in a shift in relative defensive value. Will defense up the middle be more valuable and the corners less? 

Defensive value has been "shifting" from 2B to 3B. With the new anti-shift rules you will see range at 2B become more important and 3B less important. That would be good news for Jose Miranda.

I don't have much confidence that Miranda will become a better defender. Players are mostly finished products at age 24 defensively. If they can't handle a position by age 25 they get moved to one that is more suited to their athletic ability.

Sign him for the year. Until Kiriloff proves he can stay healthy you can't count on him.