Emmanuel Rodriguez Turned Heads With Loud Spring Statcast Numbers

19 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Thus the retreads like Outman, Bell, Clemens and anyone else Falvey brought in the last few years that is still here will get the nod to prove they don't belong BEFORE the youngsters that would help this organization down the road get to prove they do belong.

Which is crazy because FALVEY ISN'T HERE ANYMORE. They don't have to be married to his decisions anymore. What's the point of firing the POBO if you maintain the exact same status quo?

4 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

If Larnach hits 18HR and hits .260 while DHing 90% of the time (obtainable) v. RH pitching …….. .765 OPS, he’s nearly a lock for the ‘27 roster. If Outman hits .260 and plays decent defense, he too has a great shot at the ‘27 roster.

IF, these guys (1 of them) is mildly successful but not viewed to be “part of the future” they’ll have trade value above where it is now, “in a crowded LH hitting OF situation”.

Why? …….. because Rodriguez has done little to nothing to suggest he’s better or will be better than either of these guys at the MLB level. If Roden takes off……. Rodriguez is on the outside looking in going forward. He’s not of the talent level of Walker ……. he’s just the best we’ve had in the system for a couple years & people get bored and want the shiny new toy. Larnach & Wallner used to have very similar buzz.

If Larnach puts up that line, he's non-tendered because he would cost over $7M in arbitration.

If Outman hits .260 it would be his best season in MLB by a HUGE margin. That would exceed his 99th percentile projection. He's hit .141 over his last 304 plate appearances over two seasons. He only hit .235 for the Saints. If we're just wishing for things to happen, then why not wish that Emmanuel Rodriguez hits .360?

Do you really think Emmanuel Rodriguez doesn't have the talent to hit better than .141? If so, it would be malpractice to keep him. Trade him now before he exposes that he doesn't have the ability to contribute in MLB.

11 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

“A crime”? ……. He hit just .254 with a 30+% K rate ………. ALL should be careful what they wish for…….oh, and he’s hurt 50+% of the time over last 3-4 years. I too would love improvement on the Roster but Emma is hardly a lock. He’s been a “coming prospect” for some time and all are anxious - I get that.

Seeing if Outman &/or Clemens &/or Larnach &/or Wallner can get some positive results early, in a probable lost year, prior to “moving on” just makes sense. If these guys (Outman particularly) were not reasonable at the plate this Spring then one should act more swiftly.

I could care less “who” is successful, just want someone to be successful ……. am not going to be upset if Outman can muster OK defense and some XBH and hit .265 BA. If Rodriguez can’t give the organization a solid reason to displace that type of guy, whoever it may be, tough.

Yeah, he played that well in AA and AAA @ 21/22 YO while dealing with several serious injuries. He is healthy now, crushing the ball and playing versatile above average OF defense. …. and we have to watch AAAA guys and Larnach (mr. MLB average) ride the struggle bus. We aren’t going to the playoffs with Larnach, Outman and Clemons taking up roster spots unless they all play at a higher level than they ever have. If that scenario squeezes Erod out of MLB until Sept, I will be their biggest fans but the chances of that scenario is less than 7%.  We have nothing to lose by playing rookies alot this season. 

It would be very foolish to send Rodriguez back to the minor leagues.  He has already proven himself at every stop in the lower leagues.  Of course, the injury problem has been one of the biggest question marks against him but that issue in itself makes it imperative for him to start the season on the 25 roster.

Why?  Get him in action against major league pitching immediately and see how well he performs.  With his very professional hitting approach he may do very well to start.  But, if he is injured then you have that performance to guide his future.  But if you send him to AAA to start the season and then he is hurt, it will further delay his major league debut.  

The Twins are just too conservative in their approach to prospects.

The other issue is if we had real players ahead of him.  If they keep Outman over Rodriguez after ER's spring success it is just foolish and more spinning of the wheels.

14 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Why? I get why it makes sense to keep playing Wallner, but why does it make sense to give playing time to outfielders who clearly won't be around for the next good Twins team? At best they'll recoup a grade 40 prospect who is also unlikely to help the next good Twins team.

Playing time is the key issue in my opinion. Even though Rodriguez is more valuable I am fine with Outman making the 26 man roster to start the season because Rodriguez or any of the better prospects need to play every day. Outman can be used off the bench as needed. Sooner than we'd like a starting outfield spot will open up.

16 hours ago, bean5302 said:

What I've read is things were "collaborative" which had led to me believing Zoll's opinions were highly valuable when Falvey agreed with them. Falvey feels like the type of guy who hires a yes man or brown noser who has an echo chamber for feedback.

Just my feel for things.

zero evidence for this. your "feel for things" seems to be "I hate Derek Falvey, so I'll make up stuff to denigrate him".

Clearly what minimal honeymoon period may have existed for Zoll has ended...

18 hours ago, rv78 said:

The powers that be continue their narrative that this team will compete. Thus the retreads like Outman, Bell, Clemens and anyone else Falvey brought in the last few years that is still here will get the nod to prove they don't belong BEFORE the youngsters that would help this organization down the road get to prove they do belong. It's the recipe they have followed for many seasons now and even though the guys in charge have changed, the philosophy hasn't. Trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is......... ? 

I'd like to see more of a shift towards youth too, but I actually like Bell and think he will be a productive player for the the Twins this season. I'm hoping he spends more time at DH than first base, but maybe he will surprise/shock us and give the Twins another gold glove first baseman!

32 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

zero evidence for this. your "feel for things" seems to be "I hate Derek Falvey, so I'll make up stuff to denigrate him".

Clearly what minimal honeymoon period may have existed for Zoll has ended...

I mean...have you seen the roster? 

21 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Well most reports suggest Zoll, who has been the GM for over a year now, was in fact acting as the GM this entire time. Therefor, Outman and Bell would be his players, and quite possibly Clemens as well.

What reports? Source?

4 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I mean...have you seen the roster? 

I'm not happy with the roster either, but there's zero evidence that Zoll has his job because he was nothing but a yes-man for Falvey. The people expecting an immediate and radical shift in strategy and team-building when Falvey left the building (especially considering how late in the game it was) have been out to lunch.

16 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm not happy with the roster either, but there's zero evidence that Zoll has his job because he was nothing but a yes-man for Falvey. The people expecting an immediate and radical shift in strategy and team-building when Falvey left the building (especially considering how late in the game it was) have been out to lunch.

• We know that Zoll runs the roster.
• We know whomever ran the roster last season (ostensibly Zoll, perhaps Falvey) started a rebuild.
• Everyone who knows anything about the current state of the Twins organization recognizes a rebuild is the only prudent baseball decision.
• We know Twins ownership, in their quasi-change, declared there would be no rebuild.
• Joe Ryan, Trevor Larnach, Pablo Lopez, Byron Buxton, and Ryan Jeffers remain on the roster, signaling that Zoll has ceased any rebuild. 

That's the evidence. It sure seems like Zoll is an acquiescing yes-man to me.

I get it, you want to protect your own neck, but that doesn't mean he doesn't suck at the job due to his apparent subservience to his boss. 

7 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

So, your stance is that Zoll should've told Tom Pohlad to pound sand and traded Ryan, Larnach, Lopez, Buxton, and/or Jeffers? Things he literally cannot do if the owner of the team stops him? Every POBO/GM/Whatever title you want, is an acquiescing yes-man to the owner of their team. 100% of them. The question is if Zoll was a yes-man to Falvey, or has the same base beliefs in team building that Falvey did.

Yes. He should do his job, which is to improve the baseball team. 

Spineless yes-men acquiescing to idiot billionaires has sort of doomed our society. Zoll doesn't get my sympathy just because he wants to keep his job (and do it terribly, might I add). 

Most of these idiot billionaires are spineless themselves. Stand up to them, tell them off. Or, acquiesce, say "yes, sir" and enjoy your deserved ire. 

4 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

He can't. He literally doesn't have the ability to trade Joe Ryan if Tom Pohlad doesn't want him to. That is how MLB works. The league has to approve every trade. If Zoll tries to trade somebody Pohlad doesn't want traded the trade won't go through. Thus, 100% of decision makers in MLB have literally no option but to do what the owner of the team wants. Their options are to either do what owners want or not work in baseball. That's it. Those are the only 2 options.

OK, and if Pohlad stopped him from doing his job then he should call up Jeff Passan and give him an anonymous scoop. 

Zoll is going to get to rebuild the team. He's just going to have to wait two months and his assets will be worth less.

26 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Yes. He should do his job, which is to improve the baseball team. 

Spineless yes-men acquiescing to idiot billionaires has sort of doomed our society. Zoll doesn't get my sympathy just because he wants to keep his job (and do it terribly, might I add). 

Most of these idiot billionaires are spineless themselves. Stand up to them, tell them off. Or, acquiesce, say "yes, sir" and enjoy your deserved ire. 

Lot of big talk from the sidelines from someone with no real stake in it. Zoll just got the job he's probably been dreaming about since he got into baseball. If you got your dream job would you immediately tell the CEO/owner to go eff themselves if they didn't also instantly give you a vacation home and a new car? 🙄

Zoll's job is to improve the team, but his primary constituency on whether he's doing it "right" isn't the posters on Twins Daily (some of whom wouldn't give him credit for anything he did well anyways). The idea that subordinates generally get rewarded for telling off their new boss is Hollywood fantasyland. They're much more likely to clean house.

But regardless, there's no evidence that Zoll was just a flunky/yes-man to Falvey who slavishly went along with everything Falvey suggested...or even that he's doing the same thing with Tom Pohlad. We barely know anything about what Zoll really is as the head of baseball ops for the Twins.

1 minute ago, chpettit19 said:

Zoll's job is to execute the owner's plan. Same thing in Colorado and Anaheim when they refuse to rebuild or trade players like Ohtani. This is how it works. FO execs are paid to execute their owner's desires. They do their best to influence those desires. They try to get bigger budgets or convince ownership they should rebuild, but they don't get to just do whatever they want. Acting like Pohlad is "stopping him from doing his job" is ignoring the fact that his job is to do what Pohlad wants. Just like the head of all 29 other teams.

Well, then we go back to the original argument where someone claimed there's no evidence that Zoll is a yes-man. You're now arguing the exact opposite, and in fact, that it's his only duty. 

1 minute ago, jmlease1 said:

Lot of big talk from the sidelines from someone with no real stake in it. Zoll just got the job he's probably been dreaming about since he got into baseball. If you got your dream job would you immediately tell the CEO/owner to go eff themselves if they didn't also instantly give you a vacation home and a new car? 🙄

Zoll's job is to improve the team, but his primary constituency on whether he's doing it "right" isn't the posters on Twins Daily (some of whom wouldn't give him credit for anything he did well anyways). The idea that subordinates generally get rewarded for telling off their new boss is Hollywood fantasyland. They're much more likely to clean house.

But regardless, there's no evidence that Zoll was just a flunky/yes-man to Falvey who slavishly went along with everything Falvey suggested...or even that he's doing the same thing with Tom Pohlad. We barely know anything about what Zoll really is as the head of baseball ops for the Twins.

So...then we agree. He's a yes-man. 

Zoll is screwed by his owner anyway. There was no good way to make this roster competitive without trading away prospects and he will probably get fired because the team still stinks.

A good owner hires a good baseball guy and then listens to him. A bad owner thinks he knows baseball and micromanages baseball decisions. You can decide which one the Twins have.

3 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Lot of big talk from the sidelines from someone with no real stake in it. Zoll just got the job he's probably been dreaming about since he got into baseball. If you got your dream job would you immediately tell the CEO/owner to go eff themselves if they didn't also instantly give you a vacation home and a new car? 🙄

Zoll's job is to improve the team, but his primary constituency on whether he's doing it "right" isn't the posters on Twins Daily (some of whom wouldn't give him credit for anything he did well anyways). The idea that subordinates generally get rewarded for telling off their new boss is Hollywood fantasyland. They're much more likely to clean house.

But regardless, there's no evidence that Zoll was just a flunky/yes-man to Falvey who slavishly went along with everything Falvey suggested...or even that he's doing the same thing with Tom Pohlad. We barely know anything about what Zoll really is as the head of baseball ops for the Twins.

Telling your idiot boss that he's an idiot, in politer terms, is a lot of people's jobs in every industry. 

My boss is an idiot in many matters. And it's my job to remind him of that when that's the case. And sometimes, it's fruitless, yes. But to oversimplify Zoll's job, if my only job were to hire staff and my boss disallowed me from doing my job competently, I wouldn't expect everyone else to have sympathy for me.

If I were to stick around exclusively for the paycheck, I would also deserve the scorn. 

Yes-men are cowards, not victims. 

3 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The original discussion was about being a yes-man to Falvey. You switched it to ownership. And my original response noted the difference.

Fair. I guess I got confused and off track since they all suck at their jobs and none of them can build a respectable baseball organization.