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Otaknam

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Everything posted by Otaknam

  1. Otaknam
    I think it is inaccurate to say that Severino’s power is unsustainable going forward. It was not sustained this year, but with a fresh start he may again find his power stroke. Winder did show some promise, but always seemed to be injured as was pointed out. But pitchers can find new life and reinvent themselves by adding a new pitch, new arm slot, adding an uptick in their fastball, or finding a better role like Cole Sands did. Hope these guys keep chasing their dream and find success.
  2. Otaknam
    The only reason to trade Ryan is if the team is in total rebuild mode, which it is not, despite the late season collapse. A part of the collapse is that Ryan was injured. Right now the team has three solid starters in Ryan, Lopez, and Ober. All are capable of winning 15 games, maybe more. But unlike some other postings here, I am not sold on on SWR, Festa, Matthews, and the other young minor league starters waiting for a chance. None of them are can’t miss prospects, but each has a chance to be solid mid rotation guys, and maybe even better. The exception is SWR, who needs a better fastball or add another very good pitch to be more than a back of the rotation starter. The good news is the Twins will have a handful of young starters with limited experience to choose from. But they don’t really have a true ace, like a Verlander, who dominates most of the time. Lopez isn’t that guy, though some like to call him an ace. At his best he is a 2- or 3+ .
  3. Otaknam
    “ I could definitely see him an as a weapon in a multi-inning bullpen role, which I've always wondered if the Twins were grooming him for”. No team has as a goal to groom a top pitching prospect to be a middle innings reliever, especially when good starters are so difficult to find. The team has been VERY cautious with Raya, for reasons they won’t explain. Likely they will continue to limit his innings while developing him physically to be a starter. If he pitches well in 2025 they could move him to a middle innings role. More likely they will let him start and put him on a pitch limit, making his starts essentially a bullpen game. As Raya gets stronger keep stretching him out as a starter. I could see him make his debut as a double header call up.
  4. Otaknam
    Hopefully Emmanuel Rodriquez, by all reports an elite defender, is ready to take over CF, allowing Buxton to move to right. But Buxton’s injuries aren’t always from playing defense. He gets injured swinging a bat, or running the bases, or sliding. The fact is he is injury prone and brittle, something all parties have to accept. I doubt moving him to right makes much of a difference injury wise.
  5. Otaknam
    If Jax wants a chance to start give him a shot. Unlike others opinions posted here, the Twins’ starting staff isn’t proven and deep, aside from Lopez, Ober, and Ryan. While they have a number of minor leaguers looking for a chance, and Festa and Matthews, none of these guys are can’t miss prospects. Varland has been unsuccessful as a starter, but has shown he could potentially fill Jax’s role in the bullpen. If Jax struggles after a half dozen starts, move him back to the bullpen.
  6. Otaknam
    I think Castro will be traded as a salary dump, with salary dumping the Twins go to move in 2025. Saves them $6 million. But I think the return would at best be a decent AA prospect with an upside, maybe a pitcher they take a flyer on.
  7. Otaknam
    I doubt the Twins will trade Duran this offseason. But some of these trade projections make no sense. Why would the team have to include more than Duran, one of the top closers, to acquire minor leaguers Teel or Painter? Of course the Twins are enamored with pitchers who have been injured, like Mahle and Paddock. Sarcastically, that would put a trade for Painter in play. Also, why does the writer consider the Rangers as in competitive mode, but not the Twins? The Twins had a better record on 2024 and still have some solid young players.
  8. Otaknam
    My first reaction was “No way”! But, as the writer points out, any signing would come from the international bonus pool, making every team a potential player. We can dream the penurious Twins could actually make a move for this guy, right ?
  9. Otaknam
    No one on this roster should be untouchable. No trade clauses can always be waived for the right price or situation. But trading Jax would weaken the bullpen. A better option is to try him as a starter, where there are a couple of question marks. His 70+ innings in 2024 are almost half of what many starters throw because of the latest philosophy of limiting how many times a starters faces a lineup. And Jax has nasty stuff. Good starters are harder to find than good bullpen arms.
  10. Otaknam
    Moving Lewis to first base, as one posting suggested, would be foolish. Lewis is very athletic and can be an everyday third baseman. Putting him at first, the easiest infield position, would waste his athletic talent. I hope they don’t trade Keaschall, who looks like an excellent everyday player for second base, making Julien a candidate for trade. Miranda still has value, as we saw during his record setting hit streak. DH and periodically playing third and first seems like the solution.
  11. Otaknam
    I love Eeles putting himself on the prospect list. If he establishes himself as a big leaguer, that would be a great story that even the East and west coast focused media could not ignore. It seems like Kiersey should be higher on this list, given his offensive production, speed, and defensive skills. I look for him to make the 26 man roster in 2026. His only negative is his age and that he hits left handed, and the team has plenty of lefty hitting outfielders.
  12. Otaknam
    I’m not sure why a team would trade for the oft injured Paddock with a $7.5 million contract, unless the Twins picked up half the salary. For that price they might just as well keep him. Trading for injured pitchers is the Twins way.
  13. Otaknam
    “They could spin either Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober to Milwaukee for Perkins and a prospect”. Ridiculous comment! The Twins have three solid starters in Ober, Ryan and Lopez. After them everyone is unproven. And you want to trade a starting pitcher for a backup outfielder who is all defense no hit? Pitching and defense is the name of the game. Keep the proven pitching and find a backup outfielder. DaShawn Keirsey comes to mind, by all accounts an excellent defensive outfielder with great speed and good offensive numbers in the minors.
  14. Otaknam
    The Twins are in salary dump mode AGAIN. So I think they would trade Correa if they find a the right deal that would bring 2-3 good prospects, maybe even a top prospect. The NY teams can absorb the impact of Correa’s salary vs. the potential for lingering injury. It would also signal the Twins are in rebuilding mode because their best players, Correa, Buxton, and Lewis are injury prone and cannot be counted on.
  15. Otaknam
    Not sure why he went to the AFL, given his stat line and age. But best of luck to him as he chases his dream.
  16. Otaknam
    Vasquez is untradeable, given that ridiculous $10 million contract. He seems to be solid defensively, but has no offensive upside to justify any team paying that contract. Camargo is the only minor league option and would be suitable if either Jeffers or Vasquez gets moved. That probably will be Jeffers to save his arbitration salary, more evidence that the team is on a downward spiral because of self imposed budget constraints.
  17. Otaknam
    We are back to the salary dump Twins of 20 years ago. Vasquez should be the first to go, except for his ludicrous $10 million dollar contract. So unless the team picks up a significant portion of his contract, Vasquez will still be here. A Jeffers trade could happen as a salary dump, but Vasquez isn’t an everyday player. So trading Jeffers would leave a huge offensive hole. If they sign a free agent for first I think it will be Santana, because he wouldn’t cost that much, and cost will drive every decision going forward with this now penurious team. He also improves the defense. They might consider lost cost free agent first basemen on a downward career trend to save money, which would fan the already high flames of indifference for Twins fans.
  18. Otaknam
    Rocco depends too much on analytics, especially with starters. No manager intuition required, just see what the computer algorithm says. A starter cruises through six innings, 80 pitches, 1 run, four hits, one walk…….take him out because the computer told him to. There are other befuddling examples. Analytics has its place, but a manager needs to believe in his players too. A good example is when he removed Ryan after two innings in the 2023 playoff game against Houston that they lost 3-2. Two innings, one run, then bullpen game that did pitch well. But Rocco showed he had no confidence in Ryan, instead deferring to analytics. Result was a 3-2 loss. Why would any starter want to pitch for Baldelli if Rocco doesn’t trust them? Sonny Gray is a good example.
  19. Otaknam
    Turnbull makes sense because, cynically, the FO is enamored with pitchers with an injury history, hoping to get them on the cheap. Mahle, Paddock, Topa, DeSclifani, etc.
  20. Otaknam
    If Donovan hit right handed this might make sense. They don’t end another left handed hitter, even if his defense is an upgrade over Larnach and Wallner. And I wouldn’t trade a good infield prospect like the right handed hitting Keaschall for a utility player. Also, I wouldn’t trade starter prospects either for a utility player. Keeping Castro at a slightly higher price and keeping your prospect makes more sense. But who know what ownership will dictate this offseason.
  21. Otaknam
    Baldelli is Earl Weaver reincarnated. Even when the offense is going bad, which it did for the first three weeks of the season and for the last few weeks, Rocco didn’t have enough imagination to try a hit and run or steal a base and put some pressure on the defense. So bunting is not in his playbook either. The team definitely needs more speed, especially on defense, but I’m not sure where you find it if Larnach and Wallner are corner outfielders. Lewis is fast, but given his injury issues you don’t want him with a hamstring injury trying to steal a base.
  22. Otaknam
    If Miranda at first is their plan for 2025, then my conclusion is ownership is unwilling to improve the team. Miranda was a non factor in the second half of the season, and his defense is below average at best. The other issue is whether they just depend on young starters like Festa, Mathews, and minor league starters to fill out the rotation, which is the likely scenario. If that’s the direction, they might as well try to find a trade partner for Correa and admit they are in rebuilding mode.
  23. Otaknam
    Despite his defensive limitations, Jeffers isn’t the problem. The ludicrous $10 million per year three year contract for a part time Vasquez is the problem. Jeffers still has an offensive upside that Vasquez doesn’t have. But they are stuck with Vasquez because of the contract, unless they can find a trade partner and pay a large portion of the contract. Imagine not tendering Jeffers and having Vasquez as your every day catcher!
  24. Otaknam
    If $1.5 million for an effective reliever with a 98 mph fastball is a deal breaker for the penurious Twins, the franchise is in a lot more trouble than we know.
  25. Otaknam
    This doesn’t make any sense: “the Twins might want to trade (Lewis) from their core to alter the team’s future”, which “could be a necessity to keep the team’s winning window open as long as possible.” How does trading from the core alter the team’s future in a positive way? And how does trading a young core player like Lewis keep a winning window open? They wouldn’t trade young core players for unproven minor leaguers, and they wouldn’t trade them for veterans because of the cost. If the team is in a minor rebuilt, not a total tear down and starting over, wouldn’t you want to keep the young, less expensive core together? A Correa trade makes sense because they want to cut salary, though I don’t think that will happen. Brooks Lee could play SS, though he is a downgrade from Correa. Lewis stays at third, Julien, or better yet, Keaschall at second. Miranda becomes a floater, playing first or third occasionally, and DH. But the Twins can’t trade their young, inexpensive core. That’s what they build around.
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