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Otaknam

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Everything posted by Otaknam

  1. Otaknam
    This is a mistake! Buxton playing in the WBC has disaster written all over it, given his injury history. He should know better and focus on being ready and healthy for the season, IMO. When his next injury happens, as we know it will, it should be while playing for the Twins, not in the WBC.
  2. Otaknam
    Let’s hope Marek Houston is more than a great fielding, light hitting shortstop. Those guys are readily available across the minor leagues. A number one pick needs to have a solid offensive upside. They already made a mistake in picking Brooks Lee in the first round, with mediocre offensive and defensive tools, slow foot speed, but some power. I’m not sure how Lee improves on those during the offseason. But Houston needs to be better than what Lee brings. If not, it’s just another black mark on this FOffice. Maybe this is what happens when you fire so many scouts and instead, use analytics as the primary source of scouting information.
  3. Otaknam
    I don’t understand the Susac trade. He has some offensive potential and ML experience. Jackson is a backup who doesn’t hit at all. Why trade Susac for a low level minor leaguer who may never help this team, especially with the dearth of catchers in the system.
  4. Otaknam
    Why would Culpepper’s success be a surprise? He was a number one draft pick. Isn’t success what you hope and expect from a high pick?
  5. Otaknam
    I would be completely shocked if the Twins sign Walker because of his remaining $40 million two year contract, even if Houston eats a portion of it. I would rather they target a young guy like Coby Mayo in a trade, who is expendable because the Orioles signed Alonzo.
  6. Otaknam
    The Twins aren’t going to spend much more going forward to 2026. The best they can do is to make a minor splash trade or two, like for Coby Mayo, and try to rebuild the bullpen with some decent arms, not the bunch of mutts they brought in after destroying it at the trade deadline. And they could extend Ryan as a good faith move, though he is more likely to be traded.
  7. Otaknam
    So the Pohlads had a “come to Jesus” moment, and decided that Tom will be better than Joe as the spokesperson. So the messenger will be different, but if the message on low salary structure is the same I won’t be impressed. Tom needs to make a splash with a trade or signing, but Josh Bell isn’t it. Trading for Coby Mayo would be a start and would get my attention.
  8. Otaknam
    An excellent synopsis of this situation. But Mayo makes more sense to me than Lawler. The Twins have other young infielders, with Lewis, Lee, and Keaschall likely the starting infield, and Culpepper making the roster sometime this year. Maybe Lawler has an upside, but he hasn’t done much offensively. Mayo is a young first baseman with power, something they don’t currently have, aside from Bell, who is really a DH. Ober for Mayo straight up might get this done, as the Twins have starter depth, albeit unproven on an unproven team. So take a shot!
  9. Otaknam
    You make some good points. But Alonso is a proven slugger and run producer. The Orioles must think they can make a run in 2026, so hoping that Mayo takes a step forward doesn’t fit their plan, making him expendable. And the Twins have no apparent heir at first, so they are just patching it with players playing out of position, like Clemons and Julien.
  10. Otaknam
    I do not understand why the Twins, with a dearth of system catchers who are big league ready, drafted Daniel Susac in the rule five draft, and then immediately traded him for a 17 year old catcher who is years away from the big leagues. Susac has a lot of potential offensive skills, as his track record demonstrates. He could have pushed Jackson for backup catcher, especially since Jackson can’t hit. Why does this make sense? They could have chosen a rule 5 pitcher who had a chance to make the bullpen. Another Falvey head scratcher!
  11. Otaknam
    I’m not a fan of the current ML approach to selling out at bats to just hit homers, strikeouts be damned! Joey Gallo and Sano, for example. I have always liked Arraez’ old school approach to hitting, which is validated by his three batting titles. But the Twins need power from somewhere, and Luis isn’t providing that, especially at first base. Falvey deserves lots of criticism, but the Arraez for Lopez was an excellent decision.
  12. Otaknam
    Bell solidifies the infield as being the worst defensively in either league. If Larnach and Wallner are the corner outfielders as well, this team will win the preseason butchers award. I pity the starting rotation with this defense out there.
  13. Otaknam
    Ober or SWR for Coby Mayo is an intriguing trade. Ober has been an effective number 3/4 starter when healthy. SWR is a number 5 starter who does fine in that role, giving 5 innings and at times 6 innings. The Twins do have unproven starter depth that needs to be tested so they better know what they have. Mayo would be the first baseman and provide a right handed power bat they need. And Mayo is redundant after the Orioles signed Alonso. So trading from a position of depth, though somewhat unproven, and taking a swing at Mayo makes sense to me.
  14. Otaknam
    That’s what I’m worried about, the front office thinking Clemons, playing out of position, solves their first base problem.
  15. Otaknam
    I don’t know why the strong negativity on Mountcastle if he can be acquired for a reasonable price. He is better than anyone they have at first, and they are already playing Clemons out of position at first because of lack of options. He bats right handed and has some power. He’s not Pete Alonso, but he’s an actual first baseman, with a decent ML track record, that they don’t currently have.
  16. Otaknam
    I hope the optimism on Ohl is justified because the Twins need to rebuild the bullpen. Raya does seem destined for the bullpen too, given his injury history. But I am hoping that Prielipp stays healthy and moves into a starting role and lives up to his expectations.
  17. Otaknam
    I would take either one for the right price.. Baseball players can have bounce back seasons with a change of scenery or just a reset season. So if Mountcastle can be signed on a one year contract for a manageable price, that would be a better option than they have. As for Mayo, developing young players always intrigues me. So acquiring him for the right price would make sense. Would SWR be enough as a number five starter who can win 10-12 games with a decent team? He has proven more than Mayo has in his career, and has been durable. The Twins have enough young starter depth that this wouldn’t weaken their staff.
  18. Otaknam
    Give up Lopez, a solid number 2 starter, for Mayo? No thanks! Lopez is worth a lot more to a contender than a young unproven first baseman.
  19. Otaknam
    Lewis tried to pull everything in 25, making him vulnerable to outside breaking pitches. We also saw that with Sano, who began his career looking like a guy who could hit the ball anywhere. Then he became pull happy, couldn’t hit a sweeper, struck out 40% of the time, and it out of the league. Hopefully, Lewis gets his mojo back and starts spreading the ball around the entire field. He has enough power to be successful with that approach.
  20. Otaknam
    Yawn! One thing they don’t need is another left handed hitter. Seems like Clemons had as good a season offensively as these guys at first base. And with the infield defense already shaky at third, second and shortstop, signing a butcher to play first doesn’t make sense, even if he hits 20 homers.
  21. Otaknam
    The Twins should insist that Buxton pass on the WBC. He is injury prone, as his history proves, so it’s more important for the team to monitor his playing time in the spring to avoid potential injury. My hope with Buxton is that they get 140 games, which means only one two week IL stint in 2026. We just don’t want the injury we know is coming while playing in the WBC, taking him off the field to begin the season.
  22. Otaknam
    Trading Jeffers is just click bait. The team has no catcher depth ready for the big leagues, and they have a lot of young arms trying to get there. Stability at catcher is more important right now than adding potential strength at some other position, like first base, while weakening catcher.
  23. Otaknam
    I don’t see how they would get much by trading Ober after his injury prone 2025, unless it was part of a package with a real prospect like EROD. Abel, Rojas, and Bradley were traded for as starters. They need to be given the chance to prove that they are starters, whether it’s in the minors or the big leagues, to start 2026. So sort that out in spring training, see who is pitching well, and construct the pitching staff based on the result. If that means Matthews and Festa in the bullpen, so be it. I am hoping that Prielipp takes a major step forward as a starter in AAA, and proves himself a viable starter with high upside.
  24. Otaknam
    Rosen obviously has an upside over Outman, given his past success in AAA and his age. Hopefully Roden shows enough in the spring to make the roster in place of Outman, who showed nothing after the trade.
  25. Otaknam
    Jeffers is a big league starting catcher. Any trade needs to bring players who could make the roster in 2026, not be 2-3 years away. The suggested trade for a high A pitcher and AA catcher isn’t going to get it done. Graves walks 6 per 9 innings. So I don’t care about his stuff if he can’t throw strikes. Ricketts is a depth piece and would be ok as a secondary part of the trade if the first guy is a much better prospect than Graves.
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