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Otaknam

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Everything posted by Otaknam

  1. Otaknam
    I still don’t understand his motive IF he was tipping pitches to the other team. What would be in it for him to do so if it wasn’t money, which is apparently the case. Mental health issues perhaps, but I can’t think of any mental health conditions that would result in tipping pitches. His interviews do indicate that he was mentally exhausted in 2024, but how does tipping pitches fit into that scenario? Puzzling! I hope he gets his act together and his career takes off.
  2. Otaknam
    Andujar’s right handed bat would be a decent addition to the roster, given the penurious ownership situation and the numerous left handed hitters on the roster. I don’t see a future on this team for Julien and Outman, and the team is lefty dominant in the outfield. So sign him.
  3. Otaknam
    It’s hard to argue against trading Buxton, Lopez and/or Ryan, given that the team will not be contending for anything other than young players getting experience. Byron and Lopez are the logical trades because of contracts. So it wouldn’t surprise if they are gone this off season, with Ryan gone at the trade deadline. They need at least two from Abel, Bradley and Rojas to show solid progress as ML starters to judge the 2025 roster blowup as successful IMO.
  4. Otaknam
    They really need Rojas and Abel to become established ML starters to give fans some hope after the carpet bombing of the roster by this sad sack ownership. When was the last time they had a legit lefty starter, not just a lefty reliever making a one inning start? The future of this team is for the young starters, of which they have unproven depth, to become successful starters. That’s assuming they still have Lopez and Ryan, and that Ober bounces back from injuries. And a successful transition to the big leagues by Jenkins, EROD, Culpepper, and Gonzalez.
  5. Otaknam
    Finnegan would be the best option of the three on a one year $6 million deal, assuming the Twins would pay that. But they might not pay that for the entire bullpen, given the cheap ownership. Not too many soft tossers succeed in today’s major leagues, so not a fan of Kahnle. And Weaver would be too expensive and will have better options for a more competitive team.
  6. Otaknam
    That would be a way to rebuild the carpet bombed bullpen, but Raya and Prielipp would be inexperienced. Hope the give Prielipp one more try at starting, as they believe he has electric stuff when healthy. And they could use a lefty starter for a change.
  7. Otaknam
    Given the abundance of left handed hitting outfielders and lack of first base depth, I’m surprised they haven’t tried Wallner at first base. Maybe they will experiment with him there in the spring. If so, he should be taking ground balls all off season, but I have not read anything about that. I doubt that Martin is penciled in as the starting left fielder, as someone posted. He is the classic utility player, and provides speed off the bench. He can play both outfield and infield in a pinch, but his lack of power holds him back. Still, if he keeps hitting line drives, hits .270-.290, gets on base with gap power, draws some walks, and steals some bases he will be an asset. It’s an indictment of Rocco that he never utilized the speed they had, until the carpet bombing of the roster at the trade deadline. Then, all of a sudden, after four months, Rocco discovered that maybe their anemic offense could use a jolt by stealing some bases. So they spent the rest of the season stealing multiple bases every night. Good riddance to Rocco for being so obtuse to base running and utilizing the speed they had.
  8. Otaknam
    Outman showed nothing once he was acquired, so I’m not sure why they would keep him. He should be a candidate for release along with Julian. Neither has shown that they are ready to help. If Larnach is released it will be because of his arbitration number of $5 million.
  9. Otaknam
    The Twins are in rebuild mode. The only question is whether they’re going to tear it down to the studs and start over, or do it halfway. Either way, trading for Rutschman for two years, with 2027 being a potential lockout, doesn’t make sense. And it weakens the starting pitching. If they trade either Ryan or Lopez, or both, it needs to be for young highly rated cost control talent.
  10. Otaknam
    If I was Prielipp or Raya, with the decision is to make the club as a reliever or be sent back to AAA to continue development as a starter, I would opt for the bullpen to make a ML salary. They could still work towards being a starter as their career proceeds, especially Prielipp, who needs innings.
  11. Otaknam
    Larnach is a likely trade piece, given his mediocre production where he seems to have leveled off and likely salary increase, a big no-no to this penurious ownership. Maybe he could bring a decent bullpen guy. As for Buxton, I don't know if they will shop him during the winter meetings, but they should listen to offers. His value right now is high and his contract isn’t a barrier for the big boys like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, SF and maybe a few others. Buxton would surely approve a trade to a contender, instead of floundering the rest of his career with a team not trying to win. I hadn’t thought of Martin as a potential trade piece, given that he has played solid Major League Baseball for only two months. I expect him to remain with the Twins and vie for more playing time. His approach to hitting line drives, getting on base, and using his speed is under appreciated this days in MLB. I’m not expecting much from Outman, as he showed nothing in his time with the team, except strikeouts. The reasons to be modestly optimistic for 2026 is the development of Jenkins, EROD, Gonzales, Culpepper and the young starters acquired in trades.
  12. Otaknam
    I am skeptical of pitchers who have control issues like Abel. Sometimes they improve, like Randy Johnson, and sometime they don’t. Keeping my fingers crossed because both Abel and Tait need to be good ML players to make the Duran trade acceptable.
  13. Otaknam
    Not much to inspire Twins fans. Boadas’ stat line is also volatile: 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .158 BAA, 9 BB, 8 K (11 2/3 IP). Nice ERA and BA, but 9 walks and 8 Ks in 11 2/3 innings! Yikes!
  14. Otaknam
    It’s doubtful they will trade Jeffers, given the paucity of ML ready catchers in the minors. I don’t know anything about Caratini, but based on this column hos versatility would fit a role, and much better than Vasquez offensively.
  15. Otaknam
    2026 is a rebuilding year, so I think they will utilize Lee at shortstop and hope that Culpepper earns his way to the big leagues. I hope Eeles also earns a spot on the roster and can be decent at shortstop in the short term. He has shown some power and speed, and his story is very fascinating.
  16. Otaknam
    The one reason for optimism for 2026 is the depth in starting pitching, though much of it is unproven. They are in a rebuild phase, so I think the team will start 2026 with Ryan and Lopez in the rotation, but look to trade them to the highest bidder before the August deadline. If they are pitching well and healthy, both would bring a haul of top prospects.
  17. Otaknam
    “Traditionally, Twins decision-makers have shied away from carrying two lefties in the bullpen”. It’s not a “tradition” for them to not have more lefties in the bullpen. No organization would make a conscientious decision to not develop lefties. They just have not developed many left handers in the system, which is another black mark on this regime.
  18. Otaknam
    Not sure why Jansen’s year was “respectable (if unexciting) .204/.314/.389 across 73 games”. Since when is a .204 BA and OPS .703 respectable? I guess I’m getting old.
  19. Otaknam
    Analytics has its place, but it seems to be the only thing that drove Rocco’s every decision, especially with pitching. I would be onboard with a coach who understands how to show confidence in a pitcher to go deeper into games, and not be so tied to the idea that he can’t pitch to the lineup a third time. I know Sonny Gray wasn’t happy with that philosophy, so he left and was never replaced.
  20. Otaknam
    It won’t be a surprise if Ryan, Lopez and Buxton are traded this offseason or before the 26 trade deadline, signaling a tear down to the studs rebuild to save money going into a likely lockdown in 2027. Buxton certainly deserves the option to move on from this dumpster fire operation. Our only hope is that some young players they are developing, like Culpepper and Jenkins, as well as those acquired through the carpet bombing trades, are ready to contribute in 2026.
  21. Otaknam
    That sarcastic headline got a chuckle out of me!
  22. Otaknam
    All three of these lefties will prefer a team with a chance to compete, unless the Twins offer a lot more money. But after 8-10 years in the bigs they have enough money. I think being on a team with a chance to make a strong playoff run would be a bigger incentive.
  23. Otaknam
    My two cents. Any Ryan trade should include a top pitching prospect who can make the big league team in 2026. Maybe Red Six power lefty Tolle and righty Witherspoon, a first round college pick in 25, and a lower level lottery prospect would get the job done. Tolle has overpowering stuff and made a handful of starts for Boston in 2025. Witherspoon is highly regarded college prospect but didn’t pitch in the minors after being drafted. The Twins don’t need another outfielder in the mix unless they move on from Larnach, and move Wallner to first.
  24. Otaknam
    It’s true that minor leaguers should have solid fundamentals by the time they make the bigs. But they need to continue to work on fundamentals once they make it, and that’s up to the coaching staff. That’s not an impossible task. That’s the coaching staff’s job, to improve and solidify fundamentals.
  25. Otaknam
    Of course the Twins are in rebuild mode. That’s not even debatable after the carpet bombing the roster and the massive underperformance of Lewis, Larnach, Wallner and others, and no real first baseman, The only question is will they tear it down to the studs, which would be confirmed if they trade Ryan or Lopez, or both, which is possible. The hiring of a new manager was never going to be exciting. Even if it was Tori Hunter, which would have been stimulating in the short term, the team will still have the same issues with the current roster. The reason for optimism is that there are several high profile minor leaguers ready to make the jump like Culpepper, Jenkins, and Gonzales. And due to the trades they now have young starting pitchers with the POTENTIAL to be successful, though that’s not a sure thing.
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