arby58

Kiriloff had four hits yesterday. It's possible he returns in the not too distant future.

Lewis isn't going to play every day for the Twins without him ending up in unfamiliar positions or Correa going back on the IL. I'd rather he was getting time in at 3B or LF at AAA, where there is less pressure to perform, than in MLB. It's possible his comfort level at the plate was also because he was comfortable in the field. Somehow, I think the Twins management, who has been around him a lot more than any of us, can weigh those factors better than we all can.

Give Miranda a chance - he has nothing left to prove at the minor league level. I worry a lot more about Minnesota's catching depth (quality-wise) than I do about first base.

Other than the fact he is a catcher, what is the value of Rortvedt? He barely hits his weight. It is hard for me to believe that you can't find another defensive catcher with the same set of limitations without wasting a spot. I sort of agree that Gordon is the odd person left out in lots of discussions. If we sign a shortstop with reasonable durability, you can still slot Polanco in at SS for 10-20 games a year. That said, he had his moments last year, and he wouldn't be the last 'late bloomer' at bat the Twins parted with and probably regret (paging hall of famer David Ortiz or even Aaron Hicks).

It's not politics to note, as the AP did in a story in April 2021, that "Minnesota Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons has tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday before the team's doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. Simmons has said he doesn't plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which was made available in a single-shot dosage to the team at Target Field last Thursday." Those are facts - he chose not to get the vaccine, and the Twins lost their starting shortstop for regular season games as a result. I've read people beat up Byron Buxton for being 'injury prone' by missing games because of a baseball to his head resulting in a concussion and a baseball to his hand, resulting in broken bones. I'd take Buxton in my clubhouse before Simmons.

Give Gordon a shot at SS. I'd much rather have him there with another season with Simmons. IF we think Lewis/Martin are a year away, spend your money elsewhere (like starting pitching).

I think you meant 'release them' rather than 'trade them.'

Whatever Ryan turns out to be (agree the MLB sample size is small, but he has performed at other levels), some of the knocks against him are of the 'so what' variety. Right, he throws a fastball in the low 90s, but plenty of excellent pitchers (Maddux, Buehrle, Greinke) get by/got by in that range. Right, he throws a lot of fastballs - so do Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi (also around the same mph and spin rate). He can be an effective MLB pitcher with what he's already got.

He's got almost 100 ABs this year with the Twins. He slugs .340, has a .654 OPS (85 OPS+). He's a below average hitter with little power. He's 25 - hardly a kid anymore - and has never hit more than 9 HRs in the minors. What's there to see?

Another advantage of having a reliever work 1+ innings is they will already have faced three batters, so the manager has more flexibility with removing them - plus, if that pitcher gets, say, 1 or 2 outs and another reliever is needed, if they get to the end of the inning, they are also no longer subject to the three batter rule.

If you send him and he's out, he definitely can't score. If you don't send him, he still might score. It's a case-by-case decision.

It's only six games. Maybe he is the real deal, and maybe pitchers will figure out how to get him out. It's when they start changing approach we'll see whether he can also figure out how to respond - if he can, then we can pronounce him ready.

I suspect that a 12 noon start had something to do with that.

An illness isn't really an injury. If you take the Twins at their word, neither Buxton or Arraez are likely to miss much playing time.

Dobnak is a nice problem to have - very few teams have his caliber of starting pitcher in waiting. If Thorpe also does well at AAA, and with some of their young guns pushing forward, the rotation could start looking like Cleveland's in a year or two.