Riverbrian

When a team builds the depth that the Twins have. The next step is to add players like Polanco. Not to subtract them. I love Julien... but if you see Polanco as expendable because of Julien. It's important to remember that Julien was pulled as soon as a left hander hit the stage. He was pulled before he even had an AB against San Francisco.

These are just examples... There are more. But... for these two examples... The Astros and the Orioles had to go into complete rebuild to provide opportunity for Altuve and Mullins. Altuve didn't show up on any top ten lists in the Astros system. He was hitting the ball in the minors as a 21 year old and the Astros gave him an opportunity rather than going with some 30 year old average to below average guy. The Astros could have easily just kept Keppinger. Kept Keppinger is fun to say three times fast. Yes... the Orioles were patient with Cedric Mullins... would they have been quite so patient if Adam Jones was still an Oriole in 2021. Would they have been quite so patient if they would have signed Jackie Bradley Jr for his superior defensive skills. Mullins... Santander... not many were saying... the Orioles are going to be good when Mullins and Santander get here. They got opportunity and they became more than what anyone expected. Letting a Logan Morrison type play horribly, play every day, taking up a valuable roster spot just makes it harder to near impossible for a Mullins or Altuve to surprise you. Which brings me back to the original point. It's rare because the opportunity is rare. The opportunity is rare because clubs tend to Keep Keppinger... Keep Keppinger... Keep Keppinger.

I'd be careful here... The Ontarioan language is a bit tricky. In my version... I believe Edourdo Julien is the God of the Sidewalk.

Coaches can't turn President Biden into Nolan Ryan but coaches can turn Nolan Ryan into Nolan Ryan. Natural talents like a big fastball is always a great starting point to work with.

I've thought about this a lot and I've posted on this a lot. I can't stand here and say that I have the answer because there are massive complications and I am not in the room... however... with all of the time that I've spent thinking about it... the solution to me seems to boil down to one thing. Teams need to be less tolerant of poor performance on the 26 man roster. Every time you hand playing time to average or bad play. You are making it harder for a Cedric Mullins to surprise you, you are making it harder for a Jose Altuve to reveal themselves. Cedric Mullins is rare in part because a Logan Morrison in the way isn't rare. If you give every day playing time to Logan Morrison... you are giving Logan Morrison the same amount of playing time that Mike Trout gets and that should never be. Cull from the bottom... constantly look for better... even if it is just incremental betterness and the Cedric Mullins, Max Muncy, Jose Altuve type finds will become less rare. If Keirsay is going to be denied a chance to forge a major league career... OK... that's fine... there is only so much space... but that 26 man roster better be shiny... better not be any Joey Gallos on that 26 man. If Nick Anderson is going to be denied a chance... OK... that's fine... it happens... there is only so much space... but that 26 man roster better be shiny... better not be any Matt Belisle's in front of him.

dieu des promenades

I agree that Larnach has been better. Which is why I stated this below. Once again... I use too many words. I'll condense it. Success is rare because opportunity for success is rare.

I agree with you... It's rare but I will contend that legitimate opportunity is also rare especially for players like Keirsay. Organizations will hand select players who will get multiple chances to have a major league career While they do not will not provide opportunity for many many many others. If you feed one puppy and neglect the rest of the litter. You'll have a bunch of runts. Trevor Larnach, Deshawn Kiersay and Michael Helman are all 26 year old baseball players (Helman actually 27) who were all drafted out of college in 2018. Larnach went 1st round, Keirsay was a 4th round pick and Helman went in the 11th Round. Larnach has 603 Major League AB's. Keirsay and Helman have not seen a major league dugout. Larnach has not earned a major league job yet but he will get the next opportunity to earn a major league job before Kiersay or Helman even get a phone call. To be clear... I'm not saying that Larnach should or shouldn't get the next opportunity... I also want to be clear that I am not slamming Larnach when I'm using him as an example... But... I am... saying that HE WILL get the next opportunity and I am also saying Kiersay and Helman will have to wait behind Larnach's last chance. Larnach has one option left. If Larnach fails, not only does Larnach fail but every player behind Larnach on the opportunity chance depth chart fails... and those players won't make a sound when they fail... it will happen silently. Now tack on the extended opportunity provided to the Kole Calhoun's of the world add it all up and I agree with you. Whit Merrifield is rare. Max Muncy is rare, Justin Turner is rare but it's going to be rare when opportunity is rare.

I have no problem with Wallner or Julien hitting against lefties. The Twins do. If you are looking for PHers It should also be pointed out that Solano had 394 AB's Castro had 358 AB's Farmer had 326 AB's That ain't pinch hitting. Those nice little pre-season plans of Gordon facing the right hander and Solano facing the left hander was out the window before May. Go GET HITTERS period. Personally... I could care less what batters box they stand in.

I'm not hating on anyone because I don't know if Kepler has given an absolute of if he is simply expressing a preference and that was my point. Bottom Line... If the Twins need Kepler to shift to CF in a pinch. Then Kepler needs to shift to CF in a pinch. We have no idea where it's going to pinch in 2024.

Agreed... But they don't so the perception is reality.

I can't see the Mariners who are in need of more decent hitting... trading a decent hitter to get a decent hitter. Unless... they just don't like France and if that's the case... do we want him? I've never been to France... I've heard that Saint Tropez and Paris are nice places to visit.

I do have the diet of the average puma.

7 players played CF in 2023. 2022: 7 2021: 7 (including Kyle Garlick) 2020: 5 2019: 7 Last Year Julio Rodriguez led all CF's with 714 Plate Appearances. Seattle still had 5 other players play CF in 2023.

Went to have dinner with my in-laws once and I was given the choice between steak or walleye for dinner. I emphatically chose steak... I believe my response was "Steak Please... Yum... Thank You". I had no problem with walleye... just chose steak when given the option. A month or so later... they had a good day at the lake coming back with a bunch of walleye and they invited us all over. It was kind of embarrassing when they made me and only me a steak special because they thought that I didn't like walleye. There is a difference between refuses to and would rather. If this is simply a rather... it's unfortunate because REFUSES TO PLAY CF has been tattooed on his forehead by us. Now... if true... IF... he indeed refuses to play CF. Trade him. Why would any club want a player handicapping a manager in his attempt to make a team better? If he refuses to play CF... He can watch the rest of the team have walleye doing what is needed and working with what is available. Kepler can sit in his RF corner have that steak made special for him oblivious to all that walleye around him. I can tell you that the steak was very good but I felt like a jerk.

I think Farmer would be a nice fit for the Giants if they want to give Luciano the chance to grab the job out of spring training because Farmer would be decent insurance for a rookie who might lay an egg in his first go around. However... the problem with the Giants is this: They got a lot of Farmer type talent on the roster and what they really really really need are clear upgrades from the long list of average to above average talent that already over flows on their roster. If I'm the Giants... I'm shopping bigger. If I'm calling the Twins... I'm asking about Polanco. I'm calling the Brewers about Adames. I'm thinking about a big contract for Bellinger. They got a lot of middle players... they need some high end dudes. Adding Farmer to Estrada, JD Davis, Wade, Conforto, Yaz, Flores, Haniger is like getting your 8th shovel when you should really just go get a snow blower. Farmer may have that curved handle for easier scooping but they need a Toro.

Both teams still have RSN money coming in. Both teams spent comparatively low money last year, The Royals at 91 million and the Reds at 87 Million. The Twins spent 159 million in 2023. The Reds haven't raised payroll yet. They shed a big Joey Votto contract and others and they still haven't spent all of that that money. 😎

If Lewis has a nice year but not as nice as last year... while technically a regression... I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I think he's the real deal regardless and health is the only thing that I worry about with Royce. Julien... I love watching him hit. He's a fantastic young hitter... but... but... He's a role player no matter how good he is in that role if he isn't allowed or able to hit left handers. He's ceiling is Joc Pederson. Someone who is pinch hit for in the 3rd inning... has a very challenging future. The best he can do is Joc Pederson. Might get a one year deal once he reaches free agency. Wallner... If he stumbles out of the gates... the Twins have a lot of options to take his playing time so his regression could happen quickly... it could be a last year Miranda-esque type regression. Before the calendar hits May. Wallner could go from the we are counting on you opening starter to the Oh Yeah... I forgot about Wallner playing in St. Paul guy. He best do some damage opening day and let everyone know that he is here to stay.

I hope he comes back solid from his shoulder issue. I used to watch him pitch against us and remember thinking that I wish we had one of those. He blew me away watching him blow our hitters away.

Are the other 29 teams unaffected?

All of these gifts are tied to each other in one way or another. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton will be paid between 46 and 50 million collectively for the next 5 years during a time when media revenue is forcing budget downward. That 46 to 50 million can't be replaced with players who will perform that also cost money. The Twins can't pay 46 to 50 million a year on players who are not performing or healthy plus pay players that cost significant money and provide the needed production that those two were supposed to provide. Gifts #1 and #2 are obviously extremely important but nothing is more important than gift #3 for now and forever. With Gift #4 a question mark along with Gifts #1 and 2. Gift #3 becomes critical. It becomes the only way to staff the roster with decent talent. With money tightly budgeted due to media revenue question marks and Correa and Buxton taking up almost a majority of the available budget. The only way the Twins can bring in talent is with gift #3. Gift #5 becomes a real possibility with gifts #1, #2 and #3. Gift #5 will could be a big help to gift #4 in the future.

I think a decent sized chunk of us believe strikeouts are going to be a natural by-product of patience and working the count. It makes sense to be patient and wait for a pitch to drive so I wouldn't suggest that the Twins change that approach just to curb the K's. However... no team in history has struck out as many times the Twins did last year and they got to curb the K's without drastically changing the approach. Last year the Twins drew plenty of walks. Adding a guy who walks less and K's less is a step toward better balance.

No Rumors... Just me looking around for a cheaper possible difference maker that doesn't strikeout.

I could cry. The overwhelming existence of this sort of thing is scary. If you are not careful. the media today can get you believing something that isn't true and from there it's just a short little trip to be angry about it. There is a great quote. The people will believe what the media tells them they believe. - George Orwell It's a great quote but Orwell never said it. It was attributed to Orwell on Social Media. https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2022/03/fact-check-orwell-did-not-write-line-about-people-believing-what-the-media-tells-them-they-believe.html We've reached the point where even quotes that are succinct and accurate... are still somehow not accurate on social media.

It's accurate to call him a late bloomer but not as much of a late bloomer as he appears at first glance. He really derailed himself in 2019 with a steroid suspension in Japan and the lost 2020 covid year the following year. He kinda had to start over as a 29 year old in 2021. His age and that late bloomerism could make him affordable for us. He's making the minimum, even has options left if we have to walk away which is also affordable to us. I think he is a pure hitter. Severino could still have a shot when the call comes. Mexico had him as the #3 hitter in the World Baseball Classic. Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Meneses, Rowdy Tellez, Isaac Peredes is a nice first five and of course... he hit a couple of dingers against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. https://www.google.com/search?q=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS943US943&oq=joey+meneses+world+baseball+classic+bat+flip&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRirAtIBCTEwMTY0ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9cb77d56,vid:8FL-eHXfVC8,st:0