Riverbrian

What Solano, Taylor and Santana did for the Twins was nice. Decent... contributed to some W's in their single of year of service. No Complaints on any of the players but yet a concern remains. The concern is quite simply this: The yearly dependence upon players of this ilk. Taylor begets Margot, Margot begets Bader, Bader begets ??? Solano begets Santana, Santana begets France, France begets ???

No matter how strongly I feel about the questions you discuss in your post. You post a fair outline.

Sweet Destiny can be his new nickname. I wonder if he would mind. From your link... OMG... This quote struck me real hard. "If you go down the Mississippi River ... the river is littered with abandoned boats and jet skis," O'Connor said. "Somebody needs to do something about it." I could never imagine an abandoned boat and jet ski problem. Just another issue to add to the growing list of world problems that must be solved. World Hunger Abandoned Jet Ski's Finding a pillow that doesn't change from fantastic to uncomfortable on a given night.

Who knows what will happen but I'm guessing that Martin breaks camp with the club. Lee starts in AAA.

In regards to the game of baseball. This is one of the most important posts ever posted. I rank it right after... It's a dial not a switch.

This would be the only possible use of any cost savings in a Vazquez trade. And I believe that we are both correct in believing that there is next to no chance that all 10M would be moved and therefore available for such use at the deadline, unless a significant hurts to give up prospect was included in the deal.

You are correct. You can add Martin Maldanado with the White Sox to your Jackson and Hedges group. When you advance the playing time to around 300 AB's in 2024. There is a group of catchers that are in the Vazquez OPS ball park like Fortes, Lee, Heim and Rogers. I still contend that the 8 catchers identified by name by you and I are still "Lower bound". You are correct, there are a lot of catchers with MLB jobs with painful offensive production. Catchers have other responsibilities... I get that. It's a unique position in comparison to other positions on the field. I get that. I'll even recognize that Cleveland won the AL Central and made it to the ALCS championship game with two catchers that didn't hit very well. The Tigers traded their best hitting catcher Carson Kelly at the deadline and gave Rogers who was Vazquez like hitting the main job and they came on like a freight train to knock us out of the playoffs. I'll also recognize that Dusty Baker hung on to Maldonado like the Astros couldn't win without him. I recognize all of this. Yet my questions, concerns remain. How much do you want to pay for this particular package of catching ability? And how big of a drop off is it between this light hitting defensive catcher and the Option B who might OPS .500 if actually given the chance. What is the difference in the egg laid by the younger option and the egg laid by the experienced, older vet option. And the final question would be. When do you start the transition between experienced light hitting vet and younger catcher in need of that valuable experience? Actually one more question. Can you be trusted to initiate the transition in-house or must you rely upon another organization to break them in for you? The Next Guy up! Cartaya and Camargo. They are the next guys up. Ready or not... they will be necessary at a moment's notice. Ready or not... They best get them ready. I just can't shake my feelings toward the self created need to place an irreplaceable label on light hitting specialists. Innings eaters on the mound, specialists like the light hitting defensive catcher, the short side platoon bat. The Twins have done nothing to prepare for life beyond Vazquez other than work with coaches behind the scenes. So... yeah they must sleep in the Vazquez bed they made and I doubt the Mets want him anyway. I get what Jorgenswest is posing with his question. A part of me says... force it. Cut the security blanket and sink or swim with the pre-arb guys with full understanding of the potential eggs laid.

Don't know how accurate it is but I saw this the other day. https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-willi-castro-lined-up-to-see-bulk-of-2b-reps/ If Castro is indeed the bulk 2B (if we break camp healthy). One of Julien or Lee can't come north out of Ft. Myers. I'd assume Lee because I don't think Lee will get a 26 man roster spot if he isn't the primary or bulk guy at a position and Castro is the 2B primary/bulk dude. I shouldn't assume but I assume that Jeffers, Vazquez, France, Castro, Lewis, Correa, Larnach, Buxton and Wallner are locks. And I assume that Miranda and Bader are also locks. That leaves two spots. If Castro is the bulk guy at 2B. In my mind... that makes Martin almost a lock because he can move around and play other positions and he can short side one of the two left handers that I consider locks. The last spot goes to ??? Julien or Gasper??? I don't think it will be Emma or Keirsay and that's what we have on the 40 man. I can't see any of the NRI's or someone not on the 40 man at this time getting the last spot. We have the DH spot to play with... we have plenty of guys who can play in the OF. Both Julien and Gasper are left handed... the other two 40 man options are both left handed and that produces the interesting question: What does Rocco do with a non-primary or non-bulk guy who hits left handed because hitting left handed the past couple of years... means bulk guy due to 75% of pitchers being right handed. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of all three (Lee, Julien and Gasper) not breaking camp and the Twins picking up some currently unknown guy released from another organization. Which of course costs a 40 man spot and someone making room. Canterino to the 60?... Castellano sent back to the Phillies? I may be assuming right now but I'll sit and watch knowing that possibilities still exist and I may be close or way off.

I had to scroll through a couple of pages of Mr. Bean just to find him standing in a field of something yellow. Normal people would have just taken an image off the first page... I want you to know that you are worth that type of effort. Can't or Won't? There are many who honestly believe they can't. I fear it's won't. I feel that because .575 is such a tremendously low bar to clear. Your farm doesn't have to produce Adley Rutschman... your farm just had to produce Jose Trevino. The market hasn't snuck up on anyone. The catching price tag has been inflated for many years now. I've been talking about it on Twinsdaily before covid. I've said... don't over pay for catching... grow your own. They play 100 games a year at most, they get hurt often and most of them don't hit much anyway. I get that there must be a difficulty in production across the league driving those prices up. But, other organizations are producing extra while the Twins front office has produced two major leaguers. Jeffers and Rortvedt. Better coaching? Sharper Draft Focus on the position? What is going on with development? Are expectations too high in regards to the handling of staff. Is defense the most important thing at the position? So important that a bat like Vazquez is not replaceable. If So... Work on defense... if working on defense isn''t working... Work harder. Develop that defensive guy who can't hit. Draft that defensive guy who can't hit. It will save you millions. You don't have to develop Will Smith... You can develop your own Fortes and it will save you millions. I don't blame them for signing Vazquez for 30 million at the time. It was an over pay but they put themselves in that position. Jeffers just had back to back years of .670 and .648 OPS with defensive questions and the defensive wizard Gary Sanchez was going away. It's ok to make a mistake in free agency just like it's OK to buy a boat with a hole in it if you didn't know about the hole. It's not OK to double down on it, take it to the lake and not try to swim to shore and here we are again. Staring at another free agent purchase in the off-season because we can't or won't.

I didn't think of that. I'll go speak with Jayce.

Riverbrian: Can I have a Guitar? Dad: How many hits have you produced? Riverbrian: Well... Umm... (Pause)... None Dad: Bob Dylan he produces hits Riverbrian: OK... I see. If I was Bob Dylan.. you would buy me a guitar. Dad: I would not Riverbrian: Why Not Dad: Bob Dylan already has one

I'm already making plans to draft Wallner in my fantasy league in rounds earlier then he is projected to go. If I don't get him in that league... I'm going to join an auction league just to draft him at a higher dollar amount than his listed value. If I don't get him in either of those leagues... I will join a fantasy hockey league and figure out how to draft him in that sport.

Not a good idea at all. 1. I assume we still have budget concerns. Experienced talent will come with a price tag beyond the trade cost. 2. I assume that talented arb level players that will not drive the budget out of range will not be available. Trading established players with years of control for less established players with years of control doesn't make a ton of sense to me. So... what teams will offer us is: Prospects... might get some good ones but we are just trading prospects for prospects. 3. I assume that we will need at least 10 starters to pitch significant innings to get through the season. All teams do. We had rather incredible health on the mound last year and still utilized 8 starters over 7 times. It's a lot to ask for to have similar health again in 2025. I predict that we will need double digit arms making over 5 starts on the year to get through the year. 4. Why would you work so hard to get yourself to solid ground and then purposely move yourself to the edge of a cliff. We may actually be at a place where innings eaters are not necessary to get through the season. We potentially have home grown starting pitching depth to take the ball instead. This is where you want to be. This is where every organization wants to be. 5. The reason that any team would gladly trade for our potential excess of arms is so they can get to WHERE WE ARE NOW. They want to have enough arms to get through the season without needing to pick up Dylan Bundy off the waiver wire. Why trade places with them.

You are right It "Ot" to be that. At least I spelled Tartaya and Tamargo correctly.

Cartaya Tartaya Camargo Tamargo. This stupidity tax is the larger issue. Everybody needs to think about this: 1. The organization is in a situation where it can be argued that a .575 OPS Catcher can't be replaced. Just think about that. A .575 OPS catcher CAN'T BE REPLACED. 2. There are fairly decent odds that Vazquez will go from irreplaceable in September to signing a minor league deal in December. 3. Can't trade him because nobody wants him and you can't trade him because we would take a hit at the position. Interesting dichotomy.

Stop making sense.

Riverbrian: Can I have a Guitar? Dad: No Riverbrian: Why Not? Dad: You haven't proven that you can play guitar.

Hey Now

And the Angels thought Rendon was worth 245 Million over 7 years. They had to outbid the Dodgers and Rangers to get him signed and they all jumped for joy in Anaheim. Front offices don't have this down and they don't because it's hard.

In regards to the over pay required to acquire catching. I'm not a farmer but you know I love trying to talk like one. You have a couple of hundred acres of land. Soybeans are paying 10 bucks a bushel and Canola is paying 25 per bushel. Why wouldn't you plant Canola? Why can't we grow our own Trevino? Take the extra money and spend it on a tractor.

Agreed. By itself... it wouldn't be a very serious one in the overall roster construction process. I just have no desire to pay 4 million for a light hitting defensive catcher who plays 70 games if Jeffers stays healthy or 120 games if he doesn't and those 120 games if Jeffers gets hurt is perhaps the bigger issue of those two outcomes. Anytime you have to go outside the organization to acquire catching it is an overpay. It doesn't matter if you are acquiring Trevino or Realmuto in free agency or if you are trading for Basello or Quero. It's an overpay every time after you compare playing time with other positions on the diamond and typical offensive contributions from Catchers at the same price point. I'd rather the Twins take advantage of market prices for catchers by fixing whatever development hole isn't developing at the catching position. Trevino would make me cry.

First off... If you think that I think that 20 games is going to get someone ready... You think I'm an idiot so I hope you understand that level of insult that goes with that. I'd rather not be insulted that way. Every career has a beginning and every career has an ending. Players transition in and they transition out. My criticism isn't based on an opinion of Jair Camargo because I don't have one. My criticism is going to be how the front office is managing these transitions that happen all the time across major league baseball. I get that you don't think very highly of Camargo. I don't have an opinion on him. I don't want to get into a debate about Jair Camargo because I don't know if his career is beginning or ending. I do know that he was one of three catchers on the 40 man roster and this makes him the next guy up. Placement on the 40 man roster is done to protect players from other teams grabbing them so a 40 man roster spot does seem to indicate that other teams may grab him. I do know that Christian Vazquez had an OPS of .526 when Camargo was added to the 26 man roster for some strange reason on July 12 and yet Camargo received no playing time. Injuries happen all the time, especially at the catcher position so assuming Camargo is indeed the next guy up when an injury happens. His beginning was likely to begin at a moment's notice. 20 games isn't going to make one ready... I'm not an idiot. Getting some work in even if it's just 25 AB's is preparation for the next 25 AB's and the next 25 AB's after that. It's exposure for that moment when the next man up is needed on the 26 man roster because Ryan Jeffers broke a bone in his catching hand in September. If Camargo goes 0 for 25 in those July AB's and every thing falls apart... the front office can go get a catcher that won't do that at the trade deadline because they just might need it because the next guy up is going to be a problem. If Camargo produces a .526 OPS over those 25 AB's. There is no drop off in offensive production. Now if JT Realmuto and Adley Rutschman were our catching tandem. It would probably be a significant drop off to rest Adley to get your number 3 some exposure in preparation for anything that is about to come. Let's be very clear... .526 OPS does not produce a significant drop off no matter what Jair does over those 25 AB's. Vazquez simply shouldn't be allowed to hold anyone back. Now we have a thread started that is asking the question would you trade Vazquez to the Mets and go with the youth in house. With as much concern that I have over Christian Vazquez's offensive performance the past two years and I have a lot of concern about that. I'm saying no. The reason I'm saying no is because the Twins have done absolutely nothing to prepare for his replacement. I'm saying that I would have been preparing his replacement already.

Do you think that I believe 10 games or 20 games is the difference in ready? Give that some thought before you answer. Do you think that I believe 10 games or 20 games is the difference in ready?

I'm guessing... there are what? 175 players? or thereabouts in the Twins organization from Low A to the Majors . All 175 players are working on getting better... fixing holes, finding that light switch or at least trying to turn up the dial. All 175 players are statistically swinging back and forth as the weeks, months and years go by and every thing they have done leading to this point is in the past and all that matters is today, tomorrow as they try to carve out a baseball future with that past dragging on them. At the very top of that 175 player pile. Carlos Correa can range from a .711 OPS in 2023 to a .905 in 2024. At the very bottom of that 175 player pile is some guy who is still good enough to be voted 2nd team Atlantic Sun conference. The Scouts, Coaches, Analysts must look into this pile of 175 similarly talented people, with stocks, rising and falling, decide who gets opportunity and who doesn't. I'm going to assume that there isn't consensus on each individual player in the room of scouts, coaches and analysts in regards to the future of each individual player. Sure everyone can see that Paul Skenes and Aaron Judge are special. However down below that elite group is a pile of players where the margins are so thin that a Brent Rooker can be missed and let go for nothing while a Manual Margot is considered essential to the very end right before signing a minor league deal a couple of months later. The job has to be incredibly hard. I just wonder if they don't make it harder. I want my front office to understand that they don't have this down.

Chances are that injury will provide opportunity. He still has the 40 man roster spot. Regardless... I'm still preparing myself for Jose Trevino in free agency.