Riverbrian

Twinsdaily should come up with a naming contest. What we need is an interesting term that we can unfairly apply to this type of player. Every off-season... we make trades on the fringes, we sign players on the fringes. All teams do these sort of deals and every off-season these players or deals are torn to shreds. Yet, all teams must make them. We should be able to label these players with a unique term. This will make it easier to just shove them in a box.

I know I was speaking his language.

I believe it is Those players can be removed from the 26 man roster if need be. In the end, if that approach doesn't work and it may not... it could still potentially make things better next year because they got some major league exposure or at least some valuable data on players who will be on the roster next year. Develop or Die by locking yourself into the annual off-season search for under performing Margot's. If we get a Solano type performance out of a cheap one year contract... it at least helps in that year with no benefit for next year. Win Loss. If we get a Margot type performance from a one year contract. It kills us in the current year with no benefit for future years. Which is a Loss Loss. The Twins knew Margot was a one year guy. They negotiated his buyout from the Dodgers in the trade. He kept his roster spot ALL YEAR!!!

All 3 can be sent down. None of those three were in the top 9 in utilization. The point is the utilization of players who are not getting the job done. Not consistently playing the sub par performance is the key to an elevated Twins lineup. It's what we can do. It's the only thing we can do. Everyone likes to focus on the top... I'm saying we should focus on the bottom because we can't focus on the top. It's what we can do.

Key to an elevated Twins lineup? In my opinion... the key to this elevated lineup we seek isn't going to be specific players. The key is going to be avoiding the consistent utilization of below average players. Let's look at team stats from last year for peer comparison. I'll choose runs as the category to begin our journey because ultimately runs are what all teams are trying to create offensively and then use AB's and OPS for utilization. The Twins finished 10th in runs scored last year (742 Runs). Not Bad but let's compare utilization with the D-Backs who were ranked #1 (886 Runs). It's also worth noting that Arizona also led the league in OPS last year as well. Sorting by AB's let's look at the OPS of the 9 players Arizona and the 9 players our Twins utilized the most. Carroll - 589 - .750 / Castro - 558 - .716 Saurez - 571 - .788 / Santana - 521 - .748 Gurriel - 513 - .757 / Jeffers - 412 - .732 Marte - 504 - .932 / Miranda - 401 - .763 Walker - 479 - .803 / Kepler - 368 - .682 McCarthy - 442 - .749 / Buxton - 355 - .859 Pederson - 367 - .908 / Larnach - 355 - .772 Perdomo - 337 - .718 / Correa - 319 - .905 Moreno - 305 - .733 / Margot - 315 - .626 Arizona get 503 more AB's out of their top 9 (4107 - 3604). 503 extra AB's from your top 9 is about the equivalent of a good every day player. 503 AB's would have ranked 3rd in AB's on the Twins so it's a fairly significant difference. The lowest OPS from the Arizona group is .718 with SS Perdomo ranking 8th in AB's with 337 AB's. In Comparison our Twins had 3 players in our Top 9 with lower OPS that the 9th ranked Perdomo... including the guy with the most AB's last year which was Castro at .716. Kepler and Margot were the other two below... well below. With Margot coming home with a shouldn't be in the major leagues low of .626. With that trio... The Twins committed a total of 1,241 AB's to average or well below average offensive performers with league average being .711 and if I include Castro's .716 as an example of average... then I must include Perdomo giving the D-Backs a total of 337 AB's of Average and Zero AB's to well below average. Let's look at the top 3 AB leaders for the Twins. If Castro, Santana and Jeffers could be added to the D-Backs making it a D-Backs top 12. Castro, Santana and Jeffers would have ranked 12th, 8th and 10th in OPS respectively. The top 3 OPS Dudes in the top 9 AB's for Arizona Marte, Pederson and Walker combined for 1,350 AB's. The Top 3 OPS Dudes in the top 9 AB's for Minnesota Correa, Buxton and Larnach combined for 929 AB's. That's a 421 AB difference. 421 AB's would have ranked 3rd in AB's for our Twins. What does this tell me? It's bad baseball playing over and over again that ultimately kills you. If you insist on rewarding bad baseball with consistent playing time. You better have your best players filling in that hole with consistent playing time. The Twins don't have healthy enough superstars to make up that Margot and Kepler ground that was lost. So in a nutshell, The Twins are not going to sign impressive top end Free Agent X... We all know that. This means the Twins will have a large problem trying to add at the top end of the talent spectrum and there is no reason to believe that Correa, Buxton and Lewis will turn into 500 AB guys due to injury history. So what can we do if we can't add to the top? Don't ADD TO THE BOTTOM. It's the thing that we can do to elevate the lineup. In other words... If you can't add an Alonso... Don't add a Margot.

What's the rationale for a static order? What is gained by a static order? What is lost without a static order? Is it fact or theory? Are there numbers easily pointed to that show the importance of sticking with an order.

Alex Verdugo spent the most time in the cleanup spot for the Yankees last season. Kyle Schwarber was the lead off guy for Phillies. If there is a mold... it's sitting on a shelf... plaster free.

I'm sorry. You have an interesting style that's hard for many us to follow. I hope you can forgive us for that. Not many can do this but you started with Field% and with amazing deftness, you seamlessly segued into Total Zone Runs above average. You went from a percentage stat to a counting stat like David Copperfield or Houdini. You should say Ta-Da when you post.

I'll let RpR respond but 1,000 is better than .993 Kepler should have been playing CF.

See It's right there Kepler - CF Fld% 1,000 - No Errors in 319 Chances.

1,000 field%

Fielding percentage is what you are quoting. You quote RF only... because you didn't mention Wallner is 1,000 in LF or .988 in the OF. Kepler's .993 literally means 7 errors every 1,000 chances. Wallner's .978 literally means 22 errors every 1,000 chances. Or 12 errors every 1,000 chances if you consider OF. The math on that is Kepler will make an error every 142 chances while Wallner will make an error every 83 Chances. Kepler and Wallner get a chance around every 4.1 innings. In other words it takes awhile for that Wallner error to occur.

Yep... we would have lost that incredible 2nd half run under my direction. I'll own that. However, after 2.5 years of below average leading up to that moment. I would have slept ok. And he was back at that below average thing he was doing in 2024. Now, If he kept that 2nd half run pace going into 2024. Then I'd really wear that egg on my face. However, if he kept that pace going into 2024. He'd be signing a 6 year deal with the Phillies.

I'm only responding to the post as well. That's why you and I are here. 😉 My problem is that I can't see past the self imposed platoon filter that the Twins use consistently. It dominates the roster construction landscape. If the Twins want to continue down this path, they will have to construct the roster in adherence to the filter. Wallner, Larnach require handcuffs. Wade will also require a handcuff. I know the filter is there... everyone should know it's there but there are times when articles, suggestions like Lamonte Wade fail to take it under consideration. Wade will only fit the roster with a handcuff. These articles can suggest someone like Wade Jr... that's fine he's a legit major league player but... you have to shove him into this self imposed filter and when you do that... he gets clogged up in the pores and you get this messy roster clog. In our discussion and the direction it has swung. Since we are knee deep in it. Julien had a bad 2024, he had a great year in 2023. His OBP dropped, His SLG dropped... This can't be denied that's why it was a bad year. Miranda had a bad 2023, Correa had a bad 2023. They rise they fall. He fell off the cliff no doubt... I'm still willing to send a recovery team down there to bring him back to the surface. He's young with options remaining. As for Julien at 1B. I don't know... myself... I worry about his bat. That's where his value lies. Defensively, I don't think he's as bad as some say but I realize he isn't Brandon Phillips at 2B. If he isn't the best at 2B... then OK maybe he won't be the best at 1B. Either way... he's the same guy. It's the bat that keeps a major league jersey on his back. Keaschall... OK... you can go that route but... if he is a key part of our future... why start that clock for short side duty in the middle of injury recovery. He doesn't have to be rostered until December 2026... I'd rather watch him bang the door down from St. Paul.

I would have cut Kepler in June of 2023.

Who knows with Eddie. But, I'd say it's way too soon to attach the borrowed time label to him directly. What he showed in 2023 was that he can hit. I'd love to see him get more protective with two strikes because the rate at which he looks at called third strikes, sometimes right down the middle is a bit odd to me. Haven't really seen anybody like him in that regard. However, I'm not ready to throw him away just yet. He has options remaining and a coaching staff to work out those kinks. I understand that there are better defenders but in my opinion... I saw improvement from when he first came to town and to where he is now. He is still capable of more improvement as long as we have coaches to keep working with him on those improvements. Even if he doesn't improve defensively... the kid can still hit in my opinion. Keaschall... My recommendation without knowing anything about him. If there is elbow surgery concerns that he may not be able to handle normal reps coming out of camp... well... that's fine because there is no rush because Luke isn't on the 40 man roster yet. Doesn't need to be placed on the 40 man until December 2026. So rushing him into a short side platoon wouldn't make sense from a development standpoint, injury recovery and service time standpoint. All of this just keeps the Wade roster issue an issue. He would require an additional signing of a Connor Joe or someone like that. Or Miranda would have to do the short side dirty work... which compromises him severely.

A little of both but mostly it was strict platoon usage. Wade had a couple of fairly short IL trips in 2024. When he was healthy... it broke down to 358 PA's vs RH and 43 PA vs LH. For comparison, Wallner had 217 PA's vs RH and 44 PA's vs LH in 2024. So it's safe to assume that Wallner received more opportunity to face left handed pitching than Wade did. The Giants are one of the teams that operated much like the Twins do with a heavy roster commitment to the Right/Left split. What they will be this year is TBD. The Giants will be interesting to watch. Farhan Zaidi is gone as the Giants have publicly suggested a change in approach coming under Posey. I agree that Miranda makes no sense because he hit right handers very well last year. It makes no sense to platoon him at all unless he shows that right handers are difficult for him. Keaschall... I have no idea about what he is capable of. However, even without knowing what he can do... I am flat out 100% against utilizing Young Keaschall in this fashion. This team develops or it dies. Taking one of your best young prospects and turning him into a short side platoon is about the last thing that you want to do in regards to his development. Will all that said... I'm not completely opposed to the addition of Wade for one reason and one reason only. He could potentially increase the total number of left handers on the roster to more left handers then they could shield from left handed pitching... therefore forcing the Twins to provide exposure to one of our younger left handed hitters like Wallner, Larnach or Julien. If Wade just takes one of the left handers spots which would most likely be the case. I'm out on Wade.

Wade would not fill 1B by himself. He would require a right handed handcuff. That handcuff would eat up another roster spot and probably have to come from outside the organization. There is no one on the current roster that makes sense for that short side handcuff role. Meaning acquiring Wade plus somebody else. Polanco would not require a handcuff. He would require a rebound from last year.

This post is only for Justin Ishbia.

It means he would perfect for the Twins. 😎

I appreciate the article. However, I worry a little about suggesting the Bolshoi Ballet after watching someone line dance to Copperhead Road. The price of hot dogs is a nice gesture. The press release is the marketing of the nice gesture. The price of hot dogs will influence revenue... just like the marketing will influence revenue. As mentioned in the article. The two leagues are two different animals. The NBA does not have the revenue disparity that MLB has. That revenue disparity is unique to baseball and that disparity is an elephant sized influence of operational decisions shadowing any attempt to compare the two leagues. Until... I am shown differently by action. I still believe that the new owners will eventually be Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old boss due to baseball market forces creating similar ranges. While we wait to see what happens with new ownership. If the Ishbia's want to impress me. In Arizona, Where's the deal on Sonoran Hot Dogs?

I've stated that I have only one wish this off-season. I'm willing to attach a rider to that one wish. If the Twins demonstrated the willingness to actually release a 4 million dollar 1 year vet producing low bar numbers. I'd be more tolerant of such things. Solano turned out to be a nice cheap pickup in 2023. Who knows... Maybe these guys could produce. However, the Twins have consistently demonstrated no such inclination so my wish remains that they simply not go there.

Everybody sing a long. There's a port... on a western bay... and it serves... a hundred ships a day. Lonely Sailors... Pass their time away... and they talk about their homes. And the Sailors say Brandy... You're a fine girl

Sadly? Plenty of drinks on board, large library of yacht rock downloaded, Ambrosia, Toto and Little River Band cranked on Bose Speakers and I'll be bringing in Dancers.

Doppleganger