tony&rodney
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Everything posted by tony&rodney
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Harmon Killebrew
tony&rodney replied to Cody Christie's topic in The Minnesota Twins Players Project
Loved Harmon. The consummate gentleman and power hitter. Harmon retired as the #1 right handed home run hitter in American League history. He was simply a remarkable human. -
The Twins kept both Jeffers and Vazquez because they believe they are the best options. The salary of Vazquez was meaningless to any offseason strategies. There were other options to save if that was the plan. It never was and the payroll issue was never a thing for the front office. It existed only in the heads of some fans and writers. The Twins have the team they want. There were likely a pile of opportunities for change if that was a desire. I'm not sweating either Camargo or Cartaya, but guessing the decision to keep the current combo is based on who can best catch/block the ball for the pitchers. The Twins catchers are the least of their position player concerns. As far as the Mets needing a catcher? I'm sorry if I don't care about the Mets.
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You do remember that every year the Twins bring in players who are highly touted and comments trash the work of the players from the previous year.
- 24 replies
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- byron buxton
- harrison bader
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Great question and I do not have an answer. Last season I was at a game when 3 balls fell that should have been caught and 2 hits went for extra bases that should have been routine singles. In the same game 3 routine ground balls slipped by a Twins infielder. I'm going to say that was really extreme. This might be something to check this year. Agree totally that offense is needed and the history of baseball usually allows a strong offensive player with a weak glove.
- 24 replies
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- byron buxton
- harrison bader
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Sweating Out A Roster Spot at Spring Training
tony&rodney replied to John Bonnes's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
This post is really good and correctly identifies items noteworthy for the players involved. Sadly, I'm depressed about how the Twins operate and the inclusion of Jose Miranda as a guy fighting for his job is just one part. So it goes.- 26 replies
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- jose miranda
- brooks lee
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Everyone knows that. The post was likely humor/trolling. No worries.
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Good job writing up all of the positions. Opening the post one expects to see names like Miranda, Julien, and Larnach but we also know that France, Jeffers, Wallner, Gasper, and more are better bets at the DH position than in the field. We also expect that both Correa and Buxton will have days at DH. There must be some funny/odd discussions among the coaches when it comes time to field the lineup. The Twins have good pitching. The team will need their hitters to score enough runs to overcome the overall weaknesses in the field.
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Spring Training Games, Week of 3/9 - 3/15
tony&rodney replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Archived Game Threads
Thank you. -
Prospects are future assets. In the age of the internet teams like to hype their prospects and sell the future. Every Yankee and Dodger prospect is, of course, a potential Hall of Famer. It is pretty harmless. Paying too much attention to words spilled on a prospect and even to all of their minor league stats doesn't tell the full story. If you watch a player enough, the good prospects stand out from their peers. All prospects need to prove themselves in the majors and do it repetitively before they are identified as stars. The Twins have a number of players who have talent and several may make a name for themselves beyond simply wearing the uniform at the MLB level. A fair assessment of how difficult it is to measure an organization's strength would be the Twins varying from #8 to #20 among the 30 clubs according to various folks assembling their ratings. All I know is that it is interesting to watch minor league baseball and see the young prospects play. I would get too worked up over the grades of this team or that team.
- 12 replies
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- walker jenkins
- gabriel gonzalez
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I think that statement might be crazy or naive. The Twins have not, to date, played players based on their defense and potential. That is just not the way Falvdelli rolls based on 2019-2024. The Twins want their position players to hit. All of Jeffers, Miranda, France, Lee, Castro, Julien, Martin, Gasper, Lewis, Larnach, and Wallner are average at best but it is fair to say they are below average defensively. Brooks Lee has a good glove, hands, and arm. He is also slow, which means he actually doesn't get to balls as a second baseman that Castro or Martin grab and he doesn't move laterally as well as Julien either although he is smoother on fielding and much quicker on transfers along with being more accurate on his throws. Lee would be a good third baseman. While I'm fine with Brooks Lee starting at 2B, it is anyone's guess who actually starts the year and plays in April. FWIW, I don't think the Twins know yet.
- 55 replies
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- brooks lee
- edouard julien
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Present Catching Situation & Possible Present & Future Solutions
tony&rodney commented on Doctor Gast's blog entry in Doctor Gast's Blog
If the Twins are sold (that is an if) you won't have to worry because there will be a whole entire new management team from top to bottom. The new guys will find your catcher. Patience. -
Will they have more value after a year at AAA? I was suggesting that the time to trade Julien, Lee, and Miranda was in the past which I advocated each of the last two years. I might be the only guy who still thinks Austin Martin can play at the MLB level.
- 55 replies
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- brooks lee
- edouard julien
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That's old school.
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So if Eeles is at second base, where do Brooks Lee and Edouard Julien play? Keaschall? Oh, Austin Martin?
- 55 replies
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- brooks lee
- edouard julien
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Spotlight on front office for not capitalizing on trade value when it coincides with multiple players capable of playing the same position (2B - Lee, Castro, Julien, Martin, Gasper, Keaschall, Eeles, etc.). Somebody took the offseason off. The other viewpoint is that the Twins were interested in a Spring Training competition. JK.
- 55 replies
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- brooks lee
- edouard julien
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Spring Training Games, Week of 3/9 - 3/15
tony&rodney replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Archived Game Threads
Is there video on the game today. Matthews has a nice line. -
Paddack won't return anything worth discussing. I doubt any trades are made before next offseason unless the Twins tank and some team in the hunt makes a ludicrous offer for one of the top three guys. Paddack likely has more value to the Twins than another team.
- 27 replies
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- david festa
- zebby matthews
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Present Catching Situation & Possible Present & Future Solutions
tony&rodney commented on Doctor Gast's blog entry in Doctor Gast's Blog
The increased focus on splitting catching duties means that defense is more important. Teams will sign or trade for catchers to have them ready by February to work with the staff. There are always options even if those options are often cringeworthy at the plate. The Twins will keep pushing to find better solutions and sign players to keep a decent glove behind the plate. It is important to note that the time share has been adequate. The Twins are much more in need of strong defenders in the field who can also bring the terror at the plate. Because catching duties are largely split, we should expect the team to successfully fill the position as needed. BTW, Cartaya has looked pretty decent behind the plate. I'm not ready to toss out either of Camargo or Cartaya yet. As you already know, trading for 2-3 catching prospects was part and parcel of my offseason ideas. However I'm fine with the current setup and what is not known is how other teams value Twins players which makes it impossible to know if another team would ever consider accepting any of Miranda, julien, Lee, Lewis, Larnach, Wallner, etc. for their catchers. It is surely complex. -
To tap into what Riverbrain has just explained ...... moving pitching prospects like Matthews, Festa, or Morris or even Soto, Hill, or Prielipp would be folly. Next offseason if there are strong, substantial offers it may be possible to envision that one of Lopez, Ryan, or Ober may be exchanged for position help. Any moves would need to return a player that is truly or potentially quite noteworthy, a middle of the order tooled up player.
- 27 replies
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- david festa
- zebby matthews
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Minnesota Twins 2025 Position Analysis: Right Field
tony&rodney replied to Nick Nelson's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Wallner does have a cannon and he is also pretty accurate. There is a hitch though that still needs further correction. Wallner is pretty slow on his transfer and release, partially negating the arm. In fact, teams that run (Cleveland being one) do not hesitate on Wallner. It is something Matt has to refine to stop guys like Kwan and Ramirez going first to third. Scoring from second base is usually the secondary plus the read of the batted ball by the base runner. Guys thrown out at the plate are usually testing an inconsistent outfielder. I do believe Wallner could improve quite a bit this season in RF knowing he is counted on to be a full time regular. -
Yes. It looked like Matthews worked in the offseason to refine his pitches. He definitely has more movement this March than he did in AA/AAA/MLB last year. The experience he gained in September was huge. He now knows first hand that he has to be more than a control pitcher to get guys out in the majors. In October I had Festa, Matthews, Morris as the clear next best starting pitchers. Today I would go Matthews and then a toss between Morris and Festa. Festa needs better command but he likely has a higher ceiling than Morris. Matthews has a pitcher's body. The fact that he has improved his stuff and is a control pitcher should help. Still, taking the next step is huge and difficult.

