Doctor Gast

Martin has made good plays in CF but he's overwhelmed there. Kepler knew that it's not easy. I'm not for forcing Martin into a MLB CF like they did with SS because he's athletic. Instead of putting Julien or trying to put Lewis at 2B, they should put Martin there & let him settle in one easier position. Martin is producing far below what he's capable of but he's not a AAAA player.

IMO Miranda & Wallner could still hit over their MiLB averages, Wallner has had the most opportunities so he could hit it 1st. Now I haven't been talking about MLB average, I'm talking about hitting those marks.

Catching is the most important defensive & demanding position (physically & mentally) on the field. So defense needs to be the main focus when evaluating catching. In a supportive role, Jeffers is IMO the best catcher out there. Vazquez after a period of time of getting to know the pitchers & accustomed to the team his hitting has improved, hopefully, he can get close to hitting like he did at BOS when was settled there. Our MLB catching has been very nonexistent beyond Vazquez & Jeffers. Our average ish ranking would be a lot worse if not for the durability of Vazquez & Jeffers. Although Jeffers didn't get hurt last season, he does what he usually does when used beyond a weak side tandem, which is waning in the 2nd half. Vazquez has shown he can handle the workload, and Jeffers throughout his career has shown that he cannot. I have a lot of doubts that either Camargo or Cataya can elevate to the MLB 3rd catcher position that helps spell Jeffers in the 2nd half. So if they can't then Vazquez needs to take up the slack much like he did in '23 to maximize our catching performance. IMO durability is still very important while I have my doubts about Camargo & Cartaya being a 3rd catcher. IMO it'd be disastrous if they were to assume the backup catcher role for a long period of time. IMO Cataya can eventually develop into a MLB catcher. But carrying 5 catchers on the 40 man is a waste of valuable roster space. IMO Gasper will eventually get DFAed. Since catching is so important, we need to elevate our catching into the top ten & preferably higher to compete. I'd rather draft & develop our own than be dependent on FA to provide for our catching needs. Looking at our future I don't see much hope.

There is always a time of adjustment at each level. where in the beginning the stats were lower, but once settled in his stats reached well above his average, In the beginning of his pro career, he was coached to be who he wasn't, which negatively affected his production. Martin has been doing a lot of major adjusting in his 1st year of MLB & is still adjusting which makes it very difficult to settle in. Martin's MiLB average isn't far off my projection of what he can do on the MLB level once settled in. IMO he has the spunk to do it.

Buck also is great with fans. He sent an encouraging video message to my sister-law who was dying from cancer. That's who he is, a great guy, a guy you want to watch & play with.

I'm pumping the brakes too. IMO he should start at AA, although that might not be for long. He should start off at 1B/ DH & see when he can go to 2B. IMO OF should be out of the question. IMO there's no doubt about his hitting.

Like I wrote before, for Julien it was more than a sophomore slump where he'll just make a minor adjustment. He'll have to completely change his hitting approach. That's why I stated that I considered him as 1B candidate in '23 but in '24 how the league has completely figured him out (much like they did with Gallo) So you can throw those '23 stats out the window, it's not going to happen. & as wrote before Julien isn't good at 2B, defensive stats can't be trusted & they be spun to say anything you want them to say. & it really helps to have Correa & Santana cover for you. When Correa was down it was obvious how bad he was. It's better to have a better 2Bman & have the SS & 1Bman to play their regular defensive positions. So far I haven't seen him adjusted offensively yet. I hope he can & regain some semblance of power he had in '23 so he can somewhat profile at 1B. But my expectations are not high.

Utility player isn't an easy task especially when thrown into it on a MLB level. We need you to be a utility player, have a go at it. It's lot easier to have one easy position & stick there to get acclimated. There's a lot of adjusting going from AAA to MLB defensively & offensively with a lot of extra pressure & Baldelli never made it easy on him. At every level from college to AAA, he has excelled in OBP & had decent OPS. You are comparing a rookie to seasoned veterans & players who play positions that demand higher OPS. I'd hope a healthy veteran 1Bman to have at least a .800+, a measley .749 is what is sad. I expect Martin to settle in & produce a .400 OBP, .800 OPS & 25+ SBs at the MLB level. I assume a rookie is more dependent on being sent than going on their own (as far as stealing bases go). My guess with Bader & not considered for 2B, Martin won't have that chance to prove himself.

Martin is athletic but he isn't a natural OFer, If they want him to be an OFer they need Tori Hunter to mentor him. Twins coaches don't seem to help much, it looks like they let him flounder out there by himself. Like the PIT game he lost the ball in the sun & wasn't charged with an error, there are many times he wasn't charged with errors but to the stats & fans, they still count those plays against him. When they acquired Bader, they don't need him in the OF so why play him out there? He's more needed at 2B which is his more natural position, keep him there & let him be good there, I don't care that he isn't a slugger, he can get on base take & steal that extra base & doesn't SO a lot. What MN needs more than anything is a good lead-off hitter. Kepler, Wallner, Larnach & Margot types don't cut it. Martin is our best bet. someone who gets on base, a terror on the basepath, shakes up pitchers to make mistakes for following batters to take advantage of & spark rallies. Martin is athletic & has made a few spectacular plays in the OF but he's not needed there so why put him through all that grief? It doesn't matter what he does because he's not a slugger so he's automatically a bad player.

IMO the change of philosophy & game plan of hitting HRs & forget about SOs & fundamentals. is long overdue & is a big plus. Twins stunk in hitting to begin the season & dug a big hole & trailed CLE the whole season. The change of philosophy will help in a good start. Another reason for the collapse is lack of depth in the rotation. Another season under their belt will be tremendous, especially for the rookies. The lack of chemistry w/o Correa for a long period was disastrous. Player displacement is another. Health is a factor, hopefully, Correa, Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers & Vazquez stay healthy.

Julien was never good at 2B no matter how much they spin the stats & have Correa & Santana cover for him. His problem is more than a sophomore slump, like Larnach he has to reinvent himself. Most of his power came from waiting for a nice FB that he could pull. Now all he'll get is junk on the outside of the plate. So now he'll have to be more aggressive w/o striking out & learn how to hit those junk pitches. I doubt very much that he'll ever generate that power he had even if he's able to reinvent himself he won't profile at 1B. I saw no future for Julien at 2B & advocated to trade him. Now that he's not a fit at 1B, I definitely want to trade him. IMO Julien's Renaissance won't be arriving.

In '22 Lewis did a great job subbing for Correa while on the IL, when he came back instead of squeezing Lewis at 3B to get in ABs they put him in CF. He got hurt right away & they brought up Miranda to sub at 3B. In his 2nd chance, Miranda shone. After the '22 season, they pretty much told Miranda that 3B was his, Gio Urshela did a very good job at 3B & added SS depth when SS was up in the air but they gave him away so Miranda would have primary 3B responsibility. News of the offseason was that Miranda conditioning very hard. Miranda had an average arm which would be tested at the MLB level. Miranda must have overdone his arm conditioning because he came into camp with a sore shoulder, which shortly landed him on the IL & shoulder surgery. At 1B we had Sano who was worthless at this point & Arraez who was far from ideal & no prior 1B experience. My point is why was Urshela let go & Miranda groomed at a more demanding 3B when he was much more suited for 1B but is deemed unfit by Baldelli? Miranda is a great hitter when healthy so why was Miranda put at a demanding 3B comprimising his shoulder while recuperating instead of committing him to 1B/ DH? Even while playing hurt Miranda has outproduced France. France has been terrible defensively in every position he has played even at 1B which has been playing for the last few years. Miranda has much more potential at 1B so why not commit him there? Instead of committing that position to France. Baldelli has venomously supported his claim that 1B is so important defensively so why committing 1B to a hack at 1B. Now I support the acquision of France & I hope he can find his bat & become a decent DH & 1B backup. Miranda took his appointment at 3B very seriously. I don't think he'll take 1B less seriously & doesn't need the extra pressure from Baldelli to produce & time at 1B given away to France in this valuable time of spring training. I don't understand Baldelli's passion of having temporary outside old veterans to take the place of our capable long-term young players to help grow the Twins.

Yeah. IMO it's not make or break. He'll break camp on the 26-man no matter how his spring training goes. Like Kepler, we couldn't trade him & he didn't play really well but yet signed for the same salary early in the offseason. Paddack is playing for his FA money.

#3- IMO the reaction if Pohlads don't sell & nothing changes, would be greater than "golly gee". The Pohlads would get a lot of blow back, lose a lot of fans (maybe even me) & money.

I was just making a joke. Not to be taken seriously. Of course, Ishbia wouldn't balk at a minor amount.

It might be interesting why they backed out, maybe the Twins were too creative. With what the Twins did this offseason, I doubt the new owners would have money to go out & get a high-profile rental at the deadline IF the Twins are still in it. The Pohlads are on the hot seat if they back out they'd be tarred & feathered by the fans. If they have to take a discount they better do it.

Absolutely, that what I mean.

I'm glad we have an established LHRP veteran in Coloumbe. I don't think it's make-or-break season with Funderburg. Injury could have been part of his poor outings & he's shown some promise so I don't think he has anything to worry about, If Prielipp stays healthy & progresses with limited innings. he could by-pass both Coloumbe & Funderburg as the top LHRP.

Raya has a lot of potential & I'm looking forward to him pitching in the MLB this year if the need arises. Unlike Canterino & Prielipp, also with questionable healthy arms, Raya was inning-managed. If Raya wasn't managed & his arm fell off, some fans would criticize the Twins for not managing Raya's arm. The other fans would come back very quickly with you are full baloney, arm management is for the birds, you have to extend the pitchers, his arm would have fallen off anyway. But the fact that they have managed his arm & he's able to stay on the field & move up the system is a credit & proves arm management is necessary in the long run by increasing the quantity & quality of pitches. Raya is a young, small-framed SP that started to show shoulder problems which I praise the Twins in their management of his arm. Raya is a smart guy & that's why he's not fighting the Twins. His getting close to the MLB should not be the criteria for extending his innings. His body as it continues to get stronger should be the indicator. His ERA of 4.05 as they extend him is not eye-popping & IMO is not a green light to completely remove his innings limits. I'd prefer him entering the MLB as an opener than landing on the IL & set him back.

& someone with options

Doc, you hit the nail on the head. When used properly Alcala is a valuable high-leverage BP weapon. But that's it if used properly, he wasn't last season. So should Alcala be chosen on the opening active roster? The answer is yes, but will he? The answer is more likely no. Baldelli's favorites get chance after chance & are handled with kid's gloves. Alcala isn't one of Baldelli's favorites, so Alcala won't get the special treatment that is needed, and will have a very short leash. IMO Alcala will unfortunately start out in AAA.

I'm disappointed, the Ishbia Bros. would have been wonderful owners. Pohlads have been bad owners because they don't care & have no idea how to run a baseball club. But to me, all that doesn't matter if they had someone in charge who did. Besides the pitching end, Falvey has no idea what he's doing, yet thinks he's a genius. As long as he has total control of the operational process of the team it doesn't matter who owns the team.

The pure hitters Correa, Miranda, & Kiriloff were hitting great but everybody else stunk. That is when Baldelli made the change of hitting approach which turned the team around. The crash at the end was due to overextending the rotation, lack of high-end LHRP, injuries to Miranda, Kiriloff & especially Correa that created a void in leadership & chemistry. Together some young players running out of gas & hitters became desperate & started to swing for the fences reverting to the old way. That started the downward spiral that nobody could stop.

Bader is a waste of $6.5+M plus a buyout when you have (LH) Keirsey who can more logically sub Buck against RHPs & is still a pretty good fielder for free.

When healthy Miranda mashes pure & simple so keep him at 1B, Just because he can play 3B doesn't mean it's a good idea to play him there last year or this year if that's in their head. Because you want his bat in the lineup you think it's a good idea but it isn't because you putting his shoulder through a lot when you should try to preserve it at this stage, to keep him healthy & productive. Miranda can be a very productive player if you let him, don't lose him as you did with Kiriloff. It seems like the Twins are going out of their way to keep Miranda off of 1B, who belongs there which to me is very strange. What is even stranger is the Twins are going out of their way to keep Julien on 2B, who doesn't belong there. This weird analytics just baffles & frustrates me. Because both decisions are very bad & keep us from getting better. Julien needs to be sent down to AAA to iron out all his problems or trade him.