stringer bell

Martin is the team’s best defensive corner outfielder and it’s not close. He continues to get on base at an above-average clip against LH pitching. His value to the Twins and to any other team would plummet if his last option was used for the remaining two weeks before roster expansion. He hasn’t improved enough to merit a full-time role, but he’s shown an ability to improve year-over-year both oin facets of offense and defense. The move of Keaschall to the outfield does make his roster spot more shaky and I could understand moving on from him

Jim Kaat pitched for the Twins and the Phillies.

I believe Bell might have provided more value than his WAR by being a stabilizing force in the lineup. I can recall many people complaining that the Twins had no one last year that could be counted on hitting in the middle of the lineup. Bell is on track to play in excess of 150 games and hit somewhere between third and fifth in almost all of them, whether he was at first or his best position (DH) is immaterial as far as offensive production goes. There have been reports that he's a great guy in the clubhouse--yeah probably, but the 70+ RBI might be the reason. Trevor Larnach has morphed into a platoon leadoff hitter, but trading him could have just as easily opened a spot for young talent and maybe brought back some talent. Signing Bell for $7M isn't on the scale of Donaldson and Correa. While there aren't any guarantees in baseball, Bell's hitting is as close to a sure bet as you can find without breaking the bank. Could and should the Twins have spent more and gotten more quality in the bullpen? Absolutely, but I think that has more to do with indecision from ownership than anything else.

There is a reason for making the signings you are referencing. Counting on young guys sometimes works and sometimes fails spectacularly. There is no such thing as a bad one-year deal is often repeated and there is much truth to it. Signing the right guys with the right amount of rope is a defensibile decision IMHO. Carlos Santana, Donovan Solano, Harrison Bader, Michael A. Taylor and to a lesser extent Kyle Farmer and Ty France were decent recent signings that helped the club. The Josh Bell signing has worked out as expected or better. I think having Bell as a constant in the middle of the lineup has helped more than his numbers show. I am not as sure about Caratini, mostly because of his usage at first base. When there is a gap in the depth having a veteran to fill that gap for a year works pretty well. Per the OP, big swings can be big swings and misses. Almost everyone praised the signings of Correa and Donaldson when they happened, but those kinds of outlays on guys with over six years in the majors are risky, especially on the back end of deals.

It’s a lot more fun the other way around!

It’s a lot more fun the other way around!

Another former Twin was about the exact opposite--Ricky Nolasco's ERA was higher the his FIP every full season he pitched, including a 6.75 ERA paired with a 3.51 FIP for the Twins in 2015.

Mention has been made of optioning Martin. While his overall season hasn't raised his value, he's done a couple of things very well--hit and get on base against left handed pitching and play a decent corner outfield. Martin has graded out by far as the best defensive outfielder on the corners and his OBP vs. LH pitching is over 40%. The other thing is that his last option hasn't been used to date and if he were optioned, he would be in the same situation as Rodriguez next year, all for sending him down for about two weeks.

The 40-man problem is twofold and not really concerning for the rest of the season. First, as noted, if Jenkins is promoted, he is rostered in the off-season and there is one less 40-man spot to offer to free agents or rookies they want to protect. I mentioned Brett Headrick, who got squeezed out two seasons ago, but probably one of Hoffman or Danny Coulombe gets a major league deal in 2023,instead of an opt-out minor league deal if there’s another spot available. The other part is that Jenkins would be locked out with the other major leaguers if there is a work stoppage. I think with Fedko, it’s a pay and service time thing. He has to be on the major league roster accumulating service time to be placed on the major league 60-day IL. Not totally sure about this, but something similar happened with Matt Canterino, whose 40-man spot wasn’t used because he was on a minor league IL.

Jackson doesn’t “go down”, he is DFA’d and lost to the club so we can have a fifth OF for two weeks. They’ve gone with three catchers for over a month. I think they wait it out until the rosters are expanded.

This seems to tge topic on every thread. Upon Buxton’s return, the starting OF is Keaschall, Buxton, Larnach/Martin. DH is Bell snd 1B is Lewis. As long as that is the pecking order it does no good to waste service time on premium prospects. Rodriguez and Jenkins have both missed lots of time with injuries this year and in their careers. A September 1 callup for Rodriguez makes good sense given his lack of minor league options going into ‘27. It is not insignificant that Jenkins doesn’t need to be on the 40-man during the off-season and until recall either this year or next. There are always guys pushed off tge 40-man that the club wants to keep and adding Jenkinswould impact those spots. Brent Headrick is an example. I think rookie status is a very small consideration. Options and 40-man status are far more important.

This is probably the ultimate jinx, outside of Jeffers and Buxton the Twins position players have enjoyed excellent health. I remember Lewis went on the IL for 10 days, but I can't remember any other disabling injuries for the entire season on the position player side.

I'd put it at 99.9% that Jackson would be claimed by someone. There seems to be a couple of catching transactions every day. Finding someone like Jackson with some skills plus someone that fits in well in the clubhouse has some value. There is a gap between the catching prospects and the minors and they really don't have anyone if either Jeffers or Caratini gets hurt. I put in another thread that I think the Twins need less from a 13th guy than most other teams because of all the positional flexibility and also carrying three switch hitters. Two weeks from Tuesday they can add another position player. I wouldn't be surprised. They have gone a month with three catchers and now have less than that before they can add an additional player.

I'm quite confident that ERodriguez would have had his MLB debut if not for his injury this year. Injuries have been a major part of his story since he signed with the Twins. His skill set is desireable and his tools are major league caliber. He's been dogged by injury, particularly his thumb. If the Twins recall a position player and Rodriguez has performed well for the Saints since his return, it probably should be him. I don't know how he'll do for the Twins, but I'd like to find out and they really need to know, given he is using his last option this season. Rodriguez is extremely patient (reminiscent of Edouard Julien) and will strike out a bunch, but he'll get walks and hit the ball hard. He should be a good outfielder and will offer more speed as a base runner. There's a lot of sentiment that Jenkins should be promoted and if the perspective is that he should be recalled unless he shows why he shouldn't then it is a pretty tough decision. I think the Twins are taking the postion where they have to believe that he will definitely help the team this year and that his development isn't slowed by being in the major leagues. So one side is saying prove he is ready and the other is saying prove he is not. Also, to the front office, I believe they see adding him to the 40-man is a substantial move that impacts the roster for some time. Finally, starting the clock on Jenkins at 21 will possibly cost team control at an earlier time. I said upthread that Jenkins hasn't kicked the door down and I stand by that. I see all of the high OPS numbers on the Saints and start thinking they must have lowered the mounds in all of AAA. I don't think Jenkins will make the 2026 Twins significantly better. Finally, there's been a lot of talk about Alex Jackson. I am a fan of a guy with his defensive tools and think with real backup time, he will be a good defensive catcher, better than either Jeffers or Caratini. Secondly, I don't think there is a snowball's chance of him getting through the DFA process and being sent to the minors, so DFAing him means losing him. Third, we are less than three weeks removed from September 1 when an additional catcher is almost always added. Finally, because of their positional flexibiltiy and having three switch hitters, the Twins need a last man on the bench less than most teams. They've managed to carry no-hit outfielders as the last guy on the bench for the last several years, now they have a third catcher.

For the season and particularly since the All-Star break, Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis should be in the lineup every day. Larnach has been strictly platooned and despite slowing down a bit since the All-Star break, is having a career year. The same could be said for Clemens, although he is currently in a deep slump. I'm sure that the Twins will go with a healthy Buxton before trying to get a spark from a highly touted minor leaguer. What were Roden's numbers at AAA? How about Matt Wallner, Kyler Fedko or Aaron Sabato? If he put up .838 OPS for more than a week for the Twins it would be impressive, but not in St. Paul I'll grant a a deeper look at Jenkins' numbers seem to indicate that he might be able to better handle big league pitching than the guys I listed, but there's nothing that shows he can make this club considerably better or that he or Rodriguez would merit playing time over Larnach or Keaschall. IMHO, the key to getting the Twins offense back in gear wears #25. I am not optimistic that he will hit like he did in the first half of the season and that he'll be healthy for the last seven weeks.

ERod and Jenkins haven't knocked down the door to play for the Twins and both missed long stretches with injuries (Rodriguez the much longer stretch). I don't see either getting recalled this season unless there is an injury and if that occurs after the Twins are eliminated, it would Rodriguez in order to keep Jenkins off the 40-man roster, especially with the likelyhood of a lockout next spring. If Buxton returns as anticipated, there really isn't any place for those guys to play this year, as much as people are calling for it. Neither is a backup catcher or infielder where the soft spots in the lineup are currently playing.

Buxton for Roden, hoefully by this weekend.

The hitting numbers in St. Paul all seem to be inflated. I don't trust production at AAA much at all. Hence my skepticism about Jenkins, but especially Sabato and Wallner. I think the best available RH outfielder is Austin Hays (if healthy). Martin would still fit on the roster until Buxton is cleared to play in the outfield.

Clemens, Caratini, Lee and Kreidler have all been in snags so the manager is starting them against the toughest starting pitcher to hit in MLB. Thanks skip! Actually, maybe facing an ace is what they need. After all Miz is no Noah Cameron or Randy Dobnak. A long road trip followed by a long homestand (with a trip to Dyersville in the middle). I’m sure the players are eager to get home.

IMHO Lewis had two consecutive seasons ruined by injuries and is wasn't the ACLs. The soft tissue injuries put Royce on the shelf and he came back twice when he wasn't ready and was a shadow of himself. The conclusion of 2025 wasn't great, but he was healthier and moving like a young man instead of Giancarlo Stanton. You'll note his sprint speed is up this year and he's 11-11 in stolen bases. The confidence is back and he's hitting very well. I still think there are a few too many moving parts in his hitting approach and that he'll have slumps, but this is a talented guy who has come to terms with what his body offers and he's going to have success for a while. I hope the expectations don't go back to budding superstar and people appreciate what they have. Also, I don't think a return to regular duty at third base is out of the question.

Royce and Fundy are making up for scuffling early this year, for sure. The slumping players need to come out of it. Tomorrow looks like a mismatch, but you never know in baseball.

Second straight left hander. I'll be interested in the starting lineup. My guess is Jackson at first, Lewis at second, Culpepper at short and Lee at third with Martin, Keaschall and Kreidler in the OF, maybe Jeffers behind the plate. The lefty hitters get the Miz on Sunday. Sounds like fun. Bullpen would be Rogers, Fundy, Minter, Adams and maybe Nance.

I dreamed a dream--Cleveland sweeps Chicago, Minnesota sweeps Milwaukee and San Francisco sweeps Detroit. The Twins go home in a virtual three-way tie for first.

Corner OF, pinch-hit. He would replace Alan Roden for now and perhaps Martin if/when there is full health in position players. Speaking of which, injuries to Buxton and Jeffers notwithstanding, the Twins have been extraordinarily healthy on the position player side. Not so much with the pitching unfortunately.

Players have peaks and valleys, some deeper than others. Caratini is deep in a funk and I see no reason to use him just to get a platoon advantage. I’d prefer Jackson to Caratini for offense right now, but it appears the pitchers like throwing to Vic. A whole bunch of guys aren’t hitting, but they’ll get over it.