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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    The risk in acquiring DeSclafani has come to pass. If this guy was going to come back healthy, the Giants wouldn't have paid money to trade him and neither would the Mariners. Health has always been a huge question mark and here we are. He had an elbow issue and it was dealt with non-surgically. From the player's perspective, this makes a lot of sense, since this is the last year of a multi-year contract. The Giants paid $4 to pass the risk to the Mariners and the Ms paid $4M more to pass it to the Twins. At $4M, DeSclafani might have been a gamble worth taking, but again the Twins look like they are going bust on that gamble. I'll argue all day that DeSclafani would have been well worth it for a half season of pitching in an alternate reality where his elbow stayed in one piece. He didn't make it to the finish line, as a matter of fact it appears he won't make it to the starting line.
  2. stringer bell
    While I think there's probably a <10% chance that they will sign Lorenzen, I think it might be a good move. He has ample experience in the bullpen, so he could be shifted there if there are better options in the rotation and he could perhaps be that much coveted multi-inning reliever Rocco is always looking for. The Twins certainly need to go at least eight deep in starters, probably nine or ten and right now, including Varland, they have five plus SWR and Festa. I don't want to see Dobnak or Headrick starting games for the Twins in August, but without reinforcements, I think that is what we are looking at.
  3. stringer bell
    That would be my assumption, as well. TBH Funderburk hasn't pitched particularly well this spring, nor has Staumont. I see that Staumont got his velo up to 98, which is encouraging. Most likely Sands will get his chances to pitch for the Twins serving as a shuttle member. Of the non-roster guys, Duarte started a couple games (opener?) and wasn't as effective as pitching later in games. It could be that he was facing major leaguers when starting and AA guys when pitching later innings earlier in camp. Bowman and Brigham seemed to enhance their stock and the couple times that Henriquez pitched he was pretty good.
  4. stringer bell
    I'll add that with the IL moves already announced by Falvey, there remain 27 players for 26 spots. Unless a non-roster player is selected, one pitcher will have to go. The relief pitchers with options are Alcalá, Funderburk, Staumont and Sands.
  5. stringer bell
    Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda were both optioned to St. Paul today and Jordan Balazovic was reassigned to minor league camp.
  6. stringer bell
    So, on one day, five guys are moved from likely to pitch in the next week to the IL. Tough day for sure.
  7. stringer bell
    Yes. He reported "forearm stiffness" after his minor league outing a couple days ago and he will be seeing a surgeon this week.
  8. stringer bell
    My best guess is that DeSclafani will on the 60-day soon. The verdict will probably come pretty soon on whether Disco will get surgery.
  9. stringer bell
    It doesn't end with that. Canterino will open the season on the minor league IL and Zack Weiss will also start the season on the major league IL.
  10. stringer bell
    I suppose Funderburk, Alcalá and Varland are now in for Opening Day. A couple of the non-roster guys are on the brink if there are more bullpen injuries.
  11. stringer bell
    That bullpen depth is now being used in March/April. The rash of injuries has struck the pitchers, so far.
  12. stringer bell
    Yes. h/t Chief!
  13. stringer bell
    Thielbar going on the IL with hamstring problems. When it rains, it pours.
  14. stringer bell
    DeSclafani also going on the IL. His injury is in his forearm, according to Falvey. I wouldn't be surprised to see TJ in his future. (Pure speculation).
  15. stringer bell
    Durán with an oblique strain. Going on the IL. Ugh.
  16. stringer bell
    Last year, López was getting ready for the WBC, which probably changed his preparation. This year, it's all about the regular season. I'm glad he got plenty of work in for his last outing and I'm trusting he'll be ready for a big season.
  17. stringer bell
    I agree that the Twins were fortunate to go through the season with two catchers and few even minor injuries. I don't think the situation would have been that bad if Jeffers or Vázquez missed ten days or so due to injury. There are lots of René Rivera/Sandy León types out there who can competently defend and bat ninth in the event of an injury.
  18. stringer bell
    Avoiding the above scenario, IMHO, is the best and only way to justify cutting payroll in 2024. That is, if the Twins were to have added payroll in this off season, they then would be forced to shed more in the coming seasons, including trading away good players because they can't afford them. I'm not sure it would come to this and if ownership wanted to try to win it all while spending above their budget they could do that. I would hate to see members of the young core of this team tossed aside because they were too expensive.
  19. stringer bell
    I don't think there is a position battle--Wallner LF, Larnach and Miranda to St. Paul--but that doesn't mean a change won't happen until the All-Star break or anything like that. I mentioned this on another thread, if Wallner continues to flounder, is it possible that Kirilloff becomes the principal left fielder and Lee is inserted as the 2b, with Julien moving to DH? In other years (IMHO), Martin, Lee, Miranda and Larnach (or at least three of the four) would go north out of Spring Training. For the second year in a row, the Twins added depth pieces that will minimize the need to "throw the young guys in the fire", but it also means the young guys need to wait or force their way to the majors by being too good for Triple A.
  20. stringer bell
    I don't think Wallner is guaranteed to be on the squad on May 1, but his performance in 2023 is enough to roll with the bad ST performance at least for a couple of weeks.
  21. stringer bell
    What if Lee is judged to be the superior alternative to Wallner? Kirilloff to left field and Julien to DH? If Wallner were to struggle mightily for the first couple of weeks of the regular season, I could see something like that happening, but I don't think it will happen on Opening Day.
  22. stringer bell
    I wouldn't say Miranda is one of the best two hitters in the spring. There's a thread about his ST in the Front Page News forum. I don't think Miranda is forcing any difficult decisions at this point.
  23. stringer bell
    Funderburk didn't help his cause today with a poor outing in Dunedin. I do believe Alcalá has improved his chances of making the team out of Spring Training and he's solidly ahead of Duarte.
  24. stringer bell
    Not too much, but there are different angles and the double play pivot is quite different. The decision to charge or stay back is different too. If the Twins are sure the quickest path for Lee to get to the majors is playing second base and it is soon(ish), he should be getting reps at game speed at second base.
  25. stringer bell
    Yes, that is how it works and the opinions of the field staff around Lee hold a lot more importance than his Spring Training stats or his stats from 2023. I think it is significant that he hasn't played an inning of second base in a game and it tells me that he'll be learning second base in St. Paul.
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