stringer bell

I think there were multiple approaches to Buxton. Yes, at first the plan was to save him a bit in the colder weather by using him exclusively as a DH, then it morphed into hoping that he'd be healthy enough to play in the field if he continued only as a DH. Then, he stayed on the IL for extra time after getting bruised ribs and a pulled hammy in the hope that the extended rest and rehab would get him ready to play, either as a more effective DH or perhaps in the field. He suffered from long slumps with so many strikeouts. I don't know if it was because he was only a DH or if it was because he never was fully healthy.

Yes. The ref announced that #70 was eligible, which was wrong. After the game, the ref said that #70 had reported as eligible and it appears to me that he was wrong. Detroit head coach Campbell said that he had told the refs before the game about this exact play. I don't know if the Lions could have corrected the error with the play clock running and it might take away the surprise element of the gadget play. It's sad that the ref can't/won't admit his error in this.

Desperate attempt.

Pretty clear that the ref got the players wrong—#70 had come into the game as an eligible receiver a couple of times previous, but this time #68 (Decker) was the eligible guy. Lions got robbed IMHO.

If he reported as eligible, he wouldn’t have to be covered and would be allowed to go downfield. The replay shows both #68 and #70 going up to the ref. Did he report as eligible? The ref didn’t think so.

The refs said the tackle didn’t report as eligible, but both he and an additional lineman who came into the game spoke to the ref before the play. Not sure who was at fault for the penalty.

Typo on the number of recorded votes for Helton?

Born in 1954 so most of my growing-up memories are from the 60s and I discovered baseball and the Twins in 1961. My home town was less than a thousand and we would get players together, some would be older and some younger. We'd choose up teams, usually less than nine to a side and play until dark--when the street lights came on, we went home. We played in a softball park (60 foot bases) and occasionally would rob homers with a four foot high fence. We might have one or two baseballs which we'd use until the stitching in the seams would give way. They'd get pretty waterlogged if we were playing when it was wet, but we had rubber coated balls that were great for wet conditions. When the park wasn't available we played in a nearby vacant lot, but foul territory was occupied a dog had to be dealt with. I had a Nellie Fox bat and when it broke, repaired it once. The second time it broke, I got a Johnny Callison model. We played Little League and enjoyed ice cream after "road games". I can remember competing against people from adjacent towns and playing against them in all sports all the way through high school. My brother and I collected baseball cards. We had so many doubles and triples that we used in our bicycle spokes. I remember specifically having so many Henry Aarons that I didn't know what to do with them. I remember having "Bob Clemente" and "Zorro Versalles" cards, not exactly culturally sensitive. Classic story--we had boxes of cards and my mom threw them out after my brother and I moved out.

I think with Toronto signing Kiermeier and IKF, the Twins officially are the least active in player acquisitions. Reports now peg the Twins payroll (with no more additions) at about $120M,, which might be the number they want to be at when the season starts. With starting pitching costs seemingly through the roof, it would seem that the Twins would have to trade both Kepler and Polanco to take on the salary of a top tier starter. The prospect haul for a trade would be substantial if the Twins try to trade prospects for pitching.

I don’t like all of the Ks, but it is part of today’s game. Even the best players strike out more than players of 20 years ago. The Twins need to be better with two strikes and more experience from the young players should trim the strikeouts. Also, having players with better bat-to-ball skills like Martin and Miranda to replace guys like Gallo and Taylor will decrease the K numbers a bit.

There are still three spots on the major league roster and the Twins thus far haven't signed many major league players to minor league contracts, so there is plenty of room for Staumont to get a major league contract. As noted, having the ability to option him seals the deal.

Excellent post Ash! It seems to me that the lefty hitters are still becoming who they will be as major leaguers. None of them have much more than a full season of plate appearances and it would figure that hitting same-handed pitchers would improve as they got more experience. They do have to produce to get extended chances, but I'm pretty confident that all can improve on their performance of 2023.

The Twins have traded prospects for established major leaguers several times in the last few years and IMHO they have fewer trade chips to put on the table for another one or two established major leaguers. They traded CES, Speer Hajjar, Petty (more of a lottery ticket, but with a first round pedigree) and Povich and acquired no prospects in return. Compared to an organization that received as many or more prospects than they traded, the Twins would figure to have less depth in the minors. I do think in Lee, Emmy Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins, they have three premium prospects. That would be on a par or better than many or most organizations. Also, I think it would be optimal if one or more of their premium prospects was a pitcher.

It seems there are two issues presented in the OP: 1) The Twins don't place enough emphasis on defense from the catcher position. 2) The club doesn't have the proper people to coach and instruct their catchers. Catcher is a defense-first position IMHO. Unless you hit like Mike Piazza, a catcher has to be able to call a good game, get strikes called on marginal pitches, block low pitches and control the opponent's running game. I think, on balance, the Twins did all of those things from an average to above average level in 2023 and only used two catchers. I don't think Hank Conger, a former catcher, is chopped liver. From what I could tell he was helpful in getting good performance defensively out of the catchers last year. I don't think that adding Jeff Mathis would miraculously improve the skills of the Twins current catchers.

The team has to have the personnel to run. Adding Lewis for a full season might net 20 bags, but losing Taylor would negate that. Castro stole more than 30 for two reasons--he played a lot more than anyone forecast and he ran often and more effectively than he had when he was with the Tigers. I don't know if Willi will get the same amount of opportunities this year. Adding an Austin Martin would also help the stolen base numbers, but over all, this still isn't a running team.

The Twins signed someone to a major league contract! Josh Staumont, formerly of the Royals, was non-tendered after an injury plagued season. The Twins signed him today. He would figure to have a shot to help in the bullpen. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/twins-sign-josh-staumont.html

For the middle third of the season, it looked like a 9-8 record would give the Vikes a playoff berth. It doesn’t look nearly as likely since Seattle and LA have played well. With no playoffs, the Vikings would be better off with higher draft choices.

Interesting. Waddell pitched a few innings for the Twins in 2021, while Burdi never pitched in a Twins major league game. Not being critical—it is just ironic

The Twins signed a player with actual big-league experience! AJ Alexy, who the Twins claimed and lost earlier, has been signed to a minor league deal. Alexy had good minor league numbers through 2021, but has been in several organizations and struggled mightily the last two years.

Most likely there will be injuries and having a veteran with Goodrum's skill set makes good sense, especially that he is so versatile in the field. Hernan Perez filled that role last year and he's signed with another organization, so I suspect there will be sufficient opportunities for Goodrum without taking time away from developmental guys.

While I mostly agree, I don't think there's a lot of "next level" talent in the organization. If the Twins want to trade prospects, they have 4-5 untouchables and then a lot of guys with so-so value. With no free agent signings to date, there are about a half dozen slated for St. Paul who could be helpful and then (IMHO) quite a fall off. Trading someone slated for St. Paul with a call-up likely in their future (Martin, Larnach, Miranda, Lee) leaves the Twins pretty low in available depth, especially on the pitching side. If the Twins get 120 games out of seven of the nine projected starters (counting the two catchers as one) and 600 innings out of the five guys in the rotation at the start of the year, they should be fine. That doesn't always happen, especially with pitching staffs.

IIRC, the "scabs" that crossed the picket lines had that with them the rest of their careers. From what little I remember of Rick Reed pitching for the Twins, he did okay except for facing Jim Thome and while there was a permanent distance between anyone who crossed the line, I don't think there was a whole bunch of personal animosity towards him. Lawton was a good player, Reed was a good pitcher. Nowadays, getting a decent starter for one regular player (not a superstar) is considered a steal.

Carew compiled 17.4 WAR (BBRef) in his seven years with the Angels. While the Twins didn't get any stars from California, I don't think this qualifies as a disaster.

The Twins are kind of in a box. They have much less depth than they did a year ago and really no money to spend, if they are at their payroll limit ($120M). They can’t really afford to get any substantial free agents and they can’t (won’t) take on salary in a trade. They need to add pitching, which is at a premium, so maybe they could get someone’s 4-5 starter like the Mets did with Milwaukee, but it doesn’t really replace Sonny Gray. I don’t think they can count on being healthier than last year and expecting 2-3 guys to emerge is asking a lot. Having Buxton and Correa perform at or near peak could cover up a lot, but the odds are firmly against that. There’s enough talent to repeat in the Central and last year showed anyone who gets in can get hot and win, but adding little or nothing and losing eight free agents is a recipe for sinking to mediocrity or worse.

I think it's entirely possible that Miranda and Steer flip-flop in terms of performance.