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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    More ex-Twin hurlers signed. Mahle for the Rangers (discussed but not entered on this thread), Martín Pérez signed by Pittsburgh and today Brandon Waddell signed by the KBO’s Doosan Bears.
  2. stringer bell
    Many mentions of the Mahle trade on this thread. Would we be looking at it differently if the corner guy acquired was Miranda instead of Steer? Miranda, at the time, was considered the superior option both at the time and in the future. Given a chance, Steer showed himself to be a good major league hitter whose glove was adequate at several positions. I’m confident Cincy wouldn’t even listen to a Miranda for Steer trade now. My point is choosing the right guy to move. Another example was the Giants getting LaMonte Wade instead of Jake Cave. Similar players, but Wade has shown himself to be a better player.
  3. stringer bell
    I agree. The devil is in the details though. Is Wallner a future All-Star or will he just be a less extreme version of Joey Gallo? Is Julien a mainstay or is he a good-not great hitter with no position? Will Kirilloff ever beat the injury bug or is he destined to be a part-time player without enough power to hold a regular job? The FO has to be right on their evaluations of talent in the system before they trade for talent outside of the system.
  4. stringer bell
    Not so sure on that. Why pay over $6M when you can grab him a week later for $800K? My assumption is that Farmer is a backup on a good team and too expensive and too old for non-contenders. Is there a team he gets 500 plate appearances for? I don't think so. If a team wants to use him like the Twins did last year (quite possible), then $6M is a hefty salary.
  5. stringer bell
    I'm hearing rumblings that there might be some movement on TV rights. I suspect that clarity about revenue will make it easier to make personnel decisions.
  6. stringer bell
    Miranda is an interesting case. His stats in the minors and his rookie season project him as a good hitter, but not a 30-homer guy. He's never been thought of as a good glove at any position he's played, so his bat will have to carry him. That means he needs to have a well-above-average OPS without either great power or on-base skills. That's a tough needle to thread in today's strikeout heavy environment. Miranda did just that in his rookie season. He walked and struck out below league average, used the whole field and had enough extra-base hits to come up with a 114 OPS+ while hitting 15 homers. I can visualize a similar line if he's totally healthy. That makes him a solid major league player, but not someone to build around. Miranda is young and cheap. Hopefully, he regains his form and helps the Twins in 2024.
  7. stringer bell
    When players are waived, if no one claims them, isn't the team that lets the player go liable for all but the major league minimum of their salary? I believe this is the case or tender/non-tender wouldn't be such a big deal.
  8. stringer bell
    The discussion was about non-tendering, which would make Farmer a free agent. While Farmer did indeed take one in the face and it might have affected him, he hit up to his career standards, as a matter of fact, he had his best OPS+ of his career. I expect that Father Time is an adversary for going into his age 33-34 season. The Twins used Farmer well and maximized his contribution IMHO. He's a good player, but his ability to play shortstop is less important with Lewis on the roster and Lee available in St. Paul. I also believe that Castro showed enough to be considered a possible fill-in at short.
  9. stringer bell
    Today is Byron Buxton's 30th birthday. Typically, age 30 is about the halfway point of a long career. Buxton has played in 670 games and has 2487 plate appearances, so about four full-time years worth of action on the field. His lifetime batting average is .239 and the OPS+ is 106. One can hope that the parade of injuries slows, but Buck would be an unlikely exception to the conventional wisdom that injuries increase as the years move along. Happy birthday Buck and best wishes for good health going forward. It is also the birthday of the Twins' first AL MVP--Zoilo Versalles. Zoilo was fast with a rocket arm and surprising pop for a 155 pound shortstop. Billy Martin took him under his wing and he had a fantastic year as the Twins breezed to their first pennant in Minnesota. It seemed like the sky was the limit for Zoilo in the future, he never approached his numbers of the MVP year and injuries took a toll and he was out of major league baseball at 31 with only 210 plate appearances after his 30th birthday.
  10. stringer bell
    I don’t think the double play pivot is anywhere near as dangerous as it used to be when guys were taking out second baseman frequently with takeout slides. According to guys that are plugged into the Twins, Lewis is better equipped to play second and Lee’s more of a 3B.
  11. stringer bell
    Agree with your thought that he hit lefties well and he's versatile, which gives him value. BUT, is there another team that wants Kyle Farmer to be their starting shortstop in 2024? I really don't think so. If you think you have a chance to contend you want someone better and if you don't think you'll contend you want someone younger and cheaper. Kyle Farmer falls into the hole of being too old and expensive for the role that he is best suited. How many teams can afford a $6.3M utility infielder? I have maintained all off season that Farmer's role would be diminished on the 2024 Twins because the team will have other, equally good options to be the backup shortstop Add in that he'll turn 34 and that he is an average runner at best and there are enough reasons to peg him as a backup and utility player. The flip side of this is that he is a positive force in the clubhouse and has a history of hitting left handed pitching--two things that make him valuable to the Twins. I'm just not sure if the positives outweigh the negatives for Farmer.
  12. stringer bell
    He's great in TV commercials.
  13. stringer bell
    I’d like to see Kirilloff step up to be a mid-lineup fixture (at least against RH pitching) and it would be a bonus if Miranda was able to be a RH 1B/DH getting 400+ PAs. One of Sands, Balazovic, Canterino and Winder needs to step up in the bullpen. There will be injuries and at least one more guy needs to be a positive high-leverage arm.
  14. stringer bell
    It wouldn’t surprise me if one of Balazovic, Sands or Wallner stepped up this year as a reliable bullpen piece, but none of them are anything resembling a sure thing. All are adjusting from starting to bullpen and a second year in the same role might be better. The Twins got a live arm in Alcalá, but he hasn’t been healthy for two years. It would seem he’s approaching last chance territory.
  15. stringer bell
    IMHO the Twins have few prospects to trade and I really don’t want them to back up a Brinks truck to get a relief pitcher, although Williams is very good. They need to solidify their rotation without giving up the farm, not an easy task, especially with the premium placed on starting pitchers. The club has traded away good, not great, prospects to get Mahle and Jorge López and they don’t have that many left in the tier. I don’t trust anybody in the high minors to step up and fill the role that Ober had last year. Varland might be that guy, but right now he is #5 in the rotation.
  16. stringer bell
    I don’t expect Miranda will get a lot of time at third base.
  17. stringer bell
    I don’t see this front office giving out that kind of contract to a relief pitcher, even one as established as Hader. Given their history with acquiring relief pitcher, I would be very hesitant.
  18. stringer bell
    Castro, Lee, Martin and Miranda are all infield option besides the projected starters. They absolutely could trade both Farmer and Polanco.
  19. stringer bell
    There's a lot of post season frustration in MLB. The Dodgers have been a regular season juggernaut and only won once. Atlanta looked like a historic franchise and lost in their first round. With their six straight division championships, they've only reached the World Series once (they won). Toronto now has the longest active losing streak in post season. Tampa has reached post season five consecutive years and reached the WS once (they lost) and the Yankees haven't made the World Series in their last ten post season trips.
  20. stringer bell
    According to their run differential, Detroit overperformed significantly last year. It is pretty rare to do so in consecutive seasons, so I expect that while Detroit has improved their roster, they won't take a quantum leap in their record--maybe getting to or just above .500.
  21. stringer bell
    I don't condemn Mahle. I don't know if I condemn the front office. I do know that the Twins came out severely on the short end of the trade with the Reds. It is unfortunate that injury rendered Mahle pretty much useless in helping the Twins win in 2022 and 2023.
  22. stringer bell
    As volatile as relievers are, I think it is appropriate to use caution in acquiring bullpen arms. Looking at the results of trades and free agent signings only would increase caution in adding relief pitchers. However, counting on only pitchers within the system (and only pitchers under team control) puts a lot of strain on the bullpen. It seems the club is trying to get by with minimal additional salary, so they need to be right on the people they are bringing in. It is really tough to be right on most relief pitchers, so few of them are "sure things".
  23. stringer bell
    Creating? They've won 625 games in the last six full seasons and won 43 of 60 in the COVID season. They've only won one World Series in that period, but that is a stretch that even the Yankees would be proud of this regular season stretch in their dominant years.
  24. stringer bell
    Taylor is going to get a lot more than $4.5M IMHO.
  25. stringer bell
    Poor hitting numbers, no doubt. He is a legit center fielder, probably on a par with Michael A. and that is worth something. Actually, I would say he's a cheaper version of Gallo, but a more expensive version of Andrew Stevenson.
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