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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    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.
  2. stringer bell
    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.
  3. stringer bell
    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
  4. stringer bell
    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.
  5. stringer bell
    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
  6. stringer bell
    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.
  7. stringer bell
    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.
  8. stringer bell
    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.
  9. stringer bell
    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.
  10. stringer bell
    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.
  11. stringer bell
    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.
  12. stringer bell
    I think it's entirely possible that Miranda and Steer flip-flop in terms of performance.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. stringer bell
    He's great in TV commercials.
  25. 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.
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