stringer bell

Kiermaier for 80-100 games in CF, if Buxton can’t play there is a viable plan. As an alternate in the bottom of the order, Kiermaier would be fine. He’d make more contact with less HR power. Having Castro and Martin available for center field is a pretty good second backup and probably needed given both Buxton’s and Kiermaier’s injury histories.

I would dispute that Polanco can play shortstop at all at this point in his career. He played zero innings last year and he was absolutely dreadful at third base in his 103 innings at the hot corner. I commend Polanco for playing third base last year, but the experiment was not a success.

Two consecutive posts with opposite views. To me, there is enough depth in the infield to trade Polanco and fill another hole, not to discount Jorge’s value. With Lee and Martin waiting in the wings and Julien, Correa and Lewis set for regular duty, Polanco could be traded without a substantial loss on the field.

I really don't know. I tend to look at all drug suspensions as a blemish that won't go away, (including Jorge Polanco BTW), but some players seem to wear their indiscretions forever, while Cruz (and others) seldom gets nicked for what they have done. That sounds a bit harsh as I type it, but perhaps Nellie's personality and presence in the clubhouse has minimized the damage to him.

Isn't it interesting how three months can change perceptions? By the end of June, I was pretty sure Kepler's first name was DFA. He had the type of second half that indicated he was a bargain for what his contracts pays him. The real question is whether the Twins will trade Jorge or Kepler and what return they can get. To me, Polanco is more expendable and a greater injury risk. Using him as the headliner in a trade for pitching makes sense to me, but losing him would not be painless.

I just compared Cruz with Tony-O on BBRef, which refers the comparison to Stathead Baseball. They are separated by less than one WAR. Cruz has the gaudier counting numbers and four Silver Sluggers, while Tony had three batting championships and a Gold Glove. Tony also played his entire career for one team and had no issues to detract from his play on the field. It's possible that Cruz eventually makes the Hall.

A great late-blooming career for Cruz. He has managed to outrun the steroid suspension he had a decade ago. There was a local article bringing up and then dismissing the suspension I found when I googled "Nelson Cruz suspension". I wonder if he could eventually make the Hall of Fame. By all accounts Cruz was a leader and a great teammate. If the Twins could find a role for him, I hope he would come aboard.

It isn't the million bucks, it is that 40-man spot.

It would be nice to have a lefty in the rotation, just for variety. Cleveland has historically struggled against left handed pitching and they may or may not be the primary threat for the Twins in the Central. The Twins did just fine with five righties in the rotation, so I don't think a lefty is necessary. Adding a top half of the rotation guy is a very worthy goal for the offseason.

Putting together the two years that Pagán played for the Twins, Emilio had a 3.67 ERA, 3.72 FIP and 1.149 WHIP in 132.1 innings. Those are okay numbers for a middle reliever, I suppose and would be less affected by SSS. That doesn't bring in the dreadful meltdowns at crucial times. As mentioned above, Pagán is three and a half years older than Jiménez and only has had one effective season (2023) since the pandemic.

He'll be 26 next month. To spend another year in the minors pitching four innings or less per start would waste what seems to be major league stuff IMHO. Let him go to the bullpen and she how he fares.

Getting a deal completed before the arbitration deadline is often done. It doesn't have to be a multiple year deal. I certainly wouldn't be interested in a multiyear deal for any of the players listed. A lot of players fall in the category where they can't get the arbitration number on the open market, so they take a deal from their current team for less.

I think that is a fair statement. However, in the few healthy interludes Kirilloff has had, he has looked the part of an elite hitter. If the fates give him an entire healthy season, we will have enough information to know what to expect.

Mostly agree with this take. Throughout last season, we saw a succession of lineups against left handed pitching which featured the likes of Castro, Kepler or Wallner with pretty dismal results from the switch hitter or LH hitter. This problem would be minimized by a good -hitting RH hitter who crushes lefties. Next to adding to the rotation, I see this as the Twins’ biggest need. If Polanco’s money can help solve the two biggest needs, I’m on board for a Polanco trade.

I think the Twins moves this winter will tell us whether the team agrees with you. If they keep Polanco and Julien, it is saying they aren't counting on Lee this year. If Jorge is dealt, I think we can interpret that there is enough quality infield bats and that would include Mr. Lee. My opinion is that he needs more than a month of AAA. He was far from dominating, but he has the skills and the makeup to continue his fast rise.

mlbtraderumors.com has their annual look at possible non-tenders around the majors prior to the deadline for tendering contracts. As always, there is an interesting mix of names, many anonymous types and some overpriced players that the column speculates might not be offered a contract prior to arbitration. In looking over the names, I see a couple who could help the Twins IMHO. Outfielder Ramon Laureano is thought to be a candidate for non-tender by the Guards, Ramón Urías, who won a Gold Glove for the Orioles in 2022, is listed, as is Trent Grisham, a solid defensive OF with lots of experience in center. Several relief pitchers are listed. A number of ex-Twins are also thought to be in jeopardy--Jake Cave, JT Chargios, Derek Law, John Curtiss, and Michael Tonkin--as well as current Twins Nick Gordon, Jorge Alcalá and Kyle Farmer. Here is the link to the article: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/2023-non-tender-candidates.html Are there players listed who the Twins should scoop up? Remember, Willi Castro was a non-tender last year.

Lee has the pedigree of possible superstar, perhaps a Chipper Jones-type player. I don't think anyone has predicted as much for Julien, but he a rookie season on the books where he hit and improved his defense. I'm guessing Lee has more value to other teams and will probably develop into the better major leaguer. Performance and injuries seem to solve logjams. It is probably wise for the Twins to see how things play out, rather than discarding a young player who could develop into an All-Star (all of Lewis, Julien and Lee). Lee will almost certainly begin the season back at St. Paul and probably needs the time in Triple A.

Several infielders to comment on and they all intersect in offseason transactions. Here's my take: Polanco--I have called him an "old 30" for a while. He's been able to adjust and keep his batting stats level by changing the type of hitter he is. Some guys (like Brian Dozier) fall off a cliff and I fear that for Jorge. His fielding has diminished notably and I certainly don't want him to be a utility type, since the only position he now plays acceptably (IMHO) is second base. While he has been a fine player for the Twins, the time to trade him is yesterday, with today being the second choice. Farmer--Much like Polanco, I see the window closing on Farmer as a productive player. He's older and he's never been fast, but I suspect his range will limit him as a defender everywhere, but particularly at shortstop. Farmer continues to really hit left handed pitching well, but lefties comprise only 25% to 33% of at bats for any team. If the Twins can find a way to keep Farmer, that is fine, but other more athletic options are on the horizon. I am in favor of trying to trade Farmer, although it is doubtful the Twins would get much in return. Lee--I've heard Gleeman and the Geek discuss Lee at length and they cite sources saying that Lee profiles well as a third baseman, with Royce Lewis the better fit at second base. This complicates things a bit. As mentioned above, Lee won't come up as a utility guy and I sincerely doubt the club would ask him to play multiple positions upon his promotion to the majors. Lewis is going to play. In 58 games this year, he was the best position player on the Twins by quite a large margin. Having Julien already in the majors and proving himself to be a solid lead off guy and an improving second baseman makes a logjam a bit more concerning. One way or the other, I believe Lee will be in the major leagues sometime in 2024, but probably not on Opening Day. Willi Castro looked more than comfortable in the infield in 2023. Depending on what happens with the rest of the roster, Willi could be called on to be more of an infielder in 2024, including backing up Correa at shortstop. A fly in the ointment for Castro is that he was a considerably better hitter from the left side last year and there would seem to be a slot as a platoon second baseman if he hit well right handed. One other right handed option at second would be Austin Martin, who could double as a right handed hitting outfielder. All last season, the Twins lacked a right handed hitting outfielder who was productive against left handers. Martin might be able to fill that hole, but more as an on-base machine rather than crushing lefties with extra base hits.

Well done Mr. Bremer. I hope the next person does well so he won't be missed too much.

I think it is important to remember both Woods Richardson's relative youth (played all last year at age 22) and the offensive environment that was the International League last year, particularly St. Paul. It is possible that SWR might need to tweak his mechanics a bit to get more velocity and movement, but there's still a decent chance that he will develop into a good or better than good starting pitcher. If that doesn't come to pass, a move to the bullpen might be the next move. IMHO there's still a lot of hope for Woods Richardson and it is far too early to give up or move on from him.

I don’t think Castro will ever develop the power that Escobar did. On the other hand, he can play in the middle of the diamond and in the outfield and also steal bases.

He progressed from replacement player to solid regular according to WAR. I think some regression would be expected. Specifically on defense, Castro has all the tools to be a good defender—good speed, decent hands and a strong arm. He seemed to put it all together this season. I do agree that defensive stats are quirky, but if the skills are there, the results should be too (in time). The base running was stunning in that with all of Willi’s aggressiveness, he made very few outs on the bases. Perhaps next year there will be regression there. More perfect throws and quick tags could happen and the base running numbers wouldn’t look so gaudy.

Willi’s hitting might be in question. Also he had pretty severe platoon splits (only a .636 OPS as a RH hitter). Next year, he might play more in the infield depending on how the roster is constructed.

Willi Castro was non-tendered by the Tigers after three-plus seasons. Willi was coming off two unimpressive seasons after a good, but short, rookie year (the 60-game "COVID year"). Those of us that saw Willi play this year wonder how the Tigers could let this guy go. Well, we saw an improved version of Willi Castro. Hitting: Castro put up two mediocre seasons in 2021 and 2022, posting OPS of .624 and .651 respectively. This season Castro had an OPS of .750 (an OPS+ of 106). Willi improved in most deep stats, walking more, increasing his hard-hit rate and restoring a decent BABIP. Castro increased his OBP and slugging and was great (.905 OPS) in Late and Close games. Fielding: As a Tiger, Castro was an above-average fielder only in left field. Willi was again good in left, he also played a solid third base and was acceptable in center. Willi played much less in the middle infield and right field. Castro made only two errors in the entire season and none in the infield. He hadn't played much at third base, but this year played third in 41 games, with positive defensive numbers and no errors. Willi made his share of highlight reel plays and more importantly made the plays he should have made. Base Running: This was probably the biggest area of improvement for Castro. He stole 33 bases, while getting caught only five times. He was aggressive on the bases, but didn't make outs on the bases. Willi mastered scoring on the safety squeeze and scoring on the delayed double steal. BBRef gave Castro credit for four runs gained from base running, whereas he had never recorded more than +1 run in a previous season. Again using BBRef numbers, Castro was +3 from batting, +4 from base running and +5 from defense. These numbers are all far above what Castro has been able to produce since a .448 BABIP fueled rookie year resulted in plus numbers from hitting. Willi Castro was markedly better in about all aspects of the game resulting in a 2.7 WAR in 124 games at age 26. Can the Twins get as good a season in 2024?

You might be right, but a fielding percentage based on 12 games doesn't prove anything. Minor league fields and mistakes by others could account for the errors. Does Martin have the range? Can he make the throws? What kind of jumps does he get on fly balls? Those are the real questions for Martin.