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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. stringer bell
    I don’t expect Miranda will get a lot of time at third base.
  4. 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.
  5. stringer bell
    Castro, Lee, Martin and Miranda are all infield option besides the projected starters. They absolutely could trade both Farmer and Polanco.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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".
  10. 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.
  11. stringer bell
    Taylor is going to get a lot more than $4.5M IMHO.
  12. 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.
  13. stringer bell
    My son lived and worked in SF for several years and before being married had an apartment a couple of blocks from the ballpark. When I visited, I felt safe and enjoyed many of the sights and sounds of "Bagdad by the Bay". Their next apartment was near the Embarcadero and again was very nice, but there were homeless within blocks of the building. My son and his family have since moved for work reasons and his final analysis of SF was that it was expensive, but beautiful and culturally enriched, but not a great place to raise a young family. He found the homeless to be a bit of a nuisance, no more, no less.
  14. stringer bell
    FanGraphs shows Alcalá with three options remaining.
  15. stringer bell
    Dylan Floro also got a major league contract (from the Nationals).
  16. stringer bell
    I anticipate a couple of competitions in spring training, including Gordon, Larnach and perhaps Martin. There should also be a competition for the last bullpen spots. Injuries occur, as well, that could change who makes the club and who goes to St. Paul. Castro made the club in 2023 because both Polanco and Kirilloff started the season on IL. He became a key member of the team.
  17. stringer bell
    I pretty much agree that Martin has better upside than Gordon. Nick Gordon is a big league player, but his best position is left field and the hit tool isn't good enough, plus he has pretty severe platoon splits and the Twins have three lefty hitting corner outfielders without him. Because the Twins have absorbed so many injuries in the past couple seasons, it is probably prudent to keep him. If everybody emerges from the spring healthy and Martin impresses, the Twins might then let him go, trying to get a prospect for him.
  18. stringer bell
    I wouldn't be surprised to see both Balazovic and Gordon make the team out of spring training, especially if either or both show something in the spring. Because of the payroll reduction, the Twins depth looks to be thinner and to give up on guys that might be able to help the team at the expense of unproven or recovering players is taking an unnecessary risk. That said, Austin Martin fits this club better than Nick Gordon IMHO and I don't think Balazovic is an answer in the bullpen. Perhaps they will be traded or maybe lost due to a DFA.
  19. stringer bell
    I think the Twins believe they can coach up athletes to be acceptable defenders. Specifically, Julien came the Twins as a poor defender and he looked unsure of himself the first half of the season. He’s still not polished, but he looked much better as time went on. Yes, the Twins are accepting of strikeouts in exchange for driving the ball. I hope they bring in more guys who strike out closer to 20% than 30%. Austin Martin and Miranda for Taylor and Gallo would help. IMHO, getting 600 PAs for Lewis, Julien and Correa will help defensively and offensively, especially keeping Jorge Polanco away from the left side of the infield.
  20. stringer bell
    Good questions Ash, as usual. I think Martin is unproven as an outfielder, but reading between the lines, the Twins seem to believe in his skill set to project him as a plus major league outfielder. We shall see. I think the lack of experience in the outfield will get him a ticket to St. Paul, but he might not stay there long. I can see a role for Martin as a center fielder, left fielder and second baseman. Those are precisely the positions that Nick Gordon has played for the Twins. It might come down to a battle between Gordon and Martin and I like what Martin has to offer much more than Gordon. (BTW, check sprint speeds and you will find that Nick is a 50th percentile runner, exactly average--he is not fast). Having Martin available to play center and left and maybe get some starts at second against left handed pitching would give the Twins a bump in speed and contact and perhaps increase their production against lefties. I hold out hope that he wins a regular job with the Twins, but it is up to him to show that he deserves that much playing time.
  21. stringer bell
    In my mind, until and unless a trade is made to reduce salary, the Twins are within $8-10 of the maximum team salary and they currently have four spots on the 40-man roster for free agents or acquiring major league talent for prospects. Their history in trades is to bring in guys who are not free-agents-to-be (Maeda, Mahle, Gray, López, Paddack) and who are at least somewhat established as parts of a big league rotation. How many current teams are considering trading a projected member of their rotation? I'd say the number is not many. I think it will be difficult to find a trade partner and I don't think the Twins have a large number of prospect pieces that they are willing to part with. Would teams looking to 2025 and beyond trade for Vázquez, Farmer, Polanco or Kepler? Maybe the Twins will go for someone like Rogers of the Marlins, who has had success, but has struggled recently. On the free agent front, until they clear some salary, even the Lucas Giolitos of the world are out of their budget range. The contract that MIley got might be as high as they are willing to go unless they get some salary off the books. IMHO, they are going to settle for someone who might bump Varland to the bullpen, but isn't a #2 or even a #3 starter. Since the post season run ended, the Twins have subtracted three position players and added four from their minor league system. They have subtracted eight pitchers and added none. With four open 40-man spots, most or all of their adds will probably be pitchers.
  22. stringer bell
    Pagán combined availability and durability in his two years with the Twins. That does count for something. It seems to me that the Twins will need to juggle their front end of the BP a lot more than they did in 2023. I think the available pieces could combine to fill the role, but acquiring a durable veteran bullpen arm would be helpful.
  23. stringer bell
    For the record, I don't think the Twins should pursue Hoskins unless his price tag drops to seven figures and he's willing to sign a one-year deal. He's a first baseman only (hasn't played outfield since before the pandemic) and certainly bat-first and he's coming off a significant injury.
  24. stringer bell
    As far as late bloomers go, that we can name exceptions pretty much proves how rare it is. Or as my Sociology professor in college said “the exceptions prove the rule.” Players usually peak from their late twenties to early thirties and get more injuries as they age. An exception to the injury rule would be Paul Molitor, but that it is so rare we can name him does not bode well for Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Byron Buxton.
  25. stringer bell
    On the position player side, the current 13-man pitching staffs make it very difficult to carry a developmental player for a full season. Having only four bench guys (one has to be a catcher) pretty much demands guys who can be plugged in for a week at one or more positions.
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