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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I was there! It was a packed house and the Twins staff and player were well received. Good time.
  2. stringer bell
    Most of the time, the “best shape” line is just words. Sometimes players do look different. José Abreu is one example. Arraez looked less puffy last year and maybe Miranda will this year.
  3. stringer bell
    What is obvious is that the Twins have a different take on top-shelf free agent pitching. They don’t compete in offers for the highest-priced arms meaning that the eternal search for an ace is limited to internal options and somehow undervalued arms. In their pitching acquisitions, the club has considered injury risk seemingly less than other organizations and has acquired a stable of pitchers with whom “injury risk” has to be in their bios.
  4. stringer bell
    The 40-man roster is full and there aren't any "easy" cuts. It is know that Paddack and Lewis will go on the 60-day IL as soon as is possible, so there are two spots to be used to bring non-roster players to the team on Opening Day. Perhaps the Twins have minor league contracts offered to legitimate relief pitchers like Chafin and Fulmer. Guys like that are probably waiting for a major league offer, but as time dwindles before pitchers and catchers report, maybe they will sign one of those types. A right handed bat capable at first or the outfield would still make sense as well. Free agents are pretty picked over, perhaps Gurriel being the best available.
  5. stringer bell
    I would hope that the Twins don’t put the expectation of All-Star performance on what (I hope) is his first full season. Making up for Arraez’ contribution should come from improvements from Buxton, Polanco, Gallo, Kepler who are coming off disappointing seasons mostly due to injury.
  6. stringer bell
    They have a somewhat weak RH bat in Taylor. Most likely lineup vs. lefties would be--DH Buxton, C Jeffers, 1B Miranda, 2B Polanco, 3B Farmer,SS Correa, LF Gallo, CF Taylor, RF Kepler. That is 7 RH bats and only two LH. Lots of tweaks to that lineup--Kirilloff at first or left Miranda at DH with Buxton in center and Taylor in left or right. Suddenly, there is not a real role for Gordon, until and unless a LH outfielder is traded.
  7. stringer bell
    Two clear moves can/will be made ASAP. Paddack and Lewis will go on the 60-day IL. Two non-roster players can make the Twins Opening Day roster without losing another player.
  8. stringer bell
    Do we also consider what Gurriel had an excellent post season?
  9. stringer bell
    For the regular season, it is great to have a guy start start every time where it is a better than 50-50 chance you'll see a high-quality start. I think the Twins have a bunch of guys in that category although there have been a lot of issues with injuries. With a number of the Twins pitchers, they are young enough to develop into more than mid-rotation starters. I don't think that a slot is guaranteed for each starter.
  10. stringer bell
    I respect Reusse's opinion more than most on this board. He's seen more good and bad baseball than almost all of us and had access to baseball guys for decades. Regarding contract negotiations, I suppose it isn't the dollars, it is the difficulty and perhaps resentment built up in what was the first two of as many as four seasons of arbitration. I don't know if the team is right in bailing on first Berrios and now Arraez, but they would know how contentious the contract negotiations have been.
  11. stringer bell
    I think Arraez benefits not at all from the cessation of the shift. He has always sprayed the ball and will continue to do so. Secondly, if you want to talk about downturns in the second half of the season, Arraez fits that description as well. Both Arraez and Lopez had more major league work last year in their careers. They both might have been fatigued either mentally or physically in the last segments of the season.
  12. stringer bell
    I’d really want Kirilloff to become a fixture for the Twins, but his ability to get on the field and swing freely is far from a sure thing. Having Gurriel available to step in full-time is prudent and there should be at-bats available for him regardless.
  13. stringer bell
    A couple of thoughts: 1) It is not written in stone that Lopez will become a free agent after the 2024 season (he would be much more expensive). 2) Despite all of the man-games lost injury, the Twins were 11th in OPS, not dreadful.
  14. stringer bell
    We've heard over and over that an ace is needed to win. I also know that it would be cool to see the Twins have the better of a starting pitching matchup between 60 and 70 percent of the time. Adding another guy who is solid and a candidate to throw a high quality start each time out makes sense to me. Arraez is a good player overall and a real asset in the batter's box. The Marlins announced after the trade that they would move their second baseman to center field, opening a spot for Luis. I think he'll be fine for the Marlins and would be one of the top candidates to win a batting championship in the NL next year. The Twins' lineup still has question marks and subtracting their top percentage hitter won't help that. There's talent there that might make us forget that they traded Arraez, but that talent mostly has been stymied by injury. Imagine Buxton healthy for 90% of the season, Kirilloff and Larnach living up to the potential they've hinted at and been projected to produce.
  15. stringer bell
    Is someone else going to the Marlins? Two pretty good prospects plus a solid starter is a haul. I'm guessing the Twins give the Fish at least a prospect.
  16. stringer bell
    How about subbing an actual hitter for Celestino? Garlick for Celestino (Gordon is Buxton’s backup). Garlick can be added easily with 60-day IL assignments for Paddack and Lewis.
  17. stringer bell
    ‘91 Twins were 44-37 on the road. The Twins road troubles last year were on both sides of the ball. Late leads given up and few comebacks. They just weren’t very good.
  18. stringer bell
    The Vikings not only were outscored during the regular season, they yielded an average of more than than 20 yards more than the Vikings accumulated per game. Minnesota had a net of +2 on turnovers, but that doesn't cover how many net yards they yielded.
  19. stringer bell
    What would the projection be on a Duvall contract? Certainly, the Twins would be well over $150 and closer to $160 and I presume he might be looking for multiple years.
  20. stringer bell
    Nick pretty much nailed the downside. The upside is premium talent at wide receiver and good talent in every position group. I think the key is that a lot of the talent is at or past the “use by” date. I wish the Twins has as loyal and passionate of a fan base, but maybe that is football fans over baseball fans.
  21. stringer bell
    It really is about health with Kirilloff and Larnach. Both have been injured more than not for the last year and a half. There is opportunity at DH and first base for at bats for corner outfielders. I do agree that Larnach was and could be more than capable in either right or left field. A healthy Buxton could be spelled occasionally by Gordon without the need to carry Celestino on the active roster. Specifically regarding a Kepler trade--he is expendable because he is replaceable. Gallo is probably his (near) equal defensively and a healthy Kirilloff or Larnach could be expected to equal his offensive contribution of his last two years.
  22. stringer bell
    I'm glad Enlow made it through the DFA process. The clock is ticking for him and he may already have gone from prospect to suspect, but there is a pretty good arm there.
  23. stringer bell
    Two more AAA catchers. I think the Twins have addressed the catching depth issue sufficiently. LaMarre provides a right handed hitting outfielder rated to have a good glove. I think it is okay to have him in AAA for depth, but the upside is limited obviously.
  24. stringer bell
    I disagree. After signing Correa, I don't think the Twins will spend on a free agent outfielder, even a right handed hitting one. If they could trade Kepler for a comparable right handed hitter, they might do that. Otherwise, as I've noted in other threads, they have three number one draft choices (all LH hitters) who could break out and become lineup fixtures in the outfield. Gordon, Kirilloff and Larnach all could make the idea of having a platoon in the outfield a moot point. In addition, by midseason both Royce Lewis and Austin Martin may be available to help the club as right handed hitting outfielders, both likely to be serviceable backups for Buxton in center. Last year in crunch time, Ryan Jeffers was injured. For the season, he OPSed over .900 against left handed pitching, so did Carlos Correa and Kyle Farmer. Having those three guys in the lineup most of the time against left handed pitching would make the need for an outfield lefty killer specialist much less urgent. I think the Twins most urgent need right now is to augment their pitching staff. They have a lot of left handed hitting corner outfielders and one or two could be sacrificed to get more pitching. If they reduce the glut of corner OFs already on the roster, maybe they could add a right handed hitting outfielder more capable than Kyle Garlick.
  25. stringer bell
    Against left handers, Miranda should be 1B/DH with Farmer at third. Farmer had better platoon splits against lefties than any Twin.
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