stringer bell

I think as the 26th player, Astudillo provides nice depth and he might have an occasional role as a pinch hitter when making contact is a high priority. I would hope the Turtle gets less than a start per week and on that topic one doesn’t want to have a younger player with upside in that role.

Rocco had a comment and it was complementary to Rooker and indicated that he was in the Twins' plans. That might all be posturing, but I suspect Rooker is currently looked at as the next position player up unless there is an injury to an infielder.

Platoons can and do work, but it was easier in the old days when a club had 14-15 position players instead of 12-13. I can remember the Yankees doing a platoon in left field with one of their catchers (Yogi or Blanchard) and Hector Lopez. Mauch platooned several positions with the Twins--3rd base, second base, right field and DH. Much harder to do with one backup infielder and one backup outfielder.

Cave is a pretty good defender, but I'd consider him "above average", not outstanding or elite. I certainly can see him being used as a defensive replacement for Arraez or Garlick in late innings when the Twins have the lead. My question is who is the starter in left field on April 1? My guess is that Cave gets the start, but it could be Arraez or Garlick.

1) Astudillo is versatile and has spent most of a season as a bench player for the Twins. He has elite ability to make contact and his presence will allow more ready substitution between Garver and Jeffers. IMHO, I would rate the Turtle's defensive skills as below average everywhere including the defense-oriented position of catcher. For Astudillo to fill in occasionally at first, third, left and right probably wouldn't do much harm. Certainly, he wouldn't be a choice to step in as a regular. 2) Garlick has been passed around on the verge of the majors for years. His upside is likely at best a platoon player, but he's had a good spring from beginning to end. 3) I've never thought that Rooker was on the same page as a prospect as either Larnach or Kirilloff. The strikeouts seemed to be a red flag and while he has good power, he doesn't have many other tools that project as even above average. I've been of the opinion that since we, the fans, saw Rooker play and do well that his upside is pretty high. I just don't think so. It might make sense to give him a month or so of at-bats to see what he can do, but my personal expectations aren't high. The last two years the Twins had two players capable of filling in for a week or so where they wouldn't hurt the club defensively or who could fill in on occasion without being a real defensive step down. That isn't the case this year. There will be a noticeable fall off is Donaldson, Simmons, Kepler or Buxton are not on the field. Bench players Arraez and Astudillo are bat-first guys. The other bench players are the alternate catcher and either Cave or Garlick.

The two non-roster guys pitched very well, but as long as they aren't lost to the team it is fine to go with the rostered players. I expect Waddell to get more innings than Thielbar over the course of the season and wouldn't be surprised if Law gets nearly a full season of work, as well.

Garlick has an option remaining.

Garlick over Rooker? Well, if you’re competing for a spot with a guy with similar experience, Garlick has the better of it. Rooker’s numbers this spring are pretty pedestrian—.237 BA, .645 OPS, and 18 Ks in 39 PAs—while Garlick posted better numbers across the board while facing tougher competition. Garlick is supposed to be the better defender as well.

A couple of extra players left--I also wonder if Colina will end up on the 60-day list, as well. That would free up one of the non-roster relievers (I think Law). Garlick probably gets sent down and two of the four of Thielbar, Stashak, Law and Waddell go to Milwaukee for Opening Day.

I do think that having Larnach a year behind Rooker and Kirilloff made the Eddie decision easier. Even if AK doesn't pan out, the Twins have another hitter for corner outfield nearing readiness. I wonder if Larnach ends up in St. Paul or Wichita.

I don't think the Twins should give up on Thorpe as a starter. While it isn't ideal to send him down because there are still 5+ weeks before AAA games start, having Thorpe available and stretched out at St. Paul makes sense to me. The back end of the Twins rotation has veteran pitchers with plenty of injury history. It is truly doubtful that all of them survive even the first half of the season without a trip or more to the IL. With his refound velocity and a good assortment of other pitches, I'd like to see Thorpe get another chance to have and hold a rotation spot for years.

Dobnak's rise is a good story backed by excellent performance in the spring. Much like the struggles of some of the hitters, let's remember this is Spring Training. I've seen far too many stories of players ready to break out who never have. That said, it appears that Dobnak is the first "starter in waiting" and if previous years are any guide, he'll be in the rotation before we've settled in for the regular season. I'm confident Randy will get his chances and probably will hold on to a starting role for quite a while.

What are the odds that Kepler hits the first pitch of the season into the seats? I don't think they are astronomical. Really, that is the mystery of Max Kepler to me. He has a nice sound swing and yet is so slump-prone. We've seen swoons from him every year for no apparent reason. Of course, we've seen the reverse where he's doing damage on almost every at-bat.

If there is a level playing field for the relief pitcher spots, I think Law should make the big league team. He has been absolutely lights out. Stashak is probably a competent last man in the bullpen, but given the apparent need for multiple innings early, I would expect Dobnak to come north with the team as a long reliever/spot starter. Also, given that Thorpe has an option, it will probably be used right away. He has been impressive so far this spring and may end up working many significant innings for the Twins. Thielbar was effective last year, but I don't expect a successful encore. I am thinking that Waddell will get to Target Field early in the year and will supplant Thielbar, but probably not on Opening Day.

I agree with those who say that Kirilloff lost the competition for now. Given the projections for him, he should be with the Twins before the middle of June, but he will have to pick himself up after getting knocked down (figuratively). I will be concerned whenever Rooker is playing in left field. I see that he was charged with his second error this spring (don't know if that is significant in and of itself). From the little I've seen of him, it appears he might be closer to Josh Willingham defensively than Eddie Rosario. While there were several "oh Eddie" moments, Rosario had sufficient range and a real strong arm. I have seen neither from Rooker. I realize that Kirilloff isn't noted for his glove either, but I don't think he's as limited as Rooker. If the Twins are ahead late, I presume we'll see Cave in left field.

Spring training is different for different players. Guys like Buxton Sano, Simmons, and Kepler already have starting positions and just need to be ready when the bell rings. While Cave hasn't been very good, he's had 2+ years with the team and they aren't going to dump him because he was lousy in ST. Kirilloff had a chance to win a spot, as did Rooker and it looks like Rooker has nailed that spot down, for now. Rooker's twentysome PAs last year and nice spring will likely be forgotten if he goes 2-20 in April, as it should be. I'm pretty sure everyone that has made a serious bid for a roster spot will get their chance sometime.

Four right handed hitters—Rooker, Broxton, Garlick and Astudillo—have hit very well. If Kirilloff makes the team, there’s probably only room for one. If Alex starts at St. Paul, there’s room for two. If Kiriklloff starts swinging well in the next few days, he can claim a spot, but I think it is up to him to do better. He has no absolute claim to a roster spot despite his #1 prospect status. Of note, as well, there is no backup for Sanó if Kirilloff is sent to the minors.

It's a long season and certainly the Twins will undoubtedly use many pitchers, probably including Smeltzer. I just don't think Smeltzer is going to be anything more than marginal. I think Smeltzer's story is great, but the tools are pretty limited. He doesn't have much very much margin for error.

I've liked what I've seen from both Garlick and Broxton (who doesn't?), but I don't think either will impact on whether Cave makes the squad out of spring training. The "victims" if either of those guys comes north would be Kirilloff and Rooker. There is a vacancy in left field and it seems that sometime this year it will be claimed by Kirilloff, but that might not be right away and so far he's only 2-13 with four Ks. Rooker has been fine in limited work, but both Garlick and Broxton have been much better. While Broxton isn't on the 40-man roster, he has defensive ability (including being a legit center fielder) and speed that the other candidates don't have. Besides that, as I understand it, Keon has an opt-out so if the Twins would not add him to the roster, he would essentially be a free agent.

I think a non-roster infielder makes the Twins team to start 2021. Arraez is a good offensive player who plays an acceptable second base. I think he can be deployed occasionally in left field with little negative effect and can probably give a healthy Josh Donaldson a few days off at third, but he will be a defensive liability anywhere but second. I don't think Arraez is anything more than a stopgap at shortstop. With the departure of Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza, the Twins have a hole to fill--finding competent and versatile defenders--Riddle, Romine and Lin all seem to fit the bill. Each would appear to have a different strength. Riddle having the superior glove at shortstop, Lin perhaps with the most offensive upside and Romine the most versatile and most experienced and a switch hitter. I think there is a position to be won by one of the three.

With a 26-man roster, there is room for five outfielders IMHO and I think Cave is pretty close to a lock to make the team. The question is whether he's third (starting left fielder), fourth or fifth. I suspect both Arraez and Kirilloff are ahead of Cave to be the "everyday" left fielder, with Cave a lock and then a competition for fifth OF, which would include Garlick, Broxton, Rooker or none of these. I don't see Rooker as a great fit to be a fifth OF, particularly since he hasn't played first base in years and the Twins have a full-time DH. Of course, this is presuming health and we know that injuries will happen.

Unless he gets a starting job, I don’t like Rooker as a fourth/fifth outfielder. I think it would really be tough for a guy accustomed to playing regularly to play once or twice a week. His best asset is his bat and I doubt there would be many opportunities to pinch hit. He’s not fast or a good fielder and not really versatile.

I see a spot for a non-roster infielder like Riddle. Unless the club wants to move Polanco to short every time Simmons is out, there is a real need for a plus defender to back up on the left side. Gordon would also be interesting, but he hasn’t played third at all to my knowledge and I don’t know if he’s even average at short.

I've wondered if the backup shortstop will be Polanco or if there would be another SS on the active roster come Opening Day. As far as Arraez' playing time, I suspect he'll get plenty of ABs as the left fielder. If a manager tries to put a shaky glove in the field, left field is as good as any. I know it was a small sample, but Arraez played pretty well in the field at second last year. He still doesn't strike me as a true utility man. He seems stretched as both a third baseman and left fielder and he's definitely not a shortstop. I suspect that the field staff keeps a guy who can play above-average SS besides Simmons.

Trade makes sense. Wade will be better than expected for the Giants, but they get pretty good potential in Anderson. I do like what the FO is doing.