stringer bell

I don't think the idea of making a trade should be ruled out. From where I sit, the Twins right now have three players yet to make their MLB debut who would profile to being major league regulars as soon as next season (Martin, Lewis, Miranda) with Miranda looking like he could easily break camp with the big club. Add to that, a player without a defined position (Arraez) and there is redundancy at second, third and perhaps corner outfield. If they can trade redundant players for value at positions of need (pitching, shortstop) they should make a move. I don't fault the Twins for making some moves where they traded from perceived oversupply that haven't worked out--Wade for Anderson for example--I do fault them for choosing the wrong players. Hindsight says that they should have traded Cave and kept Wade.

I’d disagree that the position player roster is “solid and complete as is”. There is a gaping hole at SS and left field is unsettled. I think that the assumptions that Miranda and Kirilloff are ready to be big-league regulars are valid. If that is so, then there are extra players at second and third base. One of them could fill left field, at least on a platoon basis, and Kirilloff is passable in left as another option. I’m pretty sure the Twins will rotate several players through the DH role.

Well written Nick. There can be an argument that production was delayed and now we'll see excellent results from the guys listed in the piece and maybe from guys not listed. Baily Ober was not on many people's radar and he looks like a solid starter. To think that a couple of Twins' prospects with higher profiles could come in and contribute as soon as this year would make sense. With all the injuries that occurred last year, there would seem to be a crying need for short-term help to tide the team over in '22. Many of the prospective starters will be on innings limits as Ober was last year, and some will not step forward, that is just the way things go. Bundy is one piece, adding someone else and Pineda or taking a chance on Rodon would still make sense.

Miranda certainly looks like someone who should be looked on as having a very solid chance to be a productive hitter as well as someone capable of playing several positions adequately. If the FO is confident he can perform at that level, I would advocate using Arraez as a trade piece for a shortstop. There is redundancy between Miranda and Arraez in the positions they play while there might be some redundancy with Arraez and Martin (who would figure to break in sometime this year, as well) in their ability to lead off, reach base and play multiple positions. Failing to trade Arraez, it could work out that he would be a platoon left fielder, with Miranda getting the at-bats at third, second and DH.

I doubt that the Twins will be in the sweepstakes for Story or Correa. The Twins need a relatively sure thing to be at least a placeholder for in-house options Martin and Lewis (perhaps Palacios) and then they need to determine anyone of those candidates profile as an everyday shortstop, starting with what we hope will be some sort of normal spring training. With whoever they have slated for starting at shortstop, it would beneficial if he could transition into a utility player if Lewis/Martin shows he that they are ready. I have thought Jonathan Villar might be a good fit and I imagine there are some trade candidates who would fill the bill for the club.

I was thinking the same thing, but Morris was a Tiger and Blue Jay for longer than his time in Minnesota. Perhaps when I was spelling out the ex-Twin criteria it would also include that they played a majority of their time in the majors with the Twins.

I wanted to add this somewhere—MLB Trade Rumors has an item on the Buxton signing. Pretty complementary to both the Twins’ FO and Buxton.

I don’t have a first-hand story of a mother of a minor leaguer, but I do have a second-hand story. Several years ago, at the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving, the woman next to asked about my Twins gear. She told me her son, Aaron Slegers was a minor league pitcher in the Twins system. She told me about his high school and college career and how Aaron had moved up the Twins minor league chain. Also she talked about his off season workouts. Slegers made the majors with the Twins and has since pitched with the Rays and Angels.

How many HOFers does that make for the Twins? I consider them to be ex-Twins if they wouldn't have been elected without their time in Minnesota. There is Harmon, Rodney, Kirby, Bert, and now Tony-O and Kitty. All but Kirby were on the team for all or parts of the seasons from 1970-1973.

This was on the day in 2020 when spring training was canceled. I ran into Tony on my way back to my car when I saw no one was on the fields. Nice man!

Given the way Gordon and, to a lesser extent, Martin have been handled, it seems that the only internal candidate to be a regular shortstop for the Twins is Lewis. Royce has a long ways to go to prove he can a)hit major league pitching and b)handle regular shortstop duties. He certainly can't be counted on to start the season as the Twins' shortstop and I think it would be foolish to bet the farm that Lewis will contribute at all this year as a shortstop. The Twins need someone to step in next year and, in my estimation that guy will not come from the system. If the Twins want to spend big bucks on a Trevor Story, I think it is nearly certain they will not bring in any more than one starting pitcher after the lockout is over, and the most likely is Michael Pineda. I think an acquisition of a Freddy Galvis or Jonathan Villar might be prudent, offering a decent player who can be signed for a year or two and able to move into a utility role if an internal option steps up. IMHO, the Twins chances of contending next year are a long shot, but not impossible. They would need to hit on just about every choice they make and have some surprises. They need to at least patch the shortstop hole and add starting pitchers to even have hope and it might be true that hope is what the team is selling this winter.

???? Magill? They claimed him and immediately non-tendered him? Is there something I’m missing?

Too many 30+ out of options guys on the 40-man. Coulombe is a “no” for me and probably Cotton, as well.

From the outside, I don't extend Coulombe and probably Cotton, precisely because it would put too many meh relievers on the 40-man roster. I really like what I saw of Minaya in the second half of the season last year, so I would advocate for the Twins to extend him. Non-tendering either or both of Cotton and Coulombe and then signing them to minor league contracts might make sense and they likely would be added at some point in 2022. With the Rule V draft coming up and several free agents on the board available to fill holes for the Twins, I think reducing the number on the 40-man roster is necessary and getting a couple of marginal relievers off the list makes sense.

I think that almost every manager succeeds or fails on the basis of things not seen by the fans (example Jace Tingler in SD). In those areas, I believe Baldelli is solid. He has the respect of the players and as someone not far removed from playing, he probably has more understanding and empathy for the modern player. Rocco seems to wear well over the course of a long season. Obviously, he's not perfect and some players aren't going to respond well to his laid-back (public) approach. Further, he's made some glaring tactical mistakes. IMHO, two areas where Rocco has not been aggressive enough is pinch-runners and defensive replacements. Part of that may be the roster he had, but I saw Nick Gordon sitting on the bench too many times with a tying or winning run on base and one of the Twins' slow runners on base. Having a double bonus of running for Sano and having a better first baseman in the game never happened that I recall and there were opportunities for that to happen. With the gift runner rule, taking out a slow runner for the tying or lead run makes more sense because said slugger seldom got another chance to hit. Management of the pitching staff, I think, was pretty good. He didn't overwork his bullpen despite many, many short starts from the rotation and by and large, he put pitchers in positions they could succeed. As I mentioned earlier, the baseball season is a long grind. We, as fans and particularly on game threads, want to see our guys win every game and go to the nth degree to do some on each and every contest. Players and managers know that it really doesn't work that way for six months. I think Rocco did a good job managing for the whole season, not trying to win one game and lose two more by eliminating players for future games. I think his seat will be warmer if and when the 2022 season gets going if the Twins disappoint again. Let's hope the front office gives him an improved roster and that the team is competitive this season and beyond.

Goodrum is 2.5 years younger and Simmons hasn’t put up an OPS+ over 94 since 2018 and the 94 was in 30 games in 2020. I don’t think it is a lock that he’ll rebound to major league average.

Shortstops become utility players for one of two reasons: a) they can’t hit enough to be a regular or b) they are good enough in the field. I thought b was more likely in Goodrum’s case but his defense numbers from B-Ref say he’s average at the toughest defensive position. Goodrum hasn’t hit much the last two years (except against the Twins), so I guess that is why the Kitties let him go.

Yes, I like the idea too. He would have to be brought in as the starter at shortstop until Lewis is ready, I would think. The Twins already have three guys who should be major leaguers (Gordon, Miranda, Arraez) who are multi-position infielders with perhaps some ability to also play in the outfield. Two of their best hitters (and most durable last year) play 2b and 3b, making it hard to find at bats for the multi-position guys to get on the field. I have (admittedly distant) personal connection with Goodrum. During spring training 2015, my brother engaged Niko's dad in a long conversation during a minor league scrimmage and I mostly listened. The crux of the conversation is that Niko needed to play, it didn't matter at what level and it didn't matter what position. From that point I kept track of Niko and he got plenty of playing time, I believe at High A and AA. In 2016, Goodrum broke out a bit in Rochester and got a cup of coffee with the Twins in 2017, when the team got a wild card.

I would think that diminished velocity is a huge red flag for any bounceback candidate, unless they demonstrate that the velocity will be there in the coming season. I'm on board with signing one or two non-budget busters looking for a return to effectiveness, if well-researched. No team ever seems to have enough pitching. Look at what was left in the World Series and look at the White Sox. At midseason Chicago had really only used their five starters and all but Keuchel were very good. That isn't how they finished.

I’ll agree with the OP that more production from LF is needed. With Buxton in center, a less than great defender in left is a bit easier to paper over. Assuming good health in the infield, this is a place for Arraez. Having a legitimate glove for a fourth/fifth OF would allow for late-inning defense replacement. I think Larnach (fully healthy) might seize the position as early as Spring Training. He was beat up on his lower body most of his last month with the Twins. Kirilloff (with Sanó at first) could figure in, as well.

Isn’t that the point? These are guys who haven’t blossomed in professional baseball who just might break out.

Its a pet peeve of mine that so much importance is placed on hitting and pitching coaches, particularly for veterans. Simmons may or may not hit better next year, but I think any improvement would be on the player, not the coach. I’ll chime in that a one-year contract for half (or less) of his 2021 salary would be worth doing, with the condition that he isn’t somehow a distraction in the clubhouse. I certainly don’t agree with Simmons’ stance on COVID vaccination, but I don’t think that alone should eliminate him from consideration. He’s a fine defensive player at a critical position with a history of being an acceptable hitter. He was a terrible offensive player last year.

How much first base has Rooker played? Arraez? I’ve seen Rooker listed as a first baseman, but it seems to me the club has no interest in playing him there. The consensus seems to be that Miranda, Arraez and Gordon should all be on the roster for most of the coming season. Obviously, injuries will occur, but it doesn’t seem to be workable to have all three as non-regulars (utility players) and still bring in a shortstop from outside the system. Moving Sanó to DH most of the time makes room for Kirilloff, but doesn’t really make room for Miranda and Arraez

That was my thought as well. If Rodriquez and Pineda are available for the salaries listed, the Twins should get them both.

According to BBRef, Arraez profiles pretty close to average as a defender. He has positive numbers in both Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average and BIS Total Runs Saved Above Average at second base in both 2020 and 2021. He was one run below average in Total Zone Fielding at third in 2021 and zero runs in left field. The BIS numbers are better--three runs saved in left and five at third. Overall Arraez' defensive numbers look decent except for his rookie year. I'll edit to add that Arraez is far from a complete player. He lacks power and speed and has been injured a fair amount, but in the batter's box, he sees a lot of pitches, makes contact at a high rate and gets on base more than any other Twin.