stringer bell

It's pretty obvious that we, the fan base, don't have a consensus on who to keep and who to discard. the beauty of it all is that they have all the pieces at this time. I think that a few months in that they may have to decide and they'll have more information to make a decision. My sense is that Kirilloff could be an elite hitter and maybe Larnach. Rooker and Raley probably project lower, but Rooker could be among the top quartile power guy. Cave and Wade both had their moments (Cave with a much larger sample size).I don't think Cave will get past Rosario, but if he gets an extended opportunity, who knows? I think all of outfielders will get a chance to improve their stock. By the end of July both the fan base and FO will probably have much more informed opinions about all of them.

The wisdom of waiting for the trading deadline is that the Twins will have a lot more clarity on what they need and a better idea of which pitcher fits their needs. Most of the guys signed as free agents have questions attached to them. Performance in the first half will answer many of those questions. I expect the price tag would be high, but the Twins also by then will have a better idea of which prospects they are willing to trade in order to get who they want.

I don't think the Twins can depend on five guys in the rotation to get them through the season. Last year was an anomaly in that, until August, the team got more than 90% of their starts from the same five guys, who were all reasonably effective. This year, we can expect one of the three written in already (Berríos, Odorizzi and Bailey) to come out of the rotation because of injury or ineffectiveness. Beyond that, I think it should be expected that at least one of the three likely replacements at the bottom of the rotation (Dobnak, Smeltzer and Thorpe) also either gets hurt or struggles. Having Pineda and Hill as reinforcements at roughly the quarter pole and halfway mark is prudent, but overall I expect Twins starters to be a continuing problem this season. My hope is that the club's starters, as a whole, improve as the season progresses. Last year was the opposite.

There is a 26 man roster this season, so the Twins can have eight in the bullpen and still have four bench players. Especially early in the season, there is really no point to having more than 13 pitchers. Non-starters Avila, Gonzalez, and Adrianza are set, so the fourth bench spot is between the versatile Astudillo (including being a third catcher) and Cave. I believe both players have an option remaining, so which guy fits better? All things being equal, I think Astudillo is the better fit, but if Cave clearly outplays him in the spring, he can win the job. Most likely, someone will be injured and we won't be having this discussion at all.

I think spending money on a declining Pillar makes very little sense and while the team needs more speed and a good defender, especially if (when?) Buxton is injured, Dyson really doesn’t have a major league bat. I think the best and most versatile 26th man would be Astudillo, but he’ll need to win the job over Cave.

Back to the OP--Counting Raley, the Twins have four corner outfielders who look close to major league ready. All four may also be groomed to play first base, but that hasn't been their position up to now. All four of the players are bat-first and three of them hit left handed. To me, there is a lot of redundancy there, especially when the Twins have two established left handed hitting corner outfielders, along with Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade Jr. To me, the Twins need to prioritize who they are going to stick with and who they can stand to lose and include those guys in trades. Next year probably will feature a real roster issue with high potential, but unproven corner outfielders. It is best to be proactive and deal with the problem early rather than late. All four will have a chance to put themselves in line for a promotion this year. May the most qualified win!

And welcome to Twins Daily Gary_Wayne_Guy!

Welcome to Twins Daily DanFordWasTheMan.

With regulars pretty much established at all nine positions, it would appear that Gonzalez would get most of his playing time this year in the outfield, leaving precious little time for Cave, if he makes the original 26-man squad. My thought is that whoever is in that last slot on the roster won't get much consistent playing time. Maximum versatility and the ability to play well after sitting several days on the pine would be optimum for the last guy. My unverified opinion is that if Cave plays regularly, he plays pretty well, but when he gets to play only once or twice a week, he doesn't perform well. I don't know if Astudillo would be better in that very limited role, but he would get opportunities at the infield and outfield corners and catcher when players get nicked and come out of a game or in blowouts. Plus Astudillo has the one outstanding skill of making contact which could come into play in a rare pinch-hitting scenario.

This will be year 2 of Polanco throwing sidearm. I suspect he make incremental progress with his throwing. I was also reminded that he had ankle surgery in the offseason, and if he's fully recovered, he may make progress on his footwork, which would also positively impact his throwing. That said, Jorge is still stretched as a shortstop IMHO. With Arraez looking like his best position by far is second base, I think Polanco is the team's SS for the foreseeable future. Polanco is a good enough hitter to be a top 10 shortstop despite his defensive liabilities. I don't expect him to make many All-Star teams since there are a number of really good shortstops in the AL, but he is an asset even though he is stretched at the most important defensive position in the infield.

Astudillo over Cave IMHO. Neither is best suited to play occasionally, but I see Astudillo as slightly better-suited and also has the chance to get some reps as the third catcher. The raw numbers for Thorpe haven't been very good, but I am intrigued by him. I hope this is a year where he can really take a step forward. If Graterol is considered a bullpen piece, I would probably put him in front of Stashak and Wisler. I'd love to see Romero also convert his potential into performance, but I suspect he'll have to prove himself in Rochester or another major league team.

One result of committing Graterol to the bullpen this year would be the increased chance that Romero will not be in the Twins' bullpen, making him by far the most likely to be included in any trade the Twins make. Young, mid-nineties velocity, some experience and on his last option. I would think many clubs would want to take a flyer on him. As for Graterol, the velocity is nice, but he doesn't get as many swings and misses as other guys who don't throw it as hard (SSS, I know). I like that the team is playing to win, but I wonder if eliminating a possible ace for this decade is worth having his stuff in the bullpen this year.

His velocity as a reliever was pretty good IIRC, and improved from his starter days. I would predict some regression unless he makes another adjustment (add a third pitch?). I believe Littell still has an option remaining so he could shuttle back and forth to Rochester if the bullpen gets overcrowded.

I have been a Twins fan since I was six years old, when they moved to the Twin Cities from Washington. After nearly sixty years, I doubt that that will ever be a fan of another baseball team or lose interest in "my team". In the course of the 59 years that the Twins have been the Twins, I have always had a favorite player or two every year. Sometimes that guy is a star, often he's not the star of the team. My favorites have included some obscure guys like Gary Wayne, Geoff Zahn, and Ron Washington, some good players like Gary Ward, Gary Gaetti, Brian Dozier and Michael Cuddyer and some All-Stars. I've always checked the box scores when I missed a game, to see how my favorite did. I've always advocated for my favorite player and enjoyed breakouts from such players as Greg Gagne and Brian Dozier. All of this is a preface for my current favorite player--Marwin Gonzalez. I like the way Gonzalez goes about his business, the way that he has fit in the clubhouse and how he is willing to play anywhere without complaint or preference for one position or another. Gonzalez looks like he will be affected by the signing of Josh Donaldson. He figured to have regular duty at one of the corners of the infield and now there will be a regular at both corners and probably in all the outfield positions. I hope Marwin gets consistent playing time when all are healthy and know that he will do well if there is an injury or ineffectiveness at one of the infield corners or in the outfield. I'd like to see my current favorite get his customary 500 plate appearances. I think with that number of at-bats he will perform quite well.

Huge move for this franchise. On paper, it makes the Twins with the best lineup in MLB (based on 2019 stats anyway). I think this makes Minnesota the overwhelming favorite in the AL Central, but I don't know if it puts them on a par with NYY. Signing Donaldson has some risks and concerns. He has been known to be not that well-liked in the clubhouse. He has an injury history and is 34 years old. Signing Donaldson moves Sanó to the relatively unfamiliar position of first base. None of these supposed drawbacks is significant compared to what he will do for an already power-packed lineup. As far as making a move to get pitching, I guess I'm OK with waiting until the trade deadline. Most starting pitchers are unpredictable and the organization will know better what they need by then, compared to mid-January. The team should be able to get by with who they have until then.

The 11-2 record was nice and it is really nice to finish in the Top Ten. I'd certainly like to see Floyd, the Axe and the Jug in the university's trophy case. If they finish 8-4 next year, but have two or all three of the trophies, I'll be satisfied.

Specifically about the Yankees, I'd like to believe it is all about sign stealing, but New York has compiled such a huge advantage over Minnesota as compared to other teams that I doubt it is all sign stealing.

Best season for the Gophers since at least the early 60s. This team was better than Mason's or Kill's best. Winning 11 college football games plus winning a New Year's Day bowl game is terrific. Now, let's see some more trophies in Minneapolis (Floyd, the Axe and the Jug). Regarding Johnson, there are a lot of good receivers in the current draft. He could be a real value pick for the purple and gold, who really don't have a good option for their third wide receiver.

Baseball Reference lists Castro as #3 in similarity to Avila. Saltalamacchia was #1.

I think two more proven starters should be the goal. The Twins' starting rotation was extraordinarily healthy last year--Pineda had two respites and Odorizzi and Gibson each had a couple weeks off--it shouldn't be expected that whoever is in the rotation in April will get 30 starts. Certainly, Pineda will be out until mid-May so having four other proven guys should be the floor. i expect some of the guys who had limited opportunities last year to get quite a bit of work as starters. It may be that whoever we view as the starting rotation won't all be healthy at once. I consider Keuchel an undervalued asset. I think there is a chance that Bumgarner could become dominant again. Gausman intrigues me. Go get two more guys for the rotation and make a sneaky good addition to the position players (I have been beating the drum for Travis Shaw) and get a good backup catcher and I'll be happy.

Can we be greedy and get Bumgarner and Keuchel? I'd take a rotation of Berríos, MadBum, Odorizzi, Keuchel and Pineda.

After the Twins I follow Gopher football and basketball. I am old enough to remember the Sports Peach in the Minneapolis paper when the Gophers game was more important than the Vikings game was on the following day. IMHO, this team was the best since the Rose Bowl teams of the very early sixties. The best Mason team and the best Kill team were pretty close to this outfit. The schedule broke right in a lot of ways--Maryland, Nebraska, and Purdue were played at the right time and all had pretty bad years. Minnesota played Illinois when they were flailing and beat a very good Penn State team. That they could not secure either the Pig or the Axe leaves me unfulfilled, for sure. The point here is will the program continue to improve? I believe they should be able to compete with Iowa and Wisconsin on a yearly basis and that they should be able to win the West B1G on a fairly regular basis. The program appears to me to be one step from that reality.

Unfortunately Bumgarner hits right handed.

All of the left handed relievers who were non-tendered should get a look. With the three batter minimum, they need to be able to have some success against right handed hitters, though. Given the Twins roster construction, they already have three utility types (Gonzalez, Adrianza & Astudillo) and a regular for every position except first base (or third if Sanó is moved). A right handed hitting outfielder who can play center field well (as well or better than Kepler) would be a good add. There were also a number of catchers non-tendered, although none of them hit left handed. If the Twins are interested in Garver getting reps at first, they should be interested in adding major league catching.

My vote is to move Sanó. Sign Shaw and have Marwin available at third, particularly against left handers.