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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. stringer bell
    Against left handers, Miranda should be 1B/DH with Farmer at third. Farmer had better platoon splits against lefties than any Twin.
  7. stringer bell
    I don't think there is any doubt that Correa is the Twins' shortstop until he can't play there anymore. He's never had great speed, but makes up for it with other things--good positioning, good arm, good footwork and a decent break on the ball. I hope he lasts at short for the guaranteed duration of his contract. I think the next question will be what position Correa transfers to when he is no longer a shortstop. My guess is that he'll follow Ernie Banks and become a first baseman, particularly because he would be a big target there and in spite of a really strong arm.
  8. stringer bell
    What I've liked about Correa is his relative youth. 2023 will be his age 28 year. He should be in his prime for at least the next four years. Being obligated to pay him superstar money for only six seasons is a definite win for the Twins' FO. The risk is injury. Have the Twins just been unlucky? As a Twins fan for life, I hope so.
  9. stringer bell
    With the Correa signing now official, the Twins have a bunch of middle infield prospects and no obvious path for them to get playing time in the middle infield--Lee, Lewis, Martin and Julien. Martin and Lewis have spent time in the outfield and I believe Julien has moved around the diamond. Lee only played short in his brief minor league time IIRC, but has been thought of as a potential second or third baseman.
  10. stringer bell
    I think the last obvious service time manipulation by the Twins was Kirilloff, who gave them cover by having a lousy spring training in 2021. I do think service time figures in, but it isn't a be-all and end-all. By and large, teams don't want rookies wasting team-control service time on the bench. I can't blame them for that.
  11. stringer bell
    I’m really not convinced Celestino will ever hit enough to be a regular outfielder. His hitting metrics were no better than in 2021. Beyond that, he was a poor base runner and made several poor throwing decisions. IMHO, he has a long way to be capable in all facets of the game. I’m especially disappointed with his supposedly good speed At midseason, he had grounded into as many double plays as he had RBI and he had stolen zero bases. The numbers got a bit better in the second half, but he’s still very substandard.
  12. stringer bell
    I continue to have high hopes for Austin Martin. His success in the AFL brings to mind a couple other guys who flourished there—Eddie Rosario and Royce Lewis. Eddie made the big leagues the next year and has had a nice career while Lewis also hit the bigs but had his promising season ended early. I have envisioned Martin as a speedy right-handed option in the outfield, capable of filling center field if needed, with the ability to play infield as well.
  13. stringer bell
    Willi Castro signed to a minor league deal by the Twins. 26 years old, with over three years service. He’s a switch hitter with good speed, excellent versatility and a little thump in his bat. He’s got an option remaining.
  14. stringer bell
    I disagree. During the time before he went down with injury, Larnach showed all the skills needed to be an above-average corner outfielder. Because he doesn’t have good speed, he’ll likely not be elite, but he can be far better than average.
  15. stringer bell
    Low cost, solid move. It doesn’t turn the bullpen into a shutdown crew, but it is probable that Coulombe will contribute sometime during the ‘23 season. Personally, I’m glad they brought him back because I know how to spell his last name.
  16. stringer bell
    Very good article. I agree with the conclusions made and will add that poor base running puts more pressure on the Twins already suspect situational hitting. I think it should be emphasized that lack of stolen bases isn’t the be-all and end-all of the poor base running. There isn’t a lot of team speed, but runners should be able to take more extra bases and minimize making outs on the bases. I do think that there are players waiting in the wings (Martin, Julien) who are better base runners and it also points out that players who are not good base runners (Arraez, Urshela) are/were available to be moved.
  17. stringer bell
    The article states well the differentiation between base running and stolen bases and quite accurately points out that the problem is not just a lack of stolen bases. Making too many outs on the bases and failing to take extra bases was was a worse problem than lack of steals IMHO. Beyond that, a lack of situational hitting cost the team many runs and victories over the course of the season. To win close games, the Twins had far less ways to win and it showed. There are some guys in the system that might help change things. I think base running deficiencies make/made Arraez and Urshela more expendable.
  18. stringer bell
    I posted this in Twins Roster Moves 2022 two days ago and thought it was the proper forum:
  19. stringer bell
    For an encore, Gordon can be a more complete player. He has plus speed, but was only neutral last year as a base runner and only six steals (in 10 attempts) is not a good use of his speed. Gordon has a .542 OPS against left handed pitching and that stat could limit him to platoon duty at best. Finally, Gordon's defense in the infield was shaky, whether at second or shortstop. He's only played a few innings at third and right field, so until proven otherwise, he's a middle infielder/left and center fielder. I had hoped when Farmer was traded for that he (Farmer) would be the backup or alternate infielder, leaving Gordon as a option in the outfield, but it would appear that Gordon will get starts at short until and unless the Twins add a shortstop, especially in the first months of the season.
  20. stringer bell
    Gallo is a good outfielder who can cover center field. He also has well over six years of major league at-bats and puts the ball in play less than half the time. Not a great fit IMHO.
  21. stringer bell
    Thanks!
  22. stringer bell
    So the move isn’t imminent?
  23. stringer bell
    I saw it here and now removed that the Arraez-Lopez trade had been consummated. Must be close, but not official.
  24. stringer bell
    I am too old to advocate a total rebuild. Three or four years (or a decade if you're KC) to have a watchable team is too much of my future. There is enough talent to put a good offense (and decent defense) on the field. I think the Twins staff's evaluation of possible table setters (Martin, Julien and Lee) has a lot to do with how willing they would be to part with the proven Arraez.
  25. stringer bell
    I think Arraez' value is at an all-time high. He is under team control for three more years and coming off a year when he won a batting championship and a silver slugger. This is the ideal time to trade him, knowing that he may well win several batting championships in the future. We know what he is: a unicorn in several respects--he makes contact, works counts and sprays hits all over the field. He has worked to be a better fielder (and I think he is more than passable at either first or second). His lifetime average over .300 is very rare in this pitcher and power friendly era. We also know what Arraez is not--he has significant platoon splits, limited power, and less than average running speed. He's dealt with leg injuries the last three seasons and there is some indication that there are chronic problems with his knees. A deal would have to bring back quite a bit, but I don't think Luis Arraez is a cornerstone that a team is built around.
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