stringer bell

Lewis played only SS this spring. I don’t think that is the track for a super-utility player. While Jorge Polanco is an asset as a shortstop, because of his bat and contract, I believe Lewis could at some time force the move of Polanco off of SS or traded. Perhaps Polanco could become a regular second baseman.

Seeing Rooker, Larnach, Kirilloff and Lewis in person turned out to be a highlight of this abbreviated spring training for me. I think the lefties are more ready now, but are corner OF/first basemen. I was glad that Larnach got a game in left field. I have a hard time seeing Rosario in a Twins uni for 2021.

I write this blog entry when I was expecting to do other things. I am in Fort Myers in 80 degree weather with just a hint of a breeze on a nice Thursday afternoon. What could be wrong? Well, actually, plenty. My significant other and I made plans for the rest of winter sometime in January. Because we had made an extended trip of the Christmas/New Year holidays and because we were planning a family gathering for the summer, we decided to stay in Minnesota for the rest of January and I decided I would stay in February until I could make it to spring training for my favorite baseball team. The plan was for me to drive to Florida by way of my daughter's residence in Indiana. I would be in Fort Myers by myself until she was on semester break and then we could enjoy a week together in Florida--baseball, beaches, warm weather--before driving back together so that she could be ready for college to start up again. Things often don't go as you plan them. The expensive ticket for her flight could now be purchased for pennies on the dollar. The Minnesota Twins and all of major league baseball have cancelled the remainder of spring training games. The Final Four won't happen, to quote a song "Broadway is dark tonight" and I would expect more cancellations going forward. This has brought me to think about what is important and what isn't. Having something like baseball to occupy my time is important. Filling that gap is essential. Having health is really crucial. I am thankful to be in good health at this time and I certainly don't want to get the coronavirus, even though it likely wouldn't effect me long term. Many people could die needlessly if measures aren't taken to diminish the acceleration of exposure. I'll do what I can to avoid getting the virus and spreading it to others. Oh yes. I did get to watch the future of the Minnesota Twins (IMHO). On Tuesday, in Clearwater, the starting lineup included Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Brent Rooker and Royce Lewis. They all impressed me, particularly Lewis, who homered and made an outstanding defensive play at shortstop. If two or three of these prospects pan out, the pipeline will be intact and the Twins should be able to have a first-division lineup for most of the next decade. Today, before MLB's announcement suspending exhibition games, I watched Twins minor leaguers play. I saw Duran throwing absolute gas, Matt Wallner (big kid--6'5") looking good, but not making contact and I found out about a Twins prospect Seth Gray (4th round draft choice from Wright State) from his dad. I'll be a Gray fan now. Seems like a nice kid. Finally, as I was walking back to my car I saw a man walking over to a somewhat elderly guy wearing a Twins hat. Tony-O!. I waited until the conversation was over and asked Tony if I could take a picture. He said that we should make it a selfie, but that he couldn't sign autographs--bosses orders. I asked Tony how old he really was and he said something to the effect of "in America, I'm 81" with a chuckle. According to BB Reference, that is his correct age FWIW. I got back to my room excited about spending more days like today at the spring training complex, meeting icons and nice people from Twins Territory, and now it seems it is over almost before it started. Since I started writing this entry, Disneyland announced they were closing and March Madness was cancelled. This is serious stuff folks.

I read somewhere that the Twins were limiting his time in the outfield, which would probably give Jake Cave a leg up for the last bench position. Could playing a corner outfield position a couple or three days in a row impact Gonzalez’ health and/or availability?

Lewis looked great and the other top hitting prospects (Larnach, Rooker and Kirilloff) all looked pretty good. Kirilloff looked pretty comfortable at first and I was impressed with Lewis particularly in the field.

The only reason for adding him to the 40-man roster would be if he made the Opening Day (26 man) roster. Adding him only to option him would burn an option they don't need to use and leave one less spot on the 40-man roster for adding non-rostered players. Further, those not on the 40-man roster aren't in jeopardy of getting hurt and then drawing major league pay and service time on the injured list. It is likely the three potential sluggers (Kirilloff, Rooker, and Larnach) will get sent to the minor league side for more reps pretty soon, but there's no harm in having them around for now.

It is still really early to include or exclude a player in an open competition. Dobnak has been very good so far, Chacín has a bad inning, Thorpe is just now back and Smeltzer has been OK, I guess. There are three weeks left, lots of time to shine or sink.

I think Arraez is the real deal and will continue to be a high OBP guy with adequate defense. If he is a flash in the pan, there aren't any immediate answers, but giving Gordon a shot makes sense. I don't think Gordon has proven anything about his hitting and his defense in the minors from what I've seen is pretty average. He does have good speed, an ingredient the Twins lack and he's played a lot of shortstop so far. I question whether he is a good enough defender at short, as well. I don't think we can dismiss Gonzalez totally as an option at second base. He played little there mostly because the Astros regular when he was there was MVP candidate Jose Altuve. He isn't ancient-he'll be 31 later this month, and he appears to be able to adjust to whatever position he's asked to play (third base last year after not playing much there previously). Last year, the Twins had Arraez, Schoop and Adrianza to fill second. If they only have one other option than Marwin, I would like to see if he would get some run at second.

Using the rules as they existed last year, the Twins’ bullpen was very durable and more effective as the year progressed. I would expect Rocco to continue to make moves that keep everyone fresh. If the current bullpen stays healthy , they should be effective, no matter what rules are in place.

From a payroll standpoint, Maeda ranks as well as any of those considered.Let's not neglect to mention that the "cost" of his acquisition also included Brusdar Graterol.

I'll put it this way--how many players had their best season last year? For sure, Garver, Kepler, Berríos, Odorizzi, Polanco, May, Duffey and Rogers. Can we expect a number of these mostly young veterans to continue to get better? I don't think so, as a matter of fact, it might be a career year for a number of those guys. Among the players who were here last year,there aren't many who we can expect to be measurably better and there are a number of regression candidates. I think the Twins will continue to be good because they brought in more talent. They have a deep starting rotation, deep bullpen and a very good starting lineup. I doubt they'll win 100 again, but I think they should be favorites to win the division and perhaps get deeper into October. Nothing is guaranteed. They need to play with a chip on their shoulders.

Barring injuries, I don’t see any chance for a rookie or non-roster position player to make the 26-man roster. The top prospects should get a fair amount of at-bats. I’d like to see them all rake.

Given the qualifications for the “title”, I think it will be Chacín. I’m pulling for someone to stake a claim to a bullpen spot. Thielbar and Hardy have the clearest path.

I don't see "ample time" for whover is the 13th position player. With the versatile switch-hitters (Gonzalez and Adrianza) on board, it will be tough to get substantial playing time for the last guy. Niether Astudillo nor Cave would provide a platoon advantage to many situations, unless Cave replaced Buxton in the lineup. Cave was very good last year versus same-handed pitching, but pretty bad in 2018. Unless he can put up reverse splits again this year, I don't see opportunities for him to get much time.

I agree with the comments above. For the role of 13th position player, Astudillo is the better fit, although he's not the better player. Most likely, both guys will be in the majors more than the minors due to injuries.

I think what happened with Arraez is indicative of what could happen if a starting outfielder goes down. I assume that Cave and the recalled player would share at bats for a week or so and if someone emerges (as Arraez did) they will continue to get regular at bats. I think the question will be how long the leash is before Plan B is invoked. What I'm saying is that if for example Wade were recalled for a Kepler injury, that both Cave and Wade would get more than half the starts for a couple weeks. If Cave flashed some power and hit well, he might ascend to being in the regular mix (same for Wade), but it might only be for a week or ten days. If Cave performed as he did through August 1st of last year, then the team might consider someone else for regular or near regular duty.

I'm not biased against Cave. I think he's a major league player, for sure. As I've said before, I see him as redundant to the 2020 Twins. Of course, that could change over the course of the season, but he's a bit of a hit-first corner outfielder. He doesn't offer game-changing speed or power and he's not an on-base machine, but he's not absent of any of those skills. If the Twins keep a fifth outfielder (counting Gonzalez as the fourth), I'd like to see a right handed hitter who handles lefties very well and/or really good speed and defense and trading Cave to get such a guy would make sense. I do know the Twins were negotiating to trade Cave in the off season and I think it makes sense given the current outfield situation combined with the prospects in the high minors.

This is a hypothetical. First of all, if Kirilloff were recalled for a Cave injury, it would infer that he is hitting very, very well, given that he'd get the call over Wade, Astudillo, Rooker and Larnach. Wade and Astudillo have big league experience and both Larnach and Rooker are older (Rooker by two years). It would also necessitate a 40-man roster move. I would think that Kirilloff would and should get at least four starts a week. That could be done by resting all the outfielders and occasionally Sanó/Cruz. It wouldn't make sense to sit a Top 50 prospect on the bench using service time. We really don't know if there will be a platoon or other advantage (for example AK might feast on fastballs) but if Kirilloff were recalled, he really would need to be in the lineup more often than not. All players are not created equal. It is the job of field staff and front office to weigh the various factors, including potential when making roster and playing time decisions. 40-man status, service time, contract, options all fit in somewhere and it complicates decisions for promotion and demotion. Getting back to Kirilloff, if the club decides to promote him early and start his service time clock, they definitely need to have him on the field a lot, if not every day.

I come down somewhere between you two (Chief and RB). I think every member of the team is important and each has a role to play. Beyond that, I recall many people giving credit to Tom Kelly for "putting players in a spot where they can succeed". The 2020 Twins appear to have a position player roster where there are nine regulars and will have a deep and versatile bench with Gonzalez and Adrianza adept at multiple positions and a pretty close to ideal platoon partner for Garver, in Avila. Baldelli's challenge will be to get the maximum out of the players he has. In order to get the maximum, he needs to get the bench players enough reps that they can help the team win games and he needs to give the "regulars" enough rest that they stay as fresh as possible throughout the season. What is the right number of games for each player? Difficult to answer in a vacuum, but it would seem that less than 150 is desirable for most. Another consideration is when to rest guys. It would make sense to rest them when the bench player has as good or better of a chance than the so-called regular. In the Garver/Avila scenario, it would make sense to give Avila at-bats against right handers, since he is stronger against them and Garver is weaker versus same-handed throwers. Switch hitters Adrianza and Gonzalez can also provide a platoon advantage in certain spots. Both Arraez and Polanco were weaker against left handed pitching and Ehire had a higher OPS against lefties than either player. Meanwhile Gonzalez hit lefties better than Rosario did. So a case could be made in those cases that against left handers, Adrianza and Gonzalez should get many, if not most starts. Right handed hitters Sanó and Donaldson will also need some days off, which would give either Adrianza and Gonzalez more at bats. I see no such edge for Cave over either corner outfielder and Jake isn't really a center fielder, so I'm still not convinced he will even get a spot on the roster. Beyond that, I really don't see him as an ideal fit for the 2020 Twins, even though he has put up satisfactory numbers so far in his career.

If Cave's role this year is "fourth outfielder", he needs to be able to help the club win if he is getting a start or two a week. Last year he did not do that. When Cave got more regular play (from August on when Buxton got 0 plate appearances) he did quite well. Based on that admittedly small sample (and his 2018 season) I see him as not that valuable to the 2020 Twins. If the Twins had two right handed hitting regular corner outfielders, I would see a decent role as something of a platoon with Cave getting plenty of starts versus right handers, but that is not the case.

Twins' "starting pitching depth" is for this year only. Odorizzi, Bailey, Hill and Chacín are all on one year contracts. No matter what happens to the team this year, there will be turnover next year. So, if any of these three guys has a good year, they will have a very good chance to be with the big club sometime in 2021. Beyond that, we all know that every club deals with injuries and ineffectiveness. Last year, the Twins used 30 pitchers. It is not unreasonable that they will use in excess of 20 again this year, so all three guys might at least get a shot this season.

Chacín technically is on a minor league contract, which means he could be sent to Rochester without optioning him. Most likely, he has an opt-out clause, which would mean either he's on the team or let go altogether. I think Chacín has the inside track on the fifth starter competition. If he doesn't perform, the Twins still have Dobnak, Smeltzer, and Thorpe available, along with the return of Pineda and Hill.

Jake Cave has had a nice year plus for the Twins. He has a total of 537 plate appearances, so basically full-time play for a year. Last year, he picked up his OBP and played the outfield corners much more frequently than center. in 2018, Cave was basically a regular from the point he was recalled and in 2019, Cave spent quite a bit of time on the bench until Buxton was injured and basically lost for the rest of the season. My problems with Cave are 1) it is my impression that he does far better when starting consistently, rather than getting a start or two per week. I don't have any stats to support this, but my memory is that he was unproductive until he get his shot at regular playing time in 2019. 2) Cave is redundant. He is a corner outfielder who hit left handed, not a superior defender and doesn't offer explosive speed. I really can't see that would favor Cave over Kepler or Rosario.

Between the lines, I had become a big fan of Marwin Gonzalez. I like the way he goes about his business on the field, never complained about moving around the diamond and was a good defender at multiple positions. Of course, I was also hoping he could have an encore of his career season in 2017. Off the field, I never heard much either positive or negative. Now we have verification that he participated in the scandal and he has expressed his regret. I guess I try to put myself in his situation and wonder if I'd do the same thing, particularly if everyone else was doing it. I'd love to say I would do the right thing, but I really don't know. I don't know what else Gonzalez can do, particularly when it wasn't just him. Also, he's no longer an Astro. I said earlier that the small price Gonzalez pays will be on his next contract. With career season nullified and also three years ago (four when he is a free agent), and with this scandal in the public, it is possible Gonzalez' career will be over after this contract or he will make considerably less money than he might have. Is it enough? Probably not. I suspect that cheating, in one form or another, is far more widespread than the general public knows. I guess those that get caught and express remorse do what most would do, no more no less. While I will forgive Gonzalez for what he did, I won't forget and I doubt I will continue to be a big fan of Marwin for his (most likely) final season with my favorite team. I will, however, hope that he helps the Twins win. I happen to believe the things Marwin provides will help the Minnesota Twins win games.

I doubt Chacín spends a day ay Rochester. Either he makes the rotation or they cut him loose, much like a young player who is out of options. That situation means he likely has the inside track for what is slated as the fifth spot in the rotation. He will have to show that 2019 is an outlier and that he isn't finished. I will predict here that one of the last two guys last in the rotation even when Pineda and later Hill are added to the available starters. Things happen and injuries or ineffectiveness from the three guys slated to front this year's rotation. As far as the last guy on the bench, I think it will be the versatile Astudillo over the redundant Cave and/or Wade. I expect that if one of Astudillo or Cave has a clearly superior spring, they will win the last spot, but I'll pick the Turtle.