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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    The Grapefruit League stats are a super small sample size. I believe Rojas, Morris and Raya were hit hard in one appearance, but otherwise acquitted themselves well. Preliepp didn't have a really good performance IIRC, although one was scoreless. Sending prospects out who are on the 40-man at this time gives them more chance to get reps and protects the club from service time issues if they were to get injured in the coming two plus weeks. It may well be that Emma's fate was sealed by the good play of both Outman and Roden. I'm guessing this is a real competition for a roster spot and that both guys will get significant PAs in the coming days to sort it out.
  2. stringer bell
    I've understood command to be throwing a pitch where you want to throw it, not necessarily even in the strike zone if a hitter is willing to chase.
  3. stringer bell
    Having four lefties doesn't help the team because it fails to minimize the effectiveness of the left handed relievers. Almost by necessity they will face more right handed hitters than optimum and that makes all four of them less effective than they could be. Does that then make Funderburk less effective than, say, Dan Altavilla? Maybe.
  4. stringer bell
    For differing reasons all four lefty relievers should make the Opening Day roster. Banda and Rogers are certainties as veteran bullpen guys, Chafin has performed well into his mid 30s and can opt of if sent to AAA and Funderburk finished 2025 very strong and has a 0.00 ERA so far in the spring. One would hope that the best arms are kept in this rebuilding bullpen and if that temporarily includes four left handers, so be it. The Twins need to find guys who can get hitters out no matter which hand they throw with. By May 1, odds are good that one of the veteran lefties is either injured or released, so having four lefties in the 'pen will likely be temporary.
  5. stringer bell
    Joey Wentz to have season-ending surgery. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/joey-wentz-to-miss-2026-season-due-to-torn-acl.html
  6. stringer bell
    Continued spring struggles might shorten the slack he is provided. Relief pitchers are volatile and an inch of break or mph of velo could be the difference between above average and unusable. With so little proven bullpen help, it doesn't make sense to make an early decision on a veteran like Topa, but he seems to have a small margin of error to be successful.
  7. stringer bell
    The last 15-20 games in the spring are certainly more important than the early exhibitions. Minor leaguers with no chance of making the majors have thrown quite a few innings and guys who have a spot on the team may well be "working on things". With each advancing week, the starters will be playing more and guys legitimately competing for spots on the Opening Day roster will be getting their chances. Sunday-Saturday was a tough week for Twins' pitchers. Is it a blip or indication of how thin the staff is? Ober and Ryan didn't pitch on big league mounds and Zebby and Taj were not very good. Abel pitched well again today against mostly minor leaguers. A lot of bullpen guys got knocked around, notably Topa and Banda, Liam Hendriks hasn't pitched an official inning. Next week should be instructive about who is improving their chances and who is moving downward on depth charts.
  8. stringer bell
    If you are trying to build a perennial contender bringing in veterans on one-year deal (or last year of their contract) isn't going to help long term. Falvey did this over and over and quite often the results weren't bad (Carlos Santana, Donovan Solano, Ty France, Harrison Bader), but none of those guys is going to be a major piece in long term success. The same is true for adding a Littel or Giolito. I suppose either will be better than whoever is the last starter in the rotation, but improving the club from 70ish wins to 75 does very little. The same is probably true for Josh Bell and perhaps Taylor Rogers this year. At least Caratini is signed on for two years and there is no one in the system that he is blocking.
  9. stringer bell
    The Twins' website says that Lewis took batting practice and expects to play on Tuesday (Monday is a day off). There is absolutely no point in pushing anything in the last week of February. Spring Training will be more disjointed this year due to the WBC and Opening Day is just over three weeks away. Starting on Tuesday, it might be important to pay attention to how players are doing.
  10. stringer bell
    He’s got to hit along the lines of his 2025 season to be viable as a major leaguer IMHO. It’s a question whether he will get an opportunity with the Twins or another team and a bigger question of whether he will hit at an acceptable level. Most likely, Jackson will barely be a footnote in the ‘26 season and the Twins will roll the dice for a third catcher and worry about ‘27 later. I like the idea of having a guy with good defensive tools as the backup and I don’t see anyone in the high minors who would be close to acceptable.
  11. stringer bell
    I believe Jeffers turns 29 this year. It’s his sixth full season and he’s capped out at just over 80 games caught in his career. If Jackson is lost, the Twins have zero experienced depth in the minors in the event either Caratini or Jeffers is injured. Saying that he wants a full-time work load doesn’t mean he’s going to get it in Jeffers’ case. Both Caratini and Jeffers have been relatively durable, but catcher injuries are close to inevitable The Twins need a third catcher. The question is, should it be Jackson or can they find a better, safer fit for next to $0? Ideally, the guy should be experienced, able to be sent up and down and better defensively than their two major league options. Jackson is two out of three and that is the sticking point. With even less experienced catching on the horizon, it is important to find someone with Caratini in 2027.
  12. stringer bell
    I've posted before that I think there is a role for Martin as an everyday player. I guess the roster I put forward would not include Trevor Larnach or another LH outfielder who might be injured. If other teams saw what the Twins did when they traded for him, I don't think he will get through the DFA process and I think he might be more valuable to the team in the medium term ('26-'27) than Larnach or Outman are.
  13. stringer bell
    Given what the Twins have on the roster, I'm almost in favor of them carrying three catchers. Depending on who are the bench guys, they would have a lot of positional versatility to platoon with and cover backing up all the other positions except for catcher. Kreidler has experience in the infield and outfield, Clemens has played both outfield corners plus first, second and third, and Martin has ML starts at second and in left and center. Caratini has played first base occasionally for years. Jackson made some positive hitting steps in 2025 and has really good defensive catching tools. I think he could help this club in both 2026 and 2027, I don't think the same is true for Outman.
  14. stringer bell
    It's not the end of the world if any of these guys start in St. Paul. Based on the end of last year, both Funderburk and Martin would seem to have earned some runway this year, but the Twins' bullpen acquisitions and not trading a lefty corner outfield bat have made it crowded. I'd like to see if Martin is a full-time player or not. I like his skill set, especially for this team. If he can't play on the left side of the infield or the right side of the outfield, he isn't that versatile and being a platoon player on the short side is very limited play. If Roden is as advertised, he is a plus fielder with slightly above average speed and at least a platoon bat. He's was the "spring king" for the Blue Jays and he's started out strong this year. It seems he is the backup plan in case the heralded prospects fail to click, but if Larnach and Wallner (and Outman) take all the playing time, his major league ability is unproven. It seemed that Funderburk had taken a big step forward last year and had secured a spot in this year's bullpen. Apparently, the front office doesn't think so. With three veteran lefties brought in, Fundy is on the outside looking in, but any of the three veterans could get hurt or be cooked. I'm pretty sure that Funderburk won't spend much time in ;St. Paul.
  15. stringer bell
    A lot of discussion about both Larnach and Wallner in a first baseman thread. Well, here's some more: I find it ironic and puzzling that both players have been tagged with bad defense. Firstly, tools: Larnach turns 29 tomorrow (so not old) and has lost some sprint speed. Wallner is 28 and has lost considerable sprint speed, going from 134th to 375th and he's rated between -1 and -4 in defensive run value--not great, but not horrible. Larnach had positive run value in 2024, but slipped decidedly in limited play in the outfield last year. I don't see why both of them can't be average to better than average outfielders right now, if healthy. Larnach's arm is average and Wallner's is elite. Not every guy over 6 feet gets handed a first baseman's mitt. I don't know if there's something that precludes either of them from moving to first. I wonder if it will happen on their next team.
  16. stringer bell
    I think the Caratini signing makes sense for the duration of the deal. Behind Jeffers, there was no proven catching depth if Jeffers were traded or injured. Jackson seems more a projection (at age 30) instead of proven commodity and everyone else is the system wasn't a major leaguer. Next year would be a crisis without Jeffers. I expect Ryan to be on his way unless the Twins (stunningly) are relevant at the deadline and maybe before that.
  17. stringer bell
    I can't disagree with a single word of Nick's analysis and the key thing here is the lack of upside. Among the primary guys it would appear the best we can hope for is average-ish. In a vacuum signing Bell is fine. He should stretch the lineup and he's durable, but the WAR numbers show he doesn't move the needle much at all by himself. Clemens was a good pickup, but last year may very well be his peak and he still was a below-average hitter overall. Wagaman wasn't very good last year and he's a DFA pickup. Caratini has been a pretty good hitter the last two years, but he's never played more than 23 games at first and that was seven years ago. For several years, I've been waiting for the Twins to have a guy who starts 120 or more games at first for 3-5 years, hits well above average and handles the position defensively. I thought it was Alex Kirilloff, who is next? Mendez? Instead we get 30 somethings who struggle to be average hitters but are surprisingly good fielders on one year deals.
  18. stringer bell
    I think there is a real possibility that Jeffers will be moved before Opening Day. Much like trading Joe Ryan, I wouldn't like it, but I understand getting a high return for a guy when his trade value is high. If a catcher goes down on a contender, Jeffers would be among the first guys the contender would check on (IMHO) and he could bring a lot in return. After looking at Jackson's Savant page, I am intrigued. He has the arm and pop time to help limit a running game and his other defensive tools are good. At the age of 29, he got increased productivity as a hitter (SSS) mostly because of increased power created by a boost in bat speed. Could he come into his own as a hitter at age 30? In that case, he would be a real valuable piece. All of that means that I'd like to find some way to keep Jackson in the organization for this year and perhaps the next. The sure way to do that is to keep him on the major league club. If Jeffers and Caratini are healthy on Opening Day, it would be a daring move to keep three catchers, but I think it could be done.
  19. stringer bell
    Speaking of sprint speed, Orlando Arcia is listed as slower than Brooks Lee. However, his defensive range was listed at the 78th percentile and he produced a run value of +2.
  20. stringer bell
    Well the split squads are down by a combined 15-1 in the middle innings. Maybe a good day to have no TV broadcasts.
  21. stringer bell
    The 2025 version of Clemens was a decent MLB player. He hit right around league average and defended at least acceptably at four positions and is probably the Twins' best defender at two of them. I don't know if he'll sustain the hitting, but he would seem to fill a role on the current team. As for waiver/DFA claims, there hasn't seemed to be many good options exposed on cutdown days recently. It seems the rosters usually are put together with use of the IL with few viable players available to be claimed.
  22. stringer bell
    I would say that Gio doesn't have the range to be considered a shortstop. He makes Lee look fast in comparison. Last year his sprint speed was measured at 24.2, two spots behind Victor Caratini. with only seven guys in MLB slower than him.
  23. stringer bell
    Injuries could change everything. Obviously an injury to a catcher would leave a lane for Jackson, an injury for an outfielder would allow Roden to make the club (most likely) and infield injuries would leave a clearer path for Wagaman, Urshela, Gray or Kreidler.
  24. stringer bell
    I've been all for removing Larnach from the equation by trading him. I don't think the Twins need him as a buffer for Rodriguez, Jenkins and Gonzalez. I also propose they rip off the Outman bandage, in part for the same reason that he stands in the way of the better talent. Roden and Martin can handle center field if/when Buxton is unavailable and Kreidler has quite a bit of experience there as well. Alex Jackson hit a homer yesterday, is regarded as a good defensive catcher and seemed to make positive adjustments with his swing in '25. Is it crazy to suggest keeping him and going with a bench of three other versatile guys? Martin, Kreidler and Clemens perhaps? If Larnach isn't in the picture, then Roden could essentially take his role and we would see if he is worthwhile.
  25. stringer bell
    Another factor in the pitching injury game is that the players are accepting the risk of injury knowing there is a very good chance that they will be able to recover from the injury and pitch again. The number of pitchers who never suffer an injury encompassing at least half a season is pretty small.
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