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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    There is a lot more talent available for ‘23 than there was for ‘22. I think that one more proven arm needs to be added and it would be good if he was a lefty (Cleveland continues to show more vulnerability to lefties than righties). In addition, the Twins would be well-served to have a guy or two who can go multiple innings.
  2. stringer bell
    After consideration, I'd probably non-tender all three. Stashak has a small margin for error as a reliever. He suffered a significant injury and his recovery may or may not be complete. Garlick is limited and 30 years old and Pagan hasn't been effective for several years.
  3. stringer bell
    Sign him just to trade him? There are lots of other fish in the sea, many with a lot more upside than Dylan Bundy.
  4. stringer bell
    MLB Trade Rumors says that the deadline for finalizing rosters is November 15. That would mean that promotion to the 40-man roster of players the Twins want to protect will be done in the next eight days. The non-tender deadline is November 18, and the Twins will have to decide then if they want to non-tender any arbitration-eligible players. Stashak, Garlick and Pagan would all be in that category.
  5. stringer bell
    I agree that Bundy did his job here. However with his truly limited upside, I hope that the Twins don't pick him up at any price. They appear to have enough depth that they won't have someone like Bundy starting games this coming year. If they do, the season is probably over anyway. I don't know if Sano will get a major league contract or not, but he'll get a chance to show what he's got with someone. I don't think he'll ever make contact often enough to be a good offensive player. I really wish that Archer could have built up more during 2022, but the Twins can't afford to have a guy that is guaranteed to go no more than five innings every time out.
  6. stringer bell
    In preparation for setting the 40-man roster, the Twins officially declined the options for Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer and Miguel Sanó. I count 37 on the 40-man roster. Still included on the roster are Emilio Pagán, Kyle Garlick and Mark Contreras.
  7. stringer bell
    I'll answer for Game &-91--part of the trade package for Pablo Lopez.
  8. stringer bell
    Miranda was a key contributor while the Twins were holding first place, but did fade quite a bit late along with most of the team. I think his body of work will get him on the team to start the season no matter what. If he were to struggle in April, he could be sent down. Miranda’s defense wasn’t good this year, but there is no reason he can’t be adequate at either corner.
  9. stringer bell
    Absolutely no certainty in many of these situations, but here are my opinions/predictions (responding to several responses, not just the OP): Miranda will be a regular, playing first, third and DH. Injuries and other decisions will determine where he will play. Gray will not be traded. This isn't the NBA or even the NFL. Trade requests are pretty infrequent and Gray has free agency around the corner. Celestino should start 2023 in the minors. I thought he was okay in the field, but he's got to hit more than he did last year or in his cameo in 2021. Maeda will be a starter and be healthy. His performance will be middle-of-the-rotation worthy. The Twins will get about 40 starts from Mahle/Paddack/Ober. The season will be determined by the health of two players--Kirilloff and Buxton--if both are healthy, the Twins lineup will improve its proficiency, but if neither can play half a season, the Twins offense will be in the doldrums as it was this past year.
  10. stringer bell
    I think Gordon is a better outfielder than infielder. I don’t think he’s great in center field, but he’s fine in left. I think Larnach and Kirilloff (if healthy) are major league hitters and capable fielders and Kirilloff would be a better first baseman than Arraez. K & L just need to prove it on the field and they haven’t to this point.
  11. stringer bell
    I guess that if Arraez had played more games at first, I would have felt like he should have won the Gold Glove, but he only played 65 games at first.
  12. stringer bell
    The Twins allowed only 48 unearned runs, fifth in MLB. While the Twins were 19th in earned runs allowed, they were 14th in overall runs allowed. The average number of runs allowed is 694, the Twins allowed 684. Presuming official scoring is consistent, the Twins defense saved runs over an average defense.
  13. stringer bell
    Polanco was good last year and if he’s healthy, he will be fine at second. The Twins allowed fewer unearned than most. Team ERA was higher than the mean, but runs allowed was below the mean. The team they put out on Opening Day was pretty good defensively. Replacements not so much.
  14. stringer bell
    Coaching is part of the base running problem, but personnel is even more of a problem. Whatever position players the Twins add should be good base runners and expert base stealers. In addition base running needs to be emphasized more than in the past. On the defensive side, both the pitchers and catchers will need to work to limit steals. I think the preponderance of right handed pitchers makes a difference in stolen bases allowed, so unless there is more turnover in the pitching staff, the Twins will be at a disadvantage allowing SBs.
  15. stringer bell
    I don’t think it is at all fair to compare Jeffers and Kepler as hitters. Jeffers has a grand total of 591 plate appearances spread out over parts of three seasons. On Opening Day he will be 25 years old. Defensively, I think it’s a mixed bag. The raw numbers of throwing are substandard, and he had quite a few passed balls and allowed plenty of wild pitches. I don’t know where I can find “Catcher ERA”, but I would venture a guess that Jeffers was better (by a lot) than Sánchez and that the won-loss record when Jeffers started at catcher was better than for Sánchez. To me, that would be a function of his ability to call a game.
  16. stringer bell
    Ideally a time-sharing plan should be in place. Whichever catcher is going better should get more time. It also would be good to have a left handed hitter to share time with Jeffers. I think Narvaez, Barnhart or Vasquez would be excellent compliments to Jeffers. Castro has been injured a lot since leaving Minnesota and he will play most of next season at 36 years old.
  17. stringer bell
    Do remember that a catcher has won a batting title since Mauer—Buster Posey won the NL batting championship in 2012.
  18. stringer bell
    I’m mostly a Jeffers believer. He obviously has some flaws (low BA, throwing), but he seems to be a really good receiver and has potential at the plate. I think the wise and prudent thing to do is to sign a complementary catcher—someone who has platoon advantages against RH pitching with a good rep for throwing out base stealers. In my mind that player is Narváez. Both catchers will see plenty of time, even a clear #1 catcher would be behind the plate no more than 2/3 of the time. I don’t know if anyone in the Twins’ system is ready to be a third catcher ready to shuttle back and forth from St. Paul to Minneapolis, but that role also needs to be filled.
  19. stringer bell
    I’d like to see a RH version of Kepler (at least as good) to man right field, perhaps on a platoon basis when/if all are healthy. If this guy could be Buxton’s sub or injury replacement, so much the better. I do think that the position players underperformed their stats last year—they should have scored more runs based on their team OPS and their RISP and “close and late” stats were abysmal. A running game and more contact and situational hitting is needed. It appeared at the beginning of the year that the Twins had sufficient depth to withstand a normal amount of injuries, but there was more than a normal amount and the depth was used up. An outfield of Wallner-Celestino-Cave wasn’t supposed to be happening on the west side of the river.
  20. stringer bell
    Good topic and discussion. I do want to point out that Jeffers only had 20 at bats after the All-Star break. He shouldn't have been included given your original minimums.
  21. stringer bell
    Two thoughts in response to this post. 1) The best athletes/defenders for the Twins were pretty good on defense. That would include Kepler, who most people are ready to jettison and would also include retaining Correa. Despite metrics that put the Twins slightly below average in pitching, they were slightly below the mean in allowing runs. 2) Falvey can and maybe should get lots of criticism, but he has been willing to take risks. The trades for Kiner-Falefa, Paddack and Gio and Sanchez were bold and contained risk.
  22. stringer bell
    I agree that having a pitcher better than Sonny Gray is a reasonable goal and would be a large step toward better outcomes in future seasons. There are not a lot of top guys available this off season. I think Rodon would be the best fit of the lot and it helps that he isn't ancient (turns 30 in December) and throws left handed. Rodon's injury history probably needs to be considered, but he worked the most innings he has ever pitched this past season.
  23. stringer bell
    I agree with much of what you are saying. Further, it was an embarrassment to be in contention and have an outfield consisting of three of (green rookie) Wallner, Gordon, Celestino and Jake Cave. What I don't agree with is that the Twins will be without their top five outfielders as much as they were this year. I don't expect all five that were out for the stretch run in 2022 (Buxton, Kepler, Garlick, Larnach and Kirilloff) to stay healthy all year or be ready for a stretch run, but I would expect more than zero to be basically healthy for that duration. Saying that, I do expect better health for the outfield than 2022. Having an upgraded replacement for Garlick and having two or three capable outfielders in reserve (Gordon, Celestino, Wallner) should be enough depth to have something left at the end of the season. It just hasn't happened the last two or three years.
  24. stringer bell
    Referring to the OP, yes the Twins could win with Iglesias, if he’s the eighth or ninth best regular, hitting somewhere between seventh and ninth in the order. The Twins need to improve offensively and in the pitching department. If they do and have average health, they will be pretty good. I agree that the team needs better production from the outfield, but a return to health isn’t out of the question.
  25. stringer bell
    So the question becomes, can the Twins thrive with a team containing both Arraez and Polanco? I think they can, but it will require someone moving to other positions quite frequently. Arraez can play first, second and third. Miranda can play first and third and Kirilloff, if healthy, can play first and the outfield corners.
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