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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Upbeat take on the news. I hope this eventually helps the product on the field. It seems that the Pohlad are here for the immediate future. I’m not crazy about that, but if they are amenable to paying competitive salaries with the debt paid off. I am not sure I believe most of the debt came from paying people during COVID, but I guess we’ll see as the offseason progresses.
  2. stringer bell
    I think it's a pretty good plan to have good defenders in pure backup roles, especially for the crucial defensive positions (CF, SS, C). That Kreidler has rated above average at both short and center gives him some value despite a really weak bat. Fitzgerald is probably a much better hitter, but if the role is pinch runner and defensive replacement, Kreidler might be the better fit.
  3. stringer bell
    A major part of Lewis' struggles in the second half of '24 and most of '25 had to do with health IMHO. He came back from injury too soon, particularly in 2025. He looked tentative and seemed to have lost confidence. He played better at the end of the season, although his hitting continued to be inconsistent. Getting his head in the right place might unlock his game changing ability (again). I think Royce will continue to have inconsistent success as a hitter due to how many moving parts are in his swing. He's got enough talent (IMHO) to still produce good numbers despite the inconsistency. That he showed that he could be an asset on the bases and in the field in 2025 adds to his value. I'm thinking Lewis will have a good year and cement himself in the middle of the Twins lineup in 2026.
  4. stringer bell
    Bat only guys have a hard time accumulating WAR and Bell looks to add to a team only for his ability to hit. If he can regularly play and hit somewhere in the middle of the lineup, it will at least add length Playing him at first only occasionally would appear to be wise, but depending how injuries shake out, he might be over at the gateway more than he should. I've never thought that a left handed hitter who has wide platoon stats should be backed up by another left handed hitter who also has wide platoon splits and that would have been the case with Clemens and Julien.
  5. stringer bell
    Every defensive metric had Lewis above average at third base last year, his biggest sample size and healthiest season thus far. I agree that Keaschall didn't look very good at second, but concur with @jmlease1that he has had little time to work on his craft there due to the injuries he's suffered so far. He has the tools to be adequate or better at second and it makes no sense to move a guy down the defensive spectrum so early in his career. Lee wasn't great at shortstop, but his numbers were far superior to Carlos Correa in 2025 in about a half season sample. He's 24 and I think there's a chance that he'll be considerably better in 2026. He's the only guy on the major league roster with chance to be an every day shortstop. I don't think Brooks Lee would ever be a better than average shortstop defensively, but he might be able to make up for that with a bat in his hands.
  6. stringer bell
    Jorge to Queens! https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/mets-to-sign-jorge-polanco.html
  7. stringer bell
    I gave this post a grudging thumbs up. We are all guilty to some degree of bias. I thought Alex Kirilloff would be a potential All-Star and I didn't want Santana to take his at-bats away (I was wr-wr-wrong). I thought Brent Rooker was a stiff who ran into an occasional fastball (wrong again!) but I think I've been right a lot as well. Being skeptical of Twins prospects has a lot of recent history on its side. I prefer to think that the prospects are not so much overhyped as undeveloped and the franchise has failed in the last five years to get those prospects to flourish. The next wave of prospects is close Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez and Culpepper all should start 2026 in St. Paul. Those guys probably will determine what the next five years looks like for the team. Three former first round draft choices--Lewis, Lee and Wallner--probably have a lot to say how the coming season goes. To expect all of these guys to be stars is a pipe dream. For them all to fail would be a nightmare.
  8. stringer bell
    The Twins 40-man is overbalanced with (mostly LH) outfielders and starting pitchers. There seems to be very little interest in moving outfielders to the infield and modest interest in moving starting pitchers to the bullpen. I believe a trade or two (or more) is in order.
  9. stringer bell
    Unless there is something someone knows about Lowe that caused him to tail off noticeably in 2025, I would think that he would get a lot more than $6M even for a one-year deal. He also won a Gold Glove. Buy now on that. The Twins top projected hitters are Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers and Keaschall, all RH hitters. Having a fifth guy who plays every day and hits lefty actually gives some balance.
  10. stringer bell
    I would certainly like the team to be faster and better defensively. Keaschall has good speed and I'd like to give him a bit more run at second base before moving him down the defensive spectrum. Luke hasn't gotten a lot of reps because of the injuries he suffered in both 2024 and 2025. While the Twins seem to be perennially searching for a RH outfielder, I would hope that the trio of Gonzalez, Jenkins and Rodriguez fills the corners and backs up in center field. I'd rather see Keaschall stay on the dirt. Given his tools (or lack thereof), second base should also be the place that Lee should settle. However, He seemed pretty lost at second base when he played there last year, probably in part because he hadn't played second much at all in college or the minor leagues. Lee has good hands and a quick release. Maybe he can hold on at short for a while longer. I'd give him April and May to see if he can hold his own as a shortstop. It would be great for Culpepper to force his way into the infield, moving Lee off of shortstop and maybe to the bench. Lewis, Keaschall, Culpepper, Lee or Keaschall, Lee, Culpepper, Lewis?
  11. stringer bell
    All three are better hitters than Clemens. I could see Josh Bell as a DH most of the time and occasionally at first base. I think O'Hearn will end up out of their price range.
  12. stringer bell
    Keirsey and McCusker were both guys who weren’t highly regarded but put up good numbers in the minors and got a (limited) chance in the majors. Fitzgerald and Gasper are two more guys whose story is way better than their results. I wouldn’t be upset if either or both were DFA’d. The upside is very limited.
  13. stringer bell
    Regarding Wallner and Julien--they never appeared to be more than hitters. Royce Lewis was a #1-1 draft choice with athleticism off the boards when chosen and still was thought to be a potential five-tool guy when he debuted in 2022 and returned in 2023. I was heartened that Lewis improved markedly at defense and seemed to regain most of his speed. His hitting was subpar, but did improve after the All-Star break. I think he is a fairly good bet to achieve numbers comparable to his post-All Star stats in 2026 and that projection would make him a pretty good player, but not a star.
  14. stringer bell
    A deeper dive into Julien's 2025 indicated he was pretty unlucky for the season. A look at his statcast profile says the same. Outman really doesn't offer much hope other than his 2023 season, but he is regarded as a decent defender while Eddy seems to have washed out with a mitt on his left hand.
  15. stringer bell
    Disagree. Arraez is a unicorn, Martin is above average at making contact. Keaschall was not "tearing it up" at St. Paul. He had looked very good in Spring Training and took advantage of an opportunity at the major league level.
  16. stringer bell
    It's about value. Yes, Ryan and Lopez are very valuable to the Twins, but prospects to replace them are plentiful with a bunch of upside. If the Twins are trying to improve their roster from today and beyond trading an established pitcher for a big haul is certainly in play.
  17. stringer bell
    I don't think Jeffers was as good behind the plate in 2025 as he was in '23 and '24. What I do know is that when he and Vazquez alternated behind the plate, the difference in pitching results was almost zero. So, for whatever Jeffers' flaws are as a receiver, they are minor compared to what he offers as a hitter over 90% of catchers in MLB. Jeffers has been nicked for poor framing numbers since that stat came in vogue and that should be helped by the challenge system put in place this year. It's probably a bit harder to predict performance by catchers as they age, but he's still pretty young and has been comparatively durable in the last three years. Without another true major league catcher in the system, it is a terrible bet to lose him hoping that someone will step up, unless there is no real effort to contend in 2026.
  18. stringer bell
    Jeffers has real value, but he is also very valuable to the team he is currently on. Unless the Twins get back a catcher in return, they are essentially tanking the season by trading him. Long term, trading him could help if they get enough back. Short term, if Jeffers is traded, the Twins are almost certainly a poorer team without him.
  19. stringer bell
    Options available should be the tiebreaker if a competition is close, but shouldn't be the be-all and end-all. Outman's rookie year looks like a fluke, much more so than Julien's IMHO. If Roden is his equal or better on defense (I think he is), then he should get the nod over Outman.
  20. stringer bell
    I think Baldelli is neutral as far as team wins goes. I also expect that he'll get another job before Opening Day 2027. Where Rocco fell down was developing position players and Shelton will have to deal with that. Perhaps a couple of guys will break through, which would be essential in getting to 82 wins.
  21. stringer bell
    The handedness of the position player roster is interesting. The Twins have a bunch of left handed corner OFs, some of whom are likely to do a lot of DHing. The projected starting lineup has four guys (Buxton, Keaschall, Lewis and Jeffers) who would be the primary players at their position no matter who is pitching and they are all right handed hitters, so the Twins aren't heavily left handed in fact. In addition, Austin Martin has a decent chance of establishing himself as a regular in left field and Brooks Lee is a switch hitter. If that happens, there are only three positions where some type of platoon could occur. It would be great if a left handed hitter would develop into a full-time player, but I don't think Wallner, Larnach, Roden, Clemens or Outman is that guy.
  22. stringer bell
    It's become very hard to trust that the current front office will make moves to improve the product on the field. The optimistic me goes back to 2019 when Falvey put together a 100 win team with a few career years and some solid veteran pickups. Things haven't gone well since 2021 or so. Is it because ownership has slashed payroll, has Falvey lost his touch? Bad luck? A lot of things would have to go right for the Twins to be a factor in post-season in 2026. It seems the front office is going to try to beat the odds and rebuild on the fly using mostly players from their system. I hope there is enough money in the budget to acquire a couple of legitimate major league players and that a number of guys break through. The trading deadline again could be another watershed moment where the long-term trajectory of the team is clear.
  23. stringer bell
    Yep, good players should be out there 140+ games. The problem is that the Twins haven't had nearly enough good (or better) position players. Who was the Twins last left handed hitter that was good enough to play every day? Mauer and Morneau? I know Kepler got a lot of PAs against lefties, but it was because they didn't have anybody who was better. Maybe that guy will be Jenkins or maybe it'll be Emma, but right now I can't argue with sitting the lefties against a left handed pitcher. The Twins don't have a Freddie Freeman or Shohei or even a Steven Kwan who should be playing every day, even against lefties.
  24. stringer bell
    From BBRef, Andujar appears to be in the normal range as an outfielder, but brutal at third base with about equal time at both positions. He hasn't played much first base, but again the numbers they've provided are okay, but a miniscule sample size. Andujar as a 1B/DH looks like he could help the club if he can stay on the field.
  25. stringer bell
    I fully expect that at least two of the four high-profile players (Jeffers, Buxton, Lopez, Ryan) will be traded and that the fangraphs analysis will then go down to a mid 70s projection. Honestly, if a real haul is obtained, I don't mind it. Buxton has been a good soldier, but if the team isn't going to contend for several years, he should get a chance to win a ring. There are several high end young guys who might actually be as good as Pablo or Joe in the coming years and Jeffers would be very likely to walk after this year with the Twins getting nothing back for his exit. There isn't a team in the AL Central that has depth and salary flexibility to be a lock to be good next year or beyond. If things go right the Twins could contend soon. I do think it is a stretch to do so in 2026 because so much is up in the air, but beyond that there is opportunity (IMHO).
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