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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Sizemore's career arc is similar to Rocco's, except that Grady was healthy longer before falling to a siege of injuries. I do like shaking up the coaching staff, although I don't think it necessarily means more wins or a better team. Every team's third base coach gets criticized and I'm sure Borrego will get plenty. What helps is having fast runners who can undo a base running mistake and I hope the Twins feature more speed in 2026. ,
  2. stringer bell
    Grady Sizemore is being added as an outfield/base running coach. He was a very good player. Hopefully he can help in both areas.
  3. stringer bell
    A lot of careers have been ruined by beanings. Jimmie Hall and Tony Conigliaro come to mind, but there are many lesser guys who never recover after getting hit in the head even if they are “healthy”.
  4. stringer bell
    I think the beaning that Miranda suffered is the turning point in his roller coaster ride of a career. He hasn't been the same player since, not even close. I don't think he could ever have been a true slugger, but I thought he would have the ability to hit for a high batting average in an era where that is very rare. I wish him luck as well and hope that he can regain some of his hitting mojo.
  5. stringer bell
    Injuries more directly got Kirilloff. Lewis is undetermined--I think he has a really good year in '26--and Larnach's career path hasn't had the peaks and valleys that Miranda has experienced.
  6. stringer bell
    Rojas said that he would play one more season and he would prefer to stay with the Dodgers. Given his post-season performance and what he offers outside the lines, I doubt he leaves Los Angeles. If the Twins want to go with a good field-no hit option, Kreidler is probably as good as any free agent option. Bonus, he played center field a few games for the Tigers. Kreidler also appears to have pretty decent speed. Swiping a young guy with a good glove in the Rule V makes sense for a team that doesn't have a plus fielding SS all the way down to Cedar Rapids.
  7. stringer bell
    Fedko and Rosario are both interesting cases. Rosario continues to creep up through the minors with some valleys but also some undeniably good hitting. Fedko showed and power/speed combo last year that is hard to ignore. I think one of them should be protected, I'm not sure which.
  8. stringer bell
    I've speculated that Lee, more than most, wasn't able to handle the grind in the late season due to not being in the right kind of shape. He played more games and had more at-bats than he ever had in organized baseball (college and pro) so he needs to be more ready for the marathon. If he stays healthy, it is a near-guarantee than he'll again exceed 500 plate appearances, whether it is as the shortstop or a three-position utility guy. He can't afford to give away so many at-bats.
  9. stringer bell
    I think the key point here is that Shelton may be more hands-on with his players, whereas Baldeilli delegated. I don't know if that will make things better or not, but it might be different. Quoting the OP: That could be the way he separates himself from Baldelli, and it could make him the right man for this job. If there's one thing the Twins must do better going forward than they've done over the last half-decade, it's develop and transition talented young batters to the majors. Falvey bought into Shelton's ability to do that. It's up to Shelton to prove (not merely to Falvey, but to Twins Territory) that that faith was warranted. Well stated what the biggest problem was during Rocco's tenure. Small and mid-market teams need their players to develop and the Twins have failed. If Shelton doesn't succeed there will be a lot of losing going on.
  10. stringer bell
    That was Lindor's first season with the Mets. He had already had several very successful seasons with Cleveland, not an apples to apples comparison.
  11. stringer bell
    Probably a little off topic (and nit picky) but the Twins didn't release Henriquez, they tried to get him through the DFA process and back to the minors, but he was claimed by the Fish. The "mess up" was using his options at a young age. Henriquez was out of options at age 24.
  12. stringer bell
    Really hard to evaluate success or failure. Some franchises are less reluctant to move prospect, while others rely on their farm system to a much larger extent. Do they choose top talent? My take is that either the Twins are choosing the wrong guys or they aren’t developing the guys they choose. They haven’t had a real star develop from their first round draft choices since Buxton. A lot of them have made the majors, but they haven’t taken that big step to stardom.
  13. stringer bell
    Young players usually get better, although Julien is an example of a young player that has played less well after his rookie year. The experienced players on the roster aren't good enough to compete, so playing young players should be the priority. Fielding can and should improve. Lewis was far better in 2025 and I think Lee will be better in 2026, although he is limited by his lack of speed and arm. Keaschall missed about a full year of defensive work due to the inury that resulted in TJ surgery. If 2026 is not competitive, it will be the field staff and front office's responsibility to choose the players who can be better in the future and it will be most likely the young guys.
  14. stringer bell
    I like LaTroy Hawkins and he has experienced a lot of baseball and baseball organizations in his time. I hope he has a lot of talent to work with. Another ex-Twin who I think would be a good fit for the coaching staff is Ehire Adrianza. He played for the Twins when Shelton was on the coaching staff. Ehire had a ten-year career without an excess of talent and he played for a couple of championship organizations before and after his tenure with the Twins. I know that he was hired by the Twins earlier this year.
  15. stringer bell
    Yup, I fully expect they will sign a number of minor league free agents to be signed by the Twins, probably to minor league contracts.
  16. stringer bell
    MLB Trade Rumors has a list of minor league free agents. Here is an unofficial comprehensive list of players who once played for the Twins: Billy Hamilton, Alan Busenitz, Josh Staumont, Charlie Barnes, Jordan Balazovic, Matt Bowman, John Gant, Diego Castillo (infielder), Shaun Anderson, Travis Blankenhorn, Gilberto Celestino, Oliver Ortega, Kenta Maeda, and Michael Fulmer, plus the five guys the Twins designated earlier this week.
  17. stringer bell
    The Twins succeeded with middle class free agents like Nelson Cruz, CJ Cron, Jonathan Schoop, Michael Pineda and Martín Pérez in 2019. They did not take a step forward despite signing top free agents Josh Donaldson and Carlos Correa in 2020 and 2022. It seems that Falvey wasn't able to adjust to a lower payroll starting in 2024. I don't think it was the free agents they signed as much as players failing to back up big years or develop into stars. Yes, the BP was low dollars last year, but both Durán and Jax were due for raises in '26. Varland will be pre-arb.
  18. stringer bell
    Coulombe and Hoffman both had "upward mobility" clauses in their minor league contracts. Other clubs saw what the Twins field staff didn't see on both those guys. Megill had only shown potential with both the Cubs and Twins before he "hit" with the Brewers. Is he a late bloomer or is he Yennier Canó, who was an All-Star, but ended up in the minors last year?
  19. stringer bell
    Just about every roster has a bunch of "who's that" relievers, many of whom are very effective for a period of time. Just about all of the guys mentioned fall in that category. Relievers are so volatile it is very difficult to feel totally secure with almost all of them including Louis Varland. The front office apparently feels that they can rebuild the bullpen for a lot less money than if they stuck with Jax, Durán and Varland. That remains to be seen, of course. I hope whatever signings the Twins make for the bullpen work out, but IMHO it is a crapshoot and the Twins recent history isn't full of good decisions.
  20. stringer bell
    Two obscure former Twins who played for the Diamondbacks last year were dropped from their roster and are now free agents: Ildemaro Vargas played a few games for the Twins in 2020 and John Curtiss logged 17 innings for the Twins in 2017-2018. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/diamondbacks-make-multiple-roster-changes.html
  21. stringer bell
    Buxton's Silver Slugger would appear to be the only post-season award won by a Twin. Does he get a salary bump for this? I know he gets something for placing in the MVP voting.
  22. stringer bell
    As far as I'm concerned, the free agent market only provides placeholders who should get a one-year deal. First base and alternate catcher are obvious positions where adding a player seems essential unless someone is added via trade. There is no one in the upper minors who can be counted on to fill those roles.
  23. stringer bell
    A well-deserved award for Buxton. Congratulations to him!
  24. stringer bell
    I agree that we will have a much clearer view of the team's immediate future on 11/18, although I think a lot will happen between then and Opening Day. @Riverbrian named all six of the guys who were DFA'd with only one being claimed, but there will be more to come I'm sure. I predict the Twins will claim somebody, most likely someone almost all of us have never heard of. An example of such a player is Dom Nunez, who had seven at-bats with Cleveland last year. He is a catcher who hits left-handed and if he's a good defender, he would check a lot of boxes for the Twins needs as a backup catcher where an opportunity surely exists.
  25. stringer bell
    Miranda would be on his first DFA and thus could not refuse outright assignment. Maybe the Twins have decided they don't want him in their system and released him unconditionally. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Twins signed one or more of the guys who were DFA'd to a minor league contract.
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