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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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?
  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. stringer bell
    A well-deserved award for Buxton. Congratulations to him!
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. stringer bell
    He didn't play like a major leaguer last year, but he has hit at the highest minor league level. Gasper wasn't comically bad as a catcher and the Twins don't have any depth at that position at the present time.
  19. stringer bell
    I think you may be correct on this. It could be that the Twins want to send Gasper, Keirsey Jr. and McCusker back to the minors while they have announced the guys who have become free agents. All of the other teams are making roster revisions and they might be trying to sneak some guys off the roster, but keep them in the organization.
  20. stringer bell
    Of the players named in the OP, I think Matthews should stay in the rotation for at least half of the 2026 season. He showed the ability to go deep into games and still dominate. He was wildly inconsistent, but many younger inexperienced starters are like that. Sands was mostly good in the second half of the season except for a brutal week in September (9/12-17). Funderburk was excellent and even thrived in high leverage situations after the bullpen selloff. I wonder if the Twins will even keep Topa--he seems more of a middle innings guy than a late-innings high leverage reliever. Thielbar had a fine season with the Cubs and I would expect that if the Cubbies want to keep him he will stay there. If not, he might want to come home to Minnesota.
  21. stringer bell
    Total rebuild or retooling? Two years ago, it looked like the Twins would be relevant at least until team control of López, Ryan and Ober was exhausted, along with Correa and Buxton. That has blown up, mostly because no other players have stepped up. Trading three players with extended team control at the deadline plainly indicated that the Twins gave up on 2025 and almost certainly 2026. Correa is gone, Ober is diminished, but the other key players are here. Not nearly enough to contend, but some decent pieces. IMHO, a trade of one starter (López or Ryan) and not much else indicates the Twins are trying to retool without a long term rebuild. If both Ryan and Pablo leave, we're looking at contending sometime after a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. Trading Jeffers also indicates that the club won't be serious about contending for years.
  22. stringer bell
    Something didn't click for players that came to the Twins during Baldelli's tenure. Getting pinch-hit for, no attention to small details or maybe the players just weren't that good. Shelton will get his chance with different players and maybe he will have the right blend of confidence and protection for the majority to thrive and perhaps the players are better. The mix in the clubhouse in 2024 and 2025 didn't work and the remix after the trade deadline had no chance. Hopefully we see the top prospects and they thrive in 2026.
  23. stringer bell
    Agree, and I think the process for awarding Gold Gloves is much better than it used to be. France worked hard on his defense and it paid off. The two others for consideration were Vladdie Jr. and Carlos Santana.
  24. stringer bell
    I have to believe this is a surprise. His defense wasn't supposed to be good at all, but he performed very well for the Twins. Good for him. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/gold-glove-winners-announced-3.html
  25. stringer bell
    No to Vázquez. He is an okay or slightly above defensive catcher, but his hitting has been epically bad and that negates whatever he offers on the defensive side. I doubt that Pereda is a capable backup. He looked okay in an extremely small sample with the Twins, but there is no indication he can hit or defend up to major league standards. Today's MLB Trade Rumors listed Jeffers as the ninth most likely player to be traded. It seems he is much more likely to be moved than extended, so the cupboard may be bare of qualified major league catchers. They have a couple prospects that could be "the catcher of the future". I think the Twins should look for a solid defender to back up Jeffers, if he's not traded. It would be nice if they found a guy who can contribute for years to come. Maybe they could get someone in a trade for one of the players who are likely to be moved.
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