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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I remember Power as a good fielding first baseman who didn't hit with enough power to play that position in those days. He was called flamboyant and showy, but what was flamboyant and showy in the 60s became the norm in another decade or two. The story of why Vic was traded by the Yankees usually included the one-handed catches. I don't know if it was a cover for his dating preferences. Bob Allison played first the year that Power was traded, although Harmon became the primary first baseman after that.
  2. stringer bell
    Personal bias--I'm sick of <6' first baseman (Arraez, Solano, Santana, France), especially those who are right handed. Miranda is listed at 6'2". France may come back this year and be decent. He gives the Twins a much more plausible Plan B if Miranda doesn't pan out. It also points out the small window that Miranda and France have to be solid major league regulars. Both are not gifted with speed or good power and need their hit tool to be substantially better than average to be major league regulars. France is older and has had two very good seasons. Miranda has had two seasons with stretches of more than a month where he was well above average and justified his lack of speed, power and defense by clubbing the baseball. Bader was mentioned above. I do think the key here is whether he moves ahead of Castro or Emma as an option in a corner against right handed pitching. He's not hit consistently well for quite a while and while he is a good outfielder, putting a below-average hitter on an outfield corner consistently is a sign that there's not enough talent on the roster.
  3. stringer bell
    I don't think "unsettled" is a totally bad thing, if the options are good ones. A year ago we had Julien penciled in for 120 games per year at second, Lewis as a possible MVP candidate and Lee as a top prospect who had to play somewhere. The star has dimmed for all three, but they are all pretty young and each could restore his luster. That is why I chuckle or perhaps sneer at projections for two or five years from now. My take is that Lewis is still going to be an All-Star because of his hitting, Lee is going to be a regular (150 games per year) someplace and Julien draws the short straw with the Twins organization, although he will hit well for someone down the road. I'd like Keaschall to thrive for at least half a year in the minors before I anoint him a future star or even a regular. If Keaschall and Lee are the real deal, I think Royce Lewis becomes a first baseman relatively early in his career. If you agree with me, I have stock market tips I'd like to share and they both have as much certainty of being right.
  4. stringer bell
    Eddie Rosario signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/dodgers-sign-eddie-rosario-to-minors-contract.html
  5. stringer bell
    It looks like he has five-plus seasons of service time, so after 2025 he would be a free agent.
  6. stringer bell
    Second base will be interesting, for sure, but I am also interested in the establishment of a pecking order at some positions. For example, after Buxton and then Bader, who is seen as a third CF option? (Castro, Keirsey Jr. or Martin). Does Martin even compete at second base? If all are healthy, where will Castro play? (You know he'll be in the lineup most of the time). Who is the #3 catcher (Camargo or Cartaya)? Does Gasper even compete for a roster spot vs. Ford, France and Miranda? There will be a battle for the final couple of bullpen spots too. Would the Twins dare option guys with major league success (Topa or Alcalá) to keep Castellano?
  7. stringer bell
    If I was predicting, I would go with the same guys as starters for the rest of the decade, however it is all projection. A year from now it might look totally different. Keaschall hasn't played above AA, and the rest of the players haven't (except Correa) completed a single season. I'd love to see more durability from all these guys.
  8. stringer bell
    Don’t agree. Farmer had utility. France really doesn’t—first base and DH—and Farmer had a couple seasons where he really did damage to LH pitching. France’s splits are pretty neutral.
  9. stringer bell
    It would appear that he (his agent) insisted on it. The Twins lost a guy because of the contract, but really there isn’t much benefit for France. He’s still on a “prove it” deal for comparatively low dollars, unless there are clauses we don’t know about.
  10. stringer bell
    Santana won a Gold Glove not because he was only charged with four errors. He won by converting tough plays into outs while handling the routine ones as well. I remember a slugging outfielder (Juan Gonzalez?) was asked how he would make up for a couple misplays in the outfield and he said "swing the bat". I think he was correct. I'd like to see a defense like the Twins had in the early 2000s, with plus defenders everywhere, but I'm okay with competence at the three lower spectrum positions and average is acceptable at second and third if they hit well enough. Up until the All-Star break, the Twins graded out in the middle of the pack in Defensive Runs Saved. It was only with the losses of Correa and Buxton and higher use of inferior defenders that the overall rating slipped. The Twins defense lost two good defensive players, so it will be a challenge to get to middle-of-the-pack, but good health would be a great start for improvement in run prevention by the defense.
  11. stringer bell
    He's only played a couple innings at second in the last two years. He has Vázquez like speed, so I can't imagine he would be an option except for an emergency.
  12. stringer bell
    Yet another ex-Twin reliever signed to a minor league contract. Shaun Anderson made four appearances for the Twins in 2021. Of note, he was traded for LaMonte Wade Jr., who has had a nice run with the Giants. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/angels-sign-shaun-anderson-to-minor-league-deal.html
  13. stringer bell
    Well, the Twins could drop him before Opening Day (very unlikely) and they only owe him pre-arb money basically. I expect he gets ABs as the RH DH and some starts against right handers. France has had fewer injuries in his career than either Miranda or Lewis and he is five years older, so maybe having him around for the inevitable injury siege makes sense. Unless he shows something like his 2022 form, he shouldn’t be playing every day.
  14. stringer bell
    I think Keirsey is destined for the Saints unless someone gets hurt. They have Wallner, Buxton, Larnach, with Bader and Castro and Martin also capable of playing the outfield. That would allow one of Lee or Julien to make the squad and probably start more often than not at second base. Another way to go is to add a hitter (perhaps Ford or Gasper) and send Martin or Julien or Lee down to St. Paul. I just can't see Michael Tonkin both making the team and staying on the roster for a long stretch. Anybody with options in the bullpen could be sent down including Alcalá and Topa. BTW, I believe the Twins could option Alcalá, but they can't when he accrues eight more days of major league service time.
  15. stringer bell
    It's probably a topic for another thread, but having 30-year-old Carlos Correa and 31-year-old Byron Buxton around for a rebuild, even if you can make it for one year (I doubt it) doesn't make sense. Also, the Twins have what? two more years of Lopez, Ryan, Ober heading their rotation. I don't think you rebuild when you have that as the top of your rotation.
  16. stringer bell
    So, your big picture view is that the club provides the role players, back end starters and low leverage relievers from their system and if they spend money it should be on premium free agents and extensions? As a general plan, I really like that, but it seems that a lot of teams spend on marginal players every year, including the high dollar Yankees, Red Sox and Braves. I think a case can be made that the Twins don't have people in their system to handle the roles that Coulombe, Bader and France might fill. However, I also think a case can be made that what the players offer is pretty marginal and not worth the expense or roster filling. I keep going back to 2023 thinking "where would the Twins have been without Taylor, Solano and Farmer"--the same type of moves as adding Bader and France. It seems to me that on balance adding veteran players can be helpful, but there's no guarantees. In 2024, Santana was fine, but Farmer was disappointing and Margot was close to a disaster. The right guys need to be added. Back to Ty France. Given that Miranda hasn't been able to be a good player for an entire season and given the options behind Miranda, yeah they need to raise the floor there. He's getting pretty close to a pre-arb contract without a guarantee of making the squad so they held the line and won't have a lot invested in case France continues to be below replacement level. Still, I'm tired of seeing bat-only guys come in and get 400 plate appearances and playing a lot in the field.
  17. stringer bell
    I don't see many scenarios where France stands in the way of a prospect or even Miranda for that matter. I do see Bader taking up playing time that might have gone to Martin or Keirsey Jr., but I don't know if either of those guys is considered even a prospect. Later on this year, it is possible that having Bader keeps Rodriguez in St. Paul rather than playing outfield regularly with the Twins.
  18. stringer bell
    Add JT Chargois to the list of former Twins relief pitchers signed to a minor league deal. He's actually pitched pretty well when healthy. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/rangers-sign-jt-chargois.html
  19. stringer bell
    I don't like the France signing. IMHO, he's one injury (or performance disappointment) away from being a full-time player and he is yet another guy that can't beat you with his legs or his glove. He's got to hit A LOT to justify playing time (again IMHO) and he hasn't done that since 2022. He's a poorer version of Donovan Solano and Solano has been a far better hitter than France since Opening Day 2023. There has to be someone somewhere who can help the team more. The contract is bargain basement--low dollars and no guarantee--but that doesn't make it a good signing and losing Headrick in the bargain already means that France needs to produce something in order to justify the deal.
  20. stringer bell
    The Twins are a team that is really slow and suspect defensively, and they added a guy who is really slow and suspect defensively. I can’t like this move and suspect Gleeman is right that France will be a whipping boy for the critics
  21. stringer bell
    Agreed. But having the option to dump him for cheap and only signing a $1M contract mean there isn't a lot invested.
  22. stringer bell
    Lots of moves with ex-Twins. John Curtiss (pitched in 17 games in 2017-18) signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. Michael A. Taylor will sign with the White Sox and Josh Staumont signed a minor league deal with the Reds. In addition, Ronny Henriquez was claimed by Miami and Brent Headrick was claimed by the Yankees, so they are both ex-Twins. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/diamondbacks-sign-scott-mcgough-john-curtiss-to-minor-league-deals.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/white-sox-to-sign-michael-a-taylor.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/reds-sign-josh-staumont.html
  23. stringer bell
    One key thing is that France's contract is not guaranteed. If he is really bad in the spring, the Twins can cut him loose for a song. Kind of weird that it's not a guaranteed contract, but he is added to the 40-man roster.
  24. stringer bell
    I think there’s recency bias against Julien. Everything went wrong and he lost confidence, but he has the ability to be a fine hitter. Last year at this time, Miranda and Larnach were afterthoughts, but they got their chance and performed well enough to be in the Twins’ plans in 2025. The same thing could happen for Julien in the coming season.
  25. stringer bell
    Not sure if I agree, but it would guarantee a shot for the right handed hitters to pinch hit against a lefty. Going back two years, Solano and Farmer were the primary pinch hitters hitting for maybe Julien and Kirilloff against the first guy out of the BP for the opponents, so probably a marginal talent.
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