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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I liked him as a player and thought he was an OK commentator. Best wishes Roy. The photo was from a couple seasons ago in Milwaukee. Roy and the pictured TD posters ran into each other is a concourse.
  2. stringer bell
    While I doubt Helman can be a big a contributor as Castro, he has had promotions slowed by injuries and he was delayed by the COVID year when minor leaguers didn't play. He's done well at the upper levels of the minors and he is versatile. Also, Castro was non-tendered two years ago and signed by the Twins to a minor league contract, so he wasn't very highly valued at that point.
  3. stringer bell
    Didn't make you for a Buffalo Springfield fan. Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you're always afraid Step out of line, the men come and take you away (For What It's Worth Buffalo Springfield--1966)
  4. stringer bell
    I'll go with home vs. road mostly and quality of opponent, as well. Darnold had a wonderful first 16 games of the regular season, but the season ended with two poor outings.
  5. stringer bell
    "Donnie Barrels" is off the board. Just like Carlos Santana, when will Father Time win the battle with Solano's productivity? https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/mariners-sign-donovan-solano.html
  6. stringer bell
    I don't think Gasper was passed through Rule V, at least not this year. I know the Red Sox claimed him from the Yankees, was that a Triple A Rule V claim?
  7. stringer bell
    I don't have hate for Kepler. He was an okay player that never took the next step, although it looked like it in 2019 until he was hurt at the tail end of the season. When he came up, I thought he would be a much higher percentage hitter and that never really happened. His best batting average came in 2023 and was only .260. The power was intermittent and although he had well above average speed, he never developed as a threat on the bases. The last couple of years, he was so conservative on the bases that it hurt the team IMHO. I've read the criticism often that the Twins want guys to pull the ball and hit home runs. I don't believe that to be totally true and I don't think it ruined many players, but if it hurt someone I think it is Kepler. He just didn't hit enough long balls consistently to justify all the pop flies and grounders to second.
  8. stringer bell
    I think a lot of people are using "lazy" for fat. Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew don't get shamed for being fat because they kept performing. Sanó plateaued (or worse) in his 20s Did he plateau because he gained weight? I don't think so. He swung and missed at way too many balls in the strike zone. His plate discipline was okay (not great), but when you get beat on balls in the zone, it opens everything up. On the occasions when he was punishing strikes, he was a real slugger, but those occasions proved to be too rare. He wasn't a good defender anywhere he was put despite a really strong arm, so he had to hit.
  9. stringer bell
    Given the team's usage (or lack thereof) of Camargo last year, I think the Twins really don't think he's "ready to play". He'll have another chance to show the field staff in the spring and I expect he'll log a lot of innings in exhibition games and the team will decide who the third catcher is. I'll be interested to see how they handle Gasper as well. Does he show up early to catch the pitchers? Will he be used at catcher in exhibition games? His Triple A numbers say that he should be able to hold his own as a hitter, but if he's not considered a catcher, then he's trying to make the club as a first baseman/second baseman.
  10. stringer bell
    According to BBRef, Jeffers has been one of the top 10 catchers (as measured by WAR) in 2023-2024. He turns 28 during the season, so he should be nearing his peak and he’s been healthy all of the last two years. The Twins have no one who could be predicted to match that production in their system and signing a free agent or trading for a replacement would be expensive. My advise is to keep Jeffers at least for his time under team control and consider an extension next off-season. The Twins have had time to see Camargo and he hasn’t thrived, but maybe it’s fair to say he’s held his own. That they added Cartaya tells me they aren’t thrilled with the option of Camargo as the injury replacement for either catcher. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the two guys alternating at Triple A, with the better player getting called up if necessary. Spring training might be significant for the backup catchers and it will be interesting to see how Gasper is used, as well.
  11. stringer bell
    Minor League deal? Rehabbing right handed reliever in their 30s describes quite a few members of the current BP. I suppose "bring him home" is an inducement, but .............
  12. stringer bell
    Sounds about right to me.. There are lots of unknowns, of course, but seems to be the range of outcomes we should expect.
  13. stringer bell
    The Twins added another multi-position infielder on a minor league contract. Armando Alvarez made his major league debut last year with the then-Oakland A's. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/twins-sign-armando-alvarez-to-minor-league-deal.html
  14. stringer bell
    Cartaya is two years younger than Camargo and was a top prospect as a 21-year-old. I guess that all goes into pedigree and proves nothing, but maybe it suggests upside. It's pretty hard to make an "apples to apples" comparison of the two. They are different ages and played with different organizations last year. Camargo's 2024 numbers are very unimpressive on their face, but then so are Cartaya's. There is nothing I see to suggest that either guy is ready to hold even a backup catcher role for the Twins at this point, but non-prospects can become prospects (ask Eeles and Keirsey Jr.). To the original post, it's pretty reckless to trade a catcher who has caught 50% of the innings in each of the last two years when there isn't a backup.
  15. stringer bell
    The Twins have some needs--1) left handed pitching and 2) another serviceable outfielder and it would be nice to be going with an established first baseman, but they have a good front three starters, the framework for a really good bullpen and three guys who could put up big numbers if they are healthy (and all three have missed a lot of time in the last couple years). Can they add without adding payroll? Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that Falvey has been working with no margin since 2023. They weren't going to take on additional payroll, short term or long term, since then. It makes improving the team pretty tough.
  16. stringer bell
    First of all, wasn't the message that the payroll would stay the same as 2024? Raises for players already on the roster pushed 2025's total payroll up about $10M because of arbitration raises and the large bump in López' annual pay, even with Kepler, Farmer, DeSclafani, Santana, Margot and Thielbar leaving. Also, several teams have been very quiet. It was noted that the entire AL Central, which had three playoff teams and four teams with winning records had participated very little in the free agent market. Several other teams have done little and/or cut payroll, so this isn't just a TC phenomenon. Despite sitting on their hands, the Twins can field a competitive team, although the depth has been sapped by free agent departures. I see the potential for a very good to excellent pitching staff and a decent to above-average offense, although a lack of speed and athleticism hurts them around the margins. They also have less of a buffer for position player injuries or outright disappointment (like Edouard Julien last year). Another $10M well-spent could go a long way toward addressing their deficiencies. Whether they spend any money from this point on or not, the Twins will have the highest payroll in their division.
  17. stringer bell
    I don't think obtaining Cartaya was solely a 2026 move. I think there's a decent chance that he and Camargo (perhaps Gasper) are in a competition for a third catcher role. Odds are that one of Jeffers or Vázquez suffers a disabling injury in 2025 and I don't believe the Twins were comfortable with what they had in Camargo in 2024.
  18. stringer bell
    Jorge López has found a new home. Since the Orioles traded him to the Twins at 2022 trade deadline, he has played for Miami, Baltimore, the Mets, the Cubs and now the Nationals. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/nationals-sign-jorge-lopez.html
  19. stringer bell
    “Back problems” is pretty nebulous. I would hope the Twins did their due diligence in looking at Cartaya. OTOH, 23 is pretty young to show up with back problems.
  20. stringer bell
    If the Twins "saved" between $1.5M and $2M, then they would "only" be about $8M over on payroll. Paddack's contract might take care of cost cutting, but it would leave zero for acquisitions. Did Ryan's injury drop his arb value? I do also believe Lewis' relatively small number of games played through 2+ seasons lowered his arbitration number.
  21. stringer bell
    Going to arb and becoming a Player Rep seem to be two of the quickest ways out of town.
  22. stringer bell
    The Twins' front office actions tell me they don't believe Camargo is viable as a major league catcher. Whether Gasper is regarded as a catcher or not, the Twins didn't play Camargo last year when they had the chance and now they've acquired a former top prospect who has fallen precipitously. It would figure that if the Twins add another position player, they would have to DFA one of Gasper, Camargo or Cartaya. It will say a lot when and if such a move is made. I think it will be Camargo. On another matter, like @chpettit19, I don't see any significant drop-off from Vázquez to Jeffers and the run-scoring data backs it up.
  23. stringer bell
    That is moving from not expendable at all, to possibly expendable if the acquired player pans out.
  24. stringer bell
    Since there is basically no Twins news to discuss on this forum or anywhere else, I have found a couple of ways to spend time thinking about baseball players, with a Twins-centric approach. I play the Immaculate Grid every day. For those of you not familiar, it is a cube of nine players, with a down and across grid, in which players have to match two factors, such as winning a Gold Glove and being a member of the Yankees. I try to use ex-Twins so for the example above, I would pick Graig Nettles. When the intersection is two teams (say Mariners and Cardinals) I also try to find a former Twin who would have played for those teams as well as the Twins (for the example, I would use Taylor Motter because he is really obscure). Also, I've started playing a game called Daily Walk Off. Again, it is fitting players to match headers for every team, so there are 30 quizzes every day. I usually get 29 or 30 right--players get "three strikes" so they can use a process of elimination. I am retired and the golf courses are closed in Minnesota right now, so I have some time on my hands. What are others doing since there really is no Twins news to discuss?
  25. stringer bell
    Posted on the 2024 thread--ex-Twin Martín Pérez is back in the AL Central as a member of the Chicago White Sox. As a left hander who is breathing, Pérez will continue to get opportunities. He is more interesting than most in that he's had periods of very good pitching mixed with long dry spells, which was precisely how his one season with the Twins went. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/white-sox-to-sign-martin-perez.html
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