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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. 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
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. stringer bell
    Going to arb and becoming a Player Rep seem to be two of the quickest ways out of town.
  10. 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.
  11. stringer bell
    That is moving from not expendable at all, to possibly expendable if the acquired player pans out.
  12. 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?
  13. 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
  14. stringer bell
    As with the transactions thread, it is time to usher in a new year. The 2024 thread went about 15 pages. I wonder how long this one will be.
  15. stringer bell
    Martín Pérez returns to the AL Central. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/white-sox-to-sign-martin-perez.html
  16. stringer bell
    Hey, it is a new year, so I suppose we can start a new thread with roster moves. The Twins currently have 39 spots filled on their 40-man roster. There is room to add one player before anyone is designated for assignment. As far as I know, all players on the 40-man are healthy, so there won't be someone immediately sent to the 60-day IL when Spring Training starts. The current roster has 22 pitchers--Adams, Alcalá, Canterino, Castellano (Rule V), Duran, Festa, Funderburk, Headrick, Henriquez, Jax, López, Matthews, Ober, Paddack, Raya, Ryan, Sands, Stewart, Tonkin, Topa, Varland and Woods Richardson. The catchers (3) are listed as Camargo, Jeffers and Vázquez. Infielders (7)--Castro, Correa, Gasper, Julien, Lee, Lewis and Miranda. Outfielders (7)--Buxton, Helman, Keirsey Jr., Larnach, Martin, Rodriguez and Wallner.
  17. stringer bell
    I think the key is health, most specifically the health of Correa, Buxton, Lewis and the top pitchers. The Twins played their best when all but Lewis were healthy from late April to sometime in June.
  18. stringer bell
    I don't think the Twins have "plenty of catching depth". They have Jeffers entering his expensive years and Vázquez on the last year of an inflated contract. They've stayed healthy for two consecutive years, which I consider pretty fortunate and also feel like the law of averages is about ready to smack them. Camargo is suspect offensively and defensively IMHO and after that--bupkus. It appears this guy is a good defender who two years ago forgot how to hit. Maybe the shock of a DFA and new scenery will help, maybe not. I'd be willing to part with any position player not rated in the top ten prospects, probably starting with Rosario. Several teams will want to take a chance on this guy. I expect the price will be steeper than it should be.
  19. stringer bell
    I don’t get the Larnach to 1B stuff. He’s never played there and they have brought in two first basemen. Someone will have to DH and I think it will quite often be Larnach. Castro figures to be in left quite a bit if either Julien or Lee claim a regular role (I’m betting on Lee). I’m guessing one of Ford or Gasper makes the team, more likely Gasper because he’s versatile and a switch hitter.
  20. stringer bell
    Maybe being closer to 100% healthy will help Royce to flourish. He hasn't played close to a full season, but he's only 25 years old. I don't think he should be written off as a poor fielder and as I stated earlier, even appearing gimpy, his defensive stats weren't that bad (FWIW). He didn't look right at the end of the season and maybe he'll learn from the experience or be healthier next September. Either he should be a better player in crunch time.
  21. stringer bell
    I didn’t say he stunk. I believe his zone rating and DRS was about average and that he could be better than that if he is closer to 100%. The throwing from second would be easier and throwing appeared to me to be Lewis’ biggest issue at third base.
  22. stringer bell
    The Lewis I saw at the end of 2024 didn’t look athletic and the throwing from third was sketchy. The articles posted here give me hope that he’ll be a bit of a different player. I do think Lee is a better fit at third base if he can hit at a major league level and if Royce is willing to give second a chance before moving him all the way down the spectrum to first base. First base is probably Miranda’s for now with precious little behind him.
  23. stringer bell
    Perhaps off-topic, but concerning catching, Diego Cartaya was DFA'd by the Dodgers today. He was their minor league player of the year a couple of years ago, but has struggled hitting in the high minors. Cartaya has a good defensive rep and strong arm and also importantly has an option year remaining. If I am correct about how the Twins feel about Camargo, I think they should be all over this and claim Cartaya.
  24. stringer bell
    Not a non-tender. He was a minor league free agent and chose the Mets after being in the Twins organization since he was drafted.
  25. stringer bell
    Two thoughts here to cap my involvement in this thread: 1) It seems that the feeling is that most left handed hitters just aren’t able to handle left handed pitching much more so than right handed hitters facing same sided pitching. 2) “Lefty killers” really don’t exist, so if you are a short side platoon hitter, you’re really a backup that makes starts against left handed pitching. Another factor in the platoon play at least at the start of last year was that the right handed hitters were thought to be the superior fielders, so exchanging Santana for Kirilloff, Margot for Wallner and Farmer for Julien made a bit more sense if the Twins were trying to hold a lead.
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