stringer bell

It has been pointed out that Max Kepler was brutal against left handed pitching and in the aggregate that is certainly true. However, in Kep’s two best seasons, he was actually held his own against left handed pitching. 2019– Kepler vs LH had an OPS of .885 vs lefties, better than against right handers. In 2023, Max posted an above-average .751 OPS against left handers. The rest of his Twins’ career, he was considerably worse facing left handed pitching. I concur that pinch hitting and allowing weaker hitters to get key PAs is the biggest flaw in Rocco’s platoon setup. Better usage and better players are needed. Perhaps Baldelli will be forced to ride with Larnach/Mianda/Wallner more often in 2025. It would seem to be a decision season for all three anyway

Wallner isn’t slow. His sprint speed last year was greater than Kepler. Both Larnach and Wallner are satisfactory defenders, but without great range. If they hit like last year, their defensive flaws won’t stand out.

It isn’t the “protection”, it’s the degree of projection IMHO. It is smart to not start Larnach, Wallner and (2023) Julien against left handed pitchers, It isn’t optimum to take all those guys out in the 3-5th inning because a left handed reliever has entered the game, especially when the alternatives are worse hitters on balance. If the guys mentioned are going to be better than platoon players they need to be able to handle same-sided pitching and facing middle relievers would be a good way to ease them in. @Riverbrian has advocated having at least five players who start and stay in the game no matter what hand the pitcher throws with Let’s hope that progress is made towards that goal in 2025 I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it here—the Twins’ top two prospects are left handed hitters and turning them into platoon players in their early 20s would be managerial malfeasance.

I think it’s all TBD as far as his defense and hitting. I think there’s a place available for him if he can hit and can be trusted behind the plate and at first base.

I enjoyed all of the quizzes. As an avid fan, I knew most, but not all of the answers.

There is a path for someone with Gasper’s skill set to make the Twins’ major league roster. So far, he has shown himself to be a good on-base guy in the minors. We don’t know if he is a good enough behind the plate to be considered as more than an emergency catcher. He didn’t hit in his cup of coffee with the Red Sox. He might also be the Twins’ best option at first base, a sobering thought.

Did he have more relative to Vázquez in your opinion? As far as I'm concerned, official scorers are consistent but usually lenient when it comes to assessing errors and passed balls. Saying Jeffers (and only Jeffers) has more passed balls isn't fair IMHO.

TDers love to talk catching and defense. I remain skeptical of most defensive metrics and very skeptical of Officially Scored stats (WP/PB and H/E). Given my skepticism on the numbers bandied about, I'll just give my opinions. Vázquez seems to have lost the ability to hit at any early age (32) and his defense isn't enough to justify the contract he has. As @Riverbrian has pointed out, getting rid of him as a salary dump isn't easy and clean since there is no one in the Twins organization to be the backup or alternate catcher in 2025. Adding another flawed vet makes no real sense. Ryan Jeffers isn't a great defensive catcher, but for about a season and a third of half-time work, he was at least in the top third of catchers. He throws okay and seems to call a good game, but he may be well served by the 50-50 split his manager has used in the past two years. The Twins collection of pitchers is ill-served in stopping the running game. The best way for them to hold it down is not letting runners on and secondly being far enough ahead that stealing a base isn't worth the risk. There seems to be no real belief that Camargo can be anything but a stopgap in the event of injury to one of the Twins' primary catchers. That said, there isn't anything about Gasper's resumé that indicates he's a better option as a catcher. I still won't be surprised if Gasper is on the major league roster for some pretty long stretches this year, especially if he can hit in line with his minor league production (I mean deduct maybe 100 OPS points from his Triple A numbers). Gasper is a switch hitter with quite a bit of first base experience and we know Rocco loves his switch hitters and flexible defenders. What he shows this spring might determine his role (if any). He might be a true third catcher who can also play first and second base or he might be a third catcher in the Kyle Farmer role (only in an absolute emergency). I don't want to hold out any false hope in his future, but he is on the 40-man roster, so we'll probably see him sometime in the 2025 season.

Two ex-Twins found homes on the last day of the year--Caleb Thielbar signed a major league deal with the Cubs and Nick Gordon agreed to a minor league deal with Baltimore. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/cubs-sign-caleb-thielbar.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/orioles-sign-nick-gordon-to-minors-contract.html

Agree. Julien has played a handful of games at first base (5 games and 19 innings) while Miranda has about 700 innings at first. That is the extent of experience at first base on the 40-man roster. I will be curious to see how much Gasper is used in Spring Training and where he is deployed. Given the current roster of position players, it is possible that he even makes the Opening Day roster if he is thought to be a capable backup catcher and first baseman

As we prepare to turn the page to 2025, I am looking at the future of the Twins. 2025 is quite likely a transition year for the franchise, especially if the Pohlads manage to sell. So far the front office is sending the message that they will contend and try to win with a static payroll. I'm too old for a full rebuild so I back their efforts. There are several issues to be answered and I will take a stab in this space to start a conversation about key questions going into next season. 1) What can the ownership and front office do to increase attendance? The Twins finished in the middle of the pack in the American League when they won their division in 2023 and fell back in a season where they were in position to make the playoffs until the final week or two. Ownership has taken a beating for reducing payroll after winning their first postseason series in decades.do they need different players, different owners or different front office personnel? 2) On the field, can the Twins improve without adding significant talent from outside the organization? They have a full-time vacancy at first base, plus they have lost depth both in the infield and outfield. José Miranda is currently the favorite to become the full-time first baseman and he hasn't been able to put together a full productive season in his first three years in the majors. 3) Will minor leaguers step up to be ready to contribute in the coming year? Will someone move in to be the next major league catcher? Will the Twins top outfield prospects show their readiness? 4) Related to #3, will young players (Lewis, Lee, Julien, Wallner) make the step forward to become established regulars? 5) Will there be enough pitching from within the organization? 6) Will the Twins get any significant contribution from a left handed pitcher?

Another obscure ex-Twin has agreed to a minor league deal with the Tigers. Dietrich Enns made two appearances with the Twins in 2017, disappeared into the minors, resurfaced with the Rays and then went overseas. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/tigers-dietrich-enns-agree-to-minor-league-contract.html

Torkelson finished 2023 red hot, but has otherwise been very disappointing. If the price is right, it’s worth taking a chance on him, particularly because he would fill an area of need.

Where is the reduced payroll in that? Honestly, I expect less than the anticipated 1.95M to attend home games and if they want to balance the books this year, paring more money will be happening. Maybe the answer is Royce Lewis becoming what he teased us with in October of ‘23 or maybe Emma or Walker Jenkins. Until and unless the team is sold, it seems this is reality. The Twins are trying really hard to make me a Vikings fan.

Let’s see, if we accept the $130M limit on payroll, what can the Twins do to improve the team and also contend in 2025? It seems to me that any move has a lot of risk and much less than an even chance of paying off. There is one “bad” contract (Vázquez), one “fair” contract where the pitcher could be superfluous (Paddack) and a couple of players with injury histories who might be tradable at a discount. There’s about $12M to cut. Last year, the Twins traded Polanco for two injury risk pitchers who got them about three innings and the $$ to acquire Carlos Santana. They also got Margot in a minor league infielder exchange and got him for reduced salary. Margot didn’t even play up to the discounted salary. I would count both of those trades as acquiring distressed assets. On balance they didn’t work. What other trade can they make?

Like signing Correa or Josh Donaldson? Or trading for Pablo López? I hate that there is (apparently) a firm cap on payroll, but what the FO can do is driven by not adding, but reducing payroll. Getting fair value for any player who can be traded is a tough lift. The Twins are waiting, but their potential trade partners are waiting too, knowing that the Twins have to make cost-saving moves.

Fangraphs says Gasper has three options remaining. With his versatility and being a switch hitter, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get a chance with the major league team at some point in 2025.

Two questions—1) Does he have options?and 2) can he be adequate behind the plate in the major leagues? If the answer to both is yes, then I am okay with acquiring this guy I’ve never heard of. Good luck to Morán.

They sacrificed defense at second base and added defense at first base. Santana will make almost exactly what Naylor would have cost. Maybe they are brilliant or maybe are making dumb decisions. I guess we shall see.

The Twins don't have enough proven offense by a long shot at this point. They are going to count on some unproven guys like Miranda, and Julien to produce as they have in shorter stretches and how Lee is projected. It seems to me the Twins will either have to clear salary by selling off a high salary (Correa, Buxton or López) or selling off all three of the larger contracts that have been suggested. Just getting out from any one of Castro, Vázquez or Paddack just gets the payroll down the top number, not clearing enough money for even a so-so free agent. Goodness, I hat this self-imposed salary containment.

The disparity of the 40-man roster (22 pitchers-16 position players) tells me that it should be easier to move a pitcher and López doesn't have a no-trade clause that I'm aware of. I think Pablo López is just the kind of pitcher to build a staff around and I would hate to lose him, but any move short of trading Correa isn't enough to net one decent player in free agency. The Twins are really lacking in depth for position players. They need more quality and quantity among position players than they have right now.

Looking at today's Twins' roster, Julien and Miranda are the top two options at first base. Risking a season on the production of Julien and Miranda seems pretty foolhardy. Julien has primarily played second base and Miranda has primarily been a third baseman so either can move around to get their bat in the lineup. Both have had runs where they definitely looked like they belonged in the middle of a lineup, but haven't sustained enough to be trusted. Maybe Miranda can sustain his performance and be a good hitter and maybe Julien can get back to where he was in 2023, but it sure looks like there should be somebody who can DH and play an acceptable first base. The Twins carried Julien on the active roster when he probably would have benefited from going back to St. Paul. They didn't really have anyone else available due to injuries I guess. I think he should go back to St. Paul unless he looks outstanding in the spring. Of the remaining free agents, I guess I'd go with Josh Bell. He's pretty bad with the mitt, but his hitting is about what Santana produced and he's a switch hitter.

The Twins cut their strikeouts back (on offense) by over 300. They went from an all-time record to ninth best in all of MLB and yet scored 36 fewer runs.

Both last year and in his career, Miranda has hit better against right handed pitching, so platooning makes no real sense. Either he’s good enough to play every day, or he shouldn’t be on the roster IMHO. He has an injury history of nagging back pain that seems to really diminish his effectiveness, which makes it hard to count on him.

Smooth is off the board. Going back to Cleveland. This time he’s a Guardian.