jmlease1

Do we, though? I just think the position of "closer" is overrated. It's functionally "pitches the 9th inning" in the land of the equally overrated save stat, and I'd much rather have a bullpen where you put your best guy out there against the opposing team's best hitters late in the game, rather than lose the game in the 7th because you had a lesser pitcher take on the top of a team's lineup while you were saving the closer for the 9th. Get them out in the 7th and you might not have to face them again for the rest of the game. I'd rather mix & match with our best 2-3 pitchers in the back end of the bullpen as lockdown guys against the best hitters and firemen to snuff out a rally than save them to pitch the 9th. I would like to add one more RHP to the mix if possible, a guy who really throws big time heat...but I'm not unhappy with where the bullpen stands right now. And I'd much rather they spent the rest of the budget on starting pitching and shortstop than handing out a bunch of $4-5M contracts to relievers who are probably a coin flip

I wouldn't look to deal Martin either, because there's a real question on whether Kirilloff is going to get moved to 1B (where he might be elite defensively and Sano may not have that much time left in the organization) and if Larnach can hit enough in MLB to be a full-time starter. So there are other places for Martin to play. He could be a true super-utility guy (playing any of the OF positions and some time in the middle infield as well) or he could get slotted in LF and the only thing that ever hits the ground in the Twins OF would be rain. His ability to get on base and cover ground in the OF could make him a really fun LF: I think our pitching staff would appreciate the team starting two guys who can play CF in the OF at the same time (three if Kepler sticks around, or Celestino makes the squad at the same time). I think Martin can hit. His ability to control the strike zone is really impressive at this point in his development, and the only knock on his hit tool is power. Well, he was fighting an injury for much of the year and adjusted his approach to compensate...and power is also the easier thing to add to someone's portfolio as a hitter. I'm much less worried about the guy who controls the strike zone and needs to add power production than the big slugger who can't manage the zone. I think Martin can hit, and if you can hit they'll find a defensive home. And he's not a guy who can't play D; it's just that his likely best two positions are currently occupied by guys who are better than he is right now.

It's a liftbridge, not a drawbridge. This moment of duluth-native nitpickery has been brought to you by the letter D and the number 6. (a drawbridge folds up from the side (usually just one, but possibly both with a split in the middle) and a liftbridge has the entire center span rising up. Hi, I'm a huge nerd.)

He didn't define it by "are you eligible for MLB's Rookie of the Year", he was talking about rookies making their MLB debut, aka "how did these guys do in their first taste of MLB". There's no need to be so damned snotty.

The grades on these guys are reasonable, but there's a lot of good in there even for someone of the guys with lower grades. (some...maybe not. There's a reason Charlie Barnes got cut from the 40-man.) The only thing stopping Kirilloff is health. I just hope the wrist thing isn't chronic, because he can flat-out hit, but with the bum wrist the power vanishes. But he's why I'm not terribly interested in renting a LF, because I think Kirilloff can play there just fine while mashing balls around the park. Ober & Ryan did great in their debuts, they just need more innings. The floor is 5th starter on both of them, and we won't know what their MLB ceiling is until they play more. My feeling is they're likely to be considered mid-rotation guys who could have all-star seasons if/when they have a year where everything comes together. lot to like there. Larnach had a tough year. Showed he could mash fastballs early, went to hell after they stopped throwing them to him and then got so messed up trying to deal with offspeed that he couldn't even hit fastballs once they started throwing them to him again. he was rushed a bit earlier than anyone would have liked, but I believe in his talent. Hopefully he can start the year at AAA, get a good reset, and refine his approach. Celestino is someone who looked like he had a brutal year...until you look beyond his MLB stats. He was dreadful at the plate in MLB, but he shouldn't have been up this early either. He did great when he got sent back to AAA, which is where he should have spent most of the year anyway. I like him to battle for the 4th OF job, since he should be able to play all 3 positions and the RH bat makes him a balance for the lefties in Kepler/Kirilloff in the corners and Larnach as a next man up. Moran is another guy I'm excited about. he had some rough numbers, but that changeup is legit. he's going to have to work on command so guy walk up looking to swing rather than walk, but if he gets it down enough then he's going to make some people look really silly chasing that change. Twins have had some great results with lefties throwing the change-up and Moran could be another one. I'm pumped about him.

Maybe a bit harsh, but...also the way modern bullpens are constructed. You try to have 3-4 guys that form your core, that you think will be reliable for at least one more season, a couple of waiver pickups, and then a couple of young guys from your minor league system that look like they might be ready to contribute and develop into the next core guys. Rogers is a quality pitcher that even in a down year is very good, especially against lefties. Duffey was still very effective last season, just not dominant like the previous two years, and looks like a guy you can count on as a righty option. Thielbar has always been effective when he's been healthy and available, and he's been good as well the last two seasons. Alcala is a guy on the rise who is death against righties and maybe starting to figure out how to survive against lefties. A reasonable core to work with. Then you have guys from the system like Moran & Stashak and a few waiver guys like Garza & Cotton (both of whom have had success in MLB getting guys out in the bullpen) and you work from there. Working it this way, you can churn through guys that are ineffective until you find a combo that works, without getting stuck on a sunk cost fallacy. Teams overpay for supposed "shut-down" pitchers and "proven closers" who are really just decent relievers coming off a good year or getting put in a particular role. ChiSox are now paying Liam Hendriks $27M for the next two seasons when he's only been a dominant reliever since turning 30. If he stays dominant for these next two years, then great...but if he goes back to being the guy that he was his first 4 years as a full-time reliever, then he's drastically overpaid...and there aren't that many relievers who dominate for 5 years in a row in their 30's. The Twins approach to putting together a bullpen is a pretty good one, overall. And it should keep us from ever doing anything like trading Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps ever again.

Loved Shane Mack. He was having a terrific season in 1994, another overlooked all-star campaign before the damnable strike. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he had never gone to Japan and kept rocking it in MLB in 1995 & 1996. A great run in MN, and a really fun player to watch. Huge fan of Shane Mack, who I think is terribly underrated.

Strotman is also the secondary piece in the Cruz trade. Anything they get from him is a bonus the way Joe Ryan appears to be developing. If he turns into a legit bullpen arm, it's a huge win. There's a lot of really good depth in the Twins system for starting pitching, with some of these guys looking like they could be front of the rotation guys. It's also important to remember that pretty much any projection system will almost never project a guy as an ace. The Twins guys had a lot of injury hiccups last year, and will likely get dinged for it. But there's enough promising guys to fill a pitching pipeline for the rotation...and there's a few guys in there that could have big years ahead.

these guys are players ranked somewhere between 50-60 overall in the Twins system, we are really diving deep here, and the early part of the list is going to have guy who are totally lottery tickets or have a ceiling as a utility guy. You need to follow the minors a LOT to know all 5 of these guys.

Johan was amazing. I think he's hall-worthy as well; his level of dominance was absurd. Three (consecutive) years where he either won or should have won the Cy. 5 straight years where he was top five in the Cy Young voting. His B-Ref page is absolutely splattered with "black type". He led the league 4 straight years in WHIP. Dude even won a Gold Glove. If you'd tacked on another 4-5 years in his mid-to-late 30's of mediocre pitching where he compiled another 500 innings and 50 wins or so it probably helps his HoF case with a bunch of voters, but it shouldn't. Some guys are comets and the peak value is too good to ignore. Johan's career was cut short because of injury, not ineffectiveness and the resume is worthy. For 7 straights years if you didn't include Johan in the conversation of the best pitcher in baseball, your argument was invalid. Also, what is it with lefties and the change-up for this franchise?!? Frankie V and Johan, masters of the change. Love it.

I don't think Canterino is going to go to the 'pen any time soon. Yes, the injuries are a concern, but he's also shown the ability to be successful as a starter, so I think the team is going to give him every opportunity to make it in that role before they try dropping him into the bullpen. Vallimont and Strotman are different cases, I think. Strotman didn't have a lot of success in AAA for the team this year, is getting a little older, and is much closer to a break point. Vallimont simply may not have the command and control to ever be a starter, but there's no question he has the stuff. He was protected from the Rule 5 draft because there was a high likelihood that a team would take a flyer on him in the bullpen right now. While I expect Vallimont to get another shot at starting this season, he's definitely on a path where if he can't find the consistency soon he'll make the move. Frankly, I have to wonder if Thorpe is a more likely candidate as well. He's struggling to break through, he's seen a dip in velocity that may make it harder for him to find that success as a starter, and maybe a change in role will help him out mentally and physically.

Truly. Someone needs to explain to me how Mattingly got 9 Gold Gloves and Hrbek got none...oh, wait. Mattingly played in NYC. Hrbek should have had at least two, minimum. The era of just giving it to a guy on the east coast year after year really screwed Hrbie. I loved him as a player. Saw him hit a home run as a kid in the Dome and my young self did not think it was possible for anyone to hit a ball that far, just a mammoth upper-decker. An excellent player, team leader, and someone who loved the game and loves life.

I think Jovani Moran is going to be a significant contributor in the bullpen in 2022 (assuming there's a season, of course). He had some struggles in his first taste last season, but also showed he had the pitches to compete. He's got some control issues that he needs to keep working on, but you can absorb the BBs when you hunt Ks like he does. He's a lefty who can torch guys from both sides of the plate and I think he's for real. I wouldn't mind them adding one more RHP for the bullpen, but otherwise I'm ok with rolling with what we have and cycling guys through to find an effective and consistent bullpen. Rogers, Duffey, Alcala, and Thielbar are a solid crew for the back end, and then you add in Garza, Cotton, and Moran/Coloumbe plus one more RHP fireballer and the 'pen looks pretty solid, flexible, and ready to go. Few players on scholarship and the biggest risk is Rogers being healthy, but he's also the most proven guy so he's worth the risk. I don't believe in throwing extra cash at a guy because they're a "proven closer", and I don't believe in dropping $5-8M AAV contracts on most relievers. Too many of those guys are fungible from year to year and not worth the risk. I'd rather go with guys who have minor league options left who can be cycled, converting failed starters, and only putting the cash down on top talent.

Workhorse is a great description of Frankie Viola. 10 straight seasons of at least 200 IPs, he was basically guaranteed to make 35 starts every season. Once he figured out that changeup, he really came into his own. I was bummed when he left, but that was a fine trade for the Twins in bringing back Aguilera (one of the best relievers in Twins history) and Tapani (who was another workhorse who had his best year at the right time to help the team win a title). Viola had Tommy John back closer to the dark ages of the procedure; now, with his bulldog attitude and modern methods I bet he would have been able to make that comeback and have a longer & better run in his late 30's. Fun pitcher, interesting guy. Always happy when he comes back to MN and ducks in for a Twins broadcast.

Wallner definitely has talent and deserves his prospect status; when he hits the ball it goes a long way and he gets on base enough and makes enough contact to be a force in a minor league lineup. But that K-rate scares me. If he's whiffing that much in A-ball, it doesn't really bode well for his ability to continue to make hard contact as he rises through the system and more importantly in MLB. Rooker has really struggled because of just this problem (his limits as a defensive player hurt him as well, and it does sound like Wallner is more of an asset there...but Wallner still looks like he tops out as "ok as a corner OF"). There's been a lot of sturm and drang over Austen Martin's lack of power production in AA, but it's easier to add power to a guy who can get the bat on the ball at all times and really control the strike zone then it is to add contact to a guy who whiffs a lot. Plenty of history of players adding patience at the plate and drawing more walks as they progress in their careers too, but how many went from being high K guys to good contact? I like Wallner, I'm rooting for Wallner, but I really want him to get that K-rate down to something more manageable and projectable. I'm actually really enthusiastic about Celestino next year. I feel like they'll probably start him in AAA, but if he can continue his hitting success from last year in AAA when he returns to the majors he looks like an almost perfect 4th OF for the Twins. He was called up way too soon last year and wasn't ready for it, but rather than let it implode his season he did a great job of getting back on track when he went back down to AAA, which is where he should have spent most of his time last year anyways. Feels like he's being forgotten about a little because he struggled so badly at the plate when they hauled him up to MLB in utter desperation, but I think he's going to be really valuable especially with Buxton's injury concerns.

Those are the most likely, but I thought they were allowed 8 total, so I suspect much like the Giants they'll rotate guys through the dugout a little with maybe Diaz getting the most time (since his title does actually say "bench" in it).

16 Gold Gloves is almost incomprehensible. I wonder if he has them all lined up in his house. Congrats to Hall of Famer Jim Kaat, a heck of a player who was effective for a ridiculously long time and has been a wonderful ambassador for the game.

I'm trying to think of another twins player that rose so high and fell so far in terms of fan esteem. A great player with the Twins and the 1991 season was magical, with Knoblauch as a huge part of it. Tough ending.

I'd be in on Rodon, because he's shown the ability to be a frontline guy when healthy. (I would also want the Twins to bring back Pineda, who has also been a quality pitcher when healthy for the Twins) The one good thing about where we are with young pitching getting close to being ready for MLB is we're better situated than some to overcome potential injury from guys like Rodon and Pineda. We have a series of arms in the high minors who you would feel ok about calling up to fill in when one of those guys hits the IL, rather than trying to count on them to carry the load in the rotation from day 1. But they actually have to pay the money and sign someone. Backing up a rotation of Rodon, Pineda, Bundy, Ober, and Ryan with Dobnak, Winder, Duran, Canterino, Strotman, Balazovic, Woods-Richardson, and Sands could definitely work. There's plenty of risk in it from a performance level and a lot of variance built into that, but it could also set you up for some time with your pitching pipeline. But they have to sign Rodon and pay the money. I like the Twins pipeline for pitching right now: there's a lot of talent in there. But every, literally everyone knows that you can't expect to add two more of those rookies to rotation out of spring training and expect to compete.

I think it's fine to consider Lewis as a trade chip at some point, but right now I wouldn't. I agree with everyone who is looking at him and thinking that we would be selling low on him at this point, and I'm not terribly interested in dealing someone with elite tools like that without getting a serious return, and right now I don't know if we'd get that. I'm sure there are smart teams nosing around looking to see if they can pry Royce loose in a deal for a starting pitcher, but do we really think anyone is looking at him as the centerpiece right now for a legit front-line starter? Royce Lewis still has great tools, even after the injury, but I'm impressed with his dedication and work ethic. Every report on him this season fighting back from injury was positive and I like guys who have that kind of heart and drive. He's a trade chip because almost every prospect is a trade chip until they make the majors, but I don't see Royce Lewis as being a real trade option this season because we'd be selling low on someone with a massive amount of talent. Think that one would come back to bite us badly.

Hopefully these coaches, will add some more to the club. Having a few more guys on staff does give you the opportunity for more individualized attention for players, so as long as they are all on the same page and working as a team, then I'm all for adding a few more guys to the staff. It's a fairly low-cost means of enhancing player improvement. Giants have been effective in this recently and I'm ok with copying stuff from successful franchises. (since they're obviously ripping this off from the Giants, it cuts against the idea that the FO are super-arrogant and always must be the smartest people in the room though...so what's going to be the reason de jour that this is a stupid idea from a FO that needs to be fired?)

I'm a fan of bottom feeding when it comes to the bullpen. Grabbing guys like this where a tweak to the pitch mix/delivery or they just need some good health as part of a stable of potential on minor league deals is smart business because so many relievers are really fungible from year to year. putting yourself in a position to have options while also not getting yourself locked into the ol' sunk cost fallacy is a positive move to me. The number of bullpen arms I'm excited about throwing $6-8M on is smaller than you might think.

Hurrah, for Tony O and Kitty! Goodness, could Tony hit. If he had come along 20 years later after knee surgery had evolved...but oh my those first 8 all-star years. Kaat got a little respect for the million innings and endless gold gloves. Love it. He's still pretty fun on the mic too. Back in the 70's there weren't too many pitchers still crushing it at 36...let alone having their best season as a pro.

I did, but ERA+ is more instructive: 123, 99, 119, 113, 96...and then he got hurt and I would argue he was never truly healthy again (yes, he made 28 starts in 2002, but after being hurt in 2000, missing all of 2001 and missing all of 2003...I don't think he was right in 2002 either). During that 5 year stretch, he never had a bWAR of less than 2. (No Twins starter had a bWAR of 2+ in 2021. none) Wins don't tell the full story, but ERA+ and bWAR tell a more complete one. Also, if you don't think ERAs were inflated in the late 90's...I don't know what to tell you. That was a scoring-rich environment

Not really? He had several fine years in Balto; he was ok in 1996, quality in 1997-1998, back to ok again in 1999 and then the innings and pitches took their toll and the injuries came. Never the same after that. But he compiled 15 bWAR from 1995-1999 for the O's and frankly was exactly the kind of pitcher the Twins need right now: consistent and chewed up the innings.