Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Nashvilletwin

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,655

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Nashvilletwin

  1. Nashvilletwin
    Royce Lewis today
  2. Nashvilletwin
    Nope, I meant Camargo. An above average receiving and hitting backup C who starts 30-40% of games and is getting paid league minimum is gold. It would be nice if Canterino turned into a bona fade starter as well as Raya and Festa.
  3. Nashvilletwin
    Someone just posted elsewhere on the TD that, according to one of the major analytics outfits, the Twins pitching staff in 2024 projects to have the overall fourth highest WAR and the highest in the AL (with, btw, the second lowest pitching payroll above only Oakland). Wouldn’t that be nice if that actually happened.
  4. Nashvilletwin
    Duarte and Bubba appear to be the most likely candidates. They probably have the best chance to sneak through waivers. I don’t see Gordon or Balazovic being waived at the moment - the Twins as an organization have invested so much in each of them. Post spring training they could be waived or traded, but I think each will get the chance to earn a spot on the roster over the next 8-9 weeks (or else increase their trade value). Larnach, Miranda could also be on the block, but both are very important depth pieces going forward. I’m sure they both would welcome a trade if it gave them the chance to play everyday.
  5. Nashvilletwin
    Check out the top 20 prospect list currently being posted. It looks like 9 of our top 20 are pitchers. Now, that doesn’t mean anything about quality per se, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen that depth. Remember, we still have three young potential studs in Ryan, Ober, Varland to go along with Lopez. The starting pitching pipeline is solid - certainly vs. what we are used to around here.
  6. Nashvilletwin
    By “starter” I meant capable of 30-40% of starts. So, yes, a “backup” catcher in the modern MLB and certainly for how the Twins are currently managed is basically a starter. Camargo is on the 40 and appears to be a better receiver than Stevenson. He’s the “backup” of the future, but a cheap “backup” catcher who can comfortably start and hit with only a little if no drop off from one of the best offensive catchers in the league is pure gold.
  7. Nashvilletwin
    Assuming Raya and Festa are in the top six, that would mean nine out of our top twenty prospects are pitchers, with all or most of them still projected as starters. To go along with Lopez, Ryan, Ober and Varland, it would seem that over the next several years we will have a solid, young, fairly cheap, controllable, and deep starting corps - something we haven’t been able to say for a long time. Hopefully, one or two of those nine could develop into a true #1, although it’s not clear who might be the candidates for that.
  8. Nashvilletwin
    Careful, you’ve just touched the third rail. You might be better off saying you want to cut social security. Hahaha. I’ve written similar things before on the TD and it tends to rile up our fellow TDers. The Production/$ Spent value ratio is a real thing to a budget conscious small/medium sized market team. Here’s hoping CC improves his ratio this season. Anyway, such a move is off the table for ‘24 (and possibly beyond/forever given his salary and no trade clause).
  9. Nashvilletwin
    If our #4 and #5 starters can give us 25 starters each of 5-6 IPs giving up 2-3 earned runs each outing (so an ERA of about 4.5), I’d take that with a shutdown pen behind them any day. We’d probably would win about 30 of those 50 starts.
  10. Nashvilletwin
    If those four, plus Raya, Festa and Camargo turn into solid starters by late 2025, with one or two becoming all star candidates in the future, the Twins will be in a very strong position. The window is open now, but getting bigger over the next several years. Hats off to the FO for not decimating the pipeline to go all in the near term, but instead keeping our future while building a very competitive (AL Central heavily favored) and entertaining roster for ‘24.
  11. Nashvilletwin
    Other than losing Gray, this lineup is substantially superior to what we began with in 2023. And way more fun to watch. And if Ober, Varland, and Paddack progress as we think they can, the starting staff will be improved overall even with DeSclafani. Most importantly, we have not traded away our controllable, cheap young talent - whether in the bigs already or on the way. We should be favored to win the division in ‘24 with an even brighter future ahead for several years.
  12. Nashvilletwin
    Actually, Larnach may find himself on the trade block as the 40 man gets tight. Having said that, he’d probably welcome that in order to get those 450 ABs miracleb suggested. He wants, and deserves, a bigger chance to prove himself.
  13. Nashvilletwin
    It’s all about the pen - depth and quality. This is another solid move to attempt to establish a day-in and day-out shutdown relief corps. But, yes, the 40 man becomes an issue. The Twins have put a lot of effort into Balazovic and Gordon over the years and both are out of options. I just can’t see them wanting to give them up for nothing (neither would sneak through waivers). Is a trade of one or both for a lotto pick on the horizon? Perhaps. But at the moment I’m leaning toward both getting the chance to compete in spring training for a spot. Who knows, maybe they increase their value over the preseason if they don’t earn a big league role.
  14. Nashvilletwin
    Crazy, but I was just thinking of this the other day when we had the Soler debate. My point then was if we inked Soler to a two year deal, we’d have a hedge on Kepler to either trade at this year’s deadline or lose in free agency in ‘25. We’d at least have a corner outfielder to pair with Wallner if we decided to move on from Kep. Soler did not happen. So if Kepler leaves, what is our current corner outfield depth for ‘25? Rodriguez, Larnach, or Rosario? Maybe Martin in left field (he may be our hedge in CF if Buxton is not healthy). The FO will wait and see how the prospects fair in ‘24 before reupping Max. But Max signing an extension is not the zero probability event a lot of us thought heading into the off-season. Max not being traded is another reason to think that the FO views an extension as a possibility as well. In fact, so much so, that may be a reason they didn’t sign Soler. Think about it - you could have Soler locked in for a minimum of $15MM per for two years (he wants 3x$15MM) or a 31 year old Max for the same $30MM total outlay, but with an option on the $20MM second year. If you can only have one or the other, you stick with Max.
  15. Nashvilletwin
    Alcala is listed as the eighth reliever. That would mean Balazovic, who is out of options, is released or traded. It could be Balazovic gets first shot at the last bullpen slot. Of course Varland really has first dibs on that spot, but it’s assumed he stays stretched out in St. Paul waiting for his eventual call up. Having said that, who’s to say a double starter game every fifth start - pairing DeSclafani and Varland - isn’t the best way to limit their innings and save the pen. Gordon gets the last position player spot because he’s out of options and the Twins will likely give him a chance to replicate 2022. So, unless things change via injury, additions, or some incredibly hot spring from Martin, Larnach or Miranda, it looks like that last bullpen slot is the only real battle. Also, this lineup, other than losing Gray, will be way more fun to watch than last year’s. Bring on spring training!
  16. Nashvilletwin
    We need 162 starts. We have 6 starters. Let’s assume relatively good health (only one starter is injured at any time) and each starter not named Lopez misses a start every six or seven starts to stay fresh when everyone is healthy. So López gets 32 starts, leaving 130 starts for the other 5 or 26 starts per guy. If they each average 5-6 innings per start, that’s about 130-150 innings. As the saying goes: “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” I have a hard time seeing any of Paddock, DeSclafani, Varland or even Ober reaching 150 innings. If those four can average 23 starts and about 115-120 innings, we will need a dozen or so starts from Festa, SWR, Widner, bullpen starts and/or Dobnak. Not a disaster per se, but highly likely we will need those starts. If we can get anything close to 25 starts, 130 innings, and a 4.30 era out of DeSclafani, he will be a huge success for the money we are paying him.
  17. Nashvilletwin
    Re Castro - he’s the primary CF sub and probably LF as well (if Kepler needs a break, Wallner will shift to RF). So Castro is going to get plenty of innings in the OF, inclusive of late inning PH for Wallner or Kepler against lefties. With that role, Farmer still on the team and with another infielder just added (Santana), I do not see many innings in the IF for Castro. He’s the fourth outfielder and will probably get into nearly every game in some fashion in that role. Gordon gets the fewest innings, mostly in the OF when Castro is in for Buxton and Kepler or Wallner need spelling or late inning pinch running as well. But, you are correct, probably not many innings in the IF unless via that pinch running role.
  18. Nashvilletwin
    Current 13 position player lineup heading into spring training: Infield (6): Lewis, Correa, Julien, Kiriloff, Santana, Farmer Outfield (4): Buxton, Kepler, Wallner, Castro Catcher (2): Jeffers, Vasquez Super Utility (1): Gordon First Injury Replacement Call-Ups (6): Martin, Miranda, Larnach, Severino, Keirsey and Camargo (catcher). It will depend on who is hot and who gets hurt. Gordon does not need to be released quite yet. That, my friends, is what the FO has in mind for your ‘25 Minnesota Twins - those 19 players. And we will probably need all of them at some point. Personally, I like it and, as a position player lineup, it should be favored to win the AL Central and compete in the playoffs. Now, if we added Soler……
  19. Nashvilletwin
    This and your next post are good takes. This is a solid floor addition if the production vs. lefties shows up. If not, and the young guys (Miranda, Severino, and even Lee could impact 1B via a Julien move) get hot, then hopefully the FO has the fortitude to make the tough call. But it doesn’t appear to be a higher ceiling move for which some of us might have hoped.
  20. Nashvilletwin
    To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen: “I watched Nelson Cruz, I cheered for Nelson Cruz, and you sir, Mr. Santana, are no Nelson Cruz”. So let’s hit pause on the Cruz comparisons. No one should expect that type of production/result from this signing. On the other hand, he’s probably no Joey Gallo either - less expensive, can hit from the right side of the plate, and should strike out less. Seriously, a lot of great comments on the TD today on both sides of the fence, basically supporting that the signing is more or less a “meh” addition. Personally, and I know I’m in the minority in this, but I felt our bigger hole was a power RH outfield bat. I was hopeful that, with Lee on the way and someone like Soler added to the OF, a platoon of Julien and Kiriloff at 1B and Wallner and Kepler in RF against lefties made more sense. But Lee is just not proven enough to put enough faith in that strategy - thus the need to bolster first with a better RH bat. I was hoping for more with the Polanco savings and Bally visibility. DH is now most certainly going to be a “rotating/ keep fresh” type of role vs. what Polanco would have brought. That appears to be the Twins’ philosophy on that matter. Maybe there will be an additional move, but, if not, this signing is understandable, yet underwhelming. Yeah, just “meh” is probably the best way to put it.
  21. Nashvilletwin
    Lots of walks and few strikeouts is a bad combination in a reliever…..
  22. Nashvilletwin
    So who in the top 20 might be available to help on the big league club if needed? It looks like the best bets are SWR, Severino, Martin and Lee (Festa isn’t quite there) and none of those are totally ready per se. Of course, we still have Varland, Larnach and Miranda (former top 10s) and a few others, if necessary, outside the top 20 (Winder, Keirsey come to mind). So I guess the “call-up” depth is pretty good at the moment. But I kinda get why we haven’t moved any near term guys at this point.
  23. Nashvilletwin
    Is there a bit of sarcasm in your post? In terms of roster construction within what apparently is a tight budget window, Soler (power RH DH and as needed COF) + Topa (needed high leverage relief option) + DeSclafani (cheap 5th/6th starter to go alongside Varland and who will be needed) + Gonzalez (top 100 RH COF filling a sizable hole in our prospect pipeline) + Bowen (wild card, but with definite recognisable promise, future SP or RP) > Polanco (solid and lovable switching hitting, oft injured DH and redundant fill-in infielder). If Soler is the additional piece that is added as a result of the extra cash from the Polanco trade, the Twins roster would be stronger not only for 2024 but beyond as well.
  24. Nashvilletwin
    We obviously are not going to have a + fielder at every position in every game during every inning. Such an expectation is unrealistic, particularly when weighing offensive needs. As it relates to our current outfield of Buxton, Kepler, Wallner and Castro, we are probably substantially above average from a defensive standpoint (Wallner is underrated in this regard and improving). Moreover, as contemplated, Soler would primarily fill the DH slot; thereby minimising his defensive liabilities. Sure, he will play some games in the field (primarily most likely against lefties) and when he does, we will not be at our strongest defensively. But our other fielders are more than solid. Yes, Soler in the field is not ideal; however, when combined with his advantages at the plate, it surely is not disqualifying.
  25. Nashvilletwin
    Wow, I’m just thinking about turning Polanco into Soler, Topa, DeSclafini, Gonzalez, and Bowen - all essentially from the Mariners. Even I’d have to give the FO credit for that 3D chess.
×
×
  • Create New...