Nashvilletwin

If the plan is to have Sanchez DH on any sort or regular basis, then the Twins will have to carry a third catcher. That’s very valuable real estate on the pine for a young Twins team with lots of prospects needing ABs and innings. I can’t see the rationale for having Sanchez on this team. Great - our young pitchers will be throwing to essentially the worst defensive catcher in the league. That’s just what they need, lol. Just on his defense alone, Goyon should be our #2 catcher. I’d never thought I’d be saying that a week ago.

Thanks Nick. I think you nailed the summary. Somehow, inexplicably, our FO took an incredible important and difficult to fill position demanding depth from a clear area of strength to a “glaring weakness” in just a matter of a few days. Quality shortstops and catchers are really hard to find. Right now - in our entire system - we have exactly one possibly decent player that can play one of those positions on an everyday basis. That’s Jeffers and the jury is still out even on him. That’s it. There are no other players who project as an above average major leaguer at those two most important positions in the field. Maybe Lewis at SS - but that has yet to be proven not only as a SS, but even as a major leaguer at another position. BTW, Urshela is not our answer at SS - the Yankees clearly didn’t think he was theirs. So we entered the week strong at one and deficient at the other regarding the two most important defensive positions. We end the week deficient at both with an additional player who probably projects as a utility infielder but not an everyday SS. It’s hard to see how the money saved and the short term nature of Sanchez’s contract can make up for that. Maybe the FO has some grand plan - I sure hope so.

Thus the beauty of Jeffers/Rortvedt over Jeffers/Sanchez. We would never have Jeffers in the DH slot - thus we could get away with having only two catchers on the 26 man roster. But if Sanchez is going to DH as much as people think he is, we are only a foul tip away from losing our DH for the rest of any game. On a team like ours - with so many young players needing ABs and innings, that need for an extra catcher takes up a lot of valuable real estate.

Thank you for clearing up my neophyte question. I guess that means we really should be carrying a 3rd catcher in the event Sanchez is DHing.

Could one of my fellow TDers help me understand this question: If Player A (let’s say Sanchez) is in the lineup as the DH and Player B is catching (Jeffers in this case) and gets hurt, can Player A replace B in the field as the catcher?

Thanks Ted for the analysis. I’m expecting a strong season from Sano this year as it really is a make or break season for his future. I’m hoping he responds in a big way. I have no expectations for Sanchez as he was probably a release candidate for the Yankees before we paid up for him. As a catcher who really can’t catch very well or a DH who really can’t hit very well, I don’t see much long term future with our Twins (or anywhere else for that matter). Hope I’m wrong, but the only thing really going for him now is that he can catch about 30% of our innings and, even with Godoy, we don’t have any other options to take those innings.

Thank you Bean. That’s exactly why Rortvedt>Godoy. You nailed it.

You are correct. Losing Rortvedt is not organization altering. But taking an incredibly important and difficulty to fill position like catcher from one of strength to one of weakness can cause both short and long term pain. We went from having two legit starting catchers and one promising youngster with an important tool set to one legit starter, a reclamation project who has struggled both offensively and defensively, and a career AAAA guy (which Rortvedt might end up being but the Yankees sure seem intent on giving him 30%+ of their innings this year).

Good points. It’s not the angst over Rortvedt per se. Its the decimation of a balanced (offense and defense) catching depth chart for what we have now. We are arguably worse off at all three spots and Urshela for JD, despite the cost savings, is not a win for us either. Unless something dramatic happens, one cannot say that our lineup is better off than we were before we traded Garver.

Ok, let’s call the Yankees and see if they will trade Rortvedt back straight up for Godoy. Don’t think so…..

We’ve downgraded all three of our catching slots: Garver, Jeffers, Rortvedt > Jeffers, Sanchez, and Godoy. Not even close. It’s ok though, because catching is not an important position and it’s easy to acquire a lot of quality depth. A lot like shortstop. Sheesh.

Well if declining players head to Colorado to see their hitting numbers improve, then we should probably send Sanchez to the Rockies.

Well, we all hope so. But we shouldn’t really expect it. Sanchez may be a wonderful person, but a bad fielding, bad hitting catcher really has no place on this ball club right now. I’m wondering how many of us on the TD (understanding how smart we are as stay-at-home GMs) would take Sanchez over Rortvedt straight up? I would not. IMHO, it goes to show how badly the FO wanted to move JD. Good luck Gary. I’ll be rooting for you. I just won’t be surprised if the change of scenery doesn’t make you a better catcher.

Arraez played very well at 3B last year - better than JD from what I’ve read on the TD.

Other than Gray, how's is that lineup better than what we had a week ago? Three days ago? It’s not. Sanchez may be a fine person, but he is strictly a reclamation project as a major league catcher. If he’s on the roster post the trade deadline, let alone opening day, it’s a mistake. Other than owning a catcher’s mitt, we should expect that he will bring no value to this organization. Here is about the best we can hope for right now as our starting lineup: Catcher: Jeffers, 1B: Kiriloff, 2B: Polanco, SS: Story, 3B: Urshela, RF: Kepler, CF: Buxton, LF: Larnach or Rooker (whoever has the better spring), DH: Sano. Our four bench players are: Arraez, Sanchez, Gordon, and Miranda. SPs: Gray, Pineda, Bundy, Ober and Ryan. Dobnak is in the pen with the seven best of the others. I actually like the Urshela/Miranda combination at 3B with Story at SS. With Jeffers behind the dish, this lineup really only has a defensive deficiency in LF. The starting staff could be about average. If the pen steps up, there may be enough offense to win a few games more than they lose.

Not that anyone cares or thinks about or remembers my comments on the TD, but I have been very vocal about moving JD and using the cash to sign a SS. I was happy if it happened before the season or if we kept JD until the deadline to tutor Miranda or to see if we could get into contention. If Story (or Correa lol) is signed (which I fully expect), this trade could work out well. Essentially our left side is Urshela and Story replacing JD and IKf. In both cases we have Miranda on the way at 3B. I think that in 2022 and certainly in 2023 that we are better off. The cost was losing our defensive catching depth. I was ok with losing Garver for IKF as I envisioned Jeffers and Rortvedt as a strong complimentary duo behind the dish for several years. No we have a hole. Hopefully it gets solved. Now on the other hand, if the plan is Urshela at SS, well …..

I’ll take the under on 30+ HRs this year - no matter how many ABs Sanchez gets at C or DH. On the other hand, if something happens to Jeffers and Sanchez is forced to play a lot of innings at C, I might take the over on 30+ passed balls.

If the Twins sign Story (or Correa lol) and Miranda is actually a true major leaguer (both of which I expect), then Urshela and Sanchez should have no role on this team. Urshela would be an expensive utility player who hits and fields worse than our existing utility player (LA). We have no place on this team for a piss poor defensive catcher who strikes out at Sano rates without the equivalent pop. If Miranda is any good, then the only way those two will help the Twins in any significant way in 2022 or beyond is via a salary dump trade before the deadline. If Miranda is not ready, Urshela is our starting 3B. But he should not be our starting SS. Gray is another story and hopefully he and Maeda plus at least two of our young gun starters comprise a solid core in our 2023 rotation. Honestly, what was the purpose behind trading for Gray (a trade I like, btw) if we are going to start reclamation projects Urshela at SS and Sanchez 40% or so of the innings at C? We traded our outstanding catcher depth, a combo 3B/DH and a legit SS for those two clowns. Yeah, I’m a bit salty this morning. All to get rid of JD’s salary? Why is this move better than just signing Story, bring up Miranda, and move JD at the deadline if we are not contending and/or Miranda is producing? There has to be more coming.

I guess this is what it took to move JD and have the Yankees take all his salary. Too bad the FO couldn’t have found another deal. Ideally, they would have just moved JD and signed Story (which I’m assuming they are going to do now). Urshela helps Miranda ease in, but, if that transition is successful, there is no reason for Urshela to be on the team - so he’d get moved at the trade deadline. Decimating the catching depth is very confusing. Sanchez is just not very good anymore - certainly not as good as Garver and, if his hitting continues its deterioration, I’d rather have Rortvedt as well. The Yankee sites are saying that Rortvedt will platoon at C - so someone there had enough respect for his game to not only carry him on the roster, but feed him plenty of innings. Again, getting a couple of has beens who carry some cash costs and we hope will rebound or otherwise we will jettison is a pretty high cost to pay to move JD’s salary and give up a couple very solid depth catchers. Signing Story will help, but couldn’t we have just done that anyway? So a year from now (or maybe next week or by the trade deadline) if everything goes as likely will happen, Miranda will be at 3B, Story will be at SS, Urshela and Sanchez will be gone, the Twins will be looking for catching depth, and will some extra cash on hand. Not a disaster, but sure will be a roundabout way to get there.

Good morning TDers. Great to have baseball back! I’ll bat lead off on the roster as the frenzy starts today. First, let’s assume the Twins stick with $130MM to spend. I personally do not think we reach that this year, but let’s start there. On the position player side there are three blanks. Two existing players will be primarily in different slots - AK will be our primary 1B and MS our primary DH. That leaves SS, LF, and one more utility/OF4. So, here is how we fill those three: a) sign Story for $25MM/yr for 4-5 years; b) Miranda becomes a major leaguer; and c) one of Larnach, Rooker, and Celestino breaks spring training with the big club. This adds $26.4MM in payroll leaving $21MM to spend. On the bump, we add Big Mike (or similar) on a one year $8MM deal with a club option for year two and a healthy buyout option. Our fifth starter spot starts with Jax (or Dobnak - the point is they both make the club). But this is more of a placeholder because we will be giving several of our young guys innings this year as the season progresses. We now have $12MM left to spend on two RP spots. In the modern game, it’s so much more about the pen - thus, I’d spend the $, but look for at least one two/three year deal as quality in ‘23-‘24 is going to be more important. If for some reason by the trade deadline we are competitive, keep the lineup intact. If not, based on how the younger players are developing, you can move JD, MK, and MP to save cash to reinvest in ‘23.

Last week I selected Sands as my choice to click on 2022. So I like this article (haha). We will see. Having said that, I’d take four starters on essentially rookie contracts around a 4.00 ERA like Ober last year coupled with a shutdown bullpen any day of the week. That combo wins a lot of games.

Super summary! What is our goal for SS, keeping in mind that it’s the most important defensive position on the field (even more so given our young pitching staff)? If the least acceptable answer is a consistently above average, reliable defensive player with an average bat, then I’d agree the rankings confirm a huge hole at SS within our organization. It’s true, sadly. At the moment, it would appear that it is unlikely that we could fill SS with someone matching that description for at least four years, and even then, the jury hasn’t even begun to deliberate, let alone still be out, on our one true hope, Miller. But by the time he’s ready, we might already be talking about our next window. Sign Story and declare SS victory. We have the $, but if we had to move JD to get it done, so be it. For the 2023-2026 Twins, Story >>> Donaldson - it’s not even close. Once our SS hole has been filled, the promise and depth (not only in terms of talent, but also, importantly, cost and control) of these top 20 prospects really becomes apparent. But the SS hole is gaping and could be our greatest Achilles heel holding us back if not resolved. My choice for who most clicks in 2022 is Cole Sands. My choice for who least clicks is SWR.

This has been an excellent series. Thank you TD staff! What is sadly looking like a shortened season, I’m enthusiastically looking forward to following the progress of our up and comers - including those already in the majors. Regardless of how this season turns out, there is a lot to enjoy and keep me interested. A solid, contending TEAM, especially a mid market team like the Twins, usually is comprised of a mix of talents -speed, arm, range, power, OBP, hustle/heart, etc. - and salary levels. Martin should fit in quite well in that model. A lot now falls on the coaching staff, starting with Rocco and moving down the chain of command, to see that these young players develop to create a contending team as early as next year. My hope is that ownership and the FO are focused on that development in judging the staff’s performance.

You nailed the dream lineup.

Outstanding post. If that is our starting lineup in ‘03 - with a combo of Garver/Jeffers/Rortvedt behind the dish - the window should be open and getting better over the next several years. Btw, think about the $’s committed to that lineup; plenty of cash to add additional talent and go all in.