LA Vikes Fan

You're right. It looks like they kept Festa up and did not call up Matthews, at least not yet. Matthews hasn't pitched in St. Paul for a week since their earlier plan was to call him up for tonight. Wonder if he will go for the Saints tomorrow. If not, there may be a plan afoot to get him up to the MLB level soon.

Look, I understand we are only 16 games into the season and it's far too early to panic. Having said that, I do think it's becoming increasingly obvious that the current Twins roster has enough pitching to succeed but simply does not have enough hitting or a versatile enough offensive approach to score enough runs competitive. Adding Lewis will help (how much depends on whether we get the first half 2024 or the second half Lewis), but we don't really see much else on the horizon. Lee helps on the defensive side but not so much on the offensive side at least based on his performance last year. I think were about two weeks away from making what seems to be fairly inevitable decision: this is a retooling/rebuilding year with an outside shot at a playoff spot, not a championship contention year. Seems to me that certain decisions become obvious once you cross that bridge. You need to find a place to play the two real prospects we have in the minors, Keschall and Erod, at the expense of guys like Larnach, Miranda, and Castro. I personally think Julien can hit well enough and you need to keep playing him but it might be as a primary DH with only a couple of days a week in the field. You need to make a decision about whether you want to try to keep Ty France long term and, if not, start to reduce his playing time in the field so that Julien can transition to 1B. Maybe those two are the primary 1B/DH tandem. You need to pitch the starters likely to be here for the long haul, Festa and Matthews, at the expense of Paddack, who is traded or sent to the bullpen. In short, it's rapidly becoming time to treat this as a transition year where the only long-term fixtures are Buxton, Correa, Wallner, and Jeffers in the field, Lopez, Ryan, and Ober in the starting rotation, and Jax and Duran ( and maybe Sands) in the bullpen. Let's see if we have some replacements in the system over the next couple of months so we can decide how to handle the trading deadline. The old saw is the first two months the baseball season is to see what you have, the second is to try to fix your holes, and the third to just play. I do think keeping Festa up after his last MLB start and giving Matthews the start tonight is a good first step, particularly if we keep both of them in the rotation while Lopez is out. I think we need to start doing that on the position player side with Keaschall and ERod, and maybe even McCusker and some playing time for Keirsey. Let's see what we have now before we get too far behind to have any hope.

While this demotion can help, I think the team needs something more drastic to get out of this funk. Firing the manager would shake things up but I'm not sure who replaces Rocco. Tingler stunk in San Diego and who knows if Toby Gardenhire is MLB quality. Bringing up Keaschall to replace Gaspar might help fi we actually play Keaschall regularly, probably at the expense of Castro. A new lineup that puts Wallner in an RBI position might help, but only if someone actually gets on base ahead of him. I guess we should try all of the above since the one thing we know is that what we're doing now isn't working.

I admit that I may have given up on Julien's bat too early. The way the rest of the Twins lineup is playing, he has to play every day or at least every day against RH pitching. With France being one of the only other 2-3 guys hitting at all, 1B is taken. Julien will have to Dh and play a little 2B since we have to get his bat into the lineup. Maybe he can be taught to play 1B over the course of the season since France is on a one year deal, but I don't think Julien playing 1B this year is in the cards absent an injury. I don't think we can send him down to learn 1B while he's hitting even .250-.280 with a .750+ OPS. That makes him one of the best hitters on the team. Probably should be hitting 1 or 5. Maybe a better lineup would be Julien, Buxton, France/Wallner, Wallner/France, Correa, Jeffers, Larnach, Miranda, Castro. Lee slides in for Miranda when he returns. Lewis slides into the 3 hole when he's back, everyone slides back one, with Castro going to the bench and playing 2B/3B 2-3 times a week.

Julien is a strange one so far. He seems to be hitting the ball harder and his Baseball Savant page is much better but he has very little to show for it. As Mark G points out, 6 hits in 28 ABs with 8 SOs and only 2 BBs gives one pause. He reminds me a little of Larnach - seems to regularly hit the ball hard but doesn't seem to have enough power for many extra base hits so he hits a lot of "almost" fly balls and longer line drives that are caught in the OF. I like is new approach but, much like Larnach, it may not lead to much. That could be a real problem because we need both of these guys to be .800 plus OPS hitters (or one of them plus Miranda or a guy currently in AAA) or we will not have enough length in this lineup to be competitive.

You may be right about him but you have to admit it's a very small sample size. Still, if Keirsey can't hit MLB pitching, wouldn't Keaschall or Martin be a much better choice? Martin wasn't great last year, but was competent at the plate and have Bader for that late inning defensive guy. Keaschall hit well in ST. My point is this lineup isn't working and I don't think it's going to get materially better. I wish we had a qulity MLB hitter in the wings to help, but we don't. Let's see if we can catch lightning in a bottle or at least upgrade at the margins by trading out Gaspar and maybe Keirsey.

This. The only changes on the horizon are the return of Lewis (could help), and the return of Lee (unlikely to help much based on track record, but a guy can dream). One would hope Correa and Buxton start to hit better and it's possible that Julien, Miranda and/or Larnach could step up at least some. Add all that tougher and what do you get ? Marginal improvement at best. So why not give Keaschall, Martin and/or Keirsey a real chance. May be they aren't any better. But maybe they add some life to this team. Let's find out in the next month and not wait until July.

It looks to me like the Twins don't draw well because the team isn't particularly good so far this year, was bad in the second half of last year, and the weather has been bad. Add to that the epic collapse in the last two months of 2024, the lack of action from a team that doesn't hit the ball well, and the softening economy, and you have a recipe for a drop in attendance. It's much harder to convince people to pay the prices pro sports cost to go see a somewhat boring team that frankly appears to be going nowhere fast. It strikes me that if the team improves and become truly competitive, it is likely that the fans will return. I completely understand people not wanting to spend the $200-$400 it costs to take a family of four to a baseball game to watch an uncompetitive team that doesn't hit much or play a very exciting brand of baseball. That also explains why the other pro sports teams in the area seem to draw better; they are all at least reasonably competitive/playoff bound teams. At this point, Twins have not shown that.

"Failed" may be hyperbole but you have to admit neither Julien or Mirnada has provided much offensive help. Neither of them has or is likely to provide much defensive help either. I not surprised about Gaspar. Time to cut bait on him for now. Fun story but he's now 1-30 in his career with 14 SOs in 30 ABs, 37 PAs. He has made a critical error last night as has looked rough defensively. I would argue that Julien is a better 2B, a low standard indeed. This team isn't good enough to win other than at the margins. Keaschall and Martin might help at the margins, Gaspar is hurting us at the margins. I just have a hard time understanding why you would keep him on the roster.

I don't think you're right about Keaschall. He's playing every day in St. Paul, about half the time at 2B and about half at DH. I understand but disagree with the argument that it's too early but I don't think health is a legitimate reason to hold off a promotion. I'd be thrilled if Lee went .650, then .800, then .900 in OPS at AAA. But isn't that an argument to wait at least 2-3 weeks so he can adjust? I'm talking about what we should do now, not May 1. I think we can all agree that Gaspar doesn't bring enough to the table to be on an MLB roster. I think Keaschall is ready enough now to get an opportunity. That doesn't stop Lee from coming up even as soon as a week or two from now. He can replace Keaschall if he hasn't performed, Keirsey if we've decided not to play him (Castro becomes the 5th OF) or whichever of Julien or Miranda is still in the dumps. This isn't an either/or choice. We have a guy in Gaspar that is 1-30 career and a poor IF. His primary value appears to be as a 3rd catcher which would have value if we had 2 good hitting catchers that we might want to occasionally get in the lineup together or regularly pinch hit on their days off. We don't. Vasquez hasn't hit much in now in 2 plus years. I feel bad saying this but Gaspar provides no real value to this team. Let's get someone up who might.

Hope you're right, but we haven't seen Lee's bat play at the MLB level. He was affirmatively BAD at the plate last year with a .585 OPS in his 179 ABs. Does his defense make up for that on a team that can't score? Wouldn't it be better for him to spend 2-4 weeks at AA, show he can hit there and has knocked the rust off, and then call him up? Defense is important but hitting is much more important for a team that's 28th in BA, 29th in OPS, and 28th in slugging %. There's a better option - call up Luke Keaschall. He hit in Spring Training, hit last year in AA, and is hitting well in AAA so far. Give him a chance and give him a chance NOW. We'll know if he's overmatched by the time Lee is ready to come up. If he's hitting, find him ABs at 2B and DH after Lee comes back up. If not, he goes back down for Lee. What this article really shows is that there is room for anybody at AAA that the team thinks can hit MLB pitching. We have at least 4 available spots - the 3 guys mentioned plus Keirsey. I'd love to see Keirsey can a chance to play and hit, but if he isn't going to get that chance bring up Martin and give him a chance to play. The bottom line is that what we're doing now is not working and there isn't much evidence to suggest that's going to change much. Harrison Bader is not going to OPS above .900, he'll wind up much closer to .700. Wallner may stay where he is and Buxton, Larnach, and/or Correa may come back to hitting like a #5 or #6 guy in a good lineup, but what else is there? Miranda and Julien may re-set at the MLB level but are more likely to need a AAA reset. We have no hitter who needs to play every day clogging up the DH spot. We don't need a new lineup order, we need new guys. Lee might help, but the stats from last year suggest Martin might help more since he hit better. Keaschall has shown well in the Minors, give him a chance. I'm not thrilled with basically sorting out during the regular season but I think that's exactly what we need to do now. Gaspar, Julien and maybe even Miranda have had their chance and failed. Get Martin and Keaschall up for Gaspar and Kiersey and give them a real shot. If Keirsey is going to stay, play him, and bring up Martin for Julien. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That's what we're doing. By the way, Albert Einstein didn't say that. It was first from a Narcotics Anonymous pamphlet published in 1981. I find that ironic - Addiction to the status quo may indeed be the problem.

Agreed. There is NO track record so far that suggest Lee will help energize the offense. In fact, his track record suggest we need to hide him at the #9 spot if we want to take advantage of his defense. The idea that Lee coming back will help the offense is ludicrous. We have a much better (so far) 2B candidate in AAA in Keaschall. Let's get him up now and give him a 2 week run while Lee gets back into hitting shape at AAA, assuming that's even possible for Lee. Let's find out if Keaschall can hit. If he can, it's a great shot in the arm. If not, Lee will be ready to take his roster spot. Gaspar goes. Keaschall simply can't be any worse than Gaspar and there is a good chance that he'll be better.

I agree that young players are unlikely to save the day but I don't see other options. There aren't any good hitting free agents out there and it would be tough to get value in a trade right now. While the season isn't over, it's definitely starting to circle the drain. It's not just the 3-7 record, it's really the thought that our record matches the eye test against a pretty weak starting schedule. The team is showing very little life and very little that gives one hope for improvement, much less the complete turnaround necessary to contend. I do think there is at least one player that showed enough in ST to given a shot now - Luke Keaschall. He's playing 2B in AAA and we can DH him some if we need to be careful with the elbow. 2B is a black hole for the Twins. Castro is not really hitting and is better suited to play around the IF. We also need him at 3B right now and maybe some at SS. Julien isn't hitting at all and is a butcher at 2B. Needs to go back to AAA for a reset. Gaspar does not belong on an MLB roster. Lee is 2-3 weeks away and hasn't shown he can hit MLB pitching. I am not anywhere near sold that's he's even ready now, much less that he would inject life into a lineup. Call up Keaschall, play him 4 days a week at 2B, 2 at DH (we don't have a regular DH), and option/DFA Gaspar. It's no panacea, but it's a start and we need a jolt badly.

What's even worse is that you don't really see a lot that gives you hope that many of the under .230 guys will end the year over .250. Correa and Buxton, most likely. Larnach and Jeffers, probably. After that, looks pretty grim.

Agree with you on the quality of the lineup. This just isn't a very good team on offense or, outside of Correa, Buxton, and Bader, on defense. We have a group of guys who should be hitting 5, 6 or 7, hitting 2, 3 and 4. Maybe Lewis would help if he's really the 2023 Lewis, not the second half of 2024 Lewis. Maybe Wallner will OPS over .900 and be moved to the middle of the lineup. Maybe France becomes his 2021 or even 2022 self again (or maybe I can meet and bed a supermodel). It's tough because it's hard to see from where the needed offensive improvement is going to come from. I know it's very early. It's just hard to see any light at the end of this tunnel. Hope I'm wrong.

Makes sense. This was the logical move.

Slight nit - Gaspar and France aren't THE problem but they are part of THE problem. Both went 0-2 again today and are hitting .111 and .188 respectively. Yes, you can add in Miranda and the slow starts from Correa and Buxton. The difference is those 3 have track records of production in the recent past. Gaspar and France do not. Bader is meh at the plate, but that's exactly what we expected from him - very good defense, meh offense. Time to shift things up for the trip. Gaspar DFA/Option, Keaschall up. Julien goes to 1B/DH full time including starting in the field over France. Keaschall plays 2B 5 days a week until he either wins the job or shows us he needs to go back. At least a 2 week run. At this point, no reason not to give it a try.

Jax should not be closing. He has a poor save percentage. It may just be psychological but it's real; he doesn't do well in save situations. Bad usage of Duran and Jax by Baldelli. He should know better - he tried this last year and it didn't work well. Also, time to give up on Paddack as a starter. We have better options in Festa and Matthews. Should be interesting to see what they do with the pitching staff given the three short starts in a row and overuse of the bullpen. The Twins need fresh arms bad. My play is Varland is optioned to AAA AND McCaughan goes to DFA. Up come Matthews and maybe Blewett since Dobnak just went 5 good innings today and Festa pitched Friday. Tomorrow is SWR and Matthews on a piggyback that adds up to at least 7 innings after which one of Matthews, SWR or Paddack goes down. I'd love a plan for the lineup but I just don't see that group changing any time soon. This could get very ugly very fast.

I think this is a good analysis. I’ve never been on the fire Rocco bandwagon, but I’m looking into booking passage. This team looks very lifeless. I think the talent level is not as high as we sometimes thought but I also think that the team is playing far below its capabilities. I would be a favor of infusing the team with some talent that is currently in AAA and changing managers. I think if we wait until mid season for that it may be too late. The good news is that the division looks pretty bad this year so we can let things play out a little while, but it’s hard to see how things are going to change.

I’m with you here with some minor nits. You’re right that France, Bader, Castro, and Larnach are not every day players in an MLB contending team. They would be a good bench for that team. Julien and Miranda are maybes at AAA on that team as is Lee, who also isn’t a MLB starting caliber player yet. The bigger problem is that the starting caliber players we have are complimentary hitters with no middle of the order bats, except for maybe Lewis. Buxton and Correa are glove first players who can hit some, not offensive leaders. Wallner and Jeffers are nice young(ish) hitters. What we have is a collection of hitters who should hit 5, 6, or later in a good lineup and no one good enough to hit 2, 3, or 4. Again. Hard to fix that.

I don't think it's tenacity or will, I think it's a lack of high end hitting talent. Here's my view: (1) A consistent offense has consistent quality hitters in the 2-5 spots. We have Correa (usually a consistent hitter, now hitting .080), Buxton (streaky, should be hitting 5 or 6), Larnach ( improving but unproven, also should be hitting 5 or 6), and Ty France (30 year old who OPS'd .700 and .670 the last 2 years and is hitting .192, should be hitting 7 or 8 or on the bench). (2) Wallner is out of place and out of sorts leading off. He should also be hitting 5 or 6 (see Larnach above). (3) The catching position has Jeffers, who is at best inconsistent, really kind of an average hitter for a catcher (read mediocre for any other position), and Vasquez, who can't hit at all. (4) Bader had 3 HRs and 8 RBis! He's also hitting .211 and has a career .241/.305/.395 (.700) slash line. His current OPS will fall fast when (not if) he stops hitting HRS at a 100+ per year pace, probably back to his typical high .600s or low.700s. Fine as a good glove 4th OF or even ok as a regular hitting 9th, but no savior for the offense or frankly even much help. (5) Only Castro is hitting of the rest of the bunch, and beyond him only Julien is hitting the ball hard. Maybe Miranda will come back, but Gaspar is great moustache on an aging AAA player and Keirsey? Who knows, he's had all of 16 MLB Abs with a sparking .489 OPS. The bottom line is that this team will not have a top 5 offense with the players we have on the current 26 man roster and will only have a middle of the pack offense if Correa, Buxton and Lewis are all playing and all hitting. Maybe top 10 if those 3 and Wallner and Larnach are hitting. That's just the reality of this team. Odds of all that happening are pretty slim. The solution? Not sure there is one, but here's what I would try: (1) Move Castro to the leadoff spot. Larnach hits 2, Correa 3, Buxton 4, and Wallner 5. Lewis slots in at 3 when he comes back and Correa moves to 6 unless he's really hot. (2) Call up Keaschall and give him a run at 2B. Demote Gaspar, move Julien to 1B/DH and actually play him there 5 days a week for a couple of weeks. France to the bench or DH. (3) Play Keirsey at the combined expense of Bader, Larnach or Wallner. Give him some ABs and see if he can hit enough and run enough to ignite this team. if you aren't sold enough on him to try that, back to AAA and onto the trade block. This is not working and frankly there no real signs or history that suggests that it's going to work. The lineup is out of balance and lacks enough consistent hitters. I'm getting ready for a long season of a lot of 5-2 games against us.

I think you're right on Varland. He's the weak man in the bullpen right now and probably the first to go when Stewart comes back if things continue this way. Varland is really a one inning high octane guy, so he's holding down Stewart's spot. We do need a long man and so far Dobnak has filled that role. He could also be a spot starter or a 2-3 inning opener if we need one. He really could be a good guy to have if this new pitch helps him continue to be effective. All of this is great, but none of it will matter if we can't find at least 2-3 guys who can hit.

How about Keaschall May 1 if he's hitting in AAA and things continue for the team? Give him a month to get back to playing 2B and get him up for a shot.

Got to agree with you. Gaspar should be the first guy gone when Lewis or Lee is ready to come back.

This is the kind of start to a season that gets managers fired...