LA Vikes Fan

I agree here. A team needs players who step up and shine in big moments to be successful in post season play. My best "pick to click" in that role is Lewis. He seems to thrive in big moments and you could see Cleveland pitching around him in the last series. That's the ultimate sign of respect from a really good manager in Francona. I also think that Kepler, Wallner, Jeffers, Julien and Solano have the talent and make up to have great moments or even a great series. I just don't see them carrying the team through a longer playoff run if we're lucky enough to get there and have that run. To me the big wildcards are Polanco and Correa. They both need to come up big. If they do, this team has the starting pitching to go places and might have the bullpen with the addition of Maeda, Varland, and Stewart's return to really compete. If they don't, I just don't see that we have the offense to do much more than maybe win one series, if that.

I actually was surprised at how not so horrible the data was. I thought it was worse. Take out Gallo, Garlick, Larnach, Taylor and Buxton and the only high SO people are the rookies Wallner and Julien. Both are rookies and you would expect their SO % to go down over time as they adjust to how they're being pitched. Gallo and Garlick are not on the Twins next year; Taylor and Larnach are iffy. Buxton is a complete question mark. The point is that you would expect to see improvement as a team next year just from the subtraction of some and the expected improvement of others.

Isn't that interesting and refreshing! No Gallo! Way to go, Rocco. Watch, now because I said that Julien will strike out 4 times and make 2 errors....

I think it's time to stop with the "Julien is a butcher at 2B and will never improve" vibe. He certainly started out as a butcher as do many young players first up to the bigs, and the stats and objective analysis says he's improved. Is he great? Not a chance. Is he better? Absolutely. To those who don't want to acknowledge what the objective data says about his fielding improvement, I can only say look again with an open mind. You're were right that he stunk on D when he came up. Players can and often time's do improve. Julien has and chances are, he will continue to improve in the field if he puts in the work. Oh, and climate change is real too. Conversely, his hitting hasn't been good for the last the last month. The league has adjusted to him, now let's see if he adjusts. By the way, Wallner hasn't looked so great lately either although he is adjusting. We can't expect all young players to come up and immediately excel like Lewis. Lewis is a rare breed. We have a quality young player in Julien with a lot of potential and years of low cost control. It would be foolish to trade him now IMHO unless we can get a Ober level or better young starting pitcher in return. That seems unlikely to me so I think the Twins should keep him, have him field 1000 grounders and throws a day in the offseason at 1B and 2B, and play for the upside.

I think you might have it right but I have a slightly different take. Looks like Buxton's return is not imminent so it's really two spots we need - one today or tomorrow for Castro and one Monday for Kirilloff, maybe both on Monday so Castro can use his paternity leave. Assuming no one is going on the Il, I would have predicted Castro for Luplow. Why call up Stevenson if you don't plan on him staying at least a few games? Did Luplow's HR win him another chance? I hope not, I'm still not sold. Gallo still can't hit but he can play 1B better than the rest of the crowd. With Buxton's setback, do we keep Stevenson to play CF or is Castro enough? Is there anyone who needs to go to the IL? Both Taylor and Julien have bad hammys and look like they aren't running well. My prediction is a little different. Castro up, Taylor or Julien goes on the 10 day IL or Luplow back to AAA (he still has options this year). AK up Monday for Luplow if Taylor or Julien is on the Il, takes a spot if both need an IL stint, or for Stevenson if Taylor is ready to play full bore. Gallo stays although Lord knows why. Stevenson stays to play CF until both Castro and Taylor are ready to play CF every day. One other thought. Julien has been really struggling the last 20-30 days. Even his stats over the last 30 games aren't good - .226/.336/.312 (.648), with 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, and 33 SOs in 93 ABs. He really struggled last night. Time for an IL or option re-set? He's not playing 2B and we have a lot of guys who are hitting better that can DH. Wouldn't shock me to see him as one of the odd men out for the next 2 weeks as we work through the roster crunch.

Breaking news, this just in .... This Scherzer guy is really good.

I looked up the rules and it says "A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility [on 40 man as of 8/31] can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible. I read that as saying the Twins could petition to put Stevenson on the eligible 40 man if they need to assuming the other criteria are met.

Andrew Stevenson and Brent Headrick are the 2 9/1 call ups for the Twins. Miranda goes to the 60 day IL to make room for Stevenson on the 40 man. Not sure this is what I would do but you have to give Stevenson credit for tearing up AAA better than anyone else, including Prato and Martin. Stevenson has a .916 OPS, 16 Hrs, 44 steals. I only wish he was 26, not 29, and that he hit RH rather than LH. Still, better in CF than Taylor against RH pitching and Taylor's bum hamstring is starting to hurt his fielding. It's time for someone else in CF. Castro is still gone and Joey Gallo is not the answer to this or frankly any other question unless it's who got the DFA.

Agree except on Grichuk. He has hit .165/.212/.351 since leaving Colorado and coming to the Angels. He had a .703 OPS for Toronto in 2021, followed by .754 and .821 in Colorado, followed by .563 since he left Denver. Sounds like a guy who is on the way down being propped up by the Rockies ballpark. No need for him. I'd rather have Martin. Grab Moore if you can, though. He's good. Lopez, maybe.

So say, the Reds, DBacks. Giants, or the Marlins - all wild card contending teams with priority over the Twins going into today's action - could take all of the waived players should they want to do so? Good thing we blew today's game then. If that's the case, and I believe you, we have very little chance of getting any of the quality pitchers like Moore or even Lopez. Cincy or SF will take the pitchers, Miami or AZ anyone they think can hit. All or at least 3 of the 4 are likely to choose before the Twins. Add in Cleveland making claims to block players going to the Twins, and it seems like there will only be leftovers when our priority comes up. I think there's only 5 max that are worth our time - Moore for sure, and then maaaybe Lopez, Clevinger, Bader, and Renfroe. Seems like we may get shut out on all those. Oh well, what could have been . . .

If I understand the rules right, the real issue is priority. Once you have been awarded a player, that team then goes to the back of the line the next players. So, for example, the Twins claimed one of the relievers, it will go to the back of the line and be very unlikely to get any of the other relievers or position players. So the key is the order of the claims because you're unlikely to get more than one of these players. For me, the order is relatively simple. Matt Moore is the best player of the group and it is not even close. He being a reliever also corresponds with the biggest need. Moore is first, and Reynaldo Lopez is second but a maybe. He has not been consistently good but we desperately need relief pitching. I wouldn't have anything to do with Cisneros. He is not good. If we get shut out on the relievers, I would rather have Harrison Bader than any of the other hitters. Hunter Renfroe is okay but a classic empty calories guy who doesn't run well, doesn't field that well, and doesn't hit in the clutch. Grichuk was pretty good in Colorado, but has been worse than awful since he left the thin air and played at sea level with the Angels. Unlikely to be helpful. Bader cannot hit right-handed pitching to save his life but is a 1.137 OPS guy against lefties this season. He can also run and field. So for me, It's simple. Under the rules, we are unlikely to get more than one of these players unless somebody is not interesting to any other team. The order is Moore, Lopez, Bader, and then Renfroe. Matt Moore is the guy we really want.

Watching Gallo bat is painful. He can't hit anything outer half because he refuses to adjust and hit to LF, and he can't time a breaking ball. It's frankly amazing that his stats are as "good' as they are.

I tend to agree but I don't think the Twins will call up Martin. I hope they at least put him on the 40 man on 8/31 or he won't be playoff eligible. In a perfect world, I would like to see the Twins put in claims for Moore, Lopez, and Bader in that order. If they get one, and it won't be more than one, they take Luplow's spot on the 40 man and if it's pitcher, they take Sands' spot on the 26 man or Maeda goes on the IL (I think his elbow ahs flared back up). I add Martin to the 40 man on 8/31, with Miranda going on the 60 day DL to create room, and add Varland and Martin as the 2 players on 9/1. I would waive Gallo today, or DFA him if they don't, so Castro can be on the 26 man after his paternity leave if that's necessary to create room. Who goes to create room for Kirilloff and Buxton when they're ready depends on performance, injuries, etc. and the situation when they're ready.

! just saw that the Yankees put Harrison Bader on Waivers. Worse against righties but actually much better against lefties - .355/.406/730(1.136) against lefties in 2023, but an awful .508 OPS against righties. Better fielder, runs better, and can play CF. Bader - 1.0 WAR, Grichuk 0.0 WAR. Do you guys like Bader better than Grichuk? I think I do.

Would love to get Moore and/or Lopez. Unfortunately, I think the waiver claim order is reverse order by record and I think at this point it's both leagues. The Twins have the worst record of any presumed playoff team but I got to think that a wild-card contender is going to grab these guys or at least Cleveland will grab them to avoid us getting them. Grichuk might be interesting but he has kind of sucked with the Angels. The earlier poster was right though, he certainly would be an upgrade over Jordan Luplow. I want no part of Giolitto. He can't help us this year, he completely stunk for the Angels, and he won't be back next year. Same for Hunter Renfroe. Decent stats but talk about empty calories, doesn't play much defense, can't run, rarely hits in the clutch, not much better than what we have. Grab Moore or Lopez if he can get them, Moore in particular. Think about Grichuk if he's available. The rest are not worth anything.

I think you're overthinking this. Ober needs a rest. He's already pitched 30 more innings than his previous career high ever - including college - 30 more than any year since 2014. The problem is you can't carry him on the 26 man and just not pitch him at all. You're playing a man short at a critical time. Conversely, they can send him down to AAA with orders not to pitch him for 7-10 days and then ramp him back up in the bullpen. I suspect that he is the #4 playoff starter behind Ryan and will start the playoffs in the bullpen. He'll be back in Minnesota around 9/10-9/15 and he will be on the playoff roster. Yes, he could have gone on the IL but he isn't really injured and then you lose him for 15 days minimum. This was the right call for the Twins. It does suck for Ober because it smacks of a demotion. Media reports say that the strategy was explained to him and he is on board. Hopefully they also told him his name is in pen in the 2024 rotation. By the way, the man has a 5.52ERA/1.55WHIP since the ASB. Frankly, he could easily have ben demoted for baseball reasons with Keuchel taking his place (can't believe I actually just typed that but it's true). This way the demotions is to protect him. Easier medicine to swallow.

Thanks, Very helpful.

Question - if you're on the 40 man roster but not the 26 man MLB roster, can you be put on the playoff roster? I thought that was only doable as an "injury replacement" player with the replaced player going on the 10 day or 15 day IL. I might be remembering older rules. So, for example, SWR is on the 40 man but hasn't been on the 26 man all year. Can he be arbitrarily dropped into a playoff roster to replace a healthy player or does someone have to go on IL for him to be able to be on the roster? Another example - let's say Varland doesn't come up from AAA the rest of the season. Can he be put on the playoff roster without a pitcher going on IL for 15 days? Just trying to figure out if it matters who's on the 26 man MLB roster at midnight 9/1 or only who's on the 40 man roster. By the way, Martin is not on the 40 man but Gallo and Luplow are. Just sayin....

The Luplow experiment should be over. He can't hit. Also, he is in an option year so we can send him down to AAA without losing him if we keep him on the 40 man, in case anyone thinks there's a reason to keep him, and he isn't likely to make a postseason roster once everyone is back. I would send him down now (or after the Cle series since they're pitching RH starters), and bring up Martin or whoever the FO thinks is best. Do it before 9/1 so that the player is prost-season eligible in case we catch lightning in a bottle and Martin turns out to be another Julien.

Be careful here. Just remember that: Chuck Norris does in fact use a stunt double, but only for crying scenes. Chuck Norris doesn't flush the toilet, he scares the crap out of it. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

This article didn't age very well with Winder and Sands' performance the last 2 days. Still think he's right though.

I really like this plan. Varland should be in the bullpen today or maybe, this weekend since he pitched Tuesday. No more starts in St. Paul, he does the rest of his 2023 work out of the MLB bullpen. I agree that we need a RH hitting OF with more upside than Luplow (who has almost no upside) and it would be great if he could play CF to avoid having to play Gallo there like we are tonight. I think Martin is the way to go although I think Castro will be the choice. I would move Ober to the BP but would wait until we are past the rest of this tougher stretch. I would rather have Ober start Sunday than Keuchel, for example, since I think any good team will work Keuchel over. I also would not start Keuchel against Cleveland. Once we are past Tex and Cle we can move Ober to the pen to get him used to it and Keuchel can get his starts against lesser teams.

I think Maeda is a solid #4, Plus #5, but not a #3 or higher on a competitive team. He doesn't pitch enough innings adn he's not consistent enough to be a #3 or higher. He's in the $12-15m a year range. Sonny Gray is like Chris Bassit last year. Bassit got 3 years $63m, for his age 34-36 season. Gray is 33. Gray can probably get something like that so the QO makes perfect sense. If he takes it, you're paying him roughly market without the long commitment. If he doesn't you avoid the commitment to guy on his last contract. Maeda is 35. He's much closer to the 35 year old Kyle Gibson who got a one year $10m contract in the last off season. This year, Gibson is 13-7, 4.89 ERA/3.84 FIP. Salaries do tend to go up year to year though, and I actually think Maeda is a little better bet than Gibson. I think Maeda could and will get 2 guaranteed years, but not 3. My guess is 2 years, $22-25M but I might be a little low. I could see a team giving him 2 years, up to $30m. Still a lot less than a 1 year $20m plus contract on the QO. I think Gray gets the QO and rejects it, and I think Maeda goes for 2 years guaranteed at $25m or a little less. I would make those deals if I were the Twins.

That's for sure. Coming from someone who lives in LA, I get to see the whole spectrum from the truly well run Dodgers to the truly inept and perhaps even cursed Angels. Trust me, things could be a lot worse.

Love this and love the idea of one year $7-10m with a second year option, but I don't think either gets it done. I think Maeda has more value than that on the market, particularly since his old team - the Dodgers - will be looking for a veteran back end starter next year. I think it's more like 2 guaranteed years at somewhere between $11-14m a year, maybe 2024 a little more and 2025 a little less. Something like 2 years, $22-25m with 60% in 2024, 40% in 2025 so he can transition to the bullpen in 25 if we don't need him as a starter. I would do this in a heartbeat if he's healthy. Hope they re-sign Maeda. Gray is gone next year and Paddack is a real question mark coming off his second TJ surgery. The track record for guys with 2 TJs isn't any where near as good as it is for guys with one. Next year's starting pitching group then would be Lopez, Ober, Ryan, Maeda, and Paddack or Varland with the other in AAA as #6. Still a strong group with some depth. Hope SWR and/or Festa or Raya can step up to the #7 and #8 spots. Use the FA money on bullpen help and RH hitting 4th OF who can play a better than average CF.