LA Vikes Fan

Tough question. If Larnach hits, you have the right 3 from which to choose. As they say, good problem to have. Most likely a Castro release/demotion or an injury will provide the opening for Polanco. Kirilloff will probably have to crush AAA for a couple of weeks before he gets a shot and even then may need an injury to move up. When Polanco and Kirilloff are both ready, to me the right answer is to option/release Castro and then either trade either Kepler or Gallo or release Solano. I would do the former if there is any value in trading Kepler. The problem is that no one really wants him and the Twins aren't going to release him or Gallo until at least June or July and then only if they really stink. It may take an injury for Kirilloff to get back to the MLB level. All of this is interesting, but let's be honest - someone is going to get hurt and we'll be glad we have all of these guys...

You said it brother! It's ok if he he takes ABs away from Kepler. Gallo is just as good in the field and both are very iffy at hitting to say the least. But if Gallo and Kepler both don't hit by mid-May (most likely result based on track record) but both play and take away ABs from Larnach, Kirilloff or Gordon, then something is very wrong in the FO and the dugout.

Agreed. He gets 100 PAs before appearances before making a decision. By the way, so should Kepler but not more than that. I think the big question is what do we do in the likely event that it's May 1, Kepler and Gallo each have had roughly 100 PAs, neither one is hitting even .220, and neither has even 5-6 HRs? Maybe its time for Kirilloff to go to 1B or the OF, leave Larnach in LF, put Polanco at 1B with Gordon and Farmer platooning at 2B and bring up Julien to be a 1B/DH. Kepler and Gallo go to the bench. I have a feeling that the Twins are going to be quicker with the hook this year on non-productive veteran players. We've got some guys who may be ready; it's the right thing to do.

Right on, brother. I don't get the complaining about Lopez "only" throwing 85 pitches. It's March. Starters need to ramp up. I've been watching baseball since the 60s and this is very typical in a starter's first 4-5 starts. Start at 70-80 pitches, ramp up to 90, then 100, then 110. We should all hold our complaining about "short starts" until at least mid-May.

I was also glad to see Rocco put some trust in the younger players to hit in the middle of the order. Rather than cram Kepler and Gallo in there, he went with Larnach, Miranda and Gordon in the 4, 5 and 6 spots. I think they've earned a shot at those spots, and we know from experience that Kepler and Gallo aren't likely to be middle of the order bats. The Twins need help on offense in the RBI spots. Giving these three guys a shot is the best way to find out if we have those guys or need to find them at the deadline. Add in Polanco to lead off and maybe Kiriloff in the top 7 and the offense might be good enough.

By the way, it was Larnach who singled in Buxton not Correa. Good pace to the game. Much better on TV. You actually have to focus more, can 't just occasionally look up from your phone.

Sorry to see Hoffman and Coloumbe go but understand the decision. Question on Hoffman - any reason we can't re-sign him if he doesn't get a 26 man roster spot somewhere else? Maybe the thing to do is to go to him with a minor league deal at major league money and an opt out if he isn't on the MLB roster by May 31. I know only a possibility if he can't find an MLB spot but those spots are hard to find once you clear waivers.

I think Maeda looks close to ready but no way he goes 25 plus starts and 150 innings. He's 19 months from pitching in an MLB game. I think we'll be lucky to get 90-100 innings, 15-17 starts from him. Ober will get the other "half" of that starting spot. Or more likely, an injury or two happens and Maeda, Ober and Varland all get 15 plus starts at the MLB level. My prediction is that by August, Ober will be in the starting rotation and Maeda will be in the bullpen - just like the dodgers used to pitch him over the course of the season. worked pretty well, too.

That's too bad. Would have been nice to keep him. Sands as the last man in the bullpen?

So true. Polanco has been our 2nd or 3rd best position player the last 3-4 years. Losing him for an extended period is a big loss.

This is very concerning for Polanco, and very concerning for our lineup. We can replace him in the field but not at the plate. Polanco was our third most important hitter behind Buxton and Correa, arguably second since he played every day. Think about our top six hitters, assuming Vazquez hits seven. Right now it’s probably Buxton, Correa, Miranda, and… Gallo? Gordon? Larnach? Maybe Kepler has found some thing that he’s never had before outside of 2019? Farmer but only against left-handed pitching? Same for Taylor but not as good? It’s going to be interesting to see how they fill out those 4–6 spots of the order and who leads off. Polanco was one of the key hitters in the lineup, a good RBI man who consistently took good at bats. We are going to miss him a lot in the lineup if he can’t go. We need some young guys to step up or there are going to be a lot of low output came from this team. Hey, that Joey Gallo, signing looking better and better all the time, huh? Same for not trading Kepler? Boy, I was wrong about those two moves.

You may have a point here, depending on what you think the time line is for Lewis and Lee. Both are kind of unknowns. It seems to me that both are likely to be 3Bs (or one at 3B, one at 2B) when they permanently arrive, which would move Miranda to 1B or DH. Lee got a lot of ST ABs - apparently looked good but hit .182/.279/.441. Looks like he needs some MiLB development time, especially since you have to think at least some (if not most) of those ABS were against pitchers who won't make a MLB roster. Lewis looked great last year but who knows how he'll come back? Still, makes sense to give Miranda some time at 1B to help prepare for a Miranda, Polanco, Correa, Lewis IF in August. As for Kirilloff? Hope the guy gets his chance but he may not be able to get there. It sure looks like he can't be relied upon at least at the start of the season which opens up the questions of when and IF he can be a lineup mainstay. That is starting to look like a big IF...

I think you're on to something there depending on how good Solano is in the field. I hear he's slow and not the world's best 2B. It may be Farmer filling in at 2B when we're facing a LH starter. Farmer had a .948 OPS against lefties last year (148 PAs), Solano was at .770 (89 PAs).

Fun as it is speculate, I think we’ve already seen the answer. Kirilloff isn’t going to be ready coming out of spring training and will probably need at least a few weeks in AAA before he is ready. The smart move is Gallo at 1B with Gordon and Larnach at left field and DH against right handed starters. Against left handed starters, it’s Miranda at 1B, Farmer at 3B, Solano at DH (or some combination thereof for those three) with either Gordon, Larnach, or Taylor in LF. If Buxton needs to DH that day, Taylor goes to CF and either Farmer or Solano sits down. The great thing is the lineup is flexible enough to be potentially productive, even without Kirilloff. That’s a big step up from last year.

Like it a lot with one exception. Pagan gets sent to AAA or waived and Sands makes the team as the long man. I odn't know and can't find Pagan's option situation so I'm not sure if either goes to AAA or gets waived and possibly lost. Frankly, don't know and don't much care.

I’m generally not a fan of a six man rotation, but this might be a team where that makes sense. All of the starters except Ryan have had injury problems. Moreover, I think it’s very unlikely that either Maeda or Ober will pitch more than 120 innings or so this year with each coming off of a major Injury and the few innings Ober threw last year. We only have two days off in April, but we do have five off in May. My thought is to start out with a six man rotation, and by roughly May 1, I suspect either one will have pitched their way out of that rotation or have some kind of injury issue. If the baseball gods are smiling down upon us, and all are healthy and pitching well, I say stick with it. Pagan seems pretty straightforward to me. He is not pitching well at all. Either put him on waivers with the idea of sending him to AAA or, if he has an option left, option him down. He needs to work his kinks out in the minor leagues if he can, not on the MLB roster. Getting rid of him also allows us to have a seven man bullpen that includes both Moran and Cole Sands, the latter as a Long reliever. I’m a big believer in performance dictating use. It would be different if Pagán was having a poor ST after a couple of strong years. That’s not where we are. He hasn’t performed since 2019 and should be sent down to AAA to try to find his groove. I think he gets AAA instead of being released because of his $4 million contract.

Yes. I think of all the candidates that Sands makes the most sense to transition to the bullpen. I just don't think his "stuff" is good enough to navigate through a lineup 2 to 3 times a game over the course of the season. He is already 26 and I just don't see him improving enough to be an MLB starter. On the other hand, I think Winder, Varland, SWR, Headrick, and even Dobnak have enough that they can become at least decent mid- rotation starters, maybe Dobnak as a backend guy. I even like to see Henriquez get a little more play in the AAA starting rotation, although I think he winds up in the bullpen eventually. My plan would be to start this season with Aaron Sanchez in the bullpen as a long man/multi-inning guy with Megill in the AAA bullpen as a late inning short man. I would have Sands filling a long man/multi-inning role in AAA to start the season to get him ready to fill that role at the MLB level when the inevitable need arises. This would be more of a transition year with the long-term goal to make Sands a regular bullpen fixture in a multi-inning role.

That's the guy. Now, Kenny "Sodbuster" Jay was no George "Scrap Iron " Gadaski but he was still a regular. I think Kenny Jay and George Gadaski might even have been a tag team at one point. I have this weird memory of them wrestling Jesse Ventura and maybe Adrian Adonis, Nick Bockwinkle or maybe even Hulk Hogan... Clearly I watched waaaay too much All Star Wrestling in my formative years.

Well said. I like Solano and think signing him was smart. He has a definite role on this team and will help make us better. Having said that, Gordon is more important to the Twins IF last year was real. I won't repeat the statistics but he had a very solid year for a MLB OF and may be in the ascendency. He would be very valuable if he stays where he is and could be a core player if he continues to improve. I think we can expect him to improve as a defensive an OF as he gets more experience. He is one of the players that gives one hope that this team is improving and could go on a run as a truly competitive team. Gordon probably won't be a central player in that team, but he could be a complimentary piece that helps it succeed.

You of course mean "The Very Capable Kenny Jay"?

You may be right on Farmer - although he was the Reds starting SS for more than a year - but attach Kepler and now we have a package that speaks to the Dodgers needs, According to MLB trade values that package is worth a good MLB reliever in his 20s like Caleb Ferguson plus another guy like Andre Jackson or, if we add an A or AA guy with potential (Headrick?), could get us a rising SP prospect like Ryan Pepiot. Just trying to improve the club by trading from surplus to fill our short and long term bullpen or our medium to long term SP needs. I do agree that this is more likely to be a topic in June IF Farmer performs well and Rojas plays like I expect - pretty well in the field, black hole at the plate. The Dodgers lineup is not anywhere near as strong this year and it will be hard for them to carry a no hit SS. Rojas is 34, and fell off a cliff last year with the bat. A revival could happen, but is unlikely. The Dodgers do not rebuild. They expect to be in the playoffs and contend for the division title. That may be hard to do with Rojas playing every day.

I started a blog on this earlier today. I said there - Kyle Farmer is a starting quality MLB SS will fill a bench role for the Twins this year. While he is valuable in that role, his biggest value might have just come in - as a trade chip to the Dodgers to replace Gavin Lux at SS after Lux tore his ACL yesterday. The Dodgers other option is 34-year-old Miguel Rojas who they acquired from the Marlins before spring training. You have to think the Dodgers are looking for a starting caliber SS that's locked into a reserve role on another team, particularly one who can be a 1 or 2 year option while Lux recovers or they get a free agent next winter. Voilà! 32-year-old longtime starting SS Kyle Farmer seems to meet all of those criteria. Interestingly enough, the Dodgers could also use a proven outfielder. They do have Mookie Betts in right, but are looking at an aging Chris Taylor and an unproven Trayce Thompson to play center with a very unproven James Outman in left. It seems like a respected veteran like Max Kepler might be a good fit. I think there's a real possibility that Kyle Farmer becomes a trade talking point between the Twins and the Dodgers. It would not surprise me if Kepler is also in the discussion. The Dodgers have a deep farm system particularly in pitching and catching. I do think there's a match. May be a Caleb Ferguson or Andre Jackson might be a good piece for Farmer. Add Kepler and maybe you can get Outman, Landon Knack, or Nick Mastrini or 1 of them plus someone a little farther down the list? Who knows, maybe there's a way to pry Ryan Pepiot away if you offer, Farmer, Kepler and maybe a solid AA guy. I think there's a real opportunity here for the Twins to trade what are now somewhat redundant pieces - a 32-year-old starting caliber Shortstop who will be relegated to a reserve role for the one year he is with the team and a 30-year-old good fielding, roughly average hitting outfielder for whom there seemed to be adequate replacements. The Dodgers are a win now team that needs both those kinds of players. What you guys think? I expect the Dodgers to try Rojas and find him wanting. I also expect them to do whatever is necessary to contend so I think they'll be looking by June. Maybe then we can trade farmer with Lewis hopefully on the way?

Thanks for the comments. I think the real issue behind whether this is even an option is the value of Farmer. The Dodgers don't have much in the SS pipeline ready for this year. I went to MLB trade values and a Farmer plus Kepler for Caleb Feguson and Andre Jackson deal is about right. There, Famer and Kepler almost equals Ryan Pepiot and does if we throw in Cavaco or Schobel. All a fantasy, but it would be interesting to know if the FO is reaching out to the Dodgers or, even better, if the Dodgers have reached out to us. It would have to be a multi player trade to get much though. You're right, Farmer isn't worth much on his own. Any way, my thinking is this could be a trade from surplus to help positions of need - LH hitting OF and starting caliber SS, in return for bullpen help or younger SP on the way up.

Kyle Farmer is a starting quality MLB SS will fill a bench role for the Twins this year. While he is valuable in that role, his biggest value might have just come in - as a trade chip to the Dodgers to replace Gavin Lux at SS after Lux tore his ACL yesterday. The Dodgers other option is 34-year-old Miguel Rojas who they acquired from the Marlins before spring training. You have to think the Dodgers are looking for a starting caliber SS that's locked into a reserve role on another team, particularly one who can be a 1 or 2 year option while Lux recovers or they get a free agent next winter. Voilà! 32-year-old longtime starting SS Kyle Farmer seems to meet all of those criteria. Interestingly enough, the Dodgers could also use a proven outfielder. They do have Mookie Betts in right, but are looking at an aging Chris Taylor and an unproven Trayce Thompson to play center with a very unproven James Outman in left. It seems like a respected veteran like Max Kepler might be a good fit. I think there's a real possibility that Kyle Farmer becomes a trade talking point between the Twins and the Dodgers. It would not surprise me if Kepler is also in the discussion. The Dodgers have a deep farm system particularly in pitching and catching. I do think there's a match. May be a Caleb Ferguson or Andre Jackson might be a good piece for Farmer. Add Kepler and maybe you can get Outman, Landon Knack, or Nick Mastrini or 1 of them plus someone a little farther down the list? Who knows, maybe there's a way to pry Ryan Pepiot away if you offer, Farmer, Kepler and maybe a solid AA guy. I think there's a real opportunity here for the Twins to trade what are now somewhat redundant pieces - a 32-year-old starting caliber Shortstop who will be relegated to a reserve role for the one year he is with the team and a 30-year-old good fielding, roughly average hitting outfielder for whom there seemed to be adequate replacements. The Dodgers are a win now team that needs both those kinds of players. What you guys think?

Farmer's biggest value might have just come in - as a trade chip to the Dodgers to replace Gavin Lux at SS after Lux tore his ACL yesterday. The Dodgers other option is 34-year-old Miguel Rojas they just acquired from the Marlins before spring training. You have to think the Dodgers are looking for a starting caliber SS that's locked into a reserve role on another team, particularly one who can be a 1 or 2 year option while Lux recovers or they get a free agent next winter. Voilà! Kyle Farmer seems to meet all of those criteria. Interestingly enough, the Dodgers could also use a proven outfielder. They do have Mookie Betts in right, but are looking at an aging Chris Taylor and an unproven Trayce Thompson to play center with a very unproven James Outman in left. It seems like a respected veteran like Max Kepler might be a good fit. I think there's a real possibility that Kyle Farmer becomes a trade talking point between the Twins and the Dodgers. It would not surprise me if Kepler is also in the discussion. The Dodgers have a deep farm system particularly in pitching and catching. I do think there's a match. What you guys think?