LA Vikes Fan

Gotta agree here. He's overpaid at $10M but that was the market when he was signed. That's a sunk cost so let's not get in the sunk cost fallacy by worrying about the contract. It is what it is. Vasquez provides real value defensively when he plays, seems to be a good mentor for Jeffers and is helping his defense, and provides leadership. I think catcher is one of the three positions on the field what defense trumps offense, with shortstop in centerfield the other two. I agree that what Vasquez brings is not worth $10 million a year, more like 3 to 5 million a year, but that's not the relevant issue. The issue is do we have someone else who's better or is there someone available who could provide more? I would argue there is not anyone in the organization at this point nor is there anyone available was going to provide better play. I think Vasquez is these worth keeping around this year and probably next year unless Camargo really breaks out. It sucks that were overpaying him but he does provide value that isn't easily replaced.

I'm hoping this is at least something Twins are considering although it is risky. The issue is how do you get Lewis and Miranda in the lineup together four days a week if Lewis is only going to play third base or DH? I think it's important to have Miranda in the lineup most days because I think he is our fifth best hitter after Lewis, Correa, Kepler, and Jeffers, right on par with or better than Buxton. I'm hoping that the Twins are at least considering the idea of finding a creative way to get Miranda in the lineup five days a week. We can start by having him play third once or twice a week when Lewis is the DH and DH himself once or twice a week. The issue is that it's going to be hard for him to get that other two days a week in the lineup at 1B if Kirilloff and Santana are both still on the team. Having him play 2B or even LF could really help. Right now the opening is at 2B since Julien is struggling so much at the plate. I'm sure his defense will be a little rough but I do think it's worth a shot at least in practice to see if he can be adequate. I frankly feel the same way about LF. We should at least be trying him out there in practice to see if he could be serviceable because a right-handed hitting LF is something we have needed for a while on this team. Bottom line or me is we need to find him a place to play since guys with a .770+ OPS don't grow on trees and do not appear to be growing on the Twins bench or on our AAA affiliate.. We need his bat in the lineup.

Old Nurse has got it right. Kepler had the big homerun year in 2019, the year of the juiced baseball, and then fell off the table because he tried to hit everything high in the air. That led to Max becoming the king of the pop up and can of corn flyball. It also led to many of us calling for him to be cut from the team by 2022 and the first part of 2023. We certainly don't want him to go back to that swing. Max is doing exactly what we want him to do and maximizing his athletic talent to the benefit of the team. His highest and best use is as a relatively high average and strong on base percentage hitter with speed who has doubles and occasional homerun power and plays strong defense. I would much rather have him hitting .290 with 15 to 20 homeruns rather than have him hitting .230 with 25 to 30 homeruns. The former profile is a solid middle of the order hitter; the latter hits 7 or 8 and is always in the discussion of whether the latest AAA phenom should be called up to replace him. I'm finally convinced that the Kepler change is permanent. I hope we can get him to sign a 2 – 3 year extension.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, it makes it pretty unlikely that Margot will be DFA'd. Maybe traded to the Braves who need an OF?

He needs at least 2-3 games in the field for 9 innings before he will be back. I'm hopeful that those games will be the next 3, but it's more likely they will be spread over this week along with a game or 2 at DH. I'd love to have him back for Houston this weekend. I think it's more likely that he's back for the New York series starting June 3 and that's if everything goes well in AAA.

Agreed. I also think we will know a lot when Lewis starts playing the field in AAA. It will be interesting to see if it's anything other than 3B. If it's 2B, Julien on the edge of a demotion. If it's 3B, the choice is probably between Miranda, Larnach, and Kirilloff unless the FO is really ready to DFA Margot. I hope so, but it seems unlikely. If Lewis is playing LF, more likely Margot is on the edge. Having said that, highly unlikely that Lewis plays the OF. Question - would anyone pick up Margot's contract if he was DFA'd? If I remember correctly, his salary for the year is $10 million and the Dodgers sent $6 million of that cost so his cost to the Twins is $4 million. Anyone picking him up on waivers would have to eat the remaining portion of his contract but I'm not sure if it's the full $10 million or just a prorated share of the $4 million Twins portion. I'm not sure how that works. In either event, it seems unlikely that anyone will pay that so maybe the Twins could DFA him and sent him back to AAA. Margo may not want to elect free agency because then he forfeits the contract, again if I understand this correctly. It seems to me that if I'm understanding this right, there may be a real possibility that the Twins could DFA Margo and keep him at the AAA level. All of this though is probably wasted space because someone will get hurt and that will open up the roster spot.

Probably not, but it does make sense as a way to keep Miranda in the everyday lineup. So does playing Lewis in LF, but that makes too much sense to actually happen.

You're probably right. Makes too much sense.

Seems like the first 2 moves over the next 2 weeks or so are relatively easy. First, Lewis up for Julien, with LEWIS playing 2B. Give Lewis 3-4 games at 2B in AAA to get ready and keep Miranda at 3B for now. Second, bring up Keirsey to play LF against RH pitching and CF when Buxton is off or the DH. Castro or Larnach can play LF against LH pitching. DFA/trade Margot. He adds nothing and has had his chance to show what he can do. Which turned out to be very little. The hard one is what to do in about 2-3 weeks to a month when Lee is ready and back up to speed. I would consider trading or DFA'ing Farmer, but only if we're confident Lee or Castro can play SS once or twice a week. If not, one of Keirsey, Larnach, or Kirilloff needs to go. Frankly, we'll probably have an injury to create space. Lee plays 2B, Lewis moves to 3B, and Miranda becomes a 1B/3B/DH. We will need Miranda at 3B since Lewis will be sitting or DHing at least twice a week, and we need to keep Miranda's bat in lineup. If that means Santana becomes a late inning defensive replacement, starts twice a week guy, so be it. Miranda is one of the more consistent hitters we have. Castro becomes more of a 4th/5th OF than a super UTL, and only plays in the infield occasionally. So, absent injury, this is what I would do; Lewis for Julien (this weekend, Friday in Houston) Keirsey for Margot (next week, meets team in Pittsburgh on 6/7, or in MN on 6/10) Lee for Keirsey, Larnach, or Kirilloff, whoever hits worse (week of June 10). Starting lineup by ASB is Lewis at 3B, Correa at SS, Kepler in RF, Jeffers at C/DH, Larnach at DH/LF, Buxton in CF, Lee at 2B, Miranda/Santana at 1B, Castro and either Keirsey or Kirilloff in LF. Farmer/Keirsey/Kiriloff - 2 on the bench and on the team, Vasquez the #2 Catcher.

Seems like the first 2 moves over the next 2 weeks or so are relatively easy. First, Lewis up for Julien, with LEWIS playing 2B. Give Lewis 3-4 games at 2B in AAA to get ready and keep Miranda at 3B for now. Second, bring up Keirsey to play LF against RH pitching and CF when Buxton is off or the DH. Castro or Larnach can play LF against LH pitching. DFA/trade Margot. He adds nothing and has had his chance to show what he can do. Which turned out to be very little. The hard one is what to do in about 2-3 weeks to a month when Lee is ready and back up to speed. I would consider trading or DFA'ing Farmer, but only if we're confident Lee or Castro can play SS once or twice a week. If not, one of Keirsey, Larnach, or Kirilloff needs to go. Frankly, we'll probably have an injury to create space. Lee plays 2B, Lewis moves to 3B, and Miranda becomes a 1B/3B/DH. We will need Miranda at 3B since Lewis will be sitting or DHing at least twice a week, and we need to keep Miranda's bat in lineup. If that means Santana becomes a late inning defensive replacement, starts twice a week guy, so be it. Miranda is one of the more consistent hitters we have. Castro becomes more of a 4th/5th OF than a super UTL, and only plays in the infield occasionally. So, absent injury, this is what I would do; Lewis for Julien (this weekend, Friday in Houston) Keirsey for Margot (next week, meets team in Pittsburgh on 6/7, or in MN on 6/10) Lee for Keirsey, Larnach, or Kirilloff, whoever hits worse (week of June 10). Starting lineup by ASB is Lewis at 3B, Correa at SS, Kepler in RF, Jeffers at C/DH, Larnach at DH/LF, Buxton in CF, Lee at 2B, Miranda/Santana at 1B, Castro and either Keirsey or Kirilloff in LF. Farmer/Keirsey/Kiriloff - 2 on the bench and on the team, Vasquez the #2 Catcher.

Just saw a new and intriguing idea. It might be time for Julien to get a AAA reset. How about Lewis up to play 2B/DH, with Castro also ant 2B, and Julien down? Keep Miranda in the lineup at 3B every day to hit.

You're right about how hard it is to move from AAA to MLB. Maybe even harder when you're 27 and just now coming into your own in the Minors. Still we need a good fielding back up CF and there seems to be an opening given the struggles of both Margot and Kirilloff. Might now be a good time to give Keirsey his probably one and only shot at the MMLB level?

Probably is. We need another CF by Sunday and Keirsey is tearing up AAA. Maybe Keirsey up for Margot or Kirilloff over the weekend?

Alcala up, Boushley back down. No word yet that I saw on any one replacing Jackson on the 40 man.

I don't agree and maybe my post lacked clarity. For the Twins to be successful we need to blend established players with up and comers while developing those up and comers. I'd love to be a team that filled in holes with established veteran FAs but this ownership won't pay for that. I actually think we have the established vets supplemented by close to no doubt youngsters that could be the core of a championship team with Correa, Lewis, Buxton, Kepler, and Jeffers in the field, Castro as a UTL, Lopez, Ryan, and Ober in the rotation (with Paddack and SWR close), and Duran, Jax, plus Stewart when healthy as late inning relievers (with Staumont an intriguing possibility). That core can compete in the playoffs IF supplemented by solid to a little above average guys. In our case, that supplement needs to play 1B, LF, 2B, and DH, be another late inning reliever, and another mid-rotation starter. You can see the possible late innings guys in Stewart, Alcala, and maybe Staumont, with Paddack and/or SWR as the mid-rotation starter(s). The field regulars are the hole and Santana, Farmer, and Margot are not the answer. I don't think we can trade to fix this hole given the prospect cost or this FO's track record on trades. I think Julien and Miranda can help fill two the lineup holes, and I am cautiously optimistic that Larnach may actually be learning to hit breaking stuff to be a third fit. I also think that Santana and Margot are NOT part of the answer and in fact are in the way of us finding out if the young guys can be part of that answer. This is the season to find out because the competition is getting better and the core vets are getting older. My idea is to (1) play Julien, Miranda, and Larnach basically every day, (2) Send Kirilloff to AAA for Keirsey (gotta have a backup CF and Castro and Margot aren't good enough), with Kirilloff hopefully finding it so he is available to replace one of the first 3 if and when they falter, (3) bring up Alcala (they did today) and make him a late inning guy only with Sands back in long man role he's actually kind of good at, (4) sit Santana and Margot as bench guys, defensive replacements, and/or 2 days a week guys against LH pitching (I would actually lose Margot). The key to me is to play Miranda, Julien, and Larnach 5 days a week for the next month at least or even better through the ASB to see if they can be the solid to above average regulars we need. Lee and hopefully Kirilloff or Wallner will then be available and hopefully hitting at AAA if those 3 can't hack it. Do that now and we have the best chance of a team that is competitive with the big dogs in the second half. The current lineup is not.

Preach! Totally agree on Keirsey. I think we have an open 40 man slot after the DFA of Jay Jackson. No one has been added to my knowledge. Am I wrong? We can also put Topa on the 60 man Il - he won't be back until July at the earliest. I think we can call up Keirsey today for the Texas series. The Rangers are starting RHs today and tomorrow, with a TBD for Sunday. We can all up Keirsey for Kirilloff, put him in LF tonight or Saturday and in CF Sunday with Buxton as the DH (day game after night game). Let's do it!

I'm more bullish on Miranda than you, but I think this is a very fair take on where he is and what he needs to show. My view is that given regular playing time, he would develop into what I would call a solid MLB regular - a BA of .260-.290, with a SLG in the .420-.450 range, a SO percentage below 15%, and 15 – 20 homers a year with 20+ doubles, but a lower OPS since he doesn't talk a lot of walks, maybe in the .325 range. That would give him an OPS in the .740 – .770 range, an OPS+ in the 110-120 range. in other words, a solidly above average to good but not elite hitter with the downside of not giving you any speed on the base paths. You're right that he's not a great fielder, but he has improved to average and I think with work could be a little better than that. To me at least, that's a solid to above average MLB regular. This is the kind of guy that hits number 6 in the order, gets 500+ AB's year, and really provides the necessary kind of player you need around a core of three or four very good to excellent hitters. When you add in that he's only 25 but has had 750 at-bats to give us an inkling of what he is and could become, I actually think a .700 – .725 OPS is his floor at the MLB level and that there is at least a possibility he could develop into a high .700s to low .800s OPS guy for the next 5 to 7 years. I think this is exactly the kind of guy we should be playing regularly and developing rather than hiring a veteran stopgap like Carlos Santana. You bring in the veteran stopgap in two circumstances, where you have a championship caliber team with a hole to fill or where you have a lousy team and a position with no younger guy coming up or one that's still pretty far away and you just want someone to hold down the position for a couple years and give you a semblance of competence. I think we can all agree we're not the second team. I don't think we're the first team either. I don't think the Twins have a championship caliber roster with just a couple of holes to fill in 1B and LF; I think we're a step behind that. We have about 75 to 80% of a championship roster but we need 2-3 more solid bats, 3 if were not going to keep Kepler after this season, 1 more mid-rotation or better starting pitcher, and 1 more strong late inning reliever preferably from the left side. I'm beginning to get optimistic that SWR and/or Paddack might be that starter. Who are going to be the 2 bats we need? I am still hopeful that Julien can be one of them, and I think the current player with the best chance of being the second one is José Miranda. I think Wallner is at this point a complete question mark and while I have more confidence in Kirilloff, he is really struggling and may also need a reset at AAA. With all that said, I think this is why we need to keep Miranda at the MLB and play him almost every day even after Lewis comes back. To me, the injuries gave Miranda, Kirilloff, Margot, and Larnach a shot at a regular job that they otherwise would not have had. Miranda has grabbed the opportunity, Larnach has sort of done so, and Kirilloff and Margot have fumbled the ball. Easy call for me when Lewis is ready - either send down Kirilloff or DFA/trade for an A ball lottery ticket Margot. Miranda stays and gets 450+ plus ABs this year.

I agree with the posters underlying analysis but disagree with the conclusions. The conclusion seems to be that Miranda doesn’t fit with the Twins and should be used as a trade chip. I agree that third base will not be his position once Lewis is back, but how long will Lewis stay healthy, how many more trips to the IL will he need, and what makes us think Lewis is going to play third base more than three or four times a week given his history? I think this team needs Miranda’s bat and needs it in a big way. As stated above, I can easily see him as a 115+ OPS+ guy with average to maybe slightly above average defense at first base. That’s a valuable player and part of the real backbone of any major league team. Even more importantly, we don’t have anyone else. Carlos Santana is 39 years old and gone after this year. Kirilloff has not shown that he can consistently stay healthy or that he can hit major league pitching. There is no one at AAA that is anywhere near ready to play first base at the major league level. What little free agent money ownership is willing to spend should be spent on pitching. We have a solid MLB hitter in Miranda, who is only 25 years old. He may become a better than a solid MLB hitter over the next couple of years, with really no one challenging him for a spot in the batting order. This is a guy you keep and find a place to play, not a guy You trade unless you’re going to get a better hitter back and why would anyone make that deal unless you put in a significant prospect? Miranda is a guy we need and need to keep. I am frustrated because I know he won’t play 1B regularly as long as Santana is around and I think that’s a mistake. Still, you keep him even if we have to wait until next year to see him play every day.

Not too far off, but seems just a tad too negative. The Starting pitching is good enough to be an 75-80 win team with a bad bullpen; this bullpen is good enough to get them to an 80 plus win team. The offense? Who the heck knows at this point. Lewis will help but he can't do it alone. Jeffers and Julien are the key guys that have to step up. I also don't see much other help on the horizon and anyone who can hit will be expensive at the trade deadline with the lack of offense around baseball. I still predict 85ish wins.

Agreed. I'd actually like to see Miranda become the every day 1B at some point in June, assuming Kirilloff goes down to AAA for a 4-6 week re-set. I think we need to find out if he can competently handle the position defensively, since his hitting gives hope of an above average bat going forward. I really would like to see the Twins trot out an infield of Miranda, Julien, Correa, and Lewis 4-5 days a week when Lewis comes back. Unfortunately, I think it's going to take an injury to Santana for that to happen.

With the recent good news that Royce Lewis it's just about ready to start an assumedly short rehab assignment, one's mind turns to what happens when he's ready to rejoin the Twins. You have to think that he'll be playing 3B at least three or four times a week and probably more, and we have Castro as a potential 3B backup. What happens to José Miranda in that scenario? First, the facts. Miranda is hitting .276/.315/.457 (.772) with 4 HRs, 7 Doubles, and 12 RBIs in 105 ABs. He has 16 SOs and 4 walks, (14.5% SO rate, 3.7% walk rate). He's better against LH pitching – .807 OPS – but still respectable against RH pitching with a .722 OPS. His defense at 3B, once a weakness, has improved to a little below average average, with a -2 OAA at 3B and a 0 OAA at 1B. His Statcast chart is not particularly impressive, above average in some things but very little red other than being on the 74th percentile in whiff rate in the 89th percentile in strikeout rate. In other words, the stats so far indicate a little better-than-average player at age 25 with about 750 at bats in MLB so far. Those latter two facts suggest that there is room for improvement to a solidly above average hitter who is an average or slightly above fielder, but those results are far from assured. I think the Twins have to keep Miranda on the roster and I think he needs to play. His team needs quality RH hitters in the worst way, and Miranda is really the only reinforcement option. Lewis can obviously hit, Correa is a quality hitter, and both Buxton and Jeffers are streaky. The rest of them? Not much there. Margot and Vasquez are well below average hitters even if you only count Margot hitting from the right side. Santana can hit right-handed but is a black hole left-handed, and from a hitting standpoint should only start against left-handed pitching. Farmer can hit left-handed pitching or at least could in the past but he's nearing the end of his career and it's unlikely he's going to have a big pop during this season. he's also somewhere else next year. I think you have to keep Miranda around for his bat and hope his defense improves. So where do you play him once Lewis is back to play 3B? I think the answer is pretty simple. Miranda plays 4 to 5 days a week, 3 to 4 of them as the 1B against right-handed pitching, a day or two at 3B for Lewis when he is the DH, and he can be the DH once a week, maybe twice. I would also look at him at 2B as the RH alternative to Edward Julien unless Rocco comes to his senses and starts playing Julien every day. Miranda was a 2B in the minors, he's here for the long term, and he's a better hitter than Farmer. I would suggest trying him in LF, but I know they did that in the minors and I hear it was an unmitigated disaster. So my view is Miranda needs to stay, play regularly, and do it in a combination of 1B and 3B. This decision is coming in is coming within the next couple weeks hopefully. What he is everybody think?

I generally agree with this except for Varland. He needs to stay stretched out as a starter because the current 5 will have at least 1 or 2 injuries, dead arms, etc. that will require an IL stint and we don't have anyone else at AAA. Keirsey for Kirilloff or, better yet, for a DFA of Margot, is a great idea. We need a real CF for those 2-3 games a week Buxton needs to sit or DH Castro can't handle the position. Can Keirsey hit MLB pitching? I don't know, he's never had that opportunity. One thing I do know is Margot cannot hit MLB pitching any more, doesn't run particularly well, and is an average corner OF on defense. Hard to imagine that Keirsey could be worse overall, and he'll be better in the OF and on the base paths. The only question is whether he can ever get on the base paths.

Just tuned in. Patrick Corbin looks awful. Has he been this bad all night? I know he's been one of the worst starters in baseball since he signed the big contract, but this is worse than I realized.

Maybe one day made a huge difference, but where are you seeing that either Farmer or Margot is hitting? Farmer's last 7 days are 3-15. equating to .200/.200/.333 slash line with 5 SOs and NO walks. His last 30 are .200/,278/.308 and he has a .472 OPS against LH pitching this year. He is absolutely a big part of the problem - he was supposed to be a .280ish hitter against LH pitching with some power. He's not. He also has lost a step and can't play SS. At age 33, Father time may have decided it's his time. Margot has a better BA over the last 7 days - .313/..353/.313, but his OPS is all of .666 over that time, His OPS is .513 for the year. with a lofty .660 OPS against LH pitching. Again, he's a guy who was supposed to punish LH pitching and provide good D off the bench, even in CF. He has done neither. Another guy who appears to have lost a step. Margot is an old, slow singles hitter without any defensive value so far this year. I'd be more sympathetic if we were 20-30 games in and this was a slow start with lots of good contact but bad luck. We're now almost 50 games in and this is looking like a true reflection of who these guys are at this stage of their careers. Let's not kid ourselves that these two aren't part of the problem. They are a big part of the problem along with Santana - guys who were supposed to help balance the lineup against LH pitching. They haven't done that job. Let's be honest, it feels like any team that has a LH starter of any quality has a 65% chance of winning that start against the Twins. That has to be fixed if we want to make the playoffs. Getting Lewis back will help. I have to think giving Kepler, Julien, Larnach, and Miranda more ABs against LH pitching is really the only other option. Will it be better than playing Farmer, Margot, and Santana? It's hard to know until we try. One thing is for sure - they'd have to be pretty bad to be worse. It's a low bar from those 3.

I'm also sympathetic to Miranda, who has improved and is now an average 3B. We need to find a place for him to play since he appears to be one of the only RH hitters we have that can actually hit a little, and maybe a lot if he would get a little more regular playing time. I think we now know that Casto can't be the backup CF and Margot also isn't the answer. It's an important call since Buxton is unlikely to play more than 80-100 games in CF and it's a key defensive position. At the risk of stating the obvious, there is a simple solution in just a few steps. 1 - Call up Keirsey to be the backup CF. Add him to the 40 man in place of the DFA'd Jackson. 2- Castro becomes your RH hitting part of a LF platoon (,436 BA/1/104 OPS vs. LH pitching. .213 BA/ .632 OPS as a LH hitter vs. RH pitching), and has the UTL role, particularly as the backup SS. 3 - Larnach is the LH hitting part of the LF platoon and even DHs some against LH pitching. I know the D isn't great, but we need the bat. 4 -Choose between sending Kiriloff to AAA for a reset or a DFA of Margot to make room for Keirsey. Neither is adding anything and both are providing negative value. Decide which one has the best chance of improving at the MLB level. Whichever stays goes when Lewis is ready if they haven't shown significant improvement, or Farmer goes to make room. 5 - Get Miranda time at 1B AND 2B as well as at 3B. He needs to stay when Lewis comes back either as the IB, RH bat in the 2B platoon, or as a DH. 6 - Most importantly, play Kepler, Julien, and Miranda every day until Lewis is ready. SIT Farmer and Margot (assuming Kirilloff goes to AAA, likely result) and use them only as the typical 25th and 26th men on the roster - occasional PH duties, defensive replacements, start maaaaybe once a week. They only stay now because there isn't anyone at AAA worth giving a shot until Helman, Wallner or Kirilloff start to hit.