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Everything posted by LA Vikes Fan

  1. LA Vikes Fan
    The whole thing sucks and the trade is definitely a loss at this point. I was in the camp of making the trade for the reasons many have stated. And no, we could not have gotten Castillo for the same package; he would likely have cost us Lewis instead of Steer. Still, it's a loss and a cautionary tale going forward. The good news is we finally have some SP depth and so maybe we won't have to make another more desperate move to get a SP with an injury history. The big question is what do we do now? It's great to have Ober and Varland in the rotation and Paddock hopefully coming back towards the end of the season. That pretty much blew out our depth though. I don't really think Maeda is coming back as a starter until at least July or August and more likely not at all. Ever. SWR, Dobnak, Balazovic, and Headrick are all "maybes" at best. We are going to need at least one of them to cover 5-10 starts for injuries if we're very lucky, more likely one at 5-10 starts and 2 more at 3-6 starts apiece. Things could be very dicey come August. Long term, lets sign Gray to the 3 year deal he probably wants at hopefully less than 20m a year. We need him both to pitch and to continue mentoring Ryan. I would offer Mahle 2 years at around 12-15m total, with a third year option at 15m to see if he can come back from the TJ. Let's also hope that one of the AAA guys or another now in the lower minors like Festa can move up. Finally, let's draft pitching every chance we get. There is no more precious resource in baseball so let's take as many shots as we can.
  2. LA Vikes Fan
    Yup, you're right. I'd just like to see Gordon get a shot to see if he can replicate last year. The 2022 Gordon would be a hitting upgrade over Gallo, Kepler, and Taylor. Well, at least Farmer is playing. Maybe he can hit some although his track record against RH Pitching leaves one to say the answer is probably not. It looks like the only real potential upgrades coming are Lewis when he's ready and improvement from the core 5-6 guys. I'm hoping they bring up Lewis as soon as they can, put him at 3B, DF Solano or demote Castro, and hit Lewis leadoff.
  3. LA Vikes Fan
    I agree on what has to happen. I wonder if switching lineup positions might help change their perspective or relieve some pressure, thus leading to better ABs. I think it's unlikely that Gordon can be a long term leadoff hitter but I do think what he showed the second half of last year might be repeatable in the short term. It's worth a shot and would help quite a bit if he can get on base. I think we can see that hitting Kepler 1, Correa 2, and Gallo any where near the middle of the lineup isn't working right now. Let's shake things up and see if an alternate arrangement can work better. It would be difficult to have it work any worse. .
  4. LA Vikes Fan
    The current lineup isn't working and hasn't worked for awhile. It's great that Farmer is back but Farmer isn't likely to provide the lineup spark we need. He was 0 for his last 11 with 8 strikeouts before he got hurt. If you look at the lineup/26 man roster realistically, who can be that spark? The only possible answer I see is Gordon - 6 for his last 20 with 2 HRs. Solano can't play defense anywhere on the field so he doesn't have much value if Buxton is the DH. I guess we now know why Solano was available. I would actually consider DFAing him for Julien or Hellman. We need to shake up the lineup - Correa can't hit #2 and we need a better leadoff hitter. Kepler has actually performed . . . well, like Kepler usually performs - a streaky .213/.308.427 (.735). We can argue if he should play regularly, but it's hard to argue he should lead off. How about this for a lineup shakeup? Gordon LF Buxton DH Kirilloff 1B Polanco 2B Correa SS Kepler/Gallo RF Jeffers/Vasquez C Gallo/Farmer 3B Taylor CF The other thought I have is to DFA Solano or demote Castro and force feed Julien or Hellman up here. If it's Julien, lead him off at 3B, move Gordon to the 6 hole, bench Gallo and move Kepler to #8. I don't like that as much as I like the lineup above. To be honest, I don't really like either but I think they are the best we can do and I think both lineups are better than what we are trotting out every day. A shakeup also tells guys like Correa and Gallo that they have to earn their lineup spots; nothing is just handed to you. Thoughts? I can't come up with anything better. . .
  5. LA Vikes Fan
    This. Bring him up when you can and either put Taylor on the Il (back) or DFA Solerno. I like Solerno but he can't play in the field anywhere even close to competently and he has no power. He is unlikely to be claimed, so take the risk and if he gets through and is willing to stay in the org send him to AAA as insurance. If not, he's 35 and isn't going to be on the team next year anyway. Having 6 guys for the 1B, LF, CF, RF, and DH spots is not ideal but is workable. It's especially workable when you have slump prone players like Gallo (.095/.296/.238 last 7 games) and Larnach (.174/.259/.217 for same 7), injury prone players like Buxton, and a couple of guys who just aren't very good hitters like Taylor and Kepler. I wish one more of these 6 were Rh hitters but some times you just have to live with the pain.
  6. LA Vikes Fan
    I'm not sure the Twins will put Lewis back in CF given that he got hurt last time he played there on what didn't look like that unusual of an athletic move for an OF. I think he is more likely to play LF or even 2B with Polanco moving to 1B. We'll know more when we esee what he plays during a rehab stint.
  7. LA Vikes Fan
    I agree. Putting Kepler in CF seems like a better path to the same goal. It’s a tough one though since Taylor has actually played very well. Still, I think Kirilloff is at least a week or two of playing 5 games a week away from being called up.
  8. LA Vikes Fan
    My thinking is that Kirilloff won't be called up unless there is path to playing time roughly every day. There isn't now with Buxton at DH unless we're going to sit Larnach, Gallo, or Kepler regularly while Buxton is the DH. The only way to get all 5 in the lineup regularly - which should be the goal - is to have one of them in CF regularly with Taylor on the bench. Normally I would say bench Kepler but he has been our best hitter the last 7-10 games. I'm not ready to say that Kirilloff represents an upgrade over any of the 5 RF/LF/1B/DH options unless you take Buxton out of that mix but putting him in CF 4-5 times a week. Is he an upgrade over Gordon or Castro? Sure at the plate, but Kirilloff can't play in the IF outside of 1B os you sacrifice some depth and maneuverability if you drop one of those guys. Besides, Castro goes when Farmer comes back. Solano? Tough one since hits better than Kirilloff has shown and he's RH and we need RH bats. Even if Kirilloff comes up for Solano or Gordon, there's no place to play him regularly unless we bench Taylor. That's why Buxton playing CF is the key to me.
  9. LA Vikes Fan
    This tells you that AK coming up is probably dependent on Buxton playing CF 3-4 times a week. Taylor plays CF when Buxton DHs or sits and one of the other 3 or Kepler sits when Taylor is in CF and Buxton is the DH. I think that's been the plan all along.
  10. LA Vikes Fan
    I didn't either but it makes sense based on his performance. He has ben rocked in AAA.
  11. LA Vikes Fan
    I don't think any of us want to give up on Moran. The question is whether he's ready for a steady big league relief role on a (hopefully) contending team. It frankly doesn't look like he is. I would like to see him back at AAA working out his inconsistencies. We just don't have the bullpen depth at the MLB level as long as we insist on keeping Pagan. I just saw that Brock Stewart is up. Let's see how he does since really the AAA relievers worth calling up appear to be Stewart, De Leon, or maybe Shulfer. If he does well, Moran can go back.
  12. LA Vikes Fan
    Nice win. Polanco’s return is key to the lineup. Do we have anyone available in AAA to replace Moran? He just can’t throw enough strikes right now. I know we have 49 man issues. Maybe Winder tomorrow or Wednesday?
  13. LA Vikes Fan
    SWR is probably in only as an emergency long man or for mop up innings since today was his day to start in St. Paul. My guess is that he goes down for Sunday's starter, probably Ober. Having Julien up was fun but he seemed a bit overmatched. It's probably good for him to get a taste of MLB life, and then go and work on some things at AAA. He'll be back before the season is over absent perfect health on the MLB side.
  14. LA Vikes Fan
    If Kirilloff hits in his rehab starts and the wrist isn't a big issue, I think he will come up. This is a team desperate for hitting. So far, so good, 5-16, 1 HR, 2RBI, .313/.421/.500 (.921) - ultimate small sample size. If he hits over he next 2-3 weeks, I would expect to see him at the MLB level.
  15. LA Vikes Fan
    Assuming no injuries, I think the order is easy for a couple of spots and then becomes tough... (1) Gallo for Julien. Nice prospect but presently overmatched at the MLB level. (2) Polanco for Castro. Nice 27th or 28th man, perfect to have him with an option year left. (3) Kirilloff for … Battle to the death between Garlick, Larnach, and Gordon. I think Garlick's lack of defense and inability to hit RH pitching makes him go first. Having said that, Larnach and Gordon better start hitting soon or it could be them. Probably Larnach first since he still has options. Kirilloff will come up immediately if he hits at AAA. We are hurting for bats. Frankly, anyone that hits at AAA has a chance to move up. This all shows how desperately we need the 2019-2022 Polanco to reappear and hit in the top 4 in the order. We also need at least 2 bats from the Gallo, Kirilloff , Larnach. Miranda, and Gordon group to emerge and hit - and I'm talking just a .750-.800 OPS, not at an All Star level. Somebody who can competently handle the 5 or 6 spot in the order. I didn't list Kepler because we already know from experience that he isn't that guy with the bat.
  16. LA Vikes Fan
    Agreed and love this move. A 4 year contract for a quality MLB starting pitcher that can fill the #1 or #2 spot in a contending team rotation for less than $20m a year? Very well done. Injury could derail this of course, but even 3 good years out of the 4 year deal would be an awesome return. Who's next? I would love to see them work out something with Gray - maybe 3 years, $40-50m? He's 33 so there's risk there but that lowers the AAV. Mahle? Not so sure about him. Let's not overrate him just because we may have given up too much to get him. It's great to see that they are trying to maximize the 6 year competitive window of the Correa and Buxton contracts. We might be in for a longish run of competitive teams. Wow, wouldn't have said that 6 months ago....
  17. LA Vikes Fan
    And then after we won 11-2, all I could think was: "We didn't hit after the first inning against the back of the Yankees bullpen. We suck. We're going to get hammered tomorrow". Deflated me completely. I've been miserable all day.
  18. LA Vikes Fan
    Completely agree. I think that once we get all the way to the last return (Kirilloff) the choice is Gordon or Julien. I have to think that Julien goes because he has options and Gordon is likely to be claimed if DFA'd. The other option would be to trade Kepler or Gordon if you could even get a decent AA type return with moderate upside. Most likely though all of this will not be an issue because someone will get hurt. Hey, it beats being in a position where we need to call up LaMarre or Contreras and play them every day.
  19. LA Vikes Fan
    I sort of agree with you. Gallo really replaces Kepler and is an upgrade on defense - Gold Glove winner - and an upgrade on offense if he's the Gallo from 2017-2021, not the 2022 Gallo. Both are essentially on 1 year deals since we aren't picking up a $10m option for Kepler next year. A strong RH OF is a real need. I say "sort of" because I don't think Garlick is that strong RH OF. He's ok at best. He's fine for now but I think he loses his spot when the injured players are ready to come back. Maybe he stays if we trade Kepler but there doesn't seem to be much of a market for Max. Best guess is absent season ending type injuries, Kepler returns and replaces Wallner, Gallo returns and replaces Julien or Garlick depending on which one hits, Polanco replaces the other of those last 2, and Farmer replaces Castro when he's ready to come back. Who does Lewis and Kirilloff replace? Probably an injured or traded player.
  20. LA Vikes Fan
    Wow, Garlick already and it isn't even May 1. The even sadder thing is he will probably stay on the roster if he hits at all over Wallner and/or Julien until everyone else is ready to come back. Our depth is already being tested. Thank goodness that Solano can play a little.
  21. LA Vikes Fan
    The new guys have helped keep the offense at a subsistence level rather than completely falling off a cliff due to injury. still, we need Polanco and Correa back and hitting in the worst way. Miranda, Larnach, and Gordon are nice to have but they are that portion of their careers where they are going to be streaky and may not make it. Frankly, if 2 of those 3 become solid above average MLB hitters with the 3rd average, we will have hit a jackpot. We need the big 3 of Correa, Polanco, and Buxton anchoring this lineup on most days or we are going to have trouble scoring runs.
  22. LA Vikes Fan
    I think Gordon is at least potentially "on his way up" because of his 674 plate appearances. Tom Kelly used to say that it takes 1000 MLB at bats to really see what a player can be. Gordon still has about 300 or so at bats to get to that level. Unfortunately, he is 27 because of previous illnesses and injuries.
  23. LA Vikes Fan
    Also because Gordon is a much better hitter. 2022: .Gordon - 272/.316/.427(.743), Castro - .241/.285/.357 (.651). Career: Gordon (673 PAs) .257/.303/.396 (.699), Castro (1100 PAs) .243/.290 (.668). Castro may indeed turn out to be valuable, but Gordon is already the superior hitter and on his way up, while Castro has most likely plateaued where he is after 1100 PAs. But how about defense - Castro- career -1.6 dWAR, Gordon -0.7. Gordon slightly better, in essence a wash. Bottom line, Gordon is the better player now and has more room to develop. That's why we keep Gordon over Castro.
  24. LA Vikes Fan
    The problem that manifested itself the last 2 says is the problem many if not most of us saw coming - the lineup isn't long enough to withstand injury. Yes, the bench players we have are better than those last August or September but they are still bench players who should only be used sparingly and then hitting in the 8 or 9 holes. I agree with the Arraez trade - we needed a horse high end starter like Lopez - but it did exacerbate the weaknesses of what was not a great offense to start out with. We are at least 2 bats short, and that's with guys like Larnach, Miranda and Gordon actually clicking. We need Polanco back as his old self pretty badly. Hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks. We also need Miranda and Gordon to hit like last year, Buxton to stay healthy and hitting, and Correa just to be at his career norms. All of this possible and perhaps even likely. Kirilloff hitting would be nice but not something we can even project, much less count on. Its' too early to panic but not too early to see the potential problem.
  25. LA Vikes Fan
    I kind of like this idea. The problem then is who hits 6? You go Polanco, Correa, Buxton. Larnach, Miranda and ?? I guess it would be Gallo, then Vasquez/Jeffers, than Kepler, then the 2nd base platoon? That could work....
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