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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    It has nothing to do with "options" (assuming you are referring to minor league optional assignments remaining). Garver is already on the 40-man and thus "burned" an option when he was sent down out of spring training. Although since it is Vargas' last option year, maybe they are trying to "get their money's worth" out of him? You would figure we already know what we have in Vargas, and it isn't particularly good or versatile...
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    Boshers has generally been a very low-leverage reliever this season (gmLI of .67), so I'm not sure this means he has been all that useful. Although he has had a few moments. They seem to be going LOOGY with him now? 4 batters faced total, across 3 appearances, in the month of August so far.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Those weren't the only alternatives. We just traded away Jaime Garcia. We also still have Dillon Gee. Hector Santiago could be activated any day now. Tyler Duffey could be stretched out too. I wonder if Colon's former teammate (and AARP buddy ) R.A. Dickey cleared waivers? Not world-beaters, but some of those guys should keep you in a game better than Turley demonstrated earlier this summer, or Melville demonstrated in 2016. Personally, I still think they should have looked at Romero instead of Jorge back when they had those spot starts in early July. He had the best potential, and there were still ways of managing his innings if necessary. Now we're reaching the point where Jorge and Gonsalves predictably are deemed not ready, and Romero is rapidly becoming less available due to his innings limit.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, I doubt the poster was referring to Kintzler. Turley, Boshers, and the prospect of Melville.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    I too hope Turley gets a look in the pen eventually, but there is no denying he was awful in his 3 starts, and we lost all 3. Melville was similarly awful in 3 appearances in MLB last year. When you're on the edge of a pennant race, these are big risks to take.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    I doubt there are any contenders out there who would have any interest at all in Belisle as closer. He might be a general pen addition for someone, though, likely in exchange for "cash considerations" (like Neal Cotts a couple years back).
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Oh sure, just cut Littell off in the middle of his acceptance speech!
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Maybe they took the average. Maybe Littell stole the award thanks to lingering East Coast, Yankee prospect bias.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    I think it was supposed to be Barnes -- the stat line behind Littel's name matches Barnes (7 K) rather than Littel's own performance (5 K).
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Are we sure Mauer didn't get let go yesterday, along with Jack Goin and the four area scouts? The new FO has had a few months to evaluate him now, it might be time for them to install their own first baseman.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    Like everything, it is a matter of percentages. Not many teams make Rule 5 picks, and even fewer Rule 5 picks actually stick. If Slegers has a 10% chance of getting selected and sticking, not sure it makes sense to protect him. We likely have higher odds of losing him if we add him to the 40-man, but then have to remove him (for a FA? trade acquisition?). As counterintuitive as it seems, the best way to keep him in the org long term, as a AAA/depth piece, might be to leave him off the roster. Also, we are nearing the point where the rules discourage teams from adding fringe guys. Starting August 15, anyone we add to the 40-man can't even be DFA'd or outrighted off the roster to the minors from November into March.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    They only have 17 returning pitchers on the 40-man, not counting Jorge and Romero who you already listed. And that is counting guys like O'Rourke, Boshers, Turley, Busenitz, Chargois, etc. - some real fringe pieces. Not to mention potential nontenders Pressly and Gibson. For that matter, they only have 16 returning position players on the roster right now too, and a couple of those are pretty fringe (Palka and Vargas, chiefly). And virtually zero potential 40 man additions on the position player side. I don't think the 40-man is going to be all that compelling this winter. Far more interesting will be what talent they can leverage in FA and trade.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    Most remarkable about Colon's complete game is how late he was able to stay up.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    E-Town's season wouldn't start until after the 2018 draft, so he would definitely start in Cedar Rapids next year.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    And Jaime Garcia got tagged for 6 runs over 4.2 IP in his Yankees debut last night. Of course, it was against a bit hotter / more competitive squad (Cleveland). And I suppose the Twins are in the odd position of paying his salary while he lost to our division rival...
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    As of tonight, there is now one team that has more complete games than Ervin. (Yes, I know you said "other team" but I like my joke.)
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Which is exactly why the Twins are spotting him in LF and 1B in Rochester? And not just on his catching off-days -- they've already started him at positions other than catcher in back-to-back games 6 times this year. I get your general sentiment, but this assumes a precision to evaluation and preparation that I don't think exists.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    The post I was responding to said he was "pretty close to a sure thing" to be selected in Rule 5. Sounds like you'd disagree more with that post than mine. Look at it this way, Seth -- has your prospect ranking of Slegers changed significantly since last winter? If not, I don't know why you'd expect MLB teams to have significantly changed their evaluation of him since then.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    Just like Haley was an easy stash in our pen this year?
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't know why you'd expect Slegers to be taken in Rule 5. He doesn't fit the profile of most Rule 5 selections -- seems a bit like the recently returned Haley, who was a bit of an odd duck among Rule 5 picks himself. Also, while he's on a nice run right now, his overall stats at AAA are pretty much in line with his AA stats from last year, when Slegers was first eligible for Rule 5. I don't think the reason he went unselected last winter was his lack of AAA experience -- and the same questions about his role, upside, and MLB transition ability remain.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    It was previously reported that Santiago would make 3 rehab starts, and this was the 3rd one and he threw 92 pitches. I suspect we could see him back in Minnesota pretty soon, maybe based on Colon's results tonight?
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Gibson is being recalled for Saturday's start in Minnesota, so they'll need someone else. Hurlbut or Turley would each be on 5 days rest.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    I know nothing about the particulars of the situation, but it is a pretty stark contrast. 2017, pre-bereavement list: 198 PA, .251/.299/.358, 72 wRC+, 7.1 BB%, 11.6 K%, .106 ISO, .272 BABIP 2017, post-bereavement list: 116 PA, .150/.207/.224, 7 wRC+, 6.9 BB%, 19.8 K%, .075 ISO, .179 BABIP
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    I didn't mean to suggest it was all of one explanation or all of another. Maybe ownership said they had $X more to spend, and the FO decided they wanted to save it for potential in-season upgrades. Maybe the FO wanted Garcia or Nova and were denied by the budget, but were allotted enough to get Holland or Neshek or Morton but simply whiffed on those. In any case, this upcoming offseason should be interesting.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think anyone was suggesting malevolence or conspiracy. Just that ownership may have set a conservative budget. Happens all the time, even if we fans prefer different priorities.
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