Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Otto von Ballpark

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    20,669

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    74

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    I would have thought so too, but then last year's Rule 5 draft happened. I know he has had a better year in 2018 than he did in 2017, but his pedigree and likely role (relief conversion) are still the same. But yes, if you think he was near 100% likely to be lost in Rule 5, then it also make sense to add him now. I just think his Rule 5 odds are lower, and instead we have 40-man room and we plan to keep him into 2019 regardless of Rule 5.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    I think you are being a bit too critical of a few sentences given at the end of a postgame interview in response to a specific question about losing Rodney. For all we know, if there had been a follow-up question about the team's poor record through 4 months, Ervin might have acknowledged how the players contributed. That wouldn't really invalidate his previous response, though. It's still a tough situation. Especially for Ervin, he didn't even get to play until late July -- I wouldn't be surprised if, as a competitor, he imagined his absence contributed to us falling behind Cleveland, and his return could help us catch them. That's probably misguided given his current stuff, but is understandable given the pro athlete's mindset. For better or worse, these guys generally don't get where they are by admitting long odds or dwelling on their failures. Back to Tom's implications, I don't think Ervin got unprofessional here at all, given the context.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    They would be worse off if they were even considering removing him from the 40-man before the 2019 season. Making a waiver claim is much easier for teams than satisfying the requirements of a Rule 5 selection -- near 100% chance that we'd lose Stewart if we tried to put him through waivers. Not sure of his Rule 5 odds, they have probably improved since last winter, but they are probably still less than that (both selection odds and the odds they wouldn't return him at some point).
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    And while Stewart will take Rodney's 40-man spot, he will need someone else's 25-man spot to start Sunday. I'd still guess it will be Duffey going back down.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, that is sort of dictating the terms of the decision. If you are willing to move on from Morrison, that would open up a couple more starts a week, without taking away from Cave. And with the other DH games and Mauer's days off at 1B, that could support ample opportunity for Austin too.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    Not at all. No way they should DFA him before giving him an extended shot at converting to relief, at least. Stewart should stay on the 40-man into 2019, no matter how he performs late this season in MLB. And the Twins appear to have 40-man roster room to keep him this winter.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    The only time a 40-man addition could really be considered a "tryout" for protection is if the player would otherwise be eligible for minor league free agency. That's not Stewart, he wouldn't have been eligible for that until after 2019. The only way this move makes sense is if we are committed to keeping him on the 40-man into the 2019 season.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    I didn't hear that as Ervin passing the buck on this game. He addressed this game at the start of the video. Here, he was asked specifically about losing Rodney, and he was answering in general about the difficulty and frustration of the whole situation. And it's tough. The front office DID give up, even if you think it was the right decision, even if you think the players are ultimately to blame for putting themselves in that position. The front office still had to pull the trigger, and I don't think that can just be ignored, or we can expect everyone -- especially players -- to have gotten past that in just 2 weeks. It was a difficult and complex situation. The front office even felt it necessary to address the situation in a letter to season ticket holders. I am not sure how they have addressed it to the team behind closed doors, but that is probably informing Ervin's reaction here too. I am sure it has been tough for the front office -- heck, it's been a mildly tough situation for some of us fans -- and I imagine it's even tougher as players who are ultimately closest to its immediate ramifications. I may not agree with Ervin, but I'm not going to criticize him for expressing his frustration in this way, in this context. Likewise, I'm not jumping down the throat of the front office either (even if I attempt Airplane! and Spinal Tap jokes at their expense ). I think there is still room for different feelings in this conversation, especially as moves are still happening (like Rodney).
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    "Hey guys, meet your new teammate, (same as your old teammate), Matty Belisle! Good luck, we're all counting on you." Edit to add: just trying to make an "Airplane!" joke.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Correct. They could let Stewart start Sunday (say that 3 times fast ), then send him back down and recall him Sep. 1st and he wouldn't burn an option this year (that would only be 19 days on optional assignment, Aug. 13-31). Of course, they may keep him up longer, but whatever they do, they probably won't burn an option at this point.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    Watching it for what? He's already below the super 2 cutoff. Unless they plan to hold him in the minors a bunch next year (like until mid-June), there is nothing more to be gained by holding him back now.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, the lateness is part of the problem with the Belisle move. (Not Belisle specifically, but the late effort trying to shake up the season a bit.) Too little, and too late? Actually I think adding Belisle may have just been an early sign we were preparing to punt, and adding another cheap vet reliever so we could deal others. In which case... that was too early to give up. I liked the Romero promotion, but that plus cutting Hughes was kind of the plan since spring training. Or at least, Romero took it because Mejia was hurt at the time. It wasn't really a proactive effort to shake things up. And as you mention, as our season was moving toward irrelevance, we demoted Romero... then we demoted Mejia... and then we had Aaron Slegers starting for some reason... weird season.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    Wow, you are right. He will get the 40-man spot vacated by Rodney. Should be interesting. https://twitter.com/MikeBerardino/status/1028037201907605506?s=20
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    The Phillies, whom I don't necessarily consider frugal and who are not up against the luxury tax, just acquired LH 1B Justin Bour from the Marlins. They only gave up a minor league depth arm and still got the Marlins (who can be rather cheap) to pick up $450k of Bour's remaining $900k salary this season. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/08/phillies-acquire-justin-bour.html As others have said, of course, I don't expect Mauer to be dealt for a variety of reasons. But even in the unlikely event he took an interest in seeking a trade, I still think the money would complicate actually finding a match.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Not a box score, but Phil Hughes has been DFA'd by San Diego: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/08/padres-designate-phil-hughes-select-jacob-nix.html
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    Hopefully just the wrist: https://www.twincities.com/2018/08/10/twins-place-adalberto-mejia-on-dl-call-up-slugging-tyler-austin/
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Not really. I don't think the team has any flights going over Colorado soon to push him out with a parachute, and shooting him out of a cannon won't have that good of range.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    Interesting, thanks, I hadn't seen that page before! https://www.milb.com/rochester/tickets/single-game-tickets
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, Detroit isn't sending out a lefty starter tonight -- it's RHP Zimmermann. Saturday (Liriano) and Sunday (Boyd) are the ones to watch for Austin, I guess.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    I think perhaps the page is not loading for you -- Rochester does play Sunday. (There are no scheduled off days on Sundays.) They have a 3 game series with Charlotte starting tonight. In the minor league forum, they listed Kohl Stewart as the starter tonight, although that was kind of odd since he'd be switching rotation spots with Romero. I could see Baxendale leading off a bullpen game for Rochester too, either tonight or Saturday.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Romero is scheduled for Rochester on Saturday, and Littell on Sunday. Those are the only two 40-man SP who could go Sunday with sufficient rest. Kohl Stewart is a non-40-man option who could do it, although he's scheduled for Rochester tonight.
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think "rust in April" is valid for Morrison, since he signed on February 25th. But I was checking out some expected wOBA stats in another thread, and sure enough Morrison is up there for 2018. So is Mauer, for what it's worth, but he has under-performed his xwOBA by 30+ points every year of the Statcast era (since 2015). Morrison was a similar under-performer for 2015-2016 too, although not as much as he has underperformed in 2018. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/expected_statistics?type=batter&year=2018&position=&team=MIN&min=1
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not sure if a bunch of singles is really "killing it" but I guess it's a subjective term anyway. By Statcast, expected wOBA (xwOBA) since the trade: Dozier .427 Forsythe .315 https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2018%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2018-08-01&game_date_lt=2018-08-09&hfInfield=&team=&position=&hfOutfield=&hfRO=&home_road=&batters_lookup%5B%5D=572821&batters_lookup%5B%5D=523253&hfFlag=&hfPull=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=xwoba&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_pas=0#results For 2018, MLB average xwOBA is .328. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/expected_statistics?type=batter&year=2018 Interestingly, that league figure has been rising each year of the Statcast era (since 2015): .308, .316, .321, and now .328.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Yup. Berardino even mentions that, so I'd expect to see Austin at least in those 2 games. Morrison is still playing more than I'd like, but he has sat for 1 game in each of the last 5 series. Twice the day after hitting a HR, no less.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, the original poster did say "cut/trade." They're probably not ready to cut Morrison yet, for whatever reason. The cases of Morrison and Belisle suggest they might have some aversion to cutting vets they brought in. As for trades, I'm not sure if any of the trades to date constitute "admitting they were wrong."
×
×
  • Create New...