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
    We could be using Kinley's spot to help find/season that reliever who will have to pick up the slack when we can't use Hildy or Reed every day. Like Curtiss -- he has to be better than Kinley, right? Plus he has options, so we can swap him out for a fresh arm as needed, or send him down to work on something.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    Cave is actually just 25 years old, he put up a 156 wRC+ in AAA last year (and seems to be around 120 for his pro career), and he can apparently play CF. The Yankees protected him from Rule 5 this winter, and the Twins are just his second pro organization (if you discount the spring he spent with the Reds as a Rule 5 pick a couple years ago). Cave might be a future journeyman, but I don't think he is one yet. There is a solid argument that he should be getting fill-in outfield reps over Grossman and LaMarre.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, Kinley took a roster spot that could have gone to Chargois or someone else. Duffey, Curtiss, or Slegers could be contributing more right now even with the same craptastic performance, just by virtue of their flexibility with options. And while Kinley hasn't directly lost games, he hasn't contributed in any way at all. Even Justin Haley was eating innings last April, and Luke Bard was mostly doing the same for the Angels (he even got 5 outs in an extra innings win for LA). Kinley is almost certainly a negative drag on this team right now, even if most of it is indirect. Yes, other players are struggling too, but that doesn't mean they should keep Kinley no matter what. And I don't think anyone is claiming Kinley is the only reason or even the #1 reason we are losing, but he is a clear net negative that is probably the easiest to address.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    Santana was 21 years old. Worth noting they've changed the rules since then, so Johan wouldn't have been eligible for Rule 5 for another year. Even Pressly was only 24 years old when selected, and had just begun the conversion from starter to reliever a few months prior.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Not really. Can't bring back Moya since he hasn't been down for 10 days yet (although we could DL Kinley to do it). Could have brought up Curtiss, but he just pitched 2 innings yesterday. Plus Busenitz, that is all of the minor league relievers we have on the 40-man roster at the moment. Could do a starter, I suppose, although Enns pitched last night. Slegers pitched Saturday. They probably want to keep the others starting right now.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    Pretty sure the Twins spot the Yankees a few runs before the start of each game, right? At least mentally.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    My guess is that Kinley is DFA'd when Buxton is activated later this week. That will keep Busenitz and Moya eligible to return sooner.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Almost exactly one year ago (April 23, 2017), the Twins first put Justin Haley on the DL. Compared to Kinley, Haley was downright useful. He already had 3 relief outings recording 10+ outs at this point last season, plus 2 other, shorter outings.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    Busenitz has already been optioned, per the team's transactions page: http://m.mlb.com/min/roster/transactions/ No corresponding move announced yet, but it is almost certainly Tyler Duffey as he didn't pitch yesterday for Rochester. (Curtiss pitched 2 innings.)
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    They could have DFA'd Kinley at that point instead, though, to keep Chargois.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, it's not really close to throwing everything out. It's basically swapping out Grossman for Buxton when he returns, and swapping Kinley/Rogers for Duffey/Curtiss. (I guess he wants Melky Cabrera or Granite for LaMarre too, but just on the bench?) Heck, the poster even said to give Hughes a couple more starts! A true "throw everything out" post would have to include Morrison and Castro at this point, and maybe even Sano or Buxton or Rosario for good measure. And Duke and Hughes from the pitching staff for sure, and probably some of Rodney, Lynn, and Hildenberger too. As far as "throw everything out" posts go, this thread is clearly replacement level.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not trying to do that. When I started responding to you, you weren't quoting any specific posts or posters, so it wasn't clear on who or what you were responding to. Certainly not everyone in this thread is using the terms you say now, and certainly not in the context of releasing the player, so please pardon the confusion. I'll drop the tangent.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    I think the OP already admitted that he confused the terms "DFA" with "option" in regards to Rogers. I'm guessing he also confused the terms "release" with "outright" in regards to Grossman. And seeing how that poster isn't even participating in the conversation today, I'm not sure it helps to keep arguing that with other posters. For the record, I don't necessarily agree with the OP, but I think Kinley probably has to go, and I wouldn't mind swapping out Grossman when Buxton comes back.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    And my point is, Grossman can still be available in AAA if we need him back. You seem to be ignoring that very important point. The Twins don't have to send Grossman down, but they also don't have to leave him locked in on the MLB roster when he is struggling and the team might be better served by a different mix of players, even temporarily.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Who said that? And where?
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not saying release Grossman, but if you can swap him down to AAA, you can try some different things if you want (extra pitcher, better defender, evaluate a younger player, etc.). Even if it's just a low-cost, short-term shake-up. With DH and the OF committed, and few PH opportunities, Grossman's not essential, and we have some flexibility due to his salary and service time. That's all I'm saying. (Also keep in mind WAR is a counting stat. With the Astros, Aoki had virtually the same bWAR as Grossman last year, but in half the PA. He was a better player. Same for Fisher and White. The vast majority of the Astros bad PA last year was Carlos Beltran on his last legs (or beyond them?).)
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    I think if the Twins called about these guys now, the Orioles would probably ask for more in return, but it would probably be too much, and hence no deal would happen. It's probably understood enough that the phone call doesn't even have to happen in the early months. Also, there is value in being relevant, even if they fall short of the playoffs. Meaningful games in August and September boost attendance and keep eyeballs on the TV. I certainly wouldn't bet on the Orioles going to the playoffs at this point, but they're not hopeless for some relevance in 2018.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    The post I was responding to said (of the Twins) that "if they're willing to take on salary, they might not even have to give up much in the way of assets."
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't know. Using the Orioles as an example, they have a lot invested in 2018 already -- $143 mil payroll. The remaining obligations to Jones and O'Day are barely a drop in that bucket, and both are still solid contributors on a team with some stars (Machado, Bundy) and some hope (Britton, Gausman/Cobb, maybe a prospect like Hunter Harvey). What do they really get out of dumping them early? I think fans often overrate the willingness of teams to seek modest salary relief, especially early in a season. Even the fire-sale Marlins this winter were generally moving much larger salaries, and/or getting back some decent prospects. Teams don't just give away guys like Jones or O'Day in April. Probably the only guys available at this point, for little in return, are lost causes like Hughes, or fringe roster guys like Trayce Thompson.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    Was he a "pretty good player" in 2017? I can see the argument for 2016 -- his bat was a definite plus that year, and maybe the defensive metrics were off (or he should be a DH more often) -- but in 2017, that wasn't the case. He was just a league average bat with negative defensive/positional value. 0.8 bWAR and 0.5 fWAR, but in 456 PA, that's only marginally better than replacement level. Solidly below average. FWIW, with Grossman's $2 mil salary, he'd probably clear waivers and could be outrighted to AAA (he doesn't have enough service time to refuse without forfeiting his salary), so we wouldn't necessarily be discarding him. We could swap him back in later, if we so desired. Not sure if there's a better use for the roster spot at the moment, although once Buxton is healthy, and if we're willing to use Garver to pinch-hit for Castro, Grossman's role isn't that important either. An extra pitcher could be more valuable. Or maybe even getting a look at Jake Cave?
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    I think my characterization is accurate: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/16336-article-twins-extend-phil-hughes/ I didn't say it was universally loved here, but certainly most approved, and most objections seemed pretty mild. I fully admit I was quite wrong, and quite drunk on the record K/BB ratio. Bonnes was right, the remaining 2/16 was such an incredible value, it really didn't make sense to tear that up for a longer, more expensive deal. I guess we were writing off Nolasco at the time and looking for a replacement, but really it wasn't prudent.
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Actually here it was pretty well-received. Of course, we were all drunk on Hughes's record K/BB ratio. And alcohol. John Bonnes was a prominent voice of dissent on the deal.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    Actually, I think 2 outs and no one on base might be a good time for a new pitcher. Gives them a larger margin for error.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, there was the marked rise in strikeouts, even before the concussion. I don't doubt the concussion was a factor, but it could have been compounded by the rising K's (and limiting his potential futuree adjustments). Has it been reported that the symptoms have cleared? I wonder if he's just learned to manage/adjust to them better over time too.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, I don't think the Twins actually carried a third catcher all that much. I remember looking at it, and it was primarily at the beginning of 2005 and 2009, when Mauer was coming off injury. (And when September rosters expanded, of course.) The Twins of that era just rarely spent anything on external upgrades. They had room in the rotation and went with Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, and Livan Hernandez. They had room at DH and went with Rondell White (twice!). They didn't even make modest additions on the level of Pavano, Cabrera, Crede, Rauch, etc. until TR stepped aside and they got close to Target Field opening. Keep in mind, Mauer was the most obvious lifetime Twin ever, and they didn't even manage to sign him to any kind of long-term contract until after he won a batting title, and didn't manage to buy more than 1 FA year until after he won a MVP. That's major frugality/conservatism, right there. I could see the argument that they valued having DHs who could contribute at other positions, but that leads to Shannon Stewart, Rondell White, and later Jason Kubel. Or going back further, Matt LeCroy, and dumping Ortiz with Mientkiewicz at 1B and Morneau in the wings. I don't think having Mauer at catcher had much to do with that preference.
×
×
  • Create New...