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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    Is there any purpose to not calling up Walker today? Even if just to get an at-bat or two this month? The AAA season is over, no playoffs, and he's not even headed to the AFL (although that doesn't begin until October anyway). Are they going to send him to fall instructional leagues? Do they think exposing him to MLB even a little bit might hurt his already modest trade value? Just curious. It would seem that every healthy position player in the high minors who is already on the 40-man roster should be called up after their minor league season ends.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    But here, you're not cheering for September 2016 wins. You are cheering for individual player performances that will give you more confidence in 2017 and beyond. Everyone wants that. More likely, though, a good September 2016 record would be driven in part by that, but also in large part by performances (and timing) that would be unlikely to shift future projections/expectations. That's the stuff that most of us would rather do without, if it drops us down the 2017 waiver/draft/international budget lists. Yeah, it would be great if Mauer could start pulling HR every game like Dozier, but that is incredibly unlikely (and he's almost certainly not even experimenting that much with his approach at this point). More likely, most wins would be added by guys like him, Plouffe, Gibson, Santiago, etc. performing within their expected ranges.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Definitely not a meaningful sample, especially since Nolasco was performing just the same for the Angels until his most recent start.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    This organization hasn't made a lot of great MLB calls in terms of development lately -- they could perhaps use all the help they can get! And in the case of catcher, there is a trickle-down effect -- it's not just the catchers themselves, but also the pitchers. We could/should be looking at a post-Suzuki future in 2017, it would be nice to prepare for that a bit in 2016.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    They're not mutually exclusive -- the AFL doesn't begin until October. Kubel played in September 2004 for the Twins, and even made the postseason roster, then played in the AFL that same year (and tore up his knee...).
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think that's quite right. To get our $8 mil, we have to non-tender Santiago this winter, but Nolasco would have still been under contract for 2017 and could have been salary dumped alone to save a few million.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Not quite -- Nolasco had some absolute value too, maybe about as much as Meyer. $4 mil each? In any case, both of their absolute values together netted us an ~$8 mil option on Santiago.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    The Donaldson trade was by no means good, but Graveman has been a competent SP and Franklin Barretto appears to be an asset. #46 prospect at MLB, although he's slipped a bit from his preseason #23 rank. Of course, Donaldson was a lot better at the time of the trade than Ortiz when he was let go, so...
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    Of course, Garver could easily get some starts behind the plate in Minnesota in September, in addition to AFL starts in October...
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Not only is it too far away for the Braves to make a determination like that with any confidence, like you say, but also the first overall pick is about more than just the player you select -- you also get the largest bonus pool. That affects your entire draft strategy.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    Wouldn't that actually suggest the Twins have a better shot? If he wanted to stay in Toronto enough to take a hometown discount, we'd pretty much have no chance to sign him -- we'd have to out-bid them by a considerable amount. At least this suggests we could out-bid them slightly and win his services. Not that I endorse it or think it is likely for any number of other reasons, but in theory, the Twins chances at landing a player should only improve the less likely he is to re-sign with his current team.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Good thing nobody is doing that? Doumit and Herrmann were first brought up in this discussion as examples to suggest the Twins were "cutting edge."
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    So, last week we send Berrios and Duffey to Rochester, replacing them in the MLB rotation with Dean and Albers, and earlier this week we decline to call up Walker or Palka despite OF playing time being available, and all of this was justified in part because Rochester was still in playoff contention, and it was important for these young players to play in some kind of pennant race. Yet just a few days later, with 5 games left in their season, needing to go 4-1 to keep their season alive (difficult but not impossible), we call up Rochester's leadoff hitter and team OPS leader Buxton? Apparently because Grossman has a sore oblique and we don't want to over-use Logan Schafer? Sorry, the "help the affiliates" excuse needs to be retired permanently, along with "minor league pennant races provide extra development value", if both are apparently lower priority than resting Logan Schafer on the worst team in MLB.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    Although Moncada's AFL season could be cut short: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/08/red-sox-promote-yoan-moncada.html Sounds like they might be having him focus on 3B work too. I remember Kubel appearing in September 2004 for the Twins and our playoff series, then going to the AFL to gruesomely injure his knee...
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Not sure if you read the thread before mocking it? People weren't advocating for Buxton... Also, the MLB.com story on this move says Schafer and Buxton will split time in CF. If they really want Buxton out there so soon in a part time role, and Grossman is hobbled, why not split time with Rosario and open up a corner spot? Schafer in any kind of starting role makes zero sense for this team right now.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    Seth answered above, but the key detail here is that it is not simply "20 days in the minors" -- it is 20 days on optional assignment. And players not yet on the 40 man are not on optional assignment, so any prior days in the minors for them this season do not count toward that number. Berrios used an option this year, because he got added to the 40-man then optioned. But getting added to the 40-man and recalled does not use an option (like Duffey in 2015).
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    I know. But you were being critical of a hypothetical Twins claim because of the cost...? There is no cost if we don't meet the Dodgers asking price, whatever that is, other than salary if they don't revoke the waiver request for some reason.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    FWIW, Herrmann wasn't often deployed in a flexible arrangement by the Twins. In 2014, he almost exclusively played outfield (1 inning at catcher), and in 2015, he almost exclusively played catcher (2 innings in the outfield, plus 4 at first base). Similarly, Sano wasn't given an additional position -- he was completely moved. Whatever flexibility they gained by giving him an outfielder's glove, they probably lost by simultaneously taking away his 3B glove (although they eventually backtracked on that, shortly before pulling the plug on the outfield idea entirely). Danny Santana has followed a somewhat similar pattern -- setting aside whether it's a particularly new/good idea to have bad players who are position flexible, Santana was almost exclusively an infielder in 2015 (only 3 starts in the outfield), and has been almost exclusively an outfielder in 2016 (only 3 starts in the infield). The Twins positional flexibility arrangements of the last few years have largely been of the "semi-permanent move" or "emergency" variety.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    FYI, Garver last year posted a 116 wRC+ in the FSL. Virtually identical to his 118 mark in AA this year. If that earned him his promotion to AAA as you claim, there was definitely a case for him moving up midseason in 2014 or 2015 too.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    You do realize we could claim him without offering anything in trade, right? Although I think the gentlemen's agreement dictates that teams in the Twins position shouldn't make any August trade waiver claims, barring some specific prior arrangement with the waiving club. Other than that, though, I'd hope we would express interest in Puig if the primary cost was money.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    My Tebow comment was an attempt at a joke of some kind.... maybe I should try out for something other than humor.
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Which Minnesota team was giving Tim Tebow a tryout, again?
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    A 38 year old Lew Ford had a .955 OPS in the same league last year... (actually Ford turned 39 during his stint there last year)
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    The idea put forth here is that frequently going over an inning (higher pitch counts) has worn him down, to the point where he is less effective across all of his outings, regardless of length. He's been in the multi-inning role all year, and his ERA has been steadily climbing all year, so perhaps there is something to it. Not that Tonkin is any kind of great pitcher, but there is evidence to suggest we haven't been putting him in a position to succeed to the best of his abilities. Heck, a lot of people here have been endorsing Pressly as a key bullpen cog going forward, and his run prevention has been almost exactly the same as Tonkin's except Tonkin has given up 4 more HR (leading to ~8 more runs overall). I wouldn't be surprised if Tonkin's profile makes him slightly more prone to allowing HR, but his advantage in K rate could be enough to balance that out, assuming he was deployed similarly to Pressly. Probably worth finding out in a lost season, rather than seeing if he can handle long relief -- if we don't see him as anything better than a long reliever, he should probably be dropped from the 40-man this winter, frankly.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    The other day I calculated it, when Santana had been on the active roster this season, he was playing at a 409 PA full season pace.
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