Rod Carews Birthday

I say search the MLB top 100 for any catchers in AAA -- like Rushing. I start with the list and offer the 3 for 1 swap. I think somebody bites. We get what we need and it isn't going to kill our system. I do think it will take Lee or Keaschall (but not both) as part of the deal, but that's OK. We are keeping our best hitting prospects and our best pitching prospects. Then we trade Vasquez to whatever team will take on the most salary and/or add a prospect until someone does.

I think Canha is an interesting possibility, and while he is a different player than Carlos Santana, he could fit the team pretty well. The lack of power doesn’t concern me a lot, but he is playing first base, so. . . . I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that. As for the market inefficiency of getting the HBP, I think it would be hilarious to have the team lead the league in the stat! You know, what a marketing opportunity for the team that plays in Target Field!

The Twins, who have much more information than we do, appear to not think much of Keirsey, Jr. I think they are right in that he may not have a “trajectory” to become a star (or even a full-time starter), but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be useful to their current situation (it’s too bad that he doesn’t bat RH!). He’s a guy that you have no worries about defensively in CF, and by extension any OF position. He may or may not hit well enough, but there isn’t anything in his minor league stats to say that he will be terrible — and if he is, you send him down. Here’s the hidden value though — let Keirsey, Jr. start the season as the 4th OF. Give him some at bats spelling Buxton and the other guys (less often). Unless he is absolutely awful, and remember the measuring stick is Manny Margot, he can hold down the spot until you think ERod is ready to go and past the cutoff to get another year of control. Then, you either send Keirsey, Jr. back down, or you trade him for some actual value. Investment is $0 and you potentially get a flyer back in a trade later in the season for a guy that you weren’t sold on anyway. Give the man a chance!

I admire your optimism and hope you are right!

I think if Cory Lewis, Marco Raya, or Andrew Morris win Rookie of the Year, something probably went very wrong with the season. I do think that any or all of them may get a cup of coffee, but barring injuries, they shouldn't get much time in the majors. Everybody seems to be on the Keaschall bandwagon -- and he does look legit. I just don't think he is most likely to get the playing time with all of the other middle infielders available, and I don't think the Twins are likely to clear a path YET -- maybe next year. I think Rodriguez is the most likely candidate that the Twins have because the path to playing time isn't blocked and he could fit right into the team. That said, he has to hit and play defense for this to come true. I would much rather they give him time on the team to figure things out than to go out and sign another outfielder. Save your money. . . we've got a guy!

Maybe not completely ridiculous, but it seems a little crazy to sign a guy at his age after two relatively mediocre years offensively. With the Dodgers' checkbook, it won't matter if the contract doesn't age well, but I don't think I would want to be holding that contract in a couple of years. I would like them to keep Castro, (and this sure underscores his value), but I don't think the budget will be allowed to be there for that.

For me, when the trade was made I regarded him as basically an equal version of Kirilloff/Larnach, with the caveat that Kirilloff and Larnach were top 100 prospects several times over, compared to one brief mention for Rooker. None had established themselves well in the majors at that point. One of those players apparently needed to be included in the trade and his inclusion seemed at least as reasonable at the time as if they had chosen one of the others. Some here have suggested that every poor player the Twins have had should have been replaced by Brent Rooker, but the reality is that it was a small group (a glut if you will) of players that were really a part of this. As Rooker scuffled for SD and KC the following year, I pretty much wrote him off and convinced myself that they had chosen well. Obviously that was a mistake on my part as he has come on nicely. There's probably a bit more to it than that that I have forgotten, but that's the short version. My guess is that the team was looking at the three of them and made a decision that someone was redundant, which in their eyes meant Rooker. No, I don't think that the .688 OPS made it happen by itself, but I think they questioned whether he would be able to have sustained success in the majors given his large strikeout rate and questionable defensive home. Yes, he could have/should have been the new DH, but after Cruz had tied up the position for a couple of years I think the Twins were desiring to go to a DH by committee approach, so they didn't see the need for him as a DH without a defensive home. Did they miss? In hindsight, absolutely. However, the move wasn't at all ridiculous at the time. My flippant comment about not even Rooker's mom thinking he would be this good was just that -- meant to be humorous, but in reality, I'm guessing even she and her son were a little (pleasantly) surprised. As I've said in other places, unfortunately players don't necessarily develop in a straight line and when they don't, evaluation gets pretty complicated. Making it even messier is that sometimes new situations produce results that were unthinkable (both good and bad) as the old situation. As a (retired) band director, I always found it amazing that the same words coming out of a different person's mouth suddenly became salient with a particular student. Can't explain it, but it definitely happens. As an aside, I had what I would have called a third rate trumpet player switch instruments halfway through high school, and now he has won international competitions on his new instrument. Sure didn't see that coming. . . Would Rooker have become the same slugger if he had been in MN? Maybe, but it's hardly a sure thing. Will he have a long star studded career? I hope so for his sake, but that's also hardly a sure thing. Sometimes it's just lightning in a bottle and you catch it, or in the Twins' case, you let it get away. Taking this well beyond Brent Rooker, there is a pretty good chance that the team is going to trade an infielder this off season. There is potential to trade any of the Miranda/Julien/Castro/Lee/Lewis crowd. None of those has done enough to make me confident that they will be stars (although you could argue that Castro is what he is -- which is pretty good), but knowing which one to trade and not get burned is pretty tough. I'm definitely in the minority, but I have more faith in Julien than I do in Lee and I'm not convinced that Lewis will not become another Kirilloff. My fear is that the Twins will choose the wrong guy to trade and their consequences are much greater than if I choose the wrong guy in the roster in my head!

That contract is pretty ridiculous, but good for Edman. It’s Dodger money so I don’t care. As for Castro, I would REALLY like to find a way to keep him because in addition to his obvious utility on the field I think he is the closest thing to a spark plug (at least one that isn’t injured all the time) that the Twins currently have. If we do have to trade him, at least this would seem to indicate that he has pretty strong value.

I agree wholeheartedly. Are they likely to become stars? Probably not, but they could provide some decent league average backup, which is what we are asking them to do. Players like these get short shrifted all the time because they are too old or lack a certain pedigree. We don’t want anything to do with them because they aren’t on a trajectory to become marquee players. We don’t need them to develop into stars. Sometimes just being “solid” for two or three years is useful to the team.

So you’re saying that everyone was as high on him at the time of the trade as they were when he was drafted? Really? Every player drafted in the early rounds of the draft is drafted because there is potential to become an excellent MLB player. Over the time that the Twins had him under control, that optimism faded such that he was included in the trade. It’s pretty simple. I’m not saying he was a slug, just that he didn’t look as promising at that point as some other players. Whether the Twins were right to do so is pretty easily determined in hindsight, but not as easily done in the moment when the shine has faded a bit. Also, yes, I’m sure that Rooker kept believing in himself. Of course he did. That’s just healthy on his part, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the creator of a reliable narrative about his potential.

Agreed. The reality is that none of us really knows the plan at this point. It is certainly conceivable that some of Paddack, Vasquez, Castro are dealt at some point, but people sometimes wait for the free agent market to set the prices before they do that. It is also conceivable (we have the prospect capital) that the Twins trade some prospects either separately or with the above mentioned players for something that the team could really use -- RH bat, LH arm, Catcher. If I have learned anything watching the front office over the past few years, it's that they are anything but predictable. They trade/acquire/sign when you least expect it and they do nothing when you most expect it. I too think that the team isn't in bad shape as it stands. Of the players who are definitely leaving at this point, who are we really going to miss? Maybe Carlos Santana, but that's probably it. Most of the players are on the "up" sides of their career curve, so we should be able to expect some improved performances from some of them. I would like them to acquire some additional talent that can have an immediate impact, but I'm not going to cry if they don't.

I feel like this is the usual story of the dumpster dive. One player hasn't ever been good, one was sort of OK at one point in his career, and one has been at least OK but will come with a high price tag. To me the only real option here for the Twins (if there is one and if we really want one) is Dylan Carlson. He had one good year, one OK year, and some not much -- kinda reminds me of Max Kepler! (OK, that was a little mean, but. . . ?)

THIS is the redundancy that needed to be trimmed off the roster. I don't happen to think it was a crime to have missed on Rooker. That was pretty tough and prospects are difficult to predict. But hanging onto Kepler for a long time after his ONE great year and always thinking he was going to repeat it was very foolish.

Not every player will develop in a straight line path. A few do, and that’s easy, but projecting a young player is a difficult thing. In retrospect, we can all look and say how much Rooker’s WAR would’ve looked good on the team, but at the time Kirilloff and Larnach looked like a quite reasonable take. One has had career ending injuries while the other still hasn’t quite figured it out. They both looked like they were better bets at the time. Rooker got the right chance in the right situation and was very successful. Yes, they missed on this, as did other teams, but it’s not quite that simple. I don’t choose to rage over a decision that many (I would say most, but others may not) teams would have made. Things like this happen.

Maybe, but they have plenty of company among other teams on this one. In fact, I'm not sure even Rooker's Mom saw this coming so I think I'm not willing to get my dander up about it.

I agree completely with your last statement. Varland and Jax are different pitchers. However, while Jax may appear to be a "different pitcher" than he was four years ago, I would suggest that he has perhaps just been doing a different job that has suited his skills and strengths better than the first one (rather than doing a job further down the food chain). First of all, it is pretty unlikely that the increase of 4 mph in velocity is going to stick if he is throwing five or six innings and up to 100 pitches per game. He's throwing his four seamer less than he used to, but again, in a five to six inning outing, can that stick? Also, as a starting pitcher, he may need that curveball back too. It's pretty hard to be a starter without a large repertoire of pitches. As the original author suggested, there are many potential pitfalls to moving Jax to the rotation. I personally would not be willing to take the chance, but I understand if others would. I think he's just too valuable in his current role. YMMV

This is quite true, and I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone that disagreed with that assessment. Sometimes crazy things happen, and this is a great example of it.

Agreed. The reality is that nobody out there really saw this as a possibility until it happened - probably not even his Mom. I think he was really a guy without a home that was only going to get a chance on a really terrible team. Other teams passed on him after the Twins put him in as a throw in on the trade. Good for Rooker! He really showed everybody (and I mean pretty much everybody!). I hope he has a great career and I don't really feel that bad about the situation.

I understand wanting to keep him happy, but I would guess that none of us really knows how great his desire really is to start again. This might be overblown by fans and media. Also. . . we all have bosses. I had a lot of autonomy in my job, but at the end of the day I didn't always get to decide my role. I know he has made and will make much more money than us, but he still answers to his boss. The reason I care is because I completely agree with the potential pitfalls of Jax returning to the starting rotation. I don't think it's a chance the we (or he) can afford to take.

One of the things that drives me a little crazy is the tendency that we have (me included) to think that our top prospects will become Willie Mays or Hank Aaron starting immediately. It puts unrealistic expectations (like “where’s the power?”) on them and winds up leaving us all disappointed in the end. We quickly forget that even Twins Hall of Famers like Kirby Puckett were just “pretty good” as rookies (and there are countless others) before developing into their fully formed stardom. The road will surely be rocky and there will be ups and downs. Put me in the club that is hopeful that Jenkins will eventually become a star and have a long productive career with the Twins. That is a much bigger concern than what he does in his initial call up. We (and the Twins) all need to exercise some patience.

I believe you meant to write that the this guy is an option if the Twins decide to move on from Willi Castro. If they do move on from him, it will be for financial reasons, which pretty much preclude signing anybody substantial in free agency. I don’t know how he will turn out as a player, but at this point Tena has a very SSS of work to base anything off of. I’m don’t necessarily think that his development into a strong player is assured, plus he will cost something to acquire — likely a something that has just as good of a chance to develop into a strong player. The one area where I think that they can go with the players they have — Miranda, Julien, Lee, Hellman, Martin, eventually Keaschall — is because they can accomplish much of the bench work, albeit by committee, that Castro and others have been doing. We also forget that for most of the year Farmer was almost unplayable offensively — and the defense wasn’t amazing either. I think this is one place where the Twins can sit on their hands and see how their younger players do.

Lewwww! He was one of my favorite players. I just wish he could have played and been productive longer for the Twins! Glad to see he’s still playing the game that he loves!

Wow! He just seems like he is a million miles away at this point. Obviously the Twins like his stuff and projectability, but he has so much to work on before he can pitch for the big club -- actually he has plenty to work on before he gets to AA! For me, a guy like this can't be in the top five, there's just too much variability in the possible outcomes.

Given how well Joe Ryan was pitching last year before he got injured, I'm not sure much change is in order. Ryan seems well in touch with his pitching and seems comfortable tweaking it on his own. It's true, he might need a few more fastballs against some batters, but then again, he might need less against others. He's a really smart guy (certainly smarter about pitching than me) and I will let him figure that out. His job is to stay healthy and keep pitching. He is a massive upgrade from anybody who would take his place in the rotation if he gets hurt.