PatPfund

I'm a big fan of Tom's, but Lewis's problem isn't where he plays defense, it's that he can't hit at an MLB level for ANY position, and hasn't for quite some time now. The Saints should play him at one spot and see if they can get him hitting in a fundamentally sound way. If they can to a level that Lewis is the best option at 3B, then call him back up. (Hopefully Lee, Culpepper, and Keaschall hit/play well enough to make it all a competition, but if Kreidler, Gray, and Clemens are the roadblocks then you probably aren't a serious big leaguer.) If he can't figure it out, he wouldn't be the first (or last) to have a brief run in MLB before fading away.

On the pitching side, the Twins will need to keep throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. On the position side I can say positive things about a lot of these players, but I'd also say the fact we have so many (Kreidler, Gray, Clemens, Outman) shows the weakness of our everyday lineup. It would be a lot better if two of those (Outman and Gray?) go away soon, and if minor leaguers can't force that to happen in the next couple months it is a worse sign for our future than which role player is here longer term.

I like Fedko, but Emmanuel Rodriguez is about to run out of options as a top 100 prospect who has NEVER been called up, so I don't have Kyler at the top of some "wronged" list. (Yeah, I know, injuries blah, blah, blah, but adding Emma to the 26-man over Outman coming out of spring training would have been both easy and timely.) Fedko will likely earn his shot in due time, and probably more as a Kody Clemens replacement than a straight OF (FYI, both Martin and Buxton hit RH really well, so that's not really a golden ticket any more). Had a chuckle or two at the Outman 'heating up' talk (dude always has a week or so to relight the hope, then he tanks). And comps like Rooker, and Culpepper who plays good D at positions of serious organizational need and is posting solid O numbers while three years younger than Fedko.)

I couldn't disagree more that the Twins didn't put him in position to succeed. They played him a lot, they gave him days off, now they're giving him reset time (again). The guy is 28 and getting (unplayably) worse in the field and at the plate. The Twins are doing due diligence with this trip to the minors; what Wallner needs to do to earn a trip back is be better than any other team option. Hope it happens, but right now I'd rank him well below Outman (and I'd DFA Outman), and if improvements don't come fairly soon, there are other Saints poised to push past Wallner in the call-up queue.

If the bullpen train is a wreck, I guess it doesn't matter if this is the boxcar with "closer" stenciled on it.

You aren't exactly going to get full value on a pitcher rushed to market after already missing time for a back injury then an elbow issue. By the time Ryan has come back, and (assuming he stays healthy) pitches long enough to re-establish consistently top form, you are likely within a few weeks of the trade deadline. Anything much earlier probably involves a health-risk discount.

It gets mentioned a lot because Larnach and Wallner (especially Wallner now that he seems to run with backhoe-like speed) are marginal-to-poor OFs, and 1B exists at the bottom of the defensive spectrum just above DH. It's great to say there are "real life reasons" they can't do it, but what are they? Lack of interest? Look, if Wallner can't hit he's out of baseball, but if he is gets back just a little bit (but not all the way to Nelson Cruz territory), he's going to need to play in the field, and he's not an OF any more. 1B isn't rocket science, but if he doesn't want to make the effort, maybe he can get a job selling Lady Kenmores at Sears.

Option Wallner to St Paul, and let him work on his swing and how to play 1B. And maybe try him in the bullpen there (used to be a pitcher; maybe a better road back there than as a hitter or especially an OF). Bring up Emma and start him. The time is also really short for Outman (I'd cut him today and start auditioning Saints OFs starting with Gabby). Bringing up an OF without sending one down also lets you move Mendez to AAA. Royce doesn't hit well enough for 1B; Twins should send him or Lee down to get better when they call up Culpepper.

Of course they should call up Emma. Need room? DFA Outman. (And WHEN he clears waivers, you DON'T send him to St Paul, you say 'thanks' and call up Hendry Mendez from Wichita to the Saints.) "He needs to play every day." Yep, in RF, and you either have Wallner grab some pine or send him to St Paul (yes, he has 1 option year left, and he's not a rookie, and it's been rough for a long time now). There may even be a rough start and a need to work on some stuff again in AAA, but that's just another reason to make the move now. This is Rodriguez's last option year, and dude hasn't even been to the majors yet. It is getting awful close to 'use him or lose him' time, so it might be worth finding out what we have.

Every team needs a good utility player, but do we really need three (Kreidler, Gray, Clemens)? Is Outman OK, because he hardly plays, or does he hardly play because he's (not really) OK? If you are just playing game-to-game I guess keeping Kreidler around for a bit is fine, but... Emmanuel Rodriguez is on his final option year, and would immediately be the best defensive OF on the Twins not named Buxton along with an offensive upside better than any OF but Buxton. If not now, when? After he is out of options? If you need to play him everyday, bench/send down Wallner and his MLB leading 33 Ks (in 80 PAs) for a badly needed reset. But, yeah, cut Outman; he never should have gone north with the team.

Only 5 players in MLB history have won a batting title as a rookie, and only two since the start of the 20th century; Tony Oliva in '64 and Ichiro in 2001. Only Oliva also won in his second year (including the 3 NL 19th Century guys), so I'm guessing that's not happening again. (Oliva, Carew, and Killebrew in the same lineup was pretty fab.)

One of my favorite Twins of recent years; love the bulldog mentality that is driving him to work on the new stuff. I just don't think it is going to work, and in fact will get worse as the weather warms, and the hitters settle in. Gone (or IL) by June unless I'm wrong, though on the bright side, I'm often wrong.

Lee going to St Paul is not some kind of death sentence; lots of players get sent down and come back (and it isn't like the 40-man is made of giant barriers). The guy looks like he could be a solid player, but he clearly needs some work at the plate, and that doesn't have to happen at the MLB level. I could see him in St Paul by mid-May (or much sooner), but I also think it is far more likely he is on the 26-man in August than Gray, Kreidler, Arcia, Outman, or Clemens.

Sorry, but there are clear solutions internally. You could call up Culpepper, who would be an improvement on defense, and likely add speed and hitting to the lineup as well. Maybe he is "below average" defensively, but we know Lee is WELL below that. (Maybe send Lee down in that setup; he could use a hitting reset, then come back as the utility guy.) You could also cut Outman (not because he is 0-12 this year, but because he's been bad for years), and DFA Larnach (who won't get claimed at his pay, but we could always hope) or Clemens, call up Roden and Emma, and buy a 1B glove for Wallner, which would add needed offense, and give the OF a major defensive boost. It might also give us a solution at 1B (can't see how it would worse, and Wallner would be a massive target with legitimate 1B pop).

They'd probably sell more tickets embracing the rebuild; the Opening Day roster is laden with marginal MLB talent (Larnach, Outman, Gray, Clemens half the relief staff) "blocking" upside youth (Emma and Roden ready now, Culpepper and Gonzalez maybe after a month of AAA at SS and 1B, Prielipp after MLB meltdowns create a void). Losing isn't fun, but watching off-the-charts athletes compete always comes with 'can you believe he did that!' possibilities. The Twins are starting the year (by choice) with too many of those types of players in St Paul. (Should make for fun Saints games, though!)