JD-TWINS

With the offensive stats spread between Miranda & Wallner in St. Paul, I really thought that they would live with Farmer/Castro/Julien/Solano to cover 3B & 2B and let Wallner get maybe 3 starts between now & the break. Couple starts at DH & 1 in RF. With Kepler & Gallo contributing once or twice per week, I don’t see either of them going anywhere. Unfortunately! Surely seems like Wallner should get an opportunity, particularly with the consistently blah results we are getting across the river.

We have plenty of infield coverage with Farmer - Julien - Castro - Solano……..get Wallner up for the 6 games at home prior to Break! He can start in RF once & DH a couple times. Great opportunity!

Hoping Kepler - Buxton - Gallo - Kirilloff are somewhere on the July list!!!!

The consistency, along with a few high points from each, have proven the FO acquiring Farmer - Castro - Solano - Stewart were all very astute. Arraez v. Lopez: Do we think as a group that if Arraez was hitting .325 or even .298 that we wouldn’t have so much to be embarrassed about? I hear pundits on TV & written contributors at TD state that we got the bad end of this trade because Luis is flirting with .400. Am fairly sure he was hitting .365 last year in late July…….he had a .316 career BA after ‘22. He lead the AL in BA last year. His productivity & high average are no surprise. The level of his productivity will come down just like CC’s will go up. Arraez is a great hitter and will remain so - we made a decision to trade that very difficult to replicate skill, and get a solid pitcher to help us be more competitive every 5th day. Our “W total” isn’t hinged on Arraez having a down year & us being perceived to have won a trade! No embarrassment if he hits .410 - hope he does. Lopez is grinding & trying to get better……we have him for 3.5 years more at a minimum & I expect good things. Here’s to good health for both!!

If Gallo can continue on the 7-8 homers per month pace, we can put up with the .190 average & 40% strikeout rate. His defensive depth potential at 3 positions can’t be overlooked. If CC gets his yearly average up to .245-.250 (30 plus points) he will have been an effective hitter in the 2nd half. Vazquez getting to his career average of “only .270” is a pretty unrealistic ask. Pretty sure the league BA is under .240 & he’s hitting .225 now……..if he can get to .250 it would be a big shot in the arm……he’d have to hit near .280 for the 2nd half. Solano has 3 HR - nobody complaining about his power - Vázquez getting XBH isn’t important as he’s the slowest individual on the team. Less double plays & some more hits with RISP would be nice. ALL 3 have plenty of time to get their numbers up to reasonable for the season. These guys hitting their career averages will help us win ballgames v. the first half underperforming.

Looks very accurate! Hopefully, Maeda will be in the mix for July honors! Getting Stewart & Thielbar healthy & effective by August 1 could be a really big deal for the club. Headrick - Moran - Balazovic - Jax - Duran - Ortega?…….Stewart - Thielbar looks pretty good for stretch run! Gray has to get to 5 2/3 regularly to get a chance for some wins. “Most underrated” - Bailey Ober……nothing but super consistent!!!

You are exactly correct about them not giving up & being very prideful. The Cardinals don’t trade last year’s MVP! No matter if he’s 35 or 31. Gray is only signed through this year and they don’t need nor want an expensive, veteran starter w/o control if they are punting on this season……….,Again, I don’t see them entertaining a Goldschmidt trade at all as they aren’t concerned about his $$…,………just for kicks, maybe an SWR & Winder would interest them or somebody, assuming one of them can ultimately become average in a rotation.

CC - Kepler - Buxton are obviously root problem ………all the other stuff is just noise. Polanco out over 50% of the time doesn’t help!! Gallo is being Gallo - no surprise. On paper, based on career histories, we were a well put together roster! Baldelli doesn’t bat - FO isn’t striking out at record setting numbers. Pitching has held up - new guys are OK - core of Kepler - CC - Buxton are what’s dragging us down!!! Miranda sucked - Gallo experiment has not been a positive - Shift elimination has dropped Kepler’s average 35 points instead of bumping it 35 points - CC & Buxton have flashes of ability every 6-10 games. Vazquez has disappeared. I don’t see how any of this is FO problem. DFA or bench Kepler - DFA or bench Gallo - CC & Buxton to the IL until after the Break or until end of July. Change is needed.

It’s subtle, but I have to agree that while personalities are all different, there does seem to be a lack of “want to” in the line-up. Unfortunately, Polanco - Kepler - Gallo all seem to fit the laid back view to the game & the results……….pretty subjective but that’s what it looks like. In the FIVE THINGS - Kepler has to be rolled into the report of underperformance! 1) Walner/Julien playing a combination of RF - 2B - DH v. RH pitching seems to be a positive in the near-term. 2) Buxton to the IL through the break or even the month of July. Spot for Walner. 3) Kepler as a bench guy, at best, in case an OF emergency. 4) Larnach to replace, a DFA’d or a traded Gallo for some salary relief for whoever we trade him to, need to do to facilitate a trade. We may get zero return and just need to cover 70% of his salary through September. He’s got more defensive flexibility and value than Kepler but there’s a sentimental attachment with Kepler that is less with Gallo. Really should move or DFA both - one would be a move in right direction! 5) Polanco’s health needs to be determined. If he needs through July, then make the move to longer IL stint. Julien/Farmer/Castro can handle 2B well enough. 6) Give CC a break from (IL) from July 5 through the All-Star break. Piece SS together between Farmer/Castro for 10 games. 7) Don’t ever play Solano at 2B again - a personal pet peeve. 8) Larnach at DH if Julien & Walner are both playing D v. RH pitching. Gotta make some changes……Kepler - Gallo - Buxton - CC are the obvious guys to shift from starting line-up……..some for a brief time. NICE ARTICLE …….I too have confidence that we can hold it together in 2nd half with pitching. Lopez & Ober deserve better luck & if healthy, Maeda - Gray - Ryan will keep grinding! Hopefully, Varland can help keep guys fresh. Strikeouts matter!! Gotta change approach.

I love Luis - was pissed they ever considered trading him. Learned to live with it - hitting a ball well is really hard. He played 1B - 3B - 2B - DH in ‘22 & lead the league in batting. The lack of continuity for a player’s mental stability or confidence or whatever positive one wants to spin, is an excuse. He played different positions all the time not based on wild whims of the manager but based on who was healthy enough to pencil into the line-up. Luis still hit .316 & slumped big time for 6 weeks. 3 RH pitchers in a row with KC - no Polanco nor Kirilloff as options, so NO options for first few weeks.

How can Walner perform at a lesser level? I don’t think he’s going to hit .280 but he can certainly hit the occasional surprise HR every 6-10 games and butcher up opportunities with RISP……….the difference is at the same time he’s gaining experience. Max has had more than reasonable opportunity!!! We’re to the point of the definition for insanity with Max & Joey……..same approach expecting a different outcome…….it doesn’t change - still nuts this week, just like last week!

Seriously? How does his playing 2B in Miami daily have anything to do with the Twins terrible performance on offense daily because the line-up/order shifts around?

Saying that he’s played stretches when he was hurt & maybe shouldn’t have been playing (I agree with) just proves that he shouldn’t be relied upon! My point is the more he plays the more exposed he is by the league as a mediocre hitter with Big flaws and flawed tendencies. I’m not a Buxton hater……thought it was great the FO made a philosophical change by having him DH. More games/more good results with crossed fingers. He just isn’t performing, and I struggle with why there would be high expectations given his history…….I would like to join everyone in wishing he’d just perform to the previous mean.

Polanco was our 2B in ‘22……theoretically still is in ‘23. ??? If you can’t hit (CC - Kepler - Gallo - Buxton) and your manager tries to get you some juice by moving you in the line-up & it bothers you, you have the mental strength of a young teen. Arraez hits lead-off everyday because he’s leading baseball in OBP & he thrives on making contact. If he got dropped to batting 3rd he’d still hit for high average but he’d drive in runs. Our guys don’t hit well anywhere in the line-up & hence the search for something that may work.

Snapshot seasons. He hasn’t been a good hitter for a season because he’s never played more than 46% of the games in 7 of 8 years. Therefore, if he gets hot 4 - 5 times in a 75 game season & he seems like a potential big contributor. He hasn’t been nor should he have been expected to be. If he was just his .245 BA, career mean - if Kepler was just his .250 BA, career mean - if CC was just his .279 BA, career mean the Twins would be in a much different spot on the league leading strike out list and we’d have scored many more runs. More wins - no issues. We could have absorbed Vazquez & Gallo & Gordon & Polanco. The 3 of them in the center of our line-up & our expectations have let everyone involved down. Period. Still have a path to the play-offs……..

If it’s the Superstars not performing within a shadow of what’s expected, Kepler actually going backwards after the shift has been eliminated, how is it 90% on the front office??? I’ll grant you Gallo experiment is right where most fans thought it would be, with him driving people crazy with his lack of ability to make contact. He did provide value at the plate & at 1B while Kirilloff healed in April! Since then, a true disaster. Guys/players need to perform! The FO put the Staff together - they are performing. Don’t hear a lot of complaints there - maybe need a bit more Pen depth. FO made sure we were 7-8 guys deep for starters. Baldelli isn’t losing games for Twins! Miranda absolutely collapsing - Vazquez going from age 32 to looking like 42 at the plate with High school kid’s power - Gordon contributing nearly zero due to Slooow start and then injury - Polanco maybe played 50% of the games - Larnach essentially looking like a mediocre stick when given chances - Walner continues to strike out. I don’t know how a manager overcomes these types of set-backs? Don’t know how a front office can anticipate these types of set backs’s? I’m happy with the depth the FO provided with Platoon guys that have been forced into everyday roles. Farmer - Taylor - Solano - Castro have all contributed above their expectations. Nobody’s fault that guys are hurt. Kirilloff & Lewis seem to be long-term solutions……..Julien is a maybe. Guys aren’t driving in runs - FO can’t bat for players & neither can Rocco. AGREED, it’s the roster but not what’s been assembled based on what should succeed on paper but rather guys that have played better historically …….not doing their job routinely!

He’s fragile. He’s a blah hitter to watch when he isn’t hot for a 1-3 day window. He swings from the heels too much - that is who he is. Hence back spasms. Hardest hit ball in the game through the 5th inning the other day and it was a ground ball of his to short…….when he squares it, that’s exciting. All of this was easier to take when he played CF, OR when he wasn’t on the field and we all could just reminisce about his catches and drives into the gaps or into the seats. ………he averaged SITTING 54% of the time in 7 of 8 seasons…….we’ve done lots of reminiscing & romancing of Byron Buxton.

OR if Kirilloff would have just caught the ball - 2 hop smash hit by him in the ground earlier, tough play - dropped/missed relay from Solano into the dugout……didn’t hurt BUT it really made me think he’s not a real good first baseman with all 3 of these happening in one game.

Agreed. Can’t argue that selling makes sense when we have 30 plus days to consider & are currently in first place! Moving in a positive direction should be this year’s goal at this point - as you point out. CC & Buxton have had big moments but have generally been very disappointing. Polanco is hurt a good chunk of the time! Miranda - Larnach - Vazquez - Gordon have all been more than underwhelming from where expectations were April 1. The Kepler & Gallo experiments have shown to prove recent history correct, solid defense …….embarrassing offense. Kirilloff seems healthy - Julien seems like he may stick - Lewis is at the start of a solid career - Farmer & Castro & Taylor & Solano & Jeffers are all doing their jobs as part-time bench/platoon guys, even though almost all are starting regularly now. With ALL OF THIS GLOOM, we still have a good shot at winning the division. Any positive step forward with this roster (& the performances to date) would be a big positive change in the narrative. Addition by subtraction: Pagan - Lopez (maybe long-term IL?) - Kepler - Gallo all down the road in next 2-5 weeks!!!

They won’t trade an MVP out of that market. They let Albert age and then pick his own team/contract. Not the same as Goldschmidt but as reigning MVP and current run producer, they don’t need to trade him to solve issues. They have (on paper) a glut of potential in young OF talent. Arenado/Goldschmidt bring them leadership & consistency & ability. Ober, with 5 years of control for a guy that displaces Solano the balance of this year & any chance Miranda may have to play going forward, is not a good move for 18 months. Teach Buxton to play 1B in ‘24 before trading away pitching.

Vazquez has been hitting a bit better last couple weeks & decent defense. Assuming that being fresh all the time is helping Jeffer’s stat line! No need to alter yet - let’s keep him fresh through July & if stats are similar, we use him 70% down the stretch. He’s definitely getting more respect from the staff as at least a couple guys have mentioned him after solid outings.

Trading Ober would be about as bad an idea as I can imagine. He’s a walking “quality start”! Our available AAA level guys aren’t going to excite anybody. To me, Julien - Miranda - Martin are all eligible for a decent return. Goldschmidt is way too good of a player for way too good of a cost (mid $20’sM) for St. Louis to worry about or seriously consider moving - they draw 3 million per year nearly every year & have plenty of $$. He was MVP last year w/o a big decline in ‘23. He’s not going anywhere! ……..maybe in ‘24 if they are not competitive?

$$ & some A ball prospect for Chapman or Hand. Need backend depth & experience. August 1 Pen: Headrick - Moran - Thielbar Duran Pagan - Jax - Balazovic - Stewart If Thielbar is healthy by mid-July, great. If not, we need another guy with experience.

Julien doesn’t play 1B or we would have seen by now - Kirilloff was rehabbing for more than a month - Miranda was playing 3B prior to Lewis & through Farmer’s injury. Duvall instead of Gallo - sure, no problem with that. Gallo had a nice first 6 weeks and played a really good 1B when asked to do so. Needed somebody willing to sign with us - McCutcheon got hung up on returning to Pittsburgh & Duvall probably was reluctant with all the youth OF we have? Maybe not enough money? Maybe we didn’t pursue hard enough? Duvall would be a nice piece for Twins!

He was tiring and hit .265 the last couple months and he was playing with AAA guys in ‘22……..no real problem with the trade but good hitters are hard to find. He’s 100 points better than Lewis & 100 points better than Kirilloff and they both are certainly making a difference in the midst of other mediocrity. Not every day but at least 3-4 days per week. Rationalizing Luis isn’t or wouldn’t be a difference maker isn’t fair to him but López can be a solid contributor and the trade is done!