JD-TWINS

They both are meant to be platoon guys batting v. RH & LH pitching, respectively. That was the plan this year…….Polanco got hurt, Gordon played a bunch at 2B & then he started to heat up - played some CF & got hurt. Taylor is 32, not 35, and a worthwhile 1-2 year extension as our Platoon CF v. LH pitching AND back up on bench for injury - pinch running - pinch hitting - late inning Defense - etc. I think Gordon deserves a chance v. RH pitching & am hoping we see him back by August.

Who can they trade that has value? I’ve brought up Julien & Miranda in a couple places today. Not challenging you, just curious on who we have as alternatives. Celestino seems to me to be a real stretch unless he’s much improved from ‘22. Not sure of other names?

Where does Miranda play??……he’s been in AAA for 5 weeks working on his swing. Can only roster 26 guys going forward…..Julien is an energetic bat but medium/long-term it’s Lee’s position. Right?…….we have Polanco/Farmer/Castro (Gordon) to get us through this year & to the point of Lee being ready next year some time. I like Julien but trying to be realistic on what gets us a decent return. Larnach was sent back to AAA twice when leading the Twins in RBI……what do they think of him? “potential” and “sweet swing” only gets one so far in MLB. I see a star in Larnach’s bat but he has to perform when given opportunities. We traded Steer and he’s thriving in Cincinnati - Twins have needs & can’t worry about guys we trade having success.

If in 1st or 2nd place in division in a month, BUY. Addition by subtraction (minus Kepler - Gallo) with Wallner & Castro & Larnach getting more AB’s. It’s a stretch, but will Gordon have an opportunity in CF v. RH pitching by August 1? Need a reliever……who to offer in trade? If Lee & Lewis are the future with CC & Kirilloff in the infield……Farmer signed through ‘24…..how are Miranda & Julien (both defensively challenged) not potential trade pieces?

That’s why 30 teams in the league would love to have him play 145 games for them every year…….give him CC’s at bats hitting 2,3 or 4 and see how many runs he drives in…… 70 of 75 games in ‘23……144 games in ‘22. His job is to get on base….leads Baseball in OBP. His job is to get on base - leads baseball in OBP! Tony Oliva was slow…..he didn’t have a position when he came up & ended up with a gold glove - 3 batting titles - HOF. Carew - bad knees - had to move from 2B to 1B - no power - 7 batting titles - 100 RBI batting 3rd & an MVP - HOF There’s an entire thread in TD about how the trade is an embarrassment at this point - I’m not a hindsight type, Lopez will help us over next few years…….no reason to bad mouth Arraez.

Played 144 games in ‘22……played 70 of 75 games so far in ‘23. 46% of the way through the year he has 15 doubles - had 31 doubles in ‘22. He has a WAR of 3.1 at this point in ‘23. Really difficult to justify trading elite hitting talent. Prior to ‘23 a career (over 4 years) .314 BA! ”No pop - no position - slow - injury prone……” B.S.

Have not followed - assumed he was still flourishing in Baltimore…….comment was to get attention and to clearly state we need to give something/somebody up to get value in our Pen!!

I’m sure YOU were against trade in real time but all I heard from most others at TD was that Luis was: Slow, Injury prone, Horrible & Position-less defender, Not a run producer, NOT good enough to take-up the DH spot……..not able to keep up the same level of performance going forward. I was stating there were only 20 guys in the game that hit .290 or better in 2022 & Luis hit .316. His BA low over 4 years as a Pro was .294 & his career average was .314 after 4 years. “You can’t trade good hitting, regardless of power……” He’s a 10 HR - 80 RBI guy if you bat him 2,3, or 5 in your line-up. He doesn’t try to hit the ball to the fence because he traditionally bats lead-off and is supposed to get on base. Lopez will work out if he stays healthy……no bitterness, but Arraez was/is a guy that doesn’t come along very often!

Kepler gets close to “no choice but to DFA” every 10-12 games & then he gets 2 hits in a game with a homer. Buys another 2 weeks - then he does it again this week. A conundrum, until we finally trade or release him in 5 weeks. Is Walner putting any pressure on a Kepler move with his offense in St Paul……..how about Larnach? I was a vocal leader a few days ago about getting Buxton a 30 day stint on IL to get his timing/rhythm back……..today he hit 935 ft worth of home runs……& I think he may be getting underestimated. He’s a talent show winner a couple/three days a month and difficult to watch the rest of the month. Gotta let him play & yes, DH is the only option. Polanco making any advancements with his health? I think, even though it’s very difficult, we need to hang on to Gallo if we move Kepler, or God forbid, we need to keep Kepler if we move Gallo. Gallo gives the needed OF depth & 1B depth…….Kirilloff has only been healthy & playing for 6-7 weeks. He’s not real smooth in RF. 40 days: Re-sign Gray for $24M/year for 2 years Move via trade or DFA either Kepler or Gallo. Offer Baltimore Julien & Varland to get Cano back………my point here is we need to make a BOLD move for a good/great relief pitcher!! Kirilloff - Polanco - CC - Lewis playing regularly with Farmer - Solano fitting in as needed. Buxton settled at DH. Taylor - Castro - Larnach/Wallner - Gallo in OF Vazquez - Jeffers @ Catcher Gotta get a reliever at the deadline …… maybe Chapman?? May need to move Julien or Miranda to get something of value?

So, while there is no angst here, the author set-up an exercise that makes no sense with the $ designations. They are arbitrary and only force people to think past “the best” players at each position. It’s fun to consider but if you’re putting an “all-time team” together & you can’t afford Oliva nor Puckett it’s a silly exercise. The Yankees team’s fan would not be able to have Ruth - DiMaggio - Mantle - Gehrig - Munson - Jeter etc. because they can’t afford all of the greats. Seems senseless to me. IMHO. My question is, who is on the Twins All-time best 25 (14 batters & 11 pitchers) man roster? Bostock - Viola - Correa - Morris are all eligible if Winfield - Molitor - Thome are eligible. I’m using 2 years minimum with the Twins & a real Twins contributor as criteria for eligibility.

I don’t understand the “play him in CF or we aren’t getting our value from him….” comments! Played in 46% of games in 7 of 8 years prior to this year. Gotta take a different approach in ‘23. If we just “play him in CF” that % will come into play shortly. He’s not physically right just slotting in at DH, let alone playing CF. If we try to play him in CF he will break down - once this happens we get zero value. Why all the complaining? Now, should he be our only DH? That’s debatable. Personally, I think he needs an IL stint and a total reset “while recovering” for 30 days he needs to get his swing/ batting approach back in time/rhythm. Right now - he doesn’t really look any different than Kepler at the plate - & that’s not good!

I’m way over budget - gotta take Molitor at DH!

Can I get Frank Viola for FREE? How about Correa for FREE? Lyman Bostock for FREE? 3B - Killebrew - $5 SS - Correa - $0 2B - Carew - $5 1B - Morneau - $3 C - Mauer - $5 RF - Oliva - $5 CF - Puckett - $5 LF - Mack - $3 SP - Viola - $0 RP - Reardon - $2 If budget didn’t matter I’d only change the 2 pitchers.

20-25 years ago & he was a unicorn HOF pitcher. Don’t remember him having arm or hip or other physical problems either. If all we needed to do was tell everyone to “throw more & get strong” we’d just go back to a four man rotation when Ober goes down.

Spahn was rangey & Feller decent size as well but Ober is 6’9”. His arm has been a minor part of his injury history - other body parts have failed. Also, can’t take a guy that’s been groomed in today’s “100 pitches = complete game era” & treat him like it’s 1955!!! If Ober throws 6 innings in his next ten starts, he’ll be at 117 innings at September 5th. If he gets there healthy, I’m sure we can skip a start or two down the stretch so he’s ready & able in the play-offs. Am concerned about everyone’s innings - wear & tear is part of the game - any game. Headrick & Maeda should be able to mix in some bullpen games to help with skipping starts or getting everyone an extra day’s rest.

You want him to do some cheers?? Players play - they’re not 14 year olds. Baldelli isn’t giving up HR’s, that’s Ryan……..how’s he supposed to lead Buxton when he swings at anything & K’s in one AB and the next AB he takes 3 straight strikes. How? Jorge Lopez - Moran - Pagan…….these guys need to get outs and Baldelli will look pretty smart. Wouldn’t worry about Rocco …….batters need to start to perform - pitchers need to hold leads……….if players perform, there are very few bad managing issues!

Solano was my “assumed to be traded if he could hold on until Mid-July…” …….otherwise DFA to make room for Walner or Larnach or Polanco. He started great and then declined slowly over 5-6 weeks. Last 15 days or so he’s as good or better than anybody at the plate. Really need his veteran presence and performance, along with Farmer & Taylor, even though they were all slotted as platoon guys. Not getting much from Buxton - CC - Polanco………….none from Kepler - Vazquez - Gallo!! Unless we collapse, Solano should be on the roster through the season. It seems to me that freeing up 3B for Miranda & trading for Lopez has taught fan base to not take hitters for granted (Urshella @ .298 & Arraez @ .395).

Depends who pitches last, you never know - I’ve been down on both of these guys since September 1 last year. I know I’m not alone. …….you are right, Pagan’s issues are focus & command based, no intestinal fortitude. Lopez has no guts either & less focus. He gets hammered ahead in counts with 2 strikes - then he walks a guy on 7 pitches………. one inning perfect, next inning he looks like a 9th grader. I get guys aren’t perfect but he’s almost unstable. What’s up with the big grins after he gives up multiple doubles?? Completely insecure & low confidence & trying to mask with laughter?

‘24 roster without Polanco: Julien/Lee - Farmer - CC - Lewis - Kirilloff Larnach - Walner - Taylor - Gordon/Castro -New high $$ Player Buxton Vazquez - Jeffers No Polanco - Kepler - Gallo - Solano …….save $34 Million for FA outfielder - relief pitcher - extend Gray. (Lee may free up the possibility to trade Julien - Miranda?) Castro may push Gordon to the trade block?…..,,his defensive flexibility and base running are both better than Gordon……hope he can maintain! Am Nick Gordon’s biggest fan but Castro has been very effective. Catcher prospect for Julien may be worthwhile?…….Vazquez may not make it 2 more years?

If he hits .270 & drives in 35-40 runs from July - September, he’ll be back in ‘24. If he can’t get on the field he isn’t worth anything on our roster nor in trade - zero. Therefore, we don’t extend the option unless he’s solid most of the remainder this year. He’s great, affordable depth if he can keep his legs healthy. We have Lee with Julien as the prime possibilities for 2B next year and we’ll have Gordon back & healthy along with Farmer under contract through ‘24. I don’t want to be terribly negative but I don’t see Miranda back on this roster in ‘23 nor going forward. Lewis is the fixture at 3B. Kepler - Miranda - Pagan - Polanco can potentially all go at the deadline just to create space on the 40 man going forward. Obviously, we want to try and get a couple prospects but we’re asking teams to take on $$$ w/o a lot of upside. (if we’re winning) Organization is going to have a hard time, in season, letting Polanco & Kepler go just because of potential team chemistry upset.

Pagan has to go, for the sake of team psyche! It doesn’t matter what his “stuff” may be, he’s got poor command & even worse command when there are pressure situations in play. Can’t go for 6-8 outings w/o giving up a run & then take a bad loss. Same thing 4 or 5 different months of the season. Too high of a price to pay!!! Gotta be a big deflating thing in the locker room!! Needs to go or hit the IL for a month while targeting a trade partner - maybe we give him away for $1,000,000 salary share for balance of ‘23?

Torri Hunter - Lyman Bostock - Tom Brunansky - Shane Mack - Tony O - Kirby Puckett - Caesar Tovar are/were all very productive outfielders & 3 or 4 were gold glove guys at one point of their career. Doesn’t matter what Max’s War might be, he’s washed at the plate!! Can’t get 2 big hits a month and “play good defense” and be a worthwhile player every day in the line-up. Cannot!! DFA.

Kepler singles & homers Saturday & Wallner went 0-5 & struck out 3 times. Max keeps hanging on due to unclear circumstances with him, his competition, other’s health, etc. - would like to see them DFA Kepler & move on with Larnach/Wallner in RF…….maybe a little Castro v. LH pitching? Sunday’s loss separates them from a first place type team with momentum, headed into a 10 game home stand, compared to a lost team that can’t get things rolling. Kepler & especially Pagan - DFA!!

Gotta comment somewhere here. Varland, with the balance of 2023 under his belt, is pretty much a fresh Tyler Mahle. We have Paddack through 2025 - already have risk with him. Ryan is solid & only in year 2 of service. Lopez is signed for 4 years. Ober is 27 & under team control. Can’t worry about balancing results of the/a trade…..that’s not the competition the Twins are in - win some games. I live in Cinti and Steer looks like a hot Miranda in 2022….I hope he sticks. E-Strand looks like he’s going to be a real hitter! They are Reds & we can’t worry about that - resigning Mahle to save face doesn’t help us win. If we sign him for 2 years, we get 1 year of availability & some definite risk he’ll perform well………always a risk with anyone in any contract! Seems to me a better use of the funds, while reducing risk a few percentage points, would be to take the money we would spend on Mahle & give it to Gray as part of a 2 year extension. My assumption is Gray makes $15M now…….take Mahle’s potential $20M for 2 years and give it to Gray over 2 years. Gray is 33 but, unless he gets a serious injury, somebody will pay him $20M plus as a free agent. I’d pay him a little more, potentially, than market and give him $25M for a shorter contract term. Do it (offer it) mid season - in next month, as a near-term security blanket for him. I think that’s a better value and makes sense with the other depth we have. We can afford paying Gray to have him in play for play-offs and only have him throw 150 innings (probably his realistic work load/availability) during each season. Could also not spend anymore on starting pitching and take the $28M from freeing Mahle & Gray and spend it on an upside reliever and a RH outfield bat………will have another $32M coming off the annual spend with Kepler, Gallo, & Polanco…..who’s hurt too much?……..all gone in ‘24. How should we spend the $60M saved with these 5 guys all potentially gone in ‘24?

Agree. He’s got a long way to go but emulating Ryan’s attitude/mental make-up will carry him a long way as well.