Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

JD-TWINS

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,212

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    A straight 6-man rotation is nuts because we don’t expect/want starters to go longer in games, just to have more rest between starts and thus less overall innings. Nuts, because we tax the bullpen as often but with one less arm in the Pen. My assumption is that Kuechel is out of options at this point in his career - right? Kuechel in long relief role to help stretch the Pen makes sense - he could face 8-9 guys per outing (nobody sees him twice, as they would as a starter) from middle 6th through 8th as an example. This helps freshen the rest of the Pen. He needs to be up or he’s gone by July 31……can’t imagine he signed a deal that allows us to trade him to wherever we like! I like the “tired arm”, 10 day IL stints, for each of our 5 starters over the next 30 - 45 days!! Can use Kuechel to make this happen along with Varland (options). Could take a whole week of no arm activity and then a bullpen session and their regular start 3 days later. Details don’t matter - they’d have needed rest prior to September. If we can build a lead in Division there may be more opportunity for rest later in September? Need to get 86 wins for the Division (fair?) so we need to go 38-30 from here on out. As mentioned a few times “can’t afford to give away games with experiments”. Need to have a plan though on getting starters a breath going forward.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Don’t think there would be any interest. Why would any of those teams want Buxton? Goldschmidt has 2 years left - Arenado has 5 years left, maybe 6. Both can hit! What’s the upside with Buxton on any team right now? Everyone else sees he can’t play defense and he all too often looks miserable at the plate. Bellinger has 2 1/2 months left on a one year deal - he costs $4M more/year than Buck this year but he can play defense & hit. San Diego has plenty of payroll to handle - trying to sign Soto for 1/2 Billion. We may need to get him playing 1B over next year to be able to have some line-up flexibility. It’s a bad situation!
  3. JD-TWINS
    Hope he can do it - unfortunately, it’s going to take reps to play first. I see somewhere else here he’s played LF 15-20 games in minors. Competency at one of those two spots would be great sooner than later. With the obvious log jam in ‘23 at 2B it seems odd there was no flex in his defensive position at all at AAA. Seemed odd as it was happening??? Not sure what his arm’s like after 2019 arm problem/surgery. Keeping him away from 3B due to that, apparently. Long-term maybe he can smooth out at 2B with some fall ball and early spring training work?
  4. JD-TWINS
    Larnach has been given chances - 600 plus AB’s in the Show. Love his look - his play, batting, is below average. Wallner K’s 35% of the time in big leagues so not getting him in line-up as a slow footed OF isn’t a terrible decision. Has potential. Going into ‘23, Gotta give Gallo & Kepler a runway (1/2 season)…….that’s done and either or both of them can/should go. Julien’s job is to hit RH pitching - Farmer’s is to hit LH pitching…..nothing wrong with those two things & them sharing 2B. Buxton to DL is the cleanest move to get Wallner/Julien/Polanco all on the roster. Trading Polanco - Kepler - Gallo, all 3 could give us a fresh feel for the last 2 months. Or, we could IL Buxton until August 15 & play Polanco/Julien/Wallner at 2B & RF as well as at DH. LH pitching, we put Kirilloff into OF and Solano at 1B with Farmer at 3B & Polanco batting RH at 2B. Gotta move 2 of 3 vets off our roster…..Gallo/Kepler/Polanco, IMO. Another move is to trade for Grichuk of Colorado or Bellinger of Chicago to play CF 80% of the time August- September.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Gotta agree that Buxton to the IL for 30 days makes sense! Can’t get less from the DH spot. Gives him 2 weeks back up with Twins late August to see if we can carry him on playoff squad. Wallner - Julien - Polanco (exchange roster spot with Byron) can man the DH role along with Solano. This combination has to improve our results! Lewis - CC - Julien - Kirilloff by mid-August as our infield. Could really use a jolt in OF!! As many have said multiple times, seems like we can’t carry both Gallo & Kepler. TRADE: Andrew Grichuk from Colorado. He can play all 3 OF positions. 18 doubles & .300 BA in 2023………career .250 BA. Can’t be a huge market for him - most good/decent teams have effective OF play & associated offense already. Hoping, Polanco & Gallo & Kepler are gone at break……. Playoff line-up v. LH pitcher: CC - Grichuk - Lewis - Farmer - Solano - Jeffers - Kirilloff - (healthy) Buxton DH - Taylor V. RH pitcher: CC - Julien - Kirilloff - Wallner - Solano or Buxton DH - Lewis - Castro - Grichuk - Vazquez 4 starters in playoffs: Pen: have Maeda going into Pen & Kuechel taking Sands spot……..Headrick/Thielbar taking Lopez/Pagan spots. Moran - Ortega - Balazovic - Jax - Duran Grichuk trade reasonable option/solution?
  6. JD-TWINS
    Do we sign Gray? 2024 - 26 man: Julien & Farmer at 2B CC & Farmer at SS Lewis & Farmer at 3B Kirilloff & Solano at 1B Wallner - Castro - Taylor - FA signing - guy from system (Martin/Rodriguez?) or trade piece?…….OF needs to upgrade!!! Vazquez & Jeffers at C Buxton/Solano - DH Dropping salary from Gray - Mahle - Maeda - Gallo - Kepler - Polanco………$65 MILLION from existing budget that will be freed up……use $ on OF guy and a depth starter and MAYBE a depth reliever. Am seeing this year that relief CAN be built off others scrap pile & with internal system options. More youth v. keeping Solano? Is Taylor blocking someone? I like vets that have done it & aren’t expensive………these guys could be signed for this year’s number plus $2.5M …. $10M total. Not too costly to DFA either! Is this COMPETITIVE?? Julien/Kirilloff/Lewis all ready April 1 & security in their positions. Paddack - Ryan - Ober - Lopez - Varland (Gray? or an inexpensive Maeda or a FA at $15-$18M) Headrick - Stewart - Ortega - Balazovic - Moran - Jax - Duran (Thielbar is probably done)……..some add from system or a FA at $8M or less. Can’t imagine Lopez or Pagan remain. Extend Ryan & Duran & consider Ober……may need 3 months of ‘24 on Ober prior to offer.
  7. JD-TWINS
    The “let’s see what we have for the future” approach is for after you are eliminated from post season, IMO. AAA and Spring Training is for evaluating, not the Show in August when you are in first place in your Division - right? We outta have a pretty fair idea of who Varland & SWR are by now! Not a real big proponent of signing Gray v. some other potential FA arm in off-season……his salary must be approaching $15M now - we are paying Maeda $5-$7M - Mahle $12M…..generally good numbers. Not signing Mahle nor Maeda in ‘24 are nearly certainties…….this leaves $$$ for Gray within this year’s current budget. We also trim Polanco - Gallo - Kepler at a minimum after ‘23, that’s $34M or in a close range saved from this year’s budget………spots filled with guys in our system. Sign Gray for $23.5/year for 2 years and have $40M plus leftover from the existing budget. One way to go. I make the offer to Gray now to see where his head’s at - the security he gains & confidence shown in him could propel him through the remainder of this year & forward!
  8. JD-TWINS
    I don’t understand dismantling the league’s best overall starting staff prior to letting guys like Lewis heal - Polanco as well. Wallner gives us a potential new look if not only addition by subtraction (Gallo or Kepler). Hope is an unknown with an upside…….panic is not good in any sense. Not trying to put down fans that are skeptical - but it seems not supporting decisions/a path until it comes to fruition is just……… Trading Gray is going to yield very little value. I think that’s real whether we are panicked or hopeful. Can we get to 86 wins? Seriously - that’s 8 games over .500 and getting close to unattainable by the Guradians. If so, we host a first round series. With our starters & Thielbar/Stewart/Maeda displacing some of our questionable guys in the Pen, we have a shot at advancing! We’re 2-10 v. Tampa, Baltimore, & Atlanta. Lost 2 in extra innings v. Orioles and a couple tough ones in the other 2 series. We aren’t in Tampa nor Atlanta’s league in the playoffs - granted. Probably able to compete with anyone else in the game though……don’t think that’s just based on hope.
  9. JD-TWINS
    Trade DEADLINE is 13 days away, not another month. Can’t imagine we aren’t still competitive in the AL Central in 2 weeks, so we need to go for the Division title. Another contributor mentioned that we’d be fine in the playoffs with Lopez - Ryan - Ober…….Way too many possible HR’s with Lopez & Ryan. I really like them both & understand there are no perfect players but they have both shown major weaknesses at various spots (lately in particular). Ober seems rock solid to date but after another 12-13 starts, who knows. Need to hang on to the veteran presence with Gray. You & other contributor mention the lack of probable value we can get for Gray - agreed. If he’s a FA next year we aren’t going to get anything of real value for a 2 month rental. His comments about his potential future actions don’t really play into our reality. Taking calls is part of the everyday routine for the FO…….no reason not to do this but as we’ve both mentioned, a worthwhile offer probably doesn’t/won’t exist.
  10. JD-TWINS
    Relative to fighting off pitches…….he got an RBI yesterday after a 10 pitch AB for a walk. No reason to give him an award, but it seems to be much better than taking 3 strikes in a row!
  11. JD-TWINS
    I get it - his most recent swoon. He has had to tip his hat to opposing outfielder 3 times in past handful of games. An HR - single - double mixed in over those games & he’s at his typical, ugly .205 with a high Slugging%. I wish there was a better short-term answer but with Lewis out & Polanco out, I don’t see any.
  12. JD-TWINS
    Jax was NEEDED to extinguish any upstart in the 7th! The A’s had comeback 4 times prior in the game. He can’t throw into a second inning after throwing the night before. Ortega did a nice job, & if anything, I thought he may get the 9th. Duran did his job. Jax may be able to get an out or 2 today after only throwing 6 pitches Saturday. Disagree on any issues with how the Pen’s been used through the 2 games we won. Need a starter to perform or BP will get burned up on any team…….Maeda’s 3 inning debacle on Friday got the problems started.
  13. JD-TWINS
    Hit a 109 MPH rocket to 3B Saturday - he’s had some terrible AB’s in the past couple games but from the “team only meeting” to the All-star game he had some hits - few K’s - 3-4 times robbed on D of big hits, couple times in 2 days at the Wall v. Baltimore. We don’t have a better definitive option. He only plays if the team thinks he can contribute - nothing to do with $$$.
  14. JD-TWINS
    We’re thin in the Pen today - let’s go Joe! Agreed - O’s are a solid club! Four former Twins on their staff makes it sting a little bit…….We win 2 of 6 in the 2 series v. Baltimore and lost 2 of those in extra innings…….it’s not like they crushed us. An aside - the Braves were in the middle of a streak of 20 games averaging 7.2 runs per game when we came into Georgia………I think we gave up 2 - 3 - 6 runs over the 3 game sweep. Great club - results not that terrible. Tampa & Braves swept us……6 losses to them & 4 to Baltimore. Other than those, we’ve been very competitive in other series with teams that have a wide range of ability! Don’t understand the attitudes that dismiss any chance for us in a playoff series?
  15. JD-TWINS
    There are probably a handful of other seasons better than the shortened 2020 season from Maeda. Thanks for pointing out an obvious one!
  16. JD-TWINS
    We lost 2 games in 10 innings v. Orioles & won 2 of 6 - played Boston well - played Yankees well (w/Judge) - played Angels well - played Dodgers well - played Houston well. Some tough losses mixed into these series. Played a couple good games v. both Tampa Bay & Atlanta but lost all 6 (6 of your 9 v. baseball’s best 2 teams) these offset our KC success. We’re a game under .500 in 7 games v. Tigers & a game under .500 in 7 with Guardians. A bunch of good teams in our rear view mirror! If we stay above .500 in division, the balance of our schedule should allow us to level up our record v. non division teams.
  17. JD-TWINS
    He’s super competitive and a hot head to some level. Nothing wrong with a tough competitor wearing it on his sleeve! Rocco has treated him as well as he could be expected to treat him. Our staff has thrown more innings as starters than any other in ‘23. Reasoning is because they’ve pitched well. Same manager both years. Last night Maeda was pulled after 3 innings not because Baldelli doesn’t like him or is trigger happy with bull pen but because he was protecting Maeda & trying to win a ballgame. Same approach as in ‘22 with Gray/Ryan/Bundy & the other 2 guys at the back end of the rotation……if guys were failing in middle of fourth they need to be replaced, period. Gray pitched lights out in April…….pitched really well in May………pitched not much better than average since beginning of June. He’s effective with his 6 pitch mix but doesn’t seem to have the mental toughness/focus to work through 6 plus innings routinely. Not many pitchers do have that kind of focus. Not the manager’s fault! Hope we re-sign him by using his current salary along with some of the dollars saved on Not Signing Maeda & Mahle in ‘24. Offer $43M for 2 years……..I’d offer it soon so we can pump him up (financial security) if he’s interested or we can determine it’s inevitable that he’s done in MN. Can’t afford more risk on his health than 2 years! He’s a luxury going forward. A “no” and we early extend Ryan. Ryan/Lopez/Ober are our best pitchers and Ober is starting to look like our most consistent. Short sample but awfully good so far! ……Paddack is under contract for ‘24 as well……Louie V. is still learning & improving. Maeda could/would probably come back as a depth guy for & $8-$10M/year. Maeda - Mahle - Kepler - Polanco - Gallo - Gray could/should all be gone in ‘24 & that’s approximately $60-$65M in available $ to spend without increasing our budget. If we could get 2-3 proven (reliever - OF - pitcher) players with these funds and have our young guys in place to start ‘24 it would be ideal.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Seems obvious to me as well!!! Nobody cares what a guy says if you’re looking to rent him for 10 - 11 weeks. Unless we collapse over the next 15 games, he’s not going anywhere.
  19. JD-TWINS
    Buxton was worse - a couple other times this year! I have to say that from the “Player's only” meeting he was crushing it until the break. He was robbed at the wall 3 different times - line out to SS - line drives to left - foul HR’s……..his contact rates were way up & exit velocity was great over those 6-8 games. Ge managed to mix in some hits as well.
  20. JD-TWINS
    I’m in Eastern Zone - took a little nap when Pagan came in & back to the action with Jax cruising once again. Missed about 1:15 w/o any consequential action.
  21. JD-TWINS
    I called for it after he went hitless in first 4 games back with Big Club - “…….,Miranda needs to pull something to make room for Wallner…”
  22. JD-TWINS
    We get it - He’s an offensive juggernaut!!
  23. JD-TWINS
    I believe everybody else plays Kansas City & Oakland………. Better than our record against the mighty Tigers.
  24. JD-TWINS
    If we are going to compete - Miranda can’t be on our roster after July 25. Hoping we have other options from IL &/or AAA.
  25. JD-TWINS
    Not being difficult here but who are the range of players (even 1or2) on current roster that are better choices at DH? Solano is getting in the line-up regularly. Can’t imagine who it might be? If Lewis is on roster along with Wallner or even Polanco…….then we have some options with Julien mixed in as well. Now Solano is at 1B - 2B - 3B nearly every game & Julien is at 2B v. RH pitching. Who might it be?
×
×
  • Create New...