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JD-TWINS

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  1. A lot of stuff “may happen”. Louie was washed as a potential starter in MN. Numerous opportunities, wasn’t happening. Rojas was not acquired to be a one inning a game guy for 68 innings per year. ……. by end of ‘28 it may be one of the best trades the Twins have ever made. Louie is local - likable energy - having success over last 12 months…….I get it…….his trade, on April 30th of year one doesn’t define the success of the move. Abel has definite upside over Duran over a period of years ……… same with Bradley v. Jax. Those two guys were coveted more than Louie at the deadline last year if you were a Twins fan or a Team making a trade with Twins. Gotta let things play out.
  2. Gotta disagree. Cannot go from $155M player spend in ‘23 down to $106M (according to FanGraphs) in ‘26. IF an organization wants to run their team with these types of economics, it takes years of planning and strategies in place to have some mild success. To me, OWNERSHIP did not give the FO the tools to succeed. The SPEND this year is $106M ……. of which $10M is paid against Correa’s salary & $21.5M is paid against Lopez salary (injured for the season). That means the Club on the field has a $74.5M spend…………that’s 47% of what was spent 3 seasons prior. It’s laughable …… if you’re not part of the FO that’s trying to make things work. The $74.5M (actual spend for active players) is between Miami and Cleveland at $73M & $84M respectively at #30 & #29. Caratini is a switch hitting Catcher/1B ……. he was playing well until 2 weeks ago - bat went cold. Should have had game winning RBI today! Being upset about $7M this week but not 2 weeks ago is just 20/20 hindsight. It’s the same with Larnach - essentially everyone bitched about him being paid $4.5M ….. now that he has been playing a reasonable LF with an OBP in the mid .400’s ……. the detractors have disappeared. With 5 position guys being pre-arbitration and only Buxton making real money, at $15M, Bell - Caratini - Larnach totaling $18.5M is a bargain! It’s 2026 MLB! The ‘26 payroll is ridiculous! $133M in ‘20 - $122M in ‘21 - $134M in ‘22 - $158M in ‘23 - $135M in ‘24 - $124M in ‘25 - $106M in ‘26
  3. The PEN only played a part in 2 of last 8 games, last Thursday’s 10-8 loss and today’s 5-3 loss. I would say they have 6 guys that can currently function in the PEN but they need Rojas & Klein (or something similar) to elevate the talent. Sands - Topa - Funderburk - Orze - Morris - Banda or Rogers………… add Rojas & Klein …….. delete Banda or Rogers & Garcia. Festa may be ready for a reliever slot in a month from now …….with him, Rojas & Klein removing “the current bottom 3”, I think the PEN can be ranked #15-18 in baseball. Just like the starters that throw 4-7 innings, The PEN is going to give up a run or three if they have to cover 2-5 innings……..that’s not changing. Gotta SCORE to WIN!
  4. Buxton has 7 HR & 12 total XBH ……. all appears great! Bad news is he’s around 0-20 w/RISP and only has 10 RBI. He obviously needs to get it together with RISP! Also, he needs to move out of the One Spot in the line-up……….it can’t be that big of a deal for him psychologically - it’s not a good strategy for Team’s run production!!!!!
  5. So today, in game 31, it was my first time thinking Shelton really influenced a negative outcome in the game. Now, granted, if OFFENSE puts up just one more run prior to the 9th, Shelton doesn’t pull the infield in to face their hottest hitter. Infield back - ground ball out - they are still up one with 2 outs. …….. in Shelton’s defense, he’s got nothing close to a closer to call in in this situation. - Pulling infield in with one out in 9th, and guys on 2nd & 3rd. Team (Manager) increases the opponent’s BA greatly when brought in on the grass. - WHY is Rogers on the Team if not to come into pitch to their hottest hitter (LH hitter) with one out in the 9th & guys on 2nd & 3rd? Orze was struggling with control - not his day. Right/Left match-up. Rogers had been up a few minutes…………they may counter with Mitch Garver but the kid IS their hottest hitter. Take your chances with Garver - not with leaving Orze in the game. That said - pulling infield in, nearly made Orze’s job “strikeout or bust” ……… not fair to a guy with his stuff. The hitter slapped a roller just past Keaschall - Orze didn’t make a bad pitch. Can’t score less than 4 runs/game and expect a real shot at winning ball games! (2-8-2-2-1-11-1-3 is 30 runs in 8 games, an average of 3.75 runs/game) Only went over 3 runs twice in last 8 games. Not “competitive” - which is Tom P.’s goal.
  6. They were hitting .315 with RISP earlier this week ……………. something like .350 BA through a specific game w/RISP and since like .171 BA ……….. previous to today. Stuff levels out. Would be nice to level run production but it’s linked to line-up and what pitchers they are facing - and execution. 4 guys had 2 hits - 12 hits as a Club - 3 walks …….. gotta score more runs!
  7. Caratini’s OPS+ is in the 50’s - he’s declined steeply over past dozen games - essentially non-existent offensively. Bummer, but he seems to be headed to Vazquez territory without an about face.
  8. Is $35M worth another win or two? He’s not able to play SS with back & feet ailments. He’s not a high level offensive player anymore. To me, that was the most obvious and BEST move……….. gotta SPEND the $25M saved though or it’s a detriment to the roster!!! Didn’t do that! Rojas will be as good or better than Varland over time. As I’ve said many times here, if Louie was from Kenosha it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Loved Louie as well but the talent trades is not a bad move for the organization.
  9. Why? Why does he NEED to & why is it best for him to make adjustments “in the majors”? If a guy plays 26 games a month and he has 3-4 “decent games”, he’s not getting it done anywhere near a needed level. His Slug% is like Team has a pitcher hitting in his spot. I like Luke - think he’s got a great future. Can’t help but like his attitude and style of play………..he’s got 7 stolen bases through April 28! There’s value for sure!! He needs a re-set over 2-3-4 weeks to get more comfortable. I realize he’s a wound up guy but he sure seems to be bringing an anxious (anxiety filled) look to the plate.
  10. PEN is not good - no doubt. Caratini & Bell have come back to earth and are headed further south - disturbing from 2 guys that started VERY well. Offense though - runs scored over last 7 days per game ……. 2-8-2-2-1-11-1……one win …… potentially, the ONLY game the PEN actually played a part in the outcome was last Thursday………..however, opposition got 7 runs while Ryan was in the game (3 unearned) last Thursday. There are 3 guys that shouldn’t be on the roster at this point & 2 others that are borderline “playable”. Can’t have success with this level of very little contribution from 5 of 13 guys. Wallner - Outman - Clemens need to be changed out! They are not going to get better with more opportunities! Keaschall OPS+ 55 ……. Caratini OPS+ 59 Absolute worst case for changes - Outman & Wallner (fake an injury if you’re Matt - whatever)
  11. To each his own - this is Matt’s FOURTH season I’m tired of being frustrated by watching Matt Wallner - he’s had numerous extended periods of poor performance. I can’t expect any fans to like what I said - it’s targeted toward the guys running the Team, responsible for trying to generate Team Wins. I don’t dislike Matt Wallner. I’d love to see him succeed. I’ve been calling here for him to be sent down to re-set, as he was in ‘23 & ‘24, successfully. He had a bad year last year but was injured a couple times, at least twice, so that makes things difficult. Granted! His value is power - it’s not his arm in RF…….it’s certainly not clutch hitting….. arm that’s fun to watch, but it only plays into the game 2-3 times per month. He’s borderline leading the A.L. in strikeouts all year - his Slug% is .290. Weak hitting Luke Keaschall has a Slug% of .282. In my opinion, the organization should not keep playing guys that continually do not add to the offensive goals. …….. everyone can have a high point every 2-3 weeks but that’s not enough for winning baseball. Guardians fans (opposing pitchers) have to be giddy when they see a line-up card with Wallner - Keaschall - Clemens penciled in for that day’s game.
  12. Should Gray get more playing time - at least v. RH pitching? Luke Keaschall - 119 PA’s - 13 RBI - .269 OBP - .282 Slug% Royce Lewis - 65 PA’s - 10 RBI - .308 OBP - .393 Slug% Tristan Gray - 54 PA’s - 13 RBI - .340 OBP - .500 Slug% Pretty sure he should play more!
  13. It’s a Professional Sports Team………. why does anyone care if Matt Wallner plays another game in Minneapolis? ……. Matt should care - his agent & his family and friends, that’s understood. The organization needs to put players on the roster that actually help win games - not guys that helped win games a couple years ago. In ‘24, same time of year, Wallner got sent down - came back in July and was solid. …….. similar approach in ‘23. He’s got an option left - let him go find himself, with some help provided. Or, move on.
  14. He’s only got about 120 innings left ………. if 140 is the mythical ceiling. ….. 5 starts per month (minimum) at 5 innings each is another 125 innings. He’s going to have to be monitored pretty closely to get through September. Innings pitched per year: ’20 - 21 ‘21 - 7 ‘22 - 0 ‘23 - 6.2 ‘24 - 23.1 ‘25 - 82.2 6 seasons and a total of 140.2 innings and 59% were just 2025. To me, he’s the Poster Boy for potential arm issues!
  15. I’m in Cincinnati but this “internet” forecast says rain is done for days in Minneapolis by 7:00-7:30 tonight…….. seems by 8:30 great chance for first pitch?
  16. Outman .115 BA - 3 OPS+ - with (-.200 WAR) Clemens .175 BA - 60 OPS+ with (-.200 WAR) Keaschall .208 BA - 44 OPS+ with (-.200 WAR) Matt Wallner (-.800 WAR) No roster moves as of 10:30 a.m. CST
  17. FIVE HITS Saturday……. 2 walks …….. Tampa kicked it around on 2-3 plays to allow more base runners. Our OFFENSE sucks. Team got to 8 runs Thursday night …….. Jeffers grand slam made things close for about 15 minutes. 2 runs Wednesday - 2 runs Friday - 1 run Saturday. So far this year, 6 games Team has scored 1 run and 2 games they have scored 2 runs ………. 8 of 27 games the offense has given them essentially no chance. No offense is perfect - Teams face great pitching occasionally, understood ……….30% of the time with no offensive support is not going to bode well for Tom Pohlad’s competitive desire for thus year’s Club. Can’t worry about individuals “as the primary concern” for roster construction. Outman - Keaschall - Wallner should all be moved after tomorrow’s game for a more fresh approach by Monday………with some commitment/confidence in Bell & Caratini splitting 1B duties, Clemens could go as well.
  18. Let’s make it simple, where do you think Lee should play? He’s not going anywhere. He’s not a DH. Where?………..I’m talking about in the future, not next week.
  19. You have Zero idea how good he would be at 1B. He’s slow as hell at SS, given, hence the reason to move him. I watched former 3B, Harmon Killebrew play 1B for a decade - Lee is certainly every bit as capable defensively as Harmon. Nobody said 1B is easy (don’t lump me in with “others”) …….:nobody said 1B doesn’t matter! If Ty France can win a Gold Glove at 1B, our current SS should be “able to maintain” at 1B! He’s got the foul line to protect him to his left……..pretty sure he could figure it out with some focus between now & next March. ……. I specifically said he can’t make the move this year.
  20. EVERYONE wants better bats through a whole bunch of the positions. Lee will be on the roster for a few years ……. I DON’T want him playing SS, even in a reserve role. Carlos Santana - Ty France - Kody Clemens - Josh Bell - (anyone in the minors) - Brooks Lee……… who (which of these cloned) would you prefer at 1B for ‘27-‘29? ………..they have nobody obvious in the pipeline and refuse to spend on a first baseman! The vague, “I’d like somebody that hits better…..” - me too! Maybe, maybe with less pressure with the glove every inning/day, he settles in at the plate. Definitely has 25 HR power with 600 AB’s……….he’s arbkeast at least a Rhys Hoskins level guy at 1B, IMO.
  21. Pitching is NEVER going to be good enough to carry the load if Team scores 2 runs. Will lose 90-95 of contests Team scores 2 or less. Buxton’s big swings in variability have always been frustrating - too many strikeouts are often a problem. If healthy, he’ll still hit 30 HR and play decent centerfield, at a minimum. Getting his average above .250 is always a big plus………it’s April 24th……. Byron has a bunch of games to get squared away!
  22. “Gold Glove, gold glove …. who’s talking about Gold Gloves??” …. in my best Jim Mora voice! He’s got MUCH better range for 1B than he does at either SS or 2B ………Clemens/Bell/Caratini don’t exactly scream “range”. Trying to figure out where he has most value with his, realistic, skill set. As you well know, sometimes it’s a process of elimination before one finds the right fit. …….. he can’t pitch/catch nor play OF………. then you get to the four options on the dirt.
  23. Slowly - encouraging for Lee! With Culpepper - Houston - Keaschall in the middle, apparently, going forward……..is it plausible to move Lee to 1B, (future) Sound glove there - mobility isn’t an issue - better for his back, possibly - he appears to potentially have 25 HR power. If he can maintain OPS above .725 going forward, 1B might be his spot? I think Buxton likes leading off - better for Team to get him in an RBI spot …….. completely agree on XBH v. RBI ratio being “off”.
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