JD-TWINS

Agree with Fatbat, that even after a looping base hit fighting off a pitch & 2 walks on Monday, Brooks doesn’t seem to be ready for MLB pitching yet - maybe he grinds through? In the short term it seems like Keaschall & Julien at 2B and Lewis at 3B with Castro behind all 3 as needed…….Brooks back to St Paul……..Correa to at least the #7 hole until something changes. Ober battled - not a great line-up so not overly excited. Duran pitching “backwards”, starting hitters with breaking stuff and then having to throw fastballs to get back in the count is not the way to go…….establish 100 mph in the zone and then work off that.

Wins & Losses are what tells the story, IMO……if Team was winning, people would be at The Park! Public opinion would be a complete 180.

I agree - his book hasn’t been written! He needs a more significant change of speed IMO as his “change-up” sits at 90-92mph. To me that’s an off-season/spring training grip adjustment or NEW grip. Either the sinker or cutter would be the typical variation off of the fastball arm motion. He does need a 4th pitch for some additional deception for the hitter’s heads, if nothing else.

I gotta mildly disagree on whether one can alter or develop a pitch at AAA level that will be a confident change at the MLB level. Guys can find pitches - new grip - arm slot, throwing on the side in the Bullpen w/o a batter present. Sure, at some point you have to take it to the mound in competition. Guys don’t typically experiment on the mound at MLB level - seeing if their new grip will get guys out.

Agreed. Not perfect but who is? I live in Cincinnati & I saw this morning that the Reds have scored 3 or less runs in 11 of 23 games. Nobody here is calling for Terry Francona to be relieved of his duties. Starting from first full season at 21, Baldelli hit .290 over his first 3 seasons with an average WAR of 3.0. You’re right, he knows the game & is not inept. A Managerial change wouldn’t be terrible but until the better players are healthy and they also start performing, the Team’s not winning.

The Team is for sale - GM getting fired in this potential transition period just isn’t happening. I can finally see that if things do not change into the right direction by May 9-10……..that’s enough time for Baldelli to make whatever adjustments he can try…….. that would be nearly 3 months of baseball malaise since last August 17. Tough to expect Team results with Correa doing ZERO & Wallner getting put on IL & Larnach doing ZERO & Lopez getting put in IL & Lewis on IL and perpetually doing ZERO. Alcala & Jax with double digit ERA’s. I guess the sum of those issues warrants the firing of the Manager……??

Blame per your comment is 80% FO & 20% Rocco…….. Miranda - Correa - Larnach nearly zero results ……. Lewis hurt - Wallner hurt ……… Gasper - Kiersey - Vazquez nearly zero results (literally) ……… Jax & Alcala with ERA’s over 11.00 ………… Ryan, 3 HR’s in one outing …. Ober 8 runs in 1 2/3 innings…… Paddock’s first 2 starts. To me, the guys that are getting paid to actually PLAY the games and affect results have at least 70% of the blame, at a minimum.

Sonny Gray left for money - period. Removing Ryan in a playoff game has nothing to do with bullpen burnout. The Team’s issue from August 17 - today is the absolute ineffectiveness of their hitters. Some have been injured and some just have disappeared (Miranda - Correa - Larnach) and no juggling of the Rotation nor Pen is going to get around this fact. Sonny Gray beat the Blue Jays in playoffs of ‘23 with a fantastic pick off at 2B to get him out of a 5th inning jam………next inning he was replaced and he got a win with 4 bullpen innings. Next start for Gray, he was brutal v. Houston. Him going wasn’t that big of a deal. Ryan getting hurt around August 10 last year was a big deal …….. SWR - Festa - Matthews as 60% of the Rotation was a problem down the stretch as all were fatigued relative to their pro careers, and a big reason for Pen issues (that had any effect) the last 6 weeks of season. Twins have used starters longer in ‘23 & ‘24 than MLB average use of starters. Recall that last year the guy that lead the Team in HR & RBI for the season was a leading candidate (with Vazquez & Margot) to be DFA’d in April ………. Gold Glove winner, Carlos Santana. My point is, things can change without some mastery of strategy in every possible situation that can later be scrutinized.

Average innings per start last year in MLB, 5.24 innings. Twins average innings per start last year 5.26 innings. Our bullpen usage had zero to do with last year’s end result. Regarding ‘25, the 6th - 7th - 8th guys in the PEN just supposed to kick back and watch the games? I don’t get it - at all. There are numerous losses on the road every year. Many, many here at TD complain about the Manager and terrible strategy and misuse of the pitching staff. Last year the same Manager with the screwed up approach had a Team that was 23 games over .500 from mid-April to mid-August. The offense absolutely sucked from mid-August through September. Same deal in April of ‘25. There’s no strategy that’s going to elevate this weak hitting Team. Someone above suggested Baldelli should have guys bunt occasionally to move a runner or get something started. I know for certain that he’s had Kiersey TRY to bunt in 3 different AB’s over past 7-8 games……..he popped out to the pitcher in his first attempt on a ball thrown at his chest……… he tapped the 2nd attempt in a separate game at the opposing 3B on deck circle ……..his 3rd, and probably last attempt, he had the ball hit his fingers and injured himself. The Manager doesn’t play…….. the offense is pathetic & again, there is no strategy to hide that. Recent game, bases loaded and one out, Correa strikes out after taking strike one and strike 2 …….. France strikes out. Bases loaded & the 4/5 hitters can’t put the ball in play - same pitcher that loaded the bases! Inning over. It’s been this type of performance in most games in ‘25.

They were 23 games over .500 midApril to midAugust last year……….Correa - Buxton - Lewis in & out and still winning……. Wallner & Julien in Minors for much of it……..same Manager & better pitching this year…….player gotta hit the ball. Aid people thinking a new voice helps a guy hit or lay off a slider then I guess they should move on from Baldelli. IMO, the players need to be responsible for horse….. offense!

Saying Julien “is spotty at best” isn’t really giving him a pass, is it? Then saying “Keaschall will probably be playing 2B” doesn’t seem to be giving Eddie a pass either. Larnach is not near where he should be. He’s been injured in the past but I’ve heard nothing of poor health. ANYONE, hitting sub .200 that bats lead-off or #3 hole fairly often (even hitting #9) should be seriously scrutinized. These two are both disappointments! Nothing says anyone will ever perform again nor to a level the fans think is acceptable. Of the guys not playing and/or not contributing, Lewis has as good a shot as anyone to be successful. September of ‘24 isn’t his only month in MLB to contrast against. Bader & France are a nice surprise and have been helpful contributors. Historically, Bader for sure & potentially France, will regress. Doesn’t mean I’m not pulling for them or that I think they’ll collapse but it’s more than possible they may drop off at the plate. Brooks Lee is needed because Castro & Lewis are unable to play - after they are able to play I do not see him being needed. He’s HAS proven in more than just a weekend (Keaschall’s exposure to MLB pitching) that he has a hell of a time producing at this level! Completely agree that EVERYONE needs to look in the mirror and up their individual level of play.

Have curiosity about the Topa start as well. I think just trying to mix it up for the guys and they’re near desperation for a spark. ……they need to score! Who starts nor how they pitch means much without offense. Routinely have 3-5 guys/game that don’t reach base ……1-2 get on only by walk…….no punch anywhere up & down the line-up.

You really don’t care if you think New Ownership can’t/won’t be a positive on some level…….. Hitting is not good at all. Lee looks like an overmatched 13 year old………really bad!! Between him & Martin (early first round draft picks) & Lewis (1st overall) being hurt 70% of the time it’s tough to digest. Correa & Buxton 1st & 2nd overall picks as well - these guys need to perform at a League average level at the absolute minimum and right now Buxton barely meets that criteria so far this season - these other 4 guys are non-contributors. Getting swept by a team that entered series with 5 wins is embarrassing.

4 guys with OBP over .300 & 3 of the 4 are barely over .300. Only Wallner is impressive at .374 OBP. That’s “brutal”. Wallner & Lewis & “something” from Correa are all needed to make the offense respectable………..after 14 PA’s Keaschall has 4 hits & a walk. Brief, but encouraging. Buxton is warming but still all over the place from a consistency standpoint. Lee does not look like a MLB hitter ……. not good with his expectations. Julien is spotty, to say the least. Keaschall may anchor 2B soon with Lewis at 3B. These moves help offense on paper going forward. Larnach is going to be difficult to roster for more than another couple weeks with this level of production. He’s really disappointing after his ‘24. Bader & France have been decent to good at times………with a bunch of AB’s they may actually decline going forward. Not good picture.

If Vikings were 1-2 would all of Minneapolis stop breathing? This is where the Twins are at - not pretty for sure! I think the pitching staff is fine ….. the Team needs to score runs. Keaschall, after about half dozen AB’s seems to be a considerable upgrade from Gasper! Buxton was 3-4 with a line out sac fly & fly out to the track in 9th. Castro will play more OF going forward (Kiersey hurt/ineffective) with Keaschall & Julien capable at 2B. Correa hit a HR. Lewis back in another 10-12 games to relieve Lee………Wallner back in another 2-3 weeks……if they can get to .500 by mid June they are in the Central race. Is K.C. done relative to playoffs? They are 8-14. If they are 7 under on July 1st, then maybe it’s time to think about reorganization of roster - Manager………don’t see this as some rose colored glasses point of view, just seems realistic.

Who is overworked in the Pen? Varland has thrown the most innings to date and he projects to 72 innings - Duran is close - everyone else projects to 50-60 innings……or less. These totals, particularly since starters will stretch out and naturally throw more pitches as they get into May, don’t seem onerous at all.

Agreed - maybe it allows the “starter” to ease into the opposition line-up starting the 2nd v. the 5-7 guys? Not really clear other than to get the other Team “thinking” a bit more - maybe just desperation for some new “winning approach”?

As Tony&Rodney stated above - the sun is up! 7-13 in ‘24 as well……went 23 games over .500 over next 4 months in ‘24. There’s still hope. .500 record by June 1st and they are in the mix for Division Title. IMO.

Coulombe - 0.00 ERA …. Duran - 1.08 ERA … Sands - 3.24 ERA …. Topa - 1.35 ERA …. Varland - 2.70 ERA Alcala - 13.50 ERA & Jax - 11.25 ERA ……if the guys that were supposed to be 7th & 8th inning “guys”…….top 2-4 guys in the PEN, if they were even average the Team would have, arguably, the best PEN in the A.L. - maybe baseball. I lm reality, 2 guys are struggling to be consistent and it reflects on the “entire Pen”. 8th spot has been a mixture of 4 other guys with good results from each, as 3 of them have ERA under 2.00.

It was Big Time disappointing Friday night! Jax needs to lock down the 8th. That said, I do not know how you or anyone can say that some eye test would suggest that Griffin Jax doesn’t have elite stuff? He’s electric, when right. His change-up moves left to right at 91-92…….his sweeper can make RH hitters looks foolish routinely……his fastball is typically at 97MPH. His location/command can drift but his stuff is fantastic. He walked 2 guys - gave up a sharp single - gave up an infield hit that easily could have been played differently into an easy out. That’s it for Friday. His performances lately have had brutal outcomes, no doubt. His stuff is still excellent but he’s struggling with command. It’s unacceptable. He’s still very talented with a bunch of probable upside. 72 innings in ‘24 and a 2.03 ERA……..not sure what you saw last year that suggested he was going to be of some small value to the Twins going forward? 65 innings - 3.36 ERA & 71 innings - 3.86 ERA in two previous years ……200 plus innings over 3 seasons of pretty good results.

Nostradamus is back…….how about we add him to the roster and he grabs a bat & then we start discussing all the ways the coaching staff & Baldelli will mess him up? Everyone’s “afraid” of nearly every move the Team makes. 95% of the moves are so logical they could be made from somebody’s couch in Hibbing. Players play…….. they shouldn’t need to be reminded every other inning to be aggressive on the bases ……. make contact with 2 strikes …… go first to third on a ball hit to right ……. make good solid throws to the first baseman’s chest from the mound. I haven’t played baseball for nearly 50 years as I got into Tennis as a teen. These basic things are so simplistic and yet people here act like Baldelli is 100% responsible for the players knowledge on how to make every play. When does responsibility fall on guys making between $760K - $37M Baldelli hit .290 the first 3 years he was in MLB and averaged 3.0 WAR …… age 21-24. The people at TD don’t think he knows how to help mentor a young hitter coming up? I just don’t get the never ending Chicken Little viewpoint with the club & the Manager. 7-13 to start ‘24 and then 23 games over .500 for next 4 months. No guarantees for ‘25 but it’s only April 18th. Keaschall is up now because Martin/Miranda/Lewis are all hurt & Gasper sucks. He’s needed depth for the Show - that’s it, he’s not ideally ready for this opportunity. I too would love to see him get a bunch of at bats at DH but Baldelli’s job, contrary to many, is not to “let guys get AB’s and hope” it’s to WIN games with best possible line-up & strategy…….hopefully, Keaschall will earn time over next few weeks. Been asking for Keaschall to be a key piece since January but he’s not 100% yet and will be used as needed.

He’s going to have to hit for a pretty extended period before his performance has any bearing on Larnach’s future. It’s possible Bader hits .160 over the next month and Larnach hits .280……….. no history that says this scenario isn’t likely. To me, Kiersey is the obvious guy that’s out over time if Keaschall succeeds. Castro would move to “role” OF with Keaschall playing at 2B 20-30% of the time………, assuming Gasper will be the move today. No 40-man & obviously no 26-man move involving Keaschall yet on the net……just media reports. Gasper or Kiersey being displaced? Bride has taken Wallner’s spot.

When FO signed Correa the annual payroll spend was increasing about 5% per year……..sloppy math takes 2023’s $154M spend up to an expected payroll in 2025 of around $170M. Ownership pulled FO back in ‘24 & then “no increase” and we’re for sale in winter of ‘24/‘25. Tough to have a cohesive plan with this type of chain on spending right after signing Lopez & Correa……..Baseball Reference has the Team’s “committed $$” at $134M for ‘25. I assume this is accurate? Even if the spend is $144M …….,that’s $26M less than the expectation when those two guys were signed……..if Ownership committed to 2023 salary level of $154M they’d have another bat from FA on the roster (theoretically, effective bat) and this discussion would be moot. Lewis - Lee - Keaschall - Wallner are all pretty affordable going forward next year $3.2M ……..Larnach - Bader - Castro equates to $15M. With these guys in place along with some increases in Rotation costs and PEN costs, they still have plenty of room for Pablo’s contract. New ownership is necessary!! ’21 - $125M…..’22 - $135M …….’23 - $154M …… ‘24 - $130M ……’25 - maybe $134M ……this progression and regression doesn’t help FO scheme.

Agree - too early but no other viable options on the offensive side - we’re rostering Gasper & Kiersey - need to try something that has potential at least. Maybe only be 3 weeks or so this time. Hope he crushes the ball! 🤞

Julien’s the every day guy at 2B for the foreseeable future - right? Can’t imagine the organization/training staff risking Keaschall’s future by green lighting him for any duty he’s not ready for at this point. DH is fine with me. Maybe he gives France a day off or two over the next couple weeks at 1B? If Bride can play 3B & Lee at SS until Correa can go, & then as Castro feels better he can be the 3rd/4th OF. Bader can be used more strategically if Larnach is freed up to play some LF v. RH pitching……..Keaschall at DH. Bride looked like desperation to me - probably cheap enough to try. However, he hit .272 last year with a good OBP & 11 dingers in 272 AB’s. Seems a little reactionary for Marlins to let him go so early. Maybe they thought the .100 BA would not interest anybody? He has some potential at least as a depth piece.