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JD-TWINS

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  1. Grichuk hit .291 in ‘24…….he also had a 140 OPS+ ………2.2 WAR……..if Santana got $12M as a FA, I can’t imagine getting Grichuk for less than $10M - right? No Bader please!!
  2. Guys that stick with the Twins don’t or wouldn’t get hurt?
  3. Linus - anyone out there…….what will the Twins do to replace W. Castro in 2026? He’s not getting extended. Who will/how will they cover his innings? Is the answer wildly different than what they might do to replace him in ‘25, if traded?
  4. Kiersey - Martin - Lee should be able to cover the innings Castro would give over a season. Assuming either Julien/Keaschall/Martin can play 2B (if Lewis doesn’t move over) ……if Lewis is at 2B, Lee/Miranda can cover 3B. Arraez plays 1B most of the time (70%). Lee is SS depth as of today (w/o Castro)……….Willi is gone in ‘26 for sure so that security of versatility is going away - deal with it now!
  5. Padres signed Elias Diaz as a FA Catcher……don’t need Vazquez any longer. Larnach has more value, IMO, than Castro ….too much to give up for a team that needs offense. Castro (LF & IF depth) - Matthews - R. Henriquez ……. they get 2 controllable arms on an aging staff. They save $5.5M and gain a substitute starter and 2 other value players. To me, Preller seems to be too much of a win now & figure out next year, next year kind of guy to move high caliber pitchers - 1 year remaining for Cease & King - maybe searching for medium term viability as well?
  6. Darvish & Musgrave are locked into San Diego for years - King & Cease are both UFA after ‘25. King has a really good track record…. arguably better than Cease! King is at $8M plus & Cease is at $13M plus in ‘25. I think either can be argued to be superior to the other. SD is more motivated to move the $13M, IMO. Z. Matthews - W. Castro - R. Henriquez for Cease. SD gets a very reasonable PEN option and a fringe MLB ready starter and a solid LF that can bring IF depth. They get 3 players and save $5M at a minimum. Twins trade Paddack - Tonkin - Gonzalez - Julien for Luis Arraez…….SD gets a couple more real MLB arms and shed another $6.5M.
  7. $30M is a piece from $17.2M - I like the aggression though!
  8. ‘25 is definitely his last shot in Minnesota. I don’t ever see him playing SS. I know he hurt his arm 3 years ago - unless he’s still hurt, he was once a shortstop so he therefore has an adequate arm for an OFer. He’s not really “fast” he’s just not Donovan Solano slow - average baserunner is probably fair. Nobody expects the last guy on the bench to be really good at anything……if he can manage LF - a little 2B - a little CF ….,,,he’s a valuable guy to roster………..particularly if Castro gets traded!! He needs to turn into one of the “contact guys” - “situational hitter”…..if he can execute details he’ll probably be part of the 13 rostered guys most of the year.
  9. His instincts as an outfielder suck - he’s athletic & if he played SS at one point his arm is fine. He doesn’t have great OF instincts as he showed both in LF & CF in ‘24. Is athletic enough to have made 4-5 spectacular plays but can look rough on plays just above routine.
  10. They got 28 starts from SWR as a 23 year old…….no doubt, if he stays healthy, that SWR makes the trade just fine from the Twin’s perspective.
  11. Can’t disagree……..My opinion is that it probably has more to do with not being a standout at any position. Managers were trying to find him “a spot.” He’s “adequate enough” to get playing time but doesn’t shine anywhere on defense and at MLB level, is just barely adequate at the plate.
  12. IF Castro is still around, he seems to be the 2nd or 3rd option depending upon Kiersey. Martin is behind Castro as a distant option in CF. At some point, instincts come into play, it’s not all just athleticism in CF.
  13. The best Stat Line in comparing these guys is Berrios will be 31 & SWR will be 24 this season!! …….if Twins can get another couple starts and 30-40 more innings ……he’s a nice piece of the rotation going forward. Maybe a perpetual #4-#5 guy, but effective.
  14. So, I get you’re not a Baldelli fan - fine. Making excuses (blaming Baldelli) for Julien’s fiasco of a season is ridiculous though, IMO. The guy had 7 HR by April 27th and he managed 1 more the rest of the year. He lead the majors in strikeouts looking - the next highest backward K total came from a guy with 100 more AB’s. Eddie needs to be seeing a Sports Psychologist about 4 days per week. I’ve never seen a hitter look so mentally locked up at the plate in 55 years of watching baseball. Martin - the organization got him and tried to get him to drive the ball. They tried to get his power stats elevated. Didn’t fit him at all. Through ‘24 he looks overmatched v. power pitchers and I think that’s just his make up as an athlete. This look is 2 years after they let him try to revert back to his natural approach. He’s just a limited MLB hitting talent. To pick out the Manager as the reason he hasn’t been able to be very effective (with consistency) doesn’t seem realistic to me. Baldelli played full seasons in the Show starting at age 21…….he was out with injury his entire 3rd season at age 23. The other 3 seasons, age 21, 22, & 24…….he hit .289 - .280 - .302 and his WAR totals were 2.9 - 3.0 - 3.2 respectively. To continually talk about how he is ignorant on how to approach hitting as a MLB player just seems misguided…….over those first 3 seasons he hit 43HR & had 83 doubles ……he struck out 286 times…. not exactly some power crazed approach at the plate.
  15. So, many thoughts here and not many are very upbeat. I like our talent in the PEN ……our consistent health outlook is sketchy! Certainly reason for skepticism. My PEN (blended as is possible through the year): Paddack - Varland - Alcala - Sands - Henriquez - Headrick - Topa - Stewart - Blewett - Tonkin - Jax - Duran ………..12 possibilities (maybe 1 or 2 are traded?) ……a potentially effective group!
  16. To me, this is how baseball is played…….. Supposed to be played. If you get a good pitch to hit or if it’s a favorable count one tries to drive the ball. Extra base hits/HR don’t go away……hitters are just smarter with their approach as needed based on the opposing pitcher, the count, and the situation with guys on base and # of outs. The Guardians play this way more often than not. Arraez buzz over the past few days plays into this approach, big time. He had a heavy affect on the Padre hitter’s approach after he came over in late May of ‘24. 170-200 hits in the middle of the Twin’s line-up would be a nice addition with RISP.
  17. His 1st 33 games (22% of his season) were with the Marlins (not exactly Murderer’s Row) ……he also had a slow start in ‘24. He had 75 more AB’s than Castro……Castro struck out 150 times and Arraez struck out 29 times………Castro had a 10-15 point better OBP. I’d rather have Arraez hitting with RISP than Castro…….don’t need walks - HBP - K’s with guys in Scoring Position! I put his high contact bat at the 5th or 6th spot and you get protection for the batter in front of Arraez and Luis gets 85 RBI hitting regularly with RISP. High Average doesn’t need to bat 1 or 2. Anybody that averages (576/3) 192 hits per season over past 3 All-star seasons can help score more runs if utilized properly in a line-up.
  18. Keep in mind that Arraez struggled early in the year and that his first 33 games he was hitting in front of Teammates on the Marlin’s roster. Bat him 5th or 6th and utilize his ability to get 175-200 hits to help with RISP! He has value outside of “setting the table.”
  19. Numerous approaches to do both, obviously - one look: Matthews - Vasquez - Castro for Cease ….1 yr (young arm that’s close - Vet Catcher - LF & IF depth)……..sign Luke Maille for #2 Catcher Julien - Paddack - Culpepper - AA guy for Arraez …..1yr (High risk 2B/DH - Vet pitcher w/limited innings - Young improving arm - 3B/1B/DH depth) Cease - Lopez - Ober - Ryan - SWR ……. possible to get 4 guys with 13-16 wins PEN Adds to ‘24 crew Varland - Headrick - Topa - Stewart - Blewett Lee - Lewis - Buxton - Wallner - Correa - Arraez - Larnach - Jeffers - Miranda Maille - Martin - Kiersey - Grichuk/Keaschall?
  20. Vazquez - Matthews (Catcher & fringe MLB ready arm) - Castro (LF & IF depth)….that’s it Gotta be able to acquire a one year contract guy for maximum of 3 players.
  21. So I get some of this but toward the end it seems like we might trade 4-5 guys for Cease and Vazquez isn’t one of them…….my impression was he was their original reason for having a discussion? No way we send more than 3 players total for Cease. As you know, there’s about 27 teams that want Ober, Ryan, or Festa……..they aren’t going anywhere & certainly not for a 1 year guy. Vazquez - Matthews - maybe a minor leaguer? OR, Vazquez - Castro - a lower level arm? I think Raya might be just below Festa in the Twin’s future view.
  22. Castro is undoubtedly a better defender and probably 1.0 WAR better just defensively, easily. Arraez gets negative WAR for his DH at bats. My thought is, if a guy gets 200 hits and only has 1.0 WAR, the defensive negative is dragging his WAR total down ……at 1B or DH Arraez isn’t “hurting” any team defensively, IMO. Also, if a guy gets 200 hits and has 1.0 WAR, he’s hitting in the wrong spot in the line-up! ……,,he doesn’t run well and should be hitting in the 5 or 6 spot. Also, Arraez had a very slow start for him while in Miami for the first 7-8 weeks of the year - not getting driven in much either with the Marlin’s line-up. Castro struck out 150 times and Arraez struck out 29 times. Arraez had 75 more AB’s while striking out 121 less times. If there are RISP I would sacrifice the power trade off between these two and the OBP difference. I don’t need a walk or a strikeout with RISP - I need contact and a high probability of a base hit.
  23. They want Vazquez. Cease has 1 year of control. Those are the basics of the deal. I agree, they would like an arm that’s at least “fringe MLB ready”…….to me, Matthews is as high as I go…….maybe consider SWR? Castro, with Vazquez & Matthews, seems to fill out a reasonable package from the Twins.
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