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Althebum82

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Everything posted by Althebum82

  1. Althebum82
    Looks like this question has now been resolved: Michael Lorenzen agrees to deal with Rangers (report) (mlb.com)
  2. Althebum82
    Clearly he has made a name for himself as a competitive MLB starter. Somebody will reach a point of desparation and sign him. It won't be the Twins, and given his demands compared to what I see for his value, I am okay with that. The free agent market a few days before the season's start is a scary place to look for help. I would rather trust our internal developmental candidates to find the impact if we are unable to do so via a trade.
  3. Althebum82
    Anyone else find it interesting that Balazovic hung around until this late? At what point does a team shrug its shoulders and declare what seems to be a lost cause is, in fact, a lost cause?
  4. Althebum82
    So now one starts to wonder...is there a reason Lopez has been banged around fairly well? Why Funderburk is so wild? So far, everything has been easy to dismiss as SSS or maybe working on new pitches or something.....but with this leak in the dam, one wonders if we really to have enough fingers to plug the injury dike?
  5. Althebum82
    Cautious optimism is, of course, the prudent approach to expectations for Ryan and Ober in particular. They have earned that level of confidence and probably even more than that. Maybe we are selling short on Varland's potential impact. Yes, spring training results are generally not reliable, but the results do come on the heels of an impressive bullpen run at the end of last year and a lot of maturing that happened before that at the major league and AAA levels. I am so far encouraged that Paddack has, again in small sample size, looked competitive too. We all know how injuries can wreck any starting rotation but I do believe as a base plan these five represent a good rotation for the Twins.
  6. Althebum82
    I am a little intrigued by Miguel Rodriguez being included on this roster. After five seasons in the Twins system it appears that his last two have been specifically as a closer and at age 25 he needs to still prove himself worthy against AA competition. That is investing a lot of patience in a guy, hopefully his inclusion here is a sign that a payoff to that patience is on the horizon.
  7. Althebum82
    "During the 2024 season, he faced older batters in 91.9 percent of opponent’s plate appearances, yielding an opponents' line of .261/.350/.426 in 418 at-bats." Without actually checking the stats, I assume you were quoting 2023 numbers here rather than 2024 under "Reason 2: Age?
  8. Althebum82
    You are correct that it could be a consideration for KSTC because the games would not conflict with any network (ABC) contractual commitments (or, quite frankly scheduling headaches connected to away games from different time zones) that would be an obstacle for KSTP or any other local TV broadcast channel. However, KSTC's distribution outside of the immediate metro area is limited. Its OTA signal does not extend far enough and many outstate and out-of-state cable/satellite options do not carry it, which would provide limited value to the deal for the team.
  9. Althebum82
    Nick, what a great angle and unique observation. Nicely done. You know, when Sano came up his very first season I remembered thinking that he was unusually disciplined at the plate and took an exceptionally high percentage of walks. Yes, he did strike out a lot as well, but seemingly with a higher number of called versus swinging third strikes. After that season he pretty much showed an attitude that said that a walk was an insult and if you want the big money you have to swing baby, swing. Despite his obvious game-changing power, he has only been intentionally walked a total of 10 times in 2859 mlb career plate appearances. For the most part, opposing teams have been willing to pitch to him rather than be afraid of the damage he can cause. No doubt this is attributable to his strikeout vulnerability. I find it interesting that he was unable to catch on anywhere professionally on the planet last summer, including in his home country. Luckily for him, winter ball has lead to someone being willing to take a chance on him. But, I confess, I am grateful that it was not the Twins that took that chance.
  10. Althebum82
    Stevenson was released as a free agent and signed on Dec 13 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
  11. Althebum82
    It is always harder to find quality starters than closers. Put him in the rotation if that is where he would prefer to be.
  12. Althebum82
    Ouch. Just ouch. There's a name that did not exist on my radar, I had to look him up. Looks like he has been battling injuries since being drafted, including a concussion which can derail anyone's career, whether in sports or not. Sad.
  13. Althebum82
    Arraez has/had the unique ability to get the bat on the ball for a high OBP, but walked far less and generally did so with a lower slugging percentage. Gotta love the future progression in store for this diamond in the rough!
  14. Althebum82
    Man, this is a great question. I am only okay with pursuing him if one of the other names (Farmer? Polanco?) is removed from the list of potential contributors to next season. If another team signs him first, we are still going to be okay. Interestingly, my perception was that he had good skills at first base, Guess I need someone to help me understand the analytics for the criticism he is getting for defensive ability at his new primary position (for the past two years now) after being a second baseman most of his career.
  15. Althebum82
    Well written, Seth. In the back of my cloudy memory I seem to recall that a point was made that his nine year stretch of time in between big league appearances was a major league record, but maybe that was actually only a franchise record. Thanks for passing this along so quickly.
  16. Althebum82
    Mark Kolozsvary signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox including an invite to spring training. He finished his season with the Saints but was limited to 14 AB in six games after playing at all three top levels with the Orioles (only 1 MLB game) before being released.
  17. Althebum82
    As Seth noted on the list he presented in the original article above, Elliott Soto (still unsigned and not likely to return to St Paul if he does somehow sign a minor league deal with the Twins again) and Hernan Perez (signed by the Reds) opted for free agency, creating at least one opening that Goodrum fills.
  18. Althebum82
    Infielder Hernan Perez signed a minor league deal with the Reds. When healthy, he was a positive contributor to the Saints success this year, but he did miss two months due to an injury.
  19. Althebum82
    David Banuelos has signed a minor league contract with the Orioles which includes a non-roster invitation to spring training. He played with the Saints in 2022 but after five total seasons of underwhelming offensive output he was demoted to AA Wichita in 2023. He did post an 895 OPS and has always been known for his defensive skills. This has been enough for the Orioles to find a place for him in their system. Given the Twins promising supply of catchers at every level noted by Kenny Powers above, it was a pretty reasonable choice to not work too hard to retain him.
  20. Althebum82
    Baseball Reference shows he had better stats (888 OPS) with a few more plate appearances in 2023 with the Red Sox AAA team in Worcester where his most frequent position was 1B. He also logged a fair amount of time at 2B & 3B. He somehow managed to draw 66 walks with only 218 AB, but he must have also taken a lot of called third strikes as well recording 60 strikeouts. Is this malady now apparently completely unavoidable for the Twins? But I agree, it is always interesting when a player returns to the Twins after departing. He apparently still has something left in the tank, the question is whether or not it is enough to make people forget about that 2022 limited duty season. At a minimum it is a low-risk depth signing for the Saints where the Twins may be promoting other infielders in 2024.
  21. Althebum82
    My answer to your final two question is maybe (but, this doesn't help me any because I am unable to get Bally's currently) and hell no, Amazon is evil.
  22. Althebum82
    Since the last post, the Twins have made two minor league signings: Michael Boyle, a reliever who struggled with the Saints last year but got off to a nice start with Wichita, has been assigned to the Saints. He was a non-roster spring training invite this past season but got knocked around pretty well in the 70 pitches he did manage to record. He is presently 29 and has never appeared in the majors. Jeferson Morales is an intriguing but SSSLLLOOOWWWly developing catcher. He has been in the system five seasons now but never advanced higher than class A(+) Cedar Rapids. Still only 24, he has had 4 solid offensive seasons, so one has to wonder if defense is a challenge for him or perhaps injuries or off field complications have hindered his development. Catchers are always in demand for spring training, but he has yet to make such an appearance with the Twins. Perhaps his turn will come this February. He has been assigned to Witchita, a promotion that seems to have been well earned.
  23. Althebum82
    Interesting thought. This is all we pretty much get to do with a relatively dormant off-season, discuss free agents signing elsewhere (i.e. Stevenson yesterday) and concoct potential trade opportunity scenarios. It is ironic to think that the Yankees may be overloaded in the outfield after their high-profile disasters in LF contributed mightily to a stinker of a season. For me it is hard to give up on a starting pitcher after losing two free agent starters and not knowing for sure how Paddack will shake out (although what we saw last season was promising) post-injury. While I appreciate the vision to see a possible opportunity for the Twins, this does not trip my trigger.
  24. Althebum82
    Lovely sentimental hometown idea. Really, it is. If you can't have Taylor and Tyler (real twins, by the way)....what the heck. Guess this is the next best thing. It is interesting that LA apparently had regrets about letting Gus get away, though. That leads one to believe that they may be a little unwilling to part with him a second time so easily. Apparently they are looking for starting pitching: Dodgers' remaining needs after Shohei Ohtani deal (mlb.com) By the way, this has once again become a need for the Twins as well. The closest thing that they may have to offer is Headrick? He did have twelve starts in Saint Paul last year and has historically been a starter before his utilization change at the big league level. LA may be open to that exchange, but I don't at this point think it would in the Twins best interest. I am not willing to part yet with Sands, and LA is not likely going to want to invest in him as a starting option anyway after having only bullpen experiences in 2023. Great idea for an article, though!
  25. Althebum82
    No mention of the possibility of a local broadcast partner? Hubbard's production subsidiary F&F Productions handles major sports and entertainment events such as the Super Bowl and NCAA Basketball Final Four for the national broadcast and cable networks. One would think they could arise to the challenge of handling roughly six Twins games per week to be aired on KSTC or one of KSTP's secondary digital channels. Hubbard also has sister stations in Duluth and Rochester with secondary channels where the games could be carried as well. Coverage would be trickier, of course, for western MN and neighboring IA and ND/SD viewership where they would need to get creative, but the advantage here is that games would be readily available both over the air and on cable/satellite/YouTube TV for an overwhelming portion of the audience reached by BSN. I am not familiar with the rules on streaming rights for MLB products, but KSTC could handle this as well if it is an option for teams like the Twins to consider online.
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