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JW24

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  1. JW24
    Feels like a trade both teams would do again if given the chance. Graterol was probably a more impactful pitcher on the Dodgers WS team than Maeda would have been (3 appearances in the final 4 games, 2 innings and no runs) and if the goal is to win championships, hard to say the Dodgers could have done much better. The Twins make the Maeda deal every time if given the chance. Graterol has thrown 113 innings for the Dodgers since the trade. Maeda nearly eclipsed that in his shortened 2021 season. It helps Maeda's case that Graterol has largely been an average reliever and not a dominant back-of-the-pen arm. Either way, the Twins got a solid starter at a time when they didn't have much for pitching and sold high on a guy who hasn't hit his lofty expectations. Not a bad outcome.
  2. JW24
    I love the attitude here. The rotation, Gray especially, have a lot to prove this season, and it sounds like they all want to compete and win. It has been a while since the Twins had a staff that dominated opposing lineups, would really like for this group to expect long outings leading to a lot of Ws.
  3. JW24
    I think he would be able to figure it out at 3rd quickly enough. But if the Twins want to use him in the OF at times as well, that is more of an adjustment/learning curve.
  4. JW24
    Easy. The bat will go through a slump, no need to compound it with moving him all over the field (assuming the idea is to get him some time at 3B and OF). Has nothing to do with how demanding the positions are and everything to do with letting some of the growing pains happening in a lower stress environment. I don't think Lewis is remotely sensitive. 2 years off from playing baseball and he shows up and delivers at the big league level like a vet. I fully expect the next time he gets called up it is for good.
  5. JW24
    Read a handful of comments and then skipped to the end, so apologies if this has already been beaten into the ground. Royce is going to struggle at the MLB level at some point. Happens to everyone. Having him go through a major slump at the plate while being asked to learn a handful of different positions defensively is poor player development. From a confidence standpoint, sending him down to AAA after he has been successful at the MLB level is preferable to sending him down after the slump occurs. Not an exact parallel here, but the Twins promoting Aaron Hicks to be their leadoff hitter and starting CF with no experience above AA significantly hindered his development. He was capable defensively while trying to figure out MLB pitching. Royce has shown he is able to hit MLB pitching, but with asking him to learn 2 or 3 new defensive positions on the fly, does he maintain the bat? Impossible to say since he is being sent down. Like everyone else, I am hoping it is a very brief stint in St. Paul before he returns to the big league club.
  6. JW24
    I agree with this and would add that we won't know how successful this is until the end of the season. Assuming this Twins team is for real and makes the playoffs, how many games Buxton plays in from Opening Day until the end of the season doesn't much matter so long as he is healthy for Game 1 of the ALDS. A planned day off in April/May with the expectation he is in the lineup in every must-win game in September and October seems like a reasonable approach at the moment.
  7. JW24
    It has only been one month (Not even since Opening Day was April 7) but this team feels very similar to me to the 2019 team with how they bounce back from losses and the expectation that they will have a chance to win every game they play. Every game has a few different guys stepping up, total team efforts, pitching/hitting/defense all playing well. I think this next week will be telling. 7 winnable games on the horizon. Hopefully the bats start to heat up with the weather improving. This past week has my expectations high for this team, I am very much looking forward to cheering for a team that has serious playoff aspirations once again.
  8. JW24
    I am looking forward to seeing how the Twins play Boston after the Dodgers pummeled them this week. The 2019 Twins made it into late July or August before they had a 3 game losing streak, I think. That is the type of fight I hope this years team has as well.
  9. JW24
    Flip side of this is you make Sano the full time DH so the only thing he has to focus on is hitting. Maybe that elimates the 6 weeks at the start of the season where he swings through every pitch he sees. 2019 might very well be career years for both Kepler and Sano, but both still bring a necessary skill set to the Twins next year. Kepler would take Jake Cave's dubious honor as the best 4th OF in the MLB if Larnach and Kirilloff emerge as starters. Sano is never going to change from what he is, which is a bat that is underqualified to hit 3-5 in the order, but is absolutely a weapon in the bottom half of the order. A little positive regression for both of these guys next season and the Twins won't have much to worry about offensively.
  10. JW24
    This article was written before the Maeda news broke. If Maeda needs TJ and is out for next year, does it make more sense to trade Buxton during the offseason than to extend him (both options are in the article, but does the Maeda injury shift what management would do)? Personally I want Byron to retire as a Twin, but from a business perspective, can he return young, controlable pitching that will help the Twins contend again faster?
  11. JW24
    One of the things I think TD does best is provide accurate criticism when it is deserved, as well as walk back on that criticism like Nick did in this piece. I like the accountability most of the writers on this site have for the opinions they push. Polanco was awful at the start of this season, and now he has put himself in position to get some MVP votes. It is because he has this level in him that the criticism gets thrown his way when he is bad. I like your last paragraph a lot; Polanco, Arraez, and Buxton look like a formidable front to any lineup. I hope 2022 results in 150 games from each.
  12. JW24
    All good points made by Nick, but I think he is missing one significant point, which is, what is the plan for Nelson Cruz next season? Assuming Cruz is not a Twin (though at this point, why not offer him a 5 year extension, the man is ageless), JD could slot into the DH role more regularly to try to keep him more available. Going into next season expecting a combination of Sano/Kepler/??? to take 650 plate appearances as DH is going to be a more significant production decline than JD to the 3B depth outlined in the article.
  13. JW24
    In one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, the highest paid player on the team shows up with fire every day. I would kill for an entire team of Josh Donaldsons. He is one of the most likeable Twins players in my lifetime (32 years).
  14. JW24
    I agree completely with this entire take, especially the bold portion. Another thing to consider is which player is most likely to outperform the contract they sign, and there is not a scenario I see where Berrios at $20M+ per year ever looks like a massive bargain to the Twins. That being said, the Twins have the money to sign both, and I hope they do it. Jose on the bump and Byron in center is always a fun game to watch.
  15. JW24
    Me: Writes the Twins off before Memorial Day Also Me: Tell me more about this, Nick I can live with whatever the Twins do the rest of this season record-wise as long as their lineup looks like what it did this weekend in Texas. Larnach and Kirilloff are tremendous, I like having Buxton in the 2-hole so Arraez can hit 9th, Polanco and Jeffers are mashing. It is too late in the season to expect a playoff push, but it would be really nice to have some quality baseball to watch through September.
  16. JW24
    Donaldson would probably love it too! Can't imagine he is interested at all in being part of a rebuild, or whatever the Twins are doing.
  17. JW24
    I like the topic of this article. I would be interested in reading a follow-up about the injuries the Twins have had in recent years in their farm system; that to me is far more concerning than what has happened at the MLB level this season. Specifically, what impact has the MLB level seen as a result of injuries in recent years throughout the farm system? The recent injuries to Enlow and Cantarino are just the latest in a long string of injuries that have hindered the development of major prospects coming up through the pipeline. Royce Lewis is out for the year, Kirilloff missed a year, Colina is hurt, Nick Gordon had injuries that slowed him up. Baseball is a far more physically demanding game than what is recognized by the average person and injuries will happen. Additional emphasis on player health in the minors so as not to delay player development would pay dividends in a season like this. Matt Shoemaker and, to a lesser degree, J. A. Happ, have no business being on an MLB roster, but with no one ready to replace them as a result of development time missed due to injury, that is what we are stuck with.
  18. JW24
    Berrios has never made the jump from good to great. If you can trade him this season and get a sizable return, absolutely do it 100%. There is no guarantee he will remain durable throughout his career. Extending him at a premium for the pitcher the Twins hope he becomes but may never turn into would be a financial mistake they do not have the luxury of making.
  19. JW24
    With no one to trust due to failure after failure in high leverage spots, why not bring Alcala in and see how he does? His stuff can result in strikeouts, which would help significantly with the runner-on-second rule. I would rather see what Alcala is made of and lose than see Waddell ever take the mound for the Twins again.
  20. JW24
    Yep. Kepler's glove will be huge to get back. Based on what his replacements have done in his absence, anything he contributes with the bat will be an improvement as well!
  21. JW24
    The Twins have played 4 games against the Central Division so far this year. It is fortunate they are playing their worst ball now. Lots of games within the division to climb out of the hole they are in. As completely awful as it is being a fan right now, I believe it will get better. The bad stretches always feel endless, and the good stretches never last long enough (seemingly). Close the gap in the division to a couple games by the All-Star Break and things look a whole lot better.
  22. JW24
    Eddie is the type of guy who might raise a team's floor while simultaneously lowering their ceiling. He is a good player, but the Twins have plenty of good players. A roster of good players makes the playoffs only to get swept; competing without truly contending. Moving on from Eddie is necessary to see if we can get better production both from LF, but also throughout the entire organization. The offseason headlines on Twins Daily often read something like "Should the Twins Sign X" or "Should the Twins Trade for X" when the question is really, "What is the downstream impact of signing/not signing X?" In the case of Eddie, the downstream is an opportunity for one of the prospects to step up and contribute and for Eddie's salary to be spent in greater areas of need. I enjoyed the Eddie Era in Minnesota, wish him good luck where he ends up, and am looking forward to seeing if the Twins are able to improve their entire roster as a result of this decision.
  23. JW24
    For one year of Bauer, his price tag might be more like $35M given the market Gerrit Cole established last year. Might even be looking for more. But the Twins can find that money fairly easily. The Twins could free up $36M from 2020 commitments (before Covid proration) by not bringing back Odorizzi ($18M), Marwin ($11M), Romo ($5M), May ($2M). Looking back at 2019, Odo and May combined for 223 innings pitched. Bauer threw 213 himself. Adding a guy like Bauer who pitches deeper into games will allow for the Twins to let May and Romo go with a little more comfort in knowing some of those innings are accounted for (albeit with different leverage). Finally, being able to bump Maeda to 2, Berrios to 3, and Pineda to 4 would be incredible. I don't know if that would give the Twins the best rotation in baseball, but it would be close. I am all in on this signing, 100%. Get this done Twins.
  24. JW24
    Of all the names listed above, the only one I would be interested in is Treinen, assuming that Trevor May goes elsewhere. I think the cost required to acquire the starting pitchers would be greater than their potential value to the Twins, and the same goes for both Hendricks and Rosenthal (possibly). At the right price, there is not a bad signing in the group above. But the right price to the Twins will likely be below what each of them sign for elsewhere.
  25. JW24
    Some other commenters have already touched on this, but the benefit Cruz brings to a lineup extends beyond his personal production. As noted in the article, Cruz was producing at an elite level prior to the final 2 weeks of the season, which is a very small sample size. If the Twins decide not to bring him back, they might as well look to trade Sano as well given the impact Cruz's mentorship has had on him. Depending on what the Twins anticipate revenues to be next year and plan their payroll accordingly, front-loading a 2 year deal for Cruz might be appealing to both the front office and player. 2 years, $25M with $15 or so being paid in year 1. Assuming he will be more productive in 2021 than 2022, it might be an easier pill to swallow should the decline be swift.
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