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GopherMike

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Everything posted by GopherMike

  1. GopherMike
    It would be absolutely insane for them to not buy Larnach's final year of arbitration. I cannot even imagine that is a discussion right now. He is arguably the second best hitter on the team.
  2. GopherMike
    I agree with the general concern. At some point, the Twins cannot just keep collecting upper-minors corner bats and never give them MLB opportunities. If they don’t believe in all of their guys they should absolutely trade from that group for pitching or a major-league piece who fits 2027–2028. Where I disagree is making Larnach the automatic casualty and/or that we should force a trade for someone who is valuable now to create space for someone who may or may not be valuable. Trade Bell. That will free up one spot alone. Trade Jeffers and you've basically got two. Also, the prospects are not all in the same bucket. Roden looks ready. Mendez is interesting. Wallner has already struggled badly in MLB this year. Gonzalez is not forcing it yet. Jenkins should not be rushed. E-Rod is hurt. So “the prospects need a chance” is true, but it does not automatically mean “trade the proven productive left fielder.” But don't treat Larnach like he's a clog. He's not. Bell is the clog.
  3. GopherMike
    A targeted sell is completely appropriate. A second sell--off in two years sounds more like fan logic because you're annoyed with the roster. Bell? Absolutely. Jeffers? Yes. But only if healthy enough to get value. Rogers? Yes. If we truly fall back and there's an offer. Not automatic if we're alive. Selling Larnach "regardless"? Illogical. Larnach has a 126 wRC+ and a .377 OBP and has been one of the actual stabilizers in the lineup. He is not Bell. He is not a short-term dead-end rental. He is useful now, and the Twins are not overflowing with proven MLB corner bats. The “too many young corner outfielders knocking on the door” argument sounds good, until you remember one of those is Wallner, who is obviously very risky, and the rest are guys who have yet to prove anything at the major league level. Yes--sell Bell. Create opportunities. Fire sell "regardless"? Dumb, honestly. Clemens? From a value standpoint.....maybe. If we get a good offer. I would agree he has peaked. But I don't see it happening. Gomez? ......what? We have an absolutely terrible bullpen and you want to sell our best reliever that is controllable for years to come? What? We have enough upper-minor bats to move Bell and Jeffers, I agree. Everything else comes with a lot of risk that saying things like "regardless" is how we made the mistakes we made last year. That's trading Louis Varland logic.
  4. GopherMike
    I think Jackson's contributions have been great, but I wouldn't jump to the assumption that he would be claimed, given his 0 options. He was already DFA'd once and nobody claimed him. Granted, he's had a nice run since then, but I don't think that 100% changes the equation. Every team is only going to carry two catchers. That said--if they know they are going to trade Jeffers (and I'd bet they are) then holding Jackson for a few weeks is worth it. But longterm they cannot carry three catchers.
  5. GopherMike
    This is the correct answer. There is far too much "player A is better than player B". Matchups matter. Bench depth matters. Positional versatility matters. Roden should get a call if they trade Larnach and/or Bell. Or if Fedko just proves unplayable in the major leagues. But the move was made with roster intention in mind, and one guy hitting a few AAA homers doesn't change that.
  6. GopherMike
    Also--not to dogpile...but Jen Pawol (home ump) was genuinely awful. 9 challenges. 9. It's a nice story...but she should not be a MLB umpire. Cardinals: 2 of 3 challenges won Twins: 4 of 6 challenges won Total impact: about +0.950 net run expectancy and +12.1% net win probability corrected through challenges
  7. GopherMike
    You understand the difference between "this isn't going to happen" and "I'm not 100% convinced" and "I think" Right?
  8. GopherMike
    I'm happy for him too. And please don't call me butt.
  9. GopherMike
    Hello :)
  10. GopherMike
    Tristan Gray Ryan Kreidler Eric Orze Yoendrys Gomez All four waiver claims this season/off-season who are making genuine contributions. Add in Kody Clemens from last year as well. This team has done a lot wrong, but they've done a pretty solid job with the waiver wire.
  11. GopherMike
    Absolutely love this move. He's R5 eligible and they need to see if he's worth protecting now. Arcia was solid, and deserves to be picked up by somebody, but betewen Gray and Kreidler having a 3rd SS is just unecessary.
  12. GopherMike
    I'm noticing more of a trend of these clickbait headlines. Please stop doing that.
  13. GopherMike
    Nobody is going to give us anything for Bell. We could potentially DFA him and either pray someone makes a claim...but I doubt it. He's arguably not even worth a roster spot....let alone at $7 mil a year. Or we could just DFA him because he's literally cooked. That's really the big question right now. Because Wallner is basically a DH at this point. So...whose bat is more cooked, Bell or Wallner? I'm willing to give Bell a few more weeks to see
  14. GopherMike
    Who says he has to play a ton?
  15. GopherMike
    I think in hindsight this move wasn't as consequential as we thought at the time. The best part of the move was that we didn't sign Berrios to a 7 year $131 million contract. THAT would have been consequential. Regardless---we clearly won this trade. I don't see the point in comparing it against a hypothetical alternative trade we could have made. There's just far too many hypotheticals.
  16. GopherMike
    Great question. I'm not 100% convinced there isn't a Keaschall to AAA move that happens IF Royce can establish himself (big IF). I think they hold onto Arcia for a while to see what options present themselves.
  17. GopherMike
    We said the same thing about starting pitching this year. Things can change really fast with a few injuries.
  18. GopherMike
    I had the exact same thought about Fedko. Even if the Twins brass doesn't believe in him at the MLB level....at this point he deserves the opportunity to prove them wrong.
  19. GopherMike
    I was at that game right behind the Royals dugout. Great game. Martin will get credit, and rightfully so, but those two tags at the plate by Jackson were both absolutely flawless, especially the first one where the throw was a little off.
  20. GopherMike
    The Twins pitching staff went 11 innings and didn't walk a single batter. Props.
  21. GopherMike
    Because it's going to take an ass-ton of money.
  22. GopherMike
    By the way I really like this article much more than the "what guy in AA that is on a Baseball Prospectus list should be helping us right now?" type. These are the questions we should using the next 30-60 days to figure out, and it's part of what is making this Twins team fun to watch right now.
  23. GopherMike
    I'd rank them as follows: Kody Clemens-- most believable He's not a star, but he doesn't need to be. He has great defense at 1st, has some positional flexibility, left-handed power, and can be controlled through arbitration. He has a role and he sticks Ryan Kreidler-- highest "Willi Castro" upside The defense is elite. He can play SS AND Center credibly. I don't think he'll ever hit like Castro...but I wouldn't be surprised if he sticks. Yoendrys Gomez-- highest upside The article is correct not to overstate the sample size, but his profile is interesting. He needs to keep his walks under control, but he can pitch currently in leverage situations to a degree almost nobody else in the bullpen has proven they can. I'm hoping for him. Alex Jackson-- useful test but not a plan His MLB track record is ugly and he's done nothing this year to prove otherwise. Maybe he sticks as a backup...but I'd rather that not be our plan today. Tristan Gray-- least convincing I like Tristan a lot. I'm glad he's having a moment. But he's also 30, the approach is rough, he hasn't realy forced anything, and the profile is much more thin than Kreidler or Clemens. He's a depth piece that is serving a function now...but I don't think he has any real longterm roster role.
  24. GopherMike
    Cuts both ways. That's not a reason to do or not do something. You deal with the information you have, when you have it.
  25. GopherMike
    This is, in fact, too early. The roster has stabilized more than expected, the offense is still league-average without Jeffers, the starting pitching is strong. But all that said--I think some names on here are questionable. I'm not selling Martin and I'm not selling Buxton unless he demands it. I'm absolutely selling Taylor Rogers (if I'm selling at all) and Bell for certain But I'm not doing anything until mid-June at the earliest and if we are 3-4 games within the division, I'm holding. You need to give reasons for fans and players to give a damn. There's value in that too.
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