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Cris E

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Everything posted by Cris E

  1. Cris E
    How much were you going to invest in SS with Culpepper potentially a couple months away? Lee is only meh, not terrible, so let him play until the future arrives.
  2. Cris E
    Kind of predictable, his version of the "Best shape of his life" story.
  3. Cris E
    I wouldn't trade these guys until it's clear this team can't win. That means another lost Lewis season and Lee's continued mediocrity and Culpepper not being ready and a few trips to the IL for some pitchers and a lot of inconsistency from the kids. It does not mean being six games on out May 20, or one guy not hitting. This is the season for testing and measuring, and it'll take some patience.
  4. Cris E
    These articles should always include a jumping off point describing the state of the team last fall, what questions the organization had to answer, as well as any known plans that were already in motion. It would reveal biases, assumptions and fill in any missed items to give a more complete view of the thinking as ST opens. In this case that would have included a lot more discussion about which kids were expected to arrive in time for 2026, which ones were not expected to survive the winter on the roster, and thus which holes would need to really be filled (eg 1B) versus those that just needed to be held until a prospect arrived to take it (eg SS or OF.) Specifically, they did not fill the bullpen vacancies to the extent they needed to. They may believe that a few converted starters will fill the void and that a couple months of OTJ training will have to suffice, but if that's the case then most of the rest of the world has doubts. They did fill in most holes on the field without blocking anyone, but they made no moves toward improvement. The team wasn't so good that a roll-over will be sufficient to win the ALC in 2026, but this idea that they are a 70 win team is just as false. A month ago DET and KC were a Skubal or Witt injury away from 80 wins, which meant that the division was pretty wide open. DET has now added enough pitching depth to really cement their chances (to the extent that anyone can in Feb.) But it's easier to see 80 wins from this lineup than 70, so I'll watch the kids play and wait to se how things go.
  5. Cris E
    With stuff like this and a clear record of not being particularly coachable he's a guy that needs another shot at the rotation in a new org. The shock of being sent away while young and controllable, the new voices in MN, and possibly a different thinking on how to maximize a fastball like his are all reasons to take another run at it. Going to the bullpen should be a move towards health or to focus a guy's pitch selection down to the good ones, not a punishment or resignation that things aren't working. Lots of guys resist listening when they've been very successful very young, and he's a prime example. Even by the end of last year they'd made some headway, so I expect that this could be a good year for Taj. I'm excited to see how he does.
  6. Cris E
    Well he has been healthier over the past four years...
  7. Cris E
    I posted this on MTR, but is he now the backup for Lewis? Who was the next 3B in line otherwise, Clemens? It is worth pointing out that almost all the guys who played 3B in St Paul last year are out of the organization, and only Lee is still around from those who played there in Mpls in 2025. I hadn't noticed it until this signing, but it seems wild how there's no one left from last year.
  8. Cris E
    I'd let Outman hang around in St Paul, backing up the real prospects who are readying themselves for a move across the river. He was a decent player not that long ago, and if he can figure things out he's be a useful Bader-like part to have around. He just can't get in the way of anyone who is still moving upward through the org.
  9. Cris E
    A lot of comments on how the prospects are coming and this guy is just getting in their way, possibly even if he's playing well. Others complaining that the team keeps selling hype. Just got to point out that the team is not selling the hype, which is coming from bored bloggers. The kids will be along when they're ready, which is not at all likely to happen three abreast in 2026; odds are that at least one will not be kicking down the door to get to Target Field on Sept 1. And I'm just warning you now, once they have three days in the majors and are not prospects anymore you're going to hate Gabby's defense and ERod's time on the IL at least as much as Wallner's glove and Lewis/Buxton injury time. That said, this is about Roden, who I kind of like and hope he has a great spring. If he's redundant and hitting .400 in March he can be moved for whatever folks were hoping Larnach would bring back. Or he can stay and fill in for the inevitable injuries while the kids actually get established in St Paul.
  10. Cris E
    There is a difference, but if you're a bad catcher that infield experience may not be an advantage if bad hands is skill set that is getting you moved off catcher. OTOH there are plenty of OF that failed moving to 1B, famously including outstanding fielder Joe DiMaggio. In any event, "It's incredibly hard" may be an over-statement in general, but the move is not trivial.
  11. Cris E
    No. If you're going to suddenly accept BA's ridiculous over-the-top standard as the benchmark then Abrams cannot be on your radar. He's athletic, he can hit, but he's not a good defensive SS. But the real discussion is what Baseball America is looking for. “I looked at the best plays for every shortstop in our top-100 and then the guys within the range of the top-100... We’re looking at what guy can make the plays that most shortstops can’t make." So the guys in the Top 100 are the standard? That's what makes a SS, or what makes a top SS? I get that Lee is not a good SS, but there are plenty of guys with good hands, decent range and enough arm playing a ton of innings. Jeter was not a great SS but it didn't hurt the Yankees too much. Cal Ripkin did what he did based on smart positioning and a quick release, but BA would not have put him at SS? Come on guys, be real. Look through your top guys and the thing that ties them together is not beautiful range and making plays that most others couldn't make, it's hitting. That's doubly so in the majors, but even in the minors the bats get you into the lists and into the big leagues. They know better than this, and stuff they say in the videos is for clicks, and not what they use to do rankings.
  12. Cris E
    One thing I thought the Twins could have done earlier in the winter was taking on Christian Walker's salary from Houston to save them from Luxury Tax problems. They are within $10m of heavy costs for additional spending and were looking at losing several important parts. Getting him off their books would have allowed them to make other moves free of addition taxes, and anything spent would have been worth more than the actual dollars needed to get rid of him. That is, removing his $20m per year in exchange for Larnach in December, for example, nets $15m savings but then they could have put in a bid for someone like Valdez at $33m without luxury tax, whereas $33m plus 50% is a very different proposition. They could have sent along talent to encourage MN to eat the $15m, or brought in a third team to help defray costs. (EG Walker to MN, Larnach to HOU, and a third party with cash, no luxury tax concerns and imagination sends money to MN and gets prospects from HOU and possibly MN.) Alas, we weren't spending in December, Houston had other plans for recovering from their talent losses, and then we signed Bell. But I think there was a clever way to make this work.
  13. Cris E
    Well sure, spending. But the Pohlads have taken $400m out of the organization, like real professional bankers, and they did it without any external motivations like "wanting to win before the owner dies of cancer."
  14. Cris E
    I think they really were in on Valdez and the other famous big expensive talented out of reach names, as reported by Ken R and the rest. But I think it was only going to happen for one of those short one year deals. And I think it was only going to happen if Lopez and his $21m salary was out the door in under an hour. But I do think that was possible. Boston would like a front of rotation guy and you might get an OF from them for Lopez plus or minus some minor league talent. We've got young arms to offer and they have a deep pen to trade from, so things could be worked out. BAL might have been able to put together a C or 1B package, and if we got a catcher then they could have moved Jeffers too. I'm not at all in favor of weakening the rotation, so all of this is predicated on adding first, but it could have happened if they stumbled into one of those top arms. (And that top arm could have been moved in July if the situation warranted it and that guy approved.) Whatever, I would still try to get HOU or AZ interested in Larnach. Both need some OF help. Maybe try for a young 1B from someone, Mayo in BAL maybe? (Not for an OF obviously.)
  15. Cris E
    It would be worth sending some money with Larnach to get a better return for him. A team with arms but no money who could use a better OF corner bat might bite if $2.5m brought down his cost. Send him to AZ while Gurriel is out, and maybe throw in an arm and get back Lawle, or add a big arm and get Lawler and a reliever.
  16. Cris E
    Their best uniform ever was the 2010 cream with navy pinstripes that they introduced for the new stadium. That was a great look. This may be the last sign we see of Joe Pohlad's work.
  17. Cris E
    If I were a prospect I'd be pushing to add a new position every spring. I can maybe see not wanting to change course mid-season, but in the offseason, why not? If all you want to do is play then give yourself as many paths to the lineup as possible.
  18. Cris E
    Completely agree, especially given the number of better OF in AA and AAA banging on the door already. The line behind Bell, Clemens and the ghost of Ty France indicate a much easier path to the 26 man.
  19. Cris E
    I am confused about one thing: this article doesn't have "pipeline" in the title and yet it speaks of moving around who might play a position in the future.
  20. Cris E
    "It's easy. Tell 'em Wash." "It's incredibly hard."
  21. Cris E
    Don't get hung up on the word Prospect any more than the Pipeline mirage. Finding arms that you can get good use out of is the goal, and purity tests for sources are a distraction. Traded for at 21 vs 25, already reached A+ or AAA, original round drafted in, it's probably best to not have a single source so that if anything happens (like Wes Johnson getting hired away) you won't miss a beat.
  22. Cris E
    Is the pitching better overall compared to nine years ago? Again, it's good when you produce your own guys, but most teams don't and being able to find arms from all sources is the game at hand. Very few teams do what you are dreaming of here, and ignoring the actual performance at the major league level is baffling.
  23. Cris E
    Name an organization that produces enough of their own starters to meet your definition of successful. You get Cleveland, but after that the closest I can find is PIT or possibly SEA.Go through the rest of baseball and let me know who the third might be. The ultimate models that everyone says we should be following, MIL and TAM, are constantly churning pitching prospects to keep the roster full of talent. It's what well-run programs do. EDIT: It's worth pointing out that the Twins are just like those three squads in other respects, in that they've had trouble assembling enough offense and three of the four have had sporadic playoff appearances with little success.
  24. Cris E
    Taj Bradley was in the majors after that.
  25. Cris E
    So what? A one year grade of the farm teams is no measure for nine years of history. Many of the best pitching moves Falvey made were never prospects (eg Grey, Stewart, Lopez) plus Law is talking about 2025 so that excludes everyone that's ever graduated to the majors (Ryan, Duran, Jax, Ober, etc.)
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