chpettit19

You said "much less of a defensive risk." I read that as Nick Gordon is a better infield defender than Mookie (Mookie was a 55 grade infielder coming up), and I'm not willing to say there's anything on a baseball field that Nick does better than Mookie. I'll take Mookie swinging left handed over Nick swinging left handed even! (Kidding. Mostly.) I pointed out Mookie taking infield just to point out that an argument that Nick's been playing it in recent years couldn't be used. Not to hold anything against Nick. Mookie has even played game innings in the infield the last few years. All I'm holding against Gordon is that he wasn't as good a fielder coming up, and hasn't been a great fielder since he's been in the majors. Mookie Betts has been. And Mookie was moved for players significantly better than the players that bounced Gordon. Yeah, I want filters of guys being moved from, and to, specific spots. A guy moving from CF to LF doesn't mean anything in the context of putting Gordon, or a similar player, at 3B. Guys move. I'm not denying that. But a guy moving from 2B to LF doesn't have any baring on guys moving from 2B/LF/CF to 3B. I don't think the list of guys who match Gordon's profile being moved to 3B would be long, or impressive. I don't think you think that, but when you compare Mookie and Gordon as both "multi-positional" and leave it at that you're missing a whole truck load of context. Solano is "multi-positional," but I'm pretty sure neither of us want him on the left side of the infield. And at this point the team just expects me to drink beer and keep book. Or provide a good laugh by trying to hit a HR. 😄 I think Gordon at 3B for any more than 3 games in a season would be a bad situation. If that's all you're suggesting as "occasionally" then we can agree. I don't think you're crazy for wanting to try him at 3B occasionally, or prioritizing a bat over a glove, but I have a different balance on the bat vs glove scale, and/or a differing opinion on what certain players are capable of. But if we all agreed I'd have to do work at work all day instead of having debates on the internet, and that doesn't sound like fun.

Will be interesting to watch how he throws against all the Cleveland lefties tonight. I didn't know he had such big splits so that's interesting info. The Guardians have 5 guys who'll bat lefty against him tonight. The innings limit is going to be interesting to watch them navigate this season. If he breaks down again his career as a starter is likely over. But if he can get to 120+ innings this year they'll have some decisions to make for next year. He's an interesting case.

I hope you can understand why I will not accept comparing Nick Gordon to a first ballot HOFer in any way. I hope you can understand why I will not accept suggesting Nick Gordon is better, let alone "much" better, at anything on a baseball field than Mookie Betts. Mookie Betts has been one of the 10 best defenders (and overall players) in baseball for a decade. It wasn't a secret that they were moving Gordon because of defensive concerns. Mookie didn't move because he couldn't play mIF, he was moved because the Red Sox had 2 all stars up the middle already, and he didn't move back because he's a multi-time gold glove winner in RF and there was no need on his teams for him to move. Mookie Betts is faster, has better hands, and a better arm than Nick Gordon. Gordon is not only not "much less of a defensive risk" than Mookie, he's much more of a defensive risk, and it's not even close. Nick Gordon has spent his career struggling to stay on a mediocre MLB roster. Mookie Betts is a first ballot HOFer. They're not the same. I'd love to see a list of guys who moved to LF and 2B because of arm concerns who then moved to 3B. It'd be a fascinating list. There's a difference in their ability to be multi-positional. I've played OF in softball in recent years, but I wasn't good at it. I'm technically "multi-positional," (since I'm normally an IFer) but it doesn't mean you should use me in the OF. You say "if it's a problem, fix it then" as if they're going into it completely blind. They know Nick's capabilities. He's not some random guy off the streets. They've watched him play 4599 innings of SS. They know if he can handle 3B. There's a reason he's only played 23 innings of it in his career. I'm all for flexibility, and having versatile pieces you can move around. But putting guys in spots they can't play (Gordon at 3B, Gallo or Kepler in CF) on anything other than an emergency basis doesn't win you more ball games. We weigh defense differently, clearly, so simply won't agree on this. I have no desire to have a White Sox style defense. It loses games. It's lost them multiple games to the Twins alone this year. I don't think Solano is the problem, but I'm not interested in corner defenders who are defensive liabilities and only hit on the short side of a platoon (same reason I don't like when they have Garlick on the roster). He was great for the Twins early, and I have no problem with Solano. He can put the bat on the ball with the best of them. But he's not very important when it comes to the Twins maximizing their win total this year. Miranda and Larnach are, or at least could/should be. Larnach can't adjust to major league pitching in AAA. Either he's going to figure it out, or he isn't. Having him mash AAA pitching and then coming back still needing to adjust to major league pitching doesn't help the team. If I were in charge, he'd have until next week when Kirilloff can be called up to start showing signs of life or I'd put him on the bench as a pinch hitter/part time player and give Kirilloff his ABs. To get Kirilloff on the team you have to remove someone. Castro is going to go for Farmer, I'd expect, and that leaves just Solano for Kirilloff. If Larnach hasn't figured it out by the time Lewis is ready then I'll send him down, and at that point his future with the team is in question as he's 26, has known struggles hitting major league breaking stuff, and they have multiple other lefty bats pushing for playing time. I'm simply not interested in Larnach's ability to hit AAA pitching. He has to adjust to major league pitching, and it's now a question of how long of a leash he has before he starts getting passed up by other players. Right now Kirilloff is his nearest competition. I'm not a big Wallner believe, but he's closing in fast, too.

Why is Nick Gordon much less of a defensive risk? Mookie Betts came up as an infielder and moved to RF because of Pedroia. He's continued taking ground balls in fielding practice his whole career. Nick Gordon has fewer than 300 more IF innings in the majors than Mookie. Mookie is a terrible example, and he's superior to Nick Gordon in every way, even on paper. Is occasional once a week? Once a month? Everyday for a 2 week Miranda demotion? 3 times during a 2 week Miranda demotion? 3 times a week for the rest of the season to rotate everyone through? Occasionally has a pretty big range of what it could mean. I wouldn't send Miranda down to AAA to get Kirilloff in the lineup. I'd consider DFAing Solano to get Kirilloff up maybe. I'm not happy with the current production from Miranda or Larnach, but I don't think either of them would be served well from a demotion. They need to figure out major league pitching. Can't do that in AAA. They've graduated and they need to make the major league adjustment. But Farmer taking some time from Miranda at 3B starting next week, and Kirilloff taking some time from Larnach in LF starting next week would be a plan I'd endorse. Neither of which include Gordon at 3B, even "occasionally."

I'll start by just saying let's not compare Nick Gordon, or anyone on the Twins, to Mookie Betts. As for the general idea here, there's a lot of variables at play. Do they have someone capable of taking over at SS fulltime on the ML roster already? It's not necessarily always position to position considerations (this article is), but it's an ever changing puzzle and you need to make sure the pieces fit. The definition of "occasionally" also factors in. Could Nick have chosen to present some situations that would be moving guys to positions they don't currently play? Sure. But that's pretty rarely done (unless you have a Mookie Betts) outside of injuries forcing it. Especially up the middle. There are limitations to what players can reasonably do. Correa goes down and you can't just plug Buxton into SS (full disclosure I've never seen Buxton field a grounder in the IF, but I assume he's not good enough to play SS in the bigs). So it's not just straight 26-man spot for 26-man spot, either. The Twins are full of guys who can't play up the middle.

Maturing before TD's very eyes.

If Miranda swings at 3 more balls over his head even though every living creature on the planet knows it's coming I'll be ready to put Gordon (or Gallo) at 3B fulltime!

Miranda is becoming pretty worrisome for me. I didn't watch him at all before his big breakout, but the story was always that he was a free swinger, and it crippled his numbers. He fixed that and took off. But he sure looks to be back to his old ways. It's not even a secret anymore that once he gets 2 strikes on him they're throwing a fastball about 3 feet above the zone. He's going to have to stop swinging at it or Lewis/Lee is coming for his job much sooner than anyone was expecting. To tie this back to the topic of Larnach, they're both going to start feeling the pressure pretty quick as Kirilloff and Lewis return. Miranda has a little more cushion, but he'll run the risk of losing ABs vs lefties to Farmer soon. But it is really nice to have depth so they can make decisions based on performance more than just "well he's all we've got." I believe in both of them, but Larnach especially is running out of time.

He looks like he's trying to sit on off-speed now, and it's causing him to miss the fastballs he used to crush. That's a really bad combination when he's still struggling to hit off-speed. He's trying to make an adjustment, and that's what we should be expecting, but the Twins have finally gathered some depth so they likely won't be as patient with adjustments as they would've in the future. Nice for the team overall, but tough for individual players. Gordon seems to be figuring out his adjustment to take himself off the hot seat, and now it's Larnach who needs to get his straightened out, or he'll be making that adjustment in AAA. The bigger problem is that AAA pitchers may not be good enough for him to truly make the adjustment, and when he comes back he'll likely still have a major league adjustment to make and he'll still likely not have a lot of time to make it.

I'm confused. Do you want them paying attention to what's happening on the field or not? Because that's what's on those tablets. They're watching their previous at bats, and videos of the pitcher's pitches. Would you prefer they're on the railing watching the pitcher from the side where they don't get an idea of how the ball really breaks or watching video on the tablet that shows them what the ball is actually doing? Would you rather them just do mental reps, or mental reps with the actual footage of the actual pitches they got, and their actual swings? The Twins not using those tablets would put them at a drastic disadvantage in 2023.

I'm all for finding some .900 OPS guys. You're talking a top 10-20 hitter in baseball. I, unfortunately, don't think the Twins are sitting on any surprise top 10 bats, though. Buxton is their best bet, but his body doesn't seem to want to let him be a full season top 10 guy if he also plays in the field. If Wallner is sufficient depth I'd be good with moving Kepler now for a lottery ticket (maybe Yanks want him with all their injuries?) to get Kirilloff up. But I'm not willing to destroy their defense by running Kepler or Gallo in CF. We'll see what the FO is willing to do to get him up here.

1. I don't think forcing Gordon into 3B innings is a path to finding better options. The 3B rotation isn't stopping Kirilloff from playing in the majors. 2. Don't like that analogy. The QB position is far more than athleticism, especially when Marino played. But Rodgers over Marino because Rodgers' added athleticism allows him to do things Marino couldn't. I'm not sure where "me first" comes from outside of him not being comfortable in CF, and thus not wanting to play there. The team also doesn't like to play him there. So they're on the same page. It's fans who want him to play there because he's done it in the past and they assume he's good there because he's good in RF. And they're wrong. The fact that he has done it shows that he's willing to do it if that's what's asked of him. But speaking up and saying he's not comfortable doing it is just being a good communicator, and I don't see it as me first. 3. 🧞‍♂️ 4. Neither of those guys are everyday guys to me either. That's my point. Brandon Lowe isn't an everyday guy because he can't/shouldn't hit against lefties. Him being successful because he avoids hitting against lefties doesn't make his overall numbers worthy of everyday play. I can concede that Kepler is an "everyday a righty pitches" guy right now. I think Gallo and Larnach are on the border of being everyday guys, even though Larnach is probably a step down right now. Kyle Garlick having 102 and 103 OPS+ the last 2 years doesn't mean he's an everyday guy because he only did damage against lefties. So I'll say I've probably used "everyday guy" incorrectly when speaking of the current lefties and Kirilloff. Right now they're all "everyday vs righties guys." And they just don't have room for that many guys because of Buxton at DH. PS. thanks for this fun, civil, respectful back and forth.

1. My point is that the Twins not putting Gordon at SS in 2021 was a sign they'd already determined that's not what he was. I'm all for utility, but putting someone at a position doesn't mean they can play it satisfactorily. Even if the walls don't cave in. Would the team collapse if they put Gordon at 3B 4 times a year? Of course not. But why do it when you have better options? 2. Yes, Gordon is a better CFer than Kepler. I won't quote zone metrics, I'll just say after having watched, and scored, game after game of major league fielding data Max Kepler, and Joey Gallo, are well, well, well below league average CFers. Gordon is slightly below average. I wouldn't put Max or Joey in CF unless it was literally my only option that day. They are truly bad defenders there. Max rarely sprints (it's really weird), and isn't even that fast anymore. The guys truly capable of playing CF have sprint speeds of 28 ft/s. Max is at 27, but isn't the type of athlete who uses it to max efficiency. Nick Gordon is only slightly below average partially because he's a slightly below 28 ft/s runner, and a better athlete who can maximize his speed better. Kepler is very stiff in almost everything he does. Gordon is very loose. Gordon is better. 3.🤝 4. Back to sprint speeds for CFers...everyone you listed there was a 28 ft/s, or better, runner when they played CF for the Rays. And the point of pointing out Kiermeier is that he wasn't a good hitter (ala MAT), but they still put him out there because they were willing to sacrifice bottom of the order offense (like with Siri now) for premium defense at a premium defensive position. The difference in athleticism between the Twins and Rays is startling. But 100% agreed that having Buxton back in CF would solve all of this. I'm ok with their slow rolling of him out there because I think his bat in the order 140 games is better than his glove in CF for 50. But I do expect to see him in CF as the season progresses or it's a gigantic waste of his talents. I wasn't talking about name recognition either. I'm pointing out that the Rays only have 3 "everyday guys," and the rest are primarily matchup dependent players. A lot of that comes down to our definitions of "everyday guy." To me it's a guy who you don't look at the starting pitcher for the opponent, you just write their name down. Correa, Buxton, Polanco types. The Rays have Diaz, Franco, and Arozarena they do that with. The rest are mix and match players who's performance they're able to maximize by playing matchups. But the Rays are also able to mix and match better than the Twins because of their superior athleticism and ability to move people between more positions without losing defensive abilities. The Twins are corner heavy while the Rays built through the middle. I'm also willing to be the Rays don't maintain their historic rate much longer, either. I agree that a team can have 13 guys all performing well at once. Many teams do at any given time. But maintaining it for an entire season is different. And the ability to mix and match those pieces adds to the complexity of the situation as well. Not to mention the number of comments that would flood gamethreads around here if Rocco started mixing and matching the lineup more than he already does!

I'm hoping they're just putting him on the left side of the infield to start because that's what he's used to and they just want him to be comfortable to start and get his groove back before expanding where he plays.

He's currently playing SS and 3B every other day, for 3 innings at a time, in extended spring training. Expected to start a more true rehab assignment in the coming days/week. Last report I saw a couple days ago said Lewis will play infield only for now, but there's a possibility he moves to the outfield later in his rehab. No solid plans beyond starting him at SS and 3B from the sounds of it. Will definitely be interesting to see what they do with him as he progresses towards the end of the month. I'd bet it depends on what Miranda is looking like for the Twins, and how they think the pieces can all fit together once Lewis is back. Him supplanting Miranda, to me, would not be an ideal situation. They cleared a spot for Miranda, so if he loses it 3 or 4 months into his stint that's not a good sign for him, or the team.

I'll add that they also want the pitchers they take to have control. It's the same formula Cleveland uses. College pitchers with control that they believe they can get more velo/"stuff" out of. Cleveland has dove a little more into the international waters, and taken some bigger risks (HS arms), but the general philosophy is the same.

1. I'm not talking about the offseason, I'm talking about the second half of the year after they'd traded away their best pitcher, and clearly given up on the year. If they had any thought of him being capable of playing SS at the major league level they would've given him more than 8 starts at SS instead of starting Simmons who had no future on the team. But they'd already decided he wasn't good enough to play the left side of the infield in the majors by then. 2. It's not about "role demands." Fine, Kepler should have no say in where he plays. No player should. Forget they're human and that their comfortability in the field leads to better results. Max Kepler is not a good CFer. He's a bad CFer. He always has been. His ability to stand there and catch balls that come right to him doesn't make him a CFer. Same with Gallo. I can go stand in CF and catch routine fly balls if that's all you want. But defense up the middle matters, and those 2 are not good enough CFers to play CF on a regular basis in the majors. 3. ☺️ 4. 10 of 11 is not 13, but sure, you could platoon your way to 13 guys who perform well when their matchups are optimized. It's the entire basis of the Rays organization. The Rays are an interesting team to look at. I'll concede they have few platoon splits when they face 11 straight righties, and only have 3 lefties on their roster who can play multiple positions, and a rotating DH spot. But they also start the weak hitting Jose Siri in CF nearly everyday (10 of 13 games he's been healthy for), and only play Josh Lowe out there as a lefty, because they care about defense. They'd never even consider Gallo or Kepler in CF. Josh Lowe has played 82% of their games against righties. Luke Railey 77%. Brandon Lowe has played 95% (sat 1 out of 22 games) against righties. They're currently in an 11 game stretch (they're likely to have 13 straight games before facing Rich Hill Thursday) of facing only righty starters. Before that those guys had played 91% (10 out of 11 games), 91%, and 100% of games against righties. So when there's any balance to their pitching opponents they platoon hard. They also have a rotating DH spot with Ramirez being the primary. The Twins have an everyday DH which makes it harder to cycle guys through. That's how we get down to the Twins cycling 4 guys through 3 spots instead of 3 guys through 6 spots (the Rays 3 lefties have played 2B, CF, LF, RF, 1B, and DH). That's how they keep them all over 75% playing time against righties. But the Twins guys can only play LF, RF, 1B, and DH. But, as we just established, DH is off the table right now. So the Twins can't do what the Rays do. Because the Twins don't have lefties who can play up the middle (unless we're fighting to add Gordon to the equation), and Buxton has the DH spot locked down.

1. When Gordon debuted the 75 year old Andrelton Simmons was playing SS for the Twins. They didn't trust Gordon to play over a completely washed up SS who had no future with the team. Sure, they trust him to play 2B, but not the left side of the infield which is where this conversation started. 2. I'd put my money on this being Kepler's last year with the Twins. There are all kinds of reports about him not liking CF, and the Twins not liking to put him there. They go back years. But this seems like one of those times where we just view things differently. If the goal is to win baseball games you have to take into consideration what your players are comfortable doing. He's not comfortable in CF. He's not good in CF. Why would you put that player in CF? He's either good enough to hold down the RF job or he's really not worth having around. Which leads to #3... 3. I'd put my money on this being Kepler's last year with the Twins. But that doesn't mean I'd sit him while he's playing well in April and May. That's why I said right now he deserves everyday playing time. If Kepler starts struggling my stance on his playing time would change. But right now he deserves playing time. 4. Not sure what the point is with the Rays. I've never said anything about not finding 13 guys who can play. The goal is to find more than 13 guys, actually, because you want depth. There's a difference between "13 guys who deserve to play" and "13 everyday guys." The Rays are actually a great example of the difference since they platoon guys so much. Diaz, Franco, and Arozarena are everyday guys for them. The rest are platoon guys. Brandon Lowe has started every game but 1 against a righty. He's sat every game but 1 against a lefty. Josh Lowe has started 0 games against lefties, and sat 5 times vs righties. Bethancourt and Mejia split the catcher duties much like Vazquez and Jeffers here. The difference between the Twins and the Rays when it comes to this is that they have a bunch of up the middle guys while the Twins don't. That's what ties this all together. The Rays have 3 guys they plug in somewhere in the top 4 of their lineup basically everyday. So do the Twins (Buxton, Correa, Polanco). The Rays then have their lefty bats that hit mostly against righties, and rarely against lefties. Just like the Twins. The difference is the Rays have multiple guys who can truly play CF. The Twins don't. CF is the holdup for the Twins right now (in my opinion). If Buxton was playing there, or 1 of their top 4 lefties were good enough to play it, Kirilloff would be on the Twins today. But none of that is the same as having 13 "everyday guys." The Twins have just as many guys who can play as the Rays. Neither team has anywhere near 13 "everyday guys." And the Rays pieces fit together better because so many of their guys can play up the middle. The Twins, as we've basically all been saying for years, have too many corner guys, and not enough up the middle guys.

That's the beauty of TD, and sports in general, right? My concerns or qualifications don't match yours and then we debate things that don't really matter, and life is grand! ☺️ 1. The Gordon breakdown is interesting. He's a ball player, I'll give you that. But couldn't one read his moving down the defensive spectrum as an indication that he really isn't a very good defender? Especially in the IF since he's been relegated to the OF. If he had to play there for a game it wouldn't be the end of the world, but would we rank him any better than 4th on the depth chart right now? I'd put, as overall players I'd want starting at 3B, the depth chart as Miranda, Farmer, Castro, Gordon. But I'm not a big believer in his bat, and I know some people are so could understand some differences in the Castro vs Gordon ranking. 2. Yes, Kepler has played CF for the Twins in the past, and by all reports it's been like pulling teeth. He doesn't like it. I understand some fans are of the belief that a player's preferences shouldn't be taken into account, and they should play where they're told, but I'm not one of those fans. These are humans, and if he dislikes it as much as it sounds like he does he shouldn't play there. Not to mention comparing his RF defensive metrics to his CF metrics. He's not a good CFer. Same with Gallo. He's played there, but neither of them are guys you want there unless it's an emergency. But in Kepler's case you're putting a bad fielder in CF who also doesn't want to be there. Doesn't sound like a winning formula. 3. Agreed on Gallo. But I'd add Kepler to that, too. Right now. Today. Kepler has been one of their best hitters since he returned from the IL. I wouldn't bet on him keeping that up, but I wouldn't yield any of his time when he's hot. Larnach is the one who's mostly been average of late so I could see him yielding some time. But, since I think it's 4 guys for 3 spots, there's not enough yielding to be done from Larnach alone to make sense calling up Kirilloff. And I love Kirilloff. I think he's a star. Him and Lewis are the future of this team as far as I'm concerned. But splitting LF starts between Larnach and Kirilloff doesn't sound like the right plan to me. Is it possible to find 13 everyday players? Sure, but there's a lot of stuff to unpack there, too. Like the humanity side of things again. Professional players have egos. Telling an everyday guy he has to sit 20-25% of the time doesn't always work out that well. And there's also the definition of "everyday player." Yours and mine may be different. That seems to be the case right now since I feel Kepler and Larnach are currently playing at a level that deserves everyday run. You don't. But, again, that's the beauty of sports!

I'd take him over Solano at 2B vs a righty, but we have Polanco back so there's no real spot for him there.

First, I don't think any of that is crazy. But I think it's more complicated than simply "5 guys for 4 spots." I don't want Kepler or Gallo anywhere near CF (well I suppose LF and RF are near CF). They're not CFers. And Gordon isn't a 3B, so I don't want him there even if it's "on occasion." Castro is currently the backup at 3B and SS. He'll go down for Farmer who will take the backup 3B and SS role he was supposed to have to start the season. But, as of right now, I think Gallo, Kepler, and Larnach are all playing at a level that dictates they have the playing time adjusted in their favor. That's really the "problem." You may disagree, and that's all good. I don't think any of them currently deserve to sit 20% of the time. That's a 130 game starter over a full season. I think they're all playing well enough to deserve more than that. I'm not suggesting they stop "looking for better." I'm suggesting that there's not enough ABs at the major league level for how I feel the players currently on the roster are playing, mixed with the combination of positions they should be playing. To me it's 4 guys for 3 spots (if you call up Kirilloff, and aren't playing Buxton in CF), and now you're rotating them all out 25% of the time if it's evenly split. And I don't think any of them should be rotated out that frequently, and if even 2 of them are rotated out less frequently than that you're looking at 1 or 2 of them basically becoming bench pieces. And I don't think that's the best use of resources. Castro being on the bench for pinch running, and as a defensive backup, isn't a "wasted 26 man spot" to me. You're never going to have 13 position players that deserve everyday playing time, and a utility player like Castro is useful. I don't know that he's anymore or less useful than Gordon. Because Gordon can't play the left side of the infield. Gordon's problem is he's not as good defensively as Taylor, and Taylor is hitting well enough that Gordon's bat doesn't make up for his glove in CF. And every other position he can handle (2B and LF) is covered by a better left handed (or switch) bat. To summarize: Larnach, Gallo, and Kepler all deserve to be more than a 130 game starter (if you go by your 5 for 4 spots), and definitely deserve to be more than 120 game starters (if you go with my 4 for 3 spots) right now. That may change, or one may get injured, but 20-25% is too much to sit any of them, and if you do less than that with any of them then at least 1 of them is sitting more than 25% of the time and you're looking a 100-110 game starter and none of those guys deserve that right now. And Gordon needs to out hit Polanco or Taylor by a lot, or Larnach at all, to get playing time. I'm just not as comfortable as you seem to be playing guys in positions they aren't good enough to play.

I don't think they trust Gordon on the left side of the infield, and I don't know if they'd want Kirilloff up to sit on the bench. Miranda or Correa going down wouldn't open a spot in the lineup for Kirilloff so I wouldn't be surprised by a Castro call to backup Farmer and whichever other left side of the infield is still there.

Agree with all but Taylor. I think they'd actually bring Castro back if Taylor went down. Assuming it's at a point where they're still not playing Buxton in CF. I don't think they have any interest in playing Gordon vs lefties, or a bad defender in CF, so Castro would be the call to play CF vs lefties. If Buxton is back playing CF I'd agree with your most likely Kirilloff, perhaps Garlick stance.

I mean that triple wasn't exactly him hitting one to the gap and using his top end speed to beat it out. It bounced 100 feet away from the right fielder after hitting the limestone. I agree that Kirilloff will be optioned and is waiting for an injury, or Buxton to start getting time in CF. They built this team on pitching and defense, and I don't see them sacrificing all that defense in CF to get him in the lineup. Doesn't seem to be their style. Edit to add: Looks like Kirilloff was officially activated, and optioned, yesterday. So it's not a guess anymore, AK is in AAA for a bit at least still.

I think Gallo's ability to play CF is greatly overstated around here. He's played 7 innings of CF since 2019, and wasn't good. He was serviceable there in the 20-teens because he could run. He's not unathletic now, but he doesn't run like he did then. He had a sprint speed of 28 ft/s back then. He's down to 26 now. Basically he was as fast as MAT back then, and now he runs like Miranda. Would you want Miranda's speed in CF? Miranda's sprint speed is 26.2 ft/s this year. Gallo's is 26.3. Putting Joey Gallo in CF on a regular basis would be a disaster. He's a "break glass in case of emergency" CF option now. Putting him in CF wouldn't make them a better team.