Eris

NY Post article on Hicks and Gil https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/yankees-aaron-hicks-breaks-silence-on-long-overdue-surgery/

The Twins had a choice with Santana. They could have chosen to have Santana play out his contract and leave as a free agent and receiving a draft pick in the compensation round. This would have been the best option considering they were in the playoffs the following season and the poor return of players received from the Mets. They have the same choice with Berrios. They can trade him now for whatever they can get or keep him for the 2022 season. An uncertainty is over the CBA and whether there will be free agent based draft compensation.

I generally agree with these numbers and that 15 million is in the ballpark for the guaranteed value. I arrived at 15 million by taking Mike Trout's salary and then prorating by the percentage of games played. Mike Trout has appeared in 95% of the Angel's games over his career. Buxton's availability is around 40%. I would add other performance benefits to the contract, e.g,, 10 million if he wins MVP, 5 million for 2nd place, etc. A value that would make his salary similar to Mike Trout's. Also, we don't really know where Byron Buxton wants to play. He is from Georgia. Maybe he would accept a package from the Braves that he would not accept from the Twins. Free agency is a players opportunity to choose their employer. An opportunity that most of us could take every day.

I wish Nelson Cruz the best in pursuing a WS ring with the Rays. I will be rooting for the Rays for the remainder of the year.

I doubt that Baddoo has any grudges. He went from being 7 or 8 on the OF depth earning peanuts to being on MLB roster making MLB minimum with all the benefits of being in the majors.

Fangraphs interview https://blogs.fangraphs.com/matt-wisler-on-learning-and-developing-his-signature-slider/

An alternative way of looking at the question is have the Twins gotten value for the glut of outfielders they have in their system. The answer is clearly no. Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson could be added to this conversation as well although I don’t know if either would have resigned and Lynn had the worst season of his career with the Twins. The discussion on which players to protect has to be viewed in the context of whether or not a team is a contender. When not contending, Baddoo would have been kept over Cave. Hindsight is a wonderful lens into the world. Was Baddoo available to be put on the alternative site in 2020. That was their opportunity to evaluate Baddoo’s readiness. Aaron Whitefield was on the taxi squad. Celestino has been on 40 man roster for two years. But he looks way overmatched. What was the criteria for keeping Celestino over Baddoo. Baddoo is a currently a slightly below average defender and maybe doesn’t profile as a true center fielder.

Danny Thompson (called up to replace an injured Rod Carew). This was the year I started listening to the Twins. John Castino for his defensive hustle.

Chapman’s spin rate is also dropping. Notable in that decreasing spin rates may have played a role in the Twins most memorable win of the season. https://www.google.com/amp/s/empiresportsmedia.com/new-york-yankees/yankees-chapmans-velocity-and-spin-rate-were-both-significantly-down-in-thursdays-loss/amp/

This is the most detailed article that I have found. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rotoballer.com/spin-rate-fallers-after-mlb-substance-rule-change/893118%3famp=1 This graph is also interesting. Edited this graph was posted above by @Vanimal46 https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/this_graph_shows_how_much_mlb_rules_enforcement_has_affected_spin_rates/s1_127_35195162

There is already a rule in place that allows umpires to eject a pitcher who intentionally hits a batter. The Fangraphs chart is interesting but it is missing supporting data. Are pitchers throwing inside more than they did decades ago. Are batters standing further from the plate or are they crowding the plate.

I don’t think spending money is really the issue. Some players don’t want to come here (Marcus Semien). They have gotten poor performance from some they did pay (Donaldson, Sano, Kepler, Colome).

Entering the season the Twins were in need of a backup outfielder who could play a serviceable CF because of Buxton’s injury history. The Twins had Cave, Kepler, Celestino, Wade, and Baddoo. Wade was traded, Baddoo lost to rule 5, both Cave and Kepler were hurt, Celestino look very unprepared when given the opportunity. Both Wade and Baddoo have outplayed the others on this list. Although injuries to both Kepler and Cave could not have been predicted, they both struggled in 2020. One of Wade or Baddoo should have been retained. The Twins don’t have the luxury of making to many mistakes in personnel decisions. I get that the Twins have too many outfielders, especially if you include Rooker, Lewis, and Arraez. Maybe the best option would have been to sign a Jarrod Dyson type of player to have an a legit CF to backup Buxton. Fortunately for the Twins, Gordon looks to be decent CFer (albeit with a below average arm).

There was time many years ago when the Twins thought they had expendable catching depth as well. We should revisit the Wilson Ramos trade before we discuss trading another catcher. Keeping Mitch Garver as a 1B / catcher / DH is the best option. (This was mentioned by @stringer bellHe is also under team control for 3 more seasons.

“All three relievers have struggled mightily this year, but specifically using Dobnak and Shoemakers as relievers and leaving them out there when they were clearly struggling to get outs was interesting. “ Because the bullpen is burned up. The only way the Twins will have a respectable record at seasons ends is if every pitcher starts contributing. Yes, that means when a pitcher is expected to throw 2 or 3 innings he needs to throw 2 or 3 innings even if the results aren’t there.