jorgenswest

I think he is more valuable as a starter and would keep that door open. It is true that like Varland he may need to go to the bullpen. Varland made that conversion at age 27. Rojas is 23.

How would Jackson Flora do in a major league bullpen? The White Sox did it with Chris Sale after drafting him with the 13th pick in 2010. It didn’t stop Sale from being an elite starter.

I am sure you are correct and that reading the ball off the same side makes the transition more likely for success. Left field might be the spot longer term if his bat works.

A 127 wRC+ is not thriving. It doesn’t even suggest an average major league hitter. Among players with 150 or more PAs Sabato ranks 57th. It would be unwise to put him on the 40.

I would guess he doesn’t have a trade market. He did get a return in 2023 when traded during the season but to get a good prospect his team also had to take on a bad two year contract on a player they immediately released. The return was only cash in 2024 but he had a much larger contract at the time. In 2024 he had a similar very good month leading into the trade but I doubt teams think that kind of sample has any meaning. The contract is smaller now so that helps.

I think if a team is on the fringe of the wild card it makes a difference. It might even help to add a minor piece in a reliever to show that they aren’t going to sell off for whatever they can get. The challenge with Jeffers is there hasn’t been a market for catchers at the deadline. Catchers don’t play everyday. Catchers need to learn a pitching staff. Teams are content enough with a defense first catcher that knows their pitching staff to look elsewhere for upgrades. We need someone to join the Yankees or they need to believe the Twins will walk away from a sub par offer.

You absolutely want the front office to say they are looking to add. You want them to say they aren’t looking to trade Buxton or Larnach or Ryan or Jeffers. For the Jeffers trade to work they need two teams seriously competing in the trade market. If the Yankees are the only team serious about Jeffers then they need to believe the Twins are willing to keep him and make a qualifying offer.

I would trade Larnach also but I don’t think it has been the Brewers model. I don’t see Brewer trades (checked back to 2021) of position players in their last few years of service time. The Rays traded Arozarena and received two prospects two years ago. Brody Hopkins was a 45+ at the time and has been in a few recent top 100. He is struggling with command this year in his first shot in AAA. They recently moved him to the bullpen. Aiden Smith was a 40 in A ball at the time. He is currently struggling in high A. Arozarena had a much longer track record of success going into that trade at age 29 but maybe the Twins can get something for that will eventually help. I wouldn’t trade him for much less than the Rays received for Arozarena.

I think they sent down Rojas because they didn’t let him rehab in the minors. He made one rehab appearance. Abel was supposed to be the call up on Sunday and he had a set back so they shifted to Rojas. Now he has to work on stretching out and finding his command against the Dodger line up. Stretching Rojas out to be a starter is a good idea. It is one they should have had before ending his rehab prematurely. They could have called up Voth or Funderburk or Raya to begin with.

April was a rough month for Raya. 12 strikeouts and 10 walks. Since then he has been very good with 24 strikeouts and 2 walks. His last walk was May 15.

I am not sure what they would have done differently. The Ryan injury was unexpected. Rojas had only one rehab appearance and wasn’t stretched out. They needed to bring up a pitcher who could throw some length that was also rested. How many choices did they have? Who would you have used instead of Voth?

To me this year’s team is a competitive one for me thus far. I would not classify it as a contender. A competitive team can find their way to the playoffs and have success. A contender should be expected to have some playoff success. The Guardians find a way to be a competitive team every year. The Dodgers find a way to contend every year.

Rojas came up because Abel had a set back. Rojas did not get stretched out in his one game rehab. Now he will be rehabbing in the majors. The Dodgers are a difficult team in any circumstance but it is hard to imagine this start being successful.

How tall was Mookie Betts when he was drafted?

Would he qualify for a fourth option based on his loss of time due to injuries? I think the 2022 season or possibly this season could make him eligible. Maybe @Seth Stohs can help.