Twins33

I completely get that and normally I absolutely agree but I still think Thorpe is a starter. He’s better as a starter than Perkins or Hendriks ever were. Hendriks is obviously not a lefty but those were two “should have always been relievers” that I could think of off the top of my head. My worry is they give up on starting (I can’t say too soon because he’s been starting awhile now) and he becomes some other teams 3rd or 4th starter. I’d much rather have a 3rd starter than a reliever. Maybe I am wrong. I probably am. And I know that scenario is probably so rare and if they did switch him right now to a RP I believe he would succeed and would never get to another team anyway but I just don’t think they can give up on it yet. There is still plenty of time to make him a permanent RP even after this one last shot, if they give it to him. They may not have options left on him after this year if he stays down long enough but I think he’d have the skills to pick up relief very fast so I don’t worry about losing him in the way you mentioned as long as they give him a chance which they didn’t with Hendriks.

Smeltzer was optioned 4-5 days before AK.

I prefer Thorpe or Dobnak starting over Shoemaker. Obviously Thorpe isn’t happening now but Dobnak not happening either isn’t great. Hopefully my gut is wrong about Shoemaker.

I am actually worried about the bullpen and it’s my only worry. I don’t know if I really have a reason why but I’m worried. I trust the top three guys and maybe Alcala but not the rest. Just a gut feeling that I hope I am wrong about. I didn’t feel this way about the 2019 or 2020 BP so hopefully that’s not a sign. Having someone like Thorpe, Dobnak or Law (if he keeps this up) would certainly go a long way of easing my uneasy feeling.

Broxton has been a pleasant surprise for me in terms of plate discipline so far. I hope he can keep it up in AAA because I’m not a fan of Cave in CF ever.

I wish I could like this more than once because it’s everything I’ve been thinking and sometimes saying the whole offseason. Some people aren’t okay with “screwing” AK but are more than happy to do it to Rooker. I believe Kirilloff will be the better player in the long run. I like Kirilloff better in general but that hasn’t stopped me from being on the Rooker train for quite some time. If clarification is needed screwing is in quotes because I don’t think that’s what they’re doing, AK does not seem ready based on 2019 (injury didn’t help) and spring training.

I’ve been okay with Kepler leading off as he usually leads the team in BB% (or at least top 3) but the way he looks this spring isn’t great... if he doesn’t pick it up, I lean Polanco. I’m still a fan of Kep but I expected him to be better than he is based on BB and K percentages.

That was what was reported a few weeks ago but last week that changed. https://www.startribune.com/lewis-thorpe-good-enough-for-twins-to-keep-but-it-might-not-be-feasible/600031630/

My guess is the poster believes that it would mean the Twins would rather have Kirilloff with the Twins and getting real AB’s rather than stuck at an alternate site (still St Paul) not playing real games. I’m still team Rooker, though I really like both players.

These are my thoughts too and I’m glad I wasn’t the only one thinking it. Rooker has absolutely nothing to prove in the minors anymore. It is my belief that Kirilloff wouldn’t have been called up if Rooker never got injured. He needs to be with the Twins or traded because his bat is ready and he’s already 26. I really like Kirilloff, he’s my number one prospect but I think he could use more time in the minors. I don’t think he needs a whole year down there but half a year wouldn’t be too bad. He “struggled” a bit a few years ago because of a wrist injury and I’d like to see him go back to killing it. And this has nothing to do with service time for me. I would pick Rooker over Kirilloff right now service time or not. That extra year is just a bonus on top. Unless Rooker looks completely clueless in ST, he deserves the job. Kirilloff can be very close by in St Paul if injury strikes or someone is playing bad.

I split it into three words Kir-ill-off (Kir is a cocktail)

I did not want the Twins to draft Cavaco because of his weak hit tool. I wanted Stott who was drafted right after so if Cavaco ever turns out to be anything I’ll be glad but my expectations are practically zero. If I were making a top prospects list he’d make it to 15 at best..probably closer to 20. Obviously I hope I am very wrong.

I’m still very torn on this. I am of the belief that the Twins need another SP and 1-2 relievers. I love Cruz as well. I don’t believe they will sign 3 players if one is Cruz. It will likely be Cruz and a reliever if they go the Cruz route. if I think about it logically, Cruz would probably provide a bigger impact to the team than any SP they would sign so I guess I lean that way...

They would have a bigger sample size if they could actually win. in the 18 losses, SP ERA is 5.33 and the team has averaged 2.6 runs/game in that entire time Falvey/Levine time its been 4.70 SP ERA and averaged 2.17 runs/game Obviously, the SP pitcher ERA is terrible and needs to greatly improve, but you’ll never get far in the playoffs if the best you can do is 2 runs per game. The Twins SP will never allow 1 or fewer in every single playoff game.

The physical. Sometimes they are done right away and sometimes not. Happ’s was done the next day and announced as official two days after it was first reported. Other times the player isn’t available right away to do one. Another option is there was an issue with his physical but that doesn’t happen a lot.

I agree with the person above me. Unless the payroll is going to remain the same as it was which is 100 percent unlikely, it seems impossible to keep Cruz if you plan to make significant upgrades in the pitching department (SP and BP). I would prioritize pitching over everything even though the offense continues to disappoint in the playoffs. Rosario needs to be traded or let go. The only other external add that may be needed is the utility. They may need a vet for that and someone who can play SS. I think only Gordon is ready in the minors unless I’m forgetting someone. I wouldn’t hate giving it to Gordon but he lost a lot of time due to Covid so I’m unsure about him.

I’m on the fence. I’m leaning towards keep but I’m not all the way there. I really like him and loved the signing. In September and in the playoffs I remember some meatballs he would normally crush, being missed. Not sure if it was because of his knee, a decline in the bat or just a random slump. I guess that’s what they’ll have to weigh.

Wes Johnson, Levine, Falvey: Clearly the pitching has improved greatly from their pitch to contact days. Taking a gamble on Wes has so far paid off. I’ve liked the FO drafting bats over pitchers. That’s what I would do if I were running it (though not in every case, BPA matters). I wanted pitching in 2017 (Wright/Gore) and 2020 and in 2019 I wanted a different SS. As long as they trade for pitching or sign FA’s... That brings me to Maeda who I absolutely wanted especially for only Graterol. I’ve been thinking Graterol is a reliever only for several years and was going to continue that until he proved otherwise and it seems like he was never going to prove otherwise. I get having a good/great BP is important, but I would always ALWAYS trade a reliever for a number three or better starter. Good starters are way harder to find than relievers especially for the Twins. The fact that Maeda has been even better than I expected, and I had pretty high expectations, makes it even better. Cruz: I used to be in the camp of “don’t clog up a spot with a guy who can’t play defense, even the DH spot.” It made sense to me to give a good regular some rest but not a full day of rest to keep his bat in. Then when the Twins signed Cruz I saw a graphic (May have been MLB Network) that showed the Twins DH stats within the last so many years vs Cruz’s stats in the same time frame. The Twins DH production was absolutely pathetic. Yes, comparing it to Cruz was probably a little unfair as he’s been a stud for years but maaaaan it was bad. I will never think like that again. Always have a consistent great bat at DH even if it means he doesn’t play defense.

I’ve had the same thoughts. Garver used to do something similar (among other things) and would lose strikes for the pitchers and then they got him to mostly stop doing it. With Jeffers it seems to be the opposite

The Twins don’t have one, because I believe there are only 4-5 of them in all of baseball. Maeda is the Twins best starter and it’s not even close.

He did the same the season before. It’s more Eddie related than injury related.

Looks like it. Looks like they replaced it with more all you can eat days. https://www.mlb.com/twins/tickets/specials/daily-specials

They’re thinking he may miss all of spring training because of it. http://www.startribune.com/twins-pitcher-fernando-romero-could-miss-spring-training/568110592/

Would assume he’s giving him the benefit of the doubt. Wrist injuries tend to linger even when mild, especially impacts power numbers.

Im with you on the stats. Also Lewis strained his oblique last spring training which always seems to take a long time to recover from even when it’s only “mild.” Not sure if it impacted his 2019 stats. Don’t think he ever complained about it during the season, which doesn’t mean it didn’t bother him. No way to know for sure.