Minny505

Unless this changed in the past couple days, he is still on the Red Sox roster and cheering from the dugout. And you are correct that he is ineligible to play on the playoffs as he was waived and acquired on the 3rd of September. Angels kind of did him dirty. For the good of the player (which can help with FA signings), they should have kept him or waived him a few days earlier.

If it is for a one-year or even a sub-$20mil multiyear deal, this would be the best outcome. There is enough data and case studies out there now that we know the home/road splits for Rockies batters mean nothing when they put on a new uni. Almost every hitter, after leaving, plays to their cumulative numbers. Vacillating between 5000 feet and 500 feet every few days makes adjusting to pitch movement almost impossible. You can dig into the data and see that every consecutive game that is played at home or on the road sees offensive numbers of Rockies batters improve. On the flip side, most hitters from visiting teams do not see much of an increase in OPS in Colorado because of the short adjustment period. This has lead to the Rockies having a top 5 home record in MLB over the last half dozen years despite having a losing record overall.

@TopGunn#22, I love you fella. Thank you for taking my comment in the spirit it was intended. I'm so used to internet names freaking out at suggesting an opposing viewpoint. I am ambivalent to trading vs signing Buxton. It's like voting between a Democrat or a Republican. The path that we take is not likely to change the overall trajectory of the institution, but I certainly have the path that would bring me more temporary happiness, even if the end result is worse. Again, thank you for being a good human being behind your keyboard.

One thing that seems to be more than a strategy, but really an edict: don't acquire SP after their 31st birthday. The only exception to this rule on either roster is Garrett Richards, who was quickly moved to the pen once June 2nd rolled around. Other than Richards, every SP was acquired before they turned 31. Some guys are older, such as Johnny Cueto and Chris Sale, but they were all acquired prior to their 31st birthday. Some were barrel scraper acquisitions, such as Martin Perez and Anthony DiSclefani, some were superstars, such as Cueto and Sale, and some were mid-level SP such as Kevin Gaussman and Nathan Eovaldi. This Twins FO has acquired three SP that were under 31, Odo, Pineda, and Martin Perez. I would argue that two of those three have been the best SP acquisitions this FO has made to date. This seems like an emulatable and repeatable strategy. Let's see if Falvine thinks so too.

I find it difficult to believe that you read the article that @Tom Froemming wrote, then come out of the gate firing with SIGN BUXTON! That is the complete opposite of the strategy the Red Sox employed with their big star to get them big into WS contention. If we are to learn anything about how the Red Sox (the Giants have not been faced with this dilemma recently) would approach the Buxton situation for the betterment of their teams competitiveness, it would be to trade Buxton this offseason. That is a big bright neon lights kinda obvious, if you think emulating the Red Sox is a good idea. Yes, it's going to be extremely unpopular, but if the Twins can acquire a package in return for Buxton that is similar to what the Sox got for Betts, it will make the Twins a more competitive team than keeping him. It would also bum me out until the Twins started winning again, but if 2023 sees a dramatic turnaround, it's worth it. Also, neither of these teams has any high end bullpen talent. They both basically have no strengths, but also no weaknesses, when it comes to the pen. Every guy falls somewhere between 3.20 and 4.20 ERA talent. So another lesson is to sign more Robles-like guys and less Hendricks-like guys. Sorry to rag on you, but you essentially say "screw it" to the Red Sox/Giants strategy to team building and I'd rather use this thread to discuss what some common, obvious strategies are that these two teams used to build contenders. It's not that I disagree with you, but it seems to miss the point of the original article.

The 10th inning total team meltdown against the A's is number 1 with a bullet. I think this one has to be number 2. That was a tough first series watching Baddoo rip up Twins pitching and playing good D. The other 3 Colome blown saves in April round out the top 5 for me. I recall the Astudillo-Mercedes moment with fondness. That was an actual fun moment in a season of woe. Also, watching Simmons play defense for a season was immensely enjoyable. So many subtle things that he does that very few other shortstops do. He may not have the physical skills to be a perennial gold glove winner, but his awareness on the field will keep him in perennial contention for a few more years. It's a treat to watch.

4 of those 5 teams were in the Top 10 in average velo. It's not throwing a high quantity of fastballs that matters. It's throwing high velo when you do throw fastballs that matters. High velo on the fastball means high velo on most breaking pitches. High velo on those breaking pitches means harder to barrel or even swing-and-miss.

Adding Celestino to this list makes the Twins' 2023 season look very bullish...and 2022 rough but at least exciting.

I would estimate that if the AL was just one big division, the White Sox would have finished 8th. They would have a hard time finishing above .500. Maybe they surprise and finish in 6th place. I really can't place them higher than that. They will be better the next couple years though. Every young team needs these seasons as they climb the ladder.

There's a good chance Simmons will be one of the three finalists for the AL Gold Glove in 2021. He won't win it, but being a finalist in an age where metrics are used instead of the eye test means he was pretty rad on defense. I still think as a backup, short-side platoon SS, he would be an asset. His numbers against LHP are quite respectable, and with the glove, would make him a valuable asset when used correctly. I just think he's going to want to start somewhere.

It's not that velo is the end-all, but it allows for a much larger margin of error when pitching. This is why it is important.

Unquestionably. You don't drop 4/5 starters with that kind of owner friendly contract.

The Twins need a backup/platoon RHB corner OF. Would you rather keep Garlick or Rooker to fill that roll? I think I'd prefer Rooker, but I could be swayed. That said, I'm not dropping both of them with no one on the roster to fill the role. I want Celestino getting daily reps in St. Paul, on call to fill a starter's role when when someone gets injured. He shouldn't be a bench player at this point.

Recency Bias is a powerful drug. Not sure if you realize this, but Dobnak is just a few months older than Bailey Ober. Comparing their first 20 starts, Dobnak was a superior pitcher and at a younger age. I do think Ober will have the better MLB career going forward, but I would also say it's more of a coin flip than most of the Twins Daily community gives Dobnak credit for.

@Danchat, I pretty much agree with all of this. I'd want to just leave a couple spots open for signings, so I'd leave off Garlick and Smeltzer. But if I were doing a full 40 from this list alone, I would be completely simpatico.