purppride1

Latest updates: Forsythe coming back to earth but still holding his own. Dozier's just not doing that great in LA. The problem with Doz is you were always waiting for the hot streak. If it came, awesome. If not, he was very mortal. The older he gets, the less likely those hot streaks are. Still feeling okay with this...

I know there are other threads going on this now, but promised I'd make periodic updates here: BABIP has come down some and he clearly doesn't have Dozier's power, but I'm still liking what I am seeing from Forsythe. Seems solid defensively with a good arm too. (great relay to 3rd yesterday) Again, seems like a solid 2-hole put the ball in play, move runners over, do the little things kinda guy. Having Doz at the top with his power was always fun, but he had so many solo homers because of it. I continue to say I'm okay with Forsythe as a stop gap next year until one of the kids can force their way up.

Bingo. Never been a huge Kepler fan. He should be better than he is. I know he's still young and could put it together, but as you indicate, he's about to start getting expensive and I'm just not convinced he is worth it. Not married to CarGo as the replacement, just a guy I like. I totally get the Coors effect, just nobody outside of Harper on that list that blows me away. BTW... very important point for those who think we should be able to woo a Machado or Harper type... We can offer a player more than the Yankees, Dodgers, etc, but once that player's agents starts figuring out the marketing and merchandising deals they can land in those big cities, relative to what they can get here, we may still fall short. There's nothing ownership can do for that other than overpay so much that they offset those deals too, but then they just move the bar for the next guy and we're stuck in the same rut. I've seen so many anti-Pohlad posts on here and I don't necessarily disagree with some of them, but I think it's overly simplistic to blame the owners for not landing stars who have free will to make their own decisions and will consider factors beyond just the team's offer. By all accounts, the Twins were active last offseason. I'm hopeful they will be active this offseason. Just don't assume that the ones we miss on are because ownership was cheap. Let's just hope they land a few good ones...

Fans in every market are saying the exact same thing.

Very fair question. I'd love some combination of Escobar (slide Sano to 1st), Carlos Gonzalez (trade Kepler) and another good arm. Plus some bullpen help but that always tends to work itself out.

I agree 100%. Best case scenario is Gordon forcing his way in, but based on his AAA performance so far it's far from a sure thing... I don't think giving a guy like Murphy assurance the job is his in 2019 is the problem. It's 2020 and 2021 that may be more up in the air. Especially if Lewis keeps progressing. Any MI the Twins pursue who wants a multi-year deal will probably look at this team as a less-than-ideal scenario just because of what's coming. Unless they miraculously get Machado to play SS of course, and slide Polanco to 2B, then this is settled and Gordon probably becomes trade bait, but EVERY TEAM will make a run at Machado, the chances that happens are so remote...

Updated: We all know the BABIP is still bizarre, but I like the second view below. Look at the distribution across the field. You can't shift this guy...he uses the whole field. Also surprised he has a lower soft contact rate than Doz. Still a small sample size, but double the sample from when I started the post and Forsythe's numbers are actually better now.

Y'all are coming around! As I said in my post last week, I prefer option 1 if you can get any kind of a prospect with upside. At this point I think that only happens if a strong playoff team loses their 2B to injury and is desperate. If that doesn't happen, I love the idea of a 1 year, prove-it deal towards the end of the season, if he doesn't cool way off. Several reasons: Table setter - he doesn't have Dozier's power, but if he can get on regularly like this (won't stay this high, I know, but he is showing good, professional at-bats, using all fields, not just getting lucky) having him at the top of the order is nice. Mauer is likely gone next year. MAYBE Buxton is back, but I doubt they have him at the top of the order early. Forsythe is a solid 2-hole hitter in next year's lineup. Insurance - There's no way Gordon performs well enough down the stretch here to write him in for 2019. Something has been exposed in AAA that he needs to figure out. I still love him and see him as a long-term fixture, but I think he HAS to go back to AAA next year and at least have a couple solid months before he comes up. You can't bank on that, so you need a stop-gap vet. A guy like Murphy isn't going go come here knowing he will get bounced around unless we dramatically overpay him. Someone like Forsythe makes more sense as insurance. We saw what happened this year when we banked on Sano, Buxton and Polanco being keys to the team in 2018. Young players are volatile.Roster Flexibility - As has been mentioned in the other thread, if Gordon DOES figure it out and take over at 2nd, you still have tons of flexibility with Forsythe. FA Flexibility - The key to everything Falvine has done from a fan's perspective is what do they do this offseason? People aren't excited about a rebuild, but if they spend the money with a good FA class, it will pay off. (I know...loading up the system was good too, just focusing on the fact this doesn't have to mean long-term "rebuild"). They will have plenty of payroll flexibility, they SHOULD be active, but they can't sign everyone. Getting a value filler at 2B to bridge the gap to Gordon could help them overpay for someone at another position (or three).Old School - this is more personal preference, but I love that Forsythe is looking like your old school middle infielder. Like a Greg Gagne type. Not special, but solid player you can count on most days. Of course, there's always the chance he regresses to his LAD form, but there's enough in his history from Tampa to think this could be sustainable (at a more reasonable level of course) and maybe LA just wasn't a good fit for him. Time will tell...

Thanks! Knew there was a better way to do it, but just did something quick and dirty on my lunch break...

Like I said, first preference would be that he stays hot enough that we can find a taker late in August when his remaining salary is even lower for another upside chip. That said, while he'll never be face-of-the team material, and it's admittedly a small sample size so far, I've seen weirder stuff. He was a solid player in Tampa, maybe LA just wasn't a good fit for the guy... (a la Lynn here) Fully expect him to fade... but fun to watch for now...

Never thought this would be necessary, but I'm going to post periodic updates comparing the two the rest of the year. Forsythe doesn't have Dozier's power, but he hasn't exactly been a waste of a roster spot since he got here, which I think most of us expected from him. If Forsythe can even remotely maintain this level of production (obviously the .484 BABIP won't last), I think 1.) Twins have to try to shop him before the deadline, just in case someone throws something our way and 2.) if he sticks around, they have to consider bringing him back next year on a team friendly deal to bridge the gap until Gordon figures things out and shows he is ready for The Show. Am I crazy here?

Mauer coming off the books will drive any team's payroll down! Add in dumping a few obviously bad contracts and you're gonna see a drop. They positioned themselves to be able to retain their own talents (there was an assumption Sano and Buxton would progress and move closer to arbitration years that could be bought out with a team friendly contract like Dozier had), as well as target pieces to add next offseason. If Sano and Buxton do what they were supposed to do this year, we aren't selling, and nobody is complaining about payroll. Hopefully they get it together and both finish strong this year. If so, F/L can use flexibility to plug some holes, maybe make a run at a couple of the better FAs (by all accounts they made legit offers to some of the top FAs this year, just didn't get them), and still have some room to be buyers at the deadline next year if we have a better start than we did this season. Now...if they do nothing this offseason, we can certainly talk more about this... but these guys came from winning organizations and seem to want to win here. Let's not label them ownership patsies just yet...

Sano recalled but likely won’t make it tonight. Just as well with Sale pitching.

May work out eventually (like Escobar did) but nothing here I love. Definitely some potential but still... meh. I thought we would be trading for near-term assets... that’s what we were told. Stepping back, still not bad for a utility guy. If Sano returns to form now and Polanco doesn’t screw up again, we are fine. Just hate knowing any benefit from this deal is years away...

A year ago we would have been happy to get three baseballs for Escobar. Let's wait and see the names before throwing our hands up in disgust. Low but rising prospects are often better than highly rated but plateauing prospects.