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Thoughts from The Catch

A blog by Andrew Luedtke in Twins Daily

  • Entries

    18

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    86

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    51,754

About this blog

A no nonsense blog focusing on providing only relevant information for Twins fans.

Entries in this blog

News

5 Reasons Christian Vázquez is a GREAT Fit for the Twins

Earlier today the Minnesota Twins crossed a major offseason to-do off their list by signing catcher Christian Vázquez to a 3 year/$30M deal. Since 2020, Vázquez has caught the 5th most games in MLB and was worth 1.6 fWAR in 2022. Important considering Ryan Jeffers' health concerns. Prior to the signing, the Twins were projected to generate the 5th worst fWAR out of the catcher position. Now, they project to be around league average (15th) with the duo of Vázquez (2.0 projected fWAR) and Jef

2021 Twins Prediction: Box of Chocolates

When looking at the 2021 Minnesota Twins it is pretty easy to look around the diamond and see positives and negatives for nearly every player. Take Byron Buxton for example. On one side you have a game changing defender who has shown power over the last two years. If things break right, he could be in the MVP conversation. On the other side, you have a guy who is prone to injury and tends to go into extended slumps at the plate.   Which player are the Twins going to get in 2021?   Now take tha

Does the Simmons Move Hint at Which SP the Twins Could Target?

Twins fans were rightfully excited about acquring slick fielding SS Andrelton Simmons last night.   If you want to spend a fun 10 mintues, check out his defensive highlight reel .  There's no doubt that grabbing the best defensive SS since Ozzie Smith will upgrade the Twins roster.   Combine Simmons with already strong defenders in Buxton, Donaldson, Jeffers, and Kepler, you can see how quickly the mind would shift to "well, what does this mean for their pitching?".   In my opinion, this means

Patching Holes: How the Twins can still fix their roster (DH Edition)

It’s no secret that the Twins are keen on bringing back Nelson Cruz. But for now, let’s focus on the moves the team could make that would best maximize both their roster and ability to spend on other free agents.   This blog is part of a collection of other blogs in the "Patching Holes" series. Also check out my thoughts on the SS/Utility, Starting Pitching, and Reliever positions.   Currently, the Twins DH spot is projected to be a revolving door of players led by Alex Kirilloff and Brent Rooke

Patching Holes: How the Twins can still fix their roster (SS/Utility Edition)

It was quite impressive how inept the Twins middle infield was as a whole offensively in 2020. Twins 2B combined to produce a .708 OPS while Twins SS combined for an even worse, .616 OPS. The majority of the at bats at these spots went to Arraez, Polanco, Gonzalez, and Adrianza.   Polanco and Arraez were never fully healthy and there is concern for both of them entering this season. For this reason, it makes sense that even after an All-Star game appearance in 2019 for Polanco, the Twins are rum

Patching Holes: How the Twins can still fix their roster (RP Edition)

It’s no surprise that the Twins have to address their bullpen after the departures of May, Romo, Clippard, and Wisler. So far all they have to show for it is Robles.   This blog is part of a collection of other blogs in the "Patching Holes" series. Also check out my thoughts on the SS/Utility, Starting Pitching, and DH positions.   Currently, the Twins RP group ranks 11th in MLB. A far fall from their #2 ranking as a core in 2020. There is work to be done.   Here is how the Twins RP group projec

Patching Holes: How the Twins can still fix their roster (SP Edition)

Major League Baseball is no longer played with only 5 starting pitchers, and it hasn’t been for awhile. The importance of depth becomes crucial here as teams know that during a season, they will have to use 8, 9, 10+ starters in a given season.   Anyone else remember when the 2017 Twins used 16 different starters?   With departures of Odorizzi, Hill, and Bailey, the Twins have thus far replaced Hill/Bailey with J.A. Happ. It still feels like they need to add one more SP. I think prospects like D

Patching Holes: How the Twins can still fix their roster

As we approach the report date for Spring Training, it’s clear there are some large question marks on the Twins roster. The patience for many Twins fans is growing thin while they wait for some news, any news, to break on social media.   Will it be re-signing Nelson Cruz? A trade for Sonny Gray or *cough* Kris Bryant?   Whatever it is, one thing is certain - moves are coming…     It’s clear that the White Sox have made strides in improving their team this offseason. The National baseball media

5 "Under the Radar" Free Agent Utility Player Targets

In my follow-up to the 5 “Under the Radar” Free Agent Pitching Targets blog, I thought it would be fitting to also describe a few key free agent utility players that should come at a bargain.   One of the top priorities of the Twins offseason is to find replacements for utilitymen, Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza - both now free agents.   In 2020, Marwin and Ehire combined to produce .1 fWAR while costing just north of $10.5M in salary, if it were a normal 162 game season.   Injuries to the T

5 "Under the Radar" Free Agent Pitching Targets

Today is the official first day of the offseason! Annnnd nobody knows what to expect. What we almost assuredly can count on is that the Twins payroll will be reduced from what it was in 2020. With that in mind, the front office will have to be smarter about how they spend their money. Here are a few “under the radar” pitching signings that could prove valuable in 2021.   The way I am looking at this is that the Twins have at least one spot open in their rotation. Ideally, I would like to see the

Comparing the 1927 Yankees Lineup to the 2020 Twins

We’ve done it, Twins fans. We’ve officially made it to Spring Training! Baseball games at Target Field will be played before we know it.   As the team assembles in Ft. Myers, some of the burning questions that will assuredly be asked of Rocco Baldelli are “Who will be hitting leadoff?” or “What will the batting order be?”   It’s a fun exercise as a fan because there really seems to be no wrong answer with this team. If Rocco wanted to, he could draw names out of a hat and the 2020 Twins would sc

Why Collin McHugh is a Fit for the 2020 Twins

In his fourth offseason at the head of the Minnesota Twins, there are two words Derek Falvey wishes he could take back, "Impact Pitching".   It's all the casual Twins fan has been talking about this offseason, up until the Josh Donaldson signing, of course.   The fact of the matter is that the Twins were agressive in pursuing their "Plan A" options for the offseason in free agents Ryu, Bumgarner, and Wheeler. It just didn't work out, mostly because of forces outside of their control.   To me, th

What History Tells Us About Third Basemen Moving to First Base

Last week I wrote a blog titled 127 Feet where I tried to answer the question "Should Miguel Sano play 1B or 3B in 2020?". Well, that question has been answered in a BIG way by the Twins front office with the news of Josh Donaldson signing with the Twins.   So, I am repurposing some of the points I made in a prior blog to show the history of slugging, right handed 3B, transitioning to 1B.   My focus will be on Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, and Ryan Zimmerman.   I will be eval

127 Feet: Should Miguel Sano Play 3B or 1B in 2020?

127 feet, 3 3/8 inches - the distance between third base and first base. In other words, the distance Miguel Sano might be asked to move this season.   Even the casual Twins fan following the 2020 offseason knows that the front office is in talks with free agent 3B, Josh Donaldson. And before that, there were reports at the beginning of November the Twins were interested in Todd Frazier, also a free agent 3B option. It was assumed, and then reported on, that if the Twins were to acquire a 3B, th

Foot, Meet Throat: A 2020 Offseason Blueprint

In January 2019, Thad Levine answered a question at Twins Fest:   "The best time to acquire players of that magnitude is when your window to win is wide open, not when you got your fingers underneath the window and you're trying to jam the window open. I want to do it when we're projected to win the Central and we're ready to put our foot on someone's throat".     After a fantastic 2019 season ending in a disappointing fashion, Derek Falvey addressed the media and is quoted as saying "We're goin

We should Be Happy Darvish Signed Elsewhere

Now that we Twins fans have had a few days to take in (and get over) the fact that Yu Darvish signed with the Cubs we can start thanking the Falvey and Levine brain-trust for saving the Pohlad dollars. It’s easy to say “Darvish was never going to come here” or “the Pohlads were never going to cough up what it takes to sign a real star” but let’s think about this for a moment… Not signing Darvish was the smart move. C.C. Sabathia could be a good comparison to look at as a predictor for what to ex

To Trade or not to Trade? That is the Question

As we sit here the night before the first Pitchers and Catchers workout for the Minnesota Twins, the starting rotation is at best...uh, incomplete? Ervin Santana's surprising injury news last week left the Twins with basically only two "locks" to break camp at the end of March. Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson. As it stands, the last three spots will have to come from a combination of Adalberto Meija, Phil Hughes, Aaron Slegers, Dietrich Enns, Stephen Gonsalves, and Fernando Romero. The latter two h

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