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Willians Astudillo: In or out?

By waltomeal

· 3,109 views

Worst outcome 9 members have voted

  1. 1. Which of the 4 possibilities is the WORST?

    • Twins win WS with Willians Astudillo
      33%
      3
    • Twins win WS without Willians Astudillo
      0%
      0
    • Twins lose WS with Willians Astudillo
      11%
      1
    • Twins lose WS without Willians Astudillo
      55%
      5

Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

'Tis the season for playoff rosters. I've seen many proposed rosters that have more thought and logic behind them than I can provide. Nevertheless, I have gone through the requisite attempt to settle on my own preferred 25-man squad.

 

Every time I try, the most interesting Twin in the world, Willians Astudillo is left out. Much to my surprise. I find this perplexing because of how I analyze the 4 possible outcomes:

1. The Twins win with Willians Astudillo

2. The Twins win without Willians Astudillo

3. The Twins lose with Willians Astudillo

4. The Twins lose without Willians Astudillo

 

Obviously, 1 and 2 are the preferred outcomes, and of course either one of those is just fine by me.

If the Twins lose with Willians Astudillo on the roster (outcome #3) I'll be sad that they lost. But perhaps not surprised - with 10 teams, you're not entitled to the win. But I have to think that whoever Tortuga took that last roster spot from (who is #25?) probably didn't make a massive contribution to the cause.

 

But if the Twins lose WITHOUT Willians Astudillo, I think that I shall feel cheated. I can't escape the irrational feeling that there's something special / magical about this guy. Perhaps he brings variance to a team that needs variance.

 

Will I be able to prevent myself from dreaming that the curly-haired turtle wouldn't have done one or more of the following:

1. Collected 5 bases (on 3 swings) in a series-turning game

2. Hit a walk-off bomba from his knee

3. Played 3 different positions in a masterfully-managed extra-inning game

4. Run through Tony Diaz's stop sign to score from first on a madcap, helmet-shedding dash

 

What say you? Am I mad? Am I so mad that I'm sane? So sane that I'm mad?

  •

    4 Comments

    Recommended Comments

    Draft Eligible

    insagt1

    Verified Member

    The Turtle is an asset. You can take all the metrics you want and chuck them in the dumpster IMO. He brings intangibles that few players have in the game today. They have to find a spot for him....not as a starter probably, but as a very valuable sub, who can play anywhere. The other thing is we have a team of free swingers. Turtle puts bat on ball and whenever that happens, things can happen, that don't happen when you strike out. He is a fan favorite (he was enormously popular in Rochester...emphasis on enormous) and also his teammates like him.

     

    I would like to see the Twins carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players. They also will soon have to decide on Arraez and Adrianza. Giving the Turtle that 13th spot gives the team a great deal of flexibility, especially late in games. If he is left off the roster, it would be a major mistake.

  • Quote
    • Draft Eligible

    SomeGuy

    Verified Member

    If all of Adrianza, Arraez, and Gonzalez are healthy then I would leave Astudillo off the roster.  They are better fielders and hitters. Astudillo would just be a pinch hitter in this case I would assume, and he would be a decent guy to have pinch hit but....

     

    The one thing our offense doesn't have is a baserunner.  Ian Miller getting the last spot is probably my choice.  Have him pinch run for almost anyone in the 8th or 9th.  It seems more likely that we would have a slow runner at 1st or 2nd late in the game than a guy at 3rd with less than 2 outs where we need someone to make contact.

  • Quote
    • Draft Eligible

    insagt1

    Verified Member

    Miller is a luxury the Twins can't afford, given their pitching and injury situation. They need supplementary players who can do more. KC used the pinch runner player to their huge advantage few years ago...he killed the Orioles as I recall. But I think the Twins cannot afford to take up a spot for such a one dimensional player.

     

    They also have to evaluate if Arraez and or Adrianza are good enough to play regularly. Do you put someone in who may be only 50-60% over someone completely healthy? Tough decisions for Rocco for sure.

  • Quote
    • College Ball

    Bomba2026

    Verified Member

    I remember when the Twins dumped Dozier, among others.....I was so mad I refused to watch games. You gotta consider the fan appeal too.....

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