Article: Contemplating A Platoon Advantage

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Giving up on Oswaldo Arcia in March of 2016 is the kind of thing that has a high probability of biting the team in the ass... Not to the level of David Ortiz - that's extremely rare - but Oswaldo could easily turn into an .800 OPS guy if he sorts out a few relatively minor issues (which seem to approach-related, not any kind of physical deficiency).

 

He should get at least 100 PAs before the team considers cutting bait with him permanently.

Generally agreed.  Quentin and Sweeney can't even opt out of their minor league contracts until June 1, as I understand, so there is no real imperative to add them to the roster for opening day.  So we can easily afford another chance for Arcia.

 

That said, Arcia is looking more and more like a bust every day.  It happens sometimes.  He obviously didn't have the past MLB success, but a lot of people here made a statement similar to yours about Joe Benson a few years ago.  Arcia is closer to Benson circa 2013 right now than he is to Ortiz circa 2002-2003.

 

Arcia was already around replacement level even with his early career power.  If Arcia's power is gone (and it largely was in 2015, .107 ISO in MLB, .090 in the second half at AAA, .000 so far this spring), that's a pretty bad player.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Nope, Lefsa.  It was like a soft taco shell. Not neccesarily gross, but when you are told you need to fill up on it....the 10th one is pretty gross

But you could at least put butter on it, right?

 

Was lutefisk offered at the same buffet?  I'd check myself, but "norwegian-food-reference.com" seems to be down right now...

[tobi0040]

 

But you could at least put butter on it, right?

 

Was lutefisk offered at the same buffet?  I'd check myself, but "norwegian-food-reference.com" seems to be down right now...

 

The site was likely shut down due to no traffic.

 

I can't remember.  I just remember we all wanted to go to a country known for good food.  Like Italy, China, etc.  Nope, we ended up at the Norweigan buffett because it was all you can eat.  Smelled like fish, nobody in there, a general bad experience.

 

I am bringing my family down to Disney next Friday.  A photo op will be had if Norway is still there.  It has been a punch line for 22 years.  Where should we eat?  The Norweigan buffet

Edited March 16, 2016 by tobi0040

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Generally agreed.  Quentin and Sweeney can't even opt out of their minor league contracts until June 1, as I understand, so there is no real imperative to add them to the roster for opening day.  So we can easily afford another chance for Arcia.

 

That said, Arcia is looking more and more like a bust every day.  It happens sometimes.  He obviously didn't have the past MLB success, but a lot of people here made a statement similar to yours about Joe Benson a few years ago.  Arcia is closer to Benson circa 2013 right now than he is to Ortiz circa 2002-2003.

 

Arcia was already around replacement level even with his early career power.  If Arcia's power is gone (and it largely was in 2015, .107 ISO in MLB, .090 in the second half at AAA, .000 so far this spring), that's a pretty bad player.

Absolutely, which is why I wouldn't give him a long leash, just one more opportunity to make good on his talent.

 

To me, the difference between Arcia and Benson is that Arcia smacked around MLB pitching for quite some time while Benson stumbled before he even reached the majors. Yeah, Arcia's offense was offset by his horrible defense but still, a bench bat/spot starter with his potential has value to a contending team.

 

Like I said earlier, I'd shoot for 100 plate appearances and then reevaluate (and that evaluation wouldn't be entirely based on numbers, it'd be more about his approach and attitude).

[alarp33]

 

 

Arcia was already around replacement level even with his early career power.  If Arcia's power is gone (and it largely was in 2015, .107 ISO in MLB, .090 in the second half at AAA, .000 so far this spring), that's a pretty bad player.

 

He was 22+23 years old, and his being "replacement level" had a lot to do with terrible defense... it's his bat that is worth keeping around.  

2 weeks of Spring training results are meaningless.  

 

Considering this roster is largely void of Left handed hitters, especially power options... it would be absurd to give up on him right now.  I would give him the entire season before deciding whether he's worth keeping around.  

[tobi0040]

 

Absolutely, which is why I wouldn't give him a long leash, just one more opportunity to make good on his talent.

 

To me, the difference between Arcia and Benson is that Arcia smacked around MLB pitching for quite some time while Benson stumbled before he even reached the majors. Yeah, Arcia's offense was offset by his horrible defense but still, a bench bat/spot starter with his potential has value to a contending team.

 

Like I said earlier, I'd shoot for 100 plate appearances and then reevaluate (and that evaluation wouldn't be entirely based on numbers, it'd be more about his approach and attitude).

 

But if he can sniff an .800 OPS against righties (career average), who else will accomplish that at the DH position?  With the defensive flexibility on our roster and the fact that he is making peanuts still, I would like to see someone put up those numbers before cutting him loose.

Edited March 16, 2016 by tobi0040

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

But if he can sniff an .800 OPS against righties (career average), who else will accomplish that at the DH position?  With the defensive flexibility on our roster and the fact that he is making peanuts still, I would like to see someone put up those numbers before cutting him loose.

If he's hitting RHP anywhere near .800, that's a no-brainer. You keep that guy, especially given the makeup of the current Twins roster.

 

I'm worried he might struggle to hit .700, not .800. He has looked various shades of terrible for quite some time now.

[tobi0040]

 

If he's hitting RHP anywhere near .800, that's a no-brainer. You keep that guy, especially given the makeup of the current Twins roster.

 

I'm worried he might struggle to hit .700, not .800. He has looked various shades of terrible for quite some time now.

 

Even if he hits righties at a .750 clip, Park is nowhere near a lock to do that.  He struck out over 30% of the time against righties last year in Korea (with about half the BB rate)

[DrNeau]

 

The guy who posted an OPS+ of 100 at age 22, and 108 at age 23? And has hit 36 major league home runs before his 25th birthday, even with a lost season in there?

 

Yes. The complete disaster that was 2015 aside, I do not disagree that he has been talented at the plate. In fact, I really found his swagger and flair for the dramatic to be quite refreshing. At the same time, I can not stand when he "hot dogs" simple plays.

 

My gripes:

* Not knowing how many outs there are

* Not running out pop flies & grounders after batting a ball in play

* Not making a full effort toward batted balls hit to him while on defense

 

One play - which quantifies my point: http://m.mlb.com/video/v81918783/minkc-arcia-drops-moustakas-fly-ball-in-the-6th/?query=arcia+error

 

I honestly think this behavior has set him back a lot. Effort is something that needs to be present... at an absolute minimum. If he were hitting a ton, there would be a bit more forgiveness on issues like this. He's not. It's clear that you feel differently, and obviously I understand if the Twins bring him north. If that happens, I'll root for him; same as always.

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

I was disappointed in the way the Twins have not optimized platoons in the past and last year. I think losing Hicks really takes away some great options for them.

 

Ideally, I would have liked to see Rosario/Hicks create a platoon with the other serving as a late inning defensive replacement or bat late in games. Arcia could serve as the 5th OF'r, and platoon with Buxton/Sano/Park/Hicks to get plenty of at bats with our other OF's being able to slide around for him pretty easily. 

 

This would give the Twins time to let Kepler's clock to pass and make him prove last year wasn't an aberration. If this arrangement is working out great, you can afford to keep Kepler down longer, trade one of the pieces (like Hicks or Arcia), or get a bigger piece using Kepler (only if that OF was working out great.)

 

I also think that Plouffe should be platooned more often, as he is not very good vs RHP, but there are less options there. The one option that would have and does make sense, is having Sano play some or a lot 3B and sitting Plouffe, and sliding in Arcia to the OF, or Kepler when he's ready. 

 

There are a lot of ways to platoon better, but not having Hicks has taken away a great option we could have used to optimize our lineup, defense, and bench. We still have options, but I highly doubt we will take advantage of them.

 

Hopefully no one flounders enough vs same side pitchers for this to become an issue, but I see Rosario and Plouffe to continue to struggle, and maybe more.

[bluechipper]

 

Who said anything about 4th outfielder? I would start Kepler in RF and put Sano at 1B. Difference of opinion. Not that big of a deal.

Well that's obviously not going to happen any time soon, so there's no real point in arguing for it.

[alarp33]

 

 

My gripes:

* Not knowing how many outs there are

* Not running out pop flies & grounders after batting a ball in play

* Not making a full effort toward batted balls hit to him while on defense

 

 

 

He can learn to count outs better (how many times has this happened in his career, once or twice?), but there's no one else on the roster who can learn to hit 25 home runs from the left side. 

 

As for not sprinting out pop ups or ground balls, 99% of players in baseball do that. The only thing I care about is that we see him jogging all the way around the bases multiple times this year. 

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

 

Well that's obviously not going to happen any time soon, so there's no real point in arguing for it.

Assuming that Mauer is just going to stay as healthy as he was last year is also something that should obviously not be expected. I would speculate he could spend quite a bit of time on the DL the next few seasons, which could open up some auditions for some guys to prove themselves.

[bluechipper]

 

Assuming that Mauer is just going to stay as healthy as he was last year is also something that should obviously not be expected. I would speculate he could spend quite a bit of time on the DL the next few seasons, which could open up some auditions for some guys to prove themselves.

I would expect Mauer to stay relatively healthy at 1B, but if he goes down, I'd assume Park goes to first full time, Sano plays more DH, and then Kepler might get his shot. Or maybe Arcia just increases his playing time and they call up Vargas.

 

Either way, the Twins seem pretty committed to Sano in the outfield full time this year, so arguing for a scenario where Sano is at 1B (for this season) is pretty unrealistic.

[alarp33]

 

I would expect Mauer to stay relatively healthy at 1B, but if he goes down, I'd assume Park goes to first full time, Sano plays more DH, and then Kepler might get his shot. Or maybe Arcia just increases his playing time and they call up Vargas.

 

Either way, the Twins seem pretty committed to Sano in the outfield full time this year, so arguing for a scenario where Sano is at 1B (for this season) is pretty unrealistic.

 

Agree. I think it's likely Sano is the Twins 1st Baseman in 4 years, but there's zero reason to believe he will play even an inning there this season.  

 

1B pecking order; 

 

Mauer

Park

Kepler

Plouffe

Vargas

[DrNeau]

... there's no one else on the roster who can learn to hit 25 home runs from the left side.

I sure don't disagree with that!

[kenbuddha]

 

Well, Beltran is almost 39 years old, and posted a -14 Rfield last year.  And as mentioned by another poster, he's a FA next winter, and Ellsbury missed significant time last year (and got benched for the wild card game).  And Gardner, the healthiest one, is just returning from an injury today himself, and has been the subject of trade rumors.

 

I think it's quite likely that there could be a starting job there, very soon for Hicks, if his performance warrants one (as well as if/when there is an injury).

Believe me, I understand what you are saying and agree he'll get plenty of atbats. As of now though, he's not a starter.

 

Regarding Beltran's situation, the Twins used Torii Hunter for 567 at bats last season after he had a -18 Rfield the season before. Teams do crazy things sometimes and the Yankees aren't immune to crazy. 

[Dr. Evil]

Generally agreed.  Quentin and Sweeney can't even opt out of their minor league contracts until June 1, as I understand, so there is no real imperative to add them to the roster for opening day.  So we can easily afford another chance for Arcia.

 

That said, Arcia is looking more and more like a bust every day.  It happens sometimes.  He obviously didn't have the past MLB success, but a lot of people here made a statement similar to yours about Joe Benson a few years ago.  Arcia is closer to Benson circa 2013 right now than he is to Ortiz circa 2002-2003.

 

Arcia was already around replacement level even with his early career power.  If Arcia's power is gone (and it largely was in 2015, .107 ISO in MLB, .090 in the second half at AAA, .000 so far this spring), that's a pretty bad player.

I cut bait based on what you said.