Article: Trending (3/31): Setting the Roster

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Less than a week from Opening Day, we’ll take one final preseason look at who’s trending. There’s been plenty of roster-shaping news in the last seven days, much of which will shape this week’s version.Ricky Nolasco, Fifth Starter

 

It’s probably unfair that we turned Monday into a Nolasco vs Duffey competition for the fifth spot in the rotation considering that Duffey was facing major league competition and Nolasco was facing a group of high-A minor leaguers. But that’s essentially what happened. Because Duffey wasn’t very good, Nolasco’s decent performance against inferior competition was enough to convince the team brass that Duffey would be better in Rochester while Nolasco gets another chance to secure a rotation spot. (Or at least that’s how it appeared publicly.)

 

It was only last Wednesday when Ricky Nolasco kept the door open to make the rotation with a performance that included six scoreless innings in which he struck out seven and only allowed three hits (no walks).

 

While many point at the two years and $25 million remaining on his contract as the reason that Nolasco is in the rotation, let’s not forget that he is only two seasons removed from having pitched 185 or more innings in five of the last six seasons. If he can get his BABIP closer to his career average (.319) instead of .354 and .392 he’s allowed in his two seasons as a Twin, he could be more than a serviceable back-end piece.

 

At the end of the day, though, Nolasco set the stage for a showdown with the team’s decision-makers when his agent stated publicly that he didn’t want to pitch out of the bullpen. But instead of lying down and putting himself in a situation for that showdown to happen, he went out and performed well enough to earn - at a minimum - a handful of major league starts to prove to the Twins - and other teams around the league - that’s he’s still capable of taking the ball every five days.

 

TRENDING: Into the rotation (though that isn’t guaranteed to be the case a month from now).

 

Kurt Suzuki, All-Star Catcher

 

What? He was. Though we haven’t seen that Suzuki much or consistently lately, the Suzuki that showed up to spring training has performed at a very high level offensively. Yes, it’s only 26 at-bats and, yes, it’s only eight hits. Four of those hits, however, have been home runs. (He hit five all of last season). Having an alternative at the catching position in John Ryan Murphy - and an incentive to not let Suzuki appear at the plate 485 times - we could see a better-rested Suzuki make a better offensive impression in 2016

 

TRENDING: Towards less playing time, but more impact while in the lineup.

 

David Ortiz, Diarrhea of the Mouth

 

We get it Papi. You felt like you were wronged by the Twins. And that treatment created an enormous chip that you filled with PEDs, World Series rings and a future in Cooperstown. It also provided you with an apparent avenue to rip on the Twins on multiple occasions… while mentoring some of their more impressionable youth. Your act has grown tired and the whole population is an agreement that you should just shut up and play out your career before drifting off into the sunset.

 

TRENDING: Past annoying.

 

Daniel Palka, Next Babe Ruth?

 

Palka has gotten a handful of at-bats with the Twins during spring training and he’s turned three pitches around and deposited them into the seats. Before we anoint him the next anything, though, he’s still got a lot to prove and he’ll get the opportunity to do that in Chattanooga. Palka, along with a number of others in the organization, has 70+ power, but he’s the only one that offers it up from the the left side of the plate. Palka, expected to be added to the 40-man roster in November, has a decent chance of leading the organization in home runs this season.

 

TRENDING: Towards everyone's Top 20, even before he's played a meaningful game.

 

There you have it. Another week and more players to discuss. Who's trending in your mind?

 

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[ThejacKmp]

Roid rage from Ortiz is no surprise.

[Seth Stohs]

Greatest near-complete sentence in Twins Daily history (well, I don't remember many individual sentences, but this is a great one!)...

 

 

We get it Papi. You felt like you were wronged by the Twins. And that treatment created an enormous chip that you filled with PEDs,

 

 

Suddenly yesterday he said that the Twins were doing Kennys Vargas wrong. His whining about Tom Kelly wanting him to use the field is annoying too, and old. Ironically, Ortiz his a lot of balls off of (and sometimes over) the green monster during his years with the Red Sox. 

 

The funny thing is that people seem to care what he thinks. Who cares if he thinks it's dumb for the Twins to move Sano to right field? I think it's the right decision for the Twins based on their current roster. Is he more right or wrong than me? I'm not claiming to be more right or wrong than him. It's an opinion. It's not facts, yet so many treat what he says like he knows. Ortiz couldn't play 1B and would have been awful in the outfield. He wasn't as good of an athlete as Sano, so it's not apples to apples. 

 

But, he's retiring, so we seem to care. All the while, he's showing that he hates the Twins for some reason, even though they did give him a great opportunity to start his career. And, frankly, with his frequent injuries and bad knees on the Metrodome turf, he should thank the Twins for letting him go. Don't forget, the Red Sox signed him in mid-March and gave him an opportunity to platoon with Kevin Millar to start the season. Good for him for taking off, whatever he did to do it. 

[Vanimal46]

As far as David Ortiz commenting about Vargas, from what I've read he's taken a mentoring role with Vargas since his days in A ball... He probably sees a lot of similarities with their skill-set, and sees the same road blocks Vargas now has that he experienced as well. It all worked out for Ortiz anyways.....

For those that were more aware of the team than me in 1999, why did they leave Ortiz in AAA basically all year? Just looking at the stats, I can see why he would be frustrated if he mashed 30 HRs with a .1000 OPS... 

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

As far as David Ortiz commenting about Vargas, from what I've read he's taken a mentoring role with Vargas since his days in A ball... He probably sees a lot of similarities with their skill-set, and sees the same road blocks Vargas now has that he experienced as well. It all worked out for Ortiz anyways.....

For those that were more aware of the team than me in 1999, why did they leave Ortiz in AAA basically all year? Just looking at the stats, I can see why he would be frustrated if he mashed 30 HRs with a .1000 OPS... 

 

Fair to assume the mentoring started before Vargas's suspension?

[big dog]

Seattle traded him to the Twins for a bag of baseballs- he doesn't hate Seattle??? I really don't care what he thinks about anything- he's entitled to his opinion, I just wish he quit thinking it's so important.

 

Anyway, I share the interest in Palka.  The guy looks like a real hitter.

[Vanimal46]

 

Fair to assume the mentoring started before Vargas's suspension?

Probably? Your guess is better than mine. 

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

Probably? Your guess is better than mine. 

 

I actually don't think it started til after... and Vargas was suspended for using a diuretic not a PED. 

 

But still, Cano mentors Sano... and I haven't heard Robby say anything about how the Twins are using Sano. But who is? Papi.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

His whining about Tom Kelly wanting him to use the field is annoying too, and old. Ironically, Ortiz his a lot of balls off of (and sometimes over) the green monster during his years with the Red Sox. 

This gets repeated a lot, but I'm not sure if it is particularly true.  Take a look at Ortiz's hit locations and performance scompared to a non-Fenway LH power hitter like, say, Jim Thome.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=ortizda01&year=Career&t=b#hitlo

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=thomeji01&year=Career&t=b#hitlo

 

Thome had basically the same percentage of at-bats going to the opposite field (~17%), and was actually a better opposite field hitter than Ortiz relative to their overall performance (tOPS+ of 163, versus Ortiz's 99).  Their career home/away tOPS+ marks are virtually identical too.

 

Maybe there is some more granular data that suggests Ortiz took special advantage of the Green Monster over his career, but I haven't seen that case made yet

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

But still, Cano mentors Sano... and I haven't heard Robby say anything about how the Twins are using Sano. But who is? Papi.

Has anybody asked Sano?  Not sure if we should be blaming Ortiz when people ask for his opinions and he provides them.  It's not like he's call his own news conference to address the Kennys Vargas situation.

[Vanimal46]

 

I actually don't think it started til after... and Vargas was suspended for using a diuretic not a PED. 

 

But still, Cano mentors Sano... and I haven't heard Robby say anything about how the Twins are using Sano. But who is? Papi.

Okay.... I'm not sure why we're going down this path. In my OP you responded to, my point was that Ortiz has mentored Vargas, sees a similar skill-set and the same road blocks that Ortiz experienced while he was with the organization. He's sticking up for him, as any mentor/big brother/manager would do. 

[Blackjack]

I have a boss that pizzed me off about 7 years ago, since then she's finally learned how to be a real supervisor but some day I will be telling her what I think of her so yeah I could see how Ortiz would carry a grudge.  At this point we know that when Ortiz talks about the Twins its going to be a rip so we just have to shake your head, laugh, and move on. Kind of like when some of the TD posters consistently bitch about Twins management, you read their rant, shake your head, laugh, and move onward.

[HitInAPinch]

Twins organizational response to David Ortiz [ at least it should be.... ]

 

https://youtu.be/FWBUl7oT9sA

[Thrylos]

 

 Palka, along with a number of others in the organization, has 70+ power, but he’s the only one that offers it up from the the left side of the plate. 

TRENDING: Towards everyone's Top 20, even before he's played a meaningful game.
 

 

Big fan of Palka, and already in my Top 20 (18 actually) but he is not the only one who offers it from the left side.  Vargas does as a switch hitter, so does Minier (as another switch) hitter, and so does Lewin Diaz who also is a lefty who looks like he gained 2-3 inches in height and 20 lbs this off-season.  Blackenhorn is a lefty too and  his power is up there as well

 

Palka is a great trade return for Chris Herrmann and will likely make the Twins sooner than later.  His power/speed combination is pretty unique in the organization, but his power from the left side is not.

 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Don't forget, the Red Sox signed him in mid-March and gave him an opportunity to platoon with Kevin Millar to start the season. Good for him for taking off, whatever he did to do it. 

Actually, the Red Sox signed Ortiz in January 2003.

 

And Millar was primarily an outfielder in his career up to that point, and was again in 2004, and was never really a platoon player -- for his career, he was better vs RHP and his percentage of RHP faced was pretty much equal to the league's.  So I doubt the team was primarily intending Ortiz to be his platoon partner.

 

I think Ortiz was more Jeremy Giambi insurance than anything, although Ortiz still started 4 of the team's first 6 games so they were giving him opportunity (obviously his playing time really picked up as he heated up in June).  Probably a smart move to bring in both Ortiz and Giambi -- neither one was that expensive, and the team could afford to later pick whichever one was healthy and effective.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

Big fan of Palka, and already in my Top 20 (18 actually) but he is not the only one who offers it from the left side.  Vargas does as a switch hitter, so does Minier (as another switch) hitter, and so does Lewin Diaz who also is a lefty who looks like he gained 2-3 inches in height and 20 lbs this off-season.  Blackenhorn is a lefty too and  his power is up there as well

 

Palka is a great trade return for Chris Herrmann and will likely make the Twins sooner than later.  His power/speed combination is pretty unique in the organization, but his power from the left side is not.

 

I'll stand by my statement that Palka is the only player in the organization that offers 70+ power from the left side. I'd put Vargas at 65. I'd put Sano, Walker and Park at 70+.

[Willihammer]

 

Suddenly yesterday he said that the Twins were doing Kennys Vargas wrong. His whining about Tom Kelly wanting him to use the field is annoying too, and old. Ironically, Ortiz his a lot of balls off of (and sometimes over) the green monster during his years with the Red Sox.. 

I googled and found the following relating to Ortiz and Vargas:

http://www.news-press.com/story/sports/mlb/springtraining/2016/03/29/david-ortiz-kennys-vargas-remain-connected/81915852/

 

Ortiz has some opinions about how the Twins are handling the DH spot and the signing of BH Park, but doesn't say anything about Vargas' coaching except some vague references to "leaving him alone" and "letting him play."

 

Vargas own comment jives with what the Twins told us last year when they demoted him- he wasn't hitting enough HRs. Presumably they aren't asking him to hit his HRs oppo.

 

"I understand, I didn’t do my job last year in the major leagues,” Vargas said. “I didn’t hit many home runs. I have to figure it out. It’s all about helping the team winning and getting them to the playoffs and the World Series.

“I have to figure it out and get my spot back.”

 

Did Ortiz say anything about TK not mentioned here?

[REPETE]

All I can say is "WOW"!  Ricky Nolasco starts off this article as making the team as the 5th starter, Suzuki is now a power hitter, and the only posts here are about Big Whiner, er, Big Papi?  

Papi must've truly struck a chord with TD, otherwise we'd be hearing for the 87th time this spring about how we need to trade/cut/kill Nolasco; the FO is full of morons who only care about payroll; yada yada yada.

I vote for more Papi talk, as it's refreshingly new.  That is, until it gets old.  

[Thrylos]

As far as who else is trending here are 2 names:   

Check out what Danny Santana has done since he was ensured of a roster spot.  Seems to have 2-3 hits daily with SB left and right.  Hope he gets that going into the season.

 

Lots of us wanted him to be traded, but he arguably had the best ST of any Twins' hitter, with a ridiculous .370/.412/.674 slash line, lots of timely hits, and just 1 GDP: Trevor Plouffe.

[Han Joelo]

Nice post, Jeremy.  I mostly liked Ortiz for his Yankee slaying ways, but this dwelling on the past is kind of weird.  I repeat that I think there is something more to this story.  

 

Ortiz acts like the guy who was dating the best girl he's ever met, screwed it up and won't admit it, but instead blames her.

 

Thanks also for the bucket of lukewarm water you threw on Palka.  I was pretty skeptical--how does Arizona give him away for Hermann, if he's really any good? But his performance has made me swing the opposite way. Maybe in 15 years he will be ragging on the Diamondbacks the way Ortiz does the Twins...

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

Okay.... I'm not sure why we're going down this path. In my OP you responded to, my point was that Ortiz has mentored Vargas, sees a similar skill-set and the same road blocks that Ortiz experienced while he was with the organization. He's sticking up for him, as any mentor/big brother/manager would do. 

 

I'm ok with most of that. I'm ok with having a mentor.

 

I don't agree with the last sentence. I say it's rather uncommon for mentor/big brother/manager to publicly do what Ortiz is doing. 

 

But as was mentioned above, someone stuck the recorder in Ortiz's face, knowing the quotes would be there and controversial.

[Mike Sixel]

For people that don't care what Papi says, there are a lot of posts.......

 

Didn't Ryan throw lukewarm water on Palka, when talking to someone in ST this year? I thought that was in a minor league thread.....

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Didn't Ryan throw lukewarm water on Palka, when talking to someone in ST this year? I thought that was in a minor league thread.....

Yes, a bit.  Last paragraph here:

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/21681-article-friday-minor-league-report/?p=450505

[Seth Stohs]

 

For people that don't care what Papi says, there are a lot of posts.......

 

Didn't Ryan throw lukewarm water on Palka, when talking to someone in ST this year? I thought that was in a minor league thread.....

 

First, Ryan isn't going to express exuberance when talking about pretty much anyone, particularly anyone who hasn't made it yet. Always something to work on...

 

But Palka was my 25th or so Twins prospect this year. He's in a couple of Top 20s, and he's actually outside of many people's top 30s. I find him intriguing, but all the strikeouts are one reason he isn't ranked higher. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'm ok with most of that. I'm ok with having a mentor.

 

I don't agree with the last sentence. I say it's rather uncommon for mentor/big brother/manager to publicly do what Ortiz is doing. 

 

But as was mentioned above, someone stuck the recorder in Ortiz's face, knowing the quotes would be there and controversial.

 

There's two sides to it... 1.) like you said, people keep asking the questions, knowing the answers, but 2.) he could show a little maturity and not say such things, or phrase things differently. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

First, Ryan isn't going to express exuberance when talking about pretty much anyone, particularly anyone who hasn't made it yet. Always something to work on...

 

But Palka was my 25th or so Twins prospect this year. He's in a couple of Top 20s, and he's actually outside of many people's top 30s. I find him intriguing, but all the strikeouts are one reason he isn't ranked higher. 

 

I don't watch any minor league player live......how do Palka and ABWIII compare (as hitters)?

[DocBauer]

I agree on Santana. He's had a really solid ST when you not only see that he's finishing it strong, but he's doing it while moving all around the field.

 

He's just not that awful of a hitter, despite the results in '15. How good of a hitter, how high or low of an OB% is to be determined. But I have maintained he could really help the club going forward and not to dismiss him.

[curt1965]

Amen, Doc! Love that guy!

[NoCal]

When the Twins released Ortiz, since Morneau was ready for the majors and Minkie was the resident 1B, Peter Gammons himself wrote that the Twins did Ortiz a huge favor by freeing him to find a new job, well before Spring Training. Gammons used that as an example of what a "classy organization" the Twins were, and why they were so respected throughout baseball. I am too lazy to look up the actual column and quote, but I do remember that, at the time, the move was viewed as a favor to Ortiz. On to Nolasco talk.

[Jham]

 

Greatest near-complete sentence in Twins Daily history (well, I don't remember many individual sentences, but this is a great one!)...

 

 

 

Suddenly yesterday he said that the Twins were doing Kennys Vargas wrong. His whining about Tom Kelly wanting him to use the field is annoying too, and old. Ironically, Ortiz his a lot of balls off of (and sometimes over) the green monster during his years with the Red Sox. 

 

The funny thing is that people seem to care what he thinks. Who cares if he thinks it's dumb for the Twins to move Sano to right field? I think it's the right decision for the Twins based on their current roster. Is he more right or wrong than me? I'm not claiming to be more right or wrong than him. It's an opinion. It's not facts, yet so many treat what he says like he knows. Ortiz couldn't play 1B and would have been awful in the outfield. He wasn't as good of an athlete as Sano, so it's not apples to apples. 

 

But, he's retiring, so we seem to care. All the while, he's showing that he hates the Twins for some reason, even though they did give him a great opportunity to start his career. And, frankly, with his frequent injuries and bad knees on the Metrodome turf, he should thank the Twins for letting him go. Don't forget, the Red Sox signed him in mid-March and gave him an opportunity to platoon with Kevin Millar to start the season. Good for him for taking off, whatever he did to do it. 

For instance.