Nope....we only know what we've seen......I remain hopeful this FO will pick a direction, but keeping Morrison around makes me less so every day.

 

Keeping and playing Forsythe and Morrison makes complete sense until the end of August. Both of those contracts will make it through waivers and if they get hot with the bat and a contender has a 2-3 week injury at second (Forsythe) or wants an extra lefty bat off the bench when rosters expand (Morrison), they could bring something back. You’re not getting anything great but even lottery tickets are better.

 

It would be one thing if they were blocking realistic options for next year but thus far Forsythe is blocking Gordon/Adrianza (not ready/not a long-term starter) and Morrison is blocking Austin/Vargas (fine waiting until September/Vargas). There’s little downside to playing these two and seeing if you can’t get something for them.

 

Then when September 1 rolls around and the Twins bring up 3-6 young ‘uns, it also isn’t a bad idea to have some well-respected veterans around to help them with the transition, provide some mentorship. I’d be upset if Morrison/Forsythe are playing more than a few times a week in September but until then, let’s see what we can get and there’s absolutely no reason to drop kick them from the 40 man.

Crappier lefty bats have moved in August than LoMo. He also has an .824 OPS with 6 homers since July 5th. If he goes on a bit of a homer binge, not crazy to think he could be moved.

while I don't disagree with your logic....I'd rather see Austin in August, before rosters get even worse, and he's facing AAA/AAAA pitchers again/still. 

Clearly, the Twins sense they will need late inning bullpen help vs. Cleveland and Field has a flawless 0.00 ERA this year at the MLB level with the Rays with 1 full inning pitched, only needing to face 4 batters to get through the inning.

 

Don't be surprised if his first appearance in a Twins uniform is on the mound.

while I don't disagree with your logic....I'd rather see Austin in August, before rosters get even worse, and he's facing AAA/AAAA pitchers again/still.

This, exactly. Many on this board were so excited by Buxton’s finish last year that they ignored that a good chunk of it was against September call ups. How’d that work out?

 

Not a horrible move since we need an outfielder.

He's replacing Grossman, so we need someone who can stand in the outfield a few times a week. That's not quite the same as an outfielder.

When the Twins were running ~.400 teams out there, people around here were overly positive.

 

Now that the Twins are a ~.500 team, the prevailing conversation is overly negative?

 

What will happen if the Twins are ever a ~.600 team?

 

When the Twins were running ~.400 teams out there, people around here were overly positive.

 

Now that the Twins are a ~.500 team, the prevailing conversation is overly negative?

 

What will happen if the Twins are ever a ~.600 team?

 

We'll burn that bridge when we come to it.

 

 

And speaking only for myself, if the biggest potential downside to a .600 season is that the TD response to it won't put the right holes in everyone's Swiss cheese, I'm willing to live with that risk.

Edited August 6, 20188 yr by LaBombo

All too typical.

When is the last time the Twins called up anyone who might be categorized as exciting?

Granite, maybe, for about a week, but only because he was hitting over .400 in the minors.

Maybe Fields is here to help in the bullpen too.     See on Baseball-Ref that he also pitched a scoreless inning in his only appearance.  

 

Gotta have that position player that can pitch now that Escobar is gone and Astudillo is in AAA.

 

All too typical.

When is the last time the Twins called up anyone who might be categorized as exciting?

Granite, maybe, for about a week, but only because he was hitting over .400 in the minors.

I'd probably say Romero was the last exciting call up. How about Granite and his spectacular .527 OPS in AAA this season?

 

Field is a boring call up, but if you're going to claim him, you might as well use the guy. With Wade hurt he's seemingly the best option.

Someone waives 'em, we claim 'em, we promote 'em.

 

Rival GM: Sorry son, we just waived you.

 

Player: Thank god, now I will get a chance to start in MN!

I was also hoping to see Tyler Austin. I'm not disappointed in Johnny Field himself and won't be until after he gets an actual chance (which he probably won't). 

 

My only disappointment is because it seems to suggest that the Twins have probably already decided that OF will not be an option for Tyler Austin and this disapoints me because I was hoping that he could play both 1B and OF. 

 

If Austin is 1B only that means he will have to wait until Mauer or Morrison get placed on the DL. 

 

If Austin was a consideration for OF... Austin would be an easy choice over Field. 

 

As it stands... Welcome to Minnesota Johnny Field... Best of Luck to you... I hope you get the chance to suit up and put the ball in play. 

 

This is Austin's last option year, so he'll be out of options next spring.

 

Not a problem. We just have the Twins time-traveling secretary go get the groovy, option-able 2018 Austin...

 

 

I was also hoping to see Tyler Austin.

 

Don't be too disappointed yet. At the rate they're going, before the season ends we'll probably get a look at everybody in the organization who has an outfield glove.

 

Outfield was supposed to be one of the Twins' strongest positions system-wide, wudn'it?

Edited August 6, 20188 yr by LaBombo

Well, 2 of the 3 starting OF have been healthy all year, so .... I'm not really sure why OF isn't anything but strong. Cave and Wade are fine 4th OF, and Kiriloff is only 2 years away. Plus Badoo. And others.....

 

SO, imo, OF is still a strength, it's really only been 1 guy. 

 

They traded for Austin they should use him before he has to be on the 25 man.

The flip side of that is, this is the last chance they get to use Austin at AAA. If they are confident they will keep him on the roster over the winter anyway, there is not necessarily any rush to get him to MLB this season.

 

Don't be too disappointed yet. At the rate they're going, before the season ends we'll probably get a look at everybody in the organization who has an outfield glove.

 

Outfield was supposed to be one of the Twins' strongest positions system-wide, wasn't it?

 

You may not realize it but you are singing my song.

 

Borrowed from the Beatles of course. All you need is Depth... All you need is depth... All you need is depth... depth... depth is all you need. 

 

I have no sympathy for any team that says "We had poor performance, injuries and suspensions, this is why we are out of contention" and then uses it as an excuse. These things happen every year. 

 

If you put all your eggs in the Buxton basket... just like you did with the Aaron Hicks basket and the Carlos Gomez basket before that... only to have that basket empty every single year... You deserve it. 

 

 

 

 

The flip side of that is, this is the last chance they get to use Austin at AAA. If they are confident they will keep him on the roster over the winter anyway, there is not necessarily any rush to get him to MLB this season.

 

That makes me feel a tiny bit better but... doesn't quite get me there. 

 

Keeping and playing Forsythe and Morrison makes complete sense until the end of August. Both of those contracts will make it through waivers and if they get hot with the bat and a contender has a 2-3 week injury at second (Forsythe) or wants an extra lefty bat off the bench when rosters expand (Morrison), they could bring something back. You’re not getting anything great but even lottery tickets are better.

How many lottery tickets get moved in August trades anymore? It's pretty much just salary relief, org filler, and/or Alex Presley fringe 40 man types these days, no?

 

Well, 2 of the 3 starting OF have been healthy all year, so .... I'm not really sure why OF isn't anything but strong. Cave and Wade are fine 4th OF, and Kiriloff is only 2 years away. Plus Badoo. And others.....

 

SO, imo, OF is still a strength, it's really only been 1 guy. 

pretty important guy though.

 

Well, 2 of the 3 starting OF have been healthy all year, so .... I'm not really sure why OF isn't anything but strong. Cave and Wade are fine 4th OF, and Kiriloff is only 2 years away. Plus Badoo. And others.....

 

SO, imo, OF is still a strength, it's really only been 1 guy. 

 

Agreed, I'm just talking about the awkward position they've found themselves in at the moment, rather than the long range forecast.

 

The organization's outfield depth chart was supposed to be stocked like a trout pond (edit: pun intended after the fact), but they've still somehow ended up having to acquire two of them in trade and one more via waiver claim or Groupon or however we got The Smirking Man.

 

That, and we've still been seeing a glimpse of Grossman out there once in a while, chasing the ball around with a boxing glove on one hand and a meat cleaver in the other.

Edited August 6, 20188 yr by LaBombo

 

Sheesh, forgot about Austin. Yeah, now I'm disappointed.

Me too - lots of new bodies to be accounted for.

 

On the bright side, maybe Falvine forgot as well.

The last thing I want to see is Austin at the OF...  Field is the best of the healthy guys they had on the 40 man roster. 

 

They could had reached in AA and gotten Zander Weil, he deserves it, but they didn't

The last thing I want to see is Austin at the OF...  Field is the best of the healthy guys they had on the 40 man roster. 

 

They could had reached in AA and gotten Zander Weil, he deserves it, but they didn't

To be fair, it’s hard to tell at this point if Wiel is any more of an outfielder than Austin. At 6-3 235, Wiel was pretty much exclusively a first-baseman until he got put on a team with Brent Rooker.

 

Haven’t seen either actually play the OF though...so, maybe. Agree that Wiel has been steady offensively.

I really didn't think it was possible that I'd be disappointed when Grossman was finally off the roster. But here we are.

 

How many lottery tickets get moved in August trades anymore? It's pretty much just salary relief, org filler, and/or Alex Presley fringe 40 man types these days, no?

 

Depends on need. All it takes is an injury and your guy becomes interesting.

 

I think you're likely looking at either the fringe reliever or the A-ball college reliever taken in the 35th round who has put up some nice numbers. That's usually doesn't turn into something but sometimes does.

 

If the Twins had a Nick Gordon tearing up AAA, I'd be hollering for them to dump Forsythe. Or if Brent Rooker was tearing up AAA, Morrison should go. But since the alternatives are unappealing, keep the guys and see if they develop into something.

 

I also wonder if there's a reputational benefit from not cutting Morrison. Hard to embarrass a free agent, even one who has performed as badly.

 

Depends on need. All it takes is an injury and your guy becomes interesting.

 

I think you're likely looking at either the fringe reliever or the A-ball college reliever taken in the 35th round who has put up some nice numbers. That's usually doesn't turn into something but sometimes does.

 

If the Twins had a Nick Gordon tearing up AAA, I'd be hollering for them to dump Forsythe. Or if Brent Rooker was tearing up AAA, Morrison should go. But since the alternatives are unappealing, keep the guys and see if they develop into something.

 

I also wonder if there's a reputational benefit from not cutting Morrison. Hard to embarrass a free agent, even one who has performed as badly.

My guess is they're hoping he'll go on a 3 HR-in-a-week binge get his average above the Punto line and they can get someone to take him off their hands still.

Edited August 6, 20188 yr by howeda7

 

My guess is they're hoping he'll go on a 3 HR-in-a-week binge get his average above the Punto line and they can get someone to take him off their hands still.

Lefty bats always have value off the bench down the stretch. If they work.

Depends on need. All it takes is an injury and your guy becomes interesting.

 

I think you're likely looking at either the fringe reliever or the A-ball college reliever taken in the 35th round who has put up some nice numbers. That's usually doesn't turn into something but sometimes does.

 

I am not really disputing the usefulness of lotto tickets.

 

What I was trying to say, I think you are overrating the number of August trades for Morrison/Forsythe types that even yield a lottery ticket like you describe. The vast majority are for PTBNL or cash, and if a player is ever named, it is often an org filler type.

 

The days of snagging David Ortiz are gone. If that's your reason for rostering/playing a guy in August, it is probably a bad investment. Even extended starts for guys like Adrianza and Austin could be more valuable, in terms of planning your 2019 bench.

 

And of course, the continued presence of Belisle is evidence the Twins are fully capable of rostering a veteran for no particular good reason.