Building a Team Out of Former Twins

[Cooper Carlson]

The current Twins are all doom and gloom these days. Let's build a new team using current players who have recently departed the team. Come see who made the squad!The Minnesota Twins have decided to completely blow up the entire team and only bring in players who have been on the team before. This team will include someone at every position, five starters, three bullpen arms, and no bench players. Let's get started!

 

Starting pitchers:

 

SP1: Kyle Gibson

SP2: Lance Lynn

SP3: Jake Odorizzi

SP4: Martin Perez

SP5: Rich Hill

 

Wow, talk about an elite pitching rotation! I had to put Gibson over Lynn just because I like Gibson much more than Lynn. They've also been pretty much the only very successful starting pitchers to leave the Twins recently. Rich Hill has been bad and is 41. Martin Perez is, well, Martin Perez. Jake Odorizzi could be fine but he's been hurt a lot recently.

 

Combined ERA: 4.04

2021 Twins SP ERA: 4.06

 

Relief pitchers

 

RP1: Brusdar Graterol

RP2: Trevor May

CP: Ryan Pressly

Others: Matt Wisler, Zack Littell, Sergio Romo, Ervin Santana

 

Both Graterol and Pressly left via trade and Trevor May left via free agency. All three have been good with their new teams and all three would be good on the current Twins. I'd probably take this big three over whoever the best three relievers on the Twins currently are. Behind them it gets ugly quickly so I'd probably give the edge to the current relievers.

 

Infielders:

 

1B: C.J. Cron

2B: Jonathan Schoop

SS: Niko Goodrum

3B: Eduardo Escobar

 

Would you rather have those four players or have Sano/Kirilloff, Polanco, Simmons, and Donaldson? Probably the current players and the stats back that up. Cron and Escobar are off to a great start, both with an OPS over .815 but Schoop and Goodrum are both below .700 this season. Imagine Eduardo Escobar on this team, that would just add a whole new layer of fun we just don't see.

 

Outfielders/DH:

 

LF: Eddie Rosario

CF: LaMonte Wade jr.

RF: Akil Baddoo

DH: Marwin Gonzalez

 

Anyone else starting to miss the "Eddie Eddie Eddie" chants from the left field bleachers? He hasn't been good in Cleveland thus far but he'd be fun on this Twins team. I have not missed Wade jr or Baddoo and after his scorching start Baddoo has come back to earth. Wade jr has played just three games in the majors since leaving the Twins but I challenge you to find someone better to fit this new team. Overall, this outfield kinda stinks. Then we have the beloved Marwin at DH. Nothing exciting there as he is having another bad season in Boston.

 

Overall:

 

The Twins have had some big time players like Eduardo Escobar, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Trevor May leave. After that, meh. This team wouldn't be very good but you have to ask yourself just one question.

 

Would this team have more than 11 wins this far into the 2021 season? Leave a comment and let me know!

 

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[Dave The Dastardly]

The Little Sisters of the Poor would have more wins if Sister Goretti was on the mound.

[Darius]

I’d gladly take Eddie’s .240, 4 HR, 5 steals on this team over what Jake Cave, Kyle Garlick, and Max Kepler have given us.

 

I still think there was more to losing him than can be quantified in the stats of him and his replacements. I think he brought some intangibles that were a big part of this teams success.

[jkcarew]

Graterol is not a RP1. Graterol, much like Buxton through his injury-plagued years, is only good in theory.

 

He’s been shut down (again), with Dave Roberts most recent comment being “we don’t know when he’ll pick up a ball and play catch”. In what little action he’s seen so far this year, he was ineffective.

 

Based on where they’re at right now, easily the biggest needle movers would be May and Pressly. Baddoo has hit a major wall, although there may be plenty of time to regret him in the future.

[Mill1634]

This is a fun little exercise...thought I'd try to put my own together. I went back to the 2014 season and allowed myself to pick anyone who played at least 20 games over that time.

 

C: Kurt Suzuki, Jason Castro

1B: CJ Cron

2B Jonathan Schoop, Marwin Gonzalez

SS: Ehire Adrianza

3rd: Eduardo Escobar

LF: Eddie Rosario

CF: Aaron Hicks, Lamonte Wade Jr

RF: Robbie Grossman

DH: Logan Morrison

 

SP: Lance Lynn

SP: Kyle Gibson

SP: Rich Hill

SP: Jake Odorizzi

SP: Tommy Milone

 

RP: Trevor May

RP: Ervin Santana

RP: Ryne Harper

RP: Brandon Kintzler

RP: Ryan Pressly

RP: Matt Wisler

RP: Sergio Romo

[Otto von Ballpark]

If you are including Baddoo (who never actually played in MLB for the Twins), then you need to include Huascar Ynoa who has been fantastic in the Atlanta rotation this year.

 

Or, drop Baddoo from the team and replace him with Aaron Hicks and/or Robbie Grossman.

 

Liam Hendriks needs to be on this fantasy team; Curtiss has probably earned it too. Slegers, Kinley, Kintzler, and Hildenberger are all currently active too.

 

No catchers? Jason Castro, Kurt Suzuki, Alex Avila. (René Rivera is back too!)

 

(Others qualifying under the Baddoo rule would be Tyler Wells, Deolis Guerra, and Brooks Raley.)

[USAFChief]

If you are including Baddoo (who never actually played in MLB for the Twins), then you need to include Huascar Ynoa who has been fantastic in the Atlanta rotation this year.

 

Or, drop Baddoo from the team and replace him with Aaron Hicks and/or Robbie Grossman.

 

Liam Hendriks needs to be on this fantasy team; Curtiss has probably earned it too. Slegers, Kinley, Kintzler, and Hildenberger are all currently active too.

 

No catchers? Jason Castro, Kurt Suzuki, Alex Avila. (René Rivera is back too!)

 

(Others qualifying under the Baddoo rule would be Tyler Wells, Deolis Guerra, and Brooks Raley.)

Not to hijack the thread--oh heck who am I kidding....I'm hijacking the thread--but the Aaron Hicks trade was easily one of the worst 3 or 4 trades in Twins history. Awful.

[ashbury]

I still think there was more to losing him than can be quantified in the stats of him and his replacements. I think he brought some intangibles that were a big part of this teams success.

Same intangibles he brought in 2018 when the team went 78-84?

 

[Thegrin]

Hicks ! You forgot Hicks!  I disliked him and I was glad when he was traded and he's a Yankee, but Hicks is a lot better than Wade. (and what about Murphy as C, who now plays for the A's) So many benefits from one trade.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

(and what about Murphy as C, who now plays for the A's)

That's a different Murphy -- Sean Murphy.

 

John Ryan Murphy is currently a free agent, although he did see some action for the Pirates in 2020 so perhaps it's too early to consider him "unofficially retired."

[Thegrin]

thanks spycake. It seems I get easily confused these days.

 

[mikelink45]

Nice exercise - I like the Liam Hendricks, Hicks, Grossman additions as well as Curtiss and the other RPs.  I would trade what we have in the BP for what is in these posts of ex Twins.  

[Dman]

Just goes to show the players that are bad this year can be great next year or the year after or the year after that.  

[se7799]

@ashbury, these Twins would be lucky to have that record....just saying

[Rosterman]

I see lots of "former Twins" playing in 2022 from our current squad.