The Lockout Diaries: Week 2

[Nick Nelson]

Dear journal,

It's been 14 days since darkness fell upon the world of baseball. The first half of December has come and gone with no Winter Meetings, no Rule 5 draft, no significant league activity of any kind really. But we're not entirely without news to analyze.

With a lack of high-profile developments taking place, fans make do with what we have. There's little choice but to overthink and obsess over the small morsels of news that trickle out amidst an ongoing labor stoppage. 

For instance, while the major-league phase of the Rule 5 draft didn't happen, there was a minor-league phase last week. The Twins gained no one, and lost outfielder Gabriel Maciel to Oakland. 

Under normal circumstances, I would pay very little mind to this loss. Maciel wasn't among Twins Daily's top 30 prospects in the latest rankings, and he is coming off a really underwhelming season in which he slashed .238/.311/.311 over 73 games at Single-A as a 22-year-old. 

Then again, under normal circumstances, I'd have other things to occupy my mind. In the absence of any MLB player movements, or even rumors of such, this is all I've got. And so I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about Gabriel Maciel. 

The outfielder came to the Twins at the 2018 trade deadline, in a package for Eduardo Escobar that also included Jhoan Duran and Ernie De La Trinidad. The latter turns 26 in January and looks to be org filler more or less, but Duran is the one who can make that trade look like a slam-dunk win for the Twins. Maciel always felt like a longshot – the second fiddle CF prospect behind Gilberto Celestino, who was acquired from Houston during the same deadline sell-off.

Will the Twins rue the day they let Maciel get away? What do the Athletics see in him that compelled them to select him and add him to their Triple-A roster mix? How does his departure impact the organization's dwindling outfield depth? 

The answers are fairly mundane. 1: Probably not. 2: He's a center fielder who can run, and there's really no risk. 3: Minimally. 

Nothing to see here. And yet, it's all we have to see right now, so I can't stop looking.

There is at least one Twins-related distraction to pull away our collective gaze. The club rounded out its coaching staff on Friday, announcing two new additions – first base coach Hank Conger and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez – to bring the unit to 11 members. 

Conger comes aboard as the new first base coach, moving Tommy Watkins across the diamond. Supplanted third base coach Tony Diaz is now the assistant bench coach behind Jayce Tingler. 

Here's how it maps out, with new hitting coach David Popkins also in the fold:

• Manager: Rocco Baldelli
• Bench Coach: Jayce Tingler
• Pitching Coach: Wes Johnson
• Hitting Coach: David Popkins
• Assistant Hitting Coach: Rudy Hernandez
• Assistant Pitching Coach: Luis Ramirez
• Assistant Bench Coach (Infield Instructor): Tony Diaz
• First Base Coach (Catching Instructor): Hank Conger
• Third Base Coach (Outfield Instructor): Tommy Watkins
• Bullpen Coach: Pete Maki
• Quality Control Coach: Nate Dammann

Conger is an especially interesting add from my view, mainly because I'm so familiar with him from his playing days, which weren't long ago. He's still only 33, and was an active MLB player as recently as 2016. He'll be able to relate to current players on an especially authentic level, which was seemingly a strength of Jeremy Hefner. 

The year before Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took over the Twins front office, Conger was in Houston backing up Jason Castro, who ended up being the new regime's first free agent signing in the following offseason. There's a fun bit of symmetry. 

A former first-round pick and top prospect, Conger played in the 2010 Futures Game alongside several notable names Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Logan Morrison, Ben Revere, Anthony Slama (!).

Conger was selected by the Angels in the first round of the 2006 draft – five picks after the Twins took Chris Parmelee. Man, that was a wild draft. Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Max Scherzer were taken within five picks of each other, but the first overall pick was Luke Hochevar. 

These stream-of-conscious musings and research wormholes keep my baseball mind engaged for the time being, and for that I'm grateful. I know it'll only grow tougher over time as the lockout drags on and the little bits of news that trigger these musings dry up.

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[Dave The Dastardly]

I rescued my 33-year old son's baseball card collection from the Whirling Dervish who was bound and determined to clean out his former closet for things like... Christmas decorations, and maybe out-of-season coats. Short on baseball news, I have now vowed I will traipse through his collection, reminiscing through those glorious years of yesterday while simultaneously guarding it from the Whirling Dervish and preserving it for posterity. One small step for man, one temporary setback for womanhood.

[mikelink45]

Thanks for finding something to write about.  Let's see Maciel - what can we make of him to create another 5 stories?  It's going to be slim pickings.  After the 12 Twins of Christmas we will need to start an Alphabet series - the best Twin for each letter.  Tough going and especially when they are not going to talk again until January.  Why?  

[roger]

This staff looks bigger than what I recall, Nick.  Have the number of big league coaches increased over the past few years?  Or am I just imagining that?

Thanks for the update, Nick.  And if you aren't back next week, Merry Christmas to you and all the guys and gals at Twins Daily.

[Nick Nelson]

2 hours ago, roger said:

This staff looks bigger than what I recall, Nick.  Have the number of big league coaches increased over the past few years?  Or am I just imagining that?

There's a limit on the number of MLB coaches you can have in the dugout & in uniform, but no limit on total coaching staff size. The Giants took advantage of this last year and it seems as though the Twins (and others) are trying to follow suit. I'm not exactly sure which guys listed in the article won't be suiting up but my guess would be Hernandez, Ramirez, Diaz, Dahmann.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Nick Nelson said:

There's a limit on the number of MLB coaches you can have in the dugout & in uniform, but no limit on total coaching staff size. The Giants took advantage of this last year and it seems as though the Twins (and others) are trying to follow suit. I'm not exactly sure which guys listed in the article won't be suiting up but my guess would be Hernandez, Ramirez, Diaz, Dahmann.

Those are the most likely, but I thought they were allowed 8 total, so I suspect much like the Giants they'll rotate guys through the dugout a little with maybe Diaz getting the most time (since his title does actually say "bench" in it).