Roster Becoming More Clear as More Players Sent Down

[nicksaviking]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Like whom, that is major league ready? Can't be anyone they trust, as they are trading for pitching... Why would they give up anyone close, and if they aren't close, why are the twins trading for them?

They tried to trade Paddock to the Mets. Not sure if I care too much for him but I’d be interested in Lamet.

Weathers if the Twins want to spice it up a bit.

[Doctor Gast]

We don't have anyone good as a 4th OF that comes close to sub Buxton, thats what we need. We despitely need to trade for a CFer to back up Buxton.

Smeltzer is our best option at long relief who can rack up the innings, he's probablly the most stretched out pitcher. He at his top form, ahead of the game because he had a couple of extras weeks to do so. So why not take advantage of it and bring him up and take advantage of it and not send him down and wait for the hitters to catch up. He deserves to stay with the team, makes no sense to me!

[stringer bell]

25 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

We don't have anyone good as a 4th OF that comes close to sub Buxton, thats what we need. We despitely need to trade for a CFer to back up Buxton.

Smeltzer is our best option at long relief who can rack up the innings, he's probablly the most stretched out pitcher. He at his top form, ahead of the game because he had a couple of extras weeks to do so. So why not take advantage of it and bring him up and take advantage of it and not send him down and wait for the hitters to catch up. He deserves to stay with the team, makes no sense to me!

I don’t think the need for a backup CF is that big an issue. Kepler can fill in for a Buxton day off and pretty soon, maybe a month or so, one of two prospects (Martin or Celestino) could be very good options to back up Buxton and maybe start in left field. For now, I’d like to see a RH hitting OF, capable of playing center, but I don’t think the Twins need to mortgage their future to get such a player. 
 

Smeltzer has undoubtedly pitched well this spring, and would appear to be one of the best options for multi-inning relief since none of the Twins’ starters are totally stretched out. A full 40-man roster and a cutback to 13 pitchers on May 2 complicate the picture. I’m sure he’ll get a chance this year. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

They tried to trade Paddock to the Mets. Not sure if I care too much for him but I’d be interested in Lamet.

Weathers if the Twins want to spice it up a bit.

Why would they trade him? They are trying to compete. 

[USAFChief]

14 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Why would they trade him? They are trying to compete. 

It's been widely reported for weeks now that San Diego is looking for OF help.

[stringer bell]

I think the Twins go north with 16(!) pitchers. That would include Coulombe if I have the numbers right as well as both Duran and Winder. Left field would be manned by Kirilloff mostly and Nick Gordon when AK is playing first base. A three man bench would include two catchers, with Sanchez frequently the DH, Gordon and Arraez, although Arraez will get plenty of plate appearances as the DH, at third and filling in occasionally at second.

[Riverbrian]

22 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

 

Garlick and his ability to mash left-handed pitching would seem to be competing with Brent Rooker for one spot. 

 

 

If an organization decides that you are only going to face left handed pitching. 

Bango... Zippy... Just like that... You are a platoon hitter. 

Once an organization decides that you are a platoon hitter, the organization is telling you that your value is very limited especially if you are on the short side of the platoon.   

Once an organization determines that your value is limited to this, Start the Egg timer... the buzzer on the career of Kyle Garlick will go off soon. 

His minor league stats don't suggest that he should be a platoon hitter but he is because the declaration has been made. He needs to mash lefties (also small sample size) to stay alive. 

Garlick won't be allowed to see right handed pitching so he has no chance of proving he can hit the Right Hander. Therefore no chance of getting used to the right hander at minimum and therefore stabilization of the MLB small sample split would be impossible.  

Clearing a 40 man roster spot for a 30 year old platoon hitter who won't be around as a 31 year old would be incredibly short sighted. 

 

[jorgenswest]

23 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Clearing a 40 man roster spot for a 30 year old platoon hitter who won't be around as a 31 year old would incredibly short sighted. 

Last year the Rays and Giants were two teams that found success while increasing the percent of at bats when their batters had a platoon advantage. You don’t see it in baseball very often any more because the roster spot for the short side platoon hitter has been lost to larger pitching staffs.

Darin Ruf(34) and Austin Slater(28) are two right handed bats on their bench that produced an 1007 and 894 OPS against left handed pitching. They still see a lot of right handed pitching. Shorter starts ensure that in this baseball era but they still saw a much greater than expected ratio of at bats against lefties. The Giants bench allowed the the. options to tweak the platoon advantage in those high leverage situations. The Rays roster construction allowed them to see the platoon advantage in 62.1% of their at bats (3rd in baseball). The league median was 53.2%. They were second in runs scored.

Would it benefit the Twins to devote of roster spot to a platoon player? Do they have in Garlick someone that can give them the advantage that the Giants found in Ruf and Slater? 

[Whitey333]

Just a question here about Smeltzer.  Twins need starting pitching.  He pitched 11 innings allowing just 5 hits walked 2 and struck out 9.  He didn't give up a run which of course explains his 0.00 ERA.  I'm assuming  Archer took his spot.  Over the past couple of years Smeltzer has pitched more than Archer.  I'm just curious why he was cut.  Anyone have any ideas?  A list of the 16 pitchers yes 16, they plan to make the roster shows me there certainly is room to dump one of those.  I'm not even a Smeltzer fan pers' I just don't understand the move.

[nicksaviking]

Smeltzer tops out at about 88 MPH, gives up a ton of contact and can't strike out his grandma.

Due to small sample sizes it can appear that he's doing OK, but any GM worth their salt will understand the smoke and mirrors won't last very long.

[stringer bell]

36 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Just a question here about Smeltzer.  Twins need starting pitching.  He pitched 11 innings allowing just 5 hits walked 2 and struck out 9.  He didn't give up a run which of course explains his 0.00 ERA.  I'm assuming  Archer took his spot.  Over the past couple of years Smeltzer has pitched more than Archer.  I'm just curious why he was cut.  Anyone have any ideas?  A list of the 16 pitchers yes 16, they plan to make the roster shows me there certainly is room to dump one of those.  I'm not even a Smeltzer fan pers' I just don't understand the move.

Well, Smeltzer is a soft-tossing lefty who is on a minor league contract. He was DFAed last fall and no one claimed him. He has been effective , but it is spring training and he had the advantage of reporting with the other minor league players, thus probably being ahead of the hitters. I think his lifetime log and batted ball metrics should present a better forecast of his performance than 11 spring training innings. I think his performance has raised his stock and he’ll get another chance with the Twins, probably this month. 

[Riverbrian]

23 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Last year the Rays and Giants were two teams that found success while increasing the percent of at bats when their batters had a platoon advantage. You don’t see it in baseball very often any more because the roster spot for the short side platoon hitter has been lost to larger pitching staffs.

Darin Ruf(34) and Austin Slater(28) are two right handed bats on their bench that produced an 1007 and 894 OPS against left handed pitching. They still see a lot of right handed pitching. Shorter starts ensure that in this baseball era but they still saw a much greater than expected ratio of at bats against lefties. The Giants bench allowed the the. options to tweak the platoon advantage in those high leverage situations. The Rays roster construction allowed them to see the platoon advantage in 62.1% of their at bats (3rd in baseball). The league median was 53.2%. They were second in runs scored.

Would it benefit the Twins to devote of roster spot to a platoon player? Do they have in Garlick someone that can give them the advantage that the Giants found in Ruf and Slater? 

Great post. You are 100% right. I don't know what the percentage is between Right Handed and Left Handed pitchers in the majors but it's a pretty significant short side. Accumulating more AB's against left handers than right handers is hard to do unless you are being utilized for that exact purpose. 

The Giants, Rays and Dodgers are the three teams that I consistently mention as examples of how to utilize the entire roster. I really really want the Twins to emulate them. 

However, during the regular season... in the name of development... the platoon is something that I'm not a fan of. 

Ruf, Slater and Garlick are a little past the development stage but the roster spot that they occupy is never past the development stage. 

 

 

[Squirrel]

So, does this signal that the Twins will carry 3 catchers, and Godoy won’t be in St. Paul?

EDIT: Godoy was DFA’d today so … only 2 catchers heading north?

[Squirrel]

And here we go ,,, more clarity …

 

[Vanimal46]

All that’s left to button up before opening day is Rooker vs. Garlick. 

[stringer bell]

Yup, saw this coming. Several catchers have become available in the last week and I expect more to come. Sisco looked as good as any offensively and who knows about the defense? Since Sisco and Godoy both hit lefty, I wouldn’t be surprised if Godoy goes to Wichita if he isn’t claimed. 

[Doctor Gast]

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I don’t think the need for a backup CF is that big an issue. Kepler can fill in for a Buxton day off and pretty soon, maybe a month or so, one of two prospects (Martin or Celestino) could be very good options to back up Buxton and maybe start in left field. For now, I’d like to see a RH hitting OF, capable of playing center, but I don’t think the Twins need to mortgage their future to get such a player. 
 

Smeltzer has undoubtedly pitched well this spring, and would appear to be one of the best options for multi-inning relief since none of the Twins’ starters are totally stretched out. A full 40-man roster and a cutback to 13 pitchers on May 2 complicate the picture. I’m sure he’ll get a chance this year. 

Stringer, I get very uneasy when this FO doesn't plan for injuries. I'd like the best team out there at all times. Although Kepler is our best replacement for Buxton, he's not comfortable at CF which IMO we take hits with his defense and offense there plus the downgrade at RF. Kepler will take all he has to cover CF much less take up the slack at both LF & RF. 

TB is very deep at CF with (last year of arbritation) Margot, (salary dump candidate) Kiermaier and a couple of MLB ready prospects. TB needs bats which Twins have a ton. A small trade like this shouldn't be that dificult to pull off (although this FO love to hoard bats)

To have a productive rotation and short relief especially early in the season, we need a very strong long relief. So I'd like to see 5 SPs, 6 long relief (flex) and 5 short relief, Pitchers that are most stretched out will be a premium. And Smeltzer is IMO the most stretched out and would be super important to the long relief, dropping him is a big mistake. 

Lack vision for quality mlb ready CF depth and a strong long relief corp are 2 of the main reasons we did so poorly last season. My hope was that this had learned from last year but apparently they have not.

 

 

[nicksaviking]

Interesting catcher shuffling days before opening day.

But I could really care less who the 3rd catcher ends up being, I'm just really happy he's not on the 40-man. Emergency catcher 15 miles away in St. Paul is exactly how I want it.

[Doctor Gast]

27 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

So, does this signal that the Twins will carry 3 catchers, and Godoy won’t be in St. Paul?

EDIT: Godoy was DFA’d today so … only 2 catchers heading north?

OMG

[Riverbrian]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I

 

Please Delete this post. I struggle with simple tasks. 

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Stringer, I get very uneasy when this FO doesn't plan for injuries. I'd like the best team out there at all times. Although Kepler is our best replacement for Buxton, he's not comfortable at CF which IMO we take hits with his defense and offense there plus the downgrade at RF. Kepler will take all he has to cover CF much less take up the slack at both LF & RF. 

TB is very deep at CF with (last year of arbritation) Margot, (salary dump candidate) Kiermaier and a couple of MLB ready prospects. TB needs bats which Twins have a ton. A small trade like this shouldn't be that dificult to pull off (although this FO love to hoard bats)

To have a productive rotation and short relief especially early in the season, we need a very strong long relief. So I'd like to see 5 SPs, 6 long relief (flex) and 5 short relief, Pitchers that are most stretched out will be a premium. And Smeltzer is IMO the most stretched out and would be super important to the long relief, dropping him is a big mistake. 

Lack vision for quality mlb ready CF depth and a strong long relief corp are 2 of the main reasons we did so poorly last season. My hope was that this had learned from last year but apparently they have not.

 

 

Most teams don't have a good backup CF, because there aren't enough to go around. But if the Twins need to replace Buxton, I'd much rather have someone who can hit over someone who has a decent glove but is a black hole in the lineup. I'm advocating for trading Kepler, but the ONLY reason I hesitate is because he's a better option as back up CF than anything else the Twins have. His bat is miles better than most backup CFs in the league.

[stringer bell]

4 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Stringer, I get very uneasy when this FO doesn't plan for injuries. I'd like the best team out there at all times. Although Kepler is our best replacement for Buxton, he's not comfortable at CF which IMO we take hits with his defense and offense there plus the downgrade at RF. Kepler will take all he has to cover CF much less take up the slack at both LF & RF. 

TB is very deep at CF with (last year of arbritation) Margot, (salary dump candidate) Kiermaier and a couple of MLB ready prospects. TB needs bats which Twins have a ton. A small trade like this shouldn't be that dificult to pull off (although this FO love to hoard bats)

To have a productive rotation and short relief especially early in the season, we need a very strong long relief. So I'd like to see 5 SPs, 6 long relief (flex) and 5 short relief, Pitchers that are most stretched out will be a premium. And Smeltzer is IMO the most stretched out and would be super important to the long relief, dropping him is a big mistake. 

Lack vision for quality mlb ready CF depth and a strong long relief corp are 2 of the main reasons we did so poorly last season. My hope was that this had learned from last year but apparently they have not.

 

 

Who says Kepler is uncomfortable in center? I do recall reports that the Twins didn’t want to use him in center after he had leg issues, but he’s had all fall and winter to recover. Tampa isn’t going to give away quality major leaguers and the Twins need for outfield depth seems like it could be alleviated as soon as May or June (Celestino and/or Martin). 

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Please Delete this post. I struggle with simple tasks. 

lol

[Trov]

The only non-roster guy that may make team is Garlick for Rooker.  Other than that I see no changes to 40 man roster. 

[Squirrel]

Just now, Trov said:

The only non-roster guy that may make team is Garlick for Rooker.  Other than that I see no changes to 40 man roster. 

You mean now that they've added Coloumbe?

[nicksaviking]

I keep seeing the Kyle Garlick scenarios, but I don't get it. Honestly, I haven't followed spring training a ton so I might be missing something, but he has one hit all spring, didn't do anything special last year and doesn't have much of a track record. Why are people clamoring for him to make the 40 man? Seems like another reasonable AAA stash for emergency purposes. 

[Mike Sixel]

10 hours ago, USAFChief said:

It's been widely reported for weeks now that San Diego is looking for OF help.

Sure, but they have prospects not that closes to the majors. I guess I've made my side clear,I don't see them freaking players that will help them this year, others do. Doesn't matter, the twins aren't trading their RF for pitching prospects. 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, but they have prospects not that closes to the majors. I guess I've made my side clear,I don't see them freaking players that will help them this year, others do. Doesn't matter, the twins aren't trading their RF for pitching prospects. 

Not a popular opinion, I know, but I mostly want to get out from under him being our RF and if we can get something for him now as opposed to nothing a year from now, I'd pull the trigger.

I only hesitate because he is a better than average option to back up Buxton. Otherwise I've seen enough from Kepler the last two years to roll with the young guys. He's wearing out his welcome similar to Eddie Rosario (just in different ways) but unlike Rosario the Twins can't decline arbitration on Kepler as his contract is guaranteed.

[Minny505]

23 hours ago, Utah Twins Fan said:

Mike here is what they have listed right now

Darvish
Musgrove
Mike Clevinger
Nick Martinez
Blake Snell
Chris Paddack
MacKenzie Gore
Ryan Weathers

 

plus Meanea

my math isn’t the best but that’s 9 for a 5 man rotation so something has to be in the works for them not saying it’s the Twins they will trade with but it’s safe to say Twins would take any of these guys 

MLBTR says they are looking to trade a pitcher with a contract, with Snell being the most likely to go.

I'd take a Kepler/Enlow swap for Snell/Gore. 

Baseball Trade Simulator (Not perfect, but correct about 95% of the time) has that deal at dead even in value. 

Thoughts?

[Doctor Gast]

5 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Who says Kepler is uncomfortable in center? I do recall reports that the Twins didn’t want to use him in center after he had leg issues, but he’s had all fall and winter to recover. Tampa isn’t going to give away quality major leaguers and the Twins need for outfield depth seems like it could be alleviated as soon as May or June (Celestino and/or Martin). 

I started a thread beginning of last season about Kepler in CF, I thought he looked uncomfortable there at CF. 1st I heard reports that he was OK there, so I thought that everything is fine. But later it came out that he wasn't comfortable there. It wasnt his preferred position. Last year they said we were so deep in the OF with Cave, Kiriloff, Larnach, Garlic, Rooker, Arraez and Celestino. That depth was not quality or MLB proven and that proved disasterous especially at CF. Celestino and Martin have a lot of potential which makes makes me optimistic about our future there but because they aren't MLB proven yet I'm uneasy of putting all our trust on them this year.

How do you know that TB aren't open to trade? Is it the same source that said the A's weren't trading Manaea? But yet the A's gave away Manaea to the Padres, you can't believe the retoric that comes out from the FO. There are rumors about both Margot and Kiermaier, wether the Twins can make a trade is 1st they have to try 2nd they have to persist.