Has Nick Gordon Proven His Worth to the Twins?

[mikelink45]

Gordon reminds me of LaMonte Wade - we did not think him good enough, but ask the SF Giants what they think!

 

[rwilfong86]

15 hours ago, RpR said:

Gordon's Rtot numbers are all positive this year; Arreaz Rtot number at 2nd and 3rd are all negative.

Dump Arreaz and keep Gordon, plus Gordon has speed, and speed on bases is a strong positive.

Arraez** Arraez is the Twins best contact hitter. His only weakness is hitting lefties but I think that will improve as the season comes along. 

[rwilfong86]

45 minutes ago, umterp23 said:

So does Gordon or Arraez now become a trade asset at the deadline to make some upgrades to chase a post season birth?  Lewis doesn't quite have the versatility as either, Miranda maybe but not quite.  I think the key to this is Larnach, Kiriloff and Garlick.  Who sticks in the OF when healthy and does Kiriloff make Arraez odd man out?  

Kiriloff's future is probably at first once the Twins move on from Sano, I can't imagine any scenario where the Twins trade Arraez. Gordon way more likely. 

[stringer bell]

Looking forward to the rest of 2022, the guy I see playing the most first base on this team is..............Miranda. Right now, Alex Kirilloff seems to be in need of either another stint on the Injured List or a trip across the river to St. Paul. He's not hitting the ball hard and he doesn't look like he's enjoying himself on the field. It's a long season, but this is starting to look like every bit as much a lost season for Kirilloff as it has been for Sano. Arraez is going to be in the lineup almost all the time against right handed pitching. He can DH, play first, second or third. Barring a bunch of injuries, I don't see much playing time available for Gordon. 

With Celestino and Larnach advancing, and Garlick doing exactly what he has been pegged to do, again Nick doesn't have much of an avenue for consistent play in the outfield. We all know that injuries will continue and they tend to cluster. Gordon's ability to play both outfield and infield make him pretty valuable to the Twins.

[mikelink45]

I will be waiting for the next reflection - can we count on Kiriloff?  There are a lot of players knocking on the door and I worry that his physical limitations might cost him and the team the potential he had.

[bighat]

17 hours ago, bean5302 said:

He's the prototypical utility player. A guy you can play every day for a couple weeks if you need to while another player is on the 10 day IL, but not somebody you'd want as a starter. There's a lot of value in those kinds of players because they're inexpensive, but don't come with the risk of an untested AAA replacement player.

Yep. Definitely good to have guys like that around.

Keep in mind that those guys sometimes do break out. Both Eduardo Escobar and Ehire Adrianza were seen as utility infield guys by the Twins. Injuries opened up every day spots and both of those guys responded very, very well to every day playing time. Became extremely valuable pieces, not just "depth".

[Doctor Gast]

Gordon's trade value was much higher a few ago. Now it has bottomed out and we won't get much in return for him in a trade. That said, Gordon has impressed me in how he has adapted to play CF on the fly last year to show his athleticism. More he plays and become more acclimated to MLB I see him continue to improve and contribute to the team.

Unfortunately, although I like his flexiblity, this is his last year of availability and Martin and Lewis can replace him. So next year doesn't paint a very good picture for him.

[Fatbat]

Gordon belongs here. He is growing into a major leaguer and will his his prime over the next 6 years.  He is a late bloomer that can do most everything and will only better with more playing time.

[GeorgiaBaller]

Interesting that Dee Gordon was a tremendous defensive outfielder, but was light in the bat.  I think one of the problems you start to see, that this article skirts the edges of, is it is very hard for a Utility guy to be great at the plate.  Moving to a different position continuously and not playing every day is unsettling.  Baseball players like their routines---understandable since they wake up in a new city and ballpark consistently.  Many infielders struggle from SS to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd.  Utility players must do that all the time---and it is a distraction mentally that throws things off at the plate.  They strikeout more because they are trying to hit and prove their worth---to get a daily spot somewhere.  Ultimately, you must choose whether you want you Utility player to be a bat or a glove specialist.  You won't get both---and we should not judge them on the same basis we do as the guys who can camp out at the same piece of dirt every game.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Gordon reminds me of LaMonte Wade - we did not think him good enough, but ask the SF Giants what they think!

 

Everyone remembers Wade's flashy start but forgets the rest of 2021.  Wade hit .253 last year and has been on the IL until a couple days ago (1 for 4 so far).  I would call that pretty middle of the road.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

Everyone remembers Wade's flashy start but forgets the rest of 2021.  Wade hit .253 last year and has been on the IL until a couple days ago (1 for 4 so far).  I would call that pretty middle of the road.

Middle of the road is okay - he filled a role for SF which got him the nickname Late Night LaMonte.  He had 18 HRs and an OPS of 808.  I think the Giants are happy.  That does not mean I think it is wrong that the Twins let him go, although I would have kept him over Jake Cave, but sometimes we can be blind to the talents we have.  I wish LaMonte well and I think the Giants who won 107 games last year are satisfied with him.  

[ashbury]

Gordon has proved his worth. And it seems to be pretty minimal, relative to other equally inexpensive options one could acquire.

[rwilfong86]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Gordon's trade value was much higher a few ago. Now it has bottomed out and we won't get much in return for him in a trade. That said, Gordon has impressed me in how he has adapted to play CF on the fly last year to show his athleticism. More he plays and become more acclimated to MLB I see him continue to improve and contribute to the team.

Unfortunately, although I like his flexiblity, this is his last year of availability and Martin and Lewis can replace him. So next year doesn't paint a very good picture for him.

Depending on how well Lewis plays and how soon Correa comes back, Gordon may end up being the odd man out....

[rwilfong86]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Middle of the road is okay - he filled a role for SF which got him the nickname Late Night LaMonte.  He had 18 HRs and an OPS of 808.  I think the Giants are happy.  That does not mean I think it is wrong that the Twins let him go, although I would have kept him over Jake Cave, but sometimes we can be blind to the talents we have.  I wish LaMonte well and I think the Giants who won 107 games last year are satisfied with him.  

Sometimes a player just needs a different environment, and with LaMonte I think that was the case. 

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, rwilfong86 said:

Sometimes a player just needs a different environment, and with LaMonte I think that was the case. 

It's possible that a different environment was the thing that helped Wade.  

The other possibility is the marriage of a player with skill arriving at the of age 27 (Peak Year for most players) and a club that just happened to be readjusting their roster to utilizing the entire roster which provided the opportunity for him to show his peak.  

His time in Minnesota was 56 AB's in 2019 at age 25. The year we had set the home run record. If he had the skill in 2019 with the Twins to do what he did in 2021 with the Giants... we wouldn't have found it. The Twins were 11 deep with hitters reaching double digit homers... plus Arraez, Cave and Adrianaza with 200 AB's that year. 

I believe the different environment for Wade was actually his name on the lineup card.    

 

[SwainZag]

9 hours ago, umterp23 said:

So does Gordon or Arraez now become a trade asset at the deadline to make some upgrades to chase a post season birth?  Lewis doesn't quite have the versatility as either, Miranda maybe but not quite.  I think the key to this is Larnach, Kiriloff and Garlick.  Who sticks in the OF when healthy and does Kiriloff make Arraez odd man out?  

I would say Arraez is guy that helps chase down a postseason berth.  IMO he's not a guy you trade looking for an upgrade.

[rwilfong86]

14 hours ago, SwainZag said:

I would say Arraez is guy that helps chase down a postseason berth.  IMO he's not a guy you trade looking for an upgrade.

And you are absolutely correct. Arraez ability to make contact when the Twins need it could come up big down the stretch. I'm not sure why someone would trade one of the hardest guys in baseball to strike out in a day where strike outs are the norm.