Too Many Outfielders, Another Perplexing Acquisition for the Twins

[Sherry Cerny]

It has been four weeks since the Twins traded an impact player in 2022, Gio Urshela, to the Los Angeles Angels for a pitching prospect, Alejandro Hidalgo. Now, the Twins front office has brought in free agent Joey Gallo, another outfielder and lefty when they already have several.

Image courtesy of Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Getting rid of Gio Urshela was the let-down of the off-season for me. Urshela came in quietly, didn’t say much, but he let his defense and at-bats speak for themselves. He quickly became a fan favorite and had the whole stadium singing his walk up song’s chorus, “Take this world and give me GIO” with every at-bat. While Urshela had one more year of arbitration remaining, he was due for a big raise and earned it. Urshela hit .285/.338/.429 with 27 doubles and 13 home runs, Two of those homers were walk-offs. The Twins wanted to make as much room as they could to contend for shortstop, Carlos Correa, who ultimately went to the Giants. 

Urshela’s absence will give Jose Miranda a well-deserved opportunity at third base. So the trade is not illogical. However, when Correa signed with the Giants, it made the Gio trade extremely frustrating; but now, the trade is frustrating and perplexing.  On Friday, the Twins signed Joey Gallo to a one year, $11 million contract. Why would the Twins get rid of a steady contributor to the lineup and defense only to bring in a player who really struggled with the bat in 2022? Urshela may have saved them a few bucks in the chase for Correa, but he would have been the better investment.

Gallo certainly has talent, but he also spent 2022 between the Yankees and the Dodgers with a mortifyingly low batting average of .162 for the season. When he does hit the ball, he has power and sits in the 94th percentile for hard hit balls. If he is unable to produce at the plate, he can still provide value with his defensive play. 

Seeing Double
More than likely Gallo would play one of the corners of the outfield positions alongside Byron Buxton, but if there is one thing the Twins already have - it’s a lot of left-handed hitting outfielders including Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Mark Contreras, and Matt Wallner The Twins also currently have another outfielder who plays good defense but finds his batting average near the Mendoza Line. 

Max Kepler has been the subject of trade rumors during the offseason. Kepler struggled with the bat but was a finalist for AL Gold Glove in right field in 2022, a far cry from his breakout 2019 season. Kepler, like most of the 2022 roster, fought injuries and missed most of the season's final month. 

Both Gallo and Kepler are often mentioned as it relates to the new shift rules coming in 2023. There is some thought that those two hitters in particular lost hits because of the shifting tendencies. Will it help? Can both be on the same roster? 

More potential crazy trade options
It is possible that Gallo may be a replacement for Kepler if he is traded this offseason. Another option is making one the primary DH, though it is likely Luis Arraez will get a lot of DH plate appearances and Byron Buxton will get time there too. Maybe Minnesota can be a place where Gallo can bounce back and flourish. 

With the rest of the outfield and much younger prospects like Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Gilberto Celestino, Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon, Matt Wallner and Mark Contreras, any one (or multiple) of them could be a part of a package deal to get more starting pitching, or any pitching period. 

But if the Twins don’t trade Kepler, there are two outfielders with similar stats, bats and love to hit into the gaps. 

Once again, the Twins front office leaves fans scratching their heads with confusion, too many players in the outfield, no Gio, and there is still eight weeks until pitchers and catchers report.

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[ashbury]

It would be poor stewardship of resources to make Gallo a full time DH; too much of the $11M price tag is for his glove.  They could have made a surer bet on just the bat by applying that sum to outbidding for JD Martinez for instance.

Packaging any of the young lefty corner outfielders in trade, to make room for this new guy who is on a 1-year contract that is even less likely to be extended than Correa's was, would also be poor stewardship IMO.

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, ashbury said:

It would be poor stewardship of resources to make Gallo a full time DH; too much of the $11M price tag is for his glove.  They could have made a surer bet on just the bat by applying that sum to outbidding for JD Martinez for instance.

Packaging any of the young lefty corner outfielders in trade, to make room for this new guy who is on a 1-year contract that is even less likely to be extended than Correa's was, would also be poor stewardship IMO.

If they trade a guy, or guys, with four or more years of control for a guy with two, I don't see how this is sustainable..

This signing only makes good sense if Kepler is dealt, at least for me. I guess it's possible they think both larnach and AK are too hurt to start the year, otherwise they are blocking at least one of them if Kepler is still here. 

[dberthia]

I don't see how this makes any sense at any price, let alone $11M. Even Sano was hitting 30 points higher than this stiff. The best thing I can say about it is that it's not a multi-year deal. I'm very curious how this will all play out, but at this point I'm not optimistic our front office has a thought-out plan.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I really am at a loss for a reasonable explanation about the Gallo signing. I am very disappointed in the FO decision to sign Gallo.  But then I'm old school.  What do I know. Not much, since I only played baseball 7 years during the spring and summer, and  through high school 50 years ago and only coached little league 3 seasons and only played intermural softball in college and a few years after in a men's church league. Really not enough experience to form an opinion that anyone else, much less the professional and experienced FO with the Twins organization, would pay any attention to.  Now I only watch baseball and attend a dozen games a year.  But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that hitting under .200 is bad and striking out 40% of the time is bad.  Am I wrong? Has the game I love and thought I understood, changed so much? What am I missing here? 

[ashbury]

8 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

much less the professional and experienced FO with the Twins organization, would pay any attention to.

I like to remind myself at times that both Derek Falvey and Thad Levine played on NCAA teams.  Maybe not powerhouse schools like Arizona State, Division III in fact (Trinity and Haverford respectively), but higher than the high school level.  Maybe they were benchwarmers and held their spots out of compassion and kindness.  But beats my own slow-pitch softball experience by a few light years.  Anyway their on-field experience pales in comparison to Rocco's but IMO shouldn't be dismissed.  Pretty sure they know from personal experience that if you hit .200 or have an ERA of 6 you might get benched.

[mikelink45]

Good article because you capture the angst that so many of us have.  Of all the players they could sign - redundant left handed bat and OF is not what we needed or want.  I just hope that Falvey and Lavine are reading all of our comments and silently learning this was not the move we wanted.  I think Patrick Reusse also captured the frustration with this swing and miss batter - Sano part 2 - but maybe not as good. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Good article because you capture the angst that so many of us have.  Of all the players they could sign - redundant left handed bat and OF is not what we needed or want.  I just hope that Falvey and Lavine are reading all of our comments and silently learning this was not the move we wanted.  I think Patrick Reusse also captured the frustration with this swing and miss batter - Sano part 2 - but maybe not as good. 

I hope they don't give a crap about the opinions here. 

[mikelink45]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

I hope they don't give a crap about the opinions here. 

I do - they still want fans in the stands

 

[Major League Ready]

Including Kepler assumes they are keeping him, and their actions strongly suggest that's not happening. If Kirilloff is healthy, he is playing 1B.  Wallner is unproven and starts in AAA.  That leaves Larnach in Left, Gallo in Right, and Nick Gordon in his typical super utility role.  How is this the atrocity it's being made out to be?

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, Major League Ready said:

Including Kepler assumes they are keeping him, and their actions strongly suggest that's not happening. If Kirilloff is healthy, he is playing 1B.  Wallner is unproven and starts in AAA.  That leaves Larnach in Left, Gallo in Right, and Nick Gordon in his typical super utility role.  How is this the atrocity it's being made out to be?

I think it's about being the move so far as much as anything. Also, we don't know they are trading Kepler.....if they do, it certainly makes more sense than if they don't. 

I'm not sure they will though. I believe this front office, and I don't disagree, thinks they lost last year to injury. Gallo is healthy. Keeping Kepler gives them more depth. So I'm not sure yet they are trading him. We'll see in the coming weeks. 

[SanoMustGo]

20 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Including Kepler assumes they are keeping him, and their actions strongly suggest that's not happening. If Kirilloff is healthy, he is playing 1B.  Wallner is unproven and starts in AAA.  That leaves Larnach in Left, Gallo in Right, and Nick Gordon in his typical super utility role.  How is this the atrocity it's being made out to be?

For me it's about the poor situational hitting last two seasons by the Twins.  Gallo is a horrible situational hitter...horrible.  This team doesn't need any more of those.

[AussieG]

To quote someone from the MLB trade rumours site  “This team makes a roster like a dad who doesn’t check the fridge before grocery shopping.” 

[Major League Ready]

8 hours ago, SanoMustGo said:

For me it's about the poor situational hitting last two seasons by the Twins.  Gallo is a horrible situational hitter...horrible.  This team doesn't need any more of those.

That argument is much more logical than we have too many LH bats.  To be fair, we should consider other elements of his game as you have here.  He takes good ABs and draws walks, great defense, positional flexibility, and upside.  I don't really care for the signing but let's look a little deeper than he is LH, especially given his splits against LH pitching are quite good.

[SanoMustGo]

Just now, Major League Ready said:

That's argument is much more logical than we have too many LH bats.  

That's been my argument since the moment we signed him.  I think many are missing this as the reason this signing could be a real problem once they start playing games.

[SanoMustGo]

9 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

That's argument is much more logical than we have too many LH bats.  To be fair, we should consider other elements of his game as you have here.  He takes good ABs and draws walks, great defense, positional flexibility, and upside.  I don't really care for the signing but let's look a little deeper than he is LH, especially given his splits against LH pitching are quite good.

agreed

[MTV]

I see some senses of why they signed him, he plays good defense and has more versatility than other LH hitters, he can be a backup CF/1B if we need him to be. Along with that, he is as comparable to Matt Wallner as it gets, and can be a placeholder/backup if Larnach and Kirilloff get injured. Plus if they can regain his pre-all star 2021 form he could be a serious trade chip come the deadline

[Brandon27]

Twins front office messed up with free agency 

[#3Killer]

How about an article that updates us on the off-season progress and/or current status of our injured players. Let’s see how Kirilloff, Larnach, Mahle, Ober, Kepler, Polanco are doing and steps they are taking with our new trainer to get and stay healthy. If we can keep our guys on the field- we will be a solid ball club. 

[EGFTShaw]

At first I thought JG was a RH and thought: ok we have 2 good to great defensive outfielders combining to be one OK hitter.  
 

but then I learned he was LH. 

 

my head still hurts from the face palming 

I can honestly say, with 110% conviction, that I didn’t see this signing coming and with 120% confidence I would not have made it. 
 

SMH

[Mike Sixel]

I have changed my mind, and I totally get it. They ran out of players last year. He was great two years ago. I get it. My issue is it's at best a one year fix. 

[rickyriolo]

There has to be more MLB players that hit less than .200 last year that we can sign right?

[tony&rodney]

I think Bundy is still available.

[old nurse]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I do - they still want fans in the stands

 

They know that fans come with winning baseball. 

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

I have changed my mind, and I totally get it. They ran out of players last year. He was great two years ago. I get it. My issue is it's at best a one year fix. 

Is Gallo going to do a Correa and use the Twins for a springboard to a mega contract? That in a way is a win win for the Twins. They get known as a destination for the next contract being the big one. As long as they keep coming there will always be a good player doming to play

[weitz41]

If Gallo is worth $11 mil by their charts, spreadsheet's or whatever. Sano must be worth 12x1. Sign me up! One more season wearing his jersey would only mean i threw away 1/2 my money.

[ashbury]

8 minutes ago, old nurse said:

Is Gallo going to do a Correa and use the Twins for a springboard to a mega contract? That in a way is a win win for the Twins. They get known as a destination for the next contract being the big one. As long as they keep coming there will always be a good player doming to play

Archer and Bundy also likely had visions along those lines, with guaranteed 1-year contracts* also. It's a win for the player who comes through, it's a nothing-ventured nothing-gained situation for the ones who don't, but it's an opportunity cost for the team itself unless these players come through more than 1-in-3 during a season.

* Correa was technically 3-years guaranteed but in practical terms it was 1-year with a generous insurance policy attached

[HerbieFan]

Anyone else notice, when talking about the roster, off-season moves, etc., we read words like "hopefully"..."maybe"..."in on", etc. A LOT????

[mikelink45]

32 minutes ago, old nurse said:

They know that fans come with winning baseball. 

And what does Gallo have to do with that?

[dberthia]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

He was great two years ago.

This should be the official team slogan.