Reevaluating the Twins Designated Hitter Strategy for 2023

[chpettit19]

I'm a little confused by the idea of using Polanco as a DH simply because he's a switch hitter. Being a switch hitter doesn't mean he hits lefties and righties equally well. He's got a career OPS of .720 vs lefties, but an OPS of .806 vs righties. Last year he was .832 against righties and .602 vs lefties. He may be a switch hitter, but he's far better against righties. He's got real splits just like some non-switch hitters. It's why I'd go Buxton-Polanco-Correa at the top of the order. Get him between 2 righties so he faces all the righty bullpen arms. 

[specialiststeve]

8 hours ago, joefish said:

I have been shot down here before for suggesting using Polanco as a dh because he makes too much money.

I still like the idea of have a switch hitter there. Polanco fits. Let him find his groove there. Simple.

You and I both Brother!! Someone in the FO please listen!! LOL

 

[Otwins]

Polanco is not that good defensively and we have other players who can play 2B. It does make sense that he DH more

[Nine of twelve]

22 hours ago, JBK said:

Mentally, the DH is difficult if you don't do it consistently.

Maybe, but doing it once a week or so should be often enough for it to feel consistent to a major leaguer.

[Nine of twelve]

22 hours ago, saviking said:

Agree with the last point. I like playing about 8 different DH hitters as much as I liked seeing what seemed like 8 different lead off hitter. To me, this is where you go for raw power.

As with every hitter, the higher the OPS of a DH the better. But to me the DH role should usually be filled by the player who is the least-skilled fielder.

[arby58]

On 2/25/2023 at 8:41 AM, Squirrel said:

I like the rotating DH … it will allow for greater flexibility for match ups and rest days. I’ve always thought having a DH is a wasted clog on the 26-man … one player who does nothing else but hit in the 3 or 4 spot but never plays in the field. 

It's complicated. Nelson Cruz, Jim Thome, Chili Davis, etc. were not a 'wasted cog.' As has also been pointed out, if a player is a negative defensvely (as Arraez was, and Miranda probably will be), it'd be better to keep their bat in the lineup and put a better defender in the field. That's why my long-term bet (if he hits and doesn't improve defensively) is on Miranda as a semi-regular DH.

[arby58]

On 2/25/2023 at 8:58 AM, HoskenPowell said:

If they perform like last year their ONLY value will be defense.

That's correct, based on last year. I think the hope is that the shift restrictions help Kepler (I think that is a sound assumption) and Gallo returns to prior form (we'll see). That said, if they aren't hitting particularly well but are great defensively, they'll see some time. That is certainly the best feature of Taylor's game (granted, he was far better offensively than either Gallo or Kepler last year).

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

It's complicated. Nelson Cruz, Jim Thome, Chili Davis, etc. were not a 'wasted cog.' As has also been pointed out, if a player is a negative defensvely (as Arraez was, and Miranda probably will be), it'd be better to keep their bat in the lineup and put a better defender in the field. That's why my long-term bet (if he hits and doesn't improve defensively) is on Miranda as a semi-regular DH.

I don’t disagree that if you have that one person who can fill that role, they can be a primary DH. (I clarified that in a later post than the one you quoted.) We don’t have a Cruz, Thome or Davis on the roster, and Miranda is too young yet to put him there. So, because we don’t have that role player, I like the idea of a rotating DH for the flexibility it brings … for how this team is currently constructed, I think it makes the most sense. But I don’t like the idea of having one person DH who NEVER plays the field. I do think it’s a wasted roster space.

[Riverbrian]

23 hours ago, ashbury said:

Will our DH be better than the opponent's DH, most games?  If not, then I don't like this rotational strategy.  If a key player needs a day of rest, rest him.

A hitter like Nelson Cruz wasn't simply a great DH, he was a cost-effective DH.  Because you aren't paying one penny for a glove.  When a position player fills the role, his salary doesn't drop for that game, but whatever you're paying for his glove is wasted anyway.  Of course it's not easy to find and sign a guy like Cruz, because other teams are in there bidding for his services as well.  Having him was good while it lasted.

To be clear, given the roster we have now, rotation may be the way to go.  I'm talking about roster construction, dating back a few months now.  But unless Nick Gordon (for instance) steps up his offense a bit further than he already has (and maybe he can), very many games with him as DH is going to look a lot like that time in the post-season where Jason Tyner DH'ed.  And in that case I'm back to criticizing the roster construction.  Literally any major league player is capable of filling the DH slot, but that's a low hurdle and I want a DH who excels, same as every spot in the lineup.

You will get no argument from me in regards to a Nelson Cruz type player. If you find that type of guy go for it. 

However, utilizing the DH (and 1B) spot like Rocco is suggesting is a great way to provide playing time and finding the best 9 to play on any given day.  

Comparing DH to DH in comparison is only looking at 11% of the lineup. Times that by 9 and make it 99% (I Lost 1% in my math) of the lineup to compare to our opponents. 

It allows for the possibility that two of your best 9 occupy the same position. 

It's only scary if the rotation used is laced with players who are not playing very good. 

My suggestion is to replace the ones who are not playing very well. 

 

[stringer bell]

Using Buxton as the DH frequently bugs me because he is such a great defender. I know it is about keeping him healthy. I also know that using him (too) frequently last year was an attempt to get him through the season with an ongoing knee injury. I am not sure if he needs that DH time this year to protect that injury or anything else that is an ongoing issue. Hopefully, this year, using Buck at DH is a way to give him a half-day off for rest. In that case, it shouldn't be more than 10-20% of the games. 

I agree that the poorer defenders would be optimum DHs. That would include Miranda most likely, but really no one else as long as health isn't affecting their ability to defend. I have believed that Farmer should be in the lineup most frequently at third base against left handed pitching, with Miranda either moving to first base or DH. 

As far as having a "permanent" DH, they need to be really good offensive players. Being a full-time DH implies the player can no longer adequately play a defensive position (think Giancarlo Stanton's misadventures at Target Field last year) and provides no place to get other good offensive players off their feet for a break or to deal with nagging injuries. There aren't many guys like Thome or Cruz to fill the full-time DH role and giving the role to a younger player diminishes their value long-term.