Mailbag: New Rules, Roster Cuts, Leadership

Be interested to see the fate of Austin. Will he get a temporary roster spot? And Reed, too, since Cave has options. I see Romero will probably start in the minors (and hopefully start). Curious to see how the AAA/AA rosters break out. A lot of names down there for those two teams, and looking at the Twins current minor league system, it is really really pitcher heavy!

Also, Adrianza. Is he on the bubble? Could anyone not on the 40-man be added. That is a big hurdle. The Twins aren't exactly rich in release candidates with nearly a dozen minor league prospects on the 40-man. 

And the death of the situational left, or a pitcher now appearing in more games than innings pitched...that will be a thing of the past!

I would for sure keep Austin and I would cut Reed... he must go... count our losses and go with with who is good.... like Ryne

Romero was awful/wild on Sunday, though he wasn't helped by a ball off of Austin at 1B and a bad play by Rosales at 3B. But did I miss something, somewhere, about him going to Rochester to begin the year? I could see it, for various reasons but he's also one of the best arms we have.

I am NOT convinced Addison Reed makes the opening roster. After some solid appearances late in 2018 I thought he would be ready following the off season. But he has looked really bad.

If you want to put your best team on the field, I'd say Reed is cut over Cave with hope Reed goes unclaimed. But Cave having an option means they could decide to give Reed a little more time.

Speaking of options, there are various scenarios where Austin makes the club for an extended audition, especially with Sano beginning the season on the IR. Austin hasn't walked once the entire spring! And he struck out THREE TIMES on Sunday before his HR. But his BA and production and potential are interesting.

I think Adrianza is safe. Poor Torreyes, he's destined for Rochester to begin the season.

As to the THREE BATTER RULE...i just don't know. Seems a strange attempt to add interest. But a few points:

1] It affects everyone, not just the Twins.

2] Strategy doesn't go away, it just changes. Potentially, it's an interesting change.

3] The end of an inning caveat changes the complexion. EXAMPLE: SP starts an inning and gets 1 out. LHRP comes in to face a LH batter. Gets him out we will say. Then he has to face a RH batter who walks or gets a hit. Unfortunately, it could be a run scoring hit. (Again, the rules affect BOTH teams). Then he faces another LH batter. Three batters, he's done, plus the inning is done. If he can get proposed RH batter out, the inning is done after only two batters.

NOT saying I like it, but I don't think strategy is gone, just changed.

im not sure what the reasoning behind it is except for maybe sparing us having to watch 3-4 pitching changes per inning. The leaders of the teams will adapt to it....or not. The ones that cannot will fail.

I think Cave gets optioned and they keep Michael Reed.    Reed was a "cagey" move by the front office and I don't think they want to let him go yet.    I also think letting Austin go will end up being a 7-8 year regret.....so they find a way to keep him as well (more HOPING they keep him.)

Seems to me that Reed has made too many fielding mistakes in the outfield. We have better options.

I also think losing Austin would lead to some regret. If he has a chance to start, he'd hit 35 HR and could be dangerous in the middle of the lineup somewhere. I bet a lot of teams would be interested in the guy if their 1st baseman goes down for the year. Speaking of which, lord forbid we don't keep Austin and Cron goes down with an injury...going to be some tough decisions in Fort Myers over the next week.

As for Addison Reed, I'd be fine if the Twins just cut the guy. I prefer Jake Cave over Reed in the outfield and I think Cave earned his spot after what he did last year.

I think Addison Reed will start on the DL.

Would love to have both at Rochester as injury insurance. I think we have to DFA them on the last possible day, hope they get through, and, if not, try to work a trade.     

From what I understand the consensus is there's no way Austin clears waivers. The Twins will lose him if they don't bring him north.

I think Addison Reed will start on the DL.

I’ll second that emotion.

I'd be looking to trade a number of our Bench players, for some minor league players.   We have back-ups to our back-ups with young guys on the way. 

I think it's pretty normal for fans of teams like the Twins to take solace in the fact that our farm system is stacked. But that said: you never know which of these minor leaguers will actually work out. The odds highly unlikely that Kiriloff, Larnach, Lewis, Gordon, and Rooker are all going to be future all-stars. In fact some of them may not even get more than a cup of coffee. Like it or not, none of these prospects I just mentioned have proven anything in the bigs, and out of the 5 I listed the odds are that 1 of them becomes a long-term every-day player. That's why you can't just "trade your bench guys".

I expect the three batter rule to fail miserably and the owners will ditch it as quickly as they threw it on us.

The biggest problem with the 3 batter rule will be, as was touched on briefly by someone, if a guy comes in and just doesn’t have it that night. A game can change dramatically in 3 batters.

I think the teams like Baltimore with a high waiver claim will wait to see who is available on waivers.

Why make a deal for Austin? Wait and claim him or claim a similar player.

If the Orioles are the only team who would have an interest, then that is that. But if some other team, with a lower waiver claim, also would like a first baseman, then our FO can talk turkey with them.

Orioles are in first position for waiver claims, right?

Addison Reed has shown NOTHING this Spring. Either DL him and send him to the Mayo Clinic or release him and let him count his 8 Million.

Meanwhile, try to trade Austin, Reed, and/or Cave for whatever you can get; Out of options pitching or minor league talent.

Personally I won't be upset if Austin doesn't make it and is even lost. IMO he'd likely be a one year asset with Kiriloff, Rocker, and Larnach (forgive the sp) being close and have the ability to play OF. Nice as a bench bat maybe, but what else do you do with him?

Austin isn't Babe Ruth but he is a proven MLB caliber player who can play every day at the top level in the sport. Wade, Kiriloff, Rooker, and Larnach are prospects - nothing more. We're biased and we see them as 4 future all-stars, but the odds are highly stacked against that. In reality, very few top prospects truly become long-term contributors. Like everyone else, I really hope these guys work out but we have to keep our expectations realistic. Even if they do become contributors, it'll probably take a few years for some of them to even hit above .230 at the major league level. Saying "just ditch Austin because Kiriloff is going to be better" isn't a good strategy.

I guess I don’t see what Austin brings to the table that Kennys Vargas (a guy this organization and most on this board wrote off completely 2 years ago) didn’t.

IMO they are literally the same player.

btw, Vargas still has a career OPS + of 102 at the MLB level.

IMO, Austin is a legitimate major league player on a team with a roster that can't utilize him well. There are several teams where his skill set would be a better fit. The question in my mind is what is longer-term value. What is his likely upside in the next couple of years. If he truly is a strong breakout candidate, the Twins should be able to find a team willing to give up something of real value. If it comes down to waivers, Austin's upside is probably considered pretty limited by MLB scouts. Even without much upside, I'm thinking that there are other rosters where he could hold a solid spot this season, so a trade would still be in order. 

I guess I don’t see what Austin brings to the table that Kennys Vargas (a guy this organization and most on this board wrote off completely 2 years ago) didn’t.

IMO they are literally the same player.

btw, Vargas still has a career OPS + of 102 at the MLB level.

I always liked Vargas! It seemed like he had such a small window and such a short leash. He hit a huge walk-off HR for the Twins in '17, great moment. But it almost seemed like the Twins didn't want him to succeed. He'd be immediately pulled if he went 0-3. Meanwhile the Twins let Buxton go up there and strike out 4 times per day for weeks in a row. It kind of shows how top prospects are treated vs. just "regular guys". I always thought Kennys had something to bring to the table but he just never got regular playing time. When the Twins re-claimed Vargas after Cincy grabbed him last year I kinda felt bad for the guy. I hope he hits 40 HR in Japan and comes back and gets another shot in the bigs.

I think part of the reason I'm high on Austin is that I'm still chasing the Ghost of Aaron Hicks. Part of me wants to see Austin become the next Edwin Encarnacion and belt 38 HR per year for the Twins for the next 5 years. In your face, Yankees. My motivation is admittedly flawed.

Man, the things we talk about in March, it's been a looonggg off-season. Can't wait 'til a week from now when we can get off these tangents and talk about what's happening at Target Field.

Despise the "3 batter rule" - clearly intended to suck more strategy out of the game.

Will they pair it with "no pinch hitting"?    Of course not - but why not? 

If the defense can't change pitchers for "match ups," why should the offense be allowed to?

Bottom line, "management" thinks they need more offense, so they're trying to make defense more difficult.