Offseason Primer: Twins Should Stick With Jorge Polanco at Shortstop

Under that logic, the Twins should just cut bait with Buxton now and move Kepler to cf full time. Why pay a premium price for premium defense that is unimportant?

Here are three generalizations I believe to be true: 1) Good defense helps make pitchers better. 2) As our defense improves, so does our pitching.3) Good defense often ignites a team.  However, also true is the following: No generalization is worth a damn, including this one.

Under that logic, the Twins should just cut bait with Buxton now and move Kepler to cf full time. Why pay a premium price for premium defense that is unimportant?

The batting averages between Kepler and Buxton seem somewhat close to each other...220-240.  Might as well keep them both and see what happens this year.

"220, 221 whatever it takes...." Mr. Mom reference circa 1983?

I understand the game is changing and defense at SS is not as important as it once was. That said, I think the position is still the most important position defensively. IMO, I would move Polanco to 2B, which most people seem to think would be a better fit for him. More than likely, he will need a new position once Lewis arrives anyway. Iglesias would be a good fit to fill in for a year or two until Lewis comes up. If Lewis ends up in the OF, a guy like Iglesias, who is only 28 years old, can probably hold the fort down until Wander arrives. I think it is imperative that the Twins sign a middle infielder, so to me, this seems like the way to go. 

Defense. Even at this elevated and ridiculous rate of strikeouts we still have 70% of the balls put in play and defense makes a tremendous difference for pitching and team confidence. When you watch Chapman at third base for Oakland you can already begin to see how the other players look to him and loved his plays in the field.and one of the playoff games there was actually a discussion about how the team came together as the defense improved. I do not want to see 8 Sluggers standing around in the Outfield and infield watching pop-ups hit the ground. And I want to see a better defensive shortstop. I still believe that the shortstop is the captain of the infield and sets the tone for all the others.

He definitely needs to be moved to 2nd base. Also, Mauer, who is one of the better defensive 1st basemen in the league, is retiring and as of right now the Twins are replacing him with Austin. I wonder how many errors Mauer has saved by being one of the top defensive 1st basemen in the league?

He definitely needs to be moved to 2nd base. Also, Mauer, who is one of the better defensive 1st basemen in the league, is retiring and as of right now the Twins are replacing him with Austin. I wonder how many errors Mauer has saved by being one of the top defensive 1st basemen in the league?

This is a big one.    Judging how the replacements to Mauer have done over the past two years I am guessing Mauer has saved somewhere between a lot of runs and a whole lot of runs.    I was actually thinking I am ok with Polanco at short.    He should only get better with reps and his arm doesn't appear all that weak to me but you reminded me I am only ok with Polanco at short as long as Mauer or someone else really good is at first.     Most players that let loose overthrow their target but Polanco does it smart by throwing low.   It only works if there is a guy on the other end that catches balls in the dirt routinely.   Hrbek, Mauer and mr. alphabet have been the only Twins that have done that.

He definitely needs to be moved to 2nd base. Also, Mauer, who is one of the better defensive 1st basemen in the league, is retiring and as of right now the Twins are replacing him with Austin. I wonder how many errors Mauer has saved by being one of the top defensive 1st basemen in the league?

In the absence of an exceptional defensive 1st baseman arriving via trade or FA, I'd argue this is the primary reason to shuffle Polanco to 2nd and add a stopgap SS with above-average defensive skills.

Not really.....they have both Buxton and Kepler, but they need a SS or 2B. So, the question is, which should they pursue?

 

Also, if you think Gordon is really a 2B.....maybe you try Polanco 1 more year at SS.

 

I don't know the right answer on this one, frankly. With Lewis and Gordon a year or two away...things are a bit muddy, unless you are really trying to win next year big time.

I personally don’t believe Gordon will ever be a better hitter than Polanco already is. Polanco was hitting MLB pitching decently at age 22. Gordon has not yet proven he can hit AAA pitching.

I'd keep playing Polanco at SS as much as possible.  The Twins' second baseman of the future seems to be Luis Arraez who is defensively limited at second base, and the future might be 2019... 

The Twins would be ill-advised to count on a banjo hitter like Arraez at any time, let alone some time in 2019. Even if he DOES amount to something, I don't see the logic of keeping Polanco at SS so as not to block Arraez at some future time. And frankly, one could make the argument that Blankenhorn, Gordon, and Severino are ultimately more likely to be successful MLB 2nd basemen than Arraez, and maybe on an equal or faster timetable. That would be my own bet.

The question to me is this: since you know you need an external option to start 2019 at one or the other position, which makes more sense? Do you try to sign Iglesias and move Polanco? Do you sign Jed Lowrie or someone and keep Polanco at SS?

I think it's foolish to think a whole lot about the timetables for Gordon, Lewis, Arraez, or anyone else in the system. We have a problem that needs an April solution, not a September one. 

I vote to find a SS, via trade most likely, to man the position for maybe two years. Trade the guy if Lewis, Javier, or someone else nudges them aside. And if Arraez or Gordon are ready for the show at 2B, make some calls and see who's interested in them, or in Polanco.

Sign Manny, move Jorge to 2nd and move Manny when Lewis is ready. Best infield in the league for 5+ years.

Probably not....but that's not the point. The question is how best to use those two players. Maybe trading one is the answer, maybe playing them both is the answer......I don't know. But if you think Gordon is destined for 2B, maybe you try Polanco at SS another year.

I wouldn’t know which is the better shortstop. Presumably, someone working for the Twins does.

Cheap is good, sushi is good, cheap sushi not so good.

I agree that Polanco is fine at SS but it also depends on what are other options are for SS and 2B. This article talks about 2 options a better defensive yet worse hitter in Iglesias and an extremely expensive better hitter in Machado. Between these two options yes Polanco should ve the SS choice and Lowrie would be a good 2B option if he doesnt resign with Oakland. I have't researched the 2B and SS options yet in bith FA and trade....remember we have tons of young player capital and i wouldnt be surprised if we used some to reahape the roster.

I'm fine with leaving Polanco at SS. I agree with Tom: I'm not sure the gains we're likely to get on D are worth what we're likely to give up on offense. Of course, you have to look at it holistically: we have to fill a hole in the middle infield this offseason. Where are we more likely to find success and increased overall production?

Despite losing Polanco for half a year, Dozier being awful, Sano & Buxton being injured and awful, Morrison adding nothing, and Kepler not improving on offense the twins still finished 6th in the league in scoring, and the top 5 teams in the AL in scoring made the playoffs. Maybe we're better off with the offensive-minded SS?

The Twins are coming off an stretch of years where they could realistically expect to get 4.5 - 6.5 WAR out of 2nd base.  Obviously, we can hope that other spots in the lineup grow and compensate...but, on the other hand, the Jose Iglesias's of the world won't do much to fill those types of gaps.

I say you go after the very best offensive middle-infielder you can get...and do with Polanco what you will based on who you get.  (Spoiler:  if we get Machado, Polanco goes to 2nd)

Also not opposed to including Polanco in trade offers (depending on what happens with FA signings...and what we think about Gordon, Lewis, etc., etc.)...I think the league values Polanco.

A good defensive team has a better chance of stumbling into a run or two in a close game than a good offensive team has of getting 5 or 6 when they're trailing because their defense sucks. It's an over-simplification but ya know sometimes that's all you've got