Trending (3/24): Roster Battles

I haven't seen much discussion about the outfield in the context of who will replace Miguel Sano in the late innings.  That's a pretty regular gig in my book, if the Twins are winning.

 

Santana is not a natural RF, but has speed and a good arm.  He can learn to do it, but it's not like he is playing much RF at this point.

 

Arcia is a possible late-inning replacement as well, but, let's face it, a year ago we were figuring who would play defense for him in the late innings.

 

Best candidate would have been:  Aaron Hicks, now a starting OF with the NY Yankees.

 

Kepler could be that guy, over time, but we want him to play baseball and not sit on the bench waiting for Sano to come off the field.

 

So, it's an issue in my opinion.  Twins will figure it out, maybe Maestro makes it after all, but for now, must be Santana, an unnatural corner guy if ever there was one.

 

Kyle Schwarber is also 6' tall, not pushing 6'5" 265-275.  Whether that is going to make a huge difference or not remains to be seen, but Sano's size is absolutely part of the equation you cannot just ignore

Kyle Schwarber is also painfully slow.  Sano's adequate speed is also part of the equation.

 

 

My issue with the defensive replacement for Sano in 8th or 9th inning is what happens when/if the other team still ties the game or takes the lead?  Now the Twins just subbed out their best hitter for (Bench Player) and are tied or down a run late in the game and need his bat.

 

It's the same issue I had last year with pinch running for him with 1 or 2 outs when he was at 1st base. 

 

I personally would take my chances with Sano in the outfield so he can still bat if he needs too.

 

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/10/09/153905934/kyle-schwarber-hits-nlds-bunt-single

 

"Painfully slow"? 

 

And while Schwarber's speed may seem surprising with his large, Hulk-like body, Statcast™ estimated the Cub at 20.07 mph. For those wondering, that's .03 mph faster than Rougned Odor, who ran the Blue Jays ragged earlier in the day.

That's interesting, and a little surprising, but watching him the outfield speed has not been evident.  Maybe he makes up for his speed by not knowing where he should run when he isn't going to a base- could be he just get bad jumps on the ball.

 

-- and of course Sano is likely to suffer some of the same problems

Edited March 24, 2016 by big dog

 

These threads always seem so get to "why didn't we trade Plouffe so Sano can play third"? ...

Really? I thought they all turned into "Nolasco stinks." Did I miss the memo?

 

In seriousness, I am willing to be an optimistic in thinking that Ricky could still be a serviceable part. I know it was against minor leaguers yesterday, but for those who have seen him on several occasions, has he done enough to pass the eye test of being at a different point than the past couple seasons?

Am I crazy, or is there still a chance for Arcia in the starting OF?  My reasoning is two-fold.  First of all, I don't see the Twins exposing him to waivers or pawning him off for pennies on the dollar.  No he hasn't produced much until today's 2-HR outing, but by all accounts he's worked his ass off to come back.  Secondly, Buxton hasn't exactly been lighting it up.  Any chance he starts in AAA, with Rosario in CF & Arcia in LF?  There's no guarantee that Rosario repeats his rookie numbers.  If Buck lights up AAA, you have a month to see who's got the hotter hand, Rosario or Arcia.   

Edited March 24, 2016 by mudcat14

 

Miguel Cabrera and Kyle Schwarber come to mind as two really good hitters that were put in the outfield (without much experience) just to get their bat in the lineup. Kris Bryant played 98 innings in the OF last year without any prior experience there at all, including 18 innings in CF. I wouldn't really consider it a common practice... but it's not unheard of. It's not going to be pretty; I just don't want it to be a train wreck.... it makes for a good story to follow though.

 

(And did anyone question Joe Maddon?)

98 innings isn't a starting gig, and he's 40-50 pounds lighter than our new RF.

Schwarber played 30% of his minor league innings played on the OF.

Cabrera playing the OF was not a good thing.

 

Sano has played zero at any level of professional ball and is 6 foot 5, 260+.  I'd need solid proof Maddon would consider him for a full time OF job.

 

Anyway, there was no 3B battle, so probably not worth talking about on this thread.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by jimmer

Moderator note:

 

I swear we are debating this trade Plouffe/Sano to RF in a half dozen threads right now.  Let's not derail every single thread at TD to rehash this same debate.  It's getting very old.

 

But what if you weren't around lately, like on the space shuttle? Or worse, if your mom didn't have internet in her basement. Remember, there are almost a billion Chinese who do not know how to spell Plouffe!

Well now you do

 

How's the weather in space?

very consistent!

 

Moderator note:

 

I swear we are debating this trade Plouffe/Sano to RF in a half dozen threads right now.  Let's not derail every single thread at TD to rehash this same debate.  It's getting very old. 

 

Really? I thought they all turned into "Nolasco stinks." Did I miss the memo?

 

Where is the appropriate thread for me to say:

 

Should've traded Plouffe so Sano can play his position;

Nolasco stinks; and

Park should be in AA because he's never played major league baseball before; and

If we lose Arcia, he's going to go somewhere else and mash; and

If Duffy isn't going to make the rotation, shouldn't Berrios. Nolasco stinks; and

Nolasco stinks. 

Two things:

1)Alex Meyer is going to start at Rochester? That seems like huge news to me. If he does well there, he could get called up pretty easily. (Before Berrios, ostensibly.) That certainly didn't appear to be where his career was trending.

 

2)Molitor saying "we didn't expect to win the Park bidding" is quite the quote. I've often said that the Twins MO is "aim for mediocrity." In this case, they put in a bid expecting not to win it. Now, because they lucked out and actually won his rights...they are adjusting by moving Sano to OF. Of the options of DH, 1B, 3B or OF, they picked the one position that the position for him that will most likely result in an average to below average result.