Twins 8, White Sox 4: Offense Comes Through, Arráez Ties Judge

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

It's not an opinion contest. If you want the batting title you need hits.

I was thinking back when Roger Maris (Fargo native) was on track of breaking (fellow Yankee)  Ruth's HR record. Many Ruth fans despised him during & after that. Maris never got the attention that he deserved.

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm 100% behind Arraez winning the batting title. I don't care if anyone would hate him for begrudging Judge of it.

I'm 1000% behind this. Steal it right out from under a Yankee. Stick a little tiny thorn in their season's side. Yes please.

3 hours ago, roger said:

Want to second something jm referred to above.  That is that Urshela is on fire as he closes out a wonderful year.  I don't have a clue what his defensive numbers are, but to my old eyes the kid plays fantastic defense.  All the easy balls are outs along with a lot of really tough plays.  His arm is 100% accurate.

Add his bat that is closing out the season with very nice numbers and we have an excellent player who I believe is under contract for next year.  He is, isn't he?

That would put Miranda at first base most of the time next year with Luis filling in at first, second and DH.  Toss in AK as a first baseman/corner outfielder and the Twins have excellent depth at the four corners.

Urshela definitely passes the eye test at 3B, but the metrics are a little less high on him defensively. He's still a quality 3B in the field though. I think it's important to note that he's been worth almost exactly the same bWAR as Josh Donaldson while costing $15M less. Urshela's been better that the plate, Donaldson better in the field. It's going to be a very interesting decision on Urshela with arbitration next season; I expect he'll cost $8-10M, but he definitely a nice player to have on your team one of those very solid guys who adds things to the table rather than take them off.

As much as it matters having high-end star talent for a team, it's also very important to raise the floor. The fewer ABs given to bad players, the better off you are and having guys like Urshela who might not be at an all-star level but is still a quality starter is really nice. Would like to see him back.

(sigh. double post!)

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

That surgery has me very worried about his future in MLB. If he gets 500 at-bats he should get consideration for Comeback Player of the Year

I agree. I think it's about a 30% chance he's as good as new, a 30% chance he's a lesser player with a chronic condition, and about a 30% chance he never sees the big leagues again for any length of time. the other 10%? He's the next Justin Morneau. Wouldn't that be nice.  

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Urshela definitely passes the eye test at 3B, but the metrics are a little less high on him defensively. He's still a quality 3B in the field though. I think it's important to note that he's been worth almost exactly the same bWAR as Josh Donaldson while costing $15M less. Urshela's been better that the plate, Donaldson better in the field. It's going to be a very interesting decision on Urshela with arbitration next season; I expect he'll cost $8-10M, but he definitely a nice player to have on your team one of those very solid guys who adds things to the table rather than take them off.

As much as it matters having high-end star talent for a team, it's also very important to raise the floor. The fewer ABs given to bad players, the better off you are and having guys like Urshela who might not be at an all-star level but is still a quality starter is really nice. Would like to see him back.

I agree with you here. I originally saw Urshela as a starter on a second division club but he has won me over. I think he can be a starter on a contender hitting 6 or 7.  I'd like to keep him. I do think we're a little over subscribed in the corners. My solution would be to trade Kepler and keep Urshela. By the way, I really think that's the key decision based upon who we have and where they can play. 

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

The "kid" turns 31 in a couple weeks.

When you get to my age, everybody is a "kid."

9 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Translation: "I would love to stay with the Twins if they offered me a bloated long-term (7+ year) contract worth north of 250 mil that other teams didn't offer me last off season and likely will not offer after this season because of the glut of SS options and my performance in all but one of the months". 

Twins should respond: "We are more than happy to have you back if you choose to come back for 35 million next year. But, if you find another team willing to pay you hundreds of millions for 7 or more years, good luck to you!"

I just read that Correa want the Twins to "pay up" if they want him to stay.  That comment says to me that Gordon or some other stop gap SS starts the 2023.