arby58

Why not? He's 6'2" so would have the size you prefer there. He hits, he plays, right?

How is it 'a disaster for the Twins to this point?' CES wouldn't have contributed anything to the Twins last year, and anything he is doing now in spring training is irrelevant, unless he ends up on the major league roster this year - which is unlikely. I'd call it an incomplete grade for both teams. If Mahle is a contributing member of this year's starting rotation, it might end up being a reasonable trade for both teams.

You could say that about any relief pitcher, since their innings pitched are a smaller sample size than starters. That said, the data across the board is solid - and ERA is really not the stat to rely upon, particularly for relievers.

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).

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 tend to agree, especially with Kepler and Gallo, as a big part of their value is as defensive outfielders.

Still possible they move Kepler, which frees up a spot for Larnach. I like them getting a right-handed bat for first base, as Kiriloff hit .167 against left handed pitching last year (granted, a small sample size).

Gallo is primarily in outfielder (and a good one defensively). Solano is primarily an infielder. Gallo bats from the left side, Solano from the right side. Those don't sound redundant to me.

Lee played a handful of games at AA last year, and that was also the level for Julien - neither of them has even played a game at AAA, so calling them 'ready' is a stretch. Meanwhile, using healthy in the same sentence as Lewis or Kiriloff remains to be seen, and in Lewis' case probably won't be known for several months. The move is solid - the Twins have more depth on this team than any in a long time.

The good news is the Twins are pretty well set in the infield in 2023, so even if he's doing well, there isn't an urgent need to move him up (knocking on wood that injuries don't pile up ala 2022).

If both Lewis and Lee 'make it' while Correa is slotted at SS, Polanco at 2B, and Miranda is at 3B, there's a bit of a log jam there. My guess is if this transpires, Miranda becomes primarily a DH. If Lewis' mobility is reduced but he can still rake, he could also become an option at 1B. Of course, if they both make it, it's a good problem to have (and makes a player like Farmer expendable).

Not a chance - he is untouchable. Comparisons with Mike Trout if he tears up high-A (Trout played at Cedar Rapids at 18) wouldn't be out of place.

If you compare Julien's numbers at AA with Arraez, there really is no comparison - Julien's power and speed are far more impactful. Yes, he's older than Arraez was at AA, but if he hits anywhere near that at AAA, the Twins will find a place for him, and a DH who hits for average, power, and can steal bases is far better than anybody else they will trot out there.

I'm having a hard time understanding your definition of 'a good baseball player.' If being below average is 'good,' ok, I'd agree with you, but I'd expect more. Last year ,the league average OPS was .706; Kepler's was .666. Last year, the 15th best right fielder in terms of OPS came in a .694, meaning from a hitting standpoint, Kepler was below average. Sure, he plays a good right field and he can run a bit, but he is definitely below average as a hitter. You can justify that for a catcher or shortstop or centerfielder, much harder to do for a corner outfielder.

The Twins traded Carew in 1979.

I don't understand/agree with the claim they have managed Arraez very poorly. Last year, he appeared in 147 games and had 603 plate appearances. For a player who is primarily a hitter, what is very poor about that? In fact, I think they have managed him pretty well, considering that he doesn't have a natural defensive position and isn't particularly fast on the bases (which is what you would expect from a hitter with his high OBP and not-so-high slugging percentage). The Twins have actually maximized his potential, but he has real shortcomings.

Simmons never won a gold glove - Mauer won three. Simmons had never won an MVP - he finished 6th, 9th, and 10th in his best years - Mauer finished 1st, 4th, and 6th in his best years. Simmons won one silver slugger award, Mauer won five. In terms of peak performance, they are not similar.

He'll get in for being both a three-time Gold Glove winning catcher while also winning three batting titles and an MVP. He has a higher career OPS than Rod Carew mostly because of a higher slugging percentage. Carew was a first ballot HOFer.

I think he'll get in, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it being on the first ballot. I've yet to see a baseball writer pen a scathing story/column about Joe Mauer the person. Given the stats are strong, my guess is they'd rather vote for him than some other worthy player who was more jerky toward their profession.

But it's not just 'have in their system' it's keeping them on the MLB roster for the entire year. That's an even bigger restriction on 'impulse buying' especially as rosters have shrunk compared to the COVID years.

Right - they have to stay on the MLB roster for the entire season. Do we really think there are 5 unprotected Twins minor leaguers that teams are itching to get and keep on their roster for the entirety of the 2023 season? If so, the various rankings of minor league systems (where the Twins are more in the middle or toward the bottom) are missing something.

He's shown promise - there are very few players that show up in the majors and immediately start hammering pitching. There have been very productive months-at-at-time stretches, and the cratered months can/might be attributable to the injury issues. Look at his history - he put up very strong stats in college (perhaps the best player on the team that won the College World Series), strong stats at each stop in the minors. The pedigree is there. Then there is the defense - he's got a tremendous arm. That alone is worthy of 'the look' and part of why in less than a third of a season, he had a 1.1 WAR this year.

Agree with adding Bundy to the list. My third pick (along with Thielbar and Urshela) originally was Garlick - when he was out, they missed him against left handed pitching. Still, Bundy has been more impactful, and many Twins fans wanted to DFA him after the first couple months of the season.

Baseball is probably the toughest sport to gauge how talent will translate into results - and these are excellent examples. A side note - Chase Petty, the 100 mph pitcher the Twins traded for Sonny Gray, is 0-6 with a 3.77 ERA for the high-A Dayton Dragons. Granted, he is still younger than most of the competition and may well turn into a great major league pitcher, but where would the Twins be this year without Gray (7-4, 3.04 ERA in 20 starts)? Answer: third place in the Division.

When the Twins traded Eduardo Escobar in 2018, they had 'nothing to show for the trade' until 2022 - and now Jhoan Duran is one of the top relief pitchers in baseball. Sometimes you have to have a bit of patience.