stringer bell

A bloop and a blast.

Ugh. Hard hit balls, a single, double and homer and they only get one run.

Add one more position player. Sanó should be ready by sometime in July. I expect that there will continue to be injuries to prune the 14 to 13 or less. It usually happens that injuries strike the same position, as happened with center fielders last year.

Does Arizona have a roof for the hot weather? I hope so. Thank you Google! Retractable roof.

Kepler, Arraez, Larnach and Kirilloff would presumably get days off against left handed starters. Gio has been slumping lately and should have some days off against right handers. It would be good if Gordon was better against lefties. BTW, the guys with the worst platoon splits against left handed pitching are Sanchez, Arraez and Polanco.

It makes sense that AK not start today against a lefty especially since he will be traveling late to get to the desert. As long as he's on the roster, Miranda should be in the lineup versus lefties. BTW, I thought the plan was for Garlick to be activated as soon as today. With the day off yesterday and a day off on Monday, I think the Twins actually would be fine with one less arm in the bullpen.

So far in his career, Garlick is an answer to left handed pitching and should be in a run-producing spot in the lineup when he has the platoon advantage. Arraez is also a real offensive weapon only when he has the platoon advantage. Of course, LH hitters see right handers much more often than the reverse. I believe in Kirilloff being a middle of the order hitter, when healthy. His stats this year are going to be skewed by the dreadful start he endured, probably while battling considerable wrist pain. Back to the OP, I checked BBRef and there isn't a single Twin with a positive rating in base running, not one! According to my highly unofficial compilation, the Twins are -8 runs in base running, that isn't purely about stealing bases, of course. They don't have much team speed and don't have many skilled base runners. I think that is a factor in their inability to score runs commensurate with their OPS.

I hope this is the last time we welcome Kirilloff back. I really think that he can be an All-Star level player if he is past the wrist issues.

I know defensive stats are wonky and I don't trust them totally. That said, despite a dreadful inning at third base this year, Arraez grades out fairly well at third base. Also of note, Urshela has a negative rating in zone runs saved since all Twins broadcasters have all but declared him a gold glove finalist. Arraez would be fine at third if he got regular reps IMHO, and most likely superior to Miranda. From what I've seen and read, Kirilloff is the best option at first base in the Twins organization, at least from AA and up. He's decent in the outfield, but I think his ultimate destination in the field is first base.

How far back can they backdate Polanco's IL stint? I think it is 3-5 days, but I'm not sure. While Polanco is one of the key players on the team, he has seemed out of sorts most of the season. Kirilloff should get a decent chance to show he is past the wrist injury. If Polanco can come back soon, then the team can decide who should be sent to St. Paul. Also, I'm wondering if Garlick will be activated for the Arizona series. They are facing a left hander tonight and we all know Garlick is the preferred choice against southpaws.

To me, the answers are pretty self-evident. The Twins have a paucity of team speed and also have become strikeout prone. Advancing runners is not their strength. In this alleged new era where small ball has more cachet, the Twins lack components to get it done.

BTW, Miranda was included in a topic entitled "Who Gets Dealt?" in the Minor League Forum back in April: https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/55765-who-gets-dealt/#comment-1114839 The single vote for Miranda was by yours truly.

One of the slogans is "sell high" and that would eliminate trading Balazovic or Martin. Steer has absolutely mashed this season (similar to Miranda's 2021) and has played in the middle infield more than Miranda did in 2021. I think the Twins can afford to part with one of those two guys (Miranda or Steer). I can support a trade involving Miranda. I have been disappointed by his lack of selectivity and his defense. I can also support a trade for Steer. On balance, I think the team would be a bit better off with Miranda, especially since (as noted above) he is younger.

Finally, Palacios is not listed on the 40-man roster. We are down to 40 on that list. IL—10 day—1 (Garlick), 15-day—3 (Coulombe, Ober, Winder). 60-day not on 40-man)—8 (Alacala, Dobnak, Maeda, Paddack, Romero, Stashak, Lewis, Sanó)

Miranda has been okay at the plate, but he’s a poor defender at this point. With Polanco out, Arraez can handle second with Kirilloff at first. When Polanco returns, using AK at first and Arraez at DH beats having two catchers in the lineup. Tough calls about who to send down, but if there aren’t any injuries among the position players, I think Kirilloff is a better bet to perform than both Miranda and Larnach.

Agreed, bullpen back end is the #1 priority to address at or before the trade deadline. I think two high-leverage guys are needed, moving Jax, Pagán and Thielbar to less leverage. There are enough arms—that is there is major league quality even for the seventh and eighth best bullpen pieces— but I don’t like the Twins’ chances to prevail in relief pitcher battles unless they add an arm or two from outside the organization.

His best position is first base. Arraez can handle second.

The IL for position players is only 10 days at the minimum. Polanco won't have played for 5 days at this point. Hindsight is 20-20 but Kirilloff could have come up for Polanco easily enough.

Barring Injured List assignments, I’m believing that Miranda will be optioned when Garlick is activated and that by next Monday. Kirilloff will be promoted at t guy he expense of an option of Trevor Larnach. The club is at 14 pitchers now and I would guess that they option Winder to AAA (if he stays down a few weeks, they will gain an additional year of team control), but when Ober is back, another bullpen arm is in jeopardy so Megill could be optioned.

It isn’t even that he doesn’t walk much. Much like Astudillo, pitchers can get Miranda out without throwing a strike. Like most, he’s a much less dangerous hitter with two strikes and swinging at pitches out of the strike zone have gotten him behind in the count frequently. SSS, but Miranda’s defensive stats are really bad. He has made his share off defensive mistakes and then some.

A lot of key at bats, as well as pitching and fielding highlights. 1) Urshela made a do or die play that broke up a possible rally. 2) Gray retired the side after Trammel reached third with no one out. He made a great 3-2 pitch to France. 3) Jeffers and Correa with big RBI hits. 4) Thielbar retiring the pinch hitter on a routine fly ball. Getting ahead in the count made a real difference in what kind of swing the batter had. 5) Arraez’ 2-run single pretty much iced the game.

The ball is not carrying today.

Decent maybe, but certainly not better than what they saw from the Blue Jays, Yankees and Rays.

They hit some balls hard that inning.

Four good innings from Gray. Time to do some hitting!