JD-TWINS

Seems like a cheap depth move. No conspiracy theory that everyone else is going to be out for extended period. Good athlete that can play all 3 OF positions if we are really desperate at some point. Good organizational move.

Completely agree! Appears he got in really good shape - bummer he can’t throw. Last year, even if we wanted to try and play Miranda at 3B, with a good chunk of the roster hurt, we needed to plug him at 1B or DH just to start 9 guys. Urshella was solid at 3B both offensively & defensively. Farmer costs 1/2 of Urshella & is a former everyday SS & comfortable at 2B & 3B. Good exchange in the pursuit of positional depth! Miranda’s arm is potentially just a Spring Training strain but he needs to heal soon. If Kirilof is healthy & if Miranda can’t throw effectively, the new 3B options will push him to DH & 1B platoons. If Lee/Lewis take over 3B in ‘24, Miranda has a slim future as a RH bat in our line-up. On paper, Larnach - Kirilof - Gordon - Walner - Julien all play ahead of him (as well as Buxton 30-40 games) at DH v. RH pitching (75% of games). Seems like there should always be room for a good bat on the roster - thought that about Luis A. as well.

Seems Gallo would be short-term LH bat solution at 1B if Kirilof isn’t ready April 1. No question. LH bat solution if Kirilof is washed for months, would be to get Gordon up to speed. Fielding balls isn’t an issue - footwork around the base would take a month or more while Gallo holds down the position for 6-8 weeks against RH pitching. At some point is leaving Gallo at 1B OK & Gordon in LF OK…….less risky? Obviously, hope Kirilof is up with Big Club very soon!

I get the “maybes” & “what ifs” for conversation sake. However, if Nick Gordon can’t get over an ankle sprain in another 10 days, he has a more serious injury. Is Miranda throwing at all? He is my concern……everyone has braced for Kirilof not being able to play again this year but Miranda was penciled in for 100 games at 3B - 35 games between DH & 1B……I get he can DH or even play 1B for a month but he can’t force LH bats out of the line-up v. RH pitching at either of these spots! Picked up Solano to play 1B & DH v. LH pitching.

Conservative guess, 15-13……..don’t think we realize our advantage in starter depth until maybe June. Really think we’ll routinely pick up W’s with our 3-4-5 guys vs. other team’s back end starters!

Kirilof has to be the most concerning guy! Big potential - poor health history - essentially at the final step in potentially making it or not. If he can play daily, the team’s success is looking good. Gallo is Kirilof’s LH hitting replacement at 1B. This gets Gordon/Larnach into LF…..not a terrible thing. Gordon & Taylor can cover CF if Buxton goes down. Solano/Farmer/Lee can cover for Miranda at 3B if arm issues linger.

Taylor is solid v. 25% of the games when there’s a lefty starter…….pinch hitter - pinch runner - late inning Defense. A true back up!;

Jeffers seems like a good depth catcher to me at this point. ALL teams play at least 2 guys at Catcher……..few play more than 70%, right? The 2nd guy on 30 teams can’t be significantly better than Jeffers. Vazquez is a good #1 guy with a better than decent bat…….Jeffers is developing - hopefully, Vázquez rubs off on him.

Lee & Julien need a couple months at AAA to get acclimated to another level before considering for Big Club. Need to at least start year in St. Paul so we don’t burn a year of control going forward. Larnach needs to prove health over some time period more than a couple weeks……..same with Kirilof…….Solano signing is another smart depth move. The 2 young guys are more appealing but they have to be available! Walner needs to work on D, other than arm, and strike out about 10% less than historically. Julian, while showing great upside, needs to spend a couple months in AAA to be sure he’s good to go at next level. Same with Lee. As stated above, Julian & Lee lose year of control if on Opening Day roster. Let’s wait at least a few weeks.

Larnach has real potential……going to struggle to make 26 man roster since the Solano signing! Am assuming all are healthy. My line-ups are based on RH or LH opposing pitcher since we will swing our starters big time: v. LH pitching v. RH pitching Taylor - CF Gordon - DH Buxton - DH Buxton - CF Correa - SS Correa - SS Miranda - 1B. Polanco - 2B Farmer - 3B Kirilof - 1B Jeffers - C Vázquez - C Gallo - LF. Gallo - LF Solano - 2B. Miranda - 3B Kepler - RF. Kepler - RF If Kirilof & Larnach are HEALTHY, I like Larnach better than Solano, but w/o options, Solano needs to be rostered so Larnach starts in St. Paul.

Ray gets $23M/year over life of contract……,he pitched a fair amount of innings and stayed healthy……..give ya that & there is value in that!………….12-12 with a 3.71 ERA is not an ACE. With the addition of Castillo at the break last year, it may have dropped Ray to being Seattle’s 5th best starter. Seriously.

He’s at $14.5 this year I believe and was pissed because the club wouldn’t pay another $300K - they built an argument against his recent year’s performance……..gotta think his arbitration number is no more than $20M in ‘24. Whatever, pay him something a bit higher than the expectation to help the relationship.

If we had a proven - solid Pen, I could care less about signing an ACE. We do have a solid starting Staff now w/o an “ace” & if we had 5 good/reliable relievers for playoffs I’d be good. Jax - Duran - Thielbar …….. Moran ………we now have 4 guys in our Pen we can rely on but the others are all suspect regarding consistency or health. I think, for ‘23, we should drop minor league starters into Pen roles with Big Club. We can drop one of the starters to relief in play-offs.

Didn’t work because he hurt his knee and needed a procedure & rest. Can’t do that in May if you’re still hitting the baseball well. He played off & on while continuing to help the offense………didn’t work in ‘22 because he was injured. He played 2nd most games in a season last year. Only played over a hundred games once! ‘22 wasn’t his first year being hurt. Need to try & load manage from the jump this year to TRY and extend his health and get more at bats. “Putting him out there until he’s hurt…….” hasn’t been real positive historically.

Agreed - your New Chart looks about as close as one could come! Larnach needs to play & hit .500 this spring to even get a thought for opening day - still don’t see it w/o an injury to an outfielder.