Ben Noble

Polanco being a better career LH batter aside, what change do you propose? Have him start hitting RH pitchers as a RH batter, something he’s never done before in a pro game?

I see Morneau as a tv personality a lot like a promising young hitting prospect who's made a few appearances but hasn't exceeded his rookie status yet. He's got all the tools to succeed, but he needs some time and experience to put it all together. Hopefully we'll have the chance to watch him grow into the role and make it his own over the long haul, because I think he could be a good one.

Arraez makes the most sense to me, but I wonder if there’s something deep in the data that shows Kepler leading off actually makes the most sense for the lineup as a whole.

We’ll see, he still might be coming back, I suspect he’ll have to settle for a MiLB/split contract. Twins could be a fit for that second utility role, at least to start the season.

But they called up Rooker ahead of Kirilloff, and I sincerely doubt they would’ve started Kirilloff in that lone playoff game if Rooker wasn’t injured. I’m a big believer in Kirilloff, but I also think the team would be totally justified in giving Rooker first crack at LF to start the season.

Romero is set to play in Japan this year. As to speculation around Simmons, it seems like there’s at least one MLB/MiLB player in the org every spring whose arrival is delayed due to visa issues, but Romero is the first Twins player that I can recall where the visa was straight denied due to attempting to enter the US with marijuana. Also, I believe that Simmons has been pretty open in stating that his issues at the end of last season were mental health-related, exacerbated by covid concerns, so I think it’s fair to assume that his visa issues are purely procedural.

Pretty sure teams are still capped at 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster until September 1st, unless they changed something for 2021. Edit: Sorry, my bad, just read that they DID change that! Fourteen pitchers just seems like madness, but with pitcher workloads thrown off last year, I’m sure we’ll see some teams doing it. You’re right, those options just became a lot more valuable.

Nope, Kirilloff is the first to START a playoff game for their MLB debut. The other position players debuted as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement IIRC.

Trading a highly valuable asset for the Cy Young runner up is a dumpster diving move? I mean, I have mixed feelings about LA as a place to live and work, but I wouldn’t call it a tent city. And that Dodger organization that won the World Series last year and is gearing up for another run isn’t a dumpster.

No need to mince words, naan of us want an Herb Washington on the team.

Twins had to DFA someone once they pressed Garlick onto the 40-man.

They’re way off. Only thing that’s happened to him is he’s gotten better since the Twins traded for and started developing him. I’m totally unbiased btw.

Agreed on all counts, and after a year without MiLB I desperately need a refresher of who’s in the system and how close they are to The Show. Can’t imagine a better group than the team at TD to provide that!

OP: “For reference, Hernandez has appeared at every position except for catcher and pitcher.“ Hernández actually pitched to four batters, recording one out, in one appearance against the Phillies in 2018.

For those worried about competition for attendance, it’s about 50 miles from Cincinnati to the Reds’ Class A affiliate in Dayton, and the Dragons have repeatedly broken their own attendance records year after year since becoming a Reds affiliate over 20 years ago, including the longest sellout streak in US professional sports.