The good news from Tuesday's Twins game: The Twins won in 10 innings.
The bad news: Byron Buxton -- hitting .308 -- bruised his back running into the centerfield wall on Aldaberto Mondesi's game-tying inside-the-park homer. He certainly won't be in the lineup this afternoon, and I won't be surprised if he misses at least part of the weekend series in Philadelphia.
Buck's gotta stop running into walls.
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Michael Reed, who spent most of spring training in Twins camp, was traded to the Giants on March 23 and opened the season not only on the Giants roster but in their starting lineup.
Unfortunately for Reed, he opened the season 0-for-8. The Giants traded Tuesday for centerfielder Kevin Pillar from Toronto and designated Reed for assignment.
Maybe if Reed had opened 5-for-8 he'd still have a job. Maybe.
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The Twins' first save opportunity of 2019 went to Taylor Rogers. The second, I guess, went to Rogers as well -- he's charged with a blown save for Mondesi's inside-the-parker -- but I don't know that Rocco Baldelli brought Rogers in with the intent of getting a six-out save from the lefty.
Anyway, the next save opp, be it the second or third, went to Blake Parker, who walked one and struck out one and kept his splitter out of the dirt this time.
The roleless bullpen rolls on.
Showing posts with label Michael Reed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Reed. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Monday, March 25, 2019
Goodbye, Reed
The Twins had no room for outfielder Michael Reed on their major league roster, so they moved him on to the San Francisco Giants during the weekend for another outfielder, John Andreoli, and cash.
Reed is the more interesting of the two outfielders, a speed guy who figures to get a genuine opportunity to play with the Giants even the manager doesn't know much about him yet. When the Twins picked him up on a waiver claim early in the offseason, I surmised that his appeal was as Buxton insurance. With Byron Buxton having a strong spring training, and with the later addition of Marwin Gonzalez, the Twins could let that insurance policy lapse.
Andreoli is Triple-A depth. I think the Twins have shed two better outfielders than him this spring (Reed and Zach Granite). Beside the three regulars (Rosario, Buxton and Kepler) and super-utility man Gonzalez, the Twins also have Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade ahead of him. The chances of Andreoli playing for the Twins are slim.
This does open up a spot on the 40-man roster, which is good news for a non-roster invitee -- probably Ryne Harper, a reliever whose curve ball has caught eyes this spring.
Reed is the more interesting of the two outfielders, a speed guy who figures to get a genuine opportunity to play with the Giants even the manager doesn't know much about him yet. When the Twins picked him up on a waiver claim early in the offseason, I surmised that his appeal was as Buxton insurance. With Byron Buxton having a strong spring training, and with the later addition of Marwin Gonzalez, the Twins could let that insurance policy lapse.
Andreoli is Triple-A depth. I think the Twins have shed two better outfielders than him this spring (Reed and Zach Granite). Beside the three regulars (Rosario, Buxton and Kepler) and super-utility man Gonzalez, the Twins also have Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade ahead of him. The chances of Andreoli playing for the Twins are slim.
This does open up a spot on the 40-man roster, which is good news for a non-roster invitee -- probably Ryne Harper, a reliever whose curve ball has caught eyes this spring.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Notes, quotes and comment
The Twins, having opened two spots on the 40-man roster by declining their options on Ervin Santana and Logan Morrison, promptly filled one by claiming Michael Reed on waivers from the Atlanta Braves.
Reed is a right-handed hitting outfielder who turns 26 this month. He had a really impressive minor league season, hitting .342 between Double A and Triple A. He's said to be a speed-and-defense guy who hits lefties well, and he's gotten 37 major league plate appearances over the past three seasons, two with Milwaukee and one with Atlanta.
I can see him being a platoon partner with Jake Cave, a left-handed hitter who really struggled vs. southpaws. But I also believe that the Twins don't want to use an outfield spot to platoon Cave. They want -- need -- the Eddie Rosario-Byron Buxton-Max Kepler trio to be healthy and effective over the full season. That hasn't happened yet.
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The Twins have yet to make any official announcments about the coaching staff, and their website continues to list the 2018 staff, with the exception of Rocco Baldelli as manager.
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RIP to Willie McCovey, the great power hitting first baseman of my youth, who died Wednesday after a sustained run of health issues. "Stretch" won the NL MVP in 1969, the season I discovered baseball, and hit 521 homers, mostly with the Giants.
The Giants of the 1960s were chronic contenders who seemed to finish second or third every season. Their minor league teams at the time produced outfielders like a southern Minnesota farm produces corn. Off the top of my head, the Giants in the 1960s debuted: Manny Mota, Felipe Alou, Matty Alou, Jesus Alou, Bobby Bonds, Jim Ray Hart, Ollie Brown and Ken Henderson, all of whom because major league regulars at worst. In the early 70s they had Gary Mathews, Garry Maddox and George Foster, each of whom wound up long-term regulars for outstanding teams.
But they got rid of all of them because none of them was Willie Mays.
McCovey and Orlando Cepeda came up at about the same time. Both were great hitters, and both had leg or foot problems that limited them to first base. Alvin Dark, the manager of the Giants in the early 60s, tried each in left field anyway. You can't blame him -- a middle of the order of Mays-McCovey-Cepeda is frightening to contemplate. But what they really needed to have that was the designated hitter rule.
There's a story ... Dark, having decided that playing Cepeda in left wasn't working, moved him back to first and put McCovey in left. Somebody told Dark that McCovey was uncomfortable with the change. Replied Dark: "What else is he gonna do? Catch?"
Eventually, in 1966, the Giants traded Cepeda to St. Louis for a starting pitcher, Ray Sadeki, who was never as useful for the Giants as he had been for the Cardinals. Cepeda won the 1967 MVP; McCovey won the 1969 MVP. The Giants finished second in both seasons. Of course.
Reed is a right-handed hitting outfielder who turns 26 this month. He had a really impressive minor league season, hitting .342 between Double A and Triple A. He's said to be a speed-and-defense guy who hits lefties well, and he's gotten 37 major league plate appearances over the past three seasons, two with Milwaukee and one with Atlanta.
I can see him being a platoon partner with Jake Cave, a left-handed hitter who really struggled vs. southpaws. But I also believe that the Twins don't want to use an outfield spot to platoon Cave. They want -- need -- the Eddie Rosario-Byron Buxton-Max Kepler trio to be healthy and effective over the full season. That hasn't happened yet.
---
The Twins have yet to make any official announcments about the coaching staff, and their website continues to list the 2018 staff, with the exception of Rocco Baldelli as manager.
---
RIP to Willie McCovey, the great power hitting first baseman of my youth, who died Wednesday after a sustained run of health issues. "Stretch" won the NL MVP in 1969, the season I discovered baseball, and hit 521 homers, mostly with the Giants.
The Giants of the 1960s were chronic contenders who seemed to finish second or third every season. Their minor league teams at the time produced outfielders like a southern Minnesota farm produces corn. Off the top of my head, the Giants in the 1960s debuted: Manny Mota, Felipe Alou, Matty Alou, Jesus Alou, Bobby Bonds, Jim Ray Hart, Ollie Brown and Ken Henderson, all of whom because major league regulars at worst. In the early 70s they had Gary Mathews, Garry Maddox and George Foster, each of whom wound up long-term regulars for outstanding teams.
But they got rid of all of them because none of them was Willie Mays.
McCovey and Orlando Cepeda came up at about the same time. Both were great hitters, and both had leg or foot problems that limited them to first base. Alvin Dark, the manager of the Giants in the early 60s, tried each in left field anyway. You can't blame him -- a middle of the order of Mays-McCovey-Cepeda is frightening to contemplate. But what they really needed to have that was the designated hitter rule.
There's a story ... Dark, having decided that playing Cepeda in left wasn't working, moved him back to first and put McCovey in left. Somebody told Dark that McCovey was uncomfortable with the change. Replied Dark: "What else is he gonna do? Catch?"
Eventually, in 1966, the Giants traded Cepeda to St. Louis for a starting pitcher, Ray Sadeki, who was never as useful for the Giants as he had been for the Cardinals. Cepeda won the 1967 MVP; McCovey won the 1969 MVP. The Giants finished second in both seasons. Of course.
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