The Twins went a dismal 1-5 on their excursion to Seattle and Kansas City. They return home with Byron Buxton on the disabled list and a weary bullpen that seems addicted to giving up late and crucial runs.
I switched the channel after the game to MLB Network in time to hear Harold Reynolds suggest that the Twins need a "reboot." They'd probably like to restart the season, but it's the last day in May and they have the record they deserve. Yes, they've had a few bad breaks -- Thursday's Mike Moustakas homer was little more than a popup down the line -- but this team has played sloppy baseball.
June trades are rather rare, last week's deal between Seattle and Tampa Bay notwithstanding. But a trade moving one of the veteran starters next month should perhaps be expected. Ervin Santana's impending return figures to overflow the rotation.
Roster stuff: The Twins finally conceded Wednesday that Buxton was not playing effectively with his fractured toe. So he's back on the DL. Aaron Slegers came up, pitched 5.1 shutout innings of relief after Fernando Romero put the Twins behind 9-0, and got optioned back out after the game -- punished for doing a good job, but the Twins need more bullpen reinforcements.
Slegers will probably be the 26th man for an upcoming doubleheader (June 5), but he wasn't going to pitch before that. He loses out on a few days of major league pay, though.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Applying the "opener" to the Twins
The Monday print column examined the Rays' innovative use of veteran short reliever Sergio Romo, who has been deployed four times in two weeks to pitch the first inning against righty-heavy lineups.
The Rays all told have done this five times in that span, using another righty bullpen arm for the first inning and then turning to another pticher for length.
The column got about as long as I care to submit for print without getting into the applicability of this strategy for the Twins. And without a specific transaction to comment on today, here goes.
Against the Twins
I don't see the Rays trotting Romo out for the first inning when they come to Minnesota in July. Romo, who throws about 60 percent sliders, is a right-handed specialist, and the Twins are heavy with left-handed hitters and switch hitters. It's a rare lineup from Paul Molitor that doesn't have at least one left-handed hitter in the top two lineup spots.
Remember, a big part of what Kevin Cash is doing here is getting a favorable matchup at the start of the game. He's not eager to have Romo face Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario or Max Kepler at any time that matters.
By the Twins
Unlike the Rays, the Twins don't have any lefties in their rotation, marginal or otherwise, and won't even after Ervin Santana returns from his surgery rehab. And there's really nobody in the current rotation Molitor would necessarily want to protect.
But last year was another matter. Adlaberto Mejia made 21 starts for the Twins and threw all of 98 innings -- less than five innings per start. The hefty lefty was their fourth-used starter but didn't provide the bulk innings one wants from a middle of the rotation piece.
It might have helped to use somebody like Alan Busenitz or Ryan Pressly against a righty-heavy top of a lineup to open Mejia's outings and then turn to Mejia. One or two more wins out of those games would have been valued.
Mejia not only didn't make the team this year, he isn't giving the Twins reason to bring him up. If the opener concept is going to spread out of Tampa Bay, it won't do so in Minnesota.
The Rays all told have done this five times in that span, using another righty bullpen arm for the first inning and then turning to another pticher for length.
The column got about as long as I care to submit for print without getting into the applicability of this strategy for the Twins. And without a specific transaction to comment on today, here goes.
Against the Twins
I don't see the Rays trotting Romo out for the first inning when they come to Minnesota in July. Romo, who throws about 60 percent sliders, is a right-handed specialist, and the Twins are heavy with left-handed hitters and switch hitters. It's a rare lineup from Paul Molitor that doesn't have at least one left-handed hitter in the top two lineup spots.
Remember, a big part of what Kevin Cash is doing here is getting a favorable matchup at the start of the game. He's not eager to have Romo face Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario or Max Kepler at any time that matters.
By the Twins
Unlike the Rays, the Twins don't have any lefties in their rotation, marginal or otherwise, and won't even after Ervin Santana returns from his surgery rehab. And there's really nobody in the current rotation Molitor would necessarily want to protect.
But last year was another matter. Adlaberto Mejia made 21 starts for the Twins and threw all of 98 innings -- less than five innings per start. The hefty lefty was their fourth-used starter but didn't provide the bulk innings one wants from a middle of the rotation piece.
It might have helped to use somebody like Alan Busenitz or Ryan Pressly against a righty-heavy top of a lineup to open Mejia's outings and then turn to Mejia. One or two more wins out of those games would have been valued.
Mejia not only didn't make the team this year, he isn't giving the Twins reason to bring him up. If the opener concept is going to spread out of Tampa Bay, it won't do so in Minnesota.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
The meaning of Taylor Motter
#mntwins claimed UT Tyler Motter off waivers from SEA and have assigned him to @RocRedWings. 40-man is full again.— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) May 28, 2018
Uh, who what?
The Twins created an opening on their 40-man roster last week by designating Phil Hughes for assignment (and later trading him to San Diego). It was presumed that they created that opening so they could activate Trevor May or Ervin Santana around about now as they become eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list.
And they fill the roster spot with organizational depth for Triple A?
Taylor Motter (not Tyler) is 28 and has 390 major league plate appearances over three seasons for two teams on his Baseball Reference page, with a batting average of .198. He has played every position in the majors except catcher and center field. In 2017 he stole 12 bases in 13 attempts, so he probably has some speed. He appears to have played considerable shortstop in the minors.
I don't really see the purpose in having him on the 40, but he may not have that roster spot long. I suspect the Twins will waive him themselves in hopes he can clear waivers for them and they can stash him at Rochester.
Remember: Jorge Polanco comes off his steroid suspension in 31 games. Presumably either Ehrie Adrianza or Gregorio Petit would be waived to make room for Polanco. Motter could be viewed as insurance against losing one of those utility men.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Phil Hughes and the money
There was a taker for Phil Hughes' contract, or at least some of it, after all.
The Twins on Sunday traded Hughes to San Diego. On the face of it, it's pretty much all subtraction:
The Twins on Sunday traded Hughes to San Diego. On the face of it, it's pretty much all subtraction:
#mntwins have traded Phil Hughes, cash and 74th overall pick ($812,200 slot value) to #Padres for 21-year-old Venezuelan catcher— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) May 27, 2018
Janigson Villalobos. #mntwins now have $5,933,000 to spend in first 10 rounds of June draft (5th lowest total).
That pick was tradable because it's a competitive balance pick. And while the amount of cash the Twins are sending with Hughes wasn't announced, it's been reported to be quite a bit, with the Padres assuming only about $6 million to $7 million of the $20 million or so left on his contract.
Now that we've set the technical details, let's break this deal down to two component parts:
- Phil Hughes for (we'll say) $6 million
- A top-100 draft pick for Janigson Villalobos
I would like to be wrong on this, but the Padres overpaid on the first half of this trade. The current version of Phil Hughes is not worth $6 million. (San Diego is a pretty good landing spot for Hughes, and I hope he does well there.)
I would like to be wrong on the second part as well, but there's a better chance the 74th player in next month's draft will be a productive major leaguer than there is for Villalobos. Plus deleting more than $800,000 from the bonus pool figures to constrict the Twins' draft flexibility.
Villalobos is 21 and hasn't gotten out of Rookie ball in the San Diego organization. He's going to be on a short-season team again this year, presumably Elizabethton in the Appy League. You can look at his stats in the above link, but Rookie level numbers don't mean much.
When the Twins DFA'd Hughes last week, Derek Falvey mentioned that principal owner Jim Pohlad signed off on the decision. I suspect that getting ownership's OK to write off $20 million required Falvey to agree to make minimizing that write off a priority. (I also suspect that the late signings of Lance Lynn and Logan Morrison put the Twins over budget on this year's payroll, which may be another reason to emphasize for the savings.)
It's not my money, and we have no idea what talent the Twins will lose out on for Villalobos. But I think the Twins would probably have been better off eating the full term of Hughes' contract and keeping the draft pick.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Pic of the Week
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| Dexter Fowler left the game Friday after being hit in the knee by a pitch. |
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Notes, quotes and comment
At least Friday night's loss in Seattle was a quick one: 2:14, the fastest game in the majors this year.
The other day the Twins were 1-1 in the eighth inning, and the game was almost three hours in. Pace of play, man.
This just in: James Paxson is a pretty good pitcher. Fernando Romero ain't bad either, but the business of walking somebody with two outs, wild-pitching him to second and then giving up a hit against the shift -- that's emblematic of the 2018 Twins as we hit Memorial Day weekend. That's giving the Mariners a run, and that run gave them the game.
---
Worth reading department: This story from USA Today about protective cups. Plenty of Twins (Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier, Torii Hunter and Paul Molitor) quoted in it, but my favorite line is the explanation by former Giants and White Sox infielder Juan Uribe of why he didn't wear one.
This piece from Fangraphs' Jay Jaffe on Phil Hughes, DFA'ed earlier this week by the Twins, and thoractic outlet syndrome.
---
The Red Sox on Friday DFA'd veteran slugger Hanley Ramirez to reactivate Dustin Pedroia from the disabled list, and there was immediate speculation from MLB Radio's Jim Bowden that the Twins might be a landing place for the first baseman-DH.
I assume that the Twins came to mind because the acquisition earlier this week of Chris Carter signaled an interest by Minnesota in that ilk of player. Ramirez still has a better hit tool than the swing-and-miss addicted Carter, but they are both right-right first basemen who are relatively inept in the field. Ramirez was hitting .330 through April and .163 this month.
I know this: The Twins aren't taking on Ramirez' contract. No team is. He will clear waivers, the Sawx will release him, and he'll get to pick from his suitors, who will pay the pro-rated minimum while Boston pays him the rest.
---
Finally, relationship advice from veteran reliever John Axford via Twitter:
The other day the Twins were 1-1 in the eighth inning, and the game was almost three hours in. Pace of play, man.
This just in: James Paxson is a pretty good pitcher. Fernando Romero ain't bad either, but the business of walking somebody with two outs, wild-pitching him to second and then giving up a hit against the shift -- that's emblematic of the 2018 Twins as we hit Memorial Day weekend. That's giving the Mariners a run, and that run gave them the game.
---
Worth reading department: This story from USA Today about protective cups. Plenty of Twins (Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier, Torii Hunter and Paul Molitor) quoted in it, but my favorite line is the explanation by former Giants and White Sox infielder Juan Uribe of why he didn't wear one.
This piece from Fangraphs' Jay Jaffe on Phil Hughes, DFA'ed earlier this week by the Twins, and thoractic outlet syndrome.
---
The Red Sox on Friday DFA'd veteran slugger Hanley Ramirez to reactivate Dustin Pedroia from the disabled list, and there was immediate speculation from MLB Radio's Jim Bowden that the Twins might be a landing place for the first baseman-DH.
I assume that the Twins came to mind because the acquisition earlier this week of Chris Carter signaled an interest by Minnesota in that ilk of player. Ramirez still has a better hit tool than the swing-and-miss addicted Carter, but they are both right-right first basemen who are relatively inept in the field. Ramirez was hitting .330 through April and .163 this month.
I know this: The Twins aren't taking on Ramirez' contract. No team is. He will clear waivers, the Sawx will release him, and he'll get to pick from his suitors, who will pay the pro-rated minimum while Boston pays him the rest.
---
Finally, relationship advice from veteran reliever John Axford via Twitter:
Dear couple that clearly broke up while standing near our bullpen in the 5th inning today,— John Axford (@JohnAxford) May 26, 2018
Lovely entertainment for a few minutes, but we hope you’re ok. Feel free to come back tomorrow and discuss with us. We can provide the third party point of view!
Love,
The Jays bullpen!
Friday, May 25, 2018
The return of Miguel Sano
The Twins celebrated their off day Thursday by reinstating Miguel Sano from the disabled list and optioning Jake Cave back to Rochester.
I would expect to see a lot of Sano as the designated hitter, at least initially, and perhaps as long as Joe Mauer is sidelined. Logan Morrison has first base while Mauer waits for his concussion syndrome to subside, and the Twins would rather play Eduardo Escobar at third base than at shortstop.
Sano had a productive five-game rehab stint at Triple A, and perhaps his return after a 24-game absence will give this lineup a jolt. It needs one.
I would expect to see a lot of Sano as the designated hitter, at least initially, and perhaps as long as Joe Mauer is sidelined. Logan Morrison has first base while Mauer waits for his concussion syndrome to subside, and the Twins would rather play Eduardo Escobar at third base than at shortstop.
Sano had a productive five-game rehab stint at Triple A, and perhaps his return after a 24-game absence will give this lineup a jolt. It needs one.
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