The Twins on Sunday had their first save opp since the Brandon Kintzler trade -- really, the first time in more than a week that the bullpen was asked to protect a lead, as Ervin Santana and Bartolo Colon had complete games in their two wins last week.
The 'pen came through: Trevor Hildenberger threw two scoreless innings, Taylor Rogers got through the eighth and Matt Belisle worked a perfect ninth for his first save since 2012.
Not the way I would prefer, but it worked.
Dick Bremer at least twice, and maybe more, invoked Belisle's "senior status" Sunday as justification for giving him at least a share of the closer role. Bremer may be an imperfect conduit for the mind of Paul Molitor, but my working assumption is that the broadcasters for a team reflect the thinking of management. If Molitor genuinely prefers Belisle late in games because he's got more years in the pension plan than anybody else, that's a bad sign.
The veteran has been getting outs more consistently than anybody else in the bullpen for weeks now; Belisle hasn't been charged with a run, earned or unearned, since June. Rogers, meanwhile, had allowed at least one run in six straight appearances befors Sunday.
At least Hildenberger finally got to pitch with a narrow lead.
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A couple other notes about the pitching staff:
Dillon Gee isn't, as I assumed when he was called up last week, filling the rotation spot vacated by the Jaime Garcia trade. He made his Twins debut in relief, and Kyle Gibson was returned for Saturday's start. It was SOG -- same old Gibson. He got 16 outs and allowed nine baserunners; this is not a good OBP allowed.
And the return of Glen Perkins to the major league bullpen is presumably imminent. Perkins was in the Twin Cities this weekend and will throw what is described as "an extended bullpen session" today, then report to Double-A Chattanooga to continue his rehab assignment. The plan is for him to pitch three times, including one set of back-to-back days.
His rehab assignment officially expires on the 20th. He apparently expects to be back before then. Even with the bullpen roles unsettled, I wouldn't expect Perkins to step back into the ninth inning immediately. But then, I didn't expect Belisle to get the ball in the ninth inning after the Kintzler deal.
Showing posts with label Dillon Gee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dillon Gee. Show all posts
Monday, August 7, 2017
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Buxton and Gee
Twins activate Byron Buxton from the DL and recall Dillon Gee from AAA Rochester. They take roster spots from Kintzler and Garcia trades.— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) August 1, 2017
OK, I'm a couple days late on these moves but ...
1) It's probably no coincidence that the Twins fell out of the race during the two weeks plus that Byron Buxton was out of action. As Baseball Reference figures WAR, Buxton is the second-most valuable Twin and best position player (as of this morning). (He's been moving up the list even without playing.)
That obviously gives a lot of weight to Buxton's defensive prowess, and defense is the part of such evaluations that is most difficult to pinpoint. But the eye test suggests that the Twins may have lost a couple of games during this stretch because Buxton wasn't in center field.
2) Gee presumably takes the rotation spot vacated by the Jaime Garcia trade. The former Mets mainstay was certainly patient; he could have opted out of his minor league deal with the Twins a couple weeks ago. He made five starts in Rochester, 27 innings with a 2.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts and just three walks.
I rather expected Kyle Gibson to return. This may be a piece of evidence that the front office is ready to turn the page on the former first-round pick. Or it may be simply be that they figured that Gee deserved a reward for hanging around. I'm fine with Gee over Gibson.
I will say this, however; having veteran retreads Gee and Bartolo Colon in the rotation while Aaron Slegers rolls along in Triple A is a bit irking.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Gee, Colon? Part 3 (and Hughes and Breslow)
Well, at least he threw strikes.
For four innings, the Bartolo Colon Experiment worked, He carved up the Yankee lineup with mediocre velocity coupled with location and movement, and with some good fielding plays behind him.
Then came the fifth, in which he got no outs, and in which Ryan Pressly did what Ryan Pressly has done pretty consistently all season: give up a homer. The 3-1 lead turned to a 6-3 deficit, and both bullpens put up zeros after that.
Yeah, the Twins had plenty of opportunities to score more runs, but you shouldn't hang your hat on allowing six runs.
Four earned runs in four innings won't do much for Big Sexy's already bloated ERA, but he'll get another start after throwing 53 strikes in 82 pitches. That will come against the Dodgers, who are doing unto the National League what the Astros are doing unto the American. He's not drawing cupcake assignments.
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Despite the report Monday that Dillon Gee has been waived, he remains on the 40-man roster as of early this morning. The 40-man (and 25-man) roster spot for Colon came from putting Phil Hughes on the 60-day disabled list. He's done for the season with a recurrence of his thoracic outlet syndrome with another round of surgery in his near future. This is a discouraging development for Hughes personally, but doesn't really damage the team's outlook for the rest of the season, as he hasn't been very effective as a reliever.
Kennys Vargas was indeed optioned out, and Craig Breslow was returned to the 25-man roster from the disabled list. He got one out on Tuesday. Replacing Hughes in the 'pen with Breslow doesn't do much for me.
The roster maneuvers left the Twins roster in this condition: The game ended with Chris Gimenez on-deck waiting to pinch-hit for Eddie Rosario against Aroldis Chapman. I'm not really sure what the point of that move would have been ... yeah, Gimenez would have the platoon advantage, but I would too. I'd rather have Rosario against Chapman.
For four innings, the Bartolo Colon Experiment worked, He carved up the Yankee lineup with mediocre velocity coupled with location and movement, and with some good fielding plays behind him.
Then came the fifth, in which he got no outs, and in which Ryan Pressly did what Ryan Pressly has done pretty consistently all season: give up a homer. The 3-1 lead turned to a 6-3 deficit, and both bullpens put up zeros after that.
Yeah, the Twins had plenty of opportunities to score more runs, but you shouldn't hang your hat on allowing six runs.
Four earned runs in four innings won't do much for Big Sexy's already bloated ERA, but he'll get another start after throwing 53 strikes in 82 pitches. That will come against the Dodgers, who are doing unto the National League what the Astros are doing unto the American. He's not drawing cupcake assignments.
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Despite the report Monday that Dillon Gee has been waived, he remains on the 40-man roster as of early this morning. The 40-man (and 25-man) roster spot for Colon came from putting Phil Hughes on the 60-day disabled list. He's done for the season with a recurrence of his thoracic outlet syndrome with another round of surgery in his near future. This is a discouraging development for Hughes personally, but doesn't really damage the team's outlook for the rest of the season, as he hasn't been very effective as a reliever.
Kennys Vargas was indeed optioned out, and Craig Breslow was returned to the 25-man roster from the disabled list. He got one out on Tuesday. Replacing Hughes in the 'pen with Breslow doesn't do much for me.
The roster maneuvers left the Twins roster in this condition: The game ended with Chris Gimenez on-deck waiting to pinch-hit for Eddie Rosario against Aroldis Chapman. I'm not really sure what the point of that move would have been ... yeah, Gimenez would have the platoon advantage, but I would too. I'd rather have Rosario against Chapman.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Gee, Colon? Part Two (plus Vargas)
Monday morning's post questioned the logic of giving tonight's start to Bartolo Colon over Dillon Gee.
The Twins doubled down on that decision, right or wrong, after Monday's game:
Cutting Gee fits the timing of his opt-out. The Twins clearly decided he wasn't a solution. Presumably the opt-out forced this resolution to his status.
That gets Colon on the 40-man roster. To get him on the 25-man active roster required another move:
This is the second time in two weeks they've optioned Vargas out. The first try ended early when Joe Mauer went on the DL. But Mauer returned Friday, and on Sunday Vargas's defensive frailities -- or at least one of them -- showed when the Astros twice ran on him.
Normally the quality of a first baseman's arm is immaterial. Steve Garvey, to name one prominent example, couldn't throw and wouldn't throw if he could possibly avoid it, but he was an outstanding defensive first baseman. I don't know that I've ever seen a first baseman's arm disregarded so throughly as was Vargas' on Sunday.
The interesting thing is that Vargas shows up pretty well in the publicly available defensive metrics. Both versions of runs saved shown on Baseball Reference have him, on a per-inning basis, as outperforming Joe Mauer.
Small sample size, to be sure. Vargas is NOT better with the glove than Mauer. And that Paul Molitor chose to pinch-hit Eduardo Escobar for him Monday night should say something about how his bat is playing.
The Twins doubled down on that decision, right or wrong, after Monday's game:
Source w/direct knowledge confirms Dillon Gee was placed on outright waivers to make room for Colon on 40-man roster.— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) July 18, 2017
Cutting Gee fits the timing of his opt-out. The Twins clearly decided he wasn't a solution. Presumably the opt-out forced this resolution to his status.
That gets Colon on the 40-man roster. To get him on the 25-man active roster required another move:
Twins option 1B Kennys Vargas to AAA Rochester to make room for RHP Bartolo Colon. Oldest starter in Twins history faces Yankees Tuesday.— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) July 18, 2017
This is the second time in two weeks they've optioned Vargas out. The first try ended early when Joe Mauer went on the DL. But Mauer returned Friday, and on Sunday Vargas's defensive frailities -- or at least one of them -- showed when the Astros twice ran on him.
Normally the quality of a first baseman's arm is immaterial. Steve Garvey, to name one prominent example, couldn't throw and wouldn't throw if he could possibly avoid it, but he was an outstanding defensive first baseman. I don't know that I've ever seen a first baseman's arm disregarded so throughly as was Vargas' on Sunday.
The interesting thing is that Vargas shows up pretty well in the publicly available defensive metrics. Both versions of runs saved shown on Baseball Reference have him, on a per-inning basis, as outperforming Joe Mauer.
Small sample size, to be sure. Vargas is NOT better with the glove than Mauer. And that Paul Molitor chose to pinch-hit Eduardo Escobar for him Monday night should say something about how his bat is playing.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Gee, Colon? A tale of two Mets refugees
The Twins signed Dillon Gee to a minor league deal with an opt-out on June 22. They brought him to the majors two days later and had him sit in the bullpen waiting for a long relief outing that never came, then optioned him to Rochester. The major league stint did not wipe out the opt-out.
Gee, who has made 125 major league starts, most of them with the Mets, has made three starts for Rochester, 15 innings in which he has not allowed a run. While an ERA of 0.00 is obviously impressive, his K/9 -- 4.8 -- is not. His opt-out window has arrived, but there is no indication that he has exercised it. He started Saturday for Rochester; his turn would come up Thursday.
While Gee has been in Rochester, the Twins signed the well-traveled Bartolo Colon to a minor-league deal. Gee's ex-Mets rotation mate made one start for Rochester in which he didn't get through the fourth inning.
Colon will nevertheless start Tuesday for the major league team. (The corresponding moves, to get Colon on the 40-man roster and onto the 25-man roster, have not been announced and probably won't be until Tuesday.)
Now ... I am obviously guilty here of scouting the stat line. I haven't seen either man pitch, and I haven't access to the spin-rate data and other metrics the front office has. There may well be reason for them to prefer Colon to Gee in their search for a fifth starter.
That reason is not apparent.
Gee, who has made 125 major league starts, most of them with the Mets, has made three starts for Rochester, 15 innings in which he has not allowed a run. While an ERA of 0.00 is obviously impressive, his K/9 -- 4.8 -- is not. His opt-out window has arrived, but there is no indication that he has exercised it. He started Saturday for Rochester; his turn would come up Thursday.
While Gee has been in Rochester, the Twins signed the well-traveled Bartolo Colon to a minor-league deal. Gee's ex-Mets rotation mate made one start for Rochester in which he didn't get through the fourth inning.
Colon will nevertheless start Tuesday for the major league team. (The corresponding moves, to get Colon on the 40-man roster and onto the 25-man roster, have not been announced and probably won't be until Tuesday.)
Now ... I am obviously guilty here of scouting the stat line. I haven't seen either man pitch, and I haven't access to the spin-rate data and other metrics the front office has. There may well be reason for them to prefer Colon to Gee in their search for a fifth starter.
That reason is not apparent.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Gee, the bullpen B's
Dillon Gee will probably feel like a ping pong ball soon, if he doesn't already.
The right-handed pitcher was released on June 18 by Texas. The Twins signed him to a minor-league deal on the 22nd. The Twins then called him up on the 24th. He spent three days sitting in the Twins bullpen, and Monday night he was optioned out to Rochester without getting into a game. And even though he hasn't pitched since June 14, there's a pretty good chance the Twins will make him their doubleheader callup for Saturday in Kansas City.
I had assumed Gee, in his eighth major-league season, was out of options when I speculated in the Monday post that the most likely demotions (to make room for Hector Santiago today and probably Phil Hughes later in the week) were from the trio of Trevor Hildenberger, Adam Busenitz and Buddy Boshers. Gee went first. But somebody is likely to go later in the week, and that adds intrigue to Paul Molitor's bullpen choices late in Monday's game.
Jose Berrios gave up two runs in the first (and was probably fortunate that it was only two), then settled in for the next five. But the Twins couldn't do much with Chris Sale and trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh. Berrios was pulled in the seventh with men on first and third, one out, for Matt Belisle.
Comments: Belisle has a lousy ERA, but almost all his bad outings have come when he started an inning. He's actually fared fairly well at stranding inherited runners; entering Monday's game, he had inherited 12 runners and allowed just two to score. Whether that's just random success or some sort of skill -- and I'm inclined to the randomness theory -- that is doubtless part of why Molitor continues to use the veteran in game situations.
And why not one of the "big three" in the Twins bullpen (Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler)? Probably because
So it made sense to go to the bullpen's second line.
Belisle gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia, driving in a run. Then he threw a sub-optimal pitch that Chris Gimenez failed to corral (ruled a passed ball), putting runners on second and third. Molitor granted Xavier Boegarts the intentional walk, then pulled Belisle for Buddy Boshers with the bases loaded and one out.
Comments: Belisle didn't give Molitor a lot of reason to stick with him in the Pedroia/Boegarts at-bats, and Molitor has seen too many big innings from Belisle already. Can't blame him for getting him out of there. I'm not a fan of the intentional walk to load the bases, but there is a logic behind setting up the double play.
The intriguing thing here is the use of Boshers over fellow lefty Craig Breslow. Boshers worked two innings the day before, and Breslow has pretty clearly been higher in the bullpen heirarchy. But Breslow have given up nine runs in his last seven innings.
Mitch Moreland hit a deep fly off Boshers -- there are several parks in which that ball is a homer -- and the Red Sox had another run, Boshers got the next man to fly to center also, and that ended the inning.
Busenitz got the eighth, and worked a 1-2-3 inning, flashing upper-90s velocity in the process.
So what does all that tell us?
The right-handed pitcher was released on June 18 by Texas. The Twins signed him to a minor-league deal on the 22nd. The Twins then called him up on the 24th. He spent three days sitting in the Twins bullpen, and Monday night he was optioned out to Rochester without getting into a game. And even though he hasn't pitched since June 14, there's a pretty good chance the Twins will make him their doubleheader callup for Saturday in Kansas City.
I had assumed Gee, in his eighth major-league season, was out of options when I speculated in the Monday post that the most likely demotions (to make room for Hector Santiago today and probably Phil Hughes later in the week) were from the trio of Trevor Hildenberger, Adam Busenitz and Buddy Boshers. Gee went first. But somebody is likely to go later in the week, and that adds intrigue to Paul Molitor's bullpen choices late in Monday's game.
Jose Berrios gave up two runs in the first (and was probably fortunate that it was only two), then settled in for the next five. But the Twins couldn't do much with Chris Sale and trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh. Berrios was pulled in the seventh with men on first and third, one out, for Matt Belisle.
Comments: Belisle has a lousy ERA, but almost all his bad outings have come when he started an inning. He's actually fared fairly well at stranding inherited runners; entering Monday's game, he had inherited 12 runners and allowed just two to score. Whether that's just random success or some sort of skill -- and I'm inclined to the randomness theory -- that is doubtless part of why Molitor continues to use the veteran in game situations.
And why not one of the "big three" in the Twins bullpen (Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler)? Probably because
- The Twins were already behind
- That trio was worked pretty hard in the Cleveland series
- Santiago in't likely to go much more than five innings tonight. If he can keep the Twins in the game, Duffey will likely be needed for one of his usual two-inning stints..
So it made sense to go to the bullpen's second line.
Belisle gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia, driving in a run. Then he threw a sub-optimal pitch that Chris Gimenez failed to corral (ruled a passed ball), putting runners on second and third. Molitor granted Xavier Boegarts the intentional walk, then pulled Belisle for Buddy Boshers with the bases loaded and one out.
Comments: Belisle didn't give Molitor a lot of reason to stick with him in the Pedroia/Boegarts at-bats, and Molitor has seen too many big innings from Belisle already. Can't blame him for getting him out of there. I'm not a fan of the intentional walk to load the bases, but there is a logic behind setting up the double play.
The intriguing thing here is the use of Boshers over fellow lefty Craig Breslow. Boshers worked two innings the day before, and Breslow has pretty clearly been higher in the bullpen heirarchy. But Breslow have given up nine runs in his last seven innings.
Mitch Moreland hit a deep fly off Boshers -- there are several parks in which that ball is a homer -- and the Red Sox had another run, Boshers got the next man to fly to center also, and that ended the inning.
Busenitz got the eighth, and worked a 1-2-3 inning, flashing upper-90s velocity in the process.
So what does all that tell us?
- Boshers may be in better position to stick than Breslow.
- Belisle's status as the "No. 4" reliever, probably based on his success at stranding inherited runners, may be in jeopardy.
- Busenitz has the stuff to be a power reliever.
I don't know long the ropes are for the veterans, Breslow and Belisle. I would like Molitor to be open to replacing either or both, and that may be happening already with Breslow. But that's going to be a process.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Chris Gimenez, Nik Turley and more pitching moves
Thurday's rain delay was apparently the longest in Twins history -- five hours -- and it sure didn't take long for the Twins to suspect that they should have just postponed it.
It was still the first inning when I sent this tweet:
And sure enough, the Twins backup catcher pitched the ninth inning, his sixth pitching appearance of the season.
There was a lot of chatter leading up to the draft about two-way players, and the question arises: At what point to we consider Gimenez a two-way player? My answer is: When his pitching is not limited to the ninth inning of blowout losses.
That said, Gimenez has now pitched five innings with a 7.20 ERA this season. The Twins have used 25 pitchers (and counting; two new names, Dillon Gee and Trevor Hildenberger, are being called up). Six of them have worse ERAs than Gimenez and eight have fewer appearances.
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Nik Turley is one of the six and of the eight (ERA 16.39 in three games, all starts, total of 9.1 innings). The Twins merely optioned him out rather than designating him for assignment Thursday, but the Twins need to make space on the 40-man roster today for both Gee and Hildenberger, and DFAing Turley is an obvious possibility.
I feel for the guy. He was a 50th round draft pick, spent a decade in minors, finally gets to the show and gets three starts, every one of which goes poorly, every one worse than the one preceeding it.
Indeed, he may be the least effective pitcher in Twins history, although I'm not sure how to weigh ERA vs. opportunity. For example: Randy Rosario has an ERA of 30.86, but Turley has seven more innings and two decisions.
Having written that, I looked up Steve Carlton's Twins record. The no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer pitched 53.2 innings for the Twins at the end of his marvelous career with an 8.54 ERA, going 1-6 in 1987-88. Andy MacPhail and Tom Kelly gave him a lot of rope.
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As for the new guys: Gee was signed to a minor league deal earlier this week, and presumably he's going to take Turley's rotation berth, although I wouldn't care to wager that he's ready to go deep into his first start. As I said when he signed, I don't expect much.
Hildenberger is a sidearming right-handed reliever who has shot up the minor league system, posting some ridiculous ERAs in the process. Last season he had a combined 0.75 at two levels (high A and Double A). That is not a typo: Zero point seven five. This year's ERA is a more normal 2.05 with 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings at Triple A. That K-rate is roughly what he's posted consistently.
No velocity; if he threw hard he would have been up earlier. I don't know how his style is going to fare in the majors and particularly against lefties, but
He calls to mind Anthony Slama. another funky righty who never got a real chance with the Twins despite some overwhelming minor league numbers. Slama had some bad timing with injuries, but at the core of his lack of opportunites was a belief that his minor league success was based on minor league hitters chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Slama always walked more guys than Hildenberger has, though.
It was still the first inning when I sent this tweet:
It's early, but I think Chris Gimenez is likely to pitch in this one— Edward Thoma (@bboutsider) June 22, 2017
And sure enough, the Twins backup catcher pitched the ninth inning, his sixth pitching appearance of the season.
There was a lot of chatter leading up to the draft about two-way players, and the question arises: At what point to we consider Gimenez a two-way player? My answer is: When his pitching is not limited to the ninth inning of blowout losses.
That said, Gimenez has now pitched five innings with a 7.20 ERA this season. The Twins have used 25 pitchers (and counting; two new names, Dillon Gee and Trevor Hildenberger, are being called up). Six of them have worse ERAs than Gimenez and eight have fewer appearances.
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Nik Turley is one of the six and of the eight (ERA 16.39 in three games, all starts, total of 9.1 innings). The Twins merely optioned him out rather than designating him for assignment Thursday, but the Twins need to make space on the 40-man roster today for both Gee and Hildenberger, and DFAing Turley is an obvious possibility.
I feel for the guy. He was a 50th round draft pick, spent a decade in minors, finally gets to the show and gets three starts, every one of which goes poorly, every one worse than the one preceeding it.
Indeed, he may be the least effective pitcher in Twins history, although I'm not sure how to weigh ERA vs. opportunity. For example: Randy Rosario has an ERA of 30.86, but Turley has seven more innings and two decisions.
Having written that, I looked up Steve Carlton's Twins record. The no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer pitched 53.2 innings for the Twins at the end of his marvelous career with an 8.54 ERA, going 1-6 in 1987-88. Andy MacPhail and Tom Kelly gave him a lot of rope.
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As for the new guys: Gee was signed to a minor league deal earlier this week, and presumably he's going to take Turley's rotation berth, although I wouldn't care to wager that he's ready to go deep into his first start. As I said when he signed, I don't expect much.
Hildenberger is a sidearming right-handed reliever who has shot up the minor league system, posting some ridiculous ERAs in the process. Last season he had a combined 0.75 at two levels (high A and Double A). That is not a typo: Zero point seven five. This year's ERA is a more normal 2.05 with 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings at Triple A. That K-rate is roughly what he's posted consistently.
No velocity; if he threw hard he would have been up earlier. I don't know how his style is going to fare in the majors and particularly against lefties, but
- he's been getting outs in the minors and
- the Twins are in no position to ignore that.
He calls to mind Anthony Slama. another funky righty who never got a real chance with the Twins despite some overwhelming minor league numbers. Slama had some bad timing with injuries, but at the core of his lack of opportunites was a belief that his minor league success was based on minor league hitters chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Slama always walked more guys than Hildenberger has, though.
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