The Twins made a handful of moves over the weekend:
Pitcher Jose Berrios was optioned to Triple A; pitcher Drew Rucinski, a non-roster invitee, was reassigned to minor league camp; and outfielder Drew Stubbs, another NRI, was released at his request after being told he would not make the 25-man roster.
There are those who think Berrios lost out on the rotation by spending two-plus weeks with Team Puerto Rico and not pitching much. I think Berrios' spring training fate was sealed early in the offseason, when pitching coach Neil Allen designed a fastball-location program and said that it would be a factor in promotions,
Berrios has impressive velocity, but he leaves too many pitches over the heart of the plate. The Twins made a point of stockpiling rotation options. Trevor May got hurt and Ryan Vogelsong failed to impress, but there are still Aldaberto Mejia and Tyler Duffey, Justin Haley and Nick Tepesch. Berrios had to demonstate fastball command this spring, and he didn't; even if he had, he may have needed one or two more guys to get hurt/fail.
I thought at the start of camp that Stubbs had a chance to make this team, but his chronic contact issues did him in again. He's a four-tool player, but the the hit tool is so inadequate that it makes his power and speed pretty much useless. I think there's a real good chance he'll be back; he's going to try to find a major league team that will give him a bench job, and I doubt he'll find one. I make it at least 50-50 that he plays center field in Rochester next month.
J.B. Shuck is still in camp, but I can't see him beating out Robbie Grossman for the fourth outfielder job -- or Byungho Park, indirectly (with Grossman as the DH and Shuck on the bench).
Showing posts with label Drew Stubbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drew Stubbs. Show all posts
Monday, March 27, 2017
Friday, March 10, 2017
The WBC and job competition
The Twins minor league camp opened earlier this week, yet there have been no cuts from major league camp.
Blame (or credit) the World Baseball Classic, in two ways. First, the numbers in camp have already been reduced a bit by players leaving to join their national teams -- most prominently the quartet of Puerto Ricans (Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario, Hector Santiago and Kennys Vargas). Second, the now-concluded pair of exhibitions against Team USA and Team Colombia, for which the Twins supplied their rivals with a handful of players to supplement their rosters. Those games required extra bodies in camp.
With those games behind them, the decision makers may feel free to start making decisions.
Rosario's absence is interesting because he's expected to be the regular in left field, and now there's more playing time for the guys trying for the fourth outfielder role. Somewhat tied into that, too, is the DH job, for which Vargas is one of three primary candidates.
What connects the two is Robbie Grossman, who had a fine 2016 with the bat and a terrible one with the glove. He has, apparently, been a primary project for Jake Pickler, the new outfield coach, who has been working with Grossman on such basics as how to position his glove. This sounds more like something to teach Little Leaguers than a guy with more than 250 major league games on his resume, but ...
Anyway, the Twins would probably like their fourth outfielder to hit right-handed, as both Rosario and right fielder Max Kepler are left-handed and have shown some platoon difficulties in the past. Grossman is a switch-hitter but better from the right side. He might be the primary DH; he might be the primary reserve outfielder, especially if he can catch the darn ball. (He's not under any circumstances a likely center fielder, but both Rosario and Kepler can play there when Byron Buxton gets/needs time off.)
Then there's Drew Stubbs. The word Thursday was that, with the Twins slated to see a couple of left-handed starters today and Saturday, Stubbs was to be in the lineup to give Paul Molitor a chance to see him in a potential platoon role.
Stubbs, a non-roster invitee, has been a center fielder in the past, and it's possible that even at age 32 he's better there than Rosario or Kepler. But that's less relevant to his chances of making this team than how he looks at the plate against left-handed pitching. His bat, and specifically his tendency to strike out, has turned him from a young regular of promise to a veteran journeyman looking for a role. Some good at-bats today would help his cause. And with Rosario and Vargas off WBC-ing, he's going to get the chance.
Blame (or credit) the World Baseball Classic, in two ways. First, the numbers in camp have already been reduced a bit by players leaving to join their national teams -- most prominently the quartet of Puerto Ricans (Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario, Hector Santiago and Kennys Vargas). Second, the now-concluded pair of exhibitions against Team USA and Team Colombia, for which the Twins supplied their rivals with a handful of players to supplement their rosters. Those games required extra bodies in camp.
With those games behind them, the decision makers may feel free to start making decisions.
Rosario's absence is interesting because he's expected to be the regular in left field, and now there's more playing time for the guys trying for the fourth outfielder role. Somewhat tied into that, too, is the DH job, for which Vargas is one of three primary candidates.
What connects the two is Robbie Grossman, who had a fine 2016 with the bat and a terrible one with the glove. He has, apparently, been a primary project for Jake Pickler, the new outfield coach, who has been working with Grossman on such basics as how to position his glove. This sounds more like something to teach Little Leaguers than a guy with more than 250 major league games on his resume, but ...
Anyway, the Twins would probably like their fourth outfielder to hit right-handed, as both Rosario and right fielder Max Kepler are left-handed and have shown some platoon difficulties in the past. Grossman is a switch-hitter but better from the right side. He might be the primary DH; he might be the primary reserve outfielder, especially if he can catch the darn ball. (He's not under any circumstances a likely center fielder, but both Rosario and Kepler can play there when Byron Buxton gets/needs time off.)
Then there's Drew Stubbs. The word Thursday was that, with the Twins slated to see a couple of left-handed starters today and Saturday, Stubbs was to be in the lineup to give Paul Molitor a chance to see him in a potential platoon role.
Molitor on Stubbs' defense: "He's gifted. He's moving around well. Has the stride and the speed."— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) March 9, 2017
Stubbs, a non-roster invitee, has been a center fielder in the past, and it's possible that even at age 32 he's better there than Rosario or Kepler. But that's less relevant to his chances of making this team than how he looks at the plate against left-handed pitching. His bat, and specifically his tendency to strike out, has turned him from a young regular of promise to a veteran journeyman looking for a role. Some good at-bats today would help his cause. And with Rosario and Vargas off WBC-ing, he's going to get the chance.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Shaking the glove tree, Day 2
The Twins on Tuesday signed veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor league contract with invite to major league camp.
That makes two days in a row that the Twins came up with a player more known for his glovework than his hitting.
Stubbs was once regarded as a promising prospect with power and speed. In 2010 he hit 22 homers and stole 30 bases for Cincinnati. He followed that up with a 205-strikeout season, and things pretty much deteriorated from there. He hasn't been a regular since 2014, and he split last year among three different organizations. He has a career slash line of .244/.314/.394, which isn't strong for an outfielder, and he's on the wrong side of 30 now.
Still, one can imagine a scenario in which Stubbs emerges with a share of an outfield job. He could be the right-handed complement to Eddie Rosario in left field -- a platoon with some offensive liabilities but featuring two players capable of playing center field. He's a better fit for that role than J.B. Shuck, who was signed earlier in the offseason to the same kind of contract.
The new front office has added some defense to the roster options, starting with Jason Castro, who is assured of the job of primary catcher, and continuing through Chris Giminez (catcher), Ehire Adrianza (infielder) and now Stubbs (outfielder). It remains to be seen, of course, how many of these guys make the team, and if they do how much Paul Molitor, whose lineup choices have tended to emphasize hitters, will play them.
But as one who has maintained for years that the best way to improve the pitching is to improve the defense, I applaud this direction.
That makes two days in a row that the Twins came up with a player more known for his glovework than his hitting.
Stubbs was once regarded as a promising prospect with power and speed. In 2010 he hit 22 homers and stole 30 bases for Cincinnati. He followed that up with a 205-strikeout season, and things pretty much deteriorated from there. He hasn't been a regular since 2014, and he split last year among three different organizations. He has a career slash line of .244/.314/.394, which isn't strong for an outfielder, and he's on the wrong side of 30 now.
Still, one can imagine a scenario in which Stubbs emerges with a share of an outfield job. He could be the right-handed complement to Eddie Rosario in left field -- a platoon with some offensive liabilities but featuring two players capable of playing center field. He's a better fit for that role than J.B. Shuck, who was signed earlier in the offseason to the same kind of contract.
The new front office has added some defense to the roster options, starting with Jason Castro, who is assured of the job of primary catcher, and continuing through Chris Giminez (catcher), Ehire Adrianza (infielder) and now Stubbs (outfielder). It remains to be seen, of course, how many of these guys make the team, and if they do how much Paul Molitor, whose lineup choices have tended to emphasize hitters, will play them.
But as one who has maintained for years that the best way to improve the pitching is to improve the defense, I applaud this direction.
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