Minnesota Sports Forum

Good win last night to get some positive momentum after a tough stretch. Berrios was good enough against a good and hot lineup. The Twins bats showed up and that Escobar guy is pretty good.

It's kinda nice in a way to see another team having a struggling vet pitcher that they keep putting him out there in one way or another . Josh Tomlin has really struggled this year.

Huge series win for the boys! Hopefully this will put them back on track. Like I said before this team should be able to hit and our starting staff has been pretty solid this year we should be just fine. I also heard today we've been walk off 8 times this year that's a crazy number.

jester1534 wrote:Huge series win for the boys! Hopefully this will put them back on track. Like I said before this team should be able to hit and our starting staff has been pretty solid this year we should be just fine. I also heard today we've been walk off 8 times this year that's a crazy number.

After the first HR by Rosario I was thinking what I have been thinking for a while espcially after Roy Smalley mentioned an argument can be made Rosario is the Twins bestyping plyer right now. Then he bangs in 2 more HRs including a walkoff. He has to basically be untouchable right now. Kepler has been good enough already this season I'm not interested in dealing him either.

Good win and series win against a team that has been absolutely crushing the ball. EE is going bonkers lately even though Cleveland is a rival it's kinda fun watching some of these guys bomb away.

Meanwhile the Twins are getting some help from guys like Lamarre. He was an incredible catch by Zimmer away from going 4-4 today. Like you said Jester hopefully this gets this team headed in the right direction.

The Twins signed Cameron Rupp to a minor league deal. This guy has put up some pretty decent power numbers and happens to be a catcher. It sounds like his defense is actually ok except his pitch framing sucks. He opted out of a minor league deal with Texas to have a better shot somewhere else and the Twins clearly give him a better shot at playing in the majors. With Garver able to play more than one position I could even see all 3 on the roster at one time for a stretch.

People see the batting average and say Wilson isn't helping with the bat. He has 7 hits and 5 of them are extra base hits. There is some value there. I only watch condensed games but there have been a few plays this year Garver didn't make that I have seen. There is a drop off imo from him to Wilson defensively from what I have seen. I like Garver though I think he can be a solid player and there is nothing wrong with that.

monsterpile wrote:The Twins signed Cameron Rupp to a minor league deal. This guy has put up some pretty decent power numbers and happens to be a catcher. It sounds like his defense is actually ok except his pitch framing sucks. He opted out of a minor league deal with Texas to have a better shot somewhere else and the Twins clearly give him a better shot at playing in the majors. With Garver able to play more than one position I could even see all 3 on the roster at one time for a stretch.

People see the batting average and say Wilson isn't helping with the bat. He has 7 hits and 5 of them are extra base hits. There is some value there. I only watch condensed games but there have been a few plays this year Garver didn't make that I have seen. There is a drop off imo from him to Wilson defensively from what I have seen. I like Garver though I think he can be a solid player and there is nothing wrong with that.

Do you remember Henry Blanco back in the day? Wilson reminds of me him he was always solid defensive catcher but he couldn't hit but when he did it would be a double.

I don't know what the answer for catcher is on this team. I'm a Garvey guy but I feel like this a big position of need this next off season or trade deadline.

jester1534 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:The Twins signed Cameron Rupp to a minor league deal. This guy has put up some pretty decent power numbers and happens to be a catcher. It sounds like his defense is actually ok except his pitch framing sucks. He opted out of a minor league deal with Texas to have a better shot somewhere else and the Twins clearly give him a better shot at playing in the majors. With Garver able to play more than one position I could even see all 3 on the roster at one time for a stretch.

People see the batting average and say Wilson isn't helping with the bat. He has 7 hits and 5 of them are extra base hits. There is some value there. I only watch condensed games but there have been a few plays this year Garver didn't make that I have seen. There is a drop off imo from him to Wilson defensively from what I have seen. I like Garver though I think he can be a solid player and there is nothing wrong with that.

Do you remember Henry Blanco back in the day? Wilson reminds of me him he was always solid defensive catcher but he couldn't hit but when he did it would be a double.

I don't know what the answer for catcher is on this team. I'm a Garvey guy but I feel like this a big position of need this next off season or trade deadline.

Yep I remember Blanco I always liked him. Catcher isn't a strength of this team right now. The question I always have is when adding a catcher is how much of an upgrade can you get? I'm not really interested in giving up some assts for a guy that's maybe a little better than Castro. I want someone thats actually good. The problem is that there are always a bunch of teams that want to upgrade since there are only so many good catchers. We were pretty spoiled for a while with AJ, Mauer and Redmond.

The Twins have some tough decisions coming up on 3 pretty good positions players this offseason.

Mauer his concussion issues this season make you wonder if he will play beyond this season at all. At this point we now need to see him back healthy and hitting for the rest of the season. If he is the hitter he has been the last couple years he is still nice to have in the lineup and his defense is missed.

Dozier good player how much are they willing to pay and how much are other teams willing to pay?

Escobar ok why wouldn't a team be willing to give this guy a nice paycheck to be their 3rd baseman? Should it be the Twins? This guy had been terrific the past few months.

The point is that the Twins could lose 3 good players this offseason and while I think Mauer is the guy that's make the most sense to replace if this team loses all 3 it's still significant. Theoretically the Twins could replace these guys with young players and some sort of FA signing.

monsterpile wrote:The Twins have some tough decisions coming up on 3 pretty good positions players this offseason.

Mauer his concussion issues this season make you wonder if he will play beyond this season at all. At this point we now need to see him back healthy and hitting for the rest of the season. If he is the hitter he has been the last couple years he is still nice to have in the lineup and his defense is missed.

Dozier good player how much are they willing to pay and how much are other teams willing to pay?

Escobar ok why wouldn't a team be willing to give this guy a nice paycheck to be their 3rd baseman? Should it be the Twins? This guy had been terrific the past few months.

The point is that the Twins could lose 3 good players this offseason and while I think Mauer is the guy that's make the most sense to replace if this team loses all 3 it's still significant. Theoretically the Twins could replace these guys with young players and some sort of FA signing.

I'll Answer in order.

1. Mauer will retire, I don't think we know the whole story how banged up he's been the last 5 years.

2. Dozier will walk and go where he wants. He's going to be 32 next season. How many big power season does he have left 2 maybe 3? Do we really want to spend big money to keep him here for 5 years?

3. They have to sign escolobar as insurance policy to Sano he should absolutely be the priority. All this young talent they have in the minors but they don't really have anyone who's a stud that can play 3rd base.

My guess is your opening day line up in 2019 will be.

Gordon
Polanco
Rosario
Sano
Escolobar
Kepler
Grossman
Rooker
Buxton
Castro

Jester1534 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:The Twins have some tough decisions coming up on 3 pretty good positions players this offseason.

Mauer his concussion issues this season make you wonder if he will play beyond this season at all. At this point we now need to see him back healthy and hitting for the rest of the season. If he is the hitter he has been the last couple years he is still nice to have in the lineup and his defense is missed.

Dozier good player how much are they willing to pay and how much are other teams willing to pay?

Escobar ok why wouldn't a team be willing to give this guy a nice paycheck to be their 3rd baseman? Should it be the Twins? This guy had been terrific the past few months.

The point is that the Twins could lose 3 good players this offseason and while I think Mauer is the guy that's make the most sense to replace if this team loses all 3 it's still significant. Theoretically the Twins could replace these guys with young players and some sort of FA signing.

I'll Answer in order.

1. Mauer will retire, I don't think we know the whole story how banged up he's been the last 5 years.

2. Dozier will walk and go where he wants. He's going to be 32 next season. How many big power season does he have left 2 maybe 3? Do we really want to spend big money to keep him here for 5 years?

3. They have to sign escolobar as insurance policy to Sano he should absolutely be the priority. All this young talent they have in the minors but they don't really have anyone who's a stud that can play 3rd base.

My guess is your opening day line up in 2019 will be.

Gordon
Polanco
Rosario
Sano
Escolobar
Kepler
Grossman
Rooker
Buxton
Castro

I definitely agree on Dozier and Escobar. With Gordon ready to play, I think they will let Dozier walk. And they clearly have to sign Escobar...he's turned into a legitimate power hitter with defensive versatility. Mauer's situation will depend on his health. If he finishes the season healthy, I suspect he will be willing to come back next year at a bargain salary.

The one big difference I have with your 2019 roster is I think Robbie Grossman will be gone next year. He is subpar in defense, baserunning and power, and has even slipped this year in his one good category...the ability to take a walk and get on base. When Polanco comes back (and assuming Sano can stay in the lineup), I would like to see the Twins give Escobar some innings in the outfield...he could be an every day player rotating between SS, 3b and OF. If Escobar shows he can handle the outfield, we might even be able to release Robbie this season. But we certainly will have enough depth next year in the OF with Buxton, Rosario, Kepler. Rooker and maybe Cave and Escobar.


I was excited to watch Zach Littell yesterday, but was surprised to see how flat his fastball was. I guess you can get out minor leaguers with a 93 MPH fastball with no movement, but it's not going to work in the majors.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Jester1534 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:The Twins have some tough decisions coming up on 3 pretty good positions players this offseason.

Mauer his concussion issues this season make you wonder if he will play beyond this season at all. At this point we now need to see him back healthy and hitting for the rest of the season. If he is the hitter he has been the last couple years he is still nice to have in the lineup and his defense is missed.

Dozier good player how much are they willing to pay and how much are other teams willing to pay?

Escobar ok why wouldn't a team be willing to give this guy a nice paycheck to be their 3rd baseman? Should it be the Twins? This guy had been terrific the past few months.

The point is that the Twins could lose 3 good players this offseason and while I think Mauer is the guy that's make the most sense to replace if this team loses all 3 it's still significant. Theoretically the Twins could replace these guys with young players and some sort of FA signing.

I'll Answer in order.

1. Mauer will retire, I don't think we know the whole story how banged up he's been the last 5 years.

2. Dozier will walk and go where he wants. He's going to be 32 next season. How many big power season does he have left 2 maybe 3? Do we really want to spend big money to keep him here for 5 years?

3. They have to sign escolobar as insurance policy to Sano he should absolutely be the priority. All this young talent they have in the minors but they don't really have anyone who's a stud that can play 3rd base.

My guess is your opening day line up in 2019 will be.

Gordon
Polanco
Rosario
Sano
Escolobar
Kepler
Grossman
Rooker
Buxton
Castro

I definitely agree on Dozier and Escobar. With Gordon ready to play, I think they will let Dozier walk. And they clearly have to sign Escobar...he's turned into a legitimate power hitter with defensive versatility. Mauer's situation will depend on his health. If he finishes the season healthy, I suspect he will be willing to come back next year at a bargain salary.

The one big difference I have with your 2019 roster is I think Robbie Grossman will be gone next year. He is subpar in defense, baserunning and power, and has even slipped this year in his one good category...the ability to take a walk and get on base. When Polanco comes back (and assuming Sano can stay in the lineup), I would like to see the Twins give Escobar some innings in the outfield...he could be an every day player rotating between SS, 3b and OF. If Escobar shows he can handle the outfield, we might even be able to release Robbie this season. But we certainly will have enough depth next year in the OF with Buxton, Rosario, Kepler. Rooker and maybe Cave and Escobar.


I was excited to watch Zach Littell yesterday, but was surprised to see how flat his fastball was. I guess you can get out minor leaguers with a 93 MPH fastball with no movement, but it's not going to work in the majors.

My guess is they will sign a free agent bat for the DH spot but I could easily see the twins being cheap and bringing Robbie back on a 1 year deal.