All Things 2023 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

[howeda7]

After a fast start, is it fair to say Pedro Lopez had been somewhat of a disappointment this season?

Yes. He's just a guy. A good #3 starter. Hated trading Arreaz for him then. Hate it more now. Another Falvey miss, if less egregious than some others.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Yes. He's just a guy. A good #3 starter. Hated trading Arreaz for him then. Hate it more now. Another Falvey miss, if less egregious than some others.

Lopez is far and away more valuable than Arraez. He gets on base, that's it. Does nothing else, and doesn't have a defensive position. The Twins will be better off long term with Lopez in the rotation and Julien playing 2B.

 

[howeda7]

Lopez is far and away more valuable than Arraez. He gets on base, that's it. Does nothing else, and doesn't have a defensive position. The Twins will be better off long term with Lopez in the rotation and Julien playing 2B.

Disagree. There are 15 other similar pitchers they could have just signed as free agents or acquired via trade over the last couple off-seasons for less (see Sonny Gray). An on on-base machine who wins batting titles is more rare than a #3 starting pitcher. Would you have traded Tony Gwynn for Kevin Tapani?

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Disagree. There are 15 other similar pitchers they could have just signed as free agents or acquired via trade over the last couple off-seasons for less (see Sonny Gray). An on on-base machine who wins batting titles is more rare than a #3 starting pitcher. Would you have traded Tony Gwynn for Kevin Tapani?

Arraez is Tony Gwynn now? Good lord that's a terrible take. Gwynn was a 5 time gold glover in addition to being a better hitter compared to Arraez and one of the best of all time.

Despite Lopez's recent 'struggles' he still had 3 quality starts in his last 4 outings coming into yesterday. And speaking of Gray, he hasn't had a quality start since the end of April, and the Twins have lost all of his starts in May. The Twins are 3-2 when Lopez has started in May and he is 7 years younger than Gray.

Even the really good pitchers and hitters have ups and downs. Lopez has been consistently good over his career. Your griping about him has more to do with your constant hatred of Falvey/Lavine than it does with anything baseball related.

 

[From the Parkinglot]

Twins really earned the loss today, if they do lose.

 

[From the Parkinglot]

Not having an actually center fielder playing today has single handedly cost the twins the game. Of course not scoring a run is also a contributing factor.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Disagree. There are 15 other similar pitchers they could have just signed as free agents or acquired via trade over the last couple off-seasons for less (see Sonny Gray). An on on-base machine who wins batting titles is more rare than a #3 starting pitcher. Would you have traded Tony Gwynn for Kevin Tapani?

Such as?

 

[GophersInIowa]

 

[howeda7]

It's time for Buxton to move to CF. Castro single-handedly torpedoed their chances today and Taylor can't hit. And Buxton's not hitting well enough to justify only DH'ing. If he gets hurt playing CF, oh well.

 

[howeda7]

Such as?

Such as what? Sonny Gray is an example. Just as good as Lopez, arguably better. Didn't require a return as high as Luis Arreaz.

 

[howeda7]

Arraez is Tony Gwynn now? Good lord that's a terrible take. Gwynn was a 5 time gold glover in addition to being a better hitter compared to Arraez and one of the best of all time.

Despite Lopez's recent 'struggles' he still had 3 quality starts in his last 4 outings coming into yesterday. And speaking of Gray, he hasn't had a quality start since the end of April, and the Twins have lost all of his starts in May. The Twins are 3-2 when Lopez has started in May and he is 7 years younger than Gray.

Even the really good pitchers and hitters have ups and downs. Lopez has been consistently good over his career. Your griping about him has more to do with your constant hatred of Falvey/Lavine than it does with anything baseball related.

He's not there yet, but that's the track he's on as a hitter. Gwynn played almost exclusively RF. He was not a great fielder. He won gold gloves because of his bat and how voters treated the award back then. When you can hit like that, you don't care, as the Twins shouldn't have with Arreaz. Instead it was "oh he doesn't have a position. Trade him for a #3 starter."

 

[From the Parkinglot]

To bring back a word from last year this game was a “woof”

 

[kg21]

It's time for Buxton to move to CF. Castro single-handedly torpedoed their chances today and Taylor can't hit. And Buxton's not hitting well enough to justify only DH'ing. If he gets hurt playing CF, oh well.

It's not time to move Buxton to CF, it's time to trade him. He's a career .242 hitter, and no longer plays in the field. He's lunging at everything, K's, and then stares down the pitcher.

Who could we trick into taking him?

 

[GophersInIowa]

Such as what? Sonny Gray is an example. Just as good as Lopez, arguably better. Didn't require a return as high as Luis Arreaz.

Who were the free agents they could have signed that would have been just as good? The Twins traded for Sonny Gray, didn’t pick him up as a free agent.

 

[howeda7]

Who were the free agents they could have signed that would have been just as good? The Twins traded for Sonny Gray, didn’t pick him up as a free agent.

Rodon, Ray, Stroman, Bassit etc. And my point on Gray is that there were other trades that could be made that wouldn't cost trading the AL batting champion. He's proof.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

He's not there yet, but that's the track he's on as a hitter. Gwynn played almost exclusively RF. He was not a great fielder. He won gold gloves because of his bat and how voters treated the award back then. When you can hit like that, you don't care, as the Twins shouldn't have with Arreaz. Instead it was "oh he doesn't have a position. Trade him for a #3 starter."

Gwynn won gold gloves because of his bat now...you'll make up anything.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Rodon, Ray, Stroman, Bassit etc. And my point on Gray is that there were other trades that could be made that wouldn't cost trading the AL batting champion. He's proof.

So you'd rather have 2 injured guys in Rodon and Ray over Lopez? Dumb.

Lopez strikes out a lot more people than Stroman and Bassit, and he's 5 years younger than Stroman and 7 years younger than Bassit. You continue to not consider Lopez's age and his career numbers, which are good, because he had a couple of rougher outings, which happens to every pitcher.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Rodon, Ray, Stroman, Bassit etc. And my point on Gray is that there were other trades that could be made that wouldn't cost trading the AL batting champion. He's proof.

As already stated, those guys are either hurt or much older. The trade for Lopez wasn’t just about this year. They sold high on Arraez when they could get the most in return.

 

[LakevilleBro]

As already stated, those guys are either hurt or much older. The trade for Lopez wasn’t just about this year. They sold high on Arraez when they could get the most in return.

The Arraez trade bothers me, his .371 average is leading the NL in batting by about 40 points. The Twins have far too many games where we get 6 hits or less.

I do not know why MN teams have a desire to trade their good players. If Trout or Ohtani, or Judge were Twins, people would be saying we should trade them now.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

There's not much difference in what you get from Lopez than what the Twins had in Berrios. Solid pitcher, high-end 3 in a good rotation. And in listening to Gladden and Provus yesterday, Woods-Richardson has been awful for St. Paul, and if/when Martin gets healthy again, he still has a ton of development he needs.

 

[GophersInIowa]

The Arraez trade bothers me, his .371 average is leading the NL in batting by about 40 points. The Twins have far too many games where we get 6 hits or less.

I do not know why MN teams have a desire to trade their good players. If Trout or Ohtani, or Judge were Twins, people would be saying we should trade them now.

Getting 2 more singles a game isn’t going to help this offense that much. Twins 2B this year have nearly identical SLG to Arraez even with his high AVG.

Long term a guy like Lopez is more valuable for this team IMO, especially when the Twins are loaded in the infield.

 

[GophersInIowa]

There's not much difference in what you get from Lopez than what the Twins had in Berrios. Solid pitcher, high-end 3 in a good rotation. And in listening to Gladden and Provus yesterday, Woods-Richardson has been awful for St. Paul, and if/when Martin gets healthy again, he still has a ton of development he needs.

The rumor with Berrios was that he had no intention of resigning with the Twins. If true he’d currently be playing for another team. Both have the stuff to be a 1/2, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.

 

[#2Gopher]

The rumor with Berrios was that he had no intention of resigning with the Twins. If true he’d currently be playing for another team. Both have the stuff to be a 1/2, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.

Other than money, I'd be curious to know what other issues that Berrios had with the Twins. From what I saw, I always thought he was a great pitcher to have around.

 

[GophersInIowa]

If Oakland goes 107-0 the rest of the season they’ll break the MLB record for wins which is 116.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

Other than money, I'd be curious to know what other issues that Berrios had with the Twins. From what I saw, I always thought he was a great pitcher to have around.

Money was the big one. Pretty sure he was pissed about getting pulled in a 1-1 playoff game too.

 

[howeda7]

The Arraez trade bothers me, his .371 average is leading the NL in batting by about 40 points. The Twins have far too many games where we get 6 hits or less.

I do not know why MN teams have a desire to trade their good players. If Trout or Ohtani, or Judge were Twins, people would be saying we should trade them now.

Have to maximize their value!

 

[howeda7]

As already stated, those guys are either hurt or much older. The trade for Lopez wasn’t just about this year. They sold high on Arraez when they could get the most in return.

Lopez isn't that good though. If that's what Arreaz brings at peak value, don't trade him. Sure they signed Lopez to an extension. But they're paying market rate. You also traded more years of cheap team control for less.

 

[howeda7]

So you'd rather have 2 injured guys in Rodon and Ray over Lopez? Dumb.

Lopez strikes out a lot more people than Stroman and Bassit, and he's 5 years younger than Stroman and 7 years younger than Bassit. You continue to not consider Lopez's age and his career numbers, which are good, because he had a couple of rougher outings, which happens to every pitcher.

I'd rather develop or spend free agent $$ on starting pitching than trade the best hitter in a bad lineup for one.

 

[howeda7]

Gwynn won gold gloves because of his bat now...you'll make up anything.

You deny that gold glove voting was effected by offense? Especially in that era?

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

You deny that gold glove voting was effected by offense? Especially in that era?

Nah. Rafael Palmeiro legitimately was the best fielding first basemen the year he won a Gold Glove while playing 28 games at first base.