Written By Brandon Warne (ColdOmaha.com)
Photo Credit: Brian Curski
Every now and then I’ll put out some feelers for a mailbag column from here on out as a way for some people’s voices to be heard here on ColdOmaha.com. With this Twins team currently sputtering, it’s no surprise the questions had a negative tilt to them, or at the very least were about who might be replaced in the near future.
On to the questions:
@Twins_guyTJZ asks: “What the heck is wrong with John Ryan Murphy? He can’t hit in the majors or minors.”
This one has me stumped. Even though it was just in limited time, Murphy hit a solid .277/.327/.406 for the Yankees last year. The bottom has completely fallen out this year however, as he was just 3-for-40 with the Twins before being sent to Rochester, where he’s been nearly as bad with just a .478 OPS. If we’re looking for a silver lining, he’s hitting .333/.353/.467 so far in June. I don’t think the leash should be too long to get him back up here. He’s 25 so it’s not like he’s going to be ruined by fighting through whatever’s bothering him in the big leagues — unless for some reason it was something serious — and Kurt Suzuki has been really, really bad for the Twins. If the Twins aren’t going to DFA Suzuki — I suspect they won’t — I’d get Murphy up as soon as Juan Centeno’s production starts to slip. He’s already hitting just .273/.289/.409.
@MNfanfromafar asks: “If you’re Paul Molitor, what role does Kevin Jepsen have tonight and moving forward?”
I tweeted about this the other night to see who Twins fans wanted to see in the closer role moving forward and here are the results of the poll:
Jepsen – 4 percent
May – 54 percent
Pressly – 15 percent
Abad/Kintzler/Other – 27 percent
(194 votes)
Honestly my vote right now is for Ryan Pressly. He’s got the strikeouts, doesn’t struggle holding runners like Michael Tonkin has and moving him around doesn’t mess with other people’s roles in what’s already a shaky bullpen. Some people have expressed optimism for J.T. Chargois in the role — 0.82 ERA and 19 of 43 batters struck out with Rochester — but I wouldn’t throw him in the deep end right away. Glen Perkins is pretty close-ish to returning from the DL as well, but I’d rather ease him into the role.
But honestly as far as Jepsen is concerned, I’d drop him to relatively low-leverage games just to get him regrouped. You’re still seven weeks from the trade deadline and if you plan to move him, three or so weeks of low-leverage work shouldn’t hurt his value especially if he takes to that work well and can gradually ascend back up the bullpen ranks — much like Trevor May has. And if he continues to be bad, he wasn’t going to have value anyway and at least isn’t costing you tight games in the ninth.
@BumpusJ asks: “Plouffe isn’t worth much in a trade, but Sano needs to stop being jerked around. What should happen with third base? Is it possible that Plouffe would be a better OF, even though Sano has a howitzer for an arm?”
I know Plouffe played out there for a bit earlier in his career and the arm looked good and he didn’t really embarrass himself, but I just don’t think he’s got the foot speed to do it. When Miguel Sano gets going he’s pretty fast, but he just doesn’t have the short-term burst needed to be a plus outfielder athletically. I guess what I’m saying is I’d rather see Oswaldo Arcia in right field every day over either of them, and Max Kepler beyond even Arcia — by kind of a lot. I just think the time has come to move Plouffe, whom I really like as a person and player but just isn’t a fit on how this roster is currently constructed.
@sauteed asks: “Pitching inside?”
Joan is a woman of few words, it seems. No disrespect to Joan, but I feel like this is a meaningless platitude analysts say when they don’t want to do any meaningful analysis. Pitching inside is all good and well, but when you throw 89-90 you’re not really shoving anyone off the plate. I guess I just haven’t seen any proof that this does anything other than old baseball men whose heydays were in the 1980s saying it. I’m open to proof. Send me some.
@Gleas23 asks: “Who would you rather the team still had on the roster – Matt Garza, Carlos Gomez or Wilson Ramos?”
Ask me a year ago and the answer is totally different, but Ramos is crushing for the Nationals — .961 OPS in his walk year, oddly enough — while Gomez has battled injuries and Garza has just been plain bad in recent years, and hasn’t pitched in the bigs this year. Gomez has played poorly now going on about a half-season worth of games, but he’s the kind of guy I’d give a bridge deal to in the offseason if I were the Twins. He’ll only be 31 next season, and the chance of catching lightning in a bottle makes an outfield of Kepler-Buxton-Gomez possibly worth it. And if he stinks, it was just a one-year deal. He might be cooked, but he was so good so recently with the Brewers that I’d give him another shot.
@Gamescrows asks: “Am I wrong to fear the Twins are going to overreact to Nunez and sign him to an extension rather than trade him?”
I know what the secondary numbers say, but at the same time we’re coming up on 400 very good plate appearances from Nunez. Over the last two seasons he’s hit .308/.344/.473 with some defensive versatility and some questionable decision making. Still, he’s a month younger than Brian Dozier, whom people would have spent zero seconds confirming was part of the future at most points over the last year. I’d still probably find a way to move him, but keep in mind the epidemic of fans who lament “of course the Twins traded him and he became better!” I’m not saying that would happen here, but his evolution is coming at a time when players still can feasibly become good. If you can get a decent chip for the future I’d still probably move him, but I’d prefer people decide now which side of that argument they’ll be on if he gets even better elsewhere.
@keithrh asks: “Who to trade, DFA and call up?”
We’re getting close to the point where I’d without question say get Chargois up here. I want to see more Jorge Polanco, and honestly I might re-add Tommy Milone to the 40-man with James Beresford, which I’ve sketched out in writing in other places. I don’t think Darin Mastroianni is long for the 40-man roster. But honestly unless they’re going to make a rash, take-control kind of move like sending Dozier to the minors or trading Plouffe, I don’t think many of these moves are in the near future. Maybe bringing Jose Berrios back will happen soon, but with Kyle Gibson on the comeback trail that might be kicked a bit further down the road. Might need a Ricky Nolasco trade for that to happen.
@AndrewAlber338 asks: “Who will be the next Twin to sign a contract extension? Bonus – How long and how much?”
This is a complete stab in the dark, but if they can sign Nunez to a three-year deal worth $12-14 million I’d be considering that. It’s not too much for him to remain a utility player, but cheap enough that he could play short until Nick Gordon is ready as well. He’s making $1.475 million this year and is probably headed for $4ish million next year, so it might already be too late to get that kind of deal done.
@ande1455 asks: “Who is more blameworthy: T. Ryan, Molitor or Twins players?”
For me it’s about the players. Everyone is culpable, and each of these three have made mistakes you can point to and say “jeez, that should not happen.” But ultimately, this is a cast of players who went crazy and finished over .500 last year. This isn’t a drastically different bunch either, and even though I thought they overachieved I thought 75-78 wins was easy money this year. Byung Ho Park should be better than Torii Hunter. Full season of May in the bullpen. This should have been easy money. I suspect/wonder if some of the younger players didn’t realize how hard the jump would be, and maybe didn’t put in the extra work in the offseason. I can’t prove that and I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but too many things have gone wrong for there not to be plenty of fingers pointed — in all directions.
Thanks to everyone who sent in questions for this edition of Warne Out!