It looks like our good friend Garrett Jones will be re-joining the Twins.
Asked if the team would recall a third catcher, such as Chris Heintz, Gardenhire said he'd prefer to add a DH. "I'd like to have another hitter, a DH be a threat," Gardenhire said. "Probably a guy who can drive the ball. You guys can figure out who that might be. Put him in the DH slot and be able to mix it around a little bit."
.244/.297/.445 -- Jones, AAA, 2005
.238/.302/.430 -- Jones, AAA, 2006
.338/.373/.559 -- Jones, AAA, 2007, April
.269/.317/.484 -- Jones, AAA, 2007, May
.250/.289/.425 -- Jones, AAA, 2007, June
One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish this song?
And of course, my favorite Garrett Jones comparison:
.242/.298/.409 -- Jones 2007 PECOTA forecast
.236/.303/.388 -- Tony Batista, 2006
In the end, Jones really isn't a significant improvement on Jason Tyner as a DH. He looks a little less embarrassing, because there exists a non-zero chance he'll hit a HR. Unfortunately, "less embarrassing" doesn't really translate to "less bad" here.
Even better, he'll probably take some AB from Kubel too.
I was thinking about that, but I don't necessarily think that'll be the case. I think Gardy will go with a pretty straight-up Kubel/Ford platoon in LF. Then, at DH, Cirillo will play against LHP (when healthy) and Jones will play against RHP. I guess that leaves Tyner without any playing time, but I can hope that Tyner will take PT away from Jones rather than Kubel.
It also leaves White without any playing time, assuming White is ever able to play.
It's possible that I'll be suiting up for the Twins before Rondell White's ready to play. What did I say about White last year being on the roster this year? Oh yeah. Stop The Insanity!
When White returns at the end of the month, it will be just like TR traded for a .321/.354/.538 bat! Just you wait, SBG!
SBG, you'd have to be at least as good as Tyner.
I'm pretty sure that if White comes back up, given the trouble he's had getting/staying healthy that he'll be told to DH...AND HE'LL LIKE IT!!
But really, I think that with White around, he becomes the full-time DH, Jones goes back where he belongs (AAA), and Kubel/Ford continue to platoon in LF (much to my chagrin.) Cirillo goes back to stealing occasional time at 3B.
You're giving Gardy too much credit.
One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish this song?
Uh, is the answer "Garrett Jones"?
Has Joe C. covered Mike Lamb or Aaron Boone in his trade prospect series? Both are FA after this year and either would be an offensive upgrade over Punto. Boone's currently on a DL rehab assignment and due back soon. Neither would be too expensive as a rent-a-player for the 2nd half (Boone is making
and you're telling me that you're not Jonesing for this callup?
I still want the Twins to liberate Bobby Kielty from Oakland. If Gardy is gonna platoon Kubel, he should at least do it with someone who has proven ability to mash lefties.
plus, he's got the Heat Miser/Syndrome hair thing going for him. Which is nice.
If Kielty could put up his '05-'06 numbers, that could be a good idea. He's had a seemingly endless number of injuries since leaving Minnesota, though, so I'm not sure how much we should believe he can do that.
Here's the damage roster for Kielty.
the calf injury obviously was pretty bad to miss so much time when Oakland was also missing a bunch of other OFers. But otherwise, he hadn't missed any significant time due to injuries since 2004. Just nagging stuff.
whether he can still hit is open to question, of course. Kielty is now in his age-30 season.
Here are his recent lines against lefties
2006: 325/358/607, 123 PA
2005: 322/398/469, 161 PA
2004: 259/338/491, 130 PA
2003: 300/417/550, 168 PA
I just wonder if all of the combo of all of those nagging injuries will catch up to him and he'll wind up falling off a cliff rather than gradually declining.
Yea, I could see that. But he looked pretty good on his rehab in Sactown. 394/459/515 in 37 PA.
I think he's a pretty young 30, given that he's always been a part-time player. He should have another 5 years of lefty-mashing in him.
Kak. The copay payments must've added up, huh?
Man, I agree. All the talk about Jones (Garrett or Jacque) is one thing, but the Twins need someone to help Cuddy hit lefties. If they can't get a solid bat both ways (not Garrett), at least get one that hits the right direction (not Jacque).
In the end, Jones really isn’t a significant improvement on Jason Tyner as a DH.
Well, if Garrett Jones actually gets the everyday DH spot (a big IF, mind you), he could post the same numbers as Tyner and still benefit the club. It would make Tyner/Ford and Cirillo/L-Rod completely redundant, and hopefully pare the roster down for a more useful player (pitcher?).
Then again, if the club wasn't so stubbornly committed to Tyner, Ford, Cirillo, AND L-Rod, we may have actually looked for another full-time DH during Rondell's 3+ month absence.
Even if we did get rid of some of the redundancy, it would probably be just to bring Chris Heintz back.
I know you're half-joking (I hope!), but Heintz is the exact kind of redundancy that would be eliminated with a REAL full-time DH. No Redmond/Mauer as the primary DH = no need for a 3rd catcher. I know Gardy always talks about the third catcher, but he generally hasn't forced the issue, except way back during Mauer's injury recovery and the more recent gaping DH hole.
Then again, if the club wasn’t so stubbornly committed to Tyner, Ford, Cirillo, AND L-Rod, we may have actually looked for another full-time DH during Rondell’s 3+ month absence.
Right. Even if Jones is the full-time DH, they aren't getting rid of any of those guys, so that's not a real benefit to Jones being added to the roster. It's a potential benefit, but one that won't be realized in practice.
The bench just seems kind of stupid right now. There are two no-hit, all-glove 4th OF guys, a corner IF who can hit lefties alright, but is barely healthy enough to play in a reserve role, and a no-hit, some-glove guy in Rodriguez, who can cover middle infield if needed, but is most suited defensively to a corner position. Getting rid of Luis Rodriguez and acquiring a real 3B, shifting Punto to futility IF, and swapping out either Tyner or Ford for someone who can hit RHP and play corner OF would actually give the Twins a pretty good bench. As it is, Gardy has no good strings to pull late in the game, because his options on the bench are no good.
Even if we accept that the Twins can't get a real 3B (the hardest part of the above plan), swapping Tyner for Kielty (or someone Kielty-like), and using Punto and Cirillo in a kind of defense/offense platoon would make me feel a lot better about the bench situation.
Bill Simmons in his recent chat wrap:
Juan Rincon and junk for Coco Crisp and cash, anyone??? Cot's says: "07:$3.5M, 08:$4.75M, 09:$5.75M, 10:$8M club option ($0.5M buyout)"
send Tyner back down, use Crisp as the 4th OFer and understudy to Torii. Trade or let Torii walk in the off-season.
Crisp is no star, but he's a much better Denard Span than Denard Span. Doesn't do much for this year, but patches the hole in CF when Hunter walks. And there's an outside chance that Crisp could recover his '04-'05 mojo (300/345/465 in '05 with Cleveland when he looked like a rising star)
oooh. Even more intriguing:
"Cory (Montana): Is Torii Hunter all but gone from the twins?
"SportsNation Bill Simmons: I am keeping my fingers crossed for a Crisp/Wily Mo/something else for Hunter trade. It worked in MLB 2007!
I would want something better than Crisp/Wily Mo for Hunter, but perhaps I'm too greedy. I also think that Simmons probably underestimates Ellsbury's worth to the organization (even though he did give Ellsbury praise elsewhere in the chat). Ellsbury is the CF of the future, and he's cheap. I don't know why the Red Sox would want to spend $20M/year on a problem they can solve (essentially) for free.
I was thinking Rincon for Pena would make some sense, but Rincon for Breakfast Cereal might also make some sense. I think that Theo can see Rincon's trends just as well as I can, though. On second thought, Pena's PrOPS isn't very encouraging and PECOTA was fairly lukewarm about him this year. Maybe Rincon would be too much.
I don’t know why the Red Sox would want to spend $20M/year on a problem they can solve (essentially) for free.
The Red Sox aren't known for patiently developing prospects. Rich clubs like Boston often operate under the theory: why wait for the prospect to develop if you have the money to pay a proven talent to do the job now, and can use the kid as a chip to get that guy? Hanley Ramirez and Andy Marte are a couple recent cases in point for the Sox. It's also ironic that Boston may now be so desperate to add another reliable reliever to the pen, when they had Cla Meredith in the organization, but traded him to San Diego because they just wanted the familiar Doug Mirabelli back to catch Tim Wakefield.
Who said they would have to wait around for Ellsbury to develop? He's got a PECOTA projected EQA of .271 this year (Hunter career EQA .262). Ellsbury is also a solid defender, whereas Hanley Ramirez has an iron glove. The Red Sox were willing to go with Dustin Pedroia at second base this year, and they have been rewarded. They haven't had any trouble working Youkilis into the fray, either. What makes you think Theo Epstein is going to not only give up prospects for two months of Hunter, but then pay him a lot more money than he's worth?