Roster Idea
Posted by ubelmann on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Russell Branyan was released by the Padres today. Branyan is far from an ideal player. He has little-to-no defensive value, strikes out a lot, and doesn't hit for a high average.
BUT...Branyan has one very major league tool--he can hit for power. His isolated slugging of .229 this year puts him near hitters such as David Ortiz, Alex Rios, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Lee, Troy Glaus, and Magglio Ordonez in that category. And even while Branyan hits for a very low average, he still walks enough that his OBP is acceptable--sitting in the .320-.330 range the last four years. (Basically, Branyan has been doing what the Twins claimed that Garrett Jones could do.)
So far this season, Twins' DH's have hit .256/.329/.357--sort of like Branyan but with a little more average and a LOT less power. Currently, the Twins have no left-handed power threats on the bench.
So I propose this: get rid of Jason Tyner or Luis Rodriguez and put Branyan on the 25-man roster. Branyan's not really going to be a hot commodity--not many teams need a guy with his skill set--but he fills a need on the Twins' roster. He can platoon with Rondell White at DH, essentially helping to keep Rondell healthy. He can also come off the bench for Bartlett, Punto, or Ford in a crucial situation late in the game against a RHP. (And for what it's worth, in his career, his platoon splits haven't been that large.) If needed, Branyan can stand in at third base or a corner outfield spot, though you don't want him doing that too often.
Right now, the Twins have a bunch of redundant marginal positional players. With a little less redundancy, you can split time at DH between White/Branyan, 3B amongst Buscher/Cirillo/Punto, and 2B/SS amongst Bartlett/Castillo/Punto. This would still be far from ideal, but at least when you start mixing and matching, there are some complementary pieces to mix and match.
Of course, the Twins hate guys who strike out a lot and don't have good defense, so this will never happen. The offense will continue to struggle, the defense won't be able to play well enough to make up for their complete inability to generate runs, and the team will continue to sputter along.
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Russell Branyan is in his age-31 season? Holy cr@p! Here I was thinking that he was a kid. But he's 6 years older than Wilson Betemit, another struggling NL West player.
Branyan has been terrible this year. And yet, way better than Nicky Poo-Poo at the plate: 197/322/426 in 146 PA.
Terrible? His EQA is .269, and .260 is defined to be a league average hitter. He's been an above average hitter this year.
Say that Branyan was hitting .290/.322/.519 this year. That's basically equivalent to Rondell White's career line (.286/.338/.465), and I'm guessing you would say that's a pretty decent line. The only difference between that line and what he has actually hit this year is changing some walks to singles. Are singles more valuable than walks? Absolutely. Is it the difference between terrible and pretty good? Not at all.
Players like Branyan make me wish we listed the "slash" stats as (1B/AB)/(BB/PA)/ISO. It's basically all of the same information, just broken down into component form.
If the idea is to reduce the number of interchangeable parts, is there that much of a difference betwixt Branyan and Kubel?
Left-handed bats with more power than batting average. Kubel's defense is better, but Branyan may provide more pop.
I'm not sure I like it though, if the Twins were to sign Branyan, I could see him taking away at-bats from Kubel, when the Twins should use these non-competitive upcoming months to evaluate whether Kubel is an everyday major leaguer or if he's suited for some other role.
If the idea is to reduce the number of interchangeable parts, is there that much of a difference betwixt Branyan and Kubel?
Kubel can't start in LF and DH. He also can't start in LF and sit on the bench. He also can't start at DH and sit on the bench.
I’m not sure I like it though, if the Twins were to sign Branyan, I could see him taking away at-bats from Kubel, when the Twins should use these non-competitive upcoming months to evaluate whether Kubel is an everyday major leaguer or if he’s suited for some other role.
Whether the Twins employ the roster intelligently and whether Branyan can help the team are two separate issues. Branyan gives the Twins better choices than they have with Jason Tyner or Luis Rodriguez around. I mean, if we're saying that I get to make changes to the team, I'm installing someone who has the good sense to realize Kubel needs to be playing every day.
Even if we are going to go there, I don't think the Twins are really going to put Rondell in the outfield, Kubel has worked his way above Tyner on the depth charts, and Branyan's defense in LF is definitely worse than Kubel's. I don't think Branyan would take a significant amount of playing time from Kubel even if he was around. For instance, when Garrett Jones was around in his second stint, Ford was the one taking playing time from Kubel--not Jones.
Whether the Twins employ the roster intelligently and whether Branyan can help the team are two separate issues. Branyan gives the Twins better choices than they have with Jason Tyner or Luis Rodriguez around.
I agree that if Branyan were picked up, and used in the manner that you describe (i.e. in a sort-of DH platoon) that he would be an aid to the offense. A team full of Russell Branyans is more potent offensively than a team full of the type of players that currently populate the Twins bench. Whether the Twins would use him in an intelligent matter is another issue. I don't want to drag the managerial staff through the mud too much, but they did play Rondell in left in 37 of his 91 games last season (I assume that decision was based solely on his offense).
Even so, I think the Twins would be better served to evaluate the pieces they currently have going forward this season, with an eye on next year. Are you looking at Branyan as Rondell's replacement beyond this year? That, to me, is the only justifiable rationale, Branyan being a piece that will have a significant impact in 2008 and beyond. In order to keep him around, the Twins would have to negotiate a new contract with him, and (not knowing what else will be available) I would think they might be able to do a little better.
OH MY GOD. TYNER WITH A HOMERUN. WHERE IS EVERYBODY FOR THIS OCCASION?
Sorry... I thought this was the game thread and I couldn't believe I was the first person to post about it. Go back to the Russel Branyan analysis.
Yeah, okay, maybe it's time to revert back to NewGuy again?