The Twins' Off-season Short Stop search

 

The Twins certainly kept their fans guessing this off-season about how they would address the vacancy at SS. In 2021, it was Andrelton Simmons at the position, providing lots of defense, but not much in the way of offense. He was only signed to a 1 year deal, at the time it was assumed that he was just keeping the position warm for prospect Royce Lewis. Instead, Lewis had an ACL tear which ended his 2021 season in Spring Training. This was especially troubling because the 2020 season was lost for Lewis due to the pandemic and no Minor League season being played.

So what were the Twins going to do for 2022?

Luis Arraez - If you can't find a free agent or trade option, and the prospects aren't ready yet, you've got to turn to your 26 Man roster. Luis Arraez was used all over the field in 2021, though SS was not one of those places. He appeared at SS 8 times in his major league career, all in his rookie year of 2019, before a couple knee surgeries. The early rumors were that the Twins might try an infield of Donaldson at 3B, Polanco at 2B, and Arraez as the everyday SS. This thankfully for all involved did not happen. I love Luis Arraez, he's versatile in the field and an extremely entertaining hitter but to play him at short is not putting him in a position to be successful.

Jorge Polanco - Not so long ago, Jorge Polanco was the starting Shortstop for the AL at the All-Star Game. Why not have him go back to Short? Arraez can play 2B, Donaldson at 3B, and there you go! Well, not so fast... Polanco was moved off of SS for reasons very similar to Arraez. An ankle injury torpedoed Polanco's 2020 season, and his speed and defensive range were tested throughout the season, when he was healthy enough to play. For 2021, the Twins added Andrelton Simmons so Polanco's bat could stay in the lineup and provide defense at 2B. Even so, the off-season word was that the Twins might consider moving Polanco back, at least until the young guns were ready to go. Not ideal, to be sure, as Polanco proved he was able to capably play 2B and stay in the lineup for a full season, AND most importantly, put up big offensive numbers at the same time. 

Royce Lewis - All this talk about giving the prospects time to develop made some fans wonder . . . maybe don't? Royce Lewis was the #1 overall draft pick in 2017, and had been making steady progress through the minors when COVID hit in 2020 and wiped out the minor league season. Even so, the prevailing thought was that Lewis could debut in 2021, and presumably take the everyday gig by Opening Day 2022. That is, until he tore his ACL in Spring Training 2021. Even with that injury, there was talk that a strong Spring might convince the Twins to let Lewis loose on the league after all. It's for the best that they will let him learn and develop instead.

Austin Martin - arriving along with Simeon Woods-Richardson from the Blue Jays in the Jose Berrios trade, Austin Martin is listed as a short stop. The book on Martin, however, seems to imply that his big league position might be in the outfield or 3rd base rather than short. There wasn't really much chance of Martin being the Twins' everyday SS to begin the 2022 season, but it was still possible if they didn't want to go with Lewis, and didn't add anyone in a trade or free agency. 

Jermaine Palacios - Wasn't going to happen, but Palacios remains an interesting prospect. He was originally signed by the Twins in 2014 as an international free agent. He was included in a trade to Tampa for Jake Odorizzi in 2016, then came back to the Twins in 2020 as a minor league free agent. He spent 2021 in AA Wichita, and started showing some power for the first time in his professional career. He had 19 homers to go along with 18 stolen bases. He's been with the Major League club all spring in 2022, but he's likely going to start the year back in the minors. He's still only going to be 25 this season.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa - If you're not comfortable with the internal options, it's time to make a trade. Adding Kiner-Falefa cost the Twins dearly, as they traded away arguably one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. The need for a steady defender at SS was obvious, and IKF certainly can provide that for the Twins. Throw in a minor league pitching prospect, and Texas, you've got yourself a deal!

Gio Urshela - Um, ok then, just trade Kiner-Falefa away, I guess. So... now what? Gio Urshela is going to play SS? But who's playing at 3B, you also traded away Donaldson. Arraez at 3B? I guess that might not be the worst thing. Heck, I like Gio Urshela. I wanted the Twins to get him when the Yankees got him back in 2018 off waivers from Toronto. He was a great fielder in Cleveland, I was a reluctant admirer of his for years, so why not? Yeah, I can warm up to this plan. I bet Urshela can play SS just fine. But he's probably better at 3B. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Trevor Story - Now this is exciting! Rumor has it after the trade with New York that the Twins were still not done shopping. They've been linked to Trevor Story, which would maybe seem out of character for the Twins, but remember they overpaid to get Josh Donaldson a few years ago, so the old song and dance about the penny pinching Pohlads (Twins' team Owners) is officially played out. They spent to keep Buxton too, so there's some reason to believe they'd at least make an offer to Story. The type of deal he's looking for is very steep for the Twins (or most teams, really), but it would be hard to top this player in the lineup. There are questions about his bat away from Coors, so it might be an overpay, but I think of the total package. Story is not only a slugger. He's an excellent defender and an elite baserunner. He provides value regardless. If the Twins could sign Story, they'd instantly improve. 

Sub-Zero (Bi-Han) - I ranked all of these in order of the likelihood of the Twins' starting each player as their Opening Day SS. Here's what I learned about Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat Wiki: Before his death, Bi-Han was the original Sub-Zero, one of the most powerful and devout warriors of the Lin Kuei clan. While essentially neutral, he was a cold-blooded, vicious assassin whose soul had become corrupted from years of violence and remorseless killing. All traits that lend well to the middle infield, I'd say. It might cause some issues with the League Office, though.

Carlos Correa - This was by far the least likely possibility, at least in the minds of Twins fans. Correa was almost certainly getting a contract like Corey Seager (10 years, $325 Million), seeing as he's younger and has an even better track record. The #1 Overall pick of the 2012 Draft, Correa has won a Platinum Glove (Gold Glove plus the best overall fielder at any position in the league), is a 2 time All-Star (remember that Polanco beat him out in one of those years), was the 2015 Rookie of the Year, and is coming off a season in which he piled up a career best 7.2 WAR. He was the biggest name free agent this off-season, and somehow the Twins managed to sign him. His contract has an opt out after this season (and after next season if he decides to stay), but that only seems to make the deal better for both sides. If he opts out it means he had a great season, which is exactly what the Twins want. He makes his Spring Training debut for the Twins tomorrow!

Breakin' Series 2 Twins Boogaloo

I haven't been to a store that sells baseball cards in a few months, so getting Series 2 Topps was a tall order. Thankfully, we still have the Internet, so I went to the "electronic Bay" which is an online marketplace of sorts... and bid on a Case Break of Series 2 Topps Jumbo Boxes.

My goal was to try to cash in a lottery ticket for some of the more rare Eddie Rosario parallels so I could build my Rosie Rainbow, but I struck out there. 

Series 2 is a great place to catch up with the new kids on the block - Homer Bailey is still wearing his Royal blue cleats, Yadi Molina is making a cameo on Josh Donaldson's card, most likely with Donaldson still playing for Atlanta on this card. Dick Mountain is more than likely in a Dodgers uniform here.

There sure are a ton of horizontal cards in the Twins Series 2 set - and these aren't even the alternate / short printed variations! The only Rosario I pulled from the break was the base card, but that was good, I still needed it! 

This was a fun one, I like that the more recent issues are continuing the 50s / 60s combo card craze. 

Finally the rookie base cards - there's a Dobnak photo variation too - I'll be on the lookout for a cheap copy of it. Dobnak, you may recall, was famous for being an Uber Driver before getting the call from the Twins to be a minor league signee. 

Inserts include "Decades' Best" and a tribute to the 1985 set, which I think is just fine. Rod Carew has been getting some more love the last couple years, which is much deserved!

There were some good cards in the silver bonus packs that came with the Jumbo case - including chrome variations of Decades' Best. Pulled a couple parallels too!

Two cards could be called "hits" - first a Joe Mauer Gold Parallel numbered to 50. Mauer won three batting titles in the 2000s, and was a video game cover guy. The Twins weren't able to reach the World Series in the Decade, but they were AL Central Division Champs 6 times between 2000 and 2010. 

And finally this card made the break worth what I spent to win it - a cool 1985 design autograph of the hitting machine Luis Arraez. He hit .334 last year as a mid season call-up, subbing in for and overtaking Jonathan Schoop as the Twins' everyday second baseman. Arraez has been compared to Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn in terms of his batting stance and willingness to spray line drives all over the field. 

Have you tried a Group Break before? What did you think of it? Thanks for reading!

Hats Off To The Card Show!

In a collecting world that pushed more and more towards online sales, I am grateful for the Local Card Shop and Local Card Shows. I am very fortunate to live in a region that has a number of both shops and shows. The Online card buying experience has been lacking lately, whether it's getting damaged cards from eBay, empty unsealed envelopes from Topps NOW, and the recent COMC debacle (they have still not provided an update about my missing order from December 2nd...). But going to a card show, with all the sights sounds and smells can remind me what drew me back into the hobby six years ago.

File these under "just in case." Graterol's status was still up in the air in the Red Sox trade on Saturday morning. By the time I got home, the deal was dead, and I was looking forward to seeing him in the Twins bullpen in 2020. By the time I made it into work, everything was back on again, with a little twist.

On "Twins Twitter" there was a lot of chatter about trading away Eddie Rosario for pitching. Even if I thought that was a good idea, let me remind everyone that there are guys still available in free agency that can duplicate Rosie's numbers. But more importantly, he's awesome and you can't have him! This auto is numbered to 50 copies.

Switching gears, I am always up for adding new Barry Sanders cards to my collection. I'm still very hesitantly wading into vintage basketball. The trouble is that I don't know the players from 70s ABA/NBA the way that MLB players from that era are so much more recognizable. Does anyone know of some good books about the ABA?

The Timberwolves were never better than during the time Sam Cassell was on the roster. Obviously it was Kevin Garnett's team, but the addition of Cassell and Latrell Sprewell made the team a championship contender for the first (and only) time.

I don't really collect football at all, but my goodness, how could I not add this card to my collection?

Jim was good at football.

I found a box of O-Pee-Chee! I was hoping to snag a 1972 Gil Hodges, but these were a nice surprise and consolation prize.

Sometimes I do these things on purpose - adding a '63 and a '73 of the same player at a show. Other times, I don't realize until I'm organizing the cards to scan them.

I went after some newer stuff as well. The image variation on the Scherzer card is stupid, but I tend to like stupid.

Even after losing Graterol, I am still excited for the future roster of the Minnesota Twins. Arraez has arrived, and 2019 First rounder Keoni Cavaco could be a short stop away from the big leagues.

Last but not least I went outside my usual comfort zone to add this 1990s insert of Barry Bonds. It is very shiny.

Swearing a Blue (pinstriped) Streak

So... yeah. That's 16 straight postseason losses by the Twins against New York. There was some reason to be hopeful this time, but ultimately it came down to pitching (or the lack thereof) for the Twins. Jose Berrios was undone by a high pitch count and some poor defense, going only 4 innings in Game 1. He surrendered just 1 earned run, and struck out 6 Yankees, but it wasn't going to be enough on a night where the bullpen was unable to get outs.

Well, you tried...

Berrios had a short start, Jake Odorizzi gave the Twins 5 solid innings in Game 3. He was the only pitcher on the roster with a positive WPA (win probability added). Brusdar Graterol pitched a clean inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts, one of the few highlights of the Twins bullpen in the postseason. Eddie Rosario had a homer in Game 3, the only run the Twins would score. Jorge Polanco was the Twin with the highest WPA, mostly from his 2-3 performance in Game 1. His homer in the first inning gave the Twins their only lead of the series.

Missing in Action . . . 

Luis Arraez had a fantastic rookie season, but a high ankle sprain on the final day of the season put a damper on an otherwise sterling debut. Even with a flat tire, Arraez had 5 hits in the 3 game series, 4 of them doubles. But the injury would be more noticeable on the defensive side, where a pair of miscues in the first game led to a Yankees rally. Marwin Gonzalez, C.J. Cron, and Max Kepler all had a tough time in the series having missed significant time in September due to nagging injuries. Kepler went 0-10 in the series, but did manage to reach base 3 times on walks.

Missed opportunities . . . 

While they weren't noticeably injured, they also had sub par showings in the post season. Sano and Garver went a combined 3-24 with 13 strikeouts. Jonathan Schoop only had 2 plate appearances, striking out both times. Nelson Cruz had a big home run in Game 1, but was held in check for the balance of the series by the Yankees' pitching staff.

Willians Astudillo was not on the postseason roster, but he still had a card in this set. I do enjoy adding Astudillo cards to my collection, but I would have liked to have a Randy Dobnak card, regardless of the outcome of his start.

Here are the card backs for those interested. I do have one more complaint - When these sets were first listed on the Topps website, the Twins were the only Division Champ that did not have an Autograph version of the set. I assumed after checking back a few days in a row that Topps was just going to do the non-Auto version of the Twins set, so I pulled the trigger early. I found out later that an Autograph version was offered, but I didn't want to pay for a whole 2nd set (at a higher price) to get the auto. Thanks Topps.

 It would be easy to complain about the injuries, the Pineda suspension, etc, but the fact is that the Yankees were the better team in that series from start to finish. If the Twins want to get this monkey off their back, they are going to have get more from their starting pitching and have more depth to weather the storm. It's not like the Yankees were all healthy...

It was a short postseason run for the Twins, but the season was still a ton of fun. I look forward to the off season with high hopes for some better starting pitching.