Last week, the Minnesota Twins optioned Matt Wallner to Triple-A, leading to speculation that more moves are coming.
The Twins have gone 7-8 in their last 15 games and are 21-26 on the season, good for third in the AL Central. They are under two games back in the wild card race, and they can still be extremely competitive, not just early on but throughout the season.
However, they need to make more changes for that to happen.
So, what are these changes, and how would they affect this team as a whole?
Who could be leaving?
Three players are likely to see reduced playing time in the near future.
Royce Lewis’s play has dropped off since his sensational rookie year. His standing on the team has become less certain after Derek Shelton benched him a week after sitting Wallner.
Lewis has a team-worst .168 batting average, with three HR, 13 RBIs, 12 walks, 34 strikeouts, and three stolen bases. His .287 slugging percentage is second-worst on the team to Victor Caratini.
His bat isn’t the only thing holding this team back. Lewis leads the team with five errors and proved costly in Friday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in a controversial obstructing the base call against Lewis.
While people will probably offer more grace to Luke Keaschall than to Lewis, mainly because of his lack of pro experience, Keaschall hasn’t been able to make the most of the situations the Twins have given him.
He’s hitting .232 with one HR, 15 RBIs, 19 walks, 29 strikeouts, and ten stolen bases. Keaschall is struggling to hit the ball hard, having an exit velocity of 84.3 MPH, which is the worst on the team. Keaschall is known for his hitting but has also struggled on the field, with just one fewer error than Lewis.
Inexperience is a factor in some of his issues, but it doesn’t explain them all.
Simeon Woods Richardson is also scuffling. He’s 0-6 with an ERA of 7.71 and has 20 strikeouts and 20 walks across 42 innings of work. His 4.3 strikeouts per nine innings is the worst among pitchers who have tossed over ten innings, and his -1.2 WAR is now the worst on the team after Wallner was sent down (Wallner had a -1.3 WAR).
Opponents are hitting .335 against Richardson, the worst on the team. Meanwhile, his opponent’s hard-hit percentage is second to Cole Sands, who is out with a shoulder injury.
If one, or all three, get replaced, who would fill in, and what would their impact be?
Who would be taking their spot?
These pieces down, or moving on from them, are options; the solutions need to make sense.
For infield replacements, the team can go with either top prospect Kaelen Culpepper or veteran Orlando Arcia.
Culpepper is hitting .253/.346/.469 with nine HR, 30 RBIs, 22 walks, 37 strikeouts, and nine stolen bases in Triple-A this season. His homers, RBIs, and stolen bases are the best on the Saints squad.
Arcia leads St. Paul with a .318 batting average and has 8 HR, 27 RBIs, 14 walks, 31 strikeouts, and three stolen bases. He also leads the Saints in slugging percentage with .556.
If the team doesn’t want to bring both players up, the question becomes: Does the team want someone with major league experience? Or do they want to go with a player making his long-awaited debut?
As for who would take Woods Richardson’s spot, this pitching situation will more than likely be addressed based on health and confidence.
If Taj Bradley makes a full recovery, then the one-for-one switch of Bradley for Woods Richardson would make the most sense. However, Woods Richardson is out of options. He would have to clear waivers with the other 29 teams for the Twins to retain his rights. They will probably have to option Kendry Rojas to the minors if they stash Richardson in the bullpen.
If Bradley still needs another start in the minors, then calling Kody Funderburk back up seems to make the most sense.
Both have experience this season, so Shelton knows what he’s getting out of each player. The main caveat could be whether or not they feel comfortable enough sending Andrew Morris or another stretched-out reliever, which makes that fifth starting spot a little more volatile for a team’s lackluster pitching staff.
Now that I’ve explained the potential for change, how would the team look if they made all three changes?
How does this shake things up?
The Twins have a few different scenarios for how they want to handle certain parts of the lineup that have been successful.
Looking at a typical Twins lineup, defensively, the outfield would remain similar to its current configuration. Having Byron Buxton, Austin Martin, and Trevor Larnach yields the most success, on the field and at the plate.
The infield will see the most changes. Minnesota’s two newest additions will play third base and shortstop because Culpepper and Arcia can play there. However, you would most likely see Culpepper at shortstop and Arcia at third base. Brooks Lee would move over to second base, where he is more comfortable, and then you would find Victor Carattini at first with Ryan Jeffers behind the plate.
Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Connor Prielipp, and Zebby Matthews would be four of the five starters. If Bradley comes back and Richardson goes to the bullpen, this could be the team’s best-looking starting rotation all season.
If the team decides that Bradley is not ready to rejoin the club, fans should expect at least one bullpen game every five games. In these games, you would see either Morris, Eric Orze, or maybe even Funderburk come in for a one to three inning start and then piece together the back end of the game.
The Twins are in a position to surprise a lot of doubters as this season continues.
For that to happen, Wallner’s demotion must be just the start of what could be an ever-changing landscape for the team.
Now is the time to be bold and take chances. As the deadline approaches, fans will want to see some sort of direction from their favorite baseball team and not be left in the dark, lost in the unknown.
