Twins Outright Brendan Harris, Purchase Contract of Outfielder Jason Repko from Rochester
by Jesse on Jun 24, 2010 5:56 PM EDT
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PrintThe writing was on the wall. Harris has cleared waivers and will report to Rochester.
Over the last two series the Twins have tried Michael Cuddyer at third base under the guise of getting his bat into the lineup. To be fair, that was probably true. But it also meant they were playing a man out of position. Instead of playing Brendan Harris, a guy who has logged 752 innings at third base for the Twins over the past three seasons (or shifting Punto over and playing Harris at short), the Twins went to a player who hadn't played there in five years. Yeah, he'd fallen that far.
Harris was having a terrible season. There was no reason to expect this kind of a performance, but as opportunities continued to present themselves and he continued to get playing time, he was never able to even get close to the hitter he'd been since arriving in Minnesota. Yes, his numbers were in decline (.777 OPS in Tampa in '07, .721 in '08 and .672 in '09), but there was no way .157/.233/.213 was even on the horizon.
But that's baseball. Things happen.
And of course, this is absolutely the right move. Harris was essentially just taking up a roster spot, appearing in just eight games so far this month (and none since Saturday and picking up just two plate appearances in the last 11 days).
Taking Harris' place will be Jason Repko who, at 29, has been a bit of a journeyman without going too much of anywhere. He appeared in 129 games for the Dodgers in 2005 as a 24-year old, but hit just .221/.281/.384. Since then he's bounced back and forth between the majors and the minors, before signing with the Twins this spring as a minor league free agent.
Repko is a .289/.357/.461 hitter in over 1600 triple-A plate appearances. He's also a center fielder, which means the Twins will have a more viable option off the bench if they ever decide to give Denard another day off.
With interleague play coming to and end just around the corner, Danny Valencia playing pretty well, J.J. Hardy hopefully on his way back (at some point, right?) and Alexi Casilla also on the mend, I'm not sure we'll see Harris in a Twins uniform again. Barring a significant injury, of course.
There are a number of steps the Twins needed to take to get better as a unit, and this was one of them.
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How bad has Cuddyer been at third??
I saw a quote from Gardy that made me think that this might be more of a long term thing with Cuddyer? I was thinking this would just be for NL?
“Repko’s swinging the bat pretty good and plays the outfield, too. If we’re moving Cuddyer in here (to third base), you have to have another outfielder.”
Yikes.
I didn’t see that comment…but it makes me a little nervous. What’s wrong with moving Cuddyer back to the OF once interleague play is over, giving Valencia his due time at third and keeping that extra outfielder on the bench? It wouldn’t mean Cuddyer can’t go back to third in an emergency, but c’mon…
Kubel or Thome >>>>>>>>> Valencia
And Gardy seems intent on never sitting Cuddy ever, so…..
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
I'm semi (very semi) hating this Kubel/Thome thing now
I just really, really, really don’t want to see more of Cuddyer at 3rd.
Baseball reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.-Terence Mann/James Earl Jones in FoD
I really don't want to see Kubel in right
Dude is slow.
RF isn't very big in Target Field
You can get away with slow out there
I don't mind Kubel in the OF every once and awhile.
He’s better than he seems, though I’m sure the numbers don’t really back that up. He can dive for balls you wouldn’t think he’d get. He sprints hard, though not fast. I wouldn’t want him out there every single day, but something like two times a week wouldn’t be bad. I don’t see a reason for it though because it leads to:
I don’t want to see Cuddyer at 3rd ever and unfortunately we’ve had to again. The only way he’s good there is if the hits are easy or nothing is hit to him.
Baseball reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.-Terence Mann/James Earl Jones in FoD
Repko in RF so Cuddy can play 3rd
My worst fear when I read about Repko coming to the Twins is now realized.
At least Harris is gone.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of bad words." -fischean
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Jun 24, 2010 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions
no no no
Kubel in RF so Thome can DH, with Cuddyer at 3b
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
So then we're back to Span not in the lineup?
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of bad words." -fischean
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Jun 24, 2010 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I still don't like Cuddy at 3rd
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of bad words." -fischean
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Jun 24, 2010 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Cuddy doesn't belong in the infield, aside from first base
He’s a decent first baseman, but he’s just not quick enough to play third. He’s like Tony Batista out there. And I think they’re forgetting why they moved him to right in the first place. He doesn’t hit well when he has to focus so much of his energy on playing defense.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Cuddy at 1st,
Morneau at C, Mauer at 3rd, Punto at the keystone, and Hudson in the outfield giving pep talks to Kubel, Span, and Delmon. Punto will pitch from behind second, freeing up roster space for Toby G. and all scrappy infielders ahead of him in the depth chart.
Isn't it sort of a crime to hit Thome 8th?
I mean, back when I played baseball, 8th in the order was reserved for kids who needed to be pointed to 1st on the rare occasions they made contact.
Damn that lineup is awesome
I mean holy crap, and if Hardy’s healthy he’s hitting 9th. WOW! A bit scary defensively but at least you have Punto and Repko as defensive replacements late for Kubel/Cuddy.
Peyton's good but have you ever heard of Jeff George?
When Hardy is healthy,
Cuddyer goes back to RF, right? And then, does Punto play full time at 3rd, or does Valencia stay up and split time with him?
It should be Valencia
My guess is Valencia is sent down, Punto starts and Tolbert stays on the bench.
I would much rather have Punto moving to the bench and Tolbert going down
But I understand management’s fixation with the scrapiness index
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Probably right
But I don’t know that there’s a good argument for keeping Tolbert over Valencia even if you make Punto the everyday third baseman – if a middle infielder gets injured, you can just move Punto there and put in Valencia at third. I guess there’ s a bit more argument for Tolbert if the Twins are viewing Cuddyer as a hybrid infielder now – they’d have two extra third base options but no middle infield options if Punto had a day-to-day injury.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
With Harris off the 40-man, he's now behind
Casilla, Plouffe, Hughes Tolbert and Valencia in the backup IF dept. Oh, also he’s behind Estarlin De Los Santos too. All IF’s on the 40 man. What that means is the chances of us seeing Harris again in the bigs this year are less than 1%. Because we’d have to lose a man off the 40-man to call him back up.
He’s gonna be the rich guy down in Rochester, as he’s still getting paid fully this year and next. I would guess, he gets another shot in spring training next year or is a throw-in in a trade between now and then.
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
I feel bad for Harris.
He seems like a nice enough guy, and from all accounts he works really hard. He just has no assets, and can’t hit to save his life.
Oh, and welcome Jason Repko
His rep is that he’s decent defensively. He played all 3 OF positions for the Dodgers and he’s been primarily playing CF in AAA. This’ll give Span some days off, hopefully
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
How does Gardy deal with just one IF on the bench...
…if Cuddyer actually IS going to play 3B, the bench becomes Butera, Thome, Valencia and Repko?
we still have Tolbert too
(for now)
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
After Hardy comes back
Valencia goes back down, Tolbert stays up. Tolbert really isn’t any better than Harris but at least they have a backup outfielder.
Why Repko and not JJ?
I’d always assumed that Jacque Jones would be the first outfielder called up. Is he hurt, or slumping?
Yeah, that. Neither of them are playing that well as of late (I think), but Repko has been better over the season.
Baseball reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.-Terence Mann/James Earl Jones in FoD
Jacque may be starting to sink as the reality of not getting called up sinks in.
I always loved that one.
Jacque was a very good center fielder
He wasn’t a “true” center fielder only because the Twins had the best defensive center fielder in Major League Baseball at the time. Other than the slightly wild arm (which is an issue in any outfield spot), he was just fine during the times he played center (and in his time there with the Cubs, UZR backs him up as above-average).
Granted, that was five or six years ago, so I can understand that it may not be the same now, but at one time, Jacque was basically a center fielder playing right field, similar to Denard Span during the Gomez days.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Because Repko can play CF and Jacque can't
Jacque is also likely behind Dustin Martin in the callup OF’s…
it fights, but tolbert the true rubbish, is the son--japanese proverb
Chase Utley is a Nick Punto-type player, but with power--Bert Blyleven
Also, Repko hits from the right side
So if Span needs a day off against a tough lefty, which he will this weekend when they face Santana, Repko can start and we don’t have to endure Cuddy at a position he’s even worse at than he is at third.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Perhaps the most relevant question
Myself, Jesse and c-math all posted something on Harris getting whacked. WHERE WERE MARTHALER AND ADAM?
Slackers.
You should fire them.
Welcome to South Africa, home of the 2010 FIFA Wo- o=========<| BZZZZZZZZZZ
maybe you should fire them, Ms. Moderator.
My life's goal: to force fischean itno using her moderator powers
by montanatwinsfan on Jun 24, 2010 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I do, I do.
Between you and me (don’t tell her) I am glad she volunteered to do it, not only because it gives me even more reason to give her some grief.
My life's goal: to force fischean itno using her moderator powers
by montanatwinsfan on Jun 25, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I sincerely hope Ms. Moderator does not catch on...
Welcome to South Africa, home of the 2010 FIFA Wo- o=========<| BZZZZZZZZZZ
by fischean on Jun 25, 2010 10:16 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Does Gardy have Cuddyer on his fantasy team?
He’s going to qualify at CF and 3B.
Case number 103 of a little man falling off a cliff
777 in ’07
721 in ’08
672 in ’09
.446 in 10
It happens to scrappy little infielders.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Hummmm.......
I can see Cuddyer at third. But what happens when Hardy returns. Are the backups for infielders Punto (which he should be) and Casilla. Do Tolbert and Valencia go abck down?
I want to see more of Valencia right now, as the Twins may not have Hudson or Punto in 2011. Is Cuddyer the third sacker of the future? Only time will tell. He does make the line-up better (Hardy the #8 hitter…but where does Thome bat — 5th, 6th, 7th…is Delmon Young the .300 hitting 8th hitter then?
Harris can come abck anytime. You might add him abck and let go of, say, Tolbert, when the time comes. Repko is a filler. Late-inning replacement, pinch-runner, maybe a bit mroe pop than Harris from the bench.
Visit www.TwinsCards.com and check out "rosters" to see my collection!
Cuddy at third makes me nervous. REALLY nervous.
He’s deaf in his left ear for cripes sake!
All I can say after the last few games are: Get Cliff Lee. NOW.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. ~ Terence Mann
Question
Can Cliff Lee score a run against Yovani Gallardo?
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
No, but he would have kept us in it til the end!
"Pinch-bunters don't have a ton of value, even with the Twins"
by Steven Ellingson on Jun 25, 2010 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I can't wait to see what happens when Hardy comes back
The soap-opera continues. Will LNP get to start at 3B, Will Cuddy Keep his 5th spot, Will the Rookie ValenSHea (bert) get a chance to play, and the non-end struggles of the starting 5. Stay tuned for the next exciting game of AS THE BALL TURNS.
I thought I read somewhere that when Hardy comes back that Gardy was going to go back to Punto at 3B
I can’t remember where it was and I’m not sure if it was a quote from Gardy, but I think it was. It was either on the StarTrib or the Twins website.
Baseball reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.-Terence Mann/James Earl Jones in FoD
Does Valencia Suck that bad
You move the rightfielder to 3B or play the no stick back-up infielder. Why is Gardy concered about defence at 3B, Cuddy got 2 tries in 4 games.( Why Punto?)
by b1 on Jun 25, 2010 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Valencia doesn't suck at all
Gardy is just really bad at playing rookies. Always has been. He starts out saying all the right things: “He’s up here t o play, so I’m gonna play him.” Then the kid has one 0-fer against a tough pitcher (after raking for two weeks and playing flawless defense) and he benches him. Same thing happened to Span, Kubel, Barlett, and Cuddyer.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
It sucks too because I felt like he was getting into a groove out there, offensively and defensively.
I don’t know if the numbers back that up, but I liked him out there. Now he hasn’t played in days really. It’s like he has to start all over again.
Baseball reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.-Terence Mann/James Earl Jones in FoD
Usually it's the defense
I thought Valencia had a shot as long as he kept things up with the glove. Usually it’s the throwing error or booted ball that gets you in Gardy’s doghouse.
Usually it's the defense
I thought Valencia had a shot as long as he kept things up with the glove. Usually it’s the throwing error or booted ball that gets you in Gardy’s doghouse.
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