To say that the season has been up and down for the Minnesota Twins would be a vast understatement of how erratic things have been.
Somewhere in Minnesota is a really good team, but a big problem has been consistency. The Twins had a 7–13 start to the season before winning 12 straight games to turn things around. However, the team always manages to throw away any momentum it may be gaining.
The Twins had winning streaks of 12 games in a row, but they also had losing runs of five or more games in between. They most recently lost three games in a row to the New York Yankees, which makes sense, but they also dropped two games in a row to the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is unacceptable.
In addition to the fact that the team is still getting adjusted, a few players’ lackluster play has contributed to this situation. If things don’t improve, these players may find themselves on the roster bubble.
Three Twins players who are having trouble and could lose playing time
Claude Vazquez, C.
Christian Vazquez’s season has been extremely difficult thus far. Ryan Jeffers, who is supposedly a member of a platoon at catching, is outperforming him offensively and has earned more starts than him, overshadowing him as a starting catcher.
It’s easy to understand Minnesota’s preference for Jeffers. Vazquez is slashing in a rut, and he’s hitting __.169/.194/.237 with only four hits in his previous thirty at-bats. The Twins don’t want a guy making $10 million a season to do that, and it might lead to a change.
One factor that is in Vazquez’s advantage is the situation. There isn’t a clear succession plan at catcher, unlike other struggling players who might be replaced. One possibility in a platoon with Jeffers is Jair Camargo, but he should be considered more of a backup than a Vazquez substitute. In addition, if the Twins move on, they may be held financially responsible for him, which raises the question of whether it would be better to leave him on the roster and hope that things work out on their own.
Vazquez is currently one of the worst components of the Twins offense, so something has to change.
Farmer Kyle, INF
To put it mildly, Kyle Farmer has been a complete nightmare to watch for the Twins this season.
Although he’s one of the team’s most disappointing players on the field, he’s seen as a positive force in the clubhouse and has no unpleasant qualities off the field. The farmer is having a bad day.172/.274/.253 with 0.2 WAR and has begun to see Jose Miranda and Willi Castro get more of his defensive innings. That’s mostly due to his bad season at the plate; Farmer’s value is beginning to decline as he approaches the point of being an unplayable offensive player.
Considering that the Twins gave him $6 million this offseason, that’s a serious issue. After Farmer successfully negotiated an arbitration settlement and was tendered back in November, Minnesota was able to sign him as a free agent. The Twins signed him to their largest contract this offseason, which is noteworthy because they cut their payroll by $30 million and declined to make other roster additions.
Farmer has utterly fallen short of expectations, despite being the team’s major free agent addition. When Royce Lewis came off the injured list, he was kept on the roster instead of Edouard Julien, but he definitely feels like a player on borrowed time. Going forward, it will be difficult to defend giving him playing time over other players if he is unable to solve problems at the plate.
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