2012 Projections – Alexi Casilla

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:30:54 +0000

A year ago, guarded optimism would be an apt description of the feelings of Twins fans towards the middle infield heading into Spring Training. A recently signed Japanese batting champion, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, was going to fill a hole at short stop the Twins have had for the better part of a decade, and Alexi Casilla was finally going to be the every day second basemen the Twins had hoped he would turn into since they acquired him for J.C. Romero in 2005. Instead, Nishioka broke his leg just weeks into the season, and never really adjusted to the American style of baseball played on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Casilla, meanwhile continued to play inconsistent defense and was unable to generate any momentum at the plate, posting an OPS of just .691. A nagging hamstring cost him most of the 2nd half of the season and Casilla only played in 97 games, despite opening the season as the starting 2B. Defensively, Casilla split time between 2B and SS due to other team injuries, and tallied 11 errors in 275 attempts, and was worth just 0.4 dWAR for the season, only slightly above average. I should note, however, that the 0.4 dWAR was the first time Casilla had posted positive Defensive Wins Above Replacement since becoming a Major League regular.

Heading into Spring Training in 2012, Casilla is once again being called upon to be the starting second basemen, along side newly acquired short stop Jamey Carroll. Admittedly, I think the Twins have Casilla and Carroll playing the wrong middle infield positions, but with all of Spring Training ahead of them, the Twins have plenty of time to evaluate their middle infield. (more…)

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2012 Projections – Alexi Casilla