You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers. Let’s do this thing.
I’d say greater career since I think the Twins are better set up to extend guys at that part of their careers than they were in the Metrodome days with Johan Santana’s free agency looming. That was kind of a double-edged sword, really. When guys like Santana, Torii Hunter, Corey Koskie and others were ready to move on, the Twins had used up their cheap and mostly effective years to that point. Only Hunter really went on to really keep playing at a high level over an extended period of time, while Santana never played a playoff game outside of a Twins uniform and Koskie was bitten by concussion issues, which are all too familiar to fans around these parts.
In other words, the economics of the Metrodome kept the Twins from keeping fan favorites, but also kept them from making the kind of contractual mistakes that are all too common in longer deals. It’s not necessarily that those deals start out bad, but sometimes they just end poorly, like Justin Morneau’s deal or even Joe Mauer’s to some extent.
If the plan with Target Field was never to be big spenders on the free-agent market, but to keep your own stars at home, I think that’s still pretty defensible. That is, if the Byron Buxtons, Miguel Sanos, Max Keplers and Berrios’ of the world get away, that’s when Twins fans should truly riot.
But the other weird dynamic is when fans point to the fact that the Twins haven’t really spent at Target Field as some sort of indicator that they can’t or won’t. The only truly good season in Target Field was the 2010 season, and between that season and the next, payroll nearly doubled from the 2009 mark ($65.3 million) to 2011 ($113 million). The payroll has never been as high as it was in 2011, which is easily one of the worst seasons in franchise history (99 losses).
In other words, it’s part of the crux of the argument that it’s not how much you spend but rather how you spend it. Regardless, no amount of spending was going to bring the Twins out of the 2011-14 doldrums, or would have prevented 2016 from happening. It’s not being a “Pohlad Pocket Protector” or anything, it’s just common sense. The team is young and decent, and thus will be cheap. Muddying up the plan at this point with a bunch of poor contracts doesn’t make the team better, and effectively hampers flexibility in the future. The payroll is not a linear operation, and requires a bit more nuance than just apples-to-apples comparisons can provide.
https://twitter.com/AndyCarlsonShow/status/878265173668012035
This is a fun question, but it’s also kind of difficult. I’ve heard that Butler is somewhere between a top 10-20 player, which with roster sizes probably equates more to like top 20-40 in baseball since MLB has 25-man rosters and the NBA right around an average of 14 players active per game.
I’m going to say:
Trading
- Eddie Rosario (young, interesting, toolsy but may never be great)
- Kennys Vargas (can do one thing really well, but isn’t all that valuable)
Receiving
- Someone like either David Peralta/Christian Yelich/Charlie Blackmon
I’ve eliminated the picks because draft pick trading in MLB is not allowed and either way, it wouldn’t sway the deal all that much.
Anyway, as far as those the Twins would receive, each of those guys have different kinds of value, but are for sure much more accomplished players than either Vargas and/or Rosario. Rosario’s 100th percentile outcome is as one of those players — probably Peralta, I think — but they would all be massive upgrades on Eddie’s potential.
Not at all. That’s one thing Chris Gimenez told me he’s been impressed with. The clubhouse vibe has been awesome no matter who is pitching, what happened the night before or where they are in the standings.
https://twitter.com/PandaPete21/status/878265730986147840
He’s still just a baby. He’ll have to learn to hit lefties, but he’s a dude. What he’s doing in the big leagues (.253/.322/.419) just a few years after struggling at High-A Fort Myers is nothing short of amazing. Plus, he’s only 24. I see big things ahead for Mr. Germany Keplert.
Brandon Kintzler
Tyler Duffey
Taylor Rogers
Buddy Boshers at the front end
Ryan Pressly if he can get back on track
Everyone else is a wild card. I still think Nik Turley can help them out of the bullpen, but he’ll need a few appearances at Triple-A to clear his head.
As far as rotation guys, Hector Santiago could be interesting out of the bullpen, but I’m just not certain he’ll still be here at that point. The same could be said for Kyle Gibson — who I’m more convinced has staying power — as he could add some velocity with a nasty sinker-slider-change combo out of the pen.
Yeah, I think so. The spike in walk rate is a bit interesting — I’ll be writing a feature on him soon — and he’s still so damn toolsy that there has to be a good player in there somewhere. The ebbs and flows have been frustrating, but as things stand now, he’s been an above-average offensive player (101 OPS+) so far. If he ever walks at a league-average rate, he could be Peralta 2.o. With that said, I’d probably trade him for Peralta in a heartbeat — not that anyone asked.
It’s certainly possible. He might have the lowest slugging percentage of any cleanup hitter in the game, but he sees a ton of pitches and flat out gets on base — the most valuable skill when it comes to scoring runs. He doesn’t have an obvious skill set that other teams might seek to acquire and he’s still cheap as far as finances are considered, so I wouldn’t be actively looking to move him. But I also wouldn’t be worried about moving him in an effort to clear up a DH logjam if a good offer came around with guys like Brent Rooker and Vargas hanging around, either.
Since this question came through, Fister was claimed by the Boston Red Sox and will join their MLB roster. I think it’s probably a fairly significant red flag that he couldn’t crack an Angels rotation fraught with injuries all season long, but to each their own. As a flyer on a minor-league deal, he’d go in the Chris Heston/Adam Wilk/Dillon Gee bin filed under “why not?” But I don’t expect too much.
Broxton hasn’t been particularly useful over the last few years, but his velocity has looked OK, he’s still getting grounders and it looks like it has been his command that has evaded him. The swinging strike rate is still good too, so he could be a decent flyer. Plus, I’m a big fan of chubby dudes out of the bullpen. Fat guys rake — and they throw gas.
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