Article: Has the clock run out on Jared Burton?

[ScottyB]

Can we please trade Jared Burton? He's shown nothing since about the middle of last season. When we go to 12 pitchers, Tonkin deserves to stay. If we stay with 13 pitchers, I think there are about 4 or 5 who would be better than Burton, including Guerrier.

[TKGuy]

Nobody is going to take that salary yet

[Winston Smith]

Why would anyone else want him and on top of that give something up for him and his 3 million $ owed?

[ScottyB]

Maybe I should have said "Time to Dump Burton". We can afford to eat his salary at this point. He's not a part of the future, and at this point, shouldn't be part of the present.

[cmathewson]

Yes. Time to dump him. He lost his fastball, making his change just a BP pitch.

[Reider]

He's not reliable enough to be our set up man anymore.

[Craig Arko]

I do think I'd like to see Tonkin get a good long look as the eighth inning guy.

[CwK]

Always sell high. Let him string some good outings together. I don't have faith in the Twins doing so given their history, but I also think the market is a lot lower than we all hope. Unless it's Drew Butera

[diehardtwinsfan]

At first I thought this said time to trade Buxton.

[Craig Arko]

At first I thought this said time to trade Buxton.

 

Boo! You scared me.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Trade? Who would take him? DFA or release? Sure. He's toast.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Trade? Who would take him? DFA or release? Sure. He's toast.

Poor guy, what a cold and heartless thing to say about a human being... That said, he serves up BP in games, he can't figure this stuff out in games.

[jorgenswest]

I thought the Twins made a mistake extending him. They had him under team control for 2013.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/entry.php/1968-Burton-What-s-is-the-Future-for-a-31-Year-Old-Set-Up-Man

 

Teams should use caution extending any one 32 and beyond. Too often they decline and stay on the roster while younger players are not given the opportunity to grow.

[iTwins]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/2863-Has-the-clock-run-out-on-Jared-Burton

[cmathewson]

Always sell high. Let him string some good outings together. I don't have faith in the Twins doing so given their history, but I also think the market is a lot lower than we all hope. Unless it's Drew Butera

 

I don't want to see him on the mound right now. It's not worth it. Let someone else sacrifice major league games to try to help him snap out of it.

[jorgenswest]

I linked this in the other thread but this is a better fit. The article was written after a strong 2012 season in fear that the a Twins would extend him through 2014.

 

Set up relievers don't age well into their 30s.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/entry.php/1968-Burton-What-s-is-the-Future-for-a-31-Year-Old-Set-Up-Man

 

The Twins need to stop extending players into their 30s. Why fear arbitration? They have the money to pay should the player take a step and become among the better players. Extending middling players leaves no room for decline. They end up carrying mediocre players with no upside.

 

Moves the a Twins could make this year to continue the cycle of mediocrity.

 

They might extend Kubel or Suzuki or Correia when they should trade them.

 

They might extend a Dozier into his 30s when they have several years of team control. They need to keep him hungry. They should happily pay his due reward in arbitration if he becomes an all star level player. The same goes for Plouffe.

[adjacent]

I remember his fastball being around 91-92 mph. Yesterday, if the radar was accurate, he was reaching 89 mph. For a guy that relays in his change-up, losing those 3 mph could be a serious problem. May be he is hurt?

[Kwak]

What timing for a trade! Why not wait until July or August when players like Burton are normally traded? G.L! Gardy has his 13 pitchers (anybody surprised?) there are plenty of others to pitch. Also, consider the timing of Burton's blow-up--Twins down by 3 in the 9th on a crummy night--they were going to lose anyway, so Burton's disater didn't cost a game.

[Rosterman]

A fine example of someone tradable mid-season last year that the Twins didn't move.

[KOHG]

Ryan Pressly should be up. He was really good last season and hasn't done anything not to deserve a 25 man roster spot. Tonkin, Pressly, Perkins, Theibar... That could be a really nasty bullpen....in a good way.

 

I will say this about contracts and extending... Don't the Oakland A's go year by year with their players. If you produce your paid if you don't produce your may not have a job next season simple as that. I would do this with bullpen guys, bench players, and position players who are average or replaceable. Job security is a great thing, but it can lead to complacency. The pressure of fighting for a job and your next big paycheck can be a real motivator ask just about every american. Alot, of this also depends on the individual as well. Oswaldo Arcia I would never until I had too give a multi year contract too. I would very rarely give a multi year contract to any player 30 and above.

[jorgenswest]

A fine example of someone tradable mid-season last year that the Twins didn't move.

 

If I recall he struggled for a stretch mid season. I think a terrible month of June losing his 8th inning role. Setup relievers have little trade value. Too many teams have one too offer. Struggling set up men are worth very little. I wouldn't think he was too tradable with the extra year of commitment an additional anchor.

[Shane Wahl]

A fine example of someone tradable mid-season last year that the Twins didn't move.

 

Exactly, and it's pretty frustrating. Now . . . good lord what to get for him. If I were in charge I would trade him and pay most of this year's salary for any mid-tier prospect. Fien and Duensing next.

[Thrylos]

A fine example of someone tradable mid-season last year that the Twins didn't move.

 

Indeed. And add Fien and Thielbar to that equation. The Twins never sell high. They wait for players to bomb and then they release them...

[Linus]

I am mostly disappointed with his performance because, in my master plan, he (along with Corriea and Willingham) would be moved at the trade deadline for whatever they can get for him. I don't think reliable bullpen pitchers are as easy to find as some, but the Twins appear to have some depth in their bullpen so they really should be moving on from Burton. I guess the question really is what is the best method to do it.

[Willihammer]

Well I must have missed the widespread demands to trade Burton over the past year. I can't recall a single one in fact.

 

Burton tanking is no big deal as long as the Twins don't let it become one. Demote him, cut him, whatever. They have backups.

 

Just don't continue to play him if he stinks.

[Otto von Ballpark]

If I recall he struggled for a stretch mid season. I think a terrible month of June losing his 8th inning role.

 

Yup. Actually, June 6-18, 2013, Burton pitched 5 games and allowed 8 runs, same as 2014 so far. Actually, June 6 thru July 1 last year, he had 10 games, 12 runs. Followed it up with a stretch of 19 games, 6 hits, zero runs. (We won't discuss how he pitched after that -- suffice to say, he closed out the season in classic 2011-2013 Twins fashion. )

 

As to the extension, Burton's $3.25 mil isn't hurting the team in the least bit. Heck, his roster spot isn't even under that much pressure -- Tonkin is it, really, and they've already got him on the roster thanks to another guy on the DL.

 

If his poor pitching continues over the next few weeks, we can think about cutting him loose. Otherwise, try to get him back to general 2012-2013 levels, and if he gets on a roll again, maybe someone will want a flyer on him for August/September (or 2015 with his $3.6 mil team option). Not that he will bring back much in trade, or provide us with a whole lot performance-wise in the intervening months, but it wouldn't take much to justify his modest salary.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Indeed. And add Fien and Thielbar to that equation. The Twins never sell high. They wait for players to bomb and then they release them...

 

You're talking about three modestly successful middle relievers who were freely available to any MLB team less than 2 years earlier. You're never going to "sell high" on those -- at best, you might be able to "sell slightly higher" but the return is usually going to be pretty minimal regardless. Very few Hector Carrasco's produce even a Lew Ford -- if you force a trade, you are more likely to get Alex Presley, or Pedro Hernandez.

 

With that level of return, if the player is inexpensive (and particularly if they have options like Fien and Thielbar), you're probably better off keeping them.

[Beezer07]

Well I must have missed the widespread demands to trade Burton over the past year. I can't recall a single one in fact.

 

Burton tanking is no big deal as long as the Twins don't let it become one. Demote him, cut him, whatever. They have backups.

 

Just don't continue to play him if he stinks.

 

I was thinking the same thing last night when I read some of these comments. If anything, I remember many, many loud voices saying Burton was "untouchable" or one of the guys we absolutely shouldn't trade...which seemed extremely silly to me. (Although I can't remember if the voices were as loud last season as they were two seasons ago.)

 

This is why you don't sign relievers long term, and you don't hesitate to trade them if their value appears really high. They don't pitch enough innings to command the $$$ and they're too prone to hot and cold streaks given the nature of their roles

[UCLA_YANKEE_COLA]

When was the last time a 30 something setup man was traded for anything that mattered?

[Dantes929]

Well I must have missed the widespread demands to trade Burton over the past year. I can't recall a single one in fact.

.

Just like you won't find a single post opposing signing Mauer to a long term contract back in 09 but now they all claim they knew it was a bad deal.

I remember saying it was a bad baseball decision but I wasn't opposed to it because of the PR. I also said there was no need to do it at the time because his value would never be higher than after an MVP season anyway. I still won't criticize the contract though. They kind of had to given the situation at the time and he is still a very good baseball player. People forget the really great streaks of hitting he had before 2011 and I still believe he has some of those streaks left in him.