Jeff Gray

[Shane Wahl]

Now that the blow up has occurred, time to DFA him and not care if some team is foolish enough to claim him. Time to go with guys who might be part of the future, namely Slama.

[greengoblinrulz]

They wont YET, but another bad game or 2 & they will finally turn to Deolis Guerra, not the 28 yr old Slama (who I am a fan of).

[The Greatest Poster Alive]

He's had ONE bad game. What a stupid reactionary move that would be.

[striker_86]

yea, he has still been very good with the game on the line....

[greengoblinrulz]

I didnt say cut him now, just wait and its also not about what he did today.....more of how he has done for his career. Same with Matt Maloney. Just wait, he'll deserve his DFA eventually.

[Shane Wahl]

He's had ONE bad game. What a stupid reactionary move that would be.

Oh my. No. He has never been a good pitcher. Ever. Except he has kept his ERA done miraculously this year so far. Now that is no more. NOW is the time to say thanks, but we have other guys who will be a part of the future. Jeff Gray is not part of the future.

[Nick Nelson]

Slama in his last 10 appearances for Rochester: 11.2 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 5 BB, 20 K.

[Thrylos]

Both Gray and Burton are regressing to the mean. Burton used to have a 0.042 BABIP at some point. That was unsustainable. So was Gray's lack of runs with the kind of h/9 and BB/9 he allowed. If you can get anything from them (like a D level prospect) try to but otherwise... I think Gray is a goner when Blackburn gets off the DL and I would rather have Slama than Burton any day of the week.

[DaveW]

Slama in his last 10 appearances for Rochester: 11.2 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 5 BB, 20 K.

I'm sure he will get the call up soon enough.

[DaveW]

Both Gray and Burton are regressing to the mean. Burton used to have a 0.042 BABIP at some point. That was unsustainable. So was Gray's lack of runs with the kind of h/9 and BB/9 he allowed. If you can get anything from them (like a D level prospect) try to but otherwise... I think Gray is a goner when Blackburn gets off the DL and I would rather have Slama than Burton any day of the week.

There is a big difference between Burton and Gray, Gray is basically organizational filler and has no upside, he will be gone soon one way or another, Burton, while not great is a guy worth holding onto for a bit, he is still striking guys out at the majors, always showed that ability in the minors as well.

[Nick Nelson]

I think Gray is a goner when Blackburn gets off the DL and I would rather have Slama than Burton any day of the week.

Whoa, I like Slama but that's a little bit ridiculous. Burton has a track record of prolonged success in the majors when healthy, and right now he certainly appears to be healthy. He's a quality reliever and a great find.

 

Hard to claim that the guy is lucky when he's striking out 27 percent of opponents.

[travistwinstalk]

criticize Ryan all you want for the Marquis signing as he deserves criticism for that. However, don't be so kneejerk as Gray and Burton were great finds and have been the reason the Twins bullpen is the deepest it has been in years. Both Gray and Burton are reliable relief pitchers at the big league level. Gray in his past 9 outings before yesterday had given up 2 runs in his last 11 innings and has become a reliable middle relief guy. Burton for a long time was the Twins most reliable reliever pitching 11.2 hitless innings and of course he was going to come back to the pack a little bit, but it is a bit early to jump so quickly off his bandwagon. I have just as much confidence in Burton and Gray as I do in Perkins, Capps, and Duensing. Of all the problems the Twins have the bullpen is not one of them.

[DaveW]

criticize Ryan all you want for the Marquis signing as he deserves criticism for that. However, don't be so kneejerk as Gray and Burton were great finds and have been the reason the Twins bullpen is the deepest it has been in years. Both Gray and Burton are reliable relief pitchers at the big league level. Gray in his past 9 outings before yesterday had given up 2 runs in his last 11 innings and has become a reliable middle relief guy. Burton for a long time was the Twins most reliable reliever pitching 11.2 hitless innings and of course he was going to come back to the pack a little bit, but it is a bit early to jump so quickly off his bandwagon. I have just as much confidence in Burton and Gray as I do in Perkins, Capps, and Duensing. Of all the problems the Twins have the bullpen is not one of them.

Burton is a pretty nice arm, Gray on the other hands, while not awful is basically a replacement level player. It wasn't a bad signing by any means as it allows the Twins to have additional depth in the organization etc.

 

The nice thing about Burton as well is that we could have him under team control next year as well. I believe he can become a free agent in 2014?

[Shane Wahl]

criticize Ryan all you want for the Marquis signing as he deserves criticism for that. However, don't be so kneejerk as Gray and Burton were great finds and have been the reason the Twins bullpen is the deepest it has been in years. Both Gray and Burton are reliable relief pitchers at the big league level. Gray in his past 9 outings before yesterday had given up 2 runs in his last 11 innings and has become a reliable middle relief guy. Burton for a long time was the Twins most reliable reliever pitching 11.2 hitless innings and of course he was going to come back to the pack a little bit, but it is a bit early to jump so quickly off his bandwagon. I have just as much confidence in Burton and Gray as I do in Perkins, Capps, and Duensing. Of all the problems the Twins have the bullpen is not one of them.

I like Burton and dislike Gray. Why? Because one is good and the other is not. Burton's career stats are good when he is healthy. Jeff Gray has been pretty bad in his career, and his minor league numbers weren't much better. He should have never been given a major league contract in the first place.

 

That the bullpen hasn't been a problem does not mean that it still can't be improved. They have to improve personnel where they can.

[Thrylos]

The nice thing about Burton as well is that we could have him under team control next year as well. I believe he can become a free agent in 2014?

He is a free agent after this season. He signed an one year contract. It was not one of those waiver wire pickups like Maloney, Gray and Vasquez.

[Shane Wahl]

Burton was good enough to be considered as a closer candidate for the Reds before he got hurt. Maybe that doesn't mean much in the era of the "proven closer" mentality, but I would guess that Burton just hit a blip whereas Gray is going to be more of the same now.

[DaveW]

He is a free agent after this season. He signed an one year contract. It was not one of those waiver wire pickups like Maloney, Gray and Vasquez.

What I am seeing is that he is arb eligible after this season, so the Twins can hold onto him and he can't become a free agent until 2014.

[Seth Stohs]

He is a free agent after this season. He signed an one year contract. It was not one of those waiver wire pickups like Maloney, Gray and Vasquez.

SpiritofVodkaDave is correct. He has one year worth of arbitration remaining. Twins have control until after 2014.

[DaveW]

SpiritofVodkaDave is correct. He has one year worth of arbitration remaining. Twins have control until after 2014.

Yeah, exactly, its sorta like when the Red Sox signed David Ortiz as a "free agent" but he still had an additional year of arb eligibility which is why they ended up with 2 cost controlled years of him.

[Thrylos]

SpiritofVodkaDave is correct. He has one year worth of arbitration remaining. Twins have control until after 2014.

I am confused here: if a free agent signs an one year contract, he is not a free agent after the next season? I understand how arbitration works after trades and waiver picks but didn't Burton just sign an one year contract?

[snepp]

Service time is service time, it doesn't matter where you come from. He won't have the necessary service time at the end of the year to choose free agency on his own.

[DaveW]

I am confused here: if a free agent signs an one year contract, he is not a free agent after the next season? I understand how arbitration works after trades and waiver picks but didn't Burton just sign an one year contract?

You can only gain "true" free agent rights after you acquire enough service time in the major leagues, if you are cut in the meantime you can sign with any team of your choosing, but if you happen to have a monster year you can't just go back onto the market and demand a multi year deal (imagine if this was the case for Josh Hamilton who was cut by numerous teams)

 

The fact we have Burton for another year makes it more foolish to even consider cutting him, I'm not against trading him by any means, but you have to make sure you get some decent talent back as he isn't a guy you should just trade for anything (unlike Pavano, Doumit and possibly Jamey Carroll at this point)

[DaveW]

Service time is service time, it doesn't matter when you come from. He won't have the necessary service time at the end of the year to choose free agency on his own.

Whoa, your alive?

[greengoblinrulz]

Can we all just admit that Gray will be the casualty when we need the 5th starter next SAT.

Last 7gms 6.1IP 9h 10er 3bb 4k

5.16 ERA when 2nd worse pen ERA is Perkins 3.65

We have 7 competant bullpen guys w/o him & several deserving relievers in AAA.

[Thrylos]

Can we all just admit that Gray will be the casualty when we need the 5th starter next SAT.

Last 7gms 6.1IP 9h 10er 3bb 4k

5.16 ERA when 2nd worse pen ERA is Perkins 3.65

We have 7 competant bullpen guys w/o him & several deserving relievers in AAA.

Should be (and should have been a while ago - and at least they are using him in blowouts, which is good) but will be? Who knows? They might send down Manship again.

[stringer bell]

Can we all just admit that Gray will be the casualty when we need the 5th starter next SAT.

Last 7gms 6.1IP 9h 10er 3bb 4k

5.16 ERA when 2nd worse pen ERA is Perkins 3.65

We have 7 competant bullpen guys w/o him & several deserving relievers in AAA.

I pretty much agree all the way with greengolblinrulz. While you play a little with stats, Gray's numbers overall just aren't that good. There are several relief pitchers in the minors, some with considerable upside. The team is carrying only four starters. Gray isn't needed and there are a lot of replacements for him.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Now that the blow up has occurred, time to DFA him and not care if some team is foolish enough to claim him. Time to go with guys who might be part of the future, namely Slama.

Isn't Slama on the DL right now? I'm guessing they would go with Guerra.

[jorgenswest]

For now, Gray is fine in his mop up role. The Rockies DFA'd a 26 year with a live arm and horrible numbers. The Twins might inquire about Esmil Rogers. His arm is solid enough that the Rockies will probably be able to make a trade.

 

I'd like to see if Slama can be part of the solution, but I believe he is injured now. It might also be good to see Guerra who will be out of options next year. Hopefully, he will get at least 2 months of this season with the Twins. Hendriks is a logical call up for the 5th starter but he might be better off with another 6 weeks in AAA. Another guy I would like to see later is Oliveros. Guerra, Oliveros and Hendriks are young and would benefit from more time in AAA. It also may delay their arbitration year.

[jokin]

Isn't Slama on the DL right now? I'm guessing they would go with Guerra.

7-day DL. Assuming he's healthy, he'd be ready to go after next Wednesday.

[stringer bell]

For now, Gray is fine in his mop up role. The Rockies DFA'd a 26 year with a live arm and horrible numbers. The Twins might inquire about Esmil Rogers. His arm is solid enough that the Rockies will probably be able to make a trade.

 

I'd like to see if Slama can be part of the solution, but I believe he is injured now. It might also be good to see Guerra who will be out of options next year. Hopefully, he will get at least 2 months of this season with the Twins. Hendriks is a logical call up for the 5th starter but he might be better off with another 6 weeks in AAA. Another guy I would like to see later is Oliveros. Guerra, Oliveros and Hendriks are young and would benefit from more time in AAA. It also may delay their arbitration year.

The Twins are carrying two long reliever types in addition to Gray (Swarzak & Manship). They could use another RH 7th inning guy along with Burton because the Twins don't want to use Burton on consecutive days. Gray isn't that guy, and I don't think Manship or Swarzak is either. Slama, Guerra, Oliveros, and Fien all could fill that role better than Gray.