MLB Trade Rumors - Tomas

[twinsfanstreif]

I saw that MLB trade rumors has listed the Twins as a dark horse candidate to land Yasmany Tomas. I know we've talked about him in the past but no one seemed to acknowledge this recent mention

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/yasmany-tomas-rumors-friday.html

[Otwins]

You can certainly see the fit on everything but the money. It would send the right message. New manager and coaches and we are serious about winning.  Won't happen

[USAFChief]

Oddly, I'm strangely optimistic about theTwins seriously making an attempt with Tomas. Just a hunch.

[drock2190]

Yeah right. I'll stand on my head if it happens.

 

But if you look at other Cuban players such as Abreu and Puig they both are worth more their contracts that they signed. 

 

No way it happens, so don't get your hopes up.

[twinsfanstreif]

Let's hear it for optimism everyone! I know it's unlikely but come on guys, most of the major markets have said that they are out on Tomas, in fact the only big market teams that have been linked to him recently are SF and Philly. The report says 3 out of the 4 teams with heavy interest are "extreme dark horses" I'm going to assume KC is one of them and their fans would say the same thing, who could the other 2 be? Pitt? TB? Milwaukee? Any of those teams would say the same thing, too expense, never signed a big name guy like that, not gonna happen, etc. have some hope guys!

[jorgenswest]

They need to take this risk. Power hitters are hard to develop.

 

That gives them two similar young outfielders with big power potential in Arcia and Tomas.

[Bark's Lounge]

Oddly, I'm strangely optimistic about theTwins seriously making an attempt with Tomas. Just a hunch.

I'm right there with you Chief. I have had the same ache in my gut.

[Mike Sixel]

Give that Cubans are no longer cheap.....I too think it is possible.

[cmb0252]

I guess I'm the only one around these parts that isn't that interested in Tomas. After watching how bad last years outfield defense was I'm not sure I want another, if scouting accounts are accurate, sub par defensive outfielder. I rather them spend 60-70M elsewhere. Maybe that's just me.

[Major League Ready]

There are several points of concern but I still like this kind of move in concept.  By that I mean taking a risk an international prospect makes the leap to MLB.  The FA contracts for proven veterans are requiring the years be extended to a point where it is almost certainly a problem, especially for teams with revenue levels in the bottom half of the league. 

 

It is also crazy to think about how much power this team could field in the near future.  A team with Sano, Tomas, Arcia, Vargas, Buxton, and Dozier.  Wow!  If Walker pans out it would be really crazy.

 

If the Twins were going to do something out of character this is where I see them taking a shot.  It's also the only big move I see as being modestly realistic and fitting into a long-term plan.   Let's hope this is where JP and TR take their shot.  Sometime between now and 2015 you add Sano, Buxton, Meyer, Berrios, and Rosario and you have a contender very soon.

[twinsfanstreif]

I guess I'm the only one around these parts that isn't that interested in Tomas. After watching how bad last years outfield defense was I'm not sure I want another, if scouting accounts are accurate, sub par defensive outfielder. I rather them spend 60-70M elsewhere. Maybe that's just me.

I believe the subpar defense is related to him being listed as a CF, I could be wrong but I thought that he rated out well as a corner outfielder

[nytwinsfan]

Completely agree with cmb0252. I'm not crazy about this potential move. I'd much rather spend this money (and more if necessary) on a #2 starter. If there are no good candidates this offseason, then lets wait until next offseason. We don't need another Arcia in left field, and believe it or not, what is keeping the Twins from being a competitive team is not another slugger. We have Arcia, Vargas, and soon Sano. What we need is pitching and outfield defense, which by all accounts Tomas lacks.

[Riverbrian]

I have no idea if this guy is any good but when you consider what Abreu... Puig... Chapman... Cespedes have done and he's mentioned in the same type of breath.

 

I'd like one of those guys too.

 

I wouldn't worry about if he is defensive enough for our OF... Don't worry about the hole the Twins have to fill. If he is anything like the above mentioned 4... He will fill some hole up... Somewhere.

[jokin]

Oddly, I'm strangely optimistic about theTwins seriously making an attempt with Tomas. Just a hunch.

 

 

I'm right there with you Chief. I have had the same ache in my gut.

 

Nah, Chief said he has a hunch, based on your time stamp, Bark, you just missed lunch.

 

And if the Twins would somehow mirculously pull this off, it would sure put the Phillie Phanatic's feathers in a bunch.

 

Unfortunately, the Giants or A's will probably beat the Twins to the punch.

[jokin]

I have no idea if this guy is any good but when you consider what Abreu... Puig... Chapman... Cespedes have done and he's mentioned in the same type of breath.

 

I'd like one of those guys too.

 

I wouldn't worry about if he is defensive enough for our OF... Don't worry about the hole the Twins have to fill. If he is anything like the above mentioned 4... He will fill some hole up... Somewhere.

 

River, you must admit... 'tis a far more quixotic journey on our part than pining for Bonifacio last offseason.

[Major League Ready]

After reading the scouting reports, I am pretty indifferent on Tomas and would much prefer  watching a good defensive team.  Given his body type and age, he might get even worse relatively soon.  

[Platoon]

If he is a fielder who can hit vs a hitter who "has to play somewhere" then fine. This team needs at least two OF's with some range.

[beckmt]

If you do not sign someone like Tomas then you are hoping that one of Hick, Rosario, Shaffer or further down the line Walker makes it.  Or that one of the young Shortstops(Polanco, Michael, Gordon) make it soon.  Still think our best line is to package Dozier for Kemp(Dodgers do not have to eat salary, we play less than retail) 3 years ago Kemp was rated the 8th best player in baseball and he is still under 30. 

[Riverbrian]

River, you must admit... 'tis a far more quixotic journey on our part than pining for Bonifacio last offseason.

I won't tilt at this particular windmill... It's a major purchase. If it happens... Awesome... But it better work!!! You don't want to screw this one up. The Twins have to determine if he is what they say he is.

 

With Bonofacio... It was a minor purchase.

 

Jokin... You and I... Our opinion... Bonofacio required similiar thought as buying a Variety Pack of Kuerig Cups when you are completely out of coffee and everybody in the house has different coffee tastes.

 

Even if the variety pack doesn't make everybody happy.

A. The Price won't kill anyone.

B. There is surely a flavor in there somewhere that somebody will like so it won't be a total waste.

 

With Tomas... If he is what they say he is... That's a big question...The price could hurt you.

 

I just don't think you stay away from him because the team needs a better defensive whatever or has a different hole.

 

If Abreu became available... Do you say no because you have Mauer and Vargas... I wouldn't.

 

As Shakespeare said: "Gather your assets where you may".

[jorgenswest]

They need young long term assets. They have been patching too long. Are they any better off in LF today than the day they signed Willingham? Once they patch, they don't seek another solution.

 

Sign Tomas. His only cost of acquisition is money. He doesn't cost a draft pick or prospects.

 

If he and Arcia both show to be solid power hitting OFs with limited defense, they have a young power hitting asset to trade.

[Thrylos]

Are we sure that Rosario is not better than Tomas?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Completely agree with cmb0252. I'm not crazy about this potential move. I'd much rather spend this money (and more if necessary) on a #2 starter. If there are no good candidates this offseason, then lets wait until next offseason. We don't need another Arcia in left field, and believe it or not, what is keeping the Twins from being a competitive team is not another slugger. We have Arcia, Vargas, and soon Sano. What we need is pitching and outfield defense, which by all accounts Tomas lacks.

When you add as little MLB talent as the Twins have by FA and trade, historically, you should take it when it presents itself.  Waiting for next offseason, or until a player comes along at a different position, greatly increases the chances you add no talent.

 

If Arcia, Vargas, and Sano all reach their full potential in addition to Tomas, that would be a good problem to have.

 

This is, of course, predicated on the idea that the Twins scouts genuinely like Tomas (i.e. not another Nishioka stab in the dark) and his price doesn't get insane (i.e. $100 mil).

[jorgenswest]

Are we sure that Rosario is not better than Tomas?

I am ready for any attempt at the long term.

[Sam Morley]

Many times I have read explanations of the international market signing rules and the ways that teams break those rules, and I still don't really have a clear understanding of it all. But a simplified version of it is that there is basically a yearly cap and that some teams are willing to just blow by the cap and pay the fines and endure the sanctions.

 

Even if the Twins were willing to spend the money, it seems possible that they are unwilling to break the rules on principle.

 

But let's say they are willing to break the rules and drop big money on a Cuban prospect. Wouldn't Yoan Moncada be a much better prize than Yasmany Tomas?

[lightfoot789]

1) What do the Twins do if they have Tomas / Rosario / Buxton / Hicks / Arcia / Schafer / & Walker all materialize as true MLB caliber talents?  Who goes (traded) and whose skill set would you want playing in your outfield (offensively or defensively or both)?  Does salary come into play at all at that point? 

 

2) Does Tomas have as much power as Walker and do we pay him based on various experts assessments?  or  Do you pay him based on Cespedas and Abreu's production as rookies?  Having not seen him against MLB pitching?

[jokin]

I won't tilt at this particular windmill... It's a major purchase. If it happens... Awesome... But it better work!!! You don't want to screw this one up. The Twins have to determine if he is what they say he is.

 

With Bonofacio... It was a minor purchase.

 

Jokin... You and I... Our opinion... Bonofacio required similiar thought as buying a Variety Pack of Kuerig Cups when you are completely out of coffee and everybody in the house has different coffee tastes.

 

Even if the variety pack doesn't make everybody happy.

A. The Price won't kill anyone.

B. There is surely a flavor in there somewhere that somebody will like so it won't be a total waste.

 

With Tomas... If he is what they say he is... That's a big question...The price could hurt you.

 

I just don't think you stay away from him because the team needs a better defensive whatever or has a different hole.

 

If Abreu became available... Do you say no because you have Mauer and Vargas... I wouldn't.

 

As Shakespeare said: "Gather your assets where you may".

 

Bonifacio... a minor purchase, indeed, and he could have been a colorful minor character reminiscent of a Shakesperean drama or as it turned out, absurdist farce--> given the Twins decided that a clown show in CF was a better choice than the perfect opportunity thrown in their lap to pick him up, and his 2014 2.1 fWAR, off of unconditional waivers, if they had acted quickly and decisively rather than like Hamlet.  But as short-sighted as that wound was, it was a "Waiting for Buck Godot" sideshow, a mere Bartlett/Gardy pinprick, hardly "the unkindest cut of all."

 

AS we all recall, Abreu DID become available, and unlike Bonifacio, the Twins had plenty of time, "perchance to dream", of what he might bring to the club, and if they truly wanted "to be or not to be" contenders sooner.  Many of us begged the Twins to get involved, particularly after the big boys begged out of the sweepstakes- it turned out that "to be or not to be WASN'T the question."  Sure, they had a ready-made excuse with Mauer and Vargas, but then, as Abreu has proven, that "strategy" was a fail , to no avail.  As it turned out, to Terry, it was both  "nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune... AND to take arms against a sea of troubles."

 

With apologies to Hamlet, heed his message this time, TR... "To play the game well is the thing, King Terry."   

[USAFChief]

Many times I have read explanations of the international market signing rules and the ways that teams break those rules, and I still don't really have a clear understanding of it all. But a simplified version of it is that there is basically a yearly cap and that some teams are willing to just blow by the cap and pay the fines and endure the sanctions.

 

Even if the Twins were willing to spend the money, it seems possible that they are unwilling to break the rules on principle.

 

But let's say they are willing to break the rules and drop big money on a Cuban prospect. Wouldn't Yoan Moncada be a much better prize than Yasmany Tomas?

I'm 99 percent sure Moncada is subject to the singing bonus cap.

 

Tomas is not. There would be no rule to break.

[TheLeviathan]

If the Twins made this move it would be exactly the kind of outside the box move that would make me excited about the future and next year in particular. 

[jokin]

If the Twins made this move it would be exactly the kind of outside the box move that would make me excited about the future and next year in particular. 

 

And how many times has that happened?  With Hughes and Nolasco, TR had to drawn be into the signing hunt by Pohlad kicking and screaming.  Bringing in Tomas would be a bold master stroke, but I'm not holding my breath about it happening.  They've already promised us a heaping helping of Hunter.

[TheLeviathan]

And how many times has that happened?  With Hughes and Nolasco, TR had to drawn into the signing hunt by Pohlad kicking and screaming.  Bringing in Tomas would be as bold a master stroke, but I'm not holding my breath about it happening.  They've already promised us a heaping helping of Hunter.

 

I'm not sure we know if Pohlad was kicking and screaming, but I do know they happened.  I hope the firing of Gardy indicated last offseason was the new norm.