Article: Twins Acquire Kevin Jepsen From Rays

[hybridbear]

Who are these minor leaguers? I've never heard of either of them.

[Dman]

Horrible Trade.  I would have been happier if they did nothing.  Tapia is going to be really good. Hu is already really good and neither one are close to needing to be added to the 40 man.  This trade just makes things worse IMO.

[twinsfan34]

Not a fan of this. Wanted to see Hu in a Twins uniform circa late 2016 and beyond. 

[Wanklenuts]

TR: What will it take to get Jepsen?

Rays GM: Who?

TR: Deal!

[sane]

 

Who are these minor leaguers? I've never heard of either of them.

No, Who (Hu) is one of these minor leaguers.

The other is Tapioca, and insiders tell me he is soft.

[COtwin]

We have our new "Ramos for Capps".  I honestly thought that TR had to be able to make better trades than Smith.  

 

 

This was exactly the kind of thing I didn't want us to do.

Edited July 31, 2015 by COtwin

[ashbury]

So, I haven't seen mention of this yet: Jepsen in, who goes off the 25-man roster?

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

On the surface, I am disappointed and feel this is about what would be done. I mentioned earlier that I was fine with the Twins standing pat and not trading, but if they were going to go after a RP...make sure he has a k/9 north of 8. Well, that didn't go well.

 

On the optimistic side; He throws 94.5 mph, his ERA is fine, has a higher K% than our other setup options, has shown success in the past, and will also be here next year. 

 

On the negative; ERA is not a big deal in the bullpen as peripherals are a much much bigger tell,  his velocity is down, so expecting his K% to rise back to last seasons is not likely, his FIP and xFIP are in the 4's, looks like a 6th or 7th inning guy on a decent team, which is fine if that is where we would pitch him, we gave up a good prospect.

 

I will end with one more positive. Though his velocity being down will likely keep him from returning to any previous form, there is one positive possibility I see........all of his pitches are in the positive/100 pitches on Fangraphs, but his Change is a -3.99! So, maybe his former pitching coach saw something he thinks he can fix with his Change up here. Now, he only throws the Change about 7% of the time, so this probably won't do much, but looking for one last morsel of hope. 

 

Bottom line, yes he is an improvement upon what we have. However, not the type of addition that deserve any sort of confidence building in the FO or bullpen. This does make our team better, but not by much, and we were looking for something better than this. Lets hope he can pick up his K% or rely on lucky ERA, so the overly loyal can spout out that "he's getting the job done." Kinda like Fein last night...didn't give up any runs, but it didn't look pretty at all and was lucky nothing dropped in for hits. 

[birddog]

Not to mention off the 40 man?

[beckmt]

Looks to me like 2 lottery tickets for a 7th to 8th inning guy. Probably will work, Hu looks like a #4 or 5 starter if he makes it. Other guy is a lottery ticket. Calm down.

Only proves 1 thing. Those who hate TR think its a bad trade, those who like TR say wait and see

[SwainZag]

 

So, I haven't seen mention of this yet: Jepsen in, who goes off the 25-man roster?

 

Please Boyer.  Please.

[Danchat]

Somebody mentioned Thielbar will be going off the 40-man roster, but I can't find the source for that.

 

I wonder if the Twins are open to going back to a 8 man bullpen (goodness, I hope not). They could send Santana down to AAA for Jepsen.

[birddog]

Hu's stats are much more dominant at Fort Myers than Kohl Stewart, and once again two players who are years away from having to be added to the 40 man. I join the list that don't like this trade.

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins are a better team right now than they were. 

 

Jepsen could be pretty good and he'll be around for a couple of years.

 

I odn't like giving up Hu, he's a Top 15 guy for me... Tapia probably Top 30 for me. I feel it's too much, but that is the nature of July 31.

[Mike Sixel]

It's not a GOOD trade.....does anyone think, now that they waited this long, that this matters this year?

 

I don't "hate" TR.....doesn't mean I want him to be GM.

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

Oh, and Hu probably never becomes much of a MLB player, based on just mere odds and time taking its tole. 

 

I will be fine with this in mind, and......if and only if, they bring up Berrios like within a few weeks in ANY role, get Pelfrey out of the rotation. Also, would completely forget about all of this if Jepsen stays at his current level, they make these roster changes, and if Meyer figures it out in the bullpen by September. Just trying to be positive, as the higher ups on this board seem to get snarky at any complaining or negativity, no matter how obvious and warranted it may be.

[Mike Sixel]

 

The Twins are a better team right now than they were. 

 

Jepsen could be pretty good and he'll be around for a couple of years.

 

I odn't like giving up Hu, he's a Top 15 guy for me... Tapia probably Top 30 for me. I feel it's too much, but that is the nature of July 31.

 

Are they a good team? Does this really make a difference for them?

[Mike Sixel]

I think it is amusing that those that usually defend TR for NOT TRADING prospects are now typing "prospects never work out anyway".....does no one else see the irony in this?

[sane]

In two years, someone will mention Hu, and you cynics will all say "Who?"

[AlwaysinModeration]

It seems to me that TR could have easily gotten someone at least as good, if not better, than Jepsen a couple of weeks ago for a similar price. Like, during the All-Star break.

[KrnlDoug]

I'm not a fan of TR by any means as he bent fans over a barrel several times but I think we need to take all moves with a grain of salt. Baseball is not a game of "one move fixes all." This could go either way and in the FO's mind take a seemingly sure thing rather than could be might be a few years down the line. Let's not push the panic button just yet. Now if he plays and gives up 4+ runs in the 7th or 8th, then I say we grab our pitchforks and force TR out of town.  

[birddog]

Again I repeat that I don't like the trade, but TR was damned if he did, damned if he didn't. Fans have to believe he knows a lot more than we do. Please TR show us you know more than we do.

[Platoon]

The Twins are a better team right now than they were.

"Right now" being the operational words here. I guess it could have been worse though. This has the smell of a trade made in desperation so we don't have to do the "there were a lot of players out there,but we just couldn't find the right match" press conference. I am in the "don't do anything" camp, the time to fix this roster is this winter, not in July. This guy might be somewhat better than what we have, but that is an awfully low bar.

[jorgenswest]

The price for Jepsen was reasonable. The Twins had to give up something.

 

The Twins see Toronto in a big series next week. Jepsen becomes their best late inning weapon to face the right handed bats of Batista, Encarnacion, Tulowitzki and Donaldson.

[USAFChief]

 

  I feel it's too much, but that is the nature of July 31.

Actually, no.  That's that nature of July 31 for the Twins, under Terry Ryan.

 

St Louis was able to get a similar reliever basically free, and Milwaukee tossed in $2m.  Terry Ryan felt the need to trade away two of your top 30 prospects.  

 

Not to mention, if July 31 is such a tough time to buy help, then, oh, I don't know...don't wait around until July 31.
(BTW...didn't you tell us two days ago not to worry...there were 47 hrs left till the deadline?  Now you tell us it's tough to trade at the deadline??)

 

The Twins bullpen IS probably a little better, but that's because the Twins bullpen is pretty dismal, not because Jepsen is any kind of real difference maker.

[Mike Sixel]

I agree.....but just because I think the price for a 1999 Mitsubishi Gallant is fair doesn't mean I should buy one if I can afford an actual car......

Edited July 31, 2015 by mike wants wins

[birddog]

I wonder if Twins offered same deal to the Padres for Benoit or if his salary was too high?

[jorgenswest]

It seems to me that TR could have easily gotten someone at least as good, if not better, than Jepsen a couple of weeks ago for a similar price. Like, during the All-Star break.

I gues you could look at the guys who moved and look for a comp in the Twins system. Maybe they could have won the Clippard deal by sending Gonsalves and Tapia for example. If a guy didn't move I am going to believe that the asking price was so high no team would deal whether it be today or the all star break.

[SarasotaBill]

Ryan will say that they have Jepsen for 2016 ($4 mil).

 

2015 does not matter (Hughes and Gibson) is not enough for the playoffs especially after a one game wild card game.

 

Instead they should have demoted Pelfry to the bullpen and hoped he was a Wade Davis II.

 

Earlier this week Ryan said he would do Ramos for Capps again. Is he just being stubborn or does he just over values RP?

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

 

Not impressed with this trade and a bit bummed because I enjoyed following Hu.  Not having seen him in person, I can't be sure exactly what kind of stuff Hu has but its good enough for him to be among the top starters in  the FSL as a 21 y.o. As desperate as the Twins' bullpen situation is, it has to be a hard pass when the asking price for Jepsen is Hu AND  a lottery ticket arm.  

 

That's the part I don't get. How did the Twins have to give up a 2nd pitcher? At that, a lottery ticket harm (good potential) rather than an older, established AAAA-type.