(almost) time to trade Plouffe for a catcher

[RJM96]

Assuming the Twins finish out the year with Plouffe at third and Sano at designated hitter, this offseason it will be time for the Twins to move Plouffe to make room for the future all star. I've seen enough of Sano's defense this year to convince me that he can be an average defensive third baseman. (At least until the Twins can move Mauer off of first)

 

It's no secret, we have a glaring hole at catcher. The Twins are going to need a good catcher if they expect to be competitive in the coming years. I'm not talking about A.J. Pierzynski. I'm talking about Andrew Susac or Kevin Plawecki. The Twins need a catcher of the future, and they have nobody right now.

 

Will it be too late for a Trevor Plouffe for Andrew Susac trade?

 

Will the Mets have any interest in Plouffe after David Wright returns from injury? Plouffe could also play first base. 

 

Other ideas? Names? Who else might we have to give up? Who is our most realistic option?

[DaveW]

The mets have Duda at 1st base who is one of the hottest current hitters in baseball,

[nytwinsfan]

Totally agree with you. I wonder if Ryan will pull the trigger though. He (understandably) likes Plouffe, who has been huge for this team the last few years. The heart says to keep Plouffe, but the head says it makes sense to trade him. Hope Ryan will do it. As for who to target, the Giants don't need a 3B anymore, so as much as I'd love to get Susac, not sure that is in the cards. But I definitely agree a good catchre with at least a few years of control should be a top offseason priority.

[Mike Sixel]

Twins must not agree....Sano did not play in the field when Mauer sat......Why is that?

[zchrz]

 

Totally agree with you. I wonder if Ryan will pull the trigger though. He (understandably) likes Plouffe, who has been huge for this team the last few years. The heart says to keep Plouffe, but the head says it makes sense to trade him. Hope Ryan will do it. As for who to target, the Giants don't need a 3B anymore, so as much as I'd love to get Susac, not sure that is in the cards. But I definitely agree a good catchre with at least a few years of control should be a top offseason priority.

 

Hopefully Ryan isn't the one with the trigger to pull.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Twins must not agree....Sano did not play in the field when Mauer sat......Why is that?

 

Ankle perhaps?

 

I've wondered the same thing lately, but I thought that may be a reason.

[RJM96]

 

Twins must not agree....Sano did not play in the field when Mauer sat......Why is that?

 

I'm thinking Sano will be playing first base when Mauer's contract is up in 2018.

[Kwak]

Trade Plouffe for a Catcher?  Why not trade him for a hitter?

[Vanimal46]

Yep if the Twins can get a young MLB ready catcher with Plouffe as the feature piece, wouldn't hesitate for a second.

[RJM96]

Is Christian Bethancourt a realistic option? He is in a situation similar to where Aaron Hicks was in years past. It would definitely be a high risk, high reward trade. Although the Braves do not have a legitimate third baseman, I'm not sure the they would be interested in Plouffe as they are currently in a rebuilding phase. Who would we have to give up to get him?

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/7/9/8891949/is-there-hope-for-braves-catcher-christian-bethancourt

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

 

Is Christian Bethancourt a realistic option? He is in a situation similar to where Aaron Hicks was in years past. It would definitely be a high risk, high reward trade. Although the Braves do not have a legitimate third baseman, I'm not sure the they would be interested in Plouffe as they are currently in a rebuilding phase. Who would we have to give up to get him?

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/7/9/8891949/is-there-hope-for-braves-catcher-christian-bethancourt

 

They just traded for Hector Olivera, who will be playing 3b for them in a week or two once he's healthy.

[DuluthFan]

The Twins could also SIGN a pitcher in the offseason. They don't need to trade for one.

 

They should keep Plouffe until he becomes a free agent and then offer a qualifying offer to get a draft pick.

Sano has only played 2 or 3 games at 3B at the major league level. That is not enough to gauge his skill at this level. From all indications his AA defensive numbers were not all that impressive. He was promoted to the majors for his offensive potential, NOT for his defensive skills. He will still need to work on that. He will most likely need some additional time at AA or AAA to work on his defensive skills unless he is projected to start at DH again next season.

[nytwinsfan]

Trade Plouffe for a Catcher?  Why not trade him for a hitter?

Well, implicit in that is a catcher who can hit well. Obviously.

[nytwinsfan]

Is Christian Bethancourt a realistic option? He is in a situation similar to where Aaron Hicks was in years past. It would definitely be a high risk, high reward trade. Although the Braves do not have a legitimate third baseman, I'm not sure the they would be interested in Plouffe as they are currently in a rebuilding phase. Who would we have to give up to get him?

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/7/9/8891949/is-there-hope-for-braves-catcher-christian-bethancourt

My understanding is that his hit tool is really weak.

[David HK]

I'm totally down with that.  

 

[HitInAPinch]

He's still only 23.  Worth a look.  But I think Plouffe is worth more than a player you'd be taking a pretty sizable chance on. 

[dougkoebernick]

Unfortunately the Twins aren't the only team looking for a good hitting and up and coming catcher. They don't grow on trees. 

[Jham]

Trading Plouffe would make us worse defensively by a large margin, worse offensively by a large margin, and probably net a player who requires some grooming.  Take Plouffe out of the line up to replace him with a catcher?  No thanks.  Oh, unless we have another DH who can step in and hit like Plouffe or Sano.

 

Here's a list of catchers who will be FA after the season:

Alex Avila (29)

Chris Iannetta (33)
John Jaso (32)
George Kottaras (32)
Jose Molina (41)
Dioner Navarro (32)
Brayan Pena (34)
A.J. Pierzynski (39)
Matt Wieters (30)

 

I'd actually be ok with almost any of them. Zuke is still also under contract, has done well with this staff.  If the rest of the line up improves, he can be fine at catcher.  Unless we can move Plouffe for a top 10 catcher in the league, I'm just not seeing it.

 

[drjim]

 

Unfortunately the Twins aren't the only team looking for a good hitting and up and coming catcher. They don't grow on trees. 

 

By far the hardest position to fill in baseball.

[Mike Sixel]

If only one of the best ones in baseball had been a FA recently, and available for any team with lots of money to buy......oh, wait, he was.

[Pardon My Dinger]

Sano is going to be an awesome 3B defensively. His size is not a factor. Saw him play third last Thursday night. I was just a few rows up on the third base line, so that was pretty much all I was paying attention to. He's got a great glove, and what's almost as impressive as his ability to throw 96 mph strikes to 1B is how quickly he gets the ball out of his glove.

 

Plouffe's improvement has bad admirable if not remarkable considering where he's come from. But, Sano's the superior player (right now), even if Trevor makes a few plays that Big Mig can't handle yet. I assume he'll have some value on the trade market. Gotta do what you gotta do.

[Loosey]

 

Trading Plouffe would make us worse defensively by a large margin, worse offensively by a large margin, and probably net a player who requires some grooming.  Take Plouffe out of the line up to replace him with a catcher?  No thanks.  Oh, unless we have another DH who can step in and hit like Plouffe or Sano.

 

Here's a list of catchers who will be FA after the season:

Alex Avila (29)

Chris Iannetta (33)
John Jaso (32)
George Kottaras (32)
Jose Molina (41)
Dioner Navarro (32)
Brayan Pena (34)
A.J. Pierzynski (39)
Matt Wieters (30)

 

I'd actually be ok with almost any of them. Zuke is still also under contract, has done well with this staff.  If the rest of the line up improves, he can be fine at catcher.  Unless we can move Plouffe for a top 10 catcher in the league, I'm just not seeing it.

I think we can safely assume Alex Avila will be resigned by Detroit and the negotiations will be done at Thanksgiving dinner table.  So he's out. 

 

Most of them are weaker hitting guys.  I would spend my money on Wieters and hope he gets healthy, but it sounds like first base is in his near future, especially with back issues and coming off Tommy John.  Other than that most remind me of Suzuki.  Jaso and AJ might be a notch higher hitter, but AJ is not future plans worthy.

[Mike Sixel]

Ya, not one of those guys looks certain to be better than bottom 5 at their position, do they?

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think that in order to procure Susac or Pawlecki, Plouffe may need to be dealt in a 3 team trade to pull it off.  I think that's the right thing, and while I'm not terribly happen about Terry Ryan of late, he has shown in the past that he can go out and trade from a position of strength like this (AJ, Span, Revere) to fill other positions.  Given the dearth in the minors at catching, I think a trade like this makes a ton of sense.  The other side though assumes that Arcia or Vargas can adequately fill the DH spot.  Arcia is out of options next year, so he's likely to get an extended look there.

[jimmer]

Sano has 3 games played at 3B this season.  Are people really comfortable in saying he's going to be defensively awesome based on 6 plays?

[Halsey Hall]

 

Sano has 3 games played at 3B this season.  Are people really comfortable in saying he's going to be defensively awesome based on 6 plays?

No way he'll be awesome, but no way is Plouffe either.  It may take a while for Sano to get the official scorer on his side like Poof has, but get what you can for him and play Sano. 

[Halsey Hall]

You and I are seeing different Poofs. 

[jimmer]

 

No way he'll be awesome, but no way is Plouffe either.  It may take a while for Sano to get the official scorer on his side like Poof has, but get what you can for him and play Sano. 

official scorer only effects his errors/fielding %. Not sure why we'd be looking at either of those to judge his, or anyone's, defense.  I view him as an above average defender.  Considering he had to learn the position relatively late (and much later than he should have), I'll take that.

[Mike Sixel]

Everyone is looking at a different Trevor Plouffe than you are. Everyone.

[SF Twins Fan]

 

If you must move anyone for getting them off the roster it is Joe Mauer.

Joe Mauer is the guy blocking Sano's eventual, spot on a major league roster not Trevor Plouffe.

 

Would be nice if Mauer would go to the front office and say I will waive my no trade clause, I'm tired of the boos and the complaints about me in the media and by Twins fans,  I want to move on to another team. Maybe Joe can revive his career somewhere else, and then you shed the remaining 86 million on that deal, perhaps the Yankees with Teixeria coming off the books and there short right field porch would be a perfect fit for Joe Mauer to take over at first base. The Yankees at this point are the only team a Mauer would make sense playing for after this year. Doesn't have to be said in the media either, make a trade quietly at the winter meetings. 

 

I am against trading Plouffe this season or next even if some think Sano is redundancy. I don't trust Sano to stay at third base because as he ages with that big body his reaction times and ability's to make plays at third base will start to decline. He is 260 pounds going on 280 as he matures and ages in to his late twenties.

 

Red Sox are already seeing it with Pablo Sandoval they should not have took his big contract on at third base a big wide body that is losing range when they already could have put something else there.

 

It takes a lot get a proven defensive 3rd basemen with power and the ability to stay hitting 260 to 280 in the line-up. Plouffe is in the top 10 for his position in major league baseball, and as the Twins have found third basemen are hard to develop and hard to hold on too. Coun't me one that is against moving Plouffe he is to valuable to the Twins to move. To me Sano is a DH and a DH only right now and possibly next year unless they move him to the outfield.

The trend in MLB is to play short stop types that do not pan out at third base for there athleticism in the field, that is not a trend that is going away.

I'm sorry to be so blunt but this is one of the dumbest things I've ever read.  Do you really think Mauer ( who is from Minnesota and has earned the No Trade clause ) would ever at the back end of his deal waive that clause to move to another state?  All his family is here, all his wife's family is here and he has twins that are maybe 2 years old?  You point out that maybe he could go to New York when Tex retires to take advantageof their short right field fence... Is Mauer a pull hitter????? No he isn't, so why would he ever want to do that?  Also, do you really think thesoft spoken Mauer would ever want to play in NY or Boston??  He's still one of the top hitter on the Twins roster right now.  The reason the Twins are in a slump right now is not because of just him.  Our entire team is playing like crap right now.  The starters can't pitch deep into games, the bullpen has blown up and none of our position players are hitting for average right now......Also, who in their right mind would actually take on Mauer's contract at this stage of his career....