Grading the Twins Trade Deadline Move/Non-Moves 2 Months Later

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Trevor May is not being mentioned much in this thread, but I think his move to the bullpen is both a positive and a negative.

 

Positive of course because he's been one of the best options for Molitor to use in the second half, and he actually strikes guys out and has a pretty solid and consistent record out of the pen.

 

However, if the Twins had added another reliever via trade, May could have stayed in the rotation, and maybe he'd be taking Pelfrey or Hughes' or Milone's spot in this last week.  

 

I absolutely think May should remain in the bullpen for the rest of this year, I just wonder if moving him in the first place made a hole in the rotation that Twins will regret this week.

[Brock Beauchamp]

A backup catcher would have been nice but I'm more concerned about 2016 and finding a legitimate replacement for Suzuki (or at least a guy who can split duty with Kurt).

 

Herrmann and Fryer have received all of 53 plate appearances combined in the second half of the season. Their impact on the team has been negligible.

[howieramone2]

I just saw a picture of Oliveros on a milk carton.

[gunnarthor]

 

I was in the boat that a catcher was needed, but since August 1 Suzuki has actually played better than his career average.  AJ was the guy a lot on TD were throwing out as a potential target, but here is how the two compare:

 

Suzuki:  .271  .327  .354  .681

Pierzynski: .309  .347  .419  .766

 

AJ probably would have helped the offense for sure and either would have been a VERY GOOD backup when you compare to either Herrman or Fryer.  Would he have been enough to get the Twins an extra win?  So I am torn on the no moves for a catcher.  If I was convinced I would give the grade a solid B-, but because I am not I am in limbo between a B/B-.  

 

I might be remembering this wrong but I don't Atlanta really put AJ on the market in the first place.  He wasn't going to get them much of anything back - certainly not Hu - and they don't really have a clear back-up in place (Benthacort was dealing with injuries).  At the deadline, they weren't a good team but they weren't as bad as expected (they dive bombed afterwards).  They made a few other moves (some good, some bad) so It probably didn't really make sense to move AJ for his minimal return.  

[DaveW]

 

Not arguing your point, neither hit, but Hermann did throw out 7/17 which is 41%.  Fryer only had one attempt against him all season.

I did not realize that. Since that is the case, I would start putting in Hermann as a D (arm) replacement in the 9th inning of close games.

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

We don't know for sure. You and I both know trade offers are rarely made public knowledge.

However Tulo was discussed at length on this site, where Jeremy posted that the Rockies inquired about Gibson. The trade offer that was generally agreed upon was Gibson, Polanco + Kepler or ABW for Tulo. I would have pulled the trigger on a deal like that.

That's coming from armchair GMs on TD, and of course nothing but speculation.

 

I wouldn't have gone for that deal.  I would if it were 2011 or 2012, but 2015 Tulowitzki is a grenade about to explode.  I'd be very surprised if he puts up more than 10-15 WAR over the last 5 years of his contract.  Gibson has been a 2 WAR player the last 2 years, and if given consistent playing time, I think Polanco and Kepler are 2 WAR players at minimum too.

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

Again, what does this have to do with the thread? We have hundreds of posts on the Tulo non-deal, I don't want to re-type my thoughts.

 

The thread is about grading the Twins moves/non-moves at the deadline.  The poster I was responding to said he wanted to trade for Tulo because he thought he'd be better than Esco this year and next, implying he (the poster) is knocking the Twins for not getting Tulo.  I responded saying I give the Twins credit for not going for the "headline name" trade by not getting Tulo.  Whether you like it or not, the Tulo non-trade is one of the 5-10 biggest TD storylines of the season, and it's going to be discussed, especially when we're talking about trades and non-trades.

[SwainZag]

 

The thread is about grading the Twins moves/non-moves at the deadline.  The poster I was responding to said he wanted to trade for Tulo because he thought he'd be better than Esco this year and next, implying he (the poster) is knocking the Twins for not getting Tulo.  I responded saying I give the Twins credit for not going for the "headline name" trade by not getting Tulo.  Whether you like it or not, the Tulo non-trade is one of the 5-10 biggest TD storylines of the season, and it's going to be discussed, especially when we're talking about trades and non-trades.

 

I tend to agree, there were a lot of angry and disapproving posts when Tulo went to Toronto about how management is too timid, scared, gun shy, etc to make a big move.  Fast forward and Tulo was vastly outplayed by Escobar since the deadline and has a lower SLG and OPS than Mauer since he joined Toronto.  I know there's a good chance he improves going forward, but besides the big name....it has looked like a pretty good non-trade and something that belongs in topic.

[Vanimal46]

I wouldn't have gone for that deal. I would if it were 2011 or 2012, but 2015 Tulowitzki is a grenade about to explode. I'd be very surprised if he puts up more than 10-15 WAR over the last 5 years of his contract. Gibson has been a 2 WAR player the last 2 years, and if given consistent playing time, I think Polanco and Kepler are 2 WAR players at minimum too.

That's something we'll agree to disagree on and leave it at that. I agree that it is one of the top 5 storylines on TD this year but it's a moot point now that he's a Blue Jay.

[diehardtwinsfan]

The idea of getting Tulo cheaply was something I liked.  I don't think I was nearly as much a fan of trading Gibson for him (though I'm too lazy to lookup what I actually posted there)...  The other one I'm glad we didn't do was Shields/Kimbrel for a really high price...  I was a bit upset that Hu got sent off, as I liked him as a prospect, but Jepsen has pitched quite well to make that risk somewhat minimized.  

 

Now that said, this offseason, they need to do something about the pen.  That means getting some decent FA options and then letting some of those Rochester arms earn the mop up time.  Get those low ceiling arms out of there. 

[Mike Sixel]

The thread is about grading the Twins moves/non-moves at the deadline.  The poster I was responding to said he wanted to trade for Tulo because he thought he'd be better than Esco this year and next, implying he (the poster) is knocking the Twins for not getting Tulo.  I responded saying I give the Twins credit for not going for the "headline name" trade by not getting Tulo.  Whether you like it or not, the Tulo non-trade is one of the 5-10 biggest TD storylines of the season, and it's going to be discussed, especially when we're talking about trades and non-trades.

I think that poster was me, and I clearly stated it turned out to be a good non-trade for the Twins.....even though I thought Tulo would be better than Esco next year and the year after.

[jokin]

 

I think that poster was me, and I clearly stated it turned out to be a good non-trade for the Twins.....even though I thought Tulo would be better than Esco next year and the year after.

 

I'd go further and posit that he would have been much better than Esco, and that's exactly why I still would have made the trade, even knowing in advance that this year was going to end for Tulo in mini-disaster.  Two-three more years of Tulo at SS/1B, then he could have gone over to 1st base/DH full-time to finish out his contract as Mauer was eased out.