Trade Target: Mark Texiera?

[DaveW]

Big Tex is in the last year of an 8 year deal, though he had injury issues last season he posted some great numbers and still plays great D.

 

NY has Greg Bird in the wings (no pun intended) and is ready to go. Plus with ARod and others they have DH filled as well, Big Tex likely isn't going to be resigned by the Yanks, so perhaps he is on the block.

 

You can have him play 1B and DH basically swapping with Mauer on a daily basis. Instantly legitimizes the entire offense

 

Would you give up Gibson and a decent prospect for him? I would.

[wickedslider]

at this stage of his career and with his recent injuries in 2012 and 2015, that is a tough call. I would say definitely yes if I could predict the future and know that he could give us at least 3 good years of injury free ball. He is already 35 though and I don't know if he has the ability to age as well as Torii Hunter has. Such a risky trade, though Gibson seems to only have the ceiling of at best a #3 starterin a very good rotation.

Mark has also been on 4 teams so I wonder if that is due to contract constraints or how good of a teammate he is? And though he had some important hits in the 09 WS, his playoff stats that year are not impressive the way his regular season stats are.

Then you look at our current lineup and wonder where Sano fits in if we keep Plouffe along with the fact that Mauer isn't going anywhere. I see a log jam at DH with Mauer and Sano if we don't move Plouffe and put Sano at 3rd. Though the idea of the added depth is nice, Mark and Mauer don't play other positions, so one of Tex, Mauer, Plouffe or Sano would sit out too many games.

Nolasco's health also comes into play as does the durability of Milone. Currently, we have Santana, Duffy, Hughes, Nolasco, Gibson, Milone, and Berrios and perhaps May as candidates for the starting rotation next season, so barring further injuries there is a surplus. Nolasco and Milone are hard to count on to start every 5th day. Will Hughes continue his career history of one good year followed by a not so good year? Will his back continue to be source of concern? With the history of a lack of pitching depth on this team going back decades(though the 91 staff was deep)I'm hesitant to trade one of our better, most durable starters.

To finally give an unqualified answer to the question, because of the depth we have in the rotation, I too would probably make the trade while also trading Plouffe for some catching or BP depth. Without a Plouffe trade it doesn't seem to make as much sense, unless the Twin's are ready to add payroll and allow one of their big boppers or Mauer to sit on the bench more than the Twins seem to prefer from a top payroll/production guy based on past history.

If Tex was to be injured more often than not or suffered the same age/injury related deterioration in his skills that Joe has, it would go down as a horrible trade though and give me another, in a long list of reasons, to hate the Yankees.

[TheLeviathan]

Nope. Mauer's status as alive, unretired, and a Twin eliminates any chance of adding 1B help.

[old nurse]

With Teixierra's history over the last 4 years I would pass. If I were to trade for him for a 1 year rental it would be a low level prospect as he has been playing about half seasons.  His highest value would be healthy at the trade deadline.  Now were they to throw Sanchez the catcher in the deal it would give you two crapshoot players to bet om

 

[old nurse]

Trades twice from teams going nowhere at the deadline. Atlanta gave up a lot to get him, traded him for next to nothing. I wouldn't read too much into being traded

 

Mark has also been on 4 teams so I wonder if that is due to contract constraints or how good of a teammate he is? And though he had some important hits in the 09 WS, his playoff stats that year are not impressive the way his regular season stats are.

 

[Major League Ready]

Teixeira would be a good fit in front or behind Sano in the batting order.    So, what factors should we look at when considering a trade for Gibson and a “decent prospect?

 

• Teixeira had a war of 2.9 war last but it was 1.1 in 2014 and replacement level in 2013. 
• Gibson’s WAR was 2.5 last year 2.3 in 2014 and replacement level his first (partial) year in 2013.
• Gibson is heading into his prime.  Teixiera is heading into his age 36 season.
• Which one would more likely to be able to make a qualifying offer at the end of their contract and get a draft pick as compensation?
• Would this decent prospect be the type likely to make in to the ML level?  Are we talking about a guy that becomes a cost controller starting player with 6 cost controller years?
• Is it a good idea to wrap up $46M between Mauer and Teixeira.  Could the money be spent better elsewhere?
•  Mauer is 2 ½ years younger.  He could bounce back this year like Teixeira last or Teixeira could fall back to 2014 or even 2013 production.

 

The iffy questions are listed above.  The reasons no GM would even consider this trade would be.
• We could keep Gibson for 2 more seasons and get a much better return than 1 year of Teixeira.
• 4 years of a middle of a good starting pitcher in his prime vs 1 year of an aging player with one good year in the last 3 years. 
• Even if Teixeira is as good as he was last year and Gibson does not improve during his prime years which would go against the likely trend for both players,  1 year of Gibson is 2.9 WAR vs a projected cumulative WAR of 10 for Gibson. 

 

This would be a reasonably good move if the league were to end after the 2016 season.  It is a horrible idea if considered beyond next year and that’s without even considering if the “decent” prospect becomes a “decent ML player.

[kab21]

Gibson isn't even on the table for Teixeira.  Why on earth would we trade Plouffe (2 years of control for 10-14M total) for prospects and then trade a good (but not great SP) for a 22.5M Teixeira?

 

I am not even sure I would take the 22.5M if he was on waivers. 

[HitInAPinch]

   Hey, why don't the Twins sign me?  At 57, I still have some life in my screwball and they desperately need help in the bullpen.   $2.1m, 1+ mutual option.  I've got nothing left to get in shape, so I'm ready for spring training on a moments notice.     

 

But seriously folks, why would you make a move with a guy who's far closer to the end of his career than the beginning?  The Twins are building with youth and you trade youth for this?  Doesn't make sense to me at all.  Plus, we still don't know where Sano will end up playing.   

[DaveW]

Nope. Mauer's status as alive, unretired, and a Twin eliminates any chance of adding 1B help.

Plouffe traded, Sano to 3b, Mauer to DH?

[DaveW]

Gibson isn't even on the table for Teixeira. Why on earth would we trade Plouffe (2 years of control for 10-14M total) for prospects and then trade a good (but not great SP) for a 22.5M Teixeira?

 

I am not even sure I would take the 22.5M if he was on waivers.

Meh, fine. Gibson off the table and some 8-15 prospect on the table?

 

Make no mistake Tex can still hit

[Thegrin]

Trade target ? The Twins don't need any trade targets.  A trade target takes up roster space.  The Twins have development projects. They have enough development targets to fill 2 lineups.  Lets find out who we have and what they can do.  Santana, Vargas, Buxton, Sano, Hicks Rosario, Arcia, Kepler, Walker, Berrios, Duffy, and the whole dang 2015 Twins & AAA pitching staffs need to be developed or discarded

[brvama]

Seems to me there has been several fantasy league trade proposals being floated around lately.

[diehardtwinsfan]

No way would I give up Gibson for Texiera.  That's selling way too low on Gibson. 

[kab21]

 

Meh, fine. Gibson off the table and some 8-15 prospect on the table?

Make no mistake Tex can still hit

He just posted his best offensive season since 2009.  Not only won't he hit this well again next season but I would put the over/under on games played at 100. 

 

22.5M for a low .800's DH that is like to miss 1/3+ of the season.  This would rank pretty low on my to do list this winter.  Additionally the 22.5M likely hits or exceeds the salary ceiling for the Twins so there wouldn't be any bullpen help coming.

 

He isn't a bad player but several things have to happen for this to make sense.

 

[Winston Smith]

I see Gibson is the new Duensing.

[RealTwinsFan357]

Since this is the last year of his contract, I wouldn't trade for him. I don't feel like this team is a DH away from making a world series run next year. I think sorting through our rotation mess and building a strong bullpen are more important. To succeed, the twins need to establish their young core then sign complementary pieces

[spinowner]

No. We want more up-and-comers on our roster, not more players about to go into decline.

[deanlambrecht]

I don't understand why we'd overpay for an aging, declining veteran player, particularly for the two positions (1B, DH) where we already have a logjam of players.

 

If I recall correctly (and I may not) any years ago there were rumors of a Slowey for Tex swap, and TR declared Slowey "untouchable."  Beltre's name was interchangeable for Tex at the time in terms of this trade rumor.  If there were truth to those rumors, they represent the greatest lost opportunity I can imagine in this sport.

 

I add that to illustrate when a move for Tex would have made sense.  Now it doesn't, in my estimation.

[USAFChief]

I wouldn't give up Gibson, but I would be thrilled with one yr of Texiera at DH. There's a decent chance he'd be the Twins best hitter next year. Adding a legit middle of the order bat is a real need for this team, and right now I don't know who that is.

 

And for the record, if the Twins do trade Plouffe, there is no "logjam" at 1b/DH. There's Mauer and a couple suspects/psossibilities/potentially's.

[gunnarthor]

People were complaining about Hunter and Mauer blocking young players - adding Tex doesn't seem to make much sense. 

[AKTwins]

I do not like the trade.  Gibson has a lot of value since he is under team control for a while.  I agree Gibson is not great, but he is solid.  The only way I do this trade is if the Yankees take on Tex salary or takes on a bad contract from the Twins

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

My only concern is that trading for Teixeira would block Barry Bonds.

[SF Twins Fan]

This trade makes absolutely no sense.  Gibson is a pretty good 3 if not a 2 in a rotation.  He's still young and under control.  He's only been an MLB pitcher for 2 full seasons now I believe.  Tex is old and broken down.  The Twins aren't a DH away from being a playoff contender.   The Twins have outfield questions....Will Rosario regress? Is Hicks for real? Do you start Buxton and Kepler in AAA to get them more seasoning.  Is Arcia an outfielder?  The Twins also need an answer at catcher.  What are Turner and Garver going to give you this season?  Do they sign a free agent? Do they make a trade?

[ND-Fan]

I don't understand why we would want another first baseman/DH when we already having hard time finding playing time for number of our young players in that category. We have Mauer, Vargas, Sano, and Arcia fitting into that position already with couple more coming through the minor league system. Also everyone is wanting to trade Gibson one of our younger pitchers that has been improving yet each year and learning how to pitch in the big leagues. He just made another plateau this year with innings pitched, wins, and how to win with not your best stuff. Also he still affordable pitcher for the Twins. If were looking at trading pitching its should be Nolasco where they trade him to National league for some young catcher that's about to reach big leagues even if it means eating fair amount of Nolasco salary. They could look at as same as signing some free agent catcher but it would be for young catcher with upside potential. It would then free room for the Twins to bring up some there young pitching.

[DaveW]

I was wrong earlier about Gibson, he is way too much. I wonder if the Yankees would be interested in Milone and perhaps paying a little bit of Tex's salary?

 

Of course I only want Tex if the Twins can find a way to move Plouffe.

31 HR in 112 games is nothing to shake your head at IMO, Tex could be the perfect "buy low" type, and if he has a good year you end up netting an additional first round pick after the year anyways.

 

Sano 3B

Mauer 1B

Tex DH (he and mauer can split 1B if need be)

 

 

[drock2190]

Why trade for Tex when we can sign Bonds?

[Hrbowski]

I would much rather have A-Rod. He would be to the 2016 Twins as Thome was to the 2010 Twins.

[DocBauer]

I would be in favor of this move based on a trade of Plouffe...(otherwise we are full up)...and if the commitment is short. No more than 2 years, 1 would be preferable. Also, the cost has to be worth it. I just don't know if sacrificing a quality #3 SP with #2 potential is worth it.

 

I very much like the idea of a powerful veteran bat in the heart of the lineup to work with Sano. But the team also needs to continue getting younger. Arcia and Vargas just aren't guaranteed at this point, and Kepler will need a bit more time. This proposed moved would be nice insurance for the lineup pending someone stepping forward. But I just don't want to block anyone ready or close to it.

[nicksaviking]

You could get Justin Morneau and give up no prospects and pay a fraction of the salary.

 

I don't want either for the record.

[Steve J]

I would absolutely not trade Gibson straight up for one year of Tex.  The value of a good #3 Starter should not be underestimated on a team that in recent history has stocked it's rotation with mostly Veteran #4s and a slew of #5s. 

 

Tex's salary would also pretty much keep us from shoring up any other position.