Twins Sign Robbie Grossman (Minor League Contract)

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

And there is a good chance we would lose Mastro if he is cut, going thru waivers and not having to return to the Twins if he wishes...again.

I don't think we'd lose Mastro.  He's pretty much at the Doug Bernier stage of his career, I think he will accept whatever AAA job is given him.  Especially in an org with as much outfield instability as the Twins, that has previously demonstrated a willingness to call him up.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

When I say he wouldn't get claimed, I'm eliminating 15 teams right off the bat, because I think he is a DH.... I'm guessing the other 14 AL teams have some sort of "Kennys Vargas" in their own system they would value more.  Nothing in his swing, numbers, etc. suggest to me he's capable of being a productive ML hitter.  

Even if you don't like him as a 1B, I'm not sure why we'd completely eliminate NL teams.  Vargas has options, so he doesn't have to be on the MLB roster right now.  A team like the Rockies, with journeyman Mark Reynolds at 1B in the majors and no notable AAA 1B/DH to speak of, could easily claim Vargas and stash him until Reynolds is hurt or flipped in trade, at which point they will probably be out of the race and they won't really care if Vargas isn't a long-term 1B.  Same with the Brewers (Chris Carter then nothing at AAA)

 

And back to the AL, the Rays have Logan Morrison tanking at 1B, then they do have Steve Pearce although he might get called away to another position.  They too have nothing at AAA for 1B/DH.  Oakland and Seattle have similar situations.

 

Not saying all of these teams would claim him for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them did so, just as an interesting AAA/MLB placeholder for the next few months even if they shared your long-term outlook on him.  If a guy has options left, it doesn't take a whole lot to get claimed on waivers.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

If the belief is multiple teams would have interest in him for their 40 man, I'm not sure why the Twins haven't traded him, even for a low level prospect?  I think most can agree he has no future in MN, rather than risk missing out on waivers, why hasn't anyone attempted to get him?

While I think a few teams might claim him on waivers, that's a lot different than giving up anything of note for him.  I'm guessing he's been discussed, and the likely return is org filler or "cash considerations" (i.e. the waiver price).  Not really worth it for us until we need the roster spot, and it's not worth it to other teams to sweeten the offer when they can just wait until we need the roster spot.

[Guest]

I guess we will find out in Oct./Nov. what other teams think of him, because yeah, like you said this will be his last season in the Twins org.  There's no need to cut him from the 40 man now obviously, with only 39 (and Mastro, Dean, etc. being more "cuttable") ... so I'm not suggesting they do that. 

 

When I say he wouldn't get claimed, I'm eliminating 15 teams right off the bat, because I think he is a DH.... I'm guessing the other 14 AL teams have some sort of "Kennys Vargas" in their own system they would value more.  Nothing in his swing, numbers, etc. suggest to me he's capable of being a productive ML hitter.

 

Look, you think Vargas is worthless, even while he's hit his fourth homer in four days and had a 160+ wRC+ last year at age 24, because team management hasn't been able to make any decision about him, other than to talk about his weaknesses. We'll see what happens.

[alarp33]

Look, you think Vargas is worthless, even while he's hit his fourth homer in four days and had a 160+ wRC+ last year at age 24, because team management hasn't been able to make any decision about him, other than to talk about his weaknesses. We'll see what happens.

Umm he hit .240/.277/.349 and had an OPS+ of 71 last year. I'm not sure where you got those numbers.

 

But I'm happy he has hit a few home runs in AAA as he approaches 26 as a DH

[Mike Sixel]

Apparently he won't be taking AAA at bats from the big three/four/five hitters in Rochester......

[HitInAPinch]

 

.... or maybe someone is being promoted?  

I love being sort of right once in a while.
 

[DocBauer]

 

As the weather is warming up, so is Vargas' bat. Here's his May slash:

 

.346/.471/.615/(1.086)

 

with 14 walks and 10 Ks.

 

I think in this hitting starved world in which we live in that more than one team would put a claim in and take a risk-free chance on Vargas.

He was my top choice for a minor league player to "click" this season. I felt he'd be in Rochester all season...barring something unusual...and would get a chance to play every day and really get back in form. Right now, I'm looking a little less stupid daily. 

[jokin]

 

Umm he hit .240/.277/.349 and had an OPS+ of 71 last year. I'm not sure where you got those numbers.

But I'm happy he has hit a few home runs in AAA as he approaches 26 as a DH

 

I think the stat cited referred to Vargas having a wRC+ of 161 in AAA and 163 in AA- with a combined OBP of .414- that's someone's numbers, who with options remaining, you just don't dismiss out of hand, even at age 25.

 

To go back to 2015, there was a major disagreement/misunderstanding/miscommunication on Vargas' plate approach that played out when Vargas was up with the Twins. He was summarily demoted in mid-May by the Twins, even as he was the hottest hitter on the team for the month of May, a month in which he was slashing at:

 

.366/.395/.561/(.957)... with a wRC+ of 164.

 

His public comments in reaction to being sent down at the time were confusing, and demonstrated his own personal confusion to what the Twins wanted from him, to say the least.

 

Of course, he struggled mightily in spot duty during two subsequent call-ups- his performance suggesting continued confusion on his part with respect to Twins expectations...; and with the subsequent offseason signing of Park, it's pretty obvious that the Twins came to the conclusion that his days with the Twins are numbered.

 

 

[jud6312]

 

My God, we're actually going to see an OF of Robbie Grossman, Darin Mastroianni and Danny Santana by the Memorial Day.

I was just joking. Did Paulie take it as a challenge? This OF combined with the rest of that garbage lineup they're trotting out there today tells me I might be watching women's college softball instead of the Twins.

[jokin]

 

I was just joking. Did Paulie take it as a challenge? This OF combined with the rest of that garbage lineup they're trotting out there today tells me I might be watching women's college softball instead of the Twins.

 

Joking? Maybe. but this is the season where the Twins break the 4th wall of comedy. You ask for it, you get it.