If Dozier is dealt...then what?

[Vanimal46]

Hypothetically, if Gordon is called up tomorrow, would he still be rookie-eligible next season?

[Shaitan]

I think the issue is that the offense will definitely get worse with a trade. While pitching is currently a black hole, the offense also has room for improvement. The only way to absorb the loss of Dozier's bat is to pick up more hitting from an OF. (Or 1B or C, but they aren't making changes there soon.)

 

If the current OF trio continues developing, that's okay. If not, there's an issue.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I think the issue is that the offense will definitely get worse with a trade. While pitching is currently a black hole, the offense also has room for improvement. The only way to absorb the loss of Dozier's bat is to pick up more hitting from an OF. (Or 1B or C, but they aren't making changes there soon.)

 

If the current OF trio continues developing, that's okay. If not, there's an issue.

 

that's pretty much true if they keep Dozier or not, the offense isn't good enough even with him. 

 

That said, I agree, the offense would take a real hit if he's dealt. And, fixing that would have to be part of the next steps for next year for sure.

[gheggs42]

Dozier and Kintzler to D-backs for Braden Shipley + ?

[drjim]

 

Hypothetically, if Gordon is called up tomorrow, would he still be rookie-eligible next season?

 

Not if he plays almost every day. 130 PAs.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'd move Polanco to 2B and see what happens, put Adrianza in at SS full time, and promote Gordon in September.

FYI, Gordon does not need to be added to the 40-man this winter.  Even if I traded Dozier, I don't know if I'd add Gordon quite yet.  Between Polanco, Adrianza, and presumably Escobar, we probably wouldn't need/want Gordon to break camp with the big club next spring, so the September audition would be less necessary.

[drjim]

 

FYI, Gordon does not need to be added to the 40-man this winter.  Even if I traded Dozier, I don't know if I'd add Gordon quite yet.  Between Polanco, Adrianza, and presumably Escobar, we probably wouldn't need/want Gordon to break camp with the big club next spring, so the September audition would be less necessary.

 

I assume they'd rather send Gordon to Arizona Fall League.

 

He's got a little bit more work to do anyways, no matter how things shake out this offseason he is more a mid-season than beginning of the year call up.

[Mike Sixel]

 

FYI, Gordon does not need to be added to the 40-man this winter.  Even if I traded Dozier, I don't know if I'd add Gordon quite yet.  Between Polanco, Adrianza, and presumably Escobar, we probably wouldn't need/want Gordon to break camp with the big club next spring, so the September audition would be less necessary.

 

fair, but then, I'm a bit more aggressive with call ups than the team or others, so I don't expect that to happen. I suspect you and the good dr are correct.

 

doesn't really matter, it's barely a non-zero chance Dozier is traded imo.

[jorgenswest]

I hope they start Gordon in AAA next year and continue to develop his skills at SS. We have seen enough players come up and not be able to handle the SS position. We have also seen players with good AA numbers and little or no AA experience struggle at the plate.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I assume they'd rather send Gordon to Arizona Fall League.

Could do both, the AFL doesn't start until October.  Jason Kubel infamously played in the AFL in 2004 after September and the playoffs with the Twins...

[Mike Sixel]

 

I hope they start Gordon in AAA next year and continue to develop his skills at SS. We have seen enough players come up and not be able to handle the SS position. We have also seen players with good AA numbers and little or no AA experience struggle at the plate.

 

to be clear, even if he's up for a taste in September, I'd probably start him in AAA next year, though I'm not certain I would. 

[Rhino and Compass]

I think Dozier's impact on the Twins future is overstated, both on offense and defense. If you take the fact that this thread even exists to mean that the Twins are sellers, then the rest of his production this year is irrelevant, so it doesn't matter who replaces him in 2017, unless that person is someone getting an MLB look, or some experience at 2b. His contract is up next year, and I don't think the Twins are going to sign him long term, which means that if we have a problem with the middle infield prospect depth, we are only delaying the issue another year. Again, the fact that Dozier's name has been discussed at length and even the intro to this thread tells me that there really isn't much of an issue with middle infield prospect depth, at least not on the glove side. Initially, move Polanco to 2nd to see if he settles in there, otherwise use one of the numerous prospects with their slick gloves at 2nd and enjoy the run prevention.

On offense, I don't think I would worry either. Dozier has been batting lead off for whatever reason ,when he is likely not the best candidate on the team for that role (Grossman, with his high OBP, probably right now, and hopefully Buxton someday) and his power is becoming less of a rare commodity on this team, with Sano, Kepler, Rosario and maybe even a full season of Escobar capable of hitting 20 a year. The natural development of the team will make up for what the Twins lose in Dozier, and if he can bring back a decent SP in return, then maybe the Twins won't even need to score as many runs.

[Squirrel]

 

I think the issue is that the offense will definitely get worse with a trade. While pitching is currently a black hole, the offense also has room for improvement. The only way to absorb the loss of Dozier's bat is to pick up more hitting from an OF. (Or 1B or C, but they aren't making changes there soon.)

 

If the current OF trio continues developing, that's okay. If not, there's an issue.

In the scenario he is traded, the topic of this thread, that's why I wouldn't call up another MI to take the 25-man spot if Dozier is traded as we have Polanco, Adrianza and Esco who can all fill out those two positions and occasional spot starts at 3rd, and bring up a bat to hopefully counter the loss of Dozier's bat.

[Oldgoat_MN]

The Twins have a wealth of MI depth... for the future.

Vielma will drive everyone crazy with his Florimon bat. Gordon looks very promising, but he is only in AA. Palacious is only in A+ ball (where Aarez is taking the year off due to injury) and Goodrum is having difficulty hitting at age 25 in AAA.

If Dozier is dealt we must hope that Adrianza's hitting is because he has 'turned a corner' or 'figured it out' rather than just having a career year. Without that, we have a shortage of MI MLB ready options next spring.

I am a big Esco fan and think he's the only MI we can count on for next year (without Dozier). Maybe Adrianza is a late bloomer who we are fortunate to have on our team as he starts to thrive. Decent chance Polanco will get back on track. Goodrum could start hitting as he has in the past. Gordon might be available September, 2018.

But we need all of these to happen if Dozier is dealt.

Our wealth of MI isn't ready yet.

[Willihammer]

I think Twins fans need to get comfortable with the idea that Dozier might be a Twin for the next 4+ years.

 

1. nobody's going to pay for Dozier more than he's worth to the Twins. There are too few teams without a good/great 2nd baseman.

2. his presumed successor, Polanco, hasn't hit. With Dozier gone we could easily be talking about .100 points of OPS dropoff from the position. Maybe more.

3. the Twins are identified with Dozier. He attracts a decent amount of fans and checks a lot of the intangible boxes, clubhouse guy, veteran, etc.

4. I think there is a potential hometown discount Dozier would agree to following the 2018 season. One reason- he's an avid hunter and fisherman. For example over the ASG break he was fishing on Gull Lake. He'll have a strong preference to re-sign with MN I think.

[Doomtints]

Dozier leaving wouldn't change much on the team bottom line unless he is the genius engineer mentoring this team to play near .500.

[laloesch]

 

What has Brian Dozier ever done to lead this team to the playoffs? When they need him to go on a hot streak or spark a late rally, drive in some runs, he seldom does. He strikes out a lot more than he ever come through.

 

What is he good for besides decent defense and an occasional lead off home run. He doesn't drive in that many runs, then bitches when the team goes into sell mode after losing what 9 out of the last 11 games.

 

Yes the bullpen stunk it up but so did the offense in innings 5 to 9 the last 10 games or so. One clutch hit, a few more runs, less stressful situation for the bullpen and we are talking about an entirely different scenario and the team adding pieces today not taking them away. Dozier played a significant part in a lot of those late inning failing's.

 

To me at this point in Dozier's career it would be better for the Twins to move on from him then keep him. He is like possessing or holding on to an ex that you cannot let hold of, to me it would be better to let go and let someone else take the chances he is recieving.

 

Yep pretty much sums it up.

[Thrylos]

The Twins have a glut of middle infielders in the upper levels of the organization for both Dozier and one of Escobar/Adrianza to get traded and not drop a bit.  The most logical step would be to have Polanco and whoever remains men 2B and SS for the rest of the season with someone like Goodrum (who has played every position on the field in AAA this season other than P of C) come up as a super utility.   No sense and/or reason in burning an option on Gordon this season.  Let him win a job next ST.

[jimmer]

We have a glut of MI options, unfortunately all of them are underwhelming

[Mike Sixel]

 

We have a glut of MI options, unfortunately all of them are underwhelming

 

In the majors or minors? Because I don't agree about the minors in a couple years at all, and that's with me thinking Lewis moves to the OF....

[Brock Beauchamp]

It should be kept in mind that Gordon is, once again, fading hard in the second half. He should not be in Minnesota this season.

 

AAA? Maybe. Sure.

[Mike Sixel]

 

It should be kept in mind that Gordon is, once again, fading hard in the second half. He should not be in Minnesota this season.

AAA? Maybe. Sure.

 

stupid logic once again ruining my fantasy. sigh. You and others are right. 

[Taildragger8791]

 

The Twins have a glut of middle infielders in the upper levels of the organization for both Dozier and one of Escobar/Adrianza to get traded and not drop a bit.  The most logical step would be to have Polanco and whoever remains men 2B and SS for the rest of the season with someone like Goodrum (who has played every position on the field in AAA this season other than P of C) come up as a super utility.   No sense and/or reason in burning an option on Gordon this season.  Let him win a job next ST.

 

Gordon wouldn't burn an option unless he got optioned for for 20 days or more. We're only a couple weeks from being within 20 days of rosters expanding to where that's not going to be an issue. But I'd still agree with letting him continue to marinate in the minors this year, based on his recent performance.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

It should be kept in mind that Gordon is, once again, fading hard in the second half. He should not be in Minnesota this season.

AAA? Maybe. Sure.

 

I wonder if it's a conditioning thing. He is pretty young, so to some extent that is expected. The flip side is it happened much later in the season this year.

[drjim]

 

The Twins have a glut of middle infielders in the upper levels of the organization for both Dozier and one of Escobar/Adrianza to get traded and not drop a bit.  The most logical step would be to have Polanco and whoever remains men 2B and SS for the rest of the season with someone like Goodrum (who has played every position on the field in AAA this season other than P of C) come up as a super utility.   No sense and/or reason in burning an option on Gordon this season.  Let him win a job next ST.

 

Not drop a bit eh? No reason a young a player won't come up and keep rolling. Happens every time.

[yarnivek1972]

Everytime I see Polanco at SS, I see the same thing: bad footwork. Not doubt that his defensive problems are following over to his offense.

 

As others have said, the trade market for 2nd basement isn't all that hot. Dig deeper into other team MiLB and get more volume...

Polanco stopped hitting before he "stopped" fielding. If anything, his struggles at the plate have affected him in the field. For the first two months, everyone was raving about his shortstop play. Clearly, something has turned this into a throwaway season for Polanco. The question is can he recover from it and be a quality MLB starting infielder. Stay tuned...

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I wonder if it's a conditioning thing. He is pretty young, so to some extent that is expected. The flip side is it happened much later in the season this year.

Yeah, I'm not super worried about it, just pointing out that he's struggling again this season. He's still only 21 years old and not a big guy.

[kab21]

 

Yeah, I'm not super worried about it, just pointing out that he's struggling again this season. He's still only 21 years old and not a big guy.

Nothing to be worried about. He is still a very good prospect but it isn't that he is fading really. He was extraordinarily hot at the the beginning of the season and had at least a .380 BAPIP for most of the first half. His K rate has been troublesome all season. It is a flaw and why he won't be in any top 10 overall lists but that doesn't mean he isn't a very good prospect. I think top 25 overall is likely.