Article: Brian Dozier: I'll Be A Free Agent

[Doctor Wu]

Well, this whole discussion is going to get tiresome, especially if it goes on all year. I don't fault Dozier for wanting to explore free agency. At his age, it's now or never for him. And as a few people have pointed out, the idea of him being "faithful" to the Twins and wanting to stay with the team is naive. But on the other side of the coin, I won't fault the Twins front office for thinking that they will be taking too big a risk by signing him to a multi-year extension or new contract. It may be best for both parties to move on. I really can't get worked up about it either way.

[laloesch]

 

The Twins look like they are strong up the middle, but they will miss Dozier when he is gone. I hope he gets all the money in the world.

 

Hopefully not!  I'd like to keep my paycheck

Edited March 29, 2018 by laloesch

[Mike Sixel]

 

And let's not forget Lyman Bostock, whose promising career was tragically cut short.

 

I'll never forget him. Back in the day, they let us all on the field for camera day. I asked him if he was going to stay in MN or not, and he said he hoped to....seemed like a nice guy, as he was answering lots of questions and really interacting with people.

[laloesch]

I don't blame him for doing this.  Like any large employer you've got to speak up or get left behind.  It's not personal it's business.  The one thing you don't do is sit quietly in the corner with a red stapler on your desk unnoticed.  That's how you end up in storage dealing with cockroaches.

 

Edited March 29, 2018 by laloesch

[Physics Guy]

 

They didn't even give him a chance to say no. The Twins FO have basically said that he won't be part of the plans after 2018.

I would say that the Twins have said they are willing to let him reach FA and decide during the offseason whether they can afford or want to keep him.  This is what a good FO should do.  They've left their options open and have multiple possibilities in replacing him if they so choose. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I would say that the Twins have said they are willing to let him reach FA and decide during the offseason whether they can afford or want to keep him.  This is what a good FO should do.  They've left their options open and have multiple possibilities in replacing him if they so choose. 

This is the crux of the issue. If the Twins' farm looked more like it has for the past 30 or so years, you probably jump ahead of the pack and sign Dozier.

 

But on a farm that has Javier, Gordon, and Lewis, you hold your cards close to your vest. Maybe next offseason rolls around and you determine that you need Brian Dozier for four more years. Well, then you go out and field a competitive offer to Brian Dozier.

 

But a smart front office of a mid-market team doesn't make that decision before it needs to make that decision. If you're the Yankees, sure, you just throw him $60m and call it a day... but the Twins can't do that for every good player they have on the roster. They need to make smart decisions with their money.

[Mike Sixel]

I'm guessing he gets 3/60 or so from someone else. Just a guess. I'd like him back on a 2-3 year deal, but I think they'll go for Gordon next year, and use that money on something (no idea what).

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'm guessing he gets 3/60 or so from someone else. Just a guess. I'd like him back on a 2-3 year deal, but I think they'll go for Gordon next year, and use that money on something (no idea what).

I suspect the Twins will be looking for a third baseman much earlier than they want to.

[ahart10]

The QO next year will likely be more than the AAV of Dozier’s next contract. If he really is confident in himself he’ll take the QO and get his bigger check the next year.

[laloesch]

 

I'm guessing he gets 3/60 or so from someone else. Just a guess. I'd like him back on a 2-3 year deal, but I think they'll go for Gordon next year, and use that money on something (no idea what).

 

My guess is signing Buxton to an extension.

[nicksaviking]

I think Dozier is going to have to have a career year to get a big deal next year. Asdrubal Cabrera, Logan Forsythe, Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Harrison, Ian Kinsler, DJ LeMahieu, Jed Lowrie, Daniel Murphy and Neil Walker will all be looking for jobs and all it's going to take is for about two of them to be desperate enough to take a cheap 1 year deal to collapse any kind of market for Dozier. And that's not counting the SS types like Elvis Andrus and the Twins' own Eduardo Escobar. These guys don't have to be better than Dozier, they just have to be better value.

 

Personally, I'd like to see if Dozier can play LF. I see more room for him on this team going forward if he can man that spot.

[Mike Sixel]

It's crazy to me that the big spenders would worry about value next year, and not spend to win. But, they did that this year (I undersand the re-set thing played a role).....the Dodgers really should have offered more two off season's ago...

[KirbyDome89]

 

I would say that the Twins have said they are willing to let him reach FA and decide during the offseason whether they can afford or want to keep him.  This is what a good FO should do.  They've left their options open and have multiple possibilities in replacing him if they so choose. 

The fact they're letting him get to FA answers the question of whether MN is willing to pay him. Turning to the younger players behind him is a viable gamble, but I don't think the Twins outbidding the rest of the league, and likely paying more $$ than an extension would have cost is really an option. 

 

IMO there's room for Dozier on this team, even with Gordon coming up.

[Vanimal46]

IMO there's room for Dozier on this team, even with Gordon coming up.

Concur. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Polanco hasn't solidified his starting role at SS and suspended.

[KirbyDome89]

 

Concur. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Polanco hasn't solidified his starting role at SS and suspended.

Yep. Adrianza and Escobar are both FAs after this year too, so even if Polanco locks down SS they can find innings for Gordon. 

[Mr. Brooks]

The fact they're letting him get to FA answers the question of whether MN is willing to pay him. Turning to the younger players behind him is a viable gamble, but I don't think the Twins outbidding the rest of the league, and likely paying more $$ than an extension would have cost is really an option.

 

IMO there's room for Dozier on this team, even with Gordon coming up.

I don't think Dozier was going to even entertain the idea of giving a discount on an extension. At least not a significant one.

[yarnivek1972]

Yep. Adrianza and Escobar are both FAs after this year too, so even if Polanco locks down SS they can find innings for Gordon.

Adrianza is not a free agent after 2018.

[KirbyDome89]

 

Adrianza is not a free agent after 2018.

Sure. Should they be fine with letting Dozier go because Adrianza is on the roster? The point I made was that it isn't hard to fit Dozier, Gordon, and Polanco on the 25 man, i.e. the utility IF spots are more expendable than the starting second baseman. 

[KirbyDome89]

 

I don't think Dozier was going to even entertain the idea of giving a discount on an extension. At least not a significant one.

I agree, Dozier isn't likely to take a discount, nor do I think he should. I don't think it's a situation where he was dead set on hitting FA and refused to entertain offers from the Twins. They've clearly had discussions and at this point Dozier is confident they aren't willing to pay him what he's worth and/or they're unwilling to commit to his future with the team and so he's going to look for work elsewhere. More power to him. 

[yarnivek1972]

Sure. Should they be fine with letting Dozier go because Adrianza is on the roster? The point I made was that it isn't hard to fit Dozier, Gordon, and Polanco on the 25 man, i.e. the utility IF spots are more expendable than the starting second baseman.

I don’t think I said or implied any of that. I simply corrected a factual error.