Article: Three Potential Catcher Upgrades on the Trade Market

[Mr. Brooks]

Give up some pitching prospect(s) for 23 year old Danny Jansen @ AAA with the Blue Jays?

 

BA .323 and OPS .919 in 61 AAA games.

Prospect for prospect trades almost never happen.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Give up some pitching prospect(s) for 23 year old Danny Jansen @ AAA with the Blue Jays?

 

BA .323 and OPS .919 in 61 AAA games.

Don't the Jays kind of need him? Russell Martin isn't getting it done anymore, and his deal runs out after 2019 just like Castro.

[Thrylos]

 

ikes the game calling and potential of Garver, then a better veteran to split time and learn from makes the most sense. Could the Twins offer and afford to part with Gonsalves and Gordon to Miami? Absolutely. Would it hurt? Absolutely. 

 

I don't think that Gonsalves and Gordon will do it, and at this point, Gordon is probably penciled in as the starting second baseman in 2019.  So it has to be someone else than Gordon (unless they extend Escobar.)  Let's say Kirilloff.  Still the Twins will probably need to add yet another player at that level and I am not sure they have it, because Lewis, Graterol (top end rotation), and Rooker (pretty much only RH power in the organization) should be untouchable.   Would something like Gonsalves, Kirilloff, and Wade do it?   Not sure that it is enough

[rdehring]

 

Why not send Sano to Miami straight up for Realmuto, seems at least possible, especially from the perspective of Miami, who’d like to add someone to build their team around. And I think by adding a consistent contributor behind the dish for the price Sano would only make a more well rounded & dangerous lineup for Twins that’d be taken much more seriously in the eyes of the league.

Why would Miami do that?  Have you watched Sano lately?  Unless he gets into shape, he is wasting a wonderful opportunity.  So I will use the word disappointing, rather than the words I would like to which would get me get tossed off this site.

[jtkoupal]

Here is the problem. Despite the big series win over the weekend, the Twins still only have a 15% chance of making the playoffs. Is it really wise to give up pieces to help a team that is still a relative long-shot to make the playoffs? The Twins might be more legitimate contenders in 2019 and 2020, so in that respect, the trade may make sense. However, it will take more resources to get someone with 2.5 years left of control vs someone with 1.5 or 2 years. They will probably be able to get him cheaper down the road, unless he becomes elite.

 

This year may not be the year to go big for a trade piece, as the Twins are probably going to have to sell barring a furious hot streak and a collapse on the part of the Indians. 

[Tomj14]

 

I agree with the Chief and Mike-
 

As do I!

 

[Tomj14]

I would go to the Marlins and say:

Gordon or Javier

and

Gonzo or Enlow or Thorpe

and

Ben Rortvedt or Garver

 

and if need be maybe throw in Jorge or Stewart to sweeten the deal.

 

 

[twinfan]

I would not touch Lucroy as he is overpaid right now and on the downside. Flowers would have to be a trade and sign deal. Realmuto would be great but the asking price would be very high. There have been several catchers on the waiver wire that could help if needed and even if we have to use one from the minors early, that would not be so horrible. I don't see us making the playoffs this year so we have to look at who is going to help us next year and the year after. I would not mortgage the farm.

[Oxtung]

IMO catchers are too prone to injury and need to many days off to pay big for them. I’d rather have a good defensive catcher with a weaker bat that is cheaper to acquire and invest those resources elsewhere.

[Blackjack]

 

   Would something like Gonsalves, Kirilloff, and Wade do it?   Not sure that it is enough

I'm not a big fan of trading multiple players for one, all your eggs are in one basket, then if he gets hurt, you are are up a crick without a paddle. The Timberpuppies trade for Jimmy Butler comes to mind.

[terrydactyls]

The Twins have Winston Sawyer hitting .340 and Willians Astudillo hitting .280 in Rochester and Brian Navaretto hitting .270 in Chattanooga. How about giving one of them a shot before looking outside the organization? Despite the Cleveland series, I still think the Twins have no chance at the playoffs this year. Let's hold off on stripping the farm for a while.

[lukeduke1980]

I'm interested in Rupp and I'm sure that plays out first.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm not terribly against A and B if the cost is relatively cheap. I do agree with everyone else that option C is best. We will need a C next year and the year after too, so getting a top catcher does make sense if the front office agrees that our window is here now.

 

That, however, will be very expensive. I'm guessing it starts with Lewis and likely Kirilloff as well. Even then, I'd guess there's some other prospects being thrown in.

 

With that, it improves a black hole in the lineup, but it still doesn't solve the fact that for this team to go deep, they need to get Buxton and Sano doing something close to their potential with Polanco returning and producing as well.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I tend to agree with this. Garver is a rookie and not playing daily. Why? Because Molitor doesn't believe in him? Or because Molitor is letting him grow and develop instead of thrusting him to the daily job? If it's the former, may be time to pony up. It takes quality to get quality. In fact, I'm wondering how the Twins will be able to hold on to some guys in regard to next year's 40 man and rule V draft. If Molitor actually likes the game calling and potential of Garver, then a better veteran to split time and learn from makes the most sense. Could the Twins offer and afford to part with Gonsalves and Gordon to Miami? Absolutely. Would it hurt? Absolutely. Which means it sounds about right with another piece thrown in.

As I mentioned a week or two ago, I think the loss of Castro actually hurts Garver.

 

Playing ~50 games and chatting up one of the better framers and receivers in the league 100 other days of the season could be a boon for Garver's game going forward.

 

Because as it stands now, I wince when I see Garver in the starting lineup because I know I'm going to suffer through at least 4-5 really ugly catches in the game.

[Mike Sixel]

The Twins have Winston Sawyer hitting .340 and Willians Astudillo hitting .280 in Rochester and Brian Navaretto hitting .270 in Chattanooga. How about giving one of them a shot before looking outside the organization? Despite the Cleveland series, I still think the Twins have no chance at the playoffs this year. Let's hold off on stripping the farm for a while.

Trading two prospects isn't stripping the farm.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Nick, any reason Wilson Ramos isn't on this list? Seems like a more logical candidate than Flowers, given the Rays have already started selling (Colome).

[joefish]

Garver has no fire. No life. No emotion. Too many passed balls. For the right replacement/upgrade, anybody we have could be traded.

[slash129]

 

We have been waiting for Sano to develop into Micky Mantle, and that’s not going to happen.

 

Where did this comp come from?   Killer or Schmitty seem the more obvious dreams.

[slash129]

 

Brian Navaretto. I'm a fan, I think he's going to be very good

 

AA player with career 547 OPS comes to save the day .... LOLOLOLOL

[RatherBeGolfing]

 

Trading two prospects isn't stripping the farm.

 

Depends on what prospects you're talking about.

[Tomj14]

 

Depends on what prospects you're talking about.

Even if those two are Lewis and Gordon, it might hurt but wouldn't be stripping the farm.

 

What would be interesting would be an article on who will be on the 40 next year and which minor leaguers will have to be added or left available in the Rule 5.

[Dantes929]

The answer is obvious.   I see Escobar has caught a game already in his career.   Everyone ok with an .875 OPS from our catcher?

[slash129]

 

The answer is obvious.   I see Escobar has caught a game already in his career.   Everyone ok with an .875 OPS from our catcher?

 

To be fair Rupp has done that over the course of his career ............ against LHP

[RatherBeGolfing]

 

Even if those two are Lewis and Gordon, it might hurt but wouldn't be stripping the farm.

 

 

For an organization that is lacking a ton of high upside talent in the farm system, yeah that would be a pretty big deal.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The answer is obvious.   I see Escobar has caught a game already in his career.   Everyone ok with an .875 OPS from our catcher?

Also, Escobar has a career 0.00 catcher's ERA. (Coaxed a 1-2-3 inning from Chris Gimenez.)

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

What would be interesting would be an article on who will be on the 40 next year and which minor leaguers will have to be added or left available in the Rule 5.

Roster Resource is pretty good for that:

 

https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-minnesota-twins/

 

Gordon, Wade, and Tyler Jay are the main guys who will need to be added. A few more relievers could be too (Nick Anderson, Andrew Vasquez).

[Tomj14]

Good stuff, thanks

[Tomj14]

 

 

For an organization that is lacking a ton of high upside talent in the farm system, yeah that would be a pretty big deal.

agreed, but in theory wouldn't they be getting one player back that is considered as good or better?

(also assuming if they traded those two or any high two, it wouldn't be for a rental)

[dbminn]

Realmuto would not come cheap. He's been a 3.5 WAR catcher the last two years. He's on his way to a 4-5 WAR season. He has 2-1/2 yrs of control. His WAR value is roughly $80M. He'll probably make $15M in arbitration, plus a remaining $2M this year. That leaves a net value of roughly $60-$65M.

 

Great research provided by the Point of Pittsburgh has been used by FG to derive rough values for prospects. Gordon and Gonsalves are worth about $50M. The Twins would have to add a couple more prospects to make a deal. Maybe Rooker/ Rortvedt or Javier/Garver? 

 

IMO this is a decent estimate for an All-Star catcher in his prime. That's a lot of good prospects. The trade would also force the Twins to sign either Dozier, Escobar or a FA middle IF next year.  

 

As excited as I am to see Gordon, I'd probably make the trade. The Twins SP is in a good window the next few years and Sano/Buxton/Polanco should all be on the field together at some point. JT would be a good fit.

[Tom Froemming]

If I'm the Marlins, any Realmuto trade talks have to start with a top 50 prospect in all of baseball.