Article: Twins Trade Lance Lynn to Yankees

[Tom Froemming]

Joel Sherman of the New York Post has reported that 26-year-old first baseman Tyler Austin has been traded to the Twins. UDPDATE: Sherman adds that Lance Lynn is heading to New York. The Twins are also acquiring 19-year-old right-handed pitcher Luis Rijo.Austin has seen big league time with the Yankees over parts of three seasons, hitting .230/.287/.459 (.746 OPS) over 85 games. The bulk of his time has come at first base, but he's also played some in the outfield.

 

Rated as the 77th-best prospect in the game prior to the 2013 season by Baseball America, Austin has a much more impressive .270/.347/.479 (.825 OPS) line in 202 games in Triple A. The biggest thing holding him back has been, stop me if you've heard this before, strikeouts. Austin has struck out in 39.6 percent of his MLB plate appearances and 27.0 percent of his PAs in Triple A.

 

He'll fills a need in the Twins org right now as a right-handed bat capable of mashing lefties. Austin has hit MLB southpaws to the tune of a .292/.365/.596 batting line over 104 plate appearances so far.

 

Rijo, a native of Venezuela, has posted strong numbers in his 125 1/3 innings so far as a professional. He has a 2.80 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and has averaged 8.4 K/9 while only issuing 1.0 BB/9. So far this season, Rijo is sporting a 10.67 K:BB ratio (32 strikeouts and just three walks over 39 innings). The bulk of his work has come with the Yankees' Appy League affiliate (same league as Elizabethton).

 

Lynn had a frustrating free agency roll into a frustrating first month for the Twins. Lynn had an 8.37 ERA through his first five starts this season, but has been much more stable since, posting a 4.12 ERA over his last 15 starts.

 

Though Lynn's disappointing overall performance contributed to the Twins getting off to a poor start, this has to be considered a positive way for things to end. Not long ago it would have been unimaginable that the Twins would land this kind of a package for Lynn.

 

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[TheMatt]

Lance Lynn in a salary dump

[Bob Sacamento]

Gotta be Lance Lynn, right?

[Han Joelo]

I just wasted 60 seconds of my life looking this bloke up.  File him in the Kemmer/Hazelbaker category.  Generously.

[drew_7726]

who cares we finally get rid of lynn and open a spot for gonsalves to possibly start soon!!

[Monkeypaws]

15 Home runs in about half a season of ML experience, so he does have some power. 26 isn't quite Hazelbaker territory. 

 

 

[rujellis]

Apparently someone called Luis Rijo is coming to Twins too.

[Thrylos]

ssA RHP Luis Rijo also to the Twins

[John Bonnes]

Looks like they also got a Class A pitcher, Luis Rijo, 19.

 

 

I'll be interested to see if the Twins keps some of Lynn's salary to get anyone back.

 

[drock2190]

Any trade to get rid of Lynn is a good one. Especially to the Yankees. 

[rico7961]

244 big league AB's and 106 K's.  A 44% strikeout rate, just what we need. I guess we need someone who strikes out alot, so Sano and Buxton don't feel so bad when they strike out. Sano strikes out 42% of the time and Buxton 35% of the time in their big league AB's. 

[John Bonnes]

Here's Rijo's baseball reference page.

 

26K in 27IP and ... 1 walk in the appy league? Can that be right? 

[BJames]

We still have 2-3 to dump.  Return or not!

[Monkeypaws]

 

Here's Rijo's baseball reference page.

 

26K in 27IP and ... 1 walk in the appy league? Can that be right? 

His minors career BB/9 is 1.0, so yeah.

[John Bonnes]

I suspect the narrative on Austin will be: he just needs a change of scenery, or coaching maybe. He zoomed up the prospect list in 2012 and ended up at AA. It's been a very slow rise since. 

 

In the majors, he's shown no plate discipline (53K vs 8BB this year) and it wasn't great in AAA either. The right-handed batter has shown one skill - he has slugged around southpaws. It's only 104 plate appearances, but he has a 961 OPS, and it's been consistent from year to year. 

[Dman]

I was kind of hoping they would get Luis Gil back.  I think he has greater potential but that is just my opinion.

[Mike Sixel]

Much bigger fan of the pitcher than hitter, though who knows....they could get lucky.

[John Bonnes]

AS of the beginning of this year, Fan Graphs did not list Luis Rijo as one of the top 27 prospect in the organization, though they did list him at a "Future Back-End Starter."

[BJames]

Will Austin block Rooker???This is one of the problem I have with picking up other teams left-overs.  They always get the benefit of being the new face and block the path of other prospects, till they suck bad enough.  Looks like the F.O. is adding a bunch of dead wood.  

[John Bonnes]

If they really did not pick up any of Lynn's salary, that all by itself is a victory. It's not one that helps the fans, just maybe gives Falvey some credibility with ownership, but I didn't expect even that much. 

[Rosterman]

TWINS PAY HALF OF LYNN'S SALARY FOR REST OF SEASON.

 

Is Austin as good, right now, as Logan Morrison? Is he a better choice to have as minor league depth, a bench bat than, say, Kennys Vargas?

 

We will find out in 2019.

 

Remember, who plays first if Mauer goes parttime and Sano fails. (Yes, Rooker is in the wings). Prtty much means we won't see Rooker this year, though.

[70charger]

 

If they really did not pick up any of Lynn's salary, that all by itself is a victory. It's not one that helps the fans, just maybe gives Falvey some credibility with ownership, but I didn't expect even that much. 

 

I read they picked up half.

[raindog]

Impressive return for Lynn. I’m surprised anyone wanted him.

 

p.s. what’s with all the toxic commenters lately?

[70charger]

 

Will Austin block Rooker???This is one of the problem I have with picking up other teams left-overs.  They always get the benefit of being the new face and block the path of other prospects, till they suck bad enough.  Looks like the F.O. is adding a bunch of dead wood.  

 

Don't think there's any realistic chance of this. Rooker is this front office's draft pick (for whatever that's worth), and they've showed absolutely no hesitation in pushing him up the chain. He's at AA a year and a half into his pro career. Austin looks more like a Vargas type, because, well, Vargas ain't coming back.

 

The pitcher looks like the more interesting piece to me. I'm scouting stat lines, but although the strikeout rates are lower than you'd want them to be, the walk rate is ridiculous. Maybe there's something there.

[Monkeypaws]

Makes up for the draft pick they lost by signing Lynn.

[VATwinsFan]

MLB.com is saying the Yankees and Twins are splitting the $4.5 million Lynn is owed for the rest of the year.

[twins_89]

I wonder if this signals that the Logan Morrison experiment is coming to an end.

[jorgenswest]

Like the deal. I thought Lynn would be an August waiver wire claim. In the era where teams platooned he would be the right handed hitting half of the platoon. Not sure if there is a space for a guy who has done really well against lefties but the Twins had trouble with left handed pitching this year.

[jorgenswest]

MLB.com is saying the Yankees and Twins are splitting the $4.5 million Lynn is owed for the rest of the year.

The money must get them Rijo.

[Mill1634]

I like the move, especially the way Lynn started out the year. I like taking a flier on Austin, and the move would be worth it alone on Rijo. He looks intriguing for a young arm. Nice work by the front office.