Mauer and Morrison clear waivers

[Monkeypaws]

Per Bernardino:https://www.twincities.com/2018/08/06/source-twins-joe-mauer-logan-morrison-clear-waivers/

[jorgenswest]

I think they will find a match for Morrison but it may be closer to roster expansion and the return will be a player that will be out of options next year.

[twins_89]

Mauer isn't going anywhere and probably the best return the Twins could get on Morrison would be to get out of $500-750K of his salary.

[Rosterman]

Player to be named later and they might have to include some cash.

 

[AlwaysinModeration]

Morrison career MLB numbers: .240 .326 .429 .755

Austin career MLB numbers: .230 .287 .459 .746

 

Austin minors: .285 .363 .473 .836

Morrison minors: .287 .378 .458 .836

 

 

Austin has five minor league seasons in which he OPS more than 850.

 

Trade Morrison for a bag of balls, get Austin up with the Twins now. He’s their starting 1B for next year.

[Blackjack]

 

Player to be named later and they might have to include some cash.

 

Sometimes you just have to admit your mistakes and move on. DFA him and call up someone that can help us next year.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Trade him to the Yankees so he can turn his season around.

[ashbury]

They do waivers on Mauer every year. As with every player of value, pretty much. It's just due diligence at this time of year. This is when waivers are revocable. It's never, by itself, an indication of an intent to trade Joe.

 

Actually, I wonder if clearing waivers might be bad. If some team had put in a waiver claim, you revoke the waiver and then you know with whom to start trade discussions. LoMo having cleared means any team with even the slightest interest will know there is no competition for his services, and will just wait for him to be DFA. At most, they'll offer a token of cash.

 

Note, I am not certain how completely transparent the whole process is among teams.

 

 

[AZTwin]

When players clear waivers they can be traded to any team. Sometimes claims can be used as blocks or can be hard to work out deal within condensed timeframes.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Note, I am not certain how completely transparent the whole process is among teams.

Good point. Obviously teams know when guys are (or have already been) on waivers, and I assume teams are notified when they win a claim, even if the waiving team can revoke it.

 

But they probably have to deduce whether a guy cleared or another team won a claim.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Actually, I wonder if clearing waivers might be bad. If some team had put in a waiver claim, you revoke the waiver and then you know with whom to start trade discussions. LoMo having cleared means any team with even the slightest interest will know there is no competition for his services, and will just wait for him to be DFA. At most, they'll offer a token of cash.

 

Absolutely. In Morrison's case, it gives you a team and a baseline for formulating a return -- you can say "his salary is X, do you want to pay it, or what minor leaguers do you think have equal or less value than that?"

[Otto von Ballpark]

They do waivers on Mauer every year. As with every player of value, pretty much. It's just due diligence at this time of year. This is when waivers are revocable. It's never, by itself, an indication of an intent to trade Joe.

 

With Mauer, there is also the no-trade protection. I wonder if teams pretty much pass on no-trade guys in August? Since they can block any trade or waiver assignment anyway. Not that Mauer would have much of a value case otherwise right now.

[ThejacKmp]

 

They do waivers on Mauer every year. As with every player of value, pretty much. It's just due diligence at this time of year. This is when waivers are revocable. It's never, by itself, an indication of an intent to trade Joe.

 

Actually, I wonder if clearing waivers might be bad. If some team had put in a waiver claim, you revoke the waiver and then you know with whom to start trade discussions. LoMo having cleared means any team with even the slightest interest will know there is no competition for his services, and will just wait for him to be DFA. At most, they'll offer a token of cash.

 

Note, I am not certain how completely transparent the whole process is among teams.

 

If the Twins are going to keep Morrison through the end of August (seems likely) there's no reason to DFA him unless they need a 40 man spot (unlikely since they're swimmin' in them). The rosters expand and he can play a few days a week and be a vet. Unless he's upset about that (and I've never heard anything except that he's a good teammate) no reason not to keep him.

[ThejacKmp]

 

With Mauer, there is also the no-trade protection. I wonder if teams pretty much pass on no-trade guys in August? Since they can block any trade or waiver assignment anyway. Not that Mauer would have much of a value case otherwise right now.

 

I mean, I could see a team liking Mauer as a LH bench bat if the Twins ate the salary but he's repeatedly said he doesn't want to go anywhere and can block it. Would seem a waste of resources and time to put a claim in on him.

[ThejacKmp]

 

I think they will find a match for Morrison but it may be closer to roster expansion and the return will be a player that will be out of options next year.

 

Yeah, this. Morrison potentially makes sense as a bench bat but only when rosters expand. If you get him in August 31st, you can use him occasionally down the stretch.

[gocgo]

I think I saw last night that Morrison had lost 22 hits to the shift.  If you tacked on 22 hits to his 59, he'd have a BA of .264.

 

So, bottom line is that he has had some bad luck, but, more importantly, he's going to have to learn to adapt.  Whether you like the shift or not, it's here until MLB tells us it is not.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Trade Morrison for a bag of balls, get Austin up with the Twins now. He’s their starting 1B for next year.

Oh god, I hope not.

 

If the team wants to start 2019 with a 1B platoon and Austin is part of that package, okay... I don't love it and it's not optimal, but I can take it if...

 

The real prize here is Rooker, who has an .859 OPS in Chattanooga right now. Either get a real first baseman or aim to have Rooker in Minnesota no later than June of 2019.

[USAFChief]

 

I mean, I could see a team liking Mauer as a LH bench bat if the Twins ate the salary but he's repeatedly said he doesn't want to go anywhere and can block it. Would seem a waste of resources and time to put a claim in on him.

link?

[slash129]

 

The real prize here is Rooker, who has an .859 OPS in Chattanooga right now. Either get a real first baseman or aim to have Rooker in Minnesota no later than June of 2019.

 

This!  .... With the provision that his K-Rate continues to trend in the current direction ... 24+% in July and starting August at 22+% .... It would awesome if he ended August under 20%, and that could get him a cup of coffee .... Beating July certainly should start him in AAA for 2019 .... I would expect a dip in April due to more off-speed and benders, and that will be the real test on his ability to continue adjusting and fast tracking to the big club

[Otto von Ballpark]

I mean, I could see a team liking Mauer as a LH bench bat if the Twins ate the salary but he's repeatedly said he doesn't want to go anywhere and can block it. Would seem a waste of resources and time to put a claim in on him.

Yup. And I have mentioned before, but sometimes if you are interested in a player, claiming him in August might actually be counter-productive, as it only gives you 48 hours to strike a deal. Let him go unclaimed, it gives you the whole month.

 

Probably irrelevant with Mauer, but the Astros probably wouldn't have landed Verlander last year had they claimed him -- they needed the full month to negotiate.

[Doomtints]

If Doug Mientkiewicz got traded by Boston to the Mets for a bucket of balls, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Morrison is going anywhere.

[jorgenswest]

Can a team carry a 3 man bench and the right handed half of a platoon 1B/DH? Maybe. The other half of the DH better be able to play some outfield.

 

Can Austin play RF approaching Grossman’s level? If so, I think there is a spot. He has not played RF for Rochester yet in spite of Rochester having 3 outfielders on the DL.

[Brock Beauchamp]

If a team wants Morrison, it will be at the end of August so they can slide him onto the expanded roster and potentially keep him as a postseason bench bat.

 

Which isn't a terrible idea, really.

[Ben Noble]

 

The real prize here is Rooker, who has an .859 OPS in Chattanooga right now. 

 

...and Austin has an .850 OPS in AAA right now. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

 

Yup. And I have mentioned before, but sometimes if you are interested in a player, claiming him in August might actually be counter-productive, as it only gives you 48 hours to strike a deal. Let him go unclaimed, it gives you the whole month.

Probably irrelevant with Mauer, but the Astros probably wouldn't have landed Verlander last year had they claimed him -- they needed the full month to negotiate.

I would think the strategy would be to claim a guy you think could be attained via waiver claim or to block your adversary from making a trade.

[alarp33]

 

Probably irrelevant with Mauer, but the Astros probably wouldn't have landed Verlander last year had they claimed him -- they needed the full month to negotiate.

 

I don't recall specifics, but wouldn't there have been a decent chance the Tigers just dumped the Verlander contract on a team if he was claimed? He had been good since the All Star break, but his season numbers still were not great and the contract wasn't looking great. 

[mrmpls]

 

Per Bernardino:https://www.twincities.com/2018/08/06/source-twins-joe-mauer-logan-morrison-clear-waivers/

Mauer, Morrison reportedly clear waivers
Aug. 6: Twins first baseman Joe Mauer and designated hitter Logan Morrison have passed through waivers unclaimed, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The two are now eligible to be traded to any of the other 29 Major League clubs, though it remains to be seen if a market will develop for either player.

Mauer has a solid .357 on-base percentage in 2018, but he offers little power (three homers in '18). In addition, the 35-year-old has a full no-trade clause as part of his eight-year, $184 million contract, which is set to expire after this season, giving him the power to veto any deal. Mauer is a Minnesota native who has spent his entire career with the Twins, so it's unclear if he'd be willing to waive said clause.

Meanwhile, Morrison has recorded an underwhelming .195/.289/.387 slash line with 15 homers after signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Twins this past offseason. He slashed .246/.353/.516 with a career-high 38 homers for the Rays a year ago.

Morrison's pact includes a '19 club option for $8 million with a $1 million buyout. The option will increase to $8.5 million if he reaches 500 plate appearances or $9.5 million with a $1.5 million buyout if he reaches 550, and a $9.5 million option will automatically vest for '19 if he makes it to 600 PAs. However, with less than two months remaining in the regular season, the 30-year-old is still 157 plate appearances shy of 500.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

...and Austin has an .850 OPS in AAA right now.

AAA is a more hitter friendly league than AA.

2018 Austin wrc+ 100

2018 Rooker wrc+ 137

[Otto von Ballpark]

I don't recall specifics, but wouldn't there have been a decent chance the Tigers just dumped the Verlander contract on a team if he was claimed? He had been good since the All Star break, but his season numbers still were not great and the contract wasn't looking great.

I don't think so. First of all, Verlander had a full no-trade, so he could block a waiver assignment just like a trade. Secondly, I think the Tigers wanted to eat some of the contract to get talent back -- they didn't really need pure salary relief, and Verlander was still good enough to expect some return, assuming they could convince him to waive the no-trade.

[Otto von Ballpark]

AAA is a more hitter friendly league than AA.

2018 Austin wrc+ 100

2018 Rooker wrc+ 137

I think you are looking at wrong line. Austin has a 100 wRC+ in MLB this year, but at AAA, it's 131 (Yankees AAA) and 146 (Twins AAA), basically the same as Rooker.