Cron vs. Austin

[DocBauer]

The value of 30 home run plus 1B's decreases with every 20 home run plus 2B in the league.

 

Agreed. Why it never really hurt to have Mauer at 1B with his OB/AVG/contact and plus defense. Offensively speaking, Dozier and Mauer were a swap of how a lineup might normally be constructed. Lot of ways to build a quality lineup.

 

All that being said, I still like the Cron signing. Yes, having a Goldschmidt would be preferable. And yes, a non-.300 hitting 1B with 20HR power seems to come cheap nowadays. But there is still value in a guy like Cron. He finally had the opportunity for 500AB. Experience, opportunity and some tweaks to his approach lead to a "breakout" season of sorts. Can he duplicate his 2018? Or maybe even improve on it? I guess we'll see. Adding another decent hitter with legitimate 20+HR power remains a good thing, IMO.

[mikelink45]

They decided when they got Cron - Austin hits the highway

 

[Channing1964]

am i the only one that cant understand why we dont at least make an offer to Moustakas or Gonzalez?

[Channing1964]

Moustakas should be our 3b and Gonzalez our Adrianza. This makes too much sense for the FO to do it.

[howieramone2]

 

Moustakas should be our 3b and Gonzalez our Adrianza. This makes too much sense for the FO to do it.

Sano will be our 3B until he isn't. Gordon will replace Adrianza when he's ready. There's a bigger picture out there.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I'll be the one to say that casting off Austin will prove to be the worse of the two options.

 

I really hope they keep them both personally. Not ideal in that it would be nice if we had some handedness differences there, but there's always going to be a good bat on the bench in a key PH spot. I'd rather do that than have an 8th guy in the pen. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Moustakas should be our 3b and Gonzalez our Adrianza. This makes too much sense for the FO to do it.

 

Not sure about Moose.. .but Gonzalez would have been a great replacement for Adrianza and could basically be the 4th IF playing 3 out of 4 games.

 

Oh well... that ship has sailed unfortunately. 

[mudcat14]

We had Marwin Gonzalez + in Escobar, but wouldn't go $21mil over the 3-years that he eventually got from Arizona.  Why would we spend as much or more for a similar replacement?  Adrianza, Torreyes and/or Austidillo will be our utility guys.  The Twins have put their eggs in an everyday basket with Sano, Polanco & Schoop handling the infield.  They'll take their chances at 1B with Cron, Austin or even Kepler if another outfielder (Cave, Reed, Wade, Rooker, etc.) emerges.   

[Richie the Rally Goat]

We had Marwin Gonzalez + in Escobar, but wouldn't go $21mil over the 3-years that he eventually got from Arizona. Why would we spend as much or more for a similar replacement?

This seems logical, but how accurate is it? How sure are we that Escobar was lowballed on his extension from Falvine? Is it possible Escobar was looking for a change of scenery and just liked the scenery better in Arizona?

[DocBauer]

We had Marwin Gonzalez + in Escobar, but wouldn't go $21mil over the 3-years that he eventually got from Arizona.  Why would we spend as much or more for a similar replacement?  Adrianza, Torreyes and/or Austidillo will be our utility guys.  The Twins have put their eggs in an everyday basket with Sano, Polanco & Schoop handling the infield.  They'll take their chances at 1B with Cron, Austin or even Kepler if another outfielder (Cave, Reed, Wade, Rooker, etc.) emerges.

 

I absolutely agree 100%! Now, we don't know what they offered him, but $7M per for 3yrs would have made him affordable and valuable as a role player who played as much as a starter giving the team outstanding depth and roster flexibility.

 

What frustrates me so much...and I LIKE Adrianza...is that our only real depth/option for the infield is Adrianza. That's it! Even with Escobar gone, and even if Marwin was too expensive or just didn't want to be here, there were other solid bat/multiple position guys available for depth. And we didn't even appear interested. (Which is why I made a post attempting to discuss if the FO was "blowing it" in regard to infield depth). I'm sorry, but I just don't see Torreyes and the not yet ready Gordon or Arraez as depth.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I absolutely agree 100%! Now, we don't know what they offered him, but $7M per for 3yrs would have made him affordable and valuable as a role player who played as much as a starter giving the team outstanding depth and roster flexibility.

 

What frustrates me so much...and I LIKE Adrianza...is that our only real depth/option for the infield is Adrianza. That's it! Even with Escobar gone, and even if Marwin was too expensive or just didn't want to be here, there were other solid bat/multiple position guys available for depth. And we didn't even appear interested. (Which is why I made a post attempting to discuss if the FO was "blowing it" in regard to infield depth). I'm sorry, but I just don't see Torreyes and the not yet ready Gordon or Arraez as depth.

Astudillo?

[DocBauer]

Astudillo?

Huge fan and big believer. I hope there is room on the team for him. Could be anything from starting catcher...when you think about Castro comjng back from a knee and Garver's dings to the head to back up catcher to full in utility player.

 

I thought he looked just fine at 3B when I saw him there. He also made appearances at 2B and the OF. But can he actually play those spots or was he just thrown out there because at least he wouldn't embarrass himself? No matter how much I like him, he's still a question mark as to where he can play and how ready he is.

 

I'd rather have too many guys to place instead of wondering if I have enough.