Austin DFA’d: De jong up

[Cornholio]

Announced an hour ago per mlb trade rumors

[Danchat]

Well, it's not surprising to see Austin get DFA'd, but I didn't think De Jong would be the next one up. They just outrighted De Jong off the 40 man roster about a month ago, and now he's coming back on it. I'm guessing De Jong will be up to eat some innings this weekend and head back to AAA when he's done.

 

And this is probably it for Austin as a Twin, as I suspect he'll get claimed. I feel pretty confident in Cruz and Cron as the 1B/DH guys, so I don't hate the move. They already have prospects who could play 1B who are getting close in Kiriloff and Rooker, so it's not like Austin was desperately needed in the future.

[Mr. Brooks]

Well, it's not surprising to see Austin get DFA'd, but I didn't think De Jong would be the next one up. They just outrighted De Jong off the 40 man roster about a month ago, and now he's coming back on it. I'm guessing De Jong will be up to eat some innings this weekend and head back to AAA when he's done.

 

And this is probably it for Austin as a Twin, as I suspect he'll get claimed. I feel pretty confident in Cruz and Cron as the 1B/DH guys, so I don't hate the move. They already have prospects who could play 1B who are getting close in Kiriloff and Rooker, so it's not like Austin was desperately needed in the future.

I'd be comfortable calling up Kiriloff next week if Cron or Cruz gets injured, but would the team be? I doubt it.

Time for some reverse voodoo, because I'm not looking forward to Gonzalez as the everyday first baseman if one of those guys gets hurt.

[ashbury]

And this is probably it for Austin as a Twin, as I suspect he'll get claimed. I feel pretty confident in Cruz and Cron as the 1B/DH guys, so I don't hate the move.

Just from an asset stewardship perspective, I find it annoying when our players are juuuust good enough that you suspect any of several teams might claim them, but juuuust bad enough that each of those teams will say in trade talks, "meh, if someone else claims him first, we'll find someone else. Thanks for calling, though - how's the family?"

[strumdatjaguar]

This is a good sign. On lesser Twins teams, Tyler Austin would have been an everyday player As we saw last night in Philly, La Tortuga could see some action at the less-hot corner. The DeJong era will probably be short, and he will then go back to being the lead singer for Styx and writing Fear of Flying 2.

[Mr. Brooks]

Just from an asset stewardship perspective, I find it annoying when our players are juuuust good enough that you suspect any of several teams might claim them, but juuuust bad enough that each of those teams will say in trade talks, "meh, if someone else claims him first, we'll find someone else. Thanks for calling, though - how's the family?"

I think they'll probably be able to get someone's 18th-30th ranked prospect for him, which is better than nothing.

But I think they could have gotten more if they had given him a chance to reveal some more of his potential this year.

[Mr. Brooks]

This is a good sign. On lesser Twins teams, Tyler Austin would have been an everyday player As we saw last night in Philly, La Tortuga could see some action at the less-hot corner. The DeJong era will probably be short, and he will then go back to being the lead singer for Styx and writing Fear of Flying 2.

I personally think Astudillo at 3B and Austin at 1B provides more value than Gonzalez at 3B and Astudillo at 1B.

[ashbury]

This is a good sign. On lesser Twins teams, Tyler Austin would have been an everyday player As we saw last night in Philly, La Tortuga could see some action at the less-hot corner. The DeJong era will probably be short, and he will then go back to being the lead singer for Styx and writing Fear of Flying 2.

You're saying he might get Chase'd?

[Riverbrian]

I was prepared for this. I knew it was coming. 

 

We were fat at 1B/DH so it's not shocking... However... We are also fat at Catcher. Garver has an option and could have been sent down. 

 

In a nutshell from my personal opinion... I think Austin had potential... I believe a good solid run could have revealed that potential but... if they are not going to play him... cut him. He is a simple waste of roster space if the manager can't work him into the lineup.

 

And on that note is where any of my disappointment rests.

 

Austin was not given the chance to compete for the job and if he wasn't going to be given a chance... might as well send him packing. This isn't what I was hoping for with the new manager. 

[Mr. Brooks]

I was prepared for this. I knew it was coming.

 

We were fat at 1B/DH so it's not shocking... However... We are also fat at Catcher. Garver has an option and could have been sent down.

 

In a nutshell from my personal opinion... I think Austin had potential... I believe a good solid run could have revealed that potential but... if they are not going to play him... cut him. He is a simple waste of roster space if the manager can't work him into the lineup.

 

And on that note is where any of my disappointment rests.

 

Austin was not given the chance to compete for the job and if he wasn't going to be given a chance... might as well send him packing. This isn't what I was hoping for with the new manager.

I agree he should have been worked in more.

Disagree that you might as well cut him if you don't. Cron or Cruz could get hurt tomorrow.

[Riverbrian]

 

I agree he should have been worked in more.
Disagree that you might as well cut him if you don't. Cron or Cruz could get hurt tomorrow.

 

Agreed... that's why I'm disappointed in the collective group think that came to this conclusion... but not shocked because there is a lot of hubris in those front offices when it comes to these razor thin margin calls. 

 

All I can do is sit here on my couch and pray to the baseball gods that my front office will eventually let the players decide things on the field.

 

It's really all I'm asking for. All my posts can be boiled down to this single request. 

[Mr. Brooks]

To me, it boils down to the idea that I don't approve of giving assets away until you absolutely have to. Especially when your an organization that is never going to go out and sign a Harper or Machado.

Austin will likely never haunt us the way someone like Ortiz did. There is a good chance he'll never haunt us at all. But, I still consider him an asset at this point in his career.

[Riverbrian]

 

To me, it boils down to the idea that I don't approve of giving assets away until you absolutely have to. Especially when your an organization that is never going to go out and sign a Harper or Machado.
Austin will likely never haunt us the way someone like Ortiz did. There is a good chance he'll never haunt us at all. But, I still consider him an asset at this point in his career.

 

I agree 1000%

[Doomtints]

I was surprised De Jong made it through waivers. The only year he wasn't good was the year he wasn't healthy.

 

I can't predict the future so I have no idea if he will pan out, but let's hope he gets enough of a chance. He probably won't make it through waivers a second time.

[old nurse]

I do not know why people call Cruz and 1b together. He has not played there in his career.  If he was going to play 1b he would have done so in Seattle instead of the collection of stiffs they played at first base during his time there.

[Mr. Brooks]

I do not know why people call Cruz and 1b together. He has not played there in his career. If he was going to play 1b he would have done so in Seattle instead of the collection of stiffs they played at first base during his time there.

Because if Cron gets hurt, Austin can take over at 1B. If Cruz gets hurt, Cron can move to DH, or Austin can fill DH.

I certainly wasn't suggesting that Cruz could play 1B, I doubt anyone else was either.

[Doomtints]

 

 

I agree he should have been worked in more.
Disagree that you might as well cut him if you don't. Cron or Cruz could get hurt tomorrow.

 

Yep. Kent Hrbek got injured mere hours after the Twins traded away Paul Sorrento.

[bighat]

Not a huge fan of this move by the Twins. Essentially they're just cutting Austin loose because they needed another pitcher for a few games? De Jong is pretty much a mop-up guy at this point as well, just a long reliever to be used in blowouts.

 

I'm sure there's more to it. But this seems just so extremely short-sighted. This is a long season.

[Dman]

Not surprised by this move.  He just doesn't fit with the long term plan for this team.  I just hope we can get something decent from another team for him.  I think he is a nice asset for a rebuilding team.  He was good this spring and not bad in his debut this year.  I do think that if he can get the playing time he can be a good player in this league.  Needs to work on the K rate if he gets that under control he can be really good.

 

That being said I actually like Luke Raley as a 1st base\outfield option better than Austin.  His Minor league K rate\Slugging are similar to Austins but he is a better defender and he has options.  If you want  an Apples to Apples defensive comparison then Rooker should be able to replace him as well.  They are both more limited to just 1st base and have power bats with a 30% K rate and Rooker has options. As a long shot you have Zander Wiel whose K rate in the high teens makes him more MLB ready but he hasn't had the home run power of the other guys listed.  Still a nice slugging percentage and he can actually take walks.  Any of those three seem like as good if not better long term options for us than Austin IMO and they all have options so can be sent up and down at will.  The issue is you have find a 40 man spot for them.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I was surprised De Jong made it through waivers. The only year he wasn't good was the year he wasn't healthy.

 

I can't predict the future so I have no idea if he will pan out, but let's hope he gets enough of a chance. He probably won't make it through waivers a second time.

Really? De Jong hasn't been that good either -- pretty mediocre K rates. There's a reason he was traded for 2 months of a mediocre reliever, and it follows that him going unclaimed wouldn't be all that surprising either.

[Jim Hahn]

I was slightly surprised Austin made the opening day roster. There is plenty of right handed power on the roster, more when Sano returns. Too much of it figures to be low average, high strike out guys. Austin is pretty redundant even if it were possible to carry 5 bunch bats all year.

 

I suppose Austin could be viewed as insurance for Cruz or Cron. If the bench shrinks to 3 as the season goes on Austin would make little sense as a bench player. If Cruz or Cron miss significant time, I think I would prefer someone with more positional flexibility than Austin. Possibly a left handed bat since the Twins appear to be a bit short of left handed power this year.

 

Finally, I really don't see the upside in Austin that many of you do. I don't value power unless it paired with at least one more skill.

[jorgenswest]

The Twins has few options to add a pitcher. All if the pitchers on the 40 had to spend one more day in the minors to get to 10. I didn’t think about this in my first reaction.

 

Adding a pitcher to the 40 meant removing someone from the 40. The options must have been remove Austin or remove Duffey.

 

They also might have tried to manage the pen yesterday without using both Perez and Mejia.

 

If Austin is valued by other teams they will find a trade partner. Meanwhile I hope DeJong isn’t needed and Pineda goes deep.

[Riverbrian]

Teams that could (probably should) stake a claim on Tyler Austin:

 

Orioles: No Brainer - Chris Davis is currently 0 -17 after going .168 last year. Trey Mancini can also play OF and Mancini is one of their prime trade chips. Tyler Austin is exactly the type of guy you claim for free and play at 1B or DH for Minimum wage. 

 

Tigers: No Brainer - They have nobody on the major league roster and nobody ready to join the major league roster. Austin and Miggy can share 1B and DH duties until Miggy gets hurt which he will because he always does. 

 

Marlins: No Brainer - Neil Walker playing 1B... or Tyler Austin who is a minimum wage 1B with 40 homer potential. If the Marlins let him pass... there will be no explaining what they are doing. 

 

D-Back: Possible (Good) - They are starting a waiver claim at 1B currently in Christian Walker although he is off to a decent start. Jake Lamb is now out for 6 weeks... there is no one on the farm. Austin is certainly worth the conversation. 

 

Royals: Possible (Slim) - They have 3 1B on their roster at the moment and If I was the Royals... I'd want to see what they have in O' Hearn. They are currently not finding AB's for Duda and Schwindel who are also 1B. However... I do consider Austin an upgrade over those two. 

 

A's: Possible (Fair) - Who do you choose between Kendrys or Austin while Matt Olson is on the D.L? The A's have always liked 40 homer potential players. 

 

 

 

[jorgenswest]

With that many teams the Twins should find a trade partner.

[Coobelz]

 

With that many teams the Twins should find a trade partner.

 

That is what I am thinking as well. The question is what type of prospect are we looking at? I think if we could one in the 16-20 range we should be pretty happy.

[Doomtints]

60-70% of pitchers in MLB history have not been strikeout machines ... and I'm no doubt being generous there.

 

I would have thought the whole Jim Hoey thing would have broken our obsession with Ks. The Twins were far more successful when they were focusing on acquiring pitchers who rarely gave up walks.

 

De Jong's K rates are average, if not a bit above average. There are zero red flags with De Jong's K rate.

[twins_89]

My guess is the Twins trade Austin, but only get back a lottery ticket type of prospect in the low minors.

[Otto von Ballpark]

With that many teams the Twins should find a trade partner.

You could have said the same a year ago with Kennys Vargas too...

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

60-70% of pitchers in MLB history have not been strikeout machines ... and I'm no doubt being generous there.

 

I would have thought the whole Jim Hoey thing would have broken our obsession with Ks. The Twins were far more successful when they were focusing on acquiring pitchers who rarely gave up walks.

 

De Jong's K rates are average, if not a bit above average. There are zero red flags with De Jong's K rate.

 

It's not an obsession with K's, but with a 3.66 ERA repeating AA/AAA last year, De Jong really needed strong peripherals to differentiate himself from a ton of other minor league pitchers.

 

For the record, De Jong's K% was below league average last year, at every level he pitched.

 

AA: 17.3%, versus a league mark of 20.9%

AAA: 20.2%, versus 22.0% league

MLB: 17.6%, versus 22.6% league

 

Now, he may have talent/potential worth claiming, particularly with one option year left, but it's not necessarily evident in his stat lines to date.

[jkcarew]

One position player was going to go as soon as there was a short start to bring the staff to 12. Two more will go. One when Sano returns and one when the staff goes to 13. (Unless someone DL’s in the interim.) None of that should be surprising when it happens.