Twins select RHP Austin Adams

[Vanimal46]

Addison Reed DFA’d.

Sad, but needed to be done. I'm happy they are biting the bullet now instead of letting him toil for a few months like Phil Hughes.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Hopefully Adams's first appearance won't be being dropped into a bases loaded situation like Vazquez's was in New York.

 

Adams is a 30 something year old with MLB experience, he better be ready to pitch here.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Sad, but needed to be done. I'm happy they are biting the bullet now instead of letting him toil for a few months like Phil Hughes.

To be fair, Hughes was still owed a lot more, so it was understandably a harder bullet to bite.

[drivlikejehu]

 

I never blamed them.....

 

I'm asking where the help is, and you are responding that, what, I shouldn't expect it because all the gurus are wrong? I'm not sure your point at all....

 

Where is what help? Why are you even asking that question?

 

If the plan has us turning to Harper, Morin, Magill, Duffey, and Adams by mid-May, I think it's fair to question it. Although I agree, I'd stop short of saying it's an "abysmal situation" quite yet.

 

As others have noted, there's some evidence that the pen's weaknesses have been shielded so far. Our pen ranks 21st in wOBA in high leverage situations, but we're also only 20th in high leverage innings pitched. (Interestingly, we rank 1st in medium leverage performance, and 24th in low leverage... fortunately most of our innings qualify as medium leverage!)

 

Also, some people thought perhaps the bullpen could have been a potential strength, if they had kept Pressly or added another reliever of that caliber. I'm not sure if we should credit the front office for aiming lower than that.

 

The problem with this criticism is that the front office has to set priorities. Some positions will be allocated more resources than others, on any team, in any sport.

 

So is your position that the team at 27-15 is under-performing what competent management would yield? 

[Riverbrian]

 

The problem is that the guy who was being used in the highest leverage situations (Hildenberger) has just been relieved of that duty. That moves everyone up. Whether they are ready or not. Sure, someone could step up. And there really are no guarantees that a “proven” reliever from outside the organization would truly help. Indeed, that is the role Addison Reed was supposed to fill.

I’m beginning to believe that having a good bullpen is largely a product of luck. Sure, teams have to do their due dilligence in evaluating and acquiring candidates. But, any of them could get hurt or “lose it” without much warning.

I’m not sure there is a way to “guarantee” a good bullpen.

 

There is only one way. 

 

Give them the ball and keep giving the ball to the guys hanging zeroes and remove from the roster the guys who are not and keep searching until you have a surplus. 

. 

Bullpen guys come out of nowhere. 

 

Teams are frequently wrong. 

 

Use our Twins for example. We threw Hildenberger in our highest leverage situations and that suggests a level of confidence in Hildenberger from the front office. 

 

Martin Perez was brought on board as our 5th starter. His turn in the rotation was skipped a couple of times in April because he was our 5th starter and that suggests a little lack of confidence. 

 

The front office has been wrong so far on both accounts.

 

If they had this evaluation thing down to a science... they would have had Pineda's turn in the rotation skipped a couple of times in April so Perez could pop the mitt a couple of more times instead. They probably had a hunch on Perez so they signed him but they are probably just as surprised as the rest of us that he has performed this well. If they are not surprised... then why start him as the 5th starter. 

 

If they had this evaluation thing down to a science... Hildenberger would have been a question mark from the get go and maybe they would have been more aggressive going after Ottovino or something. 

 

I'm not telling them who they should sign but I am watching how they are deployed. 

 

Other teams are frequently wrong... The Nats practically gave Treinen to the A's as an inclusion in the deal for Doolittle and Madsen. 

 

Kirby Yates was DFA'd by 4 teams before finding himself with the Padres. 4 teams full of scouts, coaches and front office who couldn't see the potential or teach him that split finger pitch. 4 teams taht were wrong.  

 

Brad Hand was released by the Marlins. A team full of scouts, coaches and front office personnel who couldn't see the Andrew Miller like potential as he stuggled as a starter... just like Andrew Miller struggled as a starter for the Marlins 5 years prior. 

 

Was Taylor Rogers supposed to be what Taylor Rogers is today? 

 

Bullpen guys come out of nowhere and they come out of nowhere by handing them the ball. Teams must be in continuous search mode for guys who can hang zeroes. 

 

As long as we have 4 guys that the manager will only trust to pitch if the score is 10-0. We are simply a time bomb that hasn't gone off yet. As long as the team makes mistakes on Hildenberger or Yates or Hand or the throngs of others, you can never trust that the manager is correct in who he trusts. 

 

You build a bullpen by handing them the ball and keeping the ones who get the ball back from catcher more often and moving on from the ones getting knocked around. 

 

I believe it is that simple and I believe it is absolutely possible. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

The problem with this criticism is that the front office has to set priorities. Some positions will be allocated more resources than others, on any team, in any sport.

 

So is your position that the team at 27-15 is under-performing what competent management would yield? 

Please, we are talking specifically about the bullpen. "27-15" shouldn't be employed as a discussion ender, in that context.

 

And we all know that priorities exist. But I think we've been through this, that trading Pressly was arguably a questionable choice of priorities (it certainly didn't free up notable resources for winning in 2019). And despite the record, given the current bullpen composition, I think that choice is still very much an open question.

 

I mean, I agree with your earlier point -- I think Chief went too far in calling the bullpen an "abysmal situation" (even if some of the names have indeed been pulled from the minor league abyss ) because the performance has been solid enough, so far. But I think it's also fair to express concern about it going forward, and question the front office's approach in that area.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Where is what help? Why are you even asking that question?

 

 

The problem with this criticism is that the front office has to set priorities. Some positions will be allocated more resources than others, on any team, in any sport.

 

So is your position that the team at 27-15 is under-performing what competent management would yield? 

 

are you suggesting they are out of money and couldn't sign anyone else? I hope not. If so, this is going to be very hard success to sustain, as players get raises......just look at what CLE did this offseason....

 

Or are you suggesting they don't have minor league players to trade, to get more pitching (or that they want to trade it for hitters)?

 

What is the resource constraint here?

[USAFChief]

 

Please, we are talking specifically about the bullpen. "27-15" shouldn't be employed as a discussion ender, in that context.

 

And we all know that priorities exist. But I think we've been through this, that trading Pressly was arguably a questionable choice of priorities (it certainly didn't free up notable resources for winning in 2019). And despite the record, given the current bullpen composition, I think that choice is still very much an open question.

 

I mean, I agree with your earlier point -- I think Chief went too far in calling the bullpen an "abysmal situation" (even if some of the names have indeed been pulled from the minor league abyss ) because the performance has been solid enough, so far. But I think it's also fair to express concern about it going forward, and question the front office's approach in that area.

The results have been adequate to date, but that's pretty fortunate, IMO. 

 

And the situation is pretty abysmal, IMO. The replacement for one of their primary bullpen pieces is a journeyman 32 yr old who has never had any sustained big league success. Imagine the Twins bullpen situation if Taylor Rogers were to come up injured.

 

They will not survive the season with the current bullpen options, IMO.

[FlauerPauer]

Anyone else tired of reading about Falvey's or Lavine's connection to players they bring to the Majors? I swear every guy they bring up has a story line that goes... "he was part of the Indians organization in 2016 and struggled at the major league level in (less than 40 innings)..."

 

Move on dude. Would much rather see Jake Reed or Cody Stashak get the opportunity. What's the scouting report on Adams? Throws 91-92 with a average curveball or slider? 

 

On another note, it's a positive to see them cut bait with a guy they signed and simply hasn't performed. 

[drivlikejehu]

 

are you suggesting they are out of money and couldn't sign anyone else? I hope not. If so, this is going to be very hard success to sustain, as players get raises......just look at what CLE did this offseason....

 

Or are you suggesting they don't have minor league players to trade, to get more pitching (or that they want to trade it for hitters)?

 

What is the resource constraint here?

 

I am certain that the front office uses the financial resources that are made available by ownership. We have to hope that ownership increases the budget going forward in response to the team's (hopefully continued) performance. For this year, the budget was clearly quite limited. 

 

With respect to trades, my assumption has been that they will trade for relievers nearer the deadline. That would certainly make sense, since the Twins were not a surefire contender prior to the season. 

 

The issue is not a "resource constraint," there is just the matter of how best to allocate available resources. The Twins chose to allocate few resources to the bullpen in the off-season. So far their choices have worked.

 

 

Please, we are talking specifically about the bullpen. "27-15" shouldn't be employed as a discussion ender, in that context.

 

It is absolutely wrong to pretend like the bullpen exists in its own universe, separate from the rest of the team. Money spent on relievers, or prospects spent on relievers, are resources that are not available for other positions. 

 

They could have signed a reliever instead of Nelson Cruz, for instance. That would have potentially improved the bullpen, but then you need to account for the reduction in offense. 

 

Your criticism, and much of the bullpen criticism, is being made in a vacuum with no regard for the bigger picture. That's not a valid approach.

[yarnivek1972]

Right, but it's more encouraging than a 32-year-old journeyman reliever hitting 91-92.

 

No reason not to call up Reed if you think velocity isn't of value.

He isn’t getting outs. That’s why he isn’t being brought up.

[rdehring]

Lots of credit to the front office on this move with Reed.  Although I knew little of him when signed, I like most fans thought it was a good signing.  After all, we all wanted them to sign an established major league bullpen guy...or two.  And it appeared he was that.

 

Whatever happened after his first month or two is a mystery, I expect to the Twins and Mr. Reed also.  I am encouraged however, that rather than saddle Baldelli and staff with their $8.0 million dollar arm, they cut bait and took the financial hit.  I like that.  Now lets see what they do in the next 45 days or so to swing that deal and bring in at least one good, young, reliever.  Also see a need for a lefty specialists, seeing Moya and Vasquez stars aren't shining all that bright.

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

https://twitter.com/LaVelleNeal/status/1129113698667307008 

[TheLeviathan]

I might take the "I worry about the bullpen going forward" criticism a bit more seriously if those same posters didn't turn every hit a reliever gives up into a national crisis.

 

The bullpen has been pretty good so far.  I can see the fear about it going forward and that's why I would like to see an acquisition made to help it.  But the hyperbolic meltdowns every day or two has no merit and damages credibility to comment on the situation.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I am certain that the front office uses the financial resources that are made available by ownership. We have to hope that ownership increases the budget going forward in response to the team's (hopefully continued) performance. For this year, the budget was clearly quite limited. 

 

With respect to trades, my assumption has been that they will trade for relievers nearer the deadline. That would certainly make sense, since the Twins were not a surefire contender prior to the season. 

 

The issue is not a "resource constraint," there is just the matter of how best to allocate available resources. The Twins chose to allocate few resources to the bullpen in the off-season. So far their choices have worked.

 

 

 

It is absolutely wrong to pretend like the bullpen exists in its own universe, separate from the rest of the team. Money spent on relievers, or prospects spent on relievers, are resources that are not available for other positions. 

 

They could have signed a reliever instead of Nelson Cruz, for instance. That would have potentially improved the bullpen, but then you need to account for the reduction in offense. 

 

Your criticism, and much of the bullpen criticism, is being made in a vacuum with no regard for the bigger picture. That's not a valid approach.

 

If there is no constraint, they don't have to choose how to allocate resources.....

 

Then, in your next reply, you say there is a constraint of money and resources. So, I'll ask again, do you think they are out of money at this point? Because if not, then it doesn't matter that they signed Cruz. If so, then it's going to be hard to sustain competitiveness over a long time frame.

[Doomtints]

Yes this is a placeholder move but this doesn't mean he will be bad.

 

We can give him the chance he deserves.

 

We know this isn't permanent so ... big deal.

[Otto von Ballpark]

It is absolutely wrong to pretend like the bullpen exists in its own universe, separate from the rest of the team. Money spent on relievers, or prospects spent on relievers, are resources that are not available for other positions.

 

They could have signed a reliever instead of Nelson Cruz, for instance. That would have potentially improved the bullpen, but then you need to account for the reduction in offense.

 

Your criticism, and much of the bullpen criticism, is being made in a vacuum with no regard for the bigger picture. That's not a valid approach.

If someone's approach seems invalid to you, please pause to consider that it's not actually their approach? You're actually the one who is restricting the scope of this question to trade or FA signings. Retaining Pressly required no such commitment of significant resources. And trading Pressly without the resources available to replace him in 2019 is worthy of debate.

[USAFChief]

 

I might take the "I worry about the bullpen going forward" criticism a bit more seriously if those same posters didn't turn every hit a reliever gives up into a national crisis.

 

The bullpen has been pretty good so far.  I can see the fear about it going forward and that's why I would like to see an acquisition made to help it.  But the hyperbolic meltdowns every day or two has no merit and damages credibility to comment on the situation.

So then it's agreed.

 

The bullpen is a worry, and should have been better addressed.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I might take the "I worry about the bullpen going forward" criticism a bit more seriously if those same posters didn't turn every hit a reliever gives up into a national crisis.

 

The bullpen has been pretty good so far. I can see the fear about it going forward and that's why I would like to see an acquisition made to help it. But the hyperbolic meltdowns every day or two has no merit and damages credibility to comment on the situation.

Respond to those posts and posters if you want. Please don't take it out on the rest of this community just trying to have a discussion.

[andy4butler]

 

I agree that it seems ridiculous that a guy like Adams is the best option to bring up.  But look at the 40 man roster right now. 

 

Of the 15 players not currently active 3 are on IL and 4 are position players.  That leaves 8 minor league pitchers on 40 man roster.  Gonsalves, Littell,  and Stewart are primarily starters(I think??).  Besides, Gonsalves and Littell don't have great numbers either right now.  That leaves 5 minor league relievers. Subtracting Hildenberger you have 4 left: Moya, Thorpe, Vasquez, and Romero. None of them appear to be pitching well enough to call up right now either.

 

So bottom line: the front office has devoted 1/3 of their 15 minor league spots to relievers, which seems like plenty to me.  Based on their numbers going into this year is there anyone who can truly say they would have thought all of them would be struggling so badly at the same time?

 

Adams may not be a great choice.  But he has one thing going for him.....he is expendable after they get some innings out of him.  If he pitches well, great.  If not, you drop him in a week and start that revolving door at the 25th/40th roster spot until you find the next Magill, Morin, Harper, etc(or in a dream world Kimbrel )

 

The mistake was coming out of the doubleheader with the Tigers on Saturday and demoting Romero.  He needs to stay in the minors for 10 days unless we utilized him as an injury replacement.  I'd have thought about doing that for Garver and leaving Sano down for a few more days.  At this point, I am hopeful that this means Cruz is back or I would have given him the full 10 days off and put him on the IL so we could bring up Romero.  My third option would have been to recall Smeltzer (acquired in the Dozier trade) and pitching well for Pensacola and now Rochester.  I can see why since he was just recently promoted they might not promote him again so soon.   He is also a starter, but those stats are pretty awesome.  

[drivlikejehu]

 

If someone's approach seems invalid to you, please pause to consider that it's not actually their approach? You're actually the one who is restricting the scope of this question to trade or FA signings. Retaining Pressly required no such commitment of significant resources. And trading Pressly without the resources available to replace him in 2019 is worthy of debate.

 

The Pressly trade has been debated to death. What value is there in continued back and forth on that? It's done and everyone who cared to express his or her opinion, did so many times over. 

 

 

If there is no constraint, they don't have to choose how to allocate resources.....

 

Then, in your next reply, you say there is a constraint of money and resources. So, I'll ask again, do you think they are out of money at this point? Because if not, then it doesn't matter that they signed Cruz. If so, then it's going to be hard to sustain competitiveness over a long time frame.

 

Not sure if this is a serious post . . . there are constraints to everything. Are you saying the Twins have $1 trillion available to spend and just chose not to? $500 billion? How on Earth do you know that the Twins front office intentionally chose not to use their available budget? It flies in the face of all logic and common sense. It's absurd.

 

The front office gets an annual budget from ownership. That's how it works. It can go up and it can go down. The Twins have not been competitive for the most part in recent years, attendance has dropped, and ownership plainly was not looking to spend a lot of money. This is all very, very obvious stuff.

 

I am 100% positive that the front office did not come in significantly under budget. There is no chance, none, zero, zilch, that they could sign someone like Kimbrel with their current budget. I don't know how anyone who follows the Twins to the slightest degree could fail to understand that.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Respond to those posts and posters if you want. Please don't take it out on the rest of this community just trying to have a discussion.

 

The rest of the community should be more careful not to hop on that train then.  

[TheLeviathan]

 

So then it's agreed.

 

The bullpen is a worry, and should have been better addressed.

 

Yes, so do the community a favor and keep perspective.  Your flaming bullpen posts in every third thread are both factually misguided and nauseating.  

 

Almost everyone in the community wanted upgrades.   I see very few people who don't want more upgrades.  (I cannot, at this second, think of even one.  Maybe I've missed it so I'll hedge) The bullpen can have been pretty good so far for 42 games and that still be the case.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The Pressly trade has been debated to death. What value is there in continued back and forth on that? It's done and everyone who cared to express his or her opinion, did so many times over.

 

You don't have to debate it if you don't want to, but it's not helpful to pretend like it didn't happen.

[Doomtints]

 

Not sure if this is a serious post . . . there are constraints to everything. Are you saying the Twins have $1 trillion available to spend and just chose not to? $500 billion? How on Earth do you know that the Twins front office intentionally chose not to use their available budget? It flies in the face of all logic and common sense. It's absurd.

 

The front office gets an annual budget from ownership. That's how it works. It can go up and it can go down. The Twins have not been competitive for the most part in recent years, attendance has dropped, and ownership plainly was not looking to spend a lot of money. This is all very, very obvious stuff.

 

I am 100% positive that the front office did not come in significantly under budget. There is no chance, none, zero, zilch, that they could sign someone like Kimbrel with their current budget. I don't know how anyone who follows the Twins to the slightest degree could fail to understand that.

 

Perhaps the issue is some of us were paying more attention. The front office definitely said publicly that the "window to compete isn't open" and that's why they did not spend more.

 

My signature is based on many quotes from the the Twins F.O. during the offseason.

 

Personally I don't care about Kimbrel ... but it seems convenient to forget there were other options out there.

[ashbury]

Moderator's note: The discussion is getting pretty "meta", and overly personal to boot. Please stick to the topic of the new reliever, or to the overall state of the bullpen, but leave out the jabs. Either respond/refute the merits, or if you think a post is not worth that then move on.

[drivlikejehu]

 

Perhaps the issue is some of us were paying more attention. The front office definitely said publicly that the "window to compete isn't open" and that's why they did not spend more.

 

My signature is based on many quotes from the the Twins F.O. during the offseason.

 

Personally I don't care about Kimbrel ... but it seems convenient to forget there were other options out there.

 

Yes, the "window" not being open is why ownership provided the front office with a low budget. That's how it works. The front office doesn't just come in way under budget because they enjoy saving the Pohlad's money. They want to win, and they want to win as much as possible. The job of the front office is to represent the franchise, and that means standing in front of the camera and explaining why payroll is low. That's how all business works, not just baseball and not just the Twins.

[Doomtints]

 

Yes, the "window" not being open is why ownership provided the front office with a low budget. That's how it works. The front office doesn't just come in way under budget because they enjoy saving the Pohlad's money. They want to win, and they want to win as much as possible. The job of the front office is to represent the franchise, and that means standing in front of the camera and explaining why payroll is low. That's how all business works, not just baseball and not just the Twins.

 

At no point did the FO state their budget was limited by the owner.

[drivlikejehu]

 

At no point did the FO state their budget was limited by the owner.

 

And they never will. They are paid to stand in front of the camera and represent the franchise on behalf of ownership. They can no more throw ownership under the bus than employees at a typical business can publicly denounce their bosses. That's just not how things work. If I go on social media and denounce the partners I work for, I'd be fired. Falvey and Levine would get the same treatment if they blamed ownership for the budget.

 

The front office cannot be fairly evaluated under the fictitious notion that they intentionally under-spend for no reason. It's factually incorrect. Instead, fans should accept the reality that ownership sets the parameters, and the front office does the best that they can within those boundaries.

[yarnivek1972]

The Pressly trade has been debated to death. What value is there in continued back and forth on that? It's done and everyone who cared to express his or her opinion, did so many times over.

 

 

 

Not sure if this is a serious post . . . there are constraints to everything. Are you saying the Twins have $1 trillion available to spend and just chose not to? $500 billion? How on Earth do you know that the Twins front office intentionally chose not to use their available budget? It flies in the face of all logic and common sense. It's absurd.

 

The front office gets an annual budget from ownership. That's how it works. It can go up and it can go down. The Twins have not been competitive for the most part in recent years, attendance has dropped, and ownership plainly was not looking to spend a lot of money. This is all very, very obvious stuff.

 

I am 100% positive that the front office did not come in significantly under budget. There is no chance, none, zero, zilch, that they could sign someone like Kimbrel with their current budget. I don't know how anyone who follows the Twins to the slightest degree could fail to understand that.

There are literally maybe a half dozen people that can say that with certainty. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you are not one of them.