MLB Trade Rumors: Falvey on Deadline Approach

[big dog]

PS, I would sure like to wake up some time in the next few days and find out that we've traded for a stud reliever.  I have tickets for the White Sox game on Friday, so before then would be nice.

[Blake]

 

Exactly. Save the pitchforks for now. We'll all know how this turns out in 7 days - meanwhile who is left in Rochester today. We need help today.

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I read through it a second time, to see if I didn't miss something the first time. I'm simply going to note (again), that Falvey really didn't say anything other than what we already know. The only thing that caught my eye that might be concerning is the part about not necessarily doing the high end thing and implying they can find a diamond in the rough... 

 

But truthfully, again, he didn't say anything.

 

To be clear, I'll be just as upset as everyone else if Aug 1 rolls around and we don't have some quality help in the rotation or the pen... but I'm willing to wait until then to get upset... except for the part that I'm upset now that nothing has happened (though to be fair, some of that is out of Falvey's control).

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I read through it a second time, to see if I didn't miss something the first time. I'm simply going to note (again), that Falvey really didn't say anything other than what we already know. The only thing that caught my eye that might be concerning is the part about not necessarily doing the high end thing and implying they can find a diamond in the rough... 

 

But truthfully, again, he didn't say anything.

 

To be clear, I'll be just as upset as everyone else if Aug 1 rolls around and we don't have some quality help in the rotation or the pen... but I'm willing to wait until then to get upset... except for the part that I'm upset now that nothing has happened (though to be fair, some of that is out of Falvey's control).

My anger mostly lays in the past offseason (but we've been over that dozens of times) and the fact that the bullpen needs, say, three arms.

 

Only one of those arms needs to be great/elite. That arm probably won't come around until July 30th or later.

 

But it has been painfully apparent with the emergence of Rogers that the Twins needed a lefty specialist... about two months ago. Did we get Thorpe? Nope. Did we get a trade? Nope.

 

The bullpen also needed another good righty arm. Did we get Stashak three weeks ago? Nope. Did we get Kennedy or another rough-but-potential arm a month ago? Nope.

 

And that's what pisses me off, the exact same way it pissed me off in 2015. July 31st doesn't need to be some magical date where things can be done only with the 48 hours leading to that day. If you need a quantity of players, not all of which need to be great, it's not impossible to target players in that range from June 15th forward and pick up one or two pieces (even if it requires a slight overpay, which will still be very little) well before the deadline so that when the deadline comes, you're focused on picking up the truly great players that will help the team down the stretch.

 

And in the meantime, you won't get games like that abomination last night or the other abomination from last week (or two weeks ago, it's all a blur now).

[Loosey]

I think everyone is reading WAYYYY to much into his comments.  The Twins have been linked to multiple big name starters by multiple sources.  I doubt that is all made up or guessing.  

 

I don't think Falvey goes from figuring out what it takes to get Stroman or Bumgarner and high-end relievers to just standing pat after watching his bullpen get lit up 3 of past 4 games.  

 

I think (hope) he is up to something and trying to do it quietly before another team tries to jump in and pick off what he is working on.

 

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

My anger mostly lays in the past offseason (but we've been over that dozens of times) and the fact that the bullpen needs, say, three arms.

 

Only one of those arms needs to be great/elite. That arm probably won't come around until July 30th or later.

 

But it has been painfully apparent with the emergence of Rogers that the Twins needed a lefty specialist... about two months ago. Did we get Thorpe? Nope. Did we get a trade? Nope.

 

The bullpen also needed another good righty arm. Did we get Stashak three weeks ago? Nope. Did we get Kennedy or another rough-but-potential arm a month ago? Nope.

 

And that's what pisses me off, the exact same way it pissed me off in 2015. July 31st doesn't need to be some magical date where things can be done only with the 48 hours leading to that day. If you need a quantity of players, not all of which need to be great, it's not impossible to target players in that range from June 15th forward and pick up one or two pieces (even if it requires a slight overpay, which will still be very little) well before the deadline so that when the deadline comes, you're focused on picking up the truly great players that will help the team down the stretch.

 

And in the meantime, you won't get games like that abomination last night or the other abomination from last week (or two weeks ago, it's all a blur now).

Yeah, I cannot really argue too much with you here Brock. There's a reason to be upset.. .I'm commenting more about what Falvey said in that interview.

 

I can understand Stashak to an extent. He did struggle a bit for a while and what not.. Thorpe.. to your point yes. He could have been here sooner.

 

I'd note though that I've been tracking offseason FA acquisitions in my blog so far... and well.. other than Ottavino, there've been very few true wins in those categories.

[USAFChief]

Yeah, I cannot really argue too much with you here Brock. There's a reason to be upset.. .I'm commenting more about what Falvey said in that interview.

 

I can understand Stashak to an extent. He did struggle a bit for a while and what not.. Thorpe.. to your point yes. He could have been here sooner.

 

I'd note though that I've been tracking offseason FA acquisitions in my blog so far... and well.. other than Ottavino, there've been very few true wins in those categories.

Trades can be made in the offseason too.

[Twinsrule1991]

What a bunch of cowards. The window is open. They clearly are getting some bonus from the Pohlads for running this team as cheaply as possible.

And I will make this clear, if this team ever makes the big move, I will be the first one to say I was wrong and eat the proverbial crow. But for ****s sake, do something.

[Loosey]

I read it again.  The piece quoted by the OP is one smaller sentence in much larger conversation.  It sounds like they may upgrade the rotation, then by default a starter moves to the pen.  Or maybe they get a mid rotation starter and a good reliever from another team and move both to the pen with the starter having an opportunity to be in the rotation next year.

 

That's my wishful thoughts on this.

 

 

[Cody Pirkl]

I understand that there are less relievers available than expected because of all the teams still in contention, but there's still no reason not to go and get something. The Twins have a plenty good chance to make a run at the series. There's no reason they need to roll over and let teams like the Yankees and Astros snatch up the few guys available. We have 7 or 8 guys that we're going to lose in the rule 5 draft in the offseason anyways. There's a taxi to AAA at the ballpark every night because of how often we're cycling relievers out, and meanwhile Falvey is citing Cody Allen as a reason to be optimistic. I wanted to believe things were going to be different, but this looks like the same old Twins.

[SpicyGarvSauce]

Anyone else intrigued by the quote:

 

It seems as if the Twins aren’t fully committed to a particular deadline approach. Per Falvey, the club is unsurprisingly “focused more on the pitching side.” Beyond that, its moves may not unfold “in the most orthodox fashion,” he says.”

 

Like, what...?

[Vanimal46]

If the new trade deadline is paralyzing GMs in fear, and free agency is already broken, this sport is in serious trouble.

[Kanonen80]

 

Anyone else intrigued by the quote:

 

It seems as if the Twins aren’t fully committed to a particular deadline approach. Per Falvey, the club is unsurprisingly “focused more on the pitching side.” Beyond that, its moves may not unfold “in the most orthodox fashion,” he says.”

 

Like, what...?

My interpretation of that was that they might get a SP a little better than Perez/Pineda, and then move one of them to the bullpen. Hope I'm just being pessimistic. 

 

I'm wondering if they struck out on getting established RP (asking prices to high, etc), so now they are trying to convert starters into relievers on the fly. They already seem to be doing that with Stewart, Thorpe, Littel. So maybe they are going to pick up a mid-level SP and put him in the bullpen or something...

[alarp33]

Falvey's comments mean next to nothing in regards to what will happen over the next week. Did people expect him to come out and say "we're going all in and will acquire the best pitchers on the market"? How does that help his negotiations with other teams?

[amjgt]

Ultimately it comes down to organizational philosophy. 

 

Do you want you window cracked open for 10 years

OR

Do you want you window all the way open for 5 years

OR

Do you want to blow the window wide open for 2 years

 

 

Cracked open windows are cheaper than blown open windows.

 

Cracked open windows provide more job security for high impact employees (Front Office, Manager, etc)

 

Blown Open windows almost always are preferred by fans.

 

Small to mid market team probably don't win championships very often without the "Blown Open" approach, but it can also send those teams into a multi year downswing

[Blake]

 

If the new trade deadline is paralyzing GMs in fear, and free agency is already broken, this sport is in serious trouble.

I'm not sure it's fear so much as teams are wiser when it comes to cost versus benefit.

 

Analytics may say mortgaging the future for "win now" is a fools game and, therefore, teams are now trying to look into the numbers to see where the best option is when it comes to risk/reward.

 

Things have changed and it doesn't appear there are any "no brainer" decisions in this regard.

[spanman2]

I believe in interviews like this you say a lot without saying much of anything of concrete value.  They arent going to come out and say we have had ____number of conversations with _____number of teams.  IMO the bottom line is this and maybe I am way off base here.  How badly do teams like say Toronto for example want to bolster their prospect inventory?  Is keeping a Stroman or shut down reliever say from another team going to benefit their organization more than trading him for prospects...If you are the Twins how much do you believe in this team that they can make a deep run?  I believe in their baseball talent minds they know we cant go as far as we could by not adding arms...therefore the FO needs to determine how much do we believe in the postseason run potential if we upgrade and how much value do we place on the prospects that other organizations want from us?

 

I believe it would give a huge mental lift in the clubhouse by adding arms for that postseason run.  Does it guarantee a run?  No, but there is separation of talent in this league.  In big games you need big talent and guys who have been there or who at least have that high end talent to get the job done!   This team can score with anyone.  They have proven that.  It would stink if we wake up in late October after losing a game 7 and saying 'man if only if'....WIN TWINS!

[amjgt]

 

Falvey's comments mean next to nothing in regards to what will happen over the next week. Did people expect him to come out and say "we're going all in and will acquire the best pitchers on the market"? How does that help his negotiations with other teams?

 

This bears repeating on a regular basis. Fans treat these interviews as the truth, probably because content aggregators (like MLBTR) also treat them as gospel, for self serving reasons.

 

(Edit: Also because many people are always looking for reasons to be mad)

 

But, as you point out, OF COURSE that's not the case. They are in the middle of a week-long negotiation. Why would they give their "opponents" any reason to have any sort of extra upper hand. They're smart. Of course they aren't going to do that.

 

 

[brvama]

JUST AN OBSERVATION on the comments here and elsewhere. It would be an interesting study for a social science major as to the demographics of the various posters. On one hand there is the instant gratification group versus the patience crowd. Or maybe there’s not a common thread.

 

Anyway as to the BP needs, I like everyone will be disappointed if we don’t upgrade it. From my position though, a week will not send this team into the depths of no return.

 

I think much of this angst comes from Clevelands push this past month and the closing of the gap. I’m not over concerned at this point, because if you compare schedules the Twins get Cleveland’s July schedule in August and vice versa. I still have another month before I get nervous.

 

In the meantime, I’ll wait out this next week for the Twins moves, before I’ll throw any daggers.

[Tomj14]

Imagine how much better Houston would be in the future if they hadn't traded prospects for Cole, Verlander, Presley, Osuna, Díaz

[Tomj14]

 

 

 On one hand there is the instant gratification group versus the patience crowd. Or maybe there’s not a common thread.
 

Well the instant gratification group (me) haven't gotten any on on relief pitching help since I don't know when?

But I would disagree with that anybody on this site looking for instant gratification, they see weakness of "their" team and want the team to improve it. Nobody is saying sell ll the farm for 1 relief pitcher, they are saying the Twins have a ton of prospects and parting with a few year to get relief help isn't throwing away the future.

[Dman]

 

Imagine how much better Houston would be in the future if they hadn't traded prospects for Cole, Verlander, Presley, Osuna, Díaz

 

Those were some good trades and one netted them a WS win.  If all trades worked out that well it would be an easy thing to do.

[Blake]

Something I'd like to bring up: I think we should all be thrilled at how well the team has done.

 

Did anyone really expect this team to dominate, let alone contend, the way they have?

 

It could very well be the FO didn't expect what happened and now they're trying to figure out just how to capitalize on their success. 

 

The phrase, "Victims of their own success" comes to mind.

 

And, I can also pardon the FO for not running out and getting help right away, because how could they have expected the success of the Twins to be sustainable over the course of this year?

 

Who here was seriously excited about the signing of Schoop, Cron and Gonzalez? Was the emergence of Castro and Garver as the most dynamic catching duo in MLB really expected?

 

Odorizzi's dominance at the beginning of the year?

 

Pineda and Perez emerging as part of a viable rotation?

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I came into this season with very little in the way of expectations. I was hoping for the team to take a step forward and show us the FO had things trending in the right direction.

 

This team really came out of nowhere.

 

To say the Twins exceeded my expectations is a massive understatement.

 

 

[SomeGuy]

 

No pitcher is perfect. holding out blown saves by otherwise excellent relievers is not a defense of the Twins bullpen.

The point is not one game. The point is this team can not survive its current bullpen and never could.

Neither the Yankees nor the Indians, if they fail, will blame their pen. And Chapman and Hand will likely be fine.

It’s missing the Forrest for the trees to look at a blown save from either as somehow proof the Twins aren’t in need.

On pace to win 98 games with this pen.....

 

Beat the Rangers 2 of 3, Cleveland 2 of 3, lost a short 2 game series to the Mets, split with red hot A's 2 of 4, currently split with the best team out there 1 to 1. I think they are surviving just fine.

 

Should still add one or two pitchers to it but not in a desperate need to revamp the entire pen.

[Jacks02]

 

Ultimately it comes down to organizational philosophy. 

 

Do you want you window cracked open for 10 years

OR

Do you want you window all the way open for 5 years

OR

Do you want to blow the window wide open for 2 years

 

 

Cracked open windows are cheaper than blown open windows.

 

Cracked open windows provide more job security for high impact employees (Front Office, Manager, etc)

 

Blown Open windows almost always are preferred by fans.

 

Small to mid market team probably don't win championships very often without the "Blown Open" approach, but it can also send those teams into a multi year downswing

 

Exactly. Kansas City is an excellent example. However, I doubt many of their fans would give up their 2015 championship to have a more competitive team today.

[Vanimal46]

Something I'd like to bring up: I think we should all be thrilled at how well the team has done.

 

Did anyone really expect this team to dominate, let alone contend, the way they have?

 

It could very well be the FO didn't expect what happened and now they're trying to figure out just how to capitalize on their success.

 

The phrase, "Victims of their own success" comes to mind.

 

And, I can also pardon the FO for not running out and getting help right away, because how could they have expected the success of the Twins to be sustainable over the course of this year?

 

Who here was seriously excited about the signing of Schoop, Cron and Gonzalez? Was the emergence of Castro and Garver as the most dynamic catching duo in MLB really expected?

 

Odorizzi's dominance at the beginning of the year?

 

Pineda and Perez emerging as part of a viable rotation?

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I came into this season with very little in the way of expectations. I was hoping for the team to take a step forward and show us the FO had things trending in the right direction.

 

This team really came out of nowhere.

 

To say the Twins exceeded my expectations is a massive understatement.

I am thrilled at the team's success. Lots of people are thrilled. Hence why there's a lot of chatter about making trades to help the 2019 team. Why wouldn't we want to build on this positive momentum and go for it?

[nicksaviking]

There are quite a few non-blockbuster type guys I personally want much more than some of the blockbuster guys. 

 

But if they don't get either, I'm going to be pretty disappointed.

[Blake]

 

I am thrilled at the team's success. Lots of people are thrilled. Hence why there's a lot of chatter about making trades to help the 2019 team. Why wouldn't we want to build on this positive momentum and go for it?

No argument there.

 

Once in a while, though, I have to remind myself just where things started and remind myself that it's shocking the Twins are even in this position.

 

I'd really like the Twins to make a splash but I'm trying to temper what I want with the reality of the current market, whatever that may be, as I'm not privy to what discussions are currently taking place.

[Vanimal46]

No argument there.

 

Once in a while, though, I have to remind myself just where things started and remind myself that it's shocking the Twins are even in this position.

 

I'd really like the Twins to make a splash but I'm trying to temper what I want with the reality of the current market, whatever that may be, as I'm not privy to what discussions are currently taking place.

I sure hope the current front office isn't shocked they are in this position... There should be a plan to capitalize on the banked wins from earlier this year.

[USAFChief]

Exactly. Kansas City is an excellent example. However, I doubt many of their fans would give up their 2015 championship to have a more competitive team today.

I also doubt they get that championship if they hadn’t made trade(s) that stung a little.

 

I’d prefer a swing and miss over taking a called strike three. Nobody ever hit a HR with the bat on their shoulder.