Why hasn't there been a roster move since JD signing is official?

[darin617]

Not that it's that big of deal, I was just wondering when there will be a roster move to get back to 41.

[Dman]

I would like to know that answer to that question as well.  I know that even though Pineda is on the 40 he is also on the restricted list so doesn't count against the 40 man but with the Donaldson signing I thought they had to take someone off.  Does Hill not count against the 40 man?

[zwiefz]

Hill counts on the 40 man roster until spring training at which point he can be placed on the 60 day IL.

 

I believe that if a player is placed on waivers(say Harper) they no longer count towards the 40 man roster since they will be removed one way or another.  However, until the results of the waiver process are completed(were they claimed?  did they clear and get reassigned to the minors?) nothing will be announced.

[Dman]

Trade rumors says it is indeed Harper so we have our answer.  I wonder if they can work a trade and get a lottery ticket.

[ChrisKnutson]

Trade rumors says it is indeed Harper so we have our answer.  I wonder if they can work a trade and get a lottery ticket.

Cubs, Phillies, and Red Sox would be good fits for him. I wonder how much he’d bring back because while he’s no high leverage arm, it’s not like he’s a depth piece either.

[Dman]

 

Cubs, Phillies, and Red Sox would be good fits for him. I wonder how much he’d bring back because while he’s no high leverage arm, it’s not like he’s a depth piece either.

 

Yeah you look at what he was able to do last year and it was better than a lot of MLB relievers.  His stuff is far from elite but you would think he would be worth a GCL or short season guy with upside.  Not a top 30 guy or anything just a little something to make sure whatever team wants him can get him.

 

I mean on Fangraphs he was number 57 in WAR for relievers right next to Trevor May.  I know he doesn't have the same stuff as May but he should have some value even for a good team.

[darin617]

It least that got resolved. You would expect they should be able to get a low A lottery ticket for him or possibly some international money at least.

 

With the 3 batter rule it could have got ugly in a hurry if teams laid off on the junk curveballs and make him throw a bunch of pitches.

[Thrylos]

 

 

I mean on Fangraphs he was number 57 in WAR for relievers right next to Trevor May.  I know he doesn't have the same stuff as May but he should have some value even for a good team.

WAR for relievers is not a good metric.  Just not enough innings to be significant.

 

WPA is a much better indicator of reliever effectiveness, and his was -1.30, which was the worst in the pen in 2019.

[Shaitan]

 

Cubs, Phillies, and Red Sox would be good fits for him. I wonder how much he’d bring back because while he’s no high leverage arm, it’s not like he’s a depth piece either.

 

I wish him the best, but I'm not sure a fly ball pitcher will succeed in those environments.

[ChrisKnutson]

Yeah you look at what he was able to do last year and it was better than a lot of MLB relievers.  His stuff is far from elite but you would think he would be worth a GCL or short season guy with upside.  Not a top 30 guy or anything just a little something to make sure whatever team wants him can get him.

 

I mean on Fangraphs he was number 57 in WAR for relievers right next to Trevor May.  I know he doesn't have the same stuff as May but he should have some value even for a good team.

Perhaps I’m overvaluing Harper, but I could see him bringing back another Dakota Chalmers.

[jorgenswest]

WAR for relievers is not a good metric.  Just not enough innings to be significant.

 

WPA is a much better indicator of reliever effectiveness, and his was -1.30, which was the worst in the pen in 2019.

I don’t think that WPA has any projection value and correlates very poorly year to year, it doesn’t seem like a good tool to make a decision on future performance.

 

For relievers and their small sample I would not look at anything other than the pitch level data.

[ashbury]

Yeah you look at what he was able to do last year and it was better than a lot of MLB relievers.  His stuff is far from elite but you would think he would be worth a GCL or short season guy with upside.  Not a top 30 guy or anything just a little something to make sure whatever team wants him can get him.

That's about all we can hope for in return for Harper. I look at it this way: Harper wasn't DFA because of Josh Donaldson, he was DFA because the Twins have 22 pitchers more promising than him. That kind of a profile isn't going to bring much in trade, even from a bottom feeder team who has the room for him.

 

[stringer bell]

Harper fooled 'em in the first half of the season, but was hittable from midseason on. His OPS against in the first half was .619, but .887 in the second half. That trend doesn't project very well. He'll be 31 around opening day. He was a good contributor to the Twins' great first third of the season, but it appeared Baldelli lost faith in him as the season wore on.

[rdehring]

The best news of this move is how much different the 40-man looks compared to previous years.  No matter who they DFA, it is someone that seems to have some value.  Couldn't say that a year ago.  

 

Certainly means the depth of the team and organization has improved a lot over the last couple years.

[goulik]

As a DFA, Someone can just claim him for their 40 man roster can’t they? I just see him as gone. There is no trade happening here...

[ashbury]

As a DFA, Someone can just claim him for their 40 man roster can’t they? I just see him as gone. There is no trade happening here...

The waiver process is little more complicated than that, but that's the end-game result, if the process doesn't result in two or more interested parties who are anything more than indifferent about who claims the prize.

 

What the waiving team hopes for is either significant interest (a trade), or no interest (assign outright to the minors). AAAA players unfortunately garner interest midway between these.