did we miss an opertunity?

[johnnydakota]

with brian dozier and pedro florimon both struggling to make shortstop there own , did we miss an oppertunity to lift the succsess of the franchise off there shoulders by signing maicer izturis as our 2nd utility infielder and insuring we would have an option at shortstop this year?

[crapforks]

Idk, 3yrs/10mil? Not the most ideal. Would've been ok, but if the Twins did that, wouldn't we all be complaining that those dollars weren't allocated to pitching?

[DaveW]

No we did not miss an opportunity. Carroll is probably a better option then Izturis and wouldn't cost us 3 years.

 

I still feel Carroll is perfectly fine as a starter at either SS or 2B, the key is finding that 2nd piece and they need to aim higher then a guy like Izturis for that, or just go in house.

[johnnydakota]

No we did not miss an opportunity. Carroll is probably a better option then Izturis and wouldn't cost us 3 years.

 

I still feel Carroll is perfectly fine as a starter at either SS or 2B, the key is finding that 2nd piece and they need to aim higher then a guy like Izturis for that, or just go in house.

i guess my point was , if we go in house are we not banking our in field succses on a pair of prospects who struggled last year,

if we sign another good utility infielder who can do a decent job at short, then dozier and florimon can take that job rather then worry about losing it ...im all for these 2 kids stepping up and being solid players, but if they dont watching another 40+ errors and a .235 avg, is gonna be hard to mustar a solid infield

[kab21]

with brian dozier and pedro florimon both struggling to make shortstop there own , did we miss an oppertunity to lift the succsess of the franchise off there shoulders by signing maicer izturis as our 2nd utility infielder and insuring we would have an option at shortstop this year?

 

I know that I'm disappointed that we missed out on the opportunity for another 'Twins were interested but weren't willing to match/outbid the Jays' remark.

 

My criticism last year of the Carroll move was that it happened early which guaranteed them a utililty IF'er as their MI acquisition. Izturis is a little better but I'm hoping the Twins have higher targets this offseason. I would prefer Yunel Escobar, Drew, Johnson and possibly 1-2 others that are/could be available this offseason.

[Craig in MN]

I don't think there was a better middle infielder match for the Twins than Maicer Izturis. He's very similar to Carroll in quality, flexibility and contract. Considering that the Twins have no idea what they have in Dozier, Florimon, Escobar or Plouffe, having 2 utility guys that they could plug into starting roles without concern for a couple years is a huge bit of insurance. There might be better one or two better Free Agents out there, but they're not that much better, and they'll cost more and not guarantee much better results for the Twins. They could possibly trade for a similar quality player, but why give up something in trade when Izturis's contract isn't prohibitive?

 

I'm not disappointed about not going this direction, since he's only Maicer Izturis, but I'd say the odds are greater than 50% that the Twins end up bringing in an infielder worse than Maicer Izturis.

[iastfan112]

I wouldn't have minded Izturis on that deal. My only fear would've been how Gardy rotated the infield. Plouffee and Dozier need to be given the chance to be "the answer" at their respective positions.

[johnnydakota]

so a 38 year old is an ok signing but a 32 year old switch hitter with a career .273 average wouldnt compliment him?

with alexi gone and being replaced by escobar and field,i hope they find enough money for someone else or trade for 1

[DaveW]

so a 38 year old is an ok signing but a 32 year old switch hitter with a career .273 average wouldnt compliment him?

with alexi gone and being replaced by escobar and field,i hope they find enough money for someone else or trade for 1

They need to aim higher then Jamey Carroll and a guy who basically is a younger version of Caroll, if they were able to trade Caroll away then sure, go after him. But if you have Carroll around aim higher, and if not, just give Dozier, Florimon etc a chance.

[Craig in MN]

I'd be quite happy if Dozier, Florimon, Escobar or whoever just took control of a spot and this wasn't an issue. None of them have done anything near enough to earn a starting spot, and they all probably need to play at AAA to develop. Plouffe has done enough to earn a starting spot, but his grip on third base is not very secure either.

 

This is only one very limited data point, but it sums up my concerns as completely as anything could:

 

Career OPS:

Izturis: .718

Plouffe: .718

Carroll: .698

Dozier: .603

Florimon: .573

Escobar: .539

 

None of those last 3 have even close to a .700 OPS in AAA. I'm sick of guys who can't play at AAA getting there chance to fail with the Twins. I'd certainly like a guy better than Izturis to play every day, but I just don't see it happening.

[kab21]

so a 38 year old is an ok signing but a 32 year old switch hitter with a career .273 average wouldnt compliment him?

with alexi gone and being replaced by escobar and field,i hope they find enough money for someone else or trade for 1

 

That's not at all what I said.

[mnfanforlife]

I dont see how macier izturis is any more cost-effective than Florimon or Escobar as a UTIL infielder. Or any more talented than those two, for that matter

[mnfanforlife]

opportunity