Rosario Placed on Outright Waiver

[Vanimal46]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/twins-place-eddie-rosario-on-outright-waivers.html

 

So long, at least temporarily, old friend.

[Vanimal46]

Here’s the thing. This news was expected, right? There’s a general consensus that he wasn’t worth the $10-12 million arbitration projection he was getting on various websites.

 

Traditionally, players don’t resign with the same team once an organization non-tenders them. However, we can all agree this is not a typical year. The Twins can’t let both Cruz and Rosario leave the team. They also need a solid bridge player if they are not 100% sold on Kirilloff starting on Opening Day.

 

Is this a rare opportunity to resign Rosario at a smaller AAV for one year?

[mini_tb]

Potentially his last appearance with the Twins was getting tossed vs the Astros. Oof.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I will miss his play.

 

The good with the bad, not to mention the ugly.

 

Will definitely pay attention to him wherever he may end up.

[Otwins]

White Sox will be interested.

[specialiststeve]

Was never a fan of his... glad his hitch and his bad outfield play is going elsewhere. Time for the young talent to come up and contribute. 

[Danchat]

Not surprising. It just didn't make sense to bring him back having Kiriloff, Larnach, and Rooker all on the cusp of being ready and having traded none of them. Eddie's a good player and will likely continue to be a 2-3 WAR player for a while longer, but for someone else. 

[DocBauer]

Here’s the thing. This news was expected, right? There’s a general consensus that he wasn’t worth the $10-12 million arbitration projection he was getting on various websites.

 

Traditionally, players don’t resign with the same team once an organization non-tenders them. However, we can all agree this is not a typical year. The Twins can’t let both Cruz and Rosario leave the team. They also need a solid bridge player if they are not 100% sold on Kirilloff starting on Opening Day.

 

Is this a rare opportunity to resign Rosario at a smaller AAV for one year?

There is the undeniable reality of the financial aspect of MLB EVERY year even without covid and losses and possible payroll cuts, or at the least, payroll stagnation. Rosario and his agent may recognize and understand this and even grudgingly accept it.

 

But there is also belief in oneself and personal pride.

 

Rosario back as a DH/OF depends not only on these factors...not to mention the FO opinion on what they have and other moves they may want to make...but what kind of conversations took place before the expected DFA took place. Rosario is not the only player this has happened to or will happen to.

[TopGunn#22]

Eddie would still be a Twin if they didn't have Kiriloff, Larnach and Rooker waiting in the wings.  That's the thing here, they have THREE capable replacements.  And Kiriloff will be a STUD.  Happy Trails Eddie.  

(Don't sign with the White Sox) !!     

[Rosterman]

We saw it with Pierzynski. We saw it with Mientkiewicz. You move on when the guy MIGHT become too expensive. Be interesting to see who he lands with. 

 

He wasn't tradable, because you would have to pay him $10-12 million. If some team thought he was worth that, they would knock on the Twins door.

 

 

[Squirrel]

Not surprising, but I'm still sad. Sigh.

 

[tony&rodney]

One can only hope the Twins have some big plans this offseason. Odorizzi, Hill, Bailey, Clippard, May, Romo, Gonzalez, Adrianza, Avila, Rosario, and Cruz clears some serious cash. When was the last time a rookie hit 30 hr and had 100 rbis? I know we expect our young outfielders to be exciting and i am a big fan of each, but if the Twins cannot sustain the same payroll as last summer .....

There is still room for optimism, but the work load just got much tougher. Simply put, Eddie Rosario was for better or worse the Twins best outfielder over the last five years. I'm sorry to see him go and very hopeful for Kirilloff, Larnach, and Rooker.

[Doctor Gast]

 

Here’s the thing. This news was expected, right? There’s a general consensus that he wasn’t worth the $10-12 million arbitration projection he was getting on various websites.

Traditionally, players don’t resign with the same team once an organization non-tenders them. However, we can all agree this is not a typical year. The Twins can’t let both Cruz and Rosario leave the team. They also need a solid bridge player if they are not 100% sold on Kirilloff starting on Opening Day.

Is this a rare opportunity to resign Rosario at a smaller AAV for one year?

nice thought but as MLB Rumors said that Rosario is one of the highest valued player to ever be waivered, more than likely he`ll be snatched up fairly quickly & most likely by a rival. 

Good bye friend, wish you well where ever you go

[beckmt]

Baseball is a business, when you have cheap replacements you use them (and I believe that one of the three (Kirloff, Rooker, Laurach) will be better just maybe not this year.  

Eddie was not worth 10 million, so this was the end result, doubt he will be claimed.

[bighat]

 

Not surprising, but still unfortunate. I hope we can get similar production from Kiriloff or Rooker , or a combination of the two, next year. It frankly seems unlikely. The team will probably be a little worse next year because of this one. I understand the business side of it but it still is unfortunate.

Agreed.

 

Eddie was a gamer and came up in big moments. Extra inning game winners, big HRs and let's not forget throwing out runners on the basebaths. Dude was FUN or "interesting" depending on how you felt about him. I personally enjoyed watching him play. Big character loss for the Twins and mark my words, you'll see him on SportsCenter next year making big contributions somewhere else.

 

I do understand the business side, but people framing this as a WIN for the Twins are really stretching here. Blindly assuming that Larnach or Kiriloff will repeat Eddie's production is childishly naive. Not many baseball players can hit 32 HR and drive in 104 RBI while hitting above .270 - even if you're a blue chip prospect. It might take 3 years for each/either of them to hit those marks. And they'll make plenty of bad plays along the way, Eddie's not the only player making mistakes out there.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think this was the right move and it had to happen at some point with those prospects. But this doesn't necessarily solve a problem IMO. Good luck Eddie.

[rv78]

So a player, due to arbitration, becomes too expensive. Isn't the price based on performance? I guess you can't really say that Eddie isn't worth $10M if arbitration says he is. One thing about arbitration, there is no bias. It is true that Eddie has been the Twins best outfielder for the last few years. He's been way more productive than Buxton or Kepler. The issue is, the Twins have 3 cheaper options in Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker. If the Twins use the money they will be saving by letting Eddie go and using one of the trio of young prospects waiting in the wings for an upgrade elsewhere then this is the right move. If they don't then they may end up paying the price in lost production in the lineup. Can Kirilloff, Larnach or Rooker put up the same numbers as Eddie did? If they can't someone else will have to make the next step to a higher level. Will it be Polanco or Buxton or Kepler or Sano? Who will it be? If they lose Cruz also there will be two massive holes in the lineup to fill. I hope they have a good plan.

[Squirrel]

White Sox will be interested.

I hope he doesn’t land there ... if he does, it will haunt us

[dex8425]

 

 When was the last time a rookie hit 30 hr and had 100 rbis? 

 It happens pretty much every year. Last year, Yordan Alvarez Ops'ed over 1000 and hit 27 homers in 87 games. In 2017, some guy named Aaron Judge hit 52 homers as a rookie and should have won the MVP. 

[dex8425]

 

So a player, due to arbitration, becomes too expensive. Isn't the price based on performance? I guess you can't really say that Eddie isn't worth $10M if arbitration says he is. One thing about arbitration, there is no bias. It is true that Eddie has been the Twins best outfielder for the last few years. He's been way more productive than Buxton or Kepler. The issue is, the Twins have 3 cheaper options in Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker. If the Twins use the money they will be saving by letting Eddie go and using one of the trio of young prospects waiting in the wings for an upgrade elsewhere then this is the right move. If they don't then they may end up paying the price in lost production in the lineup. Can Kirilloff, Larnach or Rooker put up the same numbers as Eddie did? If they can't someone else will have to make the next step to a higher level. Will it be Polanco or Buxton or Kepler or Sano? Who will it be? If they lose Cruz also there will be two massive holes in the lineup to fill. I hope they have a good plan.

Sorry, but Rosario has not been the Twins best outfielder. He is a slightly above average corner outfielder. In 3 of the last 4 years both Buxton and Kepler had higher WAR than Rosario did despite Buxton playing in fewer games. Kiriloff can replace Rosario's numbers or exceed them if he stays on the field. Rooker would be a defensive downgrade even from Rosie if he played every day. I'm sure they'll go with Kiriloff. 

[mike8791]

Agree with posters who say this move is justifiable based on available OF prospects.  But optioning Rosario most likely mandates the resigning of Cruz and the retaining of Sano.  Without these two, the offense would be a serious weakness, unless Donaldson and Buxton contribute up to their potentials for an entire season.  I, for one, remain sceptical of this happening.  Nor do I see this organization springing for Springer, Ozuna, LeMahieu, or Brantley when next year's finances are so unknown.

 

Still a long way to go in the offseason so I remain hopeful that the FO will be able to improve this ballclub rather than fall backwards.  Adding a bonafide closer, a strong OBP infielder, and another playoff-ready starter are necessary for improving this team's ability for an extended postseason run.

[puckstopper1]

This maybe the case with other teams - especially this offseason - but the Twins are potentially heading for a MAJOR turnover of their roster with Odorizzi, Hill, Bailey, Clippard, May, Romo, Gonzalez, Adrianza, Avila, Rosario, and Cruz all possibly departing.

 

Except for Bailey, all of these players played important roles this past season (Odo two years ago).

 

Yes - there are some internal candidates to fill some of the roles, but with only a few "minor" signing thus far, it will be very interesting to see how the rest of the offseason and next spring progresses with all these holes to fill.

[Major League Ready]

 

So a player, due to arbitration, becomes too expensive. Isn't the price based on performance? I guess you can't really say that Eddie isn't worth $10M if arbitration says he is. One thing about arbitration, there is no bias. It is true that Eddie has been the Twins best outfielder for the last few years. He's been way more productive than Buxton or Kepler. The issue is, the Twins have 3 cheaper options in Kirilloff, Larnach and Rooker. If the Twins use the money they will be saving by letting Eddie go and using one of the trio of young prospects waiting in the wings for an upgrade elsewhere then this is the right move. If they don't then they may end up paying the price in lost production in the lineup. Can Kirilloff, Larnach or Rooker put up the same numbers as Eddie did? If they can't someone else will have to make the next step to a higher level. Will it be Polanco or Buxton or Kepler or Sano? Who will it be? If they lose Cruz also there will be two massive holes in the lineup to fill. I hope they have a good plan.

 

Eddie probably was the best twins OFer over the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I don’t think that prospective accurately portrays present value. He produced 3.5 WAR the first half of 2018. He was fantastic during that stretch. Then, the league adjusted and Eddie has not been able to adapt to the changes opposing pitchers have made in how they pitch Eddie. Since then (7/31/18-Presennt) he has produced 2.1 WAR. Since the 2018 trade deadline Rosario has a wRC+ of 99. Kepler, Buxton, and even Cave all have a higher wRC+

 

War since 7/31/18

 

Max Kepler --- 6.3
Nelson Cruz --- 6.2
Jorge Polanco --- 5.7
Byron Buxton --- 3.9
Mitch Garver  --- 3.8
Miguel Sano --- 3.4
Luis Arraez  --- 2.8
Jake Cave --- 2.3
Eddie Rosario --- 2.1
Marwin Gonzalez --- 1.6 

 

Streamer projects 1.3 WAR for 2021. His OPS since the 2018 deadline is 774. Decent but not great. I would like to think all 3 of our top OF prospects are capable of at least matching Rosario performance over the past couple years in their first year. Perhaps not in terms of HRs but wRC+ and WAR. The $10M made available could very well be the difference in resigning Odorizzi or landing Walker / Kluber etc. This approach has the highest probability of improving the team and that's why Rosario was DFAed.

[spanman2]

 

Baseball is a business, when you have cheap replacements you use them (and I believe that one of the three (Kirloff, Rooker, Laurach) will be better just maybe not this year.  

Eddie was not worth 10 million, so this was the end result, doubt he will be claimed.

all about the Benjamins
and his avg defensive ability
and mental lapses
on the lower side OBP

Certainly a fan favorite for the most part...less expensive options waiting in the wings.  He will land somewhere.  Hopefully not on the Southside.  

[gunnarthor]

Best of luck to him wherever he lands

[Rosterman]

Sacrifices are made in the name of payroll. Is it spent more wisely somewhere else? Pocketed? That is always the question. 

 

Sometimes you wonder how far out the team looks at players and how those actions happen in earlier off-seasons. Like what is the future outcome of Berrios or Buxton, for example.

 

We can feel sad that the Twins lose players that might have some value, minimal value of return of some prospect, or packaged for a real team need.

 

2020 was a horrendous season. It was not the year to trade off potential free agents that you feel you might not sign, otherwise the Twins probably would've dealt Eddie sooner rather than never and gave someone like Kirilloff an earlier chance. And May would've had some value in the greater mix.

 

[Battle ur tail off]

 

Baseball is a business, when you have cheap replacements you use them (and I believe that one of the three (Kirloff, Rooker, Laurach) will be better just maybe not this year.  

Eddie was not worth 10 million, so this was the end result, doubt he will be claimed.

 

I agree. But only if you use the money saved to improve somewhere else. 

 

If you just pocket it, then that is being cheap and Pohlad-ish.

[gbg]

Looks like every other team is being cheap and Pohlad-ish. Rosario passed through unclaimed.

I agree. But only if you use the money saved to improve somewhere else. 

 

If you just pocket it, then that is being cheap and Pohlad-ish.

 

[Battle ur tail off]

 

Looks like every other team is being cheap and Pohlad-ish. Rosario passed through unclaimed.

 

You didn't read what I wrote did you?

 

I said if the money is just pocketed. It had nothing to do with how other teams view Rosario.

 

 

[CBtwinsfan]

I'd like to see them take that money, add some more and seriously go after Trevor B.  Is that a possibility?

 

[tony&rodney]

Buxton, Kepler, and Rosario all became regular outfielders together in the last five years. Buxton is my favorite player to watch, both defensively and at the plate. I love Kepler's smooth bat and his magic versus Trevor Bauer among his many other accomplishments. Despite Eddie Rosario being my least favorite of the Twins outfielders, he has absolutely been their most productive in those five years. Whether we take portions of years or discuss his future production, Rosario still has to be acknowledged for his body of work fro 2016-2020. I sure hope that next up can fill his shoes. We shall all see this coming summer. Personally, I wish him well and will tune in via mlb.com to watch him play baseball.