Article: Thome or Not Thome: That apparently is the question

[Willihammer]

What a meager request from a manager on his way out the door. A league min bench bat for the 25th roster spot. I would be curious to know who/why it would get vetoed.

[Trev44]

We should be combining rebuilding with reloading. Otherwise it is not worth the price of a ticket in today's world of household economics just to see a stadium. Thome makes sense, but better pitching would have made the season more legit to the average fan.

[nicksaviking]

My spidey sense was right, it was not a coincedence that Guerrero was advertising that he would take a minor league deal. Darren Wolfson Tweeted that Guerrero's people did in fact approach the Twins, but Ryan said no thanks. I'd guess they approached the Twins after it became known they weren't interested signing Thome on a major league deal.

 

I wonder if the issue of having a bigger bench bat might cause some discord between Gardy and the front office.

[FrodaddyG]

I wonder if the issue of having a bigger bench bat might cause some discord between Gardy and the front office.

Well, he could always say "it's stupid to carry a third catcher" and that would immediately upgrade the bench.

[nicksaviking]

As much as we like to throw Buetera in Gardy's lap, I would assume the 3rd catcher is what Gardy is willing to sacrafice to get the big bat. It would be either giving up the 3rd catcher or a middle infielder; I don't imagine they are going to cut back on the bullpen with all the question marks in the rotation. Unless Gardy assumes that Selig will grant the Twins a 26th roster spot. At the end of the day, it's not Gardy's call, Ryan has final say over who breaks camp with the team.

[bobby_baseball]

The question basically is would you rather have Thome pinch hitting for Florimon/Carroll/Escobar in the late innings or a guy like Clete Thomas/Brian Dinkleman? You heard players rave about his mentorship from his previous stint. Would you hire Thome as your hitting coach for $750k, because that's basically what he would be. Hmmm... at this point it would be a Minor League deal and they would move him at the All-Star Break for a PTBNL. Seems like a no brainer from that standpoint.

[DaveW]

Why the hell would they not give Thome a major league deal? Just give him 1 mil and call it a day. Do they forget the guy had a 182 OPS+ for us in 2011? Yeah, last year he struggled a bit, but still had a 112 OPS+ which is about 5x better then what our current 25th man (Butera) gives us.

[jokin]

Why the hell would they not give Thome a major league deal? Just give him 1 mil and call it a day. Do they forget the guy had a 182 OPS+ for us in 2011? Yeah, last year he struggled a bit, but still had a 112 OPS+ which is about 5x better then what our current 25th man (Butera) gives us.

 

Yeah, I've been advocating in improving the appalling lack of projected bench strength for a while now, too,... but I seem to recall certain guys told us we simply had to accept Butera on the bench because we were stuck paying him $1M (sic) already.

 

Actually, what's the problem with a 6th DH on the team?, gotta be better than a 6th catcher...

[DaveW]

Yes, because a hall of fame player like Thome is the exact same as a career minor league catcher.

[John Bonnes]

My best guess it that Thome's primary role would be that of pinch hitter for whoever is starting at middle infield. From a WAR standpoint that might not mean much, but from a WPA standpoint, it can make an impact. Certainly enough of an impact to justify a major league deal, especially given the surplus the team has.

 

But he could also be the first guy off the bench for a couple of our more fragile guys....

- Mauer needs a day off? Doumit to catcher and Thome to DH.

- Morneau? Maure to first, Doumit to catcher and Thome to DH.

- Doumit? Thome is the DH.

 

There is also plenty of room for him. Leaving Butera off the roster (and having Hicks in CF) would give two bench bats (Thome and Mastorianni) and two middle infielders to cover for the two guys most likely for whom to pinch-hit. That makes the most sense. But they could go with one extra-middle infielder (leaving someone in AAA to work on getting ready) or even go with (gasp) just six relievers. (They might even be able to get by with four starters if they get a little luck on some early season cancellations.)

 

I don't see the downside here.

[Top Gun]

I think Thome is about done.

[DaveW]

My best guess it that Thome's primary role would be that of pinch hitter for whoever is starting at middle infield. From a WAR standpoint that might not mean much, but from a WPA standpoint, it can make an impact. Certainly enough of an impact to justify a major league deal, especially given the surplus the team has.

 

But he could also be the first guy off the bench for a couple of our more fragile guys....

- Mauer needs a day off? Doumit to catcher and Thome to DH.

- Morneau? Maure to first, Doumit to catcher and Thome to DH.

- Doumit? Thome is the DH.

 

There is also plenty of room for him. Leaving Butera off the roster (and having Hicks in CF) would give two bench bats (Thome and Mastorianni) and two middle infielders to cover for the two guys most likely for whom to pinch-hit. That makes the most sense. But they could go with one extra-middle infielder (leaving someone in AAA to work on getting ready) or even go with (gasp) just six relievers. (They might even be able to get by with four starters if they get a little luck on some early season cancellations.)

 

I don't see the downside here.

Agreed, there is no downside. Worst case scenario is you end up cutting Thome and eating a million. No reason for Drew to be on the major league roster out of spring training.

[johnnydakota]

How much gas would someone his age realistically have left in the tank?

 

Gas is not the problem , or peeing 4 times a night , its the stamina that is soon gone from older players =)