MLBTR: Trevor Story Reportedly Choosing among 4 teams

[cHawk]

Four teams remain in the race for SS Trevor Story. This includes the Giants, Red Sox, Twins and Mariners.

The article can be found here.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Yeah, I hope this is agent bluster because if Story is going to choose a team, it probably ain't gonna be the Twins.

[ashbury]

"There's two other teams in the bidding, sir."

"Well then.  Nope, nope.  Too rich for my blood.  Tell that arrogant player, our offer is final."

"It's just the Orioles and Pirates, sir. Surely we can outbid them."

"Nope, nope.  Too rich for my blood."

[Dman]

Yeah I think the Red Sox have this one locked up.  Twins are allergic to these kinds of deals.  The only one they ever made was the two team bid for Donaldson versus Atlanta and Atlanta was smart enough to move on from that deal leaving the Twins  to actually win the "bidding" war if you can call it that.  In the end it looks more like we lost but whatever.  Anyway I just don't see the Twins grabbing Story away from a club that will likely give him more years and has a greater ability to pay more per year.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, ashbury said:

"There's two other teams in the bidding, sir."

"Nope, nope.  Too rich for my blood.  Tell that arrogant player, our offer is final."

"It's just the Orioles and Pirates, sir. Surely we can outbid them."

"Nope, nope.  Too rich for my blood."

yep ... said this on the first page of the 'showing interest' thread. We'd be outbid, because of course we would be. We pulled the trigger of dumping everyone too soon. Said that, too.

[2wins87]

Just now, Dman said:

Yeah I think the Red Sox have this one locked up.  Twins are allergic to these kinds of deals.  The only one they ever made was two team bid for Donaldson versus Atlanta and Atlanta was smart enough to move on from that deal leaving the Twins  to actually win the "bidding" war if you can call it that.  In the end it looks more like we lost but whatever.  Anyway I just don't see the Twins grabbing Story away from a club that will likely give him more years and has a greater ability to pay more per year.

The Red Sox will want him to move to 2B since they already have Bogaerts at SS long-term.  Story reportedly rejected offers tied to position changes earlier this offseason.  That doesn't mean he'll continue to reject them if it means much less money, but it ought to give the Twins a good bid, if they are willing to offer the money.

I don't know that they actually will offer the money, but they really should be able to with their current payroll situation.

[dex8425]

Well, actually the article only mentions the Giants and Red Sox are in, and two other teams. Twins may not even be one of those teams. Time to hope that Royce Lewis tears AAA apart and is up by June 1. 

[Dman]

5 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

The Red Sox will want him to move to 2B since they already have Bogaerts at SS long-term.  Story reportedly rejected offers tied to position changes earlier this offseason.  That doesn't mean he'll continue to reject them if it means much less money, but it ought to give the Twins a good bid, if they are willing to offer the money.

I don't know that they actually will offer the money, but they really should be able to with their current payroll situation.

If you read the article and read between lines in Story's quote as Trade Rumors does.  It seems he has come off that stance.  I would think the Mariners could still have a chance as well as their payroll is in good shape but I just can't see the Twins doing what needs to be done to get him as they won't want to pay for the declining years (i.e. Josh Donaldson)..

"It should be noted that while the words “short-term” don’t necessarily mean that Story is open to a short-term deal just yet. For instance, the general expectation is that Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts will opt out of the final three years of his contract following the 2022 season. Story could technically sign a long-term deal in Boston, play second base for one season, and then slide over as the everyday shortstop if an when Bogaerts departs. That’s an entirely speculative scenario, to be clear, but one that is fairly easy to envision."

[dex8425]

19 minutes ago, cHawk said:

Four teams remain in the race for SS Trevor Story. This includes the Giants, Red Sox, Twins and Mariners.

The article can be found here.

Actually the article says four teams are in, and specifically the Giants and Red Sox. The Astros and Cardinals could be the other two for all we know. 

[Steve Lein]

Makes it sound like it will be the Red Sox. Here's hoping playing SS this year is still a much bigger deal to Story. Red Sox are about $50MIL under the luxury tax threshold and around $25MIL below their 2021 payroll.

Twins are still what, around $30MIL under last year now?

Story signing here makes the team win-now-ish, but they're certainly not setup for that without him already at this point.

[Kal Lis]

Let's not overlook this element from the article "The Twins could offer a clear everyday role at shortstop, but if Story is prioritizing a winning club, it’s a bit of a tougher sell for a 73-win Twins club — even if they’ve acquired Sonny Gray and made some other moves signaling a desire to contend in 2022."

The best bet is Story going to the Giants or the Red Sox

[howeda7]

If we offer 5/$125 and he turns it down, OK. But my bet is that is what he will sign for and we drew some arbitrary line about not going past 4 years etc. 

[darwin22]

Just a further example that this front office is inept.   The same people that laid out huge $$ only 2 years ago are the same ones that couldn't wait to dump the $40+ million owed on Donaldson's contract.  Like many, I was naive enough to believe Falvey and company actually had a plan (ie a deal in place for Story) when they Donaldson and IKF for the pairing of Urshela and Sanchez.  Of course, that is now appearing NOT to be the case.  Looking for fault here I only have myself to blame.  Note to self (Charlie Brown):  "Lucy never holds the ball in place"...never.  Good grief.  Right now, the train wreck of 2021 is looking like a wonderful season.

[Deadfan]

If we dont get him, Twins shat the bed on this one, big time.

[Dman]

6 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Just a further example that this front office is inept.   The same people that laid out huge $$ only 2 years ago are the same ones that couldn't wait to dump the $40+ million owed on Donaldson's contract.  Like many, I was naive enough to believe Falvey and company actually had a plan (ie a deal in place for Story) when they Donaldson and IKF for the pairing of Urshela and Sanchez.  Of course, that is now appearing NOT to be the case.  Looking for fault here I only have myself to blame.  Note to self (Charlie Brown):  "Lucy never holds the ball in place"...never.  Good grief.  Right now, the train wreck of 2021 is looking like a wonderful season.

The plan might not have been Story they still might be in on Montas or Montas and Manea taking on the Andrus salary from the A's.  Still there appears to be a lot of competition for Montas as well so no sure thing.  If they miss on both then it looks like an Urshela, Polanco, maybe Palacios or Gordon type rotation at short.  That would hurt for sure so I hope they manage to get another deal done.

[TwinsDr2021]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

The plan might not have been Story they still might be in on Montas or Montas and Manea taking on the Andrus salary from the A's.  Still there appears to be a lot of competition for Montas as well so no sure thing.  If they miss on both then it looks like an Urshela, Polanco, maybe Palacios or Gordon type rotation at short.  That would hurt for sure so I hope they manage to get another deal done.

To me this is unacceptable trading away prospects for a team coming off of a last place finish, when this all could have been solved with money, Because when they actually had a chance and a good team they didn't trade one damn prospect to put them over the edge. This FO is a joke!

[adorduan]

In my best Jim Carey voice: "So you're telling me there's a chance...yeah!!!!"

[howeda7]

5 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

To me this is unacceptable trading away prospects for a team coming off of a last place finish, when this all could have been solved with money, Because when they actually had a chance and a good team they didn't trade one damn prospect to put them over the edge. This FO is a joke!

Yep. You knew Falvey was in over his head when he refused to add a starter in 2019. Almost everything that's happened since proves it.  

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

13 minutes ago, Dman said:

The plan might not have been Story they still might be in on Montas or Montas and Manea taking on the Andrus salary from the A's.  Still there appears to be a lot of competition for Montas as well so no sure thing.  If they miss on both then it looks like an Urshela, Polanco, maybe Palacios or Gordon type rotation at short.  That would hurt for sure so I hope they manage to get another deal done.

I've been thinking something like this as well. But, assuming they have *any* interest in Story for their wide opening at SS, the smart and strategic thing would be to be in discussions on both these deals simultaneously. Ideally discussing scenarios with the A's for trades both with and without Andrus, which would gives them the leverage of having another option in each negotiation. Let's hope.

[TwinsAlmostWin]

It’ll never cease to amaze me the level of mediocrity accepted by the Twins FO. There is always some sort of self-imposed rule that keeps the Twins from winning bids on blue-chip FA’s. It’s almost like the FO believes they are creating some level of value by almost signing high end free agents. 
 

Even if the Twins somehow found a way to sign two of Montas/Manaea/Story and actually were deemed a legitimate threat at the trade deadline, they wouldn’t pull the trigger on trading a prospect for a needed addition. Of course plan A above will never materialize anyway, so I don’t even know what we are doing here anymore. 

[bean5302]

Story is definitely not coming to the Twins. Once the Red Sox were officially linked, 0% chance. Dead last in a weak division. Cheap ownership which does not commit to winning, salary dumps in the current year. None of that says "sign with Minnesota" but if the Twins were the only game in town, Story would have agreed to come here.

The Red Sox see Story as the replacement for Bogaerts, and although the Red Sox will allow Bogaerts to play SS this year because they know it increases his value (a concept the Twins cannot comprehend), they also know Bogaerts defense has been average throughout his 20s and now at age 29, it's certainly not going to get better. The Red Sox are not only perennial playoff threats and World Series threats, unlike the Twins who haven't won a playoff game in 17 years, but the Red Sox operate a high payroll and come with enormous prestige in one of the most beloved and historic cities in the United States. 30%

The Giants would love to get Story and move the aging, but still good, Brandon Crawford off SS and over to 2B where he'd replace Tommy La Stella. It's a huge upgrade for the Giants. Playing in a division he knows well, on the west coast in one of the most recognizable and loved cities in the entire world, let alone the United States. A team which was recently a World Series dynasty, has deep pockets and beautiful weather. 50%.

The Astros make a lot of sense as the third team. Nasty reputation for cheating, but they win. Every year they win. Story would step into last year's World Series representative for the AL, in a division without a clear competitor. Story would play shortstop here, as well, but the hold up would probably be the Astros' interest in Correa. I think they're a 10%-er.

The Twins? They've never signed a $100MM+ free agent. They're generally very averse to long term contracts. They've perennially been linked to big free agent names, but they've almost never actually ponied up the dollars, making offers well below expected value just hoping for a steal and when they signed a big contract, they quickly moved to ditch it. They play in a city with what has been a terrible reputation recently, in what is perceived as a flyover state. The Twins haven't won a playoff game in 17 years and have made the playoffs only during times when most of the division was rebuilding for the past decade... after a long period of being arguably the worst team in MLB. The Twins are a 0%-er for this signing.

[LastOnePicked]

Yeah, as others have pointed out, when it became clear that Story wanted to sign with a win-now team, that likely took the Twins right off the board. After seeing what they just did to Donaldson, there's no way I would sign with MN. 

And that's fine. They already leveraged their silver-slugging C for a spunky gold-glover at SS with a little pop and SB potential, they'll be just f- ... oh, wait.

[cHawk]

Let’s hold our horses, folks. Just because the Red Sox are a contender for Story doesn’t automatically mean the Twins should just give up.

Remember when Buxton was almost 100% being traded?

[Rosterman]

The Twins will outpay everyone to get Josh Donaldson. Keeping with what they started when they signed Ervin Santana to a franchise record contract.

 

Wait, did I say Josh? I meant Trevor Story, who will surely take more money from the Twins than less from a team that will contend in 2022.

 

But, man...who can the Twins remove from the 40-man?

[glunn]

25 minutes ago, cHawk said:

Let’s hold our horses, folks. Just because the Red Sox are a contender for Story doesn’t automatically mean the Twins should just give up.

Remember when Buxton was almost 100% being traded?

Amen.  There is still time for bold action, such as trading for Montas and increasing their offer to Story.   But the clock is ticking very loudly at the moment.

[TwinsDr2021]

2 minutes ago, glunn said:

Amen.  There is still time for bold action, such as trading for Montas and increasing their offer to Story.   But the clock is ticking very loudly at the moment.

If they can trade the trash (Cotton, Garza, Henriquez, Jax, Moran, Sands, Strotman, Thrope, Vallimont) off the 40 for Montas that would be great but giving up any real prospect after not giving up a prospect when they were actually good should be considered unacceptable.

[cHawk]

12 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

If they can trade the trash (Cotton, Garza, Henriquez, Jax, Moran, Sands, Strotman, Thrope, Vallimont) off the 40 for Montas that would be great but giving up any real prospect after not giving up a prospect when they were actually good should be considered unacceptable.

That is not relevant to the topic at hand. Stop harping on the past.

Plus they weren’t one or two players away from winning a playoff series in 2019 or 2020. They were virtually a whole team away.

[Game7-91]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

If you read the article and read between lines in Story's quote as Trade Rumors does.  It seems he has come off that stance.  I would think the Mariners could still have a chance as well as their payroll is in good shape but I just can't see the Twins doing what needs to be done to get him as they won't want to pay for the declining years (i.e. Josh Donaldson)..

The apparent shift in what Story is willing or wanting to do is interesting.

If true, it would seem that such consideration is given for somebody like SF org, not for the Twins, but who knows. Maybe we have a line on trading Polanco....which the way things are going, would not surprise me. Who knows? 

I am not willing to say the Twins are out of the running for Story,yet,  or out of a trade for one of the A's SP's, but we do have to face reality. When it comes having to compete for better quality FA's, or trades, the Twins are not going to win most, any(?)of those.

[yeahyabetcha]

It would be interesting that the Twins would trade Donaldson to get out of a contract and then take on a more expensive contract .  I only see Story signing with the Twins if it is team friendly and under the perceived market value.

[TwinsDr2021]

11 minutes ago, cHawk said:

That is not relevant to the topic at hand. Stop harping on the past.

Plus they weren’t one or two players away from winning a playoff series in 2019 or 2020. They were virtually a whole team away.

The Twins won 101 games in 2019, the FO in 2019 was the same FO we have currently. I find it hard to believe that a team that won 101 games was virtually a whole team away from wining, but a last place team is just oh so close that the fans are OK with them trading away prospects that have been so coveted the last few years that they couldn't possibly be traded. 

Any topic that talks about this FO it is relevant to talk about all the things they have done or not done.

I totally get people/fans want the Twins to just do something that doesn't make the team worse and give them something to cheer for, but letting them completely off the hook, well I don't have to. You can and that is your opinion and I can respect that, can you do the same?