Chi Chi Wants Out!

[Rosterman]

Waaaay back in the off-season, the Twins signed Chi Chi Gonzalez. No doubt he probably would've gotten a 40-man spot at the time. But instead, he grabbed a job with the potential to work out in spring training if the lockout continued.

He has been the msot durable and the better of the minor league free agents working out in St. Paul. The Twins managed to get him to the majors and a short start without putting him on the 40-man.

But now he wants to walk. Become a free agent.

The Saints roster is full of a wealth of minor league signings: Sanchez M, Sanchez A, Bashlor, Faria, Gossett, Jurado, Petricka, Pinto, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Thornburg, Viza. I'm sure quite a few of those names are on the bubble as the Twins considering advancing "the future" from Wichita, which happens slowly after the draft and plaers move from training camp to A ball, and other players move up a notch.

The Twins could still add Chi Chi the roster for a good game, as the Twins do need a rotation arm before WInder and Ryan can come back to the roster (assuming you don't feel they can pitch a few innings in St. Paul and start 3-4 days later).

But then the Twins would "officially" remove Chi Chi when they designate him, thus allowing him to be a free agent. Or that case would also allow him to stay with the Saints, after announcing his intentions to move on.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/06/chi-chi-gonzalez-triggers-opt-out-in-twins-deal.html

 

 

[Dman]

It makes sense.  He put his work out there for teams to see and is betting some team will pick him up sooner rather than later.  Maybe his agent has already been approached who knows.  I don't think he an answer for the Twins so I wish him the best and appreciate what he gave to the team.

[ashbury]

Red Sox will probably sign him and he'll beat us in the last game of the postseason.

[wsnydes]

7 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Red Sox will probably sign him and he'll beat us in the last game of the postseason.

They should make a movie about that scenario!

[stringer bell]

Opt-outs are there for the player. They can use the opt-out to their advantage and often do so. I don't blame Gonzalez for utilitzing the opt-out, but I also wouldn't blame the Twins if they used him for one start and DFAed him or if they just let him go. Chi Chi is probably about tenth on the depth list and with no options would be a roster headache.

[jorgenswest]

With an entire rotation of pitchers on the disabled list it is probably clear to him that he is not in their plans. He had a chance but Smeltzer won that battle. Bring up one of the AA arms and put them in the St. Paul rotation. 

[KirbyDome89]

Not gonna lie, I can respect that he's using what little leverage he has. 

That said, I don't want to see him pitch for the Twins again. 

[CRF]

Just trade Chi Chi Gonzalez straight up for Chi Chi Rodriguez. Then, Chi Chi Rod can do the saber dance on the mound, baffle the opposing teams hitters, and we win!

[Doctor Gast]

The Twins need SPs and long relief desperately. The fact that he's a groundballer is a plus if we have INF  D, to cover him when he pitches. Short term he could be useful until Ryan, Gray and Wider return. Hopefully they can trade for a frontline pitcher & closer sooner rather than later.

[LA Vikes Fan]

My prediction is he comes up for Saturday's game where the starter is TBD and then gets DFA'd after a decent but not great game. Helps both him and the team. 

[ashbury]

His AAA numbers look like they could translate to an ERA in the mid-4s in the majors; even in a season of depressed offense that kind of performance from a starting-type pitcher could be useful to a team.  Too bad his 3-inning stint involved 3 earned runs.  A small-sample chance is all they gave him, but with a ceiling of "bottom of the rotation" he wasn't going to get a lot more opportunity - ultimately he had to produce to stay. 

Good luck to him if he feels he can find a better deal - even a few weeks of a major league salary with a bottom-feeder team will pad his bank account nicely, even if a dream of being set-for-life financially is probably long gone.  That's all these player decisions come down to - is the money there, or not?  You and I would make the same calculation, and probably decide the same.

[Otto von Ballpark]

18 hours ago, Rosterman said:

But now he wants to walk. Become a free agent.

I don’t think this is a fair description of the situation. Gonzalez may prefer staying in St. Paul over becoming a free agent, but those aren’t the only possibilities right now. With multiple rotation openings at the moment, Gonzalez triggering the opt-out pretty much guaranteed he would get another MLB start today. He could still accept an assignment back to St. Paul after the game, maybe taking a few days to shop around first. (The results of today’s game may indicate whether Gonzalez would remain ahead of Aaron Sanchez on the depth chart too.)

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

I don’t think this is a fair description of the situation. Gonzalez may prefer staying in St. Paul over becoming a free agent, but those aren’t the only possibilities right now. With multiple rotation openings at the moment, Gonzalez triggering the opt-out pretty much guaranteed he would get another MLB start today. He could still accept an assignment back to St. Paul after the game, maybe taking a few days to shop around first. (The results of today’s game may indicate whether Gonzalez would remain ahead of Aaron Sanchez on the depth chart too.)

If he outpitches Sands, I think he should stay on the roster until either Winder or Gray are ready. At this moment the rotation is 1) Smeltzer 2) Archer 3) Bundy 4) Sands and 5) Gonzalez. Obviously, Ryan will take a turn within a week and someone will be sent down--either Sands or Gonzalez. Even when the next guy returns, they might want to keep a long man around. 

[bighat]

8 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

At this moment the rotation is 1) Smeltzer 2) Archer 3) Bundy 4) Sands and 5) Gonzalez.

I think I knew this, but when you type it out like that it just makes the starting pitching situation look just horrendous.

For those who think the Twins will be DFA'ing Bundy soon, think again. They literally don't have anyone else.

I also read that Winder may be back mid-week thank god.

[stringer bell]

4 minutes ago, bighat said:

I think I knew this, but when you type it out like that it just makes the starting pitching situation look just horrendous.

For those who think the Twins will be DFA'ing Bundy soon, think again. They literally don't have anyone else.

I also read that Winder may be back mid-week thank god.

Winder wobbled through one inning last night. A homer, two doubles, a hit batter and a walk in that inning. He did strike out the side. I would expect at least another rehab start before the club brings him back.

[Craig Arko]

DFA’d after today’s game, so presumably he’ll elect FA. 

[tony&rodney]

Good luck to Chi Chi. 

[bean5302]

Correction.

Chi-Chi wants to pitch in MLB, not MiLB and he feels like some other teams would give him a shot. That traitor!!!!! How dare he!?

[MplsFan]

On 6/10/2022 at 3:34 PM, LA VIkes Fan said:

My prediction is he comes up for Saturday's game where the starter is TBD and then gets DFA'd after a decent but not great game. Helps both him and the team. 

Helluva prediction.  Nicely done!

[stringer bell]

Chi Chi Gonzalez was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. For the record, Chi Chi got what he wanted by invoking his opt-out clause he on a major league team and also a contender at least for now. Best wishes to Chi Chi until and unless he faces the Twins. 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

On 6/10/2022 at 2:12 PM, ashbury said:

Red Sox will probably sign him and he'll beat us in the last game of the postseason.

But the Red Sox are an American League Team...

[CRF]

The Brewers must be in worse shape for pitchers than we are. 

[MMMordabito]

Thanks, Chi Chi, for the seven shitty innings.

[ashbury]

40 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

But the Red Sox are an American League Team...