Article: Joe Benson claimed off waivers by Rangers

[Nick Nelson]

The comparison to Clete is hilarious. Clete Thomas has more value than Joe Benson?

Clete is in the majors, Benson is in Double-A. So, yes? Age is not an especially important factor in this discussion since Benson was out of options next year anyway.

 

Quite honestly, there's probably not a whole lot of difference between Thomas and Benson. You're just glamorizing one based on a nice season he had two years ago in the minors.

[Shane Wahl]

Clete is in the majors, Benson is in Double-A. So, yes? Age is not an especially important factor in this discussion since Benson was out of options next year anyway.

 

Quite honestly, there's probably not a whole lot of difference between Thomas and Benson. You're just glamorizing one based on a nice season he had two years ago in the minors.

 

Clete is in the majors for a bizarre reason. He is not going to be anything at all, just like last year. Benson is 4-5 years younger and still capable of improvement. How is he not a better option at this point? Who cares if he is out of options NEXT YEAR. As he is hitting right now, it would not surprise me if the Rangers worked out a trade involving him in order to improve the team. You DO NOT just let 100-200 level prospects just go away for fun.

[waltomeal]

Benson 1-for-1 so far tonight. And YES, I am going to keep doing this for while.

As long as you keep doing it when he's not playing any more. While you're at it, add in some Mark Hamburger updates.

[Guest USAFChief]

Clete is in the majors, Benson is in Double-A.

Does Pressley have more value than Gibson? Pressley's in the majors, Gibson in AAA.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Does Pressley have more value than Gibson? Pressley's in the majors, Gibson in AAA.

 

I think Nick's point is that Clete Thomas was posting a .950+ OPS in AAA and Benson was posting a .540 OPS in AA (while striking out every third AB), hence the "one is the majors and one is in the minors" comment.

 

Given that there's a good chance both guys will be gone at the end of the season, it's not the worst decision in the world to keep the guy that can help you now.

[IdahoPilgrim]

So is there a record for longest thread? Can we set it here? If so, that in itself makes the whole Benson move worthwhile.

[twinsnorth49]

Gleeman's negative reaction to how they handled this (shared by many on this thread) is a valid complaint. They obviously lost a young "asset" when they could have exposed a number of replacement-level veterans instead.

 

I'm certainly not losing any sleep over this move but this is really the jist of it and it's pretty hard to defend. Whatever your stance on Benson is, why not just ride it out and see if he can start raking a bit and at the very least flip him for something if the timing is right? At 25 he's still intriguing enough for that to be a possibility to somebody, as opposed to a number of other stiffs currently residing on the 40 man that should have no part in any future success the team might have, or anyone else's.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Whatever your stance on Benson is, why not just ride it out and see if he can start raking a bit and at the very least flip him for something if the timing is right?

 

Joe Benson was OPSing at .540 in New Britain. Joe Benson was striking out every third AB. Joe Benson is out of options at the end of the season. Nearly all of MLB passed on Joe Benson when he was available on waivers.

 

Joe Benson's trade value was zero. Not "zero" as in "a d-level prospect". Literally zero. And given that he was out of options, that wasn't going to change with two months of solid/good play (which the Twins had no reason to expect from him).

 

With that said, I still think they could have released someone else and kept Joe for a few months. No reason not to, really. On the other hand, I don't really care much, either. It's great that he's doing well in Frisco but given his apparent stagnation with the Twins, that wasn't going to happen in New Britain or Rochester. He needed a change and he got it. I wish him the best.

[Guest USAFChief]

Not that it matters Brock but Benson was in Rochester not NB.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Not that it matters Brock but Benson was in Rochester not NB.

 

Ah, right. He bounced around enough that I lost track.

[Halsey Hall]

All this back and forth about Benson for nothing. People forget that Terry Ryan gave Benson a gift by letting him go and getting another chance. That was the reason for the move, period. Joe's done well with the chance, if he was still here he may be still doing nothing.

[golfboy1]

Clete is in the majors for a bizarre reason. He is not going to be anything at all, just like last year. Benson is 4-5 years younger and still capable of improvement. How is he not a better option at this point? Who cares if he is out of options NEXT YEAR. As he is hitting right now, it would not surprise me if the Rangers worked out a trade involving him in order to improve the team. You DO NOT just let 100-200 level prospects just go away for fun.

 

 

I've posted on here that I believe the Twins had better choices of whom to remove from the roster (Son of Sal) but you are way overvaluing Benson. He has shown zero ability to hit above the AA level. The fact he will be out of options DOES matter. He need to be on a ML roster next year or they would still lose him Do you think 18 FANTASTIC AB in Frisco is really going to make a long term difference?

 

Benson has no trade value. Texas couldn't get anything for Borbon & his track record was way better than Bensons.

 

The Twins orginization makes mistakes but this is so minor it doesn't even make a blip. If you are still faulting them for "wasting" Garrett Jones I guess you hold them to a very high...almost impossible standard. Baltimore should be pissed about Florimon, Boston about Pressley, etc, etc. It happens, players bounce around & some of them eventually succeed

 

I could post ad nauseum about mistakes every team makes but Benson wouldn't make the list. I'll reiterate, I'd rather have seen Butera cut but apparently the Twins had had enough of Benson & decided it would be better if he got a fresh start someplace else. In all lilelyhood, they would have had to release him next year anyway.

[Nick Nelson]

Benson is 4-5 years younger and still capable of improvement. How is he not a better option at this point?

 

Because the Twins don't have 4-5 more years to develop him and he's clearly a much worse player at this point in time. Benson is nowhere near the top 100-200 prospects in baseball and has no trade value.

 

Does Pressley have more value than Gibson? Pressley's in the majors, Gibson in AAA.

 

Great comparison. Much like Gibson, Benson was just knocking down the door from a position of organizational weakness.

 

As Brock points out, Clete earned his way to the majors, while Benson earned his way to a Double-A demotion for a second straight year. These are pro ballplayers and at some point they need to make a case for themselves on the field. Benson can't just coast by based on his athleticism and prospect status from two seasons ago.

 

And as Halsey points out, this is a nice opportunity for Benson. He showed no signs of turning anything around here and now with the change of scenery he's finally showing some life. I wish him the best, but I highly doubt the Twins will miss him much.

[twinsnorth49]

With that said, I still think they could have released someone else and kept Joe for a few months. No reason not to, really. On the other hand, I don't really care much, either.

 

Well, this was pretty much my point, I realize there was little to no chance of Benson turning anything around but it still makes little sense in terms of what they chose to keep instead, that's all......I really don't care, just curious.

[Guest USAFChief]

The fact Benson is out of options next year is completely irrelevant to this discussion. If he goes elsewhere next year so be it. That doesn't mean you toss him away before you're forced to.

[TheLeviathan]

Man is this thread filled with poor arguments from the Butera defense hiding behind what has to be the premise of infallible decision makers to over simplified AAA >AA arguments. The two sides of this are both rational but holy Christ on a cracker the arguments in favor aren't.

[old nurse]

The fact Benson is out of options next year is completely irrelevant to this discussion. If he goes elsewhere next year so be it. That doesn't mean you toss him away before you're forced to.

Brandon Boggs was tossed away, Jason Lane was tossed away, Benson was merely removed from the 40 man roster. If Benson was not in their plans for next year it is not a big deal that he was removed from the 40 man roster.

[old nurse]

Man is this thread filled with poor arguments from the Butera defense hiding behind what has to be the premise of infallible decision makers to over simplified AAA >AA arguments. The two sides of this are both rational but holy Christ on a cracker the arguments in favor aren't.

Nor are the arguments against the removal from the 40 man roster. The simple fact is there is no proof out there that Joe Benson had any value anymore. More than 25 clubs said that their 15 players in the minors were more valuable than Joe Benson for free.

[DaveW]

The fact Benson is out of options next year is completely irrelevant to this discussion. If he goes elsewhere next year so be it. That doesn't mean you toss him away before you're forced to.

 

At some point perhaps the Twins were tired of giving every day at bats for 2 years to a guy hitting below .190 (.550 OPS) who possibly had some "clubhouse" issues to boot.

 

The Twins gave him plenty of chances/at bats, at some point they needed to move on and give those at bats to someone else who could possibly help the big league club some day, taking him off the 40 man was nicer to him then just sitting his ass on the bench.

[old nurse]

Which part of "two" doesn't mean two? Earlier I said detailing his daily production was irrelevant. I said two, I meant both sides and it was clear.

 

Plus.....when is this needy tendency to post stuff like this going to tire? This is the second time in days you have utterly face flopped trying to play "gotcha".

Without a sound argument that it was a bad idea there is no real need to post anything that it was a good idea.

[TheLeviathan]

Without a sound argument that it was a bad idea there is no real need to post anything that it was a good idea.

 

I was pointing out both sides have rational conclusions and rational reasons, but both were relying on poor arguments. There can be a difference of opinions in which case both sides make good points. I would say there are plenty of good arguments why it was a bad idea as well as plenty of good arguments why it won't hurt the Twins.

 

Im just baffled how those two very rational points have devolved into box score posting and the inane defense of Butera by citing the Twins love for him among other recent bizarre defenses. None of that is necessary, much like your recent gotcha attempts.

[Shane Wahl]

Leviathan, while it might not hurt the Twins, it still wasn't the best decision. I still am flabbergasted here. People will go on long posts about why Benson sucks and then say "he wouldn't have been the first player I would have removed from the 40-man" . . . .

 

THAT'S THE DAMN POINT!!!

[Brock Beauchamp]

I've had enough of this thread. It's giving me a headache.

[glunn]

Let's please keep this respectful my friends. This thread has been attracting multiple complaints, and with good reasons. Please feel free to be passionate, so long as you are respectful to each other.