Twins rumored to have interest in Kevin Kiermaier for CF

[Mike Sixel]

It's going to take at least a two year deal, if not three.... He's one of the five best hitters available this year, which says a lot about this class.... I've changed my mind, and would be ok with signing him. I'd rather sign an elite pitcher, but they likely won't do that. 

[nicksaviking]

There's only a couple of offensive free agents I like, so if they don't get them, I guess I don't much care if they sign Kiermaier. However, the Twins are only in the position of sniffing free agent CFs because their presumptive CF is injury prone, and we're talking about a new guy who's regularly on the IL for long stretches.

He's rarely good offensively, so I think when it's all said and done, if you're putting up Kiermaier vs. the in-house possibilities of Castro, Martin, Buxton, Kiersey or even Lewis, it's more likely than not that experimenting with the in-house options will yield the better results overall.

But like I said, if they aren't going to get one of the few guys I like, go ahead and sign him. As long as he's back to a rotational player when one of the in-house options start to get unjustly crunched. I don't want to see this team pulling another Joey Gallo move and waste months trying to justify the signing of another fairly non-descript free agent.

[2wins87]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

It's going to take at least a two year deal, if not three.... He's one of the five best hitters available this year, which says a lot about this class.... I've changed my mind, and would be ok with signing him. I'd rather sign an elite pitcher, but they likely won't do that. 

Contract projections for Kiermaier: FG crowdsource- 2/$10M, Ben Clemens (FG)- 2/$12M, MLBTR- 2/$13M, Zach Britton (The Athletic)- 1/$10

And for Michael A Taylor: FG crowdsource- 2/$7M, Ben Clemens- 1/$9M

I'd agree I'd rather have Kiermaier if the contract isn't an issue.  If Kiermaier ends up towards the high end of the projections at 2+ years and >$10M AAV, I'd probably just as well have Taylor on a one year deal under $10M, assuming that is where he ends up.

[Fatbat]

KK isn’t going to win us a World Series. Seems like he will just be another veteran waste of $$$. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

On 11/9/2023 at 12:59 PM, nicksaviking said:

There's only a couple of offensive free agents I like, so if they don't get them, I guess I don't much care if they sign Kiermaier. However, the Twins are only in the position of sniffing free agent CFs because their presumptive CF is injury prone, and we're talking about a new guy who's regularly on the IL for long stretches.

He's rarely good offensively, so I think when it's all said and done, if you're putting up Kiermaier vs. the in-house possibilities of Castro, Martin, Buxton, Kiersey or even Lewis, it's more likely than not that experimenting with the in-house options will yield the better results overall.

But like I said, if they aren't going to get one of the few guys I like, go ahead and sign him. As long as he's back to a rotational player when one of the in-house options start to get unjustly crunched. I don't want to see this team pulling another Joey Gallo move and waste months trying to justify the signing of another fairly non-descript free agent.

I’m starting to lean this way. If Martin, Kiersey or Buxton ends up being the every day CF by May, I’d be ok rolling with Castro to start the season. If Martin and Kiersey arent ready and Buxton is still injured, I’m not sure I want Kiermaier if it takes a 3 year deal to sign him.

I was once on the “No such thing as bad one year deal” wagon, until Gallo, but 3 years… lots of bad 3 year deals!

[nicksaviking]

57 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

I’m starting to lean this way. If Martin, Kiersey or Buxton ends up being the every day CF by May, I’d be ok rolling with Castro to start the season. If Martin and Kiersey arent ready and Buxton is still injured, I’m not sure I want Kiermaier if it takes a 3 year deal to sign him.

I was once on the “No such thing as bad one year deal” wagon, until Gallo, but 3 years… lots of bad 3 year deals!

For sure, and that's because we assume a one year deal means a very short leash. But 332 plate appearances before you move on? That's a lot of bad baseball if you can't commit to pulling the plug.

[bigdave]

I'd rather get Taylor back than bring in Kiermeier. Kiermeier can't stay healthy anymore.

[Cris E]

Bellinger!  What are they projecting, 6/$125m? That's almost half what they paid the cripple Correa last year, and the books are pretty clear going forward. We got room to roll the dice, and he plays 1B too. So what if no one has any idea how he'll perform in any of the next five years?  Who cares if he's another LH bat in the lineup? It's a big name and our boys love the annual splash deal, so don't be surprised if removing Gallo and Grey and trading Polanco open up room for something wild. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

MLBTraderumors put out that Kiermaier is close to resigning with Toronto for 1 year and about 10 million. 

[Eris]

The Twins are in a difficult situation in CF. It is hard to justify paying for another full time CF when you have Buxton. 

[ashbury]

18 minutes ago, Eris said:

The Twins are in a difficult situation in CF. It is hard to justify paying for another full time CF when you have Buxton. 

Not to mention, it would be difficult to attract top talent, given that the player might be playing second fiddle in one way or another.

[mnfireman]

It's official - https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/blue-jays-kevin-kiermaier-reportedly-closing-in-on-reunion.html