The Table Setter, Jan. 10: Rachel Balkovec, Shota Imanaga, Dylan Cease Make News

[Cody Schoenmann]

The Miami Marlins once more make history, as Rachel Balkovec becomes the franchise's director of player development. More on Balkovec, Shōta Imanaga, and other news around the league on today's Twins Daily table setter.

Image courtesy of Robert Magobet - USA TODAY NETWORK

Though the MLB offseason is still moving deliberately, a groundbreaking hiring and a significant signing occurred Tuesday, headlining the most active day of the New Year. Let's get into the news:

Marlins Hire Rachel Balkovec to Fill Prominent Front Office Role 
After becoming the first team to hire (and then to fire, or at least muscle out) a woman as their chief baseball decision-maker, the Marlins made another historic hire Tuesday. Balkovec, who has a background in advanced analytics, was the first woman to be a full-time manager for an MLB-affiliated minor-league team (the New York Yankees' High-A club); the first to be a full-time hitting coach in an MLB organization; and the first to work as a full-time strength and conditioning coach in affiliated baseball.

Balkovec now joins the front office of the same organization that made Kim Ng the first woman entrusted with the whole baseball operation in MLB history, in 2020. If Balkovec and the Marlins' revamped, still-growing front office can lead the organization to its second straight playoff appearance, don't be surprised if she follows in Ng's footsteps, eventually. The Marlins ultimately envision a two-headed baseball leadership structure, with a GM working alongside president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, but are unlikely to fill that second role this winter.

Described as a "trailblazer," Balkovec has become a beacon for women getting more opportunities in a traditionally male-dominated field. Hopefully, Ng and Balkovec's rise through the ranks will lead to women getting more opportunities within MLB.

Shōta Imanaga Signs with the Chicago Cubs
Rejoice, Cubs fans! Jed Hoyer did something!

Amid a snowstorm that blanketed the Windy City, the Cubbies signed the NPB star to a multi-year deal worth roughly $15 million per year. Nicknamed "The Throwing Philosopher," Imanaga generated a 2.66 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, striking out 188 and walking only 24 over 159 innings pitched and 637 total batters faced pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2023.

Imanaga joins fellow southpaw Justin Steele in what becomes arguably the best starting rotation duo in the NL Central. He also joins fellow ex-NPB star Seiya Suzuki on a team that is set to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds in what will likely be one of the tightest divisional battles in MLB next season. The Twins had interest in Imanaga on a short-term deal, after his market was affected by teams' concerns about a shoulder injury that required surgery in 2020. He would have been an ideal front-of-the-rotation replacement option for the recently departed Sonny Gray, but ultimately, the Cubs were willing to go considerably further than the Twins would have. Barring injury, expect Imanaga (whose fastball will likely have the most ride in MLB) to thrive in his first season in MLB with the Cubs.

Inferior Chicago Baseball Team Publicly States Stipulations for Dylan Cease Trade
On Tuesday, recently hired Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz stated that Cease has inspired trade interest from other teams, but that he won't trade the former Cy Young Award runner-up unless the deal improves the club. Though "better" is a vague and subjective term, the White Sox will hold out on trading Cease until they are offered a package they deem worthwhile.

As noted by Ken Rosenthal in the clip above, the Baltimore Orioles, who have the prospect capital necessary to get a deal done, are an obvious fit for Cease. Yet, other teams (such as the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Yankees, and Cardinals) have shown interest in the 28-year-old right-handed pitcher over the last handful of months. Besides him landing in Minnesota, which won't happen, the best outcome for the Twins would be if the White Sox traded Cease (who has pitched well against them in recent history) to an NL team. 

Miscellaneous Twins Notes

• Joe Mauer currently has 83.1% of the Hall of Fame vote. It's happening, folks.
• Tickets are on sale for the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown! TwinsFest is just around the corner, and so is our biggest annual community event. It's a great time to become a Twins Daily Caretaker, to ensure access. 
• Former Twins Bartolo Colon (0.7%) and Torii Hunter (3.7%) will not be Hall of Fame inductees this year.
• Dan Szymborski released the Twins' 2024 ZiPS Projections, which Twins Daily writer Cody Christie admirably dissected in a piece published yesterday.
• Twins Daily's Jamie Cameron reviewed first-round selection Walker Jenkins as part of his incredible "Prospect Reviews" series. 

What do you think of the Marlins hiring Balkovec? Was it wise of the Cubs to sign Imanaga? Which team will trade for Cease? Do any of the "Miscellaneous Twins Notes" stand out to you? Join the discussion and comment below.

 

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[Dman]

From what I have read it sounds like prospect cost for Cease is very high. It looks like they want Sale like return if not slightly better.  Still per MLB trade rumors they expect a trade to happen.  If they get that trade right the White Sox could rebuild fairly quickly.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Curious where you see that the Twins had interest on a shorter term deal? If that is true, that's interesting that they would be thinking of signing a free agent starter.

Plus, in essence, his deal is 2/30. Can't get much shorter than 2 years with opt outs right?

Also, I absolutely take Burnes/Peralta (at minimum) well over Steele/Taillon in the NL central. For me it's not really that close.

[DJL44]

Looks like a very reasonable deal for Imanaga. The opt-out after 2 seasons looks like the big draw. Gives him a chance for one more big contract.

[stringer bell]

Go Joe! It looks like a pretty good bet that Mauer is a first-ballot HOF. 
 

After days of thinking this is the case, I finally wrote it, so now I probably jinxed him. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Honestly if I'm giving up a huge haul for an SP I want someone better than Cease. Has he been good? Yes. Does he have the potential? Yes. But the reality is his career has been more average than really good.

I agree with Bigfork in that we sign some depth pieces and hope that they come through.

[stringer bell]

Does Cease have more value than Sonny Gray did two years ago? I would say that he definitely does. As a matter of fact, I would think that Cease would have an equal or greater amount of value than López did when the Twins acquired him. 

[Beast]

1 hour ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Honestly if I'm giving up a huge haul for an SP I want someone better than Cease. Has he been good? Yes. Does he have the potential? Yes. But the reality is his career has been more average than really good.

I agree with Bigfork in that we sign some depth pieces and hope that they come through.

Cease is a Cy Young caliber starter.  He has lower HR/9 and higher K/9 than Parle Lopez.  He’s pitched 50 more innings than Lopez in the past 3 years.  The high end of his ERA+ is 180 vs. Lopez 138 (was 117 last year with the Twins).  His low ERA is 2.20 in 184 innings vs. Lopez 3.07 in 102 innings.  Lopez has never broken 3 WAR until last season’s 3.3.  Cease has done it twice; with a high of 6.4, which led the league.

You want someone better than Cease?  There is nobody better that’s available.  Certainly not anybody that’s making less than $10M and under team control through 2025.  This team is willing to shell out zero dollars to anybody right now.  Cease’s FIP last year (3.72) is almost identical to Lopez’s his last year in Miami (3.71).  You can’t just look at his ERA with the hapless White Sox.  Despite his “down” performance last year, he was still 8 RAA (Lopez was 16, and were crowning him best pitcher in history).  Pablo has never broken 20 RAA - Cease was 40 RAA in 2022.  They have an identical career WAR, with Cease having over a full season less of service time.

If they can fine tune Cease pitch mix and tighten up his walk rate here like they did Lopez, he’s the second best starter we’ve had in decades - maybe ever - behind Johan.  He’s an 11-12 K/9 hammer at the front end of the rotation and an annual short lister for the Cy Young.  His ceiling is the ability to put together one of the best starting pitching seasons in modern baseball history.

Lopez is great, and I love him as a pitcher.  But, he’s a rung below Cease in terms of ability, and Cease will be making half the salary Lopez will be through 2025.

I’d give any of our prospects for Cease.  He’s an absolute monster.

Zero chance of it happening, but it would change how I feel about the team right now and the cheap Pohlads throwing a wet blanket on the momentum we built last year.

 

[Beast]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Does Cease have more value than Sonny Gray did two years ago? I would say that he definitely does. As a matter of fact, I would think that Cease would have an equal or greater amount of value than López did when the Twins acquired him. 

Cease and Gray aren’t even on the same planet in terms of value.

Cease has one more year of term of control than Lopez did when we acquired him, has better raw stuff, and has shown a higher upside.  He definitely holds more value than Lopez at the time of that acquisition.

[sweetmusicviola16]

4 hours ago, Beast said:

Cease and Gray aren’t even on the same planet in terms of value.

Cease has one more year of term of control than Lopez did when we acquired him, has better raw stuff, and has shown a higher upside.  He definitely holds more value than Lopez at the time of that acquisition.

Would you trade Raya and Lee for Cease? I think I would. Problem is the Sox are asking for much more in their shopping of him.

I do agree, Pohlad's in cost cutting mode right now. They are happy to win the Central,and even that may be a struggle if we don't make an add or two to this current team.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Would you trade Raya and Lee for Cease? I think I would. Problem is the Sox are asking for much more in their shopping of him.

I do agree, Pohlad's in cost cutting mode right now. They are happy to win the Central,and even that may be a struggle if we don't make an add or two to this current team.

Tough to trade Raya and Lee and maybe the Twins need to add a couple of guys like Yasser Mercedes and Zebby Matthews ..... tough call to make.

[Otwins]

Rooting for Rachael Balkovec. I have three daughters and played ball with Rachael's dad. Great family high integrity. Glad you mentioned her as it is quite an accomplishment.

[Dlee]

if Rachel Balkovec can get players to entrust her, she will succeed.  It is interesting to think about being a strictly analyzing individual.  She may see things others may not.

as long as the locker room banter doesn't break professionalism.  

[TNTwinsFan]

2 hours ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Would you trade Raya and Lee for Cease? I think I would. Problem is the Sox are asking for much more in their shopping of him.

I do agree, Pohlad's in cost cutting mode right now. They are happy to win the Central,and even that may be a struggle if we don't make an add or two to this current team.

In a heartbeat.

[Otaknam]

11 hours ago, TNTwinsFan said:

In a heartbeat.

Lee and Rodriquez are a big price to pay, so I would only trade for Cease if they could get him to agree to a longer term contract beyond the current two years of team control. Right now he is a free agent after 2025. Scott Boros is his agent, so that has to be factored in, though the Twins have been able to work with him in recent years. 

[TNTwinsFan]

On 1/11/2024 at 7:56 AM, Otaknam said:

Lee and Rodriquez are a big price to pay, so I would only trade for Cease if they could get him to agree to a longer term contract beyond the current two years of team control. Right now he is a free agent after 2025. Scott Boros is his agent, so that has to be factored in, though the Twins have been able to work with him in recent years. 

I don't think it'd be hard to get him an extension considering all the talent coming up. The Twins are set up to do well for a while. Adding a guy like Cease to be battery mates with Lopez for 3+ years is a great selling point.

[TNTwinsFan]

On 1/10/2024 at 1:37 PM, Beast said:

Cease is a Cy Young caliber starter.  He has lower HR/9 and higher K/9 than Parle Lopez.  He’s pitched 50 more innings than Lopez in the past 3 years.  The high end of his ERA+ is 180 vs. Lopez 138 (was 117 last year with the Twins).  His low ERA is 2.20 in 184 innings vs. Lopez 3.07 in 102 innings.  Lopez has never broken 3 WAR until last season’s 3.3.  Cease has done it twice; with a high of 6.4, which led the league.

You want someone better than Cease?  There is nobody better that’s available.  Certainly not anybody that’s making less than $10M and under team control through 2025.  This team is willing to shell out zero dollars to anybody right now.  Cease’s FIP last year (3.72) is almost identical to Lopez’s his last year in Miami (3.71).  You can’t just look at his ERA with the hapless White Sox.  Despite his “down” performance last year, he was still 8 RAA (Lopez was 16, and were crowning him best pitcher in history).  Pablo has never broken 20 RAA - Cease was 40 RAA in 2022.  They have an identical career WAR, with Cease having over a full season less of service time.

If they can fine tune Cease pitch mix and tighten up his walk rate here like they did Lopez, he’s the second best starter we’ve had in decades - maybe ever - behind Johan.  He’s an 11-12 K/9 hammer at the front end of the rotation and an annual short lister for the Cy Young.  His ceiling is the ability to put together one of the best starting pitching seasons in modern baseball history.

Lopez is great, and I love him as a pitcher.  But, he’s a rung below Cease in terms of ability, and Cease will be making half the salary Lopez will be through 2025.

I’d give any of our prospects for Cease.  He’s an absolute monster.

Zero chance of it happening, but it would change how I feel about the team right now and the cheap Pohlads throwing a wet blanket on the momentum we built last year.

 

I concur