Anthony DeSclafani in the Rotation Raises More Questions than Answers

[Major League Ready]

39 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They don't have a long-term TV deal so I don't expect them to add any long-term contracts. I don't really understand why they signed Carlos Correa if they were going to cut costs two years later.

I am fuzzy on the timeline.  Were the financial woes of Bally's / Diamond Sports known when Correa was signed?  The fact that the Twins had an additional $30M in BAM money is also impacting the reduction but I have not once seen that acknowledged.  Another way to view this is that they pushed the 2023 budget by spending on some 1-year deals because they had extra money for one year.

[LewFordLives]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Unless that shoe is a front-line SP it's all in vain. What are the odds for that to happen? Very slim, if they were serious for that to happen they wouldn't have made the DeSclafani trade in the 1st place.

Maybe, maybe not. I assumed DeSclafani was a throw in that the Twins had to accept to complete the deal. That has to be the case...right? Right?????

[saviking]

19 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

In the interest of keeping a positive tone, let us all hope that Louie Varland can pitch 180-200 innings with an ERA around 3.50.

DeS-clafini (sorry the only way I can remember his name) isn't going to make it far before getting hurt. I think the Twins probably assume this and took him in the trade for two reasons: 1) Seattle paid us to take him off their backs and 2} They wanted him to hold down the last spot thru May to give Varland a chance to lock in his skills at AAA and then hope Feasta can provide some depth by July ..

[1985Fan]

Twins aren’t going to sign Snell or Montgomery because the FO doesn’t do FA SP long term deals. Those types of deals usually don’t work out well for the team. Not necessarily because of the TV revenue loss, although that may have impacted their plan this year.
Their approach to pitching has been trades and develop their own. The development part hasn’t been wildly successful yet, but some of the trades have. I think they value Festa highly and think he can contribute this year. How much he can contribute and the quality of his contribution remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see what will happen with SWR and Winder. Can they improve on their past MLB history? They’re in the age range where development and improvement is still possible. Is Dobnak recovered from the finger injuries? I think he returned to form at the end of the season last year. 
The plan seems to be start with López, Paddock, Ryan, Ober, and Desclafini (if healthy). They’ll use Varland, Festa, SWR, and Donna’s to fill in for injury, rest, etc. 

Like others have said, I think they can get through the season with this plan. I just don’t know if they’ll have the SP to get deep into the playoffs. 

[saviking]

Every team wants a playoff ace, and they are few and far between, not to mention more than we can afford to pay right now.. I'm afraid our best option is to draft and develop one and have him around until we can't afford him. But every team is trying to do that as well.

It's like chasing unicorns.. 

[Blyleven2011]

20 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

And let’s hope Festa is ready to debut in 2024 and make an impact. 

Or Lewis  if he shows in AA  early ,  could be a call up ...

[JD-TWINS]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins don't have anyone especially young in their rotation.

Lopez 28, Ryan 28, Ober 28, Paddack 28, Varland 26, DeSclafani 34. They're all at the "it's unreasonable to expect better" age. Some will have better years than others but it's really unlikely they all improve. Festa and Woods Richardson are the age where you could reasonably expect improvement.

Not trying to be obstinate - understand your point. However, Lopez got a bunch better in ‘23 over ‘22. Varland at 26 should have some room for gains. Guys mastering a pitch & getting above where they’ve been in the past with it - this also seems reasonable. Sometimes it’s as simple as pitch mix and sequencing. I’m not using improvement as an excuse not to get another guy - a better guy, but these guys can improve IMO.

Look at Pagan in ‘22 & ‘23 as an example.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Not trying to be obstinate - understand your point. However, Lopez got a bunch better in ‘23 over ‘22. Varland at 26 should have some room for gains. Guys mastering a pitch & getting above where they’ve been in the past with it - this also seems reasonable. Sometimes it’s as simple as pitch mix and sequencing. I’m not using improvement as an excuse not to get another guy - a better guy, but these guys can improve IMO.

Look at Pagan in ‘22 & ‘23 as an example.

Guys get injured and lose effectiveness more often than they learn a new pitch and gain effectiveness. Some people will have good seasons, some people will have bad seasons. Expecting ALL your players to have their best season is a terrible plan.

[Finlander]

If Lopez gets hurt, we're in big trouble. I'd rather see a second reliable playoff caliber starter on the roster now than play pulltab chances with what's left. Twins are defending division champs, not a rebuilding squad like the Royals. DeSclafani, with the faulty flexor, doesn't seem to move the needle.

[Cris E]

On 2/4/2024 at 9:05 AM, TopGunn#22 said:

But we all know it's highly unlikely for the Pohlad's to ever make a move like this.  What is also unlikely is making a trade for an expensive pitcher like a Luis Castillo.  Who knows?  The Twins could still offer Seattle Kepler, Miranda, Danny DeAndrade  and Thielbar for Castillo and the Mariners could just sign Blake Snell (who reportedly wants to pitch for his hometown Mariners).  BBTV calls that trade a slight overpay by the Twins.

Gah, I wish people would stop looking at BBTV for anything. Look at that from any angle other than MIN:  Miranda isn't very young and has had one decent year and injury problems, DeAndrade is a single A toolbox and ranked well outside our top ten, Theilbar is straight up old and was running out of gas at the end of last year after missing May and June with an injury, and Luis Castillo is a stud being paid something near or below market rate.  You might be able to pick up an average but injured #4 SP like Desclafani as a salary dump, but not a valuable player and certainly not a week after they already salary dumped from their starting pitching depth.

And this whole discussion assumes that Snell outperforms the cheaper Castillo over the short or long term, which is not a given. BBTV is a plague.

[Cris E]

(duplicate post)