What Does the Manuel Margot Trade Bring to the Minnesota Twins?

[arby58]

13 hours ago, High heat said:

I think people view MAT as the healthy everyday CF we saw in ‘23.  That was a career year!!! He isn’t getting any better at 33 and lots of players can’t put up # without consistent ABs.  

It's also funny that lots of people complain about Twins players who strike out a lot. MAT last year struck out 130 times - third most on the team to Gallo (142) and Correa (131). Gallo did walk 48 times, MAT only 26. Gallo had a poor OBP of .301, still higher than MAT's .278. They both had 21 HRS, Gallo in 282 at bats, while MAT had 355. Gallo had a .741 OPS and a 101 OPS+, while MAT was .720 and 94. Sure, MAT played decent centerfield, but the offensive vilification of Gallo and deification of MAT last year is bizarre.

[terrydactyls]

7 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I saw that and chuckled  a little. Arozarena and Margot don't have too many facial similarities, but when a guy is putting an article together and hurrying to add a photo it is easy enough to make a simple mistake, which we can certainly understand and give a pass. I appreciate that the writers take the time to put out their stuff. No big deal really, which I'm sure you agree with. 

As a former editor, I totally disagree with the "give a pass" statement.  If you are writing an article for publication, you should always take a little time to review it before submission.

[Otaknam]

projecting Larnach over Wallner in left must be a brain cramp. 

[Trov]

Personally I do not like the deal at all.  We are paying 4 mil of our own cash for a backup CF that is average defense wise over his career, was negative last year slightly.  He is subpar with the bat.  Yes, he has hit lefties better, but not a masher against them, still not huge power.  Not sure what Taylor would have cost but he fits both those roles better.  On a cheaper option we have Martin in minors.  Most likely can play CF from all accounts, and will have similar power to Margot.  I am not someone that thinks Miller will be a star, he cannot hit enough to be MLB regular I think, but we could have filled this same hole most likely with other options that would be better and without giving up Miller.

Hopefully Margot does well with us, but feel like it is a ehhh move. 

[tony&rodney]

28 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

As a former editor, I totally disagree with the "give a pass" statement.  If you are writing an article for publication, you should always take a little time to review it before submission.

Yes, I try to read and re-read my comments before I hit the "Submit Comment". Sometimes, I still mess up. I wonder if we should hold Twins Daily to a standard that we might expect of a national publication? Yes. Maybe.

I guess my thought was that the world needs more kindness. A better path would have been to simply not comment on the error. However, your comment is correct in that we should all review our comment material before adding it to the pile.

[Otaknam]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

It's also funny that lots of people complain about Twins players who strike out a lot. MAT last year struck out 130 times - third most on the team to Gallo (142) and Correa (131). Gallo did walk 48 times, MAT only 26. Gallo had a poor OBP of .301, still higher than MAT's .278. They both had 21 HRS, Gallo in 282 at bats, while MAT had 355. Gallo had a .741 OPS and a 101 OPS+, while MAT was .720 and 94. Sure, MAT played decent centerfield, but the offensive vilification of Gallo and deification of MAT last year is bizarre.

I’m old school and still prefer some hitters who can make contact consistently. Not sure who deified Taylor. He played pretty well as a Buxton fill in and was excellent defensively. Taylor also had some clutch hits. Gallo’s primary calling card is power, but he batted .177 and struck out 142 times in 282 AB’s, both cringeworthy numbers, Had he batted .221 like Taylor did that would have been acceptable, but he’s a boom or bust hitter who doesn’t put the ball in play. Glad he is gone and hopefully replaced by someone who can get on base.

[Ted Schwerzler]

20 hours ago, olerud said:

What about Matt Wallner????

Yeah, definite typo there. The first paragraph should have said Wallner flanking Buxton, not Larnach. Evident of the mistake in the paragraph about defensive limitations as well.

Larnach is ticketed for Triple-A 

[Ted Schwerzler]

19 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Margot was actually pretty bad in the field last year.....let's hope he's better this year. He also didn't hit. He's been a league average or better hitter one time in his career. If he's a long term replacement for Buxton, this team loses a ton of offense. A ton.

-3 DRS and 3 OAA doesn't really qualify as "pretty bad." He's stretched as a RF with the arm, but should play well in CF/LF for the Twins. He also has positive platoon splits against LHP

[Ted Schwerzler]

19 hours ago, Linus said:

MAT wasn’t coming here for peanuts. 

I think his market has basically bottomed out, but it's more knowing that he'd be in a true reserve role this year and doesn't have to choose that.

[Ted Schwerzler]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I saw that and chuckled  a little. Arozarena and Margot don't have too many facial similarities, but when a guy is putting an article together and hurrying to add a photo it is easy enough to make a simple mistake, which we can certainly understand and give a pass. I appreciate that the writers take the time to put out their stuff. No big deal really, which I'm sure you agree with. 

Unfortunately, we have editors and they handle images.

[Ted Schwerzler]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

As a former editor, I totally disagree with the "give a pass" statement.  If you are writing an article for publication, you should always take a little time to review it before submission.

We have editors, and authors don't handle the images...

[Lartwinfan]

It’s the initials   MM. like Mickey Mantle

2 new MM’s this week to Magnificent  Minnesota

Monte Morris to Twolves and now Manuel Margot to Twins.   Wonder if Manny Machado  (not). Mike Maddox comeback?   It was just another Manic Monday 

[Ted Schwerzler]

18 hours ago, arby58 said:

Had to be a Freudian slip - meant to say Larnach will take his spot in St. Paul.

Correct

[stringer bell]

If Margot is close to 100% after recovering from his knee injury, he's a really good player to have in the role for which the Twins are slotting him. He would provide excellent defense and about league average with the bat, and better against left handed pitching. While I really want to see what Austin Martin can do, it makes sense to proceed with a veteran player as the backup CF and platoon LF. 

It will be interesting to see how committed the Twins are to the veteran guys they have acquired at bargain rates (Santana $5.25M, DeSclafani $4M, and now Margot $4M). When they had $11M invested in Gallo, they held on to him, Vázquez and his $10M got a majority of starts at catcher until the playoffs, but these guys are getting less than half what Vázquez and Gallo were making last year. I would hope the leash won't be as long in 2024.

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I saw that and chuckled  a little. Arozarena and Margot don't have too many facial similarities, but when a guy is putting an article together and hurrying to add a photo it is easy enough to make a simple mistake, which we can certainly understand and give a pass. I appreciate that the writers take the time to put out their stuff. No big deal really, which I'm sure you agree with. 

It's not a big deal, but the writers aren't the ones putting the photos with the articles. 

This one is one me. I went into the database of photos we get, typed in Manuel Margot in the search, and saw that very cool picture. I didn't zoom in or anything to check that it was Margot. I assumed USA Today would tag the right player to the right pictures. But that's on me, not the writer. Unfortunately, not everyone knows that and so I apologize to Ted for messing that one up. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

As a former editor, I totally disagree with the "give a pass" statement.  If you are writing an article for publication, you should always take a little time to review it before submission.

I did the editing on that article this weekend. I missed the Larnach/Wallner thing. I should have gone back to Ted and said, "are you sure you meant Larnach here?" But I didn't. Also, I'm the one who put the wrong picture in. So yes, writers should take a little time to review it before submitting it, but we also have someone edit it, add a photo, and schedule the articles as well. 

[tony&rodney]

7 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

It's not a big deal, but the writers aren't the ones putting the photos with the articles. 

This one is one me. I went into the database of photos we get, typed in Manuel Margot in the search, and saw that very cool picture. I didn't zoom in or anything to check that it was Margot. I assumed USA Today would tag the right player to the right pictures. But that's on me, not the writer. Unfortunately, not everyone knows that and so I apologize to Ted for messing that one up. 

Agree, not a big deal. I regret making the initial comment. It would have been better to just not comment. Like i said previously, I appreciate the work of Ted and the other writers, which includes the editors. I apologize for my needless initial comment.

[HoskenPowell]

This move was all about $$$$$$$$$

No way MAT was coming back for the $$$ they got Margot for.

The Twins STILL could go sign Clevenger and end up in the payroll range they stated they wanted to stay within months ago.

They need to grab Clevenger.   Period.  Varlands unproven and Paddock and DeScan are both injury concerns and NOT gonna pitch over 100 innings.   I'd love to be wrong on that , but strongly doubt it.  20 5 inning starts for all of those 3 would be a giant positive.

[KirbyDome89]

6 hours ago, stringer bell said:

When they had $11M invested in Gallo, they held on to him, Vázquez and his $10M got a majority of starts at catcher until the playoffs, but these guys are getting less than half what Vázquez and Gallo were making last year. I would hope the leash won't be as long in 2024.

I don't think it's simply a cost issue. This FO loves to give vets every opportunity to prove that they're unfit for their role and/or undeserving of a roster spot. 

[weitz41]

15 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Try to read before you hit the quote button and then make whatever comment it is that you are making. I have no problem with whatever it is you might want to say, but the use of the quote feature probably requires some distant connection to what is in the gray. Let it roll is an idea I can see.

My bad, that was meant for a different post. Wasn't meant to be a response to yours.

[tony&rodney]

Just now, weitz41 said:

My bad, that was meant for a different post. Wasn't meant to be a response to yours.

No worries. It didn't bother me. I figured it was a mistake and thought you might want to know in case you wanted to put your comment to the correct post. I hope you didn't take offense at me responding. I have made the same mistake and wished the other person had let me know. Take care.

[terrydactyls]

6 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

I did the editing on that article this weekend. I missed the Larnach/Wallner thing. I should have gone back to Ted and said, "are you sure you meant Larnach here?" But I didn't. Also, I'm the one who put the wrong picture in. So yes, writers should take a little time to review it before submitting it, but we also have someone edit it, add a photo, and schedule the articles as well. 

I read my comment several times before I hit the submit button and yet it still presented as being specifically directed towards this article (and, by association, Ted).  It was actually meant as a general comment about all submissions whether they are articles or comments.  Sometimes I just cannot figure out what a writer is attempting to say.  Sorry, Ted, that my comment appeared to be directed towards you.

[Doctor Wu]

20 hours ago, HoskenPowell said:

This move was all about $$$$$$$$$

No way MAT was coming back for the $$$ they got Margot for.

The Twins STILL could go sign Clevenger and end up in the payroll range they stated they wanted to stay within months ago.

They need to grab Clevenger.   Period.  Varlands unproven and Paddock and DeScan are both injury concerns and NOT gonna pitch over 100 innings.   I'd love to be wrong on that , but strongly doubt it.  20 5 inning starts for all of those 3 would be a giant positive.

Hard to say at this point. Spring Training has started and Taylor still hasn't signed with any team. He may not get the money he was hoping for.

[Doctor Wu]

I liked this trade. Although Miller looks like he has elite defensive skills, it's still uncertain if his bat will play in the majors. I always liked Margot with the Rays. I was exchanging e-mails with a friend back in Tampa and he said this:

That was a nice pickup by the Twins. Margot is a solid player and a solid clubhouse presence. 

And I agree. I think Margot will be a very useful player for the Twins this season.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

I haven't seen one national publication that doesn't say this was a good deal for the Twins.  They get Margot for cheap (4 million)....MAT apparently wanted 2 years (which would block Martin) and probably at 2x's the cost of Margot.  The prospects are a wash.  The experts who have actually seen them both play have Doncon rated higher....

[Finlander]

I never would have dreamed that Kyle Garlick or Rob Refsnyder would be so tough to replace.

[stringer bell]

The Twins have acquired three distressed assets in the last few weeks--DeSclafani, Margot, and Santana--who either weren't really a fit for their new team or who didn't have a job. Getting all three for the cost of $13.5M is (IMHO) shrewd, but kind of is the definition of dumpster diving or maybe shopping in the scratch and dent section. 

Injuries are the main concern for Margot and DeSclafani, while Santana is facing off with Father Time. I'm hoping all three win their battles, but the realist in me sees one or two flailing and mostly failing.