Why Kyle Farmer and Christian Vázquez Escaped the Offseason Budget Crunch

[jmlease1]

18 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

We did offer Mr. Gray a Qualified Offer, i do believe?

 

(PS... somewhere recently i think spelled his name with an e. if a kindly moderator notices it and feels like fixing it, or just reminding me where it is so as i can do it myself, i would be much obliged.)

we did. and before the payroll cut I would have said we would have been thrilled with him accepting...now, I'm afraid the FO was thrilled he declined (which everyone expected) because who knows what they would have had to do to get within the ownership's self-imposed payroll limits?

That said: Gray left his start yesterday with a hamstring issue...

[Oldgoat_MN]

2 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

This article in The Athletic seems timely: 

https://theathletic.com/5299395/2024/03/05/kyle-farmer-2024-twins/

Since you need a subscription, I'll summarize for those who don't have one. The gist is that Farmer himself was expecting to get non-tendered, but that he's very glad to be back. It also talks about why the Twins wanted him back and is very complimentary from a number of sources. 

I just posted a comment to this effect in another thread, but I think it's another example of the Twins treating players right, and I think that goes a long way in their success and player recruitment.

Great link. Thank you. 

Not noted is that Farmer has increased his OPS+ each of the last 3 years to 98 in 2023. Pretty nice for a guy who can be a good fielder at 2B, 3B and SS.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

we did. and before the payroll cut I would have said we would have been thrilled with him accepting...now, I'm afraid the FO was thrilled he declined (which everyone expected) because who knows what they would have had to do to get within the ownership's self-imposed payroll limits?

That said: Gray left his start yesterday with a hamstring issue...

Hope he's okay!

 

And hearing Correa's situation, if in free agency folk work out less because they'd be out of luck if they injured themselves while working out, and this contributes to them being less prepared for a season or more injury prone, maybe this is a bug in the system which should probably be addressed somehow...

[Jeff K]

On 3/4/2024 at 2:54 PM, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'm also glad they kept both.  They need that quality depth.  That said, I could see both gone after this season as Lee will be ready to fill in for Farmer and I'd guess that Vasquez will be easier to trade with only 10mm left on his contract.  That obviously assumes that Camargo is ready and the other kid down there (can't recall his name) is ready to move up to STP and be the third option.

[Jeff K]

I'm also pleased both players are on the team.  I do feel that Farmer could be part of a mid season trade based on potential need.  Nevertheless, he should be a valuable piece to the puzzle.

[JD-TWINS]

On 3/4/2024 at 12:55 PM, Doctor Gast said:

I am overjoyed that they kept both not only because they are better defensively than their primary player ahead of them but also their character & their ability to mentor. I admire Farmer when he got HBP in the face and came back quickly and never missed a beat. I admired Vazquez for not complaining publicly when he who had World Series experience, sat out of the postseason in favor of a catcher who had none. After a year of adapting & getting to know his pitchers, he'll bounce back this season.

I'd be happier if the Twins stood pat & kept Polanco.

It was Polanco or Farmer…..somebody had to go………Topa may change your mind?

[Doctor Wu]

On 3/5/2024 at 3:06 AM, chpettit19 said:

Correa at 33 needs to perform for sure

You almost had me doing a double take there ... at first I assumed you were talking about his age!

[Doctor Wu]

I'm happy we kept both players too. We need the experience and depth at catcher, and I really like and value Farmer's versatility and grit. That said, I don't expect we will see either player with the Twins a year for now. But for the time being, I'm happy to have them on the team and I feel like we'll appreciate them both more as the year progresses. 

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

You almost had me doing a double take there ... at first I assumed you were talking about his age!

He'll still be under contract at 33 so he'll have to perform then, too!

[Doctor Gast]

13 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

It was Polanco or Farmer…..somebody had to go………Topa may change your mind?

To me, it wasn't Polanco or Farmer, it was moving Julien to 1st & not signing Santana. Topa would have to produce as much WAR as Polanco this year to change my mind. IMO BP was not a clear need. We weren't over budget.

[ashbury]

11 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

You almost had me doing a double take there ... at first I assumed you were talking about his age!

I started to do a double-take, but then stopped - but then the surprise caused me to do one anyway just to make sure!

[IndianaTwin]

On 3/5/2024 at 11:07 AM, Rod Carews Birthday said:

I hope you’re correct.  Max has at times demonstrated that he can be a top notch player, however, if there is one thing that he has consistently shown, it’s his ability to be inconsistent.  I just don’t feel like you can ever count on a particular level of production.  

I wouldn't say Max has been inconsistent at all. In five of his seven full seasons, he's had an OPS+ from 92-98, which is a very tight range. His two outliers have been significantly better than that (and are actually very tight with each other). Going backwards, his bWAR is 2.9, 2.1 and 2.0 and would have extrapolated to 2.7 in the shortened 2020. Again, consistent.

"Counting on a particular level of production" implies having a consistent floor. With Kepler, you can count on a floor that is very close to average offensively, partnered with what's seen as outstanding defense, particularly in a home park that can be tricky.

We can talk about whether his contract his justified for a right fielder who is significantly above average defensively and a known floor OPS+ of 95.   But inconsistency isn't the issue. There's not many people who have been as consistent as he has.

For the record, I do think the contract is worth it and can understand why he "escaped the budget crunch," to borrow the phrase from the title. With the potential that's in the rest of the lineup, stick him in the nine hole to start the season and move him up if he gets on one of his rolls. If you've got a 95 OPS+ at the bottom of the lineup, that's pretty impressive.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

16 hours ago, ashbury said:

I started to do a double-take, but then stopped - but then the surprise caused me to do one anyway just to make sure!

Double-take... like when Buxton hits a single and winds up on second?

I approve of these.