Twins Acquire Reliever Trevor Richards from Toronto Blue Jays for Minor Leaguer Jay Harry

[LA Vikes Fan]

9 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

In fairness to me, that was before the Flaherty move.  I said in another thread it seemed quite cheap, but a song relative to everything else is not an exaggeration.

Probably the only guy that went, that I would have liked to have at cost, that money was possibly a factor on. Detroit had no motivation to pick up salary.

I wouldn't say Flaherty went for a song, but certainly for more reasonable price than most of the starters that moved today. I live in LA and kinda follow the Dodgers as my secondary team. Detroit got Thaylon Liranzo, who is actually a pretty highly regarded prospect within the Dodgers top 10. I think he's like number 8. I looked and he has an overall prospect grade of 50 with a cannon arm that rates as a 60. He's overall only a 50 because he is a 30 run rating which basically means he runs like El Tortuga. He's a catcher which adds value. Trey Sweeney is their number 22 prospect and is their shortstop at AAA. Overall prospect grade of 45. Pretty athletic guy who may stall out as a AAAA player, but there is a chance that he could break through as a utility guy or solid regular. In most years this would be considered a pretty solid return for two months of a rental starter who stunk last year. This year it's an absolute bargain.

[jud6312]

4 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Relax.

Some here are incapable of that. They think if you criticize a team at all, you're not a real fan. 

[Aggies7]

There’s no funnier insult to me than calling someone a pohlad pocket protector. I laugh every time 😂

[USAFChief]

1 minute ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I wouldn't say Flaherty went for a song, but certainly for more reasonable price than most of the starter that move today. I live in LA and kinda follow the Dodgers as my secondary team. Detroit got Thaylon Liranzo, who is actually a pretty highly regarded prospect within the Dodgers top 10. I think he's like number 8. I looked and he has an overall prospect grade of 50 with a cannon arm that rates as a 60. He's overall only a 50 because he is a 30 run rating which basically means he runs like El Tortuga. He's a catcher which adds value. Trey Sweeney is their number 22 prospect and is their shortstop at AAA. Overall prospect grade of 45. Pretty athletic guy who may stall out as a AAAA player, but there is a chance that he could break through as a utility guy or solid regular. In most years this would be considered a pretty solid return for two months of a rental starter who stunk last year. This year it's an absolute bargain.

That's pretty generous.

Neither of those are actually prospects. 

Roster fill.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Just now, jud6312 said:

Some here are incapable of that. They think if you criticize a team at all, you're not a real fan. 

And not to mention, I wasn't even addressing Jocko!

[USAFChief]

11 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

This kinda crap will get real old, real quick.

Go echo chamber elsewhere.

Y'know, you spent the past three weeks telling us there were no financial restrictions. Seems unreasonable to get testy now that you're on the wrong side of that position. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

That's pretty generous.

Neither of those are actually prospects. 

Roster fill.

No, Sweeney may be roster fill but Liranzo has a real shot.  

[Twins GFP]

Why is everyone ripping this trade?

The Twins had $700k burning a hole in their pocket, they had to spend it somewhere...

[KirbyDome89]

44 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

He's upside. He's a lottery ticket. Twins got a nickel for 5 pennies. 

Cobb is about to turn 37. He hasn't thrown a pitch all year after shoulder inflammation derailed his rehab from offseason surgery. I'd say Cleveland received a nickel for 5 pennies as well. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

I hope Carlos chews them out.

Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to get Correa to request a trade.

[NYCTK]

7 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Cobb is about to turn 37. He hasn't thrown a pitch all year after shoulder inflammation derailed his rehab from offseason surgery. I'd say Cleveland received a nickel for 5 pennies as well. 

He's one rehab start from returning and has had a 3.80 ERA over 300 IP the last two seasons. I'd take him over any of Dobnak Festa or even Paddack, and possibly even SWR the remainder of the season if we're being completely honest. 

[Schmoeman5]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Reverse splits are not appealing when they lead to an overall bad reliever. I don't see how this move raises the ceiling on the 2024 Twins in any way at all. Feels like a move just to make a move. 

I hate to disagree with you. But without a doubt, this move puts them over the top. 

[FargoFanMan]

12 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Why is everyone ripping this trade?

The Twins had $700k burning a hole in their pocket, they had to spend it somewhere...

Would’ve been better used by Bill Pohlad to fund Into the wild 2. 

[FargoFanMan]

16 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to get Correa to request a trade.

Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if it was floated this off-season. Especially if he comes back and keeps up his pace. That would definitely “right size” this franchise!

[Whitey333]

Listening to Derek Falvey talking about how ownership never limited monies at the trade deadline is a joke.  It was so obvious he was "sucking up" to his bosses. It made me choke.  If it is true they weren't limited then Falvey led be fired immediately.  If that one trade at the last minute was all you could do then it's time to find someone else.  Even worse was listening to Atteberry and Perkins defending Falvey and his lack of moves was ridiculous.  Those guys spewing out the company propaganda is disgusting.  The Twins took the fans for a ride this past winter with no moves and a cut in payroll.  They continued that with little involvement at the trade deadline and then, after all the trades other teams made they say they couldn't make a deal and it wasn't payroll related?  Ridiculous.

[singlesoverwalks]

I've gotta think this is the high grocery bills hitting the Pohlads in the pocketbook.

[Jocko87]

24 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

And not to mention, I wasn't even addressing Jocko!

 

21 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Y'know, you spent the past three weeks telling us there were no financial restrictions. Seems unreasonable to get testy now that you're on the wrong side of that position. 

I'm not testy, and have not been saying any such thing.  Good reminder though that we still have no idea what happened or didn't today and why.  Assuming you are suddenly proven correct without any details is a fine example for others not to follow.

Maybe it's the caretaker in me coming out but the comment I called out is the weakest possible contribution to a conversation we could ever see. I expect that from primepopkins and reddit but we should be better than that.

Have you ever read the terms of service? 

[strumdatjag]

The Twins need to see improvement from their lefty relievers.  It’s fun to watch Thielbar’s curveball when it buckles a batter’s knees, but he hasn’t had consistent effectiveness to say the least.  Okert is almost as much of a problem.  Funderburk needs to get healthy so we can see if he is the best left-handed option in the pen. 

when I see what other team’s paid, I’m OK with the Twins not overpaying for mediocre players. 
 

[FargoFanMan]

5 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Listening to Derek Falvey talking about how ownership never limited monies at the trade deadline is a joke.  It was so obvious he was "sucking up" to his bosses. It made me choke.  If it is true they weren't limited then Falvey led be fired immediately.  If that one trade at the last minute was all you could do then it's time to find someone else.  Even worse was listening to Atteberry and Perkins defending Falvey and his lack of moves was ridiculous.  Those guys spewing out the company propaganda is disgusting.  The Twins took the fans for a ride this past winter with no moves and a cut in payroll.  They continued that with little involvement at the trade deadline and then, after all the trades other teams made they say they couldn't make a deal and it wasn't payroll related?  Ridiculous.

The asking prices were going pretty high for average guys. Yet how many prospects do you need when you have a team that’s only a guy or two from being a real threat? Also, it is absolutely disgusting the company line that’s toed with all the talking heads. I understand it’s a business but come on. You’re directly gaslighting people and us “in tune” fans see through the veil. Seems to be the corporate go to nowadays.

[FargoFanMan]

9 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

 

I'm not testy, and have not been saying any such thing.  Good reminder though that we still have no idea what happened or didn't today and why.  Assuming you are suddenly proven correct without any details is a fine example for others not to follow.

Maybe it's the caretaker in me coming out but the comment I called out is the weakest possible contribution to a conversation we could ever see. I expect that from primepopkins and reddit but we should be better than that.

Have you ever read the terms of service? 

Kids, don’t make me pull this car over!

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

 

I'm not testy, and have not been saying any such thing.  Good reminder though that we still have no idea what happened or didn't today and why.  Assuming you are suddenly proven correct without any details is a fine example for others not to follow.

Maybe it's the caretaker in me coming out but the comment I called out is the weakest possible contribution to a conversation we could ever see. I expect that from primepopkins and reddit but we should be better than that.

Have you ever read the terms of service? 

You haven't been insisting for weeks there's nothing to multiple reports from multiple reporters that the Twins won't take on any money?

[LA Vikes Fan]

This Deadline was a hard one. Lots of teams overpaid for decent but not great pitching. Really, only the Dodgers made a reasonable deal on Flaherty, Yet this Twins team seems like its good enough that one capable starter and one capable reliever could make the difference.  I'm normally not a big fan of the usual Deadline overpays but this year I would have gone for it and moved a guy or two off the top 10 for a top tier starter like Flaherty or even a couple from the top 20 for Trevor Richards or Kikuchi. Just because that window isn't often open and this year feels like it might be …. Or that breeze I feel is just my own hot air blowing back on my Face . . .

[tony&rodney]

The only guy I could see with the Twins was A. J. Puk. Didn't happen and his price was reasonable, even low compared to what followed in the last 24 hours. Falvey had opportunities and believed there wasn't any deals worth completing. For those who wish for trades, Falvey gets another shot in November.

[mikelink45]

3 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Yawn, yawn, yawn, and yawn.

You beat me to it. I was yawning too much to post earlier. 

[Vanimal46]

There were zero top 100 prospects traded this year. Nor were there any all star level players traded. This deadline reminds me of my long time running fantasy football league. We still remember the time we were fleeced in a trade in 2015, and too afraid to be the loser in a deal so nothing happens. 

[spanman2]

4 hours ago, Reptevia said:

The final piece!!!

Yea...World Series here come...

[gagu]

On July 2, in 44 innings pitched, Richards had an ERA of 2.44, with a WHIP of 0.818.

In seven appearances betweenJuly 4 and July 25, he recorded 6 IP, 15 H, 6 BB, 7 K, 3 HR, 15 ER, 3.500 WHIP, and a 22.5 ERA. That includes 1/3 of an inning in each of his 6th and 7th appearances, giving up 7 earned runs. He followed that with his final appearance as a Blue Jay. He pitched two scoreless innings last night with one K and two BBs.  

I like the idea of taking a flier on Richards. The pre-July 6 pitcher was quite effective. The decline began with his third appearance in four days and got worse with a fourth appearance in six days. The combo of insufficient rest between outings and facing too many batters when he didn't have good stuff was too much. Did they burn his arm out or was this a bump in the road that can be fixed with proper management? Hopefully the latter. If so, he can be very effective as a specialist vs LHBs, a mirror image of prime Marc Rzepczynski. 

 

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

I remember when Staumont, Jackson and Okert were brought in to create the best bullpen in baseball.

Whoops.

I came here to post this, there were some offseason articles claiming that the "quantity over quality approach" was better for the bullpen, and yet Jackson and Staumont have failed despite being handed 40 man spots, Okert is questionable at best and de facto the team's best lefty, and Topa has yet to pitch. And they relied on Stewart who has a history of getting injured frequently.

Yes, we know paying relievers is risky but this keeps happening every offseason - they skimp on relievers and have to patch things together midseason. Thankfully it's quite routine that young arms like Alcala and Sands emerge to patch the holes, but that doesn't justify the approach. I thought they would have learned from the season where their highest paid reliever was a 38 year old Joe Smith!

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to get Correa to request a trade.

I would if I was him. Publicly. 

[Dennesey55347]

We need to develop guys who can drive in runs with consistency. Period. Every contender in the American League has a guy. Pitching help is always nice but KC wouldn't be where they are without Witt. Gunnar in Baltimore is doing it all. Soto/Judge....my goodness. Devers in Boston. Altuve/Alvarez in Houston. Minnesota's got uh.....