Twins coaching staff and front office meeting today

[Parker Hageman]

During KFAN’s Paul Allen Show this morning, host Paul Allen revealed that his Twins “inside sources” say that the coaching staff and the front office are having a significant meeting today to discuss the on-field personnel. With the trade deadline a little over a month away, Allen’s source indicates that there are decisions that need to be made regarding Kyle Gibson, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau. The roundtable of the Twins brass likely means there will be moves forthcoming.

 

The current handling of Gibson was discussed at length here while I recently wrote about the struggles of both Willingham and Morneau here.

[TheLeviathan]

Wow! This is news!

 

I can't believe anyone can listen to Paul Allen long enough to get his scoops. You sir are a soldier to have stomached it long enough to get something relevant and interesting. We are all in your debt.

[greengoblinrulz]

exactly.....PA is a joke on baseball & his 'sources' are his best friend LaVelle.

Disregard anything he says

[Parker Hageman]

his 'sources' are his best friend LaVelle.

 

And LaVelle would be a very good source. As would Roy Smalley, Rick Anderson or Tim Laudner who he has on the show occasionally. I'm not suggesting he is an elite baseball mind, but he has connections.

 

The main purpose for posting this news is to generate a discussion of what the potential moves could be and when they could happen. Gibson? After the deadline? Before the deadline? Would the Twins actually move Willingham and Morneau? Why or why not? You know, forum chat stuff that you nerds love argue about ;-).

[Mike Sixel]

I have no idea, parker, what this org's plan is. It is clearly not "rebuild and play the young guys", it is clearly not "acquire good MLB players and compete", it is not "trade the older players while they have value (see Willingham)"....so I have no idea what might or might not come of this.

 

but, given their lack of what appears to be any consistent strategy, I hope something good does come from this.

[DaveW]

Since Gardy is basically managing for his job I doubt he will be thrilled with trading Willingham or Morneau, if that happens I think they need to let Gardy stick around next year (as long as they don't lose 100 games) he has done a pretty good job thus far with the turd roster he was handed. As of now this looks like a 75-78 win team, I think that earns him another year with a team that has a shot to compete in 2014

[Todd God Walker]

Certainly groundbreaking....

 

Not really, Morneau and Willingham should be moved and we all know they probably will be.

 

I'd rather see Parmalee at first and Arcia in left, get them developed; or in Parmalee's case, figure out if he'll ever be good

[jay]

Since Gardy is basically managing for his job I doubt he will be thrilled with trading Willingham or Morneau, if that happens I think they need to let Gardy stick around next year (as long as they don't lose 100 games) he has done a pretty good job thus far with the turd roster he was handed. As of now this looks like a 75-78 win team, I think that earns him another year with a team that has a shot to compete in 2014

 

I'm not a Gardy fan by any stretch, but I'd have to agree with your insights. The FO will say Gardy's time is up if the incoming wave of prospects don't pan out, but I have to think he'll get a chance.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't know, what has Gardy done well this year? They are winning about what people thought they'd win, if I was the manager, you, or Gardy......

 

Are they running the bases well? Do they hit the right cutoff man? Are the starter left in/pulled at the right times?

 

I don't know the answer, but I'm not sure what he's done especially well or poorly at this point.

 

My biggest beef is his not playing Parmalee more often. They need more data on him, imo.

[LewFordLives]

Regarding Willingham and Morneau, I think one's opinion on their future with the team would be based on what you think this team's chances are in 2014. If you think this team has a legitimate shot at making a playoff run in 2014 (I admit I'm an optimist), then you have to keep both of them around.

1. Target Field favors right-handed pull hitters. They have one in Willingham for a reasonable price.

2. Are you convinced Parmelee can take over for Morneau and be as productive? I'm not. Not to mention Morneau is a fan favorite, and that counts for something. If he's willing to do a two year extension, I think the Twins have to give it serious thought.

 

It's possible some of the younger guys could make Willingham and/or Morneau obsolete, but none of them has proven anything yet and it could be years before they're quality big league players. I don't think the fanbase is willing to be that patient.

[cmathewson]

And LaVelle would be a very good source. As would Roy Smalley, Rick Anderson or Tim Laudner who he has on the show occasionally. I'm not suggesting he is an elite baseball mind, but he has connections. .

 

IMHO, Lavelle is overrated. I have read just about everything he's written over the last decade or so, and I recognize several patterns of lazy journalism:

 

1. Relying on a few "go-to" sources and thereby only getting one side of every story (e.g. Torii's view of Mauer)

2. Repeating the same story over and over when it originated from that self-same source (Mauer is lazy rather than hurt, a story he repeated for almost a year during which he never bothered to interview Mauer)

3. Using the anonymous "twins official" source when he can't get anyone to talk to him (in one case, that was an usher)

4. Doing nothing in the way of background research (e.g. the Mastroianni injury, which was a broken leg and anyone armed with WebMD could have found this out and asked the right questions of Twins management to get the right answers)

5. Favoring "scoops" over the truth

 

To you larger point, I'm surprised this is a story at all. These meetings happen all the time, especially after the draft and before the trade deadline. It's called running a baseball team.

[ScottyB]

If both Willingham and Morneau are traded, Arcia goes to LF, Parmelee goes to 1B, but what happens to RF? Doumit? Ramirez when he comes back? Herrmann? Bring up Romero to play 3B and move Plouffe to RF? I also assume Hicks comes back to play CF after a rehab stint. These options aren't the most palatable. I think it would be hard to trade both.

[IdahoPilgrim]

To you larger point, I'm surprised this is a story at all. These meetings happen all the time, especially after the draft and before the trade deadline. It's called running a baseball team.

 

This was my question. Is there something different about this meeting other than a normal mid-season review? Of course, if the Twins hadn't been doing this in past years and this was a first, that would be a big story.

[chopper0080]

I started a thread in regards to this, but I see no reason why the Twins should trade Willingham at this point. His production is down, we probably not get a top prospect for him, and he is the only power threat on this team. I see no reason to sell low at this point as he is far more valuable for the Twins in 2014.

[cmathewson]

If both Willingham and Morneau are traded, Arcia goes to LF, Parmelee goes to 1B, but what happens to RF? Doumit? Ramirez when he comes back? Herrmann? Bring up Romero to play 3B and move Plouffe to RF? I also assume Hicks comes back to play CF after a rehab stint. These options aren't the most palatable. I think it would be hard to trade both.

 

I doubt they trade both players this year. i could see Willignham, though his trade value is at a low ebb with his recent struggles. But if he gets hot before the All-Star break, he would be the top candidate among Twins veterans to get traded. Both Ryan and Antony have said they want to keep Morneau and would need to be offered a lot to let him go before his FA period. The most likely veterans on the trading block are Correia, Pelfrey and Burton.

 

In any event, I wouldn't expect anything to happen trade-wise until the deadline. Ryan will try to get as much out of these guys as he can and his leverage increases the closer he gets to the deadline.

[silverslugger]

I have no idea, parker, what this org's plan is. It is clearly not "rebuild and play the young guys", it is clearly not "acquire good MLB players and compete", it is not "trade the older players while they have value (see Willingham)"....so I have no idea what might or might not come of this.

 

but, given their lack of what appears to be any consistent strategy, I hope something good does come from this.

 

This...just this.

[jay]

I have no idea, parker, what this org's plan is. It is clearly not "rebuild and play the young guys", it is clearly not "acquire good MLB players and compete", it is not "trade the older players while they have value (see Willingham)"....so I have no idea what might or might not come of this.

 

but, given their lack of what appears to be any consistent strategy, I hope something good does come from this.

 

Do we expect the Twins to have an official strategy announcement party?

 

I think I could summarize my personal views on what the current strategy seems to be as: "Field a team that is more respectable than the last two years while continuing to build the farm system."

[TheLeviathan]

I think I could summarize my personal views on what the current strategy seems to be as: "Field a team that is more respectable than the last two years while continuing to build the farm system."

 

If it was as simple as that, I count at least $40 million more ways they could have been more respectable.

 

The only thing this team does gibsonly is "be cheap".

[Todd God Walker]

If it was as simple as that, I count at least $40 million more ways they could have been more respectable.

 

The only thing this team does gibsonly is "be cheap".

 

By signing what free agents?

[jay]

If it was as simple as that, I count at least $40 million more ways they could have been more respectable.

 

And we all could.

 

However, I will say that we'd have to look pretty hard to find ways to efficiently spend that $40M last offseason without significant commitments for the future. I'm okay suffering these few years as long as we're extending most key players and filling a hole or two via FA over the next 5 years.

[Parker Hageman]

To you larger point, I'm surprised this is a story at all. These meetings happen all the time, especially after the draft and before the trade deadline.

 

Are you sure? Who's your source? Dubay?

[PseudoSABR]

If both Willingham and Morneau are traded, Arcia goes to LF, Parmelee goes to 1B, but what happens to RF? Doumit? Ramirez when he comes back? Herrmann? Bring up Romero to play 3B and move Plouffe to RF? I also assume Hicks comes back to play CF after a rehab stint. These options aren't the most palatable. I think it would be hard to trade both.

Parm in RF and Colabello at 1B.

[cmathewson]

The Twins keep things like strategy close to the vest. There is no benefit to publicizing it, and there's a lot of risk. Competitors are listening.

 

If I had to guess, they are trying to have a competitive team until the young guys are ready. They don't think the young guys are ready yet. Some of us disagree in certain cases (e.g. Gibson). But that doesn't invalidate the strategy.

[DaveW]

I dont see what the rush is right now anyways. It should be pretty cut and dry:

 

If the Twins are within 4-5 games around the deadline, then you think about adding some pieces (without giving up any real prospects) and take a miracle run at the playoffs. If they are 8+ games out then you sell whatever you can (but maybe not sell super low on guys like Willingham just for the sake of selling)

 

The real kicker is, what do you do if you are 6-7 games out at the time?

[cmathewson]

Are you sure? Who's your source? Dubay?

 

Just in case this is not a joke, you can scan the Strib archives and find that the Twins have organizational meetings between the draft and the trade deadline every year. Trades are not the only things they discuss, but they are on the agenda.

[cmathewson]

He'd be significantly more credible. And that's the drunk Dubay, sober Dubay is WAY more....

 

Shame on you for talking about Parker that way. Next to Nick, he's the most credible source in this town.

[jay]

And that is not exaggeration. Look at the payroll and do the math yourself, this is becoming a trend for you to be a step behind on the larger picture of the discussions.

 

LOL. That's cute, but I'm actually quite good at math and have a good knowledge of the Twins payroll.

 

You don't know what the budget is. You don't know what the flexibility is. You don't know what the long-term plan is. I don't either, but don't paint me as some uneducated fool because you think you have the answers.

[JB_Iowa]

The Twins strategy is pretty simple: maximize profits.

 

Do this by spending as little as possible while still maintaining income.

 

Unfortunately their baseball strategy for creating wins isn't as easy to discern.

[TheLeviathan]

Shame on you for talking about Parker that way. Next to Nick, he's the most credible source in this town.

 

Not sure if you are using sarcasm....but I was referring to Paul Allen, which is who Parker was referring to with his Dubay crack.

[TheLeviathan]

You don't know what the budget is. You don't know what the flexibility is. You don't know what the long-term plan is. I don't either, but don't paint me as some uneducated fool because you think you have the answers.

 

The Twins have stated they use 50% of revenues for player payroll. We know financial commitments the team has. We can approximate arbitration costs. We know when contracts expire or need renewal. So yes, I do know quite a bit about how much payroll room there is. And I'm not some kind of wizard, this is information available to all people. The question is....will you ignore it like you do other evidence? Hide behind calling it "vague".

 

Feigning ignorance of information that there IS evidence and data for is a quick way to not be taken seriously.