Finding Solace in the Wake of Pablo López's Bad News

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, Cris E said:

You think you can develop your way to the WS? Essentially no one has done that in years, decades even.

Agree, sort of, for recent history because the Dodgers have been buying titles of late.. they've developed very few members of their core.

But you don't have to go back all that far to see development success stories.  The 2014 Giants, 2015 Royals, 2016 Cubs, and 2017 Astros all won titles with cores that were largely developed internally.  That was a golden age for developing your own players.  Even the 2019 Nationals were substantially home grown in the lineup plus Strassburg.  Sure, they all brought in a player or three from outside the organization, but their stars were developed.

Is that era gone?  Maybe.  I hope that development can win a title again, because the Twins ownership is never going to spend like the Dodgers and other big money franchises.

Will they sign an injured Pablo to an extension?  Who knows.  My heart wouldn't complain, but my head would.  

[shimrod]

18 hours ago, Cris E said:

Sure, let's count the wins and pretend the team didn't sell off 40% of the MLB roster half way thru the year.  That's innovative thinking that makes or low effort, content-free posts. Whee.

And why did we sell off? Because the team assembled by buying low on injured players was terrible. 

You are correct that depending ONLY on draft and develop isn't a valid path to contention. FA is also not the path for a team that won't spend. Unless you think Josh Bell is putting us over the top. What's left?

Draft and develop needs to be supplemented by strategic trades. MN needs to trade from positions of strength for positions of weakness. Trade prospects while they're still prospects, for prospects who are still prospects. 

MN continues to sit on draftees until they've proven they can't play rather than risk moving an eventual MLB regular. Yes, sometimes you trade a guy you wish you'd kept. That potential, however, is what gets you a prospect with similar potential at a position of weakness. 

 

[Cris E]

That wasn't a 70 win team last July 20, it was kind of .500-ish in a weak division but facing injuries and some why aren't we doing better ennui. Making the call then based on what they saw is very different from looking back and saying that was a 90 loss team and why are we even talking about this. 

What I was responding to was the laziness in implying that the poor record was related to signing guys with injury histories. Buxton played a lot and very well. Lewis, Wallner, Larnach and Jeffers all played a career high number of games (Jeffers within 3). Even Bader and Correa both finished the year with 144+ games played, at or near career highs. 

OTOH Lopez and Ober were hurt again. But I honestly believe most pitchers should be counted on to miss some time every other year, and miss serious time every fourth or fifth year. They just get hurt, so you pile them up on the 60 Day like the Dodgers do to have enough for the long season.