Friday Forum: Byron Buxton's Defense, Louis Varland Would Look Pretty Good Right About Now, and Narratives Fly Forever!

[USAFChief]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Modern defensive metrics aren't particularly kind to Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. He's decidedly...average, if you believe what they say. Do you? Does it matter?

I'm not sure if you heard...or remember...the Twins made a couple deals last summer at the deadline. The whole thing seemed to fly under the radar, almost unnoticed. So it might be time to look back at one of those deals, Louis Varland to Toronto. Thoughts on this largely unnoticed transaction?

Narratives. They can change, but they sure drive perceptions. Time for your take.

Get your comment on! 

View full article

[Nshore]

With Buxton it's a matter of what are you going to believe - the stats or your own eyes.  He's stopped trying to make plays that got him injured - to keep himself in the line-up, while still picking his spots and making some outstanding plays.  IMO, he's playing the best all around baseball of his career.

The Varland trade was awful on many levels.  Varland was a proven ML commodity while Rojas and Roden may never amount to anything.  The value of a starting pitcher versus reliever is blurred like never before with shorter starts for starters.  And the trade without a doubt proves the lie of the Twins' stated goal of competing THIS YEAR.

[mikelink45]

Trading Varland might turn out okay if our return ever pays dividends, but seeing our losing streak caused by BP failures means Varland could have been our hero. 

Buxton is the best we have - I can live with it.  When we get someone better, we can make a change, but for now it does not matter what Statcast thinks.

[JBK]

Analytics are statistically proven to be inaccurate.  

[Fred]

All by itself the Varland trade could, at least, be explained. Rojas and Roden both look like they could contribute in the future. But, they had just gutted their bullpen. Varland was the sole remaining reliable guy out there. Right now, I'm not sure how big a lead needs to be, to be safe. It will straighten itself out in 2 or 3 years, but Buxton isn't getting younger, and the next wave will be asking for more money about that time.

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, Fred said:

All by itself the Varland trade could, at least, be explained. Rojas and Roden both look like they could contribute in the future. But, they had just gutted their bullpen. Varland was the sole remaining reliable guy out there. Right now, I'm not sure how big a lead needs to be, to be safe. It will straighten itself out in 2 or 3 years, but Buxton isn't getting younger, and the next wave will be asking for more money about that time.

Nothing in MLB "straightens itself out."