3 Free-Agent Landmines Twins Need to Avoid This Offseason

[Cris E]

This article is not sound for a few reasons. 

On the surface it is wrong because these are actually three pretty good free agents for the Twins. Lowe and Bednar are fairly consistent, neither is looking for five or more years, and both fill needs without blocking youngsters (assuming Lowe can slide to 1B when Houston shoves Culpepper out of SS.) Jeffers may be a rough signing for a team looking for four years of catching, but we have Lackey coming and a need for this RH bat, and best of all we don't pay the comp pick penalty. 

At a lower level this is a bad argument because it tries to walk a line that says free agency is very risky, these guys will blow up on you, but there are some others that will be fine.  OK, well, sort of, but no. Every team has to bring in talent from outside the organization to augment what the draft and develop source does not provide, so you must use free agency.   

Yes it's risky and/or expensive, but that's why these guys are available. If they were good and cheap their last team would have kept them. If they're bad you don't want them, and if they're expensive it just makes them players at market rate.  If you were better at draft and develop you wouldn't have to pay the extra price, but when there are holes that's what it costs. 

I guess I chafe at the complaining without also producing the names of the safer "legitimate opportunities to improve the roster through free agency."  Don't just be contrary, take a stand. 

I say (Jeffers, else Bauers, else Lowe)  plus a couple arms from the second shelf (ie not Bednar or Morejon.)

I say the depth in the pen is at least as important as the top end talent, and I'd rather have three or four very good guys than a lock down closer and what the Twins were doing last year. Hoffman and another couple guys about as good as him (and no Rogers or Topa or Hendricks grade filler) is better than spending all your money on Morejon and continuing to watch Orze and his ilk tiptoe through the seventh. 

[RpR]

8 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Agree on Lackey.  He gets a cup of coffee next year, begins to develop as a pro in 2028 sharing duties with Jeffers (and being tutored by Jeffers) as C2 for a good part of the year, 

Tutored how, teach him how go from 24.5 caught stealing in 2023 to 10.6 caught stealing in 2026?

As a catcher , Jeffers is a gaping hole in the defense.  Caratini's 16.2 is not great but still better than Jeffers.

[Nashvilletwin]

29 minutes ago, RpR said:

Tutored how, teach him how go from 24.5 caught stealing in 2023 to 10.6 caught stealing in 2026?

As a catcher , Jeffers is a gaping hole in the defense.  Caratini's 16.2 is not great but still better than Jeffers.

Yeah, that’s all Jeffers could teach - how to have a better arm.  Nothing else. Catching in the majors is only about throwing out runners and everything else either isn’t important or something young players just pick up on their own.

What a ridiculous comment.