26 year old Cuban SS Alexander Guerrero

[Mike Sixel]

Let's just say the scouts failed us all on that one.....I still can't believe Gardy never saw tape on him before they signed him.

[ThePuck]

He was slated for second base (where he got hurt in the first week of the regular season) after they got a look at him in spring tng and admitted he wasn't an MLB shortstop.

 

IMO, they were always going to have him at 2B...they talked about him playing there because of his arm even before ST happened. Then they 'made the decision' as they said in ST to play him at 2B...as if that decision wasn't made much earlier.

 

Not only that, but Gardy came out and said he liked Casilla at shortstop and he would compete with Hardy for the starting job at shortstop (this was about a week before Hardy was traded..and before the Nishi signing)

[DaveW]

Let's just say the scouts failed us all on that one.....I still can't believe Gardy never saw tape on him before they signed him.

Why would Grady see tape on him? Signing players (especially international ones) isn't his job

[Mike Sixel]

If I was going to hire someone to work for another manager, at my company, I'd include them in the process.......it isn't his job to sign players, but they were signing a player to start for the team, I would include the manager in that. That might not be how it works.

[AROG]

I am the first one to say that money should not be wasted. I don't feel I have the right to spend the owners money but I like to speculate on what he should or shouldn't do in my opinion. I believe this is a great investment.

 

First, it appears that based on the reports, all the teams feel he wont be a short stop. That doesn't mean he wont be one. Look at Sano, every report leading into this year and most still to this point don't believe he will stay at third, but his defense gets better daily.

 

Second, lets say he doesn't play SS and has to move to 2B. Dozier has been a great surprise as what appears to be a capable 2B. He hasn't had the time to prove he can do that year in and year out. Dozier's defense has been great, but offense is up and down and I hope he can maintain what he has been doing, but we can't plan the future around him doing it.

 

Third, again assuming that Guerrero has to move to 2B. Rosario is just a prospect. He has to prove he can play. His defense has always been the biggest issue with him. We know he can hit, but can he routinely make all the plays? He is a natural OF and could make the transition back to the outfield. And this would give us a possibility of trading a good 2B in Dozier or Rosario for pitching.

 

Fourth, let's say that Guerrero can't hack it in a big league infield at all. If he just hits the way he has the ability to, we can find a spot. If he was athletic enough to play outfield then he is athletic enough to play 1st, or 3rd or OF. What if Sano has to go to 1B?

 

Conclusion for my long winded self. IMO, this is a player with versatility that is perfect for our situation of younger, unproven talent. He can play where the whole is or the players coming up can find a way to play around him. I would sign him over the great hitting Cuban prospect 9 times out of 10. There is always the chance that huge Cuban hitter could be the next Miggy. But based on the video I saw on this Guerrero, he reminds me a lot of Nomar, just a heck of a lot stronger.

[Brandon]

If the Twins sign him the only area of concern won the team would be the rotation. THe middle infield would be fixed for the next 5 or 6 years. There is enough offense coming up that we will be real good there especially if this guy is that much above average at a week hitting position as Mauer is at Catching.

 

So now how do we fix this rotation problem......

[Mike Sixel]

Easier to fix the rotation problem if you have a surplus of postion players to deal from.....

[TheLeviathan]

I liked the nishi move at the time but there were plenty who didnt and cautioned against his freakish BABIP

 

I would suggest his bat wasn't the reason he flamed out. It didn't help, but the majority of his issue was the Knoblauchian implosion of his defense. I can't imagine, no matter how much lower their standards are in Japan, that what we saw here was a reflection of the gold glover over there. Something about the major leagues turned him into a complete sideshow in the field.

[cmathewson]

I would suggest his bat wasn't the reason he flamed out. It didn't help, but the majority of his issue was the Knoblauchian implosion of his defense. I can't imagine, no matter how much lower their standards are in Japan, that what we saw here was a reflection of the gold glover over there. Something about the major leagues turned him into a complete sideshow in the field.

 

When he was briefly called up in a last-ditch effort to save the signing, he committed six errors in three games, and otherwise looked completely lost in the filed. So, yeah, he regressed. But he won the gold glove at short, and he just never got comfortable at second, after he endured one of the dirtiest slides I've ever seen.

 

They paid for a gold glove shortstop. And they paid even more by dumping Hardy to make room for Nishi (whether at short or second with Casilla's alleged versatility). They got a crappy second baseman. That should never happen. And it is relevant to this signing because a lot of scouts are saying the Cuban is not a major league shortstop, but he will fetch a shortstop price. And like that deal, they would have to make room for him at second.

[TheLeviathan]

And like that deal, they would have to make room for him at second.

 

This team is not so well off that they have to worry about "making room" for anyone. Add talent when it won't cost you anything and worry about having too many talents at one position later.

[jokin]

If I was going to hire someone to work for another manager, at my company, I'd include them in the process.......it isn't his job to sign players, but they were signing a player to start for the team, I would include the manager in that. That might not be how it works.

 

I would hope that's how it works. Ron Gardenhire has been employed by the Twins organization for the last 25 years, the last 23 on the front lines, providing imput or making final playing decisons with the major league club. For all intents and purposes, Gardy is Senior Management. The manager should have been one of the first 2 people shown video of a prospective starter, proposed to take the place of a premier big league SS.

[jokin]

This team is not so well off that they have to worry about "making room" for anyone. Add talent when it won't cost you anything and worry about having too many talents at one position later.

 

"Too many talents" and "the Minnesota Twins" are two terms rarely used together in the same sentence.

[snepp]

"Too many talents" and "the Minnesota Twins" are two terms rarely used together in the same sentence.

 

Throw in a reference to the "middle infield" and you've got a trifecta.

[Mr. Brooks]

When he was briefly called up in a last-ditch effort to save the signing, he committed six errors in three games, and otherwise looked completely lost in the filed. So, yeah, he regressed. But he won the gold glove at short, and he just never got comfortable at second, after he endured one of the dirtiest slides I've ever seen.

 

They paid for a gold glove shortstop. And they paid even more by dumping Hardy to make room for Nishi (whether at short or second with Casilla's alleged versatility). They got a crappy second baseman. That should never happen. And it is relevant to this signing because a lot of scouts are saying the Cuban is not a major league shortstop, but he will fetch a shortstop price. And like that deal, they would have to make room for him at second.

 

The slide was clean.

Swisher was in the base path, hell he even touched 2nd base at the same time he was taking out Nishii. This is the way double plays have been broken up in America for 100 years.

 

Video: MIN@NYY: Nishioka injured on Swisher's takeout slide | MLB.com

 

Nishioka, Gardenhire and other Twins said they felt Swisher made a clean slide into second base, trying to break up a potential double play ball hit by Mark Teixeira in the seventh inning.

“He was just breaking up the double play; no issues there,” Gardenhire said. “[Nishioka] just got caught a little flat-footed. Swisher’s a clean player. That’s just a good baseball slide, trying to break up a double play. There’s no intent there.”

Swisher went to the X-Ray room to apologize to Nishioka.

“The first thing I said was, ‘I’m sorry, man. I thought you were going to jump,” Swisher said. “And he said, ‘It was my fault. I should have gotten out of the way.’ I was just trying to break up a double play. I didn't mean to do that. Especially with a guy like that, just trying to make his mark over here.”

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/119432044.html

[Mr. Brooks]

I would hope that's how it works. Ron Gardenhire has been employed by the Twins organization for the last 25 years, the last 23 on the front lines, providing imput or making final playing decisons with the major league club. For all intents and purposes, Gardy is Senior Management. The manager should have been one of the first 2 people shown video of a prospective starter, proposed to take the place of a premier big league SS.

 

 

Gardy never liked Hardy, from day 1. Perhaps they asked Gardy to watch film of Nishii, and Gardy said something like, "He can't be worse than Hardy, just pull the trigger." We don't know.

Terry and him have always had a pretty good relationship so I can't imagine they intentionally kept him out of the loop.

[ThePuck]

The slide was clean.

Swisher was in the base path, hell he even touched 2nd base at the same time he was taking out Nishii. This is the way double plays have been broken up in America for 100 years.

 

Video: MIN@NYY: Nishioka injured on Swisher's takeout slide | MLB.com

 

Exactly...nothing at all dirty with that slide. A middle IF can't just plant his feet where he did and throw and not expect to be hit. I'm speculating that perhaps in Japan, baserunners don't attempt to break up DPs by taking players out at 2B. It was one of the first things I learned as a shortstop. Get the out, then get out of the way.

 

I wonder how the phantom play at 2B on double plays, which is allowed in order to protect players from injury, will be affected by the new replay system? I hope managers are smart enough to continue to let those go.

[Mike Sixel]

Or, players could just try to slide into the base, and not try to take out players. That's also an option. Not sure how I feel about that option, but it is an option.

[diehardtwinsfan]

MLBTR is reporting that the Redsox are out of the sweepstakes.

[Mr. Brooks]

Or, players could just try to slide into the base, and not try to take out players. That's also an option. Not sure how I feel about that option, but it is an option.

 

Why? It's meant to try to break up the DP, not to try to hurt anyone.

If the MI isn't a moron, he won't ever get hurt. It's meant to cause you to rush your throw, drop the ball, etc., no baserunner expects the MI to just stand there and take it, hence Swisher's shock that Nishii didn't move out of the way.

It's Nishii's fault for not knowing, and the Twins fault for not teaching him.

The takeout slide is not dangerous if the MI reacts properly.

Should you just stop running and concede the double play?

[nicksaviking]

Gardy never liked Hardy, from day 1. Perhaps they asked Gardy to watch film of Nishii, and Gardy said something like, "He can't be worse than Hardy, just pull the trigger." We don't know.

Terry and him have always had a pretty good relationship so I can't imagine they intentionally kept him out of the loop.

 

I don't know that Gardy didn't like Hardy, he may have just not liked his approach to hitting, namely grip-it and rip-it to LF.

 

Not surprisingly Hardy did just that on his way to a great season in Baltimore and the following year the Twins had no problem letting Willingham and Plouffe employee Hardy's approach.

[nicksaviking]

Anyone can play SS, it just depends on what level of liability a club is willing to endure. There are plenty of shortstops today, who if re-evaluated by the same scouts as Guererro, would likely be told that they aren't a shortstop.

 

I seriously doubt any scouts would say Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie were shortstops if re-evaluated. You also have players like Hardy or Jhonny Peralta who appear too big, stiff and slow to play the position. I'd bet good money that if everything was equal, plenty of scouts would say those two are incapable of playing the position.

[Major League Ready]

What if you had to choose between Abreu or Guerrero? 1st base is the easiest position to field but Abreu sounds like he could be a beast. Joe could still play 1st for 50-75 games and let Abreu DH. I guess we could do that with Morales too. Morales would be a great sign if we could get him for no more than a 3-year contract.

 

I could get behind Morales and Guerrero as our off-season for position players. Add Phil Hughes or better to the rotation and things are looking up. I can dream, right?

[nicksaviking]

What if you had to choose between Abreu or Guerrero?

 

Abreu. I'd always take the offense.

[cmb0252]

Anyone can play SS, it just depends on what level of liability a club is willing to endure. There are plenty of shortstops today, who if re-evaluated by the same scouts as Guererro, would likely be told that they aren't a shortstop.

 

I seriously doubt any scouts would say Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie were shortstops if re-evaluated. You also have players like Hardy or Jhonny Peralta who appear too big, stiff and slow to play the position. I'd bet good money that if everything was equal, plenty of scouts would say those two are incapable of playing the position.

 

While this is true, a team with the least amount of K's, second highest BBA, and 5th highest ERA should worry about poor defense.

[cmb0252]

What if you had to choose between Abreu or Guerrero? 1st base is the easiest position to field but Abreu sounds like he could be a beast. Joe could still play 1st for 50-75 games and let Abreu DH. I guess we could do that with Morales too. Morales would be a great sign if we could get him for no more than a 3-year contract.

 

I could get behind Morales and Guerrero as our off-season for position players. Add Phil Hughes or better to the rotation and things are looking up. I can dream, right?

 

Abreu and it isn't even close for me. I love his bat and even if 1B is easier to fill that doesn't change we will have a gap there next year.

[AROG]

Abreu and it isn't even close for me. I love his bat and even if 1B is easier to fill that doesn't change we will have a gap there next year.

 

I take Guerrero. He could be a SS with less range or play anywhere else. There is flexibility in his position. Since we don't know for sure that Sano can play a big league 3B and we don't know if Rosario can stick at 2B defensively either, we would have options. Abreu can hit, no doubt about it, but so can Guerrero and he lends himself to be an option a lot of places which is good with all the moving pieces we have coming up.

 

Now if we get different coaches, I would say Abreu, but with who we have, I say Guerrero.

[nicksaviking]

While this is true, a team with the least amount of K's, second highest BBA, and 5th highest ERA should worry about poor defense.

 

No doubt. Although it seems like it should be easier to find 3-4 starters with a reasonable K% than 8 position players with strong defense to compensate for the fact that they have 5 starters who don't.

 

But dang it, playing old school baseball is worth it I guess.

[Major League Ready]

No doubt. Although it seems like it should be easier to find 3-4 starters with a reasonable K% than 8 position players with strong defense to compensate for the fact that they have 5 starters who don't.

 

But dang it, playing old school baseball is worth it I guess.

 

I think the K rate gets a little too much hype. Just to make the math easy. If the average start is 6 innings, the difference between starting pitchers with a 6K/9 rate and a 9K/9 rate is two less balls in play.

 

I like the idea of Abreu long-term. He and Sano in the middle of the order would be great. However, we have plenty of budget and I could see Ryan going for Morales if he could be signed to a term of 3 years or less. That would be a good bridge strategy to Vargas, Walker, Harrison, etc. Did I read they have played Kepler some at first?

 

Anyway, Morales and Guerrero would be nice and it staggers the spending which will is smart. I would also be very happy with Abreu and Santana for 3 years. Santana is going to get 4 years from someone, so that is not likely to happen. Hughes would be a good consolation prize.

[Mr. Brooks]

I think the K rate gets a little too much hype. Just to make the math easy. If the average start is 6 innings, the difference between starting pitchers with a 6K/9 rate and a 9K/9 rate is two less balls in play.

 

I like the idea of Abreu long-term. He and Sano in the middle of the order would be great. However, we have plenty of budget and I could see Ryan going for Morales if he could be signed to a term of 3 years or less. That would be a good bridge strategy to Vargas, Walker, Harrison, etc. Did I read they have played Kepler some at first?

 

Anyway, Morales and Guerrero would be nice and it staggers the spending which will is smart. I would also be very happy with Abreu and Santana for 3 years. Santana is going to get 4 years from someone, so that is not likely to happen. Hughes would be a good consolation prize.

 

But we don't have guys with 6 K/9, we have guys with 4 K/9.

[cmathewson]

Throw in a reference to the "middle infield" and you've got a trifecta.

 

I disagree. Rosario is the real deal. I suppose you could move him back to the outfield. But he's said to be a natural at second. And he's worked hard for two years to learn the position. He's a better hitter than Guerrero. So if you just leave it up for competition, and the better man wins, you've just signed a utility infielder for starting shortstop money.