Article: Rajai Davis and the Twins Outfield Depth

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The off-season is still young

 

Liriano

Slowey

Mijares

Casilla

Valencia

Young

Thome

Dickey

Breslow

Ayala

 

etc etc

 

Today I learned that Jim Thome was a pitcher.

 

Also, look at the dates in the post you're quoting. What happened in 2008 isn't relevant to solidifying the 40-man for 2015.

[Craig Arko]

Maybe it's just me but driving up player prices doesn't sound like JR's modus operandi. He has always struck me as a guy who goes after a player because he wants him, not because he's trying to drive up the price or keep him out of a division rival's hands.

 

For good or bad, that's just the guy he seems to be. He doesn't come across as the slightest bit devious.

 

I think that's definitely been his history, but this seems like the year for trying different tactics, and he's showing a willingness to do that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I think that's definitely been his history, but this seems like the year for trying different tactics, and he's showing a willingness to do that.

 

True. He does seem to be a very different animal this offseason.

[twinsajsf]

I'm fine with not getting Rajai Davis, especially on a 2-yr. deal. Let's let Hicks, Presley and Mastro fight it out as place holders until Buxton is ready, since we aren't likely to be in contention until 2015 anyway. We'll know more about these four, as well as Parmelee, Arcia and possibly Rosario after 2014, and with Willy coming off the books, we can decide then whether we need to invest in another outfielder.

[Seth Stohs]

Apparently if a free agent player wants to sign quickly, just tell me to write an article on them (AJP, Davis) and you'll sign by morning!

[Thrylos]

Apparently if a free agent player wants to sign quickly, just tell me to write an article on them (AJP, Davis) and you'll sign by morning!

 

Seth, why don't you right something about John Buck and about Bronson Arroyo while you are still hot?

[Mike Sixel]

Fair enough, Thrylos. I over estimated his ability......doesn't matter now.

[twinscowboysbulls]

Both Alex Presley and Darin Mastroianni hit just as well as (or better than) Rajai Davis. They both have speed, and I'd consider Mastroianni's baserunning to be more or less on the same level as Davis, though he has less of a track record. They're both considerably younger than Davis. And Mastroianni and Presley together cost less than Davis will.

 

I want nothing to do with this guy.

 

I put him on my blueprint wishlist, Just thought he'd be a nice stopgap before Hicks gets back to the club and then a nice 4th OF for a couple years. I think we either need to add an OF in FA or start Hicks in CF from the get-go again. Outfield defense is very important at TF and especially with the new pitchers added.

 

We cannot have an everyday outfields like this:

Willingham-Mastro-Arcia

Willingham-Pressley-Arcia

Willingham-Mastro-Parmelee

Willingham-Pressley-Parmelee

Willingham-Mastro-Doumit

Willingham-Pressley-Doumit

Willingham-Mastro-Colabello

Willingham-Pressley-Colabello

Mastro-Pressley-Arcia

Mastro-Pressley-Arcia

Arcia- Pressley- Doumit/Parmelee/Doumit

 

Okay, you get the point. We are in position to be one of these two options:

A) An outfield that is AWFUL defensively.

An outfield that is AWFUL offensively.

 

My preferred choice, if we don't add an OF would be to dump Doumit. This would guarantee he is not going to play any OF for us. Also allow Willingham to DH 70% of time. If this were able to happen, I'd be okay going like this:

 

LF: Mastro 50g, Pressley 70g, Willingham 25g, Plouffe 18g

CF: Hicks 155g, Pressley 8g

RF: Arcia 120g, Pressley 10g, Parmelee 25g, Mastro 8g

DH: Willingham 114g, Arcia 30g, Parmelee 19g

 

Hicks- 155 games total between OF/DH

Arcia- 150 games

Mastro- 58 games

Pressley- 88 games

Willingham- 139 games

Plouffe- 18 games

Parmelee- 44 games

 

Hopefully mid-year Sano is healthy and raking and pushes Plouffe into OF role. Also hopefully late in the year Buxton would move into CF shifting Hicks to LF and putting either Pressley or Mastro out of business, I think either would be fine as a 4th outfielder, so whoever is controllable for longer probably sticks around. (I'm guessing that would be Pressley?)

 

There are many benefits to that lineup.

1. You find out what we have in Hicks.

2. Find out if Pressley is able to stick as a stopgap/4th outfielder.

3. Find out if Arcia can be marginal in RF.

4. Hopefully build Willingham's value to trade at all-star break.

5. Should be a solid group defensively, with some potential for power.

[twinscowboysbulls]

BTW, I'd love to trade for Span, I believe his value is incredibly lower than last year.

[twinsfan34]

Davis is better than Mastro. Arguably offers more than Presley. Hits a career .294 split vs. lefties and would be the Twins only legitimate base stealing threat. He had a +6 runs for his rbaser (tied with Trout) last year. So if a game is close, did you see what Billy Hamilton did for the Reds last year in those last 13 games of the season? Baserunning matters, it's fun to watch, and it'll make relievers for the other team more likely to make mistake pitches or throw a ball away on a pickoffs, etc.

 

For $2.5M...2 years...not a big risk.

 

I agree with what Shane Wahl said.

 

Hicks needs to start unless he gives a lot of reasons why he shouldn't start. He raked in Spring Training last year...so it'll have to be what he has done to address specific holes - and largely, confidence.

[Mr. Ed]

How about 4.5 to 5 mill per year, which is what he signed for in DET?

 

Thankfully the Twins passed on Davis at that cost.

[Brandon]

Raj was the 2nd most valuable player on the basepaths. Thats a market inefficiancy the Twins like to capitalize on. ( go back and review my posts on how the twins like to construct their rosters) I think the Tigers jumped in on this to prevent the Twins from getting him. If the Twins improve too much they could become a threat to the Tigers...ok maybe not next year but soon.

[Brandon]

Also Raj was 1.8 WAR isn't the market value around 5million per WAR making Raj a 9 million per at WAR market evaluations?

[Thrylos]

Raj was the 2nd most valuable player on the basepaths. Thats a market inefficiancy the Twins like to capitalize on..

 

The only thing is that perceived "value on basepaths" is based on SBs and SBs are situation (hard to steel with 2 outs) and manager (some like to run more than others) dependent... SBs are like RBIs in my book. Hard to use to determine value.

[twinstalker]

First, it's really, really sad when you're constantly cheering against your GM's rumored moves. Second, Bonnes, my friend, stop with the "money to burn" thing. All money matters. Just because there is money to spend doesn't mean it doesn't hurt you to spend it unwisely. There are future considerations with every dollar committed.

[twinsfan34]

Tigers got him...$5 per year, 2 years.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/tigers-rajai-davis-agree-to-two-year-deal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29

[Winston Smith]

The key is platoon. You put Dirks and Davis together in a platoon and you have a decent outfielder. However, it makes no sense to sign platoon type players when the manager doesn't do that.

[RedBull34]

BTW, I'd love to trade for Span, I believe his value is incredibly lower than last year.

Shows who won that trade. Would you deal Meyer for Span now? A: No

[Seth Stohs]

I would have been good with 2 years, $5M... it's a little high 2 years, $10M... in my opinion.

[twinsfaninsaudi]

TR driving the price up on the Big Cats. I like it.

[jokin]

Today I learned that Jim Thome was a pitcher.

 

Also, look at the dates in the post you're quoting. What happened in 2008 isn't relevant to solidifying the 40-man for 2015.

 

1) I missed the post where someone said, hinted or implied that Thome was a pitcher.

 

2 a) Past is Prologue. What happened in 2008 has relevant predictive value to how an organization operates in the future- it's indisputable that the Twins have a history of selling low/driving down value/giving talent away for nothing. Hopefully, the implications of these out of nowhere FA signings means that personnel value is being reassessed- and so these last 3 years of laughingstock status has shocked the stale Twins culture to its very core- for the better.

 

2 The Twins interest in Rajai Davis shows they learned from last year's fiasco assessment of the true value of their available OF talent- Good for TR to be proactive on that front, there are still other options available for acquisition.