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    Dozier Debate: Contract Extension? Pace of Play?

    Cody Christie

    By Cody Christie

    Brian Dozier has clearly become a team leader for the Twins over the last handful of years. His future with the club is up in the air as his contract is set to expire at season’s end. Pitchers and catchers will soon report to Fort Myers and it seems like the Twins are content with letting Dozier play this season without an extension.

    Besides an extension, other debates involving Dozier have surfaced over the last couple of weeks. Let’s look at some of the conversations surrounding Dozier.

    Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

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    Extension Debate

    There have been plenty of posts here at Twins Daily wondering which players would make sense to lock up with an extension. It might make sense for some young players before they reach arbitration or more veteran players like Dozier and Joe Mauer who will hit free agency at the end of 2018. It doesn’t sound like the Twins have approached Dozier about staying in Minnesota.

    “There have been none whatsoever, zero conversations about [staying in Minnesota] after next year,” he told Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This doesn’t mean something can’t be worked out but the beginning of spring training is quickly approaching. It seems likely that the two sides won’t be talking during the regular season.

    Houston used a combination of veterans and youth to win the 2017 World Series. Minnesota is going to need to build a similar roster if they hope to make headway in the American League. I was on Bison 1660 in Fargo at the end of last week and we discussed Dozier’s future with the club.

    https://twitter.com/Bison1660/status/956677584569405440

    Pace of Play Debate

    Over the last couple weeks, word came out that the Players’ Union rejected MLB’s pace of play proposals. These new rules could include a pitch clock and fewer trips to the mound. A pitch clock has been used at the Double-A and Triple-A level since 2015. Since MLB introduced these ideas before last season, the Commissioner could implement the changes without the approval of the Players’ Union.

    Dozier was part of a two-hour conference call with player representatives from all 30 teams. His message coming out of that call was that the players are united in their opposition to these proposals.

    “We don’t want to damage the integrity of the game and change the game completely. If [Manfred’s proposal] does go through, it definitely changes the integrity of the game, and we are all against it,” Dozier told the Star Tribune. “There’s so much gray area in the proposal, it just didn’t sit well with us.”

    Dozier went on to suggest that it is up to the more veteran players to make the younger players speed up their game. While this might sound like a good suggestion, players knew these rule changes were possibly coming this season and nothing changed in 2017. In fact, nine-inning games were actually longer last season than in 2016.

    What are your thoughts on the Dozier debates? Should the team extend him? Do you agree with him about the pace of play proposals? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

    Cody Christie is a Twins writer and content contributor. His writing can be found exclusively at Twins Daily and his voice can be heard on radio stations throughout the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Twins, he is a father, high school teacher, and avid runner.
    Follow Cody Christie on Twitter: nodaktwinsfan

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    Featured Comments

    twinsguy14

    twinsguy14 24

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I just think waiting on Dosier for a year and a qualifying offer as an option for another year is prudent to see what the youth coming up have to say. Put the money into pitching. Young pitchng. As far as pace of play...Yes, I love baseball and I love it the way it is but, it's not about me or others in our golden years. It's about the youth. The youth that are no longer playing the game. The ones who watch soccer on TV and not baseball. Things need to change for the future of the game. It has to do with pace of play not length of game. The owners seem to know this, the players do not. Apparently neither do the umps. Efforts were made to do less harsh things to force a change in 2016. To start the season, you could see the difference. Pace of play was noticably quicker. All with something as simple as making players get in the box. But as usual, certain players and teams wouldn't comply and umps on their own quit enforcing it. So here we are again. Now we have to go to extremes to enforce what wouldn't get done before. And it needs to happen. For the future of the game I love.

    Vanimal46

    Vanimal46 41,673

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    I'm pretty comfortable in Dozier's ability to be productive until he's 35+ years old. His bat hasn't slowed down, and the power he shows should keep him as a .800+ OPS batter, and 3-5 WAR player. Plus, there's something to be said about the Twins needing a "face of the franchise" when Mauer's contract is done. Dozier is already being marketed as the team leader, and for the most part is already the face of the franchise. 

     

    I'm not confident in Polanco or Gordon's ability to make up for Dozier's on/off field value and offensive production. 

    frightwig

    frightwig 190

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Dozier is riding high, coming off his peak years. Signing him to an extension now means paying a premium to lock into a deal that he'd probably like to carry through age 35-36. A year from free agency, he has no great motive to sign unless the Twins do offer top dollar for at least 5 years. And the Twins are smart not to be getting into that with him.

     

    Let him play out the final year of his contract. If he's off to a hot start, but the team is struggling, they can explore trade possibilities this summer. If he has another big year and the team is a contender, great--they're set to give him a qualifying offer and collect the draft picks when he signs with the Dodgers. If he has a down year, OK, maybe they can keep him at a discount. But giving him a longterm deal this spring is the last thing they should want to do.

    Mr. Brooks

    Mr. Brooks 7,174

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I agree 100% here. I would much rather pay Dozier $16-$14 million per year and a TCV of $60 million. Then we can trade some of the extra "wealth" that we have in the infield that is talked about.

     

    Gordon + Granite + Hughes for Archer or controllable SP prospects. Granite deserves a shot at a starting job and should have some trade value, Gordon is expendable with Lewis, Polanco, and others in the system, and Hughes would allow for some salary relief while giving someone like TB a back end starter that could potentially contribute and provide innings. If we need to add one of our Relief Pitchers from AAA, then maybe that make sense too.

     

    Even as Dozier starts to decline in his older age, he will still be younger at the end of his contract then Ian Kinsler is today. Kinsler is still regarded by many as a above average 2B in the league.

    Sorry, but that's just not a realistic trade package for Archer.

    Granite is not going to be a starting outfielder. His best shot is to bounce around as a 4th/5th OF'er, or AAAA depth.

    And TB has no interest in Hughes, not even if we ate the salary.

    adorduan

    adorduan 1,359

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I agree 100% here. I would much rather pay Dozier $16-$14 million per year and a TCV of $60 million. Then we can trade some of the extra "wealth" that we have in the infield that is talked about.

     

    Gordon + Granite + Hughes for Archer or controllable SP prospects. Granite deserves a shot at a starting job and should have some trade value, Gordon is expendable with Lewis, Polanco, and others in the system, and Hughes would allow for some salary relief while giving someone like TB a back end starter that could potentially contribute and provide innings. If we need to add one of our Relief Pitchers from AAA, then maybe that make sense too.

     

    Even as Dozier starts to decline in his older age, he will still be younger at the end of his contract then Ian Kinsler is today. Kinsler is still regarded by many as a above average 2B in the league.

    Tampa Bay would block your phone number forever if you called and offered that for Archer. ;)



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