Dozier Staying With Twins Will Create More Questions Than Answers

He pretty much has to move given his contract status, his age, our pitching staff, and his streaky play.

It has been proven that teams can go from worst to first.  Why can't the Twins?

An enormous number of things would have to go right. Mostly the pitching. But why can't Dozier be the cornerstone of the Twins hitting.  He hits for power and he still has speed and he has more experience than the rest of the infielders.  Keeping Dozier is a sign that the Twins have a chance to be a winning team in '17. And he's cheap

i don't have enough confidence in the staff to improve as drastically as it needs to (by doing nothing). They've been a bottom five staff for five out of the last six years. It's just not working. They need 2-3 more SP's to right this ship. Those SP's may already be in our system, but I wouldn't bank on it.

The roster as is features a bad rotation, bad pen, and poor infield defense.

 

Nothing about this will allow a worst to first move.

Do otherteams with 90+ losses in 5 of the last 6 seasons and 100+ losses last season have the same roster crunch problems the Twins have? It doesn't compute.

 

It has been proven that teams can go from worst to first.  Why can't the Twins?

An enormous number of things would have to go right. 

I think you just answered your own question. 

 

It has been proven that teams can go from worst to first.  Why can't the Twins?

An enormous number of things would have to go right. Mostly the pitching. But why can't Dozier be the cornerstone of the Twins hitting.  He hits for power and he still has speed and he has more experience than the rest of the infielders.  Keeping Dozier is a sign that the Twins have a chance to be a winning team in '17. And he's cheap

The only thing that really,  really needs to go right is the baseball when the Twins are on defense. When the ball is going left it could be a disaster

Nope. Other organizations move veterans to make room for their young players. I don't think there's another team in baseball that would have both kept a player like Plouffe and signed Park to obstruct Sano prior to last year.

 

Also, other teams don't unnecessarily burn their prospect's option years. Absolutely no reason Polanco needed to be called up in '14 & '15 to play a combined nine games. If he still had options it would be perfectly acceptable to send him back to Triple-A to start this season. Polanco's still only 23, I think Dozier hadn't even made it to Double-A by that age (obviously college guys and international guys are different, but still).

 

Polanco will be a player and he's a second baseman. Goodbye Dozier

 

As you said, make room for younger players and bring a couple more for Dozier. We are keeping Dozier and I this is non move we might regret. I felt the same way in 2013 when we extended our "elite closer" instead of trading him

Polanco is an example "of the tail wagging the dog". He isn't elite (or even close) and will never be "the next Kirby Puckett" carrying the team to peak performance. Whatever happens to Polanco is merely anecdotal; forget him!

 

Trading Dozier for useful value--Yes! But, the new management must demonstrate the necessary resolve in this, their first trade, or forever be dismissed as weak. If that means delay--so be it. The era of "two-way trades" may be over. It might be that trades are either "dumps" or "vast overpays". Teams will be reshaped via the drafts or free agency.

Rebuild and contention are not mutually exclusive.   Problem if we move Dozier is we need to replace his offensive production and we still need a shortstop.   If we keep Dozier I am fine with Polanco there.     If we  move him our pitching better be at least one step (DeLeon) and potentially two (Alvarez) closer to contending.   Santana, DeLeon, Berrios and May are not a bad core, IMO.        

If we keep Dozier, it answers more questions ....

Dozier should hit 3, not 1. Too many homers are solos. Bux needs to learn the leadoff position, or else Polanco gets it.

Mauer should hit 2. 

Sano 4, Kepler 5 and on and on.

I am ok with the Twins keeping Dozier. 

No reason they can't play better this year. Nowhere to go but up

 

 

But I don't understand why so many people think acquiring a couple pitching prospect is the answer. The Twins have plenty of pitching prospects. Same goes for Ervin. He is the only starter that we could ever pair up with another teams's #1 and have any hope of winning. Again, he is a proven. 

 

I don't see how you improve by trading your best power bat and best pitcher. 

 

 

 

 

Not all pitching prospects are created equal. 

Edited January 7, 2017 by Doomtints

Well, looks like the Twins do have the same problem themselves that other teams might have on Dozier. Is he worth contracting out past 2018...and at what price. Are teams waiting to wait-and-see what Dozier does to start the season and prove that he is more than a half-season slugger? Can the Twins afford that gamble (yes). The worst that can happen, Dozier ends up being average and walks, i.e. Plouffe. The best, the Twins are totally out-of-again in mid-season and someone badly needs a second baseman who is named to the All-Star squad and not named Nunez.

 

Looks like the Dodgers may have been in a holding pattern as they just announced signing 28-year-old Cuban Fernandez. See what he costs. And will be play second. At this point, don't see room for both on the team short-term.

 

 

I just don't see how trading Dozier solves any of the current infield problems whatsoever.

 

And now for the return. Not only is there never any guarantees with prospects, but the only player for certain in a trade is pitcher who's had some shoulder problems. Hmmm? The Dodgers don't seem to have a problem giving that one up, but ask for somebody else and all we hear is crickets. Why do you suppose that is? Why do we want a pitcher the Dodgers seem so eager to give up? And what's that God awful smell that seems to be coming from the southwest?

 

I think there are way too many people sold on the idea that the team absolutely has to give up Dozier. I disagree. Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make and the longer it takes for this one to play out, the more I begin to think this is one of those times.

 

I have no problem staying pat whatsoever.

With or without Dozier, this team doesn't really have a SS. You can plug Escobar or Polanco there, sure, but you're never completely comfortable calling either "the SS of the future." My assumption is that if Dozier is gone then it goes to Escobar or Vielma who's glove is major league ready. The infield is nowhere near as big of a problem as the SP problem. You can only count on Ervin.

 

Don't trade Dozier for just anything obviously but trading Dozier potentially helps the rotation. No guarantees it does, but we already know doing nothing or signing old vets doesn't work.

 

And I don't get the "why are the Dodgers so eager to give up DeLeon" point. You have to give up something to get something and the Dodgers know that. You may think of DeLeon as not much of anything but he's a better version of Berrios and thought highly of. The shoulder problems are a concern though. But you can put the "why would team such and such trade this guy" argument on literally any prospect in all of baseball. So that doesn't really make sense to me. If they were willing to give up Bellinger or Urias you would think the same thing. Again, you have to give to get. In my eyes and likely the Dodgers eyes, I'd be way more willing to give up DeLeon than Urias or Bellinger. Urias is way better and Bellinger is their future 1B. DeLeon is a step below both. Frankly I don't think the Twins could pull either Urias or Bellinger in a straight up trade, so DeLeon makes perfect sense for the Twins needs and for a value piece that the Dodgers would have to give up.

 

I want Dozier traded because this team likely loses 90 games next year and 2018 is unknown. This team will not get better until the rotation does. But again, no one is saying "just give Dozier away." It has to be more than DeLeon which is what the Twins and Dodgers are fighting over.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Twins33