The Twins Shouldn't Give Up on Rosario

I can't speak for everyone looking to trade Eddie, but I will speak for myself.  I LIKE Eddie Rosario.  No "Hate" involved here.  But we need to fill FOUR of our 5 starting pitching slots and we've got not one, but TWO young corner outfielder types in Larnach and Kiriloff that WILL be better hitters than Eddie.  I look at our roster and where else are you going to get a GOOD starting pitcher?  There's a reason Eddie's name keeps coming up.  He's not as bad as people are making him out to be.  he's actually pretty darn good.  There will be more than a handful of teams that could use a 32 HR  109 RBI guy in their lineup.  But honestly, our lineup can withstand losing Eddie's bat if it brings us back a solid #2 or #3 type.  I guarantee you, once Larnach and Kiriloff make it to the big leagues, with whatever team they end up on, they will be more productive overall than Eddie.  They will both see more pitches and be tougher outs.  But Eddie could really help a team that needs some sock in one of their corner outfield positions.

I can't speak for everyone looking to trade Eddie, but I will speak for myself.  I LIKE Eddie Rosario.  No "Hate" involved here.  But we need to fill FOUR of our 5 starting pitching slots and we've got not one, but TWO young corner outfielder types in Larnach and Kiriloff that WILL be better hitters than Eddie.  I look at our roster and where else are you going to get a GOOD starting pitcher?  There's a reason Eddie's name keeps coming up.  He's not as bad as people are making him out to be.  he's actually pretty darn good.  There will be more than a handful of teams that could use a 32 HR  109 RBI guy in their lineup.  But honestly, our lineup can withstand losing Eddie's bat if it brings us back a solid #2 or #3 type.  I guarantee you, once Larnach and Kiriloff make it to the big leagues, with whatever team they end up on, they will be more productive overall than Eddie.  They will both see more pitches and be tougher outs.  But Eddie could really help a team that needs some sock in one of their corner outfield positions.

I agree completely except for the part we should move Eddie for a SP. It is very rare ( I can't think of a single example ) where a position player with 2 years of control is moved for good starting pitching. Any team wanting Rosario would be because they the have a hole to close in order to contend. Trading away a good starting pitcher does not fit in that scenario. He will be moved to make room for Larnach or Kirilloff when one of them proves to be ready. He could also be moved if the payroll can be allocated better elsewhere.

Watch video of Rosario from May. Watch, say, that game where they hit 8 home runs against the Angels. He's noticeably faster than he was at the end of the year. He burns down the line for an infield hit, scores from third on a sacrifice fly to shortstop, and does a pretty good job cutting off a double in the corner.

He had that ankle injury, and that slowed him down. That's why he looked so awful in the outfield. If you've ever had an ankle injury, you know they don't get better if you run on them.

And I have another theory. I think he gets bored. He's a bit of a space cadet, and if the situation isn't dramatic, he spaces out. Once the Twins had the playoffs more or less in hand and were playing that long string of games against mediocre teams, he checked out mentally. But when it came time to play the Yankees in the playoffs, he was really good again.

He is such a clutch player. He just is. If you need statistical evidence of that, here's a Fangraphs custom table listing all Twins with over 20 PA sorted by WPA (win probability added). Rosario, despite his relatively pedestrian aggregate numbers (reflected in his paltry WAR), still comes out 6th. That shows that he performs well in high-leverage situations.

Name | PA | WAR | WPA
Nelson Cruz | 521 | 4.3 | 3.62
Max Kepler | 596 | 4.4 | 3.01
Luis Arraez | 366 | 2.1 | 1.85
Jorge Polanco | 704 | 4 | 1.77
Miguel Sano | 439 | 2.7 | 1.29
Eddie Rosario | 590 | 1.2 | 1.28
Mitch Garver | 359 | 3.9 | 1.27
Marwin Gonzalez | 463 | 1.4 | 1.23
Byron Buxton | 295 | 2.7 | 1.03
LaMonte Wade | 69 | -0.2 | 0.47
Ehire Adrianza | 236 | 0.6 | 0.42
Willians Astudillo | 204 | -0.2 | 0.04
Jake Cave | 228 | 0.9 | -0.12
Ryan LaMarre | 26 | 0.1 | -0.12
Jason Castro | 275 | 1.6 | -0.47
Jonathan Schoop | 464 | 1.3 | -1.1
C.J. Cron | 499 | 0.3 | -1.59

If you want to know how bad WPA can get with a player with lots of plate appearances, check out C. J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop. lol.

I have a love hate relationship with Eddie.  He can come up big in big situations but his fielding is dropping, and he plays a very replaceable position.  That being said, I doubt he has much value this day in age for trade.  All the numbers being sited here every front office has, or should have.  I would not be upset with a trade or keeping him, but if the FO thinks our OF prospects can match production and the money saved would bring in better pitching then trade or non-tender him.  I do not think many teams would give up much for him.  I know if I was on a different team looking to trade for him I would not be chomping at the bit to get him. 

Those prospects aren't ready now and I highly doubt they outperform Eddie in 2020. I think Rosario is a year to year kind of guy personally. I don't think he's going to get that pitching back, but I do want him on the team in 2020...

 

Let's not forget that Eddie was one of the few guys who hit well in the playoffs.

Since I can't like this post on my phone, I will just state it.

And while I agree with this statement, I was only pointing out why we would trade Eddie. If we can get enough pitching from him to justify going down to 20 HR and 80 RBI at a fraction of the cost it could be justified...I imagine there would be more to a trade like this...