jokin

Reading comprehension - it's FUNdamental! Reading the entire post usually yields the information you're looking for.

1) They appear to be of the opinion that Lavarnway, with really good minor league numbers, is ready to become the regular catcher. 2) Ross signed on the basis of getting more starts at catcher. 3) The Red Sox have another top ten minor league catcher knocking at the door. 4) The Red Sox are pretty much making over their entire roster and have been shopping Salty. I) I wouldn't mind one bit seeing a cheap, young, multi-positional, switch-hitting, little wear on the tread, power-hitting catcher on the Twins roster, IF he can be just one part of a King's Ransom return from the Red Sox in a mega-trade. (Bogaerts would have to be included with a SP).

The Red Sox have clearly been shopping Lester since the trading deadline in July, that clearly isn't bogus media speculation. Which would have been the better deal for Span? Meyer or Lester? Obviously, too soon to tell on the back-end. Clearly, Meyer has a chance to become a Verlander or Randy Johnson, I hope to God it happens, even with Boras as his agent a long way down the road. His spotty college record and poor mechanics- who many scouts say still has a possible end-result projection as a relief set up/closer, means he also has a chance to go down in flames like David Clyde or Mark Prior. As others have stated, I'm just surprised this wasn't a multi-player deal given the vast and as-yet, unaddressed needs and gaping holes all up-and-down the franchise's depth chart. That is why I brought this topic up. Is there still the possibility of multi-player deal with the Red Sox in the works, or not?

Agreed on all 3 players, i just find it incredibly head-scratching that Duqette finds enough value in these 3 to make the commitments to them that he has done.

I'm not amazed, there are those who follow a certain baseball bible and anyone who's a slightly rounded peg who doesn't fit neatly in their square holes necessarily means he's garbage. Regarding Bourn's salary demands, supposedly the Cubs are interested and Boras has started the negotiations at not, $75M, but $100M. That the Twins can get a Bourn-lite- who is already producing much better numbers at the same age as Bourn and who isn't all that far from Bourn's best numbers 6 years out and in his prime- at less than $.5M is a payroll godsend for a team that has so many other holes.

Or Billy Beane. Or Andrew Frieman. But hey, they're just keyboard GMs. I assume you assume they would always, without fail, strictly take the sabremetric argument to determine player value, and I concur it has merit, especially in a small market team with little leeway for making a personnel error. There is also the fans-in-the-seats and more Neilsen rating points for FSN argument, too. Plus you have an an extremely athletic guy at 23 who clearly has a potential for a significantly higher ceiling.

The Rangers are at this moment trying to nab Andrelton Simmons from the Braves in order to flip him for J Upton. They already have Andrus and Profar. A surplus is a terrific problem to have when everyone is cheap, any manager or GM will say as much. Because whatever internal logjam might occur, it says nothing about their tradeability or the supply of outfielders in other organizations I'm in total agreement. The only ones who don't concur are the vast sea of TD keyboard GMs who think they know better. I travel quite a bit, who do you think is one of the most likely players brought up in conversation by the typical casual fan when the subject of the Twins comes up? Simply put, there's two kinds of value that a player can bring to the table, that which wins games (by the numbers) and that which puts fans in the seats and in front of the tube ( by the sizzle). Revere's clearly better at the latter, but that ain't all bad.

With David Ross going to the Red Sox on a two-year deal, it means Saltalamacchia might become expendable. The Red Sox have also continued to be actively shopping Jon Lester (now rumored to KC for Will Myers, still think the Twins couldn't have gotten more for Span?). Bottom line, Is "it" still on the table? Is the way being paved for the Twins to be led down the primrose path to pull the trigger on a mega-deal during the Winter Meetings?

Good news as Oliveros is good SP pitching depth and potential future 4-5 starter for the big club. Most Importantly: Isn't that 4 open spots now? Meaning?

Throw-in = minor leaguer who became what the Twins received for Young, Hardy, or Liriano. It's quality not quantity. Lombardozzi, while not great, would have been a throw-in better than anything the Twins have now in the MI.

After two years then, who is your outfield, with Revere and Willingham gone? Hicks, Arcia, Benson, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler... There's no shortage of Twins outfield prospects. Where does Joe Benson's or Aaron Hick's minor league track records compare so favorably to Ben Revere's minor league track record. Why would you expect them to be better than Revere at the Major league level? Then you have Buxton and Kepler who are still in A Ball. How is floating Revere something like 5/14 with a 6th option so much riskier than penciling in Buxton and Kepler into your 2015 and 2016 outfield? As a 22 year old, Aaron Hicks OPSed .844 in New Britain. As a 22 year old, Ben Revere OPSed .734 in New Britain. It's safe to say that Hicks is the better player. He's fast, he's rangy, he can out-throw me, he can draw a walk, and he actually hits for a little bit of power. Outside of raw speed, Revere doesn't do anything better than Hicks (and the speed bit is up for debate). As for Benson, he's a wildcard. Fell on his face last season and this will be his make-or-break season. If Revere's value is high after 2013 or 2014, it would be in the Twins' best interest to move him, just as they moved Span. That's what you do with a surplus. Brock, how do we know he can outthrow you? Did you and Hicks have a non-televised throwing contest? It can be argued that Span's value was heightened to some extent by his team-friendly contract and his established Major League bona fides. Revere falling into the 4th OFer role at a cheap long-term deal wouldn't be all that bad at some point down the line, with the possible annual ability of dangling him for a position of weakness.

Randy Johnsonmechanics warm-up video: Parker, if it is of particular interest to you, I'd be interested in your assessments in contrasting and comparing Meyer and Johnson. It appeared over the entire Meyer video that his release point jumped quite a bit, but both hurlers employed 3/4 style deliveries. If there is video out there of a young Randy Johnson that might be enlightening, as well. How many significant arm difficulties did Johnson have over his career and when did they start? I looked up Johnson's AA stats at age 23: ERA 3.73/IP 140/WHIP 1.10/K^9 10.5/BB^9 8.2!!!! vs Meyer A/A+ stats at age 22: ERA 2.86/IP 129/WHIP 1.10/K^9 9.7/BB^9 3.1!!!! These stats are small, but possibly significant evidence that 2 similarly-sized flamethrowers have some correlation at this point in their minor league tenures, with the glaring exception that Meyer has already figured out the control issues to a greater degree. Give us more to rally around if you can, Parker!

Is there anyone on TD advocating keeping Ford or Alexi around? I was merely invoking the Joe Garagiola clause ("Baseball is a Funny Game"), but of course some fail to appreciate the levity of this outcome.

This is exactly what I was talking about in spending an hour looking at the available FAs, blindfolded and coming up with an obviously better option. B. Pena's career slash line: .248/.286/.350 D. butera's career slsh line: .183/.232/.265 Pena is 30 and is making $875,000. Butera is 29 and making the league minimum. And the Twins have many other EASL Spanish-speaking pitchers besides Liriano who would benefit from the Cuban catcher. This is an obvious no-brainer, so the Twins will obviously balk at the possibility. Fantasy reason for this signing: Pena as personal caddie for A. Sanchez?

Good food for thought. I think you nailed what most are refusing to consider is likely: Watch for obviously-planted amazing rehabiliatory stories on Blackburn re-finding his 08/09 mojo and busting his tail in earning his spot in the rotation in 2013. It will take about a month and a half for the Twins to realize the only ones they were fooling were themselves and then quietly DFAing Blackie once and for all- with Gibson waiting in the wings for the call-up. Regarding the rest of the names you mentioned, I think you have to include Saunders and Lannan in that mix of possible options, both of whom could easily fall within the perceived $$$ parameters that are supposedly going to be devoted to starting pitching. Regardless, something like what you propose in closing is most likely to happen and "battling for 4th" with Cleveland is sure to keep many a Twin fan on the edge of their seats throughtout 2013.

I posted the info previously in its own thread. Potentially 5 ex-Twins on the Birds does strike me as confoundingly and oddly interesting. It opens the potential at some time in-season of an all-ex-Twin infield for a team that won 93 games in 2012.

http://districtondeck.com/2012/11/30/the-john-lannan-decision-whats-5-million-worth/ Nats blogger predicts that Lannan signs with the Twins. Cheap option as a back-rotation guy. If he passes the physical, low-risk positive move. Then we can pretend that we traded Span for Meyer AND Lannan. That should make some people happier with the trade. Who doesn't love when a glass goes from half-empty to half-full. If this somehow works out, it wouldn't hurt in ridding some of the residual bad vibes from the Matt Capps/Nats debacle, either.

If anyone in the Twins FO has a free hour or two scanning the waiver wires for 3rd catchers (Isn't that kind of like the Vikes looking for backup fullbacks?), it would far more productive than going through arbitration scenario machinations on trying to retain Butera's services more cheaply.

I believe Toby will be getting the first crack. Damn' date=' forgot about Toby, Maybe bench coach could be had?[/quote'] This scenario cries out for Third Stooge nominations, Shemp, Joe and Curly Joe are no longer available.

http://districtondeck.com/2012/11/30/the-john-lannan-decision-whats-5-million-worth/ Nats blogger predicts that Lannan signs with the Twins. Cheap option as a back-rotation guy. If he passes the physical, low-risk positive move.

Brandon, I concur, see my quiz post above for more evidence.

2015 is probably a worst case. He's going to likely start in FTM and get promoted to NB in 2013. He might even go the Garza route and hit Rochester next year too. He will likely be in AAA in 2014 and if all goes well, will get the call if the team needs him. I for one would rather have the ceiling at the moment. The Twins will probably go after one long term FA signing that could be penciled into the rotation for the forseable future (crossing fingers and hoping for A. Sanchez) along with a couple of 1/2 year prove it type guys. I half expect them to take a college pitcher next year too. Re: Sanchez, you and me both, brother! (Not holding my breath). Regarding Meyer, I used a qualifier, it's possible he gets a call in 2014, but more likely that he has any kind of significant impact as an SP in 2015. The Twins generally proceed at a snail's pace in moving up prospects, with a prized prospect such as Meyer, they most likely would choose to protect their investment physically (don't you think there is still long institutional memory of what happened to Liriano in '06???) and also delay the arbitration clock as long as possible.

UPDATE: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Casilla got a one-year, $1.7 million deal with a $3 million club option for 2014. The O’s could buy out the option for $200,000....With Robert Andino now in Seattle, Casilla figures to be in the mix at second base next season along with Brian Roberts and Ryan Flaherty. 5 ex-Twins or 20% of Orioles 25 man roster are potential members of the 2013 club. There's even the outside possibility for the Orioles sporting an all ex-Twins infield with an off-day or injury in a particular game or two. 2012 Results--Orioles 93-69/Twins 66-96. Go figure.

I'm not sure about the teasing, Meyer is a far better option than either of these two. Cingrani projects to be a 2/3 type pitcher and Sheilds has 1 year left on his deal. The Twins need depth at pitching just as much as they need it at the major league level. This was a smart move. They have a nice core of hitters coming up through the system which will complement a decent core of hitters that are currently here. But with no pitching, they will be mediocre. I have no idea if Meyer will make it, but they've added some desparately needed talent to the pitching pool to complement the nice core of hitters they already have. Getting a Meyer, with a very spotty college record, dominating kids younger than himself in A ball, short on fluid pitching mechanics on the come is far riskier than either Shields or Cingrani, but admittedly with a bigger potential payoff far down the road. I think it is incumbent on Parker Hageman to do an in-depth video/statistical comp on Randy Johnson's career at the same point to provide some vision to Twins fans on what may or may not be in store 5 years from now. Obviously, a trade for Shields would have to have involved some kind of contract extension implicit in the trade, perhaps that's why the deal was never consumated. Cingrani has a lower ceiling than Meyer to be sure, but he could have been penciled into the desperately-seeking-arms-rotation sometime in 2013. Meyer is looking like a 2015 impact SP if everything plays out perfectly.