Jump to content
Our first free agents ranking has launched, click here to see the top 40+ names in free agency! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Otto von Ballpark

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    20,669

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    74

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    It does appear that way -- the Twins were pretty aggressive in their 40-man protections today. It's just hard to shake memories of these last two years' patchwork rotations... I know it's still early in the offseason, but if any position warranted some urgency, it would be the Twins rotation...
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    The worst starting staff in baseball, two years running, needs "depth"? A staff that has had to overly rely on AAA guys like Johnson the last few years.... Needs more guys like Johnson? I liked the Diamond-Bullock move. To Bill Smith's credit, he was fairly aggressive dealing low minors guys and it worked.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    TR just described Johnson as "hitting 90-92" and "a rich man's Diamond" (apparently a little better stuff than Scott). Also noted Johnson was a former first rounder, pitched with Pelfrey in college, and said he was impressed with his AAA numbers.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    If the Twins releasing Marquis was not a mistake, then signing him was. And signing ONLY him was a huge mistake, if they were willing to cast him off so quickly.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Best case, he also nets them deadline prospects, a comp pick, or maybe a slight discount on a long term deal. The Twins didn't have a shot at this particular player, but let's not pretend that he wouldn't have been a great acquisition. The Twins might be lucky to get one pitcher this offseason with the potential performance/payout of Johnson.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    Its not that we can't find 40 man spots, it is that if he is AAA depth (which is what he should be, we still need at least 2 additional MLB starters), you generally don't need 40 man guys for that. Walters and Deduno have been off and on the roster at various points the last few years.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Those pitchFX numbers are from his 10 MLB innings, which were mostly in relief, right? Suggests his velocity might be a little lower when starting.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Really? The Twins signed Marquis for $3 mil guaranteed, about as much as they have ever guaranteed any outside FA pre-Willingham, as the one major move to bolster a shaky rotation. Then, after 7 poor starts, they release him outright, eating his salary, with no ready replacement, and he immediately displays solid health and performance fortwo years running. I think we have more than enough info to judge the Twins on this one. Not necessarily Anderson, but it is clear the Twins boo-booed here. That said, whoever brought up Humber is crazy. The mistake there was trading for him in the first place.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    So the roster is at 39 now...
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Johnson signed for slightly less, but basically picked his league and city first, then signed well before winter meetings. Suggests he gave a discount there. I will have to go back and look at the quote. The idea that $10m was just beyond the pale for Johnson does not give me a lot of hope for us in free agency....
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    I posted in the other thread that the Everth Cabrera comparison might not be fair to Polanco. Cabrera had just turned 22 when drafted. Polanco won't be 21 until next summer, I think. Cabrera was also coming off a 73 SB season in the minors, which implies at least one "standout skill" that Polanco doesn't yet have.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Maybe the Twins shouldn't have released him after 7 starts, though? To replace him with... Cole DeVries? That suggests the Twins were the ones disappointed that Marquis didn't "rub some dirt on it and walk it off."
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    Baseball America classifies Polanco as an "Extremely Likely" addition for the Twins 40-man: http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/watch-list-for-rule-5-protection/ Everth Cabrera example invoked. (My take: Cabrera was ~2 years older, and coming off a 73 SB season in the minors.) Possible additions: Vargas, Kepler, Darnell, Achter Edit: got its own thread here: http://www.twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?t=9498
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, there isn't really a "2012 Scott Diamond type" unless you mean "guy who has a fluke good season." Johnson's 2013 AAA success was his 5th go-around in AAA (all 5 in the International League, actually). Twins scouts have apparently been looking at nothing but marginal AAA pitchers the last few years, judging by our roster and playing time over that span.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Doesn't look like the Twins need depth there, they need quality. If a guy like Johnson has any chance to be your third best MLB starter, you don't need another guy like Johnson. I hope this trade is more about not needing a reliever, and getting an extra starter for Rochester, but the past few seasons of cycling through AAA starters in MLB (and Johnson's 40-man roster requirement) have me suspicious.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    I am pretty confident that Josh Johnson was not signing with the Twins -- he's very obviously trying to build his value for a big payday next winter. How much he earns in 2014 is of relatively little consequence to him. That said, the $10 million comment by the Twins was a little disappointing. I mean, that's the shortest term deal possible, at clearly a market rate. A team in the Twins situation should be overjoyed if they could snag him for that.
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Rogers was a great signing, but he was coming off a really good season in 2002, and he followed it up with a slightly better season in 2004 too. Really curious how we got him that year, actually. Was he holding out for more money? Was he thinking retirement? Did he want to leave Texas for a contender? He would up back in Texas the next year anyway for similar money....
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    Minor correction: the 1990 Twins were not the worst team in the AL, much less all of baseball. They finished last in their division, but the Yankees actually finished 8 games worse in the other division, and two teams had worse records than the Twins in the NL. The Braves were the "truest" worst-to-first team, because they indeed had the worst record in all of MLB in 1990, and rebounded to first place in 1991.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    Duke Welker was a pretty boss name. And this guy has a pretty lame name. Could we somehow swap the pitchers, but keep the names? It would take that old Yankees pitchers wife swap thing to a whole new level....
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    Johnson's success last year came in his fifth go-around in AAA, for what it's worth.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    No doubt the Twins were/are a leader in Australia. What effects has it had on the MLB club? Why weren't the Twins more effective in Latin America?
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    It matters that the Twins get a lot of credit for unearthing players in Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands, but as of 2013, they've received about a cumulative ~1 WAR for these efforts. And I think the fact that we didn't sign ANY notable international players, even from the hotbeds of the Caribbean and Central America, until 2007, and didn't really try to do so consistently until the international spending cap in 2012, is further evidence the Twins front office shies away from competitive bidding, even when the costs are relatively low. That has some ramifications on other area of the franchise too.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    Trade market is bigger by definition, but trades are more infrequent because they are more costly in terms of talent. (Actually, most trades are probably salary dumps anyway -- I wouldn't mind the Twins taking on one of those, like Ervin Santana last year.) Twins farm system might be #1, but the MLB club is a lot closer to #30 in talent. There's a big difference between the St Louis Cardinals trading some prospects when they have a strong MLB roster, and the Twins trading some prospects before they have much of anything at the MLB level (or even high minors). Of course I wouldn't tie TR's hands about anything -- if he detects another team is over-valuing a guy like Rosario, Arcia, etc. and can turn that into another Meyer, more power to him. But those kind of deals are incredibly rare, and the Twins still need at least 2 MLB-ready arms for the upcoming season, preferably quality ones. We still need more quality players at ALL positions, including those we would have to deal from, more than we need ~$30 million payroll "wiggle room".
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Outside of ~1 season of Balfour, what have the Twins really gotten from Germany, Australia, or the Netherlands? Granted, Kepler is still young, but I love the Thorpe hype so far, but it seems like the Twins worked in these markets because the stakes were low, possibly at the expense of competing in the more fertile baseball hotbeds in the Caribbean and Central America -- note that the Twins haven't really gotten much value from those countries either, at least before Sano and the more recent signings with the international spending cap. Arcia and Pinto came right before the end of TR's first tenure, I think, but other than that -- Luis Rivas? Juan Rincon?
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    With Alex Meyer on the mound, I presume? Hopefully he's up before September, though.
×
×
  • Create New...