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whosafraidofluigirussolo

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Everything posted by whosafraidofluigirussolo

  1. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Paxton's base salary is 0.5 million more than Happ's! From the surface that seems like it would have been a great move for the Twins, but who knows about the medical reports, where Paxton wanted to play, etc.
  2. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    The Twins appear to be done with big ticket signings, so that would likely rule out a Jake Odorizzi reunion. Darren Wolfson's KSTP had Minnesota with an offer out to a starter however. The language Falvey used in that clip definitely suggests that they're done with big signings, but it's a little vague and slippery in a sports executive way. Maybe I'm projecting my own take onto that, but it feels like there's no point to bringing in a starter who isn't either at Odorizzi/Paxton's level or available on a minor-league deal. With spring training so close and given the Twins' penchant for the late offseason strike, I still wonder whether Odo and/or Paxton might be the starter with an active offer.
  3. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I believe Thorpe is out of options, so that might give him some advantage for the last spot on the pitching staff over a couple of the others mentioned here.
  4. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I had a similar reaction, but having read their Twins prospect lists for a few years and having skimmed some lists for other teams, I can see a way in which it makes sense. Not that I really know anything about how to evaluate prospects, but I think the FG writer's approach is highly focused on the distribution of possible outcomes for players, and tends toward projecting around the middle of those possible outcomes. So he can write plenty of praise for a player's skills and then their projected role in the majors is still pretty conservative. It can be disappointing to read, but I don't get the sense that a conservative projection like this is necessarily a big knock on a player. A pitching prospect whose MIDDLING outcome is higher than a number 3 or 4 starter is probably a REALLY good prospect. But of course that doesn't mean that this approach can't still underrate guys, and if most things break right with a certain player's development and health, they're likely to outdo these projections. Hopefully that's the case with Balazovic and Duran.
  5. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I don't think it's politics that people usually are talking about when they talk about personality issues with Bauer.
  6. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Too bad to lose Wade, but I guess we'll see what Anderson turns into. I thought Wade's plate discipline skills were a good complement to the Twins offense, and he might take over from Cave as the main 4th outfield option at some point. Eventually any of those guys might have jumped Wade to fill in as a regular, yes, but other than Rooker they might not get pushed to that extent early this season. (Though this move probably makes Rooker more likely to open the season in the bigs.) I wonder if another backup OF option is coming, maybe on a non-roster invite.
  7. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    From MLB Trade Rumors today: "...as of late January, Odorizzi was reportedly still in search of a three-year deal that’d pay him $12-14MM annually. SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson said in his podcast two weeks ago (audio link, around the 9:30 mark) that the Twins believed Paxton to be seeking a one-year deal in the $12MM range." Hard to believe the Twins couldn't be seriously in on both of these guys if those are the amounts they're seeking.
  8. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    We don't really know what budget constraints they're working with, but if Clippard or another addition is in the budget, then Gibaut and Waddell won't stop it from happening.
  9. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    The Twins still haven't announced this signing, have they? What might the holdup be?
  10. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I think Duran has been playing consistently a level higher in the minors than Balazovic, so it seems more likely he's the first of them to reach the majors...? Not expecting significant impact from Balazovic or Duran seems about right. I don't subscribe to the Athletic any more, but Larnach wasn't on Law's list last year either. Sometimes one evaluator just disagrees with others on a given player, and Law seems unafraid to diverge from common opinions.
  11. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Not excited by this signing, but two things I see going for it: 1. I had a vague impression of Happ as an older player at the end of the line, but some of the pitch data in this article above and this evaluation by Gleeman make me think there's more there 2. Last offseason, the Twins acquired more starting pitching than it looked like they needed. Some of those acquisitions were meant to raise the ceiling of the rotation and some were aimed more to raise the floor and to make sure there was depth on hand. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the latter kind of move, one that ensures another rotation spot is covered even if they don't get anyone else, but doesn't preclude a bigger addition.
  12. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I think the response of "Why didn't the Twins get this guy? They don't really want to win!" can be a bit much and kind of knee-jerk at times, but I'm getting to the point of thinking, just sign somebody good!... Especially with Yates and the report of the Twins being a "finalist" for a guy who got a pretty reasonable contract. It would be nice to see them target a premium player at a position of need and just do what was needed to get that player.
  13. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    We've been hearing about Cleveland's serious need for outfield upgrades. The two MLB players they got in this deal are middle infielders, and then they got one pitcher and one outfielder who are still years away. If the Twins don't find the backup infielder they're looking for on the free agent market, I wonder about a trade match here, even just a smaller deal like Cave or Wade for the lesser-rated of Gimenez and Rosario.
  14. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Sugano is set to go back to Japan next year. Maybe this will break some of the ice on the rest of the second-tier starting pitching market, but maybe it also will mean more intense bidding for the likes of Odorizzi, Paxton, Kluber, and Tanaka.
  15. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Off the top of my head, without thinking about it too hard, without looking at the lists above, and quite possibly forgetting something obvious: 1. Maeda 2. Kepler 3. Berríos 4. Buxton 5. Kirilloff 6. Arráez 7. Lewis 8. Polanco 9. Duffey 10. Balazovic 11. Larnach 12. Durán 13. Jeffers 14. Rogers 15. Sanó 16. Garver 17. Rooker 18. Alcalá 19. Pineda 20. Sabato Also considered Donaldson, Dobnak, and Stashak to go somewhere in the last 4 slots or so. Edit: On a second look at my list, the gap between Kirilloff and other prospects seemed unwarranted. He gets a premium for being basically MLB-ready, but I moved him down and the Balazovic/Larnach/Durán cluster up slightly.
  16. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    I like the list, but number 13 had me wondering. What kind of trade could the Twins make with the Dodgers at this point that would strengthen the Dodgers without setting the Twins back?
  17. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    It seems like some of the talk nationally about the Cubs retooling or rebuilding has been that they can't or shouldn't trade Báez or Bryant because they had rough years in 2020 and the return won't be worth it. However, if the Cubs really are motivated to sell, and that rough recent patch plus only one year of control left limits the price, then this is a very interesting idea. Báez is a good shortstop, but IIRC he's also played some 2B and 3B, so this could be another plus. I know the idea if the Twins acquire another middle infielder is to move Polanco or Arráez to super-utility, but it's not guaranteed that that move would go smoothly, so having another player with positional versatility isn't a bad thing.
  18. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/padres-to-acquire-yu-darvish-victor-caratini.html The return for Darvish looks...not great. At first I just saw a lot of names, but having seen a note somewhere on that article that all the prospects are ranked in the teens in SD's system, I'm wondering how the Cubs didn't get at least one really good prospect for a guy who's still a really good pitcher.
  19. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    In terms of value over multiple years given up, I think there have been worse recet Twins trades, but in terms of getting value back and thought process informing the trade, man, that Hardy deal was brutal.
  20. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    It's true that Odorizzi's name has been in a number of rumors without any deal happening so far - but many more starting pitchers have not signed yet than have signed. It'd be hard to conclude that the market has moved on from him.
  21. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Along with the Twins' tender and non-tender decisions that we've all been talking about, before and after the deadline, all the non-tenders from across the league have been announced. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/mlb-non-tender-2020.html I suppose this did turn out to be an interesting non-tender deadline, as many of us expected, but a lot of this list looks like players at or pretty close to replacement level, just like any other year. I don't follow all the teams enough to know who's who in many cases, but for the Twins' needs, by far the most interesting name to me on this list is reliever Archie Bradley. Besides him-- Albert Almora or Delino DeShields as a right-handed-hitting backup outfielder who can play CF? Adam Duvall as a RH platoon outfielder who can't play CF (maybe that means he's basically Brent Rooker with better defense)? Keynan Middleton, Hansel Robles, Ryne Stanek as relievers who've had some past success? Not looking terribly promising to pluck a difference-maker from the non-tender wire, despite all the activity, but maybe there's someone in here. Dunno.
  22. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    And at least two of those players - Pollock and Reddick - were playing on contracts they signed as unrestricted free agents and when they were perceived as being at the height of their value. That Eddie isn't perceived as at the height of his value says something about how the valuation of players has changed since those contracts. But also he's just at a different point in his travel through baseball's financial landscape (regardless of how fair or unfair that landscape may be) than several of these players were.
  23. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Interesting that you say Tanaka is likely returning in pinstripes and Paxton will need to be pried from the Yankees - I don't really see those two as such foundational pieces there that returning to the Yankees would be a foregone conclusion, or that other teams would have difficulty entering the bidding.
  24. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    Yes, seems likely that he would have gotten significant interest from other teams, but also the market for his services might have been more variable than most comparable players because he opted out of 2020, and he's on a team that seems primed to improve next year. So maybe it makes additional sense in that context.
  25. whosafraidofluigirussolo
    It seems like a lot of the talk about filling those two utility roles on the Twins, either or both of them, focuses on the free-agent market. I wouldn't be surprised if they went internal (Gordon or Blankenhorn) with one of those roles, but also we shouldn't forget that players for these roles can be found elsewhere than the major-league free-agent market - especially if there's one spot for a glove-first guy who they don't expect much from offensively. Adrianza came from a waiver claim, if I remember correctly. Ildemaro Vargas was a waiver claim this year and didn't show much, but got only a limited look and if not for a roster crunch at a particular time might still be with the Twins and in this mix. And the non-tender market is supposed to be extra active this year. All of this to say that between non-tenders, waivers, and minor trades, they might well find a utility guy we haven't heard of or thought about yet.
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