Jack Goin

Reusse's point is a big reason Dozier was not given any type of option for 2019. The buyout and/or the money for '19 would have been too big for what he would have been projected to produce. Typically in a long-term deal like that you would have seen a club option for a 5th year "just in case". But Dozier entered '19 as a 32 year old with a skill set that was already in the declining phase of the aging pattern for hitters.

Way to zig while everyone else is zagging Parker. While the technology movement has taken over the game, and sports in general, there are probably two final frontiers in player development. One is medical. Who can keep their players healthy? The one you are talking about is mental. Take away the physical health portion because it is proving to be quite difficult, though not impossible. A large number of players end up not making it for makeup (mental) reasons more than physical reasons. I've believed for a long time orgs should develop off-field programs for Minor League and Major League players. When you look at it, sports teams have a large number of coaches for on-field performance. But the area that probably needs more coaching than any physical tool is the mind. Not just for what Parker is talking about in his article. But how to believe in yourself. How to develop mental toughness. How to deal with failure. How to minimize or eliminate distraction. It's high performance coaching for the mind to go along with high performance coaching for the body. Russell Wilson seems to have this figured out right now. But there also needs to be an emphasis on mental health. Which is quite a large topic. But no person, no matter their job really, can perform at a high level without being healthy mentally. Somehow mental skills coaching and mental health need to be seamlessly rolled into a more holistic approach with trainers, doctors, physical therapists, etc.

It's unfortunate, and not fair to the player. Can you imagine not knowing where you are going to work for 7 days, not by your decision? Not an easy thing to go through. The human side of the game that gets forgotten about.

Or, you needed Optional Waivers on a player (when they existed) to option a player to the Minor Leagues. But you didn't have them for one reason or another. You would DFA that player, ask the Optional Waivers, and then option that player after the Optional Waivers had cleared. This used to happen frequently after a pitching staff got blown up but a starter only going an inning or something.

Jeremy, nice work. I think the recent transactions by the Twins really help to clarify the process. Couple of things to clear up: Waiver request deadline is 1:00 CST (2:00 EST). If you request prior to the deadline that day, the waiver request is processed that day. If you request after 1:00 pm that day, the waiver request will processed the following business day. You may make a claim up until 12:00 CST (1:00 EST). A couple of additional points. A club may only request waivers on 7 players per day (either Outright or Unconditional Release). You may not place a player on the Injured List on Outright Waivers unless their time limit has expired or they are on a rehab assignment (healthy enough to play) and then you must reinstate them from the IL within 72 hours after the waivers have expired. You cannot request waivers on a player who is on any of the Paternity, Family Medical Emergency List, etc. A club does NOT have to outright a player to the minor leagues after Outright Waivers have been secured. The are a number of further rules, limitations, etc with regards to Outright & Release Waivers if anyone is interested.

I don’t understand your point with Plouffe. He played 2B & 3B because even though he was a SS, you never know what position they might be able to fill in at the ML level in an emergency. That was always something we did in the minor leagues, and I’m pretty sure most clubs handle it the same way. The only guy I really remember screwing that up with was Span. He had never played RF in the MiL and then needed to play RF in the big leagues. Everyone else had played around enough to be comfortable. Polanco has played enough SS but moved more to 2B in 2016 because we had Escobar & Nunez but there was a chance we could trade Dozier. When we traded Nunez instead he shifted back to SS. No big deal.

Bellinger played OF in HS as well as 1B & pitcher. Austin Barnes converted to catcher at ASU. He played C & 2B in college and was a middle infielder in HS. Grandal first played 1B in the big leagues with SDP. Hernandez played all over immediately in pro ball. THAT IS UNUSUAL. The Dodgers target these players more than they create them. It has to do with chaining WAR. Doug Fearing is/was in charge of their analytics department. He co-wrote this a couple years ago. It helps explain why they do this. http://www.sloansportsconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/The%20value%20of%20flexibility%20in%20baseball%20roster%20construction.pdf

This about hits it on the head.

Max Kepler = LF, CF, RF, 1B. Mitch Garver = C, 1B, LF Chris Taylor had no OF experience until he reached the big leagues.

Dozier played SS, 2B, & 3B in the Minor Leagues.

Trevor played SS, 3B, & 2B in the Minor Leagues before cracking the big leagues in 2010. Once in the big leagues he played LF, RF, & 1B.

The Twins worked with him for at least two years on using his 4 seam more and why he should use his 4 seam more (spin rate & spin AXIS).