Shane Wahl

I hate the idea of the Twins signing Nolasco and have been CLEAR about that. Pelfrey is a waste of space. I would rather let Liam Hendriks try out again for 1/10 the cost and likely a similar value.

By the way, I think the Twins should offer: Garza: 4 years, $76 million plus $2.5 million in incentives for each year, depending on some combo of innings pitched at sub 4.00 ERA. Jimenez: 3 years, 45 million plus $2 million in incentives each year,depending on some combo of innings pitched at sub 4.20 ERA. Arroyo: 3 years, 27 million plus $1 million in incentives each year, depending on some combo of innings and a sub 4.40 ERA.

You're a good adversary, Dave. What are you talking about in regards to Bailey's value? He has had two very good seasons in a row, yes. Garza blows Bailey out of the water. Bailey is similar to Jimenez, Santana, and potentially Kazmir and company. Anyway, do you like the possibility of Plouffe, D. Santana, D.J. Baxendale, and Zach Jones for Bailey? (sub Harrison in for any of the last three)???

Dave, if you have an actual argument against 1-10, let me know.

Look at career numbers, then. Good grief. In 1049 innings pitched he has a 4.48 ERA, 607 strikeouts, 371 walks, a 1.472 WHIP, a 90 ERA+, and 1,173 hits given up. Why would any rational team bother with this kind of production which is simply replacement value (500K)?

And I will repent and eat it totally if I am wrong. I hope to be wrong.

1. Consider about $20 million max to be spent, for some reason. 2. Divide that up between starting pitching and position players, for some reason. 3. From 1-2, players like Mike Pelfrey and Dioner Navarro seem like good gets, combining for up to half of the $20 million. 4. From 1-3, one of those two won't sign, so we have money to throw towards Ricky Nolasco in such a scenario. 5. From 1-4, maybe two of those first guys sign . . . then we still have money for Arroyo. 6. Otherwise, we have Swarzak, Duensing, and newly acquired Kris Johnson to potentially fill 2/5 of the rotation. 7. We could save some money by trading away great prospects for Homer Bailey. So there's that. 8. Meanwhile, Eric Fryer and Chris Raul are good candidates at C and 4th OF, just in case. 9. We had a very good 2013 bullpen so let's bank on it again and not protect A.J. Achter or Dakota Watts. 10. Thus, from 1-9, it's all good.

Do things like ERA+, WHIP, and K/BB ratio not matter to you at all? Also, his hit rate is great fun.

Tanaka, Garza, Kuroda (less clear about the Yankees resigning him now), Jimenez, Kazmir, Santana, Feldman, Arroyo, and Hughes. Is it so crazy to think the Twins could get some two of these guys? Is one really impossible?

BR vs. Fangraphs with regard to WAR, again. I am amazed by the defense of this guy. The dude can't get past the fifth inning most of the time and THIS is what you want to sign???????? How many question marks are needed?

This is just an abomination. SIGN a damn pitcher of equal value and don't trade prospects for one. Good god. I like Bailey. If Plouffe, Santana, Baxendale, and Zach Jones could get it done, then by all means. But no top 10 prospects when signing other dudes is perfectly feasible. If the Twins signed Garza or Jimenez, then Kazmir or Hughes, THEN maybe this becomes a Bailey-for-Rosario and others kind of conversation. But Mike Pelfrey and Kris Johnson are at least 2/3 of the additions to the staff . . . so no. Bank on the future all out or go big in FREE AGENCY. Don't half-ass this and trade off the damn future. Good lord and a half.

That TR interview in the handbook really was illuminating, by the way. Again . . . I was told that I made too much out of that. When Eric Fryer is the first bright spot mentioned, you know the rest of the story. Only new ownership is going to save this team.

Defenders of Pelfrey straight up amaze me. He has been bad for most of his career. That they offer to HIM and not others by now is pretty indicative of why Terry Ryan needs to be fired on the spot. How is this not clear? This is baffling. Keep on defending Terry Ryan all you want, people. This coupled with the jabbering about Swarzak and Duensing potentially being starters lets you know that it is possible to have literally NO other FA signings beyond Pelfrey for 2014. Correia Pelfrey Diamond Deduno Gibson Might be the best they offer in 2014. you dig?

How many million likes can I give to this!? It makes me sick to think that this has been considered, even.

Nolasco and Navarro. Who else have I been negatively-linked to out there?

30. Aderlin Mejia, SS/2B/Util, SH, DOB: 5/12/92 2013 A+: 328 plate appearances, .308/.359/.349 (.708, .664 career), 10 doubles, 1 triple, 0 homers, 26 walks, 30 strikeouts, 14 stolen bases, 10 times caught stealing Mejia has been fortunate to be in the right place (Fort Myers) at the right time when that team suddenly needs a player due to injury. Mejia ran with the opportunity this year at Fort Myers, even though he basically jumped from the GCL. That's a big jump, but Mejia still produced as a solid contact hitter who gets a decent amount of walks while rarely striking out. He played all over the place, but most importantly he played good defense at shortstop. A lot screams "younger version of James Beresford" but hopefully Mejia can add some pop to his bat. He will really benefit from a full season at Fort Myers next year. 29. Dakota Watts, RHR, DOB: 11/16/87 2013 A+/AA (AA stats): 35.1 innings, 0.76 ERA, 29 k/10 bb (8.2/4.6 k/bb career) Watts has struggled with inconsistency and injuries in his career, but was lights out in the Eastern League. He could challenge for a bullpen spot in ST next year or he will certainly be the setup man or closer for Rochester when the season starts. I hope for the Twins to give him a chance by trading away Jared Burton and Casey Fien. Watts was not protected for some inane reason involving Eric Fryer, an extra OF, and a few AAAA-quality "starters" but hopefully he isn't selected in the Rule 5 Draft. 28. J.D. Williams, SH, LF/CF DOB: 11/20/90 2013 A-/A+ (combined stats): 486, .265/.372/.403 (.775) (.729), 17-6-9, 66-105, 26-13 Williams was looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2012 and he really did so in Cedar Rapids, posting an .852 OPS. His numbers really fell after his promotion to Fort Myers 2/3 of the way through the season. There is still quite a bit of promise and Williams is perhaps only second to Buxton in speed in the organization. Much of the drop at A+ came in slugging, so we will see if Williams can get that pop back and force a promotion about 2/3 of the way through 2014. 27. Yorman Landa, RHS, DOB: 6/11/94 2013 ELZ: 55, 2.78, 46/29 (7.8/5.6) Clearly Landa needs to gain control of his pitches, but he actually improved some in that regard while moving up from GCL. He is still very young with good stuff and there is a lot of promise. He turns 20 in the middle of 2014 and will be in Cedar Rapids at the time. 26. A.J. Achter, RHR, DOB: 8/27/88 2013 AA/AAA (combined stats): 60.1, 2.54, 56/33 (9.6/3.2) Achter is better than Anthony Slama, but the Twins seem to have similarly soured on him due to an increased walk rate in 2013. I saw him as the next guy to be called up from AAA (along with Watts) as a good Michael Tonkinesque kind of pitcher. But the Twins didn't protect because protecting Eric Fryer is somehow a better idea. Hopefully, he isn't selected in the Rule 5 Draft. 25. Randy Rosario, LHS, DOB: 5/18/94 2013 ELZ: 44.2, 2.82, 37/18 (8.0/4.3) Rosario is another young sub-A ball pitcher in the system who shows great promise. He gave up some hits in 2013, but still has yet to surrender a home run in 118 innings of pro ball. He will start the season at Cedar Rapids or join Cedar Rapids after EST. 24. Tyler Duffey, RHS, DOB: 12/27/90 2013 A-/A+ (combined stats): 121, 3.64, 91/23 (7.6/1.6) Duffey was dominant for Cedar Rapids in the first half of the year. He went through a rough patch in Fort Myers, but that was to be expected. They moved him between the rotation and bullpen, but he still ended with a solid number of innings. He will start next season back in A+. 23. Niko Goodrum, SS/3B, SH, DOB: 2/28/92 2013 A-: 455, .260/.364/.369 (.732, .702), 22-4-4, 60-105, 20-4 Goodrum has been underwhelming statistically, but the slugging should come back with a full healthy season (hopefully) in 2014. He has good speed and might stick at shortstop. As a third baseman, he could project well if his bat picks up. He draws a decent amount of walks so that offsets a lower batting average. Hopefully the Twins push him to Fort Myers, where he belongs, to start 2014. 22. DJ Baxendale, RHS, DOB: 12/8/90 2013 A+/AA (combined stats): 150, 3.90, 112/33 (7.6/1.9) Baxendale was great for Fort Myers at the beginning of the season and a lot of people got very excited about his potential. This was tempered, somewhat, by his struggles at AA. He has good enough stuff to get his strikeout rate back to around his career level. Look for Baxendale to return to AA and hopefully push his way forward for a serious look in the AFL after next season. 21. Miguel Sulbaran, LHS, DOB: 3/19/94 2013 A-: 112.2, 2.96, 101/32 (8.4/2.4) The Twins stole Sulbaran from the Dodgers in exchange for Drew Butera, who could never again stick for more than a month in MLB as his defense is no longer elite and his bat is still terrible. Sulbaran is bottom of the rotation material right now, but could add some velocity as he ages and fills out his frame. He also needs a third pitch. He is pretty exciting, though, and should be pushed to Fort Myers at the age of 20 next year to start the season.

Signing Navarro would be a desperate "let's sign someone, anybody, anybody at all" move. This is clear.

NO! I want nothing to do with him. I want him gone and was just saying that he has some value for how cheap he is. In. terms. of. a. trade.

Yeah, I endorse this.

What about Navarro's career numbers indicates that he is a better value than 500K Chris Herrmann, if such a Pinto scenario happens?

For the record, I was talking about the value of Doumit for other teams. It's there and he's cheap. No way do I want him sticking around on the Twins. I have made that clear for months. Also, for the record: Navarro has a career WAR of 4.9 over a ten-year career. A career OPS+ of 82, even with the crazy 2013 season he had. He's always been merely slightly above average defensively (though he has been consistent there). And he's 30 on opening day. Why waste any time with this. Either go big at catcher or stick with what you have. Good grief. The decisions being contemplated really tend to blow my mind.

I think a lot of people around here (and in the Twins organization, clearly) get all hot and bothered by strikeouts. It often comes with the territory of actually having good power hitters. And, yeah, I would be all over him if I were those teams as well.

That was a good read. Something actually new!

By the way, the first nano second after reading "Arcia, Pinto" in a headline on MLBTR I got a little nauseous. I was immediately worried about trading top prospects. Phew.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/rafael-montero-oswaldo-arcia-josmil-pinto-join-the-legacy-agency.html The news is just about agency, but the little blurbs are here: A consensus Top 100 prospect heading into the 2013 season, Arcia debuted in Minnesota as a 21-year-old this year and became the youngest player to hit a home run while donning a Twins uniform since Joe Mauer in 2004. Arcia was a bit overmatched by Major League pitching but held his own, slashing .251/.304/.430 with 14 home runs in 378 plate appearances. He also saw 155 plate appearances in Triple-A, illustrating that he has little to prove at that level by hitting .313/.426/.594 with 10 homers in 38 games. Pinto, 25 in March, burst onto the scene in 2013 with a .309/.400/.482 batting line and 15 homers between Double-A and Triple-A this season. With the news that Mauer is shifting to first base full-time, Pinto suddenly appears to be the heir-apparent behind the plate in Minnesota. He made his big league debut as a September call-up and turned plenty of heads in a small sample size of 83 plate appearances by slashing .342/.398/.556 with four homers and five doubles. He ranks fifth among Twins prospects, per Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus.