Trov

Pirates will not trade Cutch unless he asks them too. If they did they would get every fan to hate them even more. He never wanted to leave, but they traded him away early in his career. He only returned under the expectation that he would not get traded. Fans loved that he came back, only thing to really love about that team over last couple years.

Brent Rooker still just 30 was a late bloomer, still only in his 3rd full season of MLB ball but has been above average hitter, even getting MVP votes last year. Cruz retired, but was a late bloomer not having his first run at MLB level until 26, which was not good, but a limited age 27 season showed he could be something, but really it was not until his early 30's that the made a sustained run of good hitting years, mainly as a DH. These are not the common way guys careers go. Normally by age 30 they are on the down swing of careers, with peak years being 26 to 29. Sabato is surging this year, unlike Rooker and Cruz he has not had a track record of great minor league numbers, until now. Can he build off what he is doing this year and even have a Rooker or Cruz type surge over next few years? I am sure Twins would love that if he could, being 1B has been a rotating 1 year signings for guys over last several years. I am not ready to say Sabato will be our 1B for years to come, but despite being 26 now and just reaching AAA does not mean he has no chance. Rooker is a recent example of late bloomer at least getting a few good years in, and could still keep going. Cruz was an example of late bloomer getting over a decade of good to great years. Can Sabato be another outlier the Twins will be very happy. I want to make clear, I am not expecting this from Sabato, but he is making noise. Even if he does a peak age 27 to 29 this could be good for the Twins. He could just be having an outlier season for himself and will regress back to the non MLB level guy and draft bust he was looking like. I am just saying do not write him off because of his age completely.

Sabato now has OPS over 1.000 at AAA and McCusker is down to .920 because of his terrible return to AAA after his couple of at bats at MLB level. Can we now compare how Sabato is doing to McCusker? It is a very SSS for Sabato but I think my point from a month ago still holds, Sabato is doing good things at age 26 in the minors, same as McCusker when fans were excited for him. The main difference between the two is one was drafted first round one was not drafted at all. I do not expect big things out of either, but Sabato actually may have a chance to help out at 1B later this year if we dump France, or next year at least.

First, I was never a fan of the pick either, because as pointed out, hit or you are done as a player. Unless you are super elite defender at 1st, you will always need to hit to warrant being there, and even super elite you still need some offense. It is not like SS or catcher were elite defenders can live with not great offense. That being said, He really could do a Brent Rooker like emergence. Rooker although made the MLB call at 25 for a cup of coffee but really 26, same age as Sabato, did not do much until age 28 when Oakland was pulling the major league tact of trying to lose so they could skip town. Then he had a huge year at age 29 last year. Doing just fine this year too, not as good as last year but still fine. Point is, he may not be a full bust like we thought and we still have a huge hole at 1st base next year. If he can fill it for a 3 to 5 years you get kind of a good outcome. You get a guy that will give you his prime years, and you will never have to worry about losing him in FA after that because he will be over the hill baseball years and not warrant a big payday. I do not expect much from him, but he is doing well and should be noticed. Fans were clamoring for McCusker to make the jump, and now Sabato is giving numbers to warrant it.

I am not going to say I know any more than the FO or the people that actually scout these guys, but I would hope they are not drafting a guy just based on one game in the college world series. The kid was a closer his first 2 years, then was injured this year. He put up nice K numbers at 16.5 per 9 innings. I think 2 questions will be if his arm will be able to adjust to long outings or will he be a pen guy. If he can be anywhere close to that k-rate then he will make it. I would like to know how players did the 2nd or 3rd time through in his few starts he did make though.

Watching the kid's catches he reminds me of Hunter. If the kid can learn to hit a little better he will get plenty of run as a player just from that defense, however, he seems to hit more like Hamilton. His K-rate is over 50% at MLB that is crazy. He has 1 walk too. At AAA he was closer to even k to walk rate this year, and K rate closer to 25%. Maybe he adjusts, because watching his catches for years could be fun to watch.

Cost for Duran would be huge. He may not be crushing this year, like last, but he still had great year last year. He still has years of control. They are going to demand big for him, or hold onto him and hope he regains form. I personally would not look to bring him in because I think price would be way high. Last year may have been a blip. He is still above average player though, but he may not be down ballot MVP guy like last year, but Sox will be demanding that kind of return.

Most contracts have insurance for injuries like that. If a player has a major injury that costs long playing time the team normally will recoup that in insurance. The FO clearly has never worried about a guy having a major injury in trades before. Something like a torn Achilles is not likely to happen in any situation. I guess if team is scared he will get an injury like that then they should never sign anyone long term and just do year to year contracts.

I think it is time to move Sabato up to AAA. I am not expecting anything long term from him but he is crushing AA no point in keeping him there any longer.

I would ask about Bregman, and Chapman. No one else is doing well enough to really do better than what we have, or the cost is too much to get/keep beyond this year. Duran maybe as he is not having nearly as good of year compared to last year, but sure Sox would point out last year and ask way more than what this year is doing. He also has years of control left so not just rental cost.

I would take Bregman, and think you could get him for the right price. I agree I expect he opts out, so now you are only paying him the rest of this year. Not sure how that works with the deferred money, but keep Sox on hook for that as part of agreement. The question is does Sox view this as a guy for 3 years or a rental. I would I would inquire as to the cost, but really, if they assume he opts out, as I think may will he is having a good year and will want longer term deal. So if the Sox are seeking rental deal return, I bet you can get him for E-Rod straight up, or some combo of pitching prospects. It would lock down that side of defense, pickup the offense, bring back the trash can buddies. You could then either DH Lewis if he is back hitting, or 2nd base. Lee if he is not hitting well can go back to AAA. I do not get how in your post you talk about Bregman being 31 signed through 2027 but then say he will absolutely op out after 2025(this season) or 2026(next season) and also talk about being on hook for 2.5 more years of payroll. If you are sure he will opt out, which he most likely will with the season he is having, then you are only on hook for the rest of this season. If you put in good enough prospect you can get Sox to foot some of that bill too.

No way is he traded, but really doubt he gets DFAed either. He still has 2.5 years on his 6 year deal. Making 23 mil. That is a lot of money to just throw away. I get the sunk costs and he may get the boot, but still dumping just under 60 mil. I remember there was a big push by some to sign Story, I was not one of them and really glad we let that one go. Since he signed with Boston he has barely played due to injuries and when he has just not been good.

Be happy with the stretch he gave you, you struck gold quickly, but give him is DFA papers let him move to St. Paul or opt for FA if he wants to. He is cooked.

Every MLB pitcher will miss full seasons due to injuries these days. You just need to hope they do not miss them while you are paying them big and that you can get the best out of them.

I am not one that likes to overvalue closers I am one that is all for trading them if you can get great value for them. However, I would not trade a pen guy midseason when you are competing for a playoff spot. Mainly because it will have a domino affect. You move Varland into 8th or 9th inning roll along with Jax, you need to lean on others in the 7th inning roll more. Also, your ability to use guess on multiple days in a row is hurt, then at times needing to rely on guys to step up more in the higher leverage roll because you burned your normal guys up days prior. In the playoffs having 3 or 4 guys you would be willing to use in the 9th is huge. It really shrinks the games, like the Royals did their WS a decade ago. Also, who during the year will give up a big enough offense piece just to add to their pen? Trading Duran in offseason would be better idea.

Just to make MLB at his height is rare. He is even shorter than Altuve. I am big on Eeles as an underdog guy to prove people wrong that someone of his height cannot play. His height will be little issue at 3B if he has the arm or quick enough for the range. I agree he will most likely be stuck at 2B. However, he has shown a great ability to get on base at all levels even after his surgery this year. I doubt he is dealt at the deadline for much. He is nearly 26, no real prospect thought. If he gets dealt it is either as an extra piece, or for a low end pen guy.

I am not giving up much to bring in a replacement for 3rd right now. Yes, Lewis has been terrible, and Lee has had ups and downs, but both are young and we have seen the great from Lewis, we need to hope he breaks out of his rut. So I would look at 1st base, but as pointed out the possible upgrades are just not great. I do not know what kind of clubhouse guy France is, but sometimes trying to upgrade just a little at a position can hurt the overall team too. Not saying that will be the case with France, but unless you know you have a clear upgrade may not be worth it.

I am happy to read about Culpepper. I hope he makes the jump to AA later this year. If he can make that jump smooth he will be either a valuable trade chip, or be a possible call up next year.

Jenkins was injured, just coming back now, and E-Rod was on the list as an honorable mention, so just outside the top 5.

He claims he was trying to hit the ball to right. You can see by the swing too that is most likely true. If true, maybe, just maybe, he is finally trying to have a plan at the plate. He always had the ability, but for most of his career he had the see ball hit ball mind set. When he would try to be coached he would get in his head too much and fail. However, he never seemed to have a plan at the plate. How often early in his career would he come up in big spot and swing at 3 sliders off the plate? He would do so because he was just hoping one would be a fastball that he could get around on. Then once in like 100 pitches he would get that fastball low and away buzzing the strike zone that he would either take or sometimes hit, and his mind was back to see they may throw a fastball, and back to missing sliders away again. If you have a plan that if he throws the fastball away I will drive it to right, you will be willing to wait a slit second longer and see it is a slider and take it. He does look good at the plate and more like he has a plan. The new hitting coach seems to be connecting to some guys like Larnach too of contact over power at times. Some may not like it, but to me as long as you run bases well, getting hits and balls in play are better than strike outs with the rare HR.

When Castro is hitting well he is the most important player on the team. His ability to be at least passible defender at just about every position, means you never have to worry about having a guy defending in a position they cannot. You can pinch hit an OF for an IF or vice versa because Castro can fill in the vacant spot. He is what allows for Rocco to do what he wants to do with his bench. Kody Clemons has been close, but he cannot do CF or SS but he can fill other spots. Not to same level defense. Twins love having flexible guys that can play multiple positions, at least having 1 or 2 each year.

Cleveland traded out of their rotation two years in a row when they were fighting for playoffs. Detroit did it last year too. You can certainly trade guess if you feel what you have to replace will be close to equal value, but can fill a different need. No Paddack will not fetch a ton, but too many people on here are thinking too short term about stuff. Too many want to ride Paddack out until he regresses back to the mean, or end of the season and throw QO on him, hoping he turns it down so he when he signs elsewhere you get something in return. The flip side is how much worse will Festa or SWR be over him at this point, even he has no regression back to his mean or injury, I doubt it is that much regression, he still falls into 4th on our staff. If that can net you a decent prospect even, we do not need to just fill in this year. Some would look at it as "selling" but it really is not, because you are saying we can get a good deal now, not give up much this year most likely, and restock for down the road. If there is someone for this year you think can help, most likely just another bench bat, then okay do that. Of course you do not just put Paddock on the trade block and take best deal, if other teams are not sold on him you then ride him out, but it is fully worth asking teams in great need of SP. I would much rather trade Paddock this year, then one of our guys with long control if you can get similar returns.

I would not go crazy over nearly 30 innings pitched. Pen guys can have great run only to fall to pieces. They are so volatile. We have seen our own team take scrap heap guys and have a good short run, and seen our own guys have great runs for periods on other teams. Take Cano for instance. We traded him for Lopez. Lopez fell apart for us, Cano had great 2 seasons but is terrible this year.

He has always been someone that strikes me as a guy who struggles in higher leverage situations. When the lead is generally big either way, more than a save situation, he tends to get outs, but when game is tight late and hitters seem to grind out at-bats more, he struggles. This was something LaTroy Hawkins had issues with, Hawkins still much better than Alcala, but Hawkins was amazing 8th inning guy, but you threw in the closer role he would struggle badly. I am not sure if it is Alcala stuff, or more his head when the outs are more important.

It is not completely based on the fact their is likely to be regression. Of course the other teams will see the same numbers. The question for the team taking him on will be when will the regression be? Will it be this season, will it be later on? Also, will they be able to sustain his numbers longer. No one is saying Paddack is going to win a Cy Young. However, there are teams that are struggling to fill out their rotation at this point due to injuries. No, Paddack will not bring back some huge piece, but teams like Tampa, and Cleveland have for years dealt established guys in their rotations middle of the year to supplement and reload system knowing they can get something, instead of nothing when they walk. I started the forum yesterday on this subject, love when that sparks a more in depth article that I do not have time to write. However, for myself it is not just about flipping him for something we really need right now, but knowing teams will take him on right now hoping his regression will not be soon, you can get something in return for your 4th starter. If we did not have Festa or SWR that could fill in I would not suggest this. However, being either one if not both could fill in and not be that much of a regression from what we expect from Paddack. Coming into the year he was fighting for the 5th spot.