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John Bonnes

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Everything posted by John Bonnes

  1. John Bonnes
    I wonder what would interest the Rays more - a package of prospects that helps with the future, or an everyday center fielder that helps them take advantage of the window of opportunity they have right now. I think it might be the latter, but one could argue either way.
  2. John Bonnes
    You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1146-Gleeman-and-the-Geek-Ep-66-Interviewing-Terry-Ryan
  3. John Bonnes
    Aaron and John talk about John's interview with Terry Ryan in the Offseason Handbook, cover a few minor moves, and argue a lot.Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
  4. John Bonnes
    Aaron and John talk about John's interview with Terry Ryan in the Offseason Handbook, cover lots of minor moves, and argue a lot. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.
  5. John Bonnes
    Aaron and John talk about John's interview with Terry Ryan in the Offseason Handbook, cover lots of minor moves, and argue a lot. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.
  6. John Bonnes
    Where does the "Twins Must Overpay" theory (or myth) come from? I've seen this referenced in a few threads and from (I think) different people, so I thought I'd dedicate one thread to talk about it. Usually, in the middle of a thread, I hear something like "No way this guy gets signed because not only would the Twins need to pay for a guy, they would need to pay a lot MORE for the guy." I'm always baffled by it, but I'm willing to listen. I have a few questions for those that espouse it: 1. Since when does anyone need to overpay for a guy in MLB? This isn't the NBA. In the NBA, where there are individual salary caps, players are far more likely to take other things - like how competitive the team is or the weather or whatever - into account, because there isn't more money. But in MLB, that cap doesn't exist. In fact, usually, the biggest criticism about free agents is just the opposite - that all they care about is the money. 2. Since when are the Twins so unappealing? This is especially true for pitchers. The Twins are generally know, at least under Ryan, as being a well-run organization. Gardy is known as a players manager. The ballpark is a dream for pitchers, especially those looking to regain some market value. They've sucked the last two years, but if everyone was chasing a ring, the only team everyone would sign with is the Yankees. (Again, usually the criticism is just the opposite - that players don't care enough about winning.) I think if you go down the list of all 29 other teams, you're going to find the Twins somewhere with the mass of other teams. 3. Is someone leading the charge on this? Is there someone in the media espousing this? I'm just wondering because I have no idea where this idea is coming from. I'm just curious. It is such a consistent comment that I assume someone is saying this on the radio or something. I was just wondering if anyone is hearing this talked or written about somewhere.
  7. John Bonnes
    Well, I'm a little slow on the new CBA rules, obviously. I didn't realize that midseason trades could not get a qualifying offer. That's an interesing twist. I can see an imminent free agent with a no-trade clause waiving it so he doesn't get a qualifying offer in his offseason. I wouldn't be shocked if that's why Dempster ultimately agreed to a trade. Seth is right. This doesn't really affect the Twins this year. That's really good news.
  8. John Bonnes
    I think we had him for 4/52 in the Handbook, and that seems high given the last 24 hours. Like I said in the other thread about the Angels/Cubs deal, I still don't believe that the Angels were going to pay for Marmol AND the $3.5M. But still, it seems like just about any offer to take him for 1/13 shoudl have been accepted by the Angels. If nobody wanted to do that, why would anyone do 4/52? When push comes to shove, I still wouldn't be suprised if some team looks at him and wonders why they didn't do that deal, as they pay close to that. But assuming things are as they seem, it would appear his market is somewhere around 3/35? That seems crazy to me. I'd jump on that in an instant.
  9. John Bonnes
    If that deal - that the Angels send Haren + $3.5M to the Cubs for Marmol - was really the deal, there are roughly 28 other GMs that would have jumped into bed with the Angels, too. Supposedly, the whole reason the Angels were moving Haren was because they were on the hook for $3.5M. They're trying to save some money to pay to Greinke. By moving Haren, they either were going to get someone else to pay it, or pay it themselves and still get another player out of the deal. So I don't get this deal from the Angels standpoint. Why would they want to pay $9.8M for Marmol next year AND pay $3.5M to make Haren go away? It doesn't make any sense unless they have a totally irrational mancrush on Marmol, in which case nobody can match it . And, by the way, if that was the deal, there is NO WAY the Cubs back out of that. Like Epstein wouldn't give up Marmol and $2.7M for Haren? C'mon. I don't know if we'll ever hear the full story, but there is no way that deal was the deal.
  10. John Bonnes
    Kyle Lohse is receiving a qualifying offer. It stands to reason that if he is, then a lot of other guys - especially starting pitchers - could too. For those that do, and turn it down, the signing team needs to give up a high draft pick. For the Twins, I *think* it would mean their second round pick. Would it be worth it? For instance, say Ryan Dempster costs the Twins 2 years/$26M, but also costs them their second round pick. Would you do it? GIven the Twins need to rebuild, it gives me pause. But if they don't, that could put quite a few pitchers out of reach, given that even Lohse and essentially Ervin Santana are getting that kind of offer.
  11. John Bonnes
    So for those who haven't clicked over, there is a chart that shows how much they have traded with each major league team. I was a little surprised which they traded with the most. But now that I think about it, I remember quite a few trades with that team. I'm also a little surprised to realize that the Twins have made three intradivisional trades within the last two years. Huh.
  12. John Bonnes
    I don't think they can. Offers to Otani will be limited by the cap on international signing bonuses. And I'm quite sure the CBA limits their ability to get around it with offers of a guaranteed contract.
  13. John Bonnes
    My favorite part of the story is where Morosi says that Baker threw 134+ innings with a 3.14 ERA for the Twins this year. I had forgotten all about those.
  14. John Bonnes
    I had an idea.... I'll make a request about threads like these to the community, because often administrators can't get to a thread like thie earlier enough. When talking about a specific player, it would be great if one of the first posts would be a little bio or summary of the player. It could just be a paragraph that says how old he is, what hand he pitches (or bats), what his pertinent stats were last year, and any background info about his career, health, etc. Anyone want to take a shot like that with this? It might make reading these threads a lot easier to mor casual fans.
  15. John Bonnes
    I'm sure he is fine, Leigh Valley is pretty far inland. I traded messages with Thrylos earlier today. He's short of heat, power and water, but other than that, he's fine.
  16. John Bonnes
    I liked Malinowski's pumpkin. Also, he's completely overachieving, based on his profile picture.
  17. John Bonnes
    I thought this was really well done. It doesn't shy away from details and throws in enough sabr math to support the conclusions without going overboard. I also think he's probably a little low on the cost of Marcum, but he has room to go higher. Mike Minor might be a reach for Span, but he might not, and he gives some other names worth considering from Atlanta.
  18. John Bonnes
    TB does have Jennings. He can play CF, can't he? Well, he can go there....not sure if he can do the job in CF. Some TB fans I know seem to doubt it, but honestly I'm not sure. Jason Collette, who I trust, says the Rays are almost undoubtedly going to be interested in acquiring a CFer this year. He wouldn't rule out a Shields for Span deal, straight up.
  19. John Bonnes
    I just heard some hand-wringing about this Santana move on the radio. Here's the thing: if the Twins would've made this move, I would have not have liked it. It's not a disaster - one-year deals are never disasters - but with limited resources, this isn't the way to spend $12M. The extra millions they spent on Ervin might not have been necessary, as he's a prime candidate for a one-year deal anyway this spring. And don't get me wrong - I like Santana. He was a guy I was targeting, too. But if the Twins are spending $90M, they can't blow $12M of the $16M they have to spend on Santana. I'd much rather give a multi-year deal for similar money to better pitchers.
  20. John Bonnes
    I think if the Twins were interested in bringing back Matt Capps, they wouldn't have paid him $250,000 to go away.
  21. John Bonnes
    Yeah. Youk is a fine addition, but either that means you're giving up on Plouffe or you're moving him to another position, like second base. I'm not totally opposed to the latter plan. I'd love to see some improvement of our middle infield. (BTW, we listed Youk as likely to get a 2-year/$14M deal. That still sounds about right to me.)
  22. John Bonnes
    With a $3.5M buyout, I gotta think they would be willing to move him for just about anything, including doing our laundry for a year. I know all the rumors have them turning down this option, and that's one of the reasons that we suggested he would be a FA this year, but now I wonder. $12M isn't a crazy amount for Haren, and that's essentially all the additional money they would be committing to him. Originally, we had them picking up that option, but then the rumors started and we changed it.
  23. John Bonnes
    Wow. I didn't see that coming. We had him pegged for about that much per year, but one or two more years. Apparently, either his agent didn't think he was going to get that, or he wanted to stay with the Sox. It's interesting that he's getting that contract AND the $4M buyout. From the Sox standpoint, they just saved themselves $4M, though they'll have to pay it back later. It also means their payroll is near $105M, I think. One can never tell what Reinsdorf is thinking, but they didn't even draw 2M this year, so I wonder if that means Floyd is on his way out the door. Next time someone says payroll isn't everything, this is pretty good example of when it's nice to have some extra money.
  24. John Bonnes
    You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1129-Twins-Will-Seek-Competition-For-Trevor-Plouffe
  25. John Bonnes
    In the TwinsCentric interview with Terry Ryan last week, (the 9-page entirety of which you can find in the 2013 Offseason Handbook), we asked about his confidence in Trevor Plouffe. John Bonnes: Are you comfortable with [Trevor] Plouffe at third base? Terry Ryan: Well, he needs some work too. Defensively, he’s a work in progress. JB: He hasn’t played that much at third base in the minors, right? TR: No, he hasn’t, but he’s and ex-shortstop and he should be able to make that transition. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Because usually that would be an easier one that going from third to short. JB: Sure, it’s a little lower on the defensive spectrum. TR: The ball gets there quicker and it’s different angles and different throws and – there’s a lot that’s different. But, he’s an infielder. He should be able to catch the ball. He’s got enough arm. His accuracy was difficult. So, we’ve got to make a decision. Alright, is he going to take the next step forward? He’s got enough bat to play there. He’s got enough power to play there. Now it’s whether he’s going to be able to play that position so we don’t have to worry about it defensively. It’s a work in progress. JB: But you haven’t made that decision yet? You’re not sure… TR: He’s coming in as the third baseman. Yes, he will. I need to create some competition over there though. And we will. And he’s aware of that. Nothing wrong with competition. JB: Does that competition include Joe Mauer? TR: Nope. I’m going to create some competition, but I didn’t say anything about Joe Mauer. JB: I’m just asking. Have you thought about or talked about Joe Mauer moving to third base? TR: No, I haven’t. Some fans have, but I haven’t. So the good news for Plouffe is that he is expected to have the job at the hot corner. The bad news is that the Twins are going to be hedging their bets this offseason. If the Twins are looking for competition, they had one such candidate this year, but Sean Burroughs became a free agent. Burroughs was an interesting option because he hit left-handed, and the right-handed hitting Plouffe still has a big split (911 OPS vs LHs/ 691 OPS vs RHs) against the more plentiful side of the rubber. Looking at the Offseason Handbook, there are a few other fairly inexpensive options that might make sense. Eric Chavez put up very good numbers for the Yankees, but the left-handed hitting 34-year-old only had 33 at-bats against southpaws. It’s not clear how affordable he could be, but if he can’t get a job as a platoon player, a spot backing up an unproven guy like Plouffe could be a very nice option. Most of the other names one would recognize bat right-handed, but each has some other interesting traits. For instance, Brandon Inge used to play catcher. So instead of carrying Drew Butera as a 3rd catcher, Inge could fill in udring an emergency. He had shoulder surgery at the end of the season, but is expected to be recovered by spring training. Placido Polanco struggled this year, but he was also dealing with a back injury. In the past, the Twins have been rumored to be interested in him and the 37-year-old might be able to occasionally fill in at a middle infield spot. Meanwhile, another 37-year-old is rumored to be retiring, but the always intense Scott Rolen might be an interesting veteran to add to a clubhouse filled with kids. These aren’t going to be moves that transform the Twins, nor should any of them be used as an excuse to overlook bigger issues. But this might be something to watch late in the offseason, when leftover free agents are searching around, or whenever news of a six-year minor league free agents signing trickles out. Whoever the Twins sign will hopefully be nothing more than an insurance policy as Plouffe shows he belongs as a full-time starter. Or, like Sam Deduno and PJ Walters, that obscure signing could play a much bigger role than anyone anticipates this winter.
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