Captain Hindsight

I'd be surprised if the Dodgers didn't put a claim on him. They seem to claim every pitcher with the tiniest bit of upside that hits waivers in hopes of sneaking them through waivers a second time. He seems to fit what they tend to look for plus they might need a spot starter/long reliever with all the injuries they have had to the rotation lately.

Before we laud how far we've come in regards to metrics, remember that Porcello won the Cy Young last year with similar though not quite as pronounced circumstances. He was tied for 4th in bWAR, and Verlander led most categories except wins and BB/9. (Though worth noting that Verlander did get the majority of 1st place votes) Interesting to also compare Brittons, who took 4th, with Rivera. Britton had a 795 ERA+ last year.

Where are you reading that? This is what BA had to say: "He has the quick feet and plus arm strength required to play shortstop..." http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/mlb-2017-draft-tracker-a/#CYMf8V9t3FPg3g1W.99 Granted, it does say some scouts think he may have to move but not because of "Revere-like" arm strength.

Noticed the before GIFs were against same handed pitching and the after against opposite handed pitching. Seems like it would be better to compare them equally.

That was my thinking with Dean. He, like Gilmartin, was another lefty starter with fringe stuff that might attract attention in the Rule V as a BP candidate. Last year they might have thought Gilmartin was safe as generally teams select high velocity guys hoping to strike gold. They did not want to repeat the same mistake and Dean could be usesful to them next year so protecting him gives them the opportunity to find out. I think the difference between the two is, Gilmartin at least showed the ability to strikeout to strikeout batters in the minors, Dean never really did and survived mostly on limiting free passes.

I can at least understand why they would want him back another season. Out of the options we have, Hicks, Roasrio, Buxton, Kepler and Arcia, none are established and it would not be surprising to see any of them struggle next year. Also, Hunter has been a great influence on the young guys. That being said, I would prefer giving the young players a chance to succeed or fail and live with the consequences, but it is hardly an outrage that they would consider bringing Hunter back given the uncertainty with current options.

How are people living in denial about it? It is pure conjecture. It is like saying, you can live in denial about it, but the Twins would have drafted Trout if Ryan were in charge.

The bullpen is used in every game and more likely to impact game then a bench piece that may not be needed most nights. Strengthening the bullpen in the stretch run should have a higher priority then a lengthy bench.

When the options aren't great, it is better to give the manager more choices, not less.

On one hand, some people here are critical because the Twins didn't get good enough player(s) at the deadline. While on the other, others (and oddly some of the same people) are critical they gave up too much to acquire Jespen, though most would agree he is an upgrade over our current options. So for Ryan to make everyone happy all he had to do was acquire better players while giving up nothing of value, easy enough. Sure, Jespen isn't a cure all for our bp, but he is a definite upgrade and comes with an extra year of control. Those are positives in my book. I did not want to see Hu traded but I would have been more upset if they traded better pieces for a better or, more in, return such as Gonsalves, Kepler, Stewart or even Thorpe. Hu is intriguing, but unlikely to have a big impact and still has a ways to go. Here is a piece of the BA write-up about Hu: "A 21-year-old signed out of Taiwan, Hu is a potential No. 4/No. 5 starter who lacks a true out pitch but is around the strike zone consistently with three fringe-average to average offerings." I see no problem in trading a potential back-end starter for an upgrade to the major league BP over the next year+. Imagine if it was Duffey/Wheeler instead there might be less grumbling, even though they have similar potential and have had good results in the minors at different stages.

I believe they prefer the term truthiness.

I am not terribly surprised, without Sano and Buxton its a solid farm system with a number of intriguing players with breakout potential and good depth/mix of players but not spectacular. I'd say probably a 5-15 farm system depending on how optimistic you are about some players. Meyers struggles to start the season did not help. May is also no longer part of the equation either. The Sox system being the top rated is a bit puzzling. Without Rodriguez it doesn't seem all that great of a farm, I'd say about the same as the Twins if not worse. Nobody really dominating, Moncada is having an okay season in lowA, Owens season has been up and down but has gotten better, still he probably more of a mid-rotation arm, Devers is doing well but not great in lowA, walks are concerning, Margot is not doing well as he adjusts to AA. Beyond that it contains a lot of players you can find in almost any system, tend to agree a bit over-hyped.

I am as big a fan of Tulowitzki as anybody and would love to be able to watch him as a member of the Twins. That being said, I would be less inclined to give up Gibson, Mainly because it would be a big blow to the current rotation but also because he is developing into a really good and unique pitcher with an ability to induce GBs at a high rate and produce K's. Though you have to give something to get something, so I would live with Berrios being included along with Santana/Polanco (gives them a SS) as well as one of the position players that has fallen out of favor Vargas/Arcia/Pinto and another lesser piece likely a pitcher such as Duffey, Jorge or Rogers. If cash has to be included, take Nolasco. My cause for concern, and the reason I wouldn't want to include too much more is not only money owed but the injury history. No question he is one of the games very best when healthy but he has missed time throughout his career. All this talk might be moot as he has said he wants to stay and the owner is a big fan. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/troy-tulowitzki-not-interested-trade-rockies.html#comments

That's not a LOOGY, that is just a reliever. In all seriousness though, I am all for trying anything that relieves Duensing of his position in the BP. Rogers splits show he is unlikely to be an effective starter in the big leagues so it is worth a shot as a lefty specialist in the BP, but don't think we should force in a lefty. If our best option is a righty then that is who we should bring up.

He has shown he was capable of producing K's in the minors, hopefully this is a sign he is finally settling into the Majors. Being groundball heavy and capable of K's is a deadly combination and as Dave already mentioned, Brandon Webb comparisons start coming to mind. He may be developing into the pitcher the Sox thought they were getting when they signed Porcello to that crazy extension (though Porcello is still more than a year younger than Gibson). Not to get ahead of myself with a little more than a months worth of stats but it is a very encouraging sign.