nicksaviking

So is the requirement to be called an elite closer post season success or simply post season exposure? Because Joe Nathan has one but not the other yet every GM in baseball would label him elite. If he's available, I truly doubt there will be a more sought after bullpen arm than Perkins.

I think Perkins will be moved and I think the return will be substantial. According to MLBTR the Phillies are expected to shop Jonathan Papelbon heavily. Jon Heyman earlier stated if the Phillies were to move Papelbon, the return would be "astronomical." This could easily play out similarly to last off season when teams preferred the cheaper Span/Revere to the pricey Bourn and Upton. Papelbon is two years older, has extra millage on his arm and has declining K numbers while Perkins are improving. More importantly Perkins has a contract of the same length as Papelbon but it is less than 1/4 the price and Perkins' final year is a team option while Papelbon's is a vesting option. Bonus: Perkins is also left-handed. I haven't said too many positive things about Terry Ryan recently, but I was very happy with how he leveraged his CF's against the free agent market last year. He can do it again by letting the Phillies establish the parameters and expectations of a deal while the Twins reap the benefits.

No reason to complain really unless you know quite a bit about these guys. This isn't like the Rule IV draft, these guys are largely unknown. If you look at the various rankings "experts" have of these guys you'll see they are in no way similar, and how could they be? None of these experts have the resources to see all these guys play in person; I'd wager that most of their knowledge comes from second hand intel and shoddy video. Besides, MLB has Diaz ranked 10th, would people feel better about not getting their 4th ranked player if the Twins also signed Perez who is ranked 9th? Regarding Diaz, he excites me because reading between the lines, he is not a one tool player. The reports I've seen all say his size indicates the power will come, but actually at this point he is actually just a very strong hitter.

He had an MRI in May did he not? Did he injure it more extensively since or did they miss the damage the first time? He sure seems to have been hurting this whole time.

If we are wasting your time with the negative words regarding Carl Pohlad, please feel free to waste ours in support of him. No sarcasm involved, I really am curious to hear an argument from someone who sides with the Pohlads on the contraction issue.

The article disturbs me but then I consider that Carl Pohlad was a despicable human being so this is no shock to me. The man made his fortune during the great depression by buying up mortgages on the brink of foreclosure and then proceeded to take the homes and farms of the poor the second they were late on a payment. Carl Pohlad was the villain in The Grapes of Wrath. That such a terrible man was allowed to walk the earth as long as he did proves there is no such thing as Karma.

He faced Low A batters yesterday and only gave up one HR. Walters and Diamond likely would have given up at least two.

Perhaps that's what the Rangers are counting on. If they go to a draft system next year the Rangers lose a 1st round pick I suppose? Based on thier record they likely would not draft high next year yet this year they can blow through their money and pick two guys they may view as top 10 talents this year. Personally I like the change. Aside from the fact that my team is once again slow to the party, this is pretty exciting and better yet, it seems to have given the trade market an early boost.

I agree, there should be no need to panic, but there is a danger. Most of the big names are signing, which means if the Twins miss out on one of their big names, Diaz and Perez, there quite possibly won't be another big name to spend their money on and the Twins will be sitting on their cash and only able to spend it on lesser prospects. Update: The count is now up to 32 players on 17 different teams.

Walters probably.

Yup the Cubs set the market for marginal starters. Not only have they gotten a return for Feldman, but they forced every other team to overpay for backend fillers too. Another reason to be proactive in baseball operations instead of reactive.

I count 26 players now signed by 15 different teams. I know it's petty to complain seeing as the market is only recently opened, but my inner nag is frustrated that my favorite team is once again among the last to the table even though all speculation says the Twins will come out of this OK.

His AAA K% is only 17%!

This does raise a fair point. Hicks certainly should be playing everyday as he is part of the long(er?) term plan but Gardy will be reluctant to sit Thomas for him. If Willingham does finally hit the DL, there's a good chance Parmelee still gets the shaft as far as playing time goes.

The biggest change to the international signing period was the ability for teams to trade a slotted alotment of their spending pool. Many baseball people expected trades to happen but were unsure how it would play out as there is no established track record of what each slot is actually worth in flesh and blood return. At this point several teams have swapped international bucks, and we've seen several MLB players involved in these transactions. The Cubs and Dodgers first swapped DFA'd relievers Carlos Marmol and Matt Guerrier. However the Cubs threw in one of their draft slots to accomodate the trade. The Cubs also traded P Scott Feldman and C Steve Clevenger to the Orioles for Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and more international funny money. Additionally, the Cubs traded minor league 2B Reynoldo Torreyes to the Astros for two more bonus pool slots. A Feldman trade was expected as the Cubs had pitching available and they were expected to be sellers, however these kinds of trades often happen only once the trade deadline approaches. The new international feeding frenzy, at least this season, may have helped motivate GM's to stop dragging their feet regarding players that are known to be available. Of course the one thing these moves have in common is that they all occured with the Cubs. The Cubs brought in Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer knowing they were agressive and not afraid to try new things. Our Twins are a bit more cautious and generally are not at the forefront of new movements so I won't be expecting them to be working draft slot trades until they see how it plays out first. Regardless, if going forward the international signing day kicks off free agency a month earlier than normal, baseball will hold my attention much more during the busy 4th of July week.

I sure hope not, what does Roseta Stone cost? Like a hundred bucks? While I want to see the Twins start signing guys, the international market has been open for what? 6 hours? You clearly haven't read anything on this thread, the Twins ARE all over several guys, two of the top ten guys in fact.

Why did Melotakis get his start sniped by Pelfrey? Why didn't they just push him back a day?

Particularly Willingham. If his knee is bad enough for an MRI, time to put him on the DL for some rest. It's not like he's more productive than Parmelee right now as it is. Rest him up and hope he produces and rebuilds his trade value.

I agree with this quite a bit, though I think there is quite a bit of self-fullfilling prophecy regarding the Twins caving into the Yankees as well. The "Aw shucks, just doing the best I can" attitude is tiresome and comes with a built in excuse for losing. I'm not saying it's Twins-specific, but it is a Midwest attitude, and it is dripping all over the orgainzation.

The Royals signed Gasparini. I've never seen him play so I'm unfarily catagorizing him, but even though the Twins need SS help, I was very skeptical about the talents of a SS from Europe. Probably a dumb stereotype considering the success of Kepler, but how much quality competition can a European kid see? At SS, I want them to see a ton.

No doubt about that but with a lot of good coaching and luck, a pitcher can improve comand and learn secondary pitches. Velocity is generally a natural attribute though, which is why a lot of baseball people seem to focus on that first and hope the other two traits later come together.

No, Brad Radke has pitched in the MLB more recenlty than Prior. Sad story but his arm is ruined.

Good news. His walk numbers are higher than you'd like but last year they were fantastic so you have to think the ability is still there. A 46th round pick getting to AAA is pretty impressive

No one thinks that command isn't important, but minimalizing the effect of velocity is the same arguement as minimalizing the effect of a higher payroll. Neither guarantee sucess but they are very strong indicators as they provide a very large advantage.

Yeah, I'd like to see Willingham get a DL stint to rest that knee. He's hurting the team right now and would give the team a chance to give regular at bats to test Arcia and Parmelee.