With few options remaining on the free agent market, teams in need of starting pitching help may have to put Minnesota GM Bill Smith on speed dial. ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) hears that the Twins are "very much willing" to discuss trading Kevin Slowey these days.
This isn't the first time we've heard reports about Slowey's potential availability. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote during the Winter Meetings that the Twins would consider moving the right-hander, particularly if Carl Pavano re-signed with the club – which, of course, he eventually did. More recently, Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune said that the Twins were more likely to deal Slowey than Francisco Liriano.
Sporting a career high of 160.1 IP in the bigs, Slowey isn't the sort of innings-eating workhorse a free agent like Kevin Millwood would be. However, the righty is just 26 years old, remains under team control through 2013, and has displayed impeccable control (1.5 BB/9) throughout his career. If the Twins are open to fielding offers, I'd expect the Yankees and Cardinals to be among the handful of clubs to kick the tires.
If I was an 80-something win team with a good outlook over the next few years and could possibly spare a valuable starter, I would *absolutely* float his name, just to see if I could get the Yanks or Cards to panic and overpay for him. Losing Slowey would hurt the Twins a bit in 2011, but a nice prospect haul could make up for some of that as soon as the second half, not to mention how it would help the long term outlook.
What would it take to get him? He has afew years of team control still, he’s young, but he’s not much more then a 5 starter.
I think the fact that he is a border line SPer (#5) makes this interesting for the Yanks & Cardinals. Going to the national league will make him a better SPer based on the strength of the lineups he will face.
Will the Yanks be willing to part with any of their top arms now when by potentially the All Star those same young arms could help the Yankees with higher upside.
makes a lot of sense for the cardinals, but not much for the yankees. the difference in upside between him in the AL east and the other back-enders isn’t significant enough to give up the talent it’d take
the cardinals on the other hand should be all over this. could save their season
Weird, I’m going to agree with you on this one. Maybe for Ramiro Pena, Brandon Laird and DJ Mitchell (solves three Twin issues SS, 3rd and fill in relief), otherwise, the Yanks pass.
The Twins have their 3rd baseman in Danny Valencia (finished 3rd in ROY), Nishioka at SS. You’re right though, additional arms for the ‘pen would be very helpful.
Gardy has already stated that Super Yoshi will be a 2B.
I agree completely. He would make perfect sense in St.Louis which is an even more “pitcher friendly” park along with not having to face a DH. With St. Louis it’s not even so much about him replacing anyone as much as it is that he should require much in terms of prospects which helps considering their farm (St. Louis) is a little thin right now.
I WOULD PACKAGE SLOWEY& kUBEL FOR A YOUNG RIGHT-HANDED BATTER WITH POWER AND A GOOD OUTFIELDER .THIS WOULD SOLVE A SHORTAGE THAT THE TWINS HAVE ON RIGHT HANDED POWER AND GIVE US A RELIABLE OUTFIELDER SUD & RIGHT HANDED DH.
I don’t see Slowey and Kubel (who’s contract is up after this year) getting you a right-handed power hitter and a backup outfielder.
Slow(ey) but steady wins the race
You’re trying too hard.
Talks are probably going Slow-ey at this point.
I’ll give you that one.
BREAKING NEWS: Baseball team willing to trade mediocre starter to amy other team willing to overpay
Yankees would never trade for him. They have far better options already than a back of the rotation filler who can’t go 200 innings. They’ll get that out of Colon and Garcia and not even have to listen to the ridiculous bounty Bill Smith will try to extract for Slowey.
Slowey had a flyball rate over 50% last year and gave up over 1.2 HR/9, he would get eaten alive in Yankee Stadium.
You guys are funny. Slowey’s 2.2 fWAR last year would have, given a few more innings tied him with such mediocre starting pitchers as Phil Hughes and Trevor Cahill, who won 17 and 18 games, respectively. Slowey has been a league-average starting pitcher the past three years. His value has been depressed by injuries.
Probably a bit premature to call Hughes and Cahill both “mediocre” pitchers considering their age and potential upside. If they were both 30, then perhaps..
Pretty sure he was being sarcastic. Or he wasn’t being sarcastic. One or the other, possibly.
brianS Should have used the sarcasm tags in his post
mediocre
It’s called “sarcasm.” His point was that no one calls those guys mediocre, yet their performance is similar to Slowey’s.
Bingo.
“Slowey has been a league-average starting pitcher the past three years”.
That’s exaclty what he is. Hughes and Cahill both project to be much,much better and both have much better stuff. Slowey is a finesse pitcher who relys on his ballpark and his defense and has zero room for mistakes with his location.
I can point out some really good tidbits to show you how not so good Slowey is compared to Hughes (in first full season as a starter in the AL East at age 24). Would you like me too?
2010
Slowey @ home= 3.63 ERA (3.85 FIP) on road = 5.63 ERA (4.16 FIP)
Hughes @ home= 4.66 ERA (5.06 FIP) on road= 3.47 ERA (3.02 FIP)
2010 MLB Park factors
HRS= NYS @ #3 @ 1.42 HR per game vs Target @ #30 @ 0.64 HR per game.
That’s more than double!!!
You reverse parks and Hughes becomes a much better pitcher and Slowey ends up getting slaughtered. And just to head off the “cheap” win theory, about 8 of 18 of wins came when he pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs or less, 13 of 18 when he went 6 innings and gave up 3 or less and an additional 4 when he went 5 IP and allowed 2 runs or less.
Yanks don’t need to acquire a #4 or #5 starter with no upside. They need a #2 or #3 who can push AJ down in the rotation.
All that is standing in between Hughes being a true top of rotation guy is learning how to throw a better quality change up so he can induce more GB to negate the home park factors, something Sabathia learned to do very quickly by watching Pettitte.
cardinals… cardinals… CARDINALS!!!
keep him so cabrera could keep hitting homeruns.
Cabrera does that to everybody.
yeah he does!!!!
As a Twins fan I see that we have a surplus in Starting pitchers with six Major Leaguer’s and one in the minor’s in Gibson ready to step in. Two years ago he had ten wins before the all star break before he got hurt, a potential 20 game winner. Not a power pitcher but an effective pitcher.
But to the teams like the Cardinals Yankees or Rangers what is he worth to you?
Nothing. We’ll give you Ramiro Pena and a YES network tote bag.
Wait, a tote bag too?! jk
So you have no interest whatsoever then? Bartolo Colon is a better option?
It’s basically down to Slowey and Baker’s elbow for the last slot. Unless they’re real confident in Gibson being ready and starting his clock I doubt they’d move their insurance policy for spare change anytime soon.
I tend to agree with you on this one. I would honestly rather see Baker moved than Slowey if someone has to be moved.
Slowey reminds me of Kyle Lohse…
(well, they same have the same pitches… similar velocities (not exact)… and Lohse used to be decent)
Slowey is the benefactor of a 23-9 W-L record over the past two years, so I’m sure some unenlightened teams will look at that and think it means anything. Of course, teams that understand that wins have nothing to do with a pitcher’s individual performance will look at how many hits and HRs he gives up and realize he’s mediocre.
I hope the Twins keep him. I’d rather they put him in the pen than trade him for peanuts. With his control, he’d make an excellent middle reliever. The Twins need a replacement for Matty Guerrier.
I’d rather use Baker as a reliever than use Slowey.
Me too. Baker might be right along Slowey in the pen if he struggles and Gibson takes his spot in the rotation.
I’ve never been a Baker fan, but I think he has much more benefit to us as a starter than a reliever. He actually has the velocity (93-95) we never see from Twins pitchers. If he could just stay healthy and develop an out pitch I think he could still be a good 3rd starter.
Get rid of Slowey. Get what you can and move on.
I think the yanks would rather give one of the kid’s a shot than trade for Slowey.
Yanks look to be set with Garcia and Nova starting!
Slowey has more value than most are giving him credit for. You can look at his home numbers versus his away numbers and say his success is from Target Field, but how can you account for 2008 when he went 74.2 IP with a 3.38 ERA at home (then the not so pitcher friendly Metrodome) versus 85.2 IP with a 4.52 ERA away. He also had better numbers at home versus away in 2009 (still in the Metrodome).
He doesn’t make sense for the Yankees (he is still a flyball pitcher), but an NL team like the Cardinals could turn him into a middle of the rotation starter and be quite pleased. I would love to see what Duncan could do with him.