Jon Heyman of CBS Sports’ latest column contains notes on every team throughout baseball. Here are a few highlights.
- The Twins are surprise contenders this year, and they’re open to acquiring a middle-of-the-order hitter, possibly an outfielder, Heyman writes. They could also seek relief help.
- After trading for Mark Trumbo, the Mariners seem to lack budget flexibility, which might be the reason they weren’t a serious contender for Rafael Soriano despite Fernando Rodney’s poor performance this season.
- The Astros are expected to sign No. 37 overall pick Daz Cameron for about $4MM, Heyman notes. Cameron, who is committed to Florida State, fell in the draft due to signability concerns.
- The Marlins are close to signing first baseman Josh Naylor, the No. 12 overall pick in the draft.
- The Dodgers might have a tough time signing No. 35 overall pick Kyle Funkhouser. The righty could head back to Louisville for his senior season, much as Mark Appel spurned the Pirates a few years back so he could complete his degree at Stanford and re-enter the draft the following year.
- Free agent and former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo has received offers for minor-league deals, but he’s holding out for a big-league contract, Heyman reports.
- MLB might think about moving the draft from Secaucus, New Jersey to a different location, perhaps Omaha. That would allow more top prospects to attend.
Wonder if its the same person who said Seattle was out of money after they signed Cano. If they had say hesitant to add more payroll I would believe it.
That was very interesting to hear when they said they were out of money after getting Cano. I think that they didn’t go full in for Soriano because they didn’t need to
They’re lacking budget flexibility because they’re forecasting the fans not turning up the rest of the summer.
Twins really shocked me this year. I honestly didn’t seem them doing much for a couple of years.
They will regress a bit, but reinforcements will arrive in the form of Buxton, Meyer ect. If they make a trade for a bat, that should help even more. Jay Bruce is a great buy-low candidate fitting the needs that Heyman highlighted.
Meyer has been terrible. Buxton, Sano (DH), and Berrios maybe, plus a possible reliever. Meyer needs to get his command in order before he makes it up.
Meyer is not a starter. He will be a good addition out of the bullpen. The Twins are notoriously careful with their starting pitchers so I don’t see Berrios up this year. Maybe in Sept. call up for Sano.
Neil Allen said the plan is to still work with Meyer as a starter in an interview just a week or 2 ago.
It is a mystery since none of their starters are batting over .270. If Mauer could just bat his lifetime average they would be even in better shape.
It’s the starting pitching and the hitting with runners in scoring position.
Since 2011, the starters ERA has been 26th or worse in the league. This year it’s 9th so far.
Hitting with RISP:
.289/.359/.437 (which I believe is a top 10 rank)
Just a runner at first:
.257/.297/.375 (bottom 5 ranking)
Bases empty:
.230/.277/.352 (bottom 5 again)
Clearly the SP is likely not top 10 at the end of the year, but I’m guessing it’s not going to fall to bottom 5. And pitching is what wins ballgames. Obviously, the hitting is going to not be as “clutch” but I also believe those bottom two lines will also improve as the season goes on.
The Twins biggest problem was pitching. I’ve always thought, and said on this site, that if the Twins even get league average type of starts from the SP’s then they are going to win. I thought it would happen last year, but Nolasco has been a mess most of the time since arriving. .
They were the worst, or close to the worst, in starting pitching for years. AAA guys were getting a huge chunk of starts and putting up high ERA’s. That was never going to fly on a winning team.
Now they will regress as Karl said. They’re playing over their heads a bit, but I have a hard time determining how much. I honestly don’t believe last years team was only a 70 win team. I think they under performed. This year the starters are pitching to a similar FIP/xFIP, but their ERA is 3.80. That’s somewhere around a full run lower than it was near the same time last year.
That’s huge.
Viciedo to the Mets? Seems like an obvious cheap solution to the David Wright problem.
I think it depends on whether or not they are confident enough with his glove there
True. He hasn’t played there in 5 years.
Viciedo couldnt field catcher in slowpitch.
Paps fixes the Mariners Problem, Bennie the Jet fixes the Mariners Problem. Make the Trades. And everything well with Seattle Mariners. And while your at it Trade Cano back to New York where he’s Happy and Productive.
KRod fixes the Mariners problem too. And Jack Z has a penchant for ex-Brewers.
Out of money? Hahahahaha! These guys are loaded. They bought a team for $100M and it’s worth over $1B with the new TV deal. Oh, and by the way, the team bought the TV network. They are raking in money coming and going. There is a reason that Soriano isn’t signed anywhere. Also, why sign Soriano when you have this kid Carson Smith who is ready to close? Let the cheap cost controlled guy close until he a) shows he can’t or b) Rodney is ready. Even if they straighten out Rodney, who says he gets the job back. Rodney needs to put his hat on straight and stop shooting arrows until he can throw strikes.
Rodney shoots another arrow. LoMo runs to the mound to see where it goes. LoMo whispers quietly in Rodney’s ear, “Man you keep missing. Put that thing away before someone gets hurt.”
Every team could spend more money, but they’re in it to make money. And Soriano signed with the Cubs.
I’ve been thinking about what I want the Twins to do and I might go with “stand pat.”
Yes, the Twins need a middle of the order hitter, but they also technically already have them. They have Plouffe, Hunter, Vargas/Arcia. Those guys are extremely streaky though. Hunter is probably the least streaky of the bunch. The others go in month long (or longer) slumps. So with this, yes…there’s technically a need, but I wouldn’t give up much to get it done. I feel like the Twins should hang on to their prospects unless you’re giving up someone who isn’t part of the future.
I do agree they need relief help, but that can come internally. Trading for a reliever is usually not the smartest thing to do unless you give up almost nothing. Plus, the Twins have multiple potential call ups for that (some not on 40 man): Oliveros, Meyer, Achter. Also some AA guys who may deserve a chance: Jones, Johnson, Burdi, Reed. There could be others. They’re just too deep in relievers to make a trade, even though these guys don’t have any, or only some, MLB experience.
If you want them to contend this year, I completely disagree with you from an offensive standpoint. First of all, do you think the Twins can compete the entire year by ranking 14th in the AL in OPS? This team was not going to sustain its frantic offensive pace. They need reinforcements. Sure they have internal options like Buxton, but I am of the mindset that once your window for competing is opened (they are six games above 500 and two back of the Royals for the division) you never know when it’s going to close for good. I do think they need to add a bat, but they need to have this criteria. Four players are untouchable: Buxton, Sano, Berrios, and Stewart. I would not be afraid to trade a guy like Arcia. In the long run, wouldn’t it be awesome to have a defense- oriented OF with Hicks in right, Buxton in center and Rosario in right. Target Field is a big ballpark and Arcia can’t play right field here. I would say trade him and another prospect for a guy like Jay Bruce. Bruce has a team- friendly option for next year. They have him for not one, but two years with 30 HR potential in that lineup. Plus, he is an improvement over Arcia on defense.
They could then give him the QO when he reaches free agency and get a draft pick comp in the process.
I agree with you on the bullpen. They have too many internal options to justify a trade for a reliever.
It all depends on if you think this season is for real or not. Do you think they actually make the playoffs? I still don’t, even though I’m obviously happily surprised with how they are doing.
I think they can be a .500 team if this losing streak doesn’t turn into something more. Usually .500 teams don’t make the playoffs.
Would they need more offense if they are going to be a playoff team? Yes, of course, but I wouldn’t want them to give up a top 20 prospect for someone or multiple. Even if they do make the playoffs, do you think they’re going to make the World Series? That I have even more doubt about. Surprises happen for sure, but I don’t think I could ever look at this team and say “World Series bound” with a serious face.
I don’t mind losing Arcia either, since he’s a DH only pretty much. I just have a feeling his value isn’t very high right now even though he still has potential for 25+ HR’s every year. I don’t want to lose prospects in the system going for something that likely is not going to happen, unless you get a guy who’s going to be here for three years minimum and he’s on the good side of 30 and not the bad side.
Your OF wish is going to happen regardless (Hicks, Buxton, Rosario). That’s a guarantee whether you make a trade or not. Even if Torii gets re-signed which right now looks like a strong possibility.
Guys I wouldn’t give up: Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Polanco, Kepler, Gonsalves, Walker (even though he’s a K machine). Guys like that and you know teams are going to want those guys. I’d lean towards giving up Sano if you could get Chris Archer/Sale or someone like that, but it’s probably going to take much more than Sano.
It’s frustrating to write posts and then they just disappear.
I don’t think the Twins are a playoff team, even if they add one bat. I think they are around a .500 team, but not a playoff team. They are doing well so far, but I don’t think they keep up a .550 win percentage. I think that drops. I see them getting either 2nd or 3rd in the division and someone will likely beat them out in WC spots. I think if they wait until the deadline to make a move, they will likely already be too late and be a non playoff team by then.
I would trade Arcia, I don’t consider him a prospect. He is a DH/emergency OF only. The thing is, I doubt his value is very high although he can hit 25 HR’s per year and is young.
Your/everyone’s OF wish is going to come true even if they keep Hunter. And then at that point they will need to make a trade because Vargas/Hunter/Arcia will be jammed in at DH.
I wouldn’t trade a top 20 prospect unless you’re getting a guy for a minimum of 3 years and he’s younger than 30. I wouldn’t trade Buxton, Berrios, Polanco, Thorpe (injured anyway), Kepler, Gonsalves or Walker (even though he is a K machine). I’d be willing to trade Sano if they get back a Chris Archer or Chris Sale, but it’s obviously going to take more than Sano alone for that.
It’s frustrating to write posts and then they just disappear.
I don’t think the Twins are a playoff team, even if they add one bat. I think they are around a .500 team, but not a playoff team. They are doing well so far, but I don’t think they keep up a .550 win percentage. I think that drops. I see them getting either 2nd or 3rd in the division and someone will likely beat them out in WC spots. I think if they wait until the deadline to make a move, they will likely already be too late and be a non playoff team by then.
I would trade Arcia, I don’t consider him a prospect. He is a DH/emergency OF only. The thing is, I doubt his value is very high although he can hit 25 HR’s per year and is young.
Your/everyone’s OF wish is going to come true even if they keep Hunter. And then at that point they will need to make a trade because Vargas/Hunter/Arcia will be jammed in at DH.
I wouldn’t trade a top 20 prospect unless you’re getting a guy for a minimum of 3 years and he’s younger than 30. I wouldn’t trade Buxton, Berrios, Polanco, Thorpe (injured anyway), Kepler, Gonsalves or Walker (even though he is a K machine). I’d be willing to trade Sano if they get back a Chris Archer or Chris Sale, but it’s obviously going to take more than Sano alone for that.
It’s frustrating to write posts and then they just disappear.
I don’t think the Twins are a playoff team, even if they add one bat. I think they are around a .500 team, but not a playoff team. They are doing well so far, but I don’t think they keep up a .550 win percentage. I think that drops. I see them getting either 2nd or 3rd in the division and someone will likely beat them out in WC spots. I think if they wait until the deadline to make a move, they will likely already be too late and be a non playoff team by then.
I would trade Arcia, I don’t consider him a prospect. He is a DH/emergency OF only. The thing is, I doubt his value is very high although he can hit 25 HR’s per year and is young.
Your/everyone’s OF wish is going to come true even if they keep Hunter. And then at that point they will need to make a trade because Vargas/Hunter/Arcia will be jammed in at DH.
I wouldn’t trade a top 20 prospect unless you’re getting a guy for a minimum of 3 years and he’s younger than 30. I wouldn’t trade Buxton, Berrios, Polanco, Thorpe (injured anyway), Kepler, Gonsalves or Walker (even though he is a K machine). I’d be willing to trade Sano if they get back a Chris Archer or Chris Sale, but it’s obviously going to take more than Sano alone for that.
I don’t think the Twins are a playoff team, so that is 90 percent of my stand pat reasoning. I think they are a .500 team at this point or close to it. I don’t think adding one bat makes them a playoff team. I’d obviously like to be wrong about that.
The two biggest reasons the Twins are winning right now is starting pitching and hitting with RISP. They are still pitching well, but the RISP part has nearly completely disappeared this past week. Again, I don’t think adding one bat changes that greatly. The change will have to come from the guys who are already on the team. They need to hit a ton better with 1 or no runners on. And I mean a ton.
I don’t mind trading Arcia. He isn’t a prospect. At some point you are going to end up with a 3 man log jam at DH anyway. The OF defense you listed is going to happen as long as none of the players get hurt. That was always an automatic, at least in my mind.
If you don’t have to give up any of: Berrios, Buxton, Sano, Polanco, Gonsalves, Kepler or Walker for Bruce then sure do it. I still don’t think that puts the Twins in the playoffs.