Twins GM Terry Ryan does not intend to deal third baseman Trevor Plouffe, he told reporters today at the press conference announcing the signing of Byung Ho Park. (Via LaVelle A. Neal III of the Star Tribune, Twitter links.)
Plouffe, 29, has emerged as a sturdy option at the hot corner over the last several years. In 2015, he put up a league-average .244/.307/.435 slash, with 22 home runs, while showing a solid glove at third.
A deal of Plouffe had seemed a distinct possibility with the addition of Park, who will see significant time at DH and thus push top young slugger Miguel Sano onto the field. Sano has long been considered a third baseman, but Ryan says the hefty 22-year-old will be moved to the outfield, as the team has previously suggested could be the case.
If Minnesota holds firm in its stance, then the third base trade market will lose one of its most appealing potential options. And the Twins will keep Plouffe’s projected $7.7MM salary on the books.
For Ryan, the possibility of freeing some payroll and getting something back for Plouffe isn’t worth the trade-off. “We had trouble scoring runs last year,” he said. “We’re going to go with what we’ve got.”
Never really got the trade-Plouffe echo chamber. Like the Pirates didn’t rush to move Walker or Mercer as soon as they signed Kang. Let them see if the guy can play first, and maybe keep everyone even if he can. Depth and positional versatility aren’t exactly the kiss of death in baseball.
Ryan’s trying to raise his trade value. He knows that Plouffe is the easiest to trade for what the team needs most – late inning bullpen help.
I’m not at all surprised. Not only is Plouffe a fan favorite in minnesota he played extremely well last season coming up with clutch hits and home runs that actually won games for the Twins. His defense at third was stellar. The objective of the Park signing is to add to the scoring punch not replace due to a logjam at a position.
Clutch hits? He led MLB in GIDP last year…
He was almost a sure double play with guys at first
How does GIDP measure clutch hits? I’m talking situational hitting. When the game is on the line and he’s up to bat – no stat measures this. Not one. The only way to know is to have actually watched the games, which I did. Many times last year Plouffe came to the box with the Twins needing a key hit and he delivered. GIDP doesn’t measure this at all – it merely says he grounds into double plays but it doesn’t indicate when he does this. Plouffes body of work was an asset to the team and this why they want to keep him.
I don’t really care about numbers with RISP or double plays — they’re more matters of circumstance than an indication of any sort of skill — but Plouffe hit .316/.378/.610 with runners in scoring position last season and .284/.350/.490 with men on base in general.
It’s all cherry-picking stats to me, but focusing on one extreme cherry-picked stat to make some kind of statement about his value while ignoring other, related numbers that speak the contrary to the one you’re trying to make doesn’t make much sense.
Thank you… He was beyond under appreciated this year and frankly throughout his career here. It’s always the GIDP that gets pointed out, but when you break it down he is just a good old fashioned solid 3B in the field and at the playe.
Especially considering how much of a black hole 3B has been since Corey Koskie left, it boggles my mind how much crap Plouffe takes, while Eduardo Escobar gets unrequited praise for being a league average-ish part-timer.
You guys will change your minds when you see sano in the outfield
He’s not as bad as the media makes off.
I doubt that very much. The key is to get Sano’s bat into the lineup everyday. Hey we endured Delmon Young booting balls out in left, we can handle watching Sano out there.
I think it makes sense to hold onto Plouffe, unless you get a crazy good offer on him. Sano’s defense is probably not as good as his and Sano wouldn’t be blocking anyone in the OF, at least not right away. If Kepler continues to develop, maybe we see some movement but they don’t have to do that now.
Posturing
This is a bad move. I’d much rather acquire some relief help and prospects. I wanted us to pursue Carlos Gonzalez because we needed a left handed power bat in the outfield, but now we’re stuck with a moose in the outfield(Sano) and I have seen plenty of moose in the outfield these past couple of years(Arcia, Willingham, Doumit, Kubel, Cuddyer, Delmon Young!) I really hope this is a bluff.
That should be the plan, unless you get overwhelmed by an offer, which I doubt will happen. Plouffe is a valuable piece, in my opinion, but all the rumored offers seem to center around relievers. It’s not at all worth it to trade Plouffe for relievers, even though the Twins need some.
I don’t trust Sano in the OF. He has decent speed when he gets going, but 265 pounds in the OF is not usually the way to go. If that’s what’s needed to be done in order to not give Plouffe away for peanuts then I guess that’s what has to be done.
TR is going to make this statement whether he actually is going to keep Plouffe or not though. Have to have some leverage, even fake leverage if he actually plans on trading him. Plus there is no way of knowing how well Park’s transition will go. Having Plouffe is insurance. If Park doesn’t work out, they are going to need Plouffe badly.
I think we should give Sano a chance to actually play the oufield before we make an assessment. His arm definitely plays out there, he’s got a gun that is not in question.
I’m not worried about his arm. I’m worried about his range. Of course his arm is great.
We’ve seen Arcia, Willingham, Delmon, Cuddyer all not have great range and be bad defenders and many of them had a speedy guy next to them. And I’m not sure that any of them have ever even come close to 265 pounds. I don’t know if he’s going to be horrible at it or not, but I much prefer him at 3B. And that’s where it gets complicated because Plouffe absolutely should not just be given away.
imo he will be with the angels