Minnesota Sports Forum

I also think in the offseason teams can sign guys with real cost being contract. (can't remember what happens with picks in MLB)

Trading a guy is a contract-plus prospect, but in the middle of season, the options might be less since there are no FA and the need is now.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I also think in the offseason teams can sign guys with real cost being contract. (can't remember what happens with picks in MLB)

Trading a guy is a contract-plus prospect, but in the middle of season, the options might be less since there are no FA and the need is now.

I think your thinking of the qualifying offer. Which with the CBA in flux we don't know if it will even be there.

Say the Twins play the whole seasons with Buxton and don't resign or trade him. They can off him the the QO which is 1 year deal around 19 mill usually. If he declines whatever team signs Buxton owes us a first round pick.

So that's why you got to get a first round pick worth of talent when your trading someone.

A player can only be offered the QO once is his career. So when Odo signs his QO with the Twins during the Covid year and was injured the Twins couldn't offer him it again the next offseason.

This is risky bringing it up because It didn't exactly work out at this point for the Twins long term but Dozier stayed with the Twins and despite the assumption that he would have massive offers on the table it didn't seem like that was really the case. The return now looks pretty underwhelming but the Twins while they didn't win a championship they had Dozier on their roster for some seasons and probably made the team some money and certainly kept them competitive. I know I paid attention to the team more because Dozier was on it. They did also make the right choice to not sign him to a big deal long term.

The point of bringing this up is that yes we could trade a guy like a Polonco coming off a season where he started off hitting like a utility player then hit like a team MVP. Yeah we might get a worthwhile prospect or 2 or we could end up with nothing much to show for it. I'm not against trading anyone but I think there has to be some reality of both the idea that a good player on a reasonable contract can have some value playing on your roster and that if you deal them you may get very little for them. Twins fans have unfortunately seen that play out enough times the past chunk of years.

The thing about baseball is that because the system is so huge there are a lot of options to find worthwhile or even really good players. The guy we are most excited about (because he has pitched really well at the major league level) that the Twins acquired at the trade deadline Joe Ryan was a 7th round draft pick. That's not a super low pick but it's not exactly where you plan to get a star. Jose Miranda might be ready to take the next step and be a major league player soon. He was a 2nd round pick in 2016. 5 years later he is poised to possibly make an impact but a few months ago nobody was talking about him as a possibly future piece of the roster. Who had Bailey Ober as a possible solid rotation starter when the Twins season started?

What I would like to see is the Twins protect as many young players as reasonably possible this offseason. If that means having to wait till later to address some needs when the team can have more roster spots open when guys can be transferred to the DL that may be fine. I know they aren't gonna just sit back and not sign anyone but I'd let the Jake Cave types walk and bring that type in on a minor league deal or maybe a waiver claim later when more roster spots are open. I think it would be pretty hard to be patient this offseason. There may also be a fantastic opportunity to add a good player on a reasonable contract.

It will be interesting what the Twins do to fill their coaching vacancies. I think those coaches can have a legit impact. It's worth remembering that Mike Bell died of cancer and while that certainly isn't that reason for what ended up being a lost season everything matters. If the Twins add the right guys as coaches it could make a difference next season. I'm interested to see if maybe they promote the hitting coach from AAA who a few guys have raved about.

Projected arbitration for next year

Byron Buxton - $7.3MM
Taylor Rogers - $6.7MM
Tyler Duffey - $3.7MM
John Gant - $3.7MM
Mitch Garver - $3.1MM
Caleb Thielbar - $1.2MM
Rob Refsnyder - $800K
Jake Cave - $1.1MM
Danny Coulombe - $800K
Willians Astudillo - $1.2MM
Juan Minaya - $1.1MM
Luis Arraez - $2.0MM

jester1534 wrote:Projected arbitration for next year

Byron Buxton - $7.3MM
Taylor Rogers - $6.7MM
Tyler Duffey - $3.7MM
[s]John Gant - $3.7MM[/s]
Mitch Garver - $3.1MM
Caleb Thielbar - $1.2MM
[s]Rob Refsnyder - $800K[/s]
[s]Jake Cave - $1.1MM[/s]
Danny Coulombe - $800K
[s]Willians Astudillo - $1.2MM[/s]
[s]Juan Minaya - $1.1MM[/s]
Luis Arraez - $2.0MM

Thanks for sharing this, jester. I'd like to see those five guys waived and that $7.9-million spent on better talent. Those five accounted for negative 1.8 wins above replacement in total last year. Let's move on from them.

Camden0916 wrote:

jester1534 wrote:Projected arbitration for next year

Byron Buxton - $7.3MM
Taylor Rogers - $6.7MM
Tyler Duffey - $3.7MM
[s]John Gant - $3.7MM[/s]
Mitch Garver - $3.1MM
Caleb Thielbar - $1.2MM
[s]Rob Refsnyder - $800K[/s]
[s]Jake Cave - $1.1MM[/s]
Danny Coulombe - $800K
[s]Willians Astudillo - $1.2MM[/s]
[s]Juan Minaya - $1.1MM[/s]
Luis Arraez - $2.0MM

Thanks for sharing this, jester. I'd like to see those five guys waived and that $7.9-million spent on better talent. Those five accounted for negative 1.8 wins above replacement in total last year. Let's move on from them.

I agree with everything but Refsnyder i think he's decent 4th outfielder and for 800k I think is reasonable. Unless you think that's Nick Gordon spot but I just see him as a super utility guy that can play anywhere.

jester1534 wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:

jester1534 wrote:Projected arbitration for next year

Byron Buxton - $7.3MM
Taylor Rogers - $6.7MM
Tyler Duffey - $3.7MM
[s]John Gant - $3.7MM[/s]
Mitch Garver - $3.1MM
Caleb Thielbar - $1.2MM
[s]Rob Refsnyder - $800K[/s]
[s]Jake Cave - $1.1MM[/s]
Danny Coulombe - $800K
[s]Willians Astudillo - $1.2MM[/s]
[s]Juan Minaya - $1.1MM[/s]
Luis Arraez - $2.0MM

Thanks for sharing this, jester. I'd like to see those five guys waived and that $7.9-million spent on better talent. Those five accounted for negative 1.8 wins above replacement in total last year. Let's move on from them.

I agree with everything but Refsnyder i think he's decent 4th outfielder and for 800k I think is reasonable. Unless you think that's Nick Gordon spot but I just see him as a super utility guy that can play anywhere.

I like Refsnyder but do I like him better than protecting player X in the rule 5 draft? Idk Refsnyder seems like a replaceable guy and I do like him.

Gant as a reliever who can step in and give you a couple not terrible spot starts has value. I agree he isn't worth 3.7 million. If the number was under 3 million the decision would be harder because I do think he can be successful reliever. Still he is probably replaceable and I think he has had some injury history too (beyond last season) if I remember correctly. If I was Gant and the Twins offered me even 2 million I might take it.