Minnesota Sports Forum

Anyone know anything about this guy? Apparently a top notch Cuban pitcher. Apparently we are in on trying to sign him.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1691271-everything-you-need-to-know-about-top-cuban-pitcher-miguel-alfredo-gonzalezEverything You Need to Know About Top Cuban Pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9490115/miguel-alfredo-gonzalez-drawing-interest-multiple-teams-sign-next-week-agent-says


There seems to be about 8 teams going after him, most of which are big market clubs. I would be shocked if we got him, but it would be cool. We would have 4 front of the line rotation guys ready in 2 years or less.

He's already 26. That would mean that he'd have to be MLB ready pretty much right now. I'm not so sure that he is and I don't want us to spend too much on him.

you're right-big risk to take at would could be 10 million/yr. I'm sure the dodgers will overspend. Magic loves spending his money and they are close to overtaking the NL west.

I understand that there is risk and he isn't a sure thing, but it annoys me that we have to give any lip service to $ in this discussion. As I wrote in another thread, the Pohlads family net worth is well north of $3 billion. It means little to them to invest $40 -50 million to lock a guy like this up for 4-5 years, and he would look awfully good in the rotation with all our potential star position players coming up.

It's not going to happen, but at least it's fun to be listed in the 7-8 teams that are talking to him.

What the Pohlads are worth doesn't mean anything, no owner in any sport is going to spend more money then there team makes. Even the owner for Detroit is going to make money now it might now be very much but he still won't lose money. At the end of the day this is a business and the owners will treat it as such, so if you're hoping the twins will spend like the Yankees or dodgers you're SOL because the twins don't have a 6 billion dollar TV deal like LA does.

Gotta disagree with you on this one, Kleppy. There's a big difference in how the Tigers' and Twins' owners approach spending for the product they put on the field. Detroit and Minnesota are both deemed to be "mid-market" in size (Detroilet is the 12th biggest market, and Minnesota is 18th), but the demographics have to make them almost equal to advertisers. Detroit is a bankrupt city with high unemployment and low per capita income, while Minnesota ranks relatively high in per capita income. And the new money rolling into North Dakota is only going to make their market more attractive. If you're an advertiser, where do you want to spend your money: Detroit or Minneapolis?

But despite this, Detroit's payroll is close to double that of the Twins ($148 million vs. $76 million). You say that no owner is going to spend more than their team makes. Do you really think the Tigers have enough revenue to cover that $148 million payroll? But Mike Ilitch is more far sighted than the Pohlads...he understands that the owners generally get rich not by showing a positive bottom line every year, but by building the value of the franchise, so that they can eventually sell it at an enormous profit. And nothing builds the value of a franchise like winning. This explains why the Yankees have a franchise value of $2.3 billion, while the Mets are only worth $811 million, even though they are in similar markets.

In sports, like many other things, you get what you pay for. And Twins fans and Tigers fans are getting what their owners choose for them to have.

What i have heard is a lot of teams aren't sure if he will be a starter or reliever.

All this talk does not matter. Minnesota media is constantly saying that we are no where near the front on teams that might sign him. So although we've shown interest, it doesn't like we're a real contender.