If the Twins could get Dozier to sign for dirt cheap...

If the Twins could get Dozier to sign for dirt cheap...

I'm not sure where that comes from in relation to this piece? Also, Minnesota already has their starting 2B.

Considering Brian Dozier got a bigger contract with Washington, the Twins did pretty good. The thought of Schoop being more than a stopgap...naw. At best, he could've been a tradable asset in July, but because of the team's standing it didn't happen. He is still young and rebuilt his career a bit. Should be able to land a decent multi-year contract, but not with the Twins.

A good signing. Didn't cost you anything but money.

"We didn’t know that Major League Baseball was going to juice the pill for 2019, but it helped a guy like Schoop to launch dingers at a relatively significant rate."

I don't think we can say Schoop hit 23 homeruns solely because of the baseball.

He hit 23 in 433 AB.  That is pretty much the same as his 2017 32 in 622 AB (5.3% vs 5.1%).

The "juiced ball" is a crutch that isn't really used in a balanced matter.  Schoop hit homeruns at a close clip to what he has done in the past but he is seen as a juiced ball beneficiary.  While Garver more than quadrupled his homerun rate from his previous high (2.3% vs 9.9%) and the baseball is never mentioned in describing his breakout. I'm guessing the baseball had very little to do in either case but it seems to only be used to enforce beliefs that people already had about players..."At the time of his signing I wasn’t too terribly interested in the pact."

"We didn’t know that Major League Baseball was going to juice the pill for 2019, but it helped a guy like Schoop to launch dingers at a relatively significant rate."

 

I don't think we can say Schoop hit 23 homeruns solely because of the baseball.

 

He hit 23 in 433 AB.  That is pretty much the same as his 2017 32 in 622 AB (5.3% vs 5.1%).

 

The "juiced ball" is a crutch that isn't really used in a balanced matter.  Schoop hit homeruns at a close clip to what he has done in the past but he is seen as a juiced ball beneficiary.  While Garver more than quadrupled his homerun rate from his previous high (2.3% vs 9.9%) and the baseball is never mentioned in describing his breakout. I'm guessing the baseball had very little to do in either case but it seems to only be used to enforce beliefs that people already had about players..."At the time of his signing I wasn’t too terribly interested in the pact."

It's also a full percentage higher than where he was at in 2018. Garver's rise was helped from the ball no doubt, but also in systemic changes he made to his swing, rotation, and launch angle. Without looking into the output from Schoop's batted ball trajectories year over year, I'll wear your criticism. Being uninterested in a guy lacking any OBP prowess was where the initial stance came from, and a reality that ultimately lost him his starting role...

Context: 

1. When Schoop was signed in December 2018, Sano had offseason question marks, having had the traffic incident with a cop and had missed the end of the 2018 season.

2. At the point Schoop was signed, Gordon was not considered ready, and Arraez wasn't generally seen as an option. Without those, Gonzalez was probably their best option at 2B.

3. Sano would miss the first part of the season, meaning Gonzalez had to fill 3B for the first month and a half.

4. When Sano returned on May 16, Schoop had started 36 of 42 games at 2B, allowing Gonzalez to start 30 of 42 games at 3B.

5. Through those 42 games, Schoop's OPS was .823. That's impressive production from (mostly) the 7 hole on a team that would have an .833 OPS for the year in a league where the average OPS was .762.

6. Though Schoop would only start 64 of the remaining 120 games at 2B, he still ended up with an above-league average .783. His presence allowed Arraez and Gonzalez to move around, spelling others and allowing the team to start someone other than Cave when Buxton got hurt.

So no, Schoop didn't carry the team offensively, but he wasn't asked to. What he did do was fill a significant hole without tying up future money. And from what I can tell, while playing well defensively. I also don't recall hearing anything negative about him as a clubhouse presence.

I don't know what their other options were on the free agent market at the time, but I think it worked out quite well. 

At the time of the Schoop signing they probably got the best they could. He improved a leaky IF, and replaced some of Doziers power, which in hindsight was never missed in the first place. But I also wonder IF the bounce factor of MLB baseball returns to the land of reality in 2020 it will be interesting to see of the reduced HR numbers by numerous players will be treated with as much despondency as the increase this last year was treated with such enthusiasm? Players have definitely used different techniques to improve their HR rate. Today it's using analytics and training to adjust your swing. Yesterday it would have been called "swinging outa yur a*^ on every pitch" .

The Schoop signing seemed to work just as Falvine must have wanted it to. Schoop came in, was dependable for a season, and the Twins found their guy for 2020 and beyond in Arraez.

At the end of May, I said that Schoop had been inconsequential, since his offensive production was almost completely done when the Twins were comfortably ahead or hopelessly behind in games. He provided some key hits and defensive plays, but mostly remained inconsequential as mostly a spare part after Arraez was promoted. He was, by all reports, a good teammate and a positive presence. Good luck to him in 2020 and beyond.

The Schoop signing seemed to work just as Falvine must have wanted it to. Schoop came in, was dependable for a season, and the Twins found their guy for 2020 and beyond in Arraez.

It seems that I didn't do a great job of outlining my positioning and this is a solid summary. Schoop didn't distance himself from the low-OBP guy he's always been, and his offense wasn't great overall. He did hold down the position until a long-term suitor emerged, and provided plenty of value on a one-year deal.

I agree that the move worked out for the Twins, and we should move on without any regrets. Schoop was good defensively, and was what you would expect offensively. He also seemed like a good guy who was not only a good teammate, but was willing to take a back seat to Arraez with minimum fuss. And now that we have Arraez penciled in at 2nd, he's no longer needed.

I will say that I was disappointed that he didn't start Game 1 against the Yanks. But even if we won that game, it wouldn't change the fact that we're moving on with Arraez at 2nd, and some healthy competition for that spot internally as well.

Seeing Schoop play 2b made me wonder why he wasn't a Thirdbaseman ?  He has a wonderful arm and seems to be quick enough for the hot corner.  If I was a team looking for a solid hitting 2nd or 3rd baseman, I'd give Schoop a call. 

Seeing Schoop play 2b made me wonder why he wasn't a Thirdbaseman ?  He has a wonderful arm and seems to be quick enough for the hot corner.  If I was a team looking for a solid hitting 2nd or 3rd baseman, I'd give Schoop a call. 

He can turn a nice triple play.

To me, he was worth it. Arraez and Gordon weren't ready to be counted on going into 2019. He actually was pretty good for the first couple months. I'm not sure if it was injury or what, but he definitely fell off a cliff as time went on, which allowed Arraez the chance to take that job...

So yeah, worth it... overpriced for what we got?  Probably a bit. But the deal made sense for both sides.

It could have been DJ LeMahieu that was signed! A way better choice, even with Arraez, which is still a question, with little power. Oh well. Looking forward. Schoop was signed with great hope. Too bad he couldn't return to his previous form. He was part of the early mix, and had his time..... so I would say he didn't really hurt, and didn't really help. Do they call that a replacement player?

Schoop didn't get as much playing time as anticipated but I feel he slightly outperformed expectations. I was hoping for a .750 OPS and he did better. Was fine defensively and we knew about the low obp. That was baked into the cake. I am happy with what he did and he was also a great sport about Arreaz taking playing time away from him. That speaks volumes of his character and him as a team mate and team player.