Article: Morales Signing Signals Shift in Twins' Mindset

[Brock Beauchamp]

As long as Morales hits, the Twins will be fine. If they tank, they flip him for another Alex Presley and dump the balance on a contender. If they stay competitive, attendance will stay strong. The only way they lose is if Morales lays an egg.

 

Yep, and the only thing they lose is money when they're already under budget. This is a win all around for everyone.

[Brock Beauchamp]

They paid Pelfrey what will amount to about $1M per start. Jason Marquis make $3.5M to make 8-10 starts one year. One day the Twins will realize it doesn't make sense to pay Felix Hernandez type money on a per start basis for the likes of Jason Marquis and Mike Pelfrey. One can hope anyway.

 

Eh, I think everyone's being too hard on Pelfrey. If he's healthy and throwing 92-93, he's an okay fifth starter who is being paid fifth starter money. I didn't and still don't really have an issue with the signing provided he was the third starter they signed, which he was.

 

On the other hand, the Twins should not hang on to a guy like that just because they're paying him $5m. Thankfully, they didn't put up with his performance for long.

 

Take a flyer on a guy like that, don't be too surprised or hang on too long if he stumbles.

[Winston Smith]

It sounds like Morales only speaks Spanish and we now have several other Spanish speaking players. Is it time to get a Latin/Spanish speaking bench coach that can work with these guys during the games?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Eh, I think everyone's being too hard on Pelfrey. If he's healthy and throwing 92-93, he's an okay fifth starter who is being paid fifth starter money.

 

The poster wasn't picking on Pelfrey -- they were just providing another example of how Morales' $7.5 million is indeed "modest cash" in modern MLB (even for the Twins).

[Brock Beauchamp]

The poster wasn't picking on Pelfrey -- they were just providing another example of how Morales' $7.5 million is indeed "modest cash" in modern MLB (even for the Twins).

 

Fair enough. Yeah, Morales' contract is pretty modest, though it is prorated. $12m for a season is a pretty healthy paycheck for a player.

[Otto von Ballpark]

About Meyers/Mays, the Red Wings are in a pennant race, I think it would be wise for the Twins to let them try to win said pennant race, as opposed to bringing them up for a month or so of Major league experience (at least this year)

 

Uh, if this is some kind of "young guys need pennant race experience somewhere" argument, I find that to be perhaps the least persuasive argument yet for not promoting Meyer and May. (I'll charitably assume the argument is not that the needs of the Rochester Red Wings take precedence over the needs of the Minnesota Twins in June.)

 

And "a month or so" of MLB experience? There's over three and a half months left to the MLB season. They could spend the majority of their 2014 seasons on the MLB roster, even if Meyer was shut down Sep. 1st.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Fair enough. Yeah, Morales' contract is pretty modest, though it is prorated. $12m for a season is a pretty healthy paycheck for a player.

 

In a business where one of the more frugal teams is willing to pay $2 million to see if a dead cat bounces (Kubel after spring training 2014), even $12 million for a one-year commitment for a healthy quality 30 year old player is still pretty modest. Delaying the deal by two months to allow the team to assess cheaper options first, and then prorating the salary for the remaining time is an even better deal for the Twins.

 

And cash aside, a one year (or less) contract with no players traded or draft picks surrendered is about as "modest" as MLB player acquisitions get, from a team commitment perspective.

 

I give the Twins credit for getting it done in the face of competition, though. The real test will be if they are willing (and able) to pull the trigger again on a similar offseason move, because I don't expect they will have the luxury of a mid-season signing like this again.

[PatG]

Uh, if this is some kind of "young guys need pennant race experience somewhere" argument, I find that to be perhaps the least persuasive argument yet for not promoting Meyer and May. (I'll charitably assume the argument is not that the needs of the Rochester Red Wings take precedence over the needs of the Minnesota Twins in June.)

 

And "a month or so" of MLB experience? There's over three and a half months left to the MLB season. They could spend the majority of their 2014 seasons on the MLB roster, even if Meyer was shut down Sep. 1st.

 

my point is: "learning how to win"; that urgency, what can I do to help the team...

 

If Meyers can do that with the Twins, I am all in, but the current Twins must prove that they can be in this pennant race.

[Brock Beauchamp]

my point is: "learning how to win"; that urgency, what can I do to help the team...

 

If Meyers can do that with the Twins, I am all in, but the current Twins must prove that they can be in this pennant race.

 

The Twins shouldn't make decisions based on the needs of a farm team whose fortunes change drastically every year as players move in and out of the system.

 

If the front office feels May and Meyer are ready, they should be in Minnesota with no consideration given to the Red Wings' playoff hopes. Learning how to send MLB hitters back to the dugout is more valuable than a AAA playoff race.

[oldguy10]

This deserves more than just a Like!!! Double thumbs up!!! Twins add a good player and its still bad, bad, bad!!! Enough to make you stop reading the comments - except its almost funny after awhile.

 

Yes, Morales may be a good player but will he necessarily put up good numbers this time around? No way to guarantee that one bit, for example - is Joe Mauer putting up good numbers this year? We all know the answer to that one.

[tobi0040]

Eh, I think everyone's being too hard on Pelfrey. If he's healthy and throwing 92-93, he's an okay fifth starter who is being paid fifth starter money. I didn't and still don't really have an issue with the signing provided he was the third starter they signed, which he was.

 

On the other hand, the Twins should not hang on to a guy like that just because they're paying him $5m. Thankfully, they didn't put up with his performance for long.

 

Take a flyer on a guy like that, don't be too surprised or hang on too long if he stumbles.

 

The contract seemed excessive, especially since we had Deduno who is better making $500K. Pelfrey had two good years out of eight, both with a drop in BABIP and in the NL.

 

Regarding the flier part, we could have used that $6M to improve our roster in a more effecient way in the off-season.

 

I agree that his contract should be viewed as a sunk cost. He should be back up when he proves he is one of the best five starting pitchers we have (unlikely).

[Brock Beauchamp]

The contract seemed excessive, especially since we had Deduno who is better making $500K. Pelfrey had two good years out of eight, both with a drop in BABIP and in the NL.

 

Regarding the flier part, we could have used that $6M to improve our roster in a more effecient way in the off-season.

 

I agree that his contract should be viewed as a sunk cost. He should be back up when he proves he is one of the best five starting pitchers we have (unlikely).

 

I viewed the Pelfrey contract as insurance. Unfortunately, he got hurt so that insurance policy was useless.

 

The Twins moved on quickly with Pelfrey. I wish they would now do the same with Correia.

[Winston Smith]

The Twins moved on quickly with Pelfrey. I wish they would now do the same with Correia.

 

Oh sure he pitches a 1 hit shutout tonight and you'll be back on the band wagon blowing the horn!!