Article: Twins Claim Jordan Schafer from Braves

[Seth Stohs]

The Minnesota Twins have claimed outfielder Jordan Schafer, according to LaVelle E. Neal from the Star Tribune (via twitter). In a tweet, Twins PR director Dustin Morse has confirmed.

 

Schafer, at his best, can be a good replacement for the recently departed Sam Fuld, who was traded to the Oakland A's at the trade deadline. He was DFA'd last week by the Atlanta Braves.Schafer is just 27-years-old. He debuted with the Houston Astros in 2009. He has spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the Atlanta Braves. In 2013, he hit .247/.331/.346 (.677) with eight doubles, three triples and three home runs in 94 games for the Braves. He stole 22 bases.

 

This year, he had just 93 plate appearances in 63 games for the Braves before being let go. He was hitting just .163, though he does have 15 stolen bases.

 

He has been a top prospect in the game earlier in his career. He actually turned himself in for taking hGH and served a 50-game suspension.

 

The Twins did well with Sam Fuld, and they are likely hoping that Schafer can provide outfield depth and speed for the remainder of the season. Chris Parmelee does not need to be the Twins backup centerfielder

 

The Twins had 39 players on their 40 man roster, so the roster is again full. The team will need to send someone down to Rochester to make room on the 25-man roster.

 

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[Thrylos]

There is something really big not mentioned here...   And this is how Schafer is doing with the stick in 2014.  Jordan Schafer is hitting .163/.256/.213 for 2014.   Florimon got ousted with a similar OPS, Hicks was sent down and blacklisted with better results.  Now they go out and get Schafer?

 

Does not make much sense to me.

[Roaddog]

He is a fill in. They are obviously gonna send Hicks up to AAA and make him earn his way back. Florimon was/is terrible and the team hasn't missed him at all.

[Danchat]

I can't say this is a bad move because it might mean less SSs in the outfield.

Perhaps Schafer will click with our hitting coaches and bat a little better. If not, say goodbye and send him away.

He's stolen a lot of bases, so he'll be a great pinch-run option.

 

I do wonder who we'll send down to AAA. Colabello maybe?

[savvyspy]

I think the best you can say for Schafer is he MIGHT not be a signaficantly worse hitter than Fryer.

[teekz]

I not sure this move makes complete sense to me either. Does he have any options left?

[Brock Beauchamp]

They just need a warm body to occupy the bench for the rest of the season. This move doesn't surprise me at all.

[gunnarthor]

Seems like a simple move.  He's certainly not going to start but he could be a decent defensive replacement/pinch runner for a bit.

 

And if the Twins are giving people shots, isn't a former top 50 prospect who is only 27 the kind of guy you'd want them giving shots too?  I guess I don't really get why we should complain about such a basic stop gap move. 

[Mike Sixel]

I agree with Brock.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Ryan wants to trade him back to the Braves for a useful piece.

[Otwins]

Is he good defensively? Adding another fly ball pitcher one good defensive outfielder would help. Speed to pinch run for Willingham late in games.  Could be useful.

[USAFChief]

That the Twins, in year four of consecutive 90 loss seasons, are claiming Jordon Shafer in August, and he will most likely end up on the 25 man roster, does not say anything good about the status of the "rebuild."

 

In fact, it is a pretty damning indictment, IMO.

[Seth Stohs]

Why make a big deal out of 80 at bats spread out over 4 months? He's a 4th outfielder with speed. I'd rather see him in LF than Willingham. They want Hicks to play every day, not be a 4th outfielder. He's only 27.

[USAFChief]

It's 1250 PAs spread out over 5 seasons.  .222/.307/.304

[Mike Sixel]

I also agree with chief.

[TheLeviathan]

You know what's true about a buy low?  You'll convince yourself by the numbers that the guy has no talent...that's what makes him easy to get.

 

A guy that can play all over the outfield, has speed, and was once highly thought of?  What the hell is the downside given where we're at with this outfield?

 

Looks like a move with some upside to me, however slight it might be.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

You can view TwinsDaily's Jordan Schafer profile page here.

 

This is really a "meh" move for me. Sure he'll serve as a 4th OF, but from the business side of things, Eric Farris would have been a much cheaper option. Taking on the pro-rated portion of $1.09 million still costs the team about $340K. (Vargas, on the minimum will make about $163K.) He's a replacement-level player and the Twins are paying him twice the minimum. 

 

From the fan perspective, there is no downside to this move... unless the Twins turn around and offer him arbitration this off-season. It's doubtful Schafter will show anything that made him a former top prospect and he'll be off the 40-man immediately after the World Series.

[USAFChief]

I would prefer the Twins invest some thought, time, energy and resources into figuring out who the players are on a championship caliber team, rather than farting around hoping someone improves enough to be an acceptable fifth outfielder.  

 

What do they really hope to gain by adding Jordan Shafer to this team?

[drjim]

They need a backup cf and they don't want Hicks in the majors yet.

 

A former highly regarded prospect is as good an option as anyone for this role. Worth a flyer to see if they can extract some value.

 

Perhaps exactly the type of move a rebuilding team should do. One of my main complaints about the front office is they don't sign enough of these guys.

[goulik]

This fits exactly what I talked about in a different thread...Bench guys are not supposed to have all the numbers to be starters; They are supposed to complement the starters. A defensive 4th outfielder with pinch running/ base stealing ability seems to fit well with our current outfield.

If his offense eventually comes around that would be a bonus but we don't need a bunch of bench guys that look exactly like the starters. There's too much of that on this team already.

[drjim]

I would prefer the Twins invest some thought, time, energy and resources into figuring out who the players are on a championship caliber team, rather than farting around hoping someone improves enough to be an acceptable fifth outfielder.

 

What do they really hope to gain by adding Jordan Shafer to this team?

Time for Hicks to develop and Tommy Milone.

[drjim]

This fits exactly what I talked about in a different thread...Bench guys are not supposed to have all the numbers to be starters; They are supposed to complement the starters. A defensive 4th outfielder with pinch running/ base stealing ability seems to fit well with our current outfield.

If his offense eventually comes around that would be a bonus but we don't need a bunch of bench guys that look exactly like the starters. There's too much of that on this team already.

This is a really good point. Actually trying to build a roster that makes sense.

[USAFChief]

 

If his offense eventually comes around that would be a bonus but we don't need a bunch of bench guys that look exactly like the starters. There's too much of that on this team already.

On that, we agree.

[TheLeviathan]

They need a backup cf and they don't want Hicks in the majors yet.

 

A former highly regarded prospect is as good an option as anyone for this role. Worth a flyer to see if they can extract some value.

 

Perhaps exactly the type of move a rebuilding team should do. One of my main complaints about the front office is they don't sign enough of these guys.

 

Exactly, Brandon Moss was a flyer by the A's.  The Twins should try out more of these guys for lesser roles and hope for good things.  Especially when they aren't in the way of anyone.

[jorgenswest]

I look forward to the day when there is downside to rostering a player hitting .160 and the bar for being on the roster is somewhere above "warm body".

 

How much more upside does Shafer have than Farris? Is there any value in rewarding the efforts efforts of a player on the AAA roster? Hicks could have taken his spot in AAA. Farris can also play infield.

 

I don't think either is worthy of a winter spot in the 40, but I would have rewarded Farris' efforts with a few months in the majors.

Edited August 3, 2014 by jorgenswest

[JB_Iowa]

How much more upside does Shafer have than Farris? Is there any value in rewarding the efforts efforts of a player on the AAA roster? Hicks could have taken his spot in AAA. Farris can also play infield.

And really, Hicks should be moving up to AAA so that would have made some sense.

[raindog]

I'm just glad they're not bringing Hicks up again. I hope they bring him up to AAA and let him prove himself there.

[DuluthFan]

Bringing Eric Farris up from AAA this late in the season would not make much sense unless you plan on keeping him on the major league team next year as well. He has already used up 2 of his option years while with Milwaukee (total of 10 PA over 14 games). If you wanted to keep Farris as a 4th outfielder next year, it would be nice to be able to option him if he struggles. It is also easier to trade a player like this if he can be stashed at AAA without taking a 40 man roster spot.

[Brock Beauchamp]

That the Twins, in year four of consecutive 90 loss seasons, are claiming Jordon Shafer in August, and he will most likely end up on the 25 man roster, does not say anything good about the status of the "rebuild."

 

In fact, it is a pretty damning indictment, IMO.

 

They need someone who can play CF in a pinch. Rosario isn't ready, Buxton isn't ready, and Hicks shouldn't be within 500 miles of an MLB roster until he gets his head straight.

 

That doesn't mean those three players are any less of prospects or that somehow their talent is diminished, it just means they aren't ready to play Major League Baseball in August of 2014.

[Brock Beauchamp]

What do they really hope to gain by adding Jordan Shafer to this team?

 

A player that won't embarrass himself in centerfield. To accomplish this internally, the Twins would have to sacrifice an actual prospect's development and rush him to the Majors and/or they'd have to add people to the 40 man for no good reason.

 

This is the kind of move that the Twins should be making at this point. Patch a hole for two months and reevaluate in the offseason.

 

After the Hicks fiasco, are we really slamming the front office for showing some prudence with their outfield prospects?