As you probably know by now, Pelfrey received news that he will be sent to the bullpen. He wasn't very happy about it. Do you think the Twins make this happen?  

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Edited March 28, 201511 yr by milldaddy35

I wouldn't be happy if I was him either.  I'm not happy being me.  I thought he'd be in the rotation.  So trade him to a team that will use him, as I think he'll have a good season. 

Seriously, on what grounds is he upset?  What has he done to earn a spot here? 

 

He even acknowledged himself that he feels like he has stolen money from the Twins. 

Edited March 28, 201511 yr by tobi0040

Didn't Latroy Hawkins say basically the same thing?  Becoming a relief pitcher was the best thing that happened in his career.  And still is.

He has to be open to a trade, because he doesn't have a choice.

 

What I'm not sure of is if any other team would be open to a trade that brings them Pelfrey and the remaining $5.5 million they will owe him.

I'd welcome a trade also

Wow, this organization has been loyal to him to a fault and he wants to pull this crap. I couldn't be more annoyed.

 

Trade him for a platoon CF with Schafer.

Why trade him?  You would get nothing in return - better off letting him try it in the pen.  Who knows, he might thrive there as he could throw harder and his lack of secondary pitches won't be as big a concern.

Can't blame a guy for wanting to play but he could have handled it better.  We have enough pitchers over 30 who won't dominate now or in the future.  Ready to go young, or at least younger.  Hope we can work something out for him.

Still a great guy in the clubhouse, I bet.

 

Seriously, on what grounds is he upset?  What has he done to earn a spot here? 

 

He even acknowledged himself that he feels like he has stolen money from the Twins. 

What hasn't he done.  Pelfrey this spring has thrown 13.2 innings with 7 k's, 2bb's, and an era of 1.32.   

Milone has thrown 14 innings with 8k's, 4 bb's and and era of 4.50. 

 

Has anyone paid attention out there?

it is amazing the expectation that Pelfrey will be a good fit in the pen. Most failed starters are also failed relievers.

 

Pelfrey has a long warm up routine. He has much more trouble than normal with runners on base. Do those sound like good attributes of a bullpen arm? The Twins did nothing this spring to see if he could pitch on back to back days. have they worked on changing his warm up routine? Do they know if his arm can pitch on bounce back the next day?

 

The possibility of a bullpen role could easily be foreseen. The Twins should have been upfront with that entering spring. They should have prepared him for the different work load of the pen. They should know now if he is a possible asset in the pen.

What hasn't he done.  Pelfrey this spring has thrown 13.2 innings with 7 k's, 2bb's, and an era of 1.32.   

Milone has thrown 14 innings with 8k's, 4 bb's and and era of 4.50. 

 

Has anyone paid attention out there?

I hope not. A handful of spring innings has no value for projection.

 In reality, he wasn't really lights out when he was healthy half a decade ago.

 

What hasn't he done.  Pelfrey this spring has thrown 13.2 innings with 7 k's, 2bb's, and an era of 1.32.   

Milone has thrown 14 innings with 8k's, 4 bb's and and era of 4.50. 

 

Has anyone paid attention out there?

The very definition of SSS and in spring training to boot.  The guy is getting a chance to resurect his career.  He should shut up and take it.

From the Star Trib:

Pelfrey, who posted a 1.32 ERA in 13 2/3 innings this spring, was informed that he will open the season in the bullpen, a role he has never held in the major leagues. Pelfrey said he is “frustrated and a little upset” over the move. “I was told in December [it would be an] open competition,” Pelfrey said. “I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t outpitched.”

 

He's absolutely right that he wasn't outpitched. I'd also be frustrated and upset if I was told something that wasn't true and it affected my employment. I was hoping May would be the winner of this battle, but I think Pelfrey has a right to be bothered. That said, he would probably be best served by either getting over it and doing his best to get ready for the bullpen or by going to talk to Terry Ryan away from reporters to see if there are any options for trades. Talking about wanting to be traded in the press only lowers your trade value and therefore, lowers the likelihood of being traded, even if the press brought the subject up.

Lets keep the comments about the topic, please, rather than about each other.

 

it is amazing the expectation that Pelfrey will be a good fit in the pen. Most failed starters are also failed relievers.
 

 

Nathan and Perkins would disagree.  If a starter has good FB velocity and (only) one complimentary offering, might not cut it as a starter, but as a short reliever with his velocity up a few ticks, he can be pretty good.  Pelfrey fits that description to a tee.  His FB is around 92-94 as a starter (was higher a tick with the Mets, but...) , which easily translates to 95-97 as a reliever.  His curve is a plus pitch.  (The rest of his pitches are not.)  So a reliever with 2 plus pitches...

 

He just has to embrace it.

it is amazing the expectation that Pelfrey will be a good fit in the pen. Most failed starters are also failed relievers.

Pelfrey has a long warm up routine. He has much more trouble than normal with runners on base. Do those sound like good attributes of a bullpen arm? The Twins did nothing this spring to see if he could pitch on back to back days. have they worked on changing his warm up routine? Do they know if his arm can pitch on bounce back the next day?

The possibility of a bullpen role could easily be foreseen. The Twins should have been upfront with that entering spring. They should have prepared him for the different work load of the pen. They should know now if he is a possible asset in the pen.

I think it would more accurately be described as a "hope" rather than an "expectation."

 

What else do you do with a "failed starter?"

Data can not be used to evaluate the pitching performance in the spring. They can not support an assessment of which pitcher may have outpitched another. The sample is extremely small and the opponent is too uneven. Pelfrey wasn't the starting pitcher until March 18. He was coming in while the other teams starters were being subbed out.

 

The eyes of a trained staff need to make that call on the performance. They need to assess the velocity, movement and command. They need to assess how well all pitches are working. In this case, their call doesn't match the spring numbers.

Ideally, he could pitch very effectively for a month or so out of the pen and build up some trade value - maybe the Mets get desperate - and the Twins don't have to trade him for a bag of balls. 

Pelf's spring opponent quality score on B-Ref was comparable to our other starters (better than Gibson's and May's).

 

His K/9 was the lowest of the group.

I wonder if any team would take him as a starter.

What hasn't he done.  Pelfrey this spring has thrown 13.2 innings with 7 k's, 2bb's, and an era of 1.32.   

Milone has thrown 14 innings with 8k's, 4 bb's and and era of 4.50. 

 

Has anyone paid attention out there?

Both those strikeout totals are pathetic.

Pelfrey says he is healthy. Can you trust him or Nolasco now? Will they tell you the truth unless they get caught?

I personally think the Twins should start out the first month or two with a six man rotation. Let Milone and Pelfrey dual it out. Didn't the Yankees do something like this?

 

I personally think the Twins should start out the first month or two with a six man rotation. Let Milone and Pelfrey dual it out. Didn't the Yankees do something like this?

 

No way. All a six man rotation does is take innings from your best starter and give them to your worst. Do you want some of Hughes' innings going to Pelfrey?

 

Pelfrey said he is “frustrated and a little upset” over the move. “I was told in December [it would be an] open competition,” Pelfrey said. “I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t outpitched.”

He's absolutely right that he wasn't outpitched. I'd also be frustrated and upset if I was told something that wasn't true and it affected my employment.

First, I'd be curious to hear Pelfrey's opinion of "outpitched". If it's that he had a better ERA in his 13 innings, the conversation is over.

 

Second, IMO, he would need to demonstrably outpitch the other guys to get the job out of camp. The guy over 30 with just 1 year of team control should be the last worry. Even if he wasn't outpitched and was just... evenly pitched, someone has to be given the job and I see no guarantee or reason why that should be him over the other guys.

The sad thing is we are still talking about Pelfrey. At his best, which he hasn't been  in a long time, he was mediocre. We shouldn't be talking about 30+ yr olds that never were good and we should be talking about young, up and coming guys that will improve the future of this team, imo.

How much longer are we going to wait for the future?

Man I can't wait to see if a veteran like him will get Slowey'd. I've got my popcorn ready.