Article: Twins Kick Baltimore Tires

[Jeremy Nygaard]

The Twins have been busily working the phones in advance of next Friday’s trade deadline. I reported here earlier this week that Twins had at least reached out to the Rockies about Troy Tulowitzki. More recently, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press talked about the team’s search for power arms. He also previously had looked at the Twins needs behind the plate.Earlier on Saturday, I learned that the Twins have had preliminary dialogue with the Baltimore Orioles about addressing both the catching need and - although not a “power arm” - getting some help in the bullpen.

 

The players of interest are pending free agents Matt Wieters and Darren O’Day.

 

Matt Wieters, a 29-year-old catcher, is represented by Scott Boras. Boras clients are well-known for playing out their contracts and testing free agency. Wieters recently returned from Tommy John surgery and has only played 32 games so far this year. Though he’s hitting nearly his career batting average of .256 (.243), his on-base percentage is a career-low .272. Wieters, a switch-hitter, performs better from the right side of the plate, so he wouldn’t form a great platoon partner with Suzuki. In fact, Wieters has only caught back-to-back games once this year (against the Twins), so his presence would only reduce Suzuki’s playing time.

 

Wieters would be a step-up in countering the running game. Even with a recovering elbow, Wieters has caught 30% of would-be base-stealers, a step up from Suzuki’s 19%. Neither Wieters nor Suzuki do much in the pitch-framing category (as least not recently), though Wieters had scored better there in his earlier years. He also was a two-time Gold Glove winner.

 

Darren O’Day, a 32-year-old right-handed reliever, represented the Orioles as a first-time All-Star this year in Cincinnati. After joining Baltimore as a waiver claim in late 2011, O’Day cashed in on a multi-year deal and in 242 career games for Baltimore has a 1.97 ERA, a 0.939 WHIP and a K/9 of 9.6, including a career high of 11.9 this season (47 whiffs in 35.2 innings pitched).

 

O’Day has been serving as Baltimore’s eighth inning guy, a role which appears unsettled for the Twins at this time, as Trevor May served as that bridge on Saturday night. O’Day is unique is that he throws side-armed so, despite the 86 mph fastball and 78 mph slider, there is plenty of deception. His slider is nasty. In his career, O’Day has eaten up right-handed batters to the tune of .189/.257/.534. He has been much more susceptible to left-handed hitters.

 

Neither seem like perfect fits for the Twins as they look to patch some holes before the deadline, but - as I mentioned earlier in the week - the Twins are doing their due diligence with potential sellers. (And I cannot emphasize that enough. The Twins are having hundreds of conversations with teams around the league.)

 

No article about a trade would be complete without the second part… “Who would the Twins have to give up?” Well, there is a very good chance that Oswaldo Arcia’s name was brought up. There also appears to be a desire for the Orioles to add to their pitching corps as two of their young studs - Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy - were shut down for the year.

 

Would a package of Arcia, who will be out of options next season but still four years from free agency, and a pitching prospect - like Kohl Stewart - be too much to give up for a couple of rentals?

 

Conventional wisdom probably says yes.

 

But having Darren O’Day at Target Field on Saturday sure would have helped. Twelve times Alex Rodriguez has faced him. One single. Six strikeouts. An OPS of .258.

The Twins do go to New York in the middle of August and maybe a couple of Orioles could help shut those Yankees fans up. Finally.

 

(But, really, I'm not picky... I'll take anyone who can help shut Yankee fans up.)

 

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[nater79a]

Going to have to pay a premium, even for a rental, in order for the Orioles to give up the QO and the draft pick for Wieters.

 

I wonder what chance the Twins would have at signing Wieters in the offseason? Maybe that could be their signature signing over the winter knowing that the farm system is pretty weak at the catcher position. 

 

 

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Going to have to pay a premium, even for a rental, in order for the Orioles to give up the QO and the draft pick for Wieters.

 

I wonder what chance the Twins would have at signing Wieters in the offseason? Maybe that could be their signature signing over the winter knowing that the farm system is pretty weak at the catcher position. 

 

The Scott Boras is his agent part probably tells what the odds of Wieters sticking around are. 

[Jeremy Nygaard]

It sounds like Wieters is going to start playing some first base now. As much as I'm glad the Twins are turning over all the stones, Wieters just doesn't do much for me.

[diehardtwinsfan]

way too much to give up in my opinion.  Weiters hasn't been all that good this year as he's recovering from a pretty tough injury. 

 

 

[High heat]

I really like Weiters but not for that price to rent. This season has been cutie but we aren't winning a playoff series if we get there. I want nothing to do with renting a player unless it's for giving up $ or peanuts. Unless this trade comes with a signing of Weiters which it won't I'd just wait till the offseason and kick the tires on him then.

[Brock Beauchamp]

"Would a package of Arcia, who will be out of options next season but still four years from free agency, and a pitching prospect - like Kohl Stewart - be too much to give up for a couple of rentals?"

 

That's way, way, way too much.

[HitInAPinch]

Twins management should be looking past the "right now" to the future.  Neither Weiters or O'Day appear to be a "future" type.

[Cap'n Piranha]

O'Day also wouldn't have helped much against A-Rod yesterday. He definitely wouldn't have been in for homer 1. Homer 2 came in the seventh, when Milone had just given up his second hit, so no reason to pull him there. Homer 3 led off the ninth against your all-star closer, so no reason to have him in there either. Sometimes, the other guy just wins.

[DocBauer]

Wieters as a possible FA signee, assuming his poor season keeps the cost down. The guy probably will bounce back nicely overall, but I hear rumors of 4 years and $60M for a guy, even a catcher, post surgery-bad year-limited games played, which just sounds way too big of a deal for me. I'm interested, and I know the market goes crazy at times, but WOW!

 

But he does nothing for me at this point as a short term trade option. I'd much rather hold on until after the season, take stock of our team, our minors, let other teams do the same, and then look for a match for a younger catcher with upside. I know it's not as easy as that, of course, but there have been several options discussed right here on TD that could make real sense.

 

Honestly, if I were to trade for a veteran catcher, potential FA right now it would probably by AJ. At least he's LH with a little pop. If Garver and Turner finish this season strong like they did last season, if I don't have an immediate trade partner available in the off season, I might consider AJ back for another year, take my shot with he and Suzuki and roll with them for another year.

[DocBauer]

I get O'Day. Like former Twin Pat Neshak, you don't always have to thrown hard to get the job done. But still, I'd think a power arm, experienced, can still do the job like Benoit makes more sense.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Is Arcia at this point all that different in value than Kielty circa 2003? Probably not that far ahead of Mark Red man circa 2001 either...

[halfchest]

I just can't see giving up that much for a couple rental guys.  I don't see them changing us into world series contenders but definitely give us a better shot at staying in the playoff run.  I would love to take a shot at both for a much cheaper price.  Wieters just doesn't seem like a good rental target either given how he's played coming back from injury this year.  

 

For the right price and if the plan is to try to resign him after the year (saving us from giving up a draft pick) then I can see it.   The Twins shouldn't be considering giving up big prospects for guys that will only help us one year.  I'd rather we look to Tampa Bay and try to buy one of their relievers with a few years of control if they're really considering giving up Arcia and/or Kohl Stewart

[DaveW]

I'd rather get AJ and Benoit since the price would be significantly lower and the results maybe close.

[Thrylos]

Power arms and O'Day belong in the same sentence, as much power arms and Milone.  As a matter of fact, O'Day's fastball (86.7 mph average) is slower than Milone's (87.7 mph average; this season.)

 

Orioles' power arms?  Tommy Hunter, Keving Gausman, Zach Britton and Brad Brach.  The last one and maybe the first one in the list might make sense for both teams, even though Hunter has a down season.   I would not mind seeing Brach in a Twins' uniform?  O'Day?  Not. So. Much.

[nicksaviking]

If Arcia is going to be traded, do it in the off season, the destinations will be greater and you might get a similarly controllable young player at a position of need.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Is Arcia at this point all that different in value than Kielty circa 2003? Probably not that far ahead of Mark Red man circa 2001 either...

That's exactly why I wouldn't trade him unless the deal was right. There's a better than 50/50 chance his value will go back up and this is his low water mark.

[AKTwins]

No way I would give up that much for rentals.  Arcia makes sense because we have a logjam at corner outfield, 1st base and DH, with Rosario, Hicks (eventually moved for Buxton), AB Walker, Harrison, Hicks, Sano.  I would not give up Stewart.  Maybe, a lesser pitcher if Baltimore bites on one of our AAA starts not named Berrios.  

[Mike Sixel]

Blech.

[ashbury]

Wieters as a possible FA signee, assuming his poor season keeps the cost down. The guy probably will bounce back nicely overall, but I hear rumors of 4 years and $60M for a guy, even a catcher, post surgery-bad year-limited games played, which just sounds way too big of a deal for me. I'm interested, and I know the market goes crazy at times, but WOW!

Unless and until the makeup of this roster changes, I am against signing anyone to a multi-year contract when part of the unstated logic is "and if all else fails, he can play corner outfield or first base or DH." That is how we got Ryan Doumit, and similar (restricted) logic had us with Josh Willingham for longer than it turns out we should have. (And I was for the Hammer signing at the time, mea culpa.) We have a first baseman, and the rules state that we can only put one DH into the starting lineup per game.

[sploorp]

I like O'Day better than Wieters, but would be open to either or both.  I wouldn't give up Arcia, especially not now when his value is so low.  As fans I think we tend to value picks a lot more than most MLB teams, so I don't think it would take nearly as much to get them as we might think.  A few mid-level prospects close to the majors might be all it takes.

[Riverbrian]

Wieters has been disapointing for too long. No thanks

 

But... I'd love O'Day... Matusz or Brach for our bullpen. 

 

 

[drjim]

The Scott Boras is his agent part probably tells what the odds of Wieters sticking around are.

As good as any other agent? Boras has proven he'll take the Pohlad's money.

[DocBauer]

If Arcia is going to be traded, do it in the off season, the destinations will be greater and you might get a similarly controllable young player at a position of need.

Exactly!

 

One of Two things is going to happen with Arcia.

 

First things first, however,the Twins absolutely and positively will look at a FA signing or two for the bullpen, and they will also be looking to sign or trade for a catcher. Now, it's possible any of these potential FA signings could include a player "rented" for the balance of this season and then re-signed if the market skews away from the Twins making a trade or different FA signing..

 

Now, concerning Arcia, someone is going to recognize the talent, potential and past streaks of production and be excited despite the struggles of this season, and be glad to include him in a deal. He is, after all, very talented and still quite young. OR, the Twins will trade prospects/sign FA to fill in a spot or two for the '16 club and Arcia will be a valuable component of said team, possibly beyond, as a LH part time corner OF and DH. Either is very possible, and IMO, the only two options. Which is all the more reason to get him back up to MINNESOTA for the stretch run of the season. And we all know there is roster room.

 

Hate to state the obvious, but Kepler has a big, big bearing on this as well. All the more reason a healthy Kepler needs to get up to Rochester ASAP.

[mudcat14]

 

Hate to state the obvious, but Kepler has a big, big bearing on this as well. All the more reason a healthy Kepler needs to get up to Rochester ASAP.

 

I don't think it matters if Kepler is at AA or AAA.  They just need to make sure he plays OF everyday.  No more 1B!  We're set there.  Let him keep raking and building his confidence, then give him a cup of coffee in September.  No real reason to make any decisions on him before next spring.

[DaveW]

As good as any other agent? Boras has proven he'll take the Pohlad's money.

Yeah, I think maybe it just means there is little chance he doesn't hit FA, thus limiting the Twins chances of keeping him since they wouldn't be able to work anything out prior to him hitting free agency.

 

Maybe all for the best, I have doubts he can stick at Catcher personally. Twins have enough 1B, DH etc spots currently and giving him 4-5 years could be a huge mistep for this team.

[Thrylos]

Regarding those who want to trade Arcia:

 

I'd love to hear who you think will provide LH power in this team...

[DaveW]

Regarding those who want to trade Arcia:

 

I'd love to hear who you think will provide LH power in this team...

I don't want to trade him yet. But they have Rosario who has LH pop, Hicks as well. Vargas?

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Yeah, I think maybe it just means there is little chance he doesn't hit FA, thus limiting the Twins chances of keeping him since they wouldn't be able to work anything out prior to him hitting free agency.

Maybe all for the best, I have doubts he can stick at Catcher personally. Twins have enough 1B, DH etc spots currently and giving him 4-5 years could be a huge mistep for this team.

4-5 years is a big "hell no".

 

But given the oddities of the past few years in the free agent market, it's hard to say where he'll end up. I could see him taking a 2-3 year contract as easily as I see him going 4-5 years.

 

I'd be willing to gamble on the 2-3 year deal.

[troyhobbs]

Not really in to this trade but I do think either Arcia or Vargas would be a nice center piece for a trade before the deadline. There's not room for both of them and maybe not either of them if Sano remains at DH. Hicks stepping up his game could make him their long term solution at RF once Buxton proves himself MLB ready and Rosario plays a nice LF. Arcia's bat isn't good enough to offset that defensive talent at this point. Of course he could come back and haunt the Twins dreams if he ever gets it together with another team.