Article: Twins Must Clear Infield Logjam Quickly

[Winston Smith]

With the exception of last May this team has been really bad for 5 1/2 years now. I think it's hard to believe that other teams are thinking I want their players.

 

The phone has likely been very silent.

[wsnydes]

 

I seriously doubt Rob Anthony would announce that the phone is ringing off the hook and increase the pressure on th FO. C'mon! I would move Plouffe, he is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kind of like whoever was the Vikings wide receiver when Randy Moss arrived. You really have a choice between Dozier and Polanco. That's the reality. It seems Polanco is a pure hitter, Dozier certainly is not. Glove wise, might be closer than some think. I am not on the EE is an above average shortstop train. But I would keep him over Nunez because I trust his glove more. Which is why a SS exists, not for his bat. Nunez goes, sell high for a change. Park? A guy like Kang makes you think it could some day work, but so far he has actually regressed. You could flip him and ABW for a month, and see what you have in each. That's what this season should be about. But remember, while you might fleece a GM desperate for a fill in, they all know that the bats of Dozier, Plouffe, EE, and Nunez for the last month are not real. Each has enough history to go back and look at that far exceeds thirty days. And also remember this is Terry Ryan we are taking about. You'll be damn lucky to see Park go to AAA, trading Plouffe would be over the top for him!

I'm with you on Escobar at SS.  He's fine, not a liability there, but not a SS on a good team.  I foresee him being there until Gordon arrives, and I think I'm okay with that approach considering where this team is.  Trading Dozier is a wild card to me.  I'd definitely do it for a reasonable return.  I do want to see Polanco there and iI see him as the long term 2B.

[beckmt]

I would have moved Dozier last winter.  Polanco needs to play up here at least next year, so if not this year this winter.  Hopefully Dozier will have a great second half, so have some great value.  Yankees are talking about going both ways so Dozier might be a fit there.

For the time being you can move Park to Rochester until July 31 and hopefully the logjam plays itself out.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I think we may be falling into the classic "grass is always greener" trap when advocating trading Dozier to open up a spot for Polanco.  Dozier has proven to be a quality 2B, it's hard to see how Polanco will be that much more (and that's if he hits, he might be less) to justify trading one of the few reasonably young MLB quality player we have.

 

This is what I struggle with. As much as he struggled the first two months of the year, he's currently a 1.1 fWAR player at the halfway point. It's possible he takes off in the 2nd half this year. It's possible he tanks in the 2nd half. No way to know. But I do know that fangraphs had him as at 2.5 WAR, 4.7 WAR and 3.4 WAR the last three years. Even if he's "just" a 2.0 WAR guy this year, that's pretty valuable. 

 

And, we all hope that Polanco can be a good offensive hitter - and I think he can be - but we don't know. I think Polanco is ready, and maybe I'd put him at shortstop the rest of the way (after dealing Escobar and/or Nunez?) and see if he can be adequate there... Obviously what he does in a half season doesn't matter much to what he will be, but it's a start. 

 

I just have a hard time getting rid of anyone who has been a 2.5+ WAR guy the last three years and is on schedule right now to be right around that number again. I'd hate to lose a guy like that for too little. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

This is what I struggle with. As much as he struggled the first two months of the year, he's currently a 1.1 fWAR player at the halfway point. It's possible he takes off in the 2nd half this year. It's possible he tanks in the 2nd half. No way to know. But I d.................

 

I just have a hard time getting rid of anyone who has been a 2.5+ WAR guy the last three years and is on schedule right now to be right around that number again. I'd hate to lose a guy like that for too little. 

 

Agreed, Seth. This is the hardest of the choices (imo) they have in front of themselves right now. Partly that's on them, for not playing Polanco at all when he comes up, and not having much information. Mostly it's on that Dozier might be part of a good team in 2-3 years. 

[mazeville]

 

The problem with trading Dozier right now is finding a buyer. Almost all of the good, contending teams are getting solid production from 2B right now, so there isn't an obvious fit. The best fit is probably KC, and Dozier might be a marginal improvement for Toronto. In a vacuum, it is easy to say that Dozier is worth X. But other teams aren't buying X; they are buying the marginal improvement that X provides over their current Y. And for most teams, X-Y is pretty small and not worth paying a lot for.

 

And I don't understand than consternation that Polanco needs a starting MLB spot right now. Don't get me wrong, he's a good prospect. But he has less that 300 PAs in AAA under his belt, and had a .719 OPS in AA. Maybe his new power is real, or maybe it is a fluky spike. Given the past history of recent callups, hitting well at AAA for a couple hundred at bats should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

My vote is to trade Nunez for whatever either this deadline or during the offseason, keep Dozier a more advantageous trading scenario arrives, and have Polanco as the primary infield backup until Dozier is traded or leaves via FA. 

 

He doesn't need it right now. But he will need to be on the roster next year. And while that could very well be a utility player, he has also demonstrated enough in his short time in the majors, and in AAA, that he can hit. Is he guaranteed? Nope. No prospect is. But neither are major leaguers. Plouffe has an OPS of under .700 this year.

 

You can easily wait until the offseason to look for the best possible trade for Dozier. And maybe they can't trade Dozier, but I think they can, and I think the return would be decent.

 

This team is on pace to lose 110 games. They need to look at their veteran assets and see what they can get for them while favoring playing time for younger players. Had the Twins been contending, I'd have used Polanco to fetch some help at the deadline. But they aren't. 

[wsnydes]

 

Agreed, Seth. This is the hardest of the choices (imo) they have in front of themselves right now. Partly that's on them, for not playing Polanco at all when he comes up, and not having much information. Mostly it's on that Dozier might be part of a good team in 2-3 years. 

Do you hold onto Dozier because he might be part of a good team in 2-3 years, or do you trade him in order to help you be a good team in 2-3 years.  I agree, that is probably the most difficult decision at this point.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Dozier is gone 3 years from now and is on the wrong end of an extension curve 3 years from now.  I think he should be traded.

[KirbyDome89]

 

It would be not to wait until July. No need to settle for a trade now but they should be (and certainly are) out there by this point looking to make deals. 

 

I wouldn't trade Dozier unless they got a really good return. I really don't know what I'd do. I'd consider dealing Nunez, though he's a guy I wouldn't mind having around as a strong bench guy because I think he can be a strong leader as well as a contributor, and he's not going to be expensive. I'd be fine with trading Escobar, even if it means handing the job at short over to Polanco and accepting his flawed defense there for the rest of the season. Why not?  If he looks like he can maybe handle it, go with it. If not tough decision at 2B in the offseason between Dozier and Polanco. Hate to see Plouffe go, but they just have to do it, though I agree that Park may need a stint in Rochester which allows Sano to DH. 

 

Definitely not easy decisions at all.

Agreed there isn't really an easy decision. I'm hoping they can turn Nunez into something by the trade deadline. The contract is cheap, but that guy is going to come back down to earth at some point and it would be nice to see the Twins try to cash in. I don't particularly want to see Escobar traded. Nunez can't be a regular at SS and Polanco's defense is in question as well. If Polanco can't handle SS then you're right back where you started, trying to find room for him to play, but this time you have to either force Dozier out or trade Polanco. 

[troyhobbs]

Trade Plouffe (one would think that's obvious but apparently not) and Dozier for the best return you can get. If other teams don't want them that bad then what does that tell you? The pitching staff is so bad it doesn't matter who's going to mash next year or the year after that (perhaps the year after that, and so on...) if the pitching staff is giving up 5-6 runs a game. Polanco isn't a SS and his strength is hitting so I'd hang on to the Eduardos over Plouffe and Dozier.

 

If the goal is to be a .500 club next year, keep Plouffe, Dozier, and play everyone out of position and good luck. If the goal is compete for a pennant or ring in 3-5 years, get your young guys the experience they need and get some pitching for the love of God...

[laloesch]

He (Ryan) won't.  It's not his modus operandi.  Never has been.  

 

Now one would think at the very least that Plouffe would get traded making room for Sano at 3rd, but some folks here forget the FO love for Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins.  These guys have wormed their way into the inner circle and are now Twins for life.  

 

I think that Park gets demoted at or shortly after the all-star break and Sano shifts to DH for the rest of the season.  This allows Ryan to keep Plouffe around.  Now whether or not he's offered a contract (via arbitration) this off season is debatable. I think that if his number is upwards of 10 million (which it could be), I think Terry might scoff at that, but we'll see. 

 

Regarding Polanco.  I hate to say it, but the Twins kinda made their decision when they bought out Dozier's three seasons of arbitration and signed him through 2018.  

 

Polanco is clearly not a shortstop based on his fielding stats.  Now the FO has been trying to force him into that mold but it's clear he's not SS material at this point based on errors alone. With the emergence of Escobar at SS and Nunez as a bench bat / spot starter he's even less likely to receive playing time.

Edited June 24, 2016 by laloesch

[Shane Wahl]

Great article. I have no clue how anyone defends hanging on to Nunez while he is at the absolute peak of his career right now. And Plouffe already peaked. 

[tobi0040]

He (Ryan) won't.  It's not his modus operandi.  Never has been.  

 

Now one would think at the very least that Plouffe would get traded making room for Sano at 3rd, but some folks here forget the FO love for Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins.  These guys have wormed their way into the inner circle and are now Twins for life.  

 

I think that Park gets demoted at or shortly after the all-star break and Sano moves over to DH for most of the remained of the season, which allows them to keep Plouffe around for the remainder of the season.  Now whether or not he's offered a contract (via a arbitration) is debatable.  

 

Regarding Polanco.  I hate to say it, but the Twins kinda made their decision when bought out Doziers final three seasons of arbitration and signed him through 2018.  Polanco is clearly not a shortstop based on his fielding stats.  Now the FO has been trying to force him into that mold but it's clear he's not SS material based on errors alone. With the emergence of Escobar at SS and Nunez as a bench bat / spot starter he's even less likely to receive playing time.

Maybe we can squeeze Polanco into RF and negate his bat?

Edited June 24, 2016 by tobi0040

[dxpavelka]

Gotta love it when this team has a logjam and needs to clear things out.  A year ago we had a logjam in the OF.  Or so we as fans thought.  Could we trade an infielder to ourselves for John Ryan Murphy?  Amazing how we went from logjam in the OF to moving infielders to the OF--Sano, Santana, hell even Rosario used to be a 2B (and probably should still be).  The last 3+ months of this season needs to be about seeing what certain guys can do in certain spots.  Sano at 3B.   Polanco at one or both middle infield spots.  Maybe even Santana with a real shot at SS.  Buxton, Kepler, Rosario in the OF or maybe Rosario at 2B.   Trevor May and Jose Berrios as starting pitchers.  Any of a half dozen young guys as relievers.  The rest of this year needs to be about finding out who is capable of contributing at what level for 2017 and beyond.  We can't afford to have a 29 year old defensive liability at a variety of positions as our All Star or needing to sign a 26 year old off the scrap heap to be an every day OF.  P.S.:  Sell high on Grossman before the glass slipper shatters.

[Mike Sixel]

Rosario hasn't been a 2B for a couple years, and no, he should not be one. He's an OF. Has been for years.

[KirbyDome89]

 

 

And I don't understand than consternation that Polanco needs a starting MLB spot right now. Don't get me wrong, he's a good prospect. But he has less that 300 PAs in AAA under his belt, and had a .719 OPS in AA. Maybe his new power is real, or maybe it is a fluky spike. Given the past history of recent callups, hitting well at AAA for a couple hundred at bats should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

My vote is to trade Nunez for whatever either this deadline or during the offseason, keep Dozier a more advantageous trading scenario arrives, and have Polanco as the primary infield backup until Dozier is traded or leaves via FA. 

He is out of options next year, which means the Twins need to give him ABs to find out what they have or history (Arcia) is doomed to repeat itself. There is no point in bringing Polanco up to waste away on the bench. If the Twins won't clear a spot for him then he should be in AAA playing every day.

[troyhobbs]

 

Great article. I have no clue how anyone defends hanging on to Nunez while he is at the absolute peak of his career right now. And Plouffe already peaked. 

Just depends on the return. It's always a gamble to trade an MLB caliber player for a prospect (ex. Denard Span for Alex Meyer). Nunez is cheap, versatile, and probably nets a questionable return. It's not something I'm passionate about though, really 50/50 on the Nunez situation.

[laloesch]

 

He is out of options next year, which means the Twins need to give him ABs to find out what they have or history (Arcia) is doomed to repeat itself. There is no point in bringing Polanco up to waste away on the bench. If the Twins won't clear a spot for him then he should be in AAA playing every day.

 

 

Or they should trade him, while they still have time to do so.

[Boom Boom]

Would have been nice to demote Park to AAA before outrighting Arcia... but whatever.

 

I would trade Dozier, but I don't think the Twins would. He's become "their guy."

 

I would trade Nunez for a bullpen piece.

[AKTwins]

My solution for the time being.  Have Nunez play left field.  It should help his trade value getting more time at another position.  Infield will be Sano, Escobar, Dozier and Mauer.  Plouffe, Sano and Mauer can rotate at DH.  Grossman can be the 4th outfielder, unless Buxton is sent back down then he can play everyday with Kepler in CF.  Park goes down to AAA.  In a few weeks, we can trade Nunez and Plouffe.  For Plouffe we are probably looking at a Morneau type of return.  For Nunez, may be something more.  Well got Palka for Hermann, so I suspect we should get something similar.  Going forward we can have Polanco play 3B and Sano DHing.  I am fine with trading Dozier, but I would want a teams top 15 prospect at a minimum.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

 

I think we may be falling into the classic "grass is always greener" trap when advocating trading Dozier to open up a spot for Polanco.  Dozier has proven to be a quality 2B, it's hard to see how Polanco will be that much more (and that's if he hits, he might be less) to justify trading one of the few reasonably young MLB quality player we have. I vote vote this way:

 

1. Trade Plouffe - no brainer to open spot for Sano, take what you can get

2. Keep Dozier unless overwhelming offer comes in (unlikely)

3. Trade Nunez or Escobar - best return gets traded

4. Elevate Polanco - play him 4-5 days a week, if you keep Escobar he gets a day or two a SS, one at 2B, and one at 3B so Sano can DH, if you keep Nunez he gets more time at SS

5. Send Park to AA - leave him there at least a month and more until he is dominating.

6. Elevate Rosario - Goes into 4 man OF rotation with the starting 3, DanSan a permanent bench fixture, one of the 4 OF DHs half the time

7.  Elevate either Beresford (if you want a utility IF) or Vargas (if you want a DH/bench bat)

8.  Trade Jepsen if anyone will take him, if not DFA him. 

9.  Elevate Chargois to take Jepsen's place and live with his development

10. Stretch out May at AAA as a starter and put him in rotation when he's ready in place of either Nolasco if he can be traded for some value or Duffy if he doesn't rebound.  If neither, put Duffy in the BP where he probably belongs and lose either Pressly or,

11. Trade Abad, but only of there is a strong package in return.  

if Dozier is so good, why des this team suck so bad? With Dozier, Escobar, and Sano on this infield Polanco would not play more than once a week until injury, and therefore would not progress, and Dozier will most certainly regress before his contract expires.

[Kwak]

 

Dozier is gone 3 years from now and is on the wrong end of an extension curve 3 years from now.  I think he should be traded.

Absolutely!  Dozier refused a contract extension beyond his first year of potential free agency--he wants out unless the Twins choose to place him in a golden cage. Even then, he will have acquired financial independence for life and the chance to play for an every year contender for the World Series will likely be a powerful issue in his decision. The Twins will not be an every year contender, and Dozier knows that!

[jimmer]

Too bad our IF logjam is so full of underwhelming options.

Edited June 24, 2016 by jimmer

[KirbyDome89]

 

Or they should trade him, while they still have time to do so.

The entire point of the rebuild the past 5 (4 really) years was to stock up on young talent and let it take over. Waiting to trade those players until they are ready for a shot in majors makes no sense.

[Platoon]

Do we know if Sano will be at 3B or RF during the rehab stint? We heard that his "future" is at 3B. One would think if Sano's first game is at 3B, Plouffe may want to get a realtor.

How could we know? They don't even seem to have any idea!

[DocBauer]

Dozier, echoing most of all up us, is a tough call. No matter the fact the Twins created this problem of he and Polanco, it's still a tough call.

 

I asked in another thread, can they co-exist on the same team? And I dont have the answer. Of course, what I mean is, if Dozier is a 2B, and Polanco is a talented young 2B, can you really keep both and use Polanco as a utility guy?

 

If you trade Dozier, I keep Nunez. If your plan, for now at least, is to keep Dozier than I'd look at moving Nunez. Either way, Polanco is up to play and see what we have.

 

Someone has to go. Do we keep Dozier and possibly trade him during the offseason if Polanco shows enough? Maybe THAT is the best course of action.

 

Plouffe....don't care what we get back.

Nolasco.....don't care what we get back.

Suzuki....don't care what we get back.

Jepsen....don't care if traded or released.

 

Of course, when I say I don't care, what I mean is, a grade C or low B milb prospect acquired is not the point. The point is to move on, clean house, make way for the future.

 

What I would like to maybe get back is a prospect with some ability but who hasn't found himself, who has struggled, not met expectation, could maybe use a change of scenery. That might be the best return.

[Rosterman]

The elephant in the infield is still Joe Mauer. What do you do with him?

[whitsbrain]

Sano is the most valuable asset the Twins have.  Why is he being shuffled around between RF/3B/DH?!?  If his position is 3B, put him there and sit Plouffe.  He isn't going to bring anything in trade, the FO blew that opportunity in the offseason.  You got a few okay years out of Plouffe.  If Sano is a big part of the future, start acting like he is.

 

Trade Dozier while he's hot.  Maybe you can get a decent middle of the rotation starter for him.  If Polanco is waiting for an opening, he can hit as well as Dozier and is close defensively, why not get something for Dozier and open up 2B?

[Darius]

I don't think any of these guys are good enough to call it a "logjam."

 

I mean, I guess you could say there is a "logjam" at every position on every team in the league of this is a "logjam."

[jokin]

 

I don't think any of these guys are good enough to call it a "logjam."

I mean, I guess you could say there is a "logjam" at every position on every team in the league of this is a "logjam."

 

Yep. One of the Twins' FO primary tragic flaws is feeling the inherent need to build shrines of untouchability and over-generous contract extensionality toward guys with single career years/half seasons interspersed with longer-term track records of mediocrity.