Article: Monday Funday

[Nick Nelson]

Twins fans have endured a lot of tough days this year. There have been long stretches where the performances, the injuries, and the decision-making have led local ball enthusiasts to echo the words of Bryce Harper, in an urgent plea: Please, make baseball fun again.

 

On Monday, baseball was fun again.From the perspective of disenchanted followers of the Twins searching for hope, it was easily the best day of the season thus far. It began with multiple trades that jolted excitement into a hazy Monday afternoon, and ended with one of the best games the team has played all year.

 

For much of this campaign, it has been hard to feel confident that this ship is moving in the right direction. For a glorious 12-hour stretch, it was impossible to feel any other way.

 

Let's run through Monday's developments in (somewhat) chronological order.

 

Twins send RP Fernando Abad to Red Sox for RP Pat Light

 

Things got started around lunchtime, when the Twins announced their first trade of the day.

 

Terry Ryan is gone, but the Abad signing will go down as one of his best final moves. The veteran lefty gave the club four very good months and now yields a decent relief prospect.

 

Light, who can touch 100 with his fastball but often struggles to find the zone, is far from a sure bet to become an effective MLB hurler. We have seen many such erratic fire-ballers come through this system and few have panned out. But he's a solid gamble and certainly a nice return for Abad, who was very much a non-essential piece. When it comes to lefty relievers, the Twins are just as well sticking with the likes of Taylor Rogers and Buddy Boshers.

 

Twins send SP Ricky Nolasco and SP Alex Meyer to Angels for SP Hector Santiago and RP Alan Busenitz.

 

Antony may sit in the GM chair long-term, but if not, he just cleared out one of the biggest headaches that his successor was going to inherit.

 

Somehow, he managed to unload Nolasco.

 

Since 2014, his first season in Minnesota, Nolasco ranks 113th out of 113 qualified MLB starters in ERA (5.44). Injuries marred his first two years with the Twins but this summer he has been healthy and utterly hittable. He hasn't made any case for belonging in a half-decent rotation, and is no more than an expensive innings-eater.

 

Any incoming GM was going to face the unfortunate situation of having to either work around Nolasco on the staff or ask his new bosses to eat $13 million in salary. But Antony, perhaps in efforts to build his own case, has removed that dilemma.

 

In Nolasco's place, the Twins get another established big-league starter who is – by all appearances – a massive upgrade. On the same list of 113 qualified pitchers since 2014, Santiago's ERA (3.68) ranks 60 spots higher, at 53. He's five years younger. He was an All Star last year. And he's coming off a month of July in which he went 6-0 with a 1.78 ERA.

 

Granted, Santiago has his warts, but even when you overlook his blatantly superior play on the field, he gives the Twins newfound flexibility. He's arbitration-eligible for a final time in 2017, so if the team desires, they can simply non-tender and move on. Antony removed the anchor that was Nolasco's contract and flipped it into a team-friendly situation.

 

He did so by capitalizing on the Angels' desperation to infuse any kind of upside into their drab farm system. The other part of the deal involved swapping projects, and I think most would agree that Meyer is a more interesting one than Busenitz. But Meyer is also 26, plagued by constant shoulder problems, utterly unaccomplished in the majors, and out of options next year.

 

This deal looks like a home run.

 

Speaking of home runs...

 

All of this frenzied action unfolded before Monday night's series opener in Cleveland. Major League Baseball made the decision this year to nudge the trade deadline back – to a weekday afternoon, when no games would take place – and Twins fans benefited from the switch. After following the trade news during the day, we were able to devote our full attention to a revelatory ballgame for the local nine.

 

Jose Berrios was making his anticipated return to the big-league mound, while Max Kepler was batting third against All-Star Danny Salazar. Both rookies rose to the challenge.

 

Max Power

 

Kepler has continually surprised with his long-ball proclivity since joining the team for good in June. In this game, he took things to another level entirely.

 

The 23-year-old homered in three of his first four at-bats. After tying for the MLB lead with eight bombs in July, he's now almost halfway to that mark in August after one day. He joins Harmon Killebrew, Justin Morneau, Tony Oliva and Bob Allison as the only hitters in Twins history to go deep three times in a game.

 

Kepler is already achieving legendary status.

 

Berrios bounces back

 

Watching the young righty labor through a tumultuous, 30-pitch first inning in which he coughed up an early lead, it was hard not to think, 'Here we go again.' But Berrios wasn't ready to go down that path.

 

Instead, he went out and retired 14 straight hitters, cruising through five more frames without allowing another run. Shaking off his previous control issues, Berrios threw 62 out of 99 pitches for strikes and didn't issue a walk.

 

That's what I'm talking about.

 

The fun didn't stop...

 

These two performances by future cogs were two highlights of many in a 12-5 bashing of the division leaders. Jorge Polanco hit two triples, including one with the bases juiced. Joe Mauer reached base five times, and took Andrew Miller deep to foil his Cleveland debut. Eddie Rosario homered, and took a walk in an MLB game for the first time since April 15th. Brian Dozier made two insane defensive plays.

 

This game felt like it included more encouraging moments than the first three months combined. Incidentally, it happened on a day where Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano were both out of the lineup. Those two obviously have been going through their struggles but no one can deny their enormous potential impact going forward.

 

Which brings me to my final thought:

 

If one is to disagree with the way Antony and the front office operated during this deadline period, it's because they didn't go all-in on a roster blowout. The Twins have the worst record in the league, the argument goes, and contention in 2017 is a pipe dream. Why not salvage whatever possible value for the likes of Ervin Santana and even someone like Brian Dozier?

 

I personally don't agree with this defeatist attitude. Evidently, neither does the interim GM, because while he certainly acted as a seller, he managed to stay away from any moves with negative impact extending beyond this year.

 

There's a rational case against that approach, but I'm glad it's not being embraced, and if the organization hires a new head of baseball ops, I hope it is not his or her mindset.

 

At some point, this young core is going to turn a corner together. On Monday, that inevitability felt surer and closer than it ever has before.

 

When that happens, it'll be a disservice to waste the opportunity by failing to surround the kids with a capable roster.

 

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[Bill Brown69]

Best day to be a Twins fan in 5 years at least.

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Kepler did not homer in his third at bat, but what he did do in his 3rd at bat was hit a ground ball to the right side to advance Mauer to third with less than 2 outs.

 

Kepler's amazing night at the plate included a solid fundamental baseball play that winning teams consistently execute.

 

If this talented group can do the amazing and the fundamentals this team will be competing at a high level soon and for a long time.

[Nick Nelson]

Good call! Fixed that detail, thanks

[DocBauer]

Nice article. Nice to share a little sunshine amongst so much doom and gloom of the past few months. And I dont believe the trading is done. I still feel Suzuki is needed by someone out there and he will be on the move. I'm not sure Milone survives the season as there are options the team needs to look at still. Kinzler is a question mark. I still think someone out there makes a move for him that needs bullpen help. But then again, retaining him on the cheap isn't so awful really. (Other than needing his roster space)

 

Look, I'm not going to pretend all is coming up roses in Twinsville. But at this point, after such an interesting and fun day, I think we should take a step back and take a long hard look at some things that are/have been taking place as of late.

 

1} Ryan is out. It was simply time. And no matter who ends up sitting in the big chair when the dust settles, change is begining at the top. Ownership has, more or less, publicly proclaimed it wants change and is looking at the entire system and Twins structure.

 

2} The Twins have been performing like a fairly decent baseball team the past 30 days or so. And while there are warts, and question marks, some players to still move on from and nobody is claiming this team is ready for a playoff run, a lot of what's been helping this team along is a shift to young talent finding it's way.

 

3} There is even more young talent on the way. And if you remove the "Meyer question"...will he or won't he ever turn out, for someone else now...we have added better pieces than we subtracted and added to our talent pool while creating more flexibility.

 

Look at our OF: Rosario, Buxton and Kepler with Grossman as a solid reserve. Palka and Granite could be nice pieces in the near future. I loved Kepler hitting 3rd in tonight's lineup and believe that is his future spot. Could it be now? Buxton is only scratching the surface of what he can become. Imagine next year's lineup if he scratches a little deeper and could actually hit at the top of the lineup?

 

Infield: Sano is a stud. Yeah, yeah...a little sophomore backtracking, but it happens. It's also been a weird year for him. He's super talented and will be fine. Relax on the defensive part of his game. The talent is there. But give him some time. Polanco is very exciting as well. And he's finally up and getting a chance. Dozier is still good. Vargas looks very different, SSS for 2016 or not.

 

Pitching: I know our best rotational talent is in AA still. But right now, we have the solid veteran Santana, a now healthy Gibson pitching well (and still young), Berrios has tons of upside and is finally here, probably for good. Santiago is, IMO, a much better and younger replacement for Nolasco. Mejia looks like a nice addition. We haven't seen Wheeler yet, though we should. May could and should get another rotational look, and Duffey shows potential in his roughly 27 ML starts, despite some inconsistencies.

 

I'm sorry, but I like that list better than anyone named Nolasco or Milone.

 

The bullpen has some interesting parts emerging with Rogers, Tonkin and Pressly establishing themselves. And in both AAA and double AA there are some really nice bullpen arms either knocking on the door, or threatening to kick it open. And we've just added at least one more intriguing option there.

 

I'm actually getting excited again! Now, if we could just find someone to hold down catcher until Garver is ready......

[h2oface]

Fun game to watch.

[joemama]

 

Best day to be a Twins fan in 5 years at least.

It was indeed a great day, but my first thought upon reading this post was, "No, that would be July 10, 2015."

[h2oface]

I hate the slide on my butt to try to catch a fly ball. Both Rosario and Santana looked like Arcia on their misadventures

[dbminn]

I've said for the past year, the team will be good once the prospects figure it out. They're closer now and they're still young. There's depth at every position except C,SS and SP. If you don't want to enjoy the ups and downs with this team from here on out, it's your problem.

[ThejacKmp]

Best day to be a Twins fan in 5 years at least.

 

You forgot about last year?

[mazeville]

Rob Antony has changed my mind. He won all three trades. And the Nolasco deal was the type of creative trade this organization has desperately needed for decades. 

 

I would have definitely preferred to trade Brandon Kintzler and Kurt Suzuki. 

 

But I'm still OK with the team holding onto Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier. Both can be traded in the offseason - and contenders this year don't need second basemen so Dozier really wasn't a trade deadline target, anyway. I'd still rather the new regime assess the team and its ability to contend and make deals. 

 

Still, three trades were two more than I expected. And getting rid of Nolasco's contract was incredible. 

[troyhobbs]

It's easier to see the possibility of a competitive '17 with these recent developments but I still think a good playoff team needs a better 1 & 2 than Santana and Santiago but if the lineup produces and pitching staff isn't terrible they could potentially put themselves in a position to be buyers next year. That's a long way off yet though and I still hope Antony stays busy through August.

[jimmer]

 

Best day to be a Twins fan in 5 years at least.

Indeed.

[alarp33]

 

Rob Antony has changed my mind. He won all three trades. And the Nolasco deal was the type of creative trade this organization has desperately needed for decades. 

 

 

I'm curious how he changed your mind? Did you think he was incapable of making a trade?  Running this organization takes a hell of a lot more than flipping Abad for a wild fireball reliever.  

 

I thought all 3 trades were ok to good, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  Antony will not be in charge by October, but potentially he can be an asset for 2017 while the new Pres/GM gets acclimated. 

 

If Alex Meyer turns out to be a shutdown reliever, which is absolutely possible, I'll wonder how "creative" that trade was. 

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

Question: did the sheer fact that Antony was able to actually able to dump Nolasco shut down TD yesterday afternoon? Right after the news broke I wanted to get on the site but couldn't connect for like an hour or so. I imagined circuit boards and servers blowing up and a big party going on in the background.

 

Color me impressed with Antony. I fall into the camp of wishing he had moved either Suzuki or Santana. Or even made a big splash with a Dozier trade. But I get the feeling that he believes the Twins can compete in 2017. So keeping those pieces seems around makes sense then.

[jimmer]

 

Question: did the sheer fact that Antony was able to actually able to dump Nolasco shut down TD yesterday afternoon? Right after the news broke I wanted to get on the site but couldn't connect for like an hour or so. I imagined circuit boards and servers blowing up and a big party going on in the background.

 

Color me impressed with Antony. I fall into the camp of wishing he had moved either Suzuki or Santana. Or even made a big splash with a Dozier trade. But I get the feeling that he believes the Twins can compete in 2017. So keeping those pieces seems around makes sense then.

yeah,  I had a ton of problems being able to access any thread as well.

[Halsey Hall]

That was a good day, all around.  Fun to see Max have a great night, and I like how he responds to questions afterwards. I've been believing that they can compete next year and that's not going to change.

[Halsey Hall]

The page must of blown up, as I couldn't get on either. When's the last time that has happened?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Question: did the sheer fact that Antony was able to actually able to dump Nolasco shut down TD yesterday afternoon? Right after the news broke I wanted to get on the site but couldn't connect for like an hour or so. I imagined circuit boards and servers blowing up and a big party going on in the background.

Pretty much. We had the highest volume traffic in the history of the site yesterday.

[Craig Arko]

It looked like the database was being hit hard and fast. This is where Twitter is a useful fallback.

 

Did I mention Max is my new favorite Twin? Can't wait to see Sano and Buxton crank it up with him.

[troyhobbs]

So here's what the sporting news thought of the Nolasco trade:

 

The most mind-blowing trade of the day on Monday had to be Minnesota sending Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer to Anaheim for Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz. Never have chairs been shuffled so mightily across a 1,900-mile deck.

 

It’s a straight-up trade of one disappointing major league starter and one minor leaguer who’s too old to really be a prospect for each other. Why did this happen? Who even cares?

 

Clearly the national media is not drinking the kool-aid. Not a lot of Twins chatter going on outside of MN....

[jimmer]

 

So here's what the sporting news thought of the Nolasco trade:

 

The most mind-blowing trade of the day on Monday had to be Minnesota sending Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer to Anaheim for Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz. Never have chairs been shuffled so mightily across a 1,900-mile deck.

 

It’s a straight-up trade of one disappointing major league starter and one minor leaguer who’s too old to really be a prospect for each other. Why did this happen? Who even cares?

 

Clearly the national media is not drinking the kool-aid. Not a lot of Twins chatter going on outside of MN....

Dave Cameron called it the weirdest trade of the day (year). 

 

I'm fine with it because Nolasco is gone and because we won't need a GPS tracker to know where Meyer is at any given time ;-)

Edited August 2, 2016 by jimmer

[Mike Sixel]

It was a very good day........but Boshers? He of the 9 ERA since his callback? I am not yet a believer.....

[troyhobbs]

 

Dave Cameron called it the weirdest trade of the day (year). 

 

I'm fine with it because Nolasco is gone and because we won't need a GPS tracker to know where Meyer is at any given time ;-)

Lol, ya I actually thought it was a pretty decent trade but now I'm feeling a bit naive...

[alarp33]

 

Dave Cameron called it the weirdest trade of the day (year). 

 

I'm fine with it because Nolasco is gone and because we won't need a GPS tracker to know where Meyer is at any given time ;-)

 

I think "fine with it" is a good way to put it.  I'm shocked at the people bending over backwards to congratulate Antony.  

 

They are still paying the same amount of money next year and Santiago is no sure thing to be anything more than a #5 starter

[jimmer]

 

Lol, ya I actually thought it was a pretty decent trade but now I'm feeling a bit naive...

does it really matter?  Did we want to keep watching Nolasco?  I know I didn't.  So it's a trade I like.

Edited August 2, 2016 by jimmer

[DocBauer]

I think "fine with it" is a good way to put it.  I'm shocked at the people bending over backwards to congratulate Antony.  

 

They are still paying the same amount of money next year and Santiago is no sure thing to be anything more than a #5 starter

 

I don't think the money part matters straight up. The money was spent either way. But they did get a LH, younger starter that is probably a better pitcher. Financially, they can choose to keep him, flip him, or not ender him to save money in the long run if they wish.

[jimmer]

 

I don't think the money part matters straight up. The money was spent either way. But they did get a LH, younger starter that is probably a better pitcher. Financially, they can choose to keep him, flip him, or not ender him to save money in the long run if they wish.

yeah, you never know, he could end up being flipped in the offseason or trade deadline next year.  it's not like this guy has been horrible his whole career, just tends to walk a few more than we like around here :-)

[Halsey Hall]

Some think the trade was all about Meyer. The Angels gambled that he will have a future, where we pretty much had invested enough time to call it quits.

[alarp33]

 

I don't think the money part matters straight up. The money was spent either way. But they did get a LH, younger starter that is probably a better pitcher. Financially, they can choose to keep him, flip him, or not ender him to save money in the long run if they wish.

 

Right, they could've DFA'd Nolasco.  Essentially instead of choosing that option, they traded Meyer for Santiago.  

 

I'm far from sold on Meyer ever figuring it out, but its certainly possible, and this deal could be a big loss if he does.