And so the book closes on two moves:  Hicks for a fringy reliever and the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft for, well, nothing, as the pick was first traded (for nothing) and the player eventually selected was returned.

 

And posters want this front office to make MORE deals?

 

And so the book closes on two moves:  Hicks for a fringy reliever and the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft for, well, nothing, as the pick was first traded (for nothing) and the player eventually selected was returned.

 

And posters want this front office to make MORE deals?

 

they didn't trade Hicks away. The question was what to do with Murphy, and they turned a guy they didn't like into a lottery ticket RP. Good move.

 

I have no defense of the Haley moves.

 

And so the book closes on two moves:  Hicks for a fringy reliever and the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft for, well, nothing, as the pick was first traded (for nothing) and the player eventually selected was returned.

 

And posters want this front office to make MORE deals?

 

Huh? Hicks was traded by the regime who was fired. Falvey and Levine cleaned up that mess and got what they could... 

Have you checked out the 1st overall pick in the rule 5 draft's stats? 6.82 ERA and 6.35 FIP in 30 innings. The rule 5 draft is much ado about nothing these days. 

 

Still time for the Twins to activate Perkins and serve up another 3 run HR to Murphy when we play Arizona in August!

IALTO!

 

Is this sarcasm?

I don't think we will know for sure for another year or two (when Murphy makes his first all-star game appearance while Moya is serving up BP coming out of the Twins' bullpen.) (Yes, THAT was sarcasm.  I hope.) 

I like the thinking behind the trade. Moya may or may not work out, but I would prefer to trade most of our Triple A roster into possibilties instead of space filler.

 

On the Twins fielding calls note, how do they know? I'm sure most suspect they would be, but is somebody in the front office really talking about potential trades before anything concrete gets done?

 

I hope management gives us till thw 31rst before making any sekking trades. We play Oakland who may trade Gray before his next start against us and some other weak team after that. We should be back to .500 if not above after that. If we get swept in Oakland then all bets are off.

.500 may not cut it for contention anymore or even a shot at the wildcard. Of course, it makes the Twins a more viable thing to visit (i.e. ticket sales). That is the MAIN concern about the front office overall. Keeping the attendance momentum going past the State Fair. If I was the Twins, I would be thinking hard about making a HUGE splash at the Minnesota State Fair...dragging out former Twins, having appearances by current ones (especially if they are here on the disabled list for sure) doing a nice big screen with "great play" loops, promotional handouts showcasing the current crop of future Twins as well as guys of the future. Anything but the garage remainder sale of jerseys for folks who no longer play for the Twins. Be nice if they could jsut set up a nice dollar dog stand, but that raises other issues, I guess.

 

This year at AA Jackson, he is 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA in 34 outings. In 43.2 innings, he has issued just 12 walks and struck out 68 batters.

 

I know we shouldn't just scout stat lines, but ...

 

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Every time I look at the boxes, he is either a DH or in left field. Hard to get improvement defensively, it you don't catch.

 

He's started 51 games at catcher, 4 at first base, and 14 in left field. 

 

I hope management gives us till thw 31rst before making any sekking trades. We play Oakland who may trade Gray before his next start against us and some other weak team after that. We should be back to .500 if not above after that. If we get swept in Oakland then all bets are off.

 

 

To succeed in the post season the Twins do not need to beat Oakland.  They will need to beat the likes of the Astros, Red Sox and Dodgers.  And they have proven that they cannot win a series against those teams, neither at home nor on the road.

 

The Twins are 20-30 against opponents with winning record.  Even if they beat another horrible team this will not make them contenders.

 

 

Good trade.   From Rauch for Mulvey to Palka for Herrmann, I cannot remember a trade with the Diamondbacks that actually was not good for the Twins

 

Good trade.   From Rauch for Mulvey to Palka for Herrmann, I cannot remember a trade with the Diamondbacks that actually was not good for the Twins

 

Herrmann had a 1.5 WAR season last year and Palka will likely never have a meaningful mlb career. I wouldn't call that a "good" outcome for the Twins.

 

Herrmann had a 1.5 WAR season last year and Palka will likely never have a meaningful mlb career. I wouldn't call that a "good" outcome for the Twins.

 

I'm with you on that.

Chad Moeller for Hanley Frias was the other Twins - Arizona trade. I'd say that was neutral outcome for the Twins.

Encouraged that they must have some confidence in Garver's defense st catcher. I don't think they would move Murphy otherwise.

 

As they become sellers it would be nice to see Garver catch a few times a week in the majors.

I like it.

I'm not normally a fan of trading assets for relievers - even good ones.

But I also don't consider Murphy much of an asset.

How in the hell did they pull this off?

In chance you have not seen it, the Baseball America take on the trade is here.

From their description of Mora:

"The Diamondbacks signed Moya out of Venezuela in 2012. Five years later, he’s evolved into arguably the most dominant relief prospect in the minors. Moya is on an historic run, having not allowed an earned run since May 2 as Double-A Jackson’s closer. That’s a stretch of 24 appearances and 30.2 innings. The 6-foot, 175-pound lefthander does it with a deceptive low 90s fastball that looks like it pops out of his ear in his delivery and a plus-plus changeup regarded by many as the best in the Southern League this year. He also has a slider and curveball he can mix in to provide a different look, throws strikes and earns raves for his competitiveness. With deception, an out pitch, and a closer mentality, Moya is a perfect 17-for-17 in saves this year and has a chance to be in a big league bullpen shortly."

 

Herrmann had a 1.5 WAR season last year and Palka will likely never have a meaningful mlb career. I wouldn't call that a "good" outcome for the Twins.

 

Let's not selectively use stats. Tell the whole picture.

 

Chris Hermann has a -0.9 WAR this year and it's only 2/3 over. He's never had a positive WAR season other than last year (when his BABIP was 110 points higher than his career BABIP). My money is on his WAR with Arizona being negative cumulatively, likely by the end of this year. That would make the Twins the winner of the trade. Sometimes not playing a guy is winning.

Edited July 27, 20179 yr by ThejacKmp

1] The Twins have "won" many trades over the years. They've also been "neutral", meaning both teams turned out the same. They've also "lost" some trades. Guess what? So has everyone else.

 

2] For whatever reason, Murphy regressed tremendously with the Twins offensively, at both the ML and milb level. If Murphy finds himself in AZ, it still doesn't mean, unto itself, that trading a struggling hicks for a young catcher with a solid bat, at the time, was necessarily a mistake. See point #1.

 

I love this trade no matter what happens. Murphy didn't work here, no matter what he does in the future. So we trade someone who doesn't fit in here for a LHRP that has dynamite numbers, pitchability, at least one plus pitch, and has the potential to be at least a serviceable, solid bullpen piece going forward. There is nothing remotely wrong with this trade.

The fact that we got anything for Murphy is awesome.  A bag of new baseballs would have been a great get.

Let's not selectively use stats. Tell the whole picture.

 

Chris Hermann has a -0.9 WAR this year and it's only 2/3 over. He's never had a positive WAR season other than last year (when his BABIP was 110 points higher than his career BABIP). My money is on his WAR with Arizona being negative cumulatively, likely by the end of this year. That would make the Twins the winner of the trade. Sometimes not playing a guy is winning.

I think he meant it would be, at best, a neutral outcome for the Twins. They could have released him if they wanted. And pending Palka's fate, we could have perhaps used his roster spot better. Again, not saying we lost the trade, but we probably didn't "win" it either.

Edited July 28, 20179 yr by spycake

This is when JR goes on absolute tear and wins the NL Silver Slugger in 2018, right?

I wonder what AZ sees in Murphy--because the Twins only see "bust".

Just once, I want "intriguing" to mean they solve mysteries and ride a motorcycle

 

I wonder what AZ sees in Murphy--because the Twins only see "bust".

There's always a market for a AAAA C or CF.

At least this time they got someone who strikes out a lot of people, instead of simply getting someone who strikes out a lot.

The trade of reference isn't Hermann, it's Butera, for Miguel Sulbaran, who looked pretty intriguing as a 19 year old throwing a 3.0 ERA in A ball. That actually ended up badly.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/yankees-miguel-sulbaran-suspended-for-25-games/

 

However, like the idea of the trade anyway. Moya isn't Sulbaran, and who knows? Elite changeup is a real weapon.

I wonder what AZ sees in Murphy--because the Twins only see "bust".

Where you play also makes a difference. Much easier to hit in Ari. Much easier to get away with a mistake changeup at Target field.

I view the trade as a first step in culling the herd.  Falvey and Levine have reviewed both major and minor leagues and are beginning to ship out non-performers and, in this case, acquire a prospect.  Good first move.  Falvey calls it "fluid situation".  IMHO:  tap should be pretty open.