Article: Twins Sign Closer Rodney To One-Year Deal

[Kwak]

This doesn't move the needle for 2018--just plugs the Kintzler  hole with an older pitcher. If the plan is for Rodney to begin as the closer then audition younger RPs to replace Rodney, then great! Twins can trade Rodney to acquire someone with more long-term value. As rosters stand today--the Twins aren't in the playoffs, they will need to make one of two significant upgrades from last season.

[lukeduke1980]

 

It's almost as bad/annoying as that dumb parrot of Edwin Encarnacion's!

Is that what that is supposed to be?

 

This signing's okay, at least he won't be pitching against us - he seems to befuddle some of our younger guys.  Like most - hopefully this isn't all we do there's plenty of offseason left

[Thrylos]

 

 

 

, I've seen this signing called low risk, and I agree that it is. If Rodney implodes at 41 years old the $6M owed isn't going to sink the Twins.

 

I beg to differ.  If Rodney implodes, the same way that Perkins imploded the second half of 2015, and has the same leash, it will cost the Twins potentially the post-season, like Perkins did back then.

 

Crappy relievers cost ballgames.  That's the risk here.  Not the $.  Allegedly the Twins are competing. 

[jimmer]

Old guy (Rodney) and reclamation project (Pineda). The inexpensive bottom of barrel types. The low risk,medium reward bin we love to shop in.

[ThejacKmp]

 

Yankees add Stanton, Angels add Ohtani/Kinsler, and Twins add Rodney. So far this off-season Minnesota has fallen way behind our closest competition in the standings.

 

To be fair, outside of signing a Darvish or trading for an ace pitcher, the Twins were never going to be big players in free agency. Their success next year will be dependent on

 

(1.) Young players like Buxton, Rosario and Polanco building on last year

(2.) Guys like Sano, Vargas and Kepler taking a step forward

(3.) Dozier and Mauer replicating last year

(4.) The long-awaited power pen wave cresting in the MLB pen

(5.) At least one AAA starter giving the club a boost in late May/early June.

If the Twins find an ace pitcher, great. Otherwise, tweaking out over falling behind in free agency is pretty pointless. The most important pieces for the Twins next year are already on the team and just need to perform. These are all piddly moves not worth this kind of epic winter grousing.

 

[KirbyDome89]

 

I beg to differ.  If Rodney implodes, the same way that Perkins imploded the second half of 2015, and has the same leash, it will cost the Twins potentially the post-season, like Perkins did back then.

 

Crappy relievers cost ballgames.  That's the risk here.  Not the $.  Allegedly the Twins are competing. 

"Not the $."

 

Exactly, I'm talking about the financial impact, not how long his leash is.

[nicksaviking]

 

No, they signed old players last year, to flyers, and also relied on teh guys they had, plus they added a bad rule V pick. This is deja vu.

 

Right but one aspect does not necessitate the other. 

 

I don't care for Rodney or similar signings; if this team is going to get bullpen pieces I'd like to see players of a higher caliber. However I am eager and excited to see more of Hildenberger, Busenitz, Moya, Rogers, Curtis, Reed, Chargois and company. And unlike every year that preceded this one, we already know most will be in the pen seeing as that's where most ended the season.

[VATwinsFan]

Now go sign Hector Rendon as the set up guy.

[drjim]

 

I also remember many saying signing old, not good, players, and relying on the guys they had wouldn't fix the bullpen, and it didn't. People love to point out how not signing FAs is great, but rarely look at how well relying only on internal options works, or doesn't.

 

Rodney was good last year, has been good most of the last 8 years. He's a step up from the usual dumpster dives of the last decade.

 

I don't mind 1 year deals on relievers with track records. There has to be a mix of deals like this, internal, maybe a trade, some minor league deals, maybe a injury bounce back contract.

 

It is interesting with relievers, basically every way to acquire them is a terrible bet. We'll lament the 8-10 guys we passed on and then look back halfway through 2019 and almost all of them will be injured or terrible.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Rodney was good last year, has been good most of the last 8 years. He's a step up from the usual dumpster dives of the last decade.

 

I don't mind 1 year deals on relievers with track records. There has to be a mix of deals like this, internal, maybe a trade, some minor league deals, maybe a injury bounce back contract.

 

It is interesting with relievers, basically every way to acquire them is a terrible bet. We'll lament the 8-10 guys we passed on and then look back halfway through 2019 and almost all of them will be injured or terrible.

 

just like the minor leaguers... most will be injured or bad. See last year.

 

I like some of the internal guys, I was calling for them to be promoted faster, or moved to RP faster, than Ryan or this FO did. But, I don't see a lot of needle movers. Maybe Jay, but counting on him to be healthy seems like a pretty risky bet.

[drjim]

 

Now go sign Hector Rendon as the set up guy.

 

Would be a very solid move for them.

 

One way or another, they need another established reliever.

[drjim]

 

just like the minor leaguers... most will be injured or bad. See last year.

 

I like some of the internal guys, I was calling for them to be promoted faster, or moved to RP faster, than Ryan or this FO did. But, I don't see a lot of needle movers. Maybe Jay, but counting on him to be healthy seems like a pretty risky bet.

 

This is true. I don't really have a good response for upgrading the pen other than throwing numbers at it.

[gocgo]

Hmmm.  Big Sexy out...can you hear the drums Fernando?  In.

 

Just curious.  When Target field was built, was there a nursing home constructed somewhere in the bowels of the stadium?

[ThejacKmp]

 

As rosters stand today--the Twins aren't in the playoffs, they will need to make one of two significant upgrades from last season.

 

Ridiculous. As rosters stood last year at this time, the Twins were in last place. Ditto once the season started. How did that turn out? Luckily, this isn't strat-o-matic baseball. The games still have to be played. SO much armchair quarterbacking.

 

If the Twins trot out the exact same roster they did last year they'll have a good chance to make the playoffs. They have a young and deep lineup with lots of tantalizing upside and some fun late-season bats lurking in the mid-minors. The pen is young and unproven but bullpen performance is pretty variable and the arms have a lot of pop. The rotation isn't a strength but they have a depth of arms (Santana, Berrios, Mejia, Gibson, Slegers, Romero, Jorge, Gonsalves, Littel, May, Hughes) with enough upside to provide average starting pitching -- which very well could be enough for a powerful lineup.  

 

It's okay to want certain moves to be made but let's not write off the season before it's even begun.

[DaveW]

Will be nice when the Twins sign a good player for once.

 

Rodney can’t be trusted to be a closer. I have PTSD from his time as Mariners closer

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

To get an idea of Rodney's market value, I looked at Kintzler's contract, and Kintzler signed for twice as much, twice as long, to carry a lighter load.

[Han Joelo]

Rodney + Pineda for $16 Million, or Steve Cishek?

 

Maybe it's not the "progressive" move we hoped or expected from this FO, but having a cheap bullpen of up-and-comers and reclamation projects, backed by a "proven" closer is the best strategy for the Twins at this time.

 

In my mind, the alternative is throwing  $30-$40 million at your bullpen--2 or 3 of these $6 million dollar guys and an elite ultra-fireman like Miller.  Otherwise you have a weird balance chemistry wise.

[howieramone2]

 

Will be nice when the Twins sign a good player for once.

Rodney can’t be trusted to be a closer. I have PTSD from his time as Mariners closer

Santana and Castro give you two.

[nicksaviking]

 

just like the minor leaguers... most will be injured or bad. See last year.

 

I like some of the internal guys, I was calling for them to be promoted faster, or moved to RP faster, than Ryan or this FO did. But, I don't see a lot of needle movers. Maybe Jay, but counting on him to be healthy seems like a pretty risky bet.

 

I think it's rare that a young reliever is a needle mover coming up through the system though. It seems to be the position where they're not exciting until actually do something on the big stage to make the fans take notice.

[Pardon My Dinger]

I've always liked Rodney...from a safe distance. 

[nicksaviking]

 

Rodney + Pineda for $16 Million, or Steve Cishek?

 

 

I actually would have liked Cishek in a vacuum, but that rumor didn't make sense to me. I always figured that half of the effectiveness of side-armed relievers was that they forced the batter into a new perspective from their previous at bat. Perhaps I'm wrong but adding Cishek or Neshak seems like it might negate some of Hildenberger's effectiveness or vice versa. At the very least you wouldn't want to use them to face the same batters in the same game would you?

[jud6312]

 

Ridiculous. As rosters stood last year at this time, the Twins were in last place. Ditto once the season started. How did that turn out? Luckily, this isn't strat-o-matic baseball. The games still have to be played. SO much armchair quarterbacking.

 

If the Twins trot out the exact same roster they did last year they'll have a good chance to make the playoffs. They have a young and deep lineup with lots of tantalizing upside and some fun late-season bats lurking in the mid-minors. The pen is young and unproven but bullpen performance is pretty variable. The rotation isn't a strength but they have a depth of arms (Santana, Berrios, Mejia, Gibson, Slegers, Romero, Jorge, Gonsalves, Littel, May, Hughes) with enough upside to provide average starting pitching -- which very well could be enough for a powerful lineup.  

 

It's okay to want certain moves to be made but let's not write off the season before it's even begun.

It's more about what the other "good" teams in the AL are doing to improve their rosters than it is about what the Twins are or aren't doing.

 

On paper, the Yankees got better, the Angels got better, Houston is still good, Cleveland's still good, and Boston is bound to make a counter move to Stanton ... the Twins got a soon-to-be 41-year-old who's been average the last two seasons and was pummeled the last time he was in the AL.

 

The Wonder twins better start activating their powers pretty soon.

[wabene]

I actually would have liked Cishek in a vacuum, but that rumor didn't make sense to me. I always figured that half of the effectiveness of side-armed relievers was that they forced the batter into a new perspective from their previous at bat. Perhaps I'm wrong but adding Cishek or Neshak seems like it might negate some of Hildenberger's effectiveness or vice versa. At the very least you wouldn't want to use them to face the same batters in the same game would you?

I'm on board with this. One side winder is enough. Especially when you have to follow with a cap askew

[jud6312]

 

I've always liked Rodney...from a safe distance. 

Arizona was close enough for my liking.

[gil4]

 

"next year"

I liked it better back when that was the Red Sox' motto/war cry.

[Danchat]

Yeah.... this is an OK signing. I wouldn't want Rodney to close games as his walk rate is infuriating and he has a tendency to blow saves frequently. His FIP (3.03) and WHIP (1.19) were very good last year, and he still got Ks (10.6 per 9) even at age 40. He just seems to have wild streaks of incredible dominance (San Diego 2016 - 0.31 ERA & 0.87 WHIP) and incredible ineptitude (Miami 2016: 5.89 ERA, 1.8 WHIP, 6.1 BB/9).

 

I'm fine with giving him $4.5M for one season, but I'd like one more reliever. I think they're going to do it - I'm not going to fall into this "Falvey and Levine are Terry Ryan 2.0!" mentality. Sure, the offseason hasn't been full of splashy moves thus far for the Twins, but this isn't going to be the final signing.

[bluechipper]

I'd rather have 6 years of Burdi than 1 of Rodney

Good luck with Burdi even pitching 6 years in the majors.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Good luck with Burdi even pitching 6 years in the majors.

 

How about two or three?

[h2oface]

Yup.Crushing it. NOT!

I absolutely hate this.

First, I have to watch Colon.

Now I have to watch Rodney.

Absolutely hate it.

And bye bye Burdi.

Damn.

Edited December 14, 2017 by h2oface

[Battle ur tail off]

This is a meh type move for me. As usual, the Twins dabble in the mid-ranges of Free Agency. My opinion is that if you aren't going to sign true impact FAs, then fill in within your system. I'm of the belief that one stud = 3 marginal types. Not sure why the Twins have never tried this approach. Buy the best available player out there in your position of need, then fill in the other holes from within your organization. A guy like Rodney likely just gets in the way of someone younger than he and costs games in the process. 

 

Not sure if anyone remembers the guy, but he is a walk machine and can and will implode at a moments notice. Not impressed.

 

Do we think they are saving money for that big name starter? Possibly, but the track record of the Pohlad's says hell no.