Article: Thrift Shop: 3 Sneaky Finds by the Front Office

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

So are you saying that the Giants were able to take a bubble candidate from the Twins and within a year turn him into a viable major league starting pitcher and the Twins couldn't do that (yet) with their top prospects?

The Giants must have seen something in him beyond numbers to stick him directly into AAA.

that, and they didn't have much competition for him... The Twins probably would have put him in AAA had he resigned, but he was smart enough to know that he would be behind Slegers, Gonsalves, Littell, Mejia, and Romero (and based on his results, he should have been). He wasn't bad in AA, he just wasn't lights out either. My point though is that the Giants didn't give him a 40 man spot either. I really don't fault the Twins for anything there, and he was one of my personal favorites. 

 

Also, Rodriguez spent his first 3 years in MN as a CF. It wasn't hard to see the potential here, but there's only so many 40 man spots. 

[howieramone2]

 

The Twins payroll was 128 or so this year. The Twins would have to be at 135M to spend that extra Hughes money. If they don't go that high, all it did was save the Pohlad's money (or hopefully gives them money flexibility at next years trade deadline). They've also said they don't bank money (what's saved this year isn't put towards next years available money).

I think the Twins may end up short of last years attendance levels by about 70K, so revenue will probably be slightly down. And who knows if the Pohlad's will keep allowing them to spend like this. They should but you never know.

I think people have said that they'd have to spend something like at least 50 million to even use that extra Hughes money. So they'd have to sign at least one of Harper, Machado or Kershaw. I don't see it happening but it would be great.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I had drinks with Jim Pohlad the other day after work. He told me they will use the 7.25M in free agency or donate it to Save the Whales.

[Tomj14]

 

that, and they didn't have much competition for him... The Twins probably would have put him in AAA had he resigned, but he was smart enough to know that he would be behind Slegers, Gonsalves, Littell, Mejia, and Romero (and based on his results, he should have been). He wasn't bad in AA, he just wasn't lights out either. My point though is that the Giants didn't give him a 40 man spot either. I really don't fault the Twins for anything there, and he was one of my personal favorites. 

 

Also, Rodriguez spent his first 3 years in MN as a CF. It wasn't hard to see the potential here, but there's only so many 40 man spots. 

I agree with all that (except the starting in AAA), it is just hard to understand converting him to a pitcher and then letting him go before he has a real chance to take off. I also understand after the Twins didn't put him on the 40 he got to pick the best spot for him, and I give him all the credit for picking the Giants .

Just another side effect of trying to compete for the division title this year and Sano, Buxton and others crapping the bed because if the Twins were still in the race we won't be talking about losing what looks like a pretty good pitcher.

[jkcarew]

 

I am against high K guys so Austin will never be among my favorites.  Cave is definitely the best of the lot and if he moved Grossman on I will be pleased.

Cave's K% is 31%.  Grossman's is 22%.  Just saying.

[jkcarew]

I hope the FO does't fall in love with any of these guys.  Austin is intriguing, but with his K-rate, he's right on the edge of Chris Carter'ing himself out of baseball.  Cave strikes out a ton for a guy that figures to have middling power...and he's left-handed.  I don't even pretend to know what Drake is at this point.  These guys were better solutions that we were deploying...but are they going to move the needle for a contending team?  Maybe.

 

Likewise, the losses of guys like D. Rodriguez, R Rosario, and Chargois are not particularly offensive, IMO.  There were legitimate reasons for choosing not to carry these guys.

 

I'd put all of the above in the category of normal season-to-season roster shuffling noise IMO.  You always win a few and lose a few.

[Riverbrian]

 

Remove Jake Cave, add Zach Granite and you could've wrote the same post last July. 

 

It's nice that the Twins have found what looks like a usable piece. But it's not "hate" to acknowledge the extremely small sample size and luck driven factors.  

 

Those pointing out sample size caution are spot on in my opinion. 

 

On the other hand... those who are already labeling them as AAAA or replaceable are disappointing to me personally. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

I hope the FO does't fall in love with any of these guys.  Austin is intriguing, but with his K-rate, he's right on the edge of Chris Carter'ing himself out of baseball.  Cave strikes out a ton for a guy that figures to have middling power...and he's left-handed.  I don't even pretend to know what Drake is at this point.  These guys were better solutions that we were deploying...but are they going to move the needle for a contending team?  Maybe.

 

Likewise, the losses of guys like D. Rodriguez, R Rosario, and Chargois are not particularly offensive, IMO.  There were legitimate reasons for choosing not to carry these guys.

 

I'd put all of the above in the category of normal season-to-season roster shuffling noise IMO.  You always win a few and lose a few.

 

wow, that opinion of Austin doesn't jibe with the numbers this year at all....he's outhitting everyone on the Twins not named Logan or Eddie (and that's season stats, not just MN). Will he hit like this in a full year? Who knows.....but he's not close to Chris Carter right now.

[ken]

 

I don't see how anyone can complain about the Twins losing Rodriguez, he was on absolutely nobody's radar. He has pitched better in a small sample size in SF than in any level in the minor leagues.

 

Wasn't identifying pitcher one of the big selling points of this front office? When you look at who they have picked up in the rule 5 draft and waiver compared to who they have lost through waivers, it's not very impressive.

[jkcarew]

wow, that opinion of Austin doesn't jibe with the numbers this year at all....he's outhitting everyone on the Twins not named Logan or Eddie (and that's season stats, not just MN). Will he hit like this in a full year? Who knows.....but he's not close to Chris Carter right now.

His overall K % in 2018 is almost 40...no? Probably worse against RH pitching? SSS...agree he’s looked better than that with the Twins. A solid “we’ll see”...more intriguing than the options we were deploying...who warrants a good long chance because when he hits it, it lands on the other side of the fense.

[yarnivek1972]

The Twins payroll was 128 or so this year. The Twins would have to be at 135M to spend that extra Hughes money. If they don't go that high, all it did was save the Pohlad's money (or hopefully gives them money flexibility at next years trade deadline). They've also said they don't bank money (what's saved this year isn't put towards next years available money).

 

I think the Twins may end up short of last years attendance levels by about 70K, so revenue will probably be slightly down. And who knows if the Pohlad's will keep allowing them to spend like this. They should but you never know.

 

I think people have said that they'd have to spend something like at least 50 million to even use that extra Hughes money. So they'd have to sign at least one of Harper, Machado or Kershaw. I don't see it happening but it would be great.

According to b-ref, attendance is down more than 1000 per game. That doesn’t factor in the two home games in Puerto Rico, from which the revenue was donated. And I would expect the per game averages to get worse as the team was in the race last year. I expect attendance to be off more than 100 K when the PR games are factored in.

[mikelink45]

 

Cave's K% is 31%.  Grossman's is 22%.  Just saying.

Neither would make my ultimate roster, but then baseball is not what I thought it was. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

So what you're saying is, Falvey's bullpen has performed better in both of his seasons than the one he inherited. OK.

Ever hear of regression to the mean? 2016 was so bad, it was very likely to improve regardless of who was in charge. And of course, whatever improvement there has been consists largely of players they inherited too.

 

Again, not saying they've failed or anything, but they haven't moved the needle much in the MLB pen yet. I'm open to discuss it if you want, but I'd rather not suffer any more of these "zingers" please.