Front Page: Twins Acquire RHP Sam Dyson from Giants

[Squirrel]

 

Just talked about this on the podcast, but I'll ask it here: did the Twins get the best reliever of anyone traded at the deadline? I think I'd put Dyson over Shane Greene, though it's debatable. But is there anyone else I'm missing?

This trade deadline was just weird.

[Squirrel]

 

I think it was an acceptable deadline. I’m not thrilled but it was acceptable.

Dyson is a cat dad ... so that notched it just above acceptable.

[SwainZag]

Overall it's an underwhelming deadline for the Twins. "Better than nothing," wasn't exactly the bar I was hoping to clear. The bullpen improved, but that needed to come from the top down, not the bottom up.

 

3 weeks ago a Romo + Dyson deadline wouldn't have been met with much fanfare. The near hysteria over potentially only acquiring Romo shouldn't mean any move the FO made todays pushes the deadline into acceptable territory.

None of the top bullpen guys moved. Vazquez, Diaz, Smith, Giles, Yates etc. Probably tells us they were at absolute premium price. Edited July 31, 2019 by SwainZag

[Brandon]

 

So optimistically: We play the Yankees in the ALDS. Berrios pitches us to two wins and we bash our way to a 3rd. The Indians take out the Astros somehow. We beat the Indians in the ALCS. We play someone other than the Dodgers in the WS.

 

Its gonna be a 1965 World Series rematch Dodgers vs Twins.  Count on it.  we even have the power lineup vs one of the best lefty pitchers of our generation.....

[ashbury]

I think I'd put Dyson over Shane Greene, though it's debatable.

Depends on your taste for control pitching versus power arms, I would think.

[Otto von Ballpark]

That Greinke contract is terrifying. I'm pretty happy we don't have to deal with that.

 

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/houston-astros/zack-greinke-407/

 

$32 million per year for the next two years.

 

Then he's a free agent, and someone pays him $12.5 million per year in deferred money until 2026.

Any deferred money he has already earned, including any deferred signing bonus, is still the responsibility of the team he earned it for, meaning Arizona.

 

He will only earn $76.5 mil over the next 2.5 years, including the trade bonus. And of course, Houston is only responsible for ~$53 mil of that now, per their trade agreement with Arizona.

[JD Green]

So, the first thing Rocco tells Dyson when he walks in the clubhouse is "suck it up, buttercup".

[Mike Sixel]

 

I hate to break it to you but when it comes to $50m+ being in play, Houston is going to have the advantage every time.

Then there’s the NTC to get around, which likely killed any chance of a deal before it could begin.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb, and suggest the Twins organization is the main reason the Twins organization is on so many players NTC. I could be wrong.....they could like the Twins, and just hate the Twin Cities so much more.

 

[prouster]

I'm just going to go ahead and call BS on this one, but it is great PR for them.

Well, he does have a no trade clause, and the Twins are one of the teams he could block a trade to. So...I guess life is more exciting when everyone is out to trick you.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Well, he does have a no trade clause, and the Twins are one of the teams he could block a trade to. So...I guess life is more exciting when everyone is out to trick you.

 

And why do you think he'd block coming to MN? He just hates MN that much, or maybe the Twins organization has something to do with it?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Due to deferments and other bonuses, there's much more than $75M owed to Greinke.

 

David Adler, MLB.com...

 

"Greinke is owed the prorated portion of his $21 million salary for 2019, as well as what’s left of the final two years of the deal, which comes out to $112.5 million (including deferred payments) when you also include two $3 million bonus payments he is still owed, as well as a $2 million trade bonus."

See my post above -- deferred money, including bonuses, is always the responsibility of the team he earned it for -- in this case, Arizona. Houston only has to worry about the 2019-2021 salaries and any deferred payments of those specific salaries, plus the small trade bonus, less the money Arizona is including in the trade.

[Aerodeliria]

I hope Dyson can clean up this bullpen situation.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I hope Dyson can clean up this bullpen situation.

 

good one!

[Mr. Brooks]

And why do you think he'd block coming to MN? He just hates MN that much, or maybe the Twins organization has something to do with it?

Regardless of the reason, if he wouldn't waive it, then we couldn't get him.

 

Who knows why any particular person wouldn't want to come here. It could be one of many different reasons. I'm not sure there is any evidence that it's for a reason that the FO could have prevented.

[SwainZag]

 

And why do you think he'd block coming to MN? He just hates MN that much, or maybe the Twins organization has something to do with it?

 

Because he's a weird dude? Who knows.  A guy who does it for a living reports he wouldn't waive the no-trade clause to come here.  You either believe him or yell conspiracy to anyone who will listen.  I'll go ahead and believe him.

[KirbyDome89]

 

None of the top bullpen guys moved. Vazquez, Diaz, Smith, Giles, Yates etc. Probably tells us they were at absolute premium price.

So maybe don't put all your eggs in the trade deadline basket then?

[prouster]

And why do you think he'd block coming to MN? He just hates MN that much, or maybe the Twins organization has something to do with it?

Because it was reported that he didn’t want to come here. The thing about conspiracy theorists is that they refuse to accept ordinary facts while uncritically accepting absurdities. Once someone has a narrative they think explains everything (e.g. everything we hear about player transactions indicates cheapness or inaction or whatever), then everything becomes evidence of that narrative.

 

The most plausible explanation is the ordinary one—that the twins asked about him and he didn’t want to come here.

[jud6312]

 

The Greinke deal looks really good for 2019 but one has to ask what this does to the Astros in 2020 and beyond.

 

Hard to see them keeping Cole, for example.

 

Maybe that was the mast plan all along: wait for Houston to overpay, swoop in during the offseason to snag Cole. Genius.

[arby58]

 

Underwhelming, but better than nothing. I suppose you can argue that with Houston getting Grienke, the Twins getting Minor or even Stroman might not have mattered.

I will take it - two proven veteran relievers. Right now, a starting pitcher is only going to have about 12 more starts in the regular season. I'll take a solid reliever who will get into at least twice that many games.  The Yankees seem to believe they can 'make it' with a starting pitching staff that averages 4 innings per game - I'd rather be the Twins getting more like 6.

[gagu]

 

Are you just talking the metro areas? Because the Twins draw fans from 3 other states (the dakotas and Iowa). The Astros have another MLB team down the road in the same state. I don’t think the size of the market has anything to do with it. They’ve just been a much better team and have marketable players (Verlander, Cole, Springer, Altuve, Correa, etc).

Dallas is just down the road in the Texas sense. About 220 miles. After that, KC is the next closest at 650 miles. Milwaukee is 300 miles from Target Field, with Chicago's two teams at a distance of just over 350 miles. That said, I agree with you that location isn't everything. Houston has done a great job of putting their team together.

[Otto von Ballpark]

https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1156679712464343040

I understand the no-trade is a roadblock, but it is one that I hope my FO can overcome. Just like luring free agents who may be apprehensive about coming here.

 

My pipe dream was if we could have sold him on Minnesota, we could have outbid the Astros and maybe Arizona doesn't even tell him about any Astros offer when he has to decide about us. Would have been interesting, anyway!

[Mike Sixel]

 

Because he's a weird dude? Who knows.  A guy who does it for a living reports he wouldn't waive the no-trade clause to come here.  You either believe him or yell conspiracy to anyone who will listen.  I'll go ahead and believe him.

 

I believe he wouldn't wave it......the question is, what's more likely, he doesn't want to play for the Twins, or he doesn't want to live in MN for 6ish months? I never said I didn't believe him, I asked if the Twins themselves might be the reason the Twins are on his NTC.

[drivlikejehu]

So now it's Falvine's fault for not building a time machine, making the Twins a dominant franchise years ago, and thereby convincing Greinke not to put the Twins on his no trade list?

 

I mean, dios mio man. Blaming the Twins for being on a no trade list is . . . really something. It's not unfair, it's farcical. No reasonable person should say such a thing.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Because it was reported that he didn’t want to come here. The thing about conspiracy theorists is that they refuse to accept ordinary facts while uncritically accepting absurdities. Once someone has a narrative they think explains everything (e.g. everything we hear about player transactions indicates cheapness or inaction or whatever), then everything becomes evidence of that narrative.

The most plausible explanation is the ordinary one—that the twins asked about him and he didn’t want to come here.

 

It's like people are not reading what I'm saying at all.....

[Mike Sixel]

 

So now it's Falvine's fault for not building a time machine, making the Twins a dominant franchise years ago, and thereby convincing Greinke not to put the Twins on his no trade list?

I mean, dios mio man. Blaming the Twins for being on a no trade list is . . . really something. It's not unfair, it's farcical. No reasonable person should say such a thing.

 

If you don't think it's the Twins fault the Twins are on his NTC, why do you think he doesn't want to come to MN? What's a more likely reason? 

[SwainZag]

 

If you don't think it's the Twins fault the Twins are on his NTC, why do you think he doesn't want to come to MN? What's a more likely reason? 

 

Boston and New York also on his NTC.  He probably has his reasons.  I will say it again, he's a weird dude, so who knows.

[SwainZag]

 

I believe he wouldn't wave it......the question is, what's more likely, he doesn't want to play for the Twins, or he doesn't want to live in MN for 6ish months? I never said I didn't believe him, I asked if the Twins themselves might be the reason the Twins are on his NTC.

My bad, it wasn't you who questioned Wolfson's report earlier.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Acceptable as in the back end is better now? Yes.

 

Acceptable as in they acquired at least one impact arm, or did enough to feel decent about the pen making a playoff push? No.

Were any impact arms even traded today?

 

Other than Greinke, of course. But he wasn’t coming here.

[ashbury]

Just a thought, but if a guy born and raised in Florida signs with Los Angeles the first time he has control over his own destiny, then signs with Phoenix the next time he has control over his own destiny, then accepts a trade to Houston but says he would not have accepted a trade to Minnesota or Boston or New York, one working theory is that he doesn't enjoy cold Aprils or Octobers. He can't control road games, but it might not be complicated!

[Mike Sixel]

Not many impact arms were traded, but that just shows, imo, how valuable (expensive) impact arms are.