Rumor: Twins Showing Interest in OF Mitch Haniger

[Vanimal46]

Mitch Haniger, formerly of the Seattle Mariners, is one of the better OF free agents available this offseason. The 31-year-old possesses a career 123 OPS+ and bats right-handed, traits that are desperately needed in the Twins outfield arrangement. The Twins currently have five corner outfielders, all of which bat left-handed.

 

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[old nurse]

Angel, Dodgers, Texas, Atlanta, Giants all have been linked to Hanniger

[Doctor Gast]

Indeed there is a very robust market for Hanniger. A few might need him more  than us.

[DocBauer]

There are a number of RH OF options the Twins could be looking to add, some of them already discussed in previous articles from Renfroe to McCutchen, and none of them break the bank while providing much needed offense against LHP.

The Twins should absolutely be in on Haniger. I don't know anything about anything when it comes to MLB financial numbers. On the one hand, a healthy Haniger has put up near All Star numbers. On the other hand, he does, unfortunately, have an injury history, will be 32yo in 2023, and is coming off his highest earnings season at only $7.75M. 

I'm not surprised he has a lot of interest. He should. But I have a hard time believing he's really looking at something like $14M per, as I've read here and there. If I could grab him for $10M per for 2 years with a possible option year, I would have signed him yesterday. And if his market is truly robust, $12M wouldn't be silly at all. But if it's more than that, I have to start thinking about looking elsewhere.

His value to the Twins...and his $ value...changes if Kepler is moved, as many suspect. 

[dxpavelka]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

There are a number of RH OF options the Twins could be looking to add, some of them already discussed in previous articles from Renfroe to McCutchen, and none of them break the bank while providing much needed offense against LHP.

The Twins should absolutely be in on Haniger. I don't know anything about anything when it comes to MLB financial numbers. On the one hand, a healthy Haniger has put up near All Star numbers. On the other hand, he does, unfortunately, have an injury history, will be 32yo in 2023, and is coming off his highest earnings season at only $7.75M. 

I'm not surprised he has a lot of interest. He should. But I have a hard time believing he's really looking at something like $14M per, as I've read here and there. If I could grab him for $10M per for 2 years with a possible option year, I would have signed him yesterday. And if his market is truly robust, $12M wouldn't be silly at all. But if it's more than that, I have to start thinking about looking elsewhere.

His value to the Twins...and his $ value...changes if Kepler is moved, as many suspect. 

Moving Kepler and bringing in Haniger would be taking a step back both offensively and defensively just to get more right handed? 

 

[Riverbrian]

6 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Moving Kepler and bringing in Haniger would be taking a step back both offensively and defensively just to get more right handed? 

 

I have spent way too much time attacking Kepler and I've been telling myself that I should back off. He's a human being and I don't like being that guy. 

Yet... you say taking a step back offensively? 

Well... It's obvious now. I have indeed spent way too much time attacking Kepler because if this is the Kepler perception... there is no point in my continuing because... well... the journey is just too long it seems. 

So here are the actual stats copied and pasted from B-Ref. 

Kepler

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
8 Yrs				837	3361	2955	439	686	162	13	129	400	33	15	345	603	.232	.317	.427	.744	101	1261	30	35	2	24	11
162 Game Avg.				162	651	572	85	133	31	3	25	77	6	3	67	117	.232	.317	.427	.744	101	244	6
2015	22	MIN	AL	3	7	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.143	.143	.143	.286	-21	1	0	0	0	0	0	/H9
2016	23	MIN	AL	113	447	396	52	93	20	2	17	63	6	2	42	93	.235	.309	.424	.734	96	168	2	3	1	5	3	*9/8H3
2017	24	MIN	AL	147	568	511	67	124	32	2	19	69	6	1	47	114	.243	.312	.425	.737	95	217	5	6	1	3	2	*98H/D
2018	25	MIN	AL	156	611	532	80	119	30	4	20	58	4	5	71	96	.224	.319	.408	.727	97	217	8	5	0	3	2	*98H/D3
2019	26	MIN	AL	134	596	524	98	132	32	0	36	90	1	5	60	99	.252	.336	.519	.855	123	272	5	8	0	4	0	*98/HD	MVP-20
2020	27	MIN	AL	48	196	171	27	39	9	0	9	23	3	0	22	36	.228	.321	.439	.760	109	75	1	2	0	1	0	*9/8HD
2021	28	MIN	AL	121	490	426	61	90	21	4	19	54	10	0	54	96	.211	.306	.413	.719	98	176	2	6	0	4	3	*98/HD
2022	29	MIN	AL	115	446	388	54	88	18	1	9	43	3	2	49	66	.227	.318	.348	.666	93	135	7	5	0	4	1	*9/H8D

Haniger

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
6 Yrs				564	2437	2164	344	565	109	10	112	323	18	6	217	583	.261	.335	.476	.811	123	1030	42	35	1	20	10
162 Game Avg.				162	700	622	99	162	31	3	32	93	5	2	62	167	.261	.335	.476	.811	123	296	12	10	0	6	3
SEA (5 yrs)				530	2314	2055	335	540	107	9	107	306	18	6	205	556	.263	.337	.480	.817	126	986	39	34	1	19	8
ARI (1 yr)				34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2
AL (5 yrs)				530	2314	2055	335	540	107	9	107	306	18	6	205	556	.263	.337	.480	.817	126	986	39	34	1	19	8
NL (1 yr)				34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2
2016	25	ARI	NL	34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2	8/7H9
2017	26	SEA	AL	96	410	369	58	104	25	2	16	47	5	4	31	93	.282	.352	.491	.843	127	181	9	9	1	0	0	9/87H
2018	27	SEA	AL	157	683	596	90	170	38	4	26	93	8	2	70	148	.285	.366	.493	.859	139	294	8	10	0	7	4	*98/7D	AS,MVP-11
2019	28	SEA	AL	63	283	246	46	54	13	1	15	32	4	0	30	81	.220	.314	.463	.778	108	114	3	5	0	2	1	98/DH
2021	30	SEA	AL	157	691	620	110	157	23	2	39	100	1	0	54	169	.253	.318	.485	.804	122	301	12	9	0	8	2	*9D	MVP-20
2022	31	SEA	AL	57	247	224	31	55	8	0	11	34	0	0	20	65	.246	.308	.429	.736	114	96	7	1	0	2	1	9D

[Riverbrian]

If you look at the current Twins Roster. Kyle Garlick who isn't allowed to face Right Handed Pitching is ranked second in Slugging Percentage. Third place belongs to Nick Gordon.

Let me repeat that condescendingly.

2nd place belongs to a guy who isn't allowed to face RH pitching and third place belongs to Nick Gordon. Typical hitting positions like 1B and RF are currently projected to be handled by players (Arraez and Kepler) who did not reach DOUBLE DIGITS in home runs despite over 400 AB's for both.

But... whatever... Let me repeat.

Kyle Garlick who isn't allowed to face RH pitching is in 2nd place and Nick Gordon is currently ranked third in 2022 slugging. 

We need a couple of bats who can piss pound that baseball. This is as obvious as a Naked Person walking into a supermarket.  

Ranked by 2022 Slugging Percentage

Buxton .526

Garlick .433

Gordon .427

Miranda .426

Arraez .420

Larnach .406

Polanco .405

Farmer .386

Kirilloff .361

Jeffers .360

Kepler .348

Celestino .302

[jorgenswest]

He would help when healthy. Is the back injury still a concern? He missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 with that injury. He didn’t go on IL last September but missed a week with back trouble in September. He did return to finish the season. The injury that knocked him out for over three months in 2022 was a high ankle sprain. Back and ankle injuries can return.

If they sign him to a three year contract they should expect that he will miss significant time in two of those seasons and build a roster to account for his injury history. They probably still need someone like Kepler in reserve.

[baul0010]

I think I would have rather traded for Hunter Renfroe.  If you look at the 3 pitchers Milwaukee got as a return, it was almost as good as a literal bucket of balls.  He'd be on a 1 year arb deal that should be much cheaper than what Haniger will receive.  I think some metrics have Renfroe as at least a league average defender.  

[mnfireman]

 

13 minutes ago, baul0010 said:

I think I would have rather traded for Hunter Renfroe.   

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/11/angels-acquire-hunter-renfroe-from-brewers.html

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I'm not too interested in any OF signing or trade, unless it is Aaron Judge. 

[nicksaviking]

Corner OF is near the bottom of my offseason wish list.

[FrankQuilicy]

VI think Haniger would be great! The problem is he really hasn't played much left field in his career. assuming we wanna go into the year with Kep in right and Buxton in center well now what? Haniger won't come here to be a bench player, nor should he. Kepler could prolly be an above average defender even in left field. None of it matters if we don't get Correa back.

[FrankQuilicy]

Just sayin

[Riverbrian]

4 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

He would help when healthy. Is the back injury still a concern? He missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 with that injury. He didn’t go on IL last September but missed a week with back trouble in September. He did return to finish the season. The injury that knocked him out for over three months in 2022 was a high ankle sprain. Back and ankle injuries can return.

If they sign him to a three year contract they should expect that he will miss significant time in two of those seasons and build a roster to account for his injury history. They probably still need someone like Kepler in reserve.

Agreed. As hard as I've been on Kepler. I think the thing to do is roster him since you are paying the 8 million anyway and see if Kepler can improve and help the team out. We will need that Buxton replacement. 

However... what you don't do is say we have Kepler so we don't need anybody else. 

In the case of Haniger being that guy. Health is exactly why you don't do it. Everything else is why you absolutely do it. 

If the club can build sufficient depth. If Larnach and Kirilloff and Gordon and Kepler can show they can help us win games. A Haniger injury won't matter as much and if Hanger is healthy... that would be awesome to have Haniger, Larnach, Kirilloff, Gordon and Kepler all getting it done. 

I like Haniger but I'm ok with anyone they bring in... As long as that guy that is a top of the order bat.

And in bring in another one along with Haniger, Correa or Drury or anyone that will OPS over .750 for the top of the order. The team will look a lot better if Gordon or Miranda is hitting 5 or 6 of 7 in the order. 

It's the off-season... Load up

[cHawk]

Haniger would be a solid addition, no doubt. 

[puckstopper1]

4 hours ago, baul0010 said:

I think I would have rather traded for Hunter Renfroe.  If you look at the 3 pitchers Milwaukee got as a return, it was almost as good as a literal bucket of balls.  He'd be on a 1 year arb deal that should be much cheaper than what Haniger will receive.  I think some metrics have Renfroe as at least a league average defender.  

Very surprised the Brewers did not get more for Renfroe as I felt they were in a position of selling high.  This is confirmed by the interest in Haniger.  Maybe one of the pitchers the Brewers received pans out, but initially it looks like the Angels did well in this trade.

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I have spent way too much time attacking Kepler and I've been telling myself that I should back off. He's a human being and I don't like being that guy. 

Yet... you say taking a step back offensively? 

Well... It's obvious now. I have indeed spent way too much time attacking Kepler because if this is the Kepler perception... there is no point in my continuing because... well... the journey is just too long it seems. 

So here are the actual stats copied and pasted from B-Ref. 

Kepler

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
8 Yrs				837	3361	2955	439	686	162	13	129	400	33	15	345	603	.232	.317	.427	.744	101	1261	30	35	2	24	11
162 Game Avg.				162	651	572	85	133	31	3	25	77	6	3	67	117	.232	.317	.427	.744	101	244	6
2015	22	MIN	AL	3	7	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.143	.143	.143	.286	-21	1	0	0	0	0	0	/H9
2016	23	MIN	AL	113	447	396	52	93	20	2	17	63	6	2	42	93	.235	.309	.424	.734	96	168	2	3	1	5	3	*9/8H3
2017	24	MIN	AL	147	568	511	67	124	32	2	19	69	6	1	47	114	.243	.312	.425	.737	95	217	5	6	1	3	2	*98H/D
2018	25	MIN	AL	156	611	532	80	119	30	4	20	58	4	5	71	96	.224	.319	.408	.727	97	217	8	5	0	3	2	*98H/D3
2019	26	MIN	AL	134	596	524	98	132	32	0	36	90	1	5	60	99	.252	.336	.519	.855	123	272	5	8	0	4	0	*98/HD	MVP-20
2020	27	MIN	AL	48	196	171	27	39	9	0	9	23	3	0	22	36	.228	.321	.439	.760	109	75	1	2	0	1	0	*9/8HD
2021	28	MIN	AL	121	490	426	61	90	21	4	19	54	10	0	54	96	.211	.306	.413	.719	98	176	2	6	0	4	3	*98/HD
2022	29	MIN	AL	115	446	388	54	88	18	1	9	43	3	2	49	66	.227	.318	.348	.666	93	135	7	5	0	4	1	*9/H8D

Haniger

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
6 Yrs				564	2437	2164	344	565	109	10	112	323	18	6	217	583	.261	.335	.476	.811	123	1030	42	35	1	20	10
162 Game Avg.				162	700	622	99	162	31	3	32	93	5	2	62	167	.261	.335	.476	.811	123	296	12	10	0	6	3
SEA (5 yrs)				530	2314	2055	335	540	107	9	107	306	18	6	205	556	.263	.337	.480	.817	126	986	39	34	1	19	8
ARI (1 yr)				34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2
AL (5 yrs)				530	2314	2055	335	540	107	9	107	306	18	6	205	556	.263	.337	.480	.817	126	986	39	34	1	19	8
NL (1 yr)				34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2
2016	25	ARI	NL	34	123	109	9	25	2	1	5	17	0	0	12	27	.229	.309	.404	.713	83	44	3	1	0	1	2	8/7H9
2017	26	SEA	AL	96	410	369	58	104	25	2	16	47	5	4	31	93	.282	.352	.491	.843	127	181	9	9	1	0	0	9/87H
2018	27	SEA	AL	157	683	596	90	170	38	4	26	93	8	2	70	148	.285	.366	.493	.859	139	294	8	10	0	7	4	*98/7D	AS,MVP-11
2019	28	SEA	AL	63	283	246	46	54	13	1	15	32	4	0	30	81	.220	.314	.463	.778	108	114	3	5	0	2	1	98/DH
2021	30	SEA	AL	157	691	620	110	157	23	2	39	100	1	0	54	169	.253	.318	.485	.804	122	301	12	9	0	8	2	*9D	MVP-20
2022	31	SEA	AL	57	247	224	31	55	8	0	11	34	0	0	20	65	.246	.308	.429	.736	114	96	7	1	0	2	1	9D

And yet the Ms feel they can do better..

[Riverbrian]

7 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

And yet the Ms feel they can do better..

After 6 years of service. Players are eligible for free agency. It says so in the CBA. 

 

[dxpavelka]

17 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

After 6 years of service. Players are eligible for free agency. It says so in the CBA. 

 

Teams also have the right to re-sign said players before they reach free agency.  Says so in the CBA.  Typically, if they wish to retain the player, they make an offer they deem to be in line with his value to their team. 

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Teams also have the right to re-sign said players before they reach free agency.  Says so in the CBA.  Typically, if they wish to retain the player, they make an offer they deem to be in line with his value to their team. 

I'm not going down this rabbit hole any further. 

Teams do have the right to re-sign players and they have the right to extend players so they don't reach free agency. They can also make a qualifying offer to complicate the players free agency.  

Players also have the right become free agents and negotiate with other teams. I understand the process.

Let's refocus -- You said

On 11/22/2022 at 11:45 PM, dxpavelka said:

Moving Kepler and bringing in Haniger would be taking a step back both offensively and defensively just to get more right handed? 

I disagree and I posted the actual offensive stats of both.

You replied

On 11/23/2022 at 11:40 PM, dxpavelka said:

And yet the Ms feel they can do better..

I personally think the Mariners did better with Teoscar. That isn't a slam on Haniger by saying Teoscar is better. However, it doesn't matter what I think about the Mariners though. 

I think Haniger is a big offensive upgrade over Kepler for the TWINS. 

I think the Twins desperately need a couple of top of the order bats to make sure that Kepler is NOT a top of the order bat. 

 

[jorgenswest]

The Mariners did not make a qualifying offer on Haniger and instead traded a good prospect and reliever to the Blue Jays. Why not offer Haniger the one year deal and keep Macko and Swanson? Worst care they would get the pick.

Were they afraid he would take the deal? Maybe the worst case is worry about his back. He missed a week with back trouble in September. It was his back that caused him to miss much of 2019 and all of 2020. Perhaps the likelihood of injury was to great to make the offer. 

They went out and traded two valuable players to get a right fielder they feel they can count on. Should the Twins be confident they can count on Haniger to stay healthy? If the Mariners who know him well won’t extend a one year offer should the Twins be offering 3 years?

[DocBauer]

FWIW, if the Mariners had offered the qualifying offer, it was for $19.5M. 

I like Haniger and would be in favor of his addition and the potential impact he could have. Yes, I'm crossing my fingers a little bit that he doesn't have anything other than small dings and dents and doesn't miss any appreciable time. 

But I wouldn't offer him $19.5M either

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

The Mariners did not make a qualifying offer on Haniger and instead traded a good prospect and reliever to the Blue Jays. Why not offer Haniger the one year deal and keep Macko and Swanson? Worst care they would get the pick.

Were they afraid he would take the deal? Maybe the worst case is worry about his back. He missed a week with back trouble in September. It was his back that caused him to miss much of 2019 and all of 2020. Perhaps the likelihood of injury was to great to make the offer. 

They went out and traded two valuable players to get a right fielder they feel they can count on. Should the Twins be confident they can count on Haniger to stay healthy? If the Mariners who know him well won’t extend a one year offer should the Twins be offering 3 years?

They saved 5 million and got (in my opinion)a better player and healthier. 

Id hate to penalize Haniger for Teoscar being in town. I do agree though... the medicals should be a concern. 

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

FWIW, if the Mariners had offered the qualifying offer, it was for $19.5M. 

I like Haniger and would be in favor of his addition and the potential impact he could have. Yes, I'm crossing my fingers a little bit that he doesn't have anything other than small dings and dents and doesn't miss any appreciable time. 

But I wouldn't offer him $19.5M either

This was the source I used but it must have changed. I do have a little more confidence that his back trouble in September is not as worrisome if the Mariners made that offer.

[MoyBoy74]

On 11/23/2022 at 8:21 AM, jorgenswest said:

He would help when healthy. Is the back injury still a concern? He missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 with that injury. He didn’t go on IL last September but missed a week with back trouble in September. He did return to finish the season. The injury that knocked him out for over three months in 2022 was a high ankle sprain. Back and ankle injuries can return.

If they sign him to a three year contract they should expect that he will miss significant time in two of those seasons and build a roster to account for his injury history. They probably still need someone like Kepler in reserve.

Sign Haniger to a 3 year deal: 12.5, 13.5, and 15 each year. 41 million Total.

He can platoon with Larnach/ Walner for RF and DH. These 3 are way more offense than Kepler!