Minnesota Twins Sign Joey Gallo

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, SanoMustGo said:

Gallo won't benefit a bit if you can't put the ball in play.  Kepler is gone.  No thanks to both Kepler and Gallo.  I assume Kepler is gone.  Rather have Larnach than Kepler

I hope so. If they traded Larnach to add Joey Gallo I'm going to be pissed.

[Tibs]

2017 me is ecstatic maybe

[DJL44]

Pretty sure MLB trade values is going to list this as the worst contract on the team as soon as they update the website.

I was wrong, they actually give this move surplus value.

[gman]

Well if he accidentally gets off to a fast start, they can trade as soon as possible.

[Dman]

Just now, LewFordLives said:

Someone is also going to have to come off the 40 man. I can't think of anyone currently on the roster that I would value less than Gallo....not even Pagan.

It is most likely going to be Mark Contreras coming off the the 40 man, but I also see a Kepler trade in the future as well.

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

He's projected for 1.1 fWAR...........1`.1. Kepler is projected for 1.9. It isn't close. And, for 11 million dollars. And, unless Kepler is traded, they are blocking youth for a year for what? What is fixed long term (or even short term)?

I don't care about projections. They're trash. I didn't say it was a good deal, or one they should've done. Simply pointed out that Gallo has had a better career than Kepler in the same number of years.

They're not "blocking" the youth because the youth can't stay on the field. Larnach isn't blocked by anyone but himself and his inability to play for more than 2 months at a time. Same with Kirilloff. Wallner is incredibly unproven, and a terrible defender. If Gallo is the best player they're bringing in they shouldn't be bringing in outside guys. But we also need to stop acting like the young players on the Twins 40-man have earned starting spots on a major league team. They haven't. Hoping on the youth is no better than hoping on Gallo bouncing back. He's at least shown he's physically capable of being an elite major league hitter. I wouldn't want to bet on him getting back to his 2019 or 2021 self, but at least he had a 2019 and 2021 self while Larnach, Wallner, Kirilloff, and Gordon haven't even been close. And none are as good defensively as him.

I don't like the move, but let's stop acting like these young guys are more than they are to this point. Gallo is a 2 time all star and gold glove winner in the last 3 full seasons. The youth can only hope to achieve those things.

[KirbyDome89]

Cool, a LH bat for an OF that badly needs RH power, and another "all or nothing,"  hitter to insert into a lineup that looked anemic for long stretches last year....

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, chpettit19 said:

I don't care about projections. They're trash. I didn't say it was a good deal, or one they should've done. Simply pointed out that Gallo has had a better career than Kepler in the same number of years.

They're not "blocking" the youth because the youth can't stay on the field. Larnach isn't blocked by anyone but himself and his inability to play for more than 2 months at a time. Same with Kirilloff. Wallner is incredibly unproven, and a terrible defender. If Gallo is the best player they're bringing in they shouldn't be bringing in outside guys. But we also need to stop acting like the young players on the Twins 40-man have earned starting spots on a major league team. They haven't. Hoping on the youth is no better than hoping on Gallo bouncing back. He's at least shown he's physically capable of being an elite major league hitter. I wouldn't want to bet on him getting back to his 2019 or 2021 self, but at least he had a 2019 and 2021 self while Larnach, Wallner, Kirilloff, and Gordon haven't even been close. And none are as good defensively as him.

I don't like the move, but let's stop acting like these young guys are more than they are to this point. Gallo is a 2 time all star and gold glove winner in the last 3 full seasons. The youth can only hope to achieve those things.

If they can't bring up the youth and have them produce, they can't win no matter how many Gallos they sign. At some point, you have to bite the bullet. Passing on all the great players or even next tier of players was that point for me. 

He put up .6 WAR with his great defense last year.

Projects aren't trash. Go look at how they actually do......

[specialiststeve]

24 minutes ago, High heat said:

I actually really like this deal!!

 

Joey Gallo along with Kepler are going to benefit heavily from the shift ban.  Very good defensive OF with Gallo in LF Kepler in RF and Buck in CF.

You may actually want to look up his performance numbers... they are TERRIBLE. 

If we are looking to be terrible... this is the right move. Yikes. 

[farmerguychris]

I've defended most of the moves this F.O. has made despite often being in the minority - but I don't understand $11M to yet another left handed corner outfielder who hits below .200.

Whats the point - do they really not want Wallner to play that badly or perhaps is Larnach having a set back? 

This makes no sense at all.  Even if we trade Kepler, now we have this guy who is also 'just a guy' but at a higher salary.  If were right handed I could at least understand that angle of it.

[Dbohnk]

Now all that there is left to do is get rid of Luis Arraez and bring back Sano so we can have the most all or nothing lineup in baseball history.  

[farmerguychris]

11 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Someone is also going to have to come off the 40 man. I can't think of anyone currently on the roster that I would value less than Gallo....not even Pagan.

OK - I gotta say I'd prefer Gallo over Pagan.  Its not THAT bad, even if its awful.

[rickyriolo]

What a bad signing He is a strike out machine and an automatic out Fire Falvey now  WTF we need a right handed bat  Wow just Wow

[puckstopper1]

I don't know if can get a player that is a worse fit for what this team needs.

I called Sano "big whiff".  It looks like Gallo inherits that title now.  40% K/AB last season and it was worse in LA.

They could have added a couple of solid BP arms for that $11M they are paying this stiff.

Somebody shoot me now please...

[JakeBru3]

27 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Joey Gallo, for about what Sano would have cost. Sano at least had some upside. 

Wow. 

This is a joke right??

Gallo is a gold glove winning OF that can play all 3 OF positions. He is a year removed from being a 5 WAR player...

[theBOMisthebomb]

Not a fan of this move. The career .199 BA and 262 strikeouts on average per 162 games are not pleasing stats. He's actually had 2 seasons of 200+ Ks. Most recently in 2021. ? ? Yuck. Supposedly he plays defense, though I'd rather have Kepler out there than Gallo. I also think I'd rather have just kept Sano, who at least has a flicker of a flame to change his destiny and become a well rounded ball player. Hopefully the FO are just going to flip Gallo, though who'd want him? 

[Azviking101]

I have no issue giving someone like this a prove it deal. Here's my main problem here.

Kepler is coming off a bad year, with the potential to have a really good year if the analytics are correct about the loss of the shift. Kepler also has a team option next year. Gallo has the chance to bounce back, but he's on a 1 year contract, so if he does he's going to get a massive contract next year from someone not named the Twins.

Twins had the chance to have a potential huge trade package next year for Kepler or keep him for a season on the cheap and get massive production for little money. As a mid-market team, they have to make the most out of these things and this is a bad decision.

Now there is a great chance neither happens, but the Twins didn't put themselves in position to benefit if that comes true. This just adds to my belief that Falvine duo is clueless.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

Somebody please talk me off the ledge........

[chpettit19]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

If they can't bring up the youth and have them produce, they can't win no matter how many Gallos they sign. At some point, you have to bite the bullet. Passing on all the great players or even next tier of players was that point for me. 

He put up .6 WAR with his great defense last year.

Projects aren't trash. Go look at how they actually do......

They've tried biting the bullet for 2 years now and it hasn't worked. That's why they still have so many holes on the roster. Had Larnach stayed healthy and produced in 2021 there'd be no thought of Gallo. Or if Larnach had stayed healthy and produced in 2022 there'd be no thought of Gallo. But he didn't. Either year. How many years are we biting this bullet and seeing what Larnach can do to stay healthy and produce?

Again, I don't like the deal and it doesn't at all make this offseason successful. Simply pointing out that Gallo is a multi-time all star and gold glove winner and people are acting like the Twins just signed one of us. He's not a problem solver. He's simply more depth. He better not be their last move. But he's better than plenty of guys on the 40-man so the team is better today than it was yesterday.

Projections are trash. I've looked at them. The Twins aren't hopping on fangraphs and saying "well dang, Gallo is only projected for 1.2 WAR this year, waste of time."

[JakeBru3]

7 minutes ago, farmerguychris said:

I've defended most of the moves this F.O. has made despite often being in the minority - but I don't understand $11M to yet another left handed corner outfielder who hits below .200.

Whats the point - do they really not want Wallner to play that badly or perhaps is Larnach having a set back? 

This makes no sense at all.  Even if we trade Kepler, now we have this guy who is also 'just a guy' but at a higher salary.  If were right handed I could at least understand that angle of it.

Was a gold glove winning OF in '20 and '21! Can play all 3 OF spots so when Buck needs a day off can slide to CF. 

A very good defender with a big bat on a one year deal for a team in need of veterans that have been there before...makes sense in my eyes. 

[USAFChief]

Wait, wait, wait...is Terry Ryan back for a THIRD go-around???

[gbg]

I was upset about this until I looked into his stats in more detail.

Then I was furious...

[rwilfong86]

They needed a right handed bat that's better than Garlick so they sign another lefty who can't hit and strikes out at a high percentage. Makes perfect sense. Typical Twins move. 

[LewFordLives]

Just now, USAFChief said:

Wait, wait, wait...is Terry Ryan back for a THIRD go-around???

At least Terry wouldn't have given him $11 million! Terry only shopped in the bargain bin.

[JakeBru3]

4 minutes ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

Not a fan of this move. The career .199 BA and 262 strikeouts on average per 162 games are not pleasing stats. He's actually had 2 seasons of 200+ Ks. Most recently in 2021. ? ? Yuck. Supposedly he plays defense, though I'd rather have Kepler out there than Gallo. I also think I'd rather have just kept Sano, who at least has a flicker of a flame to change his destiny and become a well rounded ball player. Hopefully the FO are just going to flip Gallo, though who'd want him? 

Sano has flicker to become a well rounded player??

Is his celieng a 2 time gold glove winner in the OF? Or could he be a 5 WAR type player? Because that's Gallo 1 season ago...

It's a no risk high reward 1 year prove it deal.

[JakeBru3]

8 minutes ago, Azviking101 said:

I have no issue giving someone like this a prove it deal. Here's my main problem here.

Kepler is coming off a bad year, with the potential to have a really good year if the analytics are correct about the loss of the shift. Kepler also has a team option next year. Gallo has the chance to bounce back, but he's on a 1 year contract, so if he does he's going to get a massive contract next year from someone not named the Twins.

Twins had the chance to have a potential huge trade package next year for Kepler or keep him for a season on the cheap and get massive production for little money. As a mid-market team, they have to make the most out of these things and this is a bad decision.

Now there is a great chance neither happens, but the Twins didn't put themselves in position to benefit if that comes true. This just adds to my belief that Falvine duo is clueless.

I believe if I'm not mistaken the issue with Kepler was more launch angle and hitting the ball on the ground vs. the shift completely. I had the same thought process as you until I read somewhere recently the issue was more launch angle with Kepler than shift. 

[Charleo]

This is the most useless signing I can remember from this FO....and there have been plenty.  We have 4-5 left-handed corner outfielders making pennies by comparison who would provide more value.  We should have just signed Sano for half that and told him to hit left-handed.  It would have made just as much sense and been a lot cheaper.  Guess I'll be saving money on MLBTV this summer.  Yuck.  

[sweetmusicviola16]

8 minutes ago, JakeBru3 said:

This is a joke right??

Gallo is a gold glove winning OF that can play all 3 OF positions. He is a year removed from being a 5 WAR player...

Yeah it's a joke. And so is signing Joey Gallo.  A 5 WAR player, who hits .199. And strikes out over 200 times a season. This is not going to turn this thing around. Makes it go deeper in a bad direction.

[Azviking101]

1 minute ago, JakeBru3 said:

I believe if I'm not mistaken the issue with Kepler was more launch angle and hitting the ball on the ground vs. the shift completely. I had the same thought process as you until I read somewhere recently the issue was more launch angle with Kepler than shift. 

Yes and I do not believe Kepler will have a ton more production, but I do think those ground balls into the shift will start bleeding through, If he can get his OPS back up to .750 he will be a 5 WAR player. That could bring back a huge trade haul. Sadly, I don't believe the Falvine duo thought about this

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, JakeBru3 said:

I believe if I'm not mistaken the issue with Kepler was more launch angle and hitting the ball on the ground vs. the shift completely. I had the same thought process as you until I read somewhere recently the issue was more launch angle with Kepler than shift. 

Soft contact, leading to lots of pop ups to the outfield or grounders to second, is what the batted ball data says Kepler's problem is.