Rumor: Ace Available in Trevor Bauer?

[Trov]

3 hours ago, dex8425 said:

What playoff team traded him away when he was their #1 pitcher? The Guardians had Bieber and Clevinger in 2019, both of whom were better. They also had Kluber in 2019, a 2 time cy young award winner. The Guardians also traded Lindor, and Clevinger so I guess by that logic teammates didn't like them either? 

Lindor was traded in offseason because they knew they would not sign him.  Clevinger was traded during 2020 season where his FIP at the time was a 5.66, so the worst FIP on his team by far at the time.  Most like would not have started a playoff game that year.  In 2019, Bauer may not have been the number 1 at the time of trade, but he was the number 1 going into the season, as he had the best overall numbers in 2018.  He was around 2nd or 3rd in 2019 at the time he was traded. He would have been an expected playoff starter.  He also had another year of control so could have been traded in off season.  Also, Kluber did not pitch in 2019, so not sure why you say Cleveland had him as he did not throw a pitch. Who cares how many Cy Young's he won in past if he did not pitch the year Bauer was traded? 

Finally, as I said Bauer was always in the press, in the manager dog house for doing things like throwing a ball into stands when pulled from the game. Making other comments about all kinds of things.  The trade of Lindor and Clevinger are not the same, as one was off-season, and the other was the worst starter on the team at the time of trade. 

[Trov]

6 hours ago, Beast said:

I hope none of you proclaiming Bauer the worst human ever have any Puckett memorabilia.

I may not know the full back story.  Not expressing an opinion on Bauer or whether he should be given another chance.   

But, come on.  There’s a statue outside of our stadium gates of a guy who viciously beat and strangled his wife with a phone cord.  He cornered and sexually assaulted a waitress in a restaurant bathroom and got the star treatment out of being convicted by a jury (and if you have the stones to do that, likely not a one time thing).  Fairly common knowledge that he’s a womanizer and beater, sexual deviant, and impulsive substance addict/abuser.   

Some worked up about Bauer likely have a picture with Puckett’s statue in the archive of the social media du jour.

Stones, glass houses, etc.  Not seeing the merit in trying to virtue signal and claim a moral high ground while worshipping Puckett like a god.  You get zero social credit points.

I am not defending what Puckett was accused of, and would not be upset if his statue was removed for those things.  However, the issues with Puckett did not come out during his playing career like Bauer did.  I would remind you Puckett had a trial and was acquitted of what he was charged with. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

15 hours ago, Squirrel said:

No way. If our FO hands out a contract to Bauer, I never watch another Twins game. That would be a horrible signing and Bauer needs to just go away. For those that think signing a contract with a cheater is bad, this would be a thousand times worse. Just no, I can forgive a lot, but this I couldn’t and wouldn’t.

I agree with Squirrel. What kind of message does signing Bauer send to the families who the Twins hope to attract to the park and to watch on tv. Trevor Bauer would not be welcome in my home for dinner. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

7 hours ago, Beast said:

I hope none of you proclaiming Bauer the worst human ever have any Puckett memorabilia.

I may not know the full back story.  Not expressing an opinion on Bauer or whether he should be given another chance.   

But, come on.  There’s a statue outside of our stadium gates of a guy who viciously beat and strangled his wife with a phone cord.  He cornered and sexually assaulted a waitress in a restaurant bathroom and got the star treatment out of being convicted by a jury (and if you have the stones to do that, likely not a one time thing).  Fairly common knowledge that he’s a womanizer and beater, sexual deviant, and impulsive substance addict/abuser.   

Some worked up about Bauer likely have a picture with Puckett’s statue in the archive of the social media du jour.

Stones, glass houses, etc.  Not seeing the merit in trying to virtue signal and claim a moral high ground while worshipping Puckett like a god.  You get zero social credit points.

I loved Puckett as a child. Now all my Puckett memorabilia is gone (including autographs), replaced by Hrbek.

I’m sad every time I walk past that statue and it turns me off of going to Target Field. We can acknowledge his excellent play on the field without putting him on a literal pedestal as a misguided hero.

I can tolerate a lot of things, but will not abide in abusive people. I will not ever watch a Twins game if they sign Bauer. If they do, I’ll root for the Brewers, and you’ll find me at brewerfanatic instead.

[Lasorda_This_Out]

No thanks. Best move for Mr. B would be to play in Mexico or Japan and avoid the US media (IF any team would sign him).

[Irishman]

4 hours ago, dex8425 said:

Wow, these responses are harsh. Cleveland Browns and NFL fans sure seem to be welcoming to 30 sexual assault lawsuits Deshaun Watson.  Not that I personally would want Deshaun Watson on the vikings either but there's a double standard from what I see. 

What about Pete Rose?  Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose had already been banned for life from Major League Baseball due to his gambling issues during his managerial days.  I am having hard time trying to understand what is difference between Deshaun Watson and Pete Rose.   Deshaun's actions were horrific than Pete's.  Deshaun was allowed to play again while Pete is banned for life.   I believe Pete should be allowed to be elected into HOF as player,  That is my IMO.

[Twodogs]

1 hour ago, Trov said:

I am not defending what Puckett was accused of, and would not be upset if his statue was removed for those things.  However, the issues with Puckett did not come out during his playing career like Bauer did.  I would remind you Puckett had a trial and was acquitted of what he was charged with. 

Not that this would change your mind, because it shouldn't.  But using Puckett's trial as an example of why Puckett deserves a break is a little off because they tried to put a case together against Bauer and the DA threw it out because there wasn't enough evidence to convict him.  So Puck actually had a trial because there was actually more evidence against Puck, or actually there were probably inconsistencies against Bauer.  

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

. I know he can pitch but the Twins aren't one guy away from the World Series.  

Whether or not the Twins are one player away isn't the point. At least for me. 

 

[DocBauer]

Don't want him on the Twins in any way, shape, or form. Not everyone has to be a saint, but I do think it's OK to just avoid someone who seems to be a lot of trouble.

Never really cared for the guy. 

Always hoped we weren't somehow, distantly, related.

[h2oface]

5 hours ago, Trov said:

I am not defending what Puckett was accused of, and would not be upset if his statue was removed for those things.  However, the issues with Puckett did not come out during his playing career like Bauer did.  I would remind you Puckett had a trial and was acquitted of what he was charged with. 

To this point only - after months of thorough investigation, there was not even enough evidence to even bring Bauer to trial to possibly/probably acquit him, and the only actual legal proceding that did happen, he won, and the female judge ruled against the requested restraining order after all evidence was presented. The rule of law, and our states or federal prosecutorial legal system, which most generally hold in high regard, has filed no charges that I am aware of at all against Bauer (subject to correction if you know of such, and please inform). 

Bauer would not be a good fit for the Twins, regardless, for many reasons beyond and including the current suspension reason, even though our FO, ownership, and many if not most fans (and other teams as well) will look past outright cheating and cheating the game and embrace a player as a clubhouse leader, and pay them record contract amounts to do it. And...... even though, if LA releases him, he will be available for a virtual pittance - the prorated league minumum for 2023. Most people decide things these days from facts they may or may not know to be true from second and third and fourth hand (or even more distant) sources and reading, or just make them up themselves to fit what they want to believe. Bauer will not be able to escape that for the rest of his life. He definitely chose the wrong kink.

[Kummel]

Absolutely not.  A terrible idea.

[Linus]

Well he is not an ace or even close. 

[notoriousgod71]

I'd like to park myself in front of minny and Paul's to grab a souvenir every time Rocco took him out third time through the order.

[cmoss84]

14 minutes ago, Linus said:

Well he is not an ace or even close. 

How do you come to this conclusion? Would he be our best pitcher?

[Linus]

5 minutes ago, cmoss84 said:

How do you come to this conclusion? Would he be our best pitcher?

He would be one of our 3 best pitchers. He’s so far from an ace he can’t even see it from there. 

[cmoss84]

12 minutes ago, Linus said:

He would be one of our 3 best pitchers. He’s so far from an ace he can’t even see it from there. 

Who would you put in front of him in our rotation? So you are saying he is no where close to as good as his last 2 years say he is? I'm not saying he's an ace...just wondering why you are so sure he is not...

[Linus]

18 minutes ago, cmoss84 said:

Who would you put in front of him in our rotation? So you are saying he is no where close to as good as his last 2 years say he is? I'm not saying he's an ace...just wondering why you are so sure he is not...

He would be roughly as good as Gray Maeda Mahle and Ryan. 

[h2oface]

Nobody knows how good Bauer will be now. Basically two years off. But if released, just from a pitching standpoint, I see no downside at the prorated minimum salary, however good he might be again. He didn't get a contract for about $32 million a year for the last 2 and 2023 because he was equal to a Gray or Mahle or Maeda or Ryan. That is definitely ace money at the time of the contract, and that is what he was consensusly considered to be.

He should take 2023 off (prorated) paid, and let the story get old and see about his future for 2024, if there is one in MLB. But maybe not. If some team bites the bullet and he gets signed and pitches well, he could have a big contract to sign for 2024 and beyond because he did weather the impending storm. Is it possible to get booed louder than Correa at Dodger Stadium? We might find out.

[Shobae]

17 hours ago, Irishman said:

What about Pete Rose?  Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose had already been banned for life from Major League Baseball due to his gambling issues during his managerial days.  I am having hard time trying to understand what is difference between Deshaun Watson and Pete Rose.   Deshaun's actions were horrific than Pete's.  Deshaun was allowed to play again while Pete is banned for life.   I believe Pete should be allowed to be elected into HOF as player,  That is my IMO.

I have no clue about Deshaun Watson because I don't follow american football in any capacity so I can't comment on the comparison here. However, the notion that the worst thing Pete Rose ever did was gambling on baseball is not correct. He is accused of having sexual relations with a minor when she was 14/15. He denies this but admitted to doing so with her when she was 16 and he was married and 34 and that it was legal in Ohio at the time. Now I could care less about legality here, the fact that he admits to engaging in such behavior is extremely vile and sufficient reason to never lift his ban from baseball.
Mods feel free to remove this post if it's violating the guidelines, however I feel that it is important to educate people about the truth of Pete Rose's behavior since I have seen the "he should be in the HOF" sentiment a few times in online baseball circles. So we can all agree that Rose does not belong in the hall of fame ever.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/01/woman-says-she-had-sexual-relationship-with-pete-rose-as-an-underage-teen/

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Nooooooooooooooooo.  Winning is not everything. And it is not the only thing. Integrity, honor, kindness and trust still trump meanness and lies and  thinking the world revolves around oneself.  

[dex8425]

On 12/23/2022 at 2:21 PM, Irishman said:

What about Pete Rose?  Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose had already been banned for life from Major League Baseball due to his gambling issues during his managerial days.  I am having hard time trying to understand what is difference between Deshaun Watson and Pete Rose.   Deshaun's actions were horrific than Pete's.  Deshaun was allowed to play again while Pete is banned for life.   I believe Pete should be allowed to be elected into HOF as player,  That is my IMO.

Yeah, it's a double standard for sure. I guess you could say Watson didn't do anything wrong on the field, while Rose did. (yeah, he said he only bet while managing, not playing, but there's no way to know whether he did or didn't) Cheating on the field, or the perception thereof, seems to be a locked door to Cooperstown.

Watson should be in jail, not playing football. If Watson is allowed to play football than Bauer should be allowed to play baseball. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

So, I am not advocating for or against Bauer. What he allegedly did was terrible, and it FEELS like he doesn't mesh well with teammates. 

Falvey certainly knows him personally from their time together in Cleveland. Tyler Mahle and Kyle Farmer both follow him on instagram and both certainly were in multiple clubhouses with him as a teammate.

I would imagine, IF Bauer is going to get a 2nd chance, going to a team NOT in a major media market wouldn't hurt his chances. And, to be fair, Correa came to the Twins for a year to "rehab" his perception from Houston and being a cheater (these are OBVIOUSLY different circumstances.) That said, Mahle and Farmer could certainly give feedback on what working with him was like on a daily basis with their time together in Cincinnati.

Again, not advocating him being on the Twins in 2023 or ever. BUT, if the Twins were to bring him in, they would have an understanding on how he would mesh with the clubhouse.

If there is never a sniff of him being connected here (this is ALL ASSUMING he gets released) then we know what his former teammates thought of him as a teammate.

[IA Bean Counter]

I don't want him, but this management had history with him in Cleveland.   If they see value in him,  they may take a shot,  but he is definitely a bit of a pariah.  Anymore just going to sit back and watch,  see if they continue to keep me entertained.  

[Battle ur tail off]

The sad thing is, is that this is even a talker. It is only that way because our front office refused to basically pick up anyone of value this offseason. How sad. 

And I am also a no to Trevor Bauer. He's a dink whether or not what he allegedly did is true. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 minute ago, Battle ur tail off said:

The sad thing is, is that this is even a talker. It is only that way because our front office refused to basically pick up anyone of value this offseason. How sad. 

And I am also a no to Trevor Bauer. He's a dink whether or not what he allegedly did is true. 

Again, still not advocating for him. But, LOTS of time left in the offseason, and the trade route is pretty much the only way the Twins have added pitching talent with this regime. They will certainly add still before opening day, with or without Bauer being involved in any capacity.

[Battle ur tail off]

1 minute ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Again, still not advocating for him. But, LOTS of time left in the offseason, and the trade route is pretty much the only way the Twins have added pitching talent with this regime. They will certainly add still before opening day, with or without Bauer being involved in any capacity.

Proud of em. And proud that we will probably have to give up our leadoff hitter + to bring anyone in that resembles something better than a #4 starter.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Let it play out. We'll see. I don't know that they will trade Arraez, but they certainly didn't give up a talent like Arraez to get Mahle or Maeda or Odorizzi or Gray.

[August J Gloop]

If the Twins sign Bauer I will literally never watch them until every single person who signed off on it is gone from the organization. I will not watch the games the Twins play against any team that rosters him, even when he's not playing.