Let's look at something different today...

Lets run under the assumption that Trevor Bauer is going to be released by the Dodgers (based on their spending habits this winter, it looks highly likely).  Should the Twins take a flyer on him?

He is only 31
Would not require player capital to get
Would probably slide into the 2/3 spot pretty easily
Minnesota would be the type of place he could work on rehabilitating his image, outside of the large market scrutiny.

Personally I think the Twins should take a REAL hard look at him.  Would require a ton of PR stuff (think Josh Hamilton and Michael Vick) from both the player and the team, but it could be doable.

What do you think?  Save the vitriol for your FO rants, give me viable reasons why they should or shouldn't take a look.

Absolutely not. No. He is not a good teammate, he’s a clubhouse distraction and detractor, no. 

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Let's look at something different today...

Lets run under the assumption that Trevor Bauer is going to be released by the Dodgers (based on their spending habits this winter, it looks highly likely).  Should the Twins take a flyer on him?

He is only 31
Would not require player capital to get
Would probably slide into the 2/3 spot pretty easily
Minnesota would be the type of place he could work on rehabilitating his image, outside of the large market scrutiny.

Personally I think the Twins should take a REAL hard look at him.  Would require a ton of PR stuff (think Josh Hamilton and Michael Vick) from both the player and the team, but it could be doable.

What do you think?  Save the vitriol for your FO rants, give me viable reasons why they should or shouldn't take a look.

In consideration of what he has been accused of and suspended for. 

If the Dodgers release him and eat 22 Million in order for him to not be on the roster.

We shouldn't pay 600K to put him on the roster.  

Other than that... I have never met him. I shouldn't be the person who convicts him of anything. Seems like MLB and the Dodgers have already convicted him of something.     

 

They should not take a look. First off, Bauer will be 32 next year and won't have pitched a live MLB game in nearly two years. Second off, he's a cheater. Third off, he's a terrible human being. 

We are not the Cleveland Browns, and never will be as long as I'm a fan.

12 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

In consideration of what he has been accused of and suspended for. 

If the Dodgers release him and eat 22 Million in order for him to not be on the roster.

We shouldn't pay 600K to put him on the roster.  

Other than that... I have never met him. I shouldn't be the person who convicts him of anything. Seems like MLB and the Dodgers have already convicted him of something.     

 

I have no insider information here, nor am I looking to pass judgement.

So many decisions in our society today are based off of perception.  Facts and truth seem to take a lesser role.  Not even charged, he has been decimated in the court of public opinion.

The Dodgers and MLB itself were hosed the moment this became debated in public.  Guilty or not, public perception found him guilty right away.  From a baseball standpoint, there is no reason to release him.  From a PR standpoint, Bauer was/is hotter than the Sun.  MLB had to suspend him regardless of what they though internally.

If the rumors of him being a clubhouse cancer are true, fine.  That I get.  In an example like Colin Kapernick, his ability does not outweigh the negative attention he will bring to the team.  That may or may not be the case here.

Interesting take. No one of us will ever know the facts. I live in LA and the Dodgers can't keep him. He's unliked by his teammates and vilified in the press. He's toxic here.

I don't want to pick him up. There's just too much baggage for a guy who is probably a solid #2, not an ace or even a solid #1, and who seems to attract negative publicity wherever he goes. He simply isn't worth the risks.

21 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I have no insider information here, nor am I looking to pass judgement.

So many decisions in our society today are based off of perception.  Facts and truth seem to take a lesser role.  Not even charged, he has been decimated in the court of public opinion.

The Dodgers and MLB itself were hosed the moment this became debated in public.  Guilty or not, public perception found him guilty right away.  From a baseball standpoint, there is no reason to release him.  From a PR standpoint, Bauer was/is hotter than the Sun.  MLB had to suspend him regardless of what they though internally.

If the rumors of him being a clubhouse cancer are true, fine.  That I get.  In an example like Colin Kapernick, his ability does not outweigh the negative attention he will bring to the team.  That may or may not be the case here.

An independent arbitrator found him worthy of a 194 game unpaid suspension. Including docking his salary for the first 50 games of 2023. That's not the court of public opinion. That's him doing everything he can to defend himself, and still being worthy of the largest suspension ever handed out to an active MLB player for sexual assault or domestic violence.

27 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I have no insider information here, nor am I looking to pass judgement.

So many decisions in our society today are based off of perception.  Facts and truth seem to take a lesser role.  Not even charged, he has been decimated in the court of public opinion.

The Dodgers and MLB itself were hosed the moment this became debated in public.  Guilty or not, public perception found him guilty right away.  From a baseball standpoint, there is no reason to release him.  From a PR standpoint, Bauer was/is hotter than the Sun.  MLB had to suspend him regardless of what they though internally.

If the rumors of him being a clubhouse cancer are true, fine.  That I get.  In an example like Colin Kapernick, his ability does not outweigh the negative attention he will bring to the team.  That may or may not be the case here.

It’s been fairly well reported that he is not a good teammate and not wanted around by other players. And that’s even before the allegations of sexual assault and violence to women

2 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

It’s been fairly well reported that he is not a good teammate and not wanted around by other players. And that’s even before the allegations of sexual assault and violence to women

My vote is NO

If we're the Harlem Globetrotters, we sign him to be the star for the Washington Generals.  If we're Pro Rasslin', we sign him to be The Heel.

Otherwise, absent an ability to stack our opponent's roster, I say no.

Absolutely not.  To say he is vilified by the media is a poor excuse.  MLB isn't a courtroom except as it applies to it's employees, owners, and players.  An independent arbiter found enough there to suspend him without pay.  I'm sorry, but Bauer brought this on himself.  They sign contracts agreeing to policies negotiated between the players and the owners.  This is part of that process.  Bauer would be a terrible addition to the Twins.  I say NO.

I am confused on Bauer's reinstatement. It is immediate. But the Dodgers don't have to pay him for the first 50 games of the season? So they are on the hook for 22 of the 35mil? What's the deal?

As for my vote on Bauer? No. He hasn't pitched in a year and a  half and who knows what effect that will have. Also many of his ML years he was a so-so pitcher. Being fair to the rest of the Twins team, why should they have to deal with any distraction Trevor may or may not bring?

I'm also not interested in dumping on Bauer. He gets to deal with the repercussions of his past choices. I wish him the best, even though that is not a popular opinion.

No thanks but it will be really interesting to see what happens if the Dodgers cut him.  Someone is going to sign him, right?

6 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

No thanks but it will be really interesting to see what happens if the Dodgers cut him.  Someone is going to sign him, right?

Perhaps the Mets.

Signing any talent at this point is just attempting to fake out the fan base. A waste of money. Trade all of your assets and hope for a 2025-2028 window at this point.

6 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Perhaps the Mets.

I think Cohen would never risk the tremendous positive vibe surrounding that team at the moment for Trevor Bauer.

1 minute ago, jctwins said:

Signing any talent at this point is just attempting to fake out the fan base. A waste of money. Trade all of your assets and hope for a 2025-2028 window at this point.

I wouldn't trade "all your assets".  I would trade them if and when a compelling offer was made.  In some cases that could be right now and some might be at the deadline.  They could have a young core to build around by the end of the year.  I say could because they have to give them a chance and of course, they might have Cleveland's type of result with young players or they could all fall on their face.  There is just so many waiting to be proven.  (Lewis / Kirilloff / Lee / Larnach / Martin / Julien / SWR / Varland / Alcala / Moran / Megill / Sands.  We could be looking great next year or we could be looking for answers.  The trades you support would no doubt help the cause, especially if they can land ML ready talent like Cleveland did a couple years ago.

12 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I think Cohen would never risk the tremendous positive vibe surrounding that team at the moment for Trevor Bauer.

Or team chemistry. 

I personally would not suggest signing him.  After all the heat the Twins got for Jerry Bell's end-of-season comment regarding attendance, plus the signing of Joey Gallo, this would IMHO be the absolute last straw for many Twins fans.  I think we'd hear echos at Target Field this year and many more to come.

Sorry I cannot even give you a statistical reason for the fact that I would hate this enough to change the team I have always rooted for.  Sometimes a team has to look at image - he is not going to give us a pennant, but he is going to give us a headache.

No. Abso-blanking-lutely no.

2 hours ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

I am confused on Bauer's reinstatement. It is immediate. But the Dodgers don't have to pay him for the first 50 games of the season? So they are on the hook for 22 of the 35mil? What's the deal?

The 50 games of no pay is because he was paid while the investigation was ongoing and he was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list. The suspension was made retroactive through that time.

Thank you lecroyfan

Perhaps I misread the articles, but it is my understanding that his suspension is lifted, but he cannot get paid for the first 50 games to recoup the monies he collected from the Dodgers while he was initially under investigation.  Unclear as to whether he cannot play at all, or simply cannot get paid for the first 50 games.

He will play for free for those 50 games. 

3 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I personally would not suggest signing him.  After all the heat the Twins got for Jerry Bell's end-of-season comment regarding attendance, plus the signing of Joey Gallo, this would IMHO be the absolute last straw for many Twins fans.  I think we'd hear echos at Target Field this year and many more to come.

Jerry Bell has been retired since 2002. Dave StPeter is the president who stuck his foot in his mouth.

14 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Jerry Bell has been retired since 2002. Dave StPeter is the president who stuck his foot in his mouth.

You could even say both feet...

He wore out his welcome in Arizona, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. I’m sure Cincinnati Reds players weren’t sad to see him leave either. Someone’s going to pick him up unfortunately. We see all the time in sports that talent trumps character issues. 

On 12/23/2022 at 7:39 PM, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Jerry Bell has been retired since 2002. Dave StPeter is the president who stuck his foot in his mouth.

Thanks for the correction.  I couldn’t recall his name and being an old timer Bell is the one that popped into my mind.