Trade Target: Twins Should Say "Hello" to Adell

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Taking a flier on a guy like Adell could be OK and trading a pitcher like Sands doesn't really hurt much either, since I'm pretty sure he has been long passed up in the pecking order -- if he was ever really in it in the first place.  If that's all it takes, I say go for it.  It's definitely (washout) low floor and high ceiling for some future year.  Signing Sano to a minor league deal is actually pretty similar, but Sano is a guy the Twins have already failed to "fix" so it doesn't seem like doing that is going to work.  As has been mentioned earlier, skill sets and problems are similar, but maybe Adell just needs the right person saying it to him in the right way.  I don't put much weight into him having Mike Trout whispering to him in previous years.  Mike Trout is an amazing ballplayer.  I wish he was on my team, but how many actual baseball problems do you think he has ever had to work through in his life? Not many, so figuring things out and expressing them is probably not his strength.  He definitely has a "relatability" problem as an instructor, and so far, Adell has had a "teachability" problem. 

[jimmyc]

OMG!  Cole Sands is not going to get you someone who was recently in the top 10 of all minor leaguers.  The Angels (as always) need real MLB-ready talent (like maybe Jo Adell??) and have absolutely no incentive to trade him for a box of pencils.  

[gunnarthor]

I actually remember being quite high on him in the 2017 draft and mentioning him as a possibility of a guy we could pick for below slot and grab others later. I would love to grab him and give him a chance in a corner. And I think Seth made a lot of good arguments on why Adell could still be a good fit.  

[Seth Stohs]

5 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Go for a RH-hitting fielder that can help THIS YEAR, not a lotto ticket unless you can afford to do both.

As written in the article, signing a league minimum guy who can also go the AAA doesn't stop them from doing anything. 

[Vanimal46]

9 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

I'll see what I can do... actually, I think writing an article with the pros and cons of it is probably about all I can do... 

And I thought all of this time you had Falvey’s number in your favorites contacts… I feel duped! Bamboozled! 

[Seth Stohs]

3 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

And I thought all of this time you had Falvey’s number in your favorites contacts… I feel duped! Bamboozled! 

I don't know... if I had a dollar for every time I've been accused to be on the Twins payroll... I'd have like $40 or so, but still... I could use $40! 

[Vanimal46]

24 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

I don't know... if I had a dollar for every time I've been accused to be on the Twins payroll... I'd have like $40 or so, but still... I could use $40! 

That could buy you a dozen eggs at the grocery store these days! 

[DocBauer]

I have 2 distinct opinions on this:

1] I NEVER want to let opportunity go by where I could add talent to the Twins who might end up making a difference. Especially if I could add said talent on the cheap. In this scenario, a lower end AA or A prospect so the Angels could feel they got a flier and are just done.

And while I feel the Angels are a rather poorly run franchise at the moment, if they are willing to give up such a talented young player on the cheap, I've got warning signals that even a low end prospect might simply be bringing me someone else's disappointment. But yeah, if the Angels are ready to move on, why wouldn't you take a shot at a cheap deal for a talent who might suddenly mature and pay off with a change of scenery?

2] While I appreciate other comments that the Twins should be focused on adding as much young talent as they can...what about winning TODAY with the roster you already have? While health is still the #1 bugaboo this team has to deal with, the roster is NOT some 100 loss team. 

Personally, while I read projection articles, I tend to dismiss them. They are a form of absolutes while the game itself is anything but! Ancient history says the '87 Twins weren't supposed to win. The Royals in 2015 came after decades of losing. The Braves WS "shouldn't" have happened. Hell, the recent challenges by the Rays "shouldn't" have happened.

IDC that 75% of the time your lineup faces RHP. You still need bats that can produce runs and wins in those other 25% plus games. So adding young talent is great! But the parent club needs every advantage they can get to eek out every win they can.

And right now, I remain so very disappointed the FO hasn't added a solid, ML bat to balance the OF to eek out those wins. This has been going on now for a couple of years. 

But Martin isn't ready. Celestino has a chance to be a really nice ballplayer, as a starter or high quality 4th OF at worst. But 2 seasons of being pushed too fast has allowed him to fail, hopefully learn, and maybe reach his potential if given some AAA time.

Go ahead and add a flier like Adell if you can, on the cheap. Barring some miraculous improvement, he's not going to impact the Twins until the second half of 2023 at best.

I know the FO isn't done yet. Too early for them. And I know they've been looking for another RH bat. But time has been running out for weeks now. Right now, unless a flier finds new life on a 1yr deal, FA appears closed. And that's a huge disappointment for me. It's going to take a trade to make an add at this point. 

[jkcarew]

If the Angels jump on an offer of a B plus C pitching prospect, I would immediately have even lower expectations of Adell. I mean, they know he’s only 23 too, right?

He’s probably still one year from becoming really cheap.

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I have 2 distinct opinions on this:

1] I NEVER want to let opportunity go by where I could add talent to the Twins who might end up making a difference. Especially if I could add said talent on the cheap. In this scenario, a lower end AA or A prospect so the Angels could feel they got a flier and are just done.

And while I feel the Angels are a rather poorly run franchise at the moment, if they are willing to give up such a talented young player on the cheap, I've got warning signals that even a low end prospect might simply be bringing me someone else's disappointment. But yeah, if the Angels are ready to move on, why wouldn't you take a shot at a cheap deal for a talent who might suddenly mature and pay off with a change of scenery?

2] While I appreciate other comments that the Twins should be focused on adding as much young talent as they can...what about winning TODAY with the roster you already have? While health is still the #1 bugaboo this team has to deal with, the roster is NOT some 100 loss team. 

Personally, while I read projection articles, I tend to dismiss them. They are a form of absolutes while the game itself is anything but! Ancient history says the '87 Twins weren't supposed to win. The Royals in 2015 came after decades of losing. The Braves WS "shouldn't" have happened. Hell, the recent challenges by the Rays "shouldn't" have happened.

IDC that 75% of the time your lineup faces RHP. You still need bats that can produce runs and wins in those other 25% plus games. So adding young talent is great! But the parent club needs every advantage they can get to eek out every win they can.

And right now, I remain so very disappointed the FO hasn't added a solid, ML bat to balance the OF to eek out those wins. This has been going on now for a couple of years. 

But Martin isn't ready. Celestino has a chance to be a really nice ballplayer, as a starter or high quality 4th OF at worst. But 2 seasons of being pushed too fast has allowed him to fail, hopefully learn, and maybe reach his potential if given some AAA time.

Go ahead and add a flier like Adell if you can, on the cheap. Barring some miraculous improvement, he's not going to impact the Twins until the second half of 2023 at best.

I know the FO isn't done yet. Too early for them. And I know they've been looking for another RH bat. But time has been running out for weeks now. Right now, unless a flier finds new life on a 1yr deal, FA appears closed. And that's a huge disappointment for me. It's going to take a trade to make an add at this point. 

No projection system is an absolute. Where do you get that?

 

[AlwaysinModeration]

14 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

 My concern with Adell is that, despite top of the charts speed, he's a terrible defender…if you can't develop the hit and field tools you end up with Lewis Brinson, Keon Broxton, or any of the other guys who could run real fast and hit the ball real far, but couldn't play baseball.

My initial reaction to this article was to agree with you - he’s also a terrible defender!  However, looking closer, Adell was, in fact, a terrible as a defender in 2020, when he was brought up too early, played some CF, as both other positions. He posted a -28.1 UZR/150 during his time in CF that year.  

However, after that, In 2021 and 2022 he didn’t play a single inning in CF.  The result? Well, his defensive numbers since then haven’t actually been awful; in fact he posted a (slightly) positive UZR/150 in RF in 2021 and a (slightly) positive UZR/150 in LF in 2022.  Of course, both of those numbers were negative for the opposite field in the respective years.

If he starts posting OPS’s of 850+ like he did through his early minors, his defensive shortcomings can be overlooked.  And hopefully his defense continues to trend in a better direction, and his offense does too.

Worth a flier if the price isn’t too steep, for sure.  I doubt Cole Sands would be enough for the Angels to cut bait, though—perhaps a Marco Raya, David Festa, or Brett Headrick might?

 

[Karbo]

Seems like a lot of maybes. Only way I would do a trade for him would be a very low rated prospect.

[Brad.dahlen]

I'd love it. But is he your everyday RF or LF once Royce Lewis comes back? And what about when Wallner is knocking on the door? 

 

A 4 man outfield of Lewis, Buxton, Adell, Wallner does sound nice. 

 

Trade value in Larnach, Kepler, and potentially Kiriloff (moving Miranda to 1B, allowing Brooks Lee to take over 3B for opening day 2024.)

[TopGunn#22]

I like this idea Seth.  Certainly worth considering.  The Twins would be gambling on "potential."  But comps like Mack, Hunter and Gomez are reasonable for the "upside" potential of Adell.  Not completely, I'll grant you that, but reasonable.

[nicksaviking]

18 hours ago, Cris E said:

No.  The guy does not take a thoughtful approach to hitting and he's getting eaten up at the MLB level because he won't make adjustments.  Here's a link to a Trevor Bauer podcast (don't judge me) where he got together with Adell, Hunter Greene and Kenny Lofton to talk about many things. At one point Lofton is explaining how important it was to him to use video when it became available, to use advanced stats when they became available, and to stay ahead of pitchers however he could. Greene and Bauer agreed completely, but Adell was quite cool. Check out around the two  minute mark where he explains how uncomfortable he is with new technology and info. "Honestly I'm kind of out on it." Around eight minutes he tells the others he can't pick up a pitcher's grip until the arm is in front and everyone jumps on him that he has to.  At 25 minutes Kenny tells Bauer to dial back the social media because it's making him look bad, and he also talks about Houston's garbage cans and PEDs in general. It's a very good half hour, but Adell doesn't not come off as thoughtful or willing to make the most of his talent, 

I could be wrong, but at the time this was shot, pre-covid, he wasn't willing to take help and there hasn't been much in his numbers to indicate that's changed in the years since.

Wow, nice callback.  You may win the persuasive argument of the week award with this find.

Yeah, I'd want to be convinced he's changed his attitude and approach. Though,  struggling as a top prospect does seem like it could instigate a reality check for a young guy.

[tony&rodney]

The trade would need to be after the Twins put a couple of guys on the 60 day IL. It is a good idea worth a prospect outside of our top guys, maybe Enlow. Hard to say what the Angels see as fair value for Adell.

[Otaknam]

Adell would be a good risk if the price is right. At least he has some defensive upside, unlike Sano. But some outfielders would have to be moved, so who would that be? Kepler for sure and maybe one other. I wouldn’t trade Larnach or Kiriloff for Adell, as they both have untapped potential. 

[Otaknam]

8 hours ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

My initial reaction to this article was to agree with you - he’s also a terrible defender!  However, looking closer, Adell was, in fact, a terrible as a defender in 2020, when he was brought up too early, played some CF, as both other positions. He posted a -28.1 UZR/150 during his time in CF that year.  

However, after that, In 2021 and 2022 he didn’t play a single inning in CF.  The result? Well, his defensive numbers since then haven’t actually been awful; in fact he posted a (slightly) positive UZR/150 in RF in 2021 and a (slightly) positive UZR/150 in LF in 2022.  Of course, both of those numbers were negative for the opposite field in the respective years.

If he starts posting OPS’s of 850+ like he did through his early minors, his defensive shortcomings can be overlooked.  And hopefully his defense continues to trend in a better direction, and his offense does too.

Worth a flier if the price isn’t too steep, for sure.  I doubt Cole Sands would be enough for the Angels to cut bait, though—perhaps a Marco Raya, David Festa, or Brett Headrick might?

 

No to Marco Raya or Festa. Maybe Headrick. Raya has some real potential upside as a high end starter that is in short supply for this team.

[AlwaysinModeration]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

 You may win the persuasive argument of the week award with this find.

If this isn’t a thing on TD, it should be.

[Seansy]

Great idea Seth! Love it!

 

Hopefully someone from the FO is regularly reading Twins Daily so they inquire on his availability.

[twinstalker]

Great idea!  As long as we can get pitchers to throw fastballs down the middle of the plate, we have to look no further.

[Kipp35]

This is the type of trade I would LOVE to see them make, but never do. Bring him in and let him compete. I bet it would help us find our DH going forward, as he could take an OF spot. Also, he could be the guy to cover CF for 100+ games when Buxton goes down. Would rather have that talent out there than Celestino.