Article: Drew Butera Traded to the Dodgers

[ThejacKmp]

Can we finally be done with the misguided notion that Drew Butera is an excellent defensive catcher? Seth is a really smart guy who repeatedly says this as fact when all of the empirical evidence says Butera is an average defensive catcher whose poor offense makes people assume that his defense must be really good. He never belonged in the majors in anything other than an emergency role. Mauer's defense is leagues above Butera. Leagues.

[cmathewson]

I agree with the last comment. I always thought his defense was overrated in much the same way Punto's was. When a guy can't hit, you compensate by overrating his defense. I'd say his defense is above average, but he's no Perez or Molina. And it was really only good when he played occasionally. On an everyday basis, he became mister wild pitch. Watching him in 2011 was painful at times.

 

But he's a good guy and I wish him well. If all they were going to do is trade him for "future considerations", why didn't they DFA him when it was clear he had no role on the major league team. I'm glad they ave him a chance with another organization. But why wait until the trade deadline to do it?

[clank2000]

Wear it to his HOF induction. He's finally going to an organization that values catcher defense

 

There's something to this. Danny Ardoin DID end his career there......

[Oldgoat_MN]

I am surprised there hasn't been chatter about who will get that position on the 40-man roster.

 

I vote for Albers.

[JB_Iowa]

Trading Butera reduces the quote of eye candy and dog lovers on the 40-man.

 

Hope he enjoys L.A.

[DaveW]

I agree with the last comment. I always thought his defense was overrated in much the same way Punto's was. When a guy can't hit, you compensate by overrating his defense. I'd say his defense is above average, but he's no Perez or Molina. And it was really only good when he played occasionally. On an everyday basis, he became mister wild pitch. Watching him in 2011 was painful at times.

 

But he's a good guy and I wish him well. If all they were going to do is trade him for "future considerations", why didn't they DFA him when it was clear he had no role on the major league team. I'm glad they ave him a chance with another organization. But why wait until the trade deadline to do it?

 

Punto was actually a great defender...

[Forever34]

Just wondering if the cash could be international signing pool money. Even if it was something like $5,000 that would be more valuable than some guy that probably never see Rochester.

[Mr. Brooks]

Just wondering if the cash could be international signing pool money. Even if it was something like $5,000 that would be more valuable than some guy that probably never see Rochester.

 

We arent going to spend all of the IL pool money we have now, what good does more do?

[nicksaviking]

Does anybody else think Drew looks like a perv on that pic grabbing at Capps' bottom?*

 

That smile!?!

 

I thought that too but then realized he couldn't have been grabbing Capps' bottom. You would need two hands to do that properly.

[Oldgoat_MN]

I thought that too but then realized he couldn't have been grabbing Capps' bottom. You would need two hands to do that properly.

 

Who else would think of that?

 

nicksaviking is nothing if not proper.

[DaveW]

We arent going to spend all of the IL pool money we have now, what good does more do?

 

Um...what? Pretty sure they have another 10 months to spend that money and have given no indications that they won't use it.

[cmathewson]

Punto was actually a great defender...

 

That's debatable. If you trust UZR/150, then, yeah. I happen not to. He had some really good years at certain positions by that metric. He never gathered the reps at any one position to form a reasonable sample. If he was such a great defender, why couldn't he stick at one position for more than a year?

 

The reason was, he had almost no respect for fundamentals and doing things the right way. Gardy was very patient with him, but still benched him regularly. I suspect he would not have lasted nearly as long under Kelly. In general, he improvised way too much for my taste, when a good fundamental play would do the job. If he had any fundamentals in him at all, he would have been the regular shortstop for six years. His range was that good.

[LaBombo]

Um...what? Pretty sure they have another 10 months to spend that money and have given no indications that they won't use it.

I think there's at least a little indication they might not use it when you consider that the unspent payroll this year approaches the GNP of some economically challenged nations.

[cmathewson]

I think there's at least a little indication they might not use it when you consider that the unspent payroll this year approaches the GNP of some economically challenged nations.

 

Name a country that had a GNP of less than $40M. Otherwise, your comment qualifies as hyperbole.

[nicksaviking]

Name a country that had a GNP of less than $40M. Otherwise, your comment qualifies as hyperbole.

 

Tuvalu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Tuvalu. Hyperbole can kiss it I guess.

[nicksaviking]

Um...what? Pretty sure they have another 10 months to spend that money and have given no indications that they won't use it.

 

They could still spend it, but on who? There better be some hidden gems or outside the box ideas because all of the pre-draft favorites are signed or are committed. I HATE the nickle and dime approach to free agency, traditional or international.

 

Spend your money on big players with upside, not a bunch of little players who's performance can be repeated by a half-dozen other guys in the system. I don't know anyone but a hoarder who prefers quantity over quality.

[drjim]

They could still spend it, but on who? There better be some hidden gems or outside the box ideas because all of the pre-draft favorites are signed or are committed. I HATE the nickle and dime approach to free agency, traditional or international.

 

Spend your money on big players with upside, not a bunch of little players who's performance can be repeated by a half-dozen other guys in the system. I don't know anyone but a hoarder who prefers quantity over quality.

 

Quantity is quite valuable when projecting 16 year olds.

 

And just because a couple of lists you read are mostly used up doesn't mean there aren't guys left.

 

I was surprised to read they had already spent about $3 mil. They have signed guys none of us even know about.

[nicksaviking]

Quantity is quite valuable when projecting 16 year olds.

 

And just because a couple of lists you read are mostly used up doesn't mean there aren't guys left.

 

I was surprised to read they had already spent about $3 mil. They have signed guys none of us even know about.

 

No debate, those predraft rankings obviously aren't a clear indicator of success, but so many of the guys regarded as top international players have been spot on in the past. It's possible the Twins have some insight into some unknown players but they have little experience in the DR so it makes it seem like they are playing the odds with quantity as opposed to the odds with quality and I don't like it.

 

So many of the top Latin players today were highly regarded international signings, the odds of getting a super star seem so much better going that route.

[big dog]

Tuvalu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Tuvalu. Hyperbole can kiss it I guess.

 

That was good- nicely done. Now, name a country large enough so that the entire population can't fit in Target Field that has a GNP of less than $40 million...

[LaBombo]

That was good- nicely done. Now, name a country large enough so that the entire population can't fit in Target Field that has a GNP of less than $40 million...

Looks like twice as many people as I thought chose to see it as hyperbole rather than snark.

 

How about shifting the economic scale back to baseball and simply pointing out that the Twins pocketed more unspent payroll than the Astros or Marlins spent on payroll?

 

With contraction and relocation off the table for a while, it appears there is no action left at the franchise's disposal that will go completely undefended.

[big dog]

Looks like twice as many people as I thought chose to see it as hyperbole rather than snark.

 

How about shifting the economic scale back to baseball and simply pointing out that the Twins pocketed more unspent payroll than the Astros or Marlins spent on payroll?

 

With contraction and relocation off the table for a while, it appears there is no action left at the franchise's disposal that will go completely undefended.

 

No, the snark was very clear, but it was hyperbole-intense snark. Too tempting a target. Plus it was cool to learn about Tuvalu so I wondered what else people had in the bag. I forgot that any post is at risk of being immediately challenged in most threads as either mindlessly attacking management or mindlessly agreeing with management. Sorry for sidetracking all the snark. My bad.

 

big dog will go lay down by his dish now and think about what he's done

[DaveW]

No debate, those predraft rankings obviously aren't a clear indicator of success, but so many of the guys regarded as top international players have been spot on in the past. It's possible the Twins have some insight into some unknown players but they have little experience in the DR so it makes it seem like they are playing the odds with quantity as opposed to the odds with quality and I don't like it.

 

So many of the top Latin players today were highly regarded international signings, the odds of getting a super star seem so much better going that route.

 

Um, didn't the Twins already get a couple of the top guys? Wasn't Kepler a guy they ultimately got for less than a mil?

 

How do you know there is nobody "good" left and the Twins approach is wrong? I am pretty sure they are on top of things..

[cmathewson]

Quantity is quite valuable when projecting 16 year olds.

 

And just because a couple of lists you read are mostly used up doesn't mean there aren't guys left.

 

I was surprised to read they had already spent about $3 mil. They have signed guys none of us even know about.

 

Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they suck. Had you heard of Arcia before we signed him? I believe the Twins did sign a top 10 player on most lists this year (Diaz). Last year, they signed a top 5 player (Minier), in addition to one high on some lists (Thorpe). Could they sign more? Sure. But relative to the league, they are in the upper half in this area, which is a big reason they have the #1 system in all of baseball.