Article: Out of Answers

[Nick Nelson]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/2760-Out-of-Answers

[pierre75275]

If somebody claims him, does he need to stay on the 25 man roster or pass thru waivers to be assigned to AAA? I agree, i doubt somebody would pick him up and even if they did would the twins miss him that much? It looks like we currently will have better options then him at AAA.

[dukie034]

Stick a fork in him. Cannot recover after that outing.

[Seth Stohs]

If somebody claims him, does he need to stay on the 25 man roster or pass thru waivers to be assigned to AAA? I agree, i doubt somebody would pick him up and even if they did would the twins miss him that much? It looks like we currently will have better options then him at AAA.

 

I still think that someone would pick him up, but at this point, that may be best for him and for the Twins. Personally, I'm not willing to completely shut the door on Worley. I hope that he would pass through waivers and the Twins can send him to Rochester. He's succeeded in the past, and he is 26 all season, so there's still a chance.

 

You're right though. If he were claimed by another team, he would have to stay on the 25 man roster OR go through waivers a second time.

[luckylager]

I can't imagine a place for Worley on any team's 25 man roster right now. He needs to (hopefully) work things out in AAA. If that means taking a risk losing him, so be it. I hope Vance can rediscover his mojo.

[Riverbrian]

Make the move right now... If he's gonna slip through... I'd imagine now is the best time to slip him through.

[Guest USAFChief]

It's the zero swinging strikes that is most telling, IMO. Sometimes, the BABIP gods can be cruel and everything put in play seems to find a hole. But if you can't get even one swing and miss in 61 pitches, it seems to me you're not throwing major league stuff. Send him down, and if someone claims him so be it.

[scottz]

It's the zero swinging strikes that is most telling, IMO. Sometimes, the BABIP gods can be cruel and everything put in play seems to find a hole. But if you can't get even one swing and miss in 61 pitches, it seems to me you're not throwing major league stuff. Send him down, and if someone claims him so be it.

 

Agreed. I was hoping he would make the team, partly because when we traded Revere I thought Worley was a nice "right now" piece. Not that I expected him to be an All-Star, but I thought he would help. It's time to make the move and let the chips fall where they may.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Maybe a change of scenery and pitching coaches would be good for The Vanimal. It's possible a different point of view could do the trick. Zero swinging strikes and absolute befuddlement are telling.

 

hopefully he passes thru to AAA as I still have hope for Vance in the Twins organization.

[Trautmann13]

The worst part about Worley is that he aint coming north after yesterday. That is for sure, in my eyes. Put if the Twins don't want him, nobody else will want him for anymore than a bag of baseballs. What next for him, AAA?

[Shane Wahl]

I would pass him through waivers right now. I don't think that a team is going to claim him. Perhaps it was best to be terrible out of the gates so that he could make it to Rochester and get his act together (hopefully). Still WEIRD that he has been so bad.

[zenser]

I would pass him through waivers right now. I don't think that a team is going to claim him. Perhaps it was best to be terrible out of the gates so that he could make it to Rochester and get his act together (hopefully). Still WEIRD that he has been so bad.

 

I agree. Atlanta made their reaction move by signing Santana. I could see a team like Arizona or Oakland taking a chance since they have had injuries but they also have a lot of young talent ready or close to ready. Waive him and see what happens.

[tobi0040]

I would pass him through waivers right now. I don't think that a team is going to claim him. Perhaps it was best to be terrible out of the gates so that he could make it to Rochester and get his act together (hopefully). Still WEIRD that he has been so bad.

 

I can't quite figure it out either. He had 8+ K/9 with Philadelphia in over 270 IP. ERA of 3.01 and 4.20.

 

What we have seen is a completely different pitcher. K/9 in the 4 range and what is strange is his BB/9 rate has actually been better here than in Philly.

 

What is certain is he can't be on the 25 man roster. I agree with Shane, try and pass him through waivers right now. If he is gone best of luck to him.

[gunnarthor]

Bummer. I really liked the trade that brought him here, even if he was going from the NL to the AL. Figured leaving a hitters park to a pitchers park would more than make up for it but ...

 

I don't think they'll try and pass him through waivers yet. I think they do it later when everyone is dumping players to make it less likely that he gets claimed. He'll probably get another start yet.

[Old Twins Cap]

Worst starting pitcher on the worst starting staff in baseball. Are we really concerned that another team will pick him up? I agree with Shane, this is just plain WEIRD that he is so bad, but weirder things have happened. Time to move on.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I would pass him through waivers right now. I don't think that a team is going to claim him. Perhaps it was best to be terrible out of the gates so that he could make it to Rochester and get his act together (hopefully). Still WEIRD that he has been so bad.

 

My thoughts exactly. In a way, his wretched play has been a blessing.

 

1. It makes the Twins' decision easy.

 

2. He has been so bad that it's unlikely that another team will claim him.

[Dman]

It seems like he throws too straight. There doesn't seem to be much movement on the ball when he throws it and guys were hitting him hard. I never expected Worely to be an ace but I also never expected him to be this bad. I think it would be best if he caught on with another team because the negative energy he has going here seems like too much to overcome.

[UCLA_YANKEE_COLA]

It is crazy that he is only a month older than Kyle Gibson. That makes it hard to just write him off. Hopefully he can make it through waivers and land in Rochester. I wouldn't hold my breath on him turning it around but it's not impossible to envision him in St. Louis starting a playoff games in 2 years.

[nfisch22]

I was at the game last night and the one strikeout he had was a questionable call. It looked like a ball from where I was sitting. His fastball was awful all night long. 90mph right down the middle belt high and it had zero movement. On the bright side Swarzak looked pretty good. He had a few more mph on his fast ball than what I remember from last year.

[Mike Sixel]

I was pro "trade an OF for pitchers", but said we'd have to judge the actual trade when we see what happens. That's what scouts get paid for, making the right decision. So far, those scouts should have less influence imo.

[Circus Boy]

In a skill and mechanics sport like baseball, when a player's skill and mechanics take a holiday then it's all a head game. Worley is physically able, but he's not good between the ears right now. That's not a criticism, just an observation of what happens to young athletes when their stuff leaves them. Hope he comes back to help the Twins, but if not, that he lands elsewhere and finds his mojo.

[JB_Iowa]

In a skill and mechanics sport like baseball, when a player's skill and mechanics take a holiday then it's all a head game. Worley is physically able, but he's not good between the ears right now.

 

These two quotes from Anderson pretty much confirm what you're saying:

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino

Rick Anderson on Worley: "He warmed up as well as I’ve ever seen him. All of a sudden, as soon as they said play ball, the ball elevated."

Anderson on Worley: "The more he tried to impress, the more it elevated. It just wasn't the night."

[tobi0040]

I was pro "trade an OF for pitchers", but said we'd have to judge the actual trade when we see what happens. That's what scouts get paid for, making the right decision. So far, those scouts should have less influence imo.

 

Revere is a fringe CF on an OK team. We absolutely could not have his bat and arm in a corner, which is what would have happened. Revere for May straight up is a win in my book.

[halfchest]

I still can't fault the Twins for trading for him. Guy looked like a solid mid rotation pitcher plus you're getting a guy in May that has big upside/power pitcher. I don't think anyone saw this coming from Vanimal. He just hasn't done anything since putting on a Twins uniform. Hopefully they can send him down to Rochester and he gets one more shot at figuring it all out. If not though, I'm fine with the Twins moving on and giving the #5 spot to Deduno for now.

 

On a positive note . . . knocking on wood as I type, the Twins other starting pitchers have been decent and healthy so far.

[Dantes929]

Maybe they should ask him to tank one more start so he will be more likely to pass through waivers. Other guys have gone through what he has and come back from it. In 2008 Liriano admitted he had no idea where his fast ball was going to go. He went down to the minors, found it and came back to the Twins and had an excellent 2nd half that propelled the Twins to game 163. In 2010 Jesse Crain completely lost confidence, went down to the minors, came back and had 20 some consecutive scoreless outings. I have no problem with guys going down to the minors and earning their way back. Its actually the way it should be. As has been pointed out before, the other top 7 pitchers have all made a pretty decent show of it. I wish we had the luxury of sending Hicks down as well to earn his way back but in this case I think he should stay up if for nothing other than his defense.

[deanlambrecht]

I actually feel foolish even stating this, but watching his outing and thinking about his dramatic drop in performance made me wonder if he was juicing when he was with the Phillies, but is no longer doing that, and this is what he's really like without the juice. I just can't think of any logical explanations.

[tobi0040]

I still can't fault the Twins for trading for him. Guy looked like a solid mid rotation pitcher plus you're getting a guy in May that has big upside/power pitcher. QUOTE]

 

Agree 100%. At the time I would have done either one for one with Revere. Now I still would rather have May 1 for 1.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Maybe they should ask him to tank one more start so he will be more likely to pass through waivers. Other guys have gone through what he has and come back from it. In 2008 Liriano admitted he had no idea where his fast ball was going to go. He went down to the minors, found it and came back to the Twins and had an excellent 2nd half that propelled the Twins to game 163. In 2010 Jesse Crain completely lost confidence, went down to the minors, came back and had 20 some consecutive scoreless outings. I have no problem with guys going down to the minors and earning their way back. Its actually the way it should be.

That's a tough decision for the Vanimal, tank a game and put a seal on finishing his career as a washed up 26 year old AAAA pitcher on the worst pitching team in MLB... or pitch his very best, hopefully good enough to get traded to a better team looking for depth.

 

while I agree that AAA is the right place for him to go, asking Worley to tank is offensive to Worley and very unlikely for him to go along with.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

I agree with most posters. Stick a fork in the Vanimal. He is done. Will he pass thru waivers?? Probably not--somebody will give him one last shot. Could he comeback?? Of course. Will he?? Who knows.

 

The Twins still have 3 candidates for starter (Diamond, Gibson, Deduno). They have Meyers in the minors and maybe May. Cut the Vanimal now.

[cmathewson]

I still think that someone would pick him up, but at this point, that may be best for him and for the Twins. Personally, I'm not willing to completely shut the door on Worley. I hope that he would pass through waivers and the Twins can send him to Rochester. He's succeeded in the past, and he is 26 all season, so there's still a chance.

 

You're right though. If he were claimed by another team, he would have to stay on the 25 man roster OR go through waivers a second time.

 

I was at the game last night. I cannot imagine a scout looking at that and saying he's worth an MLB roster spot. I saw more outs during batting practice. And there were no bloopers or dribblers. Everything was hit on the screws, with several good defensive plays behind him. It's not like this is the first bad outing, either. We saw similar performance in his time with the Twins last year and earlier in the spring. You'd have to be pretty desperate to take a flier on him.