BREAKING: Twins Flip Granite To Rangers

Glad the Twins made this move, I wasn't really big on acquiring another A-ball level arm. God speed Xavier.

I understand the sentiment, but that's exactly what you trade a fringe 40-man roster player for: a player who isn't going to be a 40-man roster candidate for 2-3 years. Trading him for another player on the cusp of MLB wouldn't solve the issue that lead to his hitting the wire in the first place.

Update: Now we're talking! More creativity from this front office. That 700k would just about cover 5 Brusdar Graterols! That money is more appealing than the prospect imo.

If the Twins get 5 Graterols from this money, I shall accuse them of witchcraft. But in a good way.

According to this Fangraphs article (from one year ago), Granite is the sixth best prospect in the game, projected to amass 10WAR over the first six seasons of his big-league career. Presumably a lot of that value is centered around his defense.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2018-top-100-katoh-prospects/

Yeah, I agree with you, but at the same time I'm willing to give the front office the benefit of the doubt here. Hard to believe that they would take such a large chunk of money without having a plan for spending it on someone.

Concur.

It's important to consider that they have relationships in place in the D.R., and fully staffed year-round facilities. We may never know if they had plans in advance for this cash, and we never find out how they invested it, but it's inconceivable to me that they don't have an option or two on the table.

another example for my "Fangraphs is nonsense" file.

KATOH was developed to serve a particular purpose. It was a statistics-only double check on minor leaguers. From the first paragraph of the link:

"There are certainly drawbacks to scouting the stat line, but due to their objectivity, the projections can be useful in identifying prospects who might be overlooked or overrated."

It was never meant to be a stand-alone assessment of prospects.

From his 2018 All-KATOH article, where he identified players with potential outside the top 100:

"Of course, the fact that these players missed every top-100 list suggests that their physical tools are probably underwhelming. That’s very important information! Often times, the outlook for players like this is much worse than their minor-league stats would lead you to believe. There’s a reason people in the industry always say 'don’t scout the stat line.'"

There is a write-up of Granite in the linked article, explaining why scouts weren't as high on Granite as KATOH.

Three pages on Zack Granite? Looks like the TD community is rounding into shape and should be ready for the opener later this month.

If not already over, this will enable them to sign one or more late bloomers to contracts.  Have to believe they have one or more players in mind if this is the case.  Does anyone know anything about this?

I think the Twins have scouts down in Caracas with some Disney producers watching the spin rates on Molotov cocktails.   A reboot or sequel to Million Dollar Arm incoming.

Really unlucky injury for Granite kept him from being in the bigs for most of the season.

I'm pretty sure that the Orioles didn't send any actual money to the Twins. The Twins just acquired international bonus pool space, which allows them to legally (from a MLB-perspective) spend more of their own money on international free agents between now and June 30.

Good point. You're right, the Twins received the rights to make that additional expenditure.

so do international dollars carry over to the next season or do they have 800k available that they must use to get someone yet this season?

Use it or lose the right to use it.

Thinking that Zach is a victim of a good farm system. Things start getting crowded, and some have to be moved on at times. Hoping for all the best for his future!

The Twins probably don't need him right now, but Granite probably did have some value to various rebuilding clubs. Obviously 2018 was a lost year for him, but a strong defensive CF with speed *and* who rarely strikes out at the plate (and is MLB ready) is an interesting asset. Not an upside prospect, but possibly a guy with a high floor who you can plug in at CF right away for a cheap 1-2 WAR regular.

 

Just in the Twins division, I could see the Royals and especially White Sox both being interested in a player like that. The White Sox depth chart shows Adam Engel at #1 in CF right now, and not much better in the corners either.

 

Both the Royals and White Sox were ahead of the Rangers in waiver priority too, which may have prompted this deal from the Rangers perspective.

Yeah I was wondering if dealing with the Rangers was more of a way to make sure Granite didn't get claimed by anyone in the division.  I think both Detroit and Chicago could use outfield help and Cleveland could use a good 4th outfielder.  Best to get a deal outside the division.

Granite doesn't have power but great speed can compensate for that as walks and singles can become doubles.  I still think he is going to be a good player.  Maybe not great but solid.  However, I do like Cave and Wade better at this time so really no room for him here.

Hard to believe there are many fifteen year olds left, and even harder to believe if there are, they don't already have verbal deals. But, still, great to get something for a guy Seth compares to Buxton.

Mike Radcliff said on Inside Twins that we are one of a handful of teams that will follow 16 and 17 year-olds. You may have noticed the pitcher we received in the Pressly trade was signed by the Astros at 19.