Twins Video
He wasn't the sexiest pickup in everyone's eyes, but from all available evidence, Dyson was the high-caliber reinforcement this bullpen required at a minimum. He's been a mostly consistent performer at the back end of MLB bullpens for the past five years and was enjoying an excellent season as setup man for San Francisco, ranking among the league's leading relievers in Win Probability Added.
Against this backdrop, Dyson's immediate collapse for the Twins was a total shock to the system. He completely imploded in his debut, blowing a three-run save against the Marlins in an eventual loss, which carried the added negative of burning a Taylor Rogers appearance.
The following night, he came back out against a similarly bad Royals offense and looked similarly terrible, coughing up three runs on four hits while recording only two outs, endangering a blowout victory.
In both games, the performance matched the results. Dyson didn't look as bad as the assortment of Quad-A relief arms who've briefly passed through Minnesota this year – he looked worse. The right-hander's execution was nonexistent as he consistently missed targets and fell behind in counts before serving up beach balls.
When news surfaced on Sunday that Dyson was battling biceps tendinitis and would be heading to the injured list, the revelation wasn't surprising, but it was upsetting. And the details we've seen bleed out in the days since cast an ominous cloud over the entire ordeal.
To recap...
Dyson told reporters on Monday he's been dealing with "an issue" in his shoulder that dates back to around two weeks before he was traded, adding that he was "just grinding through it the whole time" while costing the Twins dearly in his two appearances.
https://twitter.com/DaneMizutani/status/1158501551805206530
By all accounts, the Giants were not explicitly aware of Dyson's ailment. Although La Velle doesn't sound entirely convinced in his tweet here:
https://twitter.com/LaVelleNeal/status/1158863783265284097
As I see it, there are three possible explanations for what happened here.
1: The Giants did in fact know, or suspect, that Dyson was playing hurt before they traded him, and failed to inform the Twins of it. Not unprecedented, but this would be grounds for Minnesota to seek recourse through the league office, and there've been no rumblings of such.
2: The Giants knew or suspected that he was hurt and made it known to the Twins, who traded for him anyway. This isn't unthinkable, because the ailment affecting Dyson – if it's indeed only a routine bout of tendinitis – isn't all that uncommon or concerning on its face. But I find this hard to believe. Is a front office that's known for fiercely protecting its minor-league assets going to trade three prospects for a guy with an aching arm? And even if so, are they going to throw him into a game right off the plane with said bum wing? Then AGAIN the next day after he looked horrendous in his debut?!
I find it impossible to believe the Twins were aware of this affliction until after his second appearance. Which leads us to our third and most likely scenario...
3: Dyson did not tell the Giants he was hurting, and also gave the Twins no indications of it until he'd been walloped in two straight outings.
This would be fairly typical for a professional ballplayer – gutting it out in the name of "toughness" while hurting yourself and your team in the process. It's a toxic mindset, and one that this new Twins front office has admirably rooted out. The 2019 Twins have largely avoided lengthy absences and setbacks because they seem to foster an open, honest environment where players are forthright about nagging pains and noticeable discomfort. Minnesota's strategy of playing it cautiously at almost every turn has worked out well.
So if this is indeed what happened, Dyson is bringing an immediate culture clash that is far more problematic to me than a couple of rough pitching performances. That I can handle. But taking the mound in important spots for a contending team when you know something's wrong (and this wasn't exactly minor; he claims he could feel it when "picking a plate up in the kitchen or putting [his] (expletive) clothes on")? Pretty inexcusable in my eyes. A terrible first impression from a guy who was too stubbornly focused on creating the opposite.
Having said all that, I have a hard time letting Derek Falvey and Thad Levine off the hook entirely, even if they weren't made aware of this arm problem. I remarked in my Week in Review column on Sunday, published before Dyson revealed that the issue had been affecting him for half a month, that his "issue actually appears to date back a ways; in his last four appearances with the Giants, he got only one swing-and-miss on 42 pitches after inducing 18 in his first eight July outings (15% rate)."
In my mind, when a pitcher who's accustomed to missing bats suddenly stops doing so in such stark fashion, it's one of the clearest indicators something is wrong. One swinging strike on 42 pitches is egregious; by comparison, Ehire Adrianza got two swinging strikes on 14 pitches when he threw an inning against the Mets in July. Now, after pitching twice for the Twins, Dyson has induced two whiffs on his last 80 pitches.
He's broken. He was starting to break before he got here. But because he failed to report it and the Twins failed to notice it, he yielded two costly meltdowns on the hill, and is unavailable for the most pivotal stretch of the season.
Hopefully the bullpen can get by without him, and a little rest serves as the fix he needs. But for now, this is looking like one of the biggest deadline duds in memory, and a fiasco that – unlike most of Byron Buxton's bad breaks – could've and should've been avoided.
MORE FROM TWINS DAILY
— Latest Twins coverage from our writers
— Recent Twins discussion in our forums
— Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email
— Become a Twins Daily Caretaker
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.