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  • ESPN Report: Twins Could Be Mystery Team for Harper, Machado

    Cody Christie

    By Cody Christie

    Dreams can happen right?

    Last week, I mused about the possibility of Minnesota making a bid for free agent Manny Machado. He’s young, a five-tool player, and has the potential to impact the game in multiple ways. It also helps that the White Sox have been going after him. If the Twins could steal him from their division rival, it would make the signing that much sweeter.

    Could the Twins make a splash and sign Machado or Harper?

    Image courtesy of Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

    ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting the Twins could be one of a handful of mystery teams interested in signing either Machado or Harper. Olney’s biggest reasons for identifying the Twins is their lack of free agent spending, which gives the club an opportunity to pull off this kind of contract.

    Over the last week, Minnesota’s payroll has been a hot button topic in Twins Territory. (I wrote a little about it in this week’s Twins Daily mailbag and you can listen to Gleeman and the Geek discuss it in their latest episode). Joe Mauer’s contract came off the books and the organization has few contractual commitments moving forward.

    According to Forbes, Minnesota ranks 22nd in MLB team valuations. The club made $261 million in revenue last year and spent $133 million on player expenses. Currently, the Twins are projected to start next season with a payroll around $100 million.

    If it takes longer for these two players to sign, their asking price could continue to drop. It could also drop the length of the contract. Both players are relatively young for reaching free agency since they made their debuts as teenagers. This could allow teams to sign them to a longer contract because the prime of their careers would be throughout most of the new deal.

    Since these two players debuted in 2012, Harper has the 12th highest WAR total, while Machado comes in at 15th. These are two of the best players of this generation and they are reaching free agency in their prime. All of baseball should be interested… why not the Twins?

    Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

    Cody Christie is a Twins writer and content contributor. His writing can be found exclusively at Twins Daily and his voice can be heard on radio stations throughout the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Twins, he is a father, high school teacher, and avid runner.
    Follow Cody Christie on Twitter: nodaktwinsfan

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    Featured Comments

    h2oface

    h2oface 7,066

  • Verified Member

    • Posted (edited)

     

    Speaking of hurting, do you think that having their highest paid player not give 100% every time and publicly admitting it and justifying it will help or hurt the attitude and development of the Twins' young core?

     

    Is that who you want to be their role model?

     

    Unfortunately.... that is the role model of the generation. It isn't just Machado or Harper not running hard everytime to first base or after the missed third strike. It is most of the players. And that includes most of the Twins. It is a sign of the times.

    Edited by h2oface
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    David HK

    David HK 5,197

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I’d guess you could find a similar story on every single team’s fan site. I don’t see either of them coming here. Harper to LA because he is a west coast guy and likes modeling his beard.

    But if he came to Minny, at least he'd have some actual use for a beard. 

     

    B-r-r-r-r-r-r......

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    diehardtwinsfan

    diehardtwinsfan 14,830

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

     

     

     
     
    Boy, you guys are (mostly) a bunch of Red's.  I'll be waiting for you on the beach.
     
    Falvey is Andy Dufresne, and he's been hollowing out his bible and chipping away at the prison walls for a while now.  If it was obvious what he was doing, he would've got caught already.  When this happens I want all of you to go outside shirtless in a rainstorm and spin around in circles.

     

     

    Kudos for a pretty awesome movie reference!

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    nicksaviking

    nicksaviking 26,755

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

     

     

    I think there's a decent chance you could get either Harper or Machado by offering 3/105. They make $35 million per year and this era of the teams watching their budgets closely may have passed. Also, the new CBA will be coming along and salaries may have escalated for any number of other reasons.

    $35M per year and sign again while still in your prime. Might tempt a player.

    Also, it is relatively short term and the Twins would likely make out OK in the $/WAR equation.

    .

    Doesn't have to be a 10 year deal.

     

    Great point. If they can't get a big 10-year deal, Three years might be the goal, at least an opt out at that time as it looks like the CBA expires December of 2021. There might be a lot of guys positioning themselves for free agency that year, though maybe their ideas on the matter would change if there's a strike? I don't know. Maybe 2022 would be the possible big free agent bonanza year?

     

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    Blake

    Blake 12,585

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    Harper, 3/115
    Machado, 3/115
    Keuchel, 3/60
    Kimbrel, 3/60
    Opt outs after the 2nd year for everyone

    Let’s go win a WS!!!

    I am against signing Machado to a long term deal. I don't like him, but this kind of contract I could live with.

     

    One of the reasons I'm against Machado and a long term deal is that I think as soon as Machado loses interest in playing for the team he signs with, I'm pretty sure it would show up in his play on the field. At which point, the long-term contract become an albatross. However, short term, big money? You bet go for it.

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    nicksaviking

    nicksaviking 26,755

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

    And now Steve Adams at MLBTR is playing along too. If one were to assume he saved his most likely "Mystery Team" for last, then surely the Twins will come away with Machado:

     

    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/01/trying-to-identify-mystery-teams-for-manny-machado.html

     

    Also, the paragraph he wrote about the Twins was the biggest of all the "Mystery Teams" so, this has to be in the bag.

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    Richie the Rally Goat

    Richie the Rally Goat 9,100

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

     

    And now Steve Adams at MLBTR is playing along too. If one were to assume he saved his most likely "Mystery Team" for last, then surely the Twins will come away with Machado:

     

    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/01/trying-to-identify-mystery-teams-for-manny-machado.html

     

    Also, the paragraph he wrote about the Twins was the biggest of all the "Mystery Teams" so, this has to be in the bag.

    At least Adams titles and frames the article in a more up front way. In terms of need and resources, Twins make a ton of sense. We all know it isn't happening, but if logic mattered, the Twins would be legitimately in on Machado.

     

    I'm not paying to read the ESPN article, but the click-bait nature of the title along with the consternation leads me to believe that ESPN wasn't very genuine.

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    ahart10

    ahart10 264

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I think there's a decent chance you could get either Harper or Machado by offering 3/105. They make $35 million per year and this era of the teams watching their budgets closely may have passed. Also, the new CBA will be coming along and salaries may have escalated for any number of other reasons.

    $35M per year and sign again while still in your prime. Might tempt a player.

    Also, it is relatively short term and the Twins would likely make out OK in the $/WAR equation.

    .

    Doesn't have to be a 10 year deal.

    Exactly!! Thank you for expanding on my post. Both him and Harper seem to be just as concerned with breaking the AAV record as they are with getting that mega deal. They played in the same market all these years. I say why not let them continue that but on the same team.

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    ahart10

    ahart10 264

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I am against signing Machado to a long term deal. I don't like him, but this kind of contract I could live with.

     

    One of the reasons I'm against Machado and a long term deal is that I think as soon as Machado loses interest in playing for the team he signs with, I'm pretty sure it would show up in his play on the field. At which point, the long-term contract become an albatross. However, short term, big money? You bet go for it.

    I’m no Machado fan either, hitting catchers in backswings, Donaldson incident, Pedroia spiking, foot stomp, etc. He is definitely a top end talent though, and the Twins are horribly lacking in that dept.

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    ahart10

    ahart10 264

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    The Twins don’t have a core to build on but just so happens that some elite in their prime players are available and Twins have ZERO money on the books and a cache of prospects coming in the next few years. Perfect storm?

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    Number3

    Number3 615

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Harper expects to be the highest paid top dog on a guaranteed World Series champion in a big market town and will settle for nothing less. Machado would probably accept the highest bidder but would be a disruptive force on a team with no other big contracts on the roster. Twins don't need or want either. But no worries; neither will come anywhere near the Twin Cities. The outside chance that Machado may accept an overpriced deal from a team like the Twins does scare me a little.

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    Unfortunately.... that is the role model of the generation. It isn't just Machado or Harper not running hard everytime to first base or after the missed third strike. It is most of the players. And that includes most of the Twins. It is a sign of the times.

    False hustle is silly. They are more likely to pull a hamstring than get to first in time to be safe. And I'm 54, this isn't about generations.

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    Jim Hahn

    Jim Hahn 230

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    False hustle is silly. They are more likely to pull a hamstring than get to first in time to be safe. And I'm 54, this isn't about generations.

    I am 67 and I agree that false hustle is silly. Still, if a catcher can jog down the base line to be in position for a possible overthrow, a hitter can do something similar. Putting yourself into position to take advantage of a possible mistake is not false hustle. Standing in the batter's box or taking 2 steps and peeling off to the dugout, I don't know. That feels like laziness or even a lack of respect for the game. I realize not everyone will agree, but still.

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    Battle ur tail off

    Battle ur tail off 1,398

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I think there's a decent chance you could get either Harper or Machado by offering 3/105. They make $35 million per year and this era of the teams watching their budgets closely may have passed. Also, the new CBA will be coming along and salaries may have escalated for any number of other reasons.

    $35M per year and sign again while still in your prime. Might tempt a player.

    Also, it is relatively short term and the Twins would likely make out OK in the $/WAR equation.

    .

    Doesn't have to be a 10 year deal.

     

    If either of them would have signed for this the ink would have already been on paper IMO. 

     

     

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    MNTWINSWINAGAIN

    MNTWINSWINAGAIN 12

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Manny won't be signed by the Twins because the FO thinks they have the best MiLB infield "prospects" in all of baseball and they are willing to wait on them.

     

    Harper won't be signed by the Twins because the FO thinks they have the best young core of outfielders in the MLB and they are willing to wait on them.

     

    On another note, does it mean anything that the MN Twins official website list Garver on the 1B depth chart but not on the catcher depth chart?  

     

    http://mlb.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=min

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    Blake

    Blake 12,585

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I’m no Machado fan either, hitting catchers in backswings, Donaldson incident, Pedroia spiking, foot stomp, etc. He is definitely a top end talent though, and the Twins are horribly lacking in that dept.

    I've mentioned those things in past, which is why I didn't bring it up again. The "losing interest" angle is one that just recently struck me.

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

    I think there's a decent chance you could get either Harper or Machado by offering 3/105.

    I would counter there is virtually zero chance of them signing a 3 year deal.

     

    However, I think it is very likely that whatever long-term deal they sign will contain an opt out after 3 years (and/or 1-2 years). Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

    One of the reasons I'm against Machado and a long term deal is that I think as soon as Machado loses interest in playing for the team he signs with, I'm pretty sure it would show up in his play on the field.

    What is your basis for saying this?

     

    (FWIW, any long term deal he signs will include an opt out. He'll have plenty of incentive to keep performing even if he wants to leave.)

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    Mr. Brooks

    Mr. Brooks 7,174

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    What is your basis for saying this?

     

    (FWIW, any long term deal he signs will include an opt out. He'll have plenty of incentive to keep performing even if he wants to leave.)

    And even without an opt out, he's young enough to get another big contract after this one. He has plenty of incentive to perform.

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