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  • Minnesota Twins Sign Joey Gallo


    Theodore Tollefson

    Jeff Passan is reporting that the Twins have signed slugger Joey Gallo to a one-year deal for $11M.

    Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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    MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins have signed outfielder Joey Gallo to a one-year, $11 million contract for the 2023 season, as Jeff Passan of ESPN reported.

    Gallo, 29, is a two-time American League all-star and Gold Glove winner. 2022 was Gallo’s worst to date as he posted a .160/.280/.357 triple slash and .638 OPS along with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in 126 games between the Yankees and Dodgers. 

    Gallo played 82 of his 126 games with the Yankees in 2022 before being traded on July 29, 2022, to the Dodgers, along with Joely Rodriguez for Trevor Hauver, Ezequiel Duran, Glenn Otto, and Josh Smith.

    Gallo is known for being one of the most frequent hitters, if not the most, to strike out at the plate. He is the definition of the three true outcome hitter which entails he will either strikeout, walk, or hit a home run anytime he is at the plate. Gallo had a strikeout percentage of 39.8% for 2022, his highest ever in a full season. 

    However, he also has 177 home runs in 2811 plate appearances, or better than one home run every 16 plate appearances. His career-high single-season home run total came in 2017 when he hit 41 with the Texas Rangers.  Also, despite his below-the-Mendoza line batting average, (career .199 hitter) he gets on-base; he’s posted a .325 OBP over his career.

    Now a member of the Twins, Gallo will likely be playing in the corner outfield positions, possibly sometime in center field with 56 career games at the position, and spend time as the designated hitter as well. He has also played at first base during his 8-year career. The addition of Gallo, another left-handed hitting outfielder, also places further emphasis on the future of Max Kepler as a Twin, as Gallo now becomes the seventh left-handed hitting outfielder on the Twins' 40-man roster. 

    Gallo has played 15 games at Target Field in his career and has posted a .263/.323/.632 triple slash with six home runs and 13 runs batted in 62 plate appearances. His .632 SLG percentage at Target Field is his highest in any Major League ballpark with a minimum of 40 plate appearances. 

    The deal comes four days after the Twins signed catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was made official today.

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    2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

    I would rather watch Nick Gordon play LF again.

    100% - he is our most reliably producing outfielder at the moment and very fun to watch. 

    After I posted my comment, I thought to myself that Gordon is specifically one of the young guys I’ll tune in for.  Sorry Nick - I left you off my list.

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    2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

    Yet. There are still 1-1.5 WAR pitchers out there. 

    CC and two rookies, or three Gallos.....your choice.

    I got to tell you I am starting to come around on your theory.  These mid guys generally are not difference makers and at 11 to 15 mil per pop they are not cheap either.  

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    OKAY, HE COSTS MORE AND IS A TAD OLDER THAN kEPLER. STRIKES OUT MORE THAN SANO. AND BATS LEFT-HANDED. ALSO MEANS WE HAVE TO DESIGNATE SOMEONE FOR ASSIGNMENT (CONTRERAS, PERHAPS). 

     

    I'm all for opening the pocketbook. So, we replace Sano and Sanchez skill set at the plate with...Gallo? Who can at least play a position, I guess.

     

    Meanwhile, the A's gave Trevor May $7 million to pitch.

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    I hate everything about this deal. I hate the fit. I hate the player. I hate the money. I hate the reek of desperation on it. I hate the fact that it pushes younger players down on the depth chart for no discernible reason. I hate the fact that it literally addresses none of the team's actual problems. I hate having to bet on a bounce back year from a player that's shown zero ability to do well with a new environment. (disaster when dealt to the Yankees. Disaster when dealt to the Dodgers) I hate spending millions on a player who hasn't been good in a year and a half. I hate adding in such an all or nothing bat.

    I don't know what they are doing here, and right now I don't care if there's a "plan", because this is just an idiotic move. It doesn't matter if they deal Kepler. It doesn't matter if they package together 2-3 of their many LH corner OF. We made a bad signing because we missed on all the big names and star power we thought we might be able to land. I don't care that's it's only 1 year, because a bad 1 year deal is still a bad deal.

    There are few singular moves that are truly fireable offenses in baseball...but this is close. This is validating every criticism of the front office this offseason. Right now, this is indefensible. Embarrassing.

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    8 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

    I hate everything about this deal. I hate the fit. I hate the player. I hate the money. I hate the reek of desperation on it. I hate the fact that it pushes younger players down on the depth chart for no discernible reason. I hate the fact that it literally addresses none of the team's actual problems. I hate having to bet on a bounce back year from a player that's shown zero ability to do well with a new environment. (disaster when dealt to the Yankees. Disaster when dealt to the Dodgers) I hate spending millions on a player who hasn't been good in a year and a half. I hate adding in such an all or nothing bat.

    I don't know what they are doing here, and right now I don't care if there's a "plan", because this is just an idiotic move. It doesn't matter if they deal Kepler. It doesn't matter if they package together 2-3 of their many LH corner OF. We made a bad signing because we missed on all the big names and star power we thought we might be able to land. I don't care that's it's only 1 year, because a bad 1 year deal is still a bad deal.

    There are few singular moves that are truly fireable offenses in baseball...but this is close. This is validating every criticism of the front office this offseason. Right now, this is indefensible. Embarrassing.

    Perfectly stated ??

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    For me this signing is a pretty clear indication that the Twins have no intention of fielding a competitive team this season. If I had to guess, I'd say the front office is looking around and saying who can we burn money on that has a chance of building some trade value. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Twins basically hold a 2-3 month fire sale leading up to the trade deadline (with Gray, Mahle, Maeda, Lopez, Pagan, Kepler, Polanco, Arraez, Farmer, Vasquez, and Gallo being on the trade block).

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    3 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

    Makes sense for what purpose?  Is Gallo going to lead us to the playoffs, let  alone a playoff win?  Are fans going to show up to see Gallo k twice a game? Or buy his jersey?  Is this the move a club makes to position itself for a true run?

    Listen, who knows in the mediocre AL Central.  But this is not a move by any stretch of anyone’s imagination that moves the dial for this club in ‘23 and most certainly not in ‘24.  The only redeeming possibility is that he plays well enough that we move him by the deadline for a decent prospect.

    Vasquez was a good signing. Farmer made more sense than Urshela in our lineup. We shall see how Gallo for Kepler plus whatever Kepler brings in a trade looks soon I’m sure. But regardless, this is a FO nipping at the edges to try to fill the big gaping hole left by Correa.  

    They should only sign players who will single-handedly lead them to the playoffs? Good thing they missed on Correa and DeGrom!

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    The signing is fine. I understand why some people see Gallo as redundant with Kepler already on the team. My answer to that is that he has a different skill set that gives him higher upside and has had more recent success. What I don’t understand is why some people think the front office views this as a franchise signing. Clearly it isn’t. 

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    12 minutes ago, prouster said:

    They should only sign players who will single-handedly lead them to the playoffs? Good thing they missed on Correa and DeGrom!

    You are correct - there should be no expectation that any player can really single handedly lead a team to the playoffs. Having said that, is there truly any realistic expectation that Gallo with move the dial in that direction in any meaningful way?  The FO is nibbling at the edges -  Vasquez is strong move, Farmer is a good exchange for Urshela, and Gallo may or may not be an upgrade from Kepler/Larnach/Wallner. Maybe more is to come, but in total do these three moves make the Twins look like a pennant contender in ‘23?  Re Gallo, what are the opportunity costs of $11MM and the ABs for someone who almost certainly won’t be here in ‘24, let alone by the trade deadline.  

     

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    13 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

    You are correct - there should be no expectation that any player can really single handedly lead a team to the playoffs. Having said that, is there truly any realistic expectation that Gallo with move the dial in that direction in any meaningful way?  The FO is nibbling at the edges -  Vasquez is strong move, Farmer is a good exchange for Urshela, and Gallo may or may not be an upgrade from Kepler/Larnach/Wallner. Maybe more is to come, but in total do these three moves make the Twins look like a pennant contender in ‘23?  Re Gallo, what are the opportunity costs of $11MM and the ABs for someone who almost certainly won’t be here in ‘24, let alone by the trade deadline.  

     

    I mean, if at bats for 2024 are the important thing, then everyone should have fun at the lake rather than worrying about the Twins.


    Jokes aside, I think there is a way to view this signing positively. Gallo is basically a Kepler replacement with better defense (Kepler’s defense is good, but Gallo is a credible center fielder). He can play DH and 1B with enough power to avoid losing much if any value. Because he can play all three OF positions, DH, and corner infield, he really shouldn’t take at bats away from anyone. In my view, he doesn’t raise the team’s ceiling, but he does raise its floor somewhat. 
     

    Not exciting, but not useless. Just my two cents. 

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    For those few of you that inexplicably think this was a good signing....

    Who do you think the FO was bidding against for Gallo besides a figment of Boras's imagination?

    What other team do you think was clamoring for his services?

    Above and beyond a nonsensical signing, the FO got pantsed on the contract itself. 

    I bet you Boras is most thankful this Holiday Season for the Twins FO.

     

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    2 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

    For those few of you that inexplicably think this was a good signing....

    Who do you think the FO was bidding against for Gallo besides a figment of Boras's imagination?

    What other team do you think was clamoring for his services?

    Above and beyond a nonsensical signing, the FO got pantsed on the contract itself. 

    I bet you Boras is most thankful this Holiday Season for the Twins FO.

     

    ?

    11 million is not all that much in the free agent market. And what other Boras client did the Twins sign? It’s SF that gave him money. 

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    I can only conclude that this a precursor to some other moves that will restructure the roster that puts Gallo as the starting right fielder, otherwise it seems a waste of resources ($$). I'm not a Joey Gallo fan (his name reminds me of the Joe Pesci character in "My Cousin Vinny") because I'm not a great fan of three true outcomes baseball . . . BORING!

    I'm not sure where Falvey is going with all this but more and more I miss the Gardenhire gang and fundamentally sound baseball.

    Vive las Piranhas!

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    I have so many more things to say but my heading is spinning over this stupidity.  What were.....how do.....why would.....,???

    I really really want to see what Falvey has to say about this. I can't imagine any behind the scenes scenario that will make him look good. 

    Well, it's "only" $11m.  But it's not just how MUCH you spend, it's HOW you spend it.  There is now $11m less to dedicate to a legitimate need. What a waste!

     

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    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !

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