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  • Nunez Traded To Giants For LHP Prospect

    Seth Stohs

    By Seth Stohs

    Following the Twins 6-2 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, the team announced that All Star Shortstop Eduardo Nunez has been traded to the San Francisco Giants.

    In return, the Twins received left-handed pitcher Adalberto Mejia. He just turned 23 years old. In 18 starts between AA Richmond and AAA Sacramento this year, he is a combined 7-3 with a 2.81 ERA. In 105.2 innings, he has 27 walks and 102 strikeouts. He made 11 starts in AA and has now made seven starts in AAA.

    Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today

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    The Giants have an All-Star caliber shortstop in Brandon Crawford. Second Baseman Joe Panik is about to come off of the Disabled List. Matt Duffy has been their primary third baseman. Eduardo Nunez will likely play all three positions, and maybe even a little in the outfield.

    Once considered the heir-apparent to Derek Jeter as the New York Yankees shortstop, Eduardo Nunez never really got that opportunity. Instead, he had to play as a utility infielder. In April of 2014, he was traded to the Twins in exchange for left-handed pitcher Miguel Sulbaran.

    He played in 72 games for the Twins in 2014 and hit just .250/.271/.381 (.654). In 2015, he finally seemed to really accept the role of a bench player and thrived. He hit .272/.327/.431 (.758).

    Because of injury, Nunez finally got an opportunity to play every day and he took full advantage. While he has slowed down in the last month, he is still hitting .300/.326/.444 (.771) with 15 doubles, 12 homers, 47 RBI and a league-leading 26 stolen bases. He made - and earned - his first All Star appearance.

    Popular in the clubhouse, Nunez will likely be missed by teammates. He is considered a leader among the players, particularly the many young players from Latin American countries.

    However, to get a prospect the caliber of Adalberto Mejia for him is rather impressive.

    Mejia was suspended 50 games for PEDs following the 2014 season. He missed time at the start of the 2015 season. Since, he he pitched very well.

    Mejia is listed at 6-3, 195 pounds, but most believe he is at least 20 pounds more than that. However, the southpaw has a fastball that reached to 93-94 mph.He also throws a slider in the mid-80s and a low-80s change up.

    For Rob Antony's first move as the interim GM, I would think this would go down in the "Pro" column for his candidacy for the full-time job.

    Mejia's Twins career will begin with the Rochester Red Wings. Jorge Polanco was recalled to the Twins.

    Seth Stohs has been blogging about the Minnesota Twins since May 2003. A founder and owner of Twins Daily, Seth has been a Twins fan for 40 years and has a passion for covering the minor leagues and prospects.
    Follow Seth Stohs on Twitter: sethtweets

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    Tibs

    Tibs 844

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I like the return for Nuñez. However, I'm not a fan of 1 to 1 major leaguer and prospect trades. I wish we could have got another prospect in the lower levels of the minors. Overall I'm satisfied with the return and I'm glad to see Antony make a move.

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted (edited)

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 1:53 PM, jorgenswest said:

    I think most of these are mid season ranks which skew up. Many players have exited the ranks when entering the majors and the new draft crop isn't represented.

     

    I think this is an important fact to remind people of. 

     

    Having said that, I think it's still a good haul for a player of Nunez caliber.

    Edited by jimmer
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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:07 PM, Monkeypaws said:

    The Part of me that actually watches Twins games will miss Eduardo. Fun guy to watch. I'm glad he's going to a great team with a great ballpark in a great city.

     

    The part of me that visits Twins Daily is very happy with the trade though, and is hoping for more.

    I'll miss seeing his helmet fly off in the same way I missed Punto's headfirst slides at first :-)

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    Seth Stohs

    Seth Stohs 23,732

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 3:11 AM, Jaykay said:

    This happened last week when I started the Terry Ryan thread, slighty annoying but not a big deal. 

     

    Not much we can do about that though. Obviously when there is big breaking news, we are going to try to get an Article out there as quickly as we can, but that takes a few minutes and a little more. When I get the press release, I try to do a little more research. I think merging the forums makes great sense so that none of the comments have been lost. We aren't going to NOT write an article on a big story.

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    amjgt

    amjgt 3,009

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:22 PM, Seth Stohs said:

    Not much we can do about that though. Obviously when there is big breaking news, we are going to try to get an Article out there as quickly as we can, but that takes a few minutes and a little more. When I get the press release, I try to do a little more research. I think merging the forums makes great sense so that none of the comments have been lost. We aren't going to NOT write an article on a big story.

     

    Can't you just pre-write a bunch of articles?

     

    :)

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 1:53 PM, jorgenswest said:

    I think most of these are mid season ranks which skew up. Many players have exited the ranks when entering the majors and the new draft crop isn't represented.

    Good point.  I think that's what moved him up the BA list.  I think I had it confused with the MLB midseason update, which did include 2016 draftees but of course did not include Mejia (and only 2 Giants).

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:05 PM, jimmer said:

    I think this is an important fact to remind people of.  I was thinking the same thing when some people were raving about having 3 SPs in the top 100 prospect list on MLB's midseason prospect list this year.  First, that distinction was nothing new for us, we had that going on in a few pre-season top 100 lists recently, but also that guys snuck in there in the midseason lists due to exactly what you pointed out.  Guys having graduated off the list and new draft guys not represented.

    MLB's list included new draft guys, 15 of them to be exact.  Although it included only Berrios and Jay as Twins SP, so perhaps you were thinking of BA's midseason list.

     

    I think the world might be better off without the confusion brought upon it by midseason top 100 prospect lists. :)

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted (edited)

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:35 PM, spycake said:

    MLB's list included new draft guys, 15 of them to be exact.  Although it included only Berrios and Jay as Twins SP, so perhaps you were thinking of BA's midseason list.

     

    I think the world might be better off without the confusion brought upon it by midseason top 100 prospect lists. :)

    yeah,  I realized that and took it off my post.  thanks.  either way, having three SPs on a top 10 prospect list isn't new for us. It sure doesn't mean we're for sure going to have a really good rotation soon.  They have to prove it here.

     

    And I was reading an update on MLB.coms' prospect watch listing a week or two ago and if had Gonsalves as like #97. As I look now, he's back out of it.  They change it quite often, it seems.

    Edited by jimmer
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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

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    • Posted

    I didn't catch this until this morning. After the game last night, I spent some quality time with Mrs. D-Mac. 

     

    This return is definitely better than I had expect to get for Nunez. With one more potential arm for the rotation next year, I wonder if the Twins will be more comfortable moving Santana now? I just hope Berrios and May get their shots before Mejia. 

     

    Anybody know if is being added to the 40-man? 

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:02 PM, diehardtwinsfan said:

    Back of the rotation is the floor.  Mid rotation is the ceiling.  That's pretty normal for top 100.

    Except he's not a top 100, except on BP a year and a half ago and on BA's midseason list which excludes a lot of players.  (Last year, BA only published a "top 50" midseason list, which suggests that Mejia may rank about 50 spots lower when the full population of minor league players is considered again this winter.  Maybe ranking ~140th?  And that might be the high ranking of the lists -- Sickels seemed lower on him than most, C+ and 12th in the Giants system last winter, so I suspect he still may not crack Sickels top 175 this winter.

     

    Mejia is an interesting prospect, but there is no evidence that he is currently a "top 100" prospect as the term is commonly understood.

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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 3:01 AM, Tom Froemming said:

    Great to see a young but near MLB-ready starter coming back for Nunez. The ERA doesn't look as sterling since his promotion to Triple-A (4.20), but Mejia's 9.5 K/9 and 3.91 K/BB ratio over seven starts at Sacramento are very nice. Plus the PCL is a hitter's league.

     

    Atta boy Antony. Sad to see Nunie go, but I think he'll fit in nicely with the Giants.

     

    The PCL is where pitchers go to die. I'd expect him to knock off .5 ERA in the IL at least.

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    Loosey

    Loosey 1,788

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    • Posted

    I like this deal for the Twins.  Now if they can make room for Berrios ASAP and then possibly get this guy in there they can see what they have or don't have for next year.  If anything, the Twins acquired another asset.  Or a guy who can bridge the gap until the next wave of pitching prospects arrive in 2018 or longer.

     

     

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    jorgenswest

    jorgenswest 5,941

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    • Posted

    Mejia stepped it up the year. He is a good prospect and near ready. A good return for Nunez. If his status as a prospect matters, this winter's list will have the best gauge on how he ranked at the time of the trade.

     

    Maybe the Twins can add another potential rotation candidate in the next few days. It takes several rotation prospects to hit on a few. May was on every top 100 list while with the Phillies. Same for Meyer with the Nationals. Neither look like starting rotation hits. They need to keep searching. Nothing is more critical than getting young team control starters in the rotation long term.

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

    I'm not sure about the degree to which Mejia has "stepped it up this year."  It was his third go-around in AA, after all.

     

    Year / ERA / FIP

    2014 / 4.67 / 3.78

    2015 / 2.45 / 3.41

    2016 / 1.94 / 3.19

     

    His K rate finally climbed to AA league average this season, but just barely (8.0 K/9, vs league average 7.6).

     

    His AAA K rate looks better, but in such a small sample -- can he sustain it?  The PCL also has a higher strikeout rate than his AA league, or Rochester's AAA International League, so if we give him a PCL ERA/HR discount, we probably also have to discount part of his PCL K rate boost so far too.  He's never sustained a K rate this high before -- 7.7 K/9 career.

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 3:11 PM, Mike Sixel said:

    The prospect guy for Fangraphs sees a league average number 4 starter. That would be a great return, imo.

     

    That would be his "ceiling" though, right?  What he achieves if he stays healthy and successfully makes the leap to MLB?  A lot of prospects would probably be great return if they hit their ceiling.

     

    This scouting report doesn't suggest he is a particularly strong bullpen candidate either, if starting doesn't work out.  He might not have as much margin for error to provide value even if he doesn't hit that ceiling, as compared to some other pitching prospects.

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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 3:59 AM, ScrapTheNickname said:

    Regarding selling high ... Dozier has been playing splendiferous second base and is hitting a career-best OPS this year ... if Antony has find the right piece, I'd let the Bull Dozier go.

     

    Ditto, but Dozier strikes me as more of an offseason type trade. Plus, the demand for second base seems weak this year at the deadline, not area of need for contenders. 

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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 1:20 PM, ashburyjohn said:

    If I'm the Pirates he's pretty much untouchable. So yeah, Rob, add to Santana what it takes to get the guy (not including our own untouchables :) ) and I'll be impressed.

     

    BTW, and maybe this has already been mentioned, one thing I like about Mejia is that the numbers he has put up in AAA are in the higher-offense PCL. A 4 ERA in the International League wouldn't have been too much to brag about. OTOH, a quick scan of his game log shows only Reno and maybe Vegas as a park he's pitched in that really elevates offense, to the best of my recollection. He pitched against El Paso but that was at home, which is basically sea level. He got pounded twice in his first three games, but in the next four has been good enough to pin some hopes on.

     

    I'd still file that under SSS. 

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    diehardtwinsfan

    diehardtwinsfan 14,830

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 2:03 PM, Tibs said:

    I like the return for Nuñez. However, I'm not a fan of 1 to 1 major leaguer and prospect trades. I wish we could have got another prospect in the lower levels of the minors. Overall I'm satisfied with the return and I'm glad to see Antony make a move.

     

    I tend to agree, but we got a borderline top 100 prospect for a utility player having a good offensive year (and not good defensively)... that's pretty much the definition of a blow me away offer for Nunez. 

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

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    • Posted

     

      On 7/29/2016 at 3:27 PM, spycake said:

    That would be his "ceiling" though, right?  What he achieves if he stays healthy and successfully makes the leap to MLB?  A lot of prospects would probably be great return if they hit their ceiling.

     

    This scouting report doesn't suggest he is a particularly strong bullpen candidate either, if starting doesn't work out.  He might not have as much margin for error to provide value even if he doesn't hit that ceiling, as compared to some other pitching prospects.

     

    "I see a league average 4th starter".....does not mean he sees that as his ceiling, but as a likely outcome......who cares if that is his ceiling. They traded a guy they don't need for a legit pitching prospect who is close to the majors. 

     

    I am baffled anyone can say anything other than "wow, that's a good trade"......

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