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While such a quiet Winter Meetings may have been frustrating under the Terry Ryan regime, it is completely understandable under Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. As Nick wrote last night, "The Twins moved quickly on Jason Castro, because doing so was necessary to lock up the coveted catcher, but now there is little need for urgency."
They should not feel pushed to rush on a Brian Dozier trade. They are 100% correct in saying that they need to be "inspired" to trade him. They should expect elite, young pitching in return.
I agree with their philosophy of taking a broad view of the organization before jumping into too much drastic. That’s why I think they’re wise in keeping a lot of the current front office, shifting some people around, and bringing in new talent when it is available.
Likewise, they need to know the ins and outs of their 40-man roster and the entire minor league system. While they certainly had some information on everyone in the organization, they likely have grown their knowledge of their new organization tenfold since taking over.
There is talent in the organization. Consider in the last year or two the Twins have called up Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, JT Chargois. Adalberto Mejia was acquired in the Eduardo Nunez deal, and he’s a solid starting pitching prospect who should get more of an opportunity in 2017. Also in the next year or two, we could see players like Mitch Garver, Nick Gordon, Engelb Vielma, Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, Mason Melotakis, Trevor Hildenberger, John Curtiss, Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero, Tyler Jay and others.
I’m not naive enough to think that they will all pan out. I do know that the more players with the potential of the above names, the more likely that a few of them will pan out and become very good major leaguers and several more will still be able to contribute in a role of some sort. Add to that list a few more prospects with big league potential from a likely Brian Dozier trade, and that’s encouraging.
But again, that’s not to say that the Twins should do nothing at all. It’s just important to know that they don’t have to have all of their offseason transactions complete by Thursday.
We have heard that the Twins have had discussions regarding Dozier. Yesterday, we learned that they’ve had some discussions regarding Brandon Kintzler. We heard last week that they’ve had some discussions about Kennys Vargas. And, while we haven’t heard it, I would think that some discussions have been had about Hector Santiago.
The Winter Meetings are about having those discussions in person. Some deals could be made today or tomorrow, but some discussions with teams or free agents could linger for the next few weeks. And, frankly, there are always still quality players available in January.
So, the crickets are chirping, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
BRIAN DOZIER UPDATE
TUESDAY RECAP
A few things did happen at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Mike Berardino informed us early in the day on Tuesday that the Twins had re-signed RHP Yorman Landa to a minor league deal. That is almost surprising because why wouldn't they wait until after Thursday's Rule 5 draft to do that. Assuming he's actually signed (and hasn't just agreed to terms) before Thursday morning's Rule 5 draft, he would be eligible to be selected.
- The big news was, without question the Chris Sale trade to the Boston Red Sox. While there were rumors involving the Nationals earlier in the week, it sounds as if the Red Sox made their offer late last week and let the White Sox see if anyone could top it. Well, offering Yoan Moncada (the #1 prospect in baseball), Michael Kopech (a risk, but a guy who throws 100+ and ‘could’ be a starter) and two other prospects would be tough to beat. Making it better for the White Sox, the Red Sox are still on the hook for the $30 million signing bonus they gave Moncada. For the Red Sox, well, they have a rotation of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez.
- The White Sox likely aren’t done, and they will likely maintain contact with the Nationals. Jose Quintana is one of the more underrated starting pitchers in baseball, and the Nationals may be a place for him to go. The White Sox will likely also continue shopping 3B Todd Frazier and RP David Robertson.
- The Red Sox were actually quite busy on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the acquired reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers for three young players including corner infielder Travis Shaw. Thornburg is another strong bullpen arm ready to set up for Craig Kimbrel. Shaw is the guy who beat out Pablo Sandoval as the Red Sox opening day third baseman. Sandoval ended up having surgery. He returned to the Instructional League this fall, and clearly the Red Sox would like him to be their third baseman and this helps open that up for him.
- The Red Sox also signed veteran first baseman Mitch Moreland. Moreland has an OPS over 1.000 in his career at Fenway Park. He also is statistically one of the best first basemen in baseball defensively. Makes me wonder if Hanley Ramirez makes the move to DH at this point.
- After midnight, Bob Nightengale tweeted that the Cubs and Royals have an agreement in place. Wade Davis will go to the World Series champs with OF Jorge Soler heading to the Royals. Davis has just one year left on his contract. Soler is immensely talented, but he’s stuck behind the likes of Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward and even Albert Almora in the Cubs talented outfield.
- A couple of former Twins players found 2017 homes on Tuesday. Carlos Gomez re-signed with the Texas Rangers. He agreed to a one year, $11.5 million deal (pending physical, of course).
- Wilson Ramos, who would have made a ton of money if not for his late-season knee injury, agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Rays on a two year deal with $12.5 million guaranteed and incentives that could push the deal to $18.25 million over those two years. Again, it is pending physical, which, based on how his rehab is going, could be complex. He is likely to miss at least the first half of the 2017 season, so my assumption is that his incentives would be simply based on Games Played or Plate Appearances. If he’s healthy and able to play, he’ll make more money. But the Rays minimize their risk somewhat too.
- Yesterday, we heard that Cleveland was talking to Edwin Encarnacion, probably the best hitter on the market. He’s not a guy I would necessarily want to see in the lineup against the Twins 19 times a season. Tuesday, we learned that they talked to another former Blue Jays hitter as well, Jose Bautista. The thought of him hitting against the Twins 19 games a year, rather than six of seven, is a bit scary.
- Aroldis Chapman allegedly has a $92 million offer on the table. To me, that would likely be a six year deal, right? The Yankees have said they haven’t offered him that. It’s hard to believe that Miami would have offered him that. So, who could have made that offer? Or, is that a case of an agent leaking something, hoping to boost the deals that Chapman has already been offered. He’s going to get paid, for sure. Kenley Jansen is going to make a ton of money too.
Feel free to ask questions, discuss rumors or transactions, and enjoy the day.
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