Twins Sign Tyler Clippard

Any pitcher that has Dick "The Monster" Radatz as one of his comps at B-R is alright in my book. 

Another solid move that makes the bullpen a bit better and certainly deeper.  My hope had been that they would get a second lefty, which certainly can still happen. 

Looks like this may push Stashak to AAA to start the season, which wouldn't be all that bad.  Also looks to push another reliever off the 40-man once they get around to signing a corner infielder, starting pitcher and that lefty.

  On 12/20/2019 at 6:52 PM, ChrisKnutson said:

Clippards’s a nice signing, but I think the Twins could still use another left handed reliever because I’m not comfortable rolling into ST with Hardy, Smeltzer, and Thorpe as our options to be the bullpen’s 2nd lefty.

Obviously Buchter stands out as the guy we should sign, but assuming we don’t I wouldn’t mind the FO picking up any of Sipp, Cingrani, and or Erlin either.

Clippard actually has better stats against LH hitters than RH, and with the new 3-batter rule, I really like this signing.

I was hoping for Cishek as well. Clippard is fine.

Clipboard is also a flyball pitcher which bodes well with our OF

  On 12/20/2019 at 6:09 PM, 108Stitches said:

Prediction: Alcala will not last in the big leagues. Sorry. I know most people are very high on him. I just don’t see it. And that 5.29 ERA in AA makes me scratch my head how he even got to the bigs.

Clippard signing article = Alcala won’t make it in the bigs = ????

But to try and answer that

Simply put... stuff. He’s got it, and that will ALWAYS grant players extended opportunity. Whether or not he has success (and that term is subjective in and of itself) in Pro ball (any level) is pretty much irrelevant for the most part.

  On 12/20/2019 at 6:38 PM, SwainZag said:

2019 Cishek:   2.95 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, WHIP 1.203   Age 33

2019 Kintzler:  2.68 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, WHIP 1.018  Age 35

2019 Harris:    1.50 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 9.3 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, WHIP .933   Age 35

2019 Hudson:  2.47 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 8.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, WHIP 1.137  Age 32

 

2019 Clippard:  2.90 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 9.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, WHIP .855  Age 34

 

What about comparing those numbers just screams it was a money move?  Harris isn't a free agent.  Hudson reportedly wants a multi-year deal.  

 

Directly from MLBtraderumors:   

 

Beyond those surface-level numbers, Clippard, 35 in February, excelled in a number of areas. He ranked in the game’s 98th percentile in terms of average exit velocity allowed, at a paltry 85 mph, and his opponents’ hard-hit rate (28.8 percent) landed in the 95th percentile among MLB hurlers. The .260 weighted on-base average (wOBA) to which he held opponents was also among the game’s best and was a near match for the .264 expected wOBA projected by Statcast.

 

If he would have signed for $7.5M would you have thought this was a better signing?  It's not always about the money.  Looks on the surface like a steal for the Twins and a great guy to have added to the pen.

Will Harris is a free agent. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harriwi10.shtml#all_br-salaries

Anyone else on board with giving Moore or Smyly a call in the next few weeks to see if they'd like to resurrect their career as bullpen pieces for a few $M?

(Yep, I'm still on that bandwagon)

If the bullpen all wear the same glasses, (use blank lenses if not needed) and grow similar facial hair, they can bewilder the batters as they will be confused at who is pitching and what is their go to......

The Twins front office continues to do well with the peripheral moves, unfortunately they still haven't found much success at completing bigger transactions that actually move the needle.

Good.

Nice move...now:

1. Josh Donaldson

2. Blockbuster " blow your socks off" trade for a starter.

Bring on 2020!

I am curious why he has been on so many teams.  I know we are big on clubhouse guys, since his stats are good why does he keep moving around?

  On 12/20/2019 at 10:12 PM, mikelink45 said:

I am curious why he has been on so many teams. I know we are big on clubhouse guys, since his stats are good why does he keep moving around?

I wonder also. It could be that good but not great relievers go year to year when they get to their 30s. They more often get moved at the deadline. They are more easily replaced so why go two years? Romo and Rodney have moved a few times and I don’t think they are clubhouse trouble.

Another good “secure the floor” move by the Twins FO.  You can say what you want, and probably be correct, about their lack of guts in going after a truly high ceiling type of move, but this FO has shown savvy and skill in making sure that their base is solid.

Now let’s just make one move for a starter that could potentially blow up in our faces in two years and really go after that ceiling that is there for the taking!!

  On 12/20/2019 at 10:58 PM, KurtSuzuki'sRedHat said:

Not sure if your an Athletic subscriber, but Aaron Gleeman had a really interesting breakdown on his inverse splits. He actually holds left handed hitting to a lower batting average than right handed hitters given the  types of pitches and location of his pitches.

It's pretty unusual, in terms of how significant, and how long he's sustained it. It does make this a more intriguing signing, IMO.

My initial reaction was pretty negative, but after reading a bit about his numbers and his ability to get lefties out, I’m more optimistic about it.