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  • Twins To Sign Erick Aybar

    Seth Stohs

    By Seth Stohs

    LaVelle E Neal from the Star Tribune is reporting that the Twins will sign shortstop Erick Aybar to a minor league contract. The veteran of 12 major league seasons will join the Twins at spring training soon. He'll compete with Ehire Adrianza for a utility infield spot or be the second utility man option for the time Miguel Sano is either on the disabled list or potentially suspended.

    Image courtesy of Jake Roth, USA Today

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    Aybar debuted as a 22-year-old in 2006 with the Angels and remained in their organization through the 2015 season. He was an All-Star in 2014. He split 2016 between Atlanta and Detroit, and he played in 108 games for the Padres in 2017.

    There have been rumors (or guesses) that the Twins might be making a move because of the DFA of JT Chargois which opened up a 40-man roster spot. However, this is a minor league deal which doesn't - at least not yet - require addition to the 40-man.

    Erick Aybar is known for his defense at shortstop. In fact, he won a Gold Glove in 2011. He hit .234/.300/.348 (.648) with 15 doubles and seven home runs last year in San Diego. In his career, he has hit .271/.313/.372 (.684).

    The Dominican turned 34 in mid-January.

    More to come if details present themselves.

    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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    Richie the Rally Goat

    Richie the Rally Goat 9,100

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

    I am okay with signing him and dropping him. Keeping him is another matter. We have Ehire and Escobar to fill the utility roles and a number of minor leaguers ready to step in. If they send him to the minors and have him start instead of one of our prospects I will also be upset with that. My desire is to let him provide B game play, entertain the front office and step our of baseball at the end of spring training.

    Escobar looks like your starting 3rd baseman for 60-80 games, maybe the whole season. With that in mind, I wish the ST Fodder competition for Adrianza was a bit higher quality. If Sano isn’t firing on all cylinders, Moli will probably want another super-utility instead of Vargas
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    Darius

    Darius 2,741

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Could have a lot to do with the young shortstops in the system in a way nobody is talking about.

     

    Another established, respected, reputable, spanish-speaker around the club could be very useful in terms of mentorship. Polanco comes to mind immediately, of course, but others could also benefit from picking his brain. Javier, Sano, Rosario, Etc.

     

    He has been very successful, both individually and on good teams. He's won a gold glove at SS. He's been a high-end offensive player at his position. He's been an All-Star. He knows how to prepare, practice, conduct himself in the clubhouse and off the field.

     

    It can't hurt to have a guy like that around camp as an example. If he ends up playing meaningful innings, there has been a catastrophe with Escobar/Polanco/Sano.

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    Thrylos

    Thrylos 8,325

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    Could have a lot to do with the young shortstops in the system in a way nobody is talking about.

    Another established, respected, reputable, spanish-speaker around the club could be very useful in terms of mentorship. Polanco comes to mind immediately, of course, but others could also benefit from picking his brain. Javier, Sano, Rosario, Etc.

     

    The issue with that train of thought is that for Aybar to make the club he has to replace another established, respected, reputable, spanish-speaker, who in addition is younger and better than him on both sides of the ball and can play more positions than just SS, Adrianza or Escobar...

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    jimbo92107

    jimbo92107 7,419

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    24 to 32 seems to be the age range of MLB players, with a few exceptions proving the rule. Aybar seems about worn out for the majors. As some have said, he might fill in for a few weeks if somebody gets hurt, but he's not a starter anymore. 

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    mikelink45

    mikelink45 10,958

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    Honestly, at Rochester, I think Gordon is the only prospect in the infield, so Aybar there to begin the season wouldn't be bad. But really, he's only here for depth due to injury or suspension and shouldn't last long.

    I cannot imagine Aybar being satisfied to be a bench backup for Gordon.

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    ashbury

    ashbury 48,546

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    I cannot imagine Aybar being satisfied to be a bench backup for Gordon.

    Agreed. But he has played a tiny amount during his career at 2B/3B, and if he's willing to embrace a utility role for the remainder of his pro career then I don't think the position player roster for Rochester will be so full of near-ready young infielders that he couldn't play full-time at second or third, in preference to some other AAAA type of player.

     

    He has the opt-out on March 27, and there's a recent MLBTR post saying he drew interest from the Reds and Rangers too, so the choice really is up to him.

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    Brandon Warne

    Brandon Warne 1,697

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    Escobar looks like your starting 3rd baseman for 60-80 games, maybe the whole season. With that in mind, I wish the ST Fodder competition for Adrianza was a bit higher quality. If Sano isn’t firing on all cylinders, Moli will probably want another super-utility instead of Vargas

     

    They should have signed Eduardo Nunez.

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    Richie the Rally Goat

    Richie the Rally Goat 9,100

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

    They should have signed Todd Frazier.

    Bargain of the winter.

    what do you do with Frazier if/when Sano is ready to man the hot corner? If he could be had so cheaply, could you trade him for anything of value? I have doubts

     

    Nunez is at least somewhat versatile.

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    Oxtung

    Oxtung 516

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I just don't see Aybar being interested in going down to AAA at this point of his career. What would be the point? If he can't hack it at 34 he sure as hell isn't going to go down to AAA and turn it around for another run at the majors at 35.

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    DaveW

    DaveW 9,037

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    The issue with that train of thought is that for Aybar to make the club he has to replace another established, respected, reputable, spanish-speaker, who in addition is younger and better than him on both sides of the ball and can play more positions than just SS, Adrianza or Escobar...

    Or he could agree to goto AAA of course and help mentor guys.

    And if someone goes down for ten games or so he could come up to the majors and play a depth role if need be (like 10 games, 1 start, a couple at bats etc instead of maybe calling up a youngster with upside and having him ride the pine)

    Can never have enough MI depth IMO.

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    DaveW

    DaveW 9,037

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    I think Nunez is a better bargain. Can theoretically play everywhere with an above-average bat and he got just $4 mill per?

    Yeah that was an insanely smart deal for the Red Sox, really no downside at all even if he is a bench player. 

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    DaveW

    DaveW 9,037

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    I just don't see Aybar being interested in going down to AAA at this point of his career. What would be the point? If he can't hack it at 34 he sure as hell isn't going to go down to AAA and turn it around for another run at the majors at 35.

    You never know. I'm sure he realized when he signed with the Twins that he was a long shot to make the roster out of ST with all the depth and solid players they have a 2B/SS/3B etc

    Maybe he is looking into a post playing career gig, like coaching or something.

    Anyways, the point is, if he wanted to make a big league roster immediately the Twins weren't one of his better options IMO, and he probably realized that. So let's see what happens.

    Or maybe Polanco is on the block or something else? Meh, I dunno.

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