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  • Twins Trade Nolasco, Meyer, Cash To Angels For Hector Santiago

    Seth Stohs

    By Seth Stohs

    The Minnesota Twins reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim minutes before today’s non-waiver trade deadline. The Twins sent right-handed pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer to the Angels in exchange for left-hander Hector Santiago and minor league right-hander Alan Busenitz.

    Image courtesy of Richard Mackson, USA Today

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    Twins fans have to be impressed that interim GM Rob Antony was able to find a taker for the frustrating Nolasco and the approximately $18-20 million remaining on his four year-$49 million contract. Nolasco threw a strong eight inning in his start over the weekend, maybe giving the Angels reason to think that he has turned a corner, or that they can get him back to his former self.

    Alex Meyer came to the Twins in the Denard Span trade from the Nationals. He was considered a top pitching prospect at the time because of a power fastball. He showed his potential at times, but he also found himself out with shoulder issues a few times. He made two relief appearances last year with the Twins. He also made one start for the team in early May. He hasn’t pitched in a game since due to a shoulder issue.

    Santiago, 28, has played for both the White Sox and the Angels. This season, he is 10-4 with a 4.25 ERA and a 5.03 FIP. He has struck out about 8.0 per nine innings, but has also walked about 4.3 per nine innings. The southpaw has a 3.68 career ERA and one more year left of arbitration. He should immediately take Nolasco’s spot in the rotation.

    Finally, the Twins acquired Alan Busenitz in the deal. He was the Angels 25th-round pick in 2013 out of Kennesaw State. He will turn 26 years old later this month. He began the season with 24 appearances out of the bullpen in AA Arkansas where he posted a 1.93 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 8.8 K/9. He recently moved up to AAA Salt Lake and has a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings. He does have 13 strikeouts in the Pacific Coast League. He should report to Rochester.

    Rhett Bollinger is reporting that the Twins will pay Ricky Nolasco for the rest of this season. The Angels will pay Hector Santiago for the rest of this year. The Twins are also sending $4 million to the Angels next year to help them pay Nolasco.

    As the trade deadline has passed, Ervin Santana, Kurt Suzuki and Brandon Kintzler all remain on the Twins roster. They, and others, can still be traded in August, but it would require waiver-clearing, etc.

    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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    zchrz

    zchrz 340

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Angel's must really like Meyer because they traded a better SP and a younger guy that isn't that far off from what hopes for Meyer have become.  

     

    I am excited about Santiago, big upgrade from Nolasco for next year and about the same contract window so they didn't get locked into anyone for 4 years to ditch Ricky. 

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    Tomj14

    Tomj14 1,146

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I think Anthony did a great job setting up the next GM (Minus not getting rid of Suzuki and possibly Brandon Kintzler)

    You go into next year with Santana, Gibson, Santiago, Berrios and Duffy/May/Wheeler/Mejia.

     

    If the hitters start out terrible again next year, you have can trade Santana, Gibson and Santiago for more prospects and if the hitters are good, you have plenty of prospect depth to try and go out and fill holes. So basically trying to win in 2017, but if that fails you have plans in place to hopefully trade for more prospects and hope one or two of those AA pitchers turn out.

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    ThejacKmp

    ThejacKmp 2,978

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Meh. I'm not a big fan of Santiago or this deal. You basically upgraded from Nolasco to Santiago and paid Alex Meyer to do it (the Twins also save maybe $2 million next year and get a lottery ticket reliever but those are small potatoes).

     

    I'm not sure that's the best path. if you just released Ricky or moved him to a long relief role going forward, you'd open up a rotation spot for a guy who might have a chance to be there long-term (Wheeler? Dean?) and end up spending about the same amount of money. And you'd still have Meyer - he hasn't been great but he still has a ton of potential out of the pen or in the rotation. As is, the Twins traded Meyer for the ability to upgrade from a crappy starter you could just not play to a league average starter who blocks guys who might be there long-term. This is a pretty lateral move in my mind.

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    Kwak

    Kwak 1,440

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    A trade of a RH Nolasco, a chronic back pain (Meyer) and $4MM for a LH Nolasco (Santiago) and a PTBNL who actually has a name (Busenitz). Considering half of this forum would have traded Nolasco and $4MM for a cheeseburger, I'm expecting unrestrained joyful posts for all of August. This is far more than I expected from any trades so I'm pleased. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Nolasco improves 1/2 run allowed per game by going to Anaheim. 

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    nytwinsfan

    nytwinsfan 2,611

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    Meh. I'm not a big fan of Santiago or this deal. You basically upgraded from Nolasco to Santiago and paid Alex Meyer to do it (the Twins also save maybe $2 million next year and get a lottery ticket reliever but those are small potatoes).

     

    I'm not sure that's the best path. if you just released Ricky or moved him to a long relief role going forward, you'd open up a rotation spot for a guy who might have a chance to be there long-term (Wheeler? Dean?) and end up spending about the same amount of money. And you'd still have Meyer - he hasn't been great but he still has a ton of potential out of the pen or in the rotation. As is, the Twins traded Meyer for the ability to upgrade from a crappy starter you could just not play to a league average starter who blocks guys who might be there long-term. This is a pretty lateral move in my mind.

    Yeah, but you are forgetting that unlike Nolasco, the Twins don't have to tender Santiago a contract or they could move him this offseason if they think Mejia is ready to take his spot next spring. That leaves open some serious options. Even if you do tender Santiago a contract, he's much easier to move mid-year next year when Gonsalves, Stewart or Jay is ready. He's not going to block anyone who is genuinely ready. I think you're missing the value this added flexibility brings. And the reality is with Molitor, Meyer wasn't going to get much of a shot here. Losing Meyer is not something I wanted to see, but I think it was worth the value.

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    scottz

    scottz 1,654

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Given that teams don't usually trade for pitchers - even good prospects - with "shoulder injuries", this gives more weight to a thought i've had for a while about Meyer's "shoulder injury"...which i think had a lot to do with the Twins not playing him when they called him up, and giving him the quick hook in his one start. my guess is that Boras will tell Meyer that his shoulder doesn't hurt anymore.

     

    And if that is correct, that the injury was really understood by all parties to be an agent-directed "injury", then I think this deal is about as good as we could ask for. Nolasco may well step it up and pitch well for the rest of his contract in LA, but we're only paying this year and $4MM next year, and in return we get serviceable (and sometimes downright good) Santiago. I think Antony is making some necessary moves that also seem pretty good.

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    KrnlDoug

    KrnlDoug 11

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    According to ESPN Santiago over the past six consecutive starts he has posted a 1.78 ERA. This is a big upgrade over Nolasco, even if the long term numbers aren't great. Santiago could be used a trade chip come August if he continues his success. 

     

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    John Bonnes

    John Bonnes 3,583

  • Owner

    • Posted

    I think the only way you can dislike this deal is if you have a high opinion of Alex Meyer. I have probably been one of his biggest supporters, but I still like this deal. 

     

    Meyer hasn't pitched since May and this year will be about a wash. Next year is his last option year. He showed a lot of hope in those three starts in April in Rochester, and I hope that's real, but

     

    a) it pretty much HAS to be real for this trade to not make sense and

    B) there is a real question if he's damaged goods at this point.

     

    Without those three starts, he's Pat Light, the other guy the Twins acquired today in the Abad trade, only with one less option year to put things together and maybe a higher ceiling. 

     

     

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    Tom Froemming

    Tom Froemming 9,895

  • Twins Daily Staff

    • Posted

    I think Santiago isn't as good as his ERA has indicated over the past few years, but I like the flexibility he gives the club. If they decide they don't want him around next year, they can just non-tender him. With Nolasco they were gonna be on the hook for his 2017 salary either way.

     

    If they keep Santiago next year and are sellers again, he could be a decent trade chip at the '17 deadline. Or if they're contenders and he pitches well, Santiago could be a qualifying offer candidate after the end of next season and net the Twins a draft pick. Some will probably laugh that off, but if Ian Kennedy can reject a QO and sign a multi-year deal, anything's possible in my eyes.

     

    This is all obviously looking way far ahead, but it certainly appears Antony has opened up some doors with this move that were never going to be there with Nolasco.

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    jokin

    jokin 4,237

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    I think the only way you can dislike this deal is if you have a high opinion of Alex Meyer. I have probably been one of his biggest supporters, but I still like this deal. 

     

    Meyer hasn't pitched since May and this year will be about a wash. Next year is his last option year. He showed a lot of hope in those three starts in April in Rochester, and I hope that's real, but

     

    a) it pretty much HAS to be real for this trade to not make sense and

    :cool: there is a real question if he's damaged goods at this point.

     

    Without those three starts, he's Pat Light, the other guy the Twins acquired today in the Abad trade, only with one less option year to put things together and maybe a higher ceiling. 

     

    About right... but for the Boras factor working behind the scenes... (he is always a presence at Angels games- in his own suite)... can't help but thinking Meyer gets much "healthier" in very short order...

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    savvyspy

    savvyspy 219

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Honestly this is a very savvy deal for Antony. Basically giving away Meyer and $4M to save $20 million seems like a decent move on its own. Getting back a starter who is better than Nolasco and a take a flyer AAA reliever seems like a win. I'm in the camp that Meyer is either broken down or the Twins have messed with this guys head so much he would never be the guy he was touted to be. He could probably use a fresh start.

     

    I wish they could have dealt Suzuki but its hard to say what the market really is for him. I think they might be able to slip him through waivers later this month.

     

    I have no issue with them keeping Santana or Kintzler. Santana is a controllable arm who has been by far the team's best pitcher. I don't fault a GM for not giving him away.

     

    I give Antony props for dealing two guys that don't have any future with the team and a fading prospect while getting 2 Top 15 organization minor leaguers and a major league arm in return.

     

    There is ZERO chance Ryan could have pulled this off. 

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    HitInAPinch

    HitInAPinch 4,518

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    If I'm reading correctly, some flexibility and Nolasco is gone.  OK then...

    The deal is also "cash-neutral".  No win there.

     

    I liked Alex Meyer.  But it just wasn't happening here.  Best wishes.

     

    5 things to know about Hector Santiago from the Strib:

     

    http://www.startribune.com/five-things-to-know-about-new-twins-pitcher-hector-santiago/388871861/

     

    Nice work, Antony. 

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    troyhobbs

    troyhobbs 288

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Pretty good job by Antony, way more exciting than any of TR's deadline performances anyway. Lil disappointed Suzuki couldn't attract any buyers and that they wanted so much for Santana, time will tell if that was the right call or not. I'll go down on the record for saying not, but overall, not too shabby.

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    jokin

    jokin 4,237

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    It's a bitter bill to swallow to have to use the "fresh start" lingo when discussing THE defining trade and the key acquisition at the center of the rebuild during Ryan's second tenure with the Twins. Still, that's the going market rate when unloading $20M+ of salary dead-weight.

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    twinssouth

    twinssouth 471

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Can't believe they moved Nolasco but little bummed out on Meyer. Wish I hadn't seen him pitch in 14 when he was on. Had high hopes but if can't stay healthy or find the plate then good deal. This trade smacks of Angels belief it can turn him around. If not, we totally got the better end. If Angels can't or just use him in bullpen, we still won. Santiago is a good pitcher. Now there's 2 lefties for the rotation and neither have to nibble at corners to get hitters out.

     

     

    It looks like the 4 million Twins are paying is getting them a minor leaguer thrown into the deal, already up at AAA. Anybody know anything about him. On 2nd thought, this trade is looking even better.

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    gocgo

    gocgo 1,979

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    Honestly this is a very savvy deal for Antony. Basically giving away Meyer and $4M to save $20 million seems like a decent move on its own. Getting back a starter who is better than Nolasco and a take a flyer AAA reliever seems like a win. I'm in the camp that Meyer is either broken down or the Twins have messed with this guys head so much he would never be the guy he was touted to be. He could probably use a fresh start.

     

    I wish they could have dealt Suzuki but its hard to say what the market really is for him. I think they might be able to slip him through waivers later this month.

     

    I have no issue with them keeping Santana or Kintzler. Santana is a controllable arm who has been by far the team's best pitcher. I don't fault a GM for not giving him away.

     

    I give Antony props for dealing two guys that don't have any future with the team and a fading prospect while getting 2 Top 15 organization minor leaguers and a major league arm in return.

     

    There is ZERO chance Ryan could have pulled this off. 

    Saving 20 million?  We are paying him this years salary PLUS 4 million next year AND Santiago will probably cost about 8 million next year if he goes to arbitration.  I see this as a wash in terms of money.  You can debate if Meyer is worth the prospect brought back.  I see Santiago as a left handed Nolasco.

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    Loosey

    Loosey 1,788

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    I think Santiago isn't as good as his ERA has indicated over the past few years, but I like the flexibility he gives the club. If they decide they don't want him around next year, they can just non-tender him. With Nolasco they were gonna be on the hook for his 2017 salary either way.

     

    If they keep Santiago next year and are sellers again, he could be a decent trade chip at the '17 deadline. Or if they're contenders and he pitches well, Santiago could be a qualifying offer candidate after the end of next season and net the Twins a draft pick. Some will probably laugh that off, but if Ian Kennedy can reject a QO and sign a multi-year deal, anything's possible in my eyes.

     

    This is all obviously looking way far ahead, but it certainly appears Antony has opened up some doors with this move that were never going to be there with Nolasco.

    I think the Non-Tender option is a big piece of this deal for the Twins.  If they don't go to arbitration with him the team essentially gets an extra $10M to use which they wouldn't have if they kept or even DFA's Nolasco.

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    jokin

    jokin 4,237

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    Saving 20 million?  We are paying him this years salary PLUS 4 million next year AND Santiago will probably cost about 8 million next year if he goes to arbitration.  I see this as a wash in terms of money.  You can debate if Meyer is worth the prospect brought back.  I see Santiago as a left handed Nolasco.

     

    There's an awfully good chance that Nolasco gets to exercise a player option in 2018 @ $13M. (400 IP over 2016 and 17).

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    Thrylos

    Thrylos 8,325

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted (edited)

    The deal is effectively Alan Busenitz for Alex Meyer.  (I really don't care about the mediocre starter swap/salary relief.)

     

    Could I ever like this deal?   No way.

     

    Meyer was really messed up with the Twins and maybe did not have a chance to achieve his potential.  On the other hand, my hope was that the 2017 Twins after the regime change would have broken camp with Meyer on top of their rotation, because he is the only guy in the organization with ace potential and because I have seen him pitch at that level.

     

    Now if the Twins new GM goes out in the off-season and trades for an ace (like one in the top 10-20 names in this list), I might change my mind.

    Edited by Thrylos
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    insane16

    insane16 22

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    There is ZERO chance Ryan could have pulled this off. 

    Ryan COULD HAVE, but wouldn't have pulled it off because that would have meant conceding his own failures on the Nolasco signing and the Meyer-Span trade. That is why replacing TR was a MUST!!!

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    jimbo92107

    jimbo92107 7,419

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I gradually changed my mind about Meyer's potential over the past couple years. Used to think he might be a front-line starter. Now it's looking more and more like he's got too many physical problems and possibly some emotional hangups keeping him from making it. 

     

    Nolasco's deal works well for both parties. He's finally healthy and pitching pretty well, so I expect the usual thing to happen - pitcher leaves Minnesota and suddenly throws like an all-star. On the other hand, Twins get a new lefty starter with fairly good numbers. Twins sure like lefty starters for some reason...

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