WARNE: The Twins' Secret Extension Candidate

I could see Plouffe doing a Zobrist or Cuddyer impression, playing spot 1B, 3B, OF when necessary.

If (When?) Sano comes up, Plouffe would basically replace Hunter and Nunez, which has value.

My guess is Sano is moved off 3B and Plouffe is signed to a new contract to play there another three years or so.

My guess is Sano is moved off 3B and Plouffe is signed to a new contract to play there another three years or so.

Sano can only DH or play 1st I think (and 3rd)

We need clarity on Sano first. If Sano is our 3B Plouffe could play somewhere else and add value.  But it would hurt his overall value to the team.  So we should wait on signing him.  No need to right now.

There isn't going to be clarity on Sano for a few years. And that's the point; Plouffe is going to get really expensive in arbitration over the next two years. May as well cut into those costs if you can.

While it is pretty clear that Sano will be the Twins third baseman at some point, it is not likely this year.  Ultimately Plouffe is either a trade chip or a super utility player for the club.  In many respects it is the development of other players like Arcia, Rosario and Vargas that have more of an impact on Plouffe's future.

I agree that he is a strong extension candidate - but don't agree that this means he is the Twins' third baseman beyond the foreseeable future.

If he really is one of the best defensive third basemen of the AL as the stats suggest, I think you move Sano off third. Just my two cents.

Plouffe's offensive numbers represent a top 10 3B.  Throw him in LF and they no longer are in that grouping.  So the danger is you lock him up at 3B rates and then move him to LF. 

 

Basically the same thing we did with Mauer.  We paid an elite catcher to move to 1B and be average-ish.

The gap is closer than you think. The MLB average wOBA for 3B last year was .316 and for LF was .318. And you can't equate moving someone off catcher to moving someone off third, because catcher aging curves and all that necessitate those sort of moves. If you were to move Plouffe off third to facilitate Sano, that would be of your own doing rather than being forced.

And nobody knows what kind of left fielder he could be. He could literally be Oswaldo Arcia, or Alex Gordon. But for now, he's a really good defensive third baseman. I'd tell the kid to play somewhere else.

Uh, 7-9MM dollars is 1.5 wins for a guy that age........where do you propose finding a GOOD player to do that role? 

If he has another year like last year, he's going to get $7 million in his penultimate arbitration year (this winter).

Uh, 7-9MM dollars is 1.5 wins for a guy that age........where do you propose finding a GOOD player to do that role? 

Well you draft, and develop, and after 11 years...oh.

 

 

And nobody knows what kind of left fielder he could be. He could literally be Oswaldo Arcia, or Alex Gordon. But for now, he's a really good defensive third baseman. I'd tell the kid to play somewhere else.

He is a good 3rd baseman, but I have a hard time believing the Twins will or can convert Sano to any other position.  It is because of Sano's limited versatility as a fielder that Plouffe is eventually a trade candidate.  Unless, of course, Sano becomes the trade chip for that #1 starter that we all desperately want. 

I wouldn't trade for a pitcher like really ever unless I thought I was getting a great deal. You still gotta pay 'em and the injury risk is just too high. 

Sano could play first or DH. The bat is easily good enough to stick at both. I'm not worried about him and Plouffe on the same team, and I don't think anyone else should be either. I think there's an entire forest that is burning -- a simmering burn, but still -- and we're stuck here looking at two of the nicer trees thinking one has to go. 

That's just my take.

I live in a world where the Twins aren't paying super utility guy that kind of money.  And if they did it would take money away from another area

Did paying Kurt Suzuki that kind of money prevent them from signing anyone else? Or heck, did having Nolasco prevent them from signing anyone else? This is a narrative, and one I don't particularly believe in.

BOOOO on this article. 

If he really is one of the best defensive third basemen of the AL as the stats suggest, I think you move Sano off third. Just my two cents.

I saw a routine ground ball go between the legs of last year's GG winner.   Not exactly Brook Robinson competition there.   I think I could win a GG but don't think my .0033 BA would play so well there.    I used to dislike Plouffe offensively and defensively but now like him for both so I give him a lot of credit.

I'd look at it, definitely. He seems to have turned a corner.

 

I don't know where people get this idea that he can play all over the field though.

It comes from the assumption that Sano is a long term fit at third base, so if Plouffe is to stick around he will be forced off the position.

Again, the Twins are far more likely to move Sano if they are both around. If they're both in the lineup, why put them in the worse defensive alignment? It would be like playing Rondell White in left field while Jason Tyner is the DH.