kab21

We need a special section on the forum for this mythical 'he had good trade value at XX point'. Fien is exactly who he always was. He is a fine but not great (or even very good) RP'er. He wasn't going to bring back a prospect as good as Hu (Jepsen trade). Whatever prospect he was traded for would have had minimal value to the org. I wouldn't bring him back myself and instead have a Perkins, Jepsen and 7th inning guy with guys like Pressly and Graham as the 4th and 5th options out of the bullpen allowing room for an extra starter like Milone or Nolasco as the long man or prospects like Tonkin, Meyer, Chargois, Burdi. That 7th inning guy could be May (not my choice) or a FA/trade.

So far the KBO is 1/1 in successful transitions with Jung Ho Kang doing very well with the Pirates and Park was a superior hitter in the KBO. There have also been several pitchers that have done well in majors after coming over. Part of the reason for the short list is that Korean baseball has really improved in the 2000's. It is catching up to Japan although it doesn't have nearly the same depth throughout the league.

The problem is that Arcia is out of options and I am not ready to cut him. I might not be in the Arcia fan club (probably his biggest detractor last season) but he has raw skill that can't be taught. The kid can flat out hit (with flaws). This also isn't a situation where Kepler followed up a great AA season with an outstanding AAA season and there is no reason to be in the minors. I also think that for a player that has had as little true success in the minors that inconsistent playing time would not help him.

I don't see a reason not to tender Nunez a contract. The Twins are almost guaranteed to carry two backup IF'ers and he can actually hit alright for a bench player that can play multiple IF/OF positions. He would pair nice with Danny Santana because the Twins could then keep a bat first bench player which I have always wanted to have on the team. Fien and Milone are dependent on what else the Twins plan on doing this offseason and how serious they are about putting May into the rotation. If May is in the rotation then they are 6 deep plus they need a place to stash Nolasco if he makes the team. Berrios goes to AAA and Nolasco is either in the rotation or long relief. There simply isn't room and not a great need for an 8th starter. You can still tender him a contract but I would trade him for anything. Fien depends on May, Nolasco/Milone (in long relief) and if the Twins go after another RP'er. There are only so many bullpen spots available. In addition to this tendering contracts depends on what kind of spending the Twins have planned. If they are mostly standing pat and don't need money then they might as well keep all of the players. If they are planning to make a mid sized splash somewhere then they might want the financial flexibility.

this is the answer that everyone wants and yet everyone expects that Nolasco will at a minimum have a tenuous hold on a rotation spot somehow.

Adding to the bullpen really depends on other moves that the Twins make due to cash available and May being in the rotation or bullpen. Let's assume that the Twins have made their big moves and keep May in the bullpen (not what I want). Based on that I sign the best guy that will take 2/12 (ballpark). I might also look at signing a cheaper LOOGY. That gives the Twins a pretty deep bullpen with potential in AAA/AA although it isn't necessarily dominant at the backend.

I think Duffey and May could be combined into one best thing. Finding two potentially MOR starters or a setup guy out of the midrange prospects is a huge thing for the Twins. Depth on the pitching staff is key for the Twins going forward.

Phil Hughes would have made my list. I really expected him to be the #2 that the Twins needed and he fell apart. Still it is a pretty good list.

Of course Hicks has upside but I think you are underselling Murphy's upside. If the Twins end up with a .700 OPS catcher with average to above average defense that catches 120-130 games then this trade is almost certainly a win for the Twins. It can also be a win for the Yankees.

Upside is that he improves and hits like he did last year and develops into an above average defender that isn't a FA for 5 more years. Capps is more like Jepsen. Guys that are placeholders for 1 or 2 seasons until something better comes along.

Murphy is nothing like Capps. Capps was old, mediocre and going to be a FA.

I think Jeff Sullivan might be jumping the gun a little on this one. Hicks had a great month, an okay month and 3 awful months. This was how almost every season went in the minors also and the LHB question is still there. Perhaps he becomes a really good player like Gardner but that lacks the certainty stated above.

Absolutely. That is 20M that could be spent somewhere else (like Jordan Zimmerman)

A little bummed but I probably am not going to see Park play in Taiwan this weekend. The travel logistics are so much easier to see JP/USA the night before. And it is a much nicer stadium to see a ballgame in.

That value is tied to him being a 3B though. he doesn't check any other boxes for teams as a primary choice. Nobody is giving up something valuable to put him at 1B or DH. It is nice that he can play there but there is a huge value difference between 3B and DH for a guy like Plouffe. Zobrist (or even Daniel Murphy) is a guy that can check multiple boxes for a team. And both of those guys are also FA's. Todd Frazier almost certainly has to be on the block. the Rangers have a top prospect to dangle as trade bait. The few teams that are looking for a 3B have several option besides Plouffe.

I find it hilarious that people are criticizing JR Murphy and then thinking Turner is part of the solution at catcher for the Twins. Murphy had a .733 MiLB OPS compared to turner's .674 (and sinking) OPS. And Murphy debuted in the majors at almost the same age that Turner was debuting in the minors. Murphy is 10x better than Turner. I think many are overrating how easy it is to acquire a really good catcher. Wieters is kind of expensive and costs a draft pick, Lucroy is going to cost top prospects, Norris might be available but he isn't a great hitter (pretty good) and he has a bad defensive reputation. I think some are using catching defensive stats as absolute. Especially for players with small samples. JR has some pretty solid (or good) defensive scouting reports. I feel much better with him behind the plate than platooning Suzuki with some random 35 yr old catcher. He isn't an exciting player but he should solidify the position for quite awhile. The simple fact is that the Twins had (still have) too many OF'ers and almost zero catching depth. They might have given up a little more value in Hicks but I am not sure he will ever hit enough from the left side to be a full time starter. I won't lose any sleep losing him. He might make the Twins regret this trade but that can happen with any trade.

Very few of those 10 teams (just a guess on the exact number since it has been awhile since I looked at the teams) are competitive next season. Rebuilding teams don't trade for 29 yr olds with 2 years of arb left. For example the Braves and Brewers have been mentioned as possible destinations. they lost 94 and 95 games last year and have given every indication that they are rebuilding. Trading prospects for a veteran makes no sense for them.

Why doesn't 'X teams need 3B and Y teams don't' work? 3B is a really deep position with a lot of solid players. I am not intentionally limiting anything to make a point. I am actually looking at the market to make a point. I don't think anyone else is. I am being realistic about the teams that are interested in a veteran 3B.

I guess I don't understand how the 3B market makes him valuable. There are at least 20 teams that are set at 3B with a veteran. For some reason 3B has become a deep position of fairly good players. Most of the rest of the teams are entering rebuild mode or have a prospect waiting that they might want to try out instead of trading something valuable for Plouffe. Plouffe's trade market and value is almost entirely tied to 2-3 (possibly 4 teams) and the direction that they want to take. If the Angels resign Freese and the Padres/Brewers rebuild then there is almost no market for him. And nobody is saying that Plouffe isn't valuable on the trade market. He doesn't have a lot of demand because very few teams are shopping for a 3B. That does affect his trade value in the short term though.

I think it funny how everyone talks down Plouffe and then they try to trade him (part of a package) for Lucroy or include 12M in dead money with him in a trade. He isn't that good.

He has averaged 3 WAR the last two seasons and each WAR is worth 5-6M minimum. But basically you are saying that you trade him for anything because he has to be moved? That is what it sounds like. I disagree.

he would likely decline it and I would be fine with Plouffe on a one year contract. Plouffe would be stupid to decline it and not go after a multi-year deal.

And then you extend him a QO and get a draft pick. the twins don't have to be run like a tiny market baseball team that has to trade players before they become FA's. Plouffe should be traded for one and only one reason: the haul of prospects (or for Norris) is fairly good (like one top 50ish prospect at a minimum). He shouldn't be traded for the sake of trading him.

I would not be disappointed at all. Torii was a legit all star player for a decade. If he was Jacque Jones I would be a little disappointed though.

signing some lower priced pitchers instead of Nolasco, Hughes and Santana means more Pelfrey and Correia level pitchers. And I think 2 of the 3 pitchers (hughes and Santana) will work out very well for the Twins. Nolasco got injured and has been dreadful. It happens. Getting an ace doesn't have to happen this offseason but if the Twins want to be anything more than an underdog in every playoff series then they will need to address this at some point or hope that Berrios is that pitcher. Yes, the playoffs are a crapshoot but they are more of a longshot when you are an underdog to a more talented team in 3 series. This is what plagued the Twins in the 2000's. They made the playoffs but they were typically considered one of the least talented teams in the playoffs (my hopes were high in 2006 though). It isn't impossible to win this way but it is really hard.