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The St. Louis Cardinals non-tendered their once top prospect; since then, there has been little news regarding Alex Reyes. The former all-star has seen a lack of reported interest so far in free agency and could be a fit for any team looking for relief help, meaning every team. There are several reasons to and not to sign Alex Reyes. I want to examine his current outlook to see if he is a fit for the Minnesota Twins. Feature Image Via Jeff Curry - USA Today Sports The first thing you notice about Alex Reyes when you look at his career is injuries, injuries, injuries. And more injuries. Health has not been a blessing Reyes’ has received in his career and was likely the reason the Cardinals gave up on him. Reyes crossed the 20-inning threshold just twice in his career, in 2016 and 2021. Most recently, he missed all of 2022 due to a shoulder injury. His injuries prior to 2021 didn’t seem to impact his stuff much, but every injury is different. It is unknown whether or not he can be the same pitcher he was two years ago. Given his health track record, it is more likely he doesn’t pitch at all than he gives you innings, and it is very valid that teams are concerned about this. The other major concern with Alex Reyes is his control. His raw stuff can compare with the best in baseball but where it’s going is a different story. In his lone full season in 2021, he had the second-highest BB% and second-highest BB/9 in all of baseball. He also had 10 wild pitches in 2021, which would have ranked fifth among qualified starting pitchers. Alex Reyes, a reliever, pitched over 100 fewer innings than his counterparts in that category. His command issues track back to his early minor league days, so it’s likely this problem never goes away. So what about the good stuff? He walks everyone, and we have one season to base our entire case to bring him in; what’s the upside? As mentioned before, Reyes was an all-star in 2021, and for good reason. According to Baseball Savant, he was 95th percentile in xBA, 94th percentile in xSLG, 91st percentile in Barrel%, 95th percentile in whiff%, and 87th percentile in K%. Reyes is effective against both left-handed and right-handed hitters as well. Versus lefties, he had a .155 batting average against and a 26.9% K%; versus righties, he had a .195 batting average against and a 33.1 K%. He served as the Cardinals’ primary closer and recorded 29 saves for a team that won 90 games. His fastball routinely crests triple digits, but I want to focus on his best pitch, his slider. Reyes has maybe the best slider in all of baseball. In 2021, among pitchers with 100 PA against, his slider generated the lowest RV/100 (run value per 100 pitches*) in all of baseball at -3.8, just ahead of Jacob deGrom. It finished top ten in batting average against (3rd .089), SLG against (9th .222), wOBA against (7th .196), swing and miss% (2nd 55.8%), and K% (2nd 56.9%). This is one of the most devastating pitches in all of baseball. Alex Reyes is about as big of a risk as you can take on a player. With his persistent command issues and colossal injury history, this could blow up as much as any reliever signing could (shoutout Joel Zumaya). Fortunately, Reyes isn’t set to make much, his arbitration projection, according to MLB Trade Rumors, was just under three million, so a one-year deal for two to three million would make sense. If the Twins were to pull this off, they would likely have a second-year option attached to it. Reyes might have the best stuff out of any Twins reliever, including Jhoan Duran. If Alex Reyes can stay healthy, he could be one of the most dominant relievers in Major League Baseball. *Run Value: http://tangotiger.com/index.php/site/article/run-values-by-pitch-count

This afternoon, KSTP and 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson provided a very interesting update on the Brian Dozier trade discussions. The Dodgers are still in, but now we hear that the St. Louis Cardinals are 'very much in' on Dozier too. What could it mean? While it's no surprise that the Dodgers are still in it heavily, the Cardinals being 'very in it" is new information. So immediately the thoughts jump to... Who do the Cardinals have that might entice the Twins? A quick look at the Baseball America Top 100 Midseason Prospects list provides some insight. For a little background information, in that midseason ranking, Jose Berrios ranked #20 and Jose De Leon ranked #25. Here are the Cardinals prospects who are among the Top 100: #2 - RHP Anthony Reyes #75 - RHP Luke Weaver #88 - RHP Jack Flaherty #89 - OF Harrison Bader Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver were called up to the Cardinals on the same day. Reyes went 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 12 games (including five starts). In 46 innings, he walked 23 and struck out 52. In 14 starts at AAA Memphis, he went 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA (ah the joys of the International League). In 65.1 innings, he walked 32, but he struck out a remarkable 93! (Note - my assumption is that Reyes is in about the same category as Julio Urias, likely unavailable.) Luke Weaver came up and made nine appearances (8 starts). He went 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. In 36 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 45. He went 6-3 with a 1.70 ERA in 12 starts in AA before making just one start at AAA before his big league promotion. Reyes is 22-years-old and signed with St. Louis in 2012 as an 17-year-old. Reyes throws really, really hard (upper-90s) and has a sharp slider. The 23-year-old Weaver was the Cardinals' first-round pick in 2014 (27th overall) out of Florida State. Weaver is the more polished pitcher, which means he has more control. His upside obviously isn't quite as high but he will almost certainly be a mid-rotation starter with a chance to be something more. Jack Flaherty was the Cardinals' supplemental first-round pick in 2014 (34th overall) out of high school in California. He went 5-9 for Palm Beach as a 20-year-old this past year. Obviously he's a little further out, but the upside is there. Harrison Bader is a right-handed hitting outfielder who was the Cardinals' third-round pick in 2015 out of Florida. He split the 2016 season between AA and AAA. In 82 AA games, he hit .283/.354/.497 (.851) with 12 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs. He moved up to AAA and played in 49 games. He hit .231/.298/.354 (.652) with seven doubles, a triple and three home runs. He's likely a year away, but there is some power potential there. There would certainly be more to any such deal that just one (or maybe two?) of the above, but these would be the headliners. The Cardinals have second baseman Kolton Wong - who the Twins drafted in the 16th round in 2008 out of high school - signed for four years and $24.25 million with an option for 2021). Maybe he is part of the return as well. The Cardinals acquired Jedd Gyorko from the Padres a year ago. He had been pretty much awful for a couple of years. He went to St. Louis and hit 30 home runs. He's signed for the next three years at $29 million. He played in 128 games, but no more than 46 games at any one of the four infield positions. So, they could still have both on a roster. The Giants have Joe Panik (a 2015 All-Star) as their second baseman, so either Panik or Dozier would likely move to third base. Eduardo Nunez is probably the incumbent at third base. The Nationals have Daniel Murphy at second base. Now, he could move to first base, but Ryan Zimmerman still has a lot of money owed and that's about the only position he can play. It is certainly good to hear some more specifics on teams that might have interest in Dozier. Hearing that the Cardinals might be one of those teams is very intriguing because they have Reyes and Weaver, two very good pitching prospects, which would push the Dodgers - possibly - to offer more. What are your thoughts on the rumors? Click here to view the article

The Twins want some roster clarity as the calendar flips to 2017. According to a report from the Star Tribune's La Velle E. Neal III, "The club would like interested teams to step up with their best offer in the coming days, or they plan to prepare for the 2017 season with Dozier as their second baseman." Trade rumors have been swirling around the Twins' face of the franchise after a monster season where he belted over 40 home runs. With two-years remaining on his contract at a team friendly price, there are multiple teams interested in acquiring the second baseman. Here's a recap where things are when it comes to a Dozier deal.The Dodgers continue to be the team most likely best-suited to acquire Dozier. Los Angeles has a surplus of pitching prospects and a desire to win now. Jose De Leon's name is the one that has been most associated with the Twins. The right-handed pitching prospect was a top-25 prospect entering last season while making his MLB debut at age-23. According to Neal, the Dodgers have been pushing for a straight Dozier for De Leon trade. The Twins have wanted the addition of another top prospect like first baseman Cody Bellinger or right-handed pitcher Yadier Alvarez. Los Angeles hasn't budged in their offer. Other teams rumored to be interested are the Giants, Cardinals, and Braves. If the Giants want to work a deal, they would likely need to bring in a third team because their farm system doesn't have as many high caliber prospects. They also have Joe Panik to play second base so Dozier could need to move to third base, a position he has little experience playing. Chatter surrounding the Cardinals interest in Dozier peaked last week when KSTP's Darren Wolfson reported that the Cardinals are "very much in it." However, the Cardinals might be hesitant to include their top prospects like right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes or catcher Carson Kelly. Some believe the Cardinals reported interest in Dozier was a ploy from the organization to get more value squeezed out of the Dodgers. Washington was aggressive this off-season by trading multiple prospects to the White Sox to acquire Adam Eaton. This might leave them little in the tank when it comes to dealing for Dozier. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post said the Nationals "haven't made any serious inquiries on Twins' Dozier." She went on to say that there was "no natural fit there." Atlanta has been working on their own rebuild so it doesn't seem likely that they would want to trade away top prospects for the remaining years on Dozier's contract. Dozier would help their current squad make strides in the right direction but their organization is built to win in the future, not in the present. While the Dodger continue to seem to be the most likely fit, Los Angeles is going to have to up their offer for the Twins to take a deal. With multiple years remaining on his contract, the Twins could wait until the trade deadline and hope there are more teams willing to deal away their top talent. This would also require Dozier to continue to play the way he did in the second half. Time might be running out on a Dozier deal. Click here to view the article