twins/mlb
TwinsCentric was formed by Twins super-bloggers Seth Stohs, Nick Nelson, Parker Hageman and John Bonnes. Together they publish at TwinsDaily.com and have authored books, e-books and magazines that provide independent and in-depth coverage of the Minnesota Twins from a fan's perspective. You can contact them at TwinsCentric@gmail.com.
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Posts about Trade talk
TwinsCentric: Free Agent Market Is Cooperating
Posted by: John Bonnes Updated: October 13, 2011 - 9:49 AM
The Twins have a fair amount of money to spend this offseason – perhaps $30-35M - which is good, because they have plenty of holes to fill. Fortunately, for many of those needs, the free agent market is cooperating.
Shortstop – Would you be satisfied with nothing more than mediocrity, or even good-glove, no-hit types? (After this year, we probably are.) Then look at this class: Rafael Furcal, Clint Barmes, Alex Gonzalez, Nick Punto, Ramon Santiago, Yuniesky Betancourt, Cesar Izturis, John McDonald and Jack Wilson. Best of all, most could be had for a few million dollars.
Backup Catcher – Again, the Twins are blessed that expectations are low. If you want a fulltime catcher, you’ll need to make a trade, because the top guy is a 36-year-old platoon type. But if you just want a veteran backup that won’t kill you, the market is flush with them this year. One other name that will be mentioned a lot is Ryan Doumit, a catcher from the Pirates who is a good hitter, shaky fielder, but injury prone. If you like mixing and matching Mauer at first base, Doumit might make some sense.
Closer – In last week’s Gleeman and the Geek podcast, I wondered aloud if Twins might actually renew Nathan’s $12.5 million option since it’s really only a $10.5 million option to them (since they must buy out $2 million if they turn it down.) They won’t, because the market for closers is thick. They’ll cost you, but there are names like Jonathan Papelbon, Heath Bell, Ryan Madson, Francisco Cordero, Nathan, Frank Francisco, Brad Lidge and Jonathan Broxton. Oh, and Matt Capps. Don’t forget “closer” Matt Capps.
On second thought, do.
Starting Pitcher – The Twins could already control their rotation if they offer Kevin Slowey arbitration. If not, there are some veteran pitchers that won’t break the bank. These guys are not aces, but they’re serviceable: Edwin Jackson, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang, Bruce Chen, Paul Maholm, Javier Vazquez, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis, Freddy Garcia and Brad Penny.
First base, Right Field, Designated Hitter – And now the bad news. Depending on whether the Twins lose Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, they could need to fill one or two of these three positions. Odds are, at least one. And the markets on them are not good.
In the outfield, there are some sneaky names, but not a lot of reliable performers, or at least not a lot of reliable good performers. At designated hitter, there are always good cheap options, but my gut feel is that the Twins will keep that spot open for Justin Morneau, and he’s getting scared enough of this head thing to not fight them. At first base, one could try Chris Parmelee, but don’t forget he came straight up from AA last year. If you’re more comfortable with a veteran on the roster, cheaper options include Casey Kotchman, Derrek Lee, Lyle Overbay, Xavier Nady, and Russel Branyan. Ugh.
If the Twins manage to hand onto Cuddyer or Kubel, or if Chris Parmelee is truly ready or if Justin Morneua can play first base, things don’t line up too poorly. If not, there will likely be gaps. But the market is helping the Twins with a lot of their more pressing needs.
You can learn a lot more about these guys, including their likely salaries, by checking out this year’s Offseason GM Handbook. We’ll have more announcements about that soon.
Also, you can also hear a LOT more trade talk by checking out our latest Gleeman and the Geek podcast. It’s like a 1.5 hour radio show (recorded in Park Tavern this week) talking all things Twins as Aaron and I empty our mailbag, answering your questions. Special thanks to KFAN.com for featuring us on The Powertrip Show Page!
Here are:
- the podcasts
- the rss feed if you want to subscribe and
- the podcast on iTunes (where you can also subscribe)
What If The Twins Are Buyers?
Posted by: John Bonnes Updated: June 23, 2011 - 7:43 AMNever fear. Trade talk is still here.
Three weeks ago, the Twins were destined to be sellers at the MLB trade deadline at the end of July. Speculation centered around which veterans were on the block because… well, what else were you going to talk about? The latest injury? How many guys were under .200? Whether Trevor Plouffe's next throw would make it into the second deck?
No more. If the Twins do nothing more than tread water for the next few weeks, they would still likely be buyers at the trade deadline. But that doesn't mean the idle speculation has to end. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Being a buyer is far juicier than being a seller.
With so many young players being given significant roles early this season, this team could suddenly have a lot of tradable chips IF they can ever get healthy.
Starting Pitchers
Every current member of the starting rotation is either under contract for next year or the Twins have a team option to bring him back. In reserve, they have Kevin Slowey and Anthony Swarzak. Plus, they have Kyle Gibson, a blue chip prospect, waiting for room in Rochester. Want to dream about a big acquisition? There's where you start.
Topic: Kyle Gibson for elite Royals closer Joakim Soria, who is under contract through 2014. Discuss.
Third Base
Another great place to start is where there are obvious position battles. Luke Hughes has been giving Danny Valencia a run for his money at third base, and it's really the only position they both fit well. Once Morneau returns, could Valencia be traded to a non-contender for a useful guy? Or could Hughes?
Topic: Blue Jays relievers Jason Fraser (who has a $4M team option next year) of Frank Francisco (who will be a free agent) for Valencia or Hughes. Does any combination of those guys make sense to you? Or what would you trade away for BOTH Frasor and Francisco?
Middle Infield
Or how about the middle infield? Both Casilla and Nishioka look like they can handle shortstop. Could Hughes or Plouffe or Tolbert handle second base for a half season for the right deal?
Topic: If JJ Hardy decides he would rather test the free agent waters than sign a long-term deal with the Orioles, would you trade Casilla for him? (And if not, why are we still kvetching about that trade?)
After you sound off on possible trades, make sure to swing by Seth’s blog for all kinds of notes and links.
Managing the (rumor) mill
Posted by: Seth Stohs Updated: July 6, 2010 - 1:36 AMBaseball's trade deadline has become an event unto its own. Twenty years ago, the deadline was there, but it certainly was not followed the way it is today. Heck, it wasn't followed to this degree five years ago. Is that a good thing? You decide.
Blogs have certainly added to the rumor mill. John Bonnes (Twins Geek) started blogging about eight years ago and was the first Twins blogger. I started my blog (SethSpeaks.net) just over seven years ago. MLB Trade Rumors blog came into existence a few years later and has taken over the role as the place to go for any and all rumors around baseball. They get their rumors from the sites of teams' beat writers, national scribes and credible bloggers.
And in the past two years, Twitter has taken over as the site most followed for rumors and trade information. The immediacy of Twitter, and how quickly information, factual or not, can spread is absolutely amazing.
Yet another example of that happened last night when a 'tweet' from a Detroit radio station indicated that a deal between the Twins and Mariners involving Cliff Lee was about done. The rumor spread like wild fire for the next hour. Meanwhile, beat writers and national scribes had to call all of their contacts to verify the legitimacy of the rumor.
In the end, it turned out to be more talk that fact. In fact, late last night, the Star Tribune's LaVelle E. Neal tweeted, "Nothing close on Lee. Twins source tells me. Still guessing that talks are fluid. "
Soon after, a report came out that the Twins had offered Aaron Hicks and Wilson Ramos to the Mariners for Lee. Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse said an "MLB source" provided that information.
So, how do we muddle through all of these rumors? That is all they are at this point. The reality is that until there is a trade (And I do believe that there very well could be), we will not know for sure. We can guess and argue over who it would take for the Twins to land Lee. We can discuss the value he would bring to the Twins. We can ask if anything shy of a World Series championship would be satisfactory if the Twins acquire Lee. And we can ask the age old question, "would you rather win a World Series once every dozen years and be non-competitive in between, or would you rather have a team that is competitive year in and year out?"
I think that the trade deadline brings out the best and the worst in some fans, in some who use social networking, some beat writers and some bloggers. One thing is for certain, it shows the passion that so many fans have for their team, and how much they want their favorite teams to succeed.
With the Twins having spent more this past offseason and the increased revenues that Target Field provides, the fans expect the team to be active at the trade deadline. The biggest need this team has is to find a top-of-the-rotation starter. Roy Oswalt's name has been mentioned. Dan Haren could be dealt. I'm sure other names will arise as well.
So in your own mind, you need to consider who the Twins should target. You also need to think about which minor leaguers (or maybe major leaguers) you would be willing to trade. The we need to realize that the other team will not accept most players that teams are willing to trade. In other words, it would be great if the Mariners were willing to take Nick Blackburn and his contract in a deal for Cliff Lee. But believe me, the Mariners have zero interest in Blackburn. Realize that you are going to have to part with at least two very good prospects. Who is untouchable in your mind? For me, the names of Kyle Gibson, Miguel Sano and Joe Benson may be the only untouchables. Who would be yours?
If you are looking for a good source for trade deadline information, look no further than TwinsCentric. The group has worked with some of the best bloggers and independent writers to provide information on each team's needs, tradeable players, impact rookies and more, and put it into electronic book form. Later this week, you will be able to order your copy of the 150+ page e-book with all of the information you need to know. It is quote thorough and would be a great resource for any baseball fan wanting to know what's going on in July, and probably through August too. We'll let you know more here later in the week how to get your copy.
TwinsCentric will be hosting another Viewing Party at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park on Wednesday night. 1500 ESPN will be on hand to host their pregame show. Former Twins catcher and current FSN contributor Tim Laudner will also be at Park Tavern between 5 and 6, talking to Twins fans. It should be a fun night with prizes and an opportunity to enjoy a Twins game with many Twins fans.
Before then, here are some other TwinsCentric items to peruse and consider:
- Last night's SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast was a good discussion on many Twins topics, including some trade talk. Check it out by clicking here.
- John will make his normal 7:20 a.m. appearance on KFAN's Power Trip morning show on Tuesday.
- At 10:00 on Tuesday night, Seth and Travis Aune will host Twins Minor League Weekly, a podcast highlighting the ups and downs of the Twins minor league affiliates and the prospects in the system.
- John writes about all things Cliff Lee.
- Nick writes that the Twins are still unproven.
- You can follow each of the TwinsCentric bloggers on Facebook and Twitter (John, Nick, Parker, Seth).
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