In the absence of prior knowledge, it still seems obvious that there were major disagreements between Falvey and the owner. Mostly this comes down to profitability versus winning. Just look at the waves of speculation. Speculation can always be wrong, but some speculations were based on facts.
It was initially expected that the Twins might move several players.
Larnach is expected to have been moved. Larnach is a surplus player, but we subsequently signed him for almost $4.5 million. This might have made sense if you were thinking about signing him to trade for some value, rather than simply DFA him. Yet no juice fell on him. So we are “stuck with him” as we have several young OF ready to step up.
Ryan was initially portrayed as a disgruntled Ace who wanted out after last year’s deadline. He has tremendous trade value, so it seemed like the Twins would trade him. Then the announcement came shortly after investors were named, declaring that none of the Big 3 would be moved. Okay, if they don’t get moved, you’d think you’d secure them. but then comes the deadline to exchange ARB salaries, and the Twins make deals with everyone but Rayn, and are only $500,000 apart. So maybe Ryan isn’t that important to the team??? where you risk disposing of over $500K over the past year plus??? The Twins normally don’t continue to negotiate with players, but a little later, out of the blue, they agreed to a one-year contract. The ebb and flow of this is just not normal. So which side of the property wanted what? Who wanted him to sign and who wanted him to be traded? I guess we’ll see, but I think Ryan will be traded now.
Josh Bell and Victor Caratini signed for a combined $14 million this year. Spending $14 million can generally be a signal that we want to add something. And even though they may be decent signings, do we really look very different than before those signings?
Falvey had done nothing to build excitement for the coming season. Was that because of him? or property? hard to say, but either way, there’s still little to no excitement. There was a small boost when Joe was ousted, but it didn’t really last.
While I’m a Homer, and yes, I think Royce Lewis can turn it around and bounce back, and I think Wallner can bounce back, and I hope Buck can have back-to-back good years, and I hope Keaschall isn’t the Juline 2.0 and can continue his small sample size, I still wanted a bit of a jolt this offseason to put it all together, and while Bell is solid, that alone isn’t enough. Interest and ticket sales have been slow at best, that is, on Falvey (unless handcuffed).
The Twins need something GREAT right now, even if it’s just to be brave. Joe Ryan needs to trade that audacity. and the Twins have to go big game hunting.
* Would Rangers be interested in Ryan if Sebastian Walcott was included in the price?
* Would the Giants be interested in Ryan if the prize was Eldridge?
* Would the Phillies be interested in Rayn if Justin Crawford was included in the price?
The Twins must identify a unique priority. Power, speed, average, defense, whatever it is. and follow it maniacally. Even if you pay too much from a pitch perspective. Ryan is a good pitcher, a winning pitcher, but does keeping Ryan put butts in the seats? No, would a 40+ HR 1B in Eldridge, or a top-tier speedster in Crawford, or an overall exciting player in Walcott, put butts in seats? YES. and they would contribute to W’s as much as Ryan.
As mentioned, the Twins need to be brave and build excitement. Moving Ryan to an MLB-ready or almost MLB-ready player as mentioned above is the first step. There are still “seat fillers” in FA. They may no longer be in their prime, but you compensate for Ryan by signing Verlander, back it up by also signing Scherzer, and they are Seat Fillers who will easily bridge the gap with some of our emerging potential starters. That shows that we don’t trade top players to reduce payroll, and we don’t trade top players for a long-term rebuild.
We have 1-2 top prospects OF on the way who will be here this year. Combine that with another top young prospect in Eldridge, Walcott, Crawford or the like. and now you can sell the hope of a rebound from Royce and/or Wallner to pair with Buxton, Jeffers, Keaschall and even Bell, and that’s a lineup that can fill seats. you have a rotation with future HOF Verlander and Scherzer to go along with Lopez and young arms and that is something that could fill seats and compete.
#Big #coming