jrwilkens wrote:Speculation is Twins would ask Arizona to sign Juan Cruz then trade for him.That's not allowed - free agent signings can't be traded until midseason. I don't remember if it's June 1 or July 1, and too lazy to look it up.
Twins Offseason Retooling
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 Tapirboy |
|||
|
Contact Hitter
Posts: 106 (02/16/09 8:13 PM) |
|
||
|
EdEdEddy |
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd | ||
|
5-Tool Player
Posts: 570 (02/16/09 8:21 PM) 5-Tool Player |
|
||
|
Franorama |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 5668 (02/17/09 12:14 AM) Moderator |
Tapirboy wrote:The times may be a-changin'... Free agents cannot be traded before June 15 without their consent, but the union will permit Cruz and other Type A players to waive that right in advance, according to Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice-president of labor relations. Ken Rosenthal
"What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy." -- Voltaire
|
||
|
DefensiveIndifference |
Hudson | ||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 1402 (02/17/09 11:05 AM) Hall of Famer |
Gotta admit, it will hurt bad if the Orlandos end up signing equal or cheaper deals than LNP... Ken Rosenthal thinks that Orlando Hudson will make less than $5 million. I still think that Hudson would likely be a bigger upgrade over Casilla than Crede would be over Harris. At the apparant going rates, they should consider trying to add both. I really think that the Twins should have the payroll room to get it done. |
||
|
DanLandherr |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2800 (02/17/09 11:46 AM) |
Hudson might be an upgrade over Casilla this season, but Casilla is the better bet over the next 3 seasons. I think Casilla could be a medium-term solution in
the infield. I can't say that about Harris or Buscher. Buscher could be AAAA and Harris is about to get more expensive through arbitration than he's
worth on the open market.
In order to get Cruz the Twins would have to offer something decent in return, possibly one of their past top draft picks. I think most teams would be pleased to get out of a low 1st round draft pick what Cruz can offer for the next 3 seasons. The Twins have more faith than that in their scouts. Also, the Twins would have to outbid another team in a sign-and-trade, my guess is it would be less costly to just lose the pick and sign him as a free agent. None of this changes the fact that Nick Punto was an overpay by as much as $3M a season. |
||
|
DanLandherr |
Juan Cruz | ||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2802 (02/18/09 5:35 PM) |
Here's a prediction, the sign and trade for Cruz will happen if the Diamondbacks are interested in Bonser plus a C prospect. Otherwise I don't see it happening. |
||
|
EdEdEddy |
|||
|
5-Tool Player
Posts: 571 (02/18/09 6:58 PM) 5-Tool Player |
Sounds good: Bonser and Toby Gardenhire.
|
||
|
jianfu |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 1180 (02/21/09 1:01 AM) Hall of Famer |
==================
Nobody knows nothing. --Joe Posnanski |
||
|
Killer4 |
|||
|
Contact Hitter
Posts: 184 (02/21/09 1:01 AM) Contact Hitter |
No comments on the Twins 'signing' Joe Crede and making an offer for Juan Cruz? I thought this place would light up like a Christmas tree!
Go Twins!
|
||
|
Franorama |
Welcome, Joe Crede | ||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 5669 (02/21/09 12:34 PM) Moderator |
LEN3 says it's a
done deal...
The Twins will sign Crede to one-year deal with a base salary of $2.5 million with the chance to earn $7 million in appearance bonuses. The bonuses begin once Crede reaches 250 plate appearances and tops out at $7 million when he makes his 525th plate appearance. Crede is on a plane to Fort Myers as I write this. The Twins are expected to officially announce the signing at 3 p.m.
"What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy." -- Voltaire
|
||
|
skinnyloukingston |
Joe Crede | ||
|
5-Tool Player
Posts: 710 (02/21/09 1:29 PM) 5-Tool Player |
I like the Crede signing. Worst case scenario his back craps out early on and the Twins are out $2.5M, big deal. If healthy he's got a lot of good ball
left in him and his bat from the right side is a tremendous plus. They watched him work out and figured it was worth the risk. He was always my favorite
player to watch for the Sox. I didn't expect the Twins to bite the bullet, so it's a pleasant surprise.
|
||
|
jan |
Welcome, indeed! | ||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 21076 (02/21/09 1:29 PM) |
Joe Crede has always been one of my very favorite players...even if he did play for the opposition. He reminds me of Koskie the way he goes after the ball at
3rd base.
|
||
|
DanLandherr |
Picking Scott Boras' pocket | ||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2804 (02/21/09 4:58 PM) |
Great deal for the Twins. I really like seeing them take Boras down a peg too. They've eliminated all risk from the contract and they'll have the
opportunity to offer arbitration based on at most a $7M number for next season. Here's hoping Crede earns every last one of those incentives.
I think the bullpen is in decent shape but I certainly wouldn't fault them for offering Chad Cordero a minor league deal. They could decide to evaluate Bonser or Humber and if they don't work out quickly then trade one of them for a good relief pitcher on a rebuilding team (Sherrill?). Regarding Cruz - if they can sign Cruz for multiple years, then he's worth giving up the draft pick. I wouldn't give up a draft pick for 50 innings. If they're going to offer some players in a sign and trade, Bonser and Macri makes the most sense. They've got to dump Macri to make way for Crede (and Valencia/Hughes) and Bonser is falling behind Humber on the depth chart. Maybe they need to find a 3rd team to flip Macri for something the D-backs want that won't take up a roster slot. |
||
|
EdEdEddy |
Crede | ||
|
5-Tool Player
Posts: 572 (02/21/09 7:07 PM) 5-Tool Player |
For only $2.5 million...I can even be excited about this.
I just hope they get rid of Buscher or Harris in a trade (does AZ need one?). I don't think we need a bench of redundant players. |
||
|
jrwilkens |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 8209 (02/21/09 7:35 PM) |
By definition, a bench needs to be filled with redundant players.
But there will have to be a choice, I'd guess, between Harris, Buscher, and Tolbert. Will Matt be the odd man out? This is likely to be decided in spring training, unless a trade occurs...
-------------------
"I can't be upset about what happens," he said. "It's baseball." - Radke |
||
|
DanLandherr |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2805 (02/21/09 7:37 PM) |
Neither Buscher or Harris is really redundant. Buscher is a LH platoon/bench bat who plays the corners. Harris can play 2B and SS and although Tolbert can also
play both positions with better defense, Harris is the better hitter. Matt Macri is the really redundant guy on the 40 man roster.
|
||
|
EdEdEddy |
|||
|
5-Tool Player
Posts: 573 (02/21/09 8:35 PM) 5-Tool Player |
Right, jrwilkens;) I mean within the bench. You always run a strong chance of having a couple players alike in position and skill, but the Twins have seemingly
specialized in redundancy on the bench in recent times.
|
||
|
KellysHeroes |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 1503 (02/22/09 8:40 AM) Hall of Famer |
I want to go on record as saying that even if Crede slips in the shower during spring training and never plays an inning for the Twins I think this was the
right decision. The team had extra money, he's a former all-star, capable of 20+ HRs and it would have been potentially deadly to have two scrubbers
(Harris and Buscher) with roster spots secured in February. At the very least the competition will be good for the final roster.
|
||
|
DanLandherr |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2807 (02/24/09 9:41 AM) |
Bonser's hurt. Looks like the bullpen "battle" is over. Unless the Twins bring in Cruz the roster is set.
|
||
|
HallseyHall |
|||
|
Hall of Famer
Posts: 2061 (02/24/09 1:40 PM) Hall of Famer |
It sure looks like a bullpen battle to me. Especially if Gardy goes with 11 pitchers. There's a boatload of arms here and it seems to me only one spot up for grabs. Who do you see as the pen?
"You're only as good as your next pitcher. Don't ever forget it." Tom Kelly
|
||
