The waiver trade activity is about to pick up. I am starting a new
series dealing with potential Twins' trades during this period, but with
a bit of outside the box thinking. The rules around waiver trades are
a bit complicated, so if you have not read the Waiver Trade Primer yet, feel free to do it.
This week I will be writing about 5 trades the Twins should do and they should seek out, because they make sense and it is fun to think a bit outside the box.
Day 5: Closing this series
When the Twins signed Brandon Kintzler, among the rest of the parading minor league free agents that Terry Ryan did, in nobody's wildest dreams (or nightmares) the possibility of Brandon Kintzler becoming not even the Twins', but the Red Wings' closer was thought as remotely valid. But happenstance is stranger than dreams, and Brandon Kintzler is the Twins closer today. And if this is not enough, to say "sell high", the 1.82 ERA, 0.984 WHIP, and 12/13 saves converted (despite a close to his career average 3.55 FIP, .260 BABIP, and celebrating his 32nd birthday earlier this month,) are more than enough to scream sell high.
There is no way that a rational Front Office (something that the Twins have to see since the MacPhail times, and hopefully will have this off-season) would keep Brandon Kintzer, who is under team control and arbitration-eligible for 2 more seasons, with the team at expensive prices for those two seasons, based on these 2 months of 2017. However, a team that is competing right now, can use a hot arm like his, betting that it will continue and will be enough to bump them to the post-season.
Who will that team be? The team that has the worst record among the post-season competitors (thus waiver claim priority,) is just 3 games away from the second wild card spot, has 9 games to play this season against our very own Minnesota Twins, and its bullpen took a couple of huge hits this season: The defending World Champions Kansas City Royals who just found themselves contending again.
What will it take? It will not come cheap, but it will not break the bank. A fair return would be the Royals' 2015 4th round pick, 19 year old LHSP, Garrett Davila. Mid-90 fastball lefties do not grow on trees, but Davila has had durability issues and might become a reliever. Still, he is a gamble and a project, something that the Twins afford to take on, and the Royals would gladly have someone who will help them make this post-season (because they are a very good post-season team) than a project.
So, after Michael Tonkin was sent to the Rangers, after Suzuki traded to the Orioles, Grossman to the Astros, and Plouffe to the Indians, this imaginary 5 day trading spree closes with the Twins' closer by happenstance, Brandon Kintzler, to the Royals for Garrett Davila.
This week I will be writing about 5 trades the Twins should do and they should seek out, because they make sense and it is fun to think a bit outside the box.
Day 5: Closing this series
When the Twins signed Brandon Kintzler, among the rest of the parading minor league free agents that Terry Ryan did, in nobody's wildest dreams (or nightmares) the possibility of Brandon Kintzler becoming not even the Twins', but the Red Wings' closer was thought as remotely valid. But happenstance is stranger than dreams, and Brandon Kintzler is the Twins closer today. And if this is not enough, to say "sell high", the 1.82 ERA, 0.984 WHIP, and 12/13 saves converted (despite a close to his career average 3.55 FIP, .260 BABIP, and celebrating his 32nd birthday earlier this month,) are more than enough to scream sell high.
There is no way that a rational Front Office (something that the Twins have to see since the MacPhail times, and hopefully will have this off-season) would keep Brandon Kintzer, who is under team control and arbitration-eligible for 2 more seasons, with the team at expensive prices for those two seasons, based on these 2 months of 2017. However, a team that is competing right now, can use a hot arm like his, betting that it will continue and will be enough to bump them to the post-season.
Who will that team be? The team that has the worst record among the post-season competitors (thus waiver claim priority,) is just 3 games away from the second wild card spot, has 9 games to play this season against our very own Minnesota Twins, and its bullpen took a couple of huge hits this season: The defending World Champions Kansas City Royals who just found themselves contending again.
What will it take? It will not come cheap, but it will not break the bank. A fair return would be the Royals' 2015 4th round pick, 19 year old LHSP, Garrett Davila. Mid-90 fastball lefties do not grow on trees, but Davila has had durability issues and might become a reliever. Still, he is a gamble and a project, something that the Twins afford to take on, and the Royals would gladly have someone who will help them make this post-season (because they are a very good post-season team) than a project.
So, after Michael Tonkin was sent to the Rangers, after Suzuki traded to the Orioles, Grossman to the Astros, and Plouffe to the Indians, this imaginary 5 day trading spree closes with the Twins' closer by happenstance, Brandon Kintzler, to the Royals for Garrett Davila.
1 comment:
A 1.277 WHIP and 7.6 SO/9 suggests his 7-0 record is a bit of a fluke, but I like it.
If they saw Kinzler as a useful piece to get to the postseason I suspect they'd go for it.
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