Twins…….Archer?

Twins signed Chris Heisey to a minor league deal today. If I recall he is a outfielder / DH type. No reason to sign him. Unless they are putting a package together to get Archer from Tampa Bay? I’ve heard Tampa wants Kepler, so maybe him Grossman and a prospect? If thats the case i’ll drive the car to the airport!

Stay tuned….something has to happen soon on the pitching front.

I’ve heard the talk too, but I certainly hope the Twins don’t trade a talent like Kepler. I think it’d be a big mistake.

You can’t give a bag of baseballs for Archer. While it would hurt to lose Kepler you have to give them something. Archer is under team control for 4 years yet I think at a very affordable contract.

No matter what anyone tells you pitching is not everything, you do need some hitting and preferably power hitting. We have had terrible seasons where Joe has had the best on base percentage in baseball-no good if he is stuck on 1st. Power.
Power can help you in any inning too, not just the 6 innings your “ace’ gives you twice a week.

This isn’t softball, you have to stop the other team from hitting the ball also.
You can’t start 3 AAA pitchers and a couple of also has beens against the better teams in baseball.

To clarify, I understand the need for power. I would just rather have a solid starting pitcher to slot into the #2 spot in the rotation. I think Grossman hits 15 hr and Kepler 20 or so. They are good players but you either give up players or a boatload of cash for starting pitching. If they could swing the Archer deal, and I’m not sure they can, that would still leave them money to pursue somebody like Lynn or Cobb.

I agree with Dutch….I don’t want to see Kepler go but 20HR guys are available more often than #2 pitchers especially for a reasonable price. Hopefully they could package up Grossman and keep Kepler.

With Santana’s injury getting another solid starter is critical.

It sounds like it’ll be some sort of deal with Kepler, Nick Gordon and a third if it’s going to happen. I like the deal. Kepler may turn into a nice player but there are plenty of those. Archer is a quality starter and it a strikeout machine. People are complaining about his career record being under .500 but the Rays haven’t had a winning season since he’s been in the majors I believe.

Also the Twins have a much better track record of developing hitters. They are disastrous in developing their top pitching prospects.

I’d rather not include Gordon until they sign Dozier. With Sano and Dozier in the air yet Gordon has value here.

This would be an absolute dynamite deal for the twins. 4 years of control at about $8MM per? That is so far under the market value for Archer it’s not even funny.

I think if we are serious about becoming a contending team we need more pitching help. Archer / Berrios / Santana is a respectable and fairly dangerous playoff rotation.

I mean until we play the Yankees and lose because that is our eternal destiny it seems.

Dutchboy wrote:

Stay tuned….something has to happen soon on the pitching front.

Or does it? I hope they can get Archer, he’d be a way better addition than Darvish would have been. Hopefully Falvey and Levine can close this deal, or we are back to picking up the Worley/Hughes/Ponson/Hernandez/Nolasco’s of the world off the scrap heap.

Pitching sure seems to be insanely good on teams that make the post season…….

This will be the year we see what the Twins plan is, either spend big to try and win or do the same as usual and put garbage on the field.

I wish people would stop paying for tickets to the game “because its nice outside”. They will never change if people line the twins pockets anyways.

We need this to happen if we are going to contend this season even just for the division.
Kepler ,Dozier or Kepler and gordon is just fine. MAke the move and still should pick up another starter FA .

mahtofire14 wrote:

It sounds like it’ll be some sort of deal with Kepler, Nick Gordon and a third if it’s going to happen. I like the deal.

This is the deal I’ve heard too and I also like it. As long as the Twins keep Royce Lewis plus their lottery ticket young pitchers like Graderol and Enrow, I’d be happy with them sending anyone else in the minors for the deal. Archer is top 20 SP right now and he’s on a super cheap deal, I really hope they make it happen. Even if they do get the trade done, I’d argue that they still need to sign another SP but we’ll see…

I don’t see them having a problem signing Dozier this winter either, especially if they swing a trade for Archer and/or stay in the playoff race.

Hoyt4 wrote:

Kepler ,Dozier or Kepler and gordon is just fine.

From what im reading this wouldn’t even be close to closing the deal for Archer. If it was im sure the Twins would have done that already. Sounds like those players plus 2 to 3 more prospects

Throw in Buston

eyeguy507 wrote:

Throw in Buston

Never. His jersey will hang right next to pucketts when its all said and done

eyeguy507 wrote:

Throw in Buston

Yeah, I hope you’re not serious about that. Dude is a star already and there’s a good chance he’s a top 8-10 guy in the league by season’s end.

Who is Buston?

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>
Throw in Buston

Never. His jersey will hang right next to pucketts when its all said and done

zooks wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>
Throw in Buston

Yeah, I hope you’re not serious about that. Dude is a star already and there’s a good chance he’s a top 8-10 guy in the league by season’s end.

I grew up a Twins fan through and through, but come on guys. That’s some strong Kool-Aid

Buxton isn’t going to have his jersey hanging next to Pucketts, nor is he a top 8-10 player in the league (or top 100 for that matter). ESPN, MLB Network, And CBS Sports all do not rank him in the top 100 league players coming into this season. If I’m running the show, he’d be thrown in without hesitation if that’d get us a starting pitcher for 4 years at a cheap rate.

I think Buxton is being a bit over hyped but he has the highest upside of anyone in the organization right now. The twins have never entertained trading him and I don’t think they will after last season.

Everyone is expendable but Buxton would be a heavy price to pay.

yes saying he will have his jersey retired and go down as one of the best is premature but so is calling him a bust. hes what 23 years old? Just turned 24? He’s already one of the best if not the best center fielder in the league. He hasn’t even had 1000 AB’s yet in the majors. Yes he needs to learn patience at the plate and gain more discipline but in each of his 2.5 seasons he has increased his BA., OBP., and OPS. He finished 18th in MVP voting and had the 31st best WAR rating in the whole league. As a 23 year old!!!

I don’t care if Buxton hits .240 for the rest of his career. He saved the team an insane amount of runs with his defense. Plus his offense is starting to come around. Had he not gotten injured during his hot streak he had a legit change to hit somewhere in the .280 range with 25 HR last season. Keep in mind that was with his awful start hitting sub .200 for the first two months of the season. I wouldn’t be willing to trade him. He has a realistic shot to be a 30/30 man every year. But that remains to be seen.

I also don’t see the Twins having a problem signing Dozier. He loves it here and last time he was a FA the Dodgers took a HUGE run at him and he came back to the Twins. Gordon is dispensable, Lewis definitely is not. Especially if they trade Kepler as there’s a good chance Lewis ends up in the outfield.

Like most Twins fans I cringe whenever Buxton gets 2 strikes in the count as EVERYBODY knows the down & away curveball is coming and sure enough, swing & miss… Obviously he’s an elite defender, I think this is the season he finally figures out the plate from the start of the season till the end…

I think these early struggles will actually help in the long run as his contract demands won’t be crazy…same with Sano…

I’m all about pitching, pitching, pitching. And I have no doubt Archer has a strong arm. But my concern is he has a gray matter issue. Hard to find a more inconsistent guy out there. Is he going to be an All Star again, or a 19 game losing train wreck?

I’ve always thought he’s talented but his mechanics and body language at times suggest he’s his own worst enemy.

At the risk of contradicting everything I’ve said about getting pitching at all costs… I’d be hesitant to give too much up for him.

The problem is that if you want pitching right now, you’ll be overpaying $2.00-$3.00 on the dollar for a free agent pitcher with similar talent to Archer (who’s on a sweetheart contract the next 3 or 4 years)…if I were the twins, I’d rather trade assets/prospects and then spend the money on re-signing proven in-house talent (Dozier, Buxton, Sano)

Trading for Archer is similar to the Vikings signing Cousins imo. I want them both on the MN squad very badly, but the publicized price ($30m for Cousins or Kepler/Gordon+2 prospects for Archer) is too rich for my blood. Both organizations are setup for long term competitiveness at this moment in time, and I wouldn’t sacrifice that for middle of the road guys (meaning not in the top 10 at their position). I’d do Kepler or Gordon and a couple mid tier prospects, just as I’d offer Kirk 5-6 years at 22-24M fully guaranteed.

ill gladly pay cousins whatever he wants. I think the amount to which a QB impacts a football team vs a quality SP a baseball team is drastically different. I agree though the asking price for Archer is too high IMO. Is her a good pitcher? Yes he is. Are good pitchers hard to come by? Very much so. Is he Roger Clemons or Randy Johnson? Not even close. Unless you are getting a true #1 pitcher that is both dominant and consistent id rather hold onto the prospects. Incidentally, I think an interesting avenue for the twins to go down to attempt to get a star pitcher without paying 200M for it would be the international market. I understand they went hard for that Japanese “Babe Ruth” kid and just lost out to the L.A. Angels

Give Cousins 27-28 mill a year he has already showed interest in coming here. He is a way better player than Keenum. He is like a healthy Bradford with mobility and a little more upside!

With Santana out Archer would be easily the most consistent starter the Twins would have. Their rotation is the definition of inconsistency. Even with his ups and downs playing on a losing team his whole career makes a big deal actually. On the Twins I think he would be much more focused and he would be reunited with many of his pitching coaches that made him a star in his first couple years in the MLB and the minors. Also, it would be Kepler, Gordon, and one other prospect. I don’t think it’ll take two more. I could be wrong but I don’t see Gordon being much more than his brother was. He may have a little more power but he will probably be a good defender, average hitter, and his only above average skill being his speed. Obviously that remains to be seen though.

crappie55369 wrote:

I think an interesting avenue for the twins to go down to attempt to get a star pitcher without paying 200M for it would be the international market. I understand they went hard for that Japanese “Babe Ruth” kid and just lost out to the L.A. Angels

I don’t want to see the Twins ever go the Japanese or Korean route again after their track record with those players.

Tim Lincecum is trying to make a comeback and by all accounts impressed the scouts yesterday hitting 93 on the gun and looked to be in incredible shape. I wouldn’t bite on this but it’s such a Twins style free agent signing I wouldn’t be shocked. Oh, and they had scouts attending the session yesterday……….