Why Claiming Brian Fuentes was a Good Move
by Jesse on Aug 28, 2010 7:20 AM EDT
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PrintTwins claim Brian Fuentes off waivers from Angels, set to trade PTBNL.
Bill Smith, for the second year in a row, is managing to piece together the parts necessary for a respectable bullpen. In Fuentes the Twins have a strikeout threat, and a left-handed option that is actually adpet at retiring left-handed hitters.
There are voices of dissent: Angels fans aren't a big lover of Fuentes after watching him blow saves, and FanGraphs' Matthew Carruth can't quite seem to wrap his head around it, either. To be fair, they have their points. Angels fans have first-hand experience with their pitcher's weaknesses (he sounds like Eddie Guardado) and Carruth, as an outsider, looks at FIP in Minnesota's bullpen and doesn't see Fuentes as an improvement going forward.
But what makes this a good move for the Twins are the circumstances. Circumstances which are obviously different than those in LA this year, and circumstances which Carruth completely misses: the Twins need a left-handed bullpen arm, because they don't have one.
Jose Mijares? Not back yet.
Ron Mahay? Not coming back.
Brian Duensing? Busy being one of our better starting pitchers.
Randy Flores? Just not very good.
Glen Perkins? Small sample, but the peripherals aren't promising.
I deplore the concept of having a LOOGY simply for having one, but there is value in having a specialist. Against hitters who tee off against right-handed pitching, and against left-handed hitters in general, a pitcher like Fuentes has a well-defined role. Minnesota has had a conveyor belt of pitchers in this mold: Guardado, J.C. Romero, Dennys Reyes, Craig Breslow, Mijares and Mahay. They've all been part of a winning formula, and whether you believe in the concept of a LOOGY or not, a bullpen chalk full of noleftysyndrome is a weakness.
Fuentes will not close. This is double plus good, as he's proven to not be the most reliable man in that situation and he also won't reach the 55-games finished plateau required for his $9 million option to vest for 2011. It's a deal for September and October, and he's not going to be asked to perform in the unilateral role of protecting a small lead at the end of the game. He'll face left-handed hitters, and most of the time he's going to do his job.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid. The man isn't an All-Star. But by understanding how Fuentes gives the Twins value, and knowing how well Ron Gardnehire manages a bullpen when the heirarchy is firmly in place, this is (quite obviously, really) a positive move.
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Just what the Bullpen needed
The bullpen now has 3 people who have experience closing and helps keep Crain and Guerrier from being overused. It will be interesting to see who the Angels take as the player to be named later.
I have to wonder how the hell he get past the White Sox? I can’t understand why they would not block this deal especially with the state of their bullpen.
PTBNL
Actually the player returned only has to clear waivers all the way to Seattle. That means he has to get past Baltimore in order to complete the trade.
Van Mil = PTBNL
Van Mil DFA, if he makes it past the Orioles, I’ll bet he’s the PTBNL.
Posted before the allergy meds kicked in
He has to clear to the Angels. We’re PLAYING Seattle but we TRADED with LAA.
yeah their bullpen is now officially just as depleted
oh well, i’ll take it. we needed something not named randy flores.
Total pwnage of Fangraphs right there
That was classic Fangraphs underanalysis by Carruth. Fuentes has ridiculously good numbers against lefties this year and really excellent numbers on his career. If you know anything about the Twins bullpen right now, that’s all you need to know to know it’s a great idea.
Carruth doesn't know Gardy
After having my wife ask me why the fat man only gets one out every game, I was forced to spend 20 minutes explaining that Dennis Reyes was a LOOGY and that his only job is to get LHB out. Fuentes has a career FIP of 2.73 against LHB and 1.52 in 2010.
Here are some other reasons I love this move: Josh Hamilton, Robinson Cano, and Carl Crawford. Do we really want Randy Flores or Jon Rauch facing them in a high leverage situation?
by Jon Kammerer on Aug 28, 2010 9:16 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Those were the same three guys
I was thinking of LH hitters on playoff teams (plus White Sox) where it would be great to have a good lefty in the bullpen. I came up with those three as well.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Aug 28, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions
FYI
In case you ever wondered (Like I did a while back)
LOOGY=Lefty One-Out GuY
I think we can all get behind the idea that the acronym should probably have been LOOG, but it works just as well to make it sound like spit.
I always loved that one.
Don't get too attached to Fuentes
There is no way the Twins pick up that option. It is too dangerous to offer arbitration so I doubt there is any draft pick compensation to think about when evaluating this trade. Fuentes is type B so it is possible someone else signs him before the Twins deadline to offer arbitration. Of course it is possible the Twins really like him and get him to sign a $4M extension in the offseason. They will need bullpen help next year.
Fuentes' option is vesting only.
If he doesn’t reach 55 games finished, this is it.
I agree that it will be interesting to see how he pitches down the stretch, because if the Twins are hesitant on Jose Mijares taking on a big role next season they might splash for Fuentes. I doubt he’d come back though—somebody will want to play for those saves.
He sure fits the profile
It just seems odd that the Twins not only have a fireballing lefthanded specialist but a fireballing Latino lefthanded specialist. Mijares, Romero, Santana, Guardado, now Fuentes. I know every once in a while there is a Ron Mahay or Mark Guthrie but it seems like the Twins get these guys from central casting.
Only would resign him if he's very cheap
We’ve go Rauch, Crain, Guerrier, and now Fuentes coming up on free agency in our bullpen. Fuentes is at best the 3rd or 4th guy on that list that I’d want the Twins to resign. Given his age and his BB rate I love the trade for him, re-signing at anything more than a couple million would be a mistake IMO. I say re-sign Crain and see what Guerrier/Rauch would be willing to take.
Peyton's good but have you ever heard of Jeff George?
Two things:
The Fuentes deal looks good to me, but Flores? I’d rather have Slama or Manship. For the second item, who is eligible and who is protected in the player to be named later? Anyone not on the 40-man?
My understanding
The PTBNL is sometimes because the player has been signed within the last year and needs to be on the roster for 12 months before being traded (drafted players I mean). Generally the PTBNL is taken from a pre-determined list the teams work out. Sometimes the player is traded after the season so there aren’t waivers to work with. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it, likely no one too great.
Peyton's good but have you ever heard of Jeff George?
Perkins was sent down according to MLB.com:
With the acquisition of Fuentes, the Twins made a roster move after Friday’s game, sending left-hander Glen Perkins to Triple-A.
“That’s a good thing for him,” Gardenhire said. “He’s sitting out there, not doing a lot. And we’ve got a couple lefties now. It’ll be good to get him pitching.”
My life's goal: to force fischean itno using her moderator powers
by montanatwinsfan on Aug 28, 2010 10:32 AM EDT reply actions
here's a quote from Terry Reagin, Angels GM
As you go through the waiver process, there’s a lot of things that come into play. Minnesota happened to be the team that claimed Brian, so we had to look within their system to see if we had an opportunity to get a good player in exchange for Brian. And we feel like we’ve accomplished that
I now have pause about this trade….ugh
I called on the exact pitch - Joe Mauer's first career Home-Run at Target Field !!!
Why Oh Why did the D'Backs select A.J. Pollock over Mike Trout?
by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Aug 28, 2010 2:24 PM EDT reply actions
I wouldn't worry about this one.
It’ll either be Loek, or someone who wasn’t on the 40-man roster like Juan Portes. Nothing of real value.
Dude's career xFIP vs. LHB is 3.21.
Assuming the Angel’s GM is mostly shilling regarding the quality of player they’re gonna get for him, this is a good move provided he’s used pretty much exlclusively as a LOOGY in high and medium-leverage situations (and only allowed to /face right handed bats if the other bullpen arms are tired in a blowout). The fangraphs article is right to question his overall numbers, it just didn’t finish the analysis.
That's exactly it.
You can’t do analysis in a vaccuum—you need to take circumstances into account, as well as how a team could utilise the player to the best of his skills. If the Twins use him as a lefty guy, he’ll be exceptional.
They aren't exactly sad to see him go at HH.
Angels Trade Brian Fuentes to Twins for PTBNL
Last Night of the Brian Fuentes Tee Shirt
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Dude, grit+hustle > 'the dark side'." -LNP
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Aug 28, 2010 2:43 PM EDT reply actions
Fuentes has been overrated and overpaid,
but don’t confuse that with bad.
My dad told me about this last night on the phone
And I was thrilled. Jesse spelled it out perfectly: He doesn’t meet the hype he seems to elicit, but he’s a total steal. As long as he’s a setup man I’ll be happy. On-and-off closing would be fine, but I remember some of his Guardado-esque moments from last year in the playoffs (game-tying homer by A-Rod, and made his game five save WAY too interesting), so that should be fairly limited. This is only a plus, and to be basic, it gets us a name lefty better than Flores, and able to help out if Mijares isn’t 100%. Good move, Bill Smith.
by MarshalltheIrish on Aug 28, 2010 5:37 PM EDT reply actions
Looked good tonight
Putting his ridiculous slash numbers against batters that already struggle against lefty pitching is as close to an automatic out as there is. I, for one, am glad to have an option in those situations where righties just won’t do. Don’t forget that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder after what he perceived as unfair treatment from Angels fans. Can’t complain about that, especially in a pennant race.
Good point
They’ve gone on about him for a little while now. But with the Halos sinking and the Twins on pace to win the division and hoping to go further, he’s got to be both happy and motivated.
by MarshalltheIrish on Aug 29, 2010 7:59 PM EDT up reply actions
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