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As we all lay in bed this morning checking our phones for the latest Twins developments, the good news is that they made no moves overnight. You're not waking up to a Mike Pelfrey conference. And that's okay. Let's get you set up for one last day in the sun, shall we?
Kurt Suzuki
In case you missed it earlier, three teams talking to Kurt Suzuki: Cubs, Twins, Rockies.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) December 12, 2013
Suzuki feels like a better option than John Buck, at least. DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) typically has him pegged right around even, and in terms of framing pitches he's still below average but he's nowhere nearly as awful as Buck has been. On the other hand, Suzuki caught just eight runners in 65 stolen base attempts in 2013. He's not typically so awful, so maybe we can put some of that on the pitcher, but catching 12% of attempted base stealers is never going to impress anyone.
In the early part of his career, Suzuki looked like his bat would play a little bit. That hasn't been the case, with a combined triple slash of .237/.294/.357 over the last four seasons.
Heading into his age-30 season, Suzuki is pretty young for a free agent and so there is less risk of the guy completely falling apart unexpectedly at some point during the summer. But he is most definitely a backup.
Matt Garza
Garza's agent has left Orlando. #MNTwins know the price. As stated previously, he'd gladly come back.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) December 12, 2013
@DexsTweets At least $15M/year. Don't have anymore specifics. Had one team executive (not Twins) suggest 5/80ish.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) December 12, 2013
It was always unlikely that Garza would sign before the end of the Winter Meetings, but the Twins continue to stay in the hunt. The sentiment continues to be that he'll sign by the weekend, but now that the madness of the Winter Meetings will die down and now that teams will have a better idea of the markets for certain players, it will be interesting to see if Garza's suitors cause a bit of a frenzy in the next couple days.
Garza was also never going to sign for less than $15 million per season, as Wolfson notes. If his asking price is five years and $80 million, would you take that leap? Even for one of the younger starters on the market (he'll be in his age-30 season in 2014), that's a long contract. In a thread yesterday many of us agreed that we'd take the leap at four years and $60 million, which is obviously a very good deal. But five and $80 million is closer to market value, particularly in light of the contracts we've seen signed in the last few weeks.
Two years and $20 million for a 40-year old Bartolo Colon? Really?
Mike Pelfrey & Bronson Arroyo
Sources: #Twins continuing to talk to Pelfrey. Unclear whether deal with Pelfrey would preclude signing of Arroyo. Team has flexibility.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2013
Is that some kind of joke? Forget the fact that both Pelfrey and Arroyo seem to want multi-year contracts for the moment, and focus on what it would mean for the Twins: a rotation of Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Bronson Arroyo, and Mike Pelfrey. No doubt that's better than 2013's rotation, but it also goes against every tenet of the organization by forcing out at least two of Vance Worley, Samuel Deduno, and Scott Diamond. One of them could be shunted to the bullpen, but not more than that. And projecting to have just one open rotation spot next spring, when Correia would come off the books? Just no. No.
What Rosenthal means by that situation being unclear, is that nobody with the Twins has come right out and explicitly said: "We're only going to bring in one more starting pitcher." Why they would need to is beyond me.
Let's put on our Makes Sense pants and just admit that, no, signing both Pelfrey and Arroyo is not a possibility. Not unless something unforeseen clears the way.
Rule 5 Draft
With a full 40-man roster and a few words from the organization earlier this week, we already know that the Twins will not be selecting someone in the Major League portion of today's Rule 5 draft. They'll be active in the minor league portion, but the decision for the big league side has already been made.
The only question of note for the Twins is whether the team will lose anyone. Alex Wimmers seems an unlikely selection because of his history of injuries and time off, but A.J. Achter and Pat Dean could be possible losses.
We'll see you later this morning.
