29 thoughts on “30 July 2017: Know When to Fold ‘Em”

  2. When I think of one-start wonders, Matt Fox is always the name that comes to mind. I didn't realize until the search just now that this was the only start Matt Fox ever made.

  3. The Twins have gone through so many players that I have forgotten some of them.Jason Wheeler pitched in 2 games and I have no recollection of him.

  4. Lefty Gomez made just one start for the Senators, the last of his career. R.A. Dickey started once, but pitched in 34 other games that season. García is next on the list, in terms of career value.

  5. When the cat jumped on me around 2am and I saw they had lost, I thought "that could be the breaking point".

    Now, I think that they picked up Garcia with the intention of doing exactly what they did all along, but I feel like now, it could be the first of a few. This is not a "playoff" team, and as others have said, it would be foolish to make a push towards getting a second wild card that they're poetically going to fall short of, anyway.

    1. I agree that they are not a "playoff" team. But I also think that this season provides pretty good evidence that they are not far off from being playoff-competitive, with some more pitching help. I don't particularly want them to be "sellers". I'm ok with them being flippers....

      1. Would trading Santana fall into the "selling" or "flipping" category? A rotation of José Berríos & a cast of thousands will be hard to watch for two months, but this might be the best time to extract the excess value out of Santana's contract.

        2. I think I would read it as "selling," since he's in his third season with the Twins.

          He's got his highest FIP (4.94) since 2012, thanks to a HR9 above his career average and a K:BB below his career average. $13.5 million seems like a lot, but then, 3+ rWAR pitchers don't grow on trees.

          I guess I'd be willing to listen to offers, but would not actively shop him.

          1. That's where I am, too. He's not an "ace", exactly, but he's a competent starting pitcher who's signed through next year. If they can get an adequate return for him, fine. If not, well, I'm happy to have him with the team for another year.

  6. I was wondering what was going on last night when the A's tv guys seemingly joked about the Twins trading Garcia.

    Paying $4 million and Ynoa for Recker, Littell and Enns? I don't know enough to have a strong opinion, but I'm guardedly optimistic.

    Ynoa is very young (age-19 season) and hasn't shown a ton yet, struggling at Elizabethton this year.

    Recker is a 33-year old, no-hit catcher. He's been outrighted off the 40-man, so I don't even see the point. I guess that means we picked up his contract from Atlanta (pro-rated from $800,000).

    Littell is much more advanced than Ynoa, at age-21, having pitched well at high-A and AA. I like his 8:2 K:BB ratio so far in his career. Enns is in his age-26 season and has performed well in the minors without advancing to the majors. Tampa only had him at high-A in 2015 before trading him to the Yankees, who stuck him back in the GCL. He then excelled in a half-season of AA in 2016 before being promoted to AAA, where his K-rate dropped sharply (9.5:3.9 at Trenton to 6.9:3.6 at Scranton-Wilkes-Barre). He bounced back up to 8.5:2.3 this season at SCW, which is encouraging, assuming he is healthy and there are no long-term red flags regarding his shoulder (see below).

    from Pinstripeprospects:

    Littell, who was a healthy scratch from his start for Trenton last night in Altoona, was in the midst of a strong season after the Yankees acquired him from Seattle in exchange for reliever James Pazos last season.

    The 21-year old right-hander had gone 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 44 innings over seven starts for Trenton after going 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 11 starts for High-A Tampa. Scouts who have seen Littell pitch in recent weeks raved about his development and how far he had come with executing his secondary pitches....

    The 26-year old Enns was protected from the Rule 5 Draft this past winter and placed on the 40-man roster by the Yankees after a stellar 2016 campaign. Over 22 starts at Trenton and Scranton, the southpaw went 14-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 135 innings of work.

    Enns battled through a shoulder strain earlier in the season, and it limited him to just seven starts for the RailRiders this season. He had gone 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA and .207 batting average against in 39 1/3 innings for the Scranton since returning from a long stint on the DL. Enns has had an incredibly successful career in the Yankees system and has always seemed to fly under the radar despite his eye opening numbers. Since 2013, Enns has not posted an ERA above 2.00.

    2. Fangraphs on the trade.

      They seem to be pretty high on Ynoa, and only mildly appreciative of Littell and Enns.

      while he may still profile as a depth arm, he has dramatically improved his K% as he has ascended to Double-A. For the first time in his pro career, he has more Ks than IP at a single level. That’s certainly encouraging. And MLB Pipeline — which constantly updates its prospect lists in-season — had Littell at No. 22 in the Yankees’ system this morning. The same No. 22 that Eric had rated Ynoa before the season. So if you’re being optimistic, the Twins just acquired the same ceiling player they traded away, except the one they have now is closer to the majors.

      1. except the one they have now is closer to the majors.

        That's a pretty big "except." A lot of things can happen in those extra two years.

    3. I think turning Ynoa into Littell and Enns (and Recker, I guess) is a pretty good deal.

  8. The Twins have traded Jaime García to the Yankmes.

    People come and go so quickly here.

      1. I understand, like, five words of this sentence. All I know is that it has my name in it.

  10. After playing twenty-one innings yesterday, Chattanooga is headed for extra innings again tonight. Tied 3-3 after nine in Montgomery.

Comments are closed.