i think he came along at a time when the approach was different even than it is today, especially the Twins of those years. I think he was strongly encouraged to go the other way with the ball and be a singles/contact hitter. Guessing with the analytics applied to baseball today he'd be encouraged to pull the ball more and hit for power. Such a pure natural swing and good eye. I was always curious about his MVP season and one year spike of power numbers. I wonder if there's a story behind that and if there was something different about how he approached that season or was told differently by the staff about his approach to hitting. Great guy, great player, great Twin. Also, he made it by 4 votes, so you'll never convince me that being an all around great person didn't help him get in with first ballot.
MLB: ***2026 Minnesota Twins***
- Thread starter Marcelason78
- Start date
It can be true that he is HOF worthy (he is) and that his contract at the end was not paying a return to the Twins (it wasn't).
As for the HOF it really comes down to this. 6 time AS with 5 seasons of WAR and offensive WAR at the AS level playing far and away the most offensively challenged position in baseball while also winning 3 GG.
He has the second highest OBP of any catcher in history with 3000 PA. And the major problem with people looking at OPS is that it absolutely overvalues slugging. So you have arguably the second most important offensive single category (outside of probably SLG), and he's the second best to ever do it at his position.
428 doubles is not too shabby. Ranks pretty high for a catcher.
To be honest most of these long signings end up being overpays on the back end. If not for the concussion issues and Mauer getting another couple years at catcher and the contract likely ends up being a reasonable deal overall.
With the new stadium deal the Twins were going to sign some of their internal guys to longer deals and picking the two youngest guys in Mauer and Morneau made a ton of sense. Doubly so with Mauer being a hometown player.
The other two options were Santana who ended up in the same boat as M&M with injuries derailing his career and then Torii Hunter, who despite being significantly older than the rest of them in retrospect had the best following years in his FA contract.
This deal reminds me of the Arraez trade. At first glance it hurts to lose a beloved player, but I think they got as much as they could out of it.
Cons: 1) lose one of your best hitters who had two years left on his deal
Pros: 1) add a bullpen guy to replace Pagan
2) add a depth starting pitcher for free (Seattle and San Fran are paying the salary)
3) add a borderline top 100 prospect
4) add a lottery ticket pitcher
5) free up appx. $10M cash to spend elsewhere
Do the pros outweigh the cons?? I want to see what they do next, but I sure do hate to lose Polanco, one of my favorite players. I hope it works out for both teams!
Cons: 1) lose one of your best hitters who had two years left on his deal
Pros: 1) add a bullpen guy to replace Pagan
2) add a depth starting pitcher for free (Seattle and San Fran are paying the salary)
3) add a borderline top 100 prospect
4) add a lottery ticket pitcher
5) free up appx. $10M cash to spend elsewhere
Do the pros outweigh the cons?? I want to see what they do next, but I sure do hate to lose Polanco, one of my favorite players. I hope it works out for both teams!
Clarification DeSclafani is not free. Breakdown for who is paying his salary this upcoming season basically works out as follows: 6 million Giants, 2 million Mariners, 4 million Twins.
Still frees up money overall as Polanco's salary was higher than 4 million but the number is closer to 6 million overall.
Good call. I saw all kinds of different numbers. I don’t think anyone knew right away.
I don’t love it but I get it. That’s probably max value for Polanco who’s been on the IL a bunch and in his twilight. And we have depth there with more on the way. To me it all hinges on the RH OF bat making a a splash down the road. DeSclafani looks terrible. I hope they haven’t totally committed to Varland being in the pen.
Agree. DeSclafani is the least impressive add here, but hopefully the other three guys can help the Twins. With Twins infield depth, this was a positive trade. Still would like to see LHP add, but it sounds like they’re now focused on a right handed OF bat.
I'm going to miss Polanco. I had this thing with my son where I would say "Hip Hip" and he would reply "Jorge".
That said, it really made sense to deal him. The have Julien, Lee and Martin who could all take that 2B spot.
I have heard varying reports on the cash. It sounds like the Mariners are sending $8M, but I don't know if that includes what the Giants already already sent them, or in addition to that. I think its the former, so it saves the Twins about $5.3M.
Getting 4 guys is a positive. DeSclafini at a minimum is a decent #5 starter giving the Twins some depth. There have been some reports that he doesn't use his best pitch often enough and a switch-up in his pitch mix might unlock a lot of potential.
Topa seems like a very solid RP. He was really good last year, and solid before that. Older, but thats okay. He's cheap and controlled through 2027, so he's a long term fit in that bullpen.
Darren Bowen is probably never going to reach the majors, but he's another arm that maybe a new organization could unlock. Its not like he was bad last year, but he was older playing in A ball.
Gabriel Gonzalez is the crown jewel here. He's a high risk/high upside guy. He could turn into a great prospect or flame out. But he is the Twins #4 prospect now and basically a Top 100 prospect overall. He's a year younger than Emmanuel Rodriguez and they had similar numbers in Low A ball. Rodriguez walked more, but otherwise very similar. Websites say he weigh's 165lbs (Rodriguez is 210), but that is from 3 years ago. He looks much stockier now. He's probably pretty close in stature to Rodriguez. It helps organizational depth, he's also a righty, which the Twins need in the pipeline.
I think the biggest thing with Gonzalez is that he could be flipped as part of a trade for an established starter, or act as a replacement in the pipeline if Rodriguez is used in a trade like that.
That said, it really made sense to deal him. The have Julien, Lee and Martin who could all take that 2B spot.
I have heard varying reports on the cash. It sounds like the Mariners are sending $8M, but I don't know if that includes what the Giants already already sent them, or in addition to that. I think its the former, so it saves the Twins about $5.3M.
Getting 4 guys is a positive. DeSclafini at a minimum is a decent #5 starter giving the Twins some depth. There have been some reports that he doesn't use his best pitch often enough and a switch-up in his pitch mix might unlock a lot of potential.
Topa seems like a very solid RP. He was really good last year, and solid before that. Older, but thats okay. He's cheap and controlled through 2027, so he's a long term fit in that bullpen.
Darren Bowen is probably never going to reach the majors, but he's another arm that maybe a new organization could unlock. Its not like he was bad last year, but he was older playing in A ball.
Gabriel Gonzalez is the crown jewel here. He's a high risk/high upside guy. He could turn into a great prospect or flame out. But he is the Twins #4 prospect now and basically a Top 100 prospect overall. He's a year younger than Emmanuel Rodriguez and they had similar numbers in Low A ball. Rodriguez walked more, but otherwise very similar. Websites say he weigh's 165lbs (Rodriguez is 210), but that is from 3 years ago. He looks much stockier now. He's probably pretty close in stature to Rodriguez. It helps organizational depth, he's also a righty, which the Twins need in the pipeline.
I think the biggest thing with Gonzalez is that he could be flipped as part of a trade for an established starter, or act as a replacement in the pipeline if Rodriguez is used in a trade like that.
So if we live in Iowa, we are “in-market” and still screwed right?
https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...rth-limit-in-market-streaming-in-2024-r15646/
https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...rth-limit-in-market-streaming-in-2024-r15646/
The year we went, we stayed like 45 min away. Traffic is a pain as I remember.
