Twins on trading spree like none seen in many a year

In the last five days of July the Falvey/Levine regime traded five experienced players off their big league roster and acquired 12 players that includes five pitchers, 4 outfielders and 4 infielders. The departed players have appeared in 2,674 games and the pitchers have notched 160 wins. The acquired players have no wins by the pitchers in the big leagues and have played in a total of 899 big league games of which Logan Forsythe has 807.

I grant you that Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar were both going to be free agents at the end of the season. Lance Lynn has not performed up to expectations, Zach Duke performed pretty much as expected and Ryan Pressly was probably over-worked but was a decent relief pitcher. The team itself has under-performed dramatically but to be fair I think the same can be said of the Twins “on the field” management staff. 

Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar have both stated publicly that they were interested in staying in Minnesota but Falvey and Levine appear to have made no efforts to sign them to an extension. Maybe they did, may they didn’t, but we don’t know the answer to that, all we know for sure is what is obvious in that Falvey tried to trade Dozier after last season but was unsuccessful. Escobar seems to fight for a regular position every year but has not won a job as yet, his performance this year filling in for Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano has been exemplary. What I like the most about both of these players is that they were fun players to watch and that they came to play every day both with their bats and their gloves. Everyone says that Escobar was great for clubhouse chemistry and Dozier was obviously the most vocal team leader. I am not sure who can fill those roles.

Do I agree with these trades? For the most part I do. Getting something for a player that can walk away at season’s end has some value. Moving some of these players will make it easier to give some up and coming youngsters a shot at earning a job next season. The Twins have traded five players off their roster but that does not mean they are in full rebuild mode. The Twins had some unusual circumstances this season that really hurt, Jason Castro has been out all season except for 19 games, Jorge Polanco was suspended for 80 games, Ervin Santana was expected to miss two months and missed four months, Miguel Sano had off-season surgery that limited his ability to work out and he apparently decided to eat out instead and found out he couldn’t get the bat around like he once could and his attitude left something to be desired, and last but not least we have Byron Buxton who in my opinion is starting to lose some luster after spending most of the year on one DL or another for his legs, hand or head. I am not saying that Buxton and Sano can’t come back and become the stars that they were once projected to be but they have to show me some stuff during games on the field and not in batting practice. Baseball is just a game but if you are going to be good at the game you need to put in the work, so far I have not seen it from these two.

I think what bothers me most is the impact on the fans, who wants to see their team raise the white flag and give up? I know that management and the players say they haven’t given up but let’s be real here, you take Dozier and Escobar out of the line-up and what are you expecting to happen? I think it could be a long two months as the Twins play out the season and when October rolls around I think (and hope) that Falvey and Levine bring the hammer down on Molitor. If I am Derek Falvey I don’t let a manager I did not hire define my time as Head of Baseball Operations.

We won’t know how this plays out for many a year but that is what makes baseball both interesting but frustrating, particularly for those that want instant gratification. As a fan that has watched this team since 1961, I think they will be OK, just think of this year as a wrong turn on your Twins journey to be the best team in baseball once again. Recalculating……..