Liriano
Thoughts
There wasn’t a posting on
Thursday morning because, I am thrilled to announce, I received the pre-ordered
Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbooks on
Wednesday, and spent that whole night getting them ready to be mailed out right
away on Thursday… It was a bit of a late one, but it is complete. If you
ordered a copy (or two) of the Minnesota
Twins Prospect Handbook via pre-order, you got a great deal, and your books
are on their way now. Hopefully you will start seeing them very soon! If you
pre-ordered and don’t get your copy by next Wednesday, please let me know.
Thank you again to all that ordered.
If you are going to Ft.
Myers, it will be nice to have with you, for when you see a minor leaguer get a
late-inning at bat, or some time in the field. Or
maybe you’ll be walking through minor league camp. And hey, it’s good for
autographs too! So, if you didn’t pre-order, and you have yet to order, it is now
available online here. For
just $14.95, you get 170 page of Twins minor league content.
FRANCISCO LIRIANO
With that, let’s talk a
little bit about Joe Christensen’s
article about the idea of trading Francisco Liriano.
I’ve been asked several times today for my thoughts. Here are a few:
·
Joe Christensen
is as credible as it gets. If he was willing to put the story into the paper,
it’s based on something, probably discussions with people in the know.
·
So, the questions
become Who? and Why?
o
Could it be
coming from Liriano’s agent? Remember two years ago
when Liriano was pitching at Rochester and his agent
complained publically that Liriano was being held
back in Triple-A so that he wouldn’t be arbitration-eligible? Could the agent
be upset at the Twins still and trying to start something in an attempt to get
his agent a lot of dollars, or a trade to a place he wants to go?
o
Could it have
been leaked by the Twins front office? Maybe in an attempt to gauge a couple of
things. First, they can gauge fan reaction to potentially trading an ace-like
pitcher when most have been saying that the team needs to add an ace (it would
not be pretty at all for a team that claims to want to win now). Second, it
could show up on MLB Trade Rumors
and on Twitter and teams could then contact the Twins to see what it would take
to get the Twins lefty.
·
I’ve said all
along that I would be comfortable with the Twins signing Liriano
for up to four
years and up to $40 million. Again, that was based on comparables Zach Greinke
and Josh Johnson’s contracts signed
at the same point in their careers. However…
·
As I have said
numerous times, I am 100% against signing starting pitchers to huge contracts
beyond the age of 31, maybe 32. It was interesting to read what Andy McPhail,
former Twins GM and current Orioles GM, said yesterday about signing #1 starters. “We're not going to be buying No. 1
pitchers. Because by the time they reach free agency, they're expensive and
they're fragile. It's just a bad place for us to spend our money.”
·
That said, I have
also said that there are plenty of reasons to just go one year now. Yes, his
Tommy John surgery was in November of 2006, but that was far from his first arm
injury. As much as I say that, at the end of the day, I’ll put Liriano’s stats against anyone, I don’t disagree with those
who say that he tends to get a little over-excited in big games and big
moments. If Liriano is really asking for the three
years and $39 million mentioned in the article, the Twins would be better off
just having an ace at $4.5 million this year and see what happens.
·
If that 3 years
and $39 million number was an extension beyond the $4.5 million he will make in
2011, then the four year total would be 4 years and $43.5 million. As John Bonnes has said on twitter, that’s
about where the agent should start negotiations as it is only $3.5 million over
what I thought was fair.
o
He blogged
about it today and tried to make
me look smart.
o
Knuckleballs
Blog also discusses The Frankie Affair.
o
·
It isn’t worth
getting upset about the story for many reasons.
o
First, I don’t really
think that the Twins will trade Francisco
Liriano before the season starts.
o
Second, maybe Liriano and his agent have demanded a trade. We don’t know
the whole story.
o
Third, We don’t know what the trade market would be for someone
like Liriano.
·
What type of
package could the Twins get for Liriano? I mean, what
if the Rays offered Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond
Jennings? What if the Angels offered a package around Mike Trout?
·
Michael Young
for Francisco Liriano,
even if the Rangers throw in a lot of cash, is not
a good trade… Add in Derek
Holland, and we can sit down at a table together and start talking.
I
know it’s a day later, but I do have an excuse, right? Let me know what you
think about these Liriano rumors, or any other Twins
topics. If you have any questions or comments, please
feel free to discuss in the comments section.
·
Seth's Minnesota
Twins Prospect Handbook 2011 is now available online here. For
just $14.95, you get 170 page of Twins minor league content.
·
100 Things Twins Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is a new book which will be available March 1. Twins writer Alex Halsted
is the author, and I’m told I may have a cameo.