You're full of sunshine. H'e #33 on other lists and the "bad back" is already a tiresome thing.
Betts/Price to LA for Verdugo/Jeter Downs/TBA
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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I don’t really get this from the Twins perspective either. They gave up their best pitching prospect who is almost MLB-ready for just Kenta Maeda?
These are my favorites so far.
Brusdar via ProspectsLive: 60/50
Triple-digit fastball led to major league debut, but advances in secondaries could lead to a rotation future
Since he returned from Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2016 season, Graterol has been the talk of the Twins system. His triple-digit velocity and a wicked slider had many projecting big things on him, especially after he was able to handle 102 innings in 2018.
Shoulder impingement in mid-May sidelined Graterol until the very end of July when he returned as a reliever for the rest of the season. Pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the way, Graterol didn’t have a chance to display the advancement of his curve that he’d flashed at times in the early part of the season.
In his major league time, Graterol was used exclusively in relief, averaging 99 mph on his hard sinker and just under 90 mph on his hard slider in short bursts. The pitches work back a couple ticks as a starter, but one thing to note from the season is that Graterol exhibited much better control in the bullpen, with a walk rate under seven percent while he was just over 10 percent as a starter before his injury.
Graterol’s work in the bullpen had him much taller in his delivery and releasing at more of a high 3/4 arm slot, which allowed him to get better control over his fastball and change with good angle on his slider. I wonder how that would work on the curve as he was more true 3/4 arm slot and got into his legs in his delivery as a starter early in the year. His curve was more of a show me pitch in the bullpen after showing marked improvement in his time starting pre-injury in 2019. A second above-average breaking ball to go with his elite fastball would certainly give Graterol a potential frontline future, but losing that pitch could similarly point his future more toward a dominant bullpen role.
Triple-digit fastball led to major league debut, but advances in secondaries could lead to a rotation future
Since he returned from Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2016 season, Graterol has been the talk of the Twins system. His triple-digit velocity and a wicked slider had many projecting big things on him, especially after he was able to handle 102 innings in 2018.
Shoulder impingement in mid-May sidelined Graterol until the very end of July when he returned as a reliever for the rest of the season. Pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the way, Graterol didn’t have a chance to display the advancement of his curve that he’d flashed at times in the early part of the season.
In his major league time, Graterol was used exclusively in relief, averaging 99 mph on his hard sinker and just under 90 mph on his hard slider in short bursts. The pitches work back a couple ticks as a starter, but one thing to note from the season is that Graterol exhibited much better control in the bullpen, with a walk rate under seven percent while he was just over 10 percent as a starter before his injury.
Graterol’s work in the bullpen had him much taller in his delivery and releasing at more of a high 3/4 arm slot, which allowed him to get better control over his fastball and change with good angle on his slider. I wonder how that would work on the curve as he was more true 3/4 arm slot and got into his legs in his delivery as a starter early in the year. His curve was more of a show me pitch in the bullpen after showing marked improvement in his time starting pre-injury in 2019. A second above-average breaking ball to go with his elite fastball would certainly give Graterol a potential frontline future, but losing that pitch could similarly point his future more toward a dominant bullpen role.
I got over the Sparky Lyle trade, I'll get over this.
It sounds like we got a decent pitching prospect anyway.
I'll be rooting for the Dodgers and Mookie, unless the Sox meet up with them again.
Calling him ML ready is a stretch since it was 10.2 innings, and if he is going to be starting... well he needs to be stretched out.
Just looked him up and agreed. Triple digit heat. Only thing is that he had a shoulder impingement last year which caused the Twins to limit him to the bullpen for his September call-up.
Brusdar
Either that or he pitches 3-4 inning stunts after an opener if Chaim imports that model from Tampa
The TJ thing...I mean, I'd rather he not have had it, but this isn't 15 years ago.
If people think they're only going to win 80, then might as well flip JD and maybe some other pieces for prospects too.
Underwhelming return. But I guess 2 building blocks for the future that have had injury issues?
So if i understand this correctly, the take away is we helped improve the Twins chances of beating the Yankees in the ALDS with some more starting pitching, (right) and then the LAD's chances of beating the Ys in the Series.
I am intrigued by Bloom, and while this might take years, he's no dummy. Now he gets to choose his manager.
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The key is not this move, but the next ones. Trading Lester was a mistake, but it was exacerbated by accepting a subpar and not cost-controlled return (only salvaged by the later Porcello trade) and then splurging on an inferior pitcher anyway. We spent years chasing the mistake of letting Beltre walk to bring in A-Gon the more expensive binky and everything that came with it.
Interested to see where the reset takes us. No recent Sox team has really had the chance to do it in earnest.
Interested to see where the reset takes us. No recent Sox team has really had the chance to do it in earnest.
This is the one thing that gives me pause as well... if he’s such a great prospect, why are the Twins trading him for a mediocre return?
Verdugo should become a very good MLB outfielder and Graterol has #1 potential. Both guys costing nothing. If you’re gonna deal Mookie and Price, this is the kind of return you’re hoping for realistically.
I’m super bummed to see Mookie go, but I’m already excited to see the new guys.
I’m super bummed to see Mookie go, but I’m already excited to see the new guys.
Very smart post. They clearly were willing to sacrifice some return to get further under the threshold -- I wonder if there's a prospects-for-pitching trade or something else in the pipeline.
Maybe the Angels (who are trading for Pederson from LAD) are sending something to the Twins? Agreed this part is confusing still.
very much so, Twins are desperately trying to have a good major league staff now...
I was hoping Bloom would find a way to include Stripling, but he’s a valuable arm for a team vying for a World Series. At the least, he’s an above average RP with the ability to go 2+ often. He could have been a sneaky closer option, also. Durability issues seemed to limit his SP upside, but he would have been a fun addition. Oh well.
The Twins are trying to win it all NOW. Maeda helps them more than Graterol does with that and he doesn’t even cost much money for them. I totally see the rationale here for them.
0 mlb teams are consistently living above the luxury tax anymore, yankees did this same reset a few years ago, dodgers haven't been over the tax in a few years, it's not a red sox ownership thing, it's an all of baseball thing
I don’t disagree about not paying the kind of long term contact that’s been reported, but if they’re not getting a significant prospect haul back, and this was strictly a cost cutting move, then screw them. I’d have much rather kept him and Price for this year, and seen how it played out. If they contended all year, I could have easily lived with just getting the compensatory pick for Mookie when he walks after the season. If not, make the best deadline deal you can and start the reset next year. Full disclosure, I’m coming at this from the perspective of partial season ticket holder, or more accurately, sub-contractor, who drops a fair amount of money on this team every year. With their resources, they should never be punting a season. They’re not the Marlins.
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Semantics. He has already pitched in the majors is what I am getting at. It's not like he's going to be down in the minors for years.
I just love rooting for awesome homegrown talent & Mookie is a generational talent. Easily my fav player to watch in the last 30 years after Ortiz. I would have just resigned him cause the Red Sox should act like the Red Sox & not the Pittsburgh Pirates, but regardless of the $ & everyone else involved, this is a really really shitty day to be a fan of the Sox when you lose an all time home grown player that is so insanely likeable.
Sure, but Maeda is a proven commodity. Lower ceiling, but higher floor. And the Twins want to win now.
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