Post by The Vermont Bombers on Aug 7, 2015 18:51:33 GMT -5
Small Steps for Larger Gains
Twins Make Small Moves, Add Depth
Bloomington, Min –Twins Make Small Moves, Add Depth
July 25th
In a season that has seen its ups and downs there have been a multitude of transactions made. Many are mundane and some are considerable. Then there are the moves that appear mundane but that have the potential to be considerable. The
Twins made two such moves that they believe will fall into the “potential to be considerable” category.
The first of the two was made on July the 17th when they shipped Catching prospect Ken Suarez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for backup Catcher Merritt Ranew. It was a simple case of trading the future for the present. Ken Suarez was selected in the third round, 50th overall in this year’s Amateur Draft. At 22 years old it is expected that the right handed Catcher will take at least two seasons to mature into a serviceable Major League Catcher. In spite of this, trading Suarez wasn’t
easy for the Twins given his advanced strike zone and pitch judgement, his exceptional receiving skills and his powerful throwing arm.
“We really liked Ken.” GM Adam Costa stated. “We were thrilled when he was available so late in the draft. Given that we didn’t have a selection in the first round, we had to make the most of what we did have and we felt that Ken was an absolute steal at number fifty. It wasn’t easy to give up a prospect with his elite tool set. We needed a young and reliable backup catcher for the future and Merrit was available. It was a move that we felt confident in making.”
Ranew is currently backing up First Baseman Don Mincher and will likely assume the role of the backup Catcher when the current backup Catcher, and other current recent acquisition retires or moves on to another team when his contract expires at the end of next season.
That man is veteran Catcher Elston Howard.
Howard was acquired via trade from Baltimore on July 25th for Outfielder Curt Flood. Flood came to Minnesota with great expectations but never quite panned out. Unfortunately for Flood and the Twins, Flood was a case of unfulfilled potential and missed opportunities. Flood never delivered a full season with the Twins due to recurring injuries and his inability to deliver on his potential. Flood still has good, if not excellent strike zone judgment and a smooth, clean swing to go along with a rifle of an arm. Unfortunately his defensive prowess has been derailed by injury. It was time for a change. Flood needed a new home and the Twins needed some veteran leadership for the team and guidance for their struggling All-Star
Catcher, Tom Haller.
Elston Howard is a well-known name in the league. Howard entered the league in 1953 and became a full time Catcher in 1955. Since then he’s been one of the most consistent and productive Catchers in the league. Howard no longer has one offensive attribute that stands out as age has done to him what it does to all of us. In spite of that he still produces some power (8 Home Runs) and can drive in runs (32 RBI). Howard’s true value comes in two places.
The first is in terms of his experience. The Twins have a young team and continue to build around their youth. They’ve tried their best to supplement that youth with savvy veteran signings. To that end they’ve signed veterans like Second Baseman Dick Smith and Outfielder Bob Hazle and Pitchers like Ken Johnson and Vern Law. The Twins attempted to sign him in the off season but Howard chose to sign with Baltimore for three years and 18 million dollars.
“We wanted Elston.” GM Adam Costa. “We had some good talks with him and made what we felt was a competitive and fair offer. In the end, he chose Baltimore. We’re very happy that we could acquire him in season to help our team out. We think that he’ll be a great presence in the clubhouse and help Tom out with some of his struggles.”
Howard’s other enticing attribute is his ability to control the opposition’s running game. While Howard’s defensive skills are slightly below league average, his throwing arm is a game changer. Of the 56 runners that have tried to take a base off of his throwing arm this season, Howard has thrown out 21 of them, or 37.5% of opposing base runners. Combined with Tom Haller, who has thrown out 28 of 82 prospective base stealers, or 34.1%, the Twins have a very strong tandem behind the plate for limiting the running game.
“We think that both men are great assets to the team.” Manager Cookie Lavagetto said. “Elston will help everyone get better, especially Tom. He’s already worked with him and we think that you’ll Tom return to the player that he was last year, and part of that will be due to Elson’s influence.”
The final asset that Howard and Ranew offer the team is flexibility. When necessary, Howard and Ranew can alternate the backup Catcher duties. In addition, Howard can play both Left and Right Field while Ranew can play First Base. As any Manager will tell you, depth is one of the most important things in Baseball and adding more of it is always a good thing for a team that’s trying to stay in a playoff race.
It’s going to be an uphill climb for the Twins to get back into it, especially with the injuries to Milt Pappas and Vern Law. At ten games out they have a long, hard slog ahead of them to get back into it but they’re confident that they can turn it around.
“We actually held first place during this season and no one expected that.” Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew said with a smile. “This team is fundamentally the same group, even with the terrible losses of Milt and ‘Deacon’. Now that we’ve added talents like Elston and Merritt, we feel that we can get on another run. This is a talented group of guys and we know that Management will do everything that they can to help us to win.”
As much of a longshot as it currently seems, it’s still early August and there’s a lot of baseball to be played. It’s the safe bet to predict another Chicago division Championship. They have a tradition of victory and excellence that no one in the division has been able to match, let alone beat. It would take a mighty effort for the Twins to surpass that this season. Most would realistically call that impossible.
The Twins and their two new teammates disagree.
