Post by The Vermont Bombers on Jun 27, 2017 18:55:22 GMT -5
YOUTH BEFORE AGE
Twins Continue Rebuild; deal Reynolds, Ryan and Rettenmund. Re-sign Pappas, Lacy and Downing
Twins Continue Rebuild; deal Reynolds, Ryan and Rettenmund. Re-sign Pappas, Lacy and Downing
The Twins rebuild continued when the team recently made three separate trades. They also kept some of the core intact by re-signing veteran right-hander Milt Pappas, multi-position speedy Left Fielder Lee Lacy and veteran bullpen anchor Al Downing. The first trade came on May 25th when the 23-29 (at the time) Twins shipped veteran Catcher Mike Ryan to Baltimore for 23 year old right handed relief pitcher Nate Snell. The other two occurred on June 2nd when they flipped veteran Right Fielder Tommy Reynolds to the Cubs for AAA SP prospect John Denny, and then dealt veteran 1B/OF Merv Rettenmund to Atlanta for a pair of AAA infielders, Rob Ellis and Jose Baez
The trade benefits both the Twins and the veteran Catcher. Ryan was growing increasingly and more vocally displeased with his diminished playing time and was becoming a clubhouse distraction. Ryan was signed by the Twins to a three-year, 15.75 million dollar contract in 1974 and was meant to eventually transition from being the backup to being the starting Catcher. It didn’t work out that way as Ryan’s batting skills began to diminish during the 1973 season. While Ryan is still a world class Catcher who possesses incredible range and a rifle arm, his offensive skills have deteriorated so far that the team replaced him with rookie Catcher Jim Deidel.
The trade to Baltimore allows Ryan to get more playing time while it lets the Twins continue their youth movement. While Deidel’s range isn’t quite as good as Ryan’s, his arm is just as strong. Since his promotion he’s thrown out 42% of attempted base stealers and committed only five errors for a .984 fielding percentage. There is also one more part of Deidel’s game that wasn’t a part of Ryan’s, his on base percentage is higher. Ryan has never drawn more than 22 walks in his career. Deidel has already drawn 46 walks in 221 AB this season (to 44 strikeouts) and has drawn nearly as many walks in his first season and a half in the majors as Ryan has over his entire career. (In defense of Ryan, he’s been a backup for most of his career). Minnesota also has 22 year old Biff Pocoroba in AAA, although there has been some discussion that he may be shifted to First Base, as his defensive abilities profile better there.
The Twins made two moves on June 2nd, as they traded Right Fielder Tommie Reynolds and First Baseman Merv Rettenmund to National League teams in separate trades. In the first move, the Twins sent veteran Right Fielder Tommie Reynolds to the Cubs for AAA Right-Handed Starting Pitcher John Denny. At the time he was traded, Reynolds lead the Twins in HR, RBI and was a pending free agent at the end of the season who wasn’t likely to re-sign. Instead of losing him for nothing, the Twins receive a high ceiling starting pitcher in 23 year old John Denny. Denny is currently the #8 prospect in the Twins system but currently on the disabled list recovering from surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing shoulder. Before his injury, Denny was 1-3 with an ERA 6.13 with 61 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched. He’s expected to be back from the DL in a week.
The third deal that the Twins made was to swing veteran First Baseman and outfielder Merv Rettenmund to the Atlanta Braves for two minor league infielders, Rob Ellis and Jose Baez. Neither prospect is highly regarded, although both have upside. If nothing else, the two of them give the Twins some positional depth options. Both men play Third Base, while Ellis also plays all three outfield positions and Baez plays Second Base. The 26 year old Ellis had a respectable, if unimpressive minor league record that included a lot of strikeouts, but also a lot of walks. If nothing else, he’ll be a workable option at Third until the Twins top rated Third Base prospect Masayuki Kakefu is ready. Baez is a similar type of player, although he has a far more discerning batting eye and is a talented base stealer with 88 stolen bases in 106 attempts. Unlike Ellis, who is basically Major League ready, Baez is at least a couple of years away.
In addition to the trades, the Twins also extended two veterans and a promising young outfielder. The first extension was given to lifetime Twins pitcher Milt “Gimpy” Pappas. Although Pappas was drafted by the Cubs, he was traded to the Twins before his Major League debut. Since debuting with the Twins in 1960, Pappas has been the anchor and leader of the starting rotation. This year marks his sixteenth in the majors. In that time he’s seen the team that was once the Washington Senators move to Minnesota to become the Twins, he’s won one World Series Championship, been to one All-Star Game, lead the league in wins once, recorded nearly 2400 strikeouts, a career ERA of 3.50 and this year recorded his 200th win.
“I can’t imagine playing anywhere else but here.” Pappas said in his post extension press conference. “I’m obviously near the end of my career and I want to retire here. Even if I don’t make the league Hall of Fame, I’ll be proud of everything I’ve accomplished with the Twins. They’re my family and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
When asked how he felt during the same press conference, team owner Adam Costa replied with the following;
“Milt has been the backbone of this team’s rotation for almost two decades. One of my proudest moments as the owner of this team was putting together the nineteen sixty-nine team that won the World Series and part of the reason that I was so proud of that victory was because it rewarded Milt with the Championship that he so rightly deserved. I couldn’t be happier that we managed to extend him for one more season because I can’t imagine him playing for any other team”.
In addition to extending Pappas, the Twins also extended veteran Relief Pitcher Al Downing for another two years and 18 million dollars. Downing has been a reliable and efficient bridge to Closer Gene Garber and has three saves the team. Last season was the second best of his career, when he pitched to a 2.88 ERA, with 62 strikeouts and 4 wins in 75 innings, which included four starts. This season Downing has maintained his high standard of performance, as he currently has an ERA of 3.04 in 23.2 innings with three wins in 24 appearances.
The final player the Twins extended is 28 year old Left-Fielder Lee Lacy. Lacy has been slow to develop since his promotion but seems to have put it together this year, as the speedy outfielder has a batting average of .311, an OPS of .830 and 17 stolen bases in 22 attempts. Power is not in any way a part of his game and never will be, but his speed, base stealing ability and defensive prowess as an outfielder prompted the team to sign him to an extension in spite of the fact that he’s not due for free agency for another season. Under his new contract, Lee gets his last season of arbitration and the first two years of his free agency brought out but gets a raise from his current $424,286 to 920,000 a year.
The Twins are in a rebuild now and while they have other assets who would be valuable to other teams, such as Starting Pitchers Hughes, Figueora and Matlack and Closer Gene Garber, they’ve shown little interest in moving them. With young talent like Jim Deidel, Ramon Aviles, Jim Essian and Jeff Burroughs to go along with Lacy and the glut of minor league talent that the team has (currently the #5 farm system in the league), it could be a short turn around to contention.
