Brian Dozier homers in his first game with the Dodgers pic.twitter.com/zKBYPKELEt
— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) August 2, 2018
There was a lot of consternation about the direction of the Twins as July wound to a close. The Twins dealt away 5 players, hauling back a bunch of prospects and three players who have already worked in the majors, in Logan Forsythe, Chase De Jong, and perhaps most excitingly, Tyler Austin. That’s all pretty good. We’ll get back to the return in a minute.
The bulk of the frustration circles around the fact that beloved players like Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier were among those traded away. Those two guys were going to be free agents anyways, and the Twins had attempted to extend Escobar, and have been pretty blatant about their lack of desire to keep Dozier on the roster. What would have the Twins gained by keeping them around for two more months? The old expression was “if we can lose with him, we can lose without him.”
Instead of focusing on the front office dealing away players, direct frustration at those players. The front office worked to field a competitive team this year, and it didn’t happen, thanks to regression, injury and a drug suspension Most of this is on the players. Don’t be upset over one day, when the team was disappointing all season. It’s good that the Twins were thinking of the future, rather than worrying so much about the next two months.
With that in mind, feel free to cheer for Escobar and Dozier, or Pressly and Duke if you really like your former Twins, or even Lance Lynn, I guess, if you really want to. They weren’t going to be pushing the Twins towards the post season this year, and all except Pressly were likely not to come back next year. Why shouldn’t they win this year, if the Twins aren’t? Dozier homering in night one with the Dodgers doesn’t prove anything about it being a good or bad trade. It’s just as good or bad as it was 2 days ago, so be happy for his success.
So that turns to the Twins. It’s exciting that there is a spot for Trevor May to make his return. It’s somewhat exciting to see Miguel Sano to see how well he has turned his career around. I personally love Gabriel Moya, and am happy there is a spot for him as well. These changes provide the team with a freshness, and experience for some younger players. And there wasn’t a complete tear down. The Twins kept every player that they could conceivably have on the roster in 2019, except for Pressly. This is the team of 2019, for the most part, and watching them will be fun.
The return the Twins got is impressive too. Long gone are the 1:1 Terry Ryan trades, with multi-player returns dotting all the moves Minnesota made at the deadline. The most immediate impact will come from Logan Forsythe, who will play out the year at 2nd for Minnesota, though he isn’t likely to be around beyond this year. Tyler Austin is the second player that will see time in a Twins uniform. He profiles as a good right handed option at outfield and DH, at least with the bat. He’s crushed Twins pitching in the past, and fills a legitimate gap on the roster for next year, especially now that Dozier is gone.
Beyond those Major League ready types, the Twins also added 5 players that are now in the MLB Pipeline Top 30 for the organization (which was already a pretty good Top 30). Jorge Alcala may be an ace reliever some day, perhaps even better than Pressly. Gilberto Celestino is a stud defender and makes good contact, lacking only power from the 5 tools. Gabriel Maciel has a good eye at the plate, while Luke Raley has good power. Jhoan Duran hasn’t allowed a hit yet in in the Twins organization, and might make the rotation someday. Even Chase De Jong has the potential to return as a long reliever, and Ryan Costello and Ernie De La Trinidad have been successful in the minor leagues.
Tuesday might have been sad, especially if you saw someone you like change hands, but it was a good day for the organization. The pain is just the team growing into the future.
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