The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[batt33]

10:32pm: Arenado will receive another guaranteed year on his contract for roughly $15MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that he could waive his no-trade clause as early as Saturday.
8:51pm: The Cardinals and Rockies have swung an enormously impactful trade centering on Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was among those to report. The Rockies will send around $50MM to the Cardinals in the deal, according to Rosenthal, who adds that it likely won’t be official tonight and perhaps won’t go through this weekend.
Arenado has a full no-trade clause, though Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic reported earlier this week that he is likely to waive it in order to join the Cardinals. The five-time All-Star also has an opt-out clause in the seven-year, $234MM extension he signed with the Rockies before the 2019 campaign. But Arenado would still be able to opt out after 2021, he’d get an additional opt-out after ’22 and he would keep his full no-trade clause, Rosenthal tweets. He still has $199MM left on his pact over the next six years.
This has been a low-profile winter for St. Louis and the rest of its competition in the National League Central competition, but the Cardinals have suddenly come alive after a long slumber. Before agreeing to acquire Arenado, they re-signed right-hander Adam Wainwright, and indications are that they’ll bring back catcher Yadier Molina. Of course, in terms of impact, Wainwright and Molina pale in comparison to Arenado, one of baseball’s highest-profile stars. The well-rounded Arenado, who will turn 30 in April, has batted .293/.349/.541 with 235 home runs in 4,558 plate appearances since he debuted in 2013. Arenado has also totaled a whopping 120 Defensive Runs Saved and a 56.4 Ultimate Zone Rating at third base, where he has won eight straight Gold Gloves.
While Arenado was hugely successful in Colorado, his relationship with the team was – in a word – rocky over the past couple years. The Rockies were a playoff team from 2017-18, but they’ve dropped off drastically since. After the club fell well shy of a playoff spot in 2019, Arenado made it known he was unhappy with the direction of the franchise, saying he felt “disrespected.” Arenado frequented trade rumors then, but the Rockies retained him during what turned into another subpar year for the organization. It was also a disappointing campaign for Arenado, who slashed a career-worst .253/.303/.434 with eight homers in 201 PA.
Even though 2020 didn’t go as planned for Arenado, the Cardinals are clearly banking on him to serve as their long-term solution at third base. The team primarily used Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman there last season, which was a playoff year. However, Carpenter went through his second straight below-average year, and he’s only signed for one more season. Carpenter is due to earn $18.5MM in 2021, while his $18.5MM option for 2022 is sure to be bought out for $2MM if he’s still with the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the versatile Edman could be the Cardinals’ pick at second base.
The Arenado pickup will obviously be a significant investment for the Cardinals, whose chairman, Bill DeWitt Jr., drew ire last summer for saying baseball’s not a “very profitable industry.” But the Cardinals suddenly do look as if they’re aiming to take over the NL Central in 2021, especially with none of their other division rivals – the reigning champion Cubs, Reds, Brewers or Pirates – doing much to better themselves this offseason. Certainly, if the Arenado trade is finalized, it will be the biggest acquisition in the division this winter.
The Rockies, on the other hand, looked to be in for a third consecutive lean year in 2021 before trading Arenado, and that’s all the more true with the face of their franchise on his way out the door. They’ll likely acquire lefty Austin Gomber as part of the return, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Rosenthal names first baseman Luken Baker, outfielder Jhon Torres, and righties Jake Woodford and Angel Rondon as other possible names the Rockies could acquire. Gomber debuted in the majors in 2018 and has posted a respectable 3.72 ERA over 104 innings, though that production obviously falls quite a bit short of the impact Arenado has made.
With Arenado leaving, the question now is whether the Rockies will deal shortstop Trevor Story, who’s entering his platform year. Story would no doubt bring back a sizable return in a trade, as he is among the top players in the game at his position. It would seem to make sense for the Rockies to part with him if they’re not expecting to contend in 2021, but they may be interested in extending him, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays.

Id be really ticked if I was a rockies fan right now.......

[BigSpoon]

Didi Gregorius back to Philly on a 2 year, $28M deal.

[jrgum3]

Id be really ticked if I was a rockies fan right now.......

Yeah they have to be ticked off that the Rockies basically traded away their best player for what amounts to very little in return. Cards fans on the other hand have to be ecstactic that they made a huge splash in the trade market to shore up their hole at their 3B and add protection for Goldschmidt in their lineup. Cards are now a team to watch out for next season.

[Cross]

Trevor Story probably has his home on the market.

[EmpireMaker]

The Angels signed Kurt Suzuki this offseason, and with a catching corps of Suzuki, Max Stassi, and Anthony Bemboom, adding an upper-tier backstop “would be a luxury and not a necessity” for the team, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes. However, the Halos have at least checked in on some prominent catchers, including Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox. No deal appears to be close, as the Sox naturally want quite a lot for Vazquez and “there are doubts whether the Red Sox will entertain trading him” whatsoever.
Vazquez is entering his final guaranteed year of the contract extension he signed in March 2018. He’ll earn $6.25MM in 2021, and the Red Sox hold a $7MM club option ($250K buyout) on his services for 2022. It’s a very affordable price for one of the game’s better defensive catchers, not to mention a catcher who has swung an increasingly dangerous bat — Vazquez has hit .278/.327/.472 with 30 homers in 710 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season. He does turn 31 in August, so the Sox could think about moving him at a high point in his trade value, but the Angels or any suitor would have to step up with a very big offer to get Boston’s attention.
More from the AL East…

• In a press conference announcing his return to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Masahiro Tanaka implied that he could return to Major League Baseball even before his two-year deal with the Eagles is up. “I feel I have unfinished business in America, and I haven’t given up on that, so they agreed on terms that would keep those options open,” Tanaka said. This could seem to hint at an opt-out clause after the 2021 season, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post notes, and quite possibly a return to the Yankees in 2022. With the Yankees intent on resetting their luxury tax penalty limit this winter, the team opted to spend its resources elsewhere rather than re-sign Tanaka at his desired asking price. Come next offseason, however, the Yankees might well be willing to exceed the tax threshold (and pay only a first-timer penalty fee) in order to acquire Tanaka and other roster upgrades.
• Also from Robert Murray, Blue Jays outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk are drawing trade interest. The addition of George Springer has created a surplus in Toronto’s outfield, with Grichuk seemingly relegated to fourth outfielder duty as Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez are slated for the corners. It’s safe to guess that Gurriel is the more sought-after player, since Gurriel is over two years younger than Grichuk and has a less-expensive contract — Gurriel is owed $13.4MM through the 2023 season, while Grichuk is owed $29MM. One of the outfielders could be dangled a way of obtaining pitching, since the Jays continue to look for both rotation and bullpen help.
• The Rays were one of the other suitors trying to obtain Jameson Taillon from the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Taillon ended up traded to the Yankees, and as Topkin points out, the Rays had interest in both Taillon and Corey Kluber, New York’s two main pitching acquisitions of the offseason.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Damn Reds just shuffling there effin feet. Still no SS

Bring back Freddy Galvis, he is halfway decent and very good on defense.

[Stallion]

The Angels signed Kurt Suzuki this offseason, and with a catching corps of Suzuki, Max Stassi, and Anthony Bemboom, adding an upper-tier backstop “would be a luxury and not a necessity” for the team, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes. However, the Halos have at least checked in on some prominent catchers, including Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox. No deal appears to be close, as the Sox naturally want quite a lot for Vazquez and “there are doubts whether the Red Sox will entertain trading him” whatsoever.

Vazquez is entering his final guaranteed year of the contract extension he signed in March 2018. He’ll earn $6.25MM in 2021, and the Red Sox hold a $7MM club option ($250K buyout) on his services for 2022. It’s a very affordable price for one of the game’s better defensive catchers, not to mention a catcher who has swung an increasingly dangerous bat — Vazquez has hit .278/.327/.472 with 30 homers in 710 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season. He does turn 31 in August, so the Sox could think about moving him at a high point in his trade value, but the Angels or any suitor would have to step up with a very big offer to get Boston’s attention.
More from the AL East…

• In a press conference announcing his return to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Masahiro Tanaka implied that he could return to Major League Baseball even before his two-year deal with the Eagles is up. “I feel I have unfinished business in America, and I haven’t given up on that, so they agreed on terms that would keep those options open,” Tanaka said. This could seem to hint at an opt-out clause after the 2021 season, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post notes, and quite possibly a return to the Yankees in 2022. With the Yankees intent on resetting their luxury tax penalty limit this winter, the team opted to spend its resources elsewhere rather than re-sign Tanaka at his desired asking price. Come next offseason, however, the Yankees might well be willing to exceed the tax threshold (and pay only a first-timer penalty fee) in order to acquire Tanaka and other roster upgrades.
• Also from Robert Murray, Blue Jays outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk are drawing trade interest. The addition of George Springer has created a surplus in Toronto’s outfield, with Grichuk seemingly relegated to fourth outfielder duty as Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez are slated for the corners. It’s safe to guess that Gurriel is the more sought-after player, since Gurriel is over two years younger than Grichuk and has a less-expensive contract — Gurriel is owed $13.4MM through the 2023 season, while Grichuk is owed $29MM. One of the outfielders could be dangled a way of obtaining pitching, since the Jays continue to look for both rotation and bullpen help.
• The Rays were one of the other suitors trying to obtain Jameson Taillon from the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Taillon ended up traded to the Yankees, and as Topkin points out, the Rays had interest in both Taillon and Corey Kluber, New York’s two main pitching acquisitions of the offseason.

Grichuk is way over paid, I hope the Jays trade him instead of Gurriel Jr.

[batt33]

Yeah they have to be ticked off that the Rockies basically traded away their best player for what amounts to very little in return. Cards fans on the other hand have to be ecstactic that they made a huge splash in the trade market to shore up their hole at their 3B and add protection for Goldschmidt in their lineup. Cards are now a team to watch out for next season.

well at least he is out of the division....fricken giant killer...

[jrgum3]

well at least he is out of the division....fricken giant killer...

Yeah Arenado owned the Giants in his time in Colorado. I used to dread those trips to Coors Field because I knew he would chew up the Giants pitching staff along with the rest of the Rockies bats. Will be interesting to see how he does now that he isn't in the friendly confines of Coors Field anymore for his home games. Something tells me though that Arenado will be just fine even though his numbers might take a slight dip in production now that he doesn't call Denver home anymore.

[Cross]

Arenado destined to be a huge Cub Killer for many years now.

[stevenash]

Arenado destined to be a huge Cub Killer for many years now.

He is to third base what Mike Trout is to the outfield.

And that's not a knee jerk opinion as I thought about that for a few minutes.
Trout is an elite defender in the outfield, better than great, elite.
Arenado is elite defending the hot corner, better than great.

On offense there both again are elite, hitting for power and average.
The only difference between the two is Trout has more speed but consider the fact it's extremely rare you'll ever see a corner infielder with blazing speed that steals double digit bases a season.

Arenado is a once in a generation third baseman unlike any other we've seen since Michael Jack Schmidt where as Mike Trout is a once in a lifetime outfield the likes we haven't seen since Willie Mays and Micky Mantle and Trout has already surpasses Willie and the Mick.

[BigSpoon]

Dustin Pedroia retires, had a hell of a career.

[Stallion]

Yes he did.

[batt33]

Yeah Arenado owned the Giants in his time in Colorado. I used to dread those trips to Coors Field because I knew he would chew up the Giants pitching staff along with the rest of the Rockies bats. Will be interesting to see how he does now that he isn't in the friendly confines of Coors Field anymore for his home games. Something tells me though that Arenado will be just fine even though his numbers might take a slight dip in production now that he doesn't call Denver home anymore.

Let him pick a new team to slay!

[jrgum3]

Grichuk is way over paid, I hope the Jays trade him instead of Gurriel Jr.

Something tells me the active Jays will end up dealing him for a number 2 starter before the start of the season. It may not be Bauer they end up getting but I think they'll address their pitching needs before the start of the season.

[BigSpoon]

Something tells me the active Jays will end up dealing him for a number 2 starter before the start of the season. It may not be Bauer they end up getting but I think they'll address their pitching needs before the start of the season.

I hope the Jays get another starter but Grichuk doesn't have much trade value I'm afraid.

[Cross]

Arenado definitely had some inflated numbers in Colorado though. Let’s see how his bat translates outside Coors.

[EmpireMaker]

After a few days of waiting for their complicated trade to be finalized, the Cardinals and Rockies have completed their deal centering on third baseman Nolan Arenado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. The league and the union have signed off on the swap. The Rockies will receive left-hander Austin Gomber, third baseman Mateo Gil, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-handers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers in exchange for Arenado, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported Gomber’s spot in the deal, while Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweeted that Gil would be in it.

The two teams agreed to this trade in principle last Friday, but it was held up over the weekend as they worked out finances and which players would be involved. St. Louis is now getting one of the game’s premier infielders, and the team will reportedly add another year and $15MM to Arenado’s contract. As such, he’ll be signed through 2027 at $214MM. The Rockies will absorb $51MM, including some in deferrals, according to Feinsand. The Rockies will pay all of Arenado’s $35MM salary in 2021, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays.
Along with the added value to his deal, Arenado will be able to opt out of his pact after either of the next two seasons (the Cardinals added the second opt-out as part of the trade; most of the money the Rox owe will be after the opt-outs, Feinsand adds).
Considering the concessions the Cardinals are making, it’s no surprise Arenado waived his no-trade clause to become part of the club. Of course, it helps that the Cardinals look much better equipped to compete for a playoff spot than the Rockies, who saw their relationship with Arenado deteriorate over the past year-plus. The Rockies, whom Arenado played for from 2013-20, earned playoff berths in 2017 and ’18, but they’ve since fallen apart. Arenado, dissatisfied with the team’s inactivity in free agency, was part of trade rumors last offseason and even accused general manager Jeff Bridich of treating him with disrespect.
The Bridich-led Rockies are now wiping most of Arenado’s contract off the books, but they’re also losing a face-of-the-franchise type who won eight straight Gold Gloves and picked up five All-Star nods in their uniform. The 29-year-old Arenado annually blended well-above-average offense with superb defense as a Rockie, though his production at the plate did fall off during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Across 201 plate appearances, Arenado batted a career-worst .253/.303/.434 – down from a lifetime .293/.343/.541. Arenado did walk (15) nearly as much as he struck out (20), and a .241 batting average on balls in play hurt his cause, yet his Statcast numbers also plummeted.
The Cardinals no doubt regard Arenado’s 2020 decline as a small sample blip. He’ll now take over at the hot corner for the club in place of Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman, the Cardinals’ main third base choices last year. Both Carpenter and Edman also have second base experience, so they could divvy up the keystone next season if Kolten Wong exits in free agency. However, it’s possible the Cardinals would rather find a way to jettison Carpenter, a former standout whose output was weak from 2019-20. That may not be doable, though, considering the 35-year-old’s sudden drop-off, the $20.5MM he’s due through 2021 (including a $2MM buyout for ’22) and his no-trade protection.
In order to bolster their situation at third, the Cardinals are parting with a few of their top 30 farmhands, though it doesn’t appear the Rockies are getting any blue-chip talent back. Baseball America ranked Montero 14th, Locey 26th and Gil 28th in the Cardinals’ system prior to the trade.
Montero, who topped out as BA’s 81st-ranked prospect in the sport in 2019, made his pro debut in 2015 and reached the Double-A level in 2019. While he struggled there, the 22-year-old has typically produced above-average numbers in the minors, BA wrote last season that Montero is “a physical, strong hitter with excellent hand-eye coordination, bat speed and plus raw power.” Defensively, Montero’s future could be at first base.
Locey, a third-round pick in 2019, divided his draft year between the rookie and Single-A levels. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Locey 16th in the Cardinals’ system a year ago and wrote that he could be a reliever, as his velocity mixes well with short stints.
Gil, son of former major leaguer Benji Gil, has mostly played rookie ball going back to his first taste of pro action in 2018. Longenhagen wrote in 2020 that the 20-year-old has “low-end regular upside.”
Sommers, 23, is the only prospect the Rox are getting back who was not in BA’s top 30 for the Cardinals at the time of the deal. He’s a 10th-round pick from 2019 who threw 51 2/3 innings of 4.18 ERA ball and struck out more than a batter per inning at the rookie level during his draft year.
The 27-year-old Gomber is the lone player with big league experience on his way to Colorado in this trade. Gomber, a fourth-rounder in 2014, reached the majors for the first time in 2018 and has since been effective over 104 innings for the Cardinals. He sports a lifetime 3.72 ERA, though he was even better than that last year with 29 frames of 1.86 ERA ball (mostly in relief). While Gomber did end the season with below-average figures in strikeout percentage (22.7), walk percentage (12.6) and SIERA (4.82), he should earn a role as part of Colorado’s pitching staff in 2021. He’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after 2022 and isn’t scheduled for free agency until the conclusion of the 2025 season.
All said, when considering Arenado’s superstar status and his massive contract, this is one of the most notable trades in recent baseball history. It’s also indicative of two teams going in opposite directions. The Cardinals, who went to the playoffs for the second straight year in 2020, are clearly going for it in a wide-open National League Central. On the other side, the Rockies seem to realize they have little chance to compete in the near term as part of an NL West led by serious contenders in the reigning World Series champion Dodgers and the up-and-coming Padres.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Arenado definitely had some inflated numbers in Colorado though. Let’s see how his bat translates outside Coors.

Agreed. He'll still be all world on defense but his HR and RBI numbers will drop quite a bit.

[Stallion]

I hope the Jays get another starter but Grichuk doesn't have much trade value I'm afraid.

I'd rather trade him Than Gurriel jr. Yes the Jays need a #2 starter.

[stevenash]

Dustin Pedroia retires, had a hell of a career.

He had a hell of a career indeed,
Pedroia, Wade Boggs, and Dwight Evans were my three favorite Red Sox players of all time.
That's the list, it's not very long.

OK I gave this a little thought.
I am not saying Pedroia is Hall worthy or not but you can make a case for him.
He checks all the boxes.
He won a league MVP, he has won championship rings, he has been named to multiple all star games, he's won Gold Gloves.
He batted .300 for his career (well .299, close enough)

And just as important as championship rings won, Pedroia also checks off the very last box the Hall voters look at and that was "was he a dominant player at his position in his generation"?

Ask yourself this?
Who were the dominant second basemen the past 20 years, from 2000 to 2020?
I have five names.
Pedroia, Altuve, Cano, Utley, and Kipnis.
And right now the way Altuve's numbers have fallen off the past few years I would say Pedroia ts/was the best second basemen in the past 20 years, and if you my criteria and this is just one man's opinion you would have to give Pedroia considerable thought when his name comes up in five years on the ballot.

He's borderline and I am leaning yes.

[Cross]

No way you just mentioned Kipnis with all of those other good second basemen.

[BigSpoon]

Rays signed Chris Archer to a 1 year deal worth $6.5M. Maybe he will be decent again, they absolutely fleeced the Pirates when they traded him away in 2018.

[jrgum3]

No way you just mentioned Kipnis with all of those other good second basemen.

Kipnis was very good early on in his career with the Indians. If you go by that you can mention him among some of the leagues best at second base. Of course he slowed way down as he got older even though he still had some pop in his bat which is rare for a 2nd Baseman.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Rays signed Chris Archer to a 1 year deal worth $6.5M. Maybe he will be decent again, they absolutely fleeced the Pirates when they traded him away in 2018.

Could be a nice signing for TB. My guess is he will do a lot better with them than he did in Pitt.

[EmpireMaker]

The Twins have agreed to re-sign designated hitter Nelson Cruz to a one-year contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. He’ll earn $13MM on the deal, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Cruz, long one of the majors’ top hitters, has been a member of the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners and Twins since he started his big league career in 2005. Amazingly, despite the fact that he’s now 40 years old, Cruz’s first two seasons with the Twins from 2019-20 rank among his best. He slashed a tremendous .308/.394/.626 (163 wRC+) and amassed 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances during that span.
It’s no surprise the Twins are bringing back Cruz, though questions centering on whether a universal DH would stick around in 2021 surely delayed the re-signing. The MLBPA rejected the league’s 154-game proposal for 2021 on Monday, which could limit the DH to the American League this year, and that may have impacted Cruz’s decision.
Cruz reportedly wanted a two-year deal earlier in the offseason, but despite his excellence, that never seemed all that likely for someone his age. MLBTR predicted he would receive a one-year, $16MM guarantee at the start of the winter.

[EmpireMaker]

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Twins, but they’re still pursuing upgrades after finally agreeing to a new deal with designated hitter Nelson Cruz last night. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins have interest in adding Alex Colome to their bullpen and are still looking at options to fill out their rotation. Twins fans hoping to see the club roll the dice on a Mike Foltynewicz rebound after watching his recent showcase may not get their wish, though, as SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets that a signing is “more unlikely than likely.” Wolfson does suggest that the Twins have a current offer out to a reliever.
This isn’t the first time the Twins have been tied to Colome. However, in the month since that initial link, they’ve spent a combined $31.5MM on Cruz, Andrelton Simmons and J.A. Happ, so maintained interest in one of the better relievers remaining on the market wasn’t necessarily a given. The Twins currently project to open the season with a payroll in the $123MM range, but they’d have been north of $130MM last year prior to prorated salaries.
Owner Jim Pohlad recently voiced a vastly different mindset than many of his counterparts throughout the league, telling reporters he’s not looking at ways to “make up” for lost revenue from the 2020 season by slashing payroll (link via La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
“We don’t really think of it like that,” Pohlad said in a Zoom call. “I’m not sure if we can ever make up for it. None of our objective includes trying to make up for what happened in 2020. It was significant. It was devastating. And you have to accept that as a loss going forward and not make it a goal to recover those losses either from fans or by affecting our payroll. That’s not the mind-set we have been in at all.”
The Twins’ recent activity reflects that outlook, and a deal with Colome would only further illustrate that stance. The 32-year-old spent the past two seasons as the closer for the division-rival White Sox. In 83 1/3 innings with the South Siders, he’s pitched to a 2.27 ERA and racked up 42 saves, although the rest of his numbers don’t look as dominant. Colome’s 20.9 percent strikeout rate is below-average in today’s game, and he’s registered a rather pedestrian 3.78 FIP and 4.42 SIERA.
With the White Sox, Colome leaned aggressively on a two-pitch arsenal, throwing four-seamers and cutters exclusively — the latter nearly thrice as often as the former. In 2019, he got away with that mix despite giving up far too much hard contact, but he seemed to improve his utilization of that two-pitch mix in 2020.
Colome’s hard-hit rate fell sharply, from 41.2 percent to 32.8 percent, and only two of the balls put into play against him registered as “barreled balls,” per Statcast’s definition. Opponents’ average exit velocity against Colome plummeted from 91.3 percent in 2019 — one of the highest marks in baseball — to a lower-than-average 87.2 mph in 2020. And, despite registering one of the lowest strikeout percentages of his career last season, Colome actually posted career-high marks in swinging-strike rate and in opponents’ chase rate, which surely creates some optimism about his ability to rebound in the strikeout department.
For all the focus on the Twins’ rotation this winter, it’s the bullpen that’s a more dire area of need at the moment. The quartet of Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Happ gives the Twins four solid options atop the starting staff, but the bullpen has quietly been depleted. Minnesota lost Trevor May to the Mets and Matt Wisler (who was non-tendered) to the Giants. Veterans Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard, meanwhile, are both free agents and remain unsigned. Taylor Rogers is still the favorite for saves in Minnesota for now, although Colome would give manager Rocco Baldelli another ninth-inning option with some experience. The fact that Baldelli and Colome know each other well from their time together with the Rays can’t hurt the Twins’ chances at a deal.

[stevenash]

Kipnis was very good early on in his career with the Indians. If you go by that you can mention him among some of the leagues best at second base. Of course he slowed way down as he got older even though he still had some pop in his bat which is rare for a 2nd Baseman.

And that is the very reason why I think Kipnis was the fifth best second basemen of this current 20 year century.
From 2011-2016 Kipnis was hitting .270 - .280 on regular basis with pop and would swipe his share of bags too not to mention he was very steady with the glove which is one of the first things I look at when I talk about great middle infielders. He made All Star games and was in the MVP voting mix, not top five MVP mix but he got votes.
After 2016 the last half of the decade Kipnis really started breaking down

Now having said that Kipnis was not the second baseman that Pedroia was or Altuve and unlike the aforementioned two will never as in ever receive a singular Hall of Fame vote.
Those two are the best overall second baseman of this current century than we can talk about the Cano.
Cano's career could have been so much greater if he wasn't such a lazy ass and a hot dog.
Not only did he have major power for a middle infielder he like Pedroia won gold gloves too.
So it boggles the mind how much greater a lazy ass hot dog like Cano was could have been.
How good was Cano at second base during his Yankee career?
Jeter (who really disliked Cano in real life) said he was probably the greatest ever he played with regarding turning double plays.

Cano screwed himself over big time.
Really big time by getting busted for steroids.
And there is no wiggle room on that, he got 100 percent caught dirty and all the proof is concrete evidence, not even a million dollar sleaze ball attorney like Braun had can get him off the hook.
Andy Pettitte beat the rap because his doctors proved beyond a shadow of a doubt Pettitte was prescribed by doctors to assist in healing injuries and not using them to gain a performance edge. And that still follows Andy around today and he was using steroids as they were intended to be used for unlike Cano to get an edge.

Now regarding Altuve, another person I dislike but let's say it like it is, he led the major league in base hits for four consecutive seasons which is insane and had over 200 hits for those seasons. What is more insane is during that four year span he averaged 40 stolen bases and popped 18 homers on the average each of those four seasons while playing outstanding defense as well.

This is Altuve's slash line from 2014-2017
.334 / .384 / .496 18 HR 40 SB

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2014-2017	HOU	626	2775	2528	391	845	168	16	70	302	156	38	187	274	0.334	0.384	0.496	0.88	144
Average		156	694	632	98	211	42	4	18	76	39	10	47	68
per 162 games		163	719	655	102	219	44	5	19	79	41	10	49	71

Chew on that for a second, for four straight seasons he average .334 hit 18 homers and stole 40 bases.
Great? Hell yes, doesn't change the fact that I still don't him as a person.
Like Cano though Altuve also is involved in a scandal but at least this scandal doesn't involve steroid use.
And there you have it, I just built cases for Cano, Altuve, and Pedroia as the best three second basemen of this current century.

[batt33]

The Twins have agreed to re-sign designated hitter Nelson Cruz to a one-year contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. He’ll earn $13MM on the deal, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Cruz, long one of the majors’ top hitters, has been a member of the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners and Twins since he started his big league career in 2005. Amazingly, despite the fact that he’s now 40 years old, Cruz’s first two seasons with the Twins from 2019-20 rank among his best. He slashed a tremendous .308/.394/.626 (163 wRC+) and amassed 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances during that span.
It’s no surprise the Twins are bringing back Cruz, though questions centering on whether a universal DH would stick around in 2021 surely delayed the re-signing. The MLBPA rejected the league’s 154-game proposal for 2021 on Monday, which could limit the DH to the American League this year, and that may have impacted Cruz’s decision.
Cruz reportedly wanted a two-year deal earlier in the offseason, but despite his excellence, that never seemed all that likely for someone his age. MLBTR predicted he would receive a one-year, $16MM guarantee at the start of the winter.

not bad for a season.....

[stevenash]

not bad for a season.....

The guy is 40 and still mashing like a college kid

[Stallion]

Great signing. He can just DH all season.

[jrgum3]

The Twins have agreed to re-sign designated hitter Nelson Cruz to a one-year contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. He’ll earn $13MM on the deal, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Cruz, long one of the majors’ top hitters, has been a member of the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners and Twins since he started his big league career in 2005. Amazingly, despite the fact that he’s now 40 years old, Cruz’s first two seasons with the Twins from 2019-20 rank among his best. He slashed a tremendous .308/.394/.626 (163 wRC+) and amassed 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances during that span.
It’s no surprise the Twins are bringing back Cruz, though questions centering on whether a universal DH would stick around in 2021 surely delayed the re-signing. The MLBPA rejected the league’s 154-game proposal for 2021 on Monday, which could limit the DH to the American League this year, and that may have impacted Cruz’s decision.
Cruz reportedly wanted a two-year deal earlier in the offseason, but despite his excellence, that never seemed all that likely for someone his age. MLBTR predicted he would receive a one-year, $16MM guarantee at the start of the winter.

Nelson Cruz is amazing had him last year in fantasy and he was steal as he is most every year the way he rakes. Some guys can just flat out hit and that's why he's still playing at age 40 and producing at nearly the same level every year which is amazing.

[EmpireMaker]

There are at least three teams making serious pushes to land southpaw Rich Hill, according to a report from WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The Rays, Brewers, and Mets are each in pursuit of the veteran hurler.
Hill is closing in on his 41st birthday, but still spun 38 2/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball last year over eight starts with the Twins. There’s little question he’s deserving of an important role on a big league pitching staff, even if it’s unreasonable to expect he’ll turn in a full starter’s workload over the entirety of a 162-game season.
While the results were excellent, Hill did show some worrying signs in Minnesota (with the obligatory short-sample alert). He managed only a 31:17 K/BB ratio, far off of the sparkling strikeout and walk numbers he had routinely sported in prior years with the Dodgers. Hill also shed a few ticks off his fastball — not that he has ever been reliant upon overwhelming velocity.
It’s not surprising to see the Rays and Brewers in the hunt for Hill. Both teams have moved away from traditional pitcher usage patterns in recent seasons and would have little trouble scheming up ways to maximize Hill’s unique capabilities. The Mets do not fit in quite the same manner, but could plug the ageless southpaw into the back of their rotation mix and plan to get him regular respite from the typical five-day pitching schedule.
One team is notably absent from the set of reported pursuers: the Red Sox. Bradford notes that the Boston organization has seemingly backed away from its initial interest after making other additions. That’s likely a bit of a disappointment for Hill, who resides in Massachusetts and has made clear that geographical location is one of his chief concerns (along with the ability to compete for a title). For what it’s worth, the Mets are obviously nearby and the Rays play frequently in the northeast.

[Cross]

Nash, you are a baseball encyclopedia. I love it, man! I definitely was basing my opinion on Kipnis on his recent slide. He was really solid when Indians were playing in 2016 World Series. (The greatest WS to ever be played in my opinion)

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I'd rather trade him Than Gurriel jr. Yes the Jays need a #2 starter.

Gurriel is younger, better and makes less money.

Grichuk will bring back little to nothing in a trade.