Pretty good bargain too... So, since Nathan appears locked up, would the Cubs be interested in a Chad Cordero/Felipe Lopez deal with the Nationals?
MLB: Twins and Nathan agree on 3 year deal
- Thread starter cybsball20
- Start date
Excellent move by my Twinkies, locking up a top-3 closer like that. Now if we can improve upon the starting pitching some then we might just have a pretty decent team by the time they move into their new digs in 2010.
H
HGPuck
Guest
Only one guys opinion but I think the Twins front office did a good job negotiating though an off season that was a mine field. To be honest the only other thing I could have asked for was one more younger prospect in the Santana trade. In my opinion the team is probably about as good as the one last year with a lot of upside into the future, which is saying something when you lose an All-star centerfielder and maybe the best starter in the game.
Love the deal. Nathan is nails late in games (although he did seem to make things interesting last year a lot more, a la Eddie Guardado). The Twins chances of being a factor in the AL Central this year (slim as they are) rely on their bullpen to win games. The pen will be logging some big time innings.
I guess if the wheels fall off by mid season, they could get more for a guy with 3 more years rather than a future free agent (see Santana, Johan).
I guess if the wheels fall off by mid season, they could get more for a guy with 3 more years rather than a future free agent (see Santana, Johan).
Funny, because I'd say the Twins (slim) chances of being a factor depend on the starting pitchers getting the game to the relievers giving up as few runs as possible. Get it to the Twins bullpen with a lead and I like our chances.
Yes, the starters are important. I'm just saying that the bullpen will be leaned on even more this year. I think they will be pitching a lot of innings when Boof Bonser putting up about 4 and 2/3 a start. If the young guys are heading into the 6th inning with a lead, Gardy is more likely to call the pen than he would be with proven vets on the hill.
I see what you are saying though. The starters are big question marks and the pen is proven and reliable. Hopefully the offense can put up a big # every game and the starters don't have to be the strength of the team.
Considering they went and picked up Lamb, Young, and Gomez, and already have Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer, it seems to me this may be the strategy for this year. They'll be good, but unfortunately, I'm just not convinced it'll be better than what the Indians or the Tigers have.
I guess the whole "over 35" thing doesn't scare me nearly as much when it comes to a closer. Closers just don't have the same wear and tear on their arms as rotational pitchers do. The fact that he's one of the top 3 closers in the game to me makes it a pretty good deal. We were willing to throw $20 million a year for 4 years at Santana, and the guy was only going to pitch once every 5 games. Nathan will have an impact in every game the Twins have a lead going into the 9th, some occasions going into the 8th. I think the only way this is a bad deal is if we can't get him into the game with the lead often enough, because putting Nathan into the game makes the win about as close to a sure thing as there is with any closer in baseball.
A hole at the closer's role is a lot easier to fill than one in the starting rotation. Both are awesome players, but there's no way you can compare Santana and Nathan.
Not a bad deal and I don't actually mind it being made, here's my logic:
1. its fairly short term, ideally a 3 year deal would have been better but 4 years won't hamstring the club for the future in terms of money or in case of injury
2. Twins got a bit of a deal, Fransisco Cordero got a bigger contract than Nathan and I think you'd be hard pressed to say he's a better closer.
3. The Twins have some extra money to spend over the next few years. Now that they've wrapped up the young guys(Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer) there isn't really anyone else key to the club coming up on big paydays really soon, other than possibly Delmon Young, but even there he's really 2 years away from big money.
4. Without him the Twins bullpen would be shaky, Neshek and Guerrier can be counted on but Crain and Rincon both are question marks coming off injuries. Having those 3 insures pitchers to get thru the 7th, 8th and 9th.
5. If he would agree to a trade, I'm betting his value would be higher now.
6. Hopefully it prevents the signing of more Livan Hernandez's
Yep, and that's why Johan's getting 25+ million a year and Nathan is getting 11 million. Also having a deal of almost double the length. That sort of difference would be huge in case Delmon Young or Fransisco Liriano come back huge. Johan's deal would probably prevent the Twins from having a deal that goes into FA
Speaking of, what's the latest on Liriano? I've heard he's been a question mark ever since his return.
I will say, that if anyone's justified a good deal, it's Nathan with his performance. I just think that 10+ million for any reliever is just wrong.
Probably Neshek, if Crain really bounce back I know he was at one time perceived as the closer of the future. Also have some promising arms to replace him in such as Jose Mijares and another arm I've heard talked about who's name escapes me. Wouldn't surprise me if it was someone completely different than I named though as a lot of starters become relievers later, Nathan being a convenient example
Velocity is lower(early on in upper 80's, now is hitting 90-91) thus far and his slider isn't near where it was. Shaky early spring followed by a really nice start yesterday or the day before. Sounds like he'll end up in the majors but there's no guarentee he'll being starting to begin with. Overall I'm fine with his progress as this is the first live pitching he's done since August of 2006. I'm expecting a very unimpressive line this year. Something like 4.30 era with quite a few walks and more hr's.
I'm not intentionally trying to compare Santana to Nathan - I'm just saying that a SP only makes a difference in one out of five games while a closer makes a difference in every game that the team has the lead going into the ninth (usually one in two, depending on how good the team is). I'm also not saying that Santana deserves or doesn't deserve the $25 mil/yr that he's getting, nor am I saying that Nathan deserves that kind of coin. I'm just saying that I'm not upset with the Twins' brass giving one of the top 3 closers in the game $11 mil/yr, and that his age doesn't concern me because closers tend to age more gracefully than starters because they don't put the same kind of wear on their arms that starters do.
Personally I like this deal, especially if in 2 years we're once again a serious contender in the AL Central (right now I'd consider us outside, although more like unlikely, contenders). I also like this deal because we have the money to spend now, and, as said earlier, if we do decide to trade him, he's now worth more because of his contract.
As far as Liriano goes, do you think maybe he's just being a little overly cautious, that he needs to ensure in his mind that he doesn't have to worry about blowing his elbow out again? Once he gets the fear out of his mind, I think he'll be fine. He'll probably never have THAT wicked of a slider ever again (as that was what probably blew his elbow out in the first place), but I think he still has the chance to be a great pitcher.
Personally I like this deal, especially if in 2 years we're once again a serious contender in the AL Central (right now I'd consider us outside, although more like unlikely, contenders). I also like this deal because we have the money to spend now, and, as said earlier, if we do decide to trade him, he's now worth more because of his contract.
As far as Liriano goes, do you think maybe he's just being a little overly cautious, that he needs to ensure in his mind that he doesn't have to worry about blowing his elbow out again? Once he gets the fear out of his mind, I think he'll be fine. He'll probably never have THAT wicked of a slider ever again (as that was what probably blew his elbow out in the first place), but I think he still has the chance to be a great pitcher.
Last edited:
It could be but I think that his stuff isn't fully back yet, I would say its rare that pitchers immediately after Tommy John surgery are as good as they were before, usually the first year back is a little rough and the second is improved.
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
-
Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch (and maybe big Northern Lights show)- Latest: Cyclones_R_GR8