Much like the Royals unsettled bullpen situation, the Twins too are looking at a lot of pitchers to try and fill out their bullpen. While the reasons for the two teams many bullpen holes are different, the predicaments is the same: how do you construct an effective 'pen without many proven arms?
In the Royals case, the team has a lot of holes because there were so few capable arms last year, and they have a bevy of quality young options to chose from. In the Twins case however, they lost a bullpen's worth of quality arms this past off season with the departures of Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Brian Fuentes. All the loses have left the franchise with a lot of holes to fill and few proven players to do so with.
Showing posts with label Joe Nathan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Nathan. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
AL Central Injury Updates
It seems like yesterday, but I haven't done an Injury Update since the 27th. Apologies for that.
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Indians:
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Case Against Carl Pavano
Baseball has been an interesting journey for Carl Pavano.
After a phenomenal 2004 season where he posted a 3.00 ERA for the Marlins, the Yankees signed him to one of the most maligned contracts in baseball history. A four year, forty million dollar deal (39.75m technically) that imploded in epic fashion as Pavano struggled through every legitimate injury imaginable, and others - bruised buttocks? - not so imaginable. In total, Pavano would make just 26 starts for the Yankees.
His next contract, a one year 1.5m dollar deal with incentives from the Indians would not prove to be so significant. But it was during this time that Pavano finally managed to re-establish himself as a solid starting pitching option. The Indians of course traded Pavano to the Twins after the 2009 trade deadline in a minor deal for Yohan Pino. Pavano went on to pitch brilliantly down the stretch for the Twins that year as they overcame the Tigers in an epic 163rd game. He also made two solid playoff appearances, but wasn't able to prevent the Twins from being swept out of the first round by his former team two years in a row.
Now, after throwing 221 innings while registering a 3.75 ERA, Pavano finds himself perhaps the most sought-after free agent starting pitcher with Cliff Lee off the table. He's in line for a multi-year deal worth at least 10m per season. But just how much is Pavano worth, and is he worth the risk?
To figure that out, we first need to figure out exactly what type of pitcher Carl Pavano is, and how he projects going forward. I think the simplest way of putting it would be to say he's an innings-eater. His journey through the Yankees minefield aside, Pavano has registered at least 199 innings in his four healthy seasons. He logs those innings without particularly dominant stuff: a fastball that averaged 90.1mph, slider and changeup, and a strikeout rate of just 5.72 for his career. A rate that dropped to a career low 4.76 last year.
What Pavano lacks in ability to miss bats, he helps to make up for in control. With a very good career walk rate of 2.26, his 1.51 mark in 2010 helped to offset the loss in ability to strike batters out and ensured that even with such a miniscule strikeout rate, he still managed to post a 3.16 K/BB ratio. Pavano pairs his low walk/low strikeout combination with solid ground ball rates which, like his walk rate, reached a career best mark of 51.2% in 2010.
While the metrics have changed a little bit, with both the strikeout and walk rates coming down a little from his time with the Marlins and Expos, Pavano essentially remains the same pitcher he was at the start of the decade. He came out throwing in the low 90s (90.7 his first two years), and his career 5.72K / 2.26BB / and 46% GB rates are reasonably similar to what you saw in his 2010 campaign.
The problem is that with the exception of his 2004 and 2010 seasons (coincidentally both walk years) that combination has never really produced particularly impressive results. His 2010 ERA was largely the result of a somewhat beneficial .286 BABIP and a career best 74% LOB rate (along with the career best walk and ground ball rates). Like most pitchers who pitch long enough, his career ERA (4.34) and FIP/xFIP marks (4.15/4.11) match up nicely, and both suggest that Pavano is what we thought he was. A mediocre innings eater.
He's not an ace. He's not a number two.
He's more of a #3 who can be relied on to chew up innings.
Most speculation suggests that Pavano is aiming for a three-year deal that would average something in the neighborhood of 12m per season. Similarly, there is a lot of speculation that the teams interested don't want to go beyond two years. In all likelihood, a team that showed a willingness to go to three years would claim Pavano rather quickly, and I'm guessing that's what he's holding out for.
And so we wind up back at our original question, what is Carl Pavano worth?
On a pure WAR level, his average of around 3.7 WAR during his last four healthy seasons suggests he's certainly worth the 12.0m he's seeking on a per annum basis, and his track record (Yankees saga aside) suggests he's worth that.
Of course, looking strictly at WAR levels can be deceiving. What teams really look at is replacement value - "how much better is player B compared to player A who is already on my team)".
In the Twins case, the most likely player to be replaced would be Kevin Slowey. Slowey is a capable pitcher (6.86K/1.50BB - 31.6%GB) in his own right, though he suffers from being one of the most fly-ball prone pitchers in the league. He also struggles to pitch deep into games, but still managed to log 155 innings in just 28 starts, not a terrible mark, but still almost 70 fewer innings than Pavano logged last year.
With a depleted bullpen, those extra 50-70 innings that Pavano could provide become more significant, as it essentially removes an entire reliever from the equation. In the Twins case, a reliever that's likely to trend toward replacement level.
Replacing Slowey with Pavano will, without a doubt, make the Twins better. It may also help offset some of the cost of Pavano if the Twins were to subsequently trade Slowey and the 2.5m I expect him to get in arbitration. Or perhaps the Twins could look to move Brian Duensing back to the bullpen, and bolster a group left with little beyond Joe Nathan and Matt Capps. They've got some options.
The flip side of course is that Pavano will almost certainly not be as good in 2011 as he was in 2010. His peripherals don't support such sustained success and therefor, you ultimately end up paying an extra 8-10m (the approximate difference between Slowey's 2.5m and Pavano's 10-12m) for an extra 50-70 innings of work from your rotation.
What if, instead of investing 12m into Pavano for 2010, the Twins were to instead spend 8m on a pair of free agent relievers by bringing back Jon Rauch and bringing in Arthur Rhodes? That pair would give manager Ron Gardenhire five options out of his bullpen ranging from decent (Jose Mijares) to amazing (Nathan) - and overall, provide the Twins with approximately 100 innings of work that's likely to be as good, or better, than what they'd get from Pavano.
As with any player move there are dozens of factors that need to be considered. But it's my opinion that the Twins could spend 10-12m in ways that would make more sense than making a marginal improvement at starting pitcher.
After a phenomenal 2004 season where he posted a 3.00 ERA for the Marlins, the Yankees signed him to one of the most maligned contracts in baseball history. A four year, forty million dollar deal (39.75m technically) that imploded in epic fashion as Pavano struggled through every legitimate injury imaginable, and others - bruised buttocks? - not so imaginable. In total, Pavano would make just 26 starts for the Yankees.
His next contract, a one year 1.5m dollar deal with incentives from the Indians would not prove to be so significant. But it was during this time that Pavano finally managed to re-establish himself as a solid starting pitching option. The Indians of course traded Pavano to the Twins after the 2009 trade deadline in a minor deal for Yohan Pino. Pavano went on to pitch brilliantly down the stretch for the Twins that year as they overcame the Tigers in an epic 163rd game. He also made two solid playoff appearances, but wasn't able to prevent the Twins from being swept out of the first round by his former team two years in a row.
Now, after throwing 221 innings while registering a 3.75 ERA, Pavano finds himself perhaps the most sought-after free agent starting pitcher with Cliff Lee off the table. He's in line for a multi-year deal worth at least 10m per season. But just how much is Pavano worth, and is he worth the risk?
To figure that out, we first need to figure out exactly what type of pitcher Carl Pavano is, and how he projects going forward. I think the simplest way of putting it would be to say he's an innings-eater. His journey through the Yankees minefield aside, Pavano has registered at least 199 innings in his four healthy seasons. He logs those innings without particularly dominant stuff: a fastball that averaged 90.1mph, slider and changeup, and a strikeout rate of just 5.72 for his career. A rate that dropped to a career low 4.76 last year.
What Pavano lacks in ability to miss bats, he helps to make up for in control. With a very good career walk rate of 2.26, his 1.51 mark in 2010 helped to offset the loss in ability to strike batters out and ensured that even with such a miniscule strikeout rate, he still managed to post a 3.16 K/BB ratio. Pavano pairs his low walk/low strikeout combination with solid ground ball rates which, like his walk rate, reached a career best mark of 51.2% in 2010.
While the metrics have changed a little bit, with both the strikeout and walk rates coming down a little from his time with the Marlins and Expos, Pavano essentially remains the same pitcher he was at the start of the decade. He came out throwing in the low 90s (90.7 his first two years), and his career 5.72K / 2.26BB / and 46% GB rates are reasonably similar to what you saw in his 2010 campaign.
The problem is that with the exception of his 2004 and 2010 seasons (coincidentally both walk years) that combination has never really produced particularly impressive results. His 2010 ERA was largely the result of a somewhat beneficial .286 BABIP and a career best 74% LOB rate (along with the career best walk and ground ball rates). Like most pitchers who pitch long enough, his career ERA (4.34) and FIP/xFIP marks (4.15/4.11) match up nicely, and both suggest that Pavano is what we thought he was. A mediocre innings eater.
He's not an ace. He's not a number two.
He's more of a #3 who can be relied on to chew up innings.
Most speculation suggests that Pavano is aiming for a three-year deal that would average something in the neighborhood of 12m per season. Similarly, there is a lot of speculation that the teams interested don't want to go beyond two years. In all likelihood, a team that showed a willingness to go to three years would claim Pavano rather quickly, and I'm guessing that's what he's holding out for.
And so we wind up back at our original question, what is Carl Pavano worth?
On a pure WAR level, his average of around 3.7 WAR during his last four healthy seasons suggests he's certainly worth the 12.0m he's seeking on a per annum basis, and his track record (Yankees saga aside) suggests he's worth that.
Of course, looking strictly at WAR levels can be deceiving. What teams really look at is replacement value - "how much better is player B compared to player A who is already on my team)".
In the Twins case, the most likely player to be replaced would be Kevin Slowey. Slowey is a capable pitcher (6.86K/1.50BB - 31.6%GB) in his own right, though he suffers from being one of the most fly-ball prone pitchers in the league. He also struggles to pitch deep into games, but still managed to log 155 innings in just 28 starts, not a terrible mark, but still almost 70 fewer innings than Pavano logged last year.
With a depleted bullpen, those extra 50-70 innings that Pavano could provide become more significant, as it essentially removes an entire reliever from the equation. In the Twins case, a reliever that's likely to trend toward replacement level.
Replacing Slowey with Pavano will, without a doubt, make the Twins better. It may also help offset some of the cost of Pavano if the Twins were to subsequently trade Slowey and the 2.5m I expect him to get in arbitration. Or perhaps the Twins could look to move Brian Duensing back to the bullpen, and bolster a group left with little beyond Joe Nathan and Matt Capps. They've got some options.
The flip side of course is that Pavano will almost certainly not be as good in 2011 as he was in 2010. His peripherals don't support such sustained success and therefor, you ultimately end up paying an extra 8-10m (the approximate difference between Slowey's 2.5m and Pavano's 10-12m) for an extra 50-70 innings of work from your rotation.
What if, instead of investing 12m into Pavano for 2010, the Twins were to instead spend 8m on a pair of free agent relievers by bringing back Jon Rauch and bringing in Arthur Rhodes? That pair would give manager Ron Gardenhire five options out of his bullpen ranging from decent (Jose Mijares) to amazing (Nathan) - and overall, provide the Twins with approximately 100 innings of work that's likely to be as good, or better, than what they'd get from Pavano.
As with any player move there are dozens of factors that need to be considered. But it's my opinion that the Twins could spend 10-12m in ways that would make more sense than making a marginal improvement at starting pitcher.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Nick Blackburn Dealing With Shoulder Pain
After exiting yesterday's 6-5 Twins win in the 5th inning with the score tied and just 76 pitches thrown, Twins starter Nick Blackburn told pitching coach Rick Anderson that his shoulder was hurting too much to go out again. Blackburn missed time this spring with knee soreness issues that he's been battling for the past couple seasons.
The Twins faced a litany of injuries to their starting staff in 2009 with Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Francisco Liriano all missing a fair number of starts. Losing Blackburn who has been a rotation stalwart would certainly hurt. While the Twins could move Brian Duensing into the rotation if Blackburn indeed did need a trip to the DL, it would further exaserbate the issues their bullpen is currently facing.
Just today the Twins officially placed Jose Mijares on the 15 day disabled list where he'll join Clay Condrey and Joe Nathan. Pat Neshek could be headed there soon as well if the cortisone shot he received can't stop the pain in his middle finger. The Twins played with just five relievers today, but rookie Alex Burnett should be up by today to add depth. Burnett was demoted just a couple days ago after a pair of strong outings.
According to Star Tribune reporter Kelsie Smith;
"The starter said he deals with this particular shoulder pain often, that it comes and goes and that team doctors told him it is not concerning."
I've certainly never heard of it, and I don't recall it ever knocking him out of a game in the past. So saying that he deals with it all the time strikes me as disingenuous at best. Clearly this is something beyond the norm and could account for why Blackburn, a ground ball pitcher throughout his career has already given up six home runs in just three outings.
It's not quite time to push the panic button in Minnesota yet, but if Blackburn misses any serious amount of time, it might be. They're certainly having their depth tested early.
The Twins faced a litany of injuries to their starting staff in 2009 with Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Francisco Liriano all missing a fair number of starts. Losing Blackburn who has been a rotation stalwart would certainly hurt. While the Twins could move Brian Duensing into the rotation if Blackburn indeed did need a trip to the DL, it would further exaserbate the issues their bullpen is currently facing.
Just today the Twins officially placed Jose Mijares on the 15 day disabled list where he'll join Clay Condrey and Joe Nathan. Pat Neshek could be headed there soon as well if the cortisone shot he received can't stop the pain in his middle finger. The Twins played with just five relievers today, but rookie Alex Burnett should be up by today to add depth. Burnett was demoted just a couple days ago after a pair of strong outings.
According to Star Tribune reporter Kelsie Smith;
"The starter said he deals with this particular shoulder pain often, that it comes and goes and that team doctors told him it is not concerning."
I've certainly never heard of it, and I don't recall it ever knocking him out of a game in the past. So saying that he deals with it all the time strikes me as disingenuous at best. Clearly this is something beyond the norm and could account for why Blackburn, a ground ball pitcher throughout his career has already given up six home runs in just three outings.
It's not quite time to push the panic button in Minnesota yet, but if Blackburn misses any serious amount of time, it might be. They're certainly having their depth tested early.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Twins relief corps could take two more hits.
First the Twins star closer, Joe Nathan succumbed to Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2010. Then newly signed middle reliever Clay Condrey went down with a sore shoulder.
Now it appears that two more Twins relievers could be headed for the DL. First, Pat Neshek who is on the comeback trail as is, and who has been perfect so far this year, could be headed to the DL with a strained flexor tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand. Neshek reported the injury after pitching two innings of shut out baseball in relief of Kevin Slowey during the Twins Wednesday loss to the Red Sox.
Second, Jose Mijares could be headed to the DL with a, 'sore elbow.' Followers of this site know that I tend to equate, 'sore elbow,' with, 'will be having season ending Tommy John surgery.' While Mijares has been a train wreck so far this year (something the injury certainly may account for) he was an integral part of the Twins bullpen in 2009.
With Nathan lost for the season, the Twins were relying on Neshek, who for a year and a half was a dominant setup man, and Mijares, who pitched very well last year, to add much needed depth to the bullpen. While Neshek's injury should be relatively short-term, you worry about it affecting his breaking ball. Mijares' situation of course could be far worse and if so, it would serve as a second major blow to the Twins bullpen.
Thankfully to say, the Twins have a trio of solid arms to call upon in the meantime should they be needed. Alex Burnett was recently sent down for veteran Ron Mahay, who was called up after a brief minor league stint and Manager Ron Gardenhire had high praise for him as he left. Also available are Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama. Slama in particular had a very impressive spring training.
Now it appears that two more Twins relievers could be headed for the DL. First, Pat Neshek who is on the comeback trail as is, and who has been perfect so far this year, could be headed to the DL with a strained flexor tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand. Neshek reported the injury after pitching two innings of shut out baseball in relief of Kevin Slowey during the Twins Wednesday loss to the Red Sox.
Second, Jose Mijares could be headed to the DL with a, 'sore elbow.' Followers of this site know that I tend to equate, 'sore elbow,' with, 'will be having season ending Tommy John surgery.' While Mijares has been a train wreck so far this year (something the injury certainly may account for) he was an integral part of the Twins bullpen in 2009.
With Nathan lost for the season, the Twins were relying on Neshek, who for a year and a half was a dominant setup man, and Mijares, who pitched very well last year, to add much needed depth to the bullpen. While Neshek's injury should be relatively short-term, you worry about it affecting his breaking ball. Mijares' situation of course could be far worse and if so, it would serve as a second major blow to the Twins bullpen.
Thankfully to say, the Twins have a trio of solid arms to call upon in the meantime should they be needed. Alex Burnett was recently sent down for veteran Ron Mahay, who was called up after a brief minor league stint and Manager Ron Gardenhire had high praise for him as he left. Also available are Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama. Slama in particular had a very impressive spring training.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Twins Roundup: Week One
The Twins opened the season with two challenging road series, a four game set against defending AL West Champion Anaheim, and another against the rival White Sox and their upgraded pitching. All things considered, they did quite well by going 5-2.
The biggest question heading into the 2010 season for the Twins was how they'd hold up without closer Joe Nathan who was lost to season ending, and perhaps career threatening Tommy John Surgery. Into his vacated slid setup man Jon Rauch, and by all accounts, Rauch performed admirably. While he'll never be mistaken for Nathan with his 89-91 mph fastball, Rauch does what the Twins coaching staff wants all their pitchers to do - he pounds the zone. In doing just that he pitched four innings of relief, allowed just one run, and nailed down all four opportunities he was given.
Offensively the Twins battered the Angels pitching staff for 9 home runs in the first four games. In Chicago the much heralded pitching staff largely snuffed out the power, but the Twins continued to find ways to win, eeking out a 2-1 win behind ace Scott Baker on Saturday. The two most surprising, and promising, performances were by left fielder Delmon Young and shortstop J.J. Hardy, both of whom had things to prove for various reasons. Neither could've started much better than they did.
On the mound the Twins pitching certainly wasn't lights out, posting a 1.21 WHIP, but striking out less than 5 batters per inning. That's not a formula that can hold up over the long term, but thing should improve in that category. The most encouraging thing to see was Francisco Liriano, one more season removed from Tommy John Surgery throwing consistently at 94-95mph with the old bite back on his slider. He was a bit wild on opening day, walking five batters, but the old skill set seems to be back. If he can find a way to control it, the Twins could have the true ace they'll need to make a deep push.
Heading into week two, the Twins are going to be opening up brand new Target Field with a three game set against the Boston Red Sox and they'll have tough pitching matchups against Jon Lester and John Lackey to contend with. The Twins are a team that is going to hit, and if Jon Rauch can stabilize the back end of the bullpen enough to protect most leads, and the starting staff can hold up, the Twins will certainly be there at the end of 2010.
The biggest question heading into the 2010 season for the Twins was how they'd hold up without closer Joe Nathan who was lost to season ending, and perhaps career threatening Tommy John Surgery. Into his vacated slid setup man Jon Rauch, and by all accounts, Rauch performed admirably. While he'll never be mistaken for Nathan with his 89-91 mph fastball, Rauch does what the Twins coaching staff wants all their pitchers to do - he pounds the zone. In doing just that he pitched four innings of relief, allowed just one run, and nailed down all four opportunities he was given.
Offensively the Twins battered the Angels pitching staff for 9 home runs in the first four games. In Chicago the much heralded pitching staff largely snuffed out the power, but the Twins continued to find ways to win, eeking out a 2-1 win behind ace Scott Baker on Saturday. The two most surprising, and promising, performances were by left fielder Delmon Young and shortstop J.J. Hardy, both of whom had things to prove for various reasons. Neither could've started much better than they did.
On the mound the Twins pitching certainly wasn't lights out, posting a 1.21 WHIP, but striking out less than 5 batters per inning. That's not a formula that can hold up over the long term, but thing should improve in that category. The most encouraging thing to see was Francisco Liriano, one more season removed from Tommy John Surgery throwing consistently at 94-95mph with the old bite back on his slider. He was a bit wild on opening day, walking five batters, but the old skill set seems to be back. If he can find a way to control it, the Twins could have the true ace they'll need to make a deep push.
Heading into week two, the Twins are going to be opening up brand new Target Field with a three game set against the Boston Red Sox and they'll have tough pitching matchups against Jon Lester and John Lackey to contend with. The Twins are a team that is going to hit, and if Jon Rauch can stabilize the back end of the bullpen enough to protect most leads, and the starting staff can hold up, the Twins will certainly be there at the end of 2010.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Twins send another reliever to DL
This time it's middle-inning ground ball specialist Clay Condrey who was acquired during the off season as a free agent from the Phillies. While Condrey has been nothing if not consistent, he had a miserable spring for the Twins and about a week ago the team was saying that he had a 'sore shoulder.'
To me that sounds like the precursor to, 'has torn labrum, will undergo season ending surgery,' in the same what that, "his elbow tightened up on him, he'll be flying home for an MRI," was the precursor to Joe Nathan's torn UCL.
In Condrey's stead will be prospect Alex Burnett. Burnett is a former first round draft pick of the Twins and after four years as a starter, made the switch to the bullpen last season and thrived. It's likely that Burnett won't see much more than 7th inning duty, but he's a player with promise and the Twins are high on him.
Some Twins fans may be wondering why the club isn't calling on prospect Anthony Slama who has dazzled for years in the minors and did so in spring training... the easy answer is that he isn't on the 40-man roster. The Twins could make room for him by moving Nathan to the 60-day DL (he's currently on the 15-day DL), but the team would like to preserve their flexibility going into the season.
To me that sounds like the precursor to, 'has torn labrum, will undergo season ending surgery,' in the same what that, "his elbow tightened up on him, he'll be flying home for an MRI," was the precursor to Joe Nathan's torn UCL.
In Condrey's stead will be prospect Alex Burnett. Burnett is a former first round draft pick of the Twins and after four years as a starter, made the switch to the bullpen last season and thrived. It's likely that Burnett won't see much more than 7th inning duty, but he's a player with promise and the Twins are high on him.
Some Twins fans may be wondering why the club isn't calling on prospect Anthony Slama who has dazzled for years in the minors and did so in spring training... the easy answer is that he isn't on the 40-man roster. The Twins could make room for him by moving Nathan to the 60-day DL (he's currently on the 15-day DL), but the team would like to preserve their flexibility going into the season.
Ruach will open season as Twins closer
Given Manager Ron Gardenhire's historic adherence to bullpen roles, the fact that he's finally pegged a closer for his team shouldn't come as a surprise. Nor should it come as a surprise that the man pegged to do that job is Jon Rauch.
Rauch is the only pitcher on the Twins with any closing experience to speak of, and given how established the other relievers are with their roles, this was only logical. Rauch was brought in last season to help lighten the load for over-worked Matt Gurrier and performed admirably. However, with former setup man Pat Neshek back after Tommy John surgery, Rauch was freed to move into the closers position. With Guerrier having excelled for the past couple years as Joe Nathan's primary setup man, Jose Mijares performing nicely as a left handed specialist, and Jesse Crain having been the 7th inning guy the past couple years, everything else was already in place.
None of this should lead anyone to believe that those roles couldn't change quickly of course. Rauch hasn't had much success in his limited time as a closer, and should he struggle, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see Gardenhire turn to Guerrier. If that doesn't work, perhaps Crain would be given the opportunity.
The closer-by-committee adventure was nice while it lasted (two days was it?) but alas, it was never really meant to be. Fantasy owners, take note.
Rauch is the only pitcher on the Twins with any closing experience to speak of, and given how established the other relievers are with their roles, this was only logical. Rauch was brought in last season to help lighten the load for over-worked Matt Gurrier and performed admirably. However, with former setup man Pat Neshek back after Tommy John surgery, Rauch was freed to move into the closers position. With Guerrier having excelled for the past couple years as Joe Nathan's primary setup man, Jose Mijares performing nicely as a left handed specialist, and Jesse Crain having been the 7th inning guy the past couple years, everything else was already in place.
None of this should lead anyone to believe that those roles couldn't change quickly of course. Rauch hasn't had much success in his limited time as a closer, and should he struggle, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see Gardenhire turn to Guerrier. If that doesn't work, perhaps Crain would be given the opportunity.
The closer-by-committee adventure was nice while it lasted (two days was it?) but alas, it was never really meant to be. Fantasy owners, take note.
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