The Twins and Rangers are in agreement on a deal that will send infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Minnesota, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Kiner-Falefa and a prospect will head to Minnesota in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Pitcher Ronny Henriquez is the prospect heading to Minnesota in the deal, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press.
For the Rangers, this is yet another headline-grabbing move in what has been a very busy offseason for the club. Prior to the lockout, they threw around big money to add various players, with the two biggest names being shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien. The addition of those two infielders, along with the impending arrival of prospect Josh Jung, led to immediate speculation that Kiner-Falefa could be a trade candidate. But when Jung underwent shoulder surgery last month, that seemed to swing the pendulum towards Texas keeping Kiner-Falefa as their everyday third baseman. However, that has now proven not to be the case, as he is headed for Minnesota.
The Twins had Andrelton Simmons as their primary shortstop last year. Despite showing the defensive skills he has long been known for, Simmons had a dismal year at the plate, hitting .223/.283/.274, wRC+ of 56. Yesterday, he signed with the Cubs for a modest $4MM salary, showing that the Twins weren’t terribly motivated to bring him back into the fold. With Kiner-Falefa, they’ve brought in a player with a similar profile to Simmons, but more reasons to be optimistic about his future performance. Like Simmons, Kiner-Falefa is a glove-first player, winning a Gold Glove in 2020 and finishing third among MLB shortstops in the Fielding Bible’s voting this past season. His bat has been below average thus far in his career, having never put up a wRC+ higher than 94. However, he’s still relatively young, turning 27 later this month, compared to the 32-year-old Simmons. He also hit .271/.312/.357 last year for a wRC+ of 85, not great numbers but certainly better than what Simmons provided. He’s also projected for an arbitration salary of $4.9MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and comes with an extra year of control beyond that.
But in order to make that solid addition to their infield, the Twins have had to send a valuable player the other way. Garver had a tremendous breakout season in 2019, hitting .273/.365/.630, wRC+ of 155. That would be exceptional production for any player but was especially impressive for a catcher. Injuries limited him to just 23 games of anemic production in the shortened 2020 season, but he bounced back well last year. Despite still dealing with injuries and only playing 68 games, his 2021 line was .256/.358/.517, wRC+ of 137. Last year, the Rangers split the catching duties almost evenly between Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim, who put up wRC+ tallies of 60 and 64, respectively. Garver is capable of producing at a much higher rate, but comes with concerns given the injuries of the past few years, making him a high-risk, high-reward option for Texas. He won’t be a huge risk from a financial standpoint, however, as he’s projected for an arbitration salary of $3.1MM this year, with another year of control remaining after that.
The reason the Twins could afford to part with such a talented catcher as Garver was the emergence of Ryan Jeffers. Making his MLB debut in 2020, he played 26 games and hit .273/.355/.436, wRC+ of 120. In 2021, he got off to a rough start, hitting .147/.216/.176 before getting demoted at the end of April. After showing signs of improvement in Triple-A, he was recalled in June and hit .206/.277/.433 the rest of the way, good enough for a wRC+ of 92. Although that’s clearly a drop-off from Garver’s numbers, Jeffers is turning 25 years old in June and comes with five remaining years of control. The Twins clearly felt that it was worth taking the chance on the younger player as their regular catcher in order to upgrade their infield.
Of course, that’s not all the Twins added, as they also brought Ronny Henriquez over in the deal. The 21-year-old right-hander split last season between High-A and Double-A, making 16 starts in 21 total games. In 93 2/3 innings, his 4.71 ERA wasn’t especially impressive, but the Twins were surely intrigued by his 27.1% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate, both of those being better than average. The club certainly needs arms after losing Jose Berrios to trade, Kenta Maeda to injury and Michael Pineda to free agency. Henriquez likely won’t provide immediate help in that regard, given that he’s never pitched above Double-A, but he could potentially be a factor later in the season.
Circling back to the Rangers, with Kiner-Falefa out of the picture and Jung on the shelf for around six months, they will have to decide what do about third base for this season. In-house options include Andy Ibanez, Nick Solak, Yonny Hernandez and Sherten Apostel. They could also turn their attention towards outside addition, although a tweet from Jeff Wilson casts doubt about a pursuit of Kris Bryant.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Rangers must be buying another infielder. They lost Jung.
Anyway, I like the good old-fashioned challenge trade here.
Matt Chapman to secure a 4th place finish in front of the A’s
The A’s would get the rangers 3 top minor leaguers in that trade.
No they wouldn’t
Who says A’s are 4th place? That team has surprised on so many levels on so many random years.
Just depends on whom they trade and what they get back. If they mostly hold their cards as they have them, yeah, they’re a lot better than 4th place.
Top three minor leaguers for Matt Chapman? That’s absurd.
Lmao for Chapman?
Of course because a Ranger fan will claim Chapman can be traded for a back up 3B, relief pitcher, and some random old 5th starter. I just beat Ranger fans to the bad trade rumor they are about to make up.
No. Just you bringing that up.
I don’t see that Rangers chasing Chapman, that actually would block Josh Jung. I think Texas will stick with Andy Ibanez, maybe see what Sherten Apostel can do, maybe even Davis Wendzel if he tears it up in camp. Can’t rule out another free agent but the target window is still 2023, bringing Garver in is awesome.
Maybe they bring back Dustin Harris who had a great milb aeason. They traded him for a lousy month of mike minor
A’s performance will depend on some element of luck with the patchwork starting rotation.
Olson would be worth a lot of high quality minor league talent but Chapman really isn’t nearly as good. He also appears to have no interest in extensions, with Boras telling him he’ll hit FA at a young enough age to cash in with a massive contract.
Interesting trade. I like it.
Francys01: I like it for both teams. I think Ryan Jeffers will be(come) a solid if not above average contributor in the next couple of years.
Possibly Kris Bryant, or maybe Huff is about to be included in a deal. We have a surplus of infielders in the minors (Dustin Harris/Wendzel). Could attempt to turn Foscue into a 3B as well.
KB’s not a full time 3B anymore. He can do it, but it’s pretty sketchy these days (always was, to a degree, but it’s gotten worse) and he hits better as an OF too. I think there are better options available on the trade market, and not at the Chapman level.
I know he’s not, that’s why it makes sense. We have a void in the OF and can play 3B when Ibanez needs a day off.
@DonnyDownvote- I was thinking the same exact thing.
i see them signing a stopgap, not sure of the middle tier of corner infielders but thats where they should be aiming
Dang, really wanted the Tigers to get in on him.
Hello, Jerry. As a Tiger fan myself, I’m curious as to what you think the Tigers would have had to give up for him. I didn’t even have him on my radar but it’s an interesting thought.
Good question! Haha, so many variations. I would have been fine with one of our many younger SP’s (Wentz, Fucnkhouser, Olson, Faedo, Madden, Alexander) maybe another flier to round it out.
I don’t have much confidence in either Castro’s, Clemens, Short, and Paredes is the main reasoning behind it.
…why? Makes no sense for Detroit
I think IFK is a Schoop like player, only younger. He’s a competent major leaguer, with team control. I unfortunately do not think the middle IF depth DET has, is sufficient at the major league level.
Oh wow. Dusky think Texas would trade him.
Nice pick up for Minnesota.
And nice pick up for Texas, now that the return piece is mentioned.
A little surprised that the Rangers decided to trade Falefa now. I get that they signed both Seager and Semien, but I figured with Jung’s injury, they’d hold off for now.
Agreed. Plus depth is never bad to have. Injuries tend to happen.
For Garver though it seems like a fine deal for Texas. Their catchers produced a 66 wRC+ last season.
Garver has never been a full time catcher.. He has always been a hitter that is more of a platoon hitting lefties. Seems like Twins got a much better deal.
Garver is a career .254/.338/.488 batter vs RHP, and .259/.348/.503 hitter vs LHP. That definitley a guy who needs a platoon. Last year, he was better vs RHP, but still slugged .452 vs LHP. I don’t think there’s a bad side to this deal.
He’s not known as a platoon guy at all. Solid hitter (especially for a C) all around. He is a little on the old side (31) for a guy who still has two years of arbitration though.
those are good numbers for a catcher from both sides.
How is that “definitely” a guy that needs a platoon?? His numbers aren’t even all that far off from eachother??
Or hopefully you were being sarcastic I’m guessing?? lol
If you are talking to me, I meant to say “that’s a guy who definitley doesn’t need a platoon”.
.286 OBA against lefties last year was bad. In 2020 he hit leftis but not righties. In 2019 his best year he hit lefties better. He is a hitter first but a below average on defense. This trade was 2 teams trying to fill holes. I think the Twins got the better part of the deal.
Correction: That’s definitley not a guy who needs a platoon.
Garver is an old catcher that gets hurt. The Twins rested him a ton and he still missed a lot of time.
Maybe they are working on signing another infielder right now??
Where’s the Correa rumors?!
They likely decided adding a catcher is a higher priority. I like the deal for them.
We have Ibanez at the very least. Go check out his last 60+ games or so from last season. I saw big similarities between his last 60 and Yuli Gurriel.
I forgot about Ibanez. He’d be a solid hold-over. Maybe they go out and get someone like Brad Miller too just as another lefty bat for the line-up that can play anywhere.
Yeah, Ibanez definitely hits better vs lefties, so getting a LH platoon partner for him would be ideal (Brad Miller). Especially if he’s able to show that his great stretch last season wasn’t a fluke, then Miller just becomes a utility weapon.
I would prefer to see what Apostel can do honestly. Let’s see what kind of camp everyone has and then make a decision.
@mlb1225–agree. This is a surprise. Surely Texas has a move coming. I’m thinking with the A’s for a pitcher and Chapman. As a fantasy player, I wonder if IKF regains his catcher eligible status in Minnesota? Probably not, but maybe they’ll play him back there once in a while?
Doubt he is sees any time at catcher, unless it’s an emergency. He hasn’t been a backstop semi-regularly since 2019 and even then, has -16 DRS in less than 800 innings behind the plate.
I think they are interested to see what Ibanez can do in the time that it takes Jung to heal. IKF is a tremendous glove, but AB’s were going to be a problem for him after Jung’s return. Garver is more impactful on Texas’ everyday lineup at C, 1B or DH.
Kris Bryant to TX?
I don’t think this move would impact any interest they do or do not have in Bryant. More than anything, they needed a serviceable catcher and IKF didn’t have an everyday job in Texas anymore.
He can be the stop gap until Jung comes back while filling the COF spot some days which they are looking to fill as well.
Why not jung is out 6 months .Ibanez is only 3b on rangers roster right now
They would be a very good offense. They need some pitching.
Wonder where Ha Seong Kim will end up. I know there were opinions about him winding up in Minnesota.
Baltimore maybe? Astros? Angels? Reds?
I doubt Ha-Seong changes teams… but you never know! He’s a wizard in the field and his bat is speeding up. He has intrinsic value and he currently resides as the first bench option here; the point being, he won’t be obtained “on the cheap.”
Jay’s? Marlins? Rays? D-backs? Mets? Giants? Dodgers? Angels? A’s? White Sox? Red Sox? Royals? Rockies?
Bo Bichette
Miguel Rojas
Wander Franco
Maybe dbacks
Francisco Lindor
Brandon Crawford
Trea Turner
Already said angels
Maybe A’s
Tim Anderson
Xander Bogaerts
Nicky Lopez
Brennan Rodgers
Unless the D-Backs trade Ahmed, I don’t see them showing interest in Kim.
He has more upside than any of our current shortstop candidates.
I don’t think SD trades Kim until he plays more and can build some value. He’s had under 300 plate appearances stateside, the bat is still coming together and it would be selling low to move him now before giving him a full shot.
Ideally they can dump Hosmer, move Crone to 1B, and put Kim in at 2nd to get him regular playing time. Eventually may want to move him to make room for Abrams but I think they have some time for that.
A great move by the Rangers. I have Garver as the 9th best catcher in the league.
Interesting swap.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced the Yankees are going to sign either Correa or Story.
Supposedly in on Correa. At least that’s what Heyman is saying. I’d much rather have Story.
Huh.
I’m with you on preferring Story. Most of Yankee Nation probably is for one reason or another.
@LordD99, @Ducky Buckin Fent, @Joe says… yes really hoping it’s Trevor Story. I truly loathe Correa. He’s disgusting despite how others feel about him. If he is signed by the Yankees, I will never look at him as a true Yankee, and I will never be a fan of his either.
@CaptainJudge, I get it regarding Correa, but I don’t believe Cashman cares much about fan reaction. He will care about clubhouse reaction, particularly Judge, so I suspect he’s more focused on that aspect if he plans to sign him. My preference is Story. Cashman, love him or hate him, is very good at deceiving the market. No announcement would surprise me at this stage.
@LordD99- I agree with most of the things your saying. Keep something in mind. Judge needs to be signed to an extension for 5 or 6 years, for maybe $30 million annually. The Yankees really can’t pay or shouldn’t pay $340+ million for Correa. Story will likely cost almost half of that figure. So he is definitely the way to go. I do believe Judge and Correa could coexist in the clubhouse though. I would rather just pay Judge instead of Correa.
Heyman now backing off the Correa rumor.
@joe says- thank god. Now let’s go bring in the fan’s choice: Trevor Story. Ca$hman’s whereabouts are still unknown? Smh.
@Joe and @Ducky, Boras does use Heyman to leak information, sometimes true, often not. He uses him to build a market for his players and Heyman is happy to play along. I’m not focusing so much on the rumors, but on the market. When I see Simmons come off the board for $4M, and now I see IKF get traded, both mentioned by the media as Yankee targets, then that means Cashman has targeted some player. He knows but we don’t. So it’s either one of the top remaining SS’s, or it’s a trade, probably with the D’backs or Cardinals.
I’m thinking this ain’t the best time for Cashman’s typical slow play LordD99. At least it ain’t good for my nerves.
Yeah.
That’s exactly how I see Heyman too.
& yes. We absolutely have to do something at short. Everyone knows it. Cash admitted it. That’s why I’m good with seeing Kiner-Falefa dealt. (& not to us.)
Ya know, I had a twinge of impatience yesterday myself, Joe. Which is typically not my style.
But in retrospect, what has happened thus far that impacts us & our respective market(s)? Nothing that I can see. So, I have gone back to metaphorically sweeping the skies with binoculars & waiting. In certain situations I love that stuff. Though baseball roster building doesn’t necessarily fall in that category for me either.
This is a pretty important off-season for us, man.
Pitching (for a Real Change) is in a good spot. Lots of work to do with the lineup & bench though. Seeing some shots taken would definitely be interesting. But I’m good with Cash getting the right ones. If that takes time, it takes time, uh?
L99: Yeah, man, you’re speaking truth brother. But Cash’s slow play is a risky game right now, especially with other positions of need, ie, C, where there’s literally no market – zero. And, one of the better starting Cs just went for nothing major (IKF), while the Yankees have no plan at C, a volatile future at starting C (Wells, Breaux, Gomez). Maybe as Ducky says we didn’t have what they were looking for though, which is a distinct possibility
This exemplifies both Cashman’s greatest strength & weakness: his ability to hone in on a target and execute a single trade for a win, but an inability to see the bigger picture for overall roster improvement through a series of moves because he’s so focused on “winning the deal.”
LordD99 — Very surprised at this trade. But I see no reason why Yankees should go for Correa or Story because Volpe and Peraza are excellent prospects. I think it will be Ahmed as the Cardinals have already said they’re going with DeJong. Of course, it could all be smokescreen.
@Joe, first pitch is in 3 1/2 weeks. So, yes, we need a SS soon!
@Pete, seems reasonable. The Yankees under Cashman have two clear but different approaches with free agents and trades. If it’s a big free agent, they will often still a flag on a hill and scream, we’re here and we’re coming after you. Think Tanaka, CC and Cole approach. With trades, they’re very stealthy. Cashman is a control freak. He locks everything down news wise and then trades seemingly drop out of the sky. Based on that, it’s leaning trade and Ahmed would fit, yet, this has been a weird offseason because of the lockout, so prior patterns may not apply. All I’m sure of is Cashman knows who his SS is going to be. We just don’t know yet.
Right. I still think DeJong is the better choice, but Cardinals GM just said a few days ago that DeJong was their guy, and I can’t see St. Louis going for Story or Correa. After that the pickins get very thin.
Dubon on the Giants is an excellent SS (as well as CF) and he’s out of options but his bat may be a question though he raked last year in AAA. He’d be a fine stopgap and then an terrific uitil.ity (he also plays a solid 2b & 3b
Lord, He must tell us!
I agree that he knows who his SS is, or he’s narrowed it down to a couple, and he’s either negotiating a free agent salary, or negotiating trade pieces.
Yes they seem like the last big team standing on Correa. There are NY reporters who have been convinced they won’t let Correa get away all off-season long.
Seam2: “ they seem like the last big team standing on Correa.” I didn’t want to do this, but I un-FB-friend you. Yep, off the Christmas list too. And, and, and, I hope your socks get wet!
Wet socks!?
Damn. That’s pretty ill-spirited, Clip.
What in the blazes?!! Two guys the Yankees could’ve used – especially Garver. Why were they not in on him? IKF is not that hard to match for trades. C’mon Yankees, the goal is to improve the team. I’d much, much, much rather have a Garver, Olson, Story combo than Correa – any day, twice on Sunday, three times on holidays.
Goodness, blood pressure going up and all kinds of craziness.
I’m starting to wonder if anyone told Cashman the lockout is over.
@Yankee Clipper, @Joe says: somebody better get some capnip for Ca$hman to wake him up. Thinking he is laying out in there in the weeds again.
I like Garver too. He’s good.
As far as Kiner-Falefa goes, I put him in the Simmons bucket: glad it ain’t us.
Ducky: I had a feeling he would be available with the young kid they have behind the plate now. But it seems the Yankees didn’t even make a call. Stupid.
CaptainJudge: Man, it always makes me nervous with Cash because he could be planning or sleeping, like my grandpappy, who knows?
Unfortunately, we didn’t have a starting caliber MLB SS laying around our roster somewhere. Twins trying to get right back into the AL Central mix. We didn’t have what they were looking for.
Very true also. Maybe they specifically needed/wanted IKF for whatever reason (MLB SS/C). Very true & entirely plausible, Ducky. I just default the worst setting with Cash. Speaking of, I really think he should look at a Villar. Those type of guys are invaluable to an MLB team.
They went with Simmons last year at short. This just seems like an iteration of that.
& I get it.
I trust Cash completely. But only up to a point. That point being assembling a 95 win roster. After that…well, not so much.
I get the feeling either Volpe or Peraza is going to be our shortstop and they use Gio as the backup.
@Yankee Clipper- I agree, whenever you expect Ca$hman to be around he’s alway incognito. Yes it’s definitely time for him to wake up and make a move already. I have a lot more faith in Grandpappy lately then I do in him.
Clipper, I would definitely have been interested in Garver. I believe he’s going to bring in a SS and a 1B’man. Your catchers are already in house. : -)
Somewhere, in a bar, in Nowhere, USA, there’s a lonely man passed out at the end of a bar, drunk.
They keep trying to wake him up as the bartender calls to him, “Cashman, wake up man, another FA is off the board. You have work to do. Brian, wake up, man!”
*That’s* who that is!?
I’m on it. I’ll get Boom-Boom to wake him up. She has a real flair for that kind of thing.
Hahaha! Boom-Boom…
Why stop now texas? Pick up correa or story to play 3rd! lol
Seager would have to play third if they got one of those 2
No he would not story would be 3b
No thanks on Correa. I’d pass on that cheating bum all day. Every team should.
Interesting… surprised they had to send a ‘prospect’ I would rather have IKF
BTV has Garver at 10.9 and IKF at 8.5. So, there’s the rationale for Twins getting a prospect.
BTV isn’t much of a reliable source. BBR war IKF almost double graver last year, and Garver can’t stay healthy. I think the Rangers could have done better
They factor in premiums for certain positions. Slick fielding IFs have less “trade” value.
Falafel is decent, nothing special
That incredible D gives him a high floor. Hope they continue to utilize him in multiple positions and quickly become one of the league’s most underrated players. MIN needs pitching and by addressing the IF defense, this will help without ever adding a P.
His defense says otherwise. Not a fan of this trade for Texas. Especially since they already had Sam Huff in house.
Meh. Defense-first guys arent too hard to find. .670 OPS on the other hand, is putrid.
Gold glove winners at multiple positions are hard to find.
IKR has only won one GG
MIN thought the same thing last year – signing Andrelton Simmons to 1/10.5M and he only managed a 1.5 total WAR (-0.1 oWAR), while IKF managed a 3.7 total WAR (2.0 dWAR) on 2M. They’ll save on him having 2 more arb years, while also upgrading at any position they put him (safety net for SS Royce Lewis?). Maybe Donaldson can even pay him to give him some pointers at the hot corner. IKF already has more gold gloves playing 3B (46 games) than Donaldson has his entire career, fwiw.
Yeah, you’re right. He should’ve won at SS last year and he would’ve been the first to ever do it.
It really makes a difference how the chickpea mix is seasoned. A good pickled cabbage in the pita elevates it as well.
Anyway, about this trade: happy the Twins got a shortstop, not happy they lost Garver. It was a big asset to have his bat at catcher.
IKF is a gold glove winner at 3B only (thus far), not multiple positions.
His first full time job at SS last year saw defense at the position that was anywhere from great to terrible, depending on the metric you look at.
Am I the only one who sees this as a potential steal for the Rangers? I get that IKF is a great defender, but Garver has game changing offensive upside as a catcher, and its not like he’s a slouch behind the plate either.
No. I’m thinking the Rangers lineup is getting much deeper and Garver is better than any free agent catcher.
Really nice move to trade a reserve player for a good starter.
Rangers did well. IKF has a .670 OPS, that’s terrible. His defense has to be stellar to offset it. I’d much rather have Garver, as it’s harder to find a catcher of his ilk than a defense-first guy like IKR, who are a dime a dozen
It is stellar.
Agree, but 85 WRC+ is horrible and his defense cant mask it.
It depends on how much Garver plays. He’s tough as hell but he misses a lot of games (eg he missed games last year for surgery after taking a foul ball off the cup.) As few as he’s played,. they already include a bunch of DH and rest since Rocco B likes keeping guys healthy. The final value will depend on his health.
As a twins fan I’m crying right now. I guess I haven’t watched too much IKF though
He’s a Swiss army knife with great speed and zero power.
No way, this is an easy win for the Rangers. Not to say IKF is bad, per se. But, with the catching market as non-existent as it is, and with Garver as one of the top offensive catchers in the game, they could’ve probably received a lot more in return for him, especially from a team in need of a real catcher, like the Yankees, imo.
The Yankees don’t realize they need a catcher. They are under the illusion that they have one.
@stymeedone- despite batting barely .200, Sanchez did have 23 homers last season. This is probably his last year in pinstripes. Hopefully he hits another 23 homers or more this season.
IKF was solid for the Rangers, but adding in Seager and Semien means they’re able to move him to fill another area of need. I’m expecting a solid year from Garver. Good deal for both teams as they fill a need, but I like it more for the Rangers.
Maybe Bryant for 3B? He can then move to the OF in 2023 after Jung recovers.
Great deal for the Rangers.
Seems like a win-win for both teams. I like it.
Rangers win. It may change in the future depending on how the Henriquez fares, but for now, big Ranger win.
Good trade both ways. With Jung down for a while Texas may be trading for Matt Chapman as I can’t see them going big on another contract for Bryant.
Chapman’s almost as expensive as Bryant is going to be. But definitely a better 3B if that’s what they’re looking for.
Better defensively but not as good a bat.
It makes no sense for Texas to trade for Chapman with Jung being ready once he’s healthy. Ibanez is a fine replacement. He showed ability last season. If Texas were going to give up the valuable prospects it would take to acquire Chapman, they would need to trade them for some pitching.
Rangers need to address that rotation post haste. Probably worst in MLB with Gray, Perez, Dunning, Hearn, and some random 5th starter. Oof
Allard is probably that 5th starter. They do have some good things ahead of them for that rotation though. White, Winn, and Leiter were all ranked as top 100 prospects by FanGraphs. They should be up in 2023. That trio, plus the back end being rounded out by Dunning, Gray, Allard, another prospect, or an FA signing looks pretty good for 2023-and-beyond.
Prospects are all question marks until proven otherwise.
Actually, I really like Brock Burke’s chances of making an impact for Texas this season. I think Allard is better as a long reliever/spot starter.
Win for the Rangers.
So who is playing 3rd for Rangers?
Yes
No, who’s on first.
Andy Ibanez (with Yonny Hernandez as the UTIL IF) unless they have another trade or FA signing lined up. Ibanez, for the record, is not a bad stopgap. He’s got a solid bat but not rangy defensively and lacks arm strength.
Hernandez was in this trade
Wrong Hernandez
Someone we trade for or sign as a free agent 3b .the 3b is not on current roster
I don’t know
Well another alleged Yankee target gone
Wow. Screw the twins.
Rangers need a 3B. Bryant’s the only one left I believe. That’s one expensive infield.
@brucenewton- hearing the Nationals, Phillies, Mariners, and Mets are all in on Bryant also. We’ll see
Sign Jonathan Villar?
8-Man: I don’t know why more teams aren’t trying to scoop him up. I’m a big fan of a guy like Villar in the roster. Lots of value there imo, especially for a team like the Rangers / Yankees, etc. with multiple areas of potential positional needs in IF in the near future due to shifting personnel.
I don’t care who got the better end of the deal. Its just nice to be discussing real baseball again
I’m gonna comment about the Trevor Bauer situation here since they won’t let you on the story about him. Wasn’t he found not guilty? Not guilty = suspension? Doesn’t make sense to me. Not trying to be insensitive, just doesn’t make sense to me.
The Commissioner has leeway even if there are no charges. Expect a 100 game suspension.
I can’t wait to hear the reason for the suspension.
If they give him a 100 game suspension, I believe the time already served covers it. He just has to pay back 100 games of last year’s salary.
They can gross up that suspension to 162 games. So, he wouldn’t be eligible until July. Anyway, the main thing will be how the Dodgers handle it.
if they sign Bryant, then they have to move Jung for pitching. that infield will be clogged up for years with Bryant, Sealer, Semien.
I wonder if they look at a Villar to play SS and have Sealer play 3B for a year until Jung is ready
No when jung ready move bryant to of
if they sign Bryant, then they have to move Jung for pitching. that infield will be clogged up for years with Bryant, *Seager, Semien.
I wonder if they look at a Villar to play SS and have *Seager play 3B for a year until Jung is ready
Garver and IKF probably let out some choice expletives when they found out. Gotta go the other side of the country for spring training tomorrow.
IKF seemed pretty happy with it given his quotes. He said he was happy to go somewhere he’s wanted.
is Falefa than the starting SS. already the twins have Donaldson and Miranda for 3B?
Means rangers are done with Olson. Garver platoons with lowe at 1st and sees some DH and limited catcher starts. Don’t know who starts at 3rd, but rangers have Ibanez, foscue, Josh Smith, duran still as infield depth
why would you trade for a catcher to platoon 1b? he’s a better hitting catcher than anyone the rangers have. if he’s a platoon guy, might as well do it at catcher
Admittedly I don’t know enough about Garver. Look at the offense and see napoli who could catch but ehhh. If he’s a passable catcher and hits like that, that’s a hell of a player I’m thrilled to have be a ranger for the next couple years. An average stopgap 3b is much easier to find.
I think the Rangers have been done with Olson for a while. The A’s are asking the moon, and rightfully so. I’m sure they want even more from Texas being in the same division. The Rangers are not close enough to make an Olson Type acquisition. I won’t be shocked if Oakland hangs on to him until the trade deadline.
@Decius- he was found not guilty, but I’m sure there will be some charges against him that he will likely face a suspension. Bauer isn’t out of the woods. Thinking maybe a 30-60 day suspension.
Not to mention multiple Dodgers players said they don’t want him as a teammate
The same thing happened with Roberto Ozuna a few years ago I think
The judge dropped the case, but he was still suspended by mlb
I like this trade for the Rangers. Clear upgrade at catcher. Barring another move, it looks like they are going to give Ibanez some run at 3B. He’s a better hitter than IKF, with projections showing him OPSing between 0.720 – 0.750 vs. IKF’s 0.680 – 0.700. Ibanez does hit much better against lefties, but against righties he’s no worse than IKF. I wonder if the Rangers might platoon Ibanez with someone like Jeff McNeill?
Pardon the ignorance, Rangers fans could probably help me out… but why not just slap the Tools of Ignorance back onto IKF and make him back into a part-time catcher? He had expressed interest in catching again, at least in the past. Great to have transactions to chat about one way or another though!
He was not a good catcher at all
While he was a solid catcher, it really screwed with his mental. He completed lost feel for hiting and the pressure of trying to become a catcher while still playing other positions got to him. If it’s bottom of the 18th and the Twins have ran out of catchers, that’s when you slot him in there.
Thanks gents!
Kyle Seager out of retirement to play a year with his brother. All Seager left side in Texas!
I have to admit that I thought about that one, too.
Rangers lineup would look pretty good if they could swing a deal for a cleanup hitter. Pick up Josh Donaldson from the Twins too.
DH Willie Calhoun
2B Semien
SS Seager
3B Donaldson (Chapman?)
1B Nathaniel Lowe
CF Garcia
RF Kole Calhoun
C Garver
LF Solack?
Instead of Solack, sign Schwarber and pound the opposition into submission.
And yet they would still give up more runs then they are scoring with the lack of a rotation
The Rangers dynasty will feature titles against the Rockies, Pirates and Marlins.
Don’t hate the trade but don’t love losing Garver. Twins have decent catcher depth though. Seems fairly solid all around.
Wow, I didn’t see this one coming. Who plays third for my Rangers? Josh Jung is out for the season.
Rangers won this one
wow that’s kinda shocking
I like the trade for both teams.
Solak can play 3B so if the Rangers have another move coming it could be for a 3B or an Outfielder.
Garver has a career 124 OPS+, a bit better than Machado and Arenado, and a .835 OPS. Oh and he plays catcher.
Meanwhile IKR has an 81 OPS+, and career .670 OPS. That’s just…..putrid. Defense can’t mask that. Rangers got a steal.
look at the pitcher that was thrown in, THAT is who I’m interested in
He’s tagged as a good bullpen piece. Nothing outstanding.
Typo city here. “…the Twins were surely intrigued by his 27.1% walk rate and 6.5% walk rate,”
I’d be intrigued by that too.
Rangers 29: You have to be excited dude. Your team is the clear offseason champ so far… what a way to step up and show your fans you’re serious about winning.
Are you kidding? With that rotation? It’s worst in MLB
Yeah, the rotation is not good, but as far as improving/investing in a team, the money has been put back into it without question. Garver is a great acquisition in a very, very thin catching market & they have Leiter in the minors.
Nonetheless, there are some good FA pitchers coming in the next several classes too and they may still be able to trade. They’re doing a lot more than most teams to improve from where they were though.
Yeah it has been a good offseason. The Rangers problem has long been the inability to develop our own pitching. We have some really good prospects right now, if we can help them figure it out we will be pretty good in 23 – 24 and beyond.
IK-F to Minnesota is a nice move for the Twins.
Not at the expense of Garver. They got ripped off.
Not if the Pitcher pans out and becomes even a marginal starter.
Hes pegged as above average reliever.
Garver missed about half the season last year. He’s 31 and it’s time to move on. I’d rather roll with Jeffers.
Glad to see Garver go to a team that wants to win.
I don’t really understand this. You can find no-hit, defense-oriented infielders all over the place
Meanwhile Garver is a career .256/.341/.494
My only concern is his injury history. His numbers look great. But, he’s 31 and played in only 309 games. I get the virus season, but even so, it seems off
Edit: I didn’t see that the Twins are getting a pitching prospect also
In that case it’s a fairer trade I guess
The pitcher, look at the pitcher that was traded. Garver is 31, still serviceable, but best years are likely behind him and he was injured last year.
That’s a hella strong return for IKF. How good is the pitching prospect going to the Twins?
Rangers are getting more and more serious.
Serious with that rotation? LOL
It’s likely the worst in MLB!
I think their trade partner (Twins) have an even worse rotation. Their ace is currently Dylan Bundy
Shock the world and sign Bryant now for 3B
Why would that shock the world?
But is Garver good defensively? Sure, offense is great but to me it’s a bonus as opposed to a requirement. My requirement at catcher would be someone that calls a good game, blocks & frames well, and controls the running game. The offense is secondary imo
@ rememberthecoop;
B I N G O
Garver is what is know as an offensive Catcher. He’s not particularly respected for his work behind the plate. And that’s what makes Catcher the most important position on an MLB team
Example (as his name was brought up above) – Martin Maldonado has never hit like Garver. But what he does behind the plate has taken the Astros to multiple post-season appearances and at times to the WS. Were a guy like Garver behind the plate that never would have happened – even if he did hit better than Maldonado.
I get a kick out of quite a few comments on here – PLEASE look at the pitcher that was thrown in on this trade. I’m not saying the next Cy Young, but if he is even remotely a serviceable pitcher, this could be a steal. Garver is on the downside of his career (he may have a few decent seasons left, but he is over 30) and was injured last year. Look at his career games played – he’s good, decent, but for how many more years?
Ok, I looked him up. I see a short 155 pound guy with a 5 ERA in AA last season and a scouting report that says he doesn’t have any lights out stuff and has a peak outcome of a middle reliever. Nope, still pissed the Twins gave up Garver for him.
What is his K/9 in the minors? What is his WHIP in the minors? If he helps the ‘pen, I’m fine with it.
Garver is a 30+ year old catcher who doesn’t have many AB’s in his career (Late bloomer) who has been injured, who were you expecting in return?
You must be a delusional twins fan. yall got ripped off, period
So the Rangers have Seager, Semien, Mitch Garver.. not a bad way to start off building a lineup. Health is always key, but those 3 are all really nice to have batting for you. Not a Texas fan at all, so I may be missing some other guys..
good trade for both teams
No.
Nick Solak now plays 3rd til Jung is ready
Solak isn’t that good. The Rangers will make another move. They’re aggressive this offseason.
I think the Twins won this trade.
Right now I believe it’s more even, maybe lean Twins way, in two to three years, I have a feeling it’s going to lean heavy to the Twins.
I hope this trade works out as well as the Napoli trade did. Garver is a huge improvement at catcher for the Rangers. Maybe they will sign Asdrubel Cabrera or Johnathan Villar as possible place-holders.
Great pickup for Texas. It looks like one of those deals that helps both clubs. Twins had to deal from excess to get a SS piece they really needed. Besides being solid defensively, his multipositional capability must have been attractive to them. He will also bring some needed speed to a team that hasn’t exhibited much in recent years. I worry about his OBA a bit.
That’s just nuts!
I like this deal for both sides. IKF fits Twins’ SS hole and is more youthful, playing into the Twins’ desire to rebuild with player control. Garver fits the Rangers’ hopes to improve offense, get butts in seats, and become competitive. A solid middle-of-the-order bat with pull power to get out of the new park’s tough left field.
Seems like an odd move to me. That Jonah Heim kid has a shot. Let him play. And why not just keep IKF as a super utility? Do you want your team to be good, or??
It normally takes 7 years, usually long after the players moved on, to evaluate the trade. However, this seems like a Twins win to me.