December 20: The Twins have officially announced Gallo’s signing.
December 16: The Twins are reportedly in agreement with outfielder Joey Gallo on a one-year deal that will pay him $11MM. The two-time All-Star is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Gallo, 29, has occasionally been one of the most fearsome sluggers in the league but is coming off a rough stretch. With the Rangers from 2017 to 2019, he was the poster boy for the three true outcomes: home run, strikeout and walk. In that three-year stretch, he struck out in 36.8% of his plate appearances while the league averages in that time hovered around 22%. His 14.3% walk rate was well beyond the 8.5% league average in that time. He also launched 103 home runs over that stretch, leading to a batting line of .217/.336/.533. Despite the huge punch-out totals, that production was 20% above league average, as evidenced by his 120 wRC+.
The seasons since haven’t been quite as smooth, however. In the shortened 2020 season, Gallo hit .181/.301/.378 for a wRC+ of 86. He seemed to bounce back in the first half of 2021, as he was sitting on a line of .223/.379/.490 for a wRC+ of 138 when the Rangers traded him to the Yankees. Unfortunately, he swooned in the Bronx, hitting .160/.303/.404 after the deal, 95 wRC+. He couldn’t quite correct course this year, as his first 82 games led to a .159/.282/.339 line and 82 wRC+ before the Yanks flipped him to the Dodgers at the deadline. The move to Hollywood didn’t change much, as he hit .162/.277/.393 as a Dodger for a wRC+ of 91.
Though those sub-Mendoza batting averages are certainly unpleasant to the eye, there’s plenty of reason to think he could get the train back on the tracks. For one thing, he’s still young, having just turned 29 last month. He also still knocks the snot out of the ball, as his hard hit percentage was in the 94th percentile in 2022, his barrel rate in the 98th and his max exit velocity 89th. The upcoming rules banning defensive shifts are likely to help him out as well, since he bats from the left side. According to Statcast, Gallo is shifted in 90% of his plate appearances, one of the 20 highest such rates in the league.
Even if he can’t bounce back at the plate, he can still be a valuable player due to his strong defense. He’s been given a positive grade in the outfield by Defensive Runs Saved in each season of his career, while Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average only gave him a negative number in 2022. For his outfield work as a whole, he has 43 DRS, 19 UZR and 7 OAA. Even though his bat was subpar all year in 2022, he was still worth 0.6 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs. In 2021, when he was good at the plate with Texas but bad with the Yanks, he was worth 4.2 fWAR.
For the Twins, Gallo should slot into one of the outfield corners, with Byron Buxton in center. This only adds to a cluttered outfield mix, as the club has many options on its roster. It was reported last week that the club is getting trade interest in Max Kepler, as they also have Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Garlick, Gilberto Celestino, Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon, Matt Wallner and Mark Contreras in their outfield mix. Some of those players can also play the infield, but it’s quite the crowded dance floor. With Gallo now added into the mix, it would seem to make a trade of Kepler or someone else more likely.
The Twins should still have payroll space available, as most of their offseason has been geared around a pursuit of Carlos Correa. The club reportedly made him an offer of $285MM over 10 years, or $28.5MM per season, though he instead signed with the Giants for $350MM over 13 years. The Twins have now given $11MM to Gallo instead, taking a chance that he can rediscover some of his previous form in a new environment. This move brings the club’s payroll up to $118MM, per Roster Resource. The club’s franchise record for an Opening Day payroll was the $134MM figure they ran out in 2022, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Assuming they’re willing to spend at similar levels this year, they still have about $16MM to work with, though Kepler will have an $8.5MM salary in 2023 as well as a $1MM buyout on a $10MM club option. Moving him could create some extra payroll space unless they also take on some salary in the trade.
Despite unexpectedly landing a star like Correa for 2022, the Twins disappointed by finishing 78-84, 14 games back of the Guardians in the American League Central. They will now have to try to figure out how to be better without Correa in 2023. Better health would be one way, as they suffered an incredible number of injuries in 2022. Another path might be to reallocate his $35.1MM salary into multiple players and hope for surplus value, with Gallo now one of them.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Gallo and the Twins agreed at $11MM. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the one-year agreement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Wow
how is he worth 11 mil?
I know that’s not a ton, but paying him anything past 6 is remarkable.
I suspect because teams can’t heavily shift on him anymore and the twins see someone that can either get them to the playoffs or be a surprise trade chip at the deadline.
You still have to hit the baseball. Gallo was soooo awful in 2022. He may be done and he gets 11 mill?
Even when Gallo was elite in 2019 he still had the strikeout issue.
That strikeout is not getting thru, with or without the shift.
Shift???? Dude either hits it out of the park, or strikes out. Last few seasons it has been mostly striking out.
I don’t think the lack of shifting will help a guy who strikes out 37% of the time. Somehow he also walks 15% of the time, which leaves him only putting the ball in play in 48% of the time. Then 34% of his hits were HRs. The shift wasn’t hurting him.
I once saw a guy strikeout through the shift, catcher missed strike 3 in thr dirt and the ball went to the backstop
I wish i could be done and get 11 mil mmmmmkay
How is it even possible to bat .196 and even get 5 million?
Wow – I would have never guessed he would have got paid this much.
Bellinger got what? Like $17?
The Guardians finished 30th in pursuit of Gallo. Their team prefers guys who put a ball in play
He was a 4 win player in 2021, maybe teams think 2022 was more of a fluke than his new norm.
He can hit 40 homeruns and play plus defense
They just signed a LH version of Sano, who they cut. Please explain this, as Sano was cheaper.
Sano couldn’t play defense or hit 40 home runs.
Gallo hasn’t hit 40 HRs in 5 years.
Didn’t you know that the going rate is $55M/WAR ?
Guy should be at league minimum
This is Scott Boras and his magic dust
Scott Boras at his finest
Max Kepler is likely a goner now, Twinkies.
I would rather have Kepler…
Thank goodness.
Didn’t want his annual 200+ K’s playing for the Sox.
And all along I thought he’d sign with Yankees.
Why?
That’s what I want to know. What an atrocious signing. He strikes out 44% of the time and has a career batting average of .199. You gave him $11M?!?! You would have been better off throwing $11M at someone like Yuli Gurriel who makes contact. This move alone says the Twins front office is lost.
Not justifying the move but that’s a horrible comparison. Can yuli play gold glove caliber defense? No.
Yuli won a gold glove in 2021…
Ah, Yuli has a gold glove.
The comparison was with what each brings to the plate, but for the record. Yuli Gurriel has a gold glove and is an exceptional defender.
Yes. Yuli won a gold glove in 2021.
I like the signing. He is an excellent defender and he walks above league average. He has huge upside. I had hoped he would have signed with the Giants.
Consider yourself lucky he did not sign with the Giants. Granted, my view of him is as a Yankee fan who once believed in him but then had to watch him daily for over a year. I took to having a martini every time he K’d. That was a bad decision, but my counselors have told me I’ve made good progress and I should be able to exit Trembling Hills rehab by March.
I wonder if it’s a New York/Los Angeles thing where some players wilt under the pressure..or if it’s a Chris Davis thing where he was really good for a few years..then all of a sudden he loses his bat speed. We will findout if Gallo had stage fright, or if he is in deep decline
Um, yes. Yes he can.
Only thing is that he appears to not be very smart, and bad baseball instincts. Saw it with the Dodgers. Blame this on Rangers not teaching him fundamentals.
this entire offseason every contracts been bloated with either AAV, years or both
At some point it’s no longer bloat. It’s the new normal.
I know it’s been 21 years but T Gwynn got 2 mil for the 2001 season and he hit .324/.384 per baseball-reference. Astounding how batting average and ability to hit the ball somewhere at least 60% of the time is no longer a concern.
He has a career k% of 37.3, (still awful), where are you getting 44?
Fearsome, that’s why. Except Mendoza is giving him shade.
Also means Kepler is going, going, touch ’em all Max.
World Series is locked up for the Twins!
It’s amazing he was able to lock in an $11M guaranteed salary after his lack of performance in 2021 & 2022. This is why Scott Boras is the absolute best in the industry.
Good luck with that.
Pretty sure Yankees fans scarred him for life.
He lost the Yankees fans when he said he was who he was and wasn’t going to change.
Yup.especially when it was quite apparent that whatever he was doing was not working.
Good luck. You can have him!
Yes, we’ll fly Gallo out to Minnesota for nothing!!!
No. He is not an improvement.
Damn right!
To be fair I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what he said. It’s not like he wasn’t trying to get himself out of the slump any way he could. I took it more as he wasn’t going to reinvent himself as a hitter, which is fair. He’s a three true outcomes guy, for better or worse.
Of course, he should’ve known better than to say something as dumb—and which could be seen as flippant—as he did. What did he think the response was going to be? Completely self-inflicted.
I really hated to see him go through that because by all accounts he’s a nice guy and his teammates loved him, but how do you struggle that badly at the plate yet still refuse to change your approach? I thought Sanchez was the worst hitter I had ever seen, but Gallo easily takes that title now.
Lol there’s another “he’s a nice guy” comment lol.
Well, Gallo will definitely make Twins fans forget about Carlos Correa, just not in a good way.
The most remarkable thing about his season was he got the NY Post to write a fluff piece after he had been with the LAD for a week or two saying how relaxed he was living in a big apartment by the beach in LA and that’s why he was hitting better….then promptly cratered yet again. He’s had a OPS+ under 80 three times in five season over three teams. That’s who he is. Terrible signing, will be DFA’d by June.
@ retired: I’m just saying he wasn’t a jerk to the fans or the media or anything, so he didn’t deserve the visceral hatred directed at him. I hated the trade at the time it was made, but I don’t like seeing fans crushing the players on the team like that.
I’m not a Yankees fan, but in their defense, he was terrible long before he got to the Yankees. He’s literally like my least favorite player in the entire sport.
Only 1/11. Not too shabby.
Fitting as he will average 1 hit per 11 at-bats
Swing and miss? Yeah that’s the answer.
Plus Target Field has a large outfield.
Good for doubles? Absolutely.
Good for long pop-ups? Absolutely not.
Overpaid smh
Goodbye Kepler I guess
@davidk1979- I was thinking the same exact thing. Kepler to the Yankees for Hicks (half paid contract) and a prospect?
I think Falvey would take a bag of sunflower seed shells in return before he took Hicks even if the Yankees paydown salary (they won’t)
A Gallo signing is not necessarily a precursor to a Kepler trade. The Twins can use Gallo in LF/DH and probably CF when Buxton’s not out there
Kepler for Donaldson and IKF?
Kepler for German/Schmidt and Luetge.
I heard the German & Luetge for Kepler rumor, and hope the Yanks do it.
I dont think we’ll be trading him for another outfeilder after just signing one/DH.
I see the Twins trading for pitching…..as they should.
IFK. Plus Wells for Kepler?
@Steve(sh22) No way, nice try but If Austin Wells is being traded he will likely be in a Bryan Reynolds trade package or bust. Max Kepler playing left field remains to be seen. We’ll see.
I dont think Kepler is an improvement, check out baseball reference.
@Dr2022- yeah maybe, but if we can give up Donaldson or Hicks as a piece to get Kepler would you do it? I definitely would do it my friend. I think Kepler is a lot better then his play last season. We’ll see. I could be wrong.
I don’t see how the Twins take either back. They got rid of Donaldson because they didn’t want him anymore and if they’re trading Kepler, they’re not going to want another OF in exchange.
OF is where they are deepest (Gallo, Buxton, Kirilloff, Larnach, Garlick, Gordon, Celestino, Wallner, Martin, Contreras). Could be missing someone, but I think that’s everyone minus Kepler.
Kirilloff is better as a 1B vs OF in my opinion and Gordon is an infielder who’s played more OF than anything else in the majors so maybe two less people on that list but still deep.
This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw this signing. It makes too much sense, especially knowing Reynolds’ cost, knowing the Twins want to gather more prospects & young talent, & knowing Cashman’s typical MO.
Gallo can play any one of the three OF positions. I know the Twins need MIF, so I’m thinking perhaps IKF + prospect(s)? If they agree to Donaldson, Yanks would need to pay that way down, in addition to IKF + prospect, imho.
Hopefully we will hear something soon though.
They already got IKF with more power with Kyle Farmer. If the Twins add another Infielder it will be Dansby Swanson. More likely they could let Royce Lewis play SS and see what he can do or move Polanco back to SS and let Nick Gordon play 2B
$11 million for a guy who strikes out 250 times and hits .179? Does this mean you no longer care if you win?
Giving him $11M has pissed me off and I’m not a Twins fan!
He is amazing at defense and allegedly the shift will help?? 11m seems steep
Nice 140 avg with 25 hrs.Chris Davis comes to mind. Chris Carter comes to mind.
chris Carter? from dramarama? cool!
no, the guy who created The X-Files
Oh!….I thought you said Joey Callo! yea….Joey callo…with a C!
Gallo is a fine bounce back candidate but how the hell does he get 11 million based on the last 1.5 years he’s coming off? I generally don’t have any problems with any one year deals but this one seems like it’s at least 4-5 million too much.
One word: Boras.
He should definitely have taken a bigger pay cut to be seeing any regular playing time. Not certain what the Flavine saw, but I’m seeing a guy who hasn’t been on the sunny side of the Mendoza line for quite a while. Did teams just start throwing him strikes? Because while his average still sucks his walks have dried up and his power evaporated with everyone else’s when the balls got light. Not certain what they hope to get for $11m, but I can’t see it from where I’m sitting. Does he have a great knuckleball or something? Emergency catcher? Can he man the omelette bar on Sundays?
lol it’s the knuckleball I think
Off topic but I just realized I’ve read your name wrong from the beginning. I thought it was curteli Kurt lol
Lol no, Catuli as in Eamus Catuli.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eamus_Catuli
I think a lot of it has to do with cautious optimism that the end of the shift will increase offense and make guys like Gallo more valuable. Instead of him getting solo homers with a bunch of Ks, he will likely get multi run homers with a bunch of Ks now.
Again, regardless of shift or no shift, that strikeout is not getting thru the infield!
Bounce back to what? The Mendoza line. A calmer environment there could help, and not many expectations also, probably not the worst signing, but not a great one.
If he bounces back to a .900 ops he’s a steal at 11 million. How likely is that to happen though is another question.
He didn’t bounce back on the Dodgers.
I’m actually surprised he got 11m even in this market.
I guess they are hoping he never swings because if he does he is going to strike out.
The price for 1 war is like 10 million. This is a steal.
He didn’t even get 1 warrant year. So based off your math it isnt.
Gallo is a…steal? Ok
Should of been like 4-5 mill with incentives like hitting above.200 he gets another 2 mill and more than 25 hr another couple mill. But if he hits below.200 he needs to payback 2 mill lol
Talk about inflation… This takes the cake…
Inflation????? Isn’t it just transitory inflation? Lol
Performance based incentives like that are not allowed.
Swing and a miss. A lot of that headed to the Twin Cities. Yuck.
He will probably torch the tigers this year.
Miguel Sano 2.0
At least Gallo gives you good defense in the outfield. Sano is a mediocer defender at first base.
Heyyy, I haven’t seen you here in a minute, you still writing for that Pirates website?
Yeah, I am. Something weird happened to MLB Trade Rumors for me. I couldn’t access it on my home wifi, not through the app, or the website, not on my laptop or phone (neither mine, or my parents’ laptop or phone could access it through our wifi either), and even tried my PlayStation internet browser but to no avail. The only time it worked was when I was connected to other wifi sources (like when I was at a restraunt or on my college campus). This lasted from like the start of the playoffs up until like last week and it would usually lead me to like a “This website is not avaiable” page. I have no idea what caused it, but it was something on our internet provider’s end because the website and app worked perfectly fine when I wasn’t connected to our wifi.
@mlb1225- missed you man. Glad to hear your alright. Please give me a reasonable trade offer for Bryan Reynolds from the Yankees. I do realize he is the Pirates best player. Can he leadoff? Or is better in the line up in a different spot? And do the Pirates have any interest in Gleyber Torres? Please let me know and thanks.
There’s never gonna be a reasonable trade offer for Reynolds, to put it simply lol. They want a Soto-like return and it’s been that way for nearly 2 years now with no change in sight. Idk if the Pirates would even have interest in Torres outside of a throw in to a mich larger package because he has 1 less year of control than Reynolds. Any Reynolds trade w/the Yanks would have to include Volpe as the headliner. Jason Dominguez as well as Wells would like be asked about.
Imagine what Rob Deer would get if he were playing in today’s market?
Well he is 62, so probably only $3 million or so with a player option.
Or Gorman Thomas.
Dave Kingman is searching for fountain of youth
Who is Rob Deer
Google helps.
He is the guy that said,”It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Wait, maybe that was Abe Lincoln. Still kind of fits though.
My salesman gramps used to say something similar when I was a kid like assume everyone is smart until they open their mouths to prove you wrong.
To be fair, while the three-true-outcomes kind of hitters, he’s still an extreme outlier. Since 1960, he has the highest strikeout rate among players with 1500 PA. He also has the the highest ISO, and the only sub-mendoza hitter of any batter with a K% of at least 30%. There’s really no other player like Joey Gallo in baseball history.
I would like to see how Adam Dunn’s #’s match up with those!
Gallo makes Dunn look like Tony Gwynn. Dunn has a career .237 avg, only struck out 28.6% of the time compared to Gallo’s career .199 average and 37.4% K-rate.
Dunn was also slow so please don’t insult Tony. Wade Boggs however…
Would Gallo even be mlb player in any other era? Hitting 1.99 striking out nearly 40% of the time …..great he hits long homers and walks alot but in other times I don’t think he would last this long and never get rewarded with this kind of money 11 million smh….seems like monster over pay Gallo should knob Boras morning noon and night
2 hours from now…
50% of posts= “Could be the STEAL of the off-season!”
50% of posts= “Wow HUGE overpay!”
Lol who thinks this is a steal? For Gallo maybe.
I mean, if he hits like 35+ home runs and displays elite defense in right, it’s a nice deal. Not very likely to happen, but still possible.
Exactly. Gallo is like Yasiel Puig. Everyone has very strong opinions on him.
If he puts butts in seats, that really is all that matters.
I’m sure there was some competition for Gallo as well. GMs have loved this guy for years and now they have a chance of a bounce back year, in which he would be a bargain if it were to happen. It’s a gamble that more than one GM was willing to take. I thought Gallo would get around $9M. He got $11M. Seems about right in this blown up market…
What if he hits .160 with 40 hrs and .320 OBP? I’m torn.
How does anyone sign this guy? He has almost never been good. He has a nice arm but seriously – there was no one else at this price?
2 gold gloves. 2 all stars. 3 seasons of 38 plus bombs. It’s OK to be wrong.
Mr Gallo – Your son stinks.
Nice arm is the answer. He can pitch mop in the lop-siders when the bully has tanked.
Twins might have a trade for Kepler in place. Yankees?
Nooooooooooo!!!!!
I agree that he is a big strikeout guy but he is also the player that had shift used against the most in baseball. He’s also a plus defender. He’s a dark horse steal.
The defense doesn’t have to leave the dugout to get him out.
Funny!
$11 MILLION DOLLARS for that dude??
The Boras masterclass continues
Could be the STEAL of the off-season!
I’m not saying it’s wrong; but it is shocking to see guys like Gallo/Belly get the annuals they have gotten after atrocious showings at the plate. I thought Belly’s deal would be more like THIS; and didn’t think there was any way Gallo would eclipse $10 mil. Go figure.
Wow HUGE overpay!
It’s really not
I mean it could be. If he hits like he did in 2019 and in the first half of 2021, it’s a fine deal. But if he hits like he did this past season or in the second half of 2021, that’s a big overpay. Massive risk, but the chances he delivers 40 home runs.
There has to be more, also WTF twins that’s a massive overpay
Say what you want but Boras gets his people paid…
I think this may be the kind of spot for Gallo. I think the big markets are just not the places for him to succeed.
He is definitely a bit of a headcase guy. Extremely emotional player. It’s good and bad but when it’s bad it’s bad.
Will be the STEAL of the off-season!
Falvine is that u ?
We are not rebuilding
No shifting for next season will make a big difference for a guy like Gallo.
Thank you Twins for signing Gallo. Was afraid Zaidi would sign Gallo as an OF impact bat.
Get him back to a smaller market with less scrutiny, and see if he breaks out of his funk. Definitely worth a flyer. $11 mil is a little steep, but not unrealistic when Bellinger got $17 mil guaranteed.
What kind of sorcery is this?
It’s called buggery. The Twins got violated bigly. This must be their “woke” signing.
Gallo’s defense is terrific but I didn’t think tbe Twins would be interested in that, unless he fills in for Buxton who is always hurt
$11M for a guy with a hole in his bat
What a disaster.
What a disaster this off-season has been.
Feels like they gave him a token raise because he’s being signed as a free agent, so basically they gave him the minimum amount he could’ve been paid to represent the salary boost that generally comes with free agency after arbitration. Meh.
11 million for one of the worst players in baseball? Sheesh
I can still remember MLB Network throwing around the term ‘superstar’ regarding Joey Gallo. It drove me crazy, and it wasn’t only the likes of Carlos ‘Plakata’ Peña saying it.
Seems pricey but they need someone to cover CF for the 100 games, or so, that Buxton will be injured.
C’mon MANEEEEEEE
Both the move itself and price tag are definitely surprises – but beyond that, if there’s anything most observers would say the Twins DON’T need, it’s more lefty-hitting corner outfielders.
Maybe a Kepler trade is coming, as someone said above, or maybe in the Twins’ trade talks they’ve had more than one of their current OF (besides Buxton) come up repeatedly, so they figure one of them is going to go…
Bizarre move, though. Don’t really get it.
I was expecting him to get $10M, so this seems like just a small overpay, and arguably with the state of the market it’s not an overpay at all.
So that means I can probably get a $15 million dollar deal!
Boras must have got all your he Twins execs and ownership drunk.
With the shift going away, it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for “launch angle” hitters to realize that they no longer have to be three true outcome players. I’m thinking the stubborn ones will still hit .200 and strike out 200 times because they won’t adapt back to a more traditional, slightly uppercut swing…
IM SO MAD I COULD WRITE A SHIRTLESS RAP
No, for the love of God thank of the children!!!
The twins front office has no actual plans they just make random moves. What possible logic is there here lol
11MM for 290 K’s.
Blasting Chaim all the time but at least he didn’t do this signing.
He stays healthy and he plays very solid defense at a few positions. Maybe he needs glasses? If he can manage even a .230 avg, this could be a steal. it’s not like they signed a broken corpse like Toronto did with Kiermaier lol
The man his hit .230 exactly once. In a truncated 2019 season.
Without the shift his ceiling would seem to be around .210.
Fine, as long as he’s over .210 and he’s still walking a butt load I’ll take it with his defense. Take the shifts out and he’s definitely going to get on more in my opinion.
Gallo is an MVP candidate without the shift. Barry Bonds 2.0. CY should have offered 25 mil
he has not proven this
True, but one can theorize
Mark my words. This will be the best signing of the offseason.
Waste of money. I’m just glad it wasn’t the Brewers.
Absolutely classic “Get him two years after he was good” Twins move
anything over 500k for gallo is a massive overpay
Career avg .199? Lmao he’s getting worse every year. Definitely way to much. Would of been better off signing benatendi or conforto on 2 years 28-32 mill.
that is much higher value than i thought he would get. i was thinking he would be considered by the A’s at a 1 year @ 6 or 7 for a potential bounce back
$11M for a batter that has not hit over .200 since 2019.
Pocketbooks have gone crazy.
Drunken mess of the twins front office and ownership.
So Gallo just replaces Sano as the strikeout guy in the twins lineup. Somehow the twins keep finding new ways to disappoint in the off-season
If you’re in the MLB you need to be a professional…
Of course, $ 11m is a lot of money. But I can see why the Twins risk to overpay on Gallo. With his defense, OBP and power he does have a certain floor; if he rediscovers his Texas swing, we might see a QO next fall.
Gruß,
BSHH
After further review, I’m going to Wallgreen’s for a Navage and give my frontal lobe a water massage.
Train on track? The guy has a career .199 BA.
Josh Reddick will be thrilled
Gallo is a guy who intrigues me right now. Glove that plays all over the diamond, power, but a frightening K rate.
If the lack of a shift can get him to a decent average on OBP, this is a good signing. If not, it’s a one year deal.
It’s likely a one year deal anyway.
If he miraculously resurrects his career, he will go where the $$$$ is next fall.
Seems like a fitting replacement for Sano.
3yr/80mil deal waiting for him next November.
I don’t know, I can see taking the flyer. They must have a trade in place for Kepler, as noted. But they missed on Correa and on Rodon, perhaps they’ve missed on Swanson and it hasn’t leaked yet, they’ve got a lot of payroll room. Take a one-year flyer, with big potential upside. Reasonable people can argue whether the odds are good or not whether the Twins get any production out of him, but on a one-year flyer, might as well try.
I’m assuming this means they did not get Swanson.
Only in America Folks! $11M?
Seems like an overpay…..
I never understood how guys can walk so much yet strike out so much. If you can see the ball that well, then why tf do you swing and miss so much.
I would love to see, just as an experiment, how a guy like Joey Gallo would fare if he took on more of a Jeff McNeil/Luis Arraez approach at the plate instead. Would he still hit for decent power because he clearly as much more raw power than either McNeil or Arraez, or would the approach simpily not work?
He would hit like 2019 Bellinger.
Channel Reggie. Strikeout was byproduct of digging a tater.
Reggie dint really strike out all that much, just struck out a lot for his era and played a lot of years. He only ever once batted below the mendoza line, and that was when he was 37, and he struck out more than 150 times just three times with a K% below 23%.
Mlb, are we talking the same all-time K leader Reggie here?? Haha Reggie should maybe be judged even a bit more harshly because of the era he played in. I don’t think many other guys came that close back then to his season K totals. I could be wrong. Always loved Reggie though.
Gallo clearly has a good eye for picking up pitches coming out of a pitcher’s hand. He’s consistently one of the best players at not swinging at pitches out of zone. The bat-speed is still there as well. Making contact is a separate skill-set. Twins must see something they can alter in his mechanics and headspace.
Someone needs to take away the keys to the Twins bus because Falvey, Levine, and young pup Joey Pohlad have been over-served! Sad to watch a once (prior generation) intelligent small market organization devolve into a school-project for a disconnected, ultra rich elite family.
Just what “multiple players” are left for the Twins to sign? They are more likely to grab Eric Hosmer for league minimum.
So what would you rather they have signed, Correa or Gallo and Vazquez?
WTF are the Twins thinking?
They essentially have 1 Corner OF spot , 1B ( Sano gone , Arraez not a true 1bmen)
And DH open
Surely Gallo can take 1 of those spots
This contract is why i think conforto will end up closer to $15m than originally thought.
There’s no pressure with the Twins. The shift is gone, I bet he’ll have a bounce back season and hit .220, 35 HR, 75 RBI, 180 SO
Not bad for Joey G
I’ll say .212 / 323 OB% ~599 slugging %
And 31 Hrs
194 SO
But silver or bronze level defense
I really hope this works out for the Twins.
Sorry about the ventilation, dude.
Just what the Twins needed. A LH OF. This team makes a roster like a dad who doesn’t check the fridge before grocery shopping.
3 true outcomes is bad baseball. It makes the individual player look good but does not help the team. Want proof? Since 2016 the Astros have had the fewest strikeouts in the league pretty much every single year. During their dynasty. And in 2015? Fewest strikeouts was the royals
Its ok to have 5 milks in there.
Until the Twins get pitching most of these position player moves won’t matter. Their rotation has a chance to be solid to good, but with no big time arms. Bullpens, which can be volitile year to year, still doesn’t look promising.
Oh boy. Our front office have lost their minds. Trying to figure out a way to hand out money and no players left. to give it to. This is not a good fit at even half the contract amount. The last year of this front office and they are in full panic mode.
Twins will not lose money regardless. Win 60, lose 60 and make a difference in the rest of the games.
You could count on one-time skipper Gardy to make enough bad decisions, especially in the playoffs and vs. the Yanks. When a neck-stepping was expected, he threw in the spares. Molitor was a disciple and now Rocco sucks the metric teat and continues the trend.
Joey Gallo signing is part of the lack of integrity that the FO has become. Count me out again.
Yanks gave give them Hicks too
Yanks can give them Hicks too
a one-month contract…yeah
One year?!!!!….bwhaahwahahahaha
By the all star break he will be at 165 with 14 home runs and a K rate of 35%. He will be dfa’d and will be picked up by a team from Iceland.
11mill?!?!!!
$11 million for Gallo and his .181 BA?
That makes sense.
Can we trade Buxton, Arraez, Gordon, and Polanco for a can of golf balls?
The Twins front office must be chasing the first draft pick of 2024.
Poor man’s Bellinger. Needed a plausible backup for Buxton. This will do.
I can whiff 40% of the time, too. Where’s my 11 mil?
Wow baseball money is out of control
How is Joey Gallo remotely better than Miquel Sano, who the Twins cut while still being on the hook for $2.75 million in option buyouts NOT to pay Sano $10.1 million in 2023?
Makes the Frazier for 8 mil deal a lot better. 11 for Gallo is excessive
Joey’s agent hit a home run.
Joey Gallo is the result of modern analytics.
And analytics is the result of nerds
Joey Gallo… jerry callo? There are people that are saying that he might benefit from no shift.. are y’all joking. He can’t make contact. 11 mil to be a outfielder. Not a hitter he could close his eyes and pray to hit. And he still wouldn’t. Twins guys what the f were you thinking
FFS!!…..WHY!!!……
Twins gave Miguel Sano 10 million for all his strikeouts, they can give Gallo 11 million for the same – at least gallo can hold down an outfield spot and hit the longball at a better clip. He has a decent chance to regain form and be an effective player and tough out at the dish.
Sano and Gallo. That’s 2 automatic outs in the Twins line up. Maybe they can talk Ruth Buzzi out of retirement.
Sano is a free agent
Crazy money this year, wow.
Wondering if the pirates had signed him, if all the old time buccos fans would react. They bad mouth Nutting for being cheap, he is but a business man. They would still bad mouth him and the pirates saying it’s a bad signing. Tell me what you think a good pirate signing would be????
“This only adds to a cluttered outfield mix, as the club has many options on its roster. It was reported last week that the club is getting trade interest in Max Kepler, as they also have Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Garlick, Gilberto Celestino, Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon, Matt Wallner and Mark Contreras in their outfield mix.”
Buxton, Larnach, Kiriloff, and Lewis all missed significant time last year due to injuries.
Other than Buxton and Kepler, only Garlick has more than two years big league experience, and he’s only played 144 games over the last four years.
Other than Buxton and Kepler, only Gordon has played more than 145 games at the major league level.
Mark Contreras and Matt Wallner have a COMBINED 46 major league games.
I really don’t think all of these guys are really in the mix for starting roles in the big leagues
This is a joke, right? Haha, funny stuff Twins…
Lolololol……$11 million?!?!?
I hope he can turn it around. He needs to stop launching and focus on contact, letting his strength do the work.
I know it’s the Christmas season but the Minnesota Twins sure do believe in miracles.
55 HR.
What a garbage signing. The Twins need to dump those two idiots in the front office and get on with some actual upgrades, You know, like some stud pitching, or maybe a decent shortstop.
Gallo is a shorter Adam Dunn who hits for a lower batting average. I think this guy is fixable if the right hitting coach got ahold of him and Gallo took his advice. He is 29 years old he could still turn it around.
In what world is JD Martinez worth 10 mil and Gallo worth 11?
JDM is a pure DH, which has less demand than an OF capable player. However, I also suspect he took a bit of a discount to join the Dodgers and chase another ring.
Joey Gallo is one of the best athletes in all of baseball….
Unfortunately, he is too stubborn to listen to his hitting coaches.
ETA: When Gallo was a Ranger, I used to always say the following: Any opposing manager should just tell his pitchers that if they ever throw this guy a fastball, they are DFA’d. Give this guy a steady diet of breaking balls down and away, and he will deliver a K every single time.
As a Yankee fan…this is truly an AMAZING deal. I can’t believe the twins would ever do this!!!!!
Since this is a post about a free agent with virtually no obvious value who got a very cushy 1 year deal-
What do people think the market is for guys like Gary Sanchez and Aroldis Chapman? I can’t imagine there’s any market, really….
What’s the line between “there’s enough upside and they’ve earned a generous market rate by being a veteran” and “they might not want to retire yet, but they don’t have enough value to justify giving them a roster spot, let alone a premium salary of high seven to low eight figures.”?
Sanchez is a DH who can backup catch. Chapman has phoned it in and will probably retire if he doesn’t get the right deal. There are better options remaining in the FA market.
Yeah Chapman seems like a guy who’s made enough money that if he’s smart with it, can retire right now set for life with multi-generational wealth of some kind.
He’s probably seen around $65M cash, give or take a few million depending on taxes- I assume he was renting his NYC condo or it’s something he can flip quickly- looks like it was basically a home gym with some spartan furniture.
Even with all his toys and whatnot, I would guess he’s been able to bank the vast majority of his earnings- assuming he hasn’t been paying his entourage six figure salaries to hang out with him plus paying for houses, etc. etc.
Anyway- Chapman can 100% retire on what he’s earned, assuming he’s been judicious with his money.
But there were a few quotes from him last year about wanting an extension with the Yankees that indicated, in my opinion, he really wanted an extra $30-40M in salary, which could indicate he needed the income and it wasn’t just about a desire to keep playing to keep playing, albeit for his going rate.
Sanchez on the other hand, hasn’t made anywhere near enough to retire going by lifestyle assumptions of young baseball players earning millions and looking toward free agency to solidify their finances.
I can’t imagine he’d get more than 1 year/$10M or 2 years/$18M at best- and this would be a team overpaying him a bit.
I hope he bounces back enough and can have another 5-10 years of playing, even if he never earns super star salaries- just so he can say he had a full career, put together some solid career stats, etc.
MLBTR’s…..You guys really gotta start putting “UPDATE” in the signing headlines when they become “official.” If it takes an extra 5 or 10 minutes then I understand not doing it. But there are plenty of people who don’t follow baseball as closely as a lot of us on here who see these signing headlines from a week or 2 ago and think they JUST happened! I’ve got 2 calls from friends who think the Twins nabbed Gallo an hour ago! Please consider it fellas I can’t see any reason not to.
Joey Gallo is Bo Gentry.
Because it’s called common sense, and some just don’t have it. I always said that you can have the highest IQ, but if you don’t when to cross the street. Then you have a problem. And I agree with you on these updates