BREAKING NEWS & EDDIE ROSARIO UPDATE!!
Both LHP Caleb Thielbar ($700K) & RHP Tyler Duffey ($2.2M) have avoided arbitration and are signed for the 2021 season. Eddie Rosario cleared waivers but the Twins are rumored to be still negotiating with him and have until 7pm tonight before he would become a free agent if they non-tender him which was the point of sending him through waivers.
Reporter Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic reports the #MNTwins placed OF Eddie Rosario on outright waivers today giving him a chance to be claimed which is a pretty big sign the Minnesota Twins will non-tender the veteran OF because they don’t want to pay him his projected $9.6M arbitration salary.
Rosenthal then goes on to say the Twins have been trying to trade him but there have been no takers. He would clear waivers at 12pm today, making a case for the club that no team wants to pay him the predicted arbitration salary. They could then try to sign him at a lower price by the 7pm deadline to tender players today. They wouldn’t have to sign him by that deadline since they wouldn’t be tendering him & he’d be a free agent but they would be the only team negotiating with him up until the deadline and, of course, could keep negotiating after the deadline.
Most people believe he will be a free agent in about 7 hours but…
Eddie Rosario is only 29-years old and he’s heading into the prime of his career. He has shown to have a lot of value in all areas of the game but he does has his flaws or weaknesses. He’s impatient at the plate. He improved that part of his game in 2020 even if it wasn’t a huge improvement. It was noticeable and he had previously said it’s something he wanted to improve.
He’s aggressive in all areas of the game. He swings for the fences and a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter where the ball is thrown for him to swing. He tests the opposing team’s defense with his aggressive base-running which sometimes sees him run into an out.
Manager Rocco Baldelli had him hitting 3rd (6) or 4th (29) in the lineup for 35 of the Twins 60 games last season (16 games at 5th, 4 at 6th) showing what he thinks of Rosie. Eddie has turned into a leader in the clubhouse and it’s clear he enjoys playing the game and he wants to win.
This issue isn’t necessarily about the money. He’s likely worth his predicted salary but the Twins also have 2-3 players who are ready to get a shot at the big leagues in OFs Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker & Trevor Larnach. They also have Jake Cave & LaMonte Wade who could step into that role. So not only would they save money, they have options and the pandemic may have caused them to have to be a little more cautious with their payroll.
For most Twins fans, they believe it’s time to give a spot to the Twins #2 Prospect OF Alex Kirilloff who debuted in Game 2 of the postseason and recorded his 1st MLB Hit with a line drive to right field in his 2nd at-bat. I agree that he looks ready but it’s very rare that a player is just given a spot in the lineup. He definitely deserves a shot but there are no guarantees he will succeed and/or become great instantly. It usually takes some time and there are hills & valleys of success as teams/pitchers start to see how a hitter adapts to how he’s being pitched. Am I worried about Alex Kirilloff at the plate? No…because he’s a hitting machine but he also has yet to play a game at the AAA level.
We’ll see & maybe hear what the Twins think of Eddie Rosario at some point today.
Here are the MLB rules on Outright Waivers & Tenders/Non-Tenders
What do you think, #TwinsTakers?
