Matt Guerrier

[fleehaw]

Here's an interesting guy that may be able to be had. Actually, since the bullpen is one area where the Twins are the strongest, a few guys might be had if it fills a need for them.

 

Perhaps something like Vargas & Gwynn for Guerrier and a prospect.

 

The Twins trotted out Ponson for their rotation last year. This year, they'll lose Silva but they do have a few gifted, yet relatively unproven young pitchers. With Vargas, you basically know what you're going to get. And while Gwynn won't 'replace' Hunter, he's young, plays good defense, and is a good character guy.

 

Thoughts? With someone more familiar with their system, who could they target as the prospect in the deal?

[dadofandrew]

The Twins have no interest in Vargas, they have 6-7 SP candidates, and they will probably be dealing Johan and getting a couple more.

[MNBrew]

Vargas is likely a downward step from Carlos Silva, whose main asset is his durability. He can also be good in stretches, but his bad stretches are more bad than his good stretches are good.

 

On the other hand, the Twins might have some interest in Vargas, especially if they trade a young-ish/prospect pitcher or two to meet other needs, because he is certainly a couple notches above what Boof Bonser put forth last year. He was horrible.

 

In short, a couple other things would have to happen first before the Twins would seriously entertain a deal to acquire Claudio Vargas.

 

Now to the actual thread topic: Matt Guerrier.

 

He & Pat Neshek are both already late-inning studs and potential closers. With Joe Nathan being a bit more unsure of his future (which has been stated will depend on whether the other moves the Twins can make indicate moving forward vs. regressing), Neshek & Guerrier would be very proven late-inning/closer replacements. Since their billionaire owner is hardly aggressive in terms of spending to acquire blue-chip proven players, Neshek & Guerrier are exactly the guys they'll be building around should every other solid veteran also march out of town.

 

While I'd love to see Matt Guerrier in a Brewers uniform, I'm pretty sure the only way we'll actually see that in the next few years is if/when someone with good Photoshop skills has some free time on their hands.