Twins Say Goodbye to Zach Duke and Lance Lynn; Front Office Pushing for Dozier Next

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Jul 30, 2018

Another weekday gone, another roster dump for the Minnesota Twins:

Sometimes, the changes that have happened over the last 10 years, when it comes to how sports news is reported, make me want to laugh. I don’t mean to bring down big timers like Jon, in the least. They’ve been pushed to this by the internet age. Zach Duke isn’t even capitalized. That’s how important it is to be the first one. If you got the text message, so are other reporters. You don’t even have the 7 seconds it takes to correct your phone. That shit is just funny.

Moving on.

So, Zach Duke gets traded after a very mediocre stint with the Twins, that didn’t even make it to the partnership’s first trade deadline. Duke, like most other pitchers brought in during last offseason, is on just a one year deal and set to hit free agency when the 2018 season comes to a close. Duke will do his best to get back to the pitcher he was two years ago before requiring Tommy John Surgery immediately after the 2016 season, causing him to miss most of 2017.

In return, the Twins received (IF) Ryan Costello and (P) Chase De Jong. As has been the narrative, the Twins didn’t get anything stellar back in return. “So-so” is what Parker Hageman of TwinsDaily.com calls it. Here are both prospects’ stat tables from MiLB.com

Ryan Costello:

Chase De Jong:

That’s not all the news that came out though, this afternoon. Eduardo Escobar was close to Twin fans’ hearts but trading Brian Dozier may lead to more rioting on our facebook page than even Escobar did. He is the ultimate piece that, WHEN traded, will have the detractors yelling “Pohlad Pocket Protectors!”. But, it looks like he is more likely to go, than to stay. Most of us already knew this but the writing looks to be thicker and thicker on that locker room wall…

And before I can even finish this post, Lance Lynn has now been moved to the Yankees. Off the bat (how do you like that pun), this looks like a guy that some really like and others have given up on. Brandon Warne from ZoneCoverage.com says below, that part of his issues have been health related…

It looks like nobody wanted Lance Lynn more than the Yankees. And for Lance, he now gets to go back to a place where he was very good, for a team that has a REAL chance at winning the whole damn thing. Good for him.

For the record, I never like negative news surrounding one of my teams and nobody likes to see franchise staples be traded away from the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, that’s just how the MLB works. This is how teams operate when the deadline comes, depending where they are sitting in the standings that season. You can hate that if you want. But, that’s what’s been proven throughout the league, for any team outside of Boston and New York. It’s about gaining assets. In professional baseball, more than any other sport, top prospects fizzle out and lower-tier guys end up with long professional careers. It’s a numbers game.

And, if you believe that this is how every competent MLB front office would operate (which I do), then it’s difficult to get out my pitch fork. We can’t let our impatience from the incompetence of the past affect how we treat this new regime. They deserve SOME of the patience and time that the last regime got. So, that’s what I’ll give them.

At least until I see what they do with the $100 Million they will have to spend this offseason….

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan (@RealMNSportsFan)

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