Article: Twins Should Hit Waivers For Pitching Help

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Originally Posted by SirLoin

Liriano could be an ok one inning guy.

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Designating someone a one-inning guy means high leverage innings when you do put him in; no bullpen has a one-inning mopup guy. So then, how comfortable would you be bringing Liriano in for the eighth inning with a one-run lead?

There's also the question of getting him to accept a one-inning high leverage role. Just because Perkins did, doesn't mean Liriano would; two very different people. If someone doesn't embrace the role, he's not likely to succeed.

I'm fine with putting Francisco in the pen, if it's to find himself again, during low-leverage situations.

LaVelle says Liriano has been in the league long enough that he can reject an assignment to the minors (5 years of service time). Not exactly sure what happens if this were to be the case in this scenario, but I'm guessing it'd be like DFA-ing him - anyone know for sure?

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Originally Posted by jmlease1

That's garbage. Pohlads will spend if the baseball staff says it's worth it.

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The current makeup of the Bullpen shows that Jim Pohlad will not spend any more money. Before the Season started, Ryan stated that the Bullpen scares him.
Why didn't he spend some money and do something about it?

The calls for a total rebuilding are off base...offensively I think the Twins have a solid core. Parmalee and Dozier will come up eventually to round things out...pitching is another story...

But doing something out panic never works...if the right opportunity presented itself to get a guy that really could help I think the Pohlad's would pony up...until then they should work with what they have....

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Originally Posted by DAM DC Twins Fans

Waiver wire--other teams cast offs are not the answer. Terry Ryan may be a great GM but other GMs are not dumb. If a pitcher is put on waivers there is a reason.

Put Liriano in the pen. Put Hendricks and Swarzak at the top of the rotation and hope they develop. Then draft a good college pitcher this summer who has a chance to help us in 2013 or more importantly 2014. Bring up the kids (Dozier, Benson, etc) and let them grow here. That also means playing Parmalee at 1B regularly--not Morneau--Parmalee is the 1B of the future.

The Twins are not going to be a contender until 2014 at best. Lets start building that team now.

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The Twins had (and I believe currently have) the 30th ranked staff in baseball. It's definitely possible that there are pitchers on much better teams that are out of options that would be be better than what the Twins have, even if it's just to add depth in case of more injuries.

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Originally Posted by Alex

The Twins had (and I believe currently have) the 30th ranked staff in baseball. It's definitely possible that there are pitchers on much better teams that are out of options that would be be better than what the Twins have, even if it's just to add depth in case of more injuries.

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Exactly. Not every pickup has to be the one that turns around the franchise. The focus should be on improving your overall talent -- to whatever degree -- with each move. Incremental upgrades.

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Originally Posted by SirLoin

At this point, do you put Liriano in the bullpen and leave Swarzak in the rotation? Liriano could be an ok one inning guy. At this point, would they be any worse off with that setup?

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The only problem with the swap is do you really want to pitch Liriano in anything more than a mop up role. You want to bring a guy into a close game or a lead when he cannot throw strikes?

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Originally Posted by DAM DC Twins Fans

Waiver wire--other teams cast offs are not the answer. Terry Ryan may be a great GM but other GMs are not dumb. If a pitcher is put on waivers there is a reason.

Put Liriano in the pen. Put Hendricks and Swarzak at the top of the rotation and hope they develop. Then draft a good college pitcher this summer who has a chance to help us in 2013 or more importantly 2014. Bring up the kids (Dozier, Benson, etc) and let them grow here. That also means playing Parmalee at 1B regularly--not Morneau--Parmalee is the 1B of the future.

The Twins are not going to be a contender until 2014 at best. Lets start building that team now.

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Not always. Some teams need to free up a roster spot for a player who has no options left.

Either of these two acquisitions would be most welcome, though I think we are going to have make a trade to get bullpen help worthy of the name. We desperately need a power/strike RH set up pitcher, though I've been please with Burton's outings thus far.

Now is not the time to bring a bunch of position players up from the minor leagues. Our lineup is actually really solid right now. We need Perkins to pitch like he did last year and Capps to have an outstanding year and we will be an average team within 10 games at the end of the year. While some of us might contend that we would rather see them tank it and get a better draft pick, Target Field is in its third season and they need to keep attendance up. Hope that Gibson, Wimmers, and the kid from Stanford are all close to MLB ready next year, because we have nobody ready to step into that rotation!! Is rich Harden with anyone yet? Big time arm that could be great trade bait at the deadline.

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Originally Posted by Mchans24

Is rich Harden with anyone yet? Big time arm that could be great trade bait at the deadline.

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http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/0...12-season.html
Rich Harden will miss the 2012 season while he recovers from a shoulder operation.

You still have to get thru waivers and looks like Bowen is being offered out there for outfield help. If Clete Thomas had been waived after Ellsbury went down, Boston would've traded for him and the Twins wouldn't have gotten him, showing the timing in this process. And I vote for Liriano in the pen. If he doesn't like it, he pitches in a totally mop-up role. Right now, I see no one trading for him if they have to go to arbitration to even negotiate with him.

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Originally Posted by jmlease1

That's garbage. Pohlads will spend if the baseball staff says it's worth it.

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Agree. Obviously, there are limits, but one thing the current payroll gives is flexibility.