Waiting in the Wings

[stringer bell]

The Twins are playing well right now and so are their affiliates.  A quick glance at milb.com shows that Rochester and Chattanooga are leading their divisions, Cedar Rapids is leading for a playoff spot and Fort Myers is playing .500 ball.  Even better news is that several players are showing that they should be promoted and many are waiting in the wings for recall to the Twins.  Here are some players and their cases for getting a call to the big leagues.

 

Casey Fien-He is on minor league rehab.  Fien has been a solid member of the bullpen, and barring a medical setback, he will be pitching for the Twins before their current homestand is over.

 

Tommy Milone-Milone was sent to the minors after four starts-one great, two so-so and one bad.  He has been terrific pitching for the Red Wings.  He is 4-0 with a microscopic 0.28 ERA.  He allowed only one earned run and 20 hits in 31.2 innings, with two walks and 41 whiffs.  Any pitcher would be proud of those numbers.  Any injury or struggle by a starter should result in a recall to Minnesota for the soft-tossing left hander.

 

Lester Oliveros-The hard-throwing 26-year old Venezuelan has terrific numbers at Rochester.  He is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, 6 BB and 30 (!) Ks.  Oliveros isn't on the 40-man or he may already be with the Twins.

 

AJ Achter-He is the current closer for Rochester.  His numbers are very good: 3-2 with 2.29 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 5 BB and 16 Ks.  Both Oliveros and Achter seem to be better alternatives than the residents of the current Twins' bullpen.

 

Caleb Thielbar- If the Twins wanted to replace a left hander in the 'pen, I suppose the Minnesotan would be in line.  His minor league topline is good:  2-1 with a 1.50 ERA, but he's allowed 13 hits and 11 walks in 12 innings for an unsightly 2.00 WHIP. 

 

Kennys Vargas-The big DH was surprising sent to Rochester last week.  Since reporting, he has hit well.  The only problem would be finding a spot on the roster and playing time for a young bat-only player.  He's 8-19 with two homers and five RBI since reporting to Rochester.

 

Josmil Pinto-He was thought to have the inside track to make the Twins out of spring training, but was set back by injuries.  Pinto has displayed a good bat in his time with the Twins.  Right now, his production at Rochester is less than stellar.  He's hitting only .259 with 4 homers and 20 RBI.  Pinto's work behind the plate has always been the major question.  Minor league stats don't give us much of a clue as to his improvement as a defender.

 

Eric Fryer-Always thought of as a backup who calls a good game and is reliable behind the plate, Fryer has, in a small sample size, exceeded Pinto's offense.  In 70 ABs, he's hitting .343 with an OPS of .811.

 

In addition to these players, two more position players will likely be coming to Rochester on injury rehab.  Both Owaldo Arcia and Jordan Schafer were starters for the Twins when the season started.  Neither is assured of that role when they return from their injuries.

 

Starting pitchers Pat Dean and Taylor Rogers have put together numbers that could merit promotion most years, but the Twins have a logjam of competent starting pitching at this time.  I don't believe I just wrote that!

 

Finally, Chattanooga has a host of players that probably will get promoted by sometime in the second half of their season and a couple could find their way to Minnesota.  Mega-prospects Byron Buxton (.267 BA, .829 OPS, 11 (!) triples), Miguel Sano (.248 BA, .851 OPS, nine homers), and JO Berrios (5-2 2.89 ERA, 63 K, 1.16 WHIP) have all gotten much attention (and deserve it), but many other players are doing well, including Adam Brett Walker, Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, and Zack Jones.  Sano, Kepler, and Polanco are on the 40-man.

[gunnarthor]

Milone is doing great.  I'm honestly stunned that we have a LH starter with a track record of success in the majors sitting at AAA because we don't have a place for him in the ML rotation. 

[Thrylos]

Can Fien, Milone, Thielbar, Fryer bring anything in a trade from a contending team?  If a contender does not want them, the Twins should not either.  They are not part of the today and they are not part of the future. If someone bites, the Twins should trade them.

 

Add Schafer to that equation as well...

[DaveW]

Can Fien, Milone, Thielbar, Fryer bring anything in a trade from a contending team? If a contender does not want them, the Twins should not either. They are not part of the today and they are not part of the future. If someone bites, the Twins should trade them.

 

Add Schafer to that equation as well...

You could probably get a Sam Fuld type.

[stringer bell]

I think someone would bite on Milone for sure.  If Fien shows he's healthy, he is a trade deadline acquisition if the Twins don't want him.  If he's healthy, I doubt the Twins would make him available. 

 

I doubt Fryer, Thielbar or Schafer have any trade value.

[bird]

I guess I can quite easily see a contending team with an injury-riddled pitching staff give up something of value to take on Fien or Milone. As a matter of fact, both might be candidates for extracting a bit of an overpay, assuming Fien returns as his better self.

[drivlikejehu]

No one is going to overpay for Milone.

[Old Twins Cap]

Trade Pelfrey before Milone, or put Pelfrey in the pen. 

 

Milone's stuff will play against certain teams, aggressive free-swinging, power teams.  Plus, if you bring in Milone later in the year, the teams we play frequently in the Division, it will take some time for them to adjust to Milone.

 

No reason they don't bring up Oiveros, except their own stubborn sunk-cost belief in guys like Stauffer, Duensing and Graham.  They have to get a decent bull-pen put together in the next month.

 

And, they need a quality back-up catcher, someone who can throw and hit.

 

They can compete this year and have meaningful games in September which would be excellent experience for their young guys.  But, they need to fill in the gaps in the bulllpen and behind the plate.

[Thrylos]

 

No reason they don't bring up Oiveros, except their own stubborn sunk-cost belief in guys like Stauffer, Duensing and Graham. 

 

One of the three pitchers mentioned does not belong in this grouping...

[Gene Larkin]

I'm amazed at how much so many Twins fans love Oliveros, a 26-year who has spent all or parts of 9 seasons in the minors. The Twins took him off the 40-man roster this spring, exposing him to waivers but not one of the 29 other MLB teams bothered to pick him up, even to assign him to the minors. To me that's rather telling. Sure he has put up some good if not great AAA numbers but the annals of organized baseball are full of such players. I also find it amusing that some of the same people raving about Oliveros are also downplaying what Milone has done recently at Rochester

[diehardtwinsfan]

I don't know.  I'd DFA Duensing and Stauffer, move Pelfrey to the pen and call up Milone and Oliveros.  I think both deserve a shot and both would likely be upgrades at this point.

[blairpaul715]

 

I'm amazed at how much so many Twins fans love Oliveros, a 26-year who has spent all or parts of 9 seasons in the minors. The Twins took him off the 40-man roster this spring, exposing him to waivers but not one of the 29 other MLB teams bothered to pick him up, even to assign him to the minors. To me that's rather telling. Sure he has put up some good if not great AAA numbers but the annals of organized baseball are full of such players. I also find it amusing that some of the same people raving about Oliveros are also downplaying what Milone has done recently at Rochester

Well, as far as Oliveros, i dont know that people are clamoring that he is a great pitcher, just most believe(and I am one of them) that he would probably be better than a couple we now have........Milone, again, i dont think people are poo pooing what he is doing, just that he wont be able to be that effective at the MLB level.............on a different note that you didnt bring up, but i will say it here, i wouldnt trade Milone, mostly cuz he wont return any real value to the team, but we made need him later if an injury or two would happen.

[stringer bell]

I think there were questions about his health (post TJ) allowing him to get through the DFA. His K numbers are terrific. Besides, the Twins got him for Delmon, and I want the Twins to win the trade that riddled them of Delmon Young.

 

Edit: Responding to the posting about Oliveros.

[blairpaul715]

On a different note, i hope for at least a cup of coffee for Beresford and Ortiz from AAA, I understand them not being called up at any point, but I like to see those who are succeeding at that level that seem to have no prospect status get shown appreciation for their play.

[Thrylos]

 

On a different note, i hope for at least a cup of coffee for Beresford and Ortiz from AAA, I understand them not being called up at any point, but I like to see those who are succeeding at that level that seem to have no prospect status get shown appreciation for their play.

 

I don't. Winning teams do not bring up scrubs to bring up scrubs.  The days of Dinkelmans, Tolberts, Watkinses etc taking MLB PAs (instead of the likes of, lets say, Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Polanco) should stop for this team to win.

 

Been a while.

[RedBull34]

 

I don't know.  I'd DFA Duensing and Stauffer, move Pelfrey to the pen and call up Milone and Oliveros.  I think both deserve a shot and both would likely be upgrades at this point.

Problem being this.

 

Let's say the Twins get rid of Duensing and Stauffer and a reliever goes down, who do they replace that guy with?

 

I'm not sure if Duensing and Stauffer still have options?  If they do it doesn't matter as much.

[mickeymental]

interesting story, although raw bb and k totals for pitchers don't mean much without including ip.

[HitInAPinch]

I think several of the pitchers are trade-able, but you're in the wrong time of year.  Sometime around the mid-July heat, pitchers with start wearing out and getting injured.  Milone, Stauffer, Nolasco and Duensing are all trade-able.  Especially when other teams are desperate and will pay a premium for one of them.  By premium, I mean maybe AA talent.   Anything beyond that, you gotta make a package that'll include a couple players you  cough cough  don't have room for. 

[drjim]

 

I'm amazed at how much so many Twins fans love Oliveros, a 26-year who has spent all or parts of 9 seasons in the minors. The Twins took him off the 40-man roster this spring, exposing him to waivers but not one of the 29 other MLB teams bothered to pick him up, even to assign him to the minors. To me that's rather telling. Sure he has put up some good if not great AAA numbers but the annals of organized baseball are full of such players. I also find it amusing that some of the same people raving about Oliveros are also downplaying what Milone has done recently at Rochester

 

People can read stats and dream on the mediocrity unseen over the mediocrity right in front of their face.

 

Saying he is better than Stauffer is kind of beside the point. Dude is on double double secret probation and will get replaced by a bat when he finally moves on.

[blairpaul715]

 

I don't. Winning teams do not bring up scrubs to bring up scrubs.  The days of Dinkelmans, Tolberts, Watkinses etc taking MLB PAs (instead of the likes of, lets say, Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Polanco) should stop for this team to win.

 

Been a while.

I certainly dont mean in a meaningful fashion, no different than the 91 Twins, they brought up Lenny Webster, Paul Sorrento, Carmen Castillo, Jarvis Brown.......every team has players like that...........but overall I agree with you that good teams, dont use players like that on a regular basis, but nothing is wrong with rewarding players who play well for you in the minors , with a Sept call up.........r we good yet??? We will know in another  5 weeks.

[stringer bell]

 

Problem being this.

 

Let's say the Twins get rid of Duensing and Stauffer and a reliever goes down, who do they replace that guy with?

 

I'm not sure if Duensing and Stauffer still have options?  If they do it doesn't matter as much.

Neither Stauffer nor Duensing could be involuntarily sent to the minors.  If the Twins don't want them on their 25-man, they would probably lose both.  However, the Twins currently have an eight man bullpen (one too many) and also will have Fien returning within the week, barring a setback (two extra arms).  Adding in the aforementioned Oliveros and Achter makes eleven to choose from when only seven are needed.  Certainly, there is risk that someone will get hurt or be ineffective, but to me I think Duensing and Stauffer have put one foot out the door and another on a banana peel because of their performance this year, despite $2M contracts.

[Rosterman]

Time will tell on tradable chips. It also works against you if you have too many riches.

 

Remember, Santana is coming back and we need a rotation spot for him.

 

If Pelfrey and Nolasco can keep up their pace, there could be trade interest. But the twins aren't necessarily sellers when they are winning.

 

Milone needs to show his worth at the major league level.

 

If you cut guys like Duensing, Stauffer, Schafer, Nunez...no one would pick them up. They would pass thru waivers and have the option of reporting to the minors or trying to find work with another team, which could possibly not happen, even with a minor league contract (Doug Bernier also has to go thru waivers to get off the 40-man).

 

Oliveros is interesting. I was under the impression that he was somewhat injured, or behind, at the close of spring training, and nobody really wanted to give a 40-man space for him at that time. He throws hard. He just has to find a place in the bullpen where he will thrive. That the Twins have Achter, Tonkin, Thielbar, Pressly, Darnell alone on the roster is depth...although non of then are longterm, but none are necessarily in demand. Kinda good guys to have to pave the way for others. And Boyer, might be another Guerrier or Burton or even Fien. Fien might be the only bullpen guy that could garner worth as the summer continues, if he can be marketed as a closer in waiting.

 

But, yes, who goes to make room for Santana.

[blairpaul715]

 

Time will tell on tradable chips. It also works against you if you have too many riches.

 

Remember, Santana is coming back and we need a rotation spot for him.

 

 

Oliveros is interesting. I was under the impression that he was somewhat injured, or behind, at the close of spring training, and nobody really wanted to give a 40-man space for him at that time. He throws hard. He just has to find a place in the bullpen where he will thrive. That the Twins have Achter, Tonkin, Thielbar, Pressly, Darnell alone on the roster is depth...although non of then are longterm, but none are necessarily in demand. Kinda good guys to have to pave the way for others. And Boyer, might be another Guerrier or Burton or even Fien. Fien might be the only bullpen guy that could garner worth as the summer continues, if he can be marketed as a closer in waiting.

 

But, yes, who goes to make room for Santana.

I am more intrigued by Oliveros than anything, mostly cuz he does throw hard, but i really dont know much about him, but Thielbar, Darnell are not Major leaguers on a good team, they are on mostly because they are LH..............Fien will never be known as a closer or in waiting, doesnt miss enough bats.............we have alot of fat to trim on our roster when needed.

[blairpaul715]

Hey if anyone see this post, how do you do a partial quote???

[jokin]

 

I am more intrigued by Oliveros than anything, mostly cuz he does throw hard, but i really dont know much about him, but Thielbar, Darnell are not Major leaguers on a good team, they are on mostly because they are LH..............Fien will never be known as a closer or in waiting, doesnt miss enough bats.............we have alot of fat to trim on our roster when needed.

 

Yes, this has been a major blind spot in the past. And possibly more days of reckoning are coming later this season and definitely again next offseason.  The Twins need to look at some 2-for-1 deals to clear some roster room if they have such a hard time parting with mediocre roster-spot-holders.

[stringer bell]

 

 how do you do a partial quote???

Just quote and then erase the part you don't want.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I think several of the pitchers are trade-able, but you're in the wrong time of year.  Sometime around the mid-July heat, pitchers with start wearing out and getting injured.  Milone, Stauffer, Nolasco and Duensing are all trade-able.  Especially when other teams are desperate and will pay a premium for one of them.  By premium, I mean maybe AA talent.   Anything beyond that, you gotta make a package that'll include a couple players you  cough cough  don't have room for.

 

I think you may be overstating the value of our players. Kevin Correia went on a nice run last summer but the Twins were only able to get cash for him.

[Vanimal46]

I hope to see Achter come up soon. We need a shakeup of this current bullpen and I value a closer who's had some experience in high pressure situations. Pick your choice of Duensing or Stauffer to demote to AAA.

[stringer bell]

Add Fien and subtract one relief pitcher to get down to 12.  No promotions needed and perhaps one or two demotions.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Neither Stauffer nor Duensing could be involuntarily sent to the minors.  If the Twins don't want them on their 25-man, they would probably lose both.  However, the Twins currently have an eight man bullpen (one too many) and also will have Fien returning within the week, barring a setback (two extra arms).  Adding in the aforementioned Oliveros and Achter makes eleven to choose from when only seven are needed.  Certainly, there is risk that someone will get hurt or be ineffective, but to me I think Duensing and Stauffer have put one foot out the door and another on a banana peel because of their performance this year, despite $2M contracts.

 

I highly doubt that Stauffer or Duensing would get picked up.  I get that they can refuse assignment, but they are also going to face a very real situation of no one wanting them.   Someone can correct me on the assignment thing, but I don't think they can refuse assignment if they want to get paid the remainder of their contract.  Maybe I'm wrong there.  Regardless, there's enough decent relief options in the high minors that letting those two go will not hurt the team.