What is going on with the Twins and Trevor May?

[Loosey]

I know I am not the only one wondering this, but what is the plan for Trevor May?  He was developing into a very solid starting pitcher.  He had one rough outing against Milwaukee but then came back and pitched great against the Reds and was rewarded with a demotion to the bullpen.  When the Twins made the announcement that May was the odd man out when Santana came back I personally thought he deserved to be left in the rotation because he pitched well enough and earned it.  But then I thought how he could be a great addition to the bullpen until he was needed in the rotation again.

 

Well, fast forward 25 days and May has pitched a total of 6 innings out of the pen in a mere 5 outings.  Additionally, none of those outings were in very high leverage situations.  Instead they keep rolling with Blaine Boyer and struggling Casey Fien.  I don't get it.

 

Add in the fact Pelfrey has crashed back to reality and is what most expected him to be and you have recipe for me being confused.  

 

Were the Twins trying to showcase Pelfrey or Milone for a trade?  Either way, the Twins have essentially taken one of their best pitchers and put him into pitching pergatory, letting him emerge for an inning of mostly mop up duty once a week.  Does anyone have a clue what is going on?  

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I really really hope the goal is to trade one of Milone or Pelfrey for bullpen/catcher/SS help then give that spot to Trevor May.

 

If I thought they were going to let him rot on the bench in the pen like this, I would have rather they sent him down to AAA to keep starting.

[John Bonnes]

Well, I don't think it is because they were showcasing anyone for a trade. I thought it was because they thought he was essentially the best person to help shore up the bullpen. At first, I thought Molitor was easing him in slowly, but now I wonder what is going on, too. 

 

Here's the thing: May is a thoughtful guy. As such, he's also seemingly very "team first" but this also seems like the sort of thing that could mess with his mind a bit. I'd much rather he be starting regularly, or being relied upon in big situations. He seems like the kind of guy that is going to drive himself a little crazy if he isn't getting some significant responsibility.

 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I think Molitor is a pretty thoughtful guy too - he's mentioned in interviews that he tries to take the time to talk to the guys that aren't playing as much to pump them up and remind them of their value. I hope that goes double for May, who did nothing to deserve demotion to the back of the bullpen.

 

I can understand a lot of rationales for limiting May's bullpen appearances as long as the end result is that he inherits either a rotation spot in the next couple weeks or he takes over for Boyer/Fien.

 

A guy that good (I think he's better than everybody on the staff beyond Perkins and maybe Santana right now.) should get the ball more often, period. Both for his long term development and for the short term of having the best pitchers get the most innings so the Twins can win more games.

[jimmer]

Short answer:  They are wasting his talents.  They are barely utilizing him in his new role.  They are making our rotation worse and not making our bullpen any better (because, they rarely use him and never use him in tough spots).

[Brock Beauchamp]

I never fully agreed with the May demotion but accepted that it might work if applied correctly.

 

It has not been applied correctly.

 

That's really all I need to say about it.

[Loosey]

It just makes no sense for a multitude of reasons.  As a starter you would think they would be using him often keeping him stretched out.  He is better than every single guy in the bullpen with the exception of Perkins.  He is probably the 2nd or 3rd best starter right now depending on where you would rank Gibson. 

 

They need to either send him down to AAA and bring up Duffey for a Bullpen role or actually, you know, use him in the pen or even better put him back in the rotation.  

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Two words:*

 

Mind

Boggling

 

*unless he has a dead arm, and they just aren't telling us. Which, would be really bad, because he's young and he has pitched plenty of innings......

 

More words:

Waste of his talent.

 

I hate the way Molitor has used him and Graham. Hate it. It mirrors how they treat pitchers vs hitters though. Hitters come up from AA. Pitchers have to languish in AAA forever. I just don't get it.

[drjim]

I do wish they would make up their minds on how they want to use May. Does seem to be some limbo until the trade deadline.

 

I do fear, like most things, some interesting usage patterns have led to people overstating May's talent a little bit.

[Oxtung]

I think it's pretty simple. He's not a veteran and doesn't have a guaranteed contract. This is the Twins MO and has been for years. If you're a vet you get a long leash. If you have a guaranteed contract it's even longer.

 

In this case though to be fair he hasn't been exactly great out of the bullpen.

[jimmer]

 

I think it's pretty simple. He's not a veteran and doesn't have a guaranteed contract. This is the Twins MO and has been for years. If you're a vet you get a long leash. If you have a guaranteed contract it's even longer.

In this case though to be fair he hasn't been exactly great out of the bullpen.

I agree with the first part, for sure.

 

As for the 2nd part, he's had 5 appearances and a grand total of 7 innings in relief. His numbers are greatly affected by one game in which he gave up three runs in a game that ended up a 14-1 blowout. Definition of judging player by small sample size.  

 

Having said that, not all pitchers do well out of the pen.

[drjim]

So taking another look, my bigger issue with May out of the pen is that, even if take out the 3 run bullpen game, is that he has been so meh.

 

6 ip, 8 h, bb, 4 k

 

Maybe they haven't expanded his role or put him in higher leverage situations yet because as they have tried him out he hasn't done anything to prove he deserves them. If he had come in and blown people away they probably would have given him something more.

[Mike Sixel]

 

So taking another look, my bigger issue with May out of the pen is that, even if take out the 3 run bullpen game, is that he has been so meh.

 

6 ip, 8 h, bb, 4 k

 

Maybe they haven't expanded his role or put him in higher leverage situations yet because as they have tried him out he hasn't done anything to prove he deserves them. If he had come in and blown people away they probably would have given him something more.

 

But they guys they KNOW suck should keep their jobs? It's a terrible use of resources. There's no way to "prove" you deserve a job in 6 innings. They need to base that decision on the last couple of year's of data......not 6 innings.

[drjim]

 

But they guys they KNOW suck should keep their jobs? It's a terrible use of resources. There's no way to "prove" you deserve a job in 6 innings. They need to base that decision on the last couple of year's of data......not 6 innings.

 

I'm sure the Twins agree with this thinking, which is why they haven't given up on Fien or Duensing yet.

 

Boyer is gone as soon as everything shakes out.

[Mike Sixel]

Well, Duensing was AWFUL last year....so I'm not sure I buy that....

[GACbaseball]

He has never pitched more than 150 innings in a season and he was at ~80 in June. Twins might be letting him rest for a month so he's ready to finish the season strong once we trade either Pelfrey or Milone.

If they both pitch well for the rest of the year, then maybe Molitor starts easing him into more high leverage bullpen situations.

 

I would have liked to see him take over for Fien or Boyer but I don't think it's that easy to just take a starter and put him in the 8th inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. Different mindset is needed to be a reliever

[Mike Sixel]

150 innings for a Minor Leaguer is the max they can do.......the rest, well, we don't agree on that at all.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm all for May getting a grace period to ease into the pen.

 

The thing is, he had a grace period. A quite long one, actually. Has it been a month? Gotta be close at this point.

[AWOLNATION_11]

Any insight on how much side work May's been putting in? 

 

Has he been pitching on the side to keep his stamina up for a potential return to the rotation making him unavailable for some games out of the bullpen?

 

Legitimately curious.

[nicksaviking]

 

Any insight on how much side work May's been putting in? 

 

Has he been pitching on the side to keep his stamina up for a potential return to the rotation making him unavailable for some games out of the bullpen?

 

Legitimately curious.

 

And legitimately concerned.  With his infrequent bullpen use, will he even be able to transition back to the rotation this year? 

 

If they wait too long, they're going to have to send him back to Rochester regardless just to get in game shape just as a pitcher who is coming off of a lengthy injury would.

[SwainZag]

I'm going to wait to see any deadline deals before I make a post. If he isn't in the rotation after the deadline, then I will really be questioning it.

[Pardon My Dinger]

They had a good thing going with Pelf when the decision was made. It didn't really add up, but he was overperforming. Based on the fit he threw when starting the season in the pen, they clearly figured May, being more confident, less fragile mentally, would be better equipped to take on a new role. It didn't work on the field, but it was probably a thoughtful managerial decision. May will be back in there real soon, and maybe Pelf will feel at this point as though he'd been given that fair shot after all.

[Badsmerf]

You have to be ****ing kidding right? You make major decisions based on a professional throwing a temper tantrum? I would have sent pelfrey top the pen and if he cried about it, I would have sent him to aaa. Exact same thing happened to slowey. Twins brass didn't shrivel up because of him, but he wasn't signed to an asinine contact either.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'm going to wait to see any deadline deals before I make a post. If he isn't in the rotation after the deadline, then I will really be questioning it.

So it's okay to jerk around May, to the possible detriment of the team and player, as long as they put a deadline on it?

 

I'll be happy to see May back in the rotation, but I might be even more upset about the previous decision if that's how it plays out.  You demoted the better pitcher to mop-up duty while you accommodated your low-value expiring contract veteran by trying to find him a starting spot on another team?  That's how you operate when you're contending?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

They had a good thing going with Pelf when the decision was made. It didn't really add up, but he was overperforming.

Pelf's over-performance was more or less done by that point.  His ERA then was basically the same as it is now.

[dxpavelka]

 

So taking another look, my bigger issue with May out of the pen is that, even if take out the 3 run bullpen game, is that he has been so meh.

 

6 ip, 8 h, bb, 4 k

 

Maybe they haven't expanded his role or put him in higher leverage situations yet because as they have tried him out he hasn't done anything to prove he deserves them. If he had come in and blown people away they probably would have given him something more.

You might want to add 1 ER and 2 Wins to your stat line.  A few more hits than I'd like to see but I would attribute that to adjusting to a new role.  All in all not a bad line at all.  I'd still rather have him out  there than Pelfrey.

[Thrylos]

I really see no reason for Milone to be in the rotation instead of May, other than because they want a lefty.  May should start, period. 

 

There are problems of transitioning starters into relievers (and potentially back) and has to do with warming up and getting ready, routine before starts and frequency vs. intensity of pitching, as well as recovery period after pitching.   Few people can master and make the transition successfully during the season.  That's why I suspect that May is not used in High Leverage situations out of the pen, or that often.   I was all for May to be on the pen, and I think that he will be good there, but the transition should had happened during ST.   He has been successful as a starter, and he should had stayed there; not the weakest link in that rotation

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Pelf's over-performance was more or less done by that point.  His ERA then was basically the same as it is now.

I guess I feel like you should give a guy the opportunity to bounce back. But, he didn't so whatever.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I really see no reason for Milone to be in the rotation instead of May, other than because they want a lefty.  May should start, period. 

 

There are problems of transitioning starters into relievers (and potentially back) and has to do with warming up and getting ready, routine before starts and frequency vs. intensity of pitching, as well as recovery period after pitching.   Few people can master and make the transition successfully during the season.  That's why I suspect that May is not used in High Leverage situations out of the pen, or that often.   I was all for May to be on the pen, and I think that he will be good there, but the transition should had happened during ST.   He has been successful as a starter, and he should had stayed there; not the weakest link in that rotation

 

Bunk. Other teams do this during the year, and succeed.

[Steve Lein]

 

He has never pitched more than 150 innings in a season and he was at ~80 in June. Twins might be letting him rest for a month so he's ready to finish the season strong once we trade either Pelfrey or Milone.
If they both pitch well for the rest of the year, then maybe Molitor starts easing him into more high leverage bullpen situations.

 

150 innings is a minor league benchmark that says you're ready for a full MLB workload. The fact that May has done this four times in his MiLB career tells you he is a workhorse, not someone to be limited.

 

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but there was like 15 pitchers in all of AAA last year who threw 150+ innings last season. There were 12 in AA. Then like 2 in A-ball.

 

That's it.