La Velle E Neal: Molitor Leaning Towards Having May in Twins Bullpen

[East Coast Twin]

Terry Ryan and Paul Molitor did a Q & A with season ticket holders on Tuesday.  Somebody asked about Trevor May's role with the Twins in 2016:
 

"We have six or seven names who will compete for that spots in the rotation,” Molitor said. “I thought he [May] was a very valuable asset coming out of the bullpen in the late innings."

 

Molitor then added: “Unless something changes, he is going to probably be a guy I want to keep out in the bullpen.”

 

 

http://www.startribune.com/molitor-leaning-towards-having-may-in-twins-bullpen/362572681/

 

[nicksaviking]

Waste of talent. 

 

What May did in the pen could have been replicated by a quality free agent if that's really what the team wants.

 

You can't replicate May as a starter on the free agent market because more than any other position, a large part of a starting pitcher's value is derived from his age due to how fast pitchers tail off these days around 30.

 

I understand that May in the pen is likely better than some of the other current starters in the pen, but I really don't see how anyone could argue that if the team was going to put their five best guys in the rotation May wouldn't be among them.

[Vanimal46]

Molitor's quote at the end of relief pitching "....It’s amazing how many free agents are still out there.” I'm sure there are plenty of options are out there. I get the feeling that the Twins are still looking for quantity, and not quality in their bullpen choices... 

I also feel that May is best suited for the rotation, and they're keeping him in the bullpen purely for need. Like Nick said, why couldn't they sign someone to take May's bullpen innings instead?

[Mike Sixel]

No big surprise. May's arm will be used in the bullpen, and not for 200 innings. Not a fan, but I can squint and understand why.

[tobi0040]

You have a 26 year old, controlled guy with great stuff and you throw him in the pen because of a short term need that could easily be addressed.

 

In terms of stuff, how many pitchers in the Twins entire system are on May's level?   Berrios.Hughes looks like he is regressing so I don't think he is.    You could argue Meyer but he doesn't know where the ball is going so I can't put him there. 

 

It's decisions like giving Milone or Nolasco a crack at 200 innings and May 60 that make me skeptical we have the right decision makers in place.

 

[Mike Sixel]

I'd rather move Hughes to the pen....and put May in the rotation, if I HAVE TO CHOOSE between those two.

[Dman]

Yeah it is an interesting problem the Twins have.  Nolasco, Hughes and Santana were brought in to be starters and are being paid to be starters.  Gibson, and Milone don't really fit all that well in the pen and have proven to be effective starters.  You have Duffey, Berrios and Rogers on the way up.  Who are the odd men out?

 

I think the Twins start with the Vets and then based on injury or possibly trades they fill in with young guys.  Will be interesting to see who is effective and who isn't and how much pressure there will be to bring guys up.

 

Don't love May in the pen, but given the circumstances can see why they would do it.

[tobi0040]

 

Yeah it is an interesting problem the Twins have.  Nolasco, Hughes and Santana were brought in to be starters and are being paid to be starters.  Gibson, and Milone don't really fit all that well in the pen and have proven to be effective starters.  You have Duffey, Berrios and Rogers on the way up.  Who are the odd men out?

 

I think the Twins start with the Vets and then based on injury or possibly trades they fill in with young guys.  Will be interesting to see who is effective and who isn't and how much pressure there will be to bring guys up.

 

Don't love May in the pen, but given the circumstances can see why they would do it.

 

The contracts are sunk costs though.  What is best for the team right now and in the future should be the decision point here, not a past decision..  If that means sucking it up and having an expensive contract in the pen, so be it.

 

 

[Dman]

 

The contracts are sunk costs though.  What is best for the team right now and in the future should be the decision point here, not a past decision..  If that means sucking it up and having an expensive contract in the pen, so be it.

 

I agree with you but the Twins never do that or am not aware of them doing that so just trying to keep it real.

[HitInAPinch]

"May was 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA last season, but he put up a 2.87 ERA in 32 games as a reliever."

That, and the bizarre overload of SP's, is why he'll be in the bullpen.

 

But I think there are far more interesting things in that article.  Molitor on Buxton:

 

"We’re going to give this guy an opportunity here and I’m hoping he is ready to go. If not, then we will give him some at-bats in Triple-A. I think it is going to be a matter of time before we see him get established up here.”

 

Does he mean Buxton starts in the majors or is he talking spring training.   THANKS, PAUL   

[Seth Stohs]

 

But I think there are far more interesting things in that article.  Molitor on Buxton:

 

"We’re going to give this guy an opportunity here and I’m hoping he is ready to go. If not, then we will give him some at-bats in Triple-A. I think it is going to be a matter of time before we see him get established up here.”

 

Does he mean Buxton starts in the majors or is he talking spring training.   THANKS, PAUL   

 

He means he'll come to spring training with a good opportunity to be the opening day starter. But he's not going to be handed a job. And then he adds that he's going to be good.

[tobi0040]

 

 

"May was 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA last season, but he put up a 2.87 ERA in 32 games as a reliever."

That, and the bizarre overload of SP's, is why he'll be in the bullpen.

 

But I think there are far more interesting things in that article.  Molitor on Buxton:

 

"We’re going to give this guy an opportunity here and I’m hoping he is ready to go. If not, then we will give him some at-bats in Triple-A. I think it is going to be a matter of time before we see him get established up here.”

 

Does he mean Buxton starts in the majors or is he talking spring training.   THANKS, PAUL   

 

It is difficult to compare a starter to a reliever.  A reliever can be brought in for favorable matchups, righty vs. righty, etc.  If you can cherry pick the situation, the numbers should be better.

 

And with regards to ERA, relievers come in with an out or two already on the board in an inning often times.  They don't need to get 3 outs an inning 5-6 times over before a run can score, let alone face a lineup 2-3 times through.

 

Further, this is a very small sample size here, on both fronts.  15 starts last year and basically 3 months as a reliever.  We should not be making these decisions for a talanted young guy based on a small sample.

 

[Seth Stohs]

On the May topic, I don't have any problem with this.

 

In my opinion, he can be an average major league starter, probably a four, with a chance to be a three. There's value in that. But, he also has a better chance of being a dominant 8th (or 9th) inning guy and soon. 

 

I think that the Twins are now in Win-Now mode, as opposed to building, so I think this is the right plan for the 2016 Twins. It also is likely the best move for Trevor. 

 

Santana is a given, and rightfully so.

Hughes is a given, and rightfully so. Obviously he's going to have to show that 2015 was an off year and that 2014 was closer to what he can be. We'll see.

Gibson is a given, and rightfully so.

Duffey SHOULD BE a given for opening day. I think he earned that.

Milone is a given, unless he's traded.

Berrios should be up soon. 

Nolasco isn't a given for anything. I think they're past caring about the contract at this point.

 

Easy choice... 

[Shane Wahl]

Another indefensible decision by the Twins, if this happens. How any manager cannot see the wasted talent (losing 130+ innings) is something else.

[Pardon My Dinger]

Trevor May, 2016 All Star reliever. He's awesome coming out of the pen. It's less innings, yes, but I like the idea of having him contribute to way more games throughout the season.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I understand why they're moving in this direction but I don't have to like it.

 

May should be starting over either Nolasco or Milone.

 

Though I disagree that May should be starting over the likes of Hughes or Santana (particularly Hughes). While Trevor has upside, he hasn't shown the ability to come anywhere near Hughes' 2014 season, either in metrics or innings pitched. Hughes gets the nod before May, as do Gibson and Santana due to consistency, albeit mediocre consistency.

 

After that, it should be a free-for-all for the two remaining spots in the rotation.

[tobi0040]

 

On the May topic, I don't have any problem with this.

 

In my opinion, he can be an average major league starter, probably a four, with a chance to be a three. There's value in that. But, he also has a better chance of being a dominant 8th (or 9th) inning guy and soon. 

 

I think that the Twins are now in Win-Now mode, as opposed to building, so I think this is the right plan for the 2016 Twins. It also is likely the best move for Trevor. 

 

Santana is a given, and rightfully so.

Hughes is a given, and rightfully so. Obviously he's going to have to show that 2015 was an off year and that 2014 was closer to what he can be. We'll see.

Gibson is a given, and rightfully so.

Duffey SHOULD BE a given for opening day. I think he earned that.

Milone is a given, unless he's traded.

Berrios should be up soon. 

Nolasco isn't a given for anything. I think they're past caring about the contract at this point.

 

Easy choice... 

 

 

I guess I don't understand how three good pitches, a k per 9 of almost 9 as a starter, etc. has upside of 'Maybe a 3". 

 

In my opinion, if May is a 4 we are loading up the rotation with a bunch of 4's and 5's and hoping a dominant reliever pitching 60 innings is going to take us to the promise land.  Seems like the opposite approach of what we do in little league, put your weakest defender in right field where nobody can hit it.

 

[DaveW]

Milone and Plouffe need to be traded for anything we can get at this point, we should not be moving players around (may to the pen) (Sano to RF) to cater to average veterans.

[laloesch]

Ughhh......Waste of talent and sounds like Terry has nothing up his sleeve as far as bringing in a talented reliever.  Not good.  Bullpen was one of the weakest links last season and will be again this year unless something changes.

 

May has the best stuff and multitude of weapons of any of the potential starters save Santana.  I think this is a grave mistake.  To waste his pre-arbitration years as a reliever stinks.   The Twins need to get on the phone and move Milone while figuring out what to do with Nolasco.  They also need to bring in another reliever or there is no way May will be in the rotation.  

[dgwills]

With the roster constructed as it is now, Moliter does not have a choice. Too many average starters and not enough relievers. I'd like to see them trade one starter and get one reliever. It's likely we'll start seeing some good relievers start coming up from the minors soon. So this is likely a temporary problem. There's still some time until spring training, so we'll see what happens. The only thing that would make me angry is if we see Nolasco starting and May in the pen. Pretty sure all of Twins Daily will be blowing up if that happens.

[Shane Wahl]

 

Milone and Plouffe need to be traded for anything we can get at this point, we should not be moving players around (may to the pen) (Sano to RF) to cater to average veterans.

 

One would think that stating blatantly obvious truths wouldn't be needed at this point!

[bluechipper]

This is disappointing news, but it might be the best short term plan. Now if the Twins already had or do make a significant addition to the bullpen later this offseason, then I would want May in the rotation where he would be an upgrade to the current no. 5 options.

[twinsnorth49]

 

Waste of talent. 

 

What May did in the pen could have been replicated by a quality free agent if that's really what the team wants.

 

You can't replicate May as a starter on the free agent market because more than any other position, a large part of a starting pitcher's value is derived from his age due to how fast pitchers tail off these days around 30.

 

I understand that May in the pen is likely better than some of the other current starters in the pen, but I really don't see how anyone could argue that if the team was going to put their five best guys in the rotation May wouldn't be among them.

To borrow a phrase from a well known poster around here, the roster management on this team is "mind boggling" at times.

[scottz]

I wonder how May feels, given that they told him he should come to camp stretched out and prepared to start.

 

Assuming that he wants to be a starter, I can't imagine he's thrilled (even though he will "good soldier" it up, just like last year).

 

[big dog]

 

One would think that stating blatantly obvious truths wouldn't be needed at this point!

My only response to that is that if "this point" is mid-February, I completely agree.  In mid-December, I still have hope.  A trade or two and a good FA reliever make most of this go away, and there's lot of time for that to happen.  Here's hoping.

[nytwinsfan]

This sucks. Really. May should be in the rotation. Full Stop.

[bluechipper]

 

I wonder how May feels, given that they told him he should come to camp stretched out and prepared to start.

 

Assuming that he wants to be a starter, I can't imagine he's thrilled (even though he will "good soldier" it up, just like last year)

At least he's got a good mentor on how to professionally handle a demotion in Tommy Milone. Oh wait...

[Boom Boom]

Whadya want? Our rotation is an embarrassment of riches.

 

But seriously... let him start until he shows that he can't. Putting May in the bullpen now isn't easy to undo. If/when the Twins need a starter, May won't be stretched out.

 

May is a more talented starter than Gibson or Duffey, BTW.

[Han Joelo]

I get where the horrible roster management comments come from, especially when I think of what May COULD be in the rotation vs. the less-than-sexy options we'll end up seeing.  On the other hand, if the Twins had gone out and acquired Ken Giles to fix their bullpen, at the cost of 5 prospects (somebody else will have to fill in those blanks for me), I'd be happy in the short term, but lamenting the long-term cost.

 

May in bullpen--can be as good as Ken Giles, imo, THIS YEAR.  Cost--a few starts from Nolasco, before Berrios takes that spot.  No prospects lost, no long-term contracts to pitchers on the wrong side of 30.

 

May in rotation--at this point in his career, are we just wasting those proverbial 95 mph bullets on an up and down starter?  

[Kwak]

As expected and as it should be.  May was out-pitched (as a starter) by every one (even Pelfrey) except Nolasco (who stunk last year).  Face it, there are 5 guys with major league experience on the team who were better than May--and that doesn't include Berrios or any other minor league pitcher in the system.  May had success in relief with plenty of expectation that will continue.