Twins option Mejia to AAA, put Haley on DL

[spinowner]

A reliever makes sense. They may have a lot of off days in the near future but they probably need another reliever today. I guess Boshers is the logical choice for a short-term bullpen guy, then when they need a fifth starter Berrios. At least that's who it better be.

Another comment regarding Haley: I would guess that most teams probably have a very low threshold for injuries when it comes to DLing and reactivating Rule 5 guys. Keep them on the DL as long as possible so they can use someone else in games.

[kab21]

 

Presley hasn't been a long man since his rule 5 year in 2013 and is in the mix as a set up guy, recent struggles aside. As for Haley's immediate value, one thing is having him fill the long role leaves more options to use Duffey depending on how he develops out of the bullpen. The other problems you mention aren't caused by Haley and don't magically disappear if you give his roster spot to any of the current replacement options.

I didn't say that Pressly was a long man. I said he was a low upside RP. That is true regardless of what role he is in. Kintzler is the closer in this bizarro world but that doesn't change that he is a low upside arm. All of these guys and Haley are sort of decent MLB relievers.

I don't necessarily disagree with having any these guys on the team but the problem is that there are too many never going to be anything type of guys in the bullpen. And the Twins don't really have any logical choices to promote but I can't wait until guys like Jay, Burdi, Chargois, Melatokis or Reed are eating unimportant innings in blowouts to see how these guys do against MLB pitching.

[bighat]

 

How about we stop this charade about constantly promoting placeholders over high-ceiling guys?  

 

 

I think the Twins are easily spooked when guys like Berrios and Buxton go down in flames upon promotion.  They're so worried about damaging a prospect, they prefer to bring up a journeyman junkballer.  The Twins and their defenders say "this is best for our future", but the future never arrives.  So frustrating.  If we're all in on this being a development year, then let's start the dang development!  Get Buxton a new swing and get Berrios up here pitching every 5th day. 

[TheLeviathan]

If you're going to hate Boshers, the only thing to possibly argue was for another bat.

 

Berrios isn't going to pitch, so why call him up to sit in the bullpen?

 

I could have sympathy for another bat though.

[Mike Sixel]

Why doe Chargois need more time? If he's healthy, he can pitch here. 

 

Someday that elusive future where they put the best players on the field will happen. But, apparently, still not this month.

[KirbyDome89]

 

BTW, where are those that thought Santiago should have been non-tendered?

Still here. You remember how he pitched last season right? 

 

We've seen threads about the Twins making the playoffs and how impressive Molitor is too. I doubt those opinions are quite as strong as they were after the 5-1 start. He has started 3 games...

 

Enjoy the hot streak but you might want to wait a little while before putting people on blast. Its still April..

[KirbyDome89]

 

If you're going to hate Boshers, the only thing to possibly argue was for another bat.

 

Berrios isn't going to pitch, so why call him up to sit in the bullpen?

 

I could have sympathy for another bat though.

They could bring up Berrios and stay with a 5 man rotation so we don't have to watch Gibson and Hughes each have two chances to burn down the bullpen. 

 

Chargois? Hell even Melotakis. Bring up Palka so they have a 4th OFer. Idc pick any of the those options. Boshers place on the 40 man is questionable at best after his ST and start to the season. Now we're watching him pitch for the Twins...

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Chargois? Hell even Melotakis. Bring up Palka so they have a 4th OFer. Idc pick any of the those options. Boshers place on the 40 man is questionable at best after his ST and start to the season. Now we're watching him pitch for the Twins...

Melotakis has 22 IP in AA. I think we'll see him this season but I understand why the front office isn't rushing him to Minnesota in April. I think we'll see Chargois soon but I also understand why the front office isn't in a rush to bring him to Minnesota after he just made his first appearance of the season the other night.

 

I think this is a stopgap solution for ten days. When the Twins need a fifth starter, I expect the roster to shuffle again and at least one of the bullpen arms will be permanently gone.

 

In that situation, I can't get too hot and bothered about Boshers as an insurance policy in case the starters continue their recent 4 IP per start tendencies. The last thing I want to see is Molitor forced to burn out his best bullpen arms over a ten day stretch in late April and early May.

 

If Boshers is demoted less than two weeks from now, that's the proper usage of guys like Buddy Boshers. What rankled me about the old front office was two month stretches of Buddy Boshers pitchers, not ten days.

[stringer bell]

 

Still here. You remember how he pitched last season right? 

 

We've seen threads about the Twins making the playoffs and how impressive Molitor is too. I doubt those opinions are quite as strong as they were after the 5-1 start. He has started 3 games...

 

Enjoy the hot streak but you might want to wait a little while before putting people on blast. Its still April..

Not so much that Santiago is great, but having a major league pitcher to fill one of the five spots instead of trying to develop a youngster or reinvent a veteran is pretty valuable IMHO. The Twins don't have many acceptable options for depth and then we're looking at the Andrew Albers and Pat Deans of the organization. Even though Santiago isn't noted for going deep in games, at least he doesn't have to have three visits an inning.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I think you missed the greater point. It is fine to have someone like Haley when you don't have Tonkin, Pressly and Breslow (a 3rd lefty). Haley is fine in his role but the entire bullpen is made of guys that are never going to be anything more than long men or 6th inning guys.

 

I would love it if 2+ guys in that group were replaced by someone with long term potential and used as a long man or 6th inning guy now.

i agree that the bullpen needs to be culled of marginal big leaguers, but I argue that Haley as a candidate should be viewed through the lens of the rotation as much as the bullpen.

 

That rotation also needs to be culled but no matter who is replaced and who is the replacement there will be prolific short starts. I value Haleys ability to pitch 3 innings in relief effectively. The only other reliever(currently) that is capable of that is Duffey who has probably been their best reliever and should be used in high leverage situations.

 

Otherwise yeah, Belisle, Tonkin, and Kintzler are all pretty much the same guy. Breslow and Boshers are pretty much the same guy. Those 5 need to be turned to 4 and 2 of the 4 need to be swapped for better or at least higher upside arms that can miss bats.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

The Twins don't have many acceptable options for depth and then we're looking at the Andrew Albers and Pat Deans of the organization.

And that's the key right there.

 

1. The free agent market didn't have better options than Hector Santiago.

2. The Twins rotation is a live hand grenade and we all knew that was going to be the case entering the season.

3. In that situation, you don't want six viable starters. You want seven or eight.

 

Given how this season has started - May injured, Hughes struggling, Gibson imploding, Mejia showing his rookie colors - it's pretty hard to look back and say "Yeah, retaining Hector Santiago was a real mistake".

 

Because, without Santiago, god only knows what the rotation would look like right now, much less in June. He's a mediocre arm in an organization where mediocrity earns you second or third place in the pecking order.

[USAFChief]

For wagering purposes, I believe we're at 18 days for a 13 man staff.

[KirbyDome89]

 

If Boshers is demoted less than two weeks from now, that's the proper usage of guys like Buddy Boshers. What rankled me about the old front office was two month stretches of Buddy Boshers pitchers, not ten days.

If its only for that stretch I'll disagree with bringing him up but I can stomach it. Chargois and Melotakis are better pitchers. I can understand the "ease them along," approach but if their service clock is going to start this year (Chargois's already has) I would much rather see them filling in. This team should be past the point of using dive bin stop gaps. 

 

The last sentence is a legitimate concern. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

If its only for that stretch I'll disagree with bringing him up but I can stomach it. Chargois and Melotakis are better pitchers. I can understand the "ease them along," approach but if their service clock is going to start this year (Chargois's already has) I would much rather see them filling in. This team should be past the point of using dive bin stop gaps. 

 

The last sentence is a legitimate concern. 

I agree both Melotakis and Chargois are better pitchers but Melotakis is still rather untested and Chargois could use some rehab.

 

If the bullpen looks like it does now when the fifth starter is recalled in 10-12 days, I will be immensely disappointed.

 

If Chargois looks competent in his next 3-4 appearances, he needs to join the team in Minnesota.

[drjim]

Boshers does nothing for me, but I'll give the front office credit for maximizing the 25 man in the short term.

 

Calling up Chargois would be a huge blunder which is why it wasn't considered. They needed a long man to provide insurance who may not even pitch for 10 days. Chargois needs reps to show he's healthy and hopefully take on a larger role soon.

[Oldgoat_MN]

I am not at all surprised Boshers is getting another look. In 2016 he was first or second in the BP in WHIP, FIP, xFIP, BB/9 and SIERA along with 9.25 K/9. All that while being touched with a slightly above league average BABIP. I’m just surprised he is getting called up now when he is not performing particularly well in AAA.

Hildenberger seems like the guy who has shown LOOK AT ME numbers.
Neither JR Murphy nor DanSan would be claimed were they to be DFA’d. Don’t see how it would be that tough to put Hildenberger on the 40 man.

[jorgenswest]

Why doe Chargois need more time? If he's healthy, he can pitch here. 

 

Someday that elusive future where they put the best players on the field will happen. But, apparently, still not this month.

I wouldn't expect his 1.2 innings to be enough to know if he is healthy. You would think that they would want to see him with his normal velocity and spin rate over several appearances and they would also want to see how responds pitching on consecutive days in AAA where they can more easily control his workload.

[jimbo92107]

 

I actually see promise in Mejia. It's just fine that he goes to AAA to work out the kinks. He will be ready to replace Gibson in a month. Welcome Vargas and Berrios.

Agreed. Mejia is a big, strong young man with some nasty stuff. However, he still has some things to work on. He is not far from being a decent mlb starter. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Why doe Chargois need more time? If he's healthy, he can pitch here.

For the same reason guys rehab in the minors before returning to play in the majors.

 

Before his recent appearance, as far as I can tell the last time Chargois pitched in a game was March 21st, almost exactly one month before his return to Rochester on April 20th.

 

Given how JT scuffled in Spring Training, I understand the Twins' reluctance to throw him right back into the mix, particularly when their long reliever is the guy who went on the disabled list.

[Riverbrian]

They won't stay with a 4 Man rotation for long. I see no reason to bring up Chargois or Melotakis for what could be a short stay. 

 

I'm more worried about who will be that 5th and eventually 6th and 7th starter when we need one. 

 

As for Vargas... Mr. Molitor... Play him. 

 

According to my calculations... We have some players who are performing well below average so you have the space to give Vargas some swings and see if he can do something. 

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I am not at all surprised Boshers is getting another look. In 2016 he was first or second in the BP in WHIP, FIP, xFIP, BB/9 and SIERA along with 9.25 K/9. All that while being touched with a slightly above league average BABIP. I’m just surprised he is getting called up now when he is not performing particularly well in AAA.

Hildenberger seems like the guy who has shown LOOK AT ME numbers.

Neither JR Murphy nor DanSan would be claimed were they to be DFA’d. Don’t see how it would be that tough to put Hildenberger on the 40 man.

im not surprised that Boshers is the shark bait

 

It seems like no one they want to roster is ready so they're giving up the sacrificial lamb.

 

How many LOOGYs does this staff need?

[Danchat]

 

For the same reason guys rehab in the minors before returning to play in the majors.

 

Before his recent appearance, as far as I can tell the last time Chargois pitched in a game was March 21st, almost exactly one month before his return to Rochester on April 20th.

 

Given how JT scuffled in Spring Training, I understand the Twins' reluctance to throw him right back into the mix, particularly when their long reliever is the guy who went on the disabled list.

Though to be fair Boshers scuffled even worse than Chargois in Spring Training if my memory serves me right. He should only be on the team for the next 10 or so days and then get demoted again unless he's looking really good. I guess we could call this a final chance to keep his spot on the 40 man... that's how I'd treat it.

[mikelink45]

 

Matt Hague and Jason Wheeler

Tell me why.  They are not on my radar, what makes them first line call ups?

[mikelink45]

Today another source said Vargas and Boshers.  Then I looked at their stats and wondered why.  It would seem to me that Palka is showing a lot more plate discipline at this point and Vargas does not seem to be gaining traction in AAA.  The article said Bosher has not had many innings and is =7 era does not seem to indicate that he should get them.  Explain the "new" thinking of the FO and management?  Please.  Seth had a really good article with lots of options, but this seems to be another questionable move.  

[KirbyDome89]

 

And that's the key right there.

 

1. The free agent market didn't have better options than Hector Santiago.

2. The Twins rotation is a live hand grenade and we all knew that was going to be the case entering the season.

3. In that situation, you don't want six viable starters. You want seven or eight.

 

Given how this season has started - May injured, Hughes struggling, Gibson imploding, Mejia showing his rookie colors - it's pretty hard to look back and say "Yeah, retaining Hector Santiago was a real mistake".

 

Because, without Santiago, god only knows what the rotation would look like right now, much less in June. He's a mediocre arm in an organization where mediocrity earns you second or third place in the pecking order.

 

Not so much that Santiago is great, but having a major league pitcher to fill one of the five spots instead of trying to develop a youngster or reinvent a veteran is pretty valuable IMHO. The Twins don't have many acceptable options for depth and then we're looking at the Andrew Albers and Pat Deans of the organization. Even though Santiago isn't noted for going deep in games, at least he doesn't have to have three visits an inning.

Meh, I kind of viewed him as a reinvent the veteran signing and I was/am worried that the numbers are finally catching up to him. Trigger Warning: I wasn't a huge fan of giving up Meyer but it bought the team flexibility last offseason. By signing Santiago and then paying out part of Nolasco's contract, the Twins essentially swapped starting pitchers and sold Meyer for 500K. That pisses me off. Maybe he was the best starter available but I was also fine with passing on him and buying legitimate relief help.

 

Santana and Gibson were absolute locks. You knew they were going to give Hughes every opportunity to prove he couldn't start. So they had May, Mejia, Berrios, Duffey, and a signed starter competing for a 4th and 5th spot. I wanted May and Berrios.  In hindsight yeah, having Santiago after May tears his UCL looks like good insurance but at the time I wasn't nuts about the idea of spending the "trade savings," on a guy coming off a terrible year who was certain to take the spot of a younger pitcher. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Santana and Gibson were absolute locks. You knew they were going to give Hughes every opportunity to prove he couldn't start. So they had May, Mejia, Berrios, Duffey, and a signed starter competing for a 4th and 5th spot. I wanted May and Berrios.  In hindsight yeah, having Santiago after May tears his UCL looks like good insurance but at the time I wasn't nuts about the idea of spending the "trade savings," on a guy coming off a terrible year who was certain to take the spot of a younger pitcher. 

FTR, I didn't understand why people were overjoyed about the Santiago/Nolasco trade. I thought it was pretty meh because I wasn't ready to give up on Meyer.

 

As for insurance, it was pretty easy to see the Twins were going to need insurance and lots of it. Even if May doesn't go down, at least one of Hughes and Gibson should probably be removed from the rotation as well.

 

Two guys were not enough to back up a rotation as obviously shaky as this one and we're back to the Andrew Albers of the world once that depth drops to zero.

[Mike Sixel]

Don't worry, they won't have thirteen pitchers for long. Don't worry, the bullpen won't be old guys with no future for long. Don't worry, this is temporary..... Pretty sure I've been reading this for four plus years now.

[jud6312]

 

Tell me why.  They are not on my radar, what makes them first line call ups?

Because he saw a box score where Wheeler had a career game, and Hague is the flavor of the week. No other reason.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Don't worry, they won't have thirteen pitchers for long. Don't worry, the bullpen won't be old guys with no future for long. Don't worry, this is temporary..... Pretty sure I've been reading this for four plus years now.

We're 17 games into new management where they have few/no good options at their disposal.

 

Again, if we're still whining about these situations into June, then I'll start to become annoyed.

 

But I'm not going to crucify the front office for not throwing a young pitcher into the MLB bullpen after 1.2 innings of minor league ball. Hell, lots of teams don't do that to 30 year old veterans after an injury.

[KirbyDome89]

 

FTR, I didn't understand why people were overjoyed about the Santiago/Nolasco trade. I thought it was pretty meh because I wasn't ready to give up on Meyer.

 

As for insurance, it was pretty easy to see the Twins were going to need insurance and lots of it. Even if May doesn't go down, at least one of Hughes and Gibson should probably be removed from the rotation as well.

 

Two guys were not enough to back up a rotation as obviously shaky as this one and we're back to the Andrew Albers of the world once that depth drops to zero.

I mean apart from Santana the entire rotation was a question mark. I had no faith in Hughes and I had moved past Gibson a while back. Idk if any team can survive having to back up starters 2-5. This season wasn't going to be enjoyable in terms of starting pitching. The way I viewed it was if I'm going to watch starting pitching struggle I would rather it be young guys with upside. But, so far so good from Santiago, hopefully it continues until he can be moved.