More bullpen changes coming

[jud6312]

I wonder if Pujols sent Falvine a fruit basket. Is there any chance Wimmers doesn't give up #600?

[magiklair]

Who could've seen this coming? This is unprecedented..

[yarnivek1972]

 

I wonder if Pujols sent Falvine a fruit basket. Is there any chance Wimmers doesn't give up #600?

 

 

Yeah.  Mejia could beat him to it.

[jud6312]

 

Yeah.  Mejia could beat him to it.

Good point. I just assumed Wimmers and that 86 MPH heater would be the only one willing to challenge him.

[Puckett34]

 

Yeah.  Mejia could beat him to it.

If not Mejia, definitely Gibson

[Guest]

Per Phil Miller, Twins option Pressley to Rochester and DFA Wilson. Two new guys coming, but not yet announced. 

 

Someone was passionately arguing for Monday to be a bullpen reset day. Didn't that happen today? Consider, here's how the bullpen shapes up tomorrow:

 

Kintzler: Last pitched Sunday (34 pitches) and Saturday (16)

Belisle: Monday (17) and Sunday (30)

Boshers: Tuesday (31)

Breslow: (Probably not available -- threw 3 of the last 4 days

Duffey: Hopefully not needed -- Wednesday (11), Sunday (6), Saturday (30)

Rogers: Sunday (20), Saturday (13).

New guy No. 1: ???

New guy No. 2: ???

 

Doing the bullpen reset today may have made more sense than on Monday. Today it was with Santiago against the best team in the league (majors?), a tough game to win. Monday and Tuesday were Santana and Berrios, our best chances to win. 

 

But if we struggle the next couple days, I hope Saturday's call up is Crash Davis. A Sunday rainout wouldn't get made up unless needed. 

 

No, not Wilson!

[twins_89]

 

Why isn't Tyler Jay able to help this team? A top 5 pick, college reliever?

 

Like every other high end reliever prospect in the upper minors he's had injury issues. Just one of Burdi, Chargois, Reed, or Jay being ready to be called up would be great about now.

[Guest]

Seth Stohs reporting on twitter that Alex Wimmers is going to be called up to Twins. If your going to bring him up you might as well give Tonkin one final shot to show something, if the retread route is the way they are going. Would rather have Tonkin back up than Wimmers, at least Tonkin has stuff that if thrown properly would get people out.

Seems like a clear statement that they aren't playing for this year.

 

Or (and?) the strategy is to run a carousel, with routine one-day call-ups of live bodies followed by DFAs, and management wants to be sure that they don't DFA anyone that another team might claim, which means that lower-quality pitchers will get the call.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Wimmer is thoroughly uninspiring.

 

Although if he takes the one open 40-man spot, it would mean another current 40-man guy would have to come up (assuming no 60-day DL moves). Can't be Vargas or Rucinski yet, so that would suggest a AA reliever? Unless they called up a third catcher...

[Danchat]

Wimmers? Really? Ugh, these bullpen moves have been so mediocre. Wimmers wasn't good in his first stint last year and he'll probably give up too many walks.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Seems like a clear statement that they aren't playing for this year.

The team is still competing for first place. This would be an awfully hard message to send to the guys who have gotten them there, who bat and play the field every day (plus Santana and Berrios).

[drivlikejehu]

This front office is officially starting to worry me.

[Blake]

I wonder if the FO is trying to find at least mediocre bullpen help. For instance, Boshers strikes me as someone who could be mediocre or, at least, serviceable.

 

Then, after finding those people, look for the top flight talent. 

 

I admit, I'm having trouble squaring this idea with Belisle and Breslow being in the bullpen.

 

[IndianaTwin]

 

Wilson? Do you mean Wheeler?

Wheeler. My bad. 

[JustinCB]

 

Is it a coincidence that Joe Nathan just asked for his release from his Nationals minor league contract?

I jest.

The unless the Twins actually sign him. Then I'm a soothsayer.

 

pls god no

[Otto von Ballpark]

If one spot is Wimmers, and no 60-day DL moves are made, the other spot would likely have to come from the following group:

 

Jorge

Melotakis

Romero

Rosario (Randy)

Garver

Murphy

Velma

Granite

Palka

[stringer bell]

I agree that Wimmers is uninspiring, but OTOH, didn't he almost win a spot in Spring Training? The fact of the matter is that there aren't any good options. The cupboard is bare. I certainly would like to see some of the guys who haven't been up before, but so many of the higher upside guys have already been injured.

[drjim]

If one spot is Wimmers, and no 60-day DL moves are made, the other spot would likely have to come from the following group:

 

Jorge

Melotakis

Romero

Rosario (Randy)

Garver

Murphy

Velma

Granite

Palka

Go with Rosario or Melotakis, live a little (since it won't be Romero).

 

None of the bats are worth it with Palka hurt.

[ScottyB]

 

This front office is officially starting to worry me.

 

At least they're willing to make moves quickly.  This team is not alone in having bullpen problems/injuries.  Take a quick look at MLB Trade Rumors and on the first page there are at least a half dozen pitchers being cut or put on the DL.  Virtually every pitcher with possibilities the Twins have in the minors is injured.  Don't jump off a bridge yet.  There has to be somewhere in this world that there is a decent pitcher who could step in.  Anything we had in the majors that was decent is exhausted (and that includes Giminez).  One potential rainbow, if no more setbacks it looks like Perkins could be back by mid to late July.

[dgwills]

 

I think Pressly just needs a mental break, not a demotion. Well he can have that mental break in Rochester now.

Heaven forbid Breslow or Belisle be cut loose.

I've been wrong before, but Pressly seems like the kind of pitcher who will figure things out eventually. With all the injuries he seems like one of the best bets moving forward.

[wsnydes]

Seth Stohs reporting on twitter that Alex Wimmers is going to be called up to Twins. If your going to bring him up you might as well give Tonkin one final shot to show something, if the retread route is the way they are going. Would rather have Tonkin back up than Wimmers, at least Tonkin has stuff that if thrown properly would get people out.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[yarnivek1972]

I've been wrong before, but Pressly seems like the kind of pitcher who will figure things out eventually. With all the injuries he seems like one of the best bets moving forward.

Assuming he isn't, in fact, injured.

[bighat]

I saw someone clamoring for Perkins on this thread. Please no. There's enough dysfunction in this 'pen already without throwing a washed-up, has-been, hometown wisecracker into the mix. This Twins team is far different than the one he left 2 years ago and we don't want to go backwards.

 

Wimmers. Eh. I agree with many of you - why not give one of our young prospects a shot?  The Twins gave up just short of 20 runs in two of the last 3 games. What could be worse than this?

 

It would also be nice if Sano gets well, and Molitor stopped sitting our hottest players in must-win games. It's a full-blown train wreck!  Here's hoping we can win a couple out west.

[DocBauer]

At least with Winners, he re-invented himself last season as a reliever, showed some flashes late in the year, and was one of the last guys this spring.

 

I still think I'd go Hilgenberger and either Rosario or Melotakis.

[John Kelsey]

 

I agree that Wimmers is uninspiring, but OTOH, didn't he almost win a spot in Spring Training? The fact of the matter is that there aren't any good options. The cupboard is bare. I certainly would like to see some of the guys who haven't been up before, but so many of the higher upside guys have already been injured.

 

I don't believe this at all, there are some promising options in the minors and for whatever reason they're not being called up. 

[wsnydes]

The team is still competing for first place. This would be an awfully hard message to send to the guys who have gotten them there, who bat and play the field every day (plus Santana and Berrios).

It's not as though Wimmers is awe inspiring. At least some of the prospects tells the team and the fans that the future is indeed coming. This almost seems like something TR would do.

[snepp]

 

I saw someone clamoring for Perkins on this thread. Please no.

 

There was a single mention of Perkins in this thread, and it was anything but clamoring.

[drivlikejehu]

 

At least they're willing to make moves quickly.  This team is not alone in having bullpen problems/injuries.  Take a quick look at MLB Trade Rumors and on the first page there are at least a half dozen pitchers being cut or put on the DL.  Virtually every pitcher with possibilities the Twins have in the minors is injured.  Don't jump off a bridge yet.  There has to be somewhere in this world that there is a decent pitcher who could step in.  Anything we had in the majors that was decent is exhausted (and that includes Giminez).  One potential rainbow, if no more setbacks it looks like Perkins could be back by mid to late July.

 

There are better options than Wimmers in both AAA and AA. It's a pure TR move, promote the 28 year-old former first-round pick who definitely stinks over some other guys that have at least some potential.

 

 

[bighat]

 

There was a single mention of Perkins in this thread, and it was anything but clamoring.

 

Sorry. I was caught up in all the clamoring! "Glen where are you?" was the post I was referring to. I just wanted to make sure my thoughts on Perkins were voiced.

[David HK]

 

The twins bullpen collapse has been like watching a train wreck. The bullpen went from middle of the pack in March/April to dead last in ERA at the end of May.I'm not sure what the solution is at this point, especially since the team seems reluctant to call up anybody who might be considered a real prospect.

This right here.  This.

My gosh, if we're going to get our brains beat in, let's do it with guys who may be part of a future contending side.  Instead, we get these retreads over and over again.  I must be an old codger now, to keep bringing it up, but I didn't care about losing those early 80's games the way we did, because we were giving quality prospects quality MLB development.  And we got 2 WS rings out of those guys.

 

But, sheesh, the pedestrians we keep calling up and running out there, and carrying on the roster is just such a colossal waste of time and talent.  Get Busenitz here, he's hot right now.  Get Melo up here, and see what he can do, he's not getting any younger!!

 

We are so snakebit by the injury bug that's claimed all those power arms we should have already been counting on this year.  But at least get some young guys up here to take their medicine and learn, instead of these overly-seasoned, fork-tender 'vets'.

 

I think I can see what they did with the unfortunate Mr. Wheeler- gave him a shot, and cut bait.  Now, if they're going to repeat that process with some other suspects rather than prospects, OK, let's get that out of the way.  But at the same time, I have to echo the previous poster-  why not call up at least one guy who seems like a prospect?