Article: Report From The Fort: The Fifth Starter's Road Is Long

[Tomj14]

 

Maybe we could trade for Cole Hamels. He is unhappy with the Rangers 6 man rotation. They want to go with more pitchers Andes innings. Maybe Gonsalves and Romero would get it done?

Not sure I would do Gonzo and Romero, but I would be willing to look into some other option.

two years at 42.5 million would be a great get for the Twins. Two years would get them to the next round of minor league prospects and he would only be 35.

I mentioned a similar trade for Verlander last year.

 

How about Littell, Jorge, Kirilloff for Hamels?

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by Tomj14

[laloesch]

 

FT MYERS - Today Twins manager Paul Molitor reaffirmed his plan is to only have four pitchers designated as starting pitchers when the Twins break training camp. This means the decision regarding a fifth starter may not happen until April.

The Twins won't need a fifth starting pitcher until April 11th, almost two weeks into the 2018 season. What’s more, the second start would not come until almost two weeks later, on April 24. That happens during a 19-game stretch where the Twins would need a fifth starter three times. But then they don’t need a fifth starter again until late in May on the 22nd, when starter Ervin Santana should be back in the rotation. And all of that is assuming the Twins have no rainouts or postponed games, which could help even more.It’s also an open question whether the fifth starter would be better served being the eighth guy in the bullpen or starting the season in Rochester. For that matter, given how often new Twins management utilized the waiver wire last year, it wouldn’t be inconceivable that they grab someone from another organization to pitch the April 11th game or give someone a three-start tryout during the 19-game stretch.

A linchpin in that decision might be Phil Hughes, or rather Hughes and his remaining two-year $27 million contract. The new management team didn’t offer that extension to Hughes, and thus might be able to view it more objectively. But objectively, it’s still $27 million out the door, unless they can get some results from it, or have Hughes develop enough value to move at least a portion of it.

Hughes would probably like that too, but that’s easier said than done. After two years of dismal results and unresolved shoulder issues, Hughes is trying to find his way into the rotation’s mix. He’s likely on the outside looking in for one of the top four spots. But he has to be considered a contender, and maybe even the favorite, for the fifth spot until Santana rejoins the rotation.

It isn’t totally clear that Hughes will ever be able to return back to a major-league caliber starting pitcher, partly because we don’t know if he’ll ever be healthy enough to be a major-league caliber starting pitcher. Hughes said last week that he wasn’t sure of that himself. “I’m going to have to get towards that 100-pitch mark to really have an idea,” he admitted.

He’s nowhere near that limit now, but he felt good in his second start of the season yesterday, even noting that he got loose easily in warmups. “It’s something I don’t even think about anymore,” he said after Saturday’s game. “So that’s a good thing. My main focus has been executing pitches, and not thinking about anything arm-related or anything like that. That’s been a good thing, because we have enough to worry about. Baseball is a pretty hard game without having to take your health and everything else into account.”

However, even if he is healthy, he need to win the fifth starter job, which means he likely starts the season in the bullpen. And if he doesn’t, the Twins would probably like him to start the season in the bullpen too. They can’t send him to the AAA Rochester club to wait his turn, unless he is still hurt and on a rehab assignment. So either way, Hughes' most likely path (provided he stays with Minnesota) has him spending some time in the bullpen.

He says he hasn’t spent any time considering that. “To be honest, I haven’t really given it any thought,” Hughes claims. “My one and only focus this spring has been on the rubber to the plate. That’s all I’ve been focused on. I haven’t really gone into our schedule all that deep. I’m just trying to make sure I’m healthy and improving and showing good stuff while I’m out there. So I can’t really give you an answer on that.”

A generous soul might call that focus commendable. A cynic might call it willfully obtuse. I’ll call it doing whatever it takes to regain the ability and confidence to get another season in the sun. But Phil Hughes 'road back to the rotation likely goes through the bullpen, and it will likely be a longer road than to just Opening Day.

Saturday's Game
The Twins lost 13-8 on the road versus the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. The score reflects the wind conditions more than the quality of the pitching as it was a windy day blowing straight out from home plate to center field. Molitor, who of course played with the Blue Jays for three years, summed it up: "I’ve played in this park long enough to know that when the prevailing wind is to right center, the ball is going to find its way over the fence a few times.”

The game featured a lineup of mostly probable bench and non-roster players at Dunedin, where the Blue Jays train and is about a 3-hour drive from Fort Myers. The most likely to make the Twins roster included Zach Granite, Edire Adrianza, Eduardo Escobar, Ryan Pressly and Hughes.

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My question is why?  Is it because they have no confidence in the options beyond Berrios, Odorizzi and Gibson at this point?  If that's true then they need to sign Lynn or Cobb now to bring in some more stability.  If not go with Slegers, Gonsalves and Littell, let those kids play in the few starts they'll get before Santana returns.  If Hughes turns out okay then no big deal.  If they are this panicked about the situation then they need to open up the check book and sign someone, simple as that.     

Edited March 5, 2018 by laloesch