If Ramirez comes on, who goes off...?

[Jeremy Nygaard]

As the Opening Day roster nears completion (just a bullpen battle now, right?), there is still a pretty pressing issue that needs to be addressed:

 

The Twins, with a full 40-man roster, need to add Wilkin Ramirez.

 

Unless you're in the minority, you really don't care about this move because, for most, it's a guy you've maybe never heard of replacing a different guy you've probably never heard of. I applaud you people; I wish I cared less.

 

Whether you care or don't, I'll offer my two cents about what happens next...

 

The easiest move is to take an injured player and simply transfer him to the 60-day DL. The 60-day DL is essentially a 40-man exemption. It frees a spot up. Unfortunately (but, really, fortunately) the Twins don't have anybody injured enough to miss the next two months.

 

The next option is removing a player by "releasing" him. There are a lot of different terms that I'm not going to bore you with, but basically the Twins can take a guy, offer him to the other teams ("place on waivers") and if they all pass, the Twins send him to AAA. They aren't really "releasing" him, but they're "removing" him from their 40-man roster. The term you'll probably hear is "outright". (And just so you know, a team can outright you once. The second time, you can elect free agency.)

 

If the Twins want to go the way of option #2 with a player they believe has some trade value, they can "Designate a player for assignment". It works the same way as above, only they have a 10-day window to work out a trade. At the end, a lot of players are placed on waivers anyway.

 

The interesting part of this equation is that the Twins don't really have anybody that screams, "Me! I'm the 40th guy on the roster." (In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with candidates.)

 

So... who goes off...?

 

Drew Butera getting sent to Rochester and the Twins turning around and acquiring another catcher made me think twice... Do the Twins trade Butera? That would open up a roster spot. Doubtful, but possible.

 

Does Joe Benson need a fresh start? I can't imagine the Twins would place him on waivers, he'd certainly be claimed.

 

There are four pitchers on assignment in Rochester - Kyle Gibson, Tyler Robertson, Pedro Hernandez and Caleb Thielbar - and the Twins would be silly to part way with any of them. Maybe Robertson could slip through waivers, but, as a lefty, I'd doubt it.

 

The names at AA also appear to have future value, but one name sticks out to me: Josmil Pinto. Pinto was a surprise addition to the 40-man roster in November. And, as mentioned before, the addition of Mike Kvasnicka gives the organization added depth.

 

I would guess the Twins will place Pinto on waivers. Of course, many teams are placing guys on waivers for the same reason the Twins are, which means that many guys would go unclaimed. In that event, Pinto remains in the organization. At this point, it's hard to say, but that would appear the most likely move for the Twins to make.

 

If that happens, the Twins swap Wilkin Ramirez for Josmil Pinto. See, two guys you've never heard of...

[greengoblinrulz]

my guess would be 30yr old Tim Wood. Cant see anyone claiming a guy w/shoulder problems at that age.

[glunn]

I hope that the Twins are prepared to clear more than one spot, just in case someone promising gets put on waivers by another team.

[Old Twins Cap]

Robertson to go. He just don't have it, lefty or not, no one will take him. Guaranteed.

[spideyo]

Honestly, I think both Pinto and Butera would get picked up on the waiver wire. A lot of teams seem to be hurting for backup catchers. While they could trade Butera, I honestly don't think it would be worth it. He would maybe net a AAAA level guy, or some C-level prospect. It's true he can't hit, but he is a great defensive catcher and has shown a strong ability to work with our pitchers. Even sitting down at AAA, he can be a valuable asset helping to get our young pitchers get ready for the big show.

 

I thought Robertson did alright against lefties last year. We don't really need another LOOGY as long as they keep Duensing in the pen, but it wouldn't surprise me if another team took a flier on him, hoping they can get him to build on last year's numbers.

 

I know once a player is officially put on the DL they can't actually be removed from the 40 man, but can they be removed if they are hurt like Wood, but not dl'ed yet?

 

 

Also, they do need to add him to the 25 man as well as the 40 man. Robertson and Wood are the only guys of your list on the 25 man, so most likely Wood get's dl'ed if he isn't DFA'ed

[Thrylos]

Getting Pinto (who probably is the top Twins' catching prospect right now) on waivers is silly

 

Caleb Thielbar has not proven that he can beat AAA hitters as a 25 year old. He is the only of the bunch to go. Robertson made the 25-man roster so it is a moot point.

 

I still feel that the Twins will trade someone to open a spot, likely/hopefully Butera.

 

Wood on 60 day might make sense. Swarzak might even make more sense (DL time starts from the beginning of ST, so this season he needs to sit out 2-3 more weeks after the opening day - long ST) so the Twins postpone the decision...

[Mr. Brooks]

Getting Pinto (who probably is the top Twins' catching prospect right now) on waivers is silly

 

Caleb Thielbar has not proven that he can beat AAA hitters as a 25 year old. He is the only of the bunch to go. Robertson made the 25-man roster so it is a moot point.

 

I still feel that the Twins will trade someone to open a spot, likely/hopefully Butera.

 

Wood on 60 day might make sense. Swarzak might even make more sense (DL time starts from the beginning of ST, so this season he needs to sit out 2-3 more weeks after the opening day - long ST) so the Twins postpone the decision...

 

March 22nd is the earliest date that a DL stint can retroactively begin. If Swarzak were 60 day DL'd, the soonest he'd be able to return would be May 21st.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

You can waive a player that is injured. I'm not 100% of the semantics, but the Twins removed Oliveros (elbow) and Deduno (eye) from the 40-man with known injuries.

 

That could explain why Wood hasn't been placed on the DL yet. I would guess waiving a player on the DL would require an injury settlement.

 

The whole Tim Wood saga is a mystery. He signed a minor-league contract as a minor-league free agent. Then turned the "interest" into being added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft and parlayed that into getting a $675,000 major-league contract.

 

(To put that into perspective, Diamond $530k, Worley $525k and Plouffe $520k, all have a greater track record and more experience than Wood.)

 

He may clear waivers on account of that. In baseball terms, he's cheap; but in relative terms, he's vastly overpaid.

[cmathewson]

Robertson is still with the team. The Twins have 12 healthy pitchers left. So, it's not him. I'm guessing Thielbar.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Yeah, the Robertson inclusion was an error on my part. I was looking at projected rosters and not the actual camp list. He's in the clear.

[Halsey Hall]

Ramirez crushed a bomb today against the Red Sox on field 3 that I thought was going to hit a car out on the road. It was tracking perfectly but I never heard the thud. It went over the car!

 

What was really interesting was my buddy went out and retrieved it from the high school and it was an officical MLB baseball. Arcia hit a foul that cleared the fence in right and I picked that up on the way home. That ball was a Midwest League ball. After the article on the differences in the balls, (seams), I wonder why both types were used in the game. And the kunckleballs the Sox pitcher was throwing just wore out his catcher. About a third got by him it seemed.

[Thrylos]

Ramirez crushed a bomb today against the Red Sox on field 3 that I thought was going to hit a car out on the road. It was tracking perfectly but I never heard the thud. It went over the car!

 

What was really interesting was my buddy went out and retrieved it from the high school and it was an officical MLB baseball. Arcia hit a foul that cleared the fence in right and I picked that up on the way home. That ball was a Midwest League ball. After the article on the differences in the balls, (seams), I wonder why both types were used in the game. And the kunckleballs the Sox pitcher was throwing just wore out his catcher. About a third got by him it seemed.

 

Ramirez raked the whole Spring.

 

Interesting about the balls. Usually in the back fields they have the "official minor league baseball" balls with no league affiliation. I suspect that there are a lot of balls in those buckets during drills and sometimes they get mixed. And if you are going there tomorrow, have a peak up between the fence and the roof of the south side bleachers on Field #3; there was an MLB ball stuck there the other day and I bet it still is