VIDEO: Is a 6-Man Rotation Feasible?

[Matthew Lenz]

Recently, Derek Falvey made comments regarding the possibility of utilizing a 6-man rotation. The Twins surely have depth at starting pitching, but do they have the health and in-game management belief system in place to make it feasible?

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[JD-TWINS]

Piggyback Maeda & Ober.

6 starters just puts more stress on the bullpen daily. I get the theory that the extra day or two between starts would suggest a starter would last longer into each start. It’s still facing a line-up a third time in 90 minutes. I think this is fools gold……the extra 2/3 - 1 inning more out of every starter - 6 of them, so that we can trim the Pen to 7 guys.

If Maeda needs to start v. being long man in Pen then he should start every 5th day with the goal being 3-5 innings…….if he struggles, somebody from Pen works out of the inning & then Ober starts a fresh inning & finishes the game. So Ober is throwing 5 innings or less per outing. Between them they cover 8-9 innings based on the quality of Maeda’s start. Occasionally, a closer may be used for an inning or less.

This approach allows Maeda to build-up his arm through June. This approach allows Twins to use Ober regularly and not waste his innings in St. Paul. This approach essentially gives the Pen a day off every 5th day, allowing for a 7 man Pen.

My first preference is Ober as 5th starter and Maeda in long relief. It appears there is an impass with Maeda’s contract and the Twins feel they need to honor letting him start games…………re-work his deal ASAP & do the right thing for the Club!