Roster Crunch? Who stays, who goes?

[stringer bell]

Alcala for Winder. It looks like Josh got an extra day due to the shifting that went on with Thielbar (to bring up Kirilloff). Also, I note that Alcala had 3.014 years of service time going into the season. He was optioned for 15 days, so I'm guessing he now would finish the season at 3.179 if the fifteen days are subtracted from his service time. I know an option doesn't count until the player is in the minors for 21 days, do the service days count for a short demotion when the option eventually isn't used?

[stringer bell]

The 60-day IL stints for Lewis and Celestino can end on May 29th or thereabouts. With the full 20-day rehab, Celestino and Lewis can play in games in St. Paul (or wherever) starting around May 9. I would expect that Celestino, for sure, begins his rehab in St. Paul as soon as he's eligible. I'm not sure if Lewis will be ready for games in the minors right away, but I know he's been playing several innings in Fort Myers. 

[stringer bell]

Another rehabbing note: Farmer was 3-5 with two doubles in yesterday’s Saints game (suspended and completed today). It looks like he’ll be good to go on Monday. Castro, Solano or Miranda might be developing injuries as I post this /s/. 

[Squirrel]

13 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Another rehabbing note: Farmer was 3-5 with two doubles in yesterday’s Saints game (suspended and completed today). It looks like he’ll be good to go on Monday. Castro, Solano or Miranda might be developing injuries as I post this /s/. 

I know you were being sarcastic, but neither Castro nor Miranda need injuries … Solano, however …

[ashbury]

Last 10 days:

Castro: 10 PA, .786 OPS

Miranda: 30 PA, .769 OPS

Solano: 14 PA, .436 OPS

Man, I thought this would clarify something, but it still comes down to cutting a guy you'd probably prefer to not give up on, versus two guys who can be sent down freely but maybe you don't want to.

I say Castro when Farmer is activated, but it's a tough one for Rocco to break the news to him about.  "This is the part of my job I hate the most, Willi, but ..."

[stringer bell]

17 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Last 10 days:

Castro: 10 PA, .786 OPS

Miranda: 30 PA, .769 OPS

Solano: 14 PA, .436 OPS

Man, I thought this would clarify something, but it still comes down to cutting a guy you'd probably prefer to not give up on, versus two guys who can be sent down freely but maybe you don't want to.

I say Castro when Farmer is activated, but it's a tough one for Rocco to break the news to him about.  "This is the part of my job I hate the most, Willi, but ..."

Depending on who gets injured next among position players, Willi might not spend long in St. Paul if, in fact, he is sent down. My best guess is Miranda to the IL, followed by a brief rehab. 

[stringer bell]

23 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Last 10 days:

Castro: 10 PA, .786 OPS

Miranda: 30 PA, .769 OPS

Solano: 14 PA, .436 OPS

Man, I thought this would clarify something, but it still comes down to cutting a guy you'd probably prefer to not give up on, versus two guys who can be sent down freely but maybe you don't want to.

I say Castro when Farmer is activated, but it's a tough one for Rocco to break the news to him about.  "This is the part of my job I hate the most, Willi, but ..."

If you believe in BWar, Willi has the highest WAR of any position player not named Buxton. 

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

If you believe in BWar, Willi has the highest WAR of any position player not named Buxton. 

That is such an anomaly.  Almost makes me want to ask the b-r.com folks to look at that.

[stringer bell]

23 minutes ago, ashbury said:

That is such an anomaly.  Almost makes me want to ask the b-r.com folks to look at that.

Seems unbelievable to me, and I’m a pretty big Willi Castro guy. 

[ashbury]

21 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Seems unbelievable to me, and I’m a pretty big Willi Castro guy. 

(Sorry, I thought this was in the game thread.)

[Craig Arko]

Just to make the crunch crunchier with crunchberries, it sounds like Lewis begins his rehab stint in earnest at Wichita on Thursday, moving up to St. Paul afterwards, and then?

[Squirrel]

23 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Just to make the crunch crunchier with crunchberries, it sounds like Lewis begins his rehab stint in earnest at Wichita on Thursday, moving up to St. Paul afterwards, and then?

To the Twins by the end of the month

[Craig Arko]

3 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

To the Twins by the end of the month

Works for me. Most likely playing 3rd base, I expect.

[Squirrel]

3 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Works for me. Most likely playing 3rd base, I expect.

Will be interesting to see where they have him play in the next 20 days

Edit: just read he’ll be splitting time between 3B and SS

[Craig Arko]

2 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Will be interesting to see where they have him play in the next 20 days

Especially at St. Paul, if Miranda is there. It’ll be a tight squeeze pouring them into the same uniform. :)

[Mike Sixel]

I see no reason for Solano to be on the roster when Farmer is ready, unless they want Miranda playing every day in AAA. 

Also, was really hoping Lewis was in center. Guess we're stuck with Taylor. I don't get that, given Lee will be ready this year, imo. 

[Squirrel]

24 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I see no reason for Solano to be on the roster when Farmer is ready, unless they want Miranda playing every day in AAA. 

Also, was really hoping Lewis was in center. Guess we're stuck with Taylor. I don't get that, given Lee will be ready this year, imo. 

I don’t know about Lewis in center. I mean, he’s already had an injury out there. It might be too dangerous for him and bad for his knee

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

I don’t know about Lewis in center. I mean, he’s already had an injury out there. It might be too dangerous for him and bad for his knee

Is zero evidence it's more dangerous than the infield. He also hurt his knee on the stairs, should he never go on stairs?

[Squirrel]

16 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Is zero evidence it's more dangerous than the infield. He also hurt his knee on the stairs, should he never go on stairs?

I was being a little sarcastic

[Vanimal46]

Injuries will dictate what happens obviously, but in an ideal world…

Royce Lewis up in mid June, playing a super utility role including the OF.

Donnie Barrels DFA’d and off the team if he does not want to go to AAA. 

Willi Castro sent to AAA. 

Miranda needs to start hitting ASAP otherwise he’ll be back in AAA too. 

[Mike Sixel]

8 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Injuries will dictate what happens obviously, but in an ideal world…

Royce Lewis up in mid June, playing a super utility role including the OF.

Donnie Barrels DFA’d and off the team if he does not want to go to AAA. 

Willi Castro sent to AAA. 

Miranda needs to start hitting ASAP otherwise he’ll be back in AAA too. 

Shouldn't you be looking at sculptures or something?

[Major League Ready]

Would love to see Lewis here before the halfway point.  That might be wishful thinking, but we could sure use him.  He could play every day between CF/LF/3B not necessarily in that order.  It would be just fine if Miranda did the same 180 he did last year and Royce mainly played 3B against LH pitching.

Solano seemed like an insurance policy when they signed him.  I no longer see the need if Kirilloff is truly healthy.  That makes him the most expendable IMO.  It would be another positive if Royce negated the need for MAT.  Perhaps they could get something for him at the deadline. 

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Shouldn't you be looking at sculptures or something?

Travel day! Just landed in Sardinia

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

Would love to see Lewis here before the halfway point.  That might be wishful thinking, but we could sure use him.  He could play every day between CF/LF/3B not necessarily in that order.  It would be just fine if Miranda did the same 180 he did last year and Royce mainly played 3B against LH pitching.

Solano seemed like an insurance policy when they signed him.  I no longer see the need if Kirilloff is truly healthy.  That makes him the most expendable IMO.  It would be another positive if Royce negated the need for MAT.  Perhaps they could get something for him at the deadline. 

I don't think MAT goes anywhere.  With a full roster I would really like him off the bench as a run/defense sub much better than Gordon if Lewis and Buxton are paying center.  Lewis will still have reps in the infield one would assume and CF would be the exception rather than the rule.  MAT is probably the 80% CF going forward most likely. 

[Major League Ready]

32 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I don't think MAT goes anywhere.  With a full roster I would really like him off the bench as a run/defense sub much better than Gordon if Lewis and Buxton are paying center.  Lewis will still have reps in the infield one would assume and CF would be the exception rather than the rule.  MAT is probably the 80% CF going forward most likely. 

I like MAT and have no problem if he remains here the rest of the year.  I always give more weight to the long-term impact and Lewis taking that role would be great for the team.   It's really too bad they drafted Cavaco instead of Carroll.  We would have the perfect combination had they picked Carroll who was at the top or near top of the best available at the time.

[stringer bell]

When I posted this thread, I really thought there was a roster crunch among the position players. Ironically, now there seems to be much discussion about who to DFA/option with lots of candidates. Off the top of my head, I've seen calls for Miranda, Solano, Gordon and Castro to be demoted or DFAed. There are Kepler and Gallo critics, as well. Suddenly, about half of the active roster is suspect in the eyes of the TD faithful.

[Craig Arko]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

When I posted this thread, I really thought there was a roster crunch among the position players. Ironically, now there seems to be much discussion about who to DFA/option with lots of candidates. Off the top of my head, I've seen calls for Miranda, Solano, Gordon and Castro to be demoted or DFAed. There are Kepler and Gallo critics, as well. Suddenly, about half of the active roster is suspect in the eyes of the TD faithful.

About half the active roster of the TD faithful is suspect too, so there is that symmetry. 

[stringer bell]

It appears there could be a roster crunch in earnest in the next two weeks plus. Kepler is due back in a week or less with no easy move to clear space. Lewis will come off the IL on or around June 1st and Castro or Solano could be in jeopardy and Jose Miranda might also hit his way back again without easy moves to clear space. 

[stringer bell]

Garlick is the reported replacement for Gordon. I presumed this would be the call due to the short window before another outfielder (Kepler) will be activated and the fact that the Twins will face two lefty starters in Anaheim. 

The other part of this transaction would be what I would call "messing with prospects". Garlick is 31 and his MLB profile is pretty much set. The other players in St. Paul that are on the 40-man roster are all prospects to some degree. Would the Twins want to fly Julien or Wallner to Anaheim just to have them sit on the bench and then send that guy down on Tuesday morning? I don't think it's good use of service time or development for those guys. They also could have recalled Miranda, but it would be a real mixed message to send him back in four days.

Kepler's pending activation (assuming Garlick is sent down) would leave the Twins with an extra left handed hitting corner outfielder (Larnach, Gallo, Kepler) and short a utility-type and alternate center fielder. 

[stringer bell]

Speculation on injuries and lineups.

Watching MAT run out a double play grounder, I'm not convinced he's 100%. I believe this is still his back barking at him and that he'll try to keep going, but it probably means there is a need for someone else to cover center field. Especially with the latest news on Buxton, it isn't going to be Buck in center any time soon.

There were three outfielders DFAed in the last 48 hours--Brett Phillips, Adam Engel and Aaron Hicks. It is possible the Twins might go out of the organization to back up Taylor.

Another player I noted doing some odd stretches was Correa. I wonder if his back is still a problem. Again, I doubt he will end up on the Injured List, but with the pending arrival of Royce Lewis and the possible disabling of Buxton, it might happen that CC gets some days off or maybe is used at DH. 

Roster moves: Switching out Garlick for Kepler (if he's ready by midweek) still makes sense. I already saw that Buxton won't be playing today and I wonder if he ends up on IL. I think it's infinitely better to get him to where he has been than to have to try and get him through this injury without shutting him down. It really didn't work last year. If Buxton does go on IL, the man who should come up is the best hitter. I'm not sure who that is--Contreras, Miranda, Wallner? It would appear to me that two injured players are candidates for the 60-man IL--Gordon and Alcala--so adding a player not on the 40-man shouldn't be a problem, even allowing for a space for Lewis.