Article: Dozier, Rosario and the Future at Second Base

[TwinsFanInPhilly]

Don't sleep on Jorge Polanco, either.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Dozier to SS only makes to much sense.

 

Two months ago, you were suggesting DFA.

[mlhouse]

This points to one of the problems with the Twins way. They will not trade prospects. We miss out on maximizing the value of many of these prospects, particularly when many if not most of them will never be quality MLB players.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Dozier is doing something that I didn't think was possible, namely learning to hit for power after he gets to the major leagues. If he can keep this up, he'll be the Twins 2B for a long, long time. They are not going to mess this up. The Twins are back to a classic "strong up the middle" defense, with power hitters/slow fielders at the corners. I think Rosario will be changing positions again.

 

This isn't quite true. He put up pretty good offensive numbers in AA for 2011 and wasn't bad in the lower minors either. The big thing I see is that his approach seems to have normalized a bit with AA. He was a very patient hitter but that seemed to go away last year. Now he's doing a better job picking which borderline pitches to take and his striking out less and walking more.

[mlhouse]

And, the improvement in Dozier is just another example of letting things play out. Why designate him for assignment even when he was struggling? We need to let these guys get at bats at the major league level and let them sort themselves out. If one guy, lets say Chris Parmalee simply does not work out you move on to another. The point is that we do not want to be going through this process when the team is rebuilt. That is how the 87 team was built and how we should look going forward. Take the losses now. Find the winners. Shed the losers.

[Guest USAFChief]

I doubt we'll see Dozier back at SS in a Twins uniform. If they thought he could handle the position as an every day player they wouldn't have moved him off it.

 

I tend to agree, from what I saw in the past. 2b is where guys who don't quite have the chops for SS usually end up.

[Willihammer]

If the choice is between Dozier and Florimon / Escobar / another version of Jamey Carroll, I would prefer Dozier every time. His defense wasn't that bad last year and his bat is about a tier and half better than these other scrubs.

[Brock Beauchamp]

This article was pretty enlightening about Dozier:

 

Warne: Why Brian Dozier has become the Twins' second-best player | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

 

The fact that Bruno found a hitch in his swing and he immediately started hitting is a good sign that the new Brian Dozier is here to stay.

[Dilligaf69]

Either way it's a nice problem to possibly have, but I wouldn't mess with him unless Rosario becomes too good to pass up at 2B.

[diehardtwinsfan]

This points to one of the problems with the Twins way. They will not trade prospects. We miss out on maximizing the value of many of these prospects, particularly when many if not most of them will never be quality MLB players.

 

That's not a Twins issue, that's an MLB issue. Prospect for prospect swaps are rare. Besides, right now, the Twins should be acquiring prospects, not trading them.

[diehardtwinsfan]

And, the improvement in Dozier is just another example of letting things play out. Why designate him for assignment even when he was struggling? We need to let these guys get at bats at the major league level and let them sort themselves out. If one guy, lets say Chris Parmalee simply does not work out you move on to another. The point is that we do not want to be going through this process when the team is rebuilt. That is how the 87 team was built and how we should look going forward. Take the losses now. Find the winners. Shed the losers.

 

This was part of my beef with the Parmelee situation. Dozier has been handed the job and did not have a lot of expectations. He was simply told to do the job, and he did it well. His defense was excellent, but it took 2 months for the offense to actually start contributing, and now we are talking like he's more than a placeholder, but a fixture for the next wave. I'm not quite sure he's there (yet), but the bottom line is that you have to play him.

 

Parms, on the other hand, got 3 weeks of PT and then got benched for Arcia. He got a couple more and then got benched again for Arcia. I don't know if Parmelee will ever be good, a solid MLB contributor, or a backup, but the bottom line is that he should be playing... EVERY.DAY. His minor league career says that he can hit. It may take some time to adjust, but the kid has shown patience (probably a bit too much of it to be honest), which is one of the most important skills needed to transition to MLB play. I kind of hope Morneau is traded just so Parms can play first every day for the rest of the year.

[drjim]

This was part of my beef with the Parmelee situation. Dozier has been handed the job and did not have a lot of expectations. He was simply told to do the job, and he did it well. His defense was excellent, but it took 2 months for the offense to actually start contributing, and now we are talking like he's more than a placeholder, but a fixture for the next wave. I'm not quite sure he's there (yet), but the bottom line is that you have to play him.

 

Parms, on the other hand, got 3 weeks of PT and then got benched for Arcia. He got a couple more and then got benched again for Arcia. I don't know if Parmelee will ever be good, a solid MLB contributor, or a backup, but the bottom line is that he should be playing... EVERY.DAY. His minor league career says that he can hit. It may take some time to adjust, but the kid has shown patience (probably a bit too much of it to be honest), which is one of the most important skills needed to transition to MLB play. I kind of hope Morneau is traded just so Parms can play first every day for the rest of the year.

 

The problem with Parmelee is a slow bat. No amount of playing time is going to remedy that. This isn't to say he shouldn't be playing more, but I suspect it won't make much of a difference.

[Jdosen]

I love how well Dozier has hit since the beginning of June and I think he has been awesome defensively at 2B all season, but I need to see more of the same from hit at the plate than a couple months before I'm ready to say I think we should trade Rosario because we're set there for the forseeable future. I think the Twins should just let Dozier keep playing there as long as he is playing well, and if Rosario is knocking on the door, get him ML at bats in a creative way. If this Dozer is indeed for real and Rosario ends up panning out, playing time for both of them will be a good problem to have. I'm just not ready to say we have that problem just yet.

[twinsnorth49]

This was part of my beef with the Parmelee situation. Dozier has been handed the job and did not have a lot of expectations. He was simply told to do the job, and he did it well. His defense was excellent, but it took 2 months for the offense to actually start contributing, and now we are talking like he's more than a placeholder, but a fixture for the next wave. I'm not quite sure he's there (yet), but the bottom line is that you have to play him.

 

Parms, on the other hand, got 3 weeks of PT and then got benched for Arcia. He got a couple more and then got benched again for Arcia. I don't know if Parmelee will ever be good, a solid MLB contributor, or a backup, but the bottom line is that he should be playing... EVERY.DAY. His minor league career says that he can hit. It may take some time to adjust, but the kid has shown patience (probably a bit too much of it to be honest), which is one of the most important skills needed to transition to MLB play. I kind of hope Morneau is traded just so Parms can play first every day for the rest of the year.

 

The difference though is that Dozier had the luxury of absolutely nobody in front or behind pushing the issue. It was bad enough for Parms with Mornie and Doumit taking the playing time without Arcia making noise.

 

I agree, I'd like to see Parms get the sustained playing time as well, the situation just hasn't presented itself like it did for Dozier.

[TheLeviathan]

The problem with Parmelee is a slow bat. No amount of playing time is going to remedy that. This isn't to say he shouldn't be playing more, but I suspect it won't make much of a difference.

 

Maybe there are things he can do to improve that working at this level and that's the issue. Dozier took to coaching and worked through his issues, I'm not sure Parmelee has gotten the same chance.

 

There is no reason a guy like Hermann should be getting ABs over him. Being bad affords us the ability to let guys struggle if it can pay future dividends.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

I'm not sure Parmelee has gotten the same chance.

 

There is no reason a guy like Hermann should be getting ABs over him. .

 

Since when does Parmelee catch, especially Albers? Herrmann brings far more versatility to the Twins MLB roster, and Parms has had his shot, both with the Twins and at Rochester.

[stringer bell]

I'm a Dozier fan and even I can't say he has established himself to the point that alternatives (moving him to SS, moving Rosario to the outfield) or trading a top prospect like Rosario should be seriously considered. However, he's done great since the end of May and certainly is among the better players on the Twins that are going out on the field every day. I still think he would be better served by batting down in the order, but right now he is the best lead-off guy the Twins have.

[Kwak]

Dozier--he's had 2 1/2 very nice months, certainly enough to be a starter next year. However, the parallel to Plouffe is too close. Dozier needs to turn those 2 1/2 months into a full year next year before he "shall be annointed".

 

Parmelee--how in h he climbed aboard is hazy, is a completely another matter. Dozier (and Plouffe) had a rabbi (or godfather) to protect him and give him (them) that "patience" to see if he could succeed--Parmelee doesn't have "one". Life's unfair--but this happens. If he is destined to succeed he will be a Garrett--picked-up by a losing team and be given a chance to succeed--and then do it. His "problem" is Doumit, the uneven hitting of the whole team, and Gardenhire's thirst for interchangeable parts with a desire for a third catcher. Hermann is being provided with his opportunity to prove himself, so Ryan can trade Doumit. Parmelee is just the "odd-man-out". True, if he had been a big success (and sustained it) he wouldn't be in this predicament.

 

Another fly in the ointment is how well does Sano play 3B at the MLB level? If he is another Cuddyer--ugh! Sano gets moved and then the need for a SS with way above average defensive skills is paramount--meaning forget Dozier as a SS. But that issue won't have to be faced for "awhile".

 

Then the issue of starting pitching, and the Dozier/Rosario question--but that's more than a year away also.

[TheLeviathan]

Since when does Parmelee catch' date=' especially Albers? Herrmann brings far more versatility to the Twins MLB roster, and Parms has had his shot, both with the Twins and at Rochester.[/quote']

 

Since when do at bats in Rochester count? Im not sure how to even address something like that.

 

Hermann's versatility should be on the bench, he is only hitting because the Twins insist on resting Mauer from catching (not a bad idea but not necessary). Parms needs to be sinking or swimming all year in the bigs, we know what he can do against AAA pitching.