Twins Claim RHP Ian Gibaut, LHP Brandon Waddell

Assume they need to go on the 40-man?

Assume they need to go on the 40-man?

They were added. Currently at 33, per Dustin Morse

The Twins need to make a decision on Rosario. And also Cruz. If they jettison both, you basically have Kirilloff, Garver, Sano, Rooker working between the OF/1B/DH Not a horrible thought, and you cut $20 million in salary.

The Twins have a bullpen of Rogers, Thielbar, Thorpe (out of options), Alcala, Duffey, Stashak, Wissler. You still have Littell in the mix if you add him back on the 40-man.

When you can troll for guys like Waddell and Gibaut, I guess you don't need to bring back Clippard, Romo or May.

The Twins could spend BIG on a starter, and leave the fifth spot to Dobnak, Smeltzer (and Thorpe) until a prospect emerges.

Backup infield could be Blankenhorn and Gordon. If not those two, you don't need them on the 40-man.

Zero risk to a DFA claim in October when you have 33 on the roster.

Worst case for the Twins is they drop them later (which is, of course, less than ideal for the player).

There it is. Now the Twins are a World Series team!

Moves like this is why the Twins fall on their face in the Playoffs. Is it their goal to win Minor League Championships? It would be really good to move away from the Terry Ryan theory of Hope and A Prayer acquisitions.

Since Thielbar and Wisler shocked me last year I will reserve judgment or I would simply post - WHO?

Since I expect serious regression for both of them, hopefully these additions can fool people for a June through September once the front office has given up on the first two.

There doesn't seem to be much here though Waddell could be ok. I can't see why they would let May go. I think that is a big mistake if they don't re-sign him. Clippard has the experience but generally doesn't do well but once every 3 seasons. I'm looking for bigger and better fish. 

At first I thought they brought back Bartolo Colon.

Every team uses multiple 40 man spots on waiver pickups every offseason?

It's not unusual to make the waiver claims. The question is whether these guys stick. Most of the time the move is going to be marginal, shoring up an area where you don't have a lot of depth in the upper minors or taking a flyer on someone you think you might be able to uncover. The last 3-4 spots on the 40-man are pretty fungible. I have no problem with the Twins making a grab on guys right now to see what they might be able to do.

This isn't going to significantly impact free agency; this is covering every option to make sure that your floor is handled.

Not sure either guy does much for me: Gibaut has some talent, but I think control is a tough one to fix. If they can, well, he has the stuff to compete. Waddell might be a bullpen option and will be easy to move on from if whatever they see in him turns out to not work out. Marginal moves, but I approve of the idea of constantly trying to make marginal improvements on the back end of the roster as part of your total strategy.