Looking Back: Twins 40-Man Roster Additions

Last week, the Twins lost AJ Achter and Josmil Pinto on waivers. They then added seven players to their 40-man roster. They added OF Adam Brett Walker, RHP JT Chargois and Yorman Landa, and LHP Taylor Rogers, Pat Dean, Mason Melotakis and Randy Rosario.

November 2014 Adds

One year ago, the Twins added a couple of players who came up in 2015 and really contributed. They added Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario as position players. They also added RHP Alex Meyer and LHP Jason Wheeler.

Rosario was a surprise add to the 25-man roster in May. Maybe it was supposed to be short-term, but he stayed up all year and filled out the stat line nicely offensively and defensively. Sano came up on July 1st and played so well the local media named him the Twins MVP. He finished third recently in AL Rookie of the Year voting while Eddie Rosario finished sixth.

2015 was a frustrating season for Meyer and Wheeler. Meyer came into the season with expectations from fans and media that he would be up quickly and be a top of the rotation starter. After nine starts in AAA, he was moved to the bullpen and continued to struggle. He did make two (not-so-good) appearances with the Twins. It's important to remember that 2015 was his first of three option years and patience is good.

Wheeler began the year in Rochester despite only a handful of starts a year earlier in AA. He struggled mightily as well and was sent back to AA. He was outrighted from the 40-man roster in September, but he was named MVP of the Southern League championship series for Chattanooga.

The Twins lost LHP Sean Gilmartin to the Mets in the Rule 5. They added RHP JR Graham.

November 2013 Adds

The Twins added four players; LHP Logan Darnell, DH Kennys Vargas, OF Max Kepler and IF Jorge Polanco.

Darnell was the easiest choice of the group. He came up to the big leagues in May to make a couple of starts and pitched in six games for the Twins right away in 2014. He was moved to the bullpen in Rochester in 2015, but in August he started again and pitched as well as he ever has. He was called up for September, but came down with pneumonia. He's still got a role with the Twins, either as a lefty reliever or long reliever.

It was a surprise when Kennys Vargas was called up from AA New Britain in August of 2014 following the Josh Willingham trade, but he added nine homers in the middle of the Twins lineup. He as the Opening Day DH for the Twins in 2015 and it was a tough year for him as well. He spent more time in the minors, was even sent down to AA for a stretch in early July. He ended the minor league season strong and came back to the Twins for September.

Kepler and Polanco were two players who were highly debated. Many didn't understand why the Twins would protect these two since they had only just completed their season in Cedar Rapids. However, both were easy choices for the Twins. Polanco has had a few cups of coffee with the Twins in the last couple of years and remains a prospect. Kepler saw his tools become skills as he put together a great 2015 season in Chattanooga and debuted with the Twins in September.

The Twins didn't add or lose anyone in the 2013 Rule 5 draft.

November 2012 Adds

There were only a couple of givens to be added in 2012, but the Twins added eight players to their 40-man roster.

Former first-round picks, Aaron Hicks (2008) and Kyle Gibson (2009) were the obvious choices. Hicks finally had his breakout season in the minors that year in New Britain. At the time he was added, however, the Twins had not yet traded Ben Revere and Denard Span. That would happen about three weeks later at the Winter Meetings. Gibson was coming off of Tommy John surgery. He debuted in 2013 with ten starts and has been in the Twins rotation the last two full seasons.

The Twins also added Danny Santana who, as we all know, has all the tools and athleticism. He came up as the surprise of 2014, playing centerf ield and getting Rookie of the Year votes. As we know, his 2015 season was full of frustrations. Santana is interesting for 2016 as he is now out of options.

Likewise Michael Tonkin was added at this time so he is also out of options. He's made about two dozen flights between Rochester and Minnesota since.

Caleb Thielbar was a bit of a surprise at the time. He had pitched well at three levels that year after signing with the Twins late in 2011 from the St. Paul Saints. He was the Twins rookie of the year in 2013, and they let him go in 2015.

Josmil Pinto was also added. He could have become a minor league free agent following the World Series. The Twins signed him to a minor league deal before that could happen and then added him at this time. He sure showed promise in his September debut that year. Unfortunately poor defense and now concussions have stunted his growth. He was claimed by San Diego last week.

BJ Hermsen was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012 after a fantastic season in Ft. Myers. He was outrighted about a year later. He became a minor league free agent last year but re-signed with the Twins. He underwent Tommy John surgery this spring and is now a free agent again.

Tim Wood was a hard-throwing righthander who the Twins had signed to a minor league deal earlier in the month. They added him to the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, he spent most of the 2013 season injured and the team let him go.

In the Rule 5 draft, the Twins added RHP Ryan Pressly and lost no one.

November 2011 Adds

In 2011, the Twins added just three players to the 40-man roster, OF Oswaldo Arcia, RHP Carlos Gutierrez and LHP Tyler Robertson.

Arcia was the easy choice as he had crushed minor league pitching for a couple of years. He's had an up-and-down ride in the big leagues. Two years ago, he hit 20 homers for the Twins. Last year, in AAA, he hit under .200. 2016 is a huge year for him as he is out of options.

Carlos Gutierrez was a hard-throwing righty, drafted by the Twins in the first round out of Miami. They attempted to have him start, but that didn't work. He preferred the bullpen and had just two pitches. That said, he didn't make it as a reliever either. He is out of baseball now.

Tyler Robertson was a lefty, a third-round pick out of high school. He had a terrific season in Beloit which put him on the map as a starter. He debuted with the Twins as a reliever and struck out the side in his first appearance. He made the Opening Day roster for the Twins in 2013 but just two games into the season, he was let go.

The Twins added Terry Doyle in the Rule 5 draft, but they sent him back to the White Sox. He has pitched all over since, including some time in Japan.

November 2010 Adds

The Twins added some young talent in this round of transactions. They added RHP David Bromberg, coming off a couple of seasons in which he led his league in strikeouts. They added three outfielders as well: Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni.

Bromberg had a tough 2011 and was removed from the 40-man roster the following year.

Benson has as many tools as anyone, but after a September call-up in 2011, he never got back to the Twins. He has played for several organizations in recent years.

Tosoni hit a couple of long homers into the bleachers in right-centerfield, but he was unable to do it consistently. He spent parts of a couple of years with the Twins, but has spent the last two years playing indpendent league ball and for Team Canada.

Parmelee had a great September debut, but after that, he struggled to find success with the Twins. First base was taken. He played in the outfield. His bat was very inconsistent. There were times he looked like he could take off. Other times, he struggled really badly. The Twins let him go and he surfaced with the Orioles this season.

The Twins added Scott Diamond in the Rule 5 and didn't lose anyone.

November 2009 Adds

The Twins added seven players at this time. The easy choice was 3B Danny Valencia. It wasn't long before he came up and had a strong rookie season. It wasn't long after that that he was sent back to AAA and later traded to the Red Sox. He's played for the Orioles, Blue Jays and now the A's in recent years and has found his niche as a LHP crusher.

Deolis Guerra was another easy choice. He came in the Johan Santana trade and struggled, in large part due to being pushed way too fast by the Mets, but he was young and had a chance. He got to AAA and had some months where it looked like he might get called up. He re-signed a couple of minor league deals with the Twins, but last year he signed with the Pirates. He pitched well and earned a promotion to the Pirates for awhile.

Alex Burnett was a mid-round high school pick who signed. He was a surprise Opening Day roster add in 2010 and certainly showed flashes of what could be. He spent a couple of years with the Twins before joining the DFA cycle with the Cubs and Blue Jays and other teams. He is out of professional baseball now and works with kids on pitching in California.

Rob Delaney was a non-drafted free agent out of college, but he dominated the lower levels of the minor leagues and continued to pitch well as he moved up the ladder. The Twins added him, but then they gave him just one game in the big leagues before giving up on him. He pitched briefly with the Rays in 2011.

Estarlin de los Santos fits the Danny Santana mold. A young shortstop (he had just spent an injury-plagued year in Ft. Myers), but he had immense talent, speed, range, big arm, same type of hitter. However, he struggled that year and the Twins removed him from their roster after the season. He remained in the organization through the 2012 season but never got above AA.

Loek Van Mil was known as the tallest pitcher in pro baseball history at 7-1. You'll remember the photos of him with 5-3 shortstop Chris Cates. He was added because he has just added some velocity and had decent control. However, he was still a project. He was traded to the Angels in the Brian Fuentes trade and spent time in other organizations. He pitched in Japan in 2014. The Twins signed him late in the 2015 season to a minor league deal. He pitched in a couple of games in September after call-ups. What's interesting is that he is now 31 years old and is throwing in the upper-90s. He may just get a shot with the Twins.

That's as far back as I'll go at this time, but that's been a fun list to review. As you can tell, there were some obvious selections in most of those years. There are a lot of guys who have made it, and there are a bunch that never met their perceived potential. Some got cups of coffee and some never got above AA.

Real quickly, before losing Sean Gilmartin to the Mets in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the Twins had not had a player selected in the Rule 5 draft since LHP Jose Lugo in 2008. He was later returned.

Interestingly (for me at least), they lost three players in 2007's Rule 5 draft. RHP Tim Lahey was the first pick in that Rule 5 draft. He was a big guy who had just been converted from catcher to the mound but threw really hard. He was taken by the Cubs, then claimed by the Phillies before being returned to the Twins before the season started. RA Dickey was taken later in the draft by Seattle. The Twins had just signed him to a minor league deal, so he was eligible to be taken. The Twins and Ms worked out a deal so Dickey could remain with the Mariners. The Twins got a Low-A catcher named Jair Fernandez who looked like he had some potential. A year later, the Twins waited until after the Rule 5 draft to announce they had again signed Dickey to a minor league contract. Finally, they lost outfielder Garrett Guzman to the Nationals. He spent 2008 in the Nationals minor league system before spending two years playing independent league ball.

A year earlier, 2006, the Twins lost RHPs Kevin Cameron (Padres) and Levale Speigner (Nationals) in the Rule 5. Both spent time in the big leagues with those teams. In 2004, RHP Angel Garcia was the first overall pick of the Rule 5 draft, but he was returned to the Twins before the season started.

Of course, the Twins also drafted RHP Jared Camp from Cleveland with the first overall pick in that 1999 Rule 5 draft. Johan Santana was selected by Florida with the 2nd pick that year and the two were traded for each other. That story is always fun to tell.

So, we make a huge deal out of the Rule 5 draft, and for the players added, it is a big deal. First, it eliminates one obstacle on the way to the big leagues, and second, it is a big financial boost for them. As you can see, there are occasionally Rule 5 picks that help a big league roster for awhile, but for the most part, there aren't a lot of players selected.

Like my article from Monday on those great Twins teams, this article was also fun to research as a reminder of a lot of names that I've "covered" over the last dozen years of following the Twins minor leagues. I hope you've enjoyed this as well.