Report From The Fort: Living In The Present

Speaking Of Zen, Stay Calm

We saw at least one possible version of the Twins lineup versus right-handed pitching, and as soon as I saw it, I knew what would freak people out:

1 - Dozier

2 - Kepler

3 - Buxton

4 - Mauer

5 - Sano

6 - Rosario

7 - Park

8 - Polanco

9 - Murphy

If this ends up being the lineup the first week of the regular season (and it probably will), I can describe fans reactions in six words: OHMYGOD JOE MAUER IS BATTING CLEANUP. There is going to be a lot of freaking out.

I think the thought process is as follows. First, this allows Molitor to bat two of his guys where he wants them: Dozier leads off and Buxton bats third. Also, batting Mauer after Buxton does the following:

1. Gives Buxton a little protection.
   
2. Puts a high OBP guy in front of Sano
   
3. Divides to strikeout prone right-handers with a left-hander.
   
4. And finally, it’s not like Buxton needs an extra-base hit to move around the bases.
   

Postgame, regarding his lineup versus right-handers, Molitor said straight up “This is definitely an options I would consider in terms of the top five.” So we know which way he’s leaning right now. But I’ll predict it doesn’t last long, for the same reason we talked about on Monday: I can’t imagine Mauer feels comfortable with the expectations of being a cleanup hitter. In the meantime, enjoy this hanging curveball for snark.

Also, while I do like the idea of someone breaking up Buxton and Sano, I’m also hesitant saddling Buxton with the expectations that come with hitting third. It may be that this is a work in progress all season. Again, stay tuned.

Lord He’s Fun To Watch

In the bottom of the first, Buxton hit a line drive to left field, towards the line. It was not in danger of getting past the outfielder, who raced over, fielded it cleanly and gunned it into the infield.

And Buxton was STANDING on second base.

There are very fast players who could hustle right out of the box and slide into second base beating that throw. But Buxton made it look routine. When he rounded first there was a gasp of anticipation from the crowd for his daring ploy. And then ... the tension just faded away. There was never really any question.

It was so smooth as to be mundane. I’m sure there were casual fans who didn’t think there was anything unusual about the play. Meanwhile, in the press box, baseball writers are laughing and looking around at each other with that “Did you SEE that?” look on their face. It was the first topic that came up when talking to Molitor. "Don't watch the ball," Molitor advised us after a Buxton hit. He doesn't need to worry.

Park vs Heat

The Twins faced Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer today, who throws 97 miles per hour. I was most intrigued to see how ByungHo Park would fare against that kind of speed. I wouldn’t say he looked overmatched, but he did strike out swinging.

He made up for it two at-bats later, albeit against a cutter from Austin Pruitt. It was the lone run of the game, which the Twins won.

The Last Piece?

Robbie Grossman played in a minor league game today and it sounds like everything went well. He should play versus Boston tomorrow. That might well be the last piece of the puzzle for the roster. If something changes and he isn’t healthy, the Twins could bring north JB Shuck as a backup outfielder, though with Danny Santana on the roster, that’s not a sure thing. With Ehire Adrianza battling an oblique strain (and Tommy Fields demoted today), I don’t see an infielder that would replace him.

Which leaves the possibility of carrying 13 pitchers north. That sounds crazy, but it would allow the coaching staff and the front office to both get what they want. Alex Wimmers could make the team and still keep Michael Tonkin and Justin Haley in the organization. At the very least, it would allow the Twins to delay exposing Tonkin to waivers.

I asked a scout with a front office background about whether that is really beneficial or not. Is a player even more likely to be claimed when there isn’t as much traffic on the waiver wire in a week or two? In general, he felt like it was easier to get a player through waivers then because of teams' mindset. The question becomes: “Is he that much better than the guy we got?” If there isn’t a clear cut difference, they’ll just stand pat.

40-Man Moves

One challenge about carrying 13 pitchers is it would require another move to make room for Alex Wimmers on the 40-man roster. I don't think that's likely, so let’s wrap up this story with the candidates for the roster that are not on the 40-man and the probable moves:

1. If ByungHo Park wins the DH job, the Twins can put left-handed reliever Glen Perkins on the 60-day DL
   
2. If Chris Gimenez wins the backup catcher job, they’ll need to drop someone. I expect that is left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers.
   
3. If Alex Wimmers wins the bullpen job, it likely means Michael Tonkin does not. So he would need to be exposed to waivers because he’s out of options. That would open a spot.
   
4. If Nick Tepesch wins the swingman role, it likely means Justin Haley does not. So as a Rule 5 pick, he would need to be offered back to his old team. That would open a spot.
   

There will be more cuts tomorrow, but it sounds like final cuts might wait as long as Thursday. Still, Molitor said we’ll have some (maybe not all) clarification on final roles tomorrow. It was pointed out to me that the truck with players’ stuff left on Monday morning, when there were still around 40 guys left on the roster. So there are about 15 guys whose stuff is going to need to be shipped back.