stringer bell

Welcome to the board. Solid first post!

Two thoughts: The Twins continue to add right handed bats and seem willing to sacrifice defense on at least one of the outfield corners. Murphy for Herrmann is a step up, I think, but he's another right handed hitter. Hicks' at bats will go to ????--I think Buxton, but it is possible that the Twins will have only Mauer and Rosario from the left side with Escobar as a switch hitter. They have a crying need for left handed hitters who can get on base, like Joe Mauer used to. It does open the door wider for Kepler and makes it easier to see Arcia getting at bats to start the season. Second thought is that the Twins believe in Byron Buxton (so do I) and saw Hicks as really viable only as a center fielder (so do I). Hicks restored some value with his decent season this year and maybe the time was right to deal him.

In another thread I admitted knowing next to nothing about John Ryan Murphy. I checked his bio in BB Reference and he certainly looks to be an upgrade over Chris Herrmann, that bar is pretty low. One of the Yankee fan articles said that he had a positive defensive rating, but BB Ref doesn't indicate this (often Fan Graphs and BB Ref come out differently by their use of different formulas). I hope he is sound defensively and hits close to league average. If so, the Twins did OK.

I admit I know very little about Murphy other than he homered off Perkins to win a game for the Evil Empire. I never saw that hit and I don't believe I've ever seen him play. It looks like he throws OK, but I don't know about his defense although the number of passed balls and wild pitches allowed looks pretty high.

The odds that Byron Buxton will make the team out of spring training just increased dramatically. Sugar Shane will probably be re-signed in short order, as well.

Wow. Let's never criticize Ryan for doing nothing! Big move early in the off-season. Good luck, Aaron Hicks. Those of us who were thinking there would be a Rosario, Buxton, Hicks OF for years saw it for what? 15 innings.

Also, they cleared a spot on the 40-man. I think that is big, especially since Herrmann would have to have been DFAed to be sent to the minors.

So, to summarize, the Twins traded catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann to Arizona for OF/1B Daniel Palka.

Some conclusions if Park is in fact signed--there isn't room for Vargas and Arcia unless someone is moved. Secondly, the power on the 2016 Twins will come almost exclusively from the right side. IMHO, it makes no sense to move Sano to the outfield unless the plan is for him to be out there for several seasons. This year would be a learning experience, not what you want to have on a contending team. If acquiring Park means that the Twins are really going for it in 2016, any other trade should be for assets that will help the team win in the coming season. Don't trade Plouffe, Hicks, Rosario etc. for prospects. The Twins offense was lousy and extremely disappointing in 2015. There is room for much improvement, but the improvement should be focused on guys that get on base. I'm very much puzzled about what will happen going forward, although I do like the idea of adding talent, which is how I see the move to add Park.

Hicks appeared to turn a corner last year, but IMHO he isn't proven. The team is at a different place and Buxton is a different prospect than Hicks in 2013. I just don't think Hicks will ever hit enough from the left side to be an everyday corner outfielder.

It looks like all of the Twins farmhands are doing pretty well. I'm especially pulling for two who I think could help the club in 2016--no not ABW, but Rogers and Turner. Rogers has pitched pretty well as a starter, but I hope the Twins consider him for the bullpen. Turner is getting on base, with a really high percentage of walks and earlier reports have highlighted his throwing. It would be nice to have a catcher (even a backup) who can get on base more than 30% of the time and can throw out more than 20% of attempted base stealers.

It looks like all of the Twins farmhands are doing pretty well. I'm especially pulling for two who I think could help the club in 2016--no not ABW, but Rogers and Turner. Rogers has pitched pretty well as a starter, but I hope the Twins consider him for the bullpen. Turner is getting on base, with a really high percentage of walks and earlier reports have highlighted his throwing. It would be nice to have a catcher (even a backup) who can get on base more than 30% of the time and can throw out more than 20% of attempted base stealers.

I just finished reading through this thread for the first time in weeks. Here is what I think: While Trump and Carson have led in the polling, we all know it won't last. The most viable candidate to win is Rubio--he's from a key state, he's good on the stump and the generational difference between Clinton and him favors the younger candidate. I think the last two candidates standing will be Cruz and Rubio. If Republicans want to make a statement they pick Cruz and lose the general election, if they want to have a chance a year from now they choose Rubio. Personally, I would abhor Republicans running both the executive and legislative branch, but they have a real chance because voters see changing the party in the White House as changing the direction of the country and most of us want to see a change of direction. Again, personally, I would like to see a legislative change. I am amazed how fast our nation's perception of two social issues has changed--gay marriage and marijuana legalization--and it makes most liberals and Democrats look like political weathervanes, changing positions on those issues. I suspect they previously wouldn't have felt safe backing SSM and legal pot, but seeing that it was acceptable to a majority of voters, they now take these positions, which fit a liberal profile. Hillary is Exhibit A. Clinton looks like the certain nominee to me. She has some assets--she is smart, experienced, has access to lots of money, and before things become politicized, she was lauded as a good Senator and Secretary of State. She doesn't excite people the way both Obama and her husband did, but she probably won't have to. She would bring the novelty of being the first female to head a major party ticket and a coalition of left-leaners, non-whites and economically disadvantaged might be enough to win the White House. Also included in her coalition would be people like me who believe the Republican party has gone off the rails and has a platform full of really bad ideas on both social issues (especially) and domestic issues. Bill Clinton might be the wild card in the next election. I think on balance his record and his popularity help Hillary.

I like Brian Dozier and I like his game. He has already exceeded most scout's predictions for his career. How many would have predicted that Dozier would hit 69 homers in a three-year span and lead the Twins in homers all three years? Not many, I'm sure. Dozier made adjustments to add extra-base power to his game and it has served him well. However, the league and it's pitchers have adjusted to Dozier. He now must make further adjustments if he wants to improve. It appears that Mauer couldn't, but a player like Torii Hunter continued to make adjustments and became a better hitter later in his career. I don't think it is out of the question that Dozier could continue to improve. Polanco looks to me to be the anti-Dozier. If his minor league record is to be believed, he might be able to come to the majors and hit an empty .270. The two things that Dozier has provided--extra-base hits and free passes-are the two things pretty much lacking in Polanco's MiLB resumé. Polanco is young enough to develop both power and better on-base skills, but I don't think they are there yet.

My problem with moving Dozier and/or Plouffe this offseason is that there is so much unproveness amongst the position players. In my book, over the last three years Dozier and Plouffe have proven themselves to be capable major league regulars. We had Sano, Hicks, and Rosario perform capably last year, but the year before Arcia, Santana and Vargas were all to some degree "breaking out" and all three ended up in the minors. Dozier put up a fine two and a half years, of near elite play at his position and had a bad 70-game stretch. Does it foretell his permanent decline? I don't think so. If he is close to the .840 OPS he had at the break, his value is a lot more than a good catching prospect.

They signed Sugar Shane to a minor league contract, why not again? I don't hate this, but he shouldn't have a wink-wink guarantee of making the club.

It might be just me, but I couldn't live with Soto's throws back to the mound.

Excellent job on the handbook.

I always check the obituaries in BB Reference. I would say that somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the players had very forgettable careers--no full seasons and just a handful of at-bats or innings pitched.

If Plouffe were traded, I expect Nunez will be a Twin next year. If not, I don't think he's a real fit as the second utility guy, although he hit pretty well last year. As I said earlier, I don't think Santana's season in 2014 should be forgotten, but it should be put in perspective. Danny is still a young player who figures to get better with some confidence and playing time. If he comes back with a season closer to 2014, he has value as either a Twin or a trade chip. It only makes sense to give him that opportunity.

Lucroy suffered two injuries, a broken toe early and a concussion in September. It took him a while to recover from the toe injury and he picked up well late into the season until he had the concussion. Not exactly the look of a player in decline. Injuries are a concern, but this is a Top Ten catcher in baseball and he's 29 for almost half of the season.

The spot Santana figures to take belongs to the much-maligned Eduardo Nunez.

It won't be that way and shouldn't be that way in this instance. Santana is out of options and will be playing for the Twins in the major leagues or traded. He certainly won't make it through a DFA. Jorge Polanco is not being blocked by Danny Santana. The Twins don't want and even younger guy with a considerable upside to be a bench player.

"You never know what you're gonna get" (from Forrest Gump), this little witticism also applies to baseball players. Every front office projects what their prospects will become, but it is never a sure bet. Consider two current Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier came to the Twins as a shortstop, thought to be fundamentally sound in the field, but without great tools. As a hitter, he had never hit below .274 and never exceeded nine homers in a season, with his top year yielding at .320 average in a year split between advanced A ball and AA. Typical middle infielder profile. Sometime in 2013, the scouting report changed--Dozier has become a second baseman and a guy with a low batting average, but with the most extra base sock for his position in major league baseball. It could be argued that from the start of 2014 (or perhaps midseason of 2013) until the All-Star break in 2015 that Dozier put together elite numbers based on his power numbers. Overall, despite the low batting average and middling overall OBP, Dozier has established himself as a hitter based on his extra-base hits. Since 2013 he has compiled 105 doubles and 69 homers from second base. Now, lets look at Oswaldo Arcia: Coming through the system, the most used comp for Arcia was Bobby Abreu, a fine hitter with some power. Arcia hit his way throught the minors, always as a young player for the league. He topped out at 17 homers in 2012, splitting his season between A+ and AA and hitting a combined .320. As a Twin, Arcia has become a true home run threat, hitting 34 homers (including some prodigious long balls) in under 800 plate appearances in 2013 and 2014. However, the batting average and more importantly strike zone discipline have diminished dramatically. Both players have increased their power numbers at the highest level, but lost something in the transition. Dozier hasn't cracked .250 for batting average and this season set the club strikeout record. Arcia's K percentage is much higher than Dozier's and he seldom takes a free pass, in fact this year for the Twins Arcia didn't get a non-intentional walk (65 PAs). I think the Twins would be happy if both Dozier and Arcia became more complete hitters, even if it costs a few home runs. In Arcia's case, I think his time in Minnesota will end if he doesn't modify his approach (and results), while with Dozier, becoming someone who uses the whole field more often would be an adjustment to the adjustments that major league pitchers have used on him.

I don't know how much things have changed since the Gardy era, but regulars were regulars and the bench guys were the ones who had to be versatile. As far as Santana backing up third base, I do think the Twins should look at him there in ST. If they keep Plouffe, it likely won't be an issue, of course. Ditto for the outfield. Both Hicks and Rosario played a lot in right last year, so Santana probably wouldn't have to play that position. Robinson played 36 innings there in '15 and he was the fourth OF. FWIW, if a guy can capably play short, it should be relatively easy to adjust to third and we all know Santana has plenty of arm for any infield position. The same with transitioning from center to a corner.