stringer bell

Who leads the 2014 Twins in home runs? Last year's leader--Brian Dozier--will be back with the team, but I would consider him a long shot.

Which player starts the most games for the Twins at catcher? Again, we know it won't be the same as 2013--that answer was Joe Mauer.

To provoke conversation, I am going to start a few polls about the Twins. I also will post one poll about ex-Twins and I hope that is OK. Number 1--Which player starts the most games for the Twins in the outfield? BTW, I believe the answer to this question for 2013 was the immortal Clete Thomas.

Pinto missed time behind the plate at New Britain with a sore arm (elbow). He hasn't played in his winter league in a couple of weeks, and I believe at least part of the reason is a sore elbow. It's not believed to be serious IIRC.

What's next? Since the Twins have actively pursued several catchers, my guess is that they acquire a veteran backstop at the winter meetings, either by trade or free agency. I believe they will add another pitcher (Pelfrey-type) and one major league position player, but that can wait until the dust settles and some guys are looking for work.

Since the Twins would be accepting an $8M salary, I don't think they'd have to trade any of their top 10-15 prospects. Start with Walker and a bullpen piece or AA/AAA starter (not Meyer or May) and see if that is in the ballpark.

Teams seem to be making a lot of moves early this year. A few possible Twins pickups (Feldman, Arencebia, and McLouth) all signed with other teams today. The woebegone Astros and Marlins have been especially busy. Does this have to do with "new" TV money? Of course, the biggest news today is that Robbie is going to the west coast. The big contracts for pitchers seem to be waiting for Tanaka. Ubaldo, E Santana, and Garza remain unsigned with little news about any of them. When the smoke clears, there should be some bargains to be picked up. I definitely think the Twins need to pick up another starter, a veteran catcher (Suzuki and Buck remain), and perhaps one offensive player. The winter meetings should be fun!

BB Ref does say $3.5M (perhaps a pro-rated buyout?).

Hmmm, switch-hitting pinch-hitter, who could play a little right field or catch on occasion? Even in the era of 13-man pitching staffs, a team should be able to find a spot for a player with those skills (lifetime .766 OPS), just not at $3.5M.

Ryan Doumit isn't the centerpiece of this team. For the last two years, he has mixed being a DH, catching and some outfield at ages 31 and 32, into career high plate appearances on a bad team. Given his skill-set and age, I doubt he'll ever get another multiple-year contract. Much of Doumit's value comes from his ability to play catcher and if he chooses to no longer go behind the plate, he may not continue in the big leagues beyond this year. On the flip side, if a player no longer wants to catch as the result of an injury, I sincerely doubt any club could invoke a "diminished skills" clause and make it stick and I doubt that such a clause exists with a small to medium sized contract which is where Doumit's salary lands. At the conclusion of this season, I was under the impression that Doumit not catching was the club's idea, not his. I would think that Doumit would continue to be available to catch, but not a preferred option for the club.

Of all the names mentioned here, I probably like Michael Young best for the Twins. He's had a good long career as a hitter and has played several positions (including third) which could keep him in the lineup almost every day.

On the wider original topic, it is reasonable to expect better offense from several veterans, and certainly possible that Florimon might improve upon his first full season as a regular. I also expect a much different lineup at midseason compared to Opening Day and probably another change by season's end. I think Buxton gets a look this September (skipping AAA), but won't be a regular until well into 2015. Barring injury or sub-.200 BA, Sano will become the Twins 3B sometime this year. As soon as Hicks has shown that a) his LH hitting is acceptable and that he has "mastered" AAA, he'll be back in center to keep the spot warm for the phenom. It would be nice to spend to upgrade, but I suspect the Twins will spend only on a catcher (Buck, Suzuki, Arencebia) who won't help the offense much.

It looks like Murphy has played almost exclusively at first and second, probably the two positions that the Twins really don't need reinforcements. If they had a Tony Phillips type who could legitimately start at second, third, and a corner outfield spot, that could be very helpful, especially with RH hitters Plouffe and Dozier having pretty severe platoon splits.

I guess this mean that Cuddy will continue to be a right fielder. I wonder how Justin will do in the thin air of Denver.

Suzuki and Arencebia look to be the best veteran prospects. I find it interesting how much Hanigan is going to get from the Rays. Good defensive catchers must be scarce as hen's teeth.

mlbtraderumors.com now has Saltalamacchia off the board--to the Marlins for 3/21M.

I won't shed tears if Plouffe is benched, traded, or becomes an extra player. However, I can't see adding an Eric Chavez. Having two guys playing one position is tough to do in the era of 12-man pitching staffs. A pure platoon means the younger player, who the Twins can control for three more years would start between and quarter and a third of the time. I want Sano to be the Twins 3B sometime in 2014. I want Plouffe to build enough value to net something good in a trade or to merit being reassigned as a poor-fielding corner OF or DH. Chavez was a good player with an extensive injury history. He turns 36 in less than a week. I doubt his health over the course of a year. In a different situation, Chavez could be a nice pickup, but not with Sano just around the corner.

The Marlins non-tendered former ROY Chris Coghlan. It looks like he has fallen off the map since his rookie year ('09)--injuries? weakness discovered? He's only 28 and a LH bat. Lou Marson has caught quite a bit for the Tribe. I think he has the rep as a good receiver, so probably he's a better hitting Son-of-Sal and was supplanted by Yan Gomes, so Cleveland non-tendered him.

No surprise. I do like all three players for what they will receive in salary. Reality is, however, that none of the three will be important players for the Twins when they have a winning team. It wouldn't surprise me to see any or all moved within a year.

Neither Saltalamacchia or Pierzynski is a plus defensive catcher IMHO. Both are horrible throwing out base stealers, moderate framing pitches with the former Red Sox having a good year doing that last year and decent calling a game and handling pitchers. I think the Twins should get a defense-first receiver to mentor Pinto and go no more than one year or a year plus an option. Ryan Hanigan has been my choice since I read up on him. He shouldn't cost more than a C prospect or a bullpen arm.

Harmon was catcher-slow and the infielders would play way back. I doubt he hit many (if any) doubles on grounders down the line. The OF would play very deep and keep balls in front of them and again Harm just didn't run well at all. He hit homers that were majestic--high in the air as well as far-- so there weren't many drives where the OF couldn't get back to the wall or go into the gap to catch. He was Jim Thome before Jim Thome, complete with a transition from third to first and being one of the nicest gentlemen in the game in his era.

5) Andrew Albers has a similar story to Diamond. He doesn't have a great arsenal, but good command and throwing lots of ground balls worked in Triple A and his first few starts. The pixie dust seemed to wear off after a few starts. Albers has options left, so I suppose he will be ticketed to Rochester and wait for a chance. 6) The two Chrises. Colabello is older, had a great season at AAA, hits righty and is a liability in the field (slight at first base, decidedly in right field). He has options remaining. Parmelee is now two years separated from his September success for the Twins. He also raked in Rochester in 2012. Parm played a respectable right field for the Twins and is okay at first. He is out of options, so either he makes the team or is exposed. My eyeball test says that Colabello won't every be able to hit good big league pitching. Parmelee has to adjust, but there's a small chance that he can be a good ML hitter. I think Colabello is dispatched to Rochester and Parm makes the team as a backup.

Players that have been ignored, neglected, forgotten and/or given up on: Ryan Doumit, Vance Worley, Liam Hendriks, Scott Diamond, Anthony Albers, Chris Colabello, and Chris Parmelee. While there is good reason to think that several of these guys won't contribute much if at all to the Twins in 2014 or ever, I think someone of this group will help the club. Who should the Twins believe in and who should they jettison? Here's my take: 1) Ryan Doumit is unacceptable as a primary catcher and he isn't a good enough hitter to be a regular DH. He can play a little right field (about as well as he catches) and he's not a bad hitter, but there's really not a spot for him on the Twins unless he is the primary DH. 2) Vance Worley was an overachieving young pitcher for the Phils, but he's been somewhere between poor and dreadful for the last year and a half. Many thought he was out of shape for the Twins. Worley isn't dominating, but he has experienced success, he's young and cheap. I think the Twins give him a long look and if they like what they see, he either makes the rotation or is a sixth starter/long man waiting for a chance that eventually will come. 3) Liam Hendriks is still young. He has basically been very good in the minors, but this hasn't translated for the Twins. Hendriks has shown glimmers of promise, but doesn't have an out pitch IMHO. Hendriks has an option left so I expect the Twins will keep him at Rochester again waiting for an opportunity which almost certainly will come. 4) Scott Diamond doesn't have above-average stuff. He was a fine pitcher last year when he combined outstanding command, some good fortune and a high ground ball rate to go 12-9 3.54 for a bad team. Diamond had "minor" elbow surgery, started the season on the DL and was never consistently effective. He didn't seem to have the same feel for his curve ball, his command in the strike zone wasn't as good and more balls found holes. As a lefty on a team lacking lefties in the rotation, he has a chance to win a spot, but he'll be an underdog. I think Diamond will have form closer to 2012 and could win a spot. If not, the Twins will lose him either by trading (selling low) or being claimed if he is DFAed.

Dave--Pinto is only 24 and while he's been a professional a long time, I think the rededicated Pinto still has work to do to become a quality receiver. Secondly, he was nicked some (shoulder?) where he couldn't catch, but could still hit. At NB, he was their best offensive player until Sano got called up, so he was used as a DH. I think that long-term he has the tools to be a better defensive receiver than either Saltalamacchia or Pierzynski. Chris--In the past two years, Pinto has had an excellent BB/K ratio. It wasn't the case in (SSS) Rochester, but in September he showed decent patience and raked. I think Pinto's bat is very close to ready to become a regular. If the Twins add a catcher, I would prefer to see a short contract or a veteran backup like Ryan Hanigan, so that Pinto isn't blocked.

It's at MLBTraderumors.com I'm really surprised that the Twins have spent to this level.