chopper0080

I really hope Sano, Vargas and Rosario move up to AA sooner rather than later this season. They seem to have showed enough at Hi A and baseball is a sport where you can always find failure in stats. They don't have anyone "blocking" them in terms of their positions, and I feel they should be given a shot against the other elite prospects in baseball who normally reside in AA. The same goes for Buxton. Get him to Hi A and see what he can do for the rest of the year. If he does very well, which I expect, it would position him to start next year at AA with Sano, Rosario and Vargas. I understand that we could see these promotions after the all star break which I am fine with, but any longer just seems silly. Also, what does Danny Ortiz need to do to get promoted to AAA. He is due to move up as well.

I agree that building a team through free agency is not the answer, but it is an important tool to have in the toolbox. In modern sports, teams do not have the luxury of waiting years for prospects to develop and depending on that development to translate to the big leagues. In baseball that is even more true with the length of time it takes most prospects to make it to the big leagues. There is no question that a strong minor league system is the most important part for a MLB baseball team to maintain success. However, FA is an important tool to fill the gaps and helps bridge the gaps between the waves that prospects come in. To ignore FA or use it so conservatively that you don't "overspend" on players is like playing golf with half of your clubs. Several conservative and successful teams use free agency well while not hindering their farm systems or getting themselves into financial binds. Anibal Sanchez was a prime example how FA should be used. Same could be argued about Mike Napoli. As an organization you should be as confident in your free agenct approach as you are in your draft approach. Free agent money should be spent wisely, but spending wisely doesn't only mean spending cheaply.

If I am the Twins (which is not the case as my opinions seem to differ significantly from theirs) I look to move the following after the All Star game in June. DJ Braxendale from Hi-A to AA Miguel Sano from Hi-A to AA Angel Morales from Hi-A to AA Kenny Vargas from Hi-A to AA Byron Buxton from Lo-A to AA I believe these 5 players have demonstrated all they need to at their respective levels and the Twins need to move them up so they can evaluate them against the major league level talent that lives in the AA level. Some may seem this is too agressive for Buxton, but in my mind the difference between Low-A and High-A isn't that great. Buxton has shown he can dominate at Low-A, so in order to get more info on him, move him to AA. He will be protected by Sano, Vargas and Ortiz so he won't have all of the presure on him to produce, and will force teams to ptich to him. Eddie Rosario should also be an option, but he seems to be dealing with "other" issues at this time. Adam Walker from Low-A to Hi-A. I might move Harrison up as well, but I am not sure yet. I believe Walker really deserves a move up and it would provide the Twins with enough info to determine if he can jump to AA next year or if he would need more time at Hi-A. Not a ton of pitcher movement from me because it is hard for me to determine who really deserves it. Sometimes guys with poor mechanics and plus stuff can get by at certain levels despite having flaws which will cause them to struggle at the next level. I am not confident with the rest of the pitchers to determine if they qualify. Jose Berrios would probably be my next pitcher to move up, but I am sure more time at Low-A won't hurt him this season. We will see.

In my opinion, managing and developing players is all about agthering info. What moves can you make to gather the most information possible, and how can you use that information to give the player the best opportunity to succeed. Again, IMO, the Twins should know what they have in PJ Walters which is a fringe major league/AAA pitcher who can be successful in spurts but has not demonstrated the ability to do so over an extended period of time. Same arguement could be made for Deduno though I feel he has more potential because of his ability to gets swings and misses. However, the Twins have no idea what Gibson can do at the major league level. What information are you gathering by bringing up BOTH Walters and Deduno rather than Gibson? The answer is very little. If you need an example of why it is important to bring up Gibson as quickly as possible, see Liam Hendriks. Hendriks has looked great against minor league talent but has really struggled at the major league level. While that is unfortuante, at least the Twins have gathered that information and will not count on Hendriks contributing at the major league level until he has worked some things out. This exemplifies why it is important to get Gibson ASAP. You have to know what you can count on heading into next season.

A move needs to be made in one form or another. Either the Twins need to play Arcia consistently so he can make adjustments and apply them in game, or they need to send him down so he can do that at the AAA level. Very few players learn on the bench. If Arcia is unwilling to change his approach, send him down. If Arcia is willing, but you don't have a place to consistently play him, send him down. If Arcia is willing, and you are willing to play him so he can refine his approach that the major league level, then for God's sake, play him. Anyway you cut it, the Twins need to make a decision and move forward rather than this treading water which is accomplishing nothing.

This is a comical move. The move is to bring Gibson up, especially if you are playing for 2014 or 2015. He has an innings limit which means at best, you are only going to get so many looks at him vs. major leaguers before the 2014 season. This means in order to have an idea as an organization of how he is going to adjust at the next level for 2014, and to give Gibson the best idea of what he needs to work on in the offseason, you need to get the largest sample size you can for him. How can the Twins as an organization know what they need to add in the offseason if they head into it with a limited amount of knowledge? Get Gibson up sooner rather than later so both the team and Gibson himself can have the best understanding of how he translates in the big leagues, what he needs to focus on to improve, and determine if those improvements are even possible. Ugh.

The best sign is to have 4 SP's in the top 10 discussion. A big change from where we were.

If I am the Twins, I try and extend Morneau to a more manageable salary for about three more years. He is showing the hint of coming back to being a productive middle of the order bat, he can still play good defense, and his value is at an all time low. Morneau will not fetch the starting pitching we need so trading him is not an option in my opinion. He is more valuable to the Twins as a buy low, power bat especially if we can sign him to the final extension of his career. Worse case, we have a moderate investment into a solid C/DH/1B platoon between Morneau, Mauer, Parmalee, and Doumit with Parmalee getting into the outfield rotation as needed. This frees up to possibility of trading Span, Revere or Willingham for much needed pitching help, all whom I think would bring a greater return.

Great to see from Jose. Man he is flying through the organization.

I wouldn't have a problem with this. Low risk move to an area of extreme concern

I am starting to believe the Twins organization needs an overhaul as well. I still think Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire are decent baseball people, but when individuals are in an organization for so long they can get stuck in a rut which is where I think we are now. Personally, I would love to see Terry Francona brought in to manage next year, but I doubt it happens.

I imagine the Twins will shop Span, Revere and Willingham this offseason, with Span being the most likely to be traded in a move to get some pitching. Trading team controlled players in the offseason will generally net you a better return because you have more teams to find a good match with. Here is my brief take on the Twins in 2013 1-I think the lineup is good enough to compete if Mauer, Morneau and Willingham come to an equilibrium where everyone produces career average stats, and Plouffe keeps hitting. The rest will take care of itself in my opinion. 2-The bullpen is ok to good. I like Burton and Perkins in the 7th and 8th innings better than I do in the 9th in terms of their role. We lack a true, nasty closer, but I am not sure this is something we have in the farm system or we can afford to spend for in free agency. 3-Our starting pitching is really bad. I like Diamond, Deduno, Hendriks, Gibson, and De Vries battling for the 3-5 spots as long as the Twins can put some defense on the field behind them. As far as the other two spots, ugh. I don't see us spending the money needed to get two front line guys, and am not sure their will be another way to acquire what we need here. Honestly, other than our starting pitchers, we have a playoff caliber roster, but I just don;t see the TWins making the necessary moves to shore up the starting 5 as needed.

I would agree except for the fact when you hold all the cards you should shoot for the moon. The Mariners are looking for a team controlled power hitter, and there are TWO on the market as this article mentions. Power bats are worth power arms, and the Twins should totally hold to this. Home runs are very expensive to buy on the open market and the Twins bought low on a very big power bat. He is under team control for the next two years at an affordable rate. This isn't Liriano, Willingham is a quality player that deserves quality prospects back. I agree, negotiations should start at Hultzen +. Worst case, you come down to make the trade straight up.

And most would agree that Liriano was not quality. I have no issues with this deal other than my own false hope we would get more for him.

Meh, a pitcher at AAA and a SS with major league skills is better than a comp pick or Liriano at 12 mil. I don't love the deal and wish we could have gotten more, but I have to think this is about as valuable as Liriano is.

All I can think is that the Twins probably got as good of value as they could for Liriano and that speaks more to the level of player Liriano as been over the ineptitude of the Twins front office.

1-Shaun Marcum (3yrs) 2-Anibal Sanchez (4yrs) 3-Scott Diamond 4-Nick Blackburn 5-Liam Hendriks/Cole DeVries/Kyle Gibson

Probably awhile. Remember that during tha majority of the past 12 years we have been pretty competitive and so we haven't had spots to jump players from AA to the Bigs. Also, you could argue the Twins have the best crop of bats in it's mid level system that it has had in a long time. Ultimately, I believe we will see these three called up in Sept and then given a chance to battle for an outfield spot or two next Spring with the losers replacing those filler outfielders who are at AAA this year. This is one reason I believe if Span/Revere isn't traded by the deadline, I would expect one of them to be traded in the offseason for a pitcher. This would allow the Twins to have Willingham, Span/Revere, Mastroianni/Bigley, and Hicks/Benson/Arcia all battling for the three OF spots, a DH spot, and a reserve spot with the rest getting time at AAA. Not a terrible plan, and it keeps players getting consistent at bats and talent/flexability on both rosters.

Probably because the Twins are more comfortable with Hicks, Benson and Arcia jumping straight to the majors from AA and keeping giving their fringe roster players in AAA at bats, which is probably what they view Bigley as right now. A guy who may develop into a major league player, but they want to give more at bats at an upper level.

I don't disagree with this thought, though he doesn't have great speed and it is too unconventional for the Twins to try. Other than a lack of speed, what more could you want. The amount of pitches he sees alone would make it worth it. Seriously, how frustrating would it be for an opposing pitcher to have a 9-12 pitch first at bat to start a game?

In some ways, I agre with this. It always baffles me when the heart of the order comes up in the 8th inning of a close game and rather than going to the closer (arguably the best arm in the pen) a team goes with their setup man (arguably the 2nd best). Why would you not use your best relief pitcher against the other teams best hitters when the game is on the line?

I have no problem with bringing Blackburn back up. He was sent down to work on getting his sinker down in the zone, he had good success in AAA, and now bring him up to see if it translates.

I am excited to see what Bigley does in AAA. The Twins may find themselves turning over their outfield sooner rather than later with Bigley at AAA, and Benson, Hicks and Arcia at AA. I would love to see all four battling for a spot next spring and at AAA for those who dont' make it.

I start to wonder if he is tipping his pitches somehow which is the reason the players in the majors tee off on him and those in the minors do not. Other than that, it is probably just inexperience.

I'm not saying Willingham is untradeable, but I do think the Twins should make sure they get a tremendous offer in order to unload him.