Thrylos

I think that it is about time the Twins let Smith go and cater to Mientkiewicz. Would be really mad, if this organization loses Mient. because they picked Vavra over him for a coach job or Smith over him for the Miracle job, if that is what he wants...

Beg to disagree, I think that age comparisons are a fair game (regardless of years in pro baseball) to project someone's career. I think that the Twins did not see Michael as a Utility Player, otherwise they would had not drafted him in the first round and I do agree with that assessment. Also think that, regardless what we see now from Dozier, Michael's ceiling is higher than Dozier's, simply because he makes better contact and has better pitch selectivity than Dozier. And you cannot teach "eye". It is something that you have by instinct and improve with experience. Let's agree to disagree on this, if you'd like.

Indeed Decade mixup

I don't understand the Levi Michael hate here. Last season was his age 23 season. He hit .305/.375/.395 in Fort Myers and .340/.444/.358 in New Britain. Brian Dozier's age 23 season? .278/.347/.338 in Beloit and .274/.352/.354 in Fort Myers. Michael is ahead of where Dozier was at the same age. And I think that he will be the one who will replace Dozier at 2B for the Twins.

Milone has the same problems that Diamond had: - Cannot strike anyone out - Can barely hit 90 - Had only on out pitch that worked for exactly one season for them (Curve for Diamond, Changeup for Milone) And their numbers that season are eerily similar: Scott Diamond 2012: 12-9, 3.54 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 12.6 K%, 3.93 xFIP Tommy Milone 2012: 13-10, 3.74 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 17.3 K%, 4.02 xFIP Still surprised that the Twins offered him arbitration, to tell you the truth...

TJ surgery in 2007, missed most of 2014 with elbow issues... I would not really count, but there is zero risk at this point.

That did not make the Twins competitive the last 2 seasons. Sell high.

------ On paper the Minnesota Twins' reunion with 39 year old Torii Hunter last night seems a bit puzzling. Rational thinking suggests that a team coming back from seasons of 99, 96, 96 and 92 losses, and lacking primarily in pitching and defense, would want an aging 39-year-old outfielder with diminishing defensive skills as the marquee transaction of the off-season as much as a painful communicable disease. Image courtesy of Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports ------ On paper the Minnesota Twins' reunion with 39 year old Torii Hunter last night seems a bit puzzling. Rational thinking suggests that a team coming back from seasons of 99, 96, 96 and 92 losses, and lacking primarily in pitching and defense, would want an aging 39-year-old outfielder with diminishing defensive skills as the marquee transaction of the off-season as much as a painful communicable disease. Not to mention that the particular outfielder added insult, signing with a team within the Twins division two seasons ago, to the 2007 injury of leaving the Twins as a free agent for more money elsewhere. But that is rational thinking. Any person who has followed the Twins should know that this is business as usual for Terry Ryan's front office. There is no need to rationalize Hunter's signing. It makes perfect sense, if you realize that this is how Terry Ryan builds a team. Here is the complete Terry Ryan transaction record from the 1995-2006 seasons and 2012. I posted that before the last two off-seasons. The Torii Hunter signing fits Ryan's modus operandi like a glove: Ryan re-signed a 41- year-old Paul Molitor in 1998, reunited the Twins with a 35-year-old Mike Trombley in 2002 and a washed out Matt LeCroy (the player whom he chose over David Ortiz after 2002) in 2007, re-signed Capps in 2012 and Carl Willis in 2005 (to release them both later) in addition to last year's washed out trio of Bartlett, Kubel and Guerrier. This is the same general manager who brought old and washed out Tony Batista, Tim Raines, Rueben Sierra, Bob Tewksbury, Otis Nixon, Mike Morgan, Michael Jackson and Sidney Ponson (among others) as "solutions". Old and washed out is Terry Ryan's specialty. Nothing new here, nothing to be rationalized. Business. As. Usual. Back to non-rational thinking. One of the biggest problems with the Twins over the past four seasons (and beyond, as far as the post-season goes) is that they seemed to be OK with losing and they seemed to not give 100% all the time. Last spring training this became painfully obvious to me, and led me to where I just cannot see this team winning, no matter the improvements on paper (and there were a lot). Getting rid of Gardenhire and most of his friends who were at least OK with this attitude is a step to the right direction. I am hopeful that Molitor and his staff will install a winning attitude among the players. Torii Hunter, punching short utility teammates while targeting rookie stars notwithstanding, has had the reputation of playing hard and giving it his all... and to keep working... and then work some more. Hopefully, he will bring the right attitude to a team with so many young players with so much potential. Hopefully, he will be an example of hard work and never giving up... and never stop working. Not that I like the signing, rationally, but when it pours lemons... On the other hand, Torii Hunter was a core member of the Gardenhire teams that went belly up in the post-season. I hope that 2015 is different. Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch View full article

I think around 130 OPS+ is reasonable as a floor. This is pretty close to what he did in August & September after he returned. Another year removed from his injuries and with his body healing and I am really optimistic for a repeat of 2013 at least.

Proportional to Drew's value

Morrow, yeah, maybe. Medlen is a junk ball soft tossing swing man who was a full time SP for only one season and he was injured. Same guy as Milone, just different arm.

Well... Straker was meant to be the fifth man in a 5 man pitching staff, at an era when the 5th man was a spot starter. He actually rose above the occasion with a 103 ERA+, not too shabby for your third best starter. Smithson, a veteran with success who led the AL for the Twins in GS in 84 and 85 was number 3, and an up and coming phenom (who later ate his way out of baseball,) Mark Portugal, was supposed to be the number 4. The difference between Ryan and MacPhail is that when the latter two faltered, MacPhail was never afraid to trade his backup catcher to the Yankees for a veteran work horse with a ridiculous contract (Niekro) or a C prospect to the Indians for a future Hall of Famer (Carlton.)

I think that in Anno Domini 2014 we should be able to afford to see players as players instead of players as [insert race/nationality modifier] players vs. [insert another race/nationality modifier] players. Unless we do this, there is always going to be "racial issues" in baseball. The language barrier of players whose English is not the first language (like Asians and Latin Americans) is a different story. It is a communication issue.

If I were one of Darnell, Herrmann, Parmelee, Pryor, Thielbar, Thompson, I would not be planning on renting a house at Fort Myers this March...

I'd love to see him come to any of the other AL Central teams, especially if the trade drain them from prospects. He is not consistent (and every other year or so has been a major source of fan frustration - think Nolasco circa 2014) and here is the cherry on top: 8-13, 4.54 ERA, 1.325 WHIP, .812 Opponent OPS His career numbers against the AL. I'd love to see him in a Tigers or White Sox uniform.

I would not call them quite "winners" yet. I am not sure how I would felt if the Twins traded Kyle Gibson and Jorge Polanco for a season (or half) of Samardzija. Because that's practically what the WSux did, only Marcus Semien is maybe more MLB-ready than Polanco and Chriss Bassit is under more years of club control than Gibson. As far as Robertson goes, I love that move. He reminds me of a certain closer. Robertson 2014: 4-5, 3.08 ERA, 39 saves, 2.68 FIP. Matt Capps 2010: 5-3, 2.47 ERA, 42 saves, 3.22 FIP. Paying top $ for an "established closer" while you can put a failed starter who did not quite reach his potential in the position (Nathan and Perkins are examples) is silly. I think that the Twins should trade Perkins, since the market for closers has become nutty and try Pelf there. So it is kinda business as usual for the WSox: They overspend, they do not quite make it and then they burn it up and start again. Winners? Nah. That's as much their MO, as dumpster diving is TR's

A rotation that has been the worst in baseball or close to it for a while is never full. The 40-man roster is full, but about 10 of those players or so are at replacement level. On paper it is full, but on reality there is (huge) room for improvement. It will take Ryan trading a couple people to reduce the logjam, and the ability of Ryan to do so, is another story. Now, whether he should he go out and (try to) get an ace, is a different story. As far as I am concerned, a 20+M/year pitcher is lipstick on a pig of 99+96+96+92 losses (as is their closer as well.) I'd rather see him play the kids, see whether Nolasco's issues were health- or Andy-related. A rotation of Meyer, Hughes, Nolasco, Gibson, May/Milone (with the loser of the 5th spot and Pelfrey in the pen,) will not be that bad at all, if Meyer and Nolasco pitch the way they can. But Ryan will likely take Meyer out of the equation, have him start at AAA and sign the Correia or Ponson or Tewksbury or Morgan du jour to fill that spot. That's his MO.

I'll shut up if the Twins win 90 in 2015 and 2016

That's an 87 loss team. 5 game improvement. Allegedly TR has been offering contracts to 38 year old relievers because he is looking for a veteran presence there.

Hunter failed the eyeball test last season too..

"I wouldn't play in Minnesota unless my career was at an end and I had to go to Minnesota to play the game" Does not deserve Twins HOF.

Darrin Mastroianni all over again.

There was absolutely every reason to pursue that line of questioning and any line of questioning. And kudos to Mike Berardino for actually being the first media member who ever asked a "controversial" question to a Twins' team member, since Nick Coleman wrote about the Griffith incident in 1978. And bigotry is bigotry. Hunter is no different than Griffith. Perfect question for someone who supposedly was signed to lead by example. Mike did his job. Athletes and team members in the Twin Cities are just not used to it... And what Hunter did, should get a fine by the Twins' Front Office...

With the Hunter signing the Schafer tender does not make much sense. The Nunez signing never made sense since Santana and Escobar can at least rotate at the SS/UT position. Issues: a. The Twins' bench was just made worse. b. Sano, Rosario and Polanco will likely not make it to the bigs before September (and I'd rather see them than Hunter, Schafer and Nunez.) Of course, the Twins can trade any of the players they offered arbitration.