Thrylos

Those were cancelled... Not sure when they are making them up

... no I am not talking about Nishi. Anthony Slama is starting a rehab assignment at GCL. Let the Free Anthony Slama talk begin

Saw him last Spring Training in a few minor league games. He reminds me a lot (even looks) of Jorge Posada, but a Jorge Posada in his mid 30s - when his bat slowed a bit... (and this is a compliment, btw) Suited mostly for a DH. Not much range to get to balls hit his way or to try to avoid errors on air-mailed balls but would not make too many errors on 1B. Not a prospect. Organizational guy who might get a call up under the right circumstances at some point (heck, Tommy Watkins made it to the majors)

- Don't look, but the Twins' have a team OPS+ of 101 and each regulars in every position (except the middle infield) has individual OPS+ of >103 - Drew Butera has been well above the Mendoza line (.218) and flirting with a career best .600 OPS

Yes and No. Terry Ryan (or whomever the Twins GM will be) has a big job ahead of them and it has to do with getting the rotation fixed. The Valencia traded (and everything that Ryan did last off-season) has nothing to do with priority number one. Trading a guy who for whatever reason had no future in this organization for a Rk level OF does nothing to fix the rotation (which should be Ryan's big job.) So it is not a start for anything. Trading (for example) Morneau for an MLB-ready SP would have been a start... And, to be clear, I am not saying that the Valencia trade is "good" or "bad"... All I am saying is that it is a side move that does not address the major priorities with this team.

Are you counting PJ Walters?

Wait for the "Pohlads are cheap" crowd now... I think that partially this is the reason but not because they don't want to pay someone else. They are out of it right now and they better see whether they can at least potentially count on him in any role for next season. I'd also be shocked if that was the last movement, in general... I expect at least 2-3 more trades to happen.

I cannot speak of Nick's sources. But don't you find it interesting that there are a lot of "reports about attitude" of players who the Twins got rid of ( Lohse, Romero, Garza, Neshek, Slowey, Luke Hughes etc) ? I do not believe what the mainstream media says because they are fed those things by the Twins... So unless I hear from a person who has personal experiences with a Twins' player (or any other person for that matter), I find it very simplistic and unfair to present one-sided points of view. And I suspect on the next telecast DickNBert will start talking about how Danny did not fit and how about "a change of scenery" will help everyone. (Trade happen during the game so they did not have the script yet)

So I trust that both of you either know Danny Valencia personally or know someone in the Twins' clubhouse who knows him to speak first hand of his attitude... Please enlighten us.

I am still working to find more details. I know that he signed for just a $10,000 bonus last year

Not if he signed as a 20 year old like Pineda did... the 16 year olds might be a different story

Ok. Pineda is 21 (and will be 22 the coming November) but he just signed a pro contract March of 2011. The reason he has been in the GCL was probably mostly for getting him used to the US, among other things, because that is where the Red Sox (and the Twins) are getting their foreign players. I did a mini scouting report of Pineda here, if you care.

There is E-town in between Pineda might be in the Twins A team (probably not Beloit - Kepler and Walker too) before the others

Jeremias Pineda is a 21 Dominican OF (playing in a league of 18 and 19 year olds) who is pretty much in the Mastroianni/Revere mold. Second season in the GCL, split last season between the DSL and GCL. Was signed by the Red Sox in March of 2011 so he is a late bloomer, thus the delay. We shall see

It does not block Parmelee's development if the latter plays every day at AAA. It (partially) blocks some of his MLB PAs. That's it. (other than the fact that a certain manager insists on having Drew in the majors and play him - but that has nothing to do with Doumit) Morneau being with the team blocks him If they trade Morneau, he will be up with the team. And since the Twins are not going any place other then maybe fight the Indians for 3rd place, Parmelee is better served at AAA as long as Morneau is with the Twins. September is pretty close...

Not of the villainous form... From the Wikipedia (my meaning was the underlined one) :

He is from Grant Balfour's hometown and his mechanics could use some help (those two things are unrelated) : http://thebaseballdigest.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/guyer.jpg?w=640&h=480

That's a different argument, but I guess some of us define "failure" and "chances given" different that others... Here are Casilla's seasons with the Twins: Age 23 season: 91 OPS+ almost full time (437 PAs - his record high - 2008) Age 24 season: 45 OPS+ (256 PAs - not consistent playing time; manager's choice) Age 25 season: 100 OPS+ (170 PAs - not consistent playing time because of injuries) Age 26 season: 91 OPS+ (365 PAs - not consistent playing time; injuries) Age 27 season: 55 OPS+ (234 PA - not consistent playing time; manager's choice) So, other than this season and his age 24 season where he underperformed, I would say OPS+ of 91 and 100 is pretty darn good for a middle infielder. (As a reference point, Nick Punto's career OPS+ is 75, and that includes his 125 last season with St. Louis; Dozier's OPS+ is 65 now and Carroll's 72.) So, I don't think that he underperformed other than that one season (his age 24) which apparently forever blemished him in the eyes of many... And he is a streaky hitter and he needs to play to hit. This is obvious this season. When he has 4-5 games in a row he hits... And we are talking about a guy who once stole 50 and another season 49 in the minors; and at age 24 (when he was sent down to Rochester, he put a .340/.379/.449 line. In AAA. as a 24 year old. He was much more of a prospect than Dozier was. Really. I guess we can disagree on whether he was given a chance or not or whether he performed or not... Compare his treatment to that of Butera, let's say... [TABLE=class: sortable stats_table] [TR=class: full] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Unfortunately there is not a single place that lists all the transactions in a particular teams' organization in a timely format. Baseball America has a week or two delay in reporting those, so I felt like I should start one, since I am doing it in twitter anyways and on the Tuesday posts. I will be doing it on a weekly basis, Friday to Friday and post them on Saturdays. Promotions and demotions will be listed under the team where the player currently plays (this means promotions to the Minnesota Twins will not be listed here.) This week featured 4 new members of the Twins' organization making their debuts: Pedro Hernandez and Eduardo Escobar with Rochester, Luke Bard with Elizabethton and Randol Rogers in the DSL. Also, Garrett Jewell was released from the organization. Here are the transactions in all levels in the Twins organization from July 27 until yesterday August 3: Rochester Redwings (International League, AAA): 8/3 - Rochester Red Wings placed RHP Lester Oliveros on the 7-Day disabled list. 7/29 - Minnesota Twins optioned LHP Pedro Hernandez to Rochester Red Wings. 7/29 - Minnesota Twins optioned Eduardo Escobar to Rochester Red Wings. 7/27 - RHP Daniel Turpen assigned to Rochester Red Wings from New Britain Rock Cats. New Britain Rock Cats (Eastern League, AA): 7/27 - RHP Matthew Hauser assigned to New Britain Rock Cats from Fort Myers Miracle Fort Myers Miracle (Florida State League, A+): 7/28 - LHP Ryan O'Rourke assigned to Fort Myers Miracle from Beloit Snappers. Beloit Snappers (Midwest League, A): 7/31 - LHP Corey Kimes assigned to Beloit Snappers from Elizabethton Twins. 7/31 - Beloit Snappers activated 2B/OF Eddie Rosario from the 7-Day disabled list. 7/31 - Beloit Snappers placed RHP Cole Johnson on the 7-Day disabled list. Elizabethton Twins (Appalachian League, Rk+): 7/29 - RHP Luke Bard assigned to Elizabethton Twins from GCL Twins. 7/29 - Elizabethton Twins released RHP Garrett Jewell. GCL Twins (Gulf Coast League, Rk): 7/31 LHP Andrew Albers assigned to GCL Twins. (Rehab) DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League, Foreign Rk): 8/3 - RHP Randol Rogers assigned to DSL Twins.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Unfortunately there is not a single place that lists all the transactions in a particular teams' organization in a timely format. Baseball America has a week or two delay in reporting those, so I felt like I should start one, since I am doing it in twitter anyways and on the Tuesday posts. I will be doing it on a weekly basis, Friday to Friday and post them on Saturdays. Promotions and demotions will be listed under the team where the player currently plays (this means promotions to the Minnesota Twins will not be listed here.) This week featured 4 new members of the Twins' organization making their debuts: Pedro Hernandez and Eduardo Escobar with Rochester, Luke Bard with Elizabethton and Randol Rogers in the DSL. Also, Garrett Jewell was released from the organization. Here are the transactions in all levels in the Twins organization from July 27 until yesterday August 3: Rochester Redwings (International League, AAA): 8/3 - Rochester Red Wings placed RHP Lester Oliveros on the 7-Day disabled list. 7/29 - Minnesota Twins optioned LHP Pedro Hernandez to Rochester Red Wings. 7/29 - Minnesota Twins optioned Eduardo Escobar to Rochester Red Wings. 7/27 - RHP Daniel Turpen assigned to Rochester Red Wings from New Britain Rock Cats. New Britain Rock Cats (Eastern League, AA): 7/27 - RHP Matthew Hauser assigned to New Britain Rock Cats from Fort Myers Miracle Fort Myers Miracle (Florida State League, A+): 7/28 - LHP Ryan O'Rourke assigned to Fort Myers Miracle from Beloit Snappers. Beloit Snappers (Midwest League, A): 7/31 - LHP Corey Kimes assigned to Beloit Snappers from Elizabethton Twins. 7/31 - Beloit Snappers activated 2B/OF Eddie Rosario from the 7-Day disabled list. 7/31 - Beloit Snappers placed RHP Cole Johnson on the 7-Day disabled list. Elizabethton Twins (Appalachian League, Rk+): 7/29 - RHP Luke Bard assigned to Elizabethton Twins from GCL Twins. 7/29 - Elizabethton Twins released RHP Garrett Jewell. GCL Twins (Gulf Coast League, Rk): 7/31 LHP Andrew Albers assigned to GCL Twins. (Rehab) DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League, Foreign Rk): 8/3 - RHP Randol Rogers assigned to DSL Twins.

Yeah. He is not the second coming of anything. I think it is ok to be wild, if you are recording something like 10+ K/9 and still your K/BB is 2+. His numbers predict huge regression ahead. If you mix a 1.45 WHIP produced in a time of .238 BABIP, get ready for bad things ahead. Some of those ground balls (mostly in his case) and line drives right at fielders will start getting in between fielders...

We can all hope for Dozier. But (and I hate to say that) at age 25 he is behind where Casilla were at age 25 (on the other hand, Dozier is still only a couple years removed from the foil bat, and Latin American players do not use that). Hopefully, if he get consistent playing time (unlike Casilla did) he will improve; just hope that Gardy and Co do not give up on him like they did with Casilla... I like his pop, I like his gutty play. He's got to work on making solid contact with the ball and being more selective at the plate. Not sure I mind the errors this much because those are mostly from trying to do too much. He will learn his limits on the field as he plays more... Still too early to tell, but he earned the right to play the rest of the season. On the other hand, with Carroll, Nishioka, Escobar, Florimon as competition for 2012, 2013 and 2014 and more serious competition from players like Danny Santana, Beresford, Goodrum, Grimes, Michael etc in 2014+, nobody can be sure what is going to happen.

Trading Mauer would be a bigger mistake for TR than when he sided with Pohlad and was his henchman for the contraction. The "average" Twins' fans forgot and forgave the last one but will not a potential Mauer trade. That would be career suicide for any GM even if the result is close to what Dallas got for Hershel Walker... I doubt that Mauer is even going through the waiver process

They say that he "just has bone chips" on his pitching elbow, which need surgery to be removed. Hope it is just that and he has a quick recovery. Another elbow issue in the organization.

Now, if that happens, the Twins would have some very interesting choice to make... This season Morneau has been a 0.5 WAR player (could end up 0.8-1.2 realistically); who knows what he will be next season? I doubt that he will be a 5 WAR player. If he is 2 (which assumes improvement over this season but still realistic), someone like Parmelee could cover about half of that. So they would pay $14 Million for 1 WAR. Too much. I think that money could probably work better on pitching. (On the other hand, the Twins do not think that way)