jmlease1

I think it's time for Hicks. I've seen enough of Schafer to be convinced he's not going to suddenly start raking enough to get his triple slash line up to something adequate any time soon if ever. He's just not that good. At best, he's a 4th OF and we already have one of those guys in Shane Robinson (who is significantly outplaying him, albeit in a much smaller role). But I won't be shocked, or even all that outraged if the team waits to see where Arcia is at before they make a major roster move. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they bring up Hicks at the same time they bring back Arcia and send Rosario back down to work on some things. The Twins will need to see what Hicks can do in MLB for an extended period soon. This is the make-or-break year for him, with his options running out and Buxton knocking on the door. But it's also a good year for the team to give him a real run again: Schafer is an easy candidate to relegate (I can't see anyone claiming him), Hicks is killing it in AAA right now, and team expectations are still low. If he can put up an OPS of 725-750 with plus defense and positional flexibility to play all three OF slots he'll be a real asset to the franchise for years to come, regardless of what happens with Buxton, Arcia, or Rosario. Need to find out soon. If he keep hitting like this and hasn't made the roster by June 1, the team is making a significant mistake. It's ok if he stays down another week or so, but if this drags on 2-3 weeks then their either doing it wrong or there's something else going on here that they're not telling us.

Hopefully he can hold it together long enough for the Twins to deal him for something worthwhile when Santana comes back.

I think team chemistry and leadership can have a greater impact in basketball than baseball; one of the most notable things about KG's return was how much better and energetic the Wolves looked on defense, with KG calling out rotations, etc. That's an impact that doesn't show up in individual stats that's still really important. The sum becoming greater than the parts is something that is much more of a basketball thing than baseball, where player interaction and combination is lessened. (how much impact can Torii Hunter have on the infield?) That said, I'm fine with bringing in Torii as well, as long as the expectations aren't out of control. Having an experienced player-mentor for young OFs like Arcia & Hicks isn't a bad thing at all to help them through the daily struggles of being an MLB player. Someone on the field who can help them stay positioned correctly. Someone with credibility to give advice and constructive criticism. Since he should be able to still hit and contribute on the field, it can work. He'll be a marketing plus. In the end, I expect KG to have a greater effect on the on-court product of the Wolves than Torii to have on the Twins, despite Torii possibly having more left in the tank as a player. But the things KG brings to the table are things the Wolves need even more right now and the intangibles are greater in basketball than football. But it doesn't mean bringing in Torii was a bad call, especially since the price was only one year of not-unreasonable money.

I like Berrios a ton. We'll see how his secondary stuff continues to develop; if he continues to improve his change and curve he can be really really good. I agree with Seth; look for him to arrive in 2016 unless things go badly for the rotation AND he's dominating. No need to add him to the 40-man early while they're still working on getting his innings up towards 170 or so and working on his secondary pitches. I'm always a little confused by conversations about a "#1" pitcher. How are we defining a #1? It seems like a lot of the reports that place Berrios' ceiling as a #2-#3 act like a #1 pitcher is a true ace, one of the top 10 pitchers in MLB or something. That doesn't seem right to me.

I feel like May is a slight favorite to win the job, but realistically it should come down to him or Milone. If May has control issues, Meyer's are still more significant and his delivery just isn't as repeatable yet. It will be interesting to see if May has made any progress since last season.

I have zero problem with the Twins buying out his arbitration years and a year or 2 of free agency. The basic form is, Dozier gets the security of a long-term deal and the Twins get a discount over what they would have paid year by year. I think it's unlikely the Twins will have to go as high as Kipnis' deal; Dozier has never put together a season as good as Kipnis' all-star campaign and that drove a lot of that money. There's some risk in this seeing as how Dozier hasn't put together a complete consistent season yet, but when you factor the potential and the defense, he's an asset I think you want to lock down. I'd suggest the price is more likely to go up than go down if the team waits until say, the all-star break or next season to make a deal happen. If Dozier puts together back to back 5 WAR seasons he's not going to be cheap at all.

I can live with almost any of the serious options (May, Milone, Meyer, & Pelfrey) except Pelfrey. Sorry, there's no way he gets the job based on anything other than "veteran starter/stupid contract we gave him" and that's a bad play. I doubt Stauffer gets a serious look to start. May is my preference. Not only does he have nothing left to prove in AAA, he's shown enough to suggest he could be a real asset as a starter. The 5th slot should be perfect for him, as it'll let the team protect him a little and give him more space to grow. Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Nolasco, and May could be a very solid rotation, especially if you have guys like Meyer and Milone as the call-up options to hedge against injury. Not that any of the projection systems will like this pitching staff! Hopefully everyone gets the message that if you're injured to report it and not just try and "fight through it" without saying something...and the Twins medical staff gets better at treating injuries too...

agree 100%. especially because Gardy will play Butera too much (both as Pavano's personal catcher and as relief for Mauer). But even if Butera ISN'T playing a lot and is just there as late-inning relief for Mauer's knees in blowouts or as a defensive replacement for Doumit...he's still a bad choice for the roster spot because he offers NO value as a hitter off the bench. This team needs to have guys that can swing a bat on the bench, and Butera has no value as anything otehr than a defensive replacement, and that's just not enough to spend a roster spot on, especially with the twins likely to waste another roster spot on a 12th pitcher (who will throw maybe once a week)