Reginald Maudling's Shin

I wonder if he would have been called up a month ago if he would have had these issues. It would be nice to have Meyer working with MLB level coaches. It seems to work well for the Cardinals. It's frustrating to have these guys with clear MLB level talent staying at AAA, stagnating, until they inevitably have a bit of a poor stretch, then the organization can point and say "See!! Not ready!!" For some reason Twins pitchers have to put up Pedro Martinez numbers in AAA to get a callup. Hell, AAA shouldn't even be necessary for high priofile prospects. Meanwhile we have to squeeze every drop of productivity from the likes of Deduno.

If he's not ready, then AAA. The innings limit (if there is one) is irrelevant to the development of Meyer. You don't want him bouncing between MN and Rochester. You want him to stay up once he's called up. It sounds like most people here are of the same opinion.

Recently we have heard beloved leader Ron Gardenhire extol the virtues of "flexibility" when constructing a roster. I agree. In fact, I will go one step further: I think the roster should be constructed to allow for the flexibility of platooning several positions within the lineup.* Although the Twins have had fewer financial restrictions since the opening of Target Field (at least theoretically) the talent within the system just is not there yet. Besides, let's face facts here, no matter how much the Twins of other mid-market teams spend, the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels et. al. will always have more resources and thus an inherent advantage in talent. So it behooves Twins management to utilize their talent to the utmost extent, and I think it's always a good idea to innovate and use the successes of others as a blueprint for your own future success. Of course I'm referencing the Oakland A's, who never can be considered "behind the curve" when it comes to innovation and exploiting market deficiencies. The A's and GM Billy Beane have brilliantly constructed an efficient roster full of platoon players, and a sprinkling of talented youngsters*and veteran leaders. So in my opinion not only should the Twins be utilizing a platoon system, they should be taking heat for NOT doing it. So what can be done? Trevor Plouffe had an OPS over 130 points higher vs. left hand pitching than righties in 2013, and over 200 points higher in 2012. As we all know, offensive production from the 3B position has been lacking since before the G-man became born again. This deficiency could be remedied by a platoon of Plouffe and a decent left handed hitting 3B a few times a week, such as Eric Chavez, who had an OPS of .827 vs. RH pitching last year and who resigned with the Diamondbacks for a mere $3 million last December. For an option already on the 40-man roster, folks may appreciate giving Eduardo Escobar some at bats vs RH pitching. Eduardo hit a respectable .276 with 5 home runs in only 268 plate appearances last year in AAA Rochester. EE won't set the world on fire at the plate, but remember we're looking to maximize production from the roster, not field all stars on a shoestring budget.* Brian Dozier had a breakout season in 2013, but he had a sub-.650 OPS vs. LH pitching. Meanwhile James Beresford hit .336 last year vs. RHP in the minors. Even if the slick fielding Aussie infielder hits an "empty" .300 a few days a week it would be a vast improvement to the overall offensive output. We are talking about (potentially) a 100-point difference in OPS. If the Twins are serious about keeping Jason Kubel another potential platoon alternative could be Kubel and Josh Willingham. Willingham hasn't had dramatic left/right splits but he's looking a bit long in the tooth these days, and keeping him fresh and healthy by limiting his at bats against strong righties might be beneficial. Of course the Twins do not exactly have a dearth of right handed power bats, so I can understand keeping Willingham's bat in the lineup every day. At this stage in his career Kubel should not start vs. left handed pitching. Although I would say the same thing about Willingham in the outfield. Josh looked like a senior citizen out there this spring. Other players who could potentially benefit from a platoon role include Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee, and even Aaron Hicks. While I still believe Hicks is a prospect and needs ABs, he clearly looks more comfortable from the right side and his long term viability may be as a platoon corner outfielder. At this time I would not advocate platooning Aaron Hicks, but it might be sort of a last resort option in a year or two.* What I have introduced here is nothing new, and I've only offered a cursory look at the potential opportunities being missed utilizing the Twins' own talent or recently available free agents. I am by no means a Gardy "hater" and appreciate what he has done for the Twins through the years. However, the Twins' stubborn refusal to adopt this age-old strategy is frustrating, at a time where innovation and market exploitation has never been more prevalent.*

If Willingham can improve enough to be a decent hitter again then I wouldn't be upset if they kept him instead of trading him, so long as he's not paid over market value. They aren't going to get much in trade value anyway.

I don't know that having Willingham play left for another few months is going to prove anything. Any potential trade parter will have done their homework and scouted him enough to know he's not a good fielder.

Alright then. I bought the handbook anyway, anticipating my wrong answer.

Eleven huh? How about Alex Meyer, James Beresford, Deibinson Romero, AJ Achter, Miguel Sano, Pat Dean, Duke Welker, Dakota Watts, Eddie Rosario, Kennys Vargas, Byron Buxton. If you're not counting Duke yet then Adrian Salcedo.

Yes you did. Except the Star Wars fireworks were awesome.

Having the Twins pay Morneau's salary changes the whole dynamic of the deal. Morneau isn't worth what he's getting paid. if the Twins offered say, Brian Duensing and $2.5 million, what would the return be? Would there even be a deal? Of course not. It wouldn't make sense for the Pirates to give up a top prospect for Brian Duensing and cash. In this case, If I'm the Pirates, I'm not giving up a top prospect and hurting my future for one month of Morneau. The cash and prospect would then become the centerpiece of the deal. Would you want to explain as a GM why you sold a top prospect to the Twins for a washed up 1B and cash? Now that's a PR hit. The Twins are lucky to find any potential trading partners for a player of Morneau's value. He just isn't very good any more.

To me, paying all or part of $2 million is not a good value to obtain a prospect. So I can't fault the Twins for not going that route.

What do you expect to receive for a one month rental? The Twins weren't going to resign him, so, they got something for nothing.

Albers has 3 starts. How do we know Andy helped him? What adjustments did he gave to make after the first two complete game (almost) shutouts? Liriano probably just needed a change in scenery and a new voice, and a kick on the ass to be honest. But overall, Nick is right in that this outcome is unacceptable. It's almost surreal that a guy can go from worst starter on the worst staff in baseball to CY candidate over the course of one offseason. The Twins let go a guy who is now a legit CY candidate in his prime for nothing. If its not an indictment on Anderson and the coaching staff then I don't know what is. They failed in getting production out of a guy with a lot of talent, bottom line.

A Pittsburgh columnist calls for Pirates to trade for Morneau (h/t to Thrylos for tweeting this link this morning) Kovacevic: Let's see Pirates' bats do their part | TribLIVE

I tend to agree with this. I think the institutional knowledge and technology would likely elevate everyone, but the best would still be the best. In a sense that's why I can't get too worked up about PEDs, You still need the natural talent and ability that are independent of physical strength.

I didn't know you lived in Green Bay.